I slammed the door behind me.

I didn't know why Scarlett was acting like this. I wished she could just be herself.

This is her true self, I thought to myself. I considered if that thought was right. If the nice, respectful Scarlett I knew and was friends with for the past week wasn't the real Scarlett. If this lazy, selfish, ignorant 'roommate Scarlett' was her true nature, and by sharing a room with her, our friendship would be ruined.

That's how it worked back when my life was normal. I would fight with my sisters because they ate too loud, or didn't wear headphones when they listened to music, but at school, when my friends were just as loud or annoying, I didn't care as much. It was true that being in close quarters with someone could ruin one's perception of the other person.

I wished I could share a room with Dane instead, although I knew that was just as likely as me leaving this academy.

I would have to put up with this annoying situation for now, even if it meant I wouldn't be taking the first showers, or calling dibs on the bigger bed. I sighed to calm myself down. It wasn't working. If I took a nice, long shower, and read until dinner time, I would be good.

I put my hand on the knob, but before I opened it, I thought through what had just happened. Scarlett was probably just as mad at me as I was at her right now. Even though she was definitely in the wrong, knowing her, she would never realize so.

I wanted to continue reading my book. I had one chapter left of Harry Potter, anyway, but I couldn't go in there. What if she was naked? What if she was sitting on my bed, getting ready to kill me when I walked through the door? We both needed to calm down, and seeing each other wouldn't help.

Because I couldn't go inside to get my book, I decided the library was my best option. It was that time of day where one couldn't tell if it was six in the morning or six in the evening. he sun was a rich shade of orange, shining through every window and door. The library would have fireplaces, couches, and blankets where I could unwind; it sounded perfect.

I walked down the stairs, grateful that for once, I didn't have to sneak around with the worry of being caught and shot with a dart.

When I opened the doors to the library on the first floor, it smelled of old book pages and must. I was home.

Apparently, there weren't too many intellectuals at this academy, for there were only about 10 other students who had decided to come over here. They were scattered across the two-story room. Some lied down in between book aisles, others sat down doing homework at the large table. One person was even sitting on the second floor of the room, their legs dangling down below freely.

I searched through the aisles. Although I loved the Prisoner of Azkaban, nothing was better than finding a new book to love. I didn't feel like reading Catcher in the Rye. It had been suggested to me multiple times, but I found that I was never quite in the mood to read it.

I decided on the original Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. Taking my book, I cozied up next to the fireplace and sat in the loveseat, curling my legs behind me. I was hot, sitting by the fire, but I still put a blanket on my legs, just for the aesthetics.

I was deeply engrossed in Chapter 2 when I felt the weight of the cushion that I was sitting on shift. I didn't look up from my book; it was too engrossing and whoever wanted to talk would have to wait. That was, until I heard them clear their throat.

I felt a deep dread in my stomach. I knew that cough. When I looked up, my worst fears were confirmed; Beck sat next to me, looking at me, a slight smirk on his face. I looked at his empty hands.

"Where's your book?" I asked, not really wanting an answer. "Wait, can you read?" I felt pretty proud of my insult, but his smirk only grew more villainous.

"Wow," He said, feigning shock. "You're nicer than usual today."

"Ha-ha," I said dryly. "I'm going to read now." I placed my eyes back on the page and began to read, but the words simply passed through my brain. I was too distracted with him sitting next to me. I didn't know what to think of this back and forth insult to insult. I hated when people thought that that sort of flirting was cute, but even despite myself, I was attracted to it.

I shifted away from him to focus. He moved closer. I slammed my book down; I was pretty sure that the rest of the students in the library looked up when I made the noise.

"What do you want from me?" I demanded. I didn't want to play any games, no matter how satisfying they could be for both of us players.

He simply smiled. "Who says I want anything from you?" I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't ignore him. I would have to fight fire with fire.

"I felt what you were doing in wrestling." I squinted my eyes suspiciously. I saw a fire light in his eyes. I was entering the exact territory that he wanted me to enter. He was manipulative, knew what he wanted, and knew how to get people to do it for him.

