The thought twisted my guts. To hope for Ava was futile and a waste of my energy. We could fight the Warden together, but we were never gettingbacktogether— not the way we used to be. It had become a major distraction, where I couldn’t even teach the Elves without thinking about her. We’d broken up because we weren’t safe for each other, but holding on to her was just as dangerous. It’d be better for everyone if I just got over her.
And what better way than to throw myself at the first girl who was asking?
I despised the idea, but it felt like my only option.
“No,” I told Scarlet. “I wasn’t expecting anyone. You just surprised me.”
“I surprise a lot of people,” she chuckled. “Mostly with my brains and my brawn. Shall we?”
“Sure.”
Scarlet and I got takeout from the cafeteria— because it wouldn’t be a real date if we actuallyatethere.
“Where are we eating?” she asked.
“Um, I don’t know…” I replied.
“You’re the guy, so you have to surprise me,” she said.
I thought about it, but every location that came to mind reminded me of Ava. The balcony was totally off-limits. I wouldnevertake Scarlet there. But even the most casual locations heldsomesort of memory with Ava— Commissary, the Villain’s Den, the Arboretum. Was thereanywhereon campus that Ava and I hadn’t shared a moment or two together?
“I haven’t been to the Arcanea Illusions room yet,” I suggested. It wasn’t particularly high on my list, considering the illusions were mostly visual, from what I’d heard.
“I can’t, unfortunately,” Scarlet said. “It’s for good behavior only, and I have an infraction on my record this semester.”
“What for?”
Scarlet snickered. “If you want to find out, we can rack up a few infractions of our own.”
Scarlet grabbed my ass, and I scowled.So attractive, I’m sure.
The thing was, I didn’twantScarlet to be attracted to me. I was trying to forget about Ava, to be comfortable in Scarlet’s presence, but I couldn’t help it when my guts twisted whenever she came near. I wanted to hurl at her touch.
But I wanted to give this a chance, too. I knew Scarlet only wanted to use me like I’d been used so many times before, but maybe I could use her, too. Maybe she’d help me forget.
“Maybe not this early in the morning,” I said in a dry tone.
“Fair enough.” Finally, her hand left my ass, and I felt like I could relax.
“What about the room for vampires and succubi?” I suggested. “We could go there.”
“Ew,” she gagged. “With allthoseassholes? No, thank you!”
“Um…” I thought about it a moment longer, but all my good ideas just didn’t feelrightwith Scarlet.
“What about the cemetery?” she practically sang. “I’ve never had adatein the cemetery.”
Lovely. Scarlet wanted to fuck me on someone’s grave in broad daylight. I just wanted to eat my food.
“There’s a cemetery on campus?” I asked. I’d never been there.
“Well, they have to bury dead inmates somewhere,” Scarlet said nonchalantly. “It’s just outside the chapel. Come on.”
Scarlet took my hand, and I followed her. At least the cemetery wouldn’t remind me of Ava, though I thought it wasn’t the best place for a date. Scarlet led me outside, until I heard the clang of metal and the creak of a gate. The air was chilly, and the clouds must’ve been thick overhead, because I couldn’t feel the sunlight on my skin.
“This isperfect,” she said, sounding overly enthused. It was in stark contrast to my grumpy attitude, and wasn’t really helping. If anything, I was just getting more annoyed.
Scarlet led me past the gate surrounding the cemetery. We walked over uneven ground, which really threw me off. I didn’t know where to step to navigate through the graveyard. It was like the graves had just been forgotten. Scarlet dragged me forward, and my shin slammed into something hard.
