Bad Blood

Chapter 5

7 days.

There was no uncertainty in the fact that either Dante or I were going to die. It was a big decision for me to make, but not a hard one. Or at least it wasn’t. Luke was right, the more I got to know him better, the harder this decision became. Nevertheless, my curiosity got the better hold of me.

“Are you stalking me?” Dante didn’t even look up from his phone as I leaned on the locker next to his.

“No,” I lied through my teeth.

He heaved a sigh, “Katerina,” My heart couldn’t help but do a flip as he used my first name for the second time ever, “I have football practice.”

And there goes all hope. 

My shoulders sagged, “Oh, yeah. Of course.”

Why the hell do I sound so gloomy? Am I actually starting to genuinely enjoy his company?

“Yeah, sorry,” Dante shoved his phone into his locker, “Maybe some other day.” 

But there is no other day, I resisted the urge to protest out loud.

It was still weird though, him being semi-nice to me and all that. His coldness towards me had seemed to be replaced by a sort of silent and suppressed friendliness - hard to explain really. Though then again, everything about Dante was hard to explain. He was an enigma.

As if on cue, one of his team-mates bounded towards us - Xin Woo Han, I think. 

“Dude, practice is cancelled,” Han took in Dante’s calm demeanour, “Thought you’d be in a rush to come to practice but you know what? Never mind,” He rested his eyes on me, a curious look sparked in his eyes. 

“What?” Dante’s voice came out gruff, “Cancelled? Why?”

“Fucking marching band has nationals,” Han rolled his eyes, “Wanna go chill instead?” 

My gaze shot to Dante’s at his words, mentally pleading for him to not make me lose another valuable day. 

Ignoring my silent pleas, he turned to his team-mate, “With who?”

“Just me, Puck, Sofia and Radisha,” Han’s gaze flitted up to the clock that hung above for a moment.

Dante let out a loud snort, “I think I’ll pass.” 

“Are you sure man?”

“Yeah,” The pale skinned boy waved the other boy off, “Not in a mood to crash a double date,” he muttered.

“Your loss,” Han shrugged before disappearing just as quickly as he came.

A moment of silence passed before Dante turned towards me, “Great,” He sounded slightly exasperated, “I’m stuck with you.”

“Thanks,” I commented sarcastically, “Your words warm my heart.”

A slight grin on Dante’s part, “What do you want anyways?” 

I paused for a second. What do I want? 

“Um…” I hesitated, “To hear you play piano. Properly. Not just like sneak hearing,” I cut him off before he could open his mouth and protest, “Hey, you saw my fan-art so you don’t get a say in this.” 

Dante pursed his lips, “Fine.”

I smiled triumphantly, “Good, now let’s go!”