Chapter 4 Four

CHAPTER FOUR

clutched my chest and stopped walking, staring at the ground in hopes of containing whatever was inside me. The intensity was worse than ever,

I

and I wished I'd never come to this university. At home, I'd had a true haven where I could be alone for hours and not worry about someone living next door.

The hum vibrated under my skin, and the ground began trembling underneath me.

Holy shit. Was I causing an earthquake? Surely not. "Hey, are you okay?" someone asked, startling me.

My emotions flared higher, and the ground moved under my feet, toppling me over.

"Whoa," the guy said, and a hand grasped my arm.

Instead of hitting the ground, I was tugged into the side of some random guy. That was enough to take my focus away from my internal turmoil. This guy wasn't nearly as muscular as Raffe, and when I looked at his face, my thoughts didn't scatter.

Bright-emerald eyes stared back at me from under spiky, dark-blond hair. The guy dropped his hand and bit his thin bottom lip. "Sorry, I didn't mean to manhandle you. It looked like you were going to fall."

Fall? He hadn't felt the ground shake or move? Thank fuck. My anxiety lessened, reducing the energy in my blood to a fizzle. "No, it's fine. I was dizzy. Thanks for helping me."

He was the second handsome guy to offer me assistance in less than twenty-four hours. What was it with all the men here resembling models? This guy had the whole Ken doll vibe going on but with a mysterious edge that made him damn alluring.

He continued to examine me, which made me feel as if I were under a microscope. My skin crawled, and my heart skipped a beat.

I needed to be on my way to class. Unsure what else to say, I took a step forward, but the guy stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

Something weird washed over me, like curiosity and determination- emotions that were definitely not mine, which meant they were his, and my blood was dangerously close to humming again. Though I never understood how, I could sometimes read other people's emotions. "I'm going to be late." I tried to pivot around him, but he blocked me again.

He went for my hand then paused. "I'm not trying to make you late, but I want to make sure you're okay. You looked upset before you stumbled."

I blew out a breath, and the tension in my shoulders eased. "My roommate isn't thrilled about rooming with me." I shrugged, playing it off like it was no big deal.

"Ah." He frowned. "Well, it hasn't been long. I'm sure she'll change her mind."

Mom had told me similar things over the years, but the more time a person spent around me, the less they wanted to do with me.

"Not likely. She was on the phone with the housing administrator." Why was I spilling my guts to him? I rubbed the spot in my chest that felt like a gaping void.

"That's her loss, then."

I snorted and tilted my head, expecting to see a condescending expression, but Nice Guy's face was lined with concern.

His eyebrows rose. "What? You don't agree?"

"No." Wait. I wasn't sure how to answer that. "Yes?"

"You're not sure?" He smiled, and a dimple appeared in his right cheek, adding to his good looks. "Well, I do. I can already tell you're good people." He tapped his head.

Could he be strange like me? My stomach fluttered. "Like a buzzing or something?"

He laughed. "Or something. But someone selfish or who didn't care wouldn't be upset about their roommate not liking them."

Oh. Right. That made more sense, but my body sagged. "Maybe I'm upset for purely selfish reasons. You don't know." People assuming things about others caused a lot of problems in this world. "Anyway, thanks for the assist, but I need to head to class."

This time, when I turned and marched away, Nice Guy didn't stop me. For some reason, a knot of disappointment twisted hard within me-which was ridiculous. I would've been annoyed if he'd delayed me again.

I took my phone from my jeans pocket and pulled up the campus map. Science classes were held in the Howling Building, across the road from the apartments.

I strode in that direction, noticing a ton of students loitering around. Back at my old school, the classes got fuller as the day went on, but this was a totally different sort of place.

When I opened the thick wooden back door to the building, someone behind me bumped into me. My sneakers squeaked on the shiny vinyl floor as I caught my balance. The person didn't bother apologizing as he hurried to the second set of doors ten feet in front of us.

Jerk.

I took the staircase on the right to the third floor. My classroom was the first one on the right.

