Infinity Academy

Chapter Four

I had only just finished my homework and settled down in bed when loud arguing started on the other side of my bedroom door. “How dare you defend her Cerberus! She’s nothing compared to us and needs to learn her place, especially after we were forced to share our apartment with her!” I threw my blankets back and got out of bed, heading to my door, hoping to hear them better. “She wasn’t forced on us for no reason, Kaiser. Do you really think that Faron would assign her a room here just for fun? He’s been around a lot longer than all of us put together, and I know if he wants her here, then there will be a damn good reason for it.” Cerberus sounded calm, just like he had been when he stood in to stop Kaiser from attacking me. “I like her, she’s got fire,” another voice said, sounding like he was smiling. “Oh, just shut up, Adryan, we all know that you just want to get in her pants and add another notch in your bed post. Typical,” Kaiser seethed. I rolled my eyes at that comment, as if I would jump into bed with any of them after their display earlier. “Well there’s that, but also there’s that fact that she’s different from the rest of them. If I can sense it then I’m sure you all can as well. How long has it been since anyone here has been able to stand up to any one of us, let alone all four?” Adryan replied with a chuckle. “I agree with Adryan, she’s definitely different from the rest of our peers. Maybe she can become a part of the pantheon. God knows we need someone like her on our side,” a fourth voice jumped in. My ear was firmly pressed against the small gap in my door at this point. I should feel ashamed that I was eavesdropping on a seemingly private conversation, but I couldn’t help but want to know what they all thought of me. “She definitely an elite, that much im sure of. How else could she withstand our energy?” Cerberus commented. “I want her gone. The sooner the better,” Kaiser growled. I could hear someone pacing back and forth. I could only guess that it was Kaiser. But why did he want to get rid of me so badly? I mean I knew I’d been rude to him, but I was only returning what he was putting down. 

“And if she finds out about the past? How will you feel when she comes for us, Ansel? Because I’m sure as s**t not going to sit and take the blame for something I had no part in,” Kaiser threatened. Well at least I knew all their names now, even if they were basically talking in riddles at this point. “We will deal with that bridge when we come to it,” Ansel said calmly. At that moment, I decided to stop listening, I was far too tired to care about their bickering over my future, and I knew they probably wouldn’t say any more about this past I supposedly had. As I stepped away from the door, the bottom of my singlet got caught on the handle, pulling down abruptly before sliding off, causing the handle to click back into place. I held my breath and stared at the door like it was the devil. There was no way they couldn’t have heard that when they were standing right there. “Emerald?” I heard Cerberus’s voice ask. “s**t!” I whispered quietly to myself. I contemplated jumping into my bed and pretending to be asleep but then I worried that they would try and get in here. And what with Kaiser being all gloomy and murderous earlier, I came to the conclusion that going out and owning up to my snoopy ways was probably the best solution. I flicked the lock and opened the door slowly, feeling like a child that had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “Yeah?” I said, refusing to look at any of them. “See, she’s not only a thieving scrap, but now she’s a dirty eaves-dropper too,” Kaiser said. I looked up at him, shooting him my most disapproving glare. “It’s a bit hard not to listen in when you’re yelling and stomping your feet like a bratty toddler,” I snapped at him. His top lip curled back, and if he was an animal, he would’ve taken a bite out of me. Cerberus stepped in front of me, his back to Kaiser, “that’s enough bickering, time for bed,” he countered, stepping forward, forcing me back into my room. I turned and headed for my bed, hearing the door close softly behind me. Once I was under the blankets, I looked over to see Cerberus standing with his back again my door. “What are you doing? Get out,” I ordered, pointing at the door. “Sorry, but no can do. If I leave you in here alone, Kaiser will think he can come in and hurt you. I’m your only hope at surviving him.” 

