My Words Are Law

No Chance (6)

He never thought a time would come that he'd loathe a day this much. And all because of a single message by a girl who hates him, no less.

"Taylor...-"

He languidly rolled his irises towards his estranged partner. It seems she's really serious this time.

"About what I sent you last Sat-"

"Okay, class!"

The loud booming voice of Professor Roland made the girl jerk about, her speech swallowed by a gasp she had tried to cover with a pathetic cough.

"Just a reminder that we're nearing the end of the semester, so we better start finalizing everything. Also..."

Chryses didn't bother changing his line of sight as he half-listened to the voice coming from the podium.

She's so easily surprised he wonders if she's even able to sleep at night. The ark circles under her eyes have become quite prominent. He mulled for a bit before adding bitterly in the end, it probably isn't because of her restless nature, however.

The reason is obvious. The person himself is sitting right beside her.

Slowly, probably embarrassed from being watched, a tinge of red dyed her cheeks, spreading all the way to her ears as she frowned and dropped her gaze before focusing on the professor with a grimace. 

His attention lingered on her side profile until the short reminder regarding the project was over, and he soon readjusted his focus to the papers on the table, ignoring her troubled expression from his periphery.

He scanned each line without missing a word. It was neat and organized and relatively easy to understand. She put quite a lot of effort, he couldn't come up with any criticisms at all- 

His thoughts abruptly halted as he backtracked on the absurdity of his conjecture. Scanning the whole paper yet again, a chuckle escaped his lips, knowing that wasn't the truth. He was never one to ignore mistakes, however small they were. Really... His tolerance could only ever extend to Amaryllis Larson.

Thinking about it now, it seems he seriously wouldn't mind if she made a lot of mistakes. In fact, he'd like it very much. And he'd like it more if only she'd just rely on him.

"...Is there perhaps something wrong with my work..?" The small voice beside him roused his senses.

With a slight turn of his neck, her stiff expression came into view. Hmm..? He reckoned he didn't do anything to deserve that kind of look.

He scanned her unchanging face with scorn.

"What did you think I was thinking, Amaryllis?"

"Wh-what?" She momentarily met his eyes with a blank look.

"I think I've already told you, but... I'm not that bad." At least not to you.

Amaryllis tried to hide the look of disbelief that crossed her features by looking elsewhere, but that made it even worse.  

"However, if I did something that offended you, then I apologize," Chryses added as he pushed his fists into the front pockets of his black jeans.

When her face didn't change even after his sincere speech, he couldn't help taking a short deep breath that he exhaled just as quickly. What a cruel woman.

"That's not it," she muttered, erasing the frown on her forehead. "͎A͎͎n͎͎y͎͎w͎a͎͎y͎, ͎j͎͎u͎͎s͎͎t͎ ͎t͎͎e͎͎l͎͎l͎ ͎m͎͎e͎ ͎i͎͎f͎ ͎t͎͎h͎͎e͎͎r͎͎e͎'͎s͎ a͎͎n͎͎y͎͎t͎͎h͎͎i͎͎n͎͎g͎ ͎I͎ ͎n͎͎e͎͎e͎͎d͎ ͎t͎͎o͎ ͎c͎͎h͎a͎͎n͎͎g͎͎e͎..." 

Her stubbornness is equally irksome. He smiled. One that lacked enthusiasm or humor.

"There's none."

Amaryllis' mouth opened, then closed, as she frowned.

She must be wondering why he could utter that even when she basically asked him to list everything in detail. 

His eyes shrunk to a half-lidded gaze. The answer was simple. It was because it was how he truly felt.

"I will handle the rest since you've done a lot this time, and... I'll also send a script soon, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Oh... Okay. I'll be counting on you, then."

"You-..." can count on me for everything. If he said that now, she'd probably pass out from fright. He stared at her for a while before shifting his eyes to the papers, feeling glum all of a sudden.

"You can rest assured I'll do a good job..." He ended up speaking indifferently. Of course, he always does everything impeccably, but his sincerity makes a more substantial impact, which is what he wanted to show.

However, it's painfully apparent she doesn't care about that in the least. Everything about him is repugnant to her.

He's such a fool. If only he had more self-restraint, he wouldn't be suffering like this.

Nevertheless, he knew the moment she walked inside the classroom at the beginning of the semester that he was ready to abandon everything as long as she looked at him again. More than his pride... More than anything... In front of her, they all fail in comparison.  

It's impossible to stay away.

"͎L͎͎e͎͎t͎'͎s͎ ͎m͎͎e͎͎e͎͎t͎ ͎u͎͎p͎ ͎t͎͎o͎ ͎p͎͎r͎a͎͎c͎͎t͎͎i͎͎c͎͎e͎ ͎t͎͎h͎͎e͎ ͎s͎͎c͎͎r͎͎i͎͎p͎͎t͎ ͎o͎͎n͎͎c͎͎e͎ ͎y͎͎o͎͎u͎'͎r͎͎e͎ ͎d͎͎o͎͎n͎͎e͎ ͎w͎͎i͎͎t͎͎h͎ ͎i͎͎t͎..." Amaryllis' determined voice drifted to his ears like poison. It continued to travel straight to his chest, causing a riot that refused to settle down as his tongue formed a word of agreement.

"...Okay." The two syllables came out soullessly. How can he get out of this..? Maybe if he got sick, then he wouldn't have to meet with her then.

Even so, until when would he be able to avoid it?

He shut his eyes for a moment and thought about the bleak future. Is this how she's going to disappear..?

"Taylor... Taylor..?"

When he opened his eyes, Professor Roland was standing by their desk, looking a little worried. "Are you alright?"

He collected himself before responding.

"Pardon me... My head is spinning. Can I go to the infirmary?" He wasn't lying. All the frustration was accumulating in his temple. Even his chest felt heavy. He felt suffocated.

What the hell is this?

Mr. Roland frowned as he fixed his glasses on his nose bridge with a nod. "...Certainly... Please do." Then, turning to Amaryllis, he added, "It will be assuring if someone goes with you. Take care of him on the way, Miss Larson."  

For a split second, a corner of his lips lifted mirthlessly. As usual, luck is always on his side. How aggravated she must feel to be forced to look after a person she despises.

"...Understood," Amaryllis mumbled timidly.     

Chryses gave her a side glance, feeling the invisible tension between them that hung like tangled threads. It can never be undone.

How can he let her run away so easily? Since fate gave her an advantage, he might as well go all out, too... He should return the favor and get her a leash this time.

One that wouldn't make her think of retaliating while he snaps it into place. Then she won't be able to run away anymore.

"It's okay. I can go on my own." He smiled in satisfaction and gave his partner one last look before leaving.

She thinks she can bite him because she can, but she's terribly wrong. The only reason she could do that was because he's allowing her to do so. Things will be different now, however.

Sure, she may have the upper hand through her binding words, but it's easy to manipulate her reluctance and emotions to his advantage.

We'll see how far you can continue to struggle.

***

A/N: Hellooo~