The Alpha Bully’s Plus-Size Mate

Chapter 6

AURORA’S POV

“You slept like a rock.”

I pulled myself out of my pillow, glancing over at Maya, who sat on the edge of her bed, holding two coffees. I held out my hand for the coffee I knew was mine. Sitting up, I swung my legs over the bed. “I almost overslept. I had a crazy dream about Silas.”

Maya’s laughed, wiggling her eyebrows. “Something a little saucy?”

I blushed. “It was a little, but then we were at a cliff, and he was pushing me over the edge, and his eyes were glowing red. It was hot and cold, just like him, and weird.”

She nodded. “Sounds about right. Well, I wouldn’t overthink it. It was just a dream. And hopefully, there’s no more Silas.”

I looked around. “Did you get rid of his hoody already?”

She shrugged, staring down at her coffee. “I was able to run by the arena and drop it off with one of his teammates.”

“So you didn’t see him?”

“No. Why?”

I sipped my coffee. “I wondered if he had more to say about the other night.”

“Ah, no. I didn’t see him. But there should be no more Silas from hereon. Come on, though, I’ll walk you to class.”

*****

My class was out of the way of Maya’s first class, but I didn’t question her wanting to walk with me to class. As we walked and chatted, I wondered if there was more to this walk, and she tried to talk to me about something important. Nothing came up, and our conversation remained as casual as any other day, so I put that thought out of my head. It seemed she was just in the mood to chat.

When we reached my class, I went to wave her bye, but she grabbed my arm and turned me towards her. “I hope you have an awesome day, Aurora.”

I looked at her worried face. “Thanks? I’m sure it will be as fun and eventful as always.”

She pulled me into a hug, squeezing me a little too tight. “I’m sure. I’ll see you after class, and we can grab a coffee, okay?”

I pulled away from her hug, eyeing her. “Yeah, coffee after. Sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you at Lou’s.”

She smiled and turned, heading toward her class. She was going to be late, but I didn’t need to tell her that. She knew. I shook my head. What a weird start to the day!

Spinning around, I rushed into the classroom, not wanting to be late. This Professor, Professor Ludwig, hated tardiness and would make your life a living hell during class, calling on you for all the answers and making it as awkward as possible. I’d learned my lesson about that quick the one time I happened to be late. Finding my usual back-row seat in the corner, I pulled out my laptop, intended to catch up on some fanfiction I had been reading, if they were updated, as we waited for Professor Ludwig.

I was clicking on my favorite site, excited to see an update, not paying attention to anything else when a shadow sat directly next to me. Weird. But I didn't look over, not wanting to call attention to myself. I just wanted to blend in and not be noticed. I was scrolling through my story, ignoring the figure, when a deep voice interrupted me. “What kind of cheesy crap are you reading?”

Slamming my laptop closed, I stared down at it. I did not hear the voice; I just thought I heard it. He was not here. He was not next to me. I slowly turned in my seat, finally catching the eyes of Silas. Yep, he was here. Silas grinned. “Surprise, surprise, pumpkin.”

“What are you doing here?”

His grin broadened. “Aren’t you happy to see me, pumpkin?”

“Absolutely not. Why are you here? And why are you sitting next to me? And why are you calling me pumpkin?”

His eyes searched my face for a moment. “I wanted to get a feel for college life before I committed to getting a degree, so I’m here to learn. It just so happens to be your class. And seeing you, I knew I just had to sit here. As far as pumpkin goes, you’re kind of the pumpkin before turning into Cinderella.”

My jaw dropped. “Excuse me? I’m the pumpkin?”

He grinned. “Yeah, don’t you think the term is endearing? We’re getting along so great. Maybe you can nickname me, too.”

“Nothing I would nickname you would be anywhere near appropriate.”

He leaned in, looking around to see that no one was listening. “Would you be nicknaming me after my massive c**k?”

I gagged. “Please. No. Most definitely not. More like Asshole, Moron, or Jerky Jerkface.”