I frowned, “What’s he going to do? Bore me to death with his childish rants?” Cerberus let out a deep chuckle, making my thighs clench together and sending a tingle down my spine; he was certainly very attractive. “It’s comments like that that are going to get you into trouble, Emerald. Kaiser may seem like a spoilt child, but he’s definitely not someone you want to be on the bad side of. You’ve only been here for a day and you’ve already gotten him all riled up. No one else is keen enough to do that, not even the headmaster.” His grin was still firmly on his face and I knew he found my fierceness entertaining. “Well, he started it. He accused me of stealing from his room, when all I was doing was exploring the apartment that I thought was only mine, so in my eyes he more than deserves my animosity.” Cerberus walked over and took a seat in the corner of the room, but not before flicking the lock into place on the door. “I’ve known Kaiser since I was little, he’s always been hot headed and acts like he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But the one thing that not many people know, is that his father is an abuser. His mother has defended him through and through, even when she saw the bruises on his face. When he was twelve, my parents offered to take him in, so that he could have a somewhat normal childhood. His father refused but his mother made him change his mind. So, I guess deep down she knew what was going on but chose to ignore it. Kaiser has never been the same, and anytime he has to go to his parent’s house for dinner or functions, he comes back a little more broken. It can take weeks for him to get back to his normal self. He just doesn’t handle conflict well and most people tend to avoid him altogether, so as to not get on his bad side.”  I could tell that Cerberus cared deeply for Kaiser, and had done all he could to help his friend. “But it’s still no excuse for the way he has treated me today, Cerberus. Do you think I wanted to come here and cause arguments, or to make people hate me? No, I came here to do my school work, and catch up on everything I’ve missed out on since I was sent on my mission,” I said, turning over so that I was facing away from him. I felt like crying. It hurt being out on the mission with Liam, knowing that everyone else our age was going to Infinity, learning about their powers and heritage, making friends, while we were out scouring the world for other effigy. “I’m sorry, Emerald. I didn’t know,” Cerberus said quietly. “No need. It’s not like you were the one that practically stole my childhood,” I replied, my voice breaking at the end. The room fell silent, and then the bed behind me dipped, accommodating the new weight. And arm curled around my waist, pulling me into a broad chest. “Still, I’m sorry you were robbed of everything that you should’ve had. I wish I could change it for you,” he whispered, leaning his chin on top of my head. I took a deep breath and exhaled, calming myself, “You really don’t need to stay in here. I Kaiser wants to kill me, then let him. He’d honestly be doing me a big favour.” 

“Stop with this crazy talk and get some sleep, Emerald,” he whispered, tightening his grip around me. It should have felt awkward, having a boy laying with me, holding me like this, but it felt normal, felt…nice. I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting sleep finally take me. 

****

The bed was cold when I woke up. I rolled over and stretched out my arms, yawning. Looking at my clock I shot out of bed faster than a bullet; I only had thirty minutes until I had to be at class. The walk to English took me at least ten minutes yesterday so I knew if I didn’t get ready fast, I would definitely be late. I didn’t want to make a bad impression with the teacher in my first days here. As I walked into the bathroom, the shower was running. My eyes landed on Cerberus’s naked body in all its glory as soon as I stepped through the door. I tried to quickly avert my eyes but every muscle and curve was already burnt into my brain. “Sorry,” I stuttered, turning my back with the intent on heading straight to class and forgetting about having a shower. “No, Emerald,” Cerberus called out behind me, but I made my escape. Going into my closet, I threw on a pair of jeans and a singlet before grabbing my bag, books and keys, then high tailing it out of there. The shower had shut off, and I assumed that Cerberus was trying to get dried and dressed quickly so that he could catch up to me. There was no way I could ever look him in the eyes again after what I had seen, I was way to embarrassed. 

As I left my room, three pairs of eyes shot up at me from the TV. “Morning,” I said hastily, “No time for chit chat, I’m late for class.” I hurried out the front door and contemplated jogging to class. I assumed the more people that were around me, the less likely Cerberus was to mention anything. I settled for speed walking, figuring that if I ran, I’d be worn out by the time I got into class, and I was pretty out of shape lately. “Emerald, nice of you to grace us with your presence,” Mr. Anton grumbled as I entered the classroom. “But class doesn’t start until eleven?” I said, looking at my classmates, all of whom were staring at me. “Yes, but everyone here knows that we go over the work ten minutes before class begins, which makes you late,” he replied, looking disapprovingly at me. “Sorry sir, it was our fault, we didn’t realise she was in this class, otherwise we would’ve let her know your rules,” a husky voice said from behind me. “Ah, Adryan. Well, thank you for your honesty,” Mr. Anton said, looking over my head towards Adryan, before turning his gaze back to me, “I will overlook your tardiness this once, Miss Rose, but don’t let it happen again.” “Of course not, sir,” I said quietly, before making my way to my seat. Adryan followed me, then turned to the young boy sitting at the desk next to mine, “Move, scrap,” he ordered. The boy nodded quickly, gathering his belongs in a rush, and then moved to a seat on the opposite side of the room. “Good morning, Miss Rose,” Adryan said sarcastically. I turned my head to look at him. He looked smug as all hell, his white hair pushed back and his baby-blue eyes shining with mischief. “I’m not in the mood, Adryan,” I retorted, rolling my eyes and focussing back to what Mr. Anton was saying. “Aw, don’t be like that sugar, I was just being friendly,” Adryan chuckled, running his hand through his hair. I looked at him accusingly, narrowing my eyes at him, “I don’t think any of you are trying to be friendly with me, and you know it. So stop trying to get a rise out of me or I will report you to the headmaster for harassment,” I said, not raising my eyebrows to show him how serious I was. He just chuckled again, the sound sending tingles up my spine. “I mean you could do that, but I don’t think it would be very affective. Mr. Stevens doesn’t tend to involve himself in the business of the Pantheon. I mean unless he wants to lose his job,” he replied, still wearing his s**t eating smile. I looked back at Mr. Anton, “Well I guess you’d better stop playing around with me then and treat me with some respect. I’ve done nothing to you, so just leave me alone.” 

