Fangs of Corruption

Chapter 6

I sit in the cafeteria, playing with my food. Raven and Christian have been rambling on about the ball but I'm to deep in thought to actually listen. I can't get it out of my head. What did Ben mean in the forest? What could he possibly be holding over Zayne that is so utterly important. Suddenly someone snatches the fork out of my grasp. "Ivy stop mutilating your food and lighten up." Raven exclaims. I snap out of my spiral of self-questioning. "Sorry guys, I'm listening now." I promise. Christian rolls his eyes.
"You need to get over this whole situation with Zayne and Ben. It's eating you up inside." He drawls. Raven nods in agreement whilst shoving a mouthful of my breakfast in her mouth. "Agreed. Your going to have a good time at this ball tonight with Cain, and all your problems will disappear." She says. I bite my lip. "Yeah about that. I don't think I'm going to go tonight. I'll just feel bad that I'm lying to Cain right in front of his face." Christian shakes his head. "No way, your going and your having fun with us tonight." Christian says insistently. Raven smirks. "Come on, it'll be fun. Don't be a buzzkill." She says. I sigh in defeat. "Fine, I'll go." Christian gives me a devilish grin. "It's not like you really had a choice anyways." Raven laughs under her breath.
"Very funny. Look I have to go, I have to meet Zayne in the common room to work on this potionology project. See you later." I say as I gather my books and walk away. "Have fun with the devil!" Raven calls out. I spin around. "Oh I will!" I reply with an irritated look. I walk out into the corridor. Zayne stands there waiting for me by the common room entrance. "Let's get this over with then." I say irritatedly. He glares at me, not even a hint of emotion in the storm that rages inside his eyes. We sit down on the couch.
It's strange to see the common room in broad daylight. It's empty and serene, while the other night at the party it was the opposite. "Why don't I just do the first half of the project and you do the other. That way we don't have to communicate to much." I say coldly. I begin to scribble notes into my notebook. His eyebrow raises. "Who said I didn't want to communicate with you." He says firmly. I stare up from my notebook in confusion. "You aren't exactly friendly, I figured you would prefer to work alone." A brief moment of silence fills the room.
He just stares at me, bereft of any reaction. He breaks the silence. "I want to work with you, Ivy." He says with monotony. I pause momentarily. "Well, fine. We need a layout for the section on herbal essences first." I say confidently. I begin to write a short paragraph explaining herbal essence qualities into my notebook for a diagram when he gently takes the pen out of my hand. "That's wrong, herbal essences don't have those qualities." He says firmly. He begins to write a new paragraph in my notebook.
"I knew that! I was getting to that, smartass!" I say with exasperation. Since when was he such an academic anyways, he doesn't seem to pay much attention to school. "Don't be hostile. Nobody expects you to have caught up with the class after a mere few days." He drawls. I roll my eyes. He hands the pen back to me "Here, you can fill in the rest, I did the summary." He says. "You probably did it wrong." I mutter. I read over the paragraph with annoyance. "I guess it will do." I say with my best efforts to sound nonchalant. The paragraph he wrote was perfect, damn him.
I continue to write on the notebook, a crimson blush staining my cheeks. He smirks. I continue to write profusely. I hear an unfamiliar noise. He laughs roughly. I don't believe it, Zayne is  laughing. The coldest person to ever walk this planet is laughing. I look up from my notebook. "What's so damn funny?" I say with surprise and annoyance. I could be mistaken, but he smiles for a second. "You're just cute when you're flustered." He says. Why is his cold exterior thawing? Why is he kind of smiling?
I roll my eyes. A faint smile creeping over my lips. "Let's just finish up this page." I say. Once we finish up, I gather my things and begin to walk out. He follows behind me. "See you later I guess." I say. "I'm walking you to your dorm." He says assertively. I frown. "There's no need for that. I'm capable of walking myself back, I'm not a child." I protest. His cold and firm tone softens. "I want to." I sigh. "Fine." Zayne takes my books from me, carrying them under his shoulder. I feel the urge to protest that I can carry my own books, but I let it slide because they're extremely heavy. He walks beside me, merely the sound of our footsteps filling the hallway.
