04 — The video

My nerves are on edge. Maybe it's my open nervousness, but the smell of Jasper is keeping me from concentrating on class. The teacher's words seem so distant. In fact, it's as if everyone around us isn't here, just me and Jasper, with his outstanding presence that makes my skin crawl.

More than that, I can feel Jasper's eyes on me… the way his warmth is so close reminds me of the passionate way he held me, how his firm hands could be soft and make me gasp.

I bite my lips, bothered by these thoughts.

What is wrong with me?

“Trouble concentrating?” I hear Jasper's voice sound low and teasing.

“Don't talk to me.” I reply harshly, trying to look at the teacher explaining and gesturing at the subject that, honestly, isn't difficult for me, not even a bit. But at that moment, it's as if he's speaking a completely unknown and ancient language.

I hear whispering and look at a group of students who are talking quietly among themselves and looking at us. My heart beats rapidly because I also noticed the worried look in Lily's eyes, who seemed to have a lot to say — or ask.

I shiver, moving restlessly in my chair, trying hard to focus on the professor's words, but to no use. Nothing seems to make sense. And when Jasper's arm brushes against mine lightly, I hold my breath, feeling electricity coursing through my body from the simplest touch.

“Miss Davis?”

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, not noticing that my name sounded low…

“Scarlett Davis!”

I stand up in a jolt, looking at the professor with a surprised expression. I hear some discreet laughter, but the professor doesn't seem to find it funny.

“Could you answer the question?” The professor says harshly, his eyes half-closed.

Question? What question…?

“I… Well, the answer… Hum…” I stutter, trying to remember what the question was, but my mind is completely blank.

“Sit down, Miss Davis… And pay attention in class.” Scolds the teacher, returning to explaining the subject as I sit down, feeling several stares on me, including Jasper's beautiful brown eyes, which seem to pinch my skin... And hear his low laugh…

It annoys me.

***

ㅤ

When the bell rings loudly, the students stand up, but I don't dare to move, nor does Jasper, who looks overly comfortable, with his arms around my chair. My expression isn't very friendly, but he doesn't seem to mind.

I see Lily approaching, and I crack a sweet smile. I start to get up, breathing relieved to finally have some time to put my thoughts in place… But when she stops in front of my desk, she looks at Jasper for a long moment, altering her eyes from me to him.

And so, Lily asks him, “Are you going to have lunch alone?”

Jasper looks at me quickly, but smiles at Lily charmingly, “Apparently, yes… This is the new students' burden.”

“I understand, I used to be the new student too…. Would you like to have lunch with us…? My name is Lily, by the way.”

“Lily!” I call her in surprise, in a high-pitched tone that's louder than I meant.

“Of course.” He replies brightly.

“Sorry, that won't do… I have something serious to discuss with you, Lily…. Very, very serious.” I cast a sharp look at my friend, who cracks a dull, apologetic smile.

“All right…” Before she can agree or deny, I drag her by the arm out of the room, leaving Jasper sitting down.

Outside class, I continue pulling her through the halls.

“Hey, slow down… why are you acting like that…” Lily asks, allowing herself to be dragged along by my quick steps.

And when we reach the stairs that because lunchtime, it's practically empty; most of the students are out of the building. I look around, making sure there's no one around us.

“Are you like this because of the video?”

I feel my chest freeze, “Wait, what? Video? What video?”

Lily gives a sympathetic look, then picks up her phone from her pants pocket, and says, as her eyes get locked on the screen, “Everyone is talking about it… I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm sure it's not what Alice is saying out there.”

“What are you talking about?”

My friend holds out her phone to me, and I see that there's an edited video from the club, the night before, where I'm gesturing to Bryan while Alice hugs his arm. It seems like a funny video, where I seem to be trying to seduce him. But it's the scene that made my world come crashing down.

I feel the air being stolen from my lungs. I put the phone away, unable to keep looking at it for long. What the hell does this mean? Why did someone record this?

“It's on the campus forum… Everyone's just talking about it, Letty.” Lily says fearfully, lowering her eyes. “They're saying around that you tried to seduce Alice's boyfriend, that you're shameless, but I don't believe it.”

It can't be… it can only be a bad dream!

I run my hand through my hair, going in circles. My eyes filled with tears, and I feel like I'm about to collapse. My legs even weaken, so I sit down on one of the stairs' steps, hiding the pitiful expression on my face.

“I'm sorry…” Lily approaches cautiously, “I thought you had already seen…”

How could I even begin to explain this to Lily? My relationship with Bryan has always been a secret between us. Part of that is because I'm naturally reserved, but also because Bryan said he didn't want to attract jealousy to our relationship. I understood that… I understood that we belong to such different worlds, but our love was stronger. He's the popular kid, great at sports. I'm just the nerdy, sweetheart of the teachers… well, some teachers.

Honestly, I feel like an idiot for having believed such ridiculous excuses. Now, I can understand that he just didn't want people to know that we were together… He was probably ashamed of me, and wanted to keep his single status.

So, is that why people are whispering, looking at me with these malicious eyes?

I feel as if the world is cracking under my feet, and I'm free-falling into an abyss.

I can't believe this is happening.

“Look at that, if it's not the slut who tried to seduce my boyfriend…” Alice's voice suddenly appears, causing me to lift my head and face her. I know my eyes are red, and my expression isn't one of the best, but I can't turn them away.

“I should know that you pretend to be a nerd, but you're actually a hussy!” Says one of Alice's friends, laughing at something that isn't the least bit funny.

My expression closes, and I stand up, feeling Lily's worried eyes on me.

I just give a sarcastic laugh, which causes Alice to frown.

“No use denying it, everyone has seen the video!” Adds another of Alice's friends, with crossed arms and an angry expression. “You have to be really shameless to try to seduce him like that, in front of Alice! Especially in a ridiculous dress like that, which doesn't suit you at all…”

I feel, once again, my blood bubbling with anger inside my veins… and the sharp words are begging to leave my lips.

I turn away, too angry to listen to those girls' voices for even a minute. My vision is blurring, and I feel that, at any time, I might lose consciousness. The fear of being out of my mind and causing another accident makes despair greater than anger at Alice's lies.

My steps are fast, and Lily tries to keep up.

But I feel a sharp, quick pain in my head, something that makes my body stiffen in place. The pain isn't enough to consume me, but I bring my hand to my head, looking down at the floor and noticing that someone has thrown a lipstick at me. And again, my blood bubbles, leaving my face hot, and my mind foggy.

“Not only did you try to seduce my boyfriend, are you too cowardly to admit it?”

“I seduced your boyfriend?” I retort, through clenched teeth. “Well, you don't have to worry anymore, the last thing I want is to come between you and Bryan. Enjoy it, Alice, he's all yours.”

I see Alice's expression contorts in anger, as I begin to turn my back on her again. However, I sight she's pulling something out of her purse… a bottle of perfume. Before I truly realize it, I see that she's throwing the glass in my direction, the same way she did with the lipstick.

This time, I know Alice really wants to hurt me.

My eyes widen slightly, it's as if everything is running in slow motion, but my body doesn't dare to respond. I try to move my legs, but they're frozen. So, I just close my eyes, shielding my face, and wait for the sharp, piercing pain of the glass on my skin…

But the pain doesn't come.

I open my eyes fearfully and blink a few times, not understanding what’s happening. The perfume bottle… is exactly in my direction, but it doesn't hit my forehead because stopped at the last moment, so close that almost touched me.

There's a hand holding it, almost covering my eyes…

It's Jasper's hand.