Baxter drops the pendant like it’s burnt him and steps away quickly. Turning his back on me he leaves, calling over his shoulder, “The next time you want information from me, it’ll cost you.”
What the actual fuck?
The bell rings for assembly but I decide to skip it in favour of doing some research in the library. It proves fruitless though. All I find is an old death announcement that some woman died during childbirth. I dismiss it as nonsense and decide that Baxter must be fucking with me.
The bell rings again, and I head off to my first period class. When I get there I’m surprised to see Kalen standing outside, swinging my bag back and forth on his outstretched hand.
“Didn’t see you in assembly.”
“Something came up,” I say, evasively. Kalen frowns and his gaze scans my body. When he sees that I’m unharmed, his eyes darken with desire and I swallow nervously. I need to get to class. Being around Kalen is not good for my health or my panties.
I snatch the bag from his hand and duck through the door, quickly selecting a seat in the front row. There’s very few seats left, but at least I’m not late. The final bell rings and Kalen ducks into the class and slips into the free seat beside me.
“What are you doing?” I hiss.
“Escorting.”
“Congratulations, you’ve succeeded. You’ve successfully escorted me to my location. Now leave.”
“Not that kind of escort, sis.” He winks at me and I groan.
“Mr Knox!” Our interaction has drawn the attention of the teacher, whom I don’t recognise. My heart pangs when I think she might be Sawyer’s replacement. “You are not on the register for this class!”
“Surely there's been some sort of mistake, Mrs…?”
“Evans,” she replies in a no-nonsense tone. Good. Maybe she’ll be able to get Kalen under control.
“And it’s Miss, not Mrs, thank you.”
Maybe not. Internally, I groan. Kalen’s eyes land on mine and he must easily read my expression because his face lights up in challenge.
“That’s a shame,MissEvans. I bet there are plenty of guys desperate to put a ring on it.”
Ugh. I can’t believe he’s flirting with the teacher to wangle his way into staying! Worse, the teacher flushes and bats hereyelashes at him! Gag. It’s disgusting. Unwittingly I think of Sawyer...that wasnotthe same, I tell myself stubbornly.
I tune back in to the Kalen/Cougar exchange and discover she’s already moved on. Somehow Kalen’s managed to finagle his way into staying! He shoots me a victorious, smug grin, and I kick him. It makes me feel better when he winces.
And so it continues, all day Kalen follows me to class, and stays. And every single time he finds a way to get away with it. Sometimes he flirts, threatens or bribes the teachers to turn a blind eye. Other times he simply ignores them until they give up and get on with teaching the lesson. He stalks me at lunch, fetching my food and sitting with me and Elsie, driving me to distraction humming and tapping. I just about reach breaking point by the time my final class of the day rolls around. Music.
I sigh.
Why the hell I have music with Slate now is beyond me; we’re not even in the same year group. The one small saving grace is that Kalen doesn’t show up, obviously trusting his brother to watch over me. It’s not quite heaven, but it’s a small respite I’ll take while I can.
I enter the room and take a seat as far away from Slate as I can. That was pointless. As soon as class starts, the teacher puts us into pairs and assigns us a duet to work on this week. Yep, I’m paired with Slate. Fuck my life, I can’t catch a break. I’m fairly certain it’s pointless to ask for a different partner, but I try anyway. She shoots me down in flames, gushing over how amazing we were together at the winter concert and how pleased she is that I elected to swap to music. Like I had a choice. I don’t correct her and burst her bubble by telling her that I didn’t opt for this.
Sighing, I take my new seat beside Slate.
“Do I at least get to pick the song?” I ask wearily.
“Nope.” He gives me a sympathetic smile. “The teacher already picked.”
“Great. What have we got?”
“Flashlight.” I stare blankly at him. “You know, the Jessie J song?” I blink. He sighs. “From the film, Pitch Perfect 2?”
“Nope. I got nothing.”
He groans and rests his head on the desk.
