Zein's Point of View
Was saying I love him to justify why I was still holding on to him enough? Should I really be fighting for a love that everyone around us was against? Where exactly was this love going to take us? These were the questions I still had no answers to.
Supremo and I were in the library, likely the safest place for us to be together without being seen. It honestly felt like we were hiding from the entire world. I was pretending to read because Supremo's gaze was making me uneasy. He was literally just staring at me.
"Come on... darling, look at me."
And him calling me "darling" was killing me. I used to hate endearments. I found them gross and too much. But now I couldn't even explain the feeling I got every time I'd hear it from him. Yeah, that one word. My gaze stayed fixed on the book I was holding, even though I couldn't understand a single word. What did he even want? For us to just stare at each other until later?
"Zein?"
"Please... stop." I pouted.
He chuckled and grew quiet for a few seconds. I thought he'd fallen asleep. But then he started to sing the first lines of "If You're Not the One" by Daniel Bedingfield, and I completely lost it. His deep, mellow voice sent goosebumps crawling over my skin. I looked up, meeting his soft, dreamy eyes. He smiled, realizing he had my full attention, and continued singing. I didn't even know he could sing this well.
A strong jolt of electricity shot through me the moment he took my hand. He intertwined our fingers without once looking away from my eyes. I thought I had already fallen for him, but I realized... I'm still falling. Deep. So deep. I had no idea how to get back up. Why are you making this so hard for me, Ace? I thought, each word of the song landing heavy on my chest.
I gasped as he pulled my chair closer, turning me to face him directly as he continued to sing. His voice grew even deeper, and for a moment, it felt like he could freeze time. The noise around us seemed to fade away until all I could hear was his voice and my own heartbeat. He reached out to touch my cheek and wiped away a tear that I didn't even realize had fallen, then he moved his face closer until our foreheads touched.
I felt his warmth. His breath. The glint in his eyes seemed to plead with me to fight for us. He sang on, the lyrics echoing his own emotions, as though confessing that he didn't want to stay away from me. That he was struggling to understand how we couldn't be together when his heart said the opposite. Goosebumps ran all over me again, and I couldn't help but hug him, burying my face into his shoulder. I swatted his arm, frustrated that with every passing minute, I loved him more and more, and I had no idea why.
I should be hating you, so why do I love you even more now?
He held me closer as he softly ran his fingers through my hair. "Darling, I want to scream..." He said it so softly, but every word was crystal clear. I knew what he was talking about, and I was ready to stop him. I didn't want this to end just yet.
"I hope you can stop me because I don't think I can hold it back anymore. I want to scream to everyone how I feel about you. But you don't want that, do you? You'll get mad at me."
Ace, what's going to happen to us? I'm so confused. Is it right for me to choose you? What about everything you've worked for? Even if you don't tell me, I know you've grown to care about them too. "Supremo, I wish I could fight for you. If only it were that easy."
"What a scene."
I quickly pulled away from Supremo's embrace. Fear took over me when I saw Roxane standing there with her arms crossed, smirking. Luckily, there was no one else in the library right now, just the librarian who couldn't care less anyway.
"You again? Just be thankful you're still alive," Supremo said flatly, his attention still fixed on our hands, which were still locked together.
"Oh well, Supremo. That was probably the biggest mistake of your life. You should have finished me off," Roxane replied.
But seconds later, she froze in place. She gulped, visibly terrified... while looking at Supremo. I turned to him and saw him casually twirling a knife around his finger, treating it as if it were just a harmless toy. I couldn't be mistaken. That was exactly like the knife he gave me, a dragon engraved on its handle staring with one eye glowing red.
"Th-that's the symbol of—"
"I will count..."
Roxane stepped back, trembling.
"One..."
She moved back another step and bumped into a glass vase, which shattered and created a momentarily deafening noise.
"Two..."
Roxane collapsed to the floor and scrambled to crawl out of the library. I was left there stunned, unable to believe what just happened. "Darling, let's eat?" I turned to Supremo, now smiling at me, the knife he had been holding earlier nowhere in sight. A sudden, unexplainable fear stirred inside me.
After we ate, it was time for my class. "Zein, tomorrow, okay?" Supremo reminded me. I knitted my brows, acting like I didn't know what he was talking about. "What's happening tomorrow?"
