Alluring Mask

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

My eyes widened as a hand covered my mouth. I couldn't scream because it was so big. A familiar scent penetrated my nose from the large palm covering almost half of my face.

My legs turned to jelly from fear as my heart pounded so fast it felt like it would burst out of my chest. He quickly grabbed my arm and pushed me against the door, slamming it shut with a soft click as he locked it. He finally removed his hand from my mouth, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"W-who are you?" I asked nervously, my voice trembling as I looked up at him.

Towering over me, his shadow seemed to loom larger than life. Fear and dread filled my chest. I replayed all the wrong things I'd done, wondering why this was happening to me.

What if they ordered him to kill me? But who would do that? I haven't done anything wrong, so why would someone want to kill me? And besides, I haven't wronged anyone—

My thoughts were interrupted when something soft touched my lips. It was gentle, but it lingered for a few seconds before I realized what had happened.

Despite feeling weak, I pushed the person who kissed me away with all my might. I raised my hand and slapped their face as hard as I could. Even in the darkness, I guessed where their face was—the important thing was that I slapped them.

"Bastard!" I spat out, my voice trembling.

I wasn't satisfied with just slapping them, so I raised my leg and kicked him in the groin area. I heard he let out a small whimper, but I ignored it and quickly turned around, opening the door to escape the bathroom.

That pervert! Someone who doesn't even know me just literally kissed me!? He still kissed me, even with how I look!? My eyes started to water as I thought about it. I ran as fast as I could away from the bathroom, trying to hold back my tears.

First, a stranger hugged me, and now this! I know I'm not pretty, so I don't deserve this kind of treatment. I'm sure other people would say I should be grateful that someone even paid attention to me, given how I look, but I'm still a woman.

I was about to turn into the hallway towards the exit of our graduation venue when I bumped into Ei.

"Ei."

"Sarah! I've been looking for you. It seems like you went to a different bathroom—"

We both stopped and said each other's names at the same time. I saw her eyebrows furrow as she looked at me.

I couldn't wipe the tears from my cheeks, so I just let them fall. There was no point in lying anymore because she could already see how upset I was.

"What happened? Why are you crying?" Ei asked worriedly, taking my arm.

She pulled me to the side because we were blocking the way for other people. Some people were staring at us. My heart raced even faster because of their judging looks.

Did my makeup smudge? Am I ugly again?

"U-um... in the b-bathroom..." I stammered, unsure if I should continue or not.

Her frown deepened. The expression on her face changed to worry, and her hand that was on my arm went down to my hand and held it tightly.

"Tell me, what happened? What's wrong?" she asked again.

I felt speechless. She pulled my hand, and we went to the bathroom, where I was kissed earlier.

"Ei, don't—"

My eyes widened when she suddenly kicked the closed door.

"Ei! The door, you might've broken it," I peeked at the door to check if it was okay.