"Get out of my classroom," the cherry faced instructor seethed, flinging her arm out to the side and pointing towards the door. Her beady eyes flared furiously at Grey, hardly even noticing me.
"I'm glad I made an impression, Dr. Turner," Grey coolly crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back casually in his seat. Oh good lord. Here we go again.
My old organic chemistry professor stood fuming at the front of the classroom, no doubt reliving the embarrassment Grey had caused her a while back. While I did feel bad for the poor woman, I realized why Grey had found this so amusing. It was like a kitten trying to tell a fully grown lion what to do. The lion wasn't going to murder the kitten, per se, but he was going to tease her a bit.
It was difficult to perceive humans any differently now. They had no idea what was truly going on- what power lurked beneath our skin.
"How dare you step back into my classroom?" She hissed, her acrylic nails digging into the faux wood of her desk and threatening to pop off.
"To be fair, Dr. Turner, you change classrooms every year," I interjected with a sigh. I could feel Grey's amused gaze flick to me from the corner of his eye.
"Who are you, exactly?" She narrowed her eyes at me through her round spectacles, adjusting them on her nose.
"Former student as well. I sat next to him. Left once with him when you kicked him out?" I offered nonchalantly, eyeing her.
"Regardless, I want you out of my classroom, immediately. Both of you," she snapped her fingers and her eyes twitched in her unfiltered fury.
"Out of all classrooms, you chose this one?" Grey breathed against the nape of my neck. I felt the seat next to me move as he slowly stood up.
"Relax, Melody. No need to get your panties in a twist. Although, as I do recall, you enjoy that, don't you?" Grey smirked mischievously as I stood next to him.
That seemed to send her over the edge. I never thought I'd ever see a professor fling herself at a student, and yet here I was. Dr. Turner was being held back by several students a few rows down the aisle as she fought her way towards us. Grey chuckled underneath his breath as we inched our way out of the aisle and hurried out the door.
"I had totally forgotten she existed," I chuckled, running my hands through my hair.
"You and me both. I had no idea she'd even remember who I was," he rolled his eyes, throwing his arm across my shoulders. "I don't blame her though. Must suck to be embarrassed in front of all your students."
"Then why do it?" I snickered and he shrugged coolly as we walked down the steps to the main walkway through campus.
"Why not? It's kinda fun, isn't it? Humans are so emotionally reactive, and they're so ballsy. I just enjoy it," he replied lazily as we strolled down the walkway.
"So where to? Now that we've been kicked out of class," I asked, glancing briefly up at him.
"Michael is sending Siena down to meet us later this afternoon," Grey replied with a slight clench of his jaw.
My brows furrowed. "You want to head home? We just got here."
"I'm eager to hear what Siena has to say," he shrugged, letting out a deep sigh. He was concerned.
"Grey. I'm fine. So long as I don't tap into my soul, I won't pass out again," I reassured him, tilting my head slightly to the side.
"That assumption is based on my theory, which could be incorrect. I just- I would prefer to be home where I know I can take care of you. I knew you were adamant about leaving the house and getting back here, but I don't see how you could possibly resume classes during all of this," he explained with a huff.
"You said you were fine with it if you came with me," I mumbled back in annoyance.
"And I did come with you. It's not my fault Turner kicked us out," he grumbled.
"Actually it is," I snickered back and he gave me a fierce side eye.
"My point is- I think we have more important things at hand than keeping tabs on trivial human affairs," Grey quipped back, glaring at a few students who walked past us. I could've sworn I saw them shudder.
"The point was not to meddle in human affairs, it was to make sure Hell wasn't making any moves yet," I responded quickly.
"Isn't that what news stations do? Surely they'd let us know when something monumental happens," Grey rolled his eyes.
"I can't just stay cooped up in the house because you're concerned for my wellbeing. We're about to be in a war, Grey," I reminded him, only earning a clench of his jaw.
"If Siena says that the Archangels have agreed that you're fine so long as you don't use your powers, we can continue to go out. I just want to hear what she has to say, and I have no exact time when she's coming down. I don't want to miss her," he explained stiffly.
"You promise? Promise that if she says I'm okay, that we can come back," I narrowed my eyes slightly at him as we strolled towards his car.
"If she says you're okay, we can come back. I wanted to give you this morning at least because I know you miss it- school and everything. If you're truly in no danger, then we can come back. But I'm still coming," he added.
"I figured as much," I chuckled lightly as I walked over to the passenger side of his car and climbed in.
While I was disappointed that coming to campus had been pointless and I hadn't stayed through an entire class, I understood Grey's haste to get home. If he had anything going on that I had been worried about, I would be obsessing over it as well. I just hoped that Siena was bringing good news, and that I could in fact return. I probably would avoid that particular classroom, however. Poor Dr. Turner had been given enough ridicule for a lifetime.
Although Grey was on edge about my whole fainting episode, it hadn't bothered me as much as I thought it would. I guess in my head I'd already come to terms with the idea that I wasn't going to live past the end of this war, and my inability to use my souls power only solidified that belief. I wasn't entirely upset about it. While I knew I desperately wanted as much time with Grey as possible, if I was meant to die, then I would be okay with that. Sure, my life would have been cut short because I'd become an Angel, but becoming who I am brought me Grey. Even if I had known at the beginning that following this path would end in my demise, I still would've chosen it. No amount of time with Grey would ever be enough, but if this was all I had, then it was all worth it. I would've died a million times if it meant getting to spend part of my life loving him.
As if he knew what I was thinking, Grey's hand shifted over and rested on my thigh as we drove through the massive trees of the forest surrounding campus. My gaze slid over to him, taking in his midnight hair that fell in waves down to his ears, the one stubborn bit that demanded to fall between his eyes. I studied the sharp jaw that I'd seen clench too many times to count, the curled lips I could taste against my own. And those eyes- those god damned glacial eyes- they met my gaze and I felt my heart stutter. It's funny that regardless of how long you have loved someone, they can still render you speechless.
He was so beautiful. Ridiculously beautiful.
If you had ever told me I would end up loving someone like Grey, I never would've believed you.
"What are you thinking about?" He murmured, but the dancing starlight in his eyes told me that he already knew.
"You," I replied as nonchalantly as I could. His hand squeezed my thigh a little in response.
"You still look at me like you did when I first saw you," he said softly. My gaze flicked back to him.
"What do you mean?" I quickly asked.
"When I first saw you, in those tattered clothes being held back by those kids, you looked at me and I felt my heart pause. No one had ever looked at me the way you had. Like I was their savior. Like I meant something to them. When I meet their gazes, they are filled with desire or envy or hatred or fear. Never what you look at me with," he explained.
"What do I look at you with?" I questioned.
"Hope. You look at me with hope," he said gently. At that I placed my hand atop his on my leg, interlocking my fingers with his.
The remainder of the drive was kept in a comfortable silence, with only the gentle murmur of a rock song playing over the radio. When we pulled in front of his house, he'd seemed a little annoyed that Siena wasn't already here, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, we merely walked inside and he made us tea.
We then sat on the couch and sipped at our tea, silently waiting for the Archangels to decide what I was supposed to do, if I could ever use my soul again.
HELLO! I feel like I HAHA apologize every single chapter for taking so long. I won't provide an excuse, I'm procrastinating. The more I write, the sooner the book ends. And I'm not ready for that.
So I'm procrastinating.
Sorry to keep you all waiting.
I hope you all are doing well, and I love and appreciate each and every one of you. Your support means the world to me. You will never know how grateful I am that you all have given Grey a chance and stuck with me until the end.
Alright I'm done being sappy. Have a great week y'all
-TJ