The Prophecy Of The Black Day

Chapter 21

After supper that day, Selene reported to the kitchen for her punishment. When she got there, Benjamin was already waiting for her. He avoided her eyes and didn't say a word to her.

The kitchen staff showed them the dirty dishes they had to wash. Luckily, two other people got punished for hooking up in the Common Room so they didn't have to do as much work as they'd initially thought.

Selene handed Benjamin the gloves but he still refused to look at her. She felt so terrible.

She didn't speak until when the other campers who were in disgrace were on the other end of the room.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I was unprofessional and childish." She said quietly.

He stiffened which was the only way she knew he had heard her. He didn't reply. He kept scrubbing the dishes like she hadn't spoken.

She held his gloved hands and bit her lip when he eventually looked at her. His eyes were tired and sad.

"I'm really really sorry. It's all my fault and you shouldn't even be doing this since I'm the reason we didn't turn in our entry. I spent the day working on last week's piece like I should have. I'm so sorry." She said.

He didn't respond for a while. Selene saw her reflection in his golden eyes, hoping he'd accept her apology.

"It's so hard to stay mad at you," Benjamin said finally. He gave her a sexy half-smile.

"So you forgive me?" She asked.

"There's nothing to forgive. I'm just curious. Why? What did I ever do to make you so angry?" He asked.

"Well. It's stupid." She wasn't exactly willing to say it out loud.

"You've never acted like that before. You're so nice. I kept trying to figure out what I'd done to make the sweetest girl in the world hate me." He said.

"I'm not the sweetest girl in the world. I certainly wasn't very nice to you last week. It's just...I heard you said some...unflattering things about me. Like how you didn't like me...." She said weakly. She didn't mention the part of her being confused after kissing him. That wasn't important.

She glanced at him but his face was still blank.

"Not that you should be forced to like me or anything. You don't have to like me. I guess it hurt my ego." She shrugged.

"Why would you even think that? Have I ever made you feel like I didn't like you?" Benjamin asked.

"I dunno. Do you even like anybody?" She said feeling exasperated.

He chuckled. She'd never heard him chuckle before.

"You're so cute. If only you knew. We're friends, Selene. Aren't we?" He asked.

"We are? You've never acted like we were." She frowned at him.

"An error in my ways." He smiled sardonically.

"Aren't you a tad bit curious to know who told me?" She asked him.

"I'm more concerned about how easy it was for you to believe what someone else said. Would you believe if someone said Didi hates you?" Benjamin asked.

"Of course not! Didi doesn't hate people. She either likes you or she doesn't care." Selene said.

"You've only known her for a few weeks and you can argue this vehemently. I've known you for seven years and it was easy for you to believe I hate you." He said.

"It isn't so hard to believe though. You haven't been...I dunno...nice to me." She said.

"I haven't been mean either. I told you about my dad. I've never told anyone before and I told you even without you asking. Why would I tell you if I hate you?" He said.