•<Greek God>•

                                 You're so gorgeous
                       I can't say anything to your face
                    'Cause look at your face (gorgeous)
                             And I'm so furious
                    At you for making me feel this way
                But what can I say? You're gorgeous.
     •
       Taylor Swift
             •<>•

Slumping on the couch, I heave a deep breath before picking up a novel and opening it. It's been hours since class ended and I'm still thinking about what happened in art class, again. I always feel miserable whenever I leave his class and yet I'm looking forward to going back.

How is it possible?

I flip the pages slowly and somehow my mind wanders off — recalling all that he said to me causes my intestines to tighten into knots, painfully twisting my insides until I wriggle in my seat like I'm sitting on a hot surface.

Was he indirectly attacking me?

I could sense the change in his tone whenever he spoke to me, the look in his eyes that was so captivating and yet so distant and cold, and his body language; everything about him felt different compared to how he was when I first met him. Maybe it has nothing to do with me, after all, I've only seen him twice so far, who knows maybe this side of him I saw today is the real him.

Hearing the door open, I turn my head and land my eyes on the package that Keyara's holding.

Finally, our order is here.

"Ughh that man is so unbearable," Autumn grumbles while closing the door. "Sometimes I wonder if he's possessed or high on something."

When she notices our silence, she adds, "Sorry about that, sometimes I talk nonsense don't mind me."

"It's okay babes, you don't have to make it awkward." Key responds with a faint smile as she makes her way to the kitchen.

Even though she's put up a smile, I can tell just how that comment made her feel, something about it makes her heart sink and the light in her eyes dissipates. Knowing about her history, Autumn and I try not to bring it up, and even though Autumn didn't mean to say it, I can tell just how much Key has been affected by it.

"He's a grumpy old man who probably doesn't have a life, what do you expect?" I huff. "He feeds off of annoying people."

"I know right!" Autumn nods, her eyebrows arching in acknowledgment, "Just the other day Brandon came to see me and he couldn't even let him in, we're not leaving in a hostel for goodness sake!"

"Brandon was here?" I inquire, a hint of curiosity seeping into my voice.

"Yeah," she lightly strokes her temple before proceeding to speak, "Unfortunately he couldn't get in because of the tight security code that has to be followed." Mimicking the old man's voice, she quotes the words with her fingers, and Key and I erupt in laughter.

I swear this girl's hilarious.

"Okay enough," Key comments, clutching her stomach amidst the laughter while attempting to regain her composure. "Are you two going to keep grumbling about him or are you going to help me unpack this meal from HelloFresh, I'm starved," she whines from across the room while unboxing the package — causing Autumn and I to join her in preparing dinner.

After minutes of being in the kitchen, we're finally done and dusted. We then sit on the couch with our plates on the sides as we feed on the delicious meal we've prepared and chat about nonsensical things while watching Pretty Little Liars.

       •<<<>>>•

An hour has gone by and I still haven't picked up a book to read. Recalling all that Mr. Duncan said, I can't help but feel the need to revise all that he taught today for tomorrow's quiz but somehow my lazy ass won't let me.

I hate procrastinating.

Shortly after, my eyes dart to the door and just as I'm about to answer it, Autumn gets there before me and opens it without asking who it is.

"Hey, you!" She smiles at Brandon and hugs him before letting him inside.

His unexpected visit prompts me to sit upright and tuck my notebook between the cushions.

"Hi." He faces me with a partial smile, and I respond in kind.

As soon as Keyara joins us, she greets him with a smile and takes a seat beside me. A couple of minutes go by as Key and I listen to them chat, and his discussion of football practice serves as a welcome distraction from my incessant thoughts, providing much-needed relaxation for my ever-turbulent mind.

"I think you're doing just great babe, you got this," Autumn says softly with a smile etched on her face as she feathers her thumb against his cheek before pecking it.

"So how 'bout you guys?" he turns his focus to us, "How's junior year treating you so far?"

Key and I share a glance, and unintentionally, we speak in unison — causing both of us to chuckle at the awkward yet humorous coincidence. Shortly after, I give her a signal to continue, and she proceeds to speak.

We all watch her and listen intently as she explains her experience which honestly isn't as messy as mine. Since Monday I've constantly been on edge, taunting my brain over what happened in art class, and not knowing anything at all is killing me inside.

His silence screams louder in my ears, every look he gives me makes me want to bury my head in the sand. He hasn't given me any reason to think that he heard what I said about him but part of me thinks otherwise. The way his eyes pierce deep into mine feels like he's digging deep into my soul, softly pulling my tongue out till I'm on the verge of confessing my sins to him.

