Chapter 6

SCARLET'S POV

I stare at my phone in confusion and shock. How did he get my number?! I know I did some weird shit earlier, but I definitely don't recall giving him my number. Confused, I unlock my phone and read the message that he sent.

'Hey, Scarlet. You seemed pretty scared earlier. I wanted to know if you were feeling better.' He signed the message off with his name. I don't know how to reply. My mind is blank.

Annoyed, I storm out of my room and into the living room.

"Alright which one of you fuckers gave Adam my number?!" I have a hunch it's one of them - it's something they'd do.

"Who the fuck is Adam?" James asks.

"Wow. Getting messages from boys now." I have the urge to smack Jaden across the face.

"Ooft! Lemme see!" Isabel exclaims.

I turn to Mathew. He's the only one who didn't react. I glare at him, letting him know I didn't appreciate it. However, he just smiles at me.

"That's a nice hoodie. Is it new?"

"What's new is the bruise on your face that's gonna appear after I'm done with you!" I threaten.

"Oh shit!" I roll my eyes at him.

Isabel asks what Adam sent me and before I can react she drags me and sits me down on the sofa. Everyone else crowds around me to take look at my phone.

"Aww, that's nice. He's concerned about you. Aren't you gonna reply?" She asks.

"What can I say? 'Fuck off?'"

"No,"

"I don't know how to be nice,"

"Just thank him," James buts in. I ponder on what I'm going to say. I look at the keyboard and feel panicked as I rehearse in my mind what I'm going to type. It's that same type of nervous feeling you get before emailing a teacher.

'I'm ffin3. I mena fsne. I MEAN FJNE. FINEE!!' My hands were shaking as I was typing. I feel panicked at all my spelling mistakes. He must think I can't type properly or something. I anxiously wait for his reply.

'What if he makes fun of my typing? What if he ignores me?' I can't stop the thoughts consuming my head. I feel somewhat desperate waiting like this. I just need to calm down and hope he doesn't make fun of me.

My phone beeps and I instantly check the notification. It's him. I switch the phone on and read the message from the notification bar. I feel anxious answering straight away. Plus, I need to mentally prepare a reply before I actually reply. Once I have my answer in my head I open our chat.

'Wow, did you fall or something 🤣.' 'Anyway, it's good to see you're alright.' I know he's joking, but I still can't help feeling anxious. I switch my phone off and sit there, not knowing what to do with myself.

The sound of my ringtone makes me jump. I look at my phone and see he's calling me.

'NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!' I hate phone calls. They're so awkward - for me anyway. I stare at my phone in horror, practically shitting myself as the ringtone rings in my ears.

"Answer it!" Isabel demands.

"Bloody hell! No!" I scream. Before I can react, Jaden uses his telekinesis to take my phone out of my hands, answers the call, puts it on speaker, then uses his telekinesis to hand it back to me.

"You little shit!"

"Me?" I hear Adam's surprised voice on the line and I start to panic.

"Fuck! Not you! I was talking to my cousin!" I frantically reply.

"I feel sorry for them." I roll my eyes. "Anyway, I was wondering if you were feeling better,"

"There was nothing wrong with me in the first place. I'm sure you were imagining things,"

"I can't have imagined that,"

"You never know what these uni kids get up to these days. Perhaps you've fallen victim to them and started hallucinating,"

"If I was hallucinating then how come I got your number from your cousin? I mean, he wouldn't have come looking for you,"

'Shit!'

"If that's all you wanted to say, I need to go now. Bye," I bring my finger to the hang-up icon but am stopped when I hear Adam's panicked voice.

"Wait! There's also another thing I wanted to ask!"

"Which is...?"

"Would you like to hang out tomorrow? It was fun when you were showing me to my classes." I freeze. I was not expecting this. My cousins are all looking at me shocked. I don't know how to reply. This is too late notice. I don't have time to mentally prepare. Plus, I sleep in very late. My cousins are nodding their heads yes, then I shake my head no in confusion and shock.

"What do you say?" His cheerful voice snaps me back into reality. Damn it! Why did he have to ask that with so much enthusiasm? I'll feel guilty turning him down.

Isabel uses her telekinesis to bring my phone to her.

"What the-"

"She would love to go. She's just too shy to say yes." She cuts me off. I give her the middle finger and I get one in return.

