SERAPHINA'S POV
Mr. Jermaine and Artemis chatter like long lost friends while we move closer to the classes and like the third wheel only tagging along, I walk behind them both silently.
I had been excited for the assessment but now I'm dreading it, having to walk round school and be ignored by the both of them. The fact that Artemis is here also means that I can't behave however I want to either.
But of course, I have a plan.
Even if Artemis bullies me into shutting up with his threats, my case isn't something that could be so easily hidden. The whole school literally hates me and that hatred is too evident to ignore.
It'll only take just a few seconds and the truth would be out. Mr. Jermaine might dislike me but he won't be able to ignore the facts staring back at him.
Once the Alpha king finds out, it would be over for each and every one of them.
"What class do you have now?" Mr. Jermaine suddenly stops to ask me, finally having interest in his actual duty for today.
I look up at the two finally noticing me and a small smile forms on my lips because it's just the perfect class for this whole charade to fall apart.
"Sparring actually."
From the very first day, it's been my worst class.
Students were given the opportunity to toss me around like a used rag, and I had no choice but to take it over and over again.
I'm sure that if he watched for only a minute, he would see just how terrible it is here.
We waste no time moving to the gym hall.
I change into my sporting clothes and get into class right before we're grouped and I spot the two men from afar, closely observing as the class goes on.
Coach blows her whistle as always and I face my usual partner, the bitch that doesn't hold her punches back, the perfect tool for my demonstration.
I brace myself for her usual body slam attack that always follows immediately after the whistle is blown, closing my eyes.
A second and then two passes, and I realize I'm still standing.
"Uhm, Coach?" My partner calls to the coach while the other teams brawl. "I don't think Seraphina looks so good." She points out from nowhere.
I look at her, dumbfounded and confused.
Eyes from other groups turn to me suddenly.
"Yeah, she does look a little pale." Another girl comments, staring me down with what almost looks like genuine curiosity.
Hell no, she's the one that body slammed me into the wall last time.
"Seraphina... are you sure you're okay? You know we told you don't need to partake in the fights, you know you're a lot weaker than most of us." My partner coos now, like fucking talking to me like I'm some precious baby under her care.
What the absolute fuck is going on right now?
Where's has that bottomless hatred that I've felt from you in the past two weeks gone?!
Coach finally looks over to me with her usual scowl, staring all over my form.
That's right, even if everyone else has lost their minds, Coach is still coach; she'll blow her whistle and order us to fight and I'll get beaten just like always.
I wait patiently for her order, barely holding my smirk back.
"You're right, she does look a little pale and skinny."
"What?" My jaw drops, almost dislodging from my face and dropping to the floor. "B-but I need to fight- You always make me fight!"
"Take the class as a free period, Miss Hawthrone." She orders immediately, blowing her whistle.
Everyone seems fucking fine with it and immediately goes back to sparring, my partner automatically finding someone else to spar with her.
I'm left speechless and confused, my head turning to the two men observing closely.
Jermaine notes everything he's witnessed down in his book and Artemis, fucking Artemis, smirks at me like the bastard that he is, and that's when it finally hits me.
He planned this.
And somehow, he got the whole school to join in on his ploy to deceive the representative and control the narrative he has on my life here. How he had figured all this out and planned it perfectly is beyond me.
I can only stand and watch as the class goes on while everyone practices.
Eventually, the bell rigs and I go to change, stuck in a daze by what's happening around me. No one glares or makes snarky comments about my dressing in the past 20 minutes, and I'm losing my shit.
I step into the busy hallway and I'm greeted by warm smiles passed to me by everyone. A guy I've never spoken to before waves at me with a wink.
It's like I've wound up in some alternate universe where they actually like me.
"Oh my gosh, I love your shirt, Seraphina!"
I turn around and the same group of girls that giggled at the thought of me getting expelled hours earlier, giggle and squeal at the sight of my denim jacket that's lost its color years ago.
I'm too stunned to respond as they walk right by me, talking about how much they love vintage.
"My, my, looks like you're living quite the dream, Miss Hawthrone."
Mr. Jermaine emerges from behind me right next to Artemis, taking down more things in his note pad. I shake my head, realizing that he's gotten it all wrong; my life here has been nothing but a nightmare.
"No, you don't understand." I say in the heat of the moment, feeling my own sanity crumbling as well, but the swift change in Artemis' eyes shuts me up immediately.
I don't even dare to reveal a bit of the truth, or it's over for me.
My chest feels tight and heavy, and my vision slowly blurs from tears.
"Uhm, may I be excused? I'd like to use the girl's room." I say, not wanting either of them to see me vulnerable and wanting to get as far from Artemis and his fucking cruel scheme as possible.
Jermaine sighs tiredly, snapping his book shut to look at me.
