Page 6 of Prince of Never

‘It wasn’t terrible.No one laughed at me, at any rate,’ I said.

‘Yass queen!’Ethan said, snapping his fingers.He always took the flamboyant option whenever the opportunity presented itself, especially if he knew it would make me blush.‘Look at you go, breaking down those barriers and stepping out of your comfort zone.’

‘I like my comfort zone,’ I complained.

‘We need to celebrate,’ he said, completely ignoring me.‘Let’s get some bubbly.’

Ethan was a lean man, and easily the most stylish person on campus.Eyeliner and mascara accentuated his features, a stark contrast to his platinum blonde hair.He was possibly my total opposite, always looking for fun, while I was always shying away from it.He seemed to have made it his mission to break me out of that habit, but he was always there for movie night at my apartment, as long as I agreed to let him give me a mani-pedi.Not exactly a hardship.

‘It’s barely twelve, on a workday, and Ivy can’t drink,’ I protested.

‘But I can watch you and remember the good old days,’ Ivy said wistfully, leaning her chin on her hand.

‘You are not helping,’ I chided.

‘Was I supposed to?’she asked, grinning.

‘You’re as bad as each other.’

‘That’s what you love about us,’ Ethan said with absolute certainty.

My body suddenly stiffened, fear prickling at my spine.For a moment, I wanted to ignore the feeling, pretend it wasn’t happening, just my imagination.But someone was watching me.I forced myself to scan the room, every inch, every crevasse.Then I went over it again.

Nothing.

God, maybe I really was going crazy.I’d spent so much of my life fighting against that notion, defending my sanity against everyone who told me otherwise, finding inventive ways to dispose of the pills they tried to force into me.Maybe they’d been right all along.

‘Are you alright, Immy?’Ethan asked, snapping my attention back to them.Ivy wore a matching look of concern.

‘Yeah, of course,’ I said airily, waving a hand.

A serious expression settled over Ethan’s face as he checked the room before turning his attention back to me.‘Bubbly is definitely in order.’

‘We’re at work,’ I said again, knowing it was pointless.If Ethan could find an excuse for champagne, he would.

‘Or you can come out with me tonight,’ Ethan said, a wicked smile spreading across his lips.‘Your choice.’

I glared at him.‘You are a terrible person.’

He mimed flipping hair he didn’t have.‘I know.’

The rest of the day passed quickly as if to spite me.My eyes kept darting to the window as the sun began to sink lower in the sky, my agitation growing with every second.That feeling of being watched hadn’t left me, though I never actually saw anyone watching me.

I’m losing my goddamn mind, I thought as I slid the last book onto the shelf.Finally, I could go home and lose my mind in private.

I said a hurried goodbye to Ivy before racing out the door, trying to beat the sinking sun and almost colliding with Ethan.‘Oh!’

He raised a perfect brow at me.‘Late for a date?’

‘Ha-ha,’ I said, rolling my eyes.The last time I’d been on a date I’d sworn off the whole ridiculous charade, which Ethan thought was entirely unacceptable.

‘I came to see if you were finished.Walk with you to your car?’

Somehow, he always seemed to be around when I needed him.‘Sure, that would be great,’ I said.He wasn’t exactly built to be a bodyguard, but his presence was comforting.And if anything did happen, at least I’d have a witness this time.

He talked the whole way there, not requiring an answer from me, which was fortunate because I wasn’t listening.That feeling of unease grew stronger as we got closer to my car.My eyes darted around me, drawn to every shadow, every darkened corner, until we reached the shiny blue hatchback, complete with claw marks in the bonnet that I couldn’t have fixed because no one could see them but me.

Ethan stared at the bonnet, and for a moment I thought maybe I wasn’t the only one who could see them, but then he turned back to me and smiled.‘Here we are, then.See you tomorrow!’he said with a wave before heading to his own car.

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