"Great! What time shall we go? I can pick her up whenever,"

"You guys can go at 11 and have lunch together,"

"Excuse me?!" With a wave of her hand, she ignores my confusion.

"Sounds awesome! Tell her I can't wait,"

"No problem,"

"That's all I wanted to ask. I'll speak to you later. See ya,"

"Bye." Isabel hangs up and hands me back my phone.

"WHAT IN THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" I scream at her.

"Chill out!"

"You know I don't like going out! You know I don't do well around people. How in the fuck am I supposed to order my lunch without getting anxious?! What if he feels uncomfortable?! What if he finds me boring?! Fucking hell, I'll have to wake up early!"

"Chillax! You'll be fine. From what I heard, he seems to like you, so you'll be fine,"

"No. I'm not going. You can't make me." I stomp to my room and slam the door to express my anger.

I place my phone on my bedside table, flop on my bed and bury my head into the pillow. That was so embarrassing. I don't know if I'll be able to face him tomorrow. What am I even on about? I'm not going. Isabel knows how angry I am when I get woken up early, so she should know the consequences.

I change into my pyjamas, get comfortable in bed and use my telekinesis to grab my earphones. I also use my powers to switch the light off. I plug my earphones in then spend a portion of the night playing otome games and watching anime. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I have an otome game addiction. The storylines are really interesting, as well as the characters and pretty art.

***

"WAKE UP SCARLET!!!" I am awoken with a start and almost fall out of bed. I spin around and see Isabel standing there, already dressed.

"Please, don't scare me like that!" I clutch my hand to my chest. I don't react well when I get a fright.

"You know what day it is?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Now, would you be a dear and piss off so I can go back to sleep?" I can see imaginary smoke erupting from Isabel's ears. She storms up to the bed and pushes me off. I curse and grab onto the blanket to somehow stop myself from falling. As predicted, it didn't work.

"Do you know what time it is?" She stands in front of me with her arms crossed.

"Time for you to fuck off," I mumble and roll the blanket over me.

"No. It's almost 11. You're gonna be late,"

"For what?"

"Your date with Adam,"

"Oh, that. One: it's not a date. Two: I don't care. I'm not going!" I climb into bed and roll myself in my blanket. I curl up into a ball and make sure not an inch of me is exposed. She yells at me but I just ignore her.

I don't know how long she has been standing there, but her methods of screaming at me are failing. I keep refusing to move. She falls silent and I hear her rummaging through my wardrobe. I take advantage of the quiet to try and fall back asleep.

Knock knock! I jump up in fright at the sound of the door.

'Crap! He's here!' My mind races as I think of somewhere to hide. I can't think of anything. Plus, I can't be bothered moving - I'm way too comfy. I can hear them talking. I hear Isabel rushing out of my room to greet Adam. She apologises for my lateness. Adam's completely fine with it. How is that guy so chill?!

I hear Isabel's footsteps. She slams my bedroom door open and grabs my arm, dragging me to the bathroom. She opens the bathroom door and practically throws me inside.

"Do what you need to do! But be quick about it!"

"Oi!" She slams the door on me.

'Son of the bitch!' I sigh then slowly get ready on purpose so I can mentally prepare.

I trudge out of the bathroom dressed in my usual black hoodie and black jogging bottoms. I quickly comb my hair and slap cream on my face.

"At least do your hair! Look at the state of you!" I roll my eyes. I can't be bothered doing my hair. I just usually leave it open. I also don't bother putting any make-up on. I hate it! I find it so annoying!

Isabel drags me out of the room. I try to resist but I'm too tired to. I use my telekinesis to grab my phone and shove it in my pocket. Once in the living room, Adam stands up upon seeing us. He greets me and I roll my eyes.

"Sorry about that." Isabel looks really cheerful, but I can tell she's wanting to kill me.

"What did you have for breakfast?!" I question her, annoyed. She ignores my comment and pushes me onto Adam. He catches me and I instantly back away.

"What the heck was that?" I throw her an irritated look as I ask this.

"Have fun." Isabel winks at me.

"We will," Adam says. I highly doubt it. I don't want to do this.

"You'd better watch your back!" She ignores me and walks away. "Don't patch me!"

"What does that mean?"