We eventually arrive at my dorm. I swiftly take my books from him. "Well, uh thanks." I say hesitantly. He stares down at me, analysing me with that same expressionless look. I look back up at him, nervousness creeping over me. "Well I should go. I have some urgent homework I have to do" I say. He nods. "You do that." He says with unsettling focus on me. I unlock my door. Shuffling inside with my books, closing the door behind me. I drop my books, letting them scatter on the floor. I sit on my bed.
I don't know why I'm feeling anything but hatred for him. For a second, I felt nervous beside him. I always am nervous around him, but that usually stems from fear. It was the other kind of nervous, the kind that you feel drawn to. The kind of nervous that makes you want to know someone's insides like your own. This is ridiculous, he's still his arrogant and terrifying self.
I don't know why I'm overanalysing this. I get up from my bed and exhale deeply. I sit by the window and start on my homework assignments. Suddenly Raven storms in. She is holding a gigantic plastic bag. "Is that a body bag you have there?" I ask. "I love your sense of humour, but now is not the time. We have serious matters to attend to." She says firmly. I raise an eyebrow. "Oh? Enlighten me, please." I say distractedly as I write in my notebook. Raven sits down on her bed, dropping the bag down tiredly beside her."Now is not the time for homework. We need to get ready for tonight." She says as she pulls out a cigarette from her pocket.
She lights the cigarette and inhales from it gratefully. "I didn't realise this ball was so important, I assumed I could just show up in a nice skirt or something." I say. She exhales and shakes her head. "Oh no, this school loves to do fancy shit. The dress code is black tie." My eyes widen. "Not to worry, I bought a dress for you. It's next to the corpse in my body bag." She says jokingly. "Thanks Raven, you didn't have to do that." I say gratefully. "Don't even think of it, now have a look. I want to see it on you." She says. I get up from my perch at the window. I unzip the bag to see two dresses. "The red one below it is mine, the black one is all yours. You like?" She says. I smile as I hold it out in front of me. It's a long strapless gown with black lace detailing all over. "It's beautiful." I pause. "But it's not exactly fairy attire."
"We're supposed to be bright and happy." I say. She shakes her head. "I know your not really into all of that flowery shit. Wear it, you'll look hot." She says insistently. I sigh. "My mom would definitely not approve, she always says she won't be caught dead in black." I say. I stare down at the beautiful dress longingly. She's right, all of the bright floral clothing I own isn't exactly what I'm drawn to. I much prefer dark clothing. But my Mother always was against it. "Well I don't see your Mom anywhere." She says jokingly. I smile at her. "Your right. I love it, and I'm wearing it." I say excitedly.
"Let's get ready then. Cain will be here in an hour, clocks ticking!" Raven says as she ushers me to the bathroom. I stop suddenly. "Wait. What about you? Who are you going with?" I ask. "Oh, I'm flying solo tonight." She says. I frown. "What about Christian. Can't you two just go as friends?" I ask with confusion. She exhales, blowing a cloud of smoke from her cigarette. "He's going with some girl. He's desperate to get laid tonight." She says with a laugh. "I'm sure it's not to late to ask someone." I say encouragingly. She shakes her head. "Nah. Tom the evil ex doesn't take it well when I go out with other guys." She says as she bites her lip. "I'll be fine, now go get that dress on!" She says, A big smile plastering her face. I walk into the bathroom hesitantly and she attempts to shut the door, but I hold it open. "That's ridiculous, Tom has no right to control you! Come with Cain and I." I say unrelentingly. "Your tenacity is cute. But really I'll be fine, I'm happy to go by myself." She says cheerfully. I hesitate. "You sure?" I say. "God, yes! Now get the dress on!" She insists. I sigh in defeat. I begin to shut the door. Her smile fading as the door closes over.