"Bye, bye darling, I will catch up with you in the evening." Bella said with a wink. "Don't go running around chasing other girls." And then she started running away down the hallway like an embarrassed girl.
Alex eyed Bella like he was seeing a ghost. The girl was acting so well and so perfectly that he felt he was looking at someone who was nothing more than a mirage of pure artifice. Despite how her cheeks had turned pink as she ran away leaving him standing at the doorway of Class 1-S, Alex knew it was all an act. She was performing like all the attention in the hallway had genuinely flustered her, when in truth she was completely unfazed by everyone watching, doing all of this simply to look like a girl who had fallen head over heels for him.
Even Thalia, who was standing beside him and Lara with her arms crossed, seemed on the verge of throwing up whatever she had eaten that morning at the sight of her older sister acting so cutesy toward Alex. On the other hand, Lara seemed too shocked to even react at all.
"What is going on between you two?" Thalia said in an icy voice, her white eyes that almost matched her older sister's except without any of the warmth in them.
"I don't know," Alex replied, and started walking toward the class without giving Thalia any specific answer. He did not particularly like Thalia and the way she acted all high and mighty in front of him, especially given how she had originally behaved like a girl who idolized him and wanted to be his friend, only to turn into something completely opposite after seeing he was level 1.
Just as Alex stepped through the door, someone immediately grabbed him by the collar before he could even register what was happening. He was yanked up into the air and shoved toward the wall, his back slamming hard against it.
"Bastard, because of you I did not get into S class." A thunderous voice rang out, and when Alex looked at the source, it belonged to a young man who was not particularly remarkable in appearance. He had medium length black hair that reached his neck and was scattered haphazardly behind his ears, with a few strands falling loose across his face. His black eyes were filled with anger, his lips curled into a smirk in seeing Alex struggling, and he had a medium build that looked strong and powerful enough to make Alex feel very small at the moment.
"Who are you?" Alex asked, trying to pry the boy's hand loose from where it had closed around his throat, his voice coming out in a broken, strangled chorus.
"Hah?" The boy looked momentarily flustered, his eyes darkening. "You punk, you took my seat and you don't even know who I am."
"Let go of me," Alex shouted, his voice cracking at a harsh pitch from how tightly his neck was being gripped. He started hammering at the boy's hand as his throat tightened and the air began to thin around him.
Instead of loosening, the grip tightened even further. The boy brought his other hand up in front of Alex's face and curled it into a fist.
Alex began kicking his legs, trying to land at least a single blow somewhere on the boy's body, but his attempts were completely futile.
The boy smirked with gleeful satisfaction and let out a low laugh that bordered more on beast than human, drawing his fist slightly back before hurling it forward with a force that made the very air shudder around it.
At the last moment, Alex squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the impact, but just before the fist could connect, the temperature beside him seemed to drop sharply, and a shadow fell across his face. When he opened his eyes, Lara appeared at his side and intercepted the blow entirely.
"What do you think you are doing, Nack?" Lara's voice was sharp with anger. "Do you have any idea what the consequences are for assaulting a fellow student inside the academy?"
"Tsk." Nack clicked his tongue and moved his eyes to and fro between Alex and Lara. And, with great reluctance Nack released Alex's hold.
Thud.
Alex dropped immediately to the floor, his body landing with a heavy impact making him winced in pain.
"You better get yourself ready to pay for stealing my position," Nack snapped, bending forward slightly, and Alex threw his hands up in front of him to shield himself from any further attack. But Nack only drove his foot furiously into the floor, and with one last burning glare at Alex he turned and stormed out of the class, shouldering past Lara who had been standing in front of the door.
Lara extended her right hand and Alex took it, pulling himself to his feet. "Thank you, Lara," he said, genuinely grateful, brushing down his pants and smoothing out his clothes before straightening his collar.
"Alex, be careful around Nack," Lara said, and there was a real concern in her voice that was not difficult to miss.
Alex paused and looked at her properly. She truly did look worried for him, her green eyes darkening to a deeper shade for a second or two before settling again.
Alex nodded, thanked her once more, and turned to face the classroom. The benches were lined up in long rows, each successive row raised a step higher than the one before it, and for a brief moment the air seemed to leave his lungs entirely.
Every student had stopped talking. They were all looking at him with a mild and studied curiosity, having turned in their seats to gaze back at him like they were quietly sizing him up. Some looked simply curious, while others wore small smirks on their lips, clearly having enjoyed the spectacle that had just unfolded at the door.
Then Alex's eyes stopped at Lucian.
Alex felt someone was gripping his heart tightly and squeezing it up.
Lucian was seated in the last row beside the window, leaning back in his chair with his arms draped lazily over the backrest, and he was looking back at Alex, though his gaze carried something closer to disdain than curiosity like others, as if the sight of Alex's weakness had genuinely offended him. A quiet tsk escaped from Lucian's lips, and then he turned his face toward the window and stared outside, as though the mere act of looking at Alex had been enough to ruin his mood entirely.
"Alex, is everything okay?" A feminine voice pulled Alex out of his thoughts. He turned to find Lara with worry written plainly across her face. "You were frozen there like a statue. What happened?"
"Huh, nothing." Alex lied.
***
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