Chapter Two
Eros
As my gaze locked with the girl’s striking amber eyes, I could see the raw fear in them, and it made me question why she seemed so terrified. Did she think I was some kind of monster?
When I glanced at the faces of the other students, their expressions mirrored hers, confirming that they were all afraid of me. I sighed inwardly.
But she wasn’t the reason I had nearly toppled down the stairs with her. I had been right behind her when she was shoved, and I knew exactly who was responsible.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but I raised a finger, silencing her without even looking, my eyes fixed in a hard glare on Harry Compton.
“Apologize,” I commanded in a low, menacing tone. I was having a terrible morning, and Harry had just stumbled into my trap.
“I’m…” she began to say.
“I’m not talking to you,” I snapped, cutting her off with a glare before turning my attention back to Harry. “Apologize to her, Harry.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd, their shock only fueling my irritation as I wondered, with mild annoyance, why they looked so surprised.
“I won’t ask again, Harry.” I brushed past her, closing the distance between us. “Apologize.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Harry protested.
Without hesitation, I grabbed his tie, spun him around, and slammed him against the railing, nearly tipping him over the edge. The students erupted into terrified screams.
"Should I show you what you almost caused?" I demanded, gripping his tie tightly. "I don't mind." With a sharp push, I sent him stumbling backwards, as if I was really going to follow through.
"Okay! Okay!" Harry yelped, lifting his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, Athena! Forgive me."
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" I flashed him a sardonic smile, yanking him forward and straightening his tie. "For your sake, let's hope there won't be a next time."
"I promise that it won't happen again. I'm sorry." His voice shook with nervousness.
"Good." I gave him a light pat on the cheek before turning on my heel and walking away, leaving the others gaping in disbelief. The only lingering thought in my mind was the girl's name and her amber eyes.
At lunch, I sat at my usual table in the cafeteria, casually munching on a burger and fries I'd asked one of my bodyguards to grab because I despised school food.
The last time I dared eat it was two years ago when the previous cook, Cookie Burns—a name she unfortunately lived up to—made some Asian dish that gave me mild food poisoning. She was fired soon after, and the new cook had become a school favorite, but the experience left me too cautious to try the food again.
I glanced up from my fries when a shadow fell across me, followed by a lung-tightening perfume that hit me full force. There was only one person I knew who would wear that awful perfume, and she stood right in front of my table, smiling sweetly at me.
Scarlett Granville—daughter of the vice president and, unfortunately, a close family friend.
Despite her relentless efforts over the years, I’d never acknowledged her or entertained her ridiculous attempts to date me. I’d turned her down so many times, you’d think she’d have taken the hint. But no—she just wouldn’t quit.
It was as if she genuinely believed I would eventually cave and agree to be with her. But she’d grow old and probably die before I’d ever consider something like that. I had no interest in her—or anyone else in the female population for that matter—and the sooner she got that through her thick skull, the better.
"Can I sit with you, Eros?" she asked, batting her eyelashes in that infuriating way.
"No," I replied flatly.
"I just thought—"
"I prefer to be alone, Scarlett," I cut her off. "I don’t like you, and I’m not interested in dating you. Is that so hard for you to grasp?"
For a split second, I thought I saw a flicker of hurt cross her face, but it vanished as quickly as it came. Her smile returned, as if my words hadn’t bruised her ego, especially with her entourage present. The girl was either delusional or completely clueless.
"I won’t give up that easily, Eros," she declared, her tone brimming with confidence. "You’ll be mine." With that, she turned on her heel and strutted off, her minions trailing behind her like a pack of mindless obedient followers.
If I weren’t so irritated, I might have laughed at her, but instead, I shook my head and continued eating—though I quickly lost interest in my food. I muttered a curse under my breath as I pushed my meal aside and leaned back in my chair.
Like a homing beacon, my gaze found Athena, balancing a tray of lunch as she navigated toward the last table in the cafeteria. But she never made it; she tripped over something on the floor and went down, prompting a wave of laughter from everyone who witnessed it.
When she stood up, she was covered in lentil soup, and the laughter erupted even louder. I could see her bottom lip tremble as she wiped her face with the back of her hand. She bent down to pick up her tray and bread, tossed them into the garbage bin by the door, and walked out.
You’d think such a humiliating incident would send her hiding in the restroom for the day, but a few minutes later, she returned with cleaning supplies. She mopped up the floor and then left the cafeteria for good this time.
The bell rang for fourth period, and everyone scrambled to toss their trays in the garbage bin, eager to get to class. At least they were tidy about it, managing not to create a mess.
Next up was trigonometry, so I headed to my locker to grab my books. As I approached, I spotted Athena stuffing a trash bag into her locker, now dressed in a sweatsuit. After shutting her locker door, she clutched her books to her chest and hurried down the hallway, disappearing around a corner.
When I arrived in trig class, I found that all the seats were taken except for one next to Athena. I made a beeline for the empty spot, but before I could reach it, someone jumped in my path, forcing me to halt and take a step back.
"Where do you think you're going?" Scarlett asked, a smug smile on her face. "Join me. I saved you a seat."
"No, thanks," I replied in a flat tone, sidestepping her. "Excuse me."
Scarlett grabbed my wrist, pulling me to a stop. I glanced down at her hand on mine, then looked up to see her face contorted in disgust as she realized I intended to sit beside Athena.
What was it about these people and their treatment of this poor girl? I had never spoken to her, yet I understood why she was being treated like an outcast. If I cared about their opinions, I might have felt sorry for her.
“Don’t tell me…” Her voice faltered, as if she was too shocked to continue.
“Then I won’t.” I yanked my hand from hers and walked over to the seat beside Athena. “Excuse me.”
She looked up at me, her eyes widening in disbelief, as if she couldn’t believe I was speaking to her. She pointed at herself, silently asking if I meant her.
“Yes, you,” I snapped impatiently. “Is this seat taken?”
Her bag sat on the chair, clearly indicating that she expected it to be empty as always. She lifted it and dropped it to the floor beside her leg.
“Um… No,” she said, her voice barely audible.
“Thank you.” I settled into the chair.
Scarlett stomped her foot in frustration, glaring at Athena as if it were her fault I had chosen to sit there. I dared her with my eyes to say something nasty, but the teacher arrived, and she returned to her seat in front of us. If the teacher was surprised to see me beside Athena, he didn’t say anything.
Halfway through the lesson, I suddenly heard a growling noise from my right, but I didn’t acknowledge it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Athena wrap an arm around her middle.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered as her stomach growled again.
I pretended not to hear her and ignored her rumbling stomach for the rest of the class. When the bell rang to signal the end of the period, I quickly shut my books, grabbed them, and shot to my feet, hurrying out of the classroom even before the teacher left.
Why I felt the need to escape from class like my ass was on fire remained unclear, but I chalked it up to the lingering smell of lentil soup that clung to her.