Bite Me

Kieran Callisto was supposed to be cool, stoic, collected, and unreadable. Yet when I woke up with a big, annoying smile on my face, I was more like a giggly little school girl. Naturally, I tried my hardest to get rid of it and regain my usual composure. Tried.

I gave up after five minutes of forcing frowns and thinking bad thoughts. I came to accept that I was absolutely hopeless, and mentally cursed Mason.

Perhaps I shouldn't curse someone out for making me happy, but my stubborn mind wouldn't accept that. At least, it wouldn't until I stepped into Mrs. Grizzly's classroom. The moment I opened the door, I was met with the familiar sensation of attraction and warmth that always greeted me when I enter the same room as Mason. It was sort of funny how opposite things were now from the way they'd been when Mason first scooted his way into my life. Now, though, the feeling wasn't a surprise. I was used to it, and I liked it.

     Mason's eyes met mine before I'd taken a single step into the class. Even from such a distance, my sharp eyes caught the slight upward twitch of his mouth. He was happy to see me, and I was damn happy to see him.

I quickly made my way to my table, making sure to keep my head down because I was sure of where my eyes would go if I lifted it. As usual, I was the last one at the table, and Marcella glanced at me with a raised eyebrow as I sat. "Morning, K," she greeted.

"Good morning," I sighed, leaning back in my seat. I felt eyes on me, and focused my own gaze at the ceiling for fear of meeting them and not being able to look away.

"What, no good morning for me?" Mason's familiar voice reached my ears.

      I nearly fucked up, too. When I opened my mouth, it was to create a teasing response.

It hit me right on time that Mason and I didn't tease each other. At least, not in front of others, we didn't. He'd meant the statement to come off as more of a taunt, and I was supposed to give him one in return. I was never the type to plan out my remarks, but for once I found myself carefully contemplating how I'd usually respond to that. What would Kieran Callisto do?

Kieran Callisto was a professional in the art of giving the cold shoulder. So I merely ignored Mason and battled with my lips to suppress my smile. Instead of responding to his comment, I brought up a topic that I knew would make him uncomfortable. I turned to him finally and hoped that my eyes portrayed some sort of mischief. I was relatively sure it worked—looking like a dick was my specialty.

"So, got tired of paradise so soon?"

I would have to apologize to him for that later.

Surprise registered on Mason's face and I heard Marcella suck in a shallow breath. Mason recovered fairly quickly, shrugging off his momentary stumble. "Grow up, Kieran. We're still friends."

I scoffed. "I don't know why. If I was Marcella, I'd drop you like a—"

"Kieran!" Marcella scolded. I turned to her innocently.

"Yes?"

"What is so important that you must disrupt the class?" Mrs. Gazebo snapped, staring directly at us with eyes surprisingly sharp for such a petite old woman.