Chapter 5 Chapter 5

Skylar's POV

The moment I turned back, Maddie was no longer standing beside me. I looked across the hall, and she was standing with the waste field guy.

"Oh my god, Maddie," I cursed under my breath.

She does not cease to amaze me. She's serious about taking that guy home with her. What a girl.

I moved away, grabbing a drink from the tray of a waiter walking by, but as I turned around, I ran into someone standing in front of me, his two hands in his pockets.

Our gaze met, and I let out a short breath.

"Jordan," I called out his name.

He was looking at me with a kind of look on his face that made me wonder why he wasn't saying anything.

"Are you all right, Jordan?" I called out to him.

He smiled, nodding his head quickly. "I just cannot find the right words to compliment you right now, Sky. You look dazzling. You look like the moon has just landed." He said those words with a kind of weight that made me giggle and blush.

"Thank you, Jordan. I made my dress," I said, pride spreading over my shoulders even though I did not intend it to be like that.

It just felt really good to see that someone actually can look me in the eyes and say something good, someone who is not Maddie.

"You do not mean it," he remarked, taking a step closer to me.

He stretched his hand and touched the tiny straps, feeling the fabric of the dress and its texture.

His gaze travelled from the top of my dress to the flowing tail, and his mouth fell open.

"You do not cease to amaze me." Those words fell out of his mouth like healing balm on a wound. It just felt so soothing. I smiled.

"Thank you, Jordan. You look like you just got here," I said as we began to stroll into the hallway.

"Yes, I had something I needed to attend to before getting here. What about you? How long have you been here?"

I let out a sigh. "I was here with Maddie, but she all of a sudden disappeared on me, and right now I feel like I am on my own."

He chuckled. "Well, you're not on your own anymore. I'm here with you."

I smiled at him. I was about to say something when the scratching sound of the microphone caught our attention, making us turn our gaze to the stage. Standing right there on the stage was Penelope.

"Oh, my God. What is she up to now?" Jordan remarked, making me chuckle at his words.

Even he knows that Penelope is nothing but a fox.

×××

Owen's POV

When Penelope walked away from me, I never expected to see her standing on the stage in the matter of minutes.

I had wanted to go find Skylar, but taking a few steps into the hall, I saw her standing with Jordan at a corner.

They looked like they were having a serious conversation, so I stopped. I didn't go any further.

"Hello everyone," Penelope's voice called out, making me lift my gaze to her quickly.

She held the microphone in her left hand, smiling cheekily. The smile obviously was not reaching her eyes, but who would know?

"As we all know," she continued, "this is a gathering for every important person in this institution, and I have been honoured to give a speech. But I will not be talking about anything else but about our newest teammate, Skylar Scott."

She called out in a loud voice, making the crowd erupt into cheers.

Everyone suddenly began to clap their hands. I glanced across the hall. I could see Skylar's face. I could see her looking shocked.

She stood right beside Jordan, staring up at Penny from there. Something about her posture had gone rigid, and even the sparkle of her red dress and her very perfectly shaped body seemed to have dimmed a little.

I looked away from Skylar, back to Penny. My heart was beating faster. I don't know why, but I was tense.

A lot of thoughts travelled through my mind in a matter of seconds as I wondered what Penelope was about to say. Just then her voice broke out again.

"First of all, I want you all to know that she has been an extraordinary addition to the team, and because of that, we have arranged a present for her." She said, dropping the mic slowly.

She walked over to the table beside her and carried a box. I looked at Skyler again. I could tell she was confused. She stood there frozen.

A part of me was yearning to go forward and hold her through this but can't.

"Skylar Scott, please step forward to take your award," Penny called out. My gaze followed every step Skylar took until she was standing face-to-face with Penny on the stage.

Penny held the box, stretching it towards Skylar, but just as Skylar would take it from her, she knocked it down. The box fell open to the ground. There was nothing in it. It was empty.

What the fuck?

"Oops." Penny gasped, wearing a look of surprise as she walked forward and picked up the empty open box.

"Looking inside it, there is nothing in it," she remarked.

At that moment, my gaze was fixed on Skylar's face. Her face had gone completely red.

“No, no, not today, Penny,” I remarked quietly as I began to cover the distance in long strides, but at a few steps from them I heard Penny's voice again.

“Oh, I'm sorry, everyone. The present was not a physical present. It's an announcement, rather,” she said.

I suddenly halted.

I don't know why I did, but a part of me knew that it was about to get crazy.

Before I could think of what to do, she spoke out loud on the microphone,

“Skylar Scott is a little naive girl who is still a petty virgin. She's nothing but a little squirrel, but you'll jump, with no idea at all what real life is about.”

I felt goosebumps cover my body immediately. It looked like someone had poured ice-cold water on me.

At that very moment, I wasn't thinking about just Sky anymore. I was thinking about Ryan and everything he said to me.

I watched as Skylar struggled to hold back her tears, but before I could reach her, she was already running across the hall, running right through the door.

I cut through from a corner, following right behind her, but by the time I got outside, she was gone.

When I returned to the hall, I found Penny and her two witch friends giggling over a drink. "What exactly was the meaning of that?" I asked, stepping closer to her, but she didn't say a word. She just stood there staring at me with her wide, puffy eyes.

"Answer me," I demanded, stepping even closer to her until we were staring right into each other's eyes.

"Or what? Owen? What are you going to do?" she asked.

I gasped.

Have I really gone so soft that Penelope thinks she could stand up to me?