chapter 3

"Ah... What an honor, Kai. Look who's decided to grace us with his presence after a whole week of absence..."

The velvety male voice spoke lazily as he set aside his pencil and sheet of paper to greet his friend. My gaze remained fixed on Lia, but instead of continuing to eat her lunch, she simply froze in place, as if struck by an electric shock. What the hell? I skeptically raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what was going on, then slowly turned my head toward the source of the sound. This time, I managed to avoid Kai's gaze: all I saw was his back as he sat down on the familiar bench. It seemed God had answered my prayers.

But there was someone else besides Kai: black hair slicked back with gel, shaved sides. A silver piercing adorned his lower lip, drawing attention to his sly, self-satisfied smile. And of course, he was dressed entirely in black—a leather jacket, a basic T-shirt, worn jeans. At the moment he reached out to pat Kai on the shoulder, my eyes narrowed. I noticed some strange dark gray patterns on his wrist, but before I could get a better look, his hand smoothly slipped under the wooden tabletop. What was that? A tattoo? I thought tattoos were strictly forbidden at this school. Besides, I highly doubted anyone in this town would agree to tattoo a minor—the money a tattoo artist would earn wouldn't be worth the headache of angry calls from parents screaming about the ruined skin of their 'precious' child. Well, it's Felix. Apparently, besides creating artworks on paper, he decided to make his own body an art piece. So he's the reason Lia is behaving like this? The 'good' girl and the 'bad' boy. In a way, it's almost funny. So cliché.

"You're utterly ruthless, you know that? Your reaction to my appearance is breaking my heart. I didn't even tell you I was coming back to town—I wanted to surprise you. So why not just say you missed me, hmm?"

Kai said, matching Felix's sly smile with his own, then brazenly grabbed the sheet of paper from the table, curiously examining his friend's latest creation. But instead of getting angry at this rude behavior, Felix didn't seem bothered at all—he reacted as if Kai's antics were perfectly normal. A drawing is something very personal, isn't it? Apparently, they really are quite close.

"I missed you."

Felix replied, folding his arms across his chest. Part of this short phrase was sincere and warm, but the smirk on his face clearly showed the other half was dripping with sarcasm. And one could understand that—after all, Kai had begged for that confession himself.

"So, maybe you'll reveal what you've been up to all these days? I'll allow you to be honest. You know... if you say you were just dead tired after two months of school and decided to take an unplanned break—I'd easily believe you."

Felix continued ironically, glancing at Kai as he twirled his drawing in his hands, examining it from different angles—like a child. But instead of another flippant answer, Kai said something completely different.

"You're wrong, I wasn't resting this whole time."

Kai said, slowly returning the sheet of paper to its owner. The smile on his lips lost all traces of previous smugness, replaced by something more thoughtful, reflecting the exhaustion he was trying so hard to hide when confidently entering the cafeteria. I had never seen him like that before. For some reason, at that moment, I felt like I was doing something wrong, like I was witnessing something I shouldn't. No one accused me of anything, but I wanted to justify myself and say I wasn't eavesdropping. No, they were just talking too loudly.

"Business. Contracts. This time the potential investors were from Spain, so I had to take the first flight there. Graduation exams are coming up in a few months—my father is gradually bringing me up to speed; by the end of the year, I'm expected to take a seat on the board. I need to be ready."

Kai explained, casually shrugging, then reached out to steal another thing—but this time not the paper, but his friend's coffee. Things could have gone smoothly, but before his fingers could grasp the cup, Felix caught Kai's wrist with his hand. He didn't say a word, just silently stared at his friend's palm, and with every second, his face darkened like a thundercloud. There it was. It seemed he was really angry at such audacity— even the most patient person's patience can wear thin. I braced for a storm, but instead of curses and shouting, Felix merely shifted his gaze from Kai's palm to his face, looking at him with a questioning expression I barely understood.

"You... you noticed it after all? Don't look at me like that over some scratch, Felix!"

Kai said sharply, jerking his hand free from Felix's grip, then let out a short, strained laugh. Such a strange reaction. It looked... fake.

"I was at the beach, alright? Besides business meetings, I had a chance to see the city and different places. At the beach, I met one of the local beauties. There was no time for long social events, so I had to act more decisively than usual. At first, things were good—she smiled and flirted with me, but the moment I wrapped my arm around her waist, she slapped me and left a scratch on my palm with her long nails! Can you imagine that, haha? It's wild! After a few days, the slap mark on my cheek faded, but the scratch remained as a reminder of our 'passionate' encounter. It's my trophy, buddy."

Kai said, wearing a mock-triumphant smile, hiding his hands in his pants pockets, then casually leaned back on the bench, avoiding his friend's gaze.

In response to this story, Felix remained silent for a moment, continuing to bore into Kai with his eyes, then sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, not even trying to hide his irritation.

"Ha... My God. I can't believe this... What an idiot you are. You're hopeless!"

Felix muttered through clenched teeth, covering his face with his hand, then looked back at Kai, but this time not with an unspoken question, but as if at a small, foolish child. It seemed Felix said something else, but I couldn't make out what.

When I heard how he spent his time in Spain, it hurt so much it felt like someone punched me in the stomach, knocking all the air out of my lungs. I slowly turned my head towards Lia, looking at her with glassy eyes, like a broken porcelain doll. I had seen those beach photos on his account—how he was sunbathing, lying on the sand, while warm rays of sunshine caressed his smooth skin. But I didn't even suspect that behind those photos, there was a girl who caught his interest. Probably, she was one of those whose presence attracts everyone's gaze nearby.

"No. Don't! I don't want to think about it," I said to myself mentally, frowning and shaking my head in an attempt to regain some composure.

"So... why don't you take your own advice, Lia? Just go up to Felix, say 'hi,' offer to help trim the lawn or tend the garden. Now's the perfect opportunity to make the first move. Look, he's so close; you just have to step up."

I said deliberately after a brief pause, looking intently at Lia. There was nothing hurtful in my words—it could have sounded like friendly advice in any other situation. But not then, when my provocative words dripped with venom, and my gaze was so empty. So low, so scornful. I was like a wounded animal cornered, eager to hurt anyone who reached out to me, even if that hand was stretched out to help.

***Загрузите NovelToon, чтобы насладиться лучшим впечатлением от чтения!***