Chapter 18 CHAPTER: 018
When Xavi said the Ice students are plotting their revenge, Asher thought he was bluffing, and certainly he wasn't expecting this. His mouth drops on the floor at the sight: hundreds of students' lockers frozen in ice blocks.
Some lockers are completely sealed over, the metal barely visible underneath. Others have ice spilling out onto the floor, spreading as if it crawled there on its own.
Students are gathered everywhere, staring with their mouths wide open; some are yelling, demanding who did it, even when it's totally obvious, while others are trying to open their lockers with their elements; fire students melt the ice, water elementals extract the water from the ice, while Earth elementals only stare, not knowing what to do.
“Those bastards!” Rase curses beside him, and Asher agrees with him for the first time. He understands that they are vexed with fire elementals; they didn't have to drag other elementals into their mess.
Slowly, Asher walks over to his locker and finds it in a solid ice block. Asher gapes.
“Can you melt it?” Rase asks beside him.
Asher blinks. He has better control of his fire, but he isn't sure what else he can do other than create a fireball and ignite his finger with beautiful torches of flame. “I'm not sure,” he answers.
“Let me help you,” Rase says and gets behind Asher, standing flushed against his back, and grabs his hand, holding his palm against the frozen blocker.
Rapidly, a sudden heat rises in his body at the proximity. He clears his throat awkwardly. “Do you have to stand so close?” He whispers.
“I do,” Rase whispers beside his ear. “How will you be able to learn if I don't hold your hand?”
Sharply, Asher turns but realizes his mistake when he finds Rase's lips an inch away from his. He gasps and moves away while Rase smiles cutely and scratches the back of his head.
“I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” he apologizes.
Asher shakes his head. He was uncomfortable, but he isn't going to tell the other boy that. Asher has already confirmed Rase’s silly crush, even though the boy hasn't confessed yet, and Asher hopes he never does because Asher doesn't know how he's going to reject him without jeopardizing whatever friendship they have.
“It's fine.” He retorts seconds later. “You don't have to stand so close."
Rase nods. “But can I hold your hand?”
“No,” comes Asher's blunt reply, and Rase gasps dramatically, placing a hand over his chest, but when he sees the deadpanned look Asher’s giving him, he turns serious and clears his throat.
“So, how do I melt the ice?” Asher asks as he turns back to his frozen locker, taking a mental note to give Xavi a piece of his mind if he ever sees the bastard again.
Rase teaches, and Asher learns, and soon enough, he manages to melt the ice from the locker without burning it to the ground. He smiles at his progress and opens the locker, but then a note flies out to the floor.
Before Asher can reach for it, Rase snatches it off the floor and reads out loud.
“Hope to see you again, pretty boy,” Rase reads the note with a sudden shift in his eyes that darkens while his jaw clenches as he lifts his gaze back to Asher as if he just caught him cheating. “You're seeing someone?”
“I'm not,” Asher answers. Only if Xavi realizes they will never see each other again. Suddenly, a feeling of dread coils in Asher's stomach. He ignores it and turns to grab a few books from his locker.
“You're not seeing anyone?” Rase continues to question.
“I don't know who that's from,” Asher lies through his teeth.
“Would you like them if they suddenly came to confess? Will you date them?” The question leaves Rase’s lips bluntly and bitterly. Asher sharply whips his head at him.
"And you care because?” Asher glares at him.
Rase opens his mouth to speak and then instantly shuts it, and then he opens it again as if having found the right words to use. “I care because you're my roommate and the only true friend I've made ever since I've been here. I won't let you date some asshole,” he huffs and crosses his arms over his chest.
Even though Asher knows he's lying, he decides to buy it. “Maybe I have some secret admirer. I think I'm quite pretty,” he shrugs, his tone nonchalant.
Rase's jaw clenches further. “Then he should grow some balls and come confess, not slip notes into your locker like some asshole."
“I think it's cute,” Asher retorts, and a low groan rumbles out of Rase's throat while thick, angry veins stretch up his forehead.
With a grunt, he throws the piece of paper into the air and ignites it in fire.
Asher gapes. “Why did you do that?”
The boy huffs and crosses his arms over his chest again, throwing his face. “Because I think it's stupid.”
Asher stares at the ashes on the floor with his mouth wide open. His head snaps up to look at the other boy. “You’re unbelievable,”
Rase doesn’t look at him; he keeps his arms crossed, jaw tight, eyes fixed somewhere else, like he suddenly finds the hallway wall very interesting. “It was just a stupid note.”
“It wasn’t yours to burn," Asher snaps. He shouldn't be mad over a stupid note, but he is. It's from Xavi.
Rase finally looks at him, the gloom in his eyes worsening. “It wasn’t from anyone important or anyone you know. Why are you so mad?!” he shoots back.
Asher’s eyes narrow slightly. “And you know that, how?”
Even if Asher knows why he's acting so petty and jealous, he won't allow such behavior, especially with things that belong to him.
“Why are you acting so weird for one bloody note unless you know who it's from?" Rase barks, clenching his hands at his side.
“I'm not acting weird. You are!”
“I’m not!”
“You are!”
“I said I’m not!”
Instantly, Asher realizes they are both yelling, gaining attention from other students. Asher lets out a breath, dragging a hand through his hair. “…forget it.” He murmurs, turning back to his locker, grabbing his books, and slamming it shut before walking away.
Rase races to catch up with him, keeping up with his long strides and blocking his path abruptly. “Okay, fine, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have burnt the note. I was jealous because I don't want anyone to take you from me.”
“I'm not yours. Making a new friend doesn't mean I'm going to stop being yours."
Rase stares at him for a second and nods. “I know, and I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."
Asher sighs and nods. “I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have made such a big deal of one stupid note.”
Instantly, Rase breaks into a smile and throws a hand over Asher’s shoulder and swirls him again. “Let's forget this ever happened. Let's go to class."
Asher hums in response and allows Rase to drag him along, but still, he reels his head, staring back at where the ashes of the notes remain, and a feeling of dread coils in his stomach before he immediately looks away and walks to class.
He's never going to see the blue-haired boy again anyway. Maybe it's good that the note is burnt.