The Girl in the Boys' Dorms

Chapter Twenty-Six: Theories should be limited to science class.

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The Girl in the Boys' Dorms - Chapter Twenty-Six: Theories should be limited to science class.

It was snowing by the time I worked up the courage to leave the girls' building and return to my schedule. I'd missed first period AP Chemistry, and the two classes that followed afterward, solely because once Mrs. Turner had stated her observation of my twisted existence, she had proceeded to make a fairly convincing argument to explain her reasoning. And because I was an idiot who didn't know when to concede to save my own sanity, I had sat and listened to her, disregarding her points outright.

But now the truth of her words was ringing in my ears, deafening me.

Out of habit, I raised a hand to my neck, my fingers trembling as they closed around the minuscule pendant that rested in the hollow of my throat. The cold bit at my skin as I pinched my collar away, too preoccupied with the oddly warm charm in my grip to care that snowflakes were clinging to my clothes and hair, melting and marking wet spots on my uniform. I didn't look at it, and I didn't feel the need to, the image of the necklace was branded into my brain; the most delicate of crystal roses, the size of the tip of my pinky finger, smooth but studded with tiny rhinestones around the rim.

And Chase had given it to me. His presence seemed to be stamped onto it, like if I squeezed it hard enough in my palm, I would feel his hand in mine. Chase Gold had given it to me, without hesitation, without demanding anything in return.

And why? That I didn't know. I'd never worked up the courage to ask him. It wasn't easy, after all, to just confront someone about their motives behind giving a gift - and especially when that someone was Chase. I didn't know how much he'd spent on it, and I had never given it a second thought. I'd just accepted it from him, assuming it to be something like a... like a peace offering.

I was an idiot.

I paused outside of the entrance to the main school building, where I knew people would be bustling to their fourth periods, chatting with each other in the halls, going about their lives like I hadn't just had an earth-shattering revelation.

The wind was picking up, tearing at the exposed skin of my legs, which were bare under the hem of my skirt. My hair whipped around my face, tangling into itself, slapping at my already stinging and reddened cheeks. It was freezing, unbearable even, but I couldn't urge my feet to walk through the door; I stood, instead, with one hand grasping at the handle, and the other curled around the jewelry at my throat.

I didn't know how much time passed before someone came bursting out into the chill with me. Chase tumbled through the door, a blur of unzipped backpack and windswept textbooks and unbuttoned blazer. His brows were furrowed in frustration when I glanced over at him, and when I didn't utter a word, his lips drew into a murderous scowl.

"What the hell are you doing out here, Bailey?" He screeched into the already loud whirring of the wind. "Are you trying to get buried in a blizzard?"

When I didn't respond - whether out of embarrassment, or because I was still in shock, I didn't know - Chase seized me by the upper arm. His grip was rough, painful almost, as his nails dug into my flesh, but the warmth that spread through me at his touch was undeniable. He shoved me through the door that he had propped open, still grumbling obscenities under his breath once we were inside.

The hallway was empty now, save for those dawdling students who were keen on missing at least the first ten or fifteen minutes of class. I made to rush to Advanced Calculus and Trigonometry, but Chase was quicker than me, and stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.