have to repeat, at least we’re doing the easy shit.”
I roll my eyes at him with a huff, mostly because it definitely doesn’t feel easy to me, and our relaxed familiarity pisses Gabe off. He then shadows us both, scowling and snapping at us whenever Atlas leans in to me or makes me laugh with his easy going humor.
I’d taken my bag back and kept my hands to myself as soon as we’d made it out onto the campus grounds, but Atlas hadn’t commented, just accepted the boundaries I was putting in place like this is all going exactly the way he expected it to.
Sage and Sawyer had accepted Atlas in without an issue, both of them already rooting for him in the ‘Bonding race’, as Sawyer has so nicely dubbed the mess that my life is.
When lunch is over, Sawyer heads off to his computer science class, and I have an awkward moment of trying to get around Gabe to walk with Sage to our next class, but he’s not willing to just step back and let me walk with her. Atlas smirks at him when I finally shove at him to get him moving, and I decide that I would rather drop out and deal with North’s scathing reaction than deal with this every day until I get out of this place.
We arrive at our Econ class to find Gryphon’s second, Kieran, on watch outside the lecture hall. He’s my least favorite of all the TacTeam security, and I struggle to keep the disdain off of my face when I realize he’s the one checking over the students’ ID’s to get in and I’ll be forced to speak to him.
I forget that Atlas has no clue about any of the history between us and when he gets an eyeful of the look on my face, he instantly shifts to tuck me into his side, curling a little so he’s covering me.
“Who the fuck is that and what did he do to you?”
I shake my head at him, because I have no idea of who is around us and what their powers are, but Gabe, who is watching us both with a moody sort of obsession, murmurs, “He’s on Gryphon’s TacTeam. She just hates him.”
Sage scoffs and darts a look at Kieran, like he’s venomous and she’s afraid of being hit with that acid. “He’s the one who caught her, tackled her to the ground in broad daylight like she was a criminal, and then dragged her back here to have all of her freedoms and liberties taken away by Councilman Draven. As glad as I am to have Oli here, I hate him for doing that to her too.”
Atlas’ arm tenses around me for a second but then he relaxes, that grin back on his face again, and I’m learning very quickly that the grin spells out danger.
We have to wait in the line as the ID of every student is checked. I fumble to grab mine out and Sage curses as she digs through her bag, loose sheets of paper rustling at her rough treatment. Gabe stands there like a brick wall, scowling and huffing under his breath at the wait.
When we finally step up to the door, I have to take a deep, calming breath, checking in on my gift and my bond to ensure they’re locked down tight. Kieran is huge and kind of terrifying this close but he acts like I don’t exist, grinning at Gabe and clapping him on the shoulder as he ushers him through without question, completely ignoring the frown on my Bond’s face. He checks Sage’s ID but only because she already has it out, waving her through quickly as well.
He holds out an arm when Atlas steps up, pulling me along with him.
“Who are you? There are no extra seats in this class for a bystander.”
Even his voice has my jaw clenching, but Atlas just flashes his own ID at him. “I just transferred in. You should move your arm.”
Kieran’s eyes narrow at him until they’re nothing more than dark slits, but he doesn’t move his arm. “Bassinger. You’re related to Athena Bassinger of the East Coast Council?”
“My aunt. I’m not going to ask you to move again.”
Gabe takes a step back through the door and says, “He’s telling the truth, he’s Oli’s other Bond.”
Finally his eyes dart down to me and the disgust on his face is palpable, like a sharp slap to my cheek, and I immediately