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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑

-ˋˏ  𝘔𝘳. 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 ˎˊ-

˚ 　 ✫ 　　　 ˚ . 　　　 ⋆

. · 　　 +

✧

╰┈˚ · ° .  SECOND DAY OF SCHOOL, Second day of school, second lesson with Mr. Tanner, and I was already tired of all the bullshit that came out from that man's mouth.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?" His eyes searched the class, landing on his next victim. "Miss. Bennett?

Taking her eyes off her notebook, Bonnie hesitated with her answer, in the end replying with, "Uh... A lot? I'm not sure but a whole lot"

I mean, she wasn't wrong.

"Cute became dumb in an instant, Miss. Bennett." The teacher reapplied sarcastically.

"Can he even say that?" Zyran whispered to me so low that I almost didn't catch it. The place between his eyes was furrowed and his lips were curled up in distaste.

"Like he cares." I said back.

Then Mr. Tanner called another student. "Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your jock stereotype?"

"It's okay Mr. tanner. I'm good with it." Matt's reply caused a few students to chuckle, but our teacher didn't seem much impressed or amused.

His eyes, full of spite, landed on my sister then. "Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of town's most historical events."

"I'm sorry. I don't know." Elena replied, shaking her head.

"Andromeda?" The teacher let out a sight of disappointment when my lips stayed shut. "I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, girls." his eyes moved from me and my sister. "But the personal excuses ended with summer break."

"What the fuck?!" The word left me with pure distaste and astonishment. "Our parents died, summer break didn't make them any less dead."

"Meda, don't." my sister's words reached me but did nothing to calm me down.

"Mind your words, Miss. Gilbert." The teacher said into the silence that the classroom had fallen into, jaw clenched and eyes narrowed down to me.

I was past anger, what I was feeling was pure rage as I started to collect my things. "Mind your own words, Mr. Tanner."

Zyran let out a chuckle, eyes lasered on the teacher, "I get it, you know? You are a repressed high school teacher with minimum wage who went nowhere with his life, that's why you bully your own students. But that's just pathetic."

"Mr. Ashleigh-"

Zyran clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, eyes ablaze with fire as he showed the world his charming grin. But I knew, I could see it. He was angry, very angry.

He collected his own thing with calmness, dropping his arm around my shoulders with ease leading me out of the classroom. "Good rest of the lesson, Sir." he said to the teacher with a sarcastic nod and tone.

I expected to tense from the contact, to the feeling of needles piercing through my skin to arrive, for the panic... but it never came.

We walked outside, to the front courtyard of the school, and when the door closed behind us, his arm fell away leaving me suddenly cold without his warmth.

"Are you okay?" He asked. He was in front of me, our boots cladded feet almost touching. The space between his eyes was furrowed and his lips were pulled tight at the corners."Meda?" His finger brushed the underside of my chin with a feather-like touch making me title my head to him.

"Yeah, yeah." I said in a whispery tone, afraid that if I were to speak any louder the magic-like bubble surrounding us would burst. "You didn't have to say anything but... thank you."

A smile tugged his lips upwards, his smile softening my rage. "No need to thank me Darlin'. He is an asshole, he deserved it, anyways."

I let the smile cover my lips as I spoke next. "Did you just call our teacher pathetic?" I asked biting my lower lips to prevent a laugh from coming out.

"No." He grinned. "I called his actions pathetic."

Giggles fell from my lips, and I swear, his grin widened even more. "Well, since we are already skipping this period, do you want to skip the rest of the day?"

"I thought you would never ask." He replied with a groan, titling his head back to the sky, the golden jewelry on his locs catching the light of the sun.

"Then let's go." I said, matching his grin with my own. And to my surprise, I took his hand in mine, dragging him with me.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked, eyes narrowed down playfully.

"You are hungry."

His eyebrow shot up in shock, and the softness in his gaze took me by surprise. "I am." he said.

How the hell did I even know that he was hungry, I didn't know.

───── ⋆˖⁺‧ ☽◯☾ ‧⁺˖⋆ ─────

╰┈˚ · ° .   "The Grill is definitely better without dozens of teenagers." he said between bites of his burger. His second. The first one he had inhaled it like it was oxygen.

"Definitely." I said as I sipped my milkshake, but my eyes were firmly on anything that wasn't him.

