12
Chapter 12 Woven
Been a fucking hot minute!
*Cowboy hat tipped down over face*
But don't you worry yer pretty little head
*looks out from under hat*
I ain't fuckin' dead yet
*Overused cowboy whip sound effect*
>RAIN<
_________________________
No doubt, right after Floyd's date with Polly he came home happy and buzzed. He relayed the night as exciting, fun, slightly awkward but all the same... Incredible. It was adorable how he raved about the evening he had.
You both talked about his date well into the night. Once again offering only a short night of rest.
"Well, I guess I should skedaddle this cute thang to bed." He said tiredly, pointing to his ass while tipping his head to the side tiredly with a bit too much alcohol in his system. He then let his head tilt back as he sashayed to his room. Just as you were about to look at the turtle themed phone, Floyd stopped and turned around which made you shove the thing back down into your bag hanging off the back rest on the kitchen chair.
"Good on you for getting yourself someone to do the looooovve with." He pointed at you with a wide grin and half closed eyes. "I'm proud o' you girl. It was sorta unexpected and you should text me a heads up before that happens again, but I'm still proud o'ou."
You laughed at his honesty and shook your head to yourself. "Thanks Floyd. But you should go to bed, we still have lectures tomorrow."
He nodded and waddled backwards into his room while patting over his heart, wearing a genuine smile. "So proud." And with that he closed the door and presumably flopped on the bed, falling asleep immediately.
As soon as the flat seemed still enough you whipped out your chunky turtle phone. Figuring out how the thing worked took a bit of time but you did it, and eventually figured out how to text Leo. You told him about your scheduled hangout with Henry and although he didn't seem opposed to it he wasn't completely on board with the whole thing either.
He was giving off strong worried-mom-who-still-wants-to-be-seen-as-cool-mom vibes. It was sweet to be honest, but you didn't really feel like it would be a big deal, after all you were just going over there to study and casually ask a few questions about stuff, like if he thinks something other than just a poorly built ceiling/installed chandelier could've caused the cave in, or just let him vent about his dad again. That seems to be an excellent way to get you info.
You didn't gossip much or at all, but you weren't one to stop anyone else gossiping to you. Gotta get that tea somehow right sis? Aheheheeheeeh
Your welt on your forehead went down a good amount, but it still was a prominent bruise sitting noticable on your face. You figured that it really couldn't get worse than it was already when it was swollen, so you skipped the attempts at covering with any makeup or anything. Deciding that you weren't going to cover it after a good 20 minutes of you attempting to you realize that you did not have enough time to get to class on time.
Giving one more disappointed look at your large bruise you bolted out of your bathroom and sped out of your building.
'°•.'°•.'°•.'°•.'°•.
"Hey," You said rushing to your seat next to Henry's new spot. You'd think someone would get mad about him always snagging someone else's seat but I guess being the son and sort of co-owner of a multi-million dollar business urges people to not mess with you.
Henry's soft eyes landed on you and cracked a smile. "Cutting it close there L/n." You chuckled breathlessly from running down the multitude of hallways webbed together, making it unnecessarily difficult to make it to the right class when you're running a tad late. "Yeah well I just ran a goddamn marathon so you can get off my case." You bit back lightheartedly as you hunkered down, preparing for the next couple of hours.
"Plus, it's not like we're going to pay attention anyway, it's Friday." You added on. He looked at you as if you were a mad genius; crazy yet, so brave.
"Are you serious?! Y/n, you have like three projects to finish still!" He said in a hissed whisper as the professor walked up to the podium. You shrugged through a little smirk. "Well, that's why I'm coming over tonight. I'm gonna learn everything I need to from you! The star student!" With a nudge on his arm he smiled and shook his head, exasperated. He wasn't really the star student.
As the class dragged on, you and Henry traded notes and attempted to not fall asleep during the unnecessarily long lecture, well it actually wasn't unnecessary. It's just that you were so fucking tired from everything that had been going on lately you were good and ready to lay down and never get back up.
Finally getting another assignment after a small pop test you and Henry left the now emptying classroom together. "Ughh, how are we gonna get this done." He groaned to himself, slouching down "I have no time to finish all this stuff and you are behind on like a billion assignments." He grieved, putting his face in his hands.