He laughed. “But you do agree it’s massive? I didn’t hear an argument about that. And Jerky Jerkface sounds very endearing.”

“Right. Can you please sit somewhere else? I don’t need you distracting me during class.”

“How am I going to distract you, pumpkin?”

I cringed. The name pumpkin was already starting to grate on my nerves and fragile self-esteem. I felt a tightening in my stomach. “Because I’m sure you’re going to sit there and hurl insults at me every chance you get during class.”

“I’m wounded you would think that of me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Then don’t talk to me. And you can sit wherever you like.”

“I wasn’t aware I needed your permission to sit here, but I willingly accept your terms. I won’t speak a word.”

I slowly opened my laptop. “Thank you. Professor Ludwig will be here any moment, so you can go ahead and stop talking to me now.”

He pressed an imaginary key to his lips, twisting, and then pretended to throw it away, not saying a word. I sighed. Literature used to be my favorite class, seeing as it was part of my major, but now it looked like it would become something I dreaded. Silas might agree to shut up during this class, but I doubt it’d last long or go on for multiple days.

I was exiting my stories, not wanting him reading over my shoulder, and getting my note-taking program opened when I felt a tap on my shoulder and then saw a sheet of paper being slid onto my desk. I snatched the paper up, reading the scrawling handwriting. ‘Nice outfit. If you were going for the lazy slob look.’

I felt tears immediately spring to my eyes. I was wearing my usual plain leggings and an oversized T-shirt. It hid my figure quite well and was appropriate for class. I opened my mouth to say something about him talking to me when Professor Ludwig walked through the door, belting his usual greeting of “Hello, class. Welcome back.”

Professor Ludwig also liked all the attention on him as soon as he entered the room. I rummaged for a pen and found one; I stared down at the paper before writing. ‘Notes count as talking to me.’

I shoved the paper back towards him; moments later, he pushed it back. ‘I said I wouldn’t speak to you. I didn’t say I wouldn’t write to you.’

I rolled my eyes, writing another message. ‘Smartass. Just leave me alone. I don’t understand why you’re here in the first place or why you insist on harassing me. I didn’t do anything to you.’

He looked over my message before responding. ‘You didn’t have to do anything to annoy me. Just looking at you annoys me.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I work really hard to be a prime example of what people should be and look like. And you’re just there, being a loser and the opposite of what I encourage people to be.’

I gasped. ‘Are you serious right now? You’re offended by my weight?’

‘If I said I were?’

I bore down hard on the paper. ‘Then you can go f**k yourself.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a grin light up his face. I hated to admit that he looked even more attractive when he smiled. But knowing he was smiling about insulting me for my weight, it quickly dulled the attraction. He went to slide the paper to me once again, but I shoved it back. I wasn’t going to take his insults the entire class.

He wrote some more before trying to slide it to me once again. I ignored it, instead staring at Professor Ludwig, trying to concentrate on him talking about Shakespeare. But it was no use with the big hulking i***t next to me, shoving paper at me. I finally snatched it and looked down at what he had written. ‘Now you’re thinking about me f*****g myself? You might as well give up on trying to ignore me. I don’t give up so easily.’

I crumpled the piece of paper and shoved it in my bag. There. No more notes. I heard a small chuckle from beside me. Silas leaned in, whispering close to my ear, sending chills up my spine. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

I kept my eyes ahead, swallowing the lump in my throat. I refused to respond. Refused. He laughed again before slumping down in his seat. Maybe his harassment was done for now. And I could focus on class and then see about transferring to a new professor with my counselor afterwards. That’s what I’d do. I wasn’t particularly attached to Professor Ludwig, even though he had been great so far into the semester. But I’d give up a good teacher to spare myself the harsh treatment from some hockey-brained, unintelligent asshole.

With that resolve in mind, I felt a little better. I gripped the mouse for my laptop. I just needed to get through one class and then be home free.