Chapter 16 - Marco #2
We reached the hallway that split off toward the history wing.
Ilya didn’t slow down. He just kept walking beside me, still talking a mile a minute about everything from the terrible coffee in the school cafeteria to how Dimitri had been acting weird lately because of “that silver-haired fairy,” which I assumed meant Rei.
I nodded along.
When we finally reached my first class, Ilya stopped and leaned against the wall beside the door, still grinning.
“Well, this is you, right, Mario? History is two doors down for me. I’ll see you around.”
I headed straight to my first period literature class after Ilya dropped me off, still feeling a little dazed from the chaotic ride and the mountain of strawberry food I had barely made a dent in at home.
The hallways were already filling up with students, and I kept my head down as I walked.
My mind was already drifting before I even sat down.
I missed Rei so much it hurt.
He hadn’t been to school in days. Dimitri had basically kept him locked away in that huge house of his “for safety,” whatever that meant.
Rei had tried to explain it to me over text a couple of times, but the messages always felt vague, like he was trying not to worry me.
I knew he was going through a lot. He did tell me how happy he was when he was with Dimitri, how the guy made him feel safe and wanted in ways he never had before.
Rei would send me little voice notes sometimes, his voice soft and excited as he described the way Dimitri looked at him or how he had learned to cook Rei’s favorite meals just to see him smile.
It made me happy for him. Really happy. But it also made the guilt in my chest twist tighter every time.
I hadn’t told him anything about my mom.
I hadn’t told him about Alexei either. Rei noticed something was off with me lately.
He texted a few times asking if I was okay.
I always lied and said I was fine, just tired from school or helping around the house.
He tried not to push. I could tell he was struggling with it, though.
He cared too much to let it go completely, but he was already carrying so much with Dimitri and whatever danger was circling them.
I couldn’t be another burden. I just couldn’t.
By the time the bell rang, my head was pounding.
I gathered my things slowly, letting the classroom empty out before I stepped into the hallway. The second I did, I almost walked right into someone.
Alexei was already there, leaning against the wall like he had been waiting the whole time. His green eyes locked onto me immediately.
“Did you eat?” he asked, straight to the point.
I blinked, caught off guard.
Okay, um… no hi, hello, how are you?
I tilted my head without thinking and glanced around the hallway out of habit, checking to see if anyone was staring at us. The second I did it, I knew I made a mistake. Alexei hated when I took my eyes off him. He said it before.
His hand shot out fast, fingers catching my chin and tilting my face back toward him. He leaned in without hesitation, clearly intending to kiss me right there in the middle of the hallway. My heart jumped. I panicked and slapped my hand over my mouth at the last second.
His lips connected with the back of my hand instead.
My eyes widened. For a split second I thought that would be it.
He would pull back and scold me or something.
But then he stuck his tongue out and plunged it right between my fingers, licking slowly across my palm like he was tasting me through the barrier.
The wet heat of it made me flinch back hard, a shocked little sound escaping me.
I gathered my arm against my own chest on instinct.
“Y… y—” I stuttered, completely lost for words. My face was on fire.
Alexei didn’t look even a little embarrassed. He just straightened up, eyes steady on mine.
“I told you not to look around when I am in front of you,” he said calmly. “If you do, I’ll kiss you.”
He said it so matter-of-factly, like it was a simple rule I should have remembered. I kept my eyes locked on him after that, too flustered to even think about glancing away again. My hand was still tingling where his tongue had touched it.
“I ate,” I managed to say after a second. “Thank you again.”
“Did the driver take you?” he asked.
I nodded quickly. “Um… yeah. Is Ilya… your driver?”
His eye twitched. Just a tiny flicker, but I caught it.
“What?”
I swallowed, suddenly feeling like I said the wrong thing. “I mean… is he your driver?”
Alexei’s voice dropped lower. “What does Ilya have to do with this?”
I fidgeted with the strap of my backpack, eyes flicking down for a second before I forced them back up. “Umm… he drove me.”
Alexei’s jaw tightened. “He did what?”
Before I could answer, movement caught the corner of my eye. Ilya came spinning around the corner like a whirlwind, all bright energy and zero awareness of the tension in the air. He spotted me instantly and lunged forward with a huge grin, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“Marioooo!” he sang out, pulling me into a sideways hug that nearly knocked me off balance. “There you are! I was looking for yo—”
He didn’t get to finish.
Alexei’s hand shot out and grabbed Ilya’s wrist where it rested on my shoulder, yanking him backward so hard that Ilya stumbled. For a split second I thought he might fall. Ilya winced loudly as his arm was wrenched away from me.
Alexei released him immediately, like he had surprised even himself. His fingers flexed once at his side before he dropped his hand completely. I stood frozen between them, heart pounding, not sure what just happened.
Ilya rubbed his wrist, staring at Alexei with a complicated expression, surprise mixed with something I couldn’t quite read.
Alexei’s face was mostly blank, the way it always was, but there was something in his eyes I didn’t know how to describe.
It wasn’t guilt exactly. He just didn’t look pleased with himself.
Like he reacted without thinking and wasn’t happy about it.
“Come with me.”
Ilya blinked once, then nodded without arguing. “Yeah. Okay.”
Alexei turned to me then, his expression softening just a fraction, or at least as much as it ever did.
“I’ll see you at lunch,” he said.