SHANNIAH: ..because of that night..

CHAPTER 9

AFTER lectures the next day, Shanniah limped towards the cafeteria to get some lunch. During her encounter with Mr Jones the previous night she managed to sustain some bruises and a slight injury on her ankle. She endeavoured to avoid any encounter with Regan all day, thanks to the fact that they were in different years and they pursued a degree in different fields. Judith didn't miss any chance to throw dirty looks at her. Nothing prompted it though, it was just her way of acknowledging Shanniah.

She moved along the queue with the rest of the students in front and behind her. She passed her tray through the several counters when it was her turn until everything she needed was added to her tray. As she moved through various turns looking for a suitable table to sit at, she spotted Regan and his friend Tony eating at a table by the corner.

Just what I needed, she sighed and turned to leave.

"Shanniah!" Tony called out to her.

She contemplated ignoring him but the people around were already looking at her. Tony was a good person but at that moment, shutting him up for good seemed like the right thing to do.

She walked up to their table and sat opposite Regan. "Hi Tony, Regan." She acknowledged them with a sweet smile.

"You were looking for a place to sit, so.." Tony explained.

"Yes, I was." She took a bite of her fries while trying to keep her head down without making it noticeable. All the while she sat there, Regan didn't say a word to her. He just kept staring at her like she was a television.

"Are you okay, Shanniah?" He finally questioned, voicing his concern.

"Of course," she smiled. "Never been better, I like the school food." She quickly switched the subject.

"I know right, I feel like eating here most of the time but it's not that easy," Tony responded.

"What about you, Regan?" She questioned.

"I do enjoy it too. I don't usually get the chance to eat here all the time though." He sipped his drink, while still looking at her as if he was searching for something on her face.

"Why? Why don't you eat here if you like the meals?" She asked with a genuine interest. Her quest to change the subject was working out really well.

Tony looked at her like she had two heads after she voiced her question. She looked at him too while waiting for a response to her question.

"Ahh! I guess you don't know. I see you're not a close fan of the Internet." Tony stated, expectantly waiting for Regan to respond to her.

"I work. I'm always busy in the office when not in school and during most of my lunch period, I'm always scheduled to eat with someone somewhere outside school," Regan explained.

"Oh, you must be someone special in your workplace. And you sounded like a very busy person." Shanniah said, taking a sip from her coke.

"I find it very funny that you don't know a thing about Reg. You guys have gotten quite close from the first time you arrived." Tony said with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"What? Is there something special I'm supposed to know? Why don't you tell me? Well, it's not like any of you know a thing about me too." Shanniah said, with a little bit of annoyance. They might have been quite popular amongst other people, but that doesn't mean that she should know everything the public knows about them.

"I would love to get to know you, Shanniah." Regan leaned in closer. "I'm quite interested in you that I notice things that others find unnoticeable in you."

Shanniah stared at him intently, his reaction wasn't what she expected from him after her sharp response to Tony. Why was he listening to them anyway? He appeared not to be interested in talking to her since she sat down with them.

"You may have succeeded in hiding it from them but not me. Shani, tell me what's with that bruise you're trying so hard to hide with make-up? You were limping while coming over too."

Why did he have to be so sharp and smart?

Nobody noticed but Regan had to. Nobody cared but Regan had to. She was supposed to be invisible to everyone including him.

Damn him and his stupid sharp eyes and keen observational abilities!

"It's not your concern," Shanniah stated as she warily stood up from her seat, while grabbing her tray with her. She stormed off without a single glance at them.

"Call me," Regan told Tony and ran after Shanniah.

"Was she limping? But I didn't notice any bruise on her pretty face too," Tony muttered with a pout before grabbing his tray along with Regan's tray.

*****

Shanniah continued storming down the empty hall, despite Regan's frantic calls for her to wait up.

"Leave me alone Regan, I don't owe you any fucking explanation!"

"But I want to know," said Regan grabbing her wrist and whisking her into the nearest room along their path. Thankfully, it was empty too.

"I told you to stay away from me, please." She pleaded to try to free herself from his stronghold.

"I would have stayed away if you didn't keep showing up in my face. Who did this to your face?" He asked grabbing her jawline gently while turning it to get a better view of her bruised cheek.

"I can handle myself."

"Is it Mr Jones? What's going on between you two? I'm going to deal with him Shanniah, he just can't seem to stay away from you," Regan said, getting worked up.

"Why are you getting so worked up? What if it's me who can't seem to stay away?" She questioned boring her hazel eyes into his.

"What?" He asked with a little perplexity.

"You heard me. What if I'm the problem? What if I'm the one who keeps getting involved with him? What if I want you to stay away from my business? I wish you'd stay away Regan, please." She reluctantly broke their eye contact. By then, Regan's hold on her wrist has already loosened and she easily shrugged it off before making her way to the exit.

"Stop Shanniah," he slowly turned to stare at her retreating back. "I never said you could leave after saying all that nonsense. Do you think I find it funny, that I can't focus on anything without thinking about you? My fucking life was on the right track before you showed up. All my life, nothing has been as challenging as trying to figure you out. You're too mysterious." He stood directly behind her leaving little to no space between them.

"The worst part is that the more difficult you get to figure out, the more determined I become to crack that high wall of yours to bring out that you, you're busy hiding in there." He slowly turned her around to face him.

"Regan.." She trailed off, trying to withstand the turmoil Regan was creating inside her with his words.

"I love you and I know you might think I'm crazy because we just met less than three months ago, but I love you Shanniah."

"It's not easy, please."

"I'll help you and make it easy. It's not that difficult." He pressed his lips against hers and almost immediately, the door was closed with so much noise that startled them apart.

They both turned towards the door but whoever it was that saw them was long gone.

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