I have never been more tired than I was today.
Weeks passed after the DJ incident now everyone has a habit in bullying the heck out of me.
I slammed my locker.
A massive headache threatened to split my head, and the worst part....I haven't even had enough rest since the incident.
All through the week, I was helping Grandma trim her garden that was full of eggplant. I didn't have any problem with it, until I stupidly accepted being the date of Romano.
One of the hottest boys in school.
He needed to introduce his girlfriend to his family, unless he's going to lose his beloved
Lamborghini he got for his birthday.
Well, I had to dress and act like a modest girl for him.
And I guess it worked because his mom and dad completely adored me.
Which should be good, right? But...
No.
Romano despised it because he thought I was going to steal his family's love from him.
Petty.
It was no secret that my parents were dead, so it was used against me.
"Don't fucking steal my parents away from me because you have no one to call Mom or Dad," he said. "You get that, Hilla?"
His words still echoed fresh in my mind.
And I could still remember how I cried all through the night, resulting in my splitting headache.
The ear-splitting sound of the school bell echoed through the hallway, making my head feel like it was on the verge of exploding.
I hissed, covering my ears.
"Iris, you okay?" Michelle walked down to me, her gaze fierce and full of fake sympathy.
Michelle can never be nice to someone, except she needed something from me.
I sighed.
"Yeah," I whispered, trying to walk away from her.
"Hold on... I need your help."
I knew it...
Three.
Two.
One.
"I need you to be my girlfriend," she said, making my eyes widen.
"What?"
"Yeah... You know that I'm bi, so I need to make Lucas jelly."
I internally rolled my eyes.
Lucas was her boyfriend. You know how I emphasized the was? Yeah... was.
They have this on-and-off relationship, which includes them a toxic couple.
They broke up like a month ago, and now she wants to make him jealous by me being her girlfriend.
I shouldn't agree. This is a bad idea.
Lucas is very dangerous...like, toxic dangerous.
You know, this drug-addict murder gang he's part of? That group.
And that's not the scariest part.
He's twenty-five... while I'm just seventeen.
He would basically kill me for letting his girl touch me.
But as usual, my mouth is used to saying words that are the opposite of what my mind thinks.
"Ummm... sure," I muttered in disappointment.
She beamed, her fake eyelashes batted in excitement. And I couldn't help but internally cringe at the thought of her even touching me.
"See you today at five, in William Street."
Yeah... Wait... what?
William Street.
A street notorious for people getting killed and many much worse
No... I can't die today.
"I don't think it's a good idea—"
Before I could complete my sentence, she walked past me, making her heavily scented perfume choke out the breath in my lungs.
I coughed.
Oh Lord, I don't want to meet you today.
My phone buzzed in my hands.
Henry: I'm outside.
My eyes lit up in excitement.
I bit my lips while typing...
Me: On my way.
He replied with a thumb emoji as I quickly shoved my phone into my bag and rushed outside.
My eyes darted everywhere.
The garden, the parking lot, the scattered groups of students going about their usual chaos.
And then, I saw him.
Leaning on his Toyota Corolla like some off-duty Zara model.
I stared at him for a moment before heading towards him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
I bit my lips, my finger playing with the hem of my bag.
"Umm... Why are you here?" I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
He shrugged, running a hand through his hair.
"I just wanted to see you."
I smiled — a huge one.
"That's so sweet," I teased.
"Don't make me regret saying that," he said, gritting his teeth playfully.
I nodded.
"Well... I missed you."
He looked at me for a brief moment, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes.
I furrowed my brows as I noticed the sudden tension between us.
"I'm hungry. Let's grab something," I blurted out.
Not waiting for his response, I opened the passenger door and slid into his car.
The car smelled like him...lavender. Calm and intoxicating.
Soon after, he entered the car before putting on his seat belt.
"Don't you think it's dangerous to enter into a guy's car like that?" he said, his voice low.
I turned towards him, his eyes on mine.
"Yeah... It is, but... you're different."
He raised a brow. "And how are you sure of that?"
I turned my gaze away from his towards the view ahead of us.
"Because you wouldn't hurt me," I said.
It was the truth. Everyone treated me like I was a tool to fulfill their wishes, but he... he treated me like I was something special.
There was a long pause, so long that it felt like I was suffocating in here.
I t
urned back to face him, but instead, his eyes weren't on me, his gaze was on the s
teering wheel, deep in thought.
"I'm so hungry," I whispered, snapping him out of his reverie.
"Yeah."
It didn't take long before we stopped at some nearby café.
One of those hidden places with blinking signs but cheap and amazing food.
Iris might have been starving for food, but the way Henry stared at her when she wasn't watching...
That kind of hunger couldn't be fed at any café.
And it was dangerous for him and for her.