I entered the room, relieved to find that it looked like a normal college classroom. I wasn't sure what I'd expected. Something similar to Hogwarts, old and fancy, like I'd seen on television? The lackluster tan walls and desk seats seemed typical and not intimidating.

There were open seats in the front and the middle of the classroom. The early risers had gotten their choice of the back-row seating, but that was fine with me. I picked a front-row seat to ensure I maintained focus. I needed to be engaged, take notes, and ace this class if I wanted a chance of getting accepted into vet school the first time I applied.

A few students nodded at me, but I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to scare them away with my pointless rambling.

As I slid into the seat, I heard a familiar chuckle and glanced up. Nice Guy.

He grinned as he strolled toward me, and I blinked as he sat in the seat next to mine. I hadn't expected to see him again so soon.

"If this doesn't prove we're meant to get to know each other, I don't know what would."

I wasn't sure what to say, but one thing was certain, I didn't want anyone to think I was weird. "You don't have to sit next to me." I flinched. I hadn't meant to be rude, but he was a talker and observant. I didn't want to ramble or, worse, have my blood do its funny stuff and make him think I was weird.

His lips mashed together. "Is that your way of asking me to move?"

Great. Now, I was the asshole. "No, sorry." I lifted my hands. "I meant don't feel obligated to sit next to me. You know I'm having a bad day and

..." How the hell did I even finish that sentence? I sounded like a fucking loser.

He unzipped his navy backpack and pulled out a binder. "The chance to sit next to a gorgeous woman will make microbiology easier to bear, even if she's playing hard to get."

My face flamed. "Oh, I'm not playing." The last thing I wanted him to think was that I was manipulating him. After being the target of so many kids, I deplored games like that.

"You're not interested." He leaned his head back and groaned. "You have a boyfriend, don't you?"

My eyes widened. I'd never had a boyfriend. No one had ever talked to me more than they had to, let alone tried to kiss me. "No boyfriend, but ... I'm here for the education." I snatched a purple pen from my bag, needing a moment to collect myself.

I straightened, and then Nice Guy beamed.

He winked. "So I do have a chance. It might just take some effort. I can handle that."

I remained silent, my brain scrambling for something to say. A handsome guy was flirting with me, and I had no idea how to respond. Even though I wanted to make friends, dating someone was more than I was ready for. That would cause strong emotions, and I couldn't risk it. "How about being friends?"

"Fine." He held out his hand. "Since we're friends, we should know each other's name. I'm Slade."

Names. That wasn't too personal. "Skylar." I shook his hand. That was when the professor decided to glide in.

He began class, jumping right into microbes and cell structure, and I finally felt normal as I listened and took notes, the crazy past twenty-four hours slipping from my mind.

I STUFFED my notebook and pen into my bag, ready to search for my next class.

"Where are you off to now?" Slade asked as he packed up his stuff.

"Economics." I zipped up my backpack and tossed it over my shoulder. "It's in the Evergreen Building."

He stood and bowed slightly. "Well then, follow me."

I tilted my head. "I can find it on my own, but thanks. You don't need to be late for your next class."

"Okay. See you soon, Skylar." His words sounded like a promise.

I bit the inside of my cheek, creating just enough pain to prevent a stupid grin from spreading across my face. Slade was nice, and something about him was comforting. He didn't look at me strangely, despite how we'd met ... unlike Raffe, Keith, and Adam from yesterday.

Glancing at my phone map, I located the Evergreen Building and headed down the stairs. Luckily, the building was next door, so I didn't have a long walk.

My class was on the first floor. Even more students were out, and I got stuck behind a group as I made my way to the room at the far end of the hall.

As soon as I walked through the door, awareness prickled at the base of my neck. My traitorous gaze landed on Raffe, who sat lazily in the back row of the class. His attention was already on me, and when our eyes met, his softened. A few guys sat next to him, and a girl sat in front of him with her body turned toward him, but he wasn't talking to any of them.

I hurriedly took the open seat in the front of the middle row, feeling the intensity of his gaze on me the entire way. If I didn't have my back to him, I'd gawk at him during class. I was thankful he'd sat in the back; it would've been way too obvious if I turned around to stare at him. This would prevent me from doing something embarrassing ... I hoped.

