Chapter 3: Deadly Attractive

Ethan’s POV: 

I was certain that Zeus had noticed me standing at the door bearing a contemplated look, but that jerk arrogantly turned away his face as if he didn’t give a crap about my existence at all. 

At that moment, a middle-aged lady professor walked inside the classroom, making all the students greet her cordially. I was still nervously standing at the doorstep, contemplating my choices, but I heard the professor summon me, “You’re the new scholarship student, right? Why are you still standing there, come inside. Take a seat. We are already late to start but the freshmen will share the class today with your seniors because it will also cover the syllabus for their midterm.”

Her greeting didn’t make me feel at ease either. All the desks were already taken, except the one next to that jerk and I didn’t have the slightest will to sit there either. 

But since the class was about to start, I felt like I had no other option as I marched close to his seat. Gently I tapped my finger on his desk, before asking him, “Excuse me, can I sit here please?” 

“No.” As expected, his cold blunt reply riled me with anger as he didn’t even have the slightest courtesy to look into my face while rejecting my approach, “Go somewhere else. Don’t bother me.” 

I couldn’t understand, how could even girls like such a crappy personality like him here? Instead of being called the Dark Prince of Bordwell…hah, he rather suits the name ‘Grumpy Goblin of Bordwell’. 

However, the lady professor had already begun the lecture, and I didn’t have any spare time to waste any more bickering with this jerk. I knew he would never show any minimum courtesy, and thus, I needed to react stubbornly here. 

I quickly sat next to the vacant space beside him, while feeling his cold gaze finally directed at me now. When I started taking out the notebook from my backpack, I heard him howl, “Didn’t I tell you to go somewhere else? How dare you disobey me—”

“It’s not like I was dying to sit next to a jerk like you. Rather, I am rather hating this moment more than anything!” I couldn’t control my irked temper at him anymore while scowling at him. 

Meeting his pitch-black eyes which were strangely mysterious to gaze at, I whined, “I just didn’t have any other choice since all the seats were taken here. Since it's my first class here, I can’t afford to miss it either. So, just bear with it for now and next time, I will make sure first that I won’t have to share the seat with someone like you again. Okay?” 

“Why should I bear with you when I told you to scram?” I had expected him to not back out easily, as if I had hurt his adamant pride by disobeying his command. 

“Because you don’t have any choice either.” But it provided me a strange sense of satisfaction to get him frustrated, as I smiled, “I am not leaving the seat either, so if you detest sharing the seat with me so much, feel free to sit on the floor, if you’d want.” 

While I turned my face to look at the projector screen, I could feel his piercing gaze locked on me for a brief moment, as if it did hit him that there was someone new here who wouldn’t obey him blindly, like the other students who bear an admiration for a jerk like him. 

I heard the sound of him gritting his jaws hard before he turned his face away and tilted his head down on his arms folded on the desk. Instead of paying attention to the class, this punk rather chose to take a nap, which baffled me the most. How could someone as irresponsible as him could be the topper of the senior batch?

I didn’t realize when almost 30 minutes had passed while that jerk continued his peaceful slumber. The professor had also seen him sleeping, but she didn’t even bother to wake him either. 

While I was scribbling down the notes, I felt my eyes kept shuffling from the projector screen towards his radiantly beautiful sleeping face, which shimmered under the warm sun rays falling on him from the glass window. 

Indeed I felt a pang of guilt inside me when I realized instead of focusing on the class, I was unconsciously drawn towards his gorgeous and manly charm. 

My gaze couldn’t stop admiring his long beautiful eyelashes, his pointed sharp nose, and his plump soft red lips on his sharp jawline which appeared dazzlingly seductive. He could’ve been easily scouted by the top model industry if he hadn’t continued with the college here. 

His black hair bangs were falling on his forehead, and his skin was smoother and fair enough than any other man I had ever seen until now. 

While I was gawking at him, it gave me a sense of insecurity as I kept contemplating, how could a man be so deadly attractive, while bearing such a jerk personality. 

But another thing I could vividly sense while seated next to him was a whiff of sweet scent emitting out of him, that reminded me of the fragrance of fresh peony flowers… The scent was so different from any cologne I had smelled before, making me a little whipped by the scent. 

“I thought you were a pervert who liked to ogle at girls, but it seems like men also come within your preferences, huh?” 

I flinched from his cold voice when Zeus suddenly opened his eyes and cryptically smiled at me as if he were aware that I was staring at him all this time! Damn it…

Embarrassed by his taunt, I could feel my cheeks turning hot as I quickly wafted my gaze away from him. I was shy and nervous about being caught red-handed, but my pride couldn’t bear to admit it before him, “Who said I preferred men? Why would I?” 

“But it seemed you couldn’t keep your eyes off me all this time. Is that why you sat next to me so that you could look at me up to your heart’s content, huh? Or perhaps, are you interested in me?” He sounded pretty cheerful while teasing me as he firmly straightened his back against the chair now, smirking at me. 

My heart was thumping faster from enduring all the bashful emotions inside, but I chose to keep a stoic face when I grumbled at him, “You’d probably be the last person on the earth I would bother to show any interest! Besides, you were sleeping all the time…so stop putting the rubbish allegations on me that I was staring at you all this time. I don’t have any interest—”

“Ethan, pay attention to the class, please.” 

Before I could finish my grumble, the professor’s loud voice startled me a bit, as I could feel all the students seated in the front rows shuffling their gazes on me at the back. Ashamed to be given a warning in my first class here, I murmured to her in my defense, “I am sorry, Ma’am, but this guy was disturbing me—”

“Zeus was asleep all this time, so it's no use trying to shift the blame on him. You should better be respectful towards your seniors because you’re new here, okay?” 

The lady professor biasedly took that jerk’s side in front of the whole class, and from all the other students’ facial expressions, it seemed everyone agreed with her words, making me the bad guy when that jerk was the one to tease me at first. 

Now, I think Hermes was right when he said even the professors were also bewitched by this guy, just like the other girls on the campus. 

“I am sorry, Ma’am.” I had to apologize to the professor reluctantly, but I could feel Zeus tossing a boisterous smug towards me as if he was pleased to watch me lose my face again, in front of the whole class. 

I decided to ignore him for now, while angrily scribbling down the notes. But I felt Zeus move a little closer to me and moving his face close, he whispered, “If you can be honest and admit now that you are intrigued by me…I might take your side next time in front of the professor. So, would you do that?”