"Do you want to tell me what is going on in that pretty head of yours?" He asked, wiping his hands on a napkin. But as I hesitated, rethinking about Mr.Tanner's words, he added more softly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"My parents died in May. A car crush. They went to pick up Elena after she had sneaked out to go to a party and the car ran off the road on Wickery bridge and down into the lake." I fiddled with my fingers, playing with the amethyst ring on my thumb to distract myself. "We used to have these family nights. I really hated them, if I have to be honest. Playing board games and watching movies wasn't the bad part, but they would use any seconds they could to try to let me talk with them or just stare. It was unnerving. We were having a family night that day and when Elena called, I was more than happy to call the night off and get away from them. I sneaked out, went into the woods. I always liked it there, even at night. No... even more at night. It's peaceful, calming. I stayed there until I fell asleep, and when I came back in the early afternoon, there was a police car in front of the house." I let my gaze stray to the window on my side, uttering the most painful memory of that day. "Elena was in the hospital. Jeremy and my aunt with her. I wasn't there with them when it happened, I just showed up hours laters and I knew that both my siblings resent me for that. Jeremy can barely look at me. I wasn't there for them. I'm the oldest and when they needed me I wasn't there." A tear escaped my eye without that I had even noticed, only to be aware of it when the warm thumb of Zyran brushed it off as he sat beside me.

"We all need some time away from people. Most of all our families. You didn't know what had happened, Andromeda. It's not your fault."

"Maybe not that but It's my fault that I can't still help them. I don't know what to tell them. How to make it better even for just a second." I let out a scoff filled with self-disdain, "I can't even hug them."

"Why?" He asked, confusion showing on his features.

"Because I hate touching people. No, it's more than that. It's almost like a fear but more. It's painful to touch other people, not only uncomfortable." I explained, aware that he was close enough for his body to touch mine and his hand placed atop of mine.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" He widened his eyes, leaning away until I stopped by taking his hand in mine.

"It doesn't hurt with you." I said, confused probably more than him. "It feels... warm. Not painful at all."

The expression flashing through his eyes was too quick for me to understand what it was before it was covered up. But he squeezed my hand in his, brushing away a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Good." he said in a whispered tone offering me a soft smile. "Does your family know about it?"

I replied with a single nod.

"You don't have to touch someone to let them know that you are there. Just be, even if only physically in the same room while they do their homeworks or watch a movie. They know about it so they understand. This can be your way to show them that you are there for them in a more present way. Just... don't punish yourself for this. For how it went that night or the following months. You lost your parents too, didn't you?" his tone lifting its beat at the last words.

I wiped the fallen tears from my cheeks as I replied with a 'yes' through a chuckle.

"Now, you need to eat something too. Not just a milkshake." He pulled his plates towards us at the other end of the table.

"I'm not hungry." I told him, causing his eyes to narrow down at me.

"Eat." He said or more so commanded. At my raised eyebrow, he scorched up his features slightly, "Please?" he added, pushing the fries towards me.

I snorted at that, contemplating my action before shrugging lightly and taking the food.

And as I stared to munch on them, the look of satisfaction all over his face was completely a surprise. I could almost swear that for a second, I had heard a pur-like sound coming from his chest as his eyes flashed a vibrant blue.

But all of that was quickly forgotten, the fog returning to take the memory away.

───── ⋆˖⁺‧ ☽◯☾ ‧⁺˖⋆ ─────

╰┈˚ · ° .  People who came back from parties usually looked drunk and happy, maybe tired. But Elena and Jeremy looked tired, traumatized and sad.

"What the hell happened?" I asked my siblings as I sat upright on the couch, pausing the movie on the screen of the tv.

Jeremy, wordlessly climbed up the stairs, not even saying goodnight, Elena on the other hand, passed her hands on her face, letting out a sigh. "Vicky was attacked by an animal in the woods at the party. She is at the hospital."

"Oh my god, is she going to be okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess." she pointed behind her at the stairs, pursing her lips, "I'm really tired. I'm gonna go to sleep."

Awkward, alright.

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight." I said.

"Goodnight."

An animal attack? I wondered with eyes locked on the tv screen. "Was that you Edward?" I sarcastically, snorting at my own question as I looked at Edward Cullen freezed in pause with Bella Swan. You could never see Twilight too many times.

Quick thumps on the stairs were followed by steps. Jeremy walked to the kitchen, the moon and stars and the movie on the tv the only source of light. And when after five minutes my brother had not walked out, no sound coming either, I followed after him only to see him sitting at the table with the framed photo of our parents in his hand as tears pooled in his eyes.

The lump in my throat formed alongside the tears. I didn't know what to do.

Just be there even if only physically.

I could almost hear Zyran's voice as he uttered those words.

And so I did just that, I sat on the chair next to him trying not to make too much noise, not speaking, with tear streaked cheeks and a grief filled heart. I was there in the only way I knew how, hoping that it was enough. 

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!!

Mr. Tanner hate club.

Andromeda is a girl with a lot of difficulties, most of them related to her insecurities. She didn't have a good relationship with her parents, and that will be talked about more in the future chapters.

She had a more alternative style with heavier eyeliner and black smokey eyes for example for the make up.

I love makeup!! For me it's literally art. I love how you can have so much freedom and create different looks with it.

Twilight is my obsession.

Thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Wednesday Saturday!

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