Page 9 of The Lost Ones

"I'm fine." I state bluntly turningback to face the front.

Lying to him feels wrong. So incredibly wrong and that just makes me frown harder. Because of the life I live lying has become second nature to me and I don’t normally feel guilty about doing it.

The rest of the lesson passes quickly and although I really want to, my body will not allow me to make the quick exit that my head and heart want to.Finishing packing my bag, I slowly make my way to the door of the classroom.

"Can I walk you to your next class, sweetheart?"

Any thoughts of denying him fly out the window as soon as I see the uncertainty in his expressive blue eyes. A section of hisdeep black hair falls in front of his eyes, obscuring my view and my hand slowly raises to brush it out of the way. The sharp stabbing pain in my ribs from raising my arm forces me to catch myself just before I make contact and of course I blush furiously, mentally face palming myself for being so damn awkward.

"S-sure." I reply quickly, hoping he didn't notice my earlier slip up.

The smirk on his face says otherwise though.

He places his arm behind me, not quite touching, just guiding me as we walk down the hall towards my next class. I can't help but notice that it's a lot easier for him to navigate the halls than it is for me. The other students seem to automatically move out of his way. Which means that I'm not getting jostled at all and I’m incredibly glad for that. My ribs are already protesting loudly and I fear that with one small knock I’d be out for the count. We arrive at my classroom and it occurs to me that I never told him where it was.

I turn to ask him how he knew but I’m shocked into silence when he leans in and gently kisses my cheek. Warmth and what feels like actual sparks caress my cheek seeming to accumulate at my sternum.

Right where my newest Imprint Tattoo is.

I inhale sharply at the feelings swirling inside me.

Searching out his eyes he grins cheekily at my shocked expression, although I can see a small amount of shock hiding behind the mischief in his eyes and it causes me to wonder if he felt what I did.

"See you later, Little Star.” He says, still grinning at me.

I just stare after him as he walks down the hall. My god he has a gorgeous ass. I’m shaking my head to rid myself of such inappropriate thoughts when the warning bell rings and I quickly hustle my way into class. Going towards the back and my usual seat, I spot a familiar figure sitting in the desk next to mine. I am certain Levi wasn't in this class yesterday, I would have definitely remembered him.

Even though I like to stay invisible I always make a habit of knowing every detail about my surroundings and the people in them. So, I know for a fact he wasn’t in here. I take my seat, anyway, being extra careful to avoid jostling my ribs. I can see Levi giving me a curious, almost calculating look like he’s trying to figure out a complexmathematical problem. His green, gold eyes study me intently.

My cheeks heat, I’m sure he knows something is wrong, he just can’t figure out what it is and from the slight frown on his face, I can tell that it’s frustrating him. Call it intuition if you’d like but I get the feeling that he is incredibly intelligent and really could figure out a complex math problem within a couple of minutes.

“Hey.” I say quietly as soon as I’m seated.

I’m hoping that if I talk to him it will distract him from his thoughts. Judging from the concentration on his face, they were probably heading in the right direction. If anyone can figure out what’s wrong with me, I have no doubt that it would be him.

“Hi Sage, how are you?” his question is asked casually but I pick up on the underlining curiosity in his tone.

“I’m good, thanks Levi. You? I didn’t see you in this class yesterday?”

“I changed my classes this morning, my other one wasn’t working as well with my schedule.”

The way he holds my eyes briefly before looking away and down tells me that what he just said is only partly true. It’s not my place to ask though, so I won’t.

“Well I’m glad you’re in my class.” I reply. I don’t know what possessed me to say that out loud, but I quickly duck my head to hide my embarrassment.

For fucks sake, Sage, you’re trying to not be awkward. I mentally roll my eyes at myself and hearing a quiet chuckle, I peek up at him through my hair to see that he has a lazy grin gracing his gorgeous lips, his eyes full of amusement.

“I’m glad to hear that Sage.”

I smile at him then turn to face the teacher who has just walked in. For the whole lesson I am completely distracted by Levi’s presence next to me. He makes me feel safe and excited all at the same time. Actually they all seem to have that effect on me.

The feelings are foreign to me but not at all un-welcome. I just need my ribs to hurry up and heal so I can start talking to them properly. At one point during the lesson I see Levi tense slightly then pull the latest iPhone out of his pocket. He glances at the screen. A beautiful smile graces his handsome face as he types out a quick reply then glances at me, momentarily blinding me with his smile.

I smile back shyly wondering who could have texted him and wishing that I was the one that could make him smile like that. I frown slightly at the strange feeling swirling in the pit of my stomach before coming to the startling realisation that it’s jealousy that I’m feeling, for the second time in two days. I quickly dispel my thoughts and try my hardest to focus back on the lesson.

Soon the bell rings signalling the end of class and waking me up from my daydreams about the guys. I slowly gather up my things feelingstiff from sitting so still for the entire lesson. Levi gets up with me and follows me to the door and down the hallway. I glance at him curiously.

“Is it ok if I walk you to your next class Sage?” he chuckles.