Clara Carter

"Where the hell is your attention, Clara?" I roll my eyes and break my eye-fucking stare on Stefan when Ray yells at me. He's in the canteen before we came, talking about hell-knows-what with Samuel.

A head boy and a bad boy sitting together like normal buddies is the unique combo I've ever seen.

"Clara!" Ray shouts once more. I don't understand how my gaze was drawn reflexively back to Stefan. Due to her sudden scream, Tyler spills his coffee all over his notes. Uh-Oh.

"Guys!" Tyler yells in hushed tones, his cute face etched with annoyance. "Clara, please listen to her dating tips. If you ruin my other pages of notes now, I swear I'll kill you both."

"Hey, I'm not giving her dating tips. I'm advising her on the types of boys she should date." Ray murmurs and flips her hair. After a few seconds, both go silent.

As he gulps a drink, I can't help but stare at Stefan's smirk and his adam's apple. I'm not sure why, but he'd piqued my interest since I first laid eyes on him.

"Whom are you eye-fucking?" Ray asks, her voice serious. "Who's this new guy?" Hearing her say it again confirms my understanding of what she just said. Was I staring at Stefan yet again? Why do my eyes keep coming back to him? He must have inserted a magnet into his body, right?

"I. . . sorry. What?" I finally shift my gaze to Ray, who is frowning. And now that I see her, she appears like she's about to enter a beauty pageant in her white, strapless crop top and tight black shorts, complete with a ton of makeup on her already stunning face.

Ray Blair, a classmate, and our squad's third member. Her parents live in a different city, and she's only here in Aerilon to try out new things without the strain of her parents.

As much as I hate admitting it, she is a stunningly gorgeous lady. I'm envious of her stormy gray eyes and the way she carries herself. Apart from her beauty, she is always the one who makes sure I don't get caught up in the traps set up by the bad guys in the area. Whenever I like someone, she analyzes his resume first and then approves him for me.

"How come you weren't in class today?" I inquire because, as far as I remember, I had no one to chat to throughout class.

"Oh, so you know me?" she taunts, her elbows resting on the table. I snort and turn to look in Stefan's direction, where he is hugging Samuel.

"What the fuck?" I furrow my brows, staring at him. Why didn't he approach me in that manner? More importantly, why didn't he hug me like that?

Did he not find me hot?

He swiftly walks out of the canteen with an even more murderous scowl before I could ask him the same question.

Should I go after him?

"Don't go!" Ray gets a side-eye from me. Why is she preventing me from following him? Come on, Stefan is a good-looking guy, even if he is an attitude-y bastard.

"Now that you've warned me..." I get out of my chair and kick it backward on purpose. I move towards the exit with my hands up in surrender.

"You'll regret it, honey," Ray exclaims and as a comeback, I stick out my tongue to her.

I never regret my decisions.

Stefan disappears behind the building, which is strange. He is still new to the campus. Regardless, I follow him and peer around a corner to see him hanging up on his phone. Did he come here just to talk for a few seconds?

The moment he cuts the call, his expressions and body language shift from arrogant and menacing to calm and relaxed. I approach him, puzzled, and hold a stance in front of him.

I'm not even sure why I came here right now. His eyes are still closed as he leans against a car, exhaling deeply to calm down.

I double-check that no one is nearby. He pulls my arms and slams me into the car's front door before I can say or do anything.

I gasp and clutch his hands for support as a result of his abrupt action. I stare at him, curious as to what had suddenly gotten into him. His enigmatic bloodshot eyes begin to give me shivers.

I did miss the healing bruises and scars above his eyebrow and a sharp cut on his neck below his right ear. The end of the cut is hidden by his jacket. It looks to have been done with a knife.

Maybe it's because of a fight he got himself into, I tell myself.

"What do you want?" he demands, his hands gripping my arms until they hurt from his hard grip.

"You're hurting me, you moron." I slam my fist into his chest. It doesn't help much but manage to free my arms from his hold.

Under my jacket, I massage the skin. He bites his lower lips and stares between my arms in shock as if he wasn't aware of what he was doing. He begins pacing back and forth, cursing beneath his breath.

I straighten my hair and arrange my jacket while waiting for his explanation.

There's something wrong with this guy. He had been stone-cold for a few seconds and is now acting as though he genuinely cares about me.

He rushes to me and sighs as he cups my face. I have a feeling he didn't mean to hurt me. He was simply acting rashly. Maybe I'm being foolish, but I can hear his inner monologue in the way he looks at me.

I put my thoughts aside and take in the lovely sight of the setting sun's rays falling on his attractive face. Just by staring at him like this, all of my rage, frustration, and exhaustion evaporates.

In those beautiful hazel eyes, I can see him striving to keep himself from doing something bad. His touch gives me the chills, which isn't helping.

"I didn't mean to do that. I didn't. Did I hurt you?" He is still stone-cold, but his voice now has some emotion to it.

"I'm fine," I mumble in a faint voice. He pauses for a moment and exhales a sigh of relief.

We unintentionally stand there for a while, staring at each other. After a few moments, it dawned on me: why was I here?

I shouldn't let him know that I'm no longer angry with him. Because of his charisma and charm, I'm not going to let my guard down.

I give myself a pep talk and swallow. When he notices a difference in my behavior, he moves backward.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask you. . ." I take a pause. Why am I being so polite?

"I'm wanted to know as to why you can't just leave me alone for fuck's sake?" I take a stride forward, my heel proudly tapping and my hands on my waist.

I watch him smile for the first time. Smile at my actions and confidence.

In one bold step, he cages me between him and the car. His leather jacket is brushing up against mine. With his height and athletic physique, he easily towers over me.

He gets a little closer. Closer to my lips. His pleasant cologne begins to intoxicate me like a drug.

He buries his face in my neck and caresses my cheek with his before I follow my instincts and kiss him.

The sound of his breath fanning beneath my ear drives me insane. A tingle runs down my spine as he takes a big breath while humming.

"I like your perfume," he whispers, his fingertips stroking over my left cheek. I close my eyes and moan as I can't think of anything to say. Suddenly, he grabs me by the waist and pulls me into him. For balance, I grip his biceps. Gym person, I see.

"I don't want to sort things out with you," he says as he presses more of himself against me, limiting the space between us and making it difficult for me to breathe. "I want them to entangle more."

To avoid the unwanted desire caused by his words and manly actions, I clench my thighs.

None of my previous boyfriends have ever made me feel this way. What is it about him that I can't seem to get enough of?

I don't say anything since I'm too preoccupied with my dirty fantasies of him. He leaves with a rough kiss on my neck. Just like that.

I open my eyes and let out a breath. I heave a sigh and glance around to make sure that no one sees me like this. I've never been like this in my entire fucking life.

So, what exactly did he do to me? Black magic? Or control of both my conscious and subconscious minds? And I can't believe I was turned on by such a simple thing.

Welcome to the new and last year, Clara. It's going to be wild.

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