"Oh, come on. You can't fool me, Zein."
I laughed. "All right. But don't expect a gift."
There weren't any malls here to buy gifts, and I didn't have any money anyway. I was just relying on the free stuff provided by this university. Now that I think about it, I didn't even know what he liked. Even if I did plan on giving him a gift, I wouldn't know what to get.
"I want you. Only you, Zein."
I turned my back to hide the blush spreading across my face. "I-I have to go to class."
"I am dead serious, Zein. Everything is worthless without you. I want to dance with you in front of everyone. That's one of my dreams, and I hope it comes true."
I walked away from him without looking back. If I had, I would've gone with him. It was unfair how I forgot everything whenever I was with him. Not just unfair, but risky too. With a smile on my face, I walked to my next class... until someone pulled me back. Nicky.
"Let me go!" I protested, yanking my arm away from her. A gasp left my lips when she pressed a nail against my neck. "Don't make this hard for both of us. Just come with me," she threatened. I could feel her wrath. Again. Every time our paths crossed, her hatred for me seemed to get deeper and deeper. This had probably something to do with Supremo again.
She took me to the woods. I honestly thought the woods held more secrets than Hell University itself. All the secret meetings happened here—secrets that couldn't be mentioned inside. Nicky shoved me against a tree, glaring at me intensely. My lips parted slightly when my back hit the trunk.
"What are you guys going to do to her?" asked a newcomer wearing a red mask. Raze? No. The fake Raze.
"She can't attend Supremo's birthday," Nazzer said.
I wanted to curse and scream in frustration. Were they really opposed to me being at Supremo's birthday? That was all he wanted. For me to be there. "Why are you guys doing this?!" I screamed.
"There's no space for love in this hell," Nicky said through gritted teeth. "It's just a poison. It'll slowly weaken you until you die."
"Poison?" I let out a small, mocking laugh. "If this is truly poison, then when are you two going to die?" I asked both her and Nazzer. Something was definitely going on between Nicky and Nazzer. Something similar to what Supremo and I had. They just knew how to do it well. In silence.
"Well, sad to say, it is not love, my dear." Nicky smirked. I looked at Nazzer, who was looking at Nicky, then found myself smiling. Really, huh?
"We need to hide her," Nazzer suggested, changing the subject. "Hide her somewhere Supremo can't find her."
"No, please," I pleaded, fear consuming me.
"You can't do this," Raze countered. "You will upset Supremo."
Nicky quickly pointed a nail at Raze, who turned pale. No doubt that he really wasn't Raze. The real Raze Silvenia wouldn't get easily intimidated. "We aren't asking for your opinion," Nicky whispered to him. Raze had no choice but to bite his tongue.
"Why don't you want me to go to Supremo's birthday?"
"You just can't," Nazzer replied. He lit a cigarette and took a drag, looking frustrated. "Supremo is planning something that we need to stop."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
I stepped back and leaned back against the tree when a few people in black masks arrived and roughly bound my hands behind me. I tried to struggle, but I couldn't do anything. I looked at Raze, but he just looked away. Coward.
"Don't be harsh on her," someone said. Seeing that it was Matt lifted my spirit. "Why do you even have to get in Supremo's way? Can you really go against him?"
My eyes widened when Nicky lunged a nail in Matt's direction. Matt just tilted his neck, and the nail flew right past him, leaving me speechless. I wasn't aware that Matt had such quick reflexes. "As long as you do not mess up our plan, Zein will remain safe," Nazzer said coldly.
Matt was my only hope, but he just looked at me. "I won't stop you. Just make sure you don't hurt her," Matt said with a hint of a threat.
"A-aren't you going to help me?" I asked.
"Your safety is my priority, Zein." He walked over to me and touched my bound hands behind my back. "Is it too tight? I can ask them to loosen the tie."
I shook my head. "I'm not hurt. Just let me go. Please help me, Matt."
"The only way I can guarantee your safety is if you do not attend his birthday."
"You too?" I replied, disappointment clear in my voice. He sighed and looked down. Then he turned around and walked away.
I winced when Nicky pricked my shoulder with something. Seconds later, the world spun. Nazzer caught me just before I collapsed. Please let me meet him on his birthday. That is all he asked. Nothing more.