Devil on the Rooftop [Book 1]

Chapter 50 - Khaleel

I must be out of my goddamn mind. I had to be, to openly flirt with someone my friend liked. What the hell was I thinking asking her if she was his girlfriend? What the hell was that going to change? The short answer was; nothing. I had to back off, if not for her sake then for my own. Thankfully, Arisa refused to answer my question. I tried my best not to fill in the blanks. I tried to forget how Loyal showed up in the hallway and took her back into the guest room. I had to stop myself from thinking about what they did inside. It pissed me off too much, to the point where I found myself feeling her up on the curb side.

Cory, the driver pulled up to Jackheights and parked in front of the building. I got out and walked around to open the door for Arisa. She was still looking at me with those scared and uncertain eyes. It was fucking annoying to say the least. We strolled into school together, attracting more attention than usual. I changed my pace to stay behind her and surveillance the area to make sure no one made any sudden movements. Past the main foyer, we caught Hino by the stairway doors. He was still sporting the arm sling, but that was the only injury he had to his name. He hadn't gotten a single scratch on him last night. Typical.

Arisa stopped to say hello. "You're looking a lot better," she smiled at him. I couldn't help but scoff in irritation—why the hell was she sweet and giddy with Hino but down right sour with me?

"You too," Hino replied.

She beamed with gratitude before turning to the girl next to him. I had seen her around before but had never bothered with a greeting. "Hi, I'm Arisa."

"Laya," she answered, shaking her hand. I was not in the mood to watch anyone exchange pleasantries. I urged Arisa to climb the staircase with an elbow nudge. She straight up ignored me and asked Laya how she knew Hino. Who the fuck cared? You would think she learned her lesson not to pry into our affairs after yesterday, but here she was, curious and committed. She was forcing me to listen to this Saya-Daya chick talk about playing co-ed soccer with Hino in middle school. Again, who the fuck cared? Hino caught onto my impatience and offered to accompany us to class. Arisa finally said goodbye and climbed the stairs with him. I swallowed my irritation once again. It wasn't up to me to dictate how she spent her time—I just had to make sure no one kidnapped her again. That's it. That's all. To hell with everything else.

Upstairs, Hino, Arisa, and I entered the classroom together and got comfortable in our assigned seats. More eyes followed us, including a couple of people I didn't recognize. Arisa seemed to know them though. I watched the suspicious pair whisper to each other, their feet ready to move in our direction. If they went to Jackheights then they should know better than to come over and add to my foul mood. Arisa, however, couldn't give two shits about what I wanted. She waved at the pair to come say hi.

Hesitation consumed them as my angry gaze leered in their direction, but Arisa was quick to leave her desk, and bring them over.

"Are you sure it's okay?" I heard the girl ask.

"Of course it is," Arisa replied.

"Did you stretch out your uniform or something?" the boy asked, keeping his voice low. They were trying not to irk me but the more they whispered the louder their voices carried.

Arisa laughed. "Good eye, Krish."

"I didn't even notice," the girl gasped.

Krish rolled up Arisa's baggy sleeves to tease her. "You're drowning in this blazer!"

When his elbow shifted and grazed her chest, I kicked the legs of my table in protest. "Hey!" I yelled, scaring Krish into stepping away. I knew it wasn't intentional but that didn't fucking excuse him. No one should be getting touchy feely with my...my what? My fucking task. The entire classroom stilled—it became so quiet, I could hear a paperclip drop. All eyes landed on me, wide, curious, and terrified. Hino assessed the situation from the sidelines, making no commentary or apologies on my behalf.

"Bore someone else with your fucking conversation," I glared at her friends.

"S-Sorry," they said in sync.

Arisa guided them away. "Let's talk over here," she said, while shooting me the dirtiest look.

Hino raised his brow at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he rebutted, his eyes implying something else. God, I hated how well he could read others. Sometimes, it felt like Loyal wasn't the only one who could hear lies. I wasn't in the mood to explain myself, so I simply ignored him. I took out my phone and checked my missed messages. There were a couple of texts from Loyal I hadn't addresses yet.

'Zander and I are dealing with Carter,' it read. 'Keep Arisa away from the rooftop during lunch.'

'You got it,' I replied indifferently.