Declan Cupidon (Love Avatar) - Discreet High School Senior (REWORKED)

The bell rings, releasing a swarm of restless students. I generally wait for the hormonal waves of children to subside before leaving class, but I need to get to the chemical lab. I need to check on an ongoing extracurricular experiment that Mr Aref approved so that I can beef up my resume for university. Because I come from a low-income home, my good grades will be insufficient to gain admission to an Ivy League school.

When I get to the second story, I notice an immediate difference in the mood. The hushed whispers and gasps have me wondering what is going on. One peek down the corridor makes me wish I had waited a little longer before leaving class. One of the basketball players, who is highly popular and many of the girls in school fawn over him, is on his knees with his hand bent backwards and kept that way by the middle finger.

I swoop in and drag his attacker by the arm into an empty classroom. Her entire demeanour shifts, and she even has a bright, genuine smile on her face. "Hi," she exclaims, unable to hide her joy at seeing me.

“Hi,” I reply, “What are you doing here?”

"I'm here to see you," she says jokingly, placing her index finger on my nose, "and be supportive for the upcoming season."

“Does your mom know you’re here?” I ask taking a step back from her.

“No, I came straight here from the airport,” she replies stepping closer to me, “I wanted to see you first.”

I let out a sigh and close my eyes. "I don't have time for this," I said, thanking God and all his saints for the phone call that interrupted our chat. "Hey Jiji, what's up?" I ask, putting my phone to my ear and looking away from her.

“Say hi for me,” she asks as the person on the other line greets me.

“Vesper says hi,” I relay.

“Ooh…” my interlocutor exclaims, “Aren’t you glad your big sister pulled you away from that awkwardness.”

“Very,” I answer, “What can I do for you?”

“Meet me at ZZ now, it’s an emergency.”

"I'm on my way," I indicate walking towards the main entrance of the school. Vesper follows me, her high heels ringing through the now-empty halls. I attempt to control myself; part of me wants to draw her into a crushing hug, while another wants to tear her a new one for what she did to me. It's been three years, and I should have moved on, but it appears that I'm still as emotionally immature as the rest of my generation.

“You should head home and do damage control with your mom,” I told her in the coldest tone I could muster. I don’t think I did a good job of that.

“Sure, call you later,” she replies in a bubbly tone. We split, her towards her house while I head to the bus stop.

A/N: I have made some changes to the story I couldn't find a way to continue what I had previously written and for that, I apologize.