"Well, I'm just glad the Prof is this forgiving, they said most professors wouldn't accept any late work at all." You said with a timid shrug, flinging your head back casually. "But their patience is running pretty thin..." You countered yourself with a concerned expression as panic rose in your heart.
I should probably get this junk done...
But as always, you brushed it off with a laugh. This was getting to be a serious problem.
Henry sighed, relaxing his body then straightened up. "Well, it's a good thing we're doing this then, We can finish everything and be done with it." The confidence in his voice and radiating from him almost convinced you that you could do it. What a good business man!
He smiled over at you as you rolled your eyes, jutting your thumb after him. "What an optimist this guy."
He laughed at your pessimism. "Oh c'mon Y/n, where's that laid back belief in yourself you had in the beginning of class?" He asked puffing out his chest, as if mocking you.
"Class kills my spirit each day." You said deadpan as you both pushed open the doors to the slightly chilly air that rushed past your face, only to be warmed by the full sun sitting in the sky.
Both you and Henry laughed together while now walking down the multitude of stairs. The same stairs that nearly murdered you this morning on account of being late mixed with your lack of athleticism at a drop of a dime.
There waiting at the bottom was a black FuCkInG cAdIlLaC wHy?! There was a body guard standing in front of the sleek car's door, waiting for probably Henry. The body guard looked familiar as you recalled him being the one who was at the doors of the Fall Ball, holding the box with your mask in it.
Attempting a friendly encounter you gave him a smile. But he ignored you in the same way Henry ignored him. He stoically opened the door and Henry climbed in.
An odd feeling of being watched suddenly hit you once you stepped closer to the open door, sending an uncomfortable shot of shivers up your spine.
You quickly gave your surroundings a once over until the body guard gave cleared his throat, snapping you back to reality. "Oh! Heh, sorry." You apologized as you clambered into the limo after Henry, just barely getting in before the door was slammed closed behind you.
An immediate distaste landed in your mouth as you watched him walk around the car. "Don't mind him Y/n, he's not exactly incredible at his job. My father gets all the 'well tempered' bodyguards." He grumbled the last part just before the burly man gets in the driver's seat and peels out if the university property.
This really didn't bode well for you and you tried your best not to do anything to make the bodyguard dislike you in any way, whether that be talking too loud or too whispery or lose your mind to a banger song that played on the radio.
Finally after an intolerably stiff ride with crazy good songs that made you literally have to bite on your bag strap just to avoid singing along to, you made it to Henry's place. You were now physically and mentally drained after such strenuous circumstances.
As you were about to get out, Henry placed a hand on your shoulder and shook his head. Your hand retracted from the door handle cautiously just in time for the bodyguard to open his door for him, leaving you in the car for an awkward amount of time before the man opened your door for you as well. "Uh, thank you." You said, climbing out of the cadillac as quickly as possible.
That seemed like a stupid thing to do instead of just opening your own damn door. You glanced at Henry who smiled back at you, pulling out a pair of sunglasses you didn't know he had on hand until now, where was he storing those?! He stopped walking, slid the designer sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose slowly then continued up the stairs.
"Why did you put those on?" You questioned, trying to keep up with him on the shallow steps to his big ass mansion. "You're literally going inside." You couldn't help but laugh at this situation he put himself in.
He shrugged and smiled, tossing a mischievous glance back to you. "I put them on to look more angry so everyone thinks I'm in a shitty mood and avoids talking to me." He replied simply. What? The fuck??
He laughed at your expression. "Yeah, I usually get looks like that when I explain it." He chuckled as he opened the new large door and went inside. Just as you were about to follow him in, another uncomfortable feeling of being watched attacked your being with the jitters. You shook the feeling of spiders off your back and hurriedly rushed inside.
Upon entering the smell of polish invaded your nostrils, attempted to be covered by some kind of citrus smell. However, the sight was much more beautiful than the smell. The renovated tile floors were glossy and had a nice click to them every step taken by anyone. You could only imagine how satisfying it would sound for high heels to clack across.
Speaking of, there was Polly clippty cloppiting towards you both like a happy pony. Except she did not look happy in the slightest, the constant pep in her step is oddly deceiving.
