Chapter 105 – Persistence

Once I get over the initial wave of holy-shit-I-love-Bianca-so-much, the confusion hits me like a freight train.

Wait. Hold on.

…Isn't she still angry at me? Doesn't she hate me right now? Wasn't she literally just talking about wanting to "get to know the hot guy"? So why is she suddenly defending me? Why is she suddenly shoving this asshole around like he personally insulted her entire bloodline?

Before I can even begin to formulate a theory, Selene storms forward, her pink eyes blazing with fury. She follows up Bianca's shove with one of her own.

"How dare you!" Selene's voice is sharp. "Don't you ever touch Adam!"

The tanned guy’s just standing there taking it, too confused to even respond. I'd feel bad for him if he wasn't, you know, a complete douchebag who was trying to grab Bianca's ass thirty seconds ago.

"Listen up, asshole," Bianca snarls, shoving him so hard his back slams against the wall. Her voice drops to something deadly. "Adam's worth a hundred of you. Hell, a billion. So if I ever see you talking shit to him again, or putting your fucking hands on him, I will break every bone in your body. Got it?"

My heart does this stupid warm fluttery thing. I guess Selene and Luna were right after all. No matter how angry Bianca is at me right now, she still loves me. Her fierce overprotectiveness is proof of that.

"Yeah! Don’t mess with him!" Selene adds, giving him another shove. At this point, he's been slammed against the wall so many times I'm starting to feel bad for the wall. "And we're not interested in you! So stop bothering us! Both of us! Just leave us alone!"

Her voice somehow manages to be both threatening and cute at the same time, which is a very Selene thing to accomplish.

I shake myself out of my emotional stupor. Yes, I'm super happy that my sisters are defending me like this, but they're getting aggressive, and I'd rather be trying to talk to Bianca right now than start a fight that'll probably get us all suspended.

I rush forward, gently grab onto the arms of Selene and Bianca, and slowly start dragging them away. They're still glaring daggers at the transfer student, but they let me pull them along.

As I'm leading them away, I finally notice that we've gathered quite a lot of attention from students in the cafeteria, who are clearly invested in the drama. I can see phones out, probably already posting about this on Instagram. Great. Just great.

"Come on, let's just go," I mutter, half leading and half dragging them away from the scene.

"What the fuck…" I can hear the asshole mutter to himself as we're leaving, his voice equal parts confused and pissed off.

I just walk aimlessly down the hall and around a corner. I don't really have a location in mind, I just wanted to get away from that guy as quickly as possible. My heart is still racing, adrenaline mixing with anxiety and a dozen other emotions I can't even name.

Eventually, Bianca wrenches her arm out of my grasp. "Get off me. I told you not to fucking touch me."

Each word is like a knife to the chest. "Sorry," I say quietly.

I let go of Selene as well, my hand dropping to my side. Now that I've admitted to myself that I want both of them, I don't want to hold on to Selene right now, not when Bianca's so angry at me. It feels wrong, like I'm rubbing salt in an open wound.

We stand there in awkward silence. The atmosphere is suffocating. Selene keeps glancing between us, clearly worried but unsure if she should say something.

Eventually, I end the stalemate. Someone has to.

"Bianca." I look at her directly. "Can we please talk?"

She lets out this long, irritated sigh. "You really won't give up, will you?"

I wince, half-expecting her to tell me to fuck off. I decide right then that I'll accept whatever answer she gives. If she refuses, I'll give her space, and hope that eventually we'll be able to talk about this.

I'll wait as long as it takes.

"...Fine. Whatever." She sounds exhausted. "Let's talk."

I almost collapse in sheer relief. The tension that's been coiled in my chest loosens just enough for me to breathe again.

She walks past me without another word, and I follow behind her. Selene looks conflicted for a moment, her pink eyes darting between us, but she decides to tag along as well.

After a minute of walking in silence, we make it to the art club room. I've never visited before, but the easels scattered at one corner, and the art supplies that I see scattered on desks make it pretty obvious what this place is for.

The room is massive, more like a small museum gallery than a club room. High ceilings, natural light streaming through large windows, the smell of paint and canvas in the air. It's actually kind of nice, in an artsy way that I don't have the cultural sophistication to fully appreciate.

It's relatively quiet here at lunch. There are maybe about a dozen students, gathered in groups of threes and fours, working on various projects or just hanging out.

People notice us almost instantly. Or more accurately, they notice Bianca. Eyes land on her like she's a local celebrity, which I guess in the art club she kind of is. A short, cheerful-looking girl with bright eyes instantly perks up.

"Oh! Hey Bianca!"

"Not now." Bianca's voice could freeze hell.

The girl blinks but doesn't seem offended. "Okayy!" Then she spots Selene and waves. "Hi Selene!"

"Hi!" Selene replies, quieter than usual but still managing to sound friendly.

Bianca leads us to the back of the room, ignoring the curious glances of people around us. We reach a lounge area with sofas, bookshelves and a small section with free snacks and drinks. The art club is fancy as hell, apparently.

Finally, we approach a wall of doors, each with a glowing inlay that lights up when a room is occupied. Some are in use, casting a soft red light, but most of the rooms are free, showing green indicators.

Selene stops moving. "I'm gonna go paint for a bit! You guys talk, okay?" She announces, trying to sound upbeat. Then she turns to me and her voice drops to a whisper. "Good luck, Adam!"

"Thanks..." I mutter back, though I'm not sure luck is going to cut it here. I'm going to need a miracle, divine intervention, and possibly a time machine.

Bianca glances back at us for a moment, her teal eyes unreadable, then she opens one of the doors and walks in.

I follow right behind her, my heart hammering against my ribs so hard I'm surprised it hasn't broken through my chest yet. The room we enter looks like a small private meeting space. There's a large wooden central table, surrounded by two large sofas on opposite ends. The walls are white, and the lighting is warm and soft. It would be cozy if I wasn't about to have the most terrifying conversation of my life.

Bianca closes the door behind us with a soft click.

I drop onto one of the sofas, and she takes a seat beside me, but deliberately leaves some space between us. It’s not huge, maybe six inches, but it might as well be the Grand fucking Canyon.

She's staring forward, refusing to look at me, her profile sharp and beautiful and completely closed off. I take small glances at her, trying to read her expression, but she's locked down tight.

Neither of us talks for a moment, but it's not like our usual comfortable silences, those easy moments where we'd just exist together, gaming or watching something. This feels awkward, suffocating.

"So?" Bianca finally says, still not looking at me. "What do you want?"

Her voice is flat, guarded. But I can hear the hurt underneath it all.

I swallow hard. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Bianca."

She scoffs. "For what, exactly? It's not like we're dating or anything."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. She's right. We're not dating. We never have been. But the way she says it, like she's trying to convince herself as much as me, makes my chest ache.

"For hurting you," I say quietly. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

She grimaces, her jaw clenching. "Whatever. I don't give a shit.” Her arms cross defensively. "I don't even know why we're having this conversation. You've got Selene now, right? So you're all set. Don't need me anymore."

The bitterness in her voice is so thick I could drown in it.

Fuck.

Is that what she thinks? That I chose Selene over her? That now that I have one sister, I'm just... done with the other?

I finally turn to look at her fully. My hands are shaking slightly. I'm scared. Terrified, actually. This could go so wrong in so many ways. But I think I need to lay my feelings bare for her, and if she pushes me away... well, she has every right to.