Autumn's voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I whip my head to her in a flash of light. "Huh?"

"Brandon was talking to you, is everything alright?" Her eyebrows crease and everybody else's expression is just as perplexed as an audience watching a magic trick.

"Yeah," I smile, "Wh-what were you saying?"

He stays silent for a moment, his eyebrows scrunched and his eyes are lingering as though he's trying to read my face, "I was asking how your week has been so far." He says slowly with a perplexed expression.

When I respond, he barely nods his head and reverts his eyes to his girlfriend. They then say something to each other while Key and I are silent and still.

"Anyway," Autumn gets up and so does Brandon, "As much as we've loved your company, we're going to my room so in case you need anything let me know."

"Oh don't worry about that," Keyara stands up immediately, "Mallory and I were just leaving."

"We were?" I raise my gaze to her, perplexed.

"Yes," She replies, "We were about to go for a walk, weren't we?"

"It's okay," he says, "You don't have to go out this late."

"The thing is we were planning to go for a walk minutes before you came in, so it's fine." Keyara lies through her pearly whites.

"We were?" I crease my eyebrows as confusion takes over my brain. I don't know what's up with her, but maybe I should play along.

"Yes," she darts her eyes to me before turning them back to the bewildered couple, "And besides, it's not that late, right Mal?"

Say something.

"Ummm...right?"I reply sounding unsure, "Right." Getting up from the couch, I trail behind her immediately she starts walking to the door.

Am I missing something? Why are we leaving all of a sudden?

Upon waving the happy couple a 'see you later,' I close the door behind us and leave the entire apartment to them.

What am I doing?

Strolling around, I fold my arms over my chest and glance at the night sky before turning my eyes to her.

"What was that all about?" She breaks the silence, and a gentle chuckle escapes her lips as she speaks.

Completely perplexed by her words, I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"You being clueless," she chuckles. "Did you not get the message?"

"About what?"

Seriously, what is she talking about?

"See?! You're doing it again!" She laughs — a hint of frustration infused in her laughter, "That thing about leaving Brandon and Autumn together, remember?"

When it all comes flooding back, I stare into the night as if I've just had an epiphany, "Ohhh, that. Yeah, you got me all confused there for a minute 'cause we never made plans to go for a walk, but oh well."

"You've been destructed lately, is everything alright? The Mal that I know would have definitely picked up on that immediately."

"Yeah, I am." I nod my head in acceptance, though I'm lying.

"I hope you're not still thinking about Mr. Myers, are you?"

"What?! No, no I'm not." I reply, hoping to convince her that Mr. Myers is not the reason I've been distracted lately, "I'm not."

I can feel her eyes lingering, searching and trying to read me like she always does, "Are you comfortable being in my class?" She raises her shoulders while her hands are shoved in her pockets, "I mean, being around him? Are you okay with that?"

I slow to a halt and so does she, and when I look straight into her eyes, I lie, again. I'm sorry. "Yeah, it's not a problem."

Gosh what's up with me and lying tonight?!

"I don't think he heard us so, why would I be uncomfortable? And besides, your class is more relaxing compared to the other classes I've been to." I shrug my shoulders.

"It is, isn't it?" She smiles as she stares into the darkness.

Now that she seems convinced, I think that it's best if I change the topic to avoid further questioning.

Recalling all that happened earlier when Autumn made that comment about the security guard acting as if he was high on something, thoughts start to swirl in my mind like a wedge tornado and I'm in two minds.

I don't want to say anything that will trigger her emotions and make her upset but at the same time, I can't help but feel the need to know how she's doing. She's one of the strongest people I know but sometimes it's concerning because of how she conceals her emotions. She rarely cries or talks about her feelings when something's wrong and it's frustrating most of the time that she doesn't let us in and would rather fight her battles alone.

"About what Autumn said earlier," I speak cautiously and nervously, "Are you sure you're okay?"

She stays silent for a while as we stroll around the apartment that's illuminated by lights from the tall building including the yellow lights from the lamp posts pouring down on us.

Gosh, I hope I didn't make it worse.

"Yeah," she nods her head but doesn't make eye contact with me, "I am."

She comes to a stop, and I do the same. Standing in front of her, I seize the moment to gaze deep into her eyes, yearning to uncover something concealed behind the mask that exudes nothing but strength and bravery. Once again, I'm face to face with a wall I can't get past, it's always the same strong, courageous eyes I see each time something like this happens. Always.

"Look," She utters, "I don't want you and Autumn to feel uncomfortable saying that word. It's okay." She smiles with her hand on my shoulder, "It's not your fault, I mean," she emits a gentle, airy laugh in an effort to alleviate the tension in the situation, "Everybody's got skeletons right? We just have to learn how to live with them."

