The moment she walked in, the boys disengaged from one another as though they had just been burned.
Eric looked particularly guilty, standing there unable to meet her eyes. The other guy simply sat down on one of the beds and folded his hands, staring back at her.
"Who's this?" He asked.
Eric snapped out of it and walked up to her, "H...hey, what are you doing here?"
Theo was speechless. She was still trying to put what she just saw together. Eric had actually been kissing another boy. Does that mean Eric is...?
Oh God. Now that she thought about it, she's never seen Eric talking or flirting with any girl for as long as she's known him. He always brushed the conversation off whenever she tried to bring it up.
It makes perfect sense now.
"Would you like me to give you some space?" She finally replied, her voice suddenly hoarse with her aching heart.
"Yes! I mean...no, of course not," Eric sounded so confused and kept looking between the other guy and her.
"Yeah, I think I'll leave," She stated and turned around.
"Yeah...," He turned to the guy again, contemplating.
Theodora bit her lips as she stepped outside. Her body was trembling from the pain. It wasn't just because Eric never told her that he wasn't straight or that her heart was lying on the floor, it was the fact that he had just...chosen the other guy over her right now.
A tear rolled down her face, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force it back. What would a guy think if they walked past and saw her crying?!
'There, there,' Seraphina said, trying to console her.
Just then, the door opened behind her and Eric stepped out. They stared at each other awkwardly for the first few seconds, and then she asked, "Boyfriend?"
He rubbed his temple, "We're still... figuring things out," Then, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to a corner, "Promise me you won't tell anyone what you just saw,"
"How long...has this been going on?"
He gripped both of her shoulders, and his eyes softened as it bore into hers deeply, "Please, Teddy, promise me you won't tell anyone about this,"
"I promise," She gave in. She knew she would. She couldn't resist him. She was a sucker.
Eric released her shoulders, letting out a deep exhale, "His name is...Finn. We've been dating since I arrived at the academy, but...,"
"But...," She insisted.
"He broke up with me recently. I'm trying to get him back,"
Theo's eyes twitched, "What happened between you guys? Why'd he break up with you?"
"It was a misunderstanding. There's this other guy... Jeremy...To cut the story short, I thought Finn was cheating on me with Jeremy and I confronted him, which led to the breakup,"
Theodore arched a brow, then asked, "I don't mean to be rude but...are there a lot of gay guys in this school?"
Eric shrugged, "Probably. But we're all trying to hide it,"
This had Theo thinking back to how the guy with the dirty blonde hair had been staring at her. Spiders crawled up her back at the thought of it, and she shivered.
"So, how did it go with the Commandant?" Eric Inquired.
Theodora tilted her head a bit, "You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"The announcement about me,"
"I...,"
She began to tremble again, "Please don't tell me you left me all this while just to see Finn. It's been almost four hours, Eric!"
"Come on, I'm sure whatever happened was something you could handle. Why are you so frustrated? You're not the one fighting for love here,"
Theodora swallowed, still trying to be reasonable, "I was haunted, Eric. It would have been nice if you'd been there. I mean, it's my first day of school,"
"You made it out alive, didn't you?"
"I did," She replied, "All thanks to myself,"
He patted her on the shoulders, "Good Job. So, I can go back to Finn, right? I told him I wouldn't be gone for long,"
Theodora stared at Eric like he was out of his mind, "Are you kidding me? I have no place to stay tonight. My roommate literally kicked me out!"
"Who's your roommate?"
"What was his name again...," Theodora thought back to the dirty blonde-haired guy, trying to remember the name he had called her dangerous roommate, "Zeke. His name was Zeke,"
Eric's eyes darkened, "What? Zeke? Did you see his face?"
Theodora was taken aback. She wasn't expecting this reaction from him, "Do you know him?"
"Teddy, what does he look like?" His eyes burned.
"Long, dark hair. Dark eyes. Tall. Has a lot of tattoos. Muscular, scary looking and all,"
"Hell, no!" Eric snapped, and paced a step away as though the air had turned toxic, "You can't stay there,"
"What do you mean I can't stay there? It's my assigned room,"
"No," his voice was firmer now, "I'm gonna escort you to the Commandant's Office, requesting a room switch. You said he kicked you out, right? Good!"
"Why are you so concerned about this?"
"Because...Zeke isn't someone a girl like you should cross,"
A girl like her? What the hell does that mean? "Too late for that," She replied.
"I'm serious, Teddy," He whirled on her, his expression uncharacteristically raw, "Hezekiah's dangerous. More dangerous than you think. You should be glad he threw you out,"
Theodora studied him for a long moment, suspicion tugging at her. He wasn't just surprised, he was rattled. Literally shaken to the core.
"Why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me? That is...apart from the fact that I just found out that you're gay?"
His gaze skittered away, "You have to trust me, Teddy,"
"Trust...," She murmured, "That sounds somewhat cheap coming from you, now,"
"What?" He exclaimed.
"Whatever. I just wanna find a bed to crash today. Tomorrow, I'll head back to my room and try again. If he kicks me out again, I'll take the matter to the Commandant's Office,"
There was a tense silence between them after that.
Then, Eric asked, "Where are you gonna crash, then?"
"Well, I expect my best friend to invite me to wash up and sleep in his room tonight but I suppose he doesn't want me to intrude in his... lovey-dovey time," She flashed him a saucy grin.
"I was...I was gonna invite you to stay at my place. But the thing is...,"
She didn't wanna hear it anymore. She was so disappointed in him already for leaving her on her own all through today, "Whatever, I'll figure it out myself,"
She gripped her luggage and turned to leave, but Eric gripped her hand.
She paused, her heart skipping a beat.
"I'm sorry about today. I shouldn't have...left you like that. Come to my room. You can spend the night with me,"
Her heart skipped another beat. She softly gazed at him, and his dreamy eyes made her heart swell.
How could she say no?
.
.
.
Theodora stood naked, staring at herself in the bathroom mirror.
Seraphina did a really great job with everything. No wonder no one suspects a thing...that is, except for the blue-eyed man. There was a certain way he stared at her that gave her the creeps.
Her hips were smaller, and her breasts looked like they were just developing for the first time. And her face...Well, she did resemble Thaddeus in female form but in male? It was even better.
Subconsciously, her fingers drifted to her chest and she fiddled with the pendant a bit. It made her feel safe. No one would be able to find her here.
Hushed voices drifted from the room to the bathroom. Theo knew Eric was discussing her spending the night here with his... boyfriend, and she tried her hardest not to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Once she was done washing up, she picked up a pair of clothes Eric had draped over the door earlier and threw them on.
Finn was watching her keenly as she stepped out of the bathroom. He was lying on the same bed as Eric, hands crossed looking like someone who didn't want her to be here.
She simply ignored him.
"You can take my bed," Eric said, pointing at the empty bed on the other side.
She nodded and lay down, facing the other side away from them. The sight of Eric lying on the same bed with another guy had her feeling a rage of jealousy.
As she closed her eyes waiting for sleep to take over, they began to whisper in the same hushed tones. Finn's voice was louder, and at some point, Theo wished she had earplugs so she could shove them deep into her ear holes.
Eventually, she drifted into sleep.
The next morning, it was time to head for training.