Page 58 of Lessons In Grey

At least, that’s what I was trying to convince myself of.

I chewed my gummy worm slowly as I opened the image, my heart skipping a little while it loaded. What had he sent me? Nothing came to mind. He didn’t seem like the kind to take a picture of himself, not that I would have wanted that.

I would have.

I might have even set it as my wallpaper, as cliché as it was.

The picture finally loaded, and my eyes widened.

It was me.

Me, leaning up against the car, one foot kicked back against the bumper, my fingers holding a gummy worm against my tongue while I looked out across the parking lot.

My hair fell carelessly around me, the breeze drifting carrying it aimlessly, a look in my eyes that was distant and heavy all at the same time.

Shit.

I looked…

Grey:You look fucking beautiful

My eyes lifted to the campus, and I searched the mingling students carefully until I found him. Half hidden in the shadows like a goddamn psychopath, just near the door. He was watching me intensely, a small smile touching one corner of his lips.

Shit.

His wool coat was open, revealing the black suit underneath, his vest black with shining red designs, his tie green.

A dark Christmas, that’s what it reminded me of.

He gestured for me to come over.

My heart leapt in my throat. Oh shit.

My legs had already started moving of their own accord. He had some sort of power over me, and I wasn’t entirely angry about that.

I stepped onto the sidewalk and as soon as I neared where he was hiding, he stepped out from the shadows and joined my side. “You look like you should be the star of some villain origin story movie,” I commented cooly.

“Good,” he replied, reaching for the door. “It’s all for you,” he mumbled as I walked by him.

Shit.

I rolled my eyes when he followed me in. “You’ve always dressed like that.”

“And it’s been for you. Everything I’ve done, all for you.”

I scoffed. “You didn’t even know I existed until July 7th.”

“Some part of me did. I’ve always known about you, Snowflake. Always.”

“Professor?”

I kept walking as the student stopped him. I didn’t even look back. I couldn’t. The rumors about me using my mental illness to fuck him were still circulating. If I looked back, it would only add fuel to the fire, so I kept walking and I didn’t stop.

~~~

Ash had gone to lunch with Syn today, and Rags had some work to do, which was fine because so did I.

Rather than sleeping, I worked on the schoolwork I had gotten behind on and ate some real food for the first time in a long time.