Chapter 5 Five

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the school grounds as Selene wandered the campus, her eyes searching for a familiar hooded figure, just as out of reach.

Her feet carried her to the storage room where she had first truly spoken with him. Selene hesitated at the door, her hand hovering over the handle. Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open.

Lucas sat in his usual spot, his eyes closed in what appeared to be a deep sleep. Selene crept closer, mesmerized by the rare sight of his unguarded face. Without his fierce expression, he looked almost peaceful. Her eyes traced the strong line of his jaw, the curve of his lips, the dark fan of his eyelashes against his cheeks.

Before she realized what she was doing, Selene's hand reached out, drawn by an inexplicable urge to touch him. In a flash, Lucas's eyes snapped open, his fingers wrapping around her wrist with lightning speed.

"What are you doing?" His voice was low, dangerous.

Selene jerked back, her cheeks flaming. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

Lucas's grip tightened, pulling her closer. Their faces were inches apart, and Selene could see the internal struggle raging behind his eyes. "Why are you here?" he demanded.

"I wanted to thank you properly," Selene managed, her heart racing. "For helping me,"

"I don't need your gratitude," Lucas growled, releasing her abruptly and turning away.

Selene rubbed her wrist, watching as Lucas's shoulders tensed. She couldn't see the battle raging within him – the primal desire warring against his iron control. Every fiber of his being screamed to claim her, to lose himself in her intoxicating scent. But he resisted.

"I know you don't need it," Selene said softly. "But I wanted to give it anyway. And... I brought lunch. I thought maybe we could eat together?"

Lucas turned back, his expression a mix of confusion and something deeper, more vulnerable. Selene held out the neatly wrapped bento boxes, a shy smile on her face. "I made it myself," she added. "I hope it's okay."

For a long moment, Lucas said nothing. Then, almost imperceptibly, he nodded.

Selene's face lit up with a radiant smile – the same smile that had been haunting Lucas's dreams. It was a smile that soothed the restlessness within him, a balm to the constant rage that simmered beneath his skin.

As Selene settled beside him, carefully laying out their meal, Lucas allowed himself to truly look at her. The sunlight streaming through the dusty window caught in her hair, creating a halo effect that made her appear almost ethereal. Her movements were graceful, precise, and he found himself captivated by the simple act of her preparing their lunch.

"Eat up," Selene said, offering him a pair of chopsticks.

"Okay," Lucas replied, his voice softer than usual.

..............................................

"Let me go!" Selene was struggling from the tight grip of the boy on her.

She was in the middle of the cafeteria, and she felt like a monkey on display for people to see.

There were girls in the back laughing and snickering. It was not hard to assume that they planned this.

"Come on, sweetheart. I'll make sure you'll have fun," The man smiled wantonly and pulled her closer.

Suddenly a loud crash sounded in the whole cafeteria.

Selene was very shocked and when she recovered, she only saw Lucas's back rushing towards the man who was now sprawled on the floor.

"Lucas!"

She called him panicking as saw him attacking the man. The whole place became chaotic, and she could hear screams around her. The mean girls were now frightened too and the gang of the beaten men went to his backing, but Selene could only see the image of men being tossed and crashed towards the table.

Everything escalated so fast that she could not keep up and could only scream.

"Lucas!!"

.

.

.

Lucas attacked the man and was out of control. There was nothing in his mind and sight but red.

Red and violence.

His body moved to grab the man on the floor in his collar and gave him a heavy punch. Punch after punch non-stop until he saw red and smelled the scent of blood.

He felt many hands landing on his body but with a sway of his hand and kick of his feet, all of them went flying.

Smashing, kicking, and punching. The cafeteria was filled with screams and the sound of broken glass, but Lucas could not hear a thing. He was in a complete rampage.

And he was still not satisfied. He went back to the perpetrator. Now lying on the floor oozing with his own blood, a young man with a scorching gaze and aura continued to approach.

With clenched hands with blood on it, he approached him expressionlessly, planning to continue his brutal attack.

But a sudden scent assailed his system. Suddenly, his nerves relaxed and his clenched heart loosened. He felt soft arms wrapped around his waist and a warm body pressed in his.

In an instant, his whole being calmed down. The thirst and crave for violence and blood were swept away and his senses came back.

When he came back to his thoughts, what first entered his eyes were his hands covered in blood. He raised them up and stared blankly.

