My Words Are Law

Games of fate (3)

All she wanted was to go home. What did she do to deserve this kind of treatment? And coming from someone, she sincerely felt worried for. Her wet and shivering body was proof of that, and this is how he repays her?

Is she so insignificant in his eyes that he can't even bother to put aside his unjustified resentment?

She sniffed, sneezing once before shivering again.

It wasn't that she was expecting a gift in kind, but couldn't he be a little concerned for her, even if it's fake?

She bit her lips to keep her sobs in check as she rubbed her eyes to conceal the tears that were beginning to spill. Breathing in, she stood up, folded the towel, and left the unit after retrieving her bag.

She had worse days... She can handle this. 

The next time they saw each other, Chryses reverted to his usual smiling self. Offering her empty apologies and an expensive gift that she didn't bother to look at.

It's frightening how he goes from being evil personified to becoming an angel in the blink of an eye. Just like how Monday had passed, and it was finally dreadful Tuesday again.

Immediately after Mr. Rowland's class ended, Chryses led her to a quiet corner with an unreadable face. She'd been wondering about his stares ever since the class started but thought he was just bored and was looking at her for entertainment.

It turns out it was because of something like this.

While wiping her dripping nose, she shook her head at him. "͎T͎͎h͎͎e͎͎r͎͎e͎'͎s͎ ͎n͎͎o͎ ͎n͎͎e͎͎e͎͎d͎ ͎t͎͎o͎ a͎͎p͎͎o͎͎l͎͎o͎͎g͎͎i͎͎z͎͎e͎ ͎t͎͎o͎ ͎s͎͎t͎͎r͎a͎͎n͎͎g͎͎e͎͎r͎͎s͎."

She then pushed back the outstretched hand holding the gift, careful not to touch his skin. "There's no need for this, too, but thank you for trying to be thoughtful... ͎L͎͎e͎͎t͎'͎s͎ ͎n͎͎o͎͎t͎ ͎b͎͎o͎͎t͎͎h͎͎e͎͎r͎ ͎e͎a͎͎c͎͎h͎ ͎o͎͎t͎͎h͎͎e͎͎r͎ ͎e͎͎x͎͎c͎͎e͎͎p͎͎t͎ ͎f͎͎o͎͎r͎ ͎t͎͎h͎͎e͎ ͎n͎͎e͎͎c͎͎e͎͎s͎͎s͎a͎͎r͎͎y͎ ͎t͎͎h͎͎i͎͎n͎͎g͎͎s͎." She gave him an empty smile and circled around him to go to her next class, ignoring the stares and whispers around her.

Sensing the jealous gazes on her, however, she realized she'd uttered the words late today.

Late or not, at least she can relax now.

Amaryllis let her guard down for a bit, and someone immediately took the chance to tug on her arm and pull her to the side.

"What was that all about?" It was Mia.

"Ugh... Not you, too." Amaryllis was too exhausted to explain things. Not to mention she isn't feeling well. Her head is pounding incessantly, and the painkiller isn't helping at all.

"Me, too- what? This isn't about me but you- or rather, about the two of you... Something clearly happened..." And it's definitely something fishy... Mia narrowed her eyes at the dark-haired girl before thinking with a scheming smirk. And rest assured, I'll find out about it.

Amaryllis groaned at the increasing pain in her temple. That smirk is bad news. Help me, God.

Both girls were occupied and didn't notice a group of students coming their way until it was too late. The force struck both sides, but Amaryllis and Mia suffered most of the impact.

Especially the delicate Mia, who was about to tumble down with a yelp if not for Amaryllis' fast reflexes. She knew her friend had never been athletic enough to be able to stand her ground even with the slightest bump, so she'd always looked out for her in times like this. Thankfully, Tobias is also very reliable and is mostly the one who takes care of her.

Save for a few special occasions.

"Look at where you're goi-!" The male student quickly came to a halt as soon as he turned to look at them. "What the fuck..?" He muttered under his breath, his face twisting incomprehensively.

Indeed. Fuck.

Amaryllis screwed her eyes shut for a second to send a silent prayer when she noticed the male's colossal physique and the threatening group of friends who were staring at them behind him. 

"I'm sorry... We'll be careful next ti-" Amaryllis started but was interrupted abruptly.

"Uhgh- No. It's nothing. No harm done." The unexpected response and the scurrying footsteps bewildered both Amaryllis and Mia.

"Tell me I wasn't being too judgmental."

Amaryllis nodded. "You weren't..." She thought they were a goner for a moment there. Thankfully, they didn't live up to their thug-like looks...

She should have felt relieved, but a chill ran down her spine instead. The urge to look behind her was so strong that she ignored her instincts and ended up meeting eye-to-eye with Chryses Taylor.

He was still standing at the spot where she left him, staring at her unnervingly. Amidst the busy hallway, the two of them were the only ones at a standstill.

Why is he staring-

"Chrysesss!" A wailing voice ripped through the space as a male student rushed past Amaryllis to the person he was calling for. "My savior! I'm glad you're back! Have you done your homework? Please help me just this once, please~."

Oh...

She blinked as she quickly shifted her gaze to Mia, who was speaking. He wasn't looking at her.

"...People, particularly guys, have been avoiding me lately..."

Amaryllis raised a brow. What was that..? Guys? Avoiding sweet little Mia? She shook her head. "You're imagining things." Just like how she imagined things a while back. He wasn't looking at her but at the person behind her. She sighed in relief.

Mia frowned. "You think?"

Amaryllis nodded as she cleared her mind of Chryses. "C'mon. Let's go to class."

Mia gazed at her friend suspiciously before glancing at where Amaryllis was staring a while ago.

It was Chryses. And he was staring at her friend with a frighteningly heavy expression. Oh my... So mysterious.

She then caught sight of another familiar face. Samantha... She doesn't look as interested in Chryses as before. And she wasn't as bad as she thought at first. In fact, she felt a bit guilty for dissuading Amaryllis from making acquaintance with the woman. She smiled meaningfully, showing the dimples in her cheeks as an idea popped up.

She definitely isn't doing this to satisfy her curiosity. It was only because she was worried about her friend. Yes, most definitely...

***