My eyes narrowed. The echo of my book slapping shut was the only confirmation of my decision. "Jodanaaa," Layla lilted and it took me a split second longer to figure out she'd been calling my name for some time. "Earth to Anna." "Are you okay?" Beside me, Gabby frowned. I stood up and shoved my books inside my purse. "Don't wait after me for lunch, guys." And I left to follow the mysterious girl. My skin prickled as I recalled the look she'd given me - a stark mixture of harsh coldness and something pure dirty. I didn't know why disgust splayed across her features - only that I wanted to find out why she'd looked at me like that. I didn't even know what I would do once I reached her. Confront her? I neared the bookshelf where I last saw her disappear, and while the library had fallen eerily quiet, I caught the sound of soft murmurs. Turning into the aisle, I came face-to-face with Samuel Adams and the mysterious girl. They were leaning away from each other, conversing in hushed tones. Sam's eyebrows looked pulled together in deep concentration and he was nodding at something she was saying. There was a lipstick stain on his cheek. Suddenly he closed in on her, pressing her against the bookshelf and hugging her to him. She reciprocated and they looked like two long lost lovers. She pressed another kiss to his cheek. A sharp stung, and then anger and bitterness enveloped me. Partly because while I'd heard rumours of Sam, I'd never had to witness it myself. Never caught him in the 'act'. Friday night in the alleyway he was with you, an annoying voice in my mind reminded me. I wanted to laugh at the this uncalled source of jealousy. Why did I feel this way? One more reason to stay far away from him, Anna. I was not about to become anyone's new notch. They must have sensed my presence because they quickly wrenched away from each other as if their touch was scalding. And I don't know why but I stayed planted there. Too shocked too move away, and, for some damn reason, enraged at what I saw. She was gorgeous, the raven-haired beauty. Even though her cheeks were tinged pink from obviously being caught in an intimate moment at the back of the library, she still looked calm and regal and poised. Sam and I locked gazes. It was crazy but for a moment there, I felt like I saw remorse and humiliation burn in those emerald depths. But if the mysterious girl was calm and collected, Sam was the picture of perfect confidence and unaffectedness. So they were about to hook-up...And I messed it up? He pushed his fingers through his mussed hair. The collar of his white shirt had a giant pink lipstick stain on it. "Anna." His hook-up cut him a look before her glassy blue eyes darted to mine, unreadable. She fixed her appearance by smoothing out the crinkles in her shirt and combing her fingers through her hair. I stiffened when Sam took a deliberate step towards me. "I needed a book from the science-fiction aisle, and you guys were in the middle of it. Sorry for interrupting." I shouldered past both of them, even though it was a lie. Randomly I grabbed any book and waved it in their faces like a white flag. "Got it. Now if you'll excuse me..." Sam grabbed my wrist before I could escape and tugged on it once. "Where are you going, Barbie?" I glanced down at his fingers wrapped around my hand pointedly so he could release his hold. He didn't let me go. I tried yanking away but he wouldn't budge. "Let me go, Sam. I've got somewhere to be." He stepped closer to me, invading me, nearly crowding me the same way he'd done to the other girl and that made me mad. The way he'd done to me last time. "Are we going to talk about Saturday night?" "What about Saturday night?" Sam's eyes blazed. "You want me to spell it out for you?" "No," I almost growled in his face. "Let go of me, Sam." I helplessly pulled but his grip turned crushing. "You're hurting me." He instantly let go of me, as if horrified at the thought of hurting me. "There's no use ignoring me anymore, Anna. We're obviously meant to fucking constantly cross paths." I shoved at his chest so he could give me some space. The raven-haired girl was watching us quietly before she shook her head once, and quickly told Sam she'd see him later. Sam barely looked at her as he nodded at her words. She pecked his cheek and left her stupid trademark there and it pissed me off further. "We're not meant for anything," I pressed in a low, cold tone. Sam withdrew a couple of steps when I pushed at his chest again. "I said thank you for the night. That's it. I even thanked your friend Nate. Now just... please... leave me alone." Sam's face fell. "You're so goddamn stubborn. Is running away your defense mechanism? Because running brings you nothing. Eventually it'll all catch up to you." No. No. He wasn't one to talk about running away to me. Running away was all I had. Avoidance is how I dealt with my problems and so far it had worked pretty fucking fantastic for me. And where in the goddamn world was all of this coming from? I'd come here simply to throw a glance and now I was stuck with Samuel Adams. "And you're goddamn frustrating." It was the best I got. Her lipstick stain on his cheek was making me see red. "Is sleeping with girls your coping mechanism or something? Because screwing random chicks will only land you with a bad case of STD. Eventually, you'll be labelled as a disgusted pig - which, of course, you are already." I took it too far. I felt the bile of regret rising up when Sam truly looked wounded at my sharp words. All I know was seeing him with that girl had wakened something ugly and dark inside of me. Not that I wasn't already a giant ball of a mess. Sam wasn't a pig. The truth is he'd been nothing but nice to me. Who was I to judge who he bedded. If anyone was disgusting, then it was me. For lashing at him. For letting my past define me. For constantly making the same mistakes again and again and again. But before I could apologize, Sam shook his head ruefully. A wry smirk curved his lips and when he spoke, his words sliced right through me, piercing me like a load of arrows. "Everyone was right." He laughed. "I should have stayed away from you. There's a reason why people labelled you as a cold-hearted bitch for two years, and I couldn't understand why. I guess I was probably just blinded by how gorgeous I found you. It's unfortunate it took me so long to figure it out." His stony expression stayed etched in my mind even after he'd walked away, leaving me standing alone in the science fiction aisle. A pang travelled through my chest, but I refused to let myself believe that I'm the one who'd driven him to sprout those hurtful words at me. Then again, someone did once tell me that I had the remarkable talent of bringing out the worst in everyone.