Chapter 3

That afternoon, the whole campus was buzzing about my perfume drama, and the rumors of Osric, the school bully, swooping in to play hero were spreading like wildfire.

I was infamous now, a campus celebrity, but for all the wrong reasons.

My phone was blowing up. Malachi sent me dozens of messages, starting with accusations, then demands, and finally straight-up threats.

[Wow, Vaela, look at you. Now you're running with Osric?

[I'm serious. Stay the hell away from him. You really don't know what kind of guy he is?

[At 7 PM, be at the south gate. We're talking this out. You're apologizing to Selene.]

I stared at those messages. The irony was unreal.

He kept warning me to stay away from Osric, but never once thought about who pushed me straight into Osric's arms in the first place.

I didn't bother replying. I put him on my block list.

And with that, eighteen years between us went down the drain.

For the next few days, I was ignored at school.

Friends who used to hang out with me acted like I was invisible and dodged me in the halls. In the cafeteria, I wandered past table after table with my tray, but nobody even looked up, let alone offer me a seat.

All that contempt and loneliness felt like invisible needles stabbing me over and over.

I had no choice but to go to the library alone, eat alone, and head back to my dorm alone.

The only thing that didn't change was Osric.

For some reason, he seemed dead set on sitting right next to me.

No matter which classroom I moved to, or which corner I tried to hide in, if he showed up for class, he'd always plop himself down in the seat next to me and crash out.

When he slept, he was almost serene. Those long lashes threw gentle shadows beneath his eyes, softening the sharp edge he always carried when awake.

I could smell a faint trace of tobacco on him, mixed with the sunshine lingering on his clothes. Surprisingly, it was kind of comforting.

And somehow, the jasmine scent I carried seemed to lull him right into sleep.

He slept even more deeply than before, and nothing could wake him up.

One time, I accidentally dropped my pen, and it made a soft thud on the floor.

I froze, scared stiff, afraid I might wake him up.

But he frowned in his sleep, rolled over, and turned his face even closer to me.

He was so close that I could make out the fine lines of his skin and even the faint little mole near his nostril.

My heart raced, and I couldn't help it.

That strange, almost peaceful routine between us was broken one afternoon.

I didn't have any classes that day, so I went to the library alone to do some research.

When I reached a secluded bookshelf, a group of girls stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

The girl in front, rocking smoky eyes, was one of Selene's die-hard fans, the same one who glared at me like I'd committed a crime during the open lecture.

"Well, well, if it isn't the walking bottle of cheap perfume," she sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The girls behind her burst out laughing.

One of them said, "Heard you've been hanging around Osric a lot lately. What? Wasn't Malachi enough for you? Now you're trying to latch onto Osric, aiming even higher?"

I wasn't about to get into it with them, so I turned to walk away.

But they moved in, blocking my path and surrounding me so I couldn't escape.

The girl with smoky eyes pulled a bottle of perfume out of her bag, an obnoxious hot pink one. She twisted off the cap, and an artificial, cloying scent instantly flooded the air.

"Selene's got a big heart, so she lets you off the hook, but we've had enough," she sneered, stepping closer with a malicious grin. "Since you're so obsessed with perfume, we'll give you a real perfume bath today."

With that, she raised the bottle, aiming to spray it right in my face.

I shut my eyes tight, instinctively stumbling backward, only to slam right into someone's broad, warm chest.

The icy spray never hit me as I expected.

All I heard was a nasty crack, like a bone snapping, and the smoky-eyed girl shrieked in pain.

I opened my eyes and saw Osric gripping the girl's wrist, his expression so cold it could freeze the air.

The pink perfume bottle crashed to the floor and smashed to bits.

"Do you want to keep that hand?" Osric's voice was low, but there was a bone-chilling menace in it.

"O-Osric," The girl's face went very pale, her voice shaking. "I-I didn't mean it. I was joking around with her."

"Joking around with her?" Osric's eyes swept over the shattered perfume bottle on the floor, then locked onto the girl's ashen face. "With that?"

His glare made her tremble even harder.

"Get lost," he continued.

The girls scattered like they'd been granted a miracle, running off as if their lives depended on it.