"Raffe, did you hear what I said?" the girl asked.

The image of her was burned into my mind, her long blonde hair waving down her back and her tight black shirt highlighting her slim frame. Thankfully, I'd seen her only from behind. I bet if I'd seen her face, I'd be even more jealous.

"No," he replied curtly, the same tone he'd used with me.

"Oh, I said-"

"I'm not interested," he replied. "I already have plans with my friends after the game."

I placed my hands on the cool desk to keep facing forward. For whatever reason, the tugging had started up again, bringing with it the urge to change seats to get closer to him. This was fucking ridiculous, but at least his jerk comment made sense now. It had to be some kind of act. But why?

"The whole football team is invited." The girl laughed a little too loudly. "It's the cheerleaders and the football players. Your friends can come."

"Yeah, man," a guy near him said. "The rest of the football team are your friends too. You should come hang out with us."

I stared at the whiteboard in the front of the room, a slight smile forming on my lips. I already knew how he'd react to that pressure.

"We already made plans," Raffe replied.

A friendly face entered the classroom, and my chest relaxed marginally. "Fancy meeting you here." Slade strolled to the open seat next to me

and paused. Mirth danced in his eyes. "May I sit here, or will you tell me to move like last time?"

Laughter bubbled in my throat. "In fairness, I didn't tell you that you couldn't last class."

He pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead as he settled into the seat next to me. "You kinda did, but at least I came prepared, even though you did snub me again about walking together."

I leaned my head back and giggled ... and froze. I hadn't done that since ... hell, I couldn't remember ever feeling this lighthearted, not even with my parents.

"Hey, I'm just giving you a hard time. I thought you were having fun." He touched my arm. "I didn't mean-"

A growling noise came from behind us, and the tugging in my chest yanked. I glanced over my shoulder. Raffe's nostrils were flared, and his eyes were glowing. His glare was on Slade, who had followed my gaze.

Slade's demeanor changed as he dropped his hand, the easy go-with- the-flow attitude slipping into a hardened sneer.

Clearly, they had some history between the two of them, and I hated that I wanted to know every single detail. I'd bet the problem was Raffe, but something inside me didn't want to listen to rationale.

I had to stop dwelling on him.

"You two don't like each other?" I couldn't help but ask. I forced my eyes to look away from Raffe and focus on Slade. Even then, they wanted to go back to him.

"That's a nice way of putting it." Slade turned back to me, and his friendly expression returned, though his eyes weren't as bright. "Let's just say the Wrights and their ... followers don't necessarily get along with the rest of the university students."

"Someone said the same thing at the bookstore." I clutched my pen, not as eager for economics class as I had been for microbiology.

Slade groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Of course you've already had a run-in with them."

"Yeah, but they also helped me, so I can't criticize them too much." I bit my bottom lip, wondering why I was defending them. They'd done more for me than anyone at my previous school would've done if I'd been scared and in danger.

His brows furrowed, and I swore he was about to ask a question, but class started.

I tried to pay attention, but my spine tingled the entire time. I sensed Raffe staring at me. The notion was foolish, especially since I was in front of him and directly in line with the whiteboard. Besides that, he'd made it clear he had no interest in talking to me, so the last thing he'd be doing was watching me. But that didn't keep me from being keenly aware of his proximity, and I had to fight the urge to steal glances at him over my shoulder.

At one point, I pressed my purple pen down too hard and broke the tip out of mere frustration.

When the professor wrapped up the class, I tossed my things into my bag and hurried out the door.

"Skylar!" Slade called after me, but I was already marching down the hallway.

Outside, I had no idea where I was heading. I didn't want to go back to the apartment in case Lucy was there, and I didn't have another class today.

I marched to my car, needing to get away from here, even for just a few hours.

I was nearly at my car when a large, rough hand grabbed my arm and turned me around. A scream strangled me as I came face to face with a clearly annoyed Raffe.

His chest heaved, and he rasped, "What the fuck is it with you attracting danger?"