Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Athena’s P.O.V.

It was no other than Vanessa. She was standing at the door, timidly peeking at us. Far from how threatening her stares were earlier, before the start of the class. She most likely wanted to talk to Cristoff. But what for? Was her caught-in-the-act tryst not enough?

I rolled my eyes while sardonically twitching the right end of my lips into a sneer. Who could have ever thought that her face was so thick?

Glancing at Cristoff, I saw how his reaction suddenly changed in the presence of her, and I just hated it. His mouth hung with lips slightly parted, and his brown eyes seemed to have enveloped with mixed regret and sadness. I just loathed it for no apparent reason that I wanted to smash his head against the desk to make him realize some sense.

Does he still have feelings for Vanessa?

I didn’t know why I got easily infuriated and mad, like rage flowed me through my spine like lava, but that was when I thought of doing something interesting and fun. I knew I should not get involved, but this would only be an act.

“Let’s go, Cristoff. It’s lunchtime already. We will still go to the clinic because I have to take my medicine, right?” I said in a normal tone where they wouldn’t be able to know that I was only pretending.

Grabbing his right hand, I gave him my sweetest beam that could melt his heart. I hurriedly pulled him towards the door after that.

“Excuse us!” I politely grunted and even smiled at Vanessa, but I almost told her not to block the way.

The truth was I wanted to rudely push the whore to make her step aside, but I repressed myself. I would never stoop down her level. I could sense that she was with her friends, who seemed to be hiding somewhere else, but I did not care about them.

Such a waste of time!

Vanessa ended up doing nothing but step back and let us pass the door to leave. Cristoff also did nothing as if he was just allowing me to drag him wherever I would go. No words came out of his mouth too.

When I was already sure that we were far away from the classroom and no one else could see the two of us near the stage, that was the time I crudely let him go. “Your ex-girlfriend would not be able to see us here, so you can now go alone and eat.”

The confusion was evident on his entire face as his eyebrows almost knitted together. “So what was that act all about, Helena? I let you drag me here without any question, and now, you would want me to eat alone? Could you please try to be considerate?”

“Why? Do you want to eat with her? Go ahead and get back to our classroom!” I even pointed out the direction of the building, where our classroom was located. “For sure, she is still there waiting for you to come back. Now, give me back my bag!” I tried to grab my bag from him, but he was just so quick to move it behind him.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything like that! Even if you were not there, I would not still talk to her. We were already over, Helena, and for Christ’s sake, it has been three months. You know what? Having you push me towards eating alone hurts me more. I thought you were already willing for us to go and eat together.”

There was a hint of sorrow in his voice that made me feel guilty too, but not until…

“Wait, are you jealous?” he asked straight to the point, then drew a foolish and annoying smile on his lips.

And that made me let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Wow, your massive ego strikes again! Me? Jealous? Are you dreaming, Cristoff? And why would I even be jealous? Are you my boyfriend? Alright, if you don’t want to give me my bag, then fine! It’s all yours now. You are only wasting my time!”

Then, I started walking away from him with the thought that Cristoff’s favorite vocabulary was ‘pissing me off.’ He never failed to make me feel even the tiniest flicker of irritation.

Hmm, how many times did I walk out from him? I already lost count. So what if he doesn’t want to give me back my bag? I could still buy the things that I have.

But I was surprised when he still chased me, and this time, he swiftly held my right hand that I almost hugged him through the impact. It was not just a simple touch because he made sure that our fingers were clasped on each other—filling the gaps of one another.

Trying so hard to get away from him, I only got tired while struggling. It looked like he would not want to let me go no matter how I wrestled to be free from him.

“If you are not jealous, then stop acting like an envious girlfriend. I just wanted to be with you, Helena. That’s all. You’re the one I invited to eat lunch with me, remember? Can’t you join me without a fight like this? Please, let’s stop this argument and just have a peaceful lunch together. Can’t we? I’ll let you eat something I’m sure you haven’t yet tasted before!” This time, I found his voice charming and soft while he was almost begging me to go with him.

While looking straight through his brown eyes, and in just a blink of an eye, I gave up protesting. Meeting Cristoff made me want to be scared by that so-called eye contact. That shit would only make my heart throbbed so fast.

I just couldn’t say ‘no’ to him because, at the same time, I indeed wanted to be with him more than anyone. I desired to follow my mind, but I ended up listening to my heart.

It was too late for me to realize that we went to the canteen while holding hands. We just let go of each other when Cristoff lined up to order our food while I busied myself searching for a vacant table and chairs where we could sit.

Having the bitchy Athena inside me, I didn’t care anymore how people stared at us. They should mind their own business. As long as we were not violating any school rules and we were not doing anything wrong here, we shouldn’t worry.

“I thought you would let me eat something I haven’t yet tasted before, Cristoff? Hmm, why would we even come to the canteen? I’m done tasting almost every food here, and frankly speaking, I got bored eating here. St. James’ foods were even a lot better,” I told him, but I was quite surprised when he only brought us two plates of rice.

“Wait! Don’t tell me… we will only eat rice for lunch? As in, no viands?” I pointed out. My eyeballs would come out of their sockets anytime soon if he would tell me that the answer was yes.

“Yup, just rice. So this will be your first time to eat rice only for lunch.” He smilingly gave me back my bag, removed his backpack, and opened it, then pulled out a small food container from there.

Then, he continued as he took his seat in front of me. “But of course, I was just kidding. You are a princess, and I would not let you eat with discomfort. That’s why I persuaded you to eat with me now because I’m sure that never in your life, that you had eaten my packed lunch. Don’t worry, I can vouch that this one is truly delicious! Wait here, I will just borrow a knife to the counter.”

“Hmm, anyway… c-can I copy your notes yesterday?” I asked him before he could stand up. During our time yesterday at home that we had only allotted to debating and bickering with each other, I forgot to copy his Physics notes.

“Sure, you don’t even have to ask, Helena. Feel free to take it from my bag. There are also index cards with complete sets of formulas. Here,” he replied as he handed me his backpack before he went to the counter to borrow a knife.

Unzipping his bag and while searching for his Physics notes, my attention was caught by a different book.