The Unseen

Chapter 31

CHAPTER 31

I froze. "What do you want?" I said bluntly, my heart skipping a beat and my eyes watering. Was he going to kill me? Here at school? Of course, for him, the sooner the better.

As if reading my mind, he grinned and shook his head. "Not here. We're still going to fight tonight. I just wanted to talk to you about...Hunter." Quinn said his friend's name with extreme hate. I wondered how Hunter could be so oblivious of his best friend's powerful loathing of him.

I frowned, crossing my arms. "Nothing that includes him should concern you, Quinn."

"We're done with the nicknames now, Nik?" he said mockingly, chuckling. "I liked mine so much."

When I didn't answer, Quinn continued. "Like I said, I want to talk about that little date you have planned." His words seethed with distaste. "Why do you like him so much? What does he have more than me? Why are you going on a date with him?"

"You know what, Quinn? I'm sick of you interrogating me. Why are you so obsessed?" I snapped, a sudden burst of anger enveloping me.

Quinn put his finger against his lips, a smile still frozen on his face. "Shh. You're going to make a teacher come out and inspect the halls. They're going to find two students, boy and girl, together. Alone. Then they're going to assume the obvious. Is that what you want, Nik? Just answer my questions."

My hands were balls at my sides. "Fine then, I'll answer," I hissed. "You wonder why I like him more than you? He isn't evil!" At that, pain flashed in Quinn's eyes and his smile crumpled. Bitterly, I liked his reaction. He deserved the pain. After all, it was only half of mine. He was just making everything so much more difficult. I'd had to deal with half of this agony before Quinn. "Why am I going on a date with him? I like him because he's everything you're not! Does that answer everything. Huh, does it?"

He was solid as ice, towering over me, his jade green eyes fixed upon me in deadly concentration. "Not really. I still don't see why. I still don't understand."

For no reason, tears spilled from my eyes. "I'm sorry you don't understand! Do you want to know what I don't understand? I don't know why you can't give up, realize he's so much better than you. Why you can't comprehend that I don't love you and I never will. And you know what I really don't understand?" My voice hardened and I took a step forward. "I don't understand how you can cause someone you love so much pain!"

Quinn was flinching, cowering actually, by this point. His voice broke pitifully when he replied. "I am so sorry, Nikkia. I don't know how. I don't know who I am. I don't know what I can do, how to help, how to be like you; good. I admire you so much, Nikkia. I love you, I really, truly do." Tears slid down his face, too, now.

I shook my head. "No, Quinn. I don't believe it. You make it impossible for me to believe you honestly love me, that you care about me." The words came out as a whisper.

I turned around and was about to walk away, defeated and drained and feeling so much pain, when Quinn grabbed my arm and pulled me around. I was roughly pulled to his chest. Before I had even time to think, his lips met mine, warm yet feeling cold. Then he let go of me. I stumbled back, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, my breathing rough. I hated him. I really did.

"I want more of that. That kiss wasn't the last, Nik. I'll kiss you when you're dead." He walked away as I stood there, shaking. Then he paused, momentarily, as if in thought. His head twisted back towards me. "You keep asking why I'm doing this if I love you...but I thought it would be obvious. You will never love me back, and I know that. So why, why would I want a constant reminder of my abandonment walking past me every day? Why would I want to see you happy with Hunter, when I know you should have been happy with me?"