"It means don't ignore me. I'm Scottish, so I'll be using slang like that," I answer him tiredly.

"You're Scottish? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, whatever. Why did you even invite me out?!"

"I dunno. You're funny,"

"Me?! Funny?! Is there some kind of disease that's making everyone loopy or something?" Adam laughs at my statement and I roll my eyes.

"Let's get going." He walks to the door and I shove my black trainers on before following him.

ADAM'S POV

"Where the fuck are we even going?!" Scarlet asks as we walk across campus.

"Anywhere you want,"

"In that case, I'm going home,"

"Don't!"

"Relax, I'm just joking,"

"Phew,"

"Or am I?" I chuckle and we both walk in silence.

We approach the main street and Scarlet covers her face with her hair and hangs her head down.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"The sun is in my eyes,"

"It's not even that sunny,"

"Yes is it!" I hold my hands up in surrender and keep my mouth shut. She seems to have gotten even grumpier ever since we reached the public. I guess it's an introvert thing.

"Where d'ya wanna go?" I ask.

"Dunno. Anywhere," she grumbles. She stuffs her hands in her pockets as we continue walking through the streets of Spellfall. I look around and spot a place me and my family used to go to. I feel nostalgic as I look at it.

"Let's go there." I point to the diner and she just shrugs her shoulders.

We enter the building. It's just how I remembered it.

"We're sitting at the back," Scarlet says in a cold voice.

"How come? This middle place is a nice spot. You can see the..." I trail off as I see her glaring right at me. She dashes to the very back which is hidden in a corner. I follow her, confused.

"Why do you wanna sit here? Do you plan on killing me or something?" I joke.

"If you keep annoying me then I might do just that," I laugh, and she looks like I did something really weird. She shrugs it off by rolling her eyes.

"Even though we're at the back you can still see how nice this place is,"

"It sucks,"

"Are you really grumpy about everything,"

"Yes I am." I laugh again.

"Stop laughing at me. I'm not funny,"

"Yes you are. The stuff you come up with is hilarious,"

"Tch!" She rolls her eyes again.

A silence falls. Scarlet stares at the table with an uncomfortable look in her eyes. She begins to drum the table with her fingers and I can hear her leg bouncing up and down rapidly.

"Are you alright?" She lifts her head, startled.

"Huh?!"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. W-what makes you say that?" I frown. I can tell there's something up.

"You seem to be nervous,"

"I-I'm not nervous." Her face turns slightly pink. I decide to drop it. I don't want to put her on the spot. It'll make her more uncomfortable.

"Would you like to order?"

"No. I don't want anything,"

"You sure?"

"Yes. Can you quickly order something so I can go home?!"

"Um... Alright then." I stare at the menu, feeling saddened. I guess I shouldn't be so persistent if she clearly doesn't like me. It would be cool to have her as a friend, but I guess she doesn't feel the same way.

'Ugh! Why do I have to be sensitive?!' Even though I'm feeling disheartened, I get a sudden urge to burst out laughing. It's hard for me to keep my cool in serious situations.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ruining your day. I'm sorry for my grumpiness. I'll make an effort." I look up at Scarlet in surprise. I was not expecting that. I stare at her dumbfounded, then finally smile at her. I'm happy that she's giving me a chance. I hope she doesn't change her mind and get grumpy again.

She looks through the menu with a hungry look in her eyes. I look at mine and think about what I want to get. I am distracted by the noise of her leg bouncing up and down again.

"I think I'll have the burger and fries. What about you?"

"Uhh... Uhh... C-cheese and onion panini,"

"Good choice. They're really nice,"

"Yeah. I haven't had them in ages,"

The waiter comes to place our orders. Scarlet looks terrified and hangs her head down. Her face flushes even redder. I decide to speak for her. The waiter leaves and Scarlet still looks nervous.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine," she stutters, her leg still bouncing. I look at her concerned.

"Are you feeling unwell? Do you have a temperature or something?"

"Wha...? No, I don't. I'm fine,"

"You don't seem fine,"

"Trust me, I'm fine!" I don't buy it. There is something wrong with her.

The waiter finally comes with our drinks and food. I thank him as Scarlet hides her face from him. He leaves and I begin to admire the food.

"This looks so good. I can't wait to eat this. Though it looks like they gave me too many fries," I comment.

