Gray barely managed to stifle a growl when Violeta giggled. Why didn't she ever act like that around him? He was smarter and clearly better than that guy! Not to mention incredibly good looking. What was it that he was lacking? What was it that Gray didn't have but that guy did?
And not to mention, she had her guard down. She always kept it up whenever they met. Always. There was never an exception–may be at the day of his father's death anniversary, but barely. But this guy was clearly flirting. So why was she being so open around him?
“Okay, I’ve got a good pun.” Violeta gave Josh her most adorable, lopsided grin, pushing one hand through her curls. “I had a hen who could count her eggs—she was a mathemachicken.”
Josh snorted loudly, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. “You’re adorable, you know that, right?”
Violeta went pink. A happy, bashful smile overtook her features—no one had ever told her that before.
Gray had had enough. He slammed his hands on his desk, snatched his bag up and stalked out of the room, his free hand in his pocket. He got it. He understood it perfectly well. She did not like him. She didn't even want to be in his presence because he was a flirt. Yet after all of that, she was flirting back with the other guy? He couldn't believe it. He couldn't even stay in their presence any longer.
Who cared about a dumb tardy? Even if Amanda scolded him afterward, he just wanted to get out of that damned class.
Violeta jumped at the sound of two hands slamming down on a desk, turning just in time to see Gray leave the room. “What’s his issue?” she muttered, staring after him.
Josh sighed. “He kept staring over at you, Violeta.”
She blinked. “So? He was probably just planning his next attack. Doesn’t like me very much.”
“No, Violeta, I think it’s the opposite.” He offered an amused smile. “He likes you too much.”
Gray growled, leaning against a wall, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He was just a jealous prick. She wasn't even his girlfriend and he was acting so unnecessarily. So what if she flirted with someone else? So what if she liked someone who wasn't him? He wanted her to be happy.
But it was so hard. Four years, he'd been falling for her. All those four years, he received nothing but hate. But that guy… they talked for a little while and he immediately made it to her list. It frustrated him.
Violeta blinked incredulously at Josh. “Yeah, no. Trust me, Josh, I’ve known him for four years. He hates me a lot.”
Josh raised his eyebrows. “Prove it.” Exasperated, she gestured to the door, rising to her feet. “Fine. I’ll go after him.”
In truth, proving Josh wrong wasn’t the only reason she wanted to go after Gray. After seeing him like that on the street, so hollow and numb… she couldn’t help being worried. So, when she emerged from the classroom and nearly barreled into him, she took care to soften her voice. “Gray?”
Gray's head snapped up the second he heard her voice, his heart warming instantly. She came for him. She left that guy behind for–he immediately stopped that thought. No, he wasn't going to get his hopes up.
So he turned his head away, his lips set into something akin to a pout. Why was he acting like a child?
"What?" he muttered, refusing to even look at her.
“You good?” Violeta asked slowly, walking around his side in order to properly face him. But when her eyes met his, and she saw the expression on his face, her frown turned into an amused smile. “Are you pouting?”
Clearly, she needed some time to get her guard back up… she couldn’t remember a time where she had been this relaxed around him.
"Shut up," Gray grumbled, turning his head away a little more, trying to avoid looking at her. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be back in there, with your boyfriend?"
He really needed to chill out, but he just could not.
Violeta raised a disbelieving eyebrow, smothering the tiny spark of anger he was enticing. “Gray, this is the first time I’ve ever talked to Josh. And, why do you care about him?”
"I don't," Gray muttered, though he knew just how awful that sounded. Of course he cared. He was losing the girl he liked to Josh. "I'm just wondering why you chose to come after the man you hate instead of continuing with whatever you were doing."
“We’ve been over the whole hate part before,” she muttered under her breath. “And I came after you because I was worried. Seeing the hopeless flirt completely numb and devoid of emotion one day does that to you.”
"Everyone has their bad days," Gray responded, trying not to stick too hard to the part where she said she was worried. She was only being polite. Nothing more. "That one just so happened to be one of mine. Big deal."
“According to your sister——“ Violeta cut herself off abruptly. You and your big mouth….. “Never mind. Do you want me to apologize for coming out to check on you?”
Gray finally snapped his head towards her. What did Aria say?
"According to my sister, what?" he said slowly. "You didn't finish. What did she tell you?"
Well, that caught his attention….
“Not much,” Violeta answered hastily. “I don’t remember most of it. Something about a particular day of the year and how you won’t go home during it at all.”
Gray gritted his teeth. He loved his sister to no end, but sometimes she was just a blabber mouth.
“She didn’t say the reason?” He inquired calmly, knowing it was rude to snap at Violeta. “Just the fact that I’m gone that day?”
Funny how you never noticed that until now.
“She didn’t say the reason,” Violeta confirmed. “Is it the same reason you always missed one or two days of school a year in high school? You were never sick or anything, just… gone. And why are you upset now?”
Gray sighed in relief, running a hand through his hair. She didn’t know the reason. There would be no sympathy. Then came another realization.
She knew. She noticed the days she always went missing. Gray didn’t know what to feel about that.
“Yes,” he simply answered her first question before sighing again. “Your friend is waiting for you. I’m sure you don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“Why are you upset now?” she repeated, sidestepping his not-so-subtle invitation to leave. “You practically slammed your hands into the table and left. What happened?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Gray snorted, shaking his head. “Either you’re too goddamn oblivious to realize, or you just find it funny.”
Violeta squinted at him, folding her arms. “What are you talking about? What am I oblivious to? What would I find funny?”
“Oh my God, you’re such an idiot, aren’t you?” Gray breathed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Forget it. Go back to class. I’m leaving.”
Violeta grabbed his arm and pulled him back, a frown lining her downturned mouth. “You can’t just say that and leave,” she protested, “Tell me why you’re upset.”
“So you can laugh at me and throw it in my face?” Gray eyed the hand on his arm, his skin burning despite the piece of clothing over his arm. “No thanks.”
