Chapter 115

After class ended the next day, I found myself blocked from leaving the room by Alyx’s tall frame. He had a smile on his face, but it seemed forced.

“Hey, can we talk?” he asked.

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to him. I couldn’t stop feeling his hands all over me, and how he wouldn’t let go, no matter how hard I resisted. The thought of what might have happened if Matt hadn’t shown up made me feel sick.

“I have nothing to say,” I muttered, stepping around him. His brow furrowed, but he didn’t try to stop me. He just paused for a moment, then hurried to catch up with me, walking at my elbow. I tried to outpace him, but quickly gave up. His legs were much longer than mine, and he didn’t seem keen on giving up anytime soon.

“Please, just leave me alone,” I said in a low voice, aware that people were looking at us.

I didn’t want to cause another scene. I was already the subject of too much gossip, especially after Matt hugged me at the game. Girls were even whispering about us in the bathroom this morning. I had to hide in my stall for ten minutes before they finally left. They were all very shocked he would be interested in me. Their opinions weren’t surprising, but it still stung. I wish I could say it didn’t hurt my feelings, but I’d be lying.

“I just want to talk to you for a few minutes. I promise it’ll be quick.”

I stopped in my tracks, my heart pounding. Was he really not going to leave me alone? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Alyx clearly didn’t care about boundaries.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” I answered, trying to make myself as clear as possible. “Ever.”

His gaze darkened, and the smile fell from his face. He took a step toward me, and I stumbled back, bumping into someone behind me.

I whirled around. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”

Enzo gazed down at me, then turned his sharp look on Alyx. “She said she doesn’t want to talk to you,” he said, his voice low.

“This isn’t really your business,” Alyx countered.

Great, people were definitely watching us now that the most popular guy in school was involved. I knew he was Matt’s friend, but he intimidated the hell out of me.

“I’m making it my business,” he countered. “She wants you to leave her alone, so leave her alone.” He leaned over me, lowering his voice so only Alyx and I could hear him. “Matt told me what happened. Try to talk to her again, and you’ll have me to deal with.”

Alyx looked like he wanted to argue further, and I braced myself. “Fine,” he spat. He threw me a dark look before he strode off, pushing past people in the hallway.

I turned slowly, and my cheeks warmed. “Thanks,” I murmured. I was a little embarrassed that Matt told him what had happened.

Enzo gave me a kind smile. “No worries. How about I walk you to class?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know, but I want to. I want to make sure he doesn't try to talk to you again.” He gestured for me to lead the way, and I started walking. He fell into step beside me, completely ignoring the curious looks people were throwing at us.

“You really didn’t have to step in,” I said.

He gave me a look. “Of course, I did. If Matt knew I saw Alyx harassing you and I did nothing, he’d have my ass. He really cares about you.”

If I was blushing before, it had nothing on how I felt now.

“Does he?”

He gave me an incredulous look. “Of course. Everyone can see it.” I paused outside the door to my classroom and looked up at him. Up close, he was probably the biggest man I’d ever seen. Bigger than Matt, even. “Plus, even if Matt didn’t love you. I wouldn’t let a guy harass a girl.”

“Well, thanks.”

He smiled. “No problem. I hope I see you around more.”

“Me too.” I couldn’t believe this was happening. I could see Fiona from the corner of my eye, sitting in her seat and watching us with wide eyes.

Nina suddenly appeared at Enzo’s elbow. She gave me an assessing look, then a small smile. “Hey, Celeste, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m Nina.”

“Nice to meet you.” Did she think I didn’t know who she was? Everyone knew her.

“We’ll let you get to class,” Enzo said, draping his arm around Nina’s shoulders. She leaned into him slightly. I felt a pang of jealousy at their easy intimacy. I wanted that with Matt.

“Okay, thanks again,” I said.

Enzo nodded, and I forced myself to turn away and walk across the room to my seat. I sat down and peeked at the door. Nina waved, then both turned and walked away.

Fiona elbowed me. “Look at you, Miss Popular!”

Our classmates were all staring at me, and I ducked lower into my seat. “Alyx tried to talk to me,” I confessed. “Enzo stepped in.”

“That piece of shit,” Fiona spat. The girl next to her gave her a curious look, and Fiona lowered her voice. “I should have been there.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“I hate him,” she declared.

“Me too.”

She elbowed me again, and I gave her an exasperated look. “So, Enzo rescued you, huh? He really is a knight in shining armor.”

“Fiona!” I exclaimed. “He’s with Nina.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t admire him.”

“He’s not even your type.”

She just shrugged and leaned down to get her notebook out of her bag. “When you become cool and popular, please don’t forget about me. I’ll miss you.”

I snorted. “That’s not going to happen. And I could never forget about you.”

She grinned. “Good.”

At the end of class, Matt was waiting for me outside the door. His eyes roved over me as I walked out of the room. “Hey,” I said, approaching him. Fiona waved goodbye and took off without waiting for me.

“Hey,” he said. “Enzo told me what happened.”

I grimaced. “It was nothing.”

He frowned. “It wasn’t nothing. He shouldn’t have approached you.”

“It turned out okay in the end.”

“I’d like to walk you to class, if that’s okay?” he replied, ignoring my statement. He obviously didn't believe me, and I didn’t blame him. I was a little worried that Alyx wouldn’t give up too easily. He was clearly determined to talk to me alone, whether I wanted to or not.

“Sure.”

He smiled slightly and walked with me toward my next class. It was my last day, so I had to go home and clean the house. Jack was still pissed about the other night, and he’d given me an endless list of chores to accomplish. I was cleaning corners of the house I didn’t even know existed.

“When can I see you again?” Matt asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t know,” I said, biting my lip. “Jack is still pretty mad about the other night.”

“So? He doesn’t control you.”

I just shrugged.

“Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow? We can even stay on campus.”

I pondered it for a moment. Getting lunch here shouldn’t be a problem with Jack, though I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go somewhere with him. We were sure to run into people we knew. Just the thought of people listening in on our conversations made me sweat.

“We can find a quiet spot, I promise.”

“Okay,” I said, giving in without much effort on his part. The truth was, I wanted to see him just as much, if not more, than he wanted to see me.

“It’s a date,” he declared, stopping outside my classroom. A girl walking past us gave me a dirty look. She was one of Sabrina’s friends.

I grinned, just to annoy her. Sabrina couldn’t do anything to me now. The secret was already out. “See you then.”

He kissed my cheek, then walked off, eyes following him as he went. I gazed after him for a moment too, my eyes catching on Sabrina. She gave me a mean smile before ducking into her classroom. Okay, so maybe she could do something. Based on the unease her smile elicited in me, I wasn’t exactly over my fear of her.

She didn’t strike me as the type to give up easily.