"At least you'll get more food,"

"True." We begin to eat and her face flushes red again. She takes the tiniest bites of her panini. I look at her confused, then shrug it off and eat my own food.

***

"I can't eat anymore! I'm so full." I lean back in my seat. I catch Scarlet staring at the leftover fries on my plate with a hungry look in her eyes. I chuckle and push the plate closer to her.

"If you're so hungry you can have these. I'm not gonna finish them,"

"You sure?"

"Yep." She starts to munch on them at a rapid pace and I can't help but laugh. Her eyes dart up at me filled with worry.

"You must be really hungry," I say to reassure her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have breakfast, that's why." She hangs her head in shame.

"You don't need to apologise." She begins to eat more calmly. She looks away nervously as she nibbles on them. I give her a kind smile, then realise that I don't know much about her. Having thought that, I decide to take advantage of this opportunity to ask her about herself.

"What do you like to do?" I put my elbow on the table and rest my head on my hand. She seems startled, so I continue to smile at her to encourage her to talk.

"Umm..."

SCARLET'S POV

I am caught off guard. Why in the fuck would someone be interested in me?! I don't know how to act. Will he find my hobbies boring, or weird? I look at him, and he's still flashing me a kind smile, patiently waiting. I take a deep breathe to gain the courage to talk.

"Well... I-I like to read... A-and draw, and listen to m-music." I curse myself and feel my anxiety rise. Why did I have to stutter?! What's he gonna think of me?!

"Cool! What music do you like to listen to?" I feel too anxious to tell him, afraid he'll judge. I don't listen to normal music. I just listen to game soundtracks. I'm afraid he'll mention a song and I'll be confused because I've never heard of it. Then he'll be shocked, which would make me feel even more anxious. Then he'll find it weird that I don't listen to proper music, and make fun of me.

"Are you sure your okay?" I don't reply. I don't know what to do with myself. I'm too anxious. My stomach forms knots; I don't feel like eating anymore. I'm afraid if I eat more I'll throw up. In fact, I feel like I'm going to throw up as it is. I clench my fists with the hope to calm my shaking down. I begin to feel overwhelmed. I just want to go home!

I jump, afraid, when I feel Adam sit next to me. He looks at me with his big green eyes filled with concern. His warm, golden tanned skin contrasts with my pale, porcelain skin. I look away. I feel my face flushing and I start to feel warm.

"I'm not gonna do anything bad. I just wanna get to know you. You seem cool,"

"I-I-I-I'm not c-cool,"

"Why are you shaking so much? Is something wrong,"

"N-nothing is wrong. It's just c-cold in here,"

"You don't look cold. You seem really warm." I shake my head so my hair can fall in front of my face, covering it. I hang my head down, not wanting to look up and see all the people here. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I instantly jump up and slap it off me, thinking it's Silas. I look at him terrified, then come back to my senses when I don't see Silas's cold black eyes glaring at me.

"You seemed to be feeling off all day. Is there anything you wanna talk about? I won't tell a soul. Promise!" He pretends to zip his lips shut - an act a child would do.

"Just please stop questioning me!" My shaking has intensified. I feel like crying for no reason. My face is boiling. It's tomato red. He looks at me full of concerns, but I don't have to courage to look him in the eye.

I begin to feel cornered - like there's no way out. I am instantly taken back to the times I was cornered by Silas. I feel my breath getting shaky. I feel my palms become even more sweaty. The knots in my stomach become more prominent. I turn to him and place my hands on his chest, before pushing him back slightly. He understands my need for personal space and goes back to his seat. I feel less claustrophobic now. Adam hands me my glass of water.

"Here you go. It'll make you feel better." I hesitate, before taking the drink from him. I begin to gulp it like mad as my mouth was so dry.

"Have you got a temperature or something?"

"N-no!"

"Then what's the matter? You can tell me, I won't say anything. If you wanna go home then I can take you home,"

"W-why do you wanna be my friend?"

"I like you. You're a funny person. I think we would be great friends,"

"You don't mean that." Even though I can sense he's telling the truth, I still overthink.

"Tell you what. Let's get out of this diner and go to the park. The fresh air will help,"

"Are you not bored?"