"Henry I have some... Uh... news from your father." She said catching up with him easily while holding her clip board that looked overly stuffed with papers.
Henry groaned and kept his brisk pace grabbing the papers from Polly. "I have a guest with me Polly, can this wait?" He bit back, obviously not in the mood for whatever his father had in store for him.
She dipped her head with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry sir, but your father insisted that it got to you in a timely fashion."
Henry sighed and took the clip board from her and began to skim over the papers, progressively getting more and more angry. "Is he kidding? This has to be a joke. Polly, tell me he's joking." His strained voice raised as he glared at her with a tired yet frustrated look.
She flinched at his voice. "I'm sorry Sir." Her voice was surprisingly submissive, as if just going through the motions. "He... wasn't in a great mood." She said, shifting about slightly.
Henry's jaw set at her words as he took in a long breath of air. "No, I'm sorry Polly, I shouldn't snap at you." He reached for the clipboard to which she eagerly got out of her hands. His eyes slid over the papers. "He proposed knows I'd wrong his neck if he gave this to me personally." Henry said, an attempt at humour? You honestly couldn't really tell.
You couldn't help but zone out suddenly when that eerie feel of intense eyes watching you came back once again. This was getting ridiculous.
"The amount of things I have to re-do for him is getting a ridiculous" Henry complained to himself, aggressively scribbling his signature on a few of the papers. "It's a wonder how this company hasn't crashed and burned yet."
You turned back to the pair after taking a quickly look around, only to see a familiar green face peeking through a high up window inside down, hanging off the roof.
It was practically mid-day!!
Panic spiked an all time high as you forced your now strained face back down towards Polly and Henry who were now knee-deep in paperwork. Luckily they didn't notice that you seized up like a butthole after tacobell.
Your eyes kept snapping up towards Leo who waved and started to scribble on a piece of paper with a big black marker before putting it against the window.
Luckily he wrote huge, big enough for you to read form a floor below him. It read 'toilet'.
You squinted at him confused and gave a subtle shrug, trying to understand what the fuck he meant. He rolled his eyes and began writing another note and put it right above the other one. This one said 'go 2' and was underlined vigorously.
Finally understanding you casually walked closer towards the pair. "Hey, where's your nearest bathroom?" You asked. Polly seemed conditioned to respond as quickly as she did, while she didn't even look up from the work. "Up the stairs and in the left hall, first door to the right." She said softly. She looked like she was gonna cry... or scream. There were a lot of emotions just barely being contained.
Henry looked at you apologetically. "I'm sorry about this Y/n, I'll get this sorted out as soon as possible then we can study." He promised sincerely.
You forced a grin and tossed your hand back. "Oh don't worry about rushing, I'll be in there for a while." Once the sentence left you mouth both Polly and Henry gave you an odd, slightly uncomfortable look that made you want to die at you choice of words. You opened you mouth to say something but your feet quickly carried you away, knowing you'd just make it worse if you tried to fix it.
You stretched a hand over your head and gave a subtle thumbs up to Leo, signaling you were en route.
The bathroom was bougie as fuck, and it made you feel poor as ever. You'd for real probably pay money to live in this enormous bathroom.
Stepping inside you closed the door behind you just in time for Leo to be crawling in through the the foggy designed window. Quickly you turned on a tap, running water loudly over the both of you.
A frown settled on your face while you crossed your arms at him. As he brushed himself off he looked to you and tilted his head. "What?"
"Why are you here?" You asked angrily while simultaneously panicking.
His shoulders squared as he rolled his head back and around. "Business." He paused then eyes his surroundings "Plus I don't trust this place." He said coolly.
"Oh my god! That makes literally no sense!" You whispered angrily while fling your hands around. Leo frowned. "How does not make sense? I'm here for safety purposes!"
"Well, don't you think that it's sorta not the best idea to show up, in broad daylight, just to make sure I don't get in a jam even though you being here makes it like fifty times more dangerous. If they actually are dealing with this Shredder guy and they spot you, they'd figure out my connection to you guys and I'd be in a lot more trouble than I'd be in without you here!" You exploded, as quietly as possible.