"What was I doing?" His eyes radiated a different fire now. I didn't want to believe it. It could have been lust, or hate. "Describe it to me." I contemplated grabbing my book, which was only OK, and going up to the second floor where nobody was. I contemplated going back up to my room, even if it meant facing Scarlett. But I had to finish whatever he had started.

"You pressed my leg against yours," I began. "You put your chest against my back." His eyes glinted with satisfaction, and I thought about how different they were from Dane's. While Dane's emitted a sense of warmness and comfortability, Beck's was all a sense of challenge.

"Any more?" He wanted to here me say more. I didn't think it turned him on to actually press his body against mine, but to hear my talk about it did.

"You out your muscles against my arms so I would be forced to feel them." I had finished, and from the way he looked at me, that was exactly what he had wanted to hear. He may have been done talking to me, but I wasn't.

"I've heard some things about you," I said in a curious tone. It was my turn to manipulate him. He leaned in closer, unnerved that he was not in control of the conversation.

"Tell me," He demanded. I shook my head.

"Just some things." It was working. "Not necessarily good, not necessarily bad." His face contorted. It was an ugly sight, whatever it was. He was thinking over something, and that scared me, the fact that his evil brain was hard at work.

"20 questions?" He proposed.

I snorted. "3 at most." He thought about his first question.

"Did Madison tell you?" Damn, he was good. I nodded reluctantly.

He moved on. "Does it have to do with you?" I nodded. I would probably be embarrassed if he actually did have a crush on me. It was a fun thing to taunt him with, but I didn't want it to actually be true. He asked his last question.

"Is about the fact that you're a slut?"

A chill shuddered down my spine. If he had a crush on me, that would have made me uncomfortable, but it wouldn't have disturbed me like this. I'd had the roughest weeks of weeks, Dane offers safety and happiness, and I'm a slut for taking that offer?

"I said it was about you." I spat. His ears perked up in satisfaction. I should have known better than complying with his questions.

"I just couldn't help myself." He smiled a cruel smile, his teeth on display. This aggressive, teeth-showing smile was far different than Dane's sweet, mouth smile. Beck didn't have dimples, like Dane.

I snatched my book and got up. I didn't want to be near this form of evil. Scarlett was being annoying, not cruel. As I was walking away, Beck called out to me.

"Has your little boytoy not even asked you to the dance yet?" I didn't know what dance he was referring to, but I knew that by my boytoy, he meant Dane.

He must have seen my confused face, for he laughed. "Wow. You don't even know what dance I'm talking about." He was evil and cruel, and I needed to get out of the library.

I dropped my book on the floor, not even caring at this point, and stormed out of there. I thought about the fact that I had already stormed out of two rooms in the past hour and it wasn't even dinner yet.

I trudged up the stairs, anger surging throughout my body. I didn't deserve this. I didn't deserve any of this. I didn't deserve being treated, by everyone, like I was some sort of......

I paused when I saw something at the top of the stairs.... Someone.

In the dark, I couldn't see their face or if they had a male or female build, but I could clearly see the outline of a person. They were in the shadows... Just standing there. Something about this unsettled me, deeply.

"Hello?" My voice wavered sheepishly. For a second, the figure didn't move. Almost as if they were a statue and not a real person. And for a second, I did believe that it was a statue. I almost continued walking up the stairs, laughing at myself for being so foolish. But then they moved.

The figure began to run away, up the stairs. I lost sight of them.

I rushed up the stairs, turning around the corner, and looked to my left and my right. The person was nowhere to be seen. I suddenly felt very exposed, a feeling deep in my core. I needed to go back to my room. Although Scarlett and I were arguing, I would rather face her than ever see what I just saw again.

I ran all the way back to my room, thinking about the figure I had just seen. 

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Who could this mysterious figure possibly be? Why would they watch Rhiannon? Vote and comment your thoughts!