The situation before him dumbfounded him more, as he saw a few bodies sprawled on the floor and the cafeteria was in havoc.

And again, he saw those eyes. The people around him gave him the look as if seeing a monster.

Judging and pointing fingers at him, they stared at him with fear and disdain.

Selene felt the body she hugged loosened and calmed down. This gave her a sigh of relief. Her heart was still beating as she recalled the scary scene she witnessed just now.

The man she saw was not like Lucas, it was like darkness incarnate.

But Selene could not bear to see him in a wreck. She feared he would really kill the man and be in big trouble. So she braced herself and threw herself at him to stop him. Luckily, he really calmed down.

"Lucas," she whispered as she loosened her hold of him and went to face him. She saw his blank and bewildered expression. She pursed her lips and held his hands.

When suddenly they heard a screech.

"Murderer! Quick call someone!"

Selene quickly turned to the direction of the voice. It was Megan's group. They were staring horrifyingly at Lucas and were trembling while crunched together.

It was then she remembered the people in the cafeteria.

She looked around and she heard gasps and screams as people pointed at them.

"Call the teacher!" Someone from the crowd exclaimed.

"No, call the police!" Others countered.

They started pointing fingers and spouted disdainful words at Lucas once again.

"No, stop!" Selene tried to stop them but her words were drowned by the blaming and howling voices of the people.

Selene slowly backed up and held Lucas's hands.

Lucas was just looking at everything blankly when he felt a warm hand grab his hand.

Selene looked at Lucas and pulled him for a run. She did not know how she pulled a large, tall yet dazed man out of the cafeteria, but she quickly slipped away from the people.

Lucas only saw a small and petite back in front of him, but he didn't why, he saw brilliance and light in her.

Her hair was flowing with the wind and her fragrance attacked his nostrils more, and slowly took root in his system.

There was something about her he could not explain, something that wakes up and lights a fire within him.

.

.

.

Selene caught her breath as she made a stop when they arrived outside and at the back of the school. She brought Lucas somewhere near the stairs and checked on him.

She saw that aside from his bloody hands, there were no other injuries on him. She once again sighed in relief.

"Sit down, I'll help you clean and aid your wound." Selene lifted her eyes to look at Lucas.

His dark eyes bore on to hers as he stared for a while, before obediently sitting down and leaned on the wall behind them.

Selene kneeled beside Lucas and dropped her bag. She opened it and shuffled inside. She took out her handkerchief, water bottle, and her first-aid kit that she brought along.

She poured water on the handkerchief and gently cleaned Lucas's wound.

Lucas only stared at her face, which was as smooth as a peeled egg and with no blemishes. Her eyelashes were long, and her rosy lips were pursed. She had a sorrowful expression on her face.

"I'm sorry.." she whispered with her head down.

"You got in trouble because of me."

Lucas heard her soft voice, and he was woken up from his thoughts. He stared deeply at her.

"It was not your fault." He said with a hoarse voice.

Selene raised her gaze and looked at him.

"You did not need to do all that.." Her words trailed off as she did not know how to continue.

How to say, you did not have to beat him on the verge of death.

Lucas saw her hesitance and knew what she meant. He remembered what he did a while ago.

And he knew he almost killed that man.

But what's weird is he didn't know how it happened nor remembered. It was as if he felt something burning inside him and he blanked. The next time he regained his senses, what welcomed him was a beaten and bloody man.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry." He can't help but say.

"I don't know but I lost control. You must've been terrified." He responded with a drained voice.

Selene studied his face and saw his repentance and melancholic expression. She pursed her lips.

"No. I knew you did it to help me, so I want to say thank you as well." She said quietly and gratefully. Although she was truly frightened, a feeling deep within her whispers he was her knight and shining armor back there.

Lucas looked at her eyes and Selene felt his scorching gaze. This made her cheeks warm, so she lowered her eyes and continued attending to his wounds.

She put medicine in cotton and gently applied them. She did it in both hands. Then she bandaged them properly.

As she was doing this, she can't help but say:

"Although you might be in trouble because of what happened."

Just as she finished her words, they heard the school speaker announce.

"Lucas Smith, come to the Dean's office right now. Again, Lucas Smith, come to the Dean's office right now."

Selene and Lucas looked at each other.

"Well, I certainly would." Lucas answered Selene playfully.

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