Leo's stale glare melted slightly. "I-I, but what if they did figure out that you were connected to me and my brothers and I wasn't here to protect you?" He asked while pointing at you with raised would-be eyebrows, as if making a great point, 100% more calm than you. Just as you were about to bite back he quickly added. "Plus, I'm a ninja. I got here without being spotted despite the time of the day, so it's very unlikely that I'll let them see me."
"That!-..." You were about to argue, but that actually was a good point. The corners of his mouth quirked ever so slightly at your lack of rebuttal. "... Okay yeah whatever." You huffed and checked your phone. You didn't want to be in the bathroom for too long so you figured it was time to get a move on. Turning to the running faucet you gently turned the knob, cutting off the water. "Just... Promise me you won't get cau-" When you looked back, he was gone. You jumped slightly at the fact that he'd just pulled a vanishing act and that you didn't even expect it.
I guess that's as good a promise as anything.
You jumped again when his soft voice spoke from the unpredictable silence. "Don't worry Y/n, I'm a professional." He laughed quietly. Following the sound you looked up and around only to see him holding himself up between two beams lining the ceiling with only the pressure he was putting on it with his hands and legs.
It was crazy impressive and you gaped up at him (not failing to notice that he'd have to be in the best shape ever to even attempt something like that) and his crazy strength and tensed muscles. You absentmindedly mouthed an awestruck 'wow'.
Okay that's enough shameless gawking Y/n.
Your mind pulled you out of your staring session at him and you couldn't help but feel a heat bloom on your face. Leo's confident expression seemed to completely crumble at this and his arms and legs looked as if they were about to give out. He swiftly looked to the side at the beam away from you. His blue, ninja tails falling off their resting place on his strong shoulder to dangle down towards you.
"Urm, yeah just do that I guess. Good stuff." You said as you hurried out the door and closed it behind you and sped back to where you last saw Henry. However when you rounded the corner he was right there, making you almost run right into him if he didn't grab your shoulders to stop you.
"Oh, Y/n! I was just coming to tell you that I'll be going to the study." He smiled warmly, but his smile faltered upon seeing your extremely warm and flustered face. "Uh, are you alright?"
Panic shot through your spine and made you blurt out the first thing that came to mind. "Uh yeah! I just pooped!" You said loudly, making everything around seem a lot quieter than before. In fact it seemed to echo through the manor.
Oh my god.. why am I like this
Henry looked back at you with a surprised and very confused look as he attempted an awkward laugh. You hurried passed him as to avoid this topic you'd set and attempted to change the subject. "So where is this study of yours?" You asked through a voice crack while hurrying down the stairs.
Henry seemed relived that you didn't dwell on what just happened as he caught up to you. "Erm, yes, right. It's just this way." He said and took the lead.
You could just imagine Leo's amusement at this particular moment. It made you want to punch him... Y'know, despite the fact that you had no proof he was doing that, you just had a strong suspicion.
Upon entering the room after a few minutes of walking through his massive home, you found the study to be just as, if not more, elegant as the rest of the place. In theme with the rest of the building it held the common theme of serious yet warm and cozy. Books lined the walls and touched the ceiling, there were even independent pillars completely filled with books too.
It took a moment to realize just the exact magnitude of knowledge was held there. Stories, Mysteries, Atlas's, History. It wasn't a stretch to believe that religiously reading every book in this enormous sanctuary would take at least a decade to fully complete.
Henry smiled at your awestruck face and stared out at the sea of books. "Ah yes, sometimes I forget how uncanny this place is until I see that expression again." He laughed as he looked back at you, who had stars' in your eyes.
"This- this is insane!" You cried out before finally sparing a glance in his direction. "Have you read all of these?!"
Henry scoffed playfully. "Hell no. This is my fathers collection. He's most likely to have read all of them. This is one of his most prized possessions." Henry's gaze seemed to gloss over a bit.
"Anyway, shall we?" He asked, gesturing to a long, wooden table that held his books atop already. You simply nodded, still in shock as you sat across from him, pulling out your books and notes from your bag, setting them down in a way that was a lot less orderly than Henry's.
