**CHAPTER TWELVE.**
Topper had requested I meet him in school on Monday, and today happened to be Monday. However, it was already 10am. Yet, here I was, standing right in front of my mirror fully dressed for school as I debated skipping my 10:30 am class. I was even debating skipping school for the rest of the semester. I didn't think I was ready to step into campus, especially not after what went down yesterday on twitter. I just knew Draken and I were the main topic on campus.
"Can't I just catch a break?" I muttered, moving away from the mirror.
I wished Karina was here. We could've gone to school together. Having her by my side would’ve made it easier to step onto campus, but she’d left an hour earlier for an impromptu test.
I laid on my bed and picked up my phone. I opened twitter and searched up Draken's name, and the first thing I saw were photos of Draken and me. I sighed heavily as I scrolled through a comment section for NYU students. Apparently, someone had recognized me as *"Miss Snorter,"* referencing my embarrassing incident with Amanda, who everyone thought was dating Draken. The comments grew progressively worse as I continued reading. I scrunched my brows as I read.
*“Can't believe @Gallagherjnr is cheating' on Amanda with Miss Snorter,”* one comment read.
*“Ave always wondered what caused the confrontation between @AmandaHeartU and miss snorter in the hallway, and now am confident that Amanda already knew about Draken and Miss snorter affair and that's why they clashed. Am so smart.”* someone else speculated, and I couldn't help but snicker at that particular comment.
*“Ew. A royalty shouldn't be seen hanging out with some cheap stake. @Gallagherjnr take my advice and dump that whore.”* came another.
*“She looks ugly. What does Draken even see in her?”*
*“She's probably just a one night stand.”*
The more I read, the more it felt like a punch to the gut. I quickly logged out of Twitter, grateful that only my closest friends knew my handle. It was humiliating enough to be involved in two separate controversies in such a short span of time—the Amanda incident and the whole thing with Draken.
As I looked at the clock on my study desk, I realized that my class was in the next twenty minutes. I jumped out of bed and put on my jacket before running out of my room, locking the door as I made my way out of my hostel building.
*Fuck it.* Making my way through the lobby, I felt the stares. It was like everyone was whispering about me, and I had to steel myself to keep going. I was determined to go to school. I hadn't stolen or killed anyone. My only crime was being photographed next to Draken Gallagher. Also, I was curious to know why Topper wanted to see me. I wondered if Draken had told him I was a shifter and…his *mate.*
By the time I reached the campus, my nerves were frayed. Mr. Hellcaster was already teaching when I slipped into the lecture hall and took a seat at the back, hoping to stay under the radar. I tried to focus on my class, but the silent whispers and the *not-so-subtle* glances made it nearly impossible.
Few minutes into the lecture, I felt a presence by my side, followed by an unmistakable scent. I knew who it was, even without looking. I looked up and saw Draken Gallagher, seated next to me. I also observed some students glancing back at us as they murmured between themselves.
Draken grinned and greeted me, "Hey, Miss *Snorter,*" as if everything was normal. It had totally slipped my mind that we even shared Mr Hellcaster class.
I twirled my pen, avoiding eye contact. "I don't think you should be sitting next to me," I replied quietly even though it felt *wrong* to say.
"Why? I thought we were cool," he said, his voice casual.
"We are cool, but haven't you seen the rumors surrounding us?" I kept my voice low.
Draken hummed, then said, "So what? You're going to let rumors dictate who you can talk to?"
Something in his tone triggered my frustration. I looked at him, my voice sharp. "Look, Draken, I'm probably the most socially awkward person on earth. I just want to live my life in peace without being the center of campus gossip. Can you just understand that?"
He nodded, but his eyes held a storm of emotions. "What do you want me to do then?" he asked.
"I want you to just ignore me," I said, my words hurting more than I expected. "I don't want to be involved in your world."
He seemed taken aback. "My world? But you're my mate, Eline. I can't just ignore you, do you even know how that sounds?"
I suddenly felt exposed as people around us openly stared and whispered. I saw some with their phones out, likely taking pictures. I felt anger boiling inside me but was too timid to call them out. "I just want to go back to being ignorant about the existence of other shifters. I don’t want to be involved with you or anyone else…and I might reject the mate bond if you tell me how."
Draken said nothing as he stared at me for quite some time. His eyes, though, felt like a storm of emotions. He brushed back his hair as he packed his bag and stood up. "I don't think I can do any of what you requested me to do, Eline. Call me selfish, but I'm not giving you up."
He left me to my whirlpool of emotions. I wondered why he was being adamant since we weren't even that close with each other to begin with. Besides, he had done well to ignore me in middle school and my first year of uni, so why was he being strong-headed about not ignoring me all of a sudden? Who the hell even cared about a mate bond? Certainly not me.
I sighed and placed my attention back to Mr Hellcaster who was busy talking about epistemology.
After lectures, I was the first to leave the hall. Topper had sent a follow up message, requesting we meet at the cafeteria, so I headed there immediately, ignoring the words thrown by passers-by purposely to hurt me.
As I entered the cafeteria, I noticed it was almost empty — which made me a bit relaxed. I sighted Topper from afar. However, he wasn't alone. He was with a lady, one I recognised to be a senior in my major. Her name was Brianna, she was also the student council president and her mother was the dean of NYU. She and Topper seemed to be talking about something.
"Hey, Topper," I greeted as I took a seat right in front of them.
Topper stopped talking to Brianna as he brought his gaze to me. He grinned beautifully. "Eline," he said, stretching his hand out to me for a handshake. He was being formal, but I still shook him. "Good to see your beautiful face again. I do hope the rumors aren't stressing you out."
I rolled my eyes. "I wish I could say no."
"It happens, but it will pass. This is Brianna, my girlfriend," he introduced the student council president to me. Although, I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised that they were dating. I wondered if she was his mate…
"I know her. Everyone on campus does," I said, chuckling, as I turned to meet her gaze.
We exchanged greetings and she sounded cool and nice. It was the first time we'd ever come across each other face to face, but she treated me like a close friend.
"So why did you request to see me?" I asked, getting to the point.
Topper looked around the cafeteria, taking note of the emptiness, before leaning forward. "Draken told us that you're one of us…a shifter."
"Oh," I said, oddly satisfied that he hadn't mentioned a thing about us being mates to his friends.
I glanced at Brianna, surprised to learn she was a shifter too. I hadn't expected the student council president to be one. It seemed I was living in a world where shifters were more common than I thought.
"Brianna and I are both shifters, just like you, so be comfortable around us," he continued, passing me a smile of assurance. "We want to invite you to join our group, Eline. It's a small group of shifters, but we all consider ourselves to be like family. What do you think?"
"Is Draken in this group?" I asked, my voice flat.
"Of course," he replied.
"Then no," I said without hesitation. I wasn’t interested in any group that involved Draken Gallagher. Moreover, I was still confused about the whole mate thing. "Thanks, but I'll pass."
Topper leaned back, clearly surprised by my refusal. "You didn’t even give it a thought," he said.
"It's okay to say no, but just know we want you to feel welcomed. If you change your mind, we'd love to have you,” Brianna chimed in.
"If you don't want to join because of Draken, I can kick him out if you'd like," Topper said, half-joking.
I shook my head, standing up. "You don't need to do that…I'll think about it."
Topper smiled. "That's more like it. I'll send you the address, we'll be having a meetup tomorrow night."