It's Hard to Breathe

The Other Class

Gisela was introduced to the other class, who was made up of Grady Ruewen, Edaline Miracmueller (Everyone called her Edaline Mira.), Elwin Heslege, Livvy Crystall, Quinlin Sonden, Kenric Fathdon, Oralie Asher, Emery Sapphire, Alina Leadress, Caprise something-or-other, Trix Redek, Harem Vacker, Della Chrysanthemum, Kesler Dizznee, and triplets Errol, Leto, and Astin Forkle.

As Gisela sat down in Math class, she felt the same smoking glance on the back of her neck once more. She turned around, prepared to slap Fintan, but he was diagonally across from her. 

Upon seeing Gisela glaring venomously at him, he smirked.

She shot him the Evil Eye, then turned around and went right back to the lesson. Throughout the whole blasted thing, Fintan watched her.

Same for the next three periods.

At lunch, she had more than enough.

Making a point to sit next to him along with Vespera, Brant, Gethen, Ruy, Circ, and Alvar, she smoothed her napkin and dropped her voice.

"Why do you keep watching me, Fintan?" She demanded in an ice-like voice.

"Hmm?" Fintan asked innocently, playing with his silverware and trying to ignore Gisela.

"Don't play dumb. I can see right through it." Gisela hissed with fury.

"I know you were watching me throughout our whole bloody morning." She added evilly.

"Oh, I am not allowed to watch you at all?" Fintan sassed back, still moving his fork around on his tray. Every word that came out of his mouth when he asked that was coated in sarcasm.

"You aren't when it's super creepy." She snapped back.

"Is it? And why would it be creepy?" Fintan wondered out loud, his words dripping with sarcasm yet again.

"Yes it is, you manaical twit." Gisela snarled venomously.

"Do you really want me to answer that last question?" She added with a threatening air.

"Sure, bring it on", he responded with a mock challenge.

"You are an egotistical rat, and you don't deserve to go to this school. Repeatedly staring at someone for four bloody hours means you have a dang problem." She sneered heatedly at him with an air of superiority.

"Keep it up, girl. You're just adding to my list of reasons to watch you." He replied, smirking.

"I will say this once and once only. If you don't stop your blasted staring at me, Fintan Pyren, I will use any means necessary of getting you to stop. Even if it means changing schools or getting the principal involved."

Fintan gave a dry, humorless chuckle that was devoid of mirth and showed he found nothing funny.

"You really think you can dangle that over my head?" He scoffed.

"I know I can, Pyren." Gisela shot back.

"I know things (I'm very observant), and you just want to add me to your 'collection' for some darned reason. I know the way you eye me all the time. I'm not some dumb, blonde prize to be won by anyone. Do you understand me?" She demanded with authority.

"Huh." Fintan snorted with contempt and the slightest hint of interest.

"Unsettlingly accurate, except for the 'collection' thing. I have never 'collected' any girls. I generally don't have any interest in the fairer gender." He stated.

"But then why do you keep looking at me everywhere?" Gisela hissed with venom.

"Because you're different." He admitted, with no trace of sarcasm.

"You don't act all cracked up. Why do you think that you and Vespera are the only girls who I sit with?" He asked.

"Vespera keeps her nose in a book all the time." Gisela retorted.

"There's nothing different about me. And no other girl has tried to sit with you, Pyren. Now I see why."

With that, Gisela made a move to get up, but a hand snatched her wrist, encircling her in their iron grip.

"Oh, no, you don't, Gisela." Fintan hissed, addressing her by her name for the first time.

"You sat down at my table. Now you stay at my table for the rest of the year. This is our lunch 'seating arrangement'. Deal with it or get yelled at by the teacher in front of everyone."

"Are you kidding me?" Gisela asked, incredulous.

"No way, girl." Fintan said smugly.

"Okay, fine. I'll stay with you guys. But stop calling me 'girl', Pyren. Call me by my name."

Okay, Gisela," Fintan said mockingly.

"You're still stuck with us."

"I know." She sighed, fed up with this annoying guy.

"So, you're stuck next to me the entire year." He added, looking unbearably smug.

Gisela opened her mouth to tell him off, but was interrupted.

"Time for your next class!" The teacher called from the opposite end of the lunchroom, saving Fintan from losing his head or a limb.

Gisela stood up, and dumped her leftover lunch unceremoniously into the trash. As she started up the stairs, she heard a masculine voice mutter something in her ear.

"This might be a fun year after all."

Fintan.