During practice, Aiden throws me grins every chance he gets. My cheeks flame at the attention he draws towards me.
Even the girls on the track team — who rarely talk to me — nudge me a few times. They were never mean to me, but they never bothered with me before either.
Once practice is over, I linger back and glance one last look at the football pitch.
I don’t need to search for Aiden since he’s running in my direction.
He has such breathtaking athletic ease when he runs. His form is taught, graceful, and full of so much confidence. He reaches me in a few seconds, his jet black hair sticking to his forehead with sweat and his breathing controlled.
Almost everyone in my immediate surrounding grows silent as if they’re watching the show.
I fidget, feeling uncomfortable with all the attention. It’s different from bullying, but it’s attention all the same.
Being under the spotlight causes my skin to prickle, but since I’ve gotten involved with Aiden, I should’ve known that he comes with attention plastered all over him.
I clear my throat. “Nice game.”
He tilts his head to the side. “If you replied two days ago, I would’ve had an actual nice official game and wouldn’t have Coach breathing down my neck.”
Okay. He’s still salty about that.
His fingers brush a strand of my hair back. My skin tingles and I want to lean into his hand so bad, but the audience stops me.
“Meet me in the car park,” he says.
“Why?”
He pinches my cheek. “Stop with the questions and meet me there.”
I nod.
“King,” Coach Larson calls from behind Aiden. “Locker room meeting. Now.”
“Yes, Coach,” Aiden calls back but he never takes his eyes off me. The pull between us is crazy and addictive. Despite the audience surrounding us, I’m lost in his smoky eyes. It’s like he’s able to erase the world just like I can.
He’s a compelling type of madness.
Ronan clasps Aiden’s shoulder from behind, shattering the moment. “Yo, King! Let’s go to the meeting or Coach will make us do push-ups.”
Aiden throws him a glare. “Push-ups are better than the grave I’ve been digging for you.”
“I’m hurt. You better pay for the psychological damage.” Ronan’s eyes flick in my direction. “Tame the beast, Ellie.”
I smile. “I don’t think I can.”
“Sure you can.” Ronan waggles his eyebrows. Aiden elbows him and he howls in pain.
“Our friendship just gained an expiration date, King. The only way to save it is by letting me drive your car.”
“Friendship over.”
I burst into laughter as Ronan’s eyes widen comically. “How about just an hour?”
“Over, Astor.”
“Okay, a loop?” He nods at me and clasps his arm around Aiden’s shoulder, guiding him away.
“Outside.” Aiden mouths to me as Ronan drags him, spouting a monologue about friendship before whore cars.
I’m still smiling when I feel someone watching me — or glaring at me. I turn sideways, but the track team girls seem to have dreamy eyes more than anything.
After searching my surroundings, I spot Adam. He leans against the railing leading to the football team’s locker room, staring at me.
Silver stands beside him. While Adam’s gaze is unreadable, hers is full of contempt.
“Nevermind Silver.” Tara, a member of the track team, interlaces her arm with mine. “She’s just bitter that King will never look at her the way he looks at you.”
Tara and I walk into the locker room. Like Kim, Tara has been an elite since she was a child. I think her father is a Knight, too. I often forget about her aristocratic title because Tara is the modest type.
“Silver wishes she was you,” Tara continues.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s been gunning after King since Royal Elite Junior, but he never really showed interest in her. Then you come along and he openly shows you off. She feels threatened.”
“She’s been gunning after him how?” So much for swearing to never get into this drama.
“In a territorial kind of way?” Tara taps her lower lip, seeming deep in thought. “It’s weird, you know. I don’t think she’s even attracted to him, but she’s been working to score him, anyway. The rumour is that she has a secret boyfriend, but is using King as a cover-up. Maybe she’s dating a thug.”
Or maybe she’s dating Aiden or sleeping with him and the whole secret boyfriend deal is a deflation method.
Nope. Not going there. I promised to try trusting Aiden not two hours ago.
Tara keeps talking about the multiple rumours that circled around the school since Royal Elite Junior until now. I never had so much contact with Tara because we both keep to ourselves. I never thought she’s so much into gossip.
Apparently, I’ve been missing out on half of what’s happening at RES. Like the fact that Mr James, the previous rugby coach was fired for a complaint of harassment against one of his players. I thought he was transferred willingly. Tara doesn’t know the player because the school’s board made sure to keep everything under wraps.
