Katie's POV“Katie, I'd like to see you in my office.”I looked over at Ryan, then back at Professor Evan, who wore his usual sleeves that were almost always rolled up and plain pants. He looked like one of those pretty men from the 1980s news office."Me?" I foolishly asked as I wondered if I had misheard him or something."Yes, you, Katie Whitlock," he said my name in full.I could feel everyone's eyes on me as they watched Professor Evan and me. My eyes unintentionally landed on Jessica, and she stormed out of the class after eyeing me for a few secondsI don't know why, but somehow the universe seems to be on my side. The students didn't make snide comments today, and neither was I being bullied, and the fun and craziest part was that Leslie got suspended!"Ahem!" Ryan cleared his throat, and I suddenly realized he was still standing in front of me. I was so lost in thoughts trying to process how good today was going that I had forgotten I was actually talking with Ryan."Now, Ka
Katie's POVFinally, someone who is vocal here," he said with a smile on his lips. “I'm Shedrack but you can call me Shed," he introduced himself, with his hand stretched out. "I'm the new barista.”With squinted brows, I stared at his outstretched hand for a second, then back at him. He glanced at his outstretched hand with his brows shot up. “It's not nice to leave someone’s hand hanging,” he chuckled lightly, breaking the awkward silence. “People around here aren’t very friendly, huh?” he continued. “Surprising for the most popular cafe on the block,” he withdrew his hand and put it in his pocket. “That’s sad,” he muttered and walked away.Guilt washed over me, and I immediately felt terrible over my actions. For someone who’s known firsthand the sting of being ignored and mistreated, I should have acted better. “Hey! Wait," I called after him.‘Yes?” he turned to face me with a tightlipped smile.“I uhmm–,’ I was at a loss for words, as I realized I wasn't paying attention when
Katie's PovBefore I could say anything, he beat me to it.“I'm so sorry…” Shedrack said, then paused for a second."For?" I asked, genuinely confused, as I came out completely out of the back room "For everything you've had to go through," he said."Ryan, fill you in, I guess?" I asked, as I immediately knew what he was saying sorry for.Shedrack nodded slowly."No one deserves to go through the shits you've gone through," Shedrack repeated again. "And to make matters worse, you also lost your mum, and—"I swallowed hard, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over. “It's okay,” I managed to say, forcing a weak smile. “But please... quit giving me that pity look.”"I'm sorry," Shedrack apologized. "I didn't mean to…" he trailed off."It's okay," I reassured him, though I wasn't sure if it really was. "I, um... I need to go in and change first," I said, trying to change the subject. "Then I can assist you in closing up.""Nah, I got it," Shedrack said. "Go do your thing.”"
Killian's POV "Get in the back," I ordered.Katie stared at me with wide eyes. "You can't be serious," she muttered."I am," I said tersely. "Now get in the back."Katie stared at me, disbelief clearly written all over her face."Do you know how ridiculous you seem right now?" Katie mumbled, disbelief evident in every line on her face. "How does your brain even work?" She muttered, shaking her head slowly."I–""This was a terrible idea from the start," she stated. "I'm leaving," she said, and was about to open the door, but I quickly locked it from my end.Katie's eyes blazed with anger as she stared at me."I asked you to go to the back seat, not leave," I told her, ignoring the anger oozing out from every pore in her body.Katie chuckled and then took a deep breath."Let me out," she demanded in a calm but threatening tone."No," I said firmly. "Go to the back seat."Katie closed her eyes, inhaled, exhaled, and treated the process for about a minute, before slowly opening her eyes
Katie's PovFor the last two weeks, Killian Huxley had found a way to burrow into my life and under my skin. He wasn't everywhere—more like he was in places you least expect someone like him to be which made the experience a lot more intense.Evan on the other hand had recently turned into the bright light in the dim environment that was my high school. I couldn't even tell the difference if it was him being nice or he was just being civil and I on the other hand, just wasn't used to that.I was in the library trying to read when the Principal's voice came over the intercom“Students, there will be an emergency assembly to be held in the auditorium. You are all expected to be present in the next five minutes, thank you.”I couldn't help but wonder what the emergency assembly was for. Was the Pack under attack or what?I quickly packed my books, and the rest of my belongings, and headed out of the library.The hallway was chaotic, with students shoving each other in their haste to reac
Katie's POV “Glad you could finally join us, Miss Katie Whitlock…”Principal Shawman announced all the way from the podium, giving me all of the eyes that I never asked for. I felt like the ground should just open up and swallow me."Attention whore…" I heard someone say. I wasn't interested in who was saying it, so I didn't bother finding out.Principal Shawman cleared his throat and all of the side remarks stopped as he commanded everyone's attention back. His black blazer shimmered under the pressure of the state light.“Students of Red Moon High," he began. " It has come to my attention that there has been an irrational bullying of a certain student here in our school.”My head shot up faster than the next second could have struck. It was the last thing I was expecting to hear. Suddenly everything turned quiet and no one was saying anything.“Leslie Akins??” He called out.Then the random chatters fueled the air again, students throwing dart eyes at me and then at her as she came
“Am I in trouble?” I asked, which to me was a really dumb question to ask, considering I left in the middle of Leslie apologizing and also, school won't be over till another thirty minutes.He chuckled, a small cloud of fog leaving his lips. "I think we're both in trouble, you more so than me though."Evan chuckled again, before sitting on the bench keeping some inches between us as he stared ahead. I took out one earpiece and handed it to him so it didn't feel rude that I went back blocking him out.He took it and fixed it into his ear.“Mazzy star…that's a little old school," he said. "I thought you would be on the current blaze.”“Current blaze??” I chuckled. “Prof… Evan, no one says that. Not even me who is a little old school.” I saidHe shrugged. “Time dynamics is funny. What is old to you is new to me and vice versa with everyone else," he explained. "You would get to understand that someday.”I didn't know what to say in response, so we just listened to the song in silence, th
Katie's POV “Miranda is my mate," Evan said out of nowhere. His fingers trace the line curves engraved into the table, creating a shallow depth. His aura changed, and I could tell he was sad.“What happened?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.“She fell ill for an entire year," Evan answered after about a minute. "That was the most difficult phase of my life," he said, his voice filled with sadness. "She got well though, but…" he trailed off.I didn't know what to say or do. I'm not best when it comes to saying comforting words, and right now saying anything to Evan didn't seem like such a good idea.Evan and I sat down in silence until the ice cream came."Don't pay attention to me and enjoy your ice cream," Evan said, his voice no longer filled with sadness.I had blueberry gelato ice cream while Evan had coffee, which I found weird. I haven't really spoken to him enough for him to know my favorite flavor for anything I was taking. I didn't let him know of this but I showed