For the rest of class Adryan seemed to be content with ignoring me, and I hoped that my threat had worked, although I could feel his energy surrounding me, making me weak at the knees and scrambling my brain. But I guess lady luck wasn’t on my side. When the bell rang to signal the end of class, I began gathering my books and placed them neatly inside my bag, along with my laptop. As I stood from my desk, I was met with Adryan’s tall frame, standing in my way, blocking the aisle and any hope of escape. “You know I find you very intriguing Emerald. You’re nothing like anyone I’ve ever met. What are you?” he asked, his blue eyes now edged with pure white. “I’m an elite, just like you,” I replied, trying to keep my eyes away from his but failing miserably. “Hmm, no, I don’t think you are,” he purred, lowering his face so that it was on my level. “What are you?” he asked again, this time his breath fanned over my face, stunning me into silence. I didn’t say anything, couldn’t say anything. I just stood there, inhaling deeply, trying to make my body move. It was like I was locked in to my mind, unable to control even the most basic movement. Something changed in Adryan’s eyes, then suddenly he was leaning in, looking between my eyes and mouth. Just as his lips were about to press against mine, his nose already touching mine as his breathing accelerated, a voice snapped me out of my trance and he straightened up, turning to the person who had spoken. “What do you want, Serenity?” he asked, his voice thick with frustration. “I was looking for you. You were meant to meet me for lunch, remember?” she snapped at him. I quickly grabbed my bag and stepped around him, “I’ll leave you two to talk, I should get going.” Serenity’s perfectly filled eyebrows couldn’t have gotten any higher as I passed her. My guess was she knew Adryan was in here with someone, but didn’t realise it was me until now. “I’ll see you both later,” I rushed, sliding past Serenity who was still standing in the doorway in shock. 

When I got to the cafeteria, I scanned the crowd, hoping that Liam was in here today. My eyes fell on him, sitting at a table in the furthest corner, with a girl sitting on each side of him. They looked to be completely infatuated with him until I strolled over, taking the seat on the opposite side of the table. “Hey Liam, I’ve been looking for you,” I commented, grabbing his juice box and taking a sip. Both of the girls eyes grew wide when they finally registered who I was, and they picked up their lunches and scurried away. Liam watched after them and then turned back to me, “I’ve been busy.” “Yeah I can see that. Are tweedle dum and tweedle dee your newest conquests?” I asked, giggling at the look on his face. When his features turned sour, I knew I’d hit a nerve. I put my hands up, leaning back in the chair, “hey I was just joking, it’s got nothing to do with me what hobbies you take up in your own time.” “Go away, Emerald,” he fumed, crossing his arms. “What?” was all I could say. He was my best friend. We always joked like this with each other, so why was he now being so cold towards me? “You heard me, I said go away. We are too different and I can’t risk being an outcast from my own kind just because I’ve been stuck babysitting you for the past year.” My heart sank, and I was on the verge of tears. I knew we’d had a little tiff the other day, but I had no idea that he felt such anger towards being friends with me. I had stood and was about to leave when part of what he said repeated in my head, “What do you mean the past year? We’ve been friends since we were kids.” “Just go, Emerald. I’m sure your new boyfriends can tell you more than I can,” he snapped, looking away from me. I abled towards the exit, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.