WARNINGS: none.
╚══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══╝
Elias Artino: Chapter 15

Kaiden approached me and sent a little nod of his head as if to show he acknowledged me.

"What's up with the look?" he asked.

"W-what do you mean?"

He let out a dry laugh. "You looked like you were gonna murder the girl." he said, pointing towards the girl with his thumb. He didn't even have to look back to know that he was pointing in the right direction. Creepy.

"N-no I didn't!"

"You sure did. I could feel your anger from a mile away."

I could feel my face heating up. He knows. I thought. Gosh this was so embarrassing. Was my jealousy so obvious that Kaiden noticed it? But it's not like he seemed to mind.. instead he looked more amused if anything. Kaiden was too hard to read so I wasn't even gonna try.

"Were you jealous?" he asked. He let out a laugh when I didn't say anything. "You were, weren't you? I wouldn't have excepted that from someone like you." he said.

Well then don't expect anything. I thought angrily.

"What does it matter to you?" I asked, diverting my eyes from his. I didn't have to look at him to know that he was staring right at me.

"It doesn't matter.. but I just want to know why. For some odd reason, I could immediately tell what you were feeling— almost like we're connected."

I gave him a strange look. "How am I supposed to know why?"

Kaiden shrugged. "I wasn't expecting you to."

"Right.. so why are you here?"

Kaiden gave me a look that screamed "isn't it obvious?"  I simply started at him blankly, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Kaiden wasn't very good with words.. or facial expressions.

I loudly sighed. "I-I don't get what you're trying to say.."

"Whatever let's go." he said. Kaidens hand latched onto my wrist and tugged me.

"W-what are you doing?!" I quickly asked as he dragged me away from the cafeteria.

"Isn't it fucking obvious? We're eating outside." he said, glancing back at me for a second.

"B-but why?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes it does!"

Kaiden angrily sighed and paused his walking for a second. I accidentally rammed into his back because of the sudden stop.

"Because you clearly don't want me to be around that girl." he moved his head to motion at the girl I had been jealous about.

"Why does it matter what I want?"

"Because, Elias, I just can't seem to ignore or deny you."

I didn't know how to respond to that. Fortunately, I didn't have to because a second later, Kaiden continued dragging me out of the lunchroom. We passed by nearby lockers and the girls restroom. I was sure by the time we made it outside, we'd only have a couple of minutes to eat. I was fine with missing classes, but I didn't want my grade to drop or for me to get in trouble.

Instead of worrying about what could happen in the future, I focused on the feeling of Kaiden's hand around my wrist. I focused on the way he walked, his warmth, his scent.

"What's up with your wrist?" Kaiden asked.

"W-what do you mean?"

"The bracelets. Why do you wear them?"

I pursed my lips. "B-because I have an ugly mark.." I mumbled. I wasn't embarrassed about it or anything, it was just odd. The mark almost looked intentional so if I wore it out, people would judge me. And to be quite frank, the mark on my wrist hurts like shit sometimes. Wearing bracelets helps me ignore the pain.

"It can't be that ugly." Kaiden said.

We finally arrived outside of the school. A small table stood to the side of the school, free. No one came out here unless they wanted to smoke or sell drugs. Either way, the school didn't care.

I sat down on the table, Kaiden sitting across from me.

"So can I see it?" he asked.

"S-see what?"

"The mark on your wrist." I felt my face heat up. I'm so fucking stupid. We were just talking about it a second ago, yet I forgot.

"I-it's nothing interesting.." I said, trying to dodge showing my wrist.

"Why're you getting shy all of a sudden?" Kaiden asked. He smirked at me and caught my gaze, "scared to show a little mark?"

"I-I'm not scared!"

"Then show it."

I groaned. "Why do you have to be so pushy, Kaiden?!"

He paused for a second and looked at me, an odd expression on his face. It was then that I realized I had said his name. It had just came out naturally, but since Kaiden doesn't remember me or all the times I said his names before, this was almost the first time he clearly heard me call him.

Kaidens eyes widened for a second, a look of realization on his face. It disappeared in mere seconds, and the next thing I knew, I was staring at his emotionless, blank face.

What had he realized? I wanted to know. At least once— I wanted to be able to tell what he was feeling or thinking.

Unexpectedly, Kaiden had burst out in laughter. Sweet chuckled erupted from him and it was music to my ears. His smile and laughter were genuine. He wasn't hiding anything, but he was showing something.

I couldn't help the way my heart fluttered a little or the way blush crept up my cheeks.

"That surprised me." he said, "you hardly ever say my name."

"I-it really wasn't that funny.."

"Sure." he said sarcastically.

We both went silent. It wasn't awkward or anything. I was starting to get used to Kaiden's sudden quietness. I was starting to get used to his whole presence at this point.

"So.. are you gonna show me the mark?" Kaiden asked.

"Kaiden."

"Cmon, just show the mark. I'm sure it's nothing bad." he said.

"Fine." I quickly added, "just don't make fun of me."

"When have I made fun of you?"

"A second ago." I said, weakly glaring at him.

"I was laughing. That's totally different than making fun of you."

"W-whatever! I'll show you the mark and after that, let's peacefully eat." I said. I was starting to get hungry and all this talking wasn't any better. I was surprised Kaiden wasn't starving. He had left his food behind in the cafeteria while I still had mine.

"Right." he said.

I slid the bracelets off my wrist, each one of them landing on the table. Kaiden patiently watched me, a cocky smirk on his face. He was probably in a good mood or something. After all, he hardly talks this much let alone voluntarily laughs.

I carefully pulled up my sleeve to reveal the mark. Red swirls, irritated wrist. It wasn't:r a new sight for me, but it was for him.

Kaidens dark eyes concentrated on the mark. He didn't say anything. I wasn't even sure if he was moving. All I heard was the swaying of the trees and his narrow breaths.

There was a look of anger for a second.

This time, I didn't try to guess what he was feeling. More like, I couldn't guess.

╔══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══╗

I know it's almost been a week since the last chapter and I'm so sorry! I got sick and I've been studying for a Math placement test. It's the summer so I'm pretty busy doing things (that I probably shouldn't say on this platform so I don't get stalked)! Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!

QUESTION: Should I make my chapters longer?
Extra: I'm not a very good writer and it's kind of hard for me to make long chapters (which explains why all of my chapters are 1000+ words). I wanted to know your opinion on how long my chapters should be!

Thanks for reading! Make sure to vote 🗳️