Chapter 5

AUTHOR

I pretty much don't know how Bonus Chapters works, 'coz I'm pretty much still in the navigating stage on this site. I'll just use this one then I'll see what will happen.

Enjoy!

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"So… what do you say?" Persephone asked softly, her voice gentle but insistent as her fingers brushed lightly against the small of her back.

"I—" Ginny stammered, clearly caught off guard, her words faltering. "Um…" She fumbled, her hands unconsciously tightening the grip on her jacket.

Persephone was leaning too close for her liking. Her sweet-scented vanilla perfume was rubbing on her body as if she were marking her. Her blue eyes were sparkling, seemingly in a daze.

However, their intimate moment was interrupted by a voice calling out from a distance.

"Ginny!"

Ginny couldn't be more thankful for that interruption. Persephone loosened her hold a bit but didn't let go. They both looked up and saw Natalie walking towards them with a raised brow and a smirk on her face.

"I've been looking all over for you," Natalie said, stopping a few steps away. Her gaze flicked between the two of them, her smirk growing wider. "I didn't expect you'd ditch class to flirt. How delightfully rebellious of you. I couldn't be prouder."

Ginny huffed in disbelief after hearing her best friend's words. This is totally not what it looks like! She was supposed to retort that but was cut in the middle by Natalie.

"Uh-huh, sure," Natalie said with a nod, clearly unconvinced. Turning her attention to Persephone, she added, "Hello, Persephone. Fancy meeting you here."

Natalie's sharp eyes traveled down to where Persephone's hand rested comfortably against Ginny's lower back, her smirk widening at the scene. Ginny, now thoroughly flustered, glared at her best friend in return, cheeks dusted pink.

"Likewise, Natalie," Persephone replied smoothly, her tone cool and composed as she gave a polite nod. Her hand moved slightly, resting firmly on the side of Ginny's waist now, a deliberate gesture that didn't go unnoticed.

Natalie's attention flicked back to Ginny. "By the way, we're lab partners, Gin," she said casually. "Oh, and Prof. Dudley says you'll get detention later for being late."

"Ugh." Ginny groans in annoyance. This was the very first time she was late after entering college. Now, her reputation for trying to be a good student has gone to ruin.

"You two know each other?" she asked.

The hand on Ginny's waist instinctively tightened. Ginny, noticing, clasped Persephone's hand in an attempt to remove it. Persephone, however, quickly intertwined their fingers instead, grinning slyly.

"She's my childhood best friend," Natalie said with a shrug, clearly amused.

"How come you never introduced us to your childhood best friend before?" Persephone asked further, her tone teasing yet genuinely curious.

"Well, Ginny's pretty much allergic to people," Natalie said matter-of-factly. "She only tolerates me."

That earned a soft laugh from Persephone. "That does sound like Ginny," she replied, turning her gaze to Ginny, who was now glaring at both of them, lips pressed into a tiny pout.

"I'm still here, you know," Ginny grumbled, narrowing her eyes at the pair. "I can hear both of you judging me."

Her sulky expression, combined with her slightly flushed cheeks, made her look like an adorably disgruntled child. Persephone and Natalie couldn't help it—they both burst into laughter, their amused chortles echoing down the hallway.

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes.

Persephone couldn't resist, she pinched Ginny's cheeks gently, cooing, "You're so adorable."

Ginny's annoyance only deepened, her glare intensifying as if it could set Persephone on fire. From the side, Natalie was practically choking back laughter, clearly enjoying the scene.

"Give me your phone," Persephone said suddenly, holding her palm out expectantly. "You owe me lunch for helping you out the other day."

Ginny blinked, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "Didn't we already have lunch that day?"

"That was on me," Persephone said with a teasing grin, "because I failed to feed you breakfast. Now it's your turn to treat me."

Ginny let out a groan, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Begrudgingly, she reached into her pocket and handed over her phone. Persephone took it with an air of triumph, quickly punching her own number into her contacts, and then punching her's into her own phone, before handing it back with a smile.

"I'll call you," she said smoothly, slipping her own phone into her pocket. Then, turning her attention to Natalie, she added, "By the way, there's a Prefect meeting tomorrow at noon. It's for the upcoming St. Ives School Carnival Fest. Don't be late."

Natalie saluted with a grin. "Aye, aye, Captain!"

Persephone turned back to Ginny, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously. "I gotta go now. But I'll see you later, cutie," she said, leaning in just slightly as she puckered her lips in a playful kissy face, her smile turning flirty as she bit her lower lip.

She heard Natalie snorted. Ginny was absolutely mortified by Persephone's the gesture. 

With a confident sway in her step, Persephone walked away.

After a minute of silence, Natalie spoke, "Huh. Not dating. Really?" she mocked.

"We're not!" Ginny's face was flaring so much, and Natalie could only laugh. "She just caught me off guard. That's why I couldn't respond well!" She said as an excuse but fails to sound convincing due to her fumbling.

"More like you were too smitten by her that's why you were speechless." She teases more, then adds, "Well, I don't blame you," and wink.

"Oