The Shadow Within Me

Chapter Twelve - Anxious

Crystal Raine Meadows

The last bell of today's first-class has ended. That means classes are over for the first day of the new year.

I didn't expect that it would be this horrible, I'm just glad that I gained two new friends on this very specific day.

So much for having a great time on my first day, I didn't know face-to-face classes would make me this anxious. This only happens when I'm living in the household of my parents.

Liam sighed in relief while we're all in our lockers leaving our reference books and other items that we might not have to bring always around us.

"I think he only set the things of those people that didn't quiet down when Peter Hughes scolded them," Rowen claimed, so I closed my lockers before looking at Jenny.

She's looking at me intently like she's worried about me, "Hey, are you alright? I might not be able to walk home with you, I'm planning to set a date for me to tell my parents that I have found my mate," she informed me, so I just tapped her shoulders.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, enjoy your date later alright?" I requested, so she just sighed before smiling at me.

"You're sure you're alright? I'm worried about you," Jenny sighed, so I just shook my head before messing with her hair.

She complained for a moment before pouting at me, "I'm serious Crys," she added, so this time, I was the one who sighed.

"As I said, I'm fine and I got used to it, you know that right? I'm just not expecting them to find out about my parents this early," I bit my lower lip, she still looks like she's not convinced.

"Just have fun later okay? If you're going to tell me a lot of stories tomorrow then I'll be good," I smiled, so she just shook her head at me before giggling. There's that smile again.

"So girls, shall we go?" Liam invited together with Rowen, they're all threading their bags lightly on their right shoulders before gesturing to us to come.

We're both pacing towards those boys and stopped when someone called my name, "Crystal! Wait!" I flinched before looking at my behind, it's Peter Hughes together with his mate, they look worried about something.

Peter bowed his head before looking at me with worry, "I'm sorry! I didn't double-check the papers and you ended up getting listed for detention," my eyes widened after he said those words.

"What?! How could she end up getting detention? She hasn't done anything," Jenny defended me, but I calmed her down.

"She shouldn't have been on the detention list, but I think someone listed her name and passed it before I could even check further when our professor took it away from me," Peter bit his lower lip, he looked disappointed in himself.

"W-What?! This is ridiculous, so she has to go to detention now before she goes home?!" Jenny exclaimed, so Peter closed his eyes before nodding.

"That's just unfair, I can't believe those jerks and brats did this," Liam scratched the back of his head before sighing.

"I'm really sorry, this was my fault," Peter mumbled before bowing his head at us. I clutched my heart because I didn't know that bullies here were this bad.

What's the worst that they could do? "I-It's alright, I'll just go because I don't want you to get in trouble, I didn't do anything so being punished is fine because I know I didn't do anything," I gave him a small smile, but Peter looked at me with worry.

"Crys! You can't just accept this," Jenny sounded furious as her mate, Rowen, agreed with her, but I just shook my head and pushed my friends on the exit.

"Detention is just one hour, I'll be fine, I could study peacefully there," I reassured them, so they just sighed before looking at Peter.

"Please make sure that she doesn't get in trouble like this," Jenny requested, so Peter nodded at them eagerly.

"This was my fault, as a President, I'll make sure to double-check the papers next time," Peter looked at me before gesturing the way, "I'll make it up to you Crystal, at least allow me to show you the way there," he invited, so I just nodded at him before waving goodbye at my friends.

"I'll be fine guys, don't worry alright? I'll be straight home after detention, you guys should go home," I insisted, so they have no other choice but to follow me.

"Send me a message when you get home, alright?" Jenny shouted, so I just nodded at her before coming with Peter.

The rest of the walk towards the detention was quiet, I was anxious because I'm walking with our student council president together with his mate.

"I'm really sorry about this Crystal, if I have double-checked, you wouldn't be coming there," Peter stated, breaking the huge ice in the air.

I just shook my head at him, "It's alright Peter, I'm just surprised because I didn't know that they were capable of doing this," I admitted, so his mate agreed with me.

"Me too, I didn't know that they could do something like this," his mate sighed, so I just gave her a small smile.

"You're Rayleigh, right? Nice to meet you, sorry if we're meeting in a situation like this," I mumbled, so she just giggled before walking beside me.

"You don't have to be sorry, I heard and saw what happened to you, are you alright?" she worriedly asked, so I just nodded at her.

"I'm fine, everyone's worrying about me, but I'm really fine," I sighed in relief, despite all those bad things today, I keep meeting nice people too.

"Don't worry this won't happen again," she reassured me, so I just smiled at her before deciding to talk about some other things while we go to detention.

"To be honest, I'm not worrying about those bullies but my grade that's on the edge of the knife, I might get a failing grade if I'm not going to excel on physical abilities," I sighed, so Rayleigh looked at me intently.

"Are you that bad? Sorry, after my turn I left to help Peter get some papers at the council," she asked, so I nodded at her.

"I'm that bad," I claimed, but Peter shook his head at me before pointing at the door right in front of us.

"You're not, you just didn't train that much and you're not confident because of specific reasons," Peter claimed, so my eyes widened.

"Well those are just my speculations, I know you can excel in physical abilities, you just have to put more effort into that, which you won't get by just reading, you have to train while breaking a sweat," Peter suggested before opening the door wide open for me.

"So the least that I could do to you is to separate you with our classmate's detention room, this is the special detention room for you know worse cases, our classmates we're in the normal rooms," he informed me, so my eyes widened as I gave them both a smile before bowing my head at him.

"Thank you, I appreciate this, I didn't think I might end up being with them in the same room for an hour alone," I admitted, so we three just laughed as they allowed me to enter inside.

It was quiet when the doors behind me closed, I glanced around the room and was greeted with different tables that were arranged messily. Lots of bookshelves were around those tables so I couldn't help but get excited.

There was a teacher that's sleeping on the front desk, so I just sighed as I roamed my eyes from below and almost flinched upon seeing Calyx on the far corner glaring at me intently.

Oh, shoot! I almost forgot about him being in detention a while ago! Didn't Peter think about me being killed by this guy too?

I shook my head and bit my lip as I avoided his gaze and sat down on the chair right in front of him.

My heart was pounding inside of my chest as I took out some notes for me to do some assignments that have been given to us.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I flinched when he raised his voice, so I shakingly faced him from behind.

"U-Uh, I got listed for detention, accidentally," I replied before turning my head back again on my assignments.

"Bullshit! Where's Peter?!" I almost fell off my chair when he cursed so loudly, I'm surprised that the professor wasn't awakened by that.

"He left after he took me here alright? Jeez," I mumbled before writing down the answers on my blank paper. I'm surprised I could still think in this kind of situation.

"A-And would you please stop cursing? It's not good for many people to hear you like that," I added before shaking my head as I continued answering my assignment. It was easy because all of it was just an essay.

"Why do you care? Tss, you have no right to tell me what to do," he argued, which makes me want to strangle him to death.

I scoffed, "For your information, I don't care a single bit, I just find it stressful hearing men curse like that, it's not decent," I firmly said.

"Just shut up and let my one hour here be peaceful like that," my eyes widened as I glared at him from behind.

"I should be the one who should be saying that!" I exclaimed, I could feel my heart bursting because of my anger.

"And I shouldn't have been here in the first place!" I almost teared up and faced in front while wiping those small tears away.

I will not be seen breaking down like this, I have to be strong and excel in physical abilities. I can't fail on that either.

After answering my assignment, I took out my book about excelling in physical and martial arts abilities.

Only the flipping pages of the book were to be heard, it was silent inside the room for a while before I was distracted from the footsteps approaching me from behind.

"You can't learn like that, you'll never learn to fight if you keep on reading," he suddenly said. 

That's the only time that I've noticed how cold and calm his voice was. I remembered that time when he asked me to dance and realized how his voice felt calming even though I was dead nervous that time.

"G-Go away, I don't need your help or advice," I firmly said, so I noticed him walking past me as his back was facing me.

"I'm not helping you, I'm stating a fact," he coldly said, so I glared at him from behind. What the hell is wrong with this guy? How ruthless can he be?

"You should seek help from Kathy, she was also like you before until my sister taught her to be better together with her mate Draven," he claimed as he sat on the chair in the front.

I thought he was not helping me, but why is he giving such advice? I don't understand and I'm getting so confused right now.

"And you shouldn't let yourself get affected on how they treat you from now on or you'll lose," he coldly added, so I just sighed while shaking my head.

"This isn't a freaking game, this is about my reputation and grades," I paused before continuing, "Plus, I only care if I get a high mark," I firmly said.

"That's a lie, you do care about your surroundings," he claimed, so I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"You're claiming that you know me more than I know myself?" I wanted to get mad, but I'm trying to calm myself down on the inside.

He's not doing anything to me, but his words make my blood boil, "I'm not saying that but that's what I see right now," he mumbled before peering at me.

His red eyes almost made me gasp like it was sucking all the air that's left inside of my body, his expressionless face feels like he wanted to tell me something, but will just remain silent because we are strangers against each other.

"Your eyes tell me that you're getting affected," he sounded like he's out of breath but I didn't notice that as I listened to what he said.

"Your eyes are screaming, you wanted to explain your side aside from getting a high mark, which is you don't have to," he stood up and walked towards the door.

"You don't have to answer to all of their thoughts about you, they're not your freaking friends or family, they're strangers," he added.

"If you feel like you're being pulled down, degraded or whatever that is happening to you, fight, don't act like a weakling that you are right now," after he said those words, he reached towards the doorknob before opening it with open.

"Detention hours are done, I'll be leaving," he stated before closing the door behind his back. I gasped for air as I clutched my chest after he left.

What the hell was that about? Why am I losing some air?

To be continued...