"No. Why should I be?" I can't help but feel a little reassured by his concern. It's nice having a stranger look out for me, rather than having them gossip about me, or being too afraid of me that they run away. I look at him, he's waiting patiently for my answer. I decide to accept with the hope it'll clear my mind. I don't want to go home and get overwhelmed by my demons.

"A-alright then." A smile forms on his face. He looks at me with a kind look in his eyes.

"Let's pay then we'll go." I nod and follow him. We both pay for our meal then head out of this stupid diner.

On the way to the park, Adam was telling me a bit about himself. He likes to play video games and finds it funny to annoy people - especially when they get irritated. I can't help but agree - I do the same with my victims.

As soon as we get to the park Adam immediately finds the playground and starts to play like a little child. He plays on the swings, he slides down the slides, he plays on the climbing frames he plays on everything. This scene is very comical and I can't help but chuckle. He was right - I feel slightly better after coming here. The cool air is making me feel less warm. It's helping me catch my breath. I stand there and take deep breaths to calm down, and take advantage of the cool breeze caressing my face. I want to close my eyes, but I'm afraid I'll look like an idiot. Also, I have to keep an eye out in case any paparazzi come. They already think me and Viktor are dating, I don't need them to spread rumours about me and Adam. Plus that way he'll find out who I am, and he'll probably treat me like crap.

Adam bounces over to me like a little kid and I snap back into reality. He pushes his glasses up his nose and grabs my hand.

"Your turn!"

"What the-" He drags me to the playground and I die a little on the inside.

"Let's go on the slide!" He drags me to the climbing thingy and forces me to climb up it. Once we reach the top of the slide, he tells me to sit down. I obey, a little skeptical.

"What are you-" Before I can finish my sentence, Adam pushes me off the slide. I end up screaming, "What the fuck!" as I slide down. Once I reach the bottom, I stand up and glare at him.

"The hell?" He starts laughing at my reaction and I frown. I decide to take a little revenge and climb back up to the top of the slide. He looks at me confused and I practically shove him. He flies forward and slides down on his belly, landing on the ground with a thud. I burst out laughing. I approach him to mock him even more when out of nowhere, a child slides down and lands on his back. Adam makes a noise of pain and I laugh even more. The child gets off Adam and starts to run around and scream like children do. Oh no! I hate kids. I can't stand their noise!

Adam then gets up and approaches me.

"God, my back! That hurt!" He rubs his back and I chuckle. I pick up his glasses from the floor and clean them with my hoodie. I try to put them back on his face but it's slightly lopsided. I turn away, embarrassed. I realise I could have given them to him, instead of being an idiot. I feel my face turning red with embarrassment. I take a glance in his direction and see that he doesn't mind. He just chuckles as he fixes them. It reassures me and I chuckle to myself.

I catch a glimpse of something over Adam's shoulder. I look properly and see a clown standing in front of a crowd of children. I frown.

"What's the matter?" He turns to see what I'm looking at.

"There's a fucking kids party going on!"

"And?"

"I don't like kids. They're too loud. And hyper,"

"Oh my gosh! They have a clown!" He seems so excited by this.

"Innit! How much are they paying you? You'd probably make a lot of money today, seeing as your so stupid you don't even need to act,"

"Hey! I'm not a clown!"

"Are you sure about that?" Adam lets out an annoyed sigh and I giggle.

"Let's go over!" Adam drags me over to the crowd of children standing around the clown.

"Oi! Get off me!" I grab his wrist and we come to a halt. He looks surprised by my reaction.

"Why? It'll be funny." I can't exactly tell him that there's a risk of the adults here knowing who I am, and rumours will spread. I unconsciously tighten my grip on his wrist and glare at him. He seems intimidated.

"Agh! You're hurting me!" I hesitate, before letting his wrist go. He rubs it and looks at me confused.

Before I can escape from the people, I hear something that makes me freeze.

"Sc-Sc-Sc-Sc-Scarlet K-King?! Wh-what brings y-you here?" I want to kill that damn clown for blurting that out. The clown backs away and the adults rush to their kids, picking them up and also backing away. I clench my fists in annoyance. I feel panic overcome me as a look of shock and realisation spreads over Adam's face.

ADAM'S POV

I stare at her in complete shock. I don't know how to react. I don't know what to say, what to do. There's only one thought going through my mind right now.

'She's Scarlet King?!'