Page 58 of Seren

His brows furrowed. “What for?”

“So people don’t see us together,” I said, totally testing him.

A slow-spreading smile slipped across his lips. “Come on. This will be fun.”

I opened my door and stepped out, pulling my backpack onto my shoulders.

Seren was at my side, slipping his hand into mine and squeezing it.

Oh, boy.This could go really well or reallyreallybadly because the repercussions could be vast. I did an internal sign of the cross and let him lead the way.

Heads turned as we passed people getting out of their cars in the parking lot. I cursed my corner spot because each step toward the school was steeped in quicksand, making it a slow trip to the front doors. People stopped talking and followed us with their eyes. I’d like to say I enjoyed the attention, but I didn’t.

I could see the front doors of the school. Another fifty yards and we’d be there.

“What the fuck?” Kiki growled.

I noticed her stepping out of a car on our right.

Seren stopped. I pulled on his hand urging him to keep walking, but he wasn’t someone you could make do anything. Without releasing my hand, he moved to Kiki. “You got something to say?”

Her eyes drifted to our joined hands. “What’s this?”

“I think you’re under the mistaken notion that I answer to you.”

She burst out laughing. “So what? You spend time with poor girl and you think you’ve changed? People like us don’t change, Seren. We stay with each other because we need each other.”

“I sure as hell don’t need someone like you,” he assured her.

We walked away and made our way inside the building, getting just as many looks as we had in the parking lot.

“What do you have first?” Seren asked as we walked through the crowded hallway.

“Chemistry.”

He laughed. “I took that sophomore year.”

“Yeah, well, your school didn’t have Chem two honors, so the guidance counselor just stuck me in there.”

“So, you’re prettyandsmart.”

I rolled my eyes.

Outside my class door, he moved in and I prepared for him to kiss me. But instead, he leaned into my ear and whispered, “Your car or the cafeteria?”

“What?”

“Where do you wanna eat lunch?”

“Well, I don’t need any more attention on me today, so...”

He nodded his understanding as he stepped back. “See you in English.” He spun away from me, disappearing into the sea of bodies rushing by us.

I found my seat in science class, overhearing girls around me talking about prom and their dresses.

“Today we’re going to be discussing element eighty-one on the periodic table: Thallium,” the teacher began. “Thallium is a post-transition metal made famous for its ability to poison and potentially kill by simply touching it in its metal form.”

Everyone quieted down, tucked their phones away, and faced the front of the room. Apparently, this was an interesting element.

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