"Fine, but don't waste my time. I want to be out of here sooner."
I nod, turning away to leave while they both fall into a conversation.
I walk slowly, counting each of my steps as the distance between us grows until I turn a corner where they can't see me, and then I run.
I run through the hallway as fast as my human legs can carry me, feeling the tears in my eyes welling up more than normal.
The overwhelming pressure in my chest chokes me more than it does on the usual days, so I run as fast and far as I can until I'm breathing so hard and the pain from my pounding chest supersedes the emotional one.
Then I fall onto my butt right beside the stairwell and cry my eyes out.
I cry until I can't anymore, until my ducts are incapable of making more tears, until I feel only numbness inside me.
I never thought it would hurt this much.
It's one thing to experience something so horrible and another for someone to just so easily invalidate every one of my experiences. And now, everyone is acting like I matter for only a few hours for their own selfish reasons.
I sob and sniffle, rubbing my nose and wallowing in the depths of self-hate, most especially hate towards Artemis.
How could someone so evil have so much power?
Footsteps behind me suddenly approach, and I quickly wipe my tears and the snot running down my nose, not wanting to be caught crying and add more to my pathetic image.
Whoever it is doesn't walk by like I hope. Instead, they stop right beside me by the stairwell, not bothering to stand in front of me and I'm grateful for it.
"You okay?"
A deep gentle voice echoes from behind me, taking me off guard for a moment.
I didn't expect whoever it is to speak or ask if I am okay. But then, I remember that its pretend-you-like-the-human-day, so yeah, of course this person would pretend to be bothered.
"It's nothing" I respond after clearing my throat.
I wait for a second and he doesn't leave, just standing behind me.
"Doesn't sound like nothing though." He says again.
I scoff, already annoyed.
"Look, can you just leave? It's none of your business. You don't have to pretend when the supervisor isn't here. You're wasting your energy."
"Supervisor?" He asks suddenly, almost sounding like he genuinely doesn't know what I'm talking about.
Nice try, Artemis. How much did you pay this one for his acting to be so good?
"Yeah, so save you ass-kissing for when he actually is here."
"I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're talking about. I was supposed to meet with a supervisor today with someone, but when I asked, he told me that it had been postponed." He continues speaking, explaining himself and I can't help but linger on how deep and soothing his voice sounds.
I can't see him, but I can already guess that he's a looker.
"None of that means anything to me. Go away." I say, finally fed up with whoever he is being here.
He remains silent for a while, not saying shit but staring at me. I can feel his eyes on the back of my head, just drilling a hole into it before I hear movement.
A hand suddenly pops up right beside my shoulder. Large fine hands accompanied with a hint of his musky scent and a handkerchief in his hands.
"Here."
"Is this poison with some kind of powder that makes my skin explode with hives?" I ask cautiously.
He breaks into a laugh, deep soothing laughter that vibrates in his chest and sounds the least bit fabricated. I almost believe it, almost tempted to look back and meet whoever he is, but I don't.
Not after Gabe.
"I swear, it's not poisoned."
I hesitate before I take it eventually, wiping my tears from my eyes.
"You're welcome."
"I didn't thank you."
"I don't mind."
He chuckles a little before turning to leave. I wait until I don't hear his feet shuffling on the floors before I turn around and he really isn't here again, just a residue of his scent lingering in the air.
I look back down at the piece of clothing with the initials of his name written in bright gold print in my hands.
L.A
Something about that guy, whoever he is, feels surreal and somehow, I feel better than I did before the water works began.
I crawl out of my hiding spot now, dusting the back of my pants and deciding to head back to where they were.
Running away from them won't change what I have to do, will it?
On the way back, however, I spot Artemis.
The moment our eyes meet, he charges up to me with a deep-set frown and covers the distance between the both of us inhumanely fast.
"Where have you been?" He snarls, holding onto my arm.
"You're hurting me." I glare, but his grip only tightens.
"We had a deal, remember? You behave your fucking ass and things end well for you. Are you trying to act out right now and fuck this up for me?" His words are as hard and cold as his eyes, and I struggle until I finally pry his hands away from me, stepping back.
"I said that hurts, Artemis." I say more firmly.
Although I'm scared, I feel more confident staring him down. Stubborn green eyes against those harsh blues.
"Don't you dare talk back to m-" He immediately pauses, looking at me as though I've suddenly sprouted a weird looking growth on top of my head.
And there's an immediate silence between us.
"What?" I ask, taken aback by the sudden change in his expression. From being frightening to something else.
He doesn't bother answering, picking my chin up so he can easily assess my face clearly.
He does it for a while, suddenly brushing the skin of my face with lighter strokes than earlier and a pained expression on his face, before he finally speaks.
"You were crying." He points out the obvious. "Who did it? Who made you cry?"