Chapter 4
Remember when I thought, I never had any reason to worry about the school popular jock? Well, guess what? Turned out I had been completely wrong…
After my frustrating run-in with Leo Woodrow, my peaceful life in Shelly Ford turned into a nightmare. His piercing icy blue eyes seemed to follow me everywhere. Whenever he glanced at me, his mocking smirk appeared. The sound of his laughter echoed in my ears. It caused my lips to involuntarily frown. I frowned at the memory of his deep, melodious voice.
He truly caused me distress. I can point to various situations that led to this feeling. For example, his constant criticism and lack of support weighed heavily on me. Additionally, his dismissive attitude towards my feelings only added to my distress.
It was like a constant reminder. His blank gaze haunted me during lunch and classes. Sometimes his hand would linger on my shoulder, or he”d lean in close with that sly smile, whispering into my ear.
”Second best?” He always called me that, all the time.
The words halted my steps slowly. They made me scowl and my eyes dart left. I was in search for the source of those familiar deep tones. They had haunted my dreams lately.
Sure enough, there he was, standing just a couple of feet from me. His deep crystal blue eyes bored into my chocolate ones. His hand was in the pocket of his black pants. His head was bowed down to meet my eye level.
He gave that same annoying smirk, like he did a moment ago. His eyes looked proud, like he thought he was better. His grin looked mean, not happy. It seemed like he thought their talk was normal. He then casually asked, ”Are you off to a class?” He sounded confident, almost making fun of the situation.
The brunette didn’t hesitate to reply, the annoyance still lingering on my features. “The name”s Cassie.” I corrected while tilting my chin up, my teeth gritted.
Leo didn’t seem impressed by my response. His expression looked like someone with more important things to say. He seemed uninterested in my name. “I need the notes of every class I missed this week.”
I blinked rapidly, surprised by his demand and his abrupt change in attitude. ”And why should that be of any importance to me?” I replied sharply, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
His smile grew broader.
”You”re going to help me.” Leo spoke in his deep husky voice, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes.
I didn”t understand why he believed he could control who I cooperated with. It made me even angrier. ”You”re delusional, aren”t you?” I snorted and shook my head at his absurd behavior. ”I won”t do what you want.”
Leo raised a single, light eyebrow, clearly expecting me to follow through on his request. “Will an hour in the library be enough for you to complete the notes?” He inquired once more, his expression becoming serious as he stared down at me.
I couldn’t help it. A laugh escaped from my lips, and soon my whole body was shaking with suppressed laughter as I watched Leo looking more irritated with every passing second. He shot me a deadpanned look in return, but I wasn’t ready to be intimidated by any of it.
“You need me to complete your notes for you?” The words sounded more absurd the more I repeated them. And then I paused for a second to realize something. “How on earth are you so excellent with this nonchalant attitude of yours?” He didn”t care at all. But, I, who took academics seriously, could never beat him.
My question made him smirk, showing he took pleasure in watching me struggle and become frustrated. This made me feel uneasy. I tried to defend myself, saying, ”It”s not my fault. I just know how to handle people like you, Cassie Evans.”
“People like me?” I scoffed derisively, unable to resist the urge to snap at him. “What did I ever do to you? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” I demanded to know.
Leo opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, the bell rang loudly, signaling the start of class. His lips pressed together in a straight line. He let his eyes wander around the room. He took in the many students entering it quickly. ”Wanna play hooky with me?” He asked with the most charming smile I had seen from him since we met. It melted my heart.
At least that was my reaction until my eyes wandered along his strong jawline and collarbone. He wore a tight black shirt that hugged his torso, leaving no doubt about his toned body underneath. I swallowed the lump in my throat quickly. My stomach did flip-flops. My brain fought the urge to give in to the shiny request. It was to play hooky with such a gorgeous specimen.
However, Leo didn’t care much about my response. He didn’t wait for me to answer before grabbing my wrist and dragging me behind him towards the exit.
We walked quietly for a bit. All I could hear was my own breathing, trying to calm down, and his steady steps. My mind was in turmoil because it kept replaying the scene I witnessed moments ago.
Everything just seemed too odd to be true. We didn”t share a connection at all. So, the idea of him considering me a friend felt completely ridiculous. It was like forcing a square peg into a round hole. After a few minutes, I walked alongside the boy. Then, I mustered up the courage to ask him, ”So, are we heading to the library now?” Leo nodded, his gaze fixed on the path in front of him.
”I didn”t agree to this, right?” I asked. Confused, I narrowed my brows and eyed him with caution, trying to understand his strange intentions.
He merely nodded his head again, not bothering to turn around to make eye contact with me. “Do I look like I care, second-best?” His low, gruff voice was full of sarcasm. It rumbled through my ears, causing me to groan.
“The name’s Cassie.” I reminded him sternly again, trying to keep my voice from cracking due to frustration. “Not second-best.”
This time, however, Leo did turn around and give me the most condescending look I had ever gotten. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll get used to it.”
Those were his words. He made them before he led me into the library. He completely ignored my protests and objections to his demands.
As expected, I obediently followed behind him as he led me with his gentle but firm grip on my wrist. Not once did I look at the books that we passed. I knew only that he eventually stopped in front of one bookcase at the library”s far end. He picked up a particular book without hesitation.
“Let me tell you a little truth, second-best.” He began while turning to me. His intense gaze was still locked on me. He leaned back against the shelves and said, ”I brought you here to tutor me about this thing.” You might not know it yet, but this is the only course you have ever gotten a better grade than me.” He finished smugly.
The words hit me like lightning. They made everything inside of me go still. My eyes widened as I tried hard to understand his explanation. “Tutor?” I stated in complete disbelief. Sure, I had always suspected he wasn’t normal. But, I hadn”t dared to believe he actually needed my tutoring.
“Yes, tutoring.” He replied, not missing the way my mouth hung open slightly as he went on explaining.
“Can you hear yourself?” My lashes flickered repeatedly, trying to process his words. “You want me to train you to be better than me?”
“Yeah,” Leo nodded simply as if his reasoning would be obvious to anyone. “Now tell me how lucky you think you are.” He added sarcastically.
“Lucky?” I repeated flatly with a frown, my face scrunching up in incredulity.
“You ask too many questions.” He grumbled impatiently as he pushed his back off the bookshelf. He stepped closer to me, closing the remaining gap between us. This made it impossible for either of us to move away. “Just be my tutor, okay?”
My brown eyes slipped downwards when he got a hold of my hand again. His long fingers wrapped around the slender bones of my wrist. At that moment, I had a slow realization. I had almost dismissed it to justify how crazy his ideas were.
He had touched me. He brushed his thumb across my pulse point. It sent tingles through my arm and made me shiver in delight. There was a faint trace of humor in his eyes when I met them. But, I saw how dark his pupils became when I watched him staring at me.
It was as if he was studying me to find out which buttons I was hiding. He seemed to hope to discover my hidden emotions. And I couldn’t take my gaze away from those deep oceanic pools he possessed.
Maybe it was the charm he had, or the unreasonable fluttering I felt in my chest. Whatever it was, I found myself nodding slowly, agreeing to be his tutor in exchange for a chance to be closer to him. Because really, I didn”t think I”d ever be able to resist spending more time with this guy.
”Okay,” I whispered. It was loud enough to reach his ear. This is clear from the way his red lips curled up in victory and my traitorous heartbeat sped up at the mere sound.