There’s also the fact that King, the father not the son, will be personally overlooking the football team’s schedule. Tara says that he has friends in big teams of the Premier League and will be sending scouts over. I wonder if Aiden will pursue Football professionally like his cousin.
We’re in the shower with only a thin, blurry glass wall separating us when Tara blurts, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” I apply the shampoo over my head and massage my skull.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Elsa. I hear a lot of rumours and I just want to know which is true and which is false.”
I laugh. “No. I’m not really ‘Frozen’ if that’s what you’re asking.”
“You kind of are, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t even know ninety per cent of the stuff that happens at RES. You don’t care about anyone other than Kim. Everyone thinks you’re…”
“Stuck up?”
“I was going to say a recluse?” There’s an awkward smile in her voice.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind what everyone thinks. I’m only here because it’s the perfect way to get to Cambridge.” I want to tell her that being selected as a target on the first day at school didn’t really warm me up to the students here, but I keep that to myself.
“That makes sense.” She sounds thoughtful again. “Then the rumour about you and King can’t be true, I guess.”
“What rumour?” Once I’m done rinsing my hair, I towel it and wrap another towel around my torso.
Tara and I get out of our stalls at the same time. Her wet chestnut hair falls to a sleek bob around her round face as she ties the towel around her body.
The other girls are at the back, talking about their plans for the rest of the afternoon.
Tara approaches me and whispers, “Some say that you and King are old acquaintances and you hurt him. That’s why he hated you the moment he first saw you at RES.”
My heart jolts and picks up speed. The rumour makes perfect sense. If I weren’t one thousand per cent sure that I met him that day for the first time, I would’ve believed it, too.
“I didn’t know anyone in RES the day I came here,” I tell her.
“I thought so, too. That means the second rumour is more correct.”
“And that is?”
She lifts a shoulder. “He only targeted you because you were the new girl.”
“I’m sure that’s the right version.”
After more gossip from Tara while we change our clothes, we part ways near the teachers’ office. She has to talk to the swim team’s coach about her younger brother’s application who’s a sophomore.
I visibly shudder when I pass by the pool area. Deep water stiffens my shoulder blades with fear, especially if it’s dark and I can’t make out my own limbs.
After a few panic attacks when I was younger, Uncle and Aunt quit taking me to the beach altogether. They always eliminated anything of discomfort from my immediate vicinity. I’m beyond thankful for the lengths they’ve been going through to make sure I live a comfortable life.
Speaking of which, while I walk to the car park, I retrieve my phone and open our chat room. I shoot them a message that I’m not heading straight home.
Aunt’s reply is immediate.
Aunt B: Where to?
Elsa: Out with Kim.
I bite my lower lip. After the tension this morning, I would rather lie to her about Aiden.
At least until I figure out where we stand.
Uncle J: Have fun, pumpkin.
Aunt B: Promise you won’t eat any junk food.
Elsa: Promise.
I shoot a message to Kim that I’m catching a ride with Aiden.
Kim: Ehhh with King? Weren’t you guys fighting this morning? Isn’t the bitch queen his date for the day?
Elsa: Long story.
Kim: Face time later. I need details!
Elsa: Kay.
Kim: And this better not be a rip off from a Korean drama where the BFF is always in the dark.
I send her a laughing emoji and promise to talk to her later.
Once I’m outside, the humid air cools the skin of my face. I spot Aiden waiting by his car. His uniform is dishevelled at best like he wore it in a hurry and he’s fussing with his shoelace.
That strange awareness starts a war, slashing and clawing at my abdomen as I walk towards him. My steps are fast and silent as if I’m floating through the air.
This pull is terrifying.
He’s terrifying.
Still, there’s no fighting how much I want him close. Now, I know how moth feel when they fly to flames. The flames are worth the burn.
I stumble to a halt a small distance away and stifle a gasp with the back of my hands.
As he ties his shoelace, his uniform’s trousers’ rides up, revealing his skin. A deep circular scar surrounds his right ankle. It seems as old and as faded as the scars on his back and the underside of his forearm.
What on earth happened to him?
Something light hits my shoulder. I jump up with a small yelp.
Cole comes into view. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No. I’m fine.” I look around him to Aiden who’s already straightened up and is heading in our direction.
