Chapter 22 Untitled Chapter

Chapter 22 Untitled Chapter
ALEXIA 

My first lecture on campus wasn’t so bad, except that Killian was back at the forefront of my mind. It had taken a lot to even fall asleep last night as I kept replaying the hug we shared over and over in my head. 

A part of me wished he would be the same Killian from high school. You know, the one that hated me and avoided me? But this new Killian, I don’t know how to deal with him or us, and it’s stressing me a great deal. 

Exiting the building, I shut my eyes briefly, enjoying the wind in my face and hair. After spending several hours in the lab all day, I wanted nothing more than to return to the dorm and fall on my bed. But I couldn’t do that since I promised Leo I would be at his tryout. 

Sometimes I wished I wasn’t so nice. When he asked us earlier, Raven had no issue saying no. Her reasons? She doesn’t find tryouts entertaining. I almost said no, but then Leo went on about how much he could rely on me… blah, blah, blah. 

There were fewer people on the bench as I arrived at the court. The coach was barking orders, people were running around… it was like a freaking mad house. Once I spotted Leo, I gave him a little wave, which he returned with a big smile. 

“So… who among them are you dating? I’m dating that one.” She gestures toward a tall guy—to be fair, they were all tall. He had a fade, and seemed very energetic, also to all seem energetic. 

What am I doing here anyway? I laughed at the absurdity of my own statement, before recalling she had asked me a question. She was looking at me curiously, awaiting my answer. 

“Definitely not that one.” I joked, referring to the guy she had pointed out earlier. 

“That’s not funny.” She gave me a serious stare. “He’s mine, so back off. 

I didn’t have the time to apologize or explain it was a joke when she stood up to sit somewhere else. Geez! I thought high school was worse. However, I was distracted when Leo appeared on the beach, dropping an arm around my shoulder. 

“Please don’t touch me.” I begged, my face squeezing up in disgust. “You are all sweaty and I don’t want to be anywhere near that.” 

He laughed, but kept his distance. “Thank you for showing up, I made the team by the way!” 

“Yay!” I patted his shoulder in celebration since I couldn’t hug him at the moment. I guess the universe was on my side, tryouts were almost over when I showed up.

“Give me a minute, I’m going to grab my stuff and we can leave.” He jogged away, retreating the same way he had come. 

I was still smiling long after he disappeared out of sight. Suddenly, the hair at the back of my neck stood, causing goosebumps to appear on my skin. I looked around, getting the feeling that I was being watched. 

Behold, just a short distance from where I sat, Killian stood. However, he wasn’t looking at me, he was in a conversation with some guy. My heart skipped at his mere presence, I didn’t think it was possible for someone as attractive as Killian to be even more attractive. 

The casual sweatshirt he was wearing was almost a tight fit, causing me to remember a time where it wasn’t a fit at all. Nervous and panicking, I jumped down from the benches, dodging behind people as I tried to make my way to the exit undetected. 

“Jackson?” 

I froze, almost out the door. Despite knowing there’s only one person, who mostly referred to me by my last name. I still close my eyes, hoping it wouldn’t be the person I thought it was. 

I risked opening my eyes, finding Killian leaning over to match my height. Flustered by the intensity of his eyes, I jerked away from him, putting some distance between us. 

Aware of the attention on us, something that became a thing immediately I was approached by Killian. I rock back and forth on my feet, waiting for him to say something. 

I didn’t trust myself to speak at the moment, if I opened my mouth… even for a second. I was afraid my heart was going to leap out. Of course that’s an exaggerated scenario that will never happen, at least that was what the scientist in me believes. 

“Alexia, are you avoiding me?” His tone sounded half-playful, and half- serious. 

But there’s the thing, I can never tell which is which with Killian. The guy is so mysterious—well not so much after… still. There are some things about him that I’ll never know, no matter how close I get to him. 

Speaking of closeness, I didn’t notice he had bridged the distance between us until he tilted my face toward his, forcing me to look at him. 

I blushed, holding his stare. “N-no.” 

The corner of his mouth quickened up. “You forget, I can tell when anyone is lying. Most especially you.” 

What am I supposed to say to that? Especially when he is telling the truth? Removing my face from his hold, I darted a look around. Glares from all directions, just great! Now I’m not competing with high schoolers anymore, now I’m competing with seniors? 

How is this fair? 

There is no competition, my subconscious whispers back to me. You don’t want him, remember? Oh right! I totally forgot about that. When my eyes collided with Killian’s again, I blushed even harder, he looked at me as if he could tell what I was thinking. 

Shoving his hands into his pocket, he sucked in his bottom lip, using teeth to drag it out. My mouth kind of fell open on an ‘oh’ before I could stop myself. What was that about? I frowned, clearing my throat. 

“Zeke told me about the car crash, is anything broken?” His gaze ranked over my body. 

Feeling naked under his gaze, like why does his eyes have to be so intense? And why do I keep talking about it? Not talking about something is a way not to notice it, I reminded myself. 

“The only thing you should be worried about is the tree Jinx ram us into.” I laughed, feeling light headed when he smiled. 

Might not be a full blown laughter, but at least someone gets a joke. I thought, thinking about the girl from earlier. 

“What does a guy have to do around here to get your attention, Alexia?” 

“Wait…what?” I echoed, not believing he just said that. Did Killian…freaking say he wants my attention? I blinked rapidly, doubting my hearing for a second. 

“What do I need to do to get your attention? A new car? A library full of smutty romance novels? A cupcake shop? Chocolate factory? Or a house perhaps? I’m out of guesses, help me out.” 

Smutty romance novel? How did he know about that? Except he went through my stuff during the short period of time he was staying with us. I looked down at my very shiny black boots, having no idea how to respond to that. 

Nothing can ever happen between Killian and I, I have always known that. But recent events have reinforced that. I so badly wanted to give him a least, but that feels like taking an advantage. 

Probably tired of waiting for me to stop gawking at him like a fish out of water, he leaned over, his breath fanning the side of my face as he reached to whisper into my ear. 

“If I were you, I’d take advantage of me.” He straightened up, smirking at me. 

Oh? 

Ohhh…

Ohhhhhhhh! 

“What’s going on here?” Leo’s very confused voice snapped me out of my thoughts. 

Killian looked at him, his gaze hardening before turning his attention back on me. “Later Jackson.” Adding a wink to that, he walked away. 

A few of the girls hurried after him, making me remember they were still there all along. Finding it hard to focus on anything after the conversations with Killian, I forced my attention on Leo. 

“What does he want? He disappeared for six months and he suddenly remembered you exist?” Leo scoffed, anger evidenced in the tone of his voice. 

Leo doesn’t know why Killian had to disappear for six months. He just thought, he got bored of coming to high school and interacting with people. I tried to correct him on occasions but he just wouldn’t listen, I do get why. Him and Killian are not exactly best buddies. 

“You’ve gotten your stuff, can we leave now? I’m soooooo tired.” I groaned, letting my head drop briefly on his shoulder. 

He chuckled, shaking his head at me. “So am I, although I’m excited for the basketball season. Did you see how beautiful their count is? It’s so much bigger…” he chatted away, forgetting all about Killian. 

Speaking of Killian, avoiding him will be hard, much harder than anything I have ever done…!