Bonded [SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 2

Squeals and whispers were heard everywhere as Laena walked down the hall, nearing the crowd. She felt a buzz start inside of her, making her steps unsteady. She swayed to the side, almost bumping into someone.

"Easy, tiger," Arthon said, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady her before looking up at the crowd. "What's going on?"

Arthon pushed his way through, leading Micah and Laena. In the middle of the crowd was a boy. He had startlingly black hair. Midnight black. He turned to face them. His eyes were grey, ringed with gold.

Laena let out a small sigh, suppressing her annoyance. Not her bonded. They looked nothing alike except for their golden skin... Which not many people had. She watched him stiffen and the buzz grew louder. It made her head ache. And it made her nervous.

The famous bond myth was that a bonded could try to stop the emotions from being passed to their bonded. When successful, the bonded simply received a buzzing sound if anything. But it was a myth. And could never be real. It would never be real. Besides, she thought to herself, I don't even have a bond.

She looked up at him. The new boy. In his jeans and white v-neck t-shirt, pulled tight around his biceps, barely fitting over his broad shoulders. He smirked at her, showing off his dimples. Some girls squealed, sighing in that dreamy way.

Laena rolled her eyes before pushing past him, knocking her shoulder into him as she brushed past, unable to hide her anger. She felt his dark eyes lock on the back of her head as she walked past.

She heard fast footsteps from behind. She rolled her eyes. She really wasn't in the mood to have a conversation. Especially not with him.

"Don't. I don't want to talk," Laena said.

She heard the footsteps stop before hearing a familiar voice. "Sorry Lae..."

She froze before turning to look at Parker. "Oh... Sorry Parker. I thought you were the new kid."

He simply gave her a small smile before sliding his arm around her shoulders. "Definitely not."

She froze for a second before leaning into him, welcoming his warmth and kindness. "Clearly—"

She was cut off by a loud high-pitched scream. "Parker?! Where are you?!"

Laena let out a small groan before pulling away from Parker. Parker glanced at her with a confused look on his face.

Laena smiled. "Don't want to make your girl angry."

Parker rolled his eyes before sliding his arm back around her shoulders. "Who cares."

There were loud footsteps from behind them, followed by a whine. "Parker?! What are you doing?!"

Laena looked up at Parker before turning around to face Alina. Parker turned as well, adjusting his grip on her shoulders.

"Hey there," Parker said calmly, squeezing Laena's shoulders gently.

Alina didn't bother to hide her anger, her eyes fixed in a glare at Laena. "Parker, I demand an explanation. Now."

He simply smiled. "Ask me a question, I'll answer it."

"What are you doing with her?!" Alina cried out.

"Nothing, we're just taking a walk," he replied.

She narrowed her eyes. "Certainly doesn't look like nothing."

He faked a hurt look. "Am I not allowed to take walks with my friends?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you are... But not when you act like she's your girlfriend! We're together, aren't we?"

He let out a heavy breath. "Yep. We're friends going on a walk. I told you that, Alina."

She pursed her lips together. "Fine, Parker. That's fine."

He gave her a fake smile before turning back around, holding Laena close to him as they started walking away from Alina.

Laena looked up at Parker, speaking once they were out of earshot distance from Alina. "She's wonderful, isn't she."

He grinned. "Oh, you bet. She's definitely a handful."

She rolled her eyes. "And yet she's still worth your time."

He shook his head. "Of course not. I'm just trying to drop the hint that I'm not interested." He paused before quickly adding, "And never have been."

She nudged him gently with her shoulder. "You liar. You told me 'She must be the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen!'"

He went slightly red. "I was twelve. I would've thought that you'd have dropped that by now. She was basically the only girl I knew!"

She rolled her eyes, letting out a small laugh. "I've known you since we were two. And what about Audrey? We were eight then. You claimed you were in love with her then."

He let out a sigh. "Okay, fine. I get it. But this past month or two were not fun. She's very controlling."

"And you just noticed that now?!" Laena asked, letting out a short laugh.

He glared at her. "Well at least she actually bothers to talk to people. You're so anti-social, pushing away everyone and hiding. I mean, come on Lae. You should've seen yourself with the new kid just now."

She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

He laughed. "You looked like you were drunk, walking in the hall just now. Swaying from side to side, Arthon had to keep you up. And when you saw him, your eyes were so wide. And then you were pissed, Lae. You were so mad, it was hilarious."

She pulled away from his grip. "Shut up."

He grinned as he walked beside her. "Just saying, Lae."

She shoved her shoulder into him, knocking him into the wall. "Shut up."

There was a loud laugh from down the hall. "Whoa, tiger... Calm down."

Laena turned to watch Arthon as he strode down the hall, Micah a step behind him. They walked in sync, almost exactly the same. It startled her, how alike they looked. Brown hair, brown eyes with broad shoulders and muscular arms. Yet extremely different personalities.

"Hey Arthon," Laena said with a sigh.

Arthon slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "So this is where you ran off to, tiger."

She shrugged his arm off her. "I did not run off!"

Arthon grinned. "You certainly need a bond to control that anger, tiger."

She looked at him, the anger clear in her eyes. "Shut up, Arthon."

"Aww... I'm only teasing, tiger," Arthon said, quickly grabbing onto her hand as the smile in his eyes faded.

"You know it's a sensitive topic, Arthon," she said as she yanked her hand free from him. She stormed off, shaking her head as she tried to clear her thoughts. She hated it when people talked about her not having a bond. It made her realize just how much she was missing. And she hated it.

"Hey... Laena..." Arthon said, his voice getting quieter as she walked away.

"Leave me alone," she mumbled, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

She spent the rest of the day alone, staying away from everyone and pushing away anyone that tried to get close to her. Talking about not having a bond made her miserable.