Cole opens the outer pocket of my backpack and slips Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea. “You forgot this.”
I smile. “Didn’t anyone tell you that you shouldn’t open a girl’s bag?”
His lips twitch. “I’ll remember that next time.”
“There’ll be no next time.” Aiden stands beside me, surrounds my waist with a strong hand and pulls me into the curve of his body.
“That depends on how you act from now on, King.” Cole sounds half teasing, half-serious before he gives me a knowing look.
“I agree with that,” I say.
“Tell me, Nash. Do you want your grave next to Knight’s or Astor’s?” Aiden’s face is dead serious as he speaks.
“I prefer to not have a grave yet.” Cole smiles at me.
“Then stop threatening what’s mine.”
“I will when you do.”
My gaze bounces between Aiden and Cole. Unlike the war of gazes he’s had with Xander the other time, Cole appears completely nonchalant. However, I can sense the tension in the air. It’s like a cool sheen over my skin, threatening to explode any second.
This is odd. Aiden and Cole don’t strike me as the fighting type. They have the most laid back relationship in the group.
Movement catches my attention. Silver stomps in our direction, her cheeks red and nostrils flaring.
I sigh. She’ll ruin my mood if I face her.
“Take care of her,” Aiden tells Cole in a calm tone as if they’ve dealt with this before.
“On it.” Cole’s cool expression disappears. His features tighten as he goes to intercept Silver.
I don’t get to watch what’s happening since Aiden guides me to the passenger seat of his car. I don’t hear Silver and Cole, but I see her screaming at him. She doesn’t spare Aiden a glance. Instead, she cuts me a glare before she starts pushing at Cole’s chest.
He keeps her at arm’s length, his expression still as tight as earlier. Silver continues struggling against him.
Cole leans in and says something in her ear. Just like that, Silver goes limp against him, eyes widened. He takes the chance to drag her out of the car park. Or maybe he’s taking her to his or her car. I can’t tell for sure since they’re out of my field of vision.
“What was that all about?” I ask Aiden once he’s seated in the driver’s seat.
“Nothing important.”
“Do you always have Cole take care of your girl problems?”
He gives me an ‘are you serious’ look. “No one can make Nash do anything he doesn’t want to do.”
“Not even you?”
“Not even me.” He pauses. “Besides, Silver is his step-sister. He knows how to deal with her best.”
“His… what?”
“His mother and her father are getting married.”
Woah. I must be really out of it when it comes to school news. I knew Silver’s parents were divorced, but I didn’t know she was going to be Cole’s step-sister. They have completely different personalities. I wonder how that will go.
The engine revs to life, and I clench my thighs at the vibrations. It’s such a strange, thrilling sensation.
Aiden’s lips pull in a mischievous grin. “You like that, don’t you?”
“I don’t.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” he says with a mocking edge.
Dickhead.
As we weave out of the car park, Aiden threads his fingers through mine, and places our intertwined hands on his hard thigh.
My breathing cracks at the amount of tenderness in his touch. It’s almost… normal. His side profile oozes so much masculine beauty. Tingles start between my legs and the engine’s vibrations don’t help.
“Where are we going?” I ask to distract myself from ogling him.
“You’ll see.”
I narrow my eyes. “Where to, Aiden?”
“Not to a slaughterhouse. I won’t go all serial killer on you.”
I can’t help but laugh. He winks, squeezing my fingers in his.
“By the way,” He glances at me. “Why don’t you come to Elites’ games?”
“Eh… I don’t go to school games.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You only go to Premier League games, Miss Snob?”
“No. It’s…” I want to say I don’t like Elites, but that would be a lie. I hated them before, but now, I have no reason to.
“If you come to a game, I’ll take you somewhere special.”
“Where?”
“You’ll have to agree first.”
“Why do you even want me to come? Your Instagram stalkers aren’t enough?”
His grin widens. “If you know about them, then you must’ve been stalking me, too.”
My cheeks heat. “That’s not true.”
“Hmm. You’re one of those silent stalkers, aren’t you?” he continues in a contemplative tone. “You stalk all the time without liking or commenting as if you’re a ghost.”
“You’re so full of yourself.”
“Silent stalkers are the scariest.” He throws me an amusement gleam. “Do you fantasise about me, sweetheart?”
Yes. But screw him.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I sulk.
“A place you’ll love.”
