I'm not Ivy, I'm Leah (22)

They all rushed to the two, hounding them with questions, because not too long ago, they ran out of the dorms and here they were, walking out of a portal.

"Quit crowding us!" xerxes yelled at them and they scattered. Ivy gave them a sheepish smile as she walked besides xerxes. Upon entering the dorms the couple still couldn't get any breathing space.

"Seriously you two, what's with all the secrets'…" keiko whined as he walked beside ivy.

"yeah! You two have been acting awfully strange since the night you both got attacked…" Noah looked at them suspiciously. Feeling the pressure become too much, ivy stopped walking and sighed.

"will you all just butt off!" xerxes snapped at them, but ivy held unto his arm.

"it's okay chuckles, they deserve to know.."

"know what?" seagrave, whose attention had been called upon by one of the students walked in and everyone instantly kept quiet, xerxes and ivy both turned to meet his gaze. Ivy had better not be thinking of doing what he thought she was about to do…xerxes panicked internally.

"I…" she started and xerxes instantly pulled her towards him and kissed her deeply, pushing back those dumb words she was about to say right now.

Everybody stared at them with their jaws hanging low.

"ivy and I are dating, we've been keeping it under the wraps because we know how fucking annoying you all can be…" he stirred the conversation into a more believable direction. What was she thinking anyways? He couldn't risk her exposing everything. She really was an idiot.

"no way…"

"ha! I knew it, pay up Philip…" sem had a victorious grin on his face , Philip on the other hand frowned at him as he pulled out a ten dollar bill from his pocket and hands it over to sem.

"thank you…!"

" and the portal?" seagrave had a questioning look on his face as he stared at them. Because not too long ago, one of his students came running into his office going on and on about a portal that suddenly appeared out of nowhere which had him rush over here.

Xerxes kept his expression as neutral as possible right now to avoid his lie from getting caught.

"I don't recall…" he spoke without batting an eyelid.

"huh? Bu-…" sem was about to say something else when Millie zapped him so he would stop talking. Xerxes silently glared at him and anyone else who might want to add their own thoughts.

"but a junior student came to my office about a portal that appeared near the senior dorms…" the suspicious look in seagraves eyes only grew that more intense as the conversation dragged on.

"You know how juniors are…" xerxes stated simply as if it were nothing to bother about. Letting out and exasperated sigh, seagrave added.

"I have a lot of work on my hands, please refrain from any silly pranks that might interfere with my work…and only come meet me if the situation is a code red or orange…understood?" his voiced boomed loud enough that anyone who was near the room would hear him.

"yes sir…" the students answered in unison. Giving them a curt nod, he turned and left. Something told him there was more to what xerxes and ivy said from the way everything looked in there.

Unfortunately he really did have a lot to handle and there was really no space on his desk for the two. He just hoped they weren't up too anything that would cause trouble. And at the mention of trouble, his phone rang a call from principal Powell

"…yes, seagrave speaking…yes…okay…I understand…I'll be there right away, goodbye…"

Since the beginning of last week, seagrave or more commonly known by his hero name, hellhound, had been getting numerous calls about villain attacks. It was strange as he had never seen this many calls before.

Nevertheless, he had a job to do. After all he wasn't the only pro hero with on duty calls. There was Lassie, the incredible hair whip, The dark angel, and the list went on.

Exiting the premises, Cullen went to join the others down town. According to the principal, there was a certain disturbance at the kanema district.

After the confrontation with the others, xerxes pulled ivy by the arm, taking her towards the boys' dorms. He pressed the button to the elevator and dragged her in with him.

"ivy…what do you think you're doing?" xerxes hissed as he trapped her between the elevator wall and his body.

"they deserve to know…" Ivy looked back at him with the same fierce look in his eyes.

"Ivy scarrow might not have a criminal record, but Leah Lamont does…you were about to expose yourself as being the offspring of one of the most wanted man alive, not just to a room filled with aspiring heroes, but did you forget that seagrave is a pro hero. Just imagine if word got out, even a smidge, it would be voluntarily inviting trouble for yourself and your mother…" the rage seeping out throw his pours was as natural as the air he breaths. Not too long ago, xerxes had given his words to Lilith, promising to keep ivy out of trouble. But what does this idiot do instead, she tries to reveal her identity. Yes the people in the room were their friends, but one can never tell who the traitor might be.

