THESE HIDDEN WINGS

[46.1] NARROW ESCAPES

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I froze my eyes stuck on a figure that was taking long confident strides in the hallway, the path clearing for him almost instinctively.

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WALKING DOWN THE hallway of the Crown after the bell had rung, Claire and I did our best to not crash into any lingering bodies that filled the hallways as students came out of Class. I glanced at Claire as she chatted along beside me, trying to get a few suggestions out of me about what we should do before lunch.

In all honestly, I was the last person to ask about these kinds of things. I knew absolutely nothing about extra activities that weren't happening in my room, Claire's and Lira's room, the classroom, or the Arena. So yes, I was quite introverted, but after Mr. Ogustus Class today, I had a few questions on my mind only one place could answer.

Once again this was about HIM.

Mr. Ogustus had talked of sirens and said that they were flesh-eating monsters who couldn't be tamed and yet they looked near harmless as they swam beside him that night.

I had to know why-

The most obvious reason that was going through my mind was the fact that the boy was a mind controller. I didn't think about the extent of his mind control but it could be possible that it was strong enough to control other creatures, right?

Well, that made me wonder if he could control dogs, ants, or even flies.

I shuddered at the thought of someone being so powerful that he could control whatever he wanted or whoever he desired at a mere thought. It also didn't help thinking that if I ever got on his extremely bad side, it was easy for him to control a hornet's nest into my bed.

Additionally, Lira had said something about body control, which seemed to be much more than what he did to me, that he could stop my heart by mere command.

I really should count my blessings more.

I started to feel very foolish in this instance, thinking over the bad choices I made in my life, from chasing him into the restricted area to running away from him when he asked me to stay.

And all that began with my stupid curiosity.

I pulled at my back straps stopping in the middle of the hallway in complete irrational frustration. I shouldn't overthink this, how am I supposed to move on if I keep hunting about stuff about- you know who?

What if I find something I didn't like?

"T?!" Claire called over the heads of some students, her tone coming out a mixture of both confusion and concern having kept walking whilst I was having an inner battle within myself, probably without even realizing I wasn't by her side anymore. It was typical Claire, she had probably been chatting alone, thinking I was still walking beside her.

I looked over at her, my gaze falling as she tried to make her way back to me through the numerous students that crossed the hallways. I didn't want to go to the library anymore after my enlightenment.

I just wanted to bury this whole ordeal. I was learning from my mistakes and the consequences of not listening to my gut and so I would leave the mystery of the sirens as they were. It was not my place and I didn't want to dig a bigger grave for myself, not whilst I still had the chance to get out and then-

I froze my eyes stuck on a figure that was taking long confident strides in the hallway, the path clearing for him almost instinctively.

In a direct pathway leading right to me.

Another class emptied into the hallway and I felt myself being pushed along as he tore down the hallway staring straight ahead. I glanced over at Claire who was trying desperately to reach me, traveling in a direction opposing everyone else's which naturally made it a lot harder to get to me.

Knowing that there was no way she was going to get here before Hallway Boy did, I threw her an apologetic look, ducking into the crowd, and pushing my way through.

Glancing back down the hallway at Hallway boy, my heart almost fell out of my mouth when I saw that he had stopped in the middle of the crowd, looking directly at me, his eyes narrowed at me, and almost immediately as if on reflex, I started humming Barotse's National Anthem in my head as loud as I could.

I didn't know why, but I watched it on a show once, it should confuse mind readers- I hoped.

I had no time to figure it out, working double-time to claw my way through the busy parts of the hallway before bolting upwards. Running up the stairs, I almost bashed into a few people, who cursed at me but that didn't matter.

I worked my way up to the last floor running inside the first door I could find, shutting it firmly behind me before I could allow myself to take in much-needed quick breaths.

I placed my back against the door, hearing heavy footsteps thump past me. Probably from those thick boots he wore everywhere. After a little while, everything was quiet, so quiet I could hear the sound of my heart pounding against my rib cage.

I didn't want to take any chances, still afraid of the invisibility element I was pretty sure he had- after all, I was yet to be proved wrong and so I gave it another five minutes.

When I was sure there was no one, I slowly opened the door, peeking into the hallways. Taking in a deep breath of relief. I walked out into the hallway, tightening my backstrap and glancing both ways down the empty line, when I heard the sound of voices coming from the end of the hallway.

Not knowing what to do and realizing I may not be allowed to access these classes, I dived back into my classroom retaining my position, carefully closing the door behind me this time.

The voices stopped right out the door and I quickly moved to hide behind the wall bench. It seemed to look like some sort of science lab I realized, as I moved to the back of the class. After a few moments, the voices stopped and more thuds were heard indicating that they had left and yet I soon heard one pair of shoes clicking against the tiled floor right after the door squeaked open.

My heart was roughly beating against my chest when a steady thud of footsteps calmly approached my direction. My heart sank with every step they took until the sound stopped when I could see the shoes right in front of me.

Taking a shaky breath up, I slowly looked up, a hundred times more embarrassed at my position when I found out who it was.

Lucas Bowne stared down at me with an amused expression on his face, his hair tied neatly in a bun letting a few strands loose, looming over me in his intimidating shadow.

"Might not be my place to ask but is there a reason why you're on all fours?" he asked, his eyes narrowing down at me.

My cheeks heated up, immediately scrambling to my feet as fast as I could. Pulling down my uniform jacket and padding my skirt before my shy embarrassed eyes clashed with his amused ones once again-

"Well?" he grinned.

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Awkward. Lmao
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