~ CATHERINE ~
I walked into form class with Christopher, instantly attracting Stephen’s attention. He raised his blond eyebrows at us, a questioning look crossing his stupid face. Kylie was also watching us, or more accurately, she was watching Christopher. Her eyes were locked onto him, seemingly unconcerned that we were heading for our desks at the same time. Though, I was sure her eyebrows would’ve shot up like Stephen’s as soon as Christopher pulled out my chair for me to sit down.
I slipped into the seat, muttering, “I do have hands.”
He inched behind me, taking the seat next to mine. “Are you a feminist?”
“No, why?”
“You seem to object to me opening doors and pulling out chairs, not to mention kissing your hand.”
“I’m not objecting to it; I’m objecting to you doing it. I still don’t like you.” Not entirely true, but he didn’t need to know that.
“I bet you’d suddenly like me if I kissed you.”
“Oi!” Stephen snapped, cutting in. He leaned over his desk, glaring at his cousin. “You’re not kissing her, so back off, arsehole!”
Christopher turned to face Stephen. “What will you do if I don’t?”
“Smash the shit out of you. I told you she’s mine.”
“I’m not yours,” I snapped. “I thought you would’ve figured that out by now, but I guess you need a few more brain cells for that to happen.”
He threw a glare at me, his violet eyes practically glowing. It made me wonder whether he was a Merge too, even more so since he was related to Christopher.
“So, you want my cousin?” he asked, brushing a loose strand of hair off his face. His long blond hair was pulled back by a leather tie, revealing chiselled features.
“No,” I replied, glancing at Christopher, realising the two cousins were unnaturally good-looking. It wasn’t as though I hadn’t noticed before, but finding out what Christopher was... It put their good looks in a new light.
“Didn’t feel like a no when you kissed me,” Christopher said, cutting through my thoughts.
I scowled at him. “You kissed me.”
“While you reciprocated. With tongue.” He waggled his at me, then went right back to smirking, obviously thinking he’d one-upped me. “You also called me beautiful, and if you deny it, you’d be lying.”
I grimaced. “Guess you’re back to being a dickwad.”
“No, just not letting you walk all over me.” He pointed a finger at me. “You like me, so admit it.”
The class went silent as though all the sound had been sucked out by a sonic vacuum. I turned my head, expecting to see Mr. Stanton entering, but instead everyone was watching us. Like Stephen, Kylie also didn’t appear happy, the cow thinking she had a monopoly on all the good-looking guys in the school. While a few other girls also looked annoyed—unlike the boys. They were sniggering under their breaths, one of them telling Christopher what he should do to me. It was Greg, one of Stephen’s rugby buddies, a moron with only a fraction more brain cells than Stephen.
I flicked the sexist pig the finger, then turned back to Christopher. “I don’t like you, so stop getting on my wick or…” I lowered my voice to a whisper, “I won’t meet up with you at lunch.”
He gave me a self-satisfied smirk. “So, you want to have lunch with me?”
“Lower your voice,” I hissed.
He leaned his head towards me. “Are you agreeing to meet me for lunch?”
I glanced around again. Everyone was still listening, not even trying to hide the fact. For once, I wished our teacher was already here, Boss Hogg obviously running late today.
“Ignore them,” Christopher said, “they’re not important, only you are.”
I looked back at him. He was staring at me as though he meant it. No smirk, only a serious expression gracing his beautiful face. He reached out and caressed my cheek. Warmth washed over me, making me sway a little. I leaned my cheek against his hand, forgetting where I was, only concerned with what his touch was doing to me.
“So,” he said, still looking serious. “Can we meet at lunch?”
I nodded, wondering what his warm hand would feel like moving over my body. The thought made my cheeks heat up, Christopher lighting a fire behind them.
“You’re a complete prick,” Stephen snapped.
Christopher removed his hand from my cheek. “Not denying it,” he replied, his eyes moving past me as Mr. Stanton’s voice filled the room.
I continued to look at Christopher, drawing his gaze back to me. He raised an eyebrow in question, snapping me out of my daze. I blinked, not sure what had come over me. It had been so sudden. One second I was rejecting him, the next I was craving his touch. Like in the car, but with his attention instead. I hadn’t wanted to be there, then it was the only place I wanted to be—sitting right next to him, asking questions and flirting like some idiot. I seemed to run hot and cold around him, my reaction never predictable.
Even to me.
I cleared my throat and turned to face the front of the class, now scared to be alone with him, because the way he affected me...
It definitely wasn’t natural.
***
I drummed my fingers nervously, jumping a little in my seat at the sound of the lunch bell. I was in the small art room, where I sometimes went during my sculpture class—a subject Christopher didn’t take. A large table took up most of the space, with chairs framing it. Behind me, off to my right, was a door to the dark room for the photography students.
The other two sculpture students continued with their work, not appearing to have noticed the bell. A mousy-haired boy called Rodney was painting a mould of a dragon, every so often pushing his glasses back up the ridge of his nose. Gloria, a tall redheaded girl at the opposite end of the table, stared at a collection of boxes she’d stuck together as though it was a masterpiece in the making. After a few heartbeats, she nodded her head decisively and brushed a thick stroke of green paint across one of the boxes, as if it would make her disastrous sculpture better.
Totally ignoring my work, a 3D rendition of the New Zealand flag done in boxes, I continued drumming my fingers, growing more and more anxious about having lunch with Christopher. Yeah, I was incredibly attracted to him. Who wouldn’t be? He was drop-dead gorgeous, but... He made me nervous, even a bit scared.
Gloria looked up from her sculpture with a scowl. “Will you stop doing that? Your tapping is driving me insane.”
“Then leave, it’s lunchtime,” I replied, not interested in being nice to her. She was one of Kylie’s friends, a stuck-up cow who thought everyone was beneath her, including Kylie. I couldn’t argue with the last part, but that was only because Gloria was a rat, while Kylie was a flee on a rat.
“Or stay,” I added. “Do whatever you like, I don’t care.”
Although I did.
I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest, my gaze shifting to the main door. The idea of being alone with Christopher was definitely scaring me. And not because I was worried he’d hurt me. I was more concerned that he would kiss me. The memory of his lips on mine returned, of how I’d lost control, kissing him back even harder. But what bothered me more than losing control was all this Merge, angel, demon talk, the unexplained, illogical supernatural side of things. I didn’t want to be connected to all of that weird crap—regardless of whether it was real. It was doing my head in. Which meant I had to cut Christopher out of my life, no matter how hard he was trying to pull me into his.
I pushed out of my seat and grabbed my bag, feeling bad for standing him up, but knowing it was the best thing to do. If I didn’t want the rosary, there was no reason to want him either, because, like the rosary, he was trouble.
I headed out the back way, making sure I didn’t bump into him. I slipped between the students filling the corridor, hurrying down it as fast as I could go. I emerged into the bright light of day, almost wincing at the sun’s intensity. Shielding my eyes, I ran towards the gymnasium, slowing down as I neared it. But instead of hiding behind the large green and cream-coloured building, which was what I’d intended on doing, I continued across the field, not knowing where I was heading—or why.