Chapter 7 Poop boy
Vee's POV
Our table is no longer ours. There's three guys wearing Sun House shirts, sitting there now.
Another girl is currently sitting beside Chloe.
The broad-shouldered guy with a buzz cut, the one who still has a smirk on his face, lounges in the middle like he owns the place.
Maybe he does.
I take another step, certainly not about to exhaust myself completely by standing in the middle of a cafeteria.
Eli strides silently behind me, his head dropping lower.
His fingers tighten around the bottle until his knuckles lose their color.
"Are you okay?" I mutter, not sure what this is about.
It takes him several seconds, but he does nod eventually.
"Look." One of the boys exclaims. "It's poop-boy."
Eli's head drops even lower.
The others laugh. Chloe and the girl beside her are too busy talking about something to pay them any mind.
"Vesper Harrison." The guy with the buzz cut redirects his smile to me. "The newest member of our house. Come sit."
I glance around.
The empty space beside Chloe has already been taken.
Now the only two free seats are beside the buzz cut guy. Although I don't remember the seat arrangement being this way, I do not question it.
I sit down closer to Chloe while Eli quietly lowers himself into the chair beside the man.
"My name is Jules." The buzz cut dude mutters, sitting up straighter. "I lead Sun House." He points toward Chloe. "She is my assistant."
Chloe has stopped talking with the girl beside her and now looks more interested in the vegetables on her plate.
I nod at Jules. It's pointless telling him my name since he already knows it.
"I heard you picked a fight with the big guy today." Jules continues.
"I didn't." I blurt out, my face crinkling into a frown.
"Here is a little advice." His smile disappears. "Never do that again. You are lucky Chloe stepped in this time."
He jerks his chin toward another table across the cafeteria.
"If she hadn't, those deranged dogs would have had a great time stomping the light out of you."
Loud laughter echoes from the group in brown shirts across the room.
Someone makes a joke filthy enough to make half the table howl a second time.
I shake my head but pause when I spot familiar eyes watching me from the middle of the barbarians.
The second James notices I've seen him, he smiles.
I immediately look away, my appetite gone.
"What?" Jules suddenly says. "Too shy to let a real man feed you?"
I frown, but he is not talking to me.
He scoops up a spoonful of rice from my tray and lifts it toward Eli.
The quiet guy turns his head away.
"I said eat." Jules says with lurking annoyance.
Eli ignores him. But then Jule's hand shoots out. He grabs Eli by the hair and jerks his head back.
Before I can react, he shoves the food into Eli's mouth.
Eli struggles, his body jerks forward as he coughs, his eyes watering in seconds.
"Swallow." Jules presses a hand over his mouth.
"Stop!” My chair scrapes loudly against the floor. I firmly yank at the cuffs connecting us, pulling Eli away.
He doubles over, coughing until tears are pouring from his eyes.
Jules blinks then smiles. "Relax." He says, wiping his fingers with a napkin. "We're just having fun."
My hands clench in fists. How can you call this fun?
"He is my boy." He smiles at Eli again. "Right, Eli?"
I expect Eli to deny it. Instead… he actually nods. It is tiny and barely noticeable but it's an agreement nonetheless.
I look around the table.
Chloe quietly picks at her food without lifting her head. The others simply watch me with equal amusement.
Beside me, Eli's hand grips the fabric of his trousers so tightly that his fingers shake. I suddenly cannot stand another second here.
"I'm done." I say storming off in annoyance, automatically dragging Eli along.
The scrape of another chair echoes behind us but I don't look back.
"What is the point of this shit?"
I hold up the handcuff linking my wrist to Eli's.
The chain rattles between us.
It has annoyed me from the second Roman locked it around my wrist, and the feeling has only gotten worse.
Eli glances at it. "It is supposed to make the members of different houses survive together." His voice is so soft that I actively reduce the anger in my tone.
"It's kinda like... a way to keep the peace."he adds.
"The only thing stealing my peace is this stupid handcuff." I shake the chain lightly. "And the fact that you let Jules do all that to you." The words leave my mouth before I think them through.
Eli freezes, his shoulders stiffening.
His breathing changes.
"...Sorry." I murmur.
He does not answer.
"I shouldn't have said it like that." I add.
Several long seconds pass before he finally shakes his head.
"It's okay." He whispers. "I just…” he sighs, before lifting his sad blue eyes to mine. ”Loud voices affect me."
I had not even realized I raised mine.
"I didn't mean to raise my voice at you." I say softly.
"I know." His fingers play with the cuff. "I still don't like it."
A heavy silence settles between us.
"I'm sorry." I repeat.
He gives me a small nod then points toward a path leading away from the buildings.
"I know somewhere."
I look where he is pointing. Surely he intends to lead us out of here.
"What kind of somewhere?" I ask, curious already
"A place." He mutters, kicking his leg so subtly that I almost don't catch it. A small smile plays in his lips. "It helps when... things get noisy."
"Lead the way then." I smile at him, happy when I see his shoulders relax a little.
We step outdoors, stopping only when we get to a huge transparent fish pond. One that stretches across the middle of a wide garden.
The water is so clear I can see every stone resting at the bottom.
Bright orange and white fish glide lazily beneath the surface. It takes me a few minutes of watching the calm creatures to actually realize just how silent everything has gone.
Eli watches the fish with a smile that fits his round face perfectly. He looks so innocent. Perhaps he did something by mistake and ended up here.
"Do you like it?" He asks when he notices me looking.
I stare back at the pond. "It is peaceful"
His smile grows. "I come here a lot." He tells.
"I can see why." I respond, actually wishing we could stay here longer.
After a while, I clear my throat. "Can I ask you something?"
He nods but looks uncomfortable.
"You don't have to answer." I say.
Another nod.
"Why do they call you that?" I ask quietly.
"What?" His smile slowly falls.
I think over my words before speaking again. "...Poop boy."
A/N___ I already like Eli. He is the last person relevant to the story so yep, we're done with the introductory chapters!