"Key," I say sympathetically.

"Enough about me," She interjects, "Tell me about your class, how did it go?"

So typical of her to divert from questions she doesn't want to answer and once again, I have no choice but to end this discussion. Heaving a deep breath, I start talking to her about my day, about how things are starting to become bulky even though it's the first week of the semester. Honestly, I'm scared of what's ahead of me, how much more complicated school might be, and how I might not be able to stay on track with everyone and everything.

Can I just graduate already?!

      •<<<>>>•

Immediately after I finish eating my croissant, I start walking hastily down the hallway in hopes of getting to Mr. Myer's art class on time. Seeing him again has me feeling all jittery inside and worried at the same time. There's something about his aura that has feelings coursing through me at a speed of 24,816.1 miles per hour, I honestly don't know how he does it.

With every step I'm taking, my heart's beating harder and louder like a snare drum. I can't control my breathing and it feels like I'm walking into a danger zone, and yet I like it. I like the thrill of it, the mystery behind it, and the boldness.

(Gasps) Who am I?

As soon as I reach the class, my eyes fall on the one and only person who has feelings swirling inside of me from the moment I saw him.

Slowing to a halt, I stand still as I wait for him to permit me to proceed to my seat even though the class is empty.

Why though?! Nobody's here. It's not like I'm late.

"Come in." He signals for me to enter while he remains seated in his chair. "As you can see, class has not started yet."

Glancing at my phone one more time, I notice that I got the time wrong. Realizing that I read the time from the screenshot I took yesterday, I metaphorically facepalm myself in frustration.

Crap I forgot to close the photo app when I was done revising the lecture notes.

With Keyara still out to who knows where, to meet up with her classmate, I have no choice but to stay here and wait for the other students to come, after all, it's only a couple of minutes till class starts. But gosh I wish I followed her when she asked me to.

Sitting quietly in my seat, I can't help but glance at him whenever I get the chance to. He's typing something on his laptop so thankfully he hasn't noticed.

As beautifully torturous as it is being in here alone with him, I like this moment. Walking into this classroom, my feelings were all over the place,  but sitting here for minutes and not hearing him say anything relating to what's been taunting me since Monday, I'm quite at ease, and even though my heart is racing at the sight of seeing him, it's better than before.

When I notice that the clicking sounds from the keyboard have stopped, I look up at him only to land in his gaze.

Oh, crap.

His blue and brown eyes are holding mine, and nearly knocking my senses out with every second that goes by. After a moment of an intense gaze that started to flare dizziness in me, he finally breaks the silence inside these walls and says something that causes my heart to stop beating instantly.

"I must say, you have quite a fascination for Greece, don't you? Greek Mythology to be specific," he says — injecting a touch of playfulness into his deep voice, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

My mind immediately takes me back to the time I made a silly comment about him looking like a Greek god, figuratively.

'Why didn't you tell me you had a Greek god for a professor?'

Those words echo in my head again, evoking that cringy and unsettled feeling I worked so hard to pin down, and in this moment, I don't mind the ground splitting up and swallowing me.

Just get me out of here!

He then rises from his chair and leisurely approaches me, each step deliberate and tantalizing while he has his hands concealed within his pockets. The rhythmic tap of his shoes on the quiet, vacant classroom's marbled white floor quickens my heart instantly. I can hear its resounding thud in my ears with every step he takes; and as he draws nearer, my heart pounds louder, and my breath becomes increasingly difficult to catch.

Feeling numb, I remain silent — ignoring what he had said moments ago. My gaze remains fixed on him, even though my inner instincts implore me to avert my eyes. It feels as if I'm ensnared in his gaze, an inescapable trance that defies my best efforts to break free.

Part of me believes that he's relating to what I said earlier, but another part of me doesn't want to believe it, it's been days now so why would he bring it up now? Even though it's all clear, and I know where he's going with this, I'm hoping I'm wrong.

Please tell me I'm wrong.

"Greek-" he pauses. He briefly looks away from me and then swiftly returns his gaze and inhales sharply through his teeth, "I suppose Greek gods hold a special place in your heart, don't they?" he barely smirks and I can see a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes, it's as if he's been waiting for this moment for a really long time.

Oh-my-fucking-word. He heard me!

                                         AN

✨I'd like to get to know you briefly but you can skip this question if you want to.

- How are you doing today?

- And secondly, this is not a get-to-know-you type of question so here it goes, what would you do if you were in Mallory's position? Would you run out of the classroom, or be brave enough to stay and pretend that you don't know what Ethan is talking about?✨
   ***
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  🧡🤎