CHAPTER 12
KATHERINE.
The sudden noise startled me a bit and I whirled around to see a guy standing in the doorway of the room, his head tilted to the side as he stared at me. The paint stains on his hands and shirt and the way his gaze slid from me to the canvas made me assume he was the artist so I immediately stepped away from it.
“Hello.”
“Uh, hi,” I replied before clearing my throat because of how squeaky my voice had been. “This is– Sorry, I just thought it looked cool and wanted a closer look.”
“Really?” he asked, the corner of his mouth turning up as he began to close the distance between us.
“Huh?” I muttered absent-mindedly when he got close enough for me to properly see his face and I couldn’t help but blink at him in surprise because… wow.
Not only did he smell amazing, but he had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. I guessed he must be used to that, the sudden pause in a person’s natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. He seemed perfect, looking every bit like a pretty boy with his perfectly styled brown hair, his cheekbones that seemed sharp enough to cut, and eyes that were the hues of the forest, surrounded with dark moss.
‘Was being attractive a requirement in this school?’
“It looks cool?” he replied, snapping me out of it, and it took me a moment to process his words.
“Uh… Yeah.”
“Can you tell what it’s going to be?”
I furrowed my brows a bit and glanced at the canvas once again before telling him what I could see. “The sun setting over a lake… Right?” I replied and he shrugged, his eyes fixed on the canvas as he lightly traced its edge.
“I don’t know. I’m just going with the flow.”
That drew a small smile from me and his attention moved from the canvas to me before a smile also took over his face.
“You have beautiful eyes,” he said softly and my cheeks immediately heated up before I sputtered for a moment.
“I- You too… Thank you.”
His smile widened a bit at my reaction before he nodded. “I’m Hunter,” he stated and my brows lifted at that.
‘Ah, the third one,’ I thought and remembered that I’d made a mental note to keep my distance from the three boys – Theo, Blake and Hunter – because I didn’t want Poppy’s attention. ‘Oh, well.’
“I’m Katherine.”
“So what brought you here?”
“To Blackwood?” I asked and let out a soft laugh.
“To the art room. You’re not an art student.”
“Oh. No,” I blurted out. “I'm not. I'm a science student. I'm looking for the Chernin room.” That was the room Lenore told me she was in.
“Want me to escort you there?” he asked and I nodded, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear as I smiled at him “I'd like that.”
“Well then…” He patted his hand on his trousers before gesturing at the door. “After you, my lady.”
“Ah–” I pressed my lips together and another smile swept across my face as I nodded. I then began to walk toward the door with him in tow and once we were in the hallway, he fell in step next to me and resumed the conversation.
“Are you a second year?”
I shook my head sideways. “No, first year. Moved here yesterday.”
“And how have you found Blackwood so far?”
I hmmed and tipped my head to the side as I thought of my answer. “Huge… old. Interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“You know… the mysteries and stuff. Especially that lady of the lake thing,” I replied and he smirked.
“So you were at the bonfire last night?”
I nodded. “You weren't?”
“I was but I left before it got crowded. Too many people made it to not be my scene,” he said and I nodded in understanding before he came to a stop in front of a set of huge double doors. “Here we are. This is the Chernin room,” he added and the corner of my mouth twitched.
‘That was quick,’ I thought because it would have been really nice to spend more time with him.
“Thank you, kind sir,” I said, mimicking his chivalry from earlier. “You were a fine escort.”
He flashed me a megawatt smile and placed a hand on his chest. “Ah, that is high praise, my lady.”
‘God, he’s so cute.’
One of the double doors opened before either of us could say anything else and I glanced at it to see Lenore standing there with a line between her brows. “Here you are. I thought you got lost,” she said, walking over to me.
“I did.”
“You two know each other?” Hunter asked and I raised my brows.
“Yes,” I replied while Lenore said, “She’s my roommate.”
“Oh.”
Now it was my turn to ask, “You know each other?”
“Unfortunately,” Lenore sighed and he furrowed his brows.
“Rude,” he replied just as some boys walked past us and I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye because they seemed to be staring at me.
“Silver eyes?” one of them asked and I fully turned to face him and his friends. I didn’t recognize him or any of the people he was with but the way they smiled when I faced them told me that they recognized me.
‘Ah. I’d forgotten about the stupid bonfire.’
“Knew it was you. Girl, you were litty last night,” he said while they walked backward and I tried to return their smiles, but it probably looked like my face was spasming.
‘Ugh.’
“Hey, what’s good Katherine?”
“You owe me another round of beer pong.”
I cringed internally while Lenore tsked before I gave them the peace sign and said, “For sure.”
They made cheering sounds at that and Lenore told them to beat it before they went on their way.
“Do your girl a solid and choke me out of my misery,” I groaned when the boys disappeared around a corner and she patted my shoulder.
“When we get back to our room,” she replied before I noticed that Hunter looked quite confused and I gave him a sheepish grin.
“She got wasted last night,” Lenore explained while I noticed movement behind her and after I turned to look over her shoulder, my smile froze on my face at the sight of Theo. The words I said to him last night came to mind and embarrassment stained my cheeks red as he stepped out of the room.
The moment his eyes fell on me, he narrowed them and moved his attention to Hunter before Hunter told me, “ Bye, Katherine. It was nice to meet you.”
“It was nice to meet you too,” I replied and he flashed his lovely teeth at me before he began to head down the hallway.
“We should go get lunch,” Lenore said, lightly touching my arm. “Let me grab my bag.” And with that, she went back into the room, leaving me with Theo.
He turned to head back into the room after her and I could’ve just let him do that because I didn’t want to be alone with him but I had to apologize for what I said last night.
“Hey, Theo,” I called and he paused before glancing at me over his shoulder, pinning me with his gaze. I swallowed. “Uh, about the things I said yesterday… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
‘Well, I did mean it when I said he was so, so pretty, but–’
“Whatever,” he muttered before walking into the room, shutting the door behind him while I gaped at him.
‘See! This was what I meant. So fucking mean!’