So you both began to work. It was going well and you almost didn't want to ask anything about his personal life or try to gather info because of all the homework you were actually catching up on.
In fact you'd actually started to forget about your 'side project' until fishing through your bag for an extra highlighter, only for your hand to land on the turtle patterned brick you had to carry around.
You stiffened a bit as you stared down at it, internally fighting with yourself. This was the golden opportunity to finally be on pace with the rest of the class.
But you had promised Leo.
Ugh, of course I actually want to do my work at this very moment. Motivation like this won't be back any time soon.
Relaxing your shoulders, you inaudibly sighed. "So, does your dad actually like books this much? Or does he just not have the gumption to get rid of them?"
Henry sighed and looked around once before landing his brown eyes on you. "I'm not even sure, I've never really known him to read a lot." His eyes went back down to his work. "Maybe he just doesn't have the time anymore with how big the business has grown."
Understandable.
You hummed and looked down at your work too. You really didn't know how to segway into getting any clues on shady business partners or purple goo that liked mutant cells from this small conversation.
But you knew you could've done a better job at trying to find a smooth transition topic if it weren't for your wandering eyes landing on the familiar turtle that slipped in through an air vent, sitting atop tall bookshelves behind Henry. He looked as though he was searching for something.
He must've sensed your eyes on him because he suddenly looked up from his little mission, locking eyes with you. He made a gesture to you as if telling you to keep talking.
"Uh... um..." You gaped, completely blown away that this was actually fucking happening.
Henry sent a curious glance up at you, almost making you flinch. "Uh, So! Why are you even taking this course? If you're gonna work as the CEO here, why bother with all... this?" You questioned, gesturing to the copious amount of homework spread out before you.
The man blinked and cracked a shaky smile. "I-I, uh... it's sorta embarrassing."
You weren't sure if it was because you enjoyed getting the dirt on people or because you were genuinely interested but your attention on Henry was suddenly razor sharp. "You can tell me!" You said a bit too eagerly.
You didn't miss the sudden perk of both Henry and Leo's attention to your slight outburst. A sudden wave of nervousness settled over you, making you slowly grin. "I-uh, Sorry, I'm naturally very snoopy." You laughed scratching the back of your warm neck.
Leo's eyes went from you to the back of Henry's head, as if to see if he'd fall for that.
Luckily, Henry was none the wiser. He chuckled. "No it's fine Y/n, I'm a bit snoopy with friends too." Leo diligently went back to his search.
His amused smile seemed to drop as soon at it showed up. "It's just that, I don't know if my dad will actually hand the company over to me."
You couldn't help the frown. "What? Why not?" Henry shrugged and sunk in his chair a bit. "I not completely sure but... well, I have an idea why. I just wish it wasn't such a strong possibility."
He sunk down even more as you leaned forward a tad bit more. His dejected eyes avoided you'd as he sighed out. "It's probably because I'm not his biological son."
You couldn't help the genuine scoff that left you. "Dude, if that's the actual reason you should be able to exchange him for a new Dad at a Dad orphanage." The words kinda slipped out, and you immediately started to wonder if you should've tried to incorporate poorly timed, untastful jokes once seeing Henry's blank expression.
Oh yikes.
He sighed and rested his lips and chin against his laced together hands. "I apologize Y/n, I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to joke about these things with me, but I just find it difficult to get any kind of joy from that man." His gaze went off to the side, a slight frown crossing his face.
Leo's worried gaze returned for a brief moment before seeming to scour the book collection at a record speed, almost frantic which was a bit of a 180 to the turtle you knew.
You were practically getting crushed from the increasingly heavy conversation. So on another whim you figured now that you were there, you could try and figure out if he had any power in the company at all and try to split from the topic of his father. "Well, I mean you have to have some kind of power in the company, like, you seem to handle everything public. Am I wrong?"
Henry laughed weakly shaking his head. "No, I suppose you aren't wrong. I am more of a public figure than him, but... I almost wish he'd just speak for himself instead of using a middle man." He said, composing himself and pulling on the cuffs of his shirt.
"So you don't have control over any branch in particular at all?" You asked, leaning forward.
This seemed to make Henry pause before the slightest of frowns crossed his face. "You know yourself very well Y/n."
