October Academy

Chapter 33

What exactly is he suggesting? I don't have time to mull it over, because the more time we spend out here, the higher chance we have of getting caught. And Ms Svetkov already has it in for me. She's looking for an excuse to get me out of this place, for reasons unknown. Personally, I think she has a vendetta against Gladys. She wants to be promoted to principle, but instead got disciplinary supervisor.

Darcy grabs my hand in his and it makes me feel faint. He pulls me forward. Like two dark shadows, we move in sync. We glide through the trees, making a run for it before we hide behind the giant statue in the middle of the courtyard.

We hunch down, cowering behind the stone angel. Mrs Svetkov's torch flashes over us and I hear her steps coming closer.

Darcy leans in closer to me, his hand at my back. His other hand reaches forward, putting a finger to my lips and mouthing 'sh'.

I scream internally.

Mrs Svetkov retreats, backing away into the stairwell and disappearing into its darkness.

Darcy's grip tightens around my hand and he leads me away from my dorm, to where the boys dormitories are. It happens so fast. We tip toe up the stairs. He unlocks his door.

I'm in his room.

It's bigger than mine. His ceiling is slanted towards the back of his room, where his bed sits against the wall, in the back corner. He has a small desk in the corner across from it. The otherwise empty wall is decorated by a bookshelf.

"Why's your room so... big?" is the first thing I say.

"Remember when I told you my dad owns this town?" he says, reaching up his arm to scratch the back of his neck.

"He really does." I bite my lip. "So what's the plan now?"

"I guess you stay here and then in the morning you can wear one of my hoodies and sneak out."

"In the morning...?" What am I doing?

"Is that ok?"

"Yeah," I nod, shyly.

Darcy reaches into his closet and passes me an oversized t-shirt. "I won't look," he says, and I believe him.

I quickly change into the t-shirt while he turns around, starring at the wall.

When I'm done, he walks forward, taking a pillow and putting in on the floor, "You take the bed-"

"There is absolutely no way I am taking your bed," I say.

"There is absolutely no way I'm letting you sleep anywhere else."

"So it's settled then," I say, taking a seat on the bed and gesturing for him to join me.

I'm going to regret this in the morning.

"And don't take it the wrong way," I add quickly, "I'm not trying to molest you or anything."

He laughs. "Just friends?" he says.

"Just friends," I confirm, even though it pinches my heart. If this is being friends, maybe I don't want to be friends. Maybe I want something more.

The thought of it makes me throb in places I don't want to speak of. I push the thought down and away. I hate how he makes me feel so out of control like this, how he makes me ashamed of my own thoughts. I've never thought of anyone the way I think about Darcy.

He eyes me up and down, then grits his teeth. Even though he doesn't say anything, I wonder if he's thinking about how I look in his shirt. And I hope he thinks I look hot – but his expression doesn't reveal anything.

He hesitates before taking a seat beside me. "Move over then," he says with a grin.

I shuffle over to the side of the bed that's against the wall and pull the covers over me. Darcy pulls his shirt over his head in one fell swoop. I look away instantly, feeling a blush sprint to my cheeks.

He stands up again, pacing over to his door before shutting the light. I'm comforted by the darkness, knowing that he can't see my cheeks burn red, or my face moistening with sweat. But now it's quiet and dark, so if he focusses hard enough, he might hear my heart beating so violently in my chest it might just burst.

His shadowy figure approaches the bed. It rocks as he slips under the covers beside me. We don't touch. But his presence is enough.

How am I supposed to sleep? Maybe I should've just waited in the forest until Mrs Svetkov retired to her room. Or I could've gone to the abandoned train and slept on its benches.

This might just be the worst mistake I've ever made.

And worse – what if Mrs Svetkov finds me here. Not only did I break curfew then, I also broke the rules by going to the boys dorm. She'd have a field day.

"Don't stress about Svetkov," Darcy says, reading my mind, "She won't find you here, and no one will notice in the morning."

"That's easy for you to say," I breathe.

"Jade," he turns over to face me.

I'm lying on my back, so he can't –

His hand reaches up to cup my face, turning it gently so that I'm looking at him, and our noses are an inch apart. "Don't worry about Svetkov, ok? I'll handle it if she finds out."

I nod – being the only thing I can do without embarrassing myself.

His hand lifts from my cheek and he turns back to lie on his back. "Just get some sleep," he says.

"Ok," I manage.

And somehow, out of pure exhaustion, I find myself falling and not just to sleep.

.

.

.

When I wake up in the morning, Darcy isn't beside me.

I rub my eyes, yawning and stretching before sitting up. Darcy is on the opposite side of the room, already dressed in his uniform. He doesn't say good morning.

"Good morning," I say, my voice husky.

He raises his eyebrows to acknowledge me.

Why's he being weird?

"You ok?" I ask him.

"Fine."

Its like when the clock struck midnight, the fantasy evaporated. Darcy is no longer my prince, waking me up with a kiss.

Reality hits me like a truck.

I slip out of his bed, grabbing my clothes from the floor that I was wearing yesterday and pulling them on without flashing him. He's not paying me any attention anyway.

I walk over to him, tossing him his shirt. I don't mean for it to be so aggressive – I guess I can't hold back my disappointment at his new attitude.

He stands up quickly, towering over me, walking towards me until I shrink back into the wall.

"Don't tell anyone about this," he says, leaning over me.

"I wouldn't want to ruin your pristine reputation," I snap.

He scoffs, turning away and leaving. Not saying goodbye, not smiling, not laughing, not joking. He's gone. Just like that.