All the while xerxes spent scolding her, ivy remained silent as she watched him. Just as he was about to continue with his ranting the elevator door dinged open and there stood two boys who looked surprised to see xerxes pinning ivy against the wall and not just that, but he had brought her into the boys dorms which was off limits to the female students.

Not wanting to say or do anything more, xerxes grabbed her arm and pushed pass the two males, but not before sending death glares. His look alone was enough to send the boys packing to the side.

At his dorm door, xerxes unlocked it and pulled ivy in. that sour and scowling face looking down at her, never had she seen xerxes this scary before, she gulped softly as she opened her mouth.

"Sooner or later they'll find out…" she stared.

"I rather have them find out later than right now!" he snapped. Ivy took a step back as her face adorned a small frown on it.

Noticing how she reacted to him now, he realized that might have been a bit too much. Letting out a sigh mixed with anxiety and frustration, xerxes moved to hug her, wrapping his strong arms round her body in a tight yet warm hug. They stayed like this for a few minutes before xerxes pulled back.

"i…I love you ivy…I love you soo much that it hurts…" xerxes confessed to her his true feelings. Hearing him utter those forbidden words froze her In place as she stared blankly at him, he wasn't done though. Right now he was a mess of unfiltered emotions.

"…just the thought of you being taken away from me makes my heart clench up tight. Yes im upset, but not at you, but at the thought of you being taken away from me. Whether you ask me too or not…I will always want to protect you. I know there is a lot of pressure on your shoulders and I also know that there is a lot about your past you have not told me, and I respect that. But what I won't respect is you putting yourself out there. If you ever feel pressurized…always remember you have me on your side, you're a dumbass, but you're my dumbass…"

All the while that he spent speaking; ivy didn't understand how a person like this existed. Right from the time she had confessed her identity to him and up till the moment he saw for his own eyes…a glimpse of what her life looked like, he had done nothing put show care and concern for her. Emotions she didn't know she could feel were surfacing. How was it possible to love a person as damaged and broken as she was? In the moment, ivy hadn't realized the hot and salty tears streaming down her face. Noticing her tears, xerxes frowned as he pulled her into his arms once more; this was enough to make ivy break down into series of sobs and hiccups. She cried her soul out, soaking his shirt with her tears; he let her cry as much as she needed too, rubbing her back gently as she did that.

"I…I…" she stammered and xerxes shushed her, cooing into her ear.

"It's fine, take your time…"

"I try so hard to keep it together…I try my best to look and act as naturally as possible…b..but I don't know how long I can do that. For three years, three years I've put up this persona of being Ivy Scarrow. But she isn't me and I'm not her. People love Ivy; she has friends who love her, people who love her. But not Leah, everybody hates Leah, they hate who s…she is, they hate what she stands for. She is a killer and a murder, nobody cares if she's just a child…all they she is a villain, a cold and heartless villain who isn't capable of feeling any other emotions, a vessel of darkness, that is who Leah Lamont is…" she continued to breakdown. All the pain she's had to endure since the moment she opened her eyes, up until this very instance was being poured out. All that toxic waste she could never share with anybody was being let out now.

"that's not true…Ivy, you're more than that…" xerxes tried to comfort her, but she pulled away, yelling at the top of her voice in the small room.

"IVY ISN'T REAL! SHE'S A FRAUD! A FUCKING LIE I TELL TO MYSELF TO MAKE ME FEEL ACCEPTED!!!...you don't love me, you love ivy…not me…" her raging emotions dropped down to an icy temperature. Her voice sounded distant and detached from her.

"Nobody could ever love Leah…nobody…" she shakes her head slowly as she pushed her fingers into her eyes, pulling out the black contacts to revel her dull grey irises.

.

.

.

.

sorry for being out for so long, writers block (ꏿ﹏ꏿ;)

I'm glad you're still enjoying the book( T_T)\(^-^ )/

Don't forget to recommend the book to your friends and family 🥺

and also vote with your stones if you feel the book deserves it(ノ^_^)ノ