never complete the bond if this is the way they're going to treat me, but instead I clamp my mouth shut and ignore it all as best as I can. It doesn't get any better once we make it to the cafeteria for lunch. Gabe continues to laugh and flirt his way there, giving me side eyes and filthy looks that I do my best to ignore. I don't even bother looking at the food choices for the day, I just grab platefuls mindlessly. Food was hard to come by and I would never let anything go to waste. I had never gotten to the point where I was starving, thank God, but I'm also going to enjoy having the easy access to it.
Gabe is much more selective about how he feels his plight. He looks like the poster boy for nutrition; protein, vegetables, and a small amount of starchy carbs. I shake my head at him without even realizing I'm doing it.
"What? You think I look this good while eating crap?" he says, and it almost feels like he's flirting with me. This boy could give me whiplash.
"I really couldn't care less about anything you do," I say giving him an apathetic look.
His eyes narrow at me in a glare and he mumbles, "Cold-hearted fucking bitch."
Yeah, that's totally me.
So cold that I ran away from the people fated to love me to try to stop the end of the freaking world as we know it. Total fucking bitch.
I take the closest table with an empty seat and the three students already sitting there get up and walk away. I roll my eyes, kind of getting immune to it now, and dig into my food. The pizza is a little overcooked but still delicious enough.
Gabe sits down with me, dammit.
"Is there something else you need?" I say around my food because I doubt his opinion of me can get any lower.
He smirks at me over his healthy plate. "You've been getting some interest today. I'm making sure that everyone knows you're off limits."
I can't stop myself from gaping at him. "Interest? People have been treating me like I'm diseased, I doubt there's anyone that holds any sort of interest. What's your real angle here?"
He shrugs. "I told you, I'm making sure you don't think about running off with anyone else. You might not think your bonds are good enough but you dressed up today to catch someone's eye."
Ok, he's clearly fucking with me.
There is no way he could possibly think my jeans and an old thrifted tee is dressing up. God, why does he have to be such a dick? I get it, they all hate me, but just leave me alone then.
I go on the defensive, my smart mouth always kicking in when I need it to. "When do you want to bond then? I can schedule you in for next week."
His head jerks back. "What?"
I smirk. "You want me, right? That's why you got so pissed that I left? Well, I'll fuck you and get this over with. Just tell me when."
It has the exact effect I was looking for, his head jerks back like he's been slapped. He's clearly a romantic, someone who was crushed when I left, he probably had our whole lives mapped out together before he even knew I existed.
"I think I'd rather have any fucking Bond but you," he hisses, and I shrug.
"I feel the same way. Leave me to my food, it's not like I can go anywhere now that you've fucking chipped me."
His brows draw in and then he shoves his plate away, stalking off toward the door.
Finally. Peace and quiet.
It lasts for about a second.
A quiet, mousy girl creeps up and slowly slinks into the chair across from me, her head down and her hands shaking just a little as she reaches for her coffee. I try not to stare at her too much, clearly something is up with her, but my eyes just keep drifting over to her.
"I hope it's ok to sit here," she mumbles, and I nod.
"Of course. Are you sure you want to sit with the social pariah?"
She shrugs and a smile tugs at the corners of her lips. "The elbow room here is pretty great and no one will come over here, thanks to Gabe."
My mood turns sour. "You know him?"
She winces at my scathing tone. "Everyone knows your Bonds, sorry. We're not friends or anything, I just know about you running away because... well,