A cold pit landed in the bottom of your stomach hearing his words. "You are very snoopy." He said thinning his warm-turned-cold eyes.
Oh no oh no! Did I fuck this up?!
"Henry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push too far." You could feel both pairs of eyes on you, Panic flashed across Leo's eyes which matched yours while Henry sat quietly with piercing eyes.
Well that didn't work... I guess it's time to shift into MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!!
You sighed and pulled on a genuine look, masking your terror, trying to steady your shaking leg. "Look, please tell me when I go too far because I can guarantee that I won't be able to read your social cues." A small, awkward laugh left you. "I don't actually have that much friend experience."
You didn't miss Leo's confused and pitying gaze directed towards you. Embarrassed, you slumped a bit farther down over your work, awkwardly scratching over your ear.
Stop looking at meeee....
Henry hummed. "Alright, well. I understand." And with that he looked back to his work, ending the conversation.
Your eyes widened a bit but a bit of relief settled inside when you looked back to Leo only to see he'd gotten what he was looking for. There in his hand was an tattered book with the Ashmore logo.
He spared you one more glance before deftly leaping up, catching himself on the lip of the vent and heaving himself up like it was nothing. He placed the vent cover back just as Henry caught you looking passed him. You quickly turned you attention to the man before you, however, seemingly curious at what you were looking at he checked over his shoulder where Leo was just a second ago.
Henry then looked back to you with a confused look until he heaved a heavy breath. "Let's not get distracted anymore."
You only nodded and turned your attention back to your partly done homework, embarrassed.
•^•^•^•^•^•^•^•
It was getting late and the sun was setting, painting the sky in a soft orange while the few clouds were dusted a deep pink. The warm light filtered in through the windows, showcasing the incredibly small amount of dust settled in the study.
Henry and you had recovered from that small dispute (if you could even call it that) you both had and were back to the assignments. Probably working at least three times harder than before.
You both had exchanged a few jokes about the professor and how bad of an idea university really was.
However the sound of footsteps of a most likely way overpriced pair of shoes in the hall outside the door pulled you out of your fickle focus. After a couple seconds Henry lifted his head as well, listening to the light thumps get closer until the doors were yanked open just to show Mister Tiberius Ashmore himself. His tie seemed to be pulled to comfortably and loosely hang around his neck, the way people look after a long day.
His face seemed confused and possibly mad for only a moment until he locked eyes with you. A smile was stretched across his face as he sighed. "Ah, Miss L/n. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Henry curtly cut in. "We're here studying." He said with a frown, staring down his adoptive father.
Tiberius' grin seemed to become stale and he laughed in a way that suggested he was on the edge of exasperation. "As odd as it may seem, I wasn't talking to you Henry."
Henry glared at his father while gripping his pen in his palms, ready to break it. "Aren't you supposed to be in California or something." His brown eyes lit a dangerous flame of irritation, maybe even disgust.
This was a drastically different mood compared to the last time you'd seen both of them together at that fall ball. This time they were so hostile, and heaps more transparent about it than before.
Figuring this situation had a real risk of not ending civilly, attempted to diffuse the situation. "Uh, well like Henry said.-" The older mans stern attention turned back to you from his unhappy son. "I was just here to study, heh, I have to catch up on a few things and Henry was kind enough to let me come over." You squeaked nervously, fiddling with the pencil in hand.
Tiberius hummed, the firmness in his eyes effectively gone, giving way to an extremely tired expression that was highlighted by the heavy bags under his eyes. A hefty sigh left him, followed by a weak imitation of his usual million dollar grin. "Well, I'm glad you're catching up on work but I'm afraid that I will have to ask you both to leave my study."
Henry displayed a clear distain directed at his father, which was coolly ignored. They both opted for staring the other down, feeding the rising tension as dangerous forces fought and clawed between them. Now it was apparent this may actually end in a blood bath if you didn't step in, so grabbing situation by the reigns, you took the initiative and sprung into action.
Grabbing all your textbooks and binders just to shove them down inside your bag as you nudged Henry to do the same.
He reluctantly followed suit broke the stare down and angrily placed his things in his backpack. You scooped the large amount of multicoloured pens off the tables edge into your bag messily. You didn't give a shit about the few missing the bag if it meant you got out of there faster.
So with everything crammed in your bag, you flung it over your shoulder and darted towards the door where Tiberius was standing.
Henry was right behind you walking out, not passing up the chance to bump into his fathers shoulder on the way past.
It was a bit of a shock to see Polly silently standing just outside of the door, waiting for you both to leave as well. However she didn't even bother to look up from the ground as you passed by. There was a quiet shame around her.
Something in your gut told you not to leave her here.
Henry breezed past you began to walk down the hall, quiet and tense. The safety of Henry quickly fleeing from you.
You looked between Henry and Polly a few times before feeling Tiberius' overpowering eyes boring into you, accompanied by a raised brow. Despite only meeting his eyes for a second, an inky slime coated everywhere he looked on your body. Your breath froze in your lungs and you swiftly brought your eyes back to Polly.
Ignoring his stare was like turning on a hungry alligator, but you kept your eyes on the young woman, waiting for her to say something for a second longer.
She opted to look in the opposite direction, her shoulders squaring.
"Y/n. Let's go." Henry said, waiting at the end of the hallway for you.
It felt like you were a sticker being peeled off from something it wasn't supposed to be stuck to.
Unease finally got to you and left, speeding towards the safety of Henry. As you caught up to him you both walked together in silence for a while.
You timidly looked over at him while he stared straight ahead.
"Hey, you good?" You asked carefully.
"I'm fine." He said rather harshly making you frown and look forward too. Henry looked at you momentarily before sighing, closing his eyes with a troubled, ashamed frown. "I'm sorry Y/n." He peered over at you. "I shouldn't have snapped."
You smiled softly. "Don't sweat it."
This made him smile ever so slightly back at you before he looked forwards once more. "Well, I can confidently say that our study session is over." He said through a gentle laugh.
This made you laugh with him, thankful he wanted to end the weirdly stoic atmosphere that was hanging around.
"I'd say so." You said as you checked the time on your phone. It read 6:37 pm.
"I'd better get home soon. Don't want Floyd worrying like the last time I was here." You chuckled.
Henry smiled, amusement dusting his face. "Well, I don't think he'll have to worry as much today, the ceilings aren't caving in this time."
You both shared a comfortable laugh before he poised his arm out for you to take. "I'll see you out." He said, now in an entirely better mood than just a few minutes before.
You grinned widely and wrapped your arm around his and he began to lead you back towards the entrance. "It seems chivalry lives on in you." You quipped with a raised eyebrow.
He smiled fondly, looking forward. "Well, my mother was always a big believer in knowing how to properly treat a lady."
You smiled along with him. "Well you're doing a marvellous job."
Reaching the door he was quick to open it for you. "Wow, you are on a roll today!" You praises while walking outside before turning around to bid him farewell. "Well, thank you. I have gotten a huge amount of stuff done that I just have not had the time for lately." You thanked.
Henry chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets. "Yeah me too. It was nice just doing things someone my age is supposed to be doing for once."
You nodded along with him. "Yeah, good 'bring-you-back-to-the-real-world' kinda thing, huh?"
He smiled at you kindly. "Yes, I guess you could say that."
You teetered on your heels as the conversation lulled while stuffing your hands in your pockets as well. "Well, I guess I'll skidaddle. Have a good night Henry." You said while stepping a foot backwards down a stair.
"Goodnight Y/n."
With that you turned and began to walk. However you didn't get three steps down before Henry called out to you once more. "Wait, Y/n."
You turned around only to see him stepping out of his home and close the door behind him. He stepped down after you in a hurry until he stood a few stairs above yours.
"Yeah what's up?" You asked, craning your neck.
He sighed gruffly. Something was bothering him. "I know that you're a good person and a big part of me believes that to be the case. But there is a smaller part of me that can't help but feel you aren't actually this interested in peoples jobs like you are in mine."
A spike of terror shocked your heart and your palms were sweaty immediately. "Oh-?"
He stepped down to your step, now on the same level. "Look Y/n, you are fun to be around and I really admire how much you care about things like your homework, Floyd getting worried, or even my home life."
His aura suddenly got very sad, almost scared. "But please, don't turn out to be using me for something." He pleaded, taking you aback. "You've been the closest friend I've had in a long time and I don't want you to end up like everyone else."
A sudden guilt built up in your heart as he stood before you, pleading for you to not do something that you've been doing this whole time. At a loss for words, and deep want for him to miss the horrified and guilty expression on your face, you wrapped your arms around him in a hug, to which he gladly returned. "I won't." You muttered against his shoulder.
You could feel his chest heave a relived huff before laughing breathlessly. "Thank you, Y/n." He grinned and hugged you a little bit tighter.
He pulled away and luckily you'd pretty much recovered from that horrible feeling in your stomach. "Sorry if that was weird, I just had to hear you say it." He said with an awkward half smile.
"Yeah, no problem." You said, weakly trying to match his grin.
He chuckled lightly and pat your shoulder. "Alright well, I'll see you in class."
You nodded, the grin that spread on your face was getting easier to hold. It couldn't be helped at just how happy he was to have a friend. "See you in class."
He let his gentle grip on your shoulder slide off as he stepped back, still smiling then hopped up the stairs to the door, looking back once more and waving.
Once you waved back he closed the door and you were alone with the half set sun.
There was a lot to think about after that encounter. Just how much Henry loathes his father, Henry getting suspicious of you when you asked about his role in the company, Henry's fear of not getting the company so he's taking a bunch of university classes to stock up of business knowledge and also just to have a backup plan, and now you were his friend, and quite possibly his only friend.
God that whole ordeal was incredibly stressful. Leo's being there sure didn't help either.
You made a mental note to ask about that book that Leo was rummaging around for as you exited through the large front gate.
Pulling out your phone you figured calling a taxi or getting an Uber would be better than walking since you had such a traumatic time walking home last time.
That and you were just feeling especially lazy today after all that studying.
Just as you clicked on the Uber app you heard a sudden -and not subtle at all- "PSST!"
You jumped and your phone slipped out of your hand. The phone juggled between your hands erratically until it dropped face down on the sidewalk.
"Oh my god seriously?!" You cried out then looked up only to see Leo hidden amount the branches. You sighed. "Of course it's you." You said dryly as you picked your phone up off the ground, inspecting the now slightly cracked screen. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked as he hung upside down from he tree by his knees.
"My phone never survives your visits." You said placing it in your pocket. Leo laughed slightly, making you feel a certain type of way.
You spied his upside down face peering at you and straightened up. "..what're you doing here? Have you been waiting here the entire time? Because you left a good two hours ago."
Leo shook his head. "No, I was just checking up on you, I wasn't sure if you were still here or not."
"Hm, okay well yeah I just got outta there like a minute ago so your timing is perfect." You said placing a hand on your hip.
Leo avoided eye contact. "Yeah, I saw."
An awkward silence passed between you both until he spoke up again. "But I'm actually glad I caught you, I think it's about time we touch base."
You raised your eyebrows at him then nodded once. "Huh, okay. But I'm starving, so we're gonna grab some food first." You said hiking up your backpack a bit more.
Leo's eyes widen slightly as he seemed to think it over for a moment. Finally he shrugged with a small grin. "As long as you're buying." He replied through a laugh.
"Well as long as you carry me and my bag there." The bag was very heavy because it it's filled with the stress, pain and suffering of a university student.
He tilted his head. "Why don't you just take a taxi or something?"
Your eyelids fell halfway down your eye, as you forced a pained smile. "Leo, my man. I'm buying us food or I'm taking a cab home, I can't afford both. So take your pick." You said, swatting his little bandanna tails that hung right in front of you.
He chuckled nervously, and he seemed somewhat embarrassed.
____________________
Brb,
turning 18,
Legally can get into clubs,
Can drink in cool bars,
Wisdom teeth coming out,
Might get married,
We see where the day takes me.
(Probably to the bathroom to throw up for the rest of the day from teeth being pulled from my fucking skull lolol hyped)
— that caption was written a while ago on my actual birthday... I'm sorry oh my god I really have been sleeping on this book —
Also, merry fucking Christmas you noobs! <3
Fluff has been scheduled for the next chapter
>Rain<
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top