The Contract

XIII - Cognoscere

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Matt and I stepped back into English beside each other. A few people lifted their eyebrows in interest, obviously getting the impression that we had been doing something (hadn't we?). Matt smiled embarrassedly and shot me a look which meant he was wishing he had cornered me in the washroom to make out with me (hadn't he?). I tried not to kick him (as he was as of now delirious of what had really happened) and headed to my desk.

I began noticing small things about Matt. . . small, unnerving things that made me see exactly what he was capable of doing. If I had not been cornered in the bathroom by him, I would have still been oblivious to the little nicks in his character which pointed to the unbalanced part of his personality.

Even so, he had this innocent aura around him that made me feel slight pity for the guy. I mean, a demon had just finished toying with his mind. I supposed I could excuse him for a day.

Still, I'd never go to the washroom alone, ever again. I was certain that rape was something Matt could not do, but I had my doubts. Even the most timid person could attack. Even the most strongest could break. Even the steadiest could slip. . .

Anyways, enough with the metaphors. The point was: Matt was unstable.

Speaking of "unstable", Lure had been a little nutty back in the washroom. Why had he acted so. . . frightening? Talk about possessive. It was disturbing, how horrid he had seemed then. Why ever would he call me "his", though? Unless he really believed that I was, indeed, his, for some twisted reason. He, too, frightened me, but not as bad as Matt. . . which was odd, since Matt was a human and Lure. . .? Lure was a psychotic demon with a lust for slaughter.

When he became a human, I wondered if he would be as dark?

Shaking my head to ease my thoughts, I locked gazes with Matt. He was staring at me with those almond eyes of his, intensely; vividly. What was going on in that mind of his? Perhaps he was trying to find ways to. . . catch me alone?

Shivering, I was glad to hear the bell ring. Instantly, I raced out of the room, to my locker, where I would wait for Amanda to come get me. I shoved my binder in the locker, closed it and locked it up, then leaned back against it and sighed, crossing my arms over my chest and staring down the hall in hopes to catch her bouncy blonde hair.

I sighed and closed my eyes—

"Mine."

—only to open them again. Lifting my head, I saw Lure standing across from me, on the other side of the hallway. His entire focus was upon me, directly on me, slitting into me. His casual frame directed at the wall, hands fiddling with a light blue flower that was as pretty as it was delicate. Lure handled it with intense care, almost as if it was something he was fond of.

For a moment, I wondered if it was for me. When he glanced down at it, held one hand over the petals and smirked lightly, the petals curled and turned a faint gray. I decided against it. I hoped it wasn't for me. A dead flower was certainly not a very nice gift.

Maybe from a demon, though, it could be considered sweet.

I raised an eyebrow at this theory.

"Mine," Lure repeated, this time sharper. He sounded almost tired, as if he had recently been deprived of sleep. He didn't look away from the dead flower. His hair guided over his forehead, in front of his eyes, but he wasn't bothered. When he looked up at me through the curtain of hair before his eyes, slightly impatient, I got the vague impression that he wanted me to confirm. Confirm that I was his.

"It's kind of hard to talk to you in the middle of the hallway," I whispered hurriedly, glancing around at the students who passed us who were all unaware of the demon staring at me through wisps of chestnut hair, with eyes like the worst of storms. I was certain that a flower could be seen floating in midair to the students around us.