Chapter 18: Strange Concern

Melissa's POV.

At first I wanted to refuse Landon's invitation to speak in private, but on the second or third try I realised he had not given me any reason to hate him yet.

I nodded my head slowly in agreement as I followed him out of the classroom into the hallway; we took a left turn into the library, and he sat on one of the tables, staring at me in silence.

" you said you wanted us to talk" i said to him in a calm voice trying to be polite even though I was feeling already upset with the encounter i just had with that Selena girl.

"I do not mean to upset you, Melissa, but I need to let you understand something: what you are doing is dangerous. In fact, what you did today is really dangerous, and if the school finds out that you caused injury to another student, they are going to punish you for that."

He said this to me, and for a second, it almost felt as if he was concerned about me, but why would he be?

"What exactly are you driving at?" I asked him, still trying to maintain my calm and not be rude to him yet.

"I just want you to know that if Lex decides to report your assault to the school management, you are going to lose your scholarship, and you would definitely be kicked out of this school. I know that you do not want that, do you?"

"Look, Landon, I am not going to fall for your cheap blackmail anymore. Lex just signed an agreement that he was not going to hurt me anymore and I would not be played for a fool."

My voice was not gentle this time; I was speaking out of anger, and it was obvious from the way I yelled.

"You've got to calm down. Melissa Lex only signed that agreement because he thought that you were really going to put everything behind you, but after he signed the agreement, you took the first step in attacking him, and you assaulted him physically. I don't know what you think about this, but this is a very serious issue if you truly know who Lex is."

I almost rushed into replying to him when he said that, but the second thought of his last statement made me pause.

I knew who Lex was; he was the son of the wealthiest man in the entire city, and messing with him would mean messing with a very dangerous person, but why were they all turning blind eyes to the fact that he was the one who came at me first?

Even though I tried to condemn his act of humiliation on that student, he still had no right to strangle me because of that.

"What about the moments when he strangled me and assaulted me? Why was it not a serious case for the school management?" I asked him.

" Did you ever complain to the school management, I'm sure you were afraid to complain because you know very well that the judgement would always be on his favour. I want you to look on both ends here, Melissa; you will be losing if Lex decides to take the revenge route, and believe me, it is not going to be fair. I might be fine with Lex, but I cannot change his mind when he decides to do something like this."

For a second I paused to wonder why he was even out there talking to me about this when it was almost none of his business.

"What exactly are you driving at? What do you want me to do?" I asked him this time. My voice was calm again, as I was ready to listen to what he had to say to me and the kind of solution he was willing to provide.

"I don't have anything much to say to you, Melissa. I am just here to say that for your sake and for the sake of this scholarship, which I believe must have been very difficult for you to secure, you need to try to make peace with what happened between you and Lex before. Coming at him like this is only going to leave you here, and as much as I am going to try my best to let him forget what you did today, you need to make sure you don't do something like that ever again."

I had never listened to him speak for so long, and I wondered if his voice was always so gentle and soothing or if he was only trying to act calm.

"Why?"

I asked that question without thinking; it just escaped my mouth. I was confused at why he was standing there before me, giving me advice that I never asked for.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, why are you even here trying to do this? Why are you trying to protect me? I just punched your friend in his face, and he was bleeding when I left there. Why aren't you with him? Why are you here with me?" I asked him, airing all of my confusion.

"I expect that you are going to ask that question, Melissa, and the answer is quite simple."

He said, staring back at me. His deep brown eyes were so fixed on me I felt like I was going to disappear.

"What is it then?"

My curiosity got the best of me, and I couldn't wait for him to say it.

"You are different. I have never seen anyone be so rough to Lex; I mean, I have never seen anyone stand up to him and tell him to his face that he was doing something wrong. Even his father wouldn't interfere in his life like he did, and it's surprising to know that someone can do that. I was going to ask you how you did it, but seeing what you did today, I believe it's just in you. Maybe legs can do well with someone like you."

The last statement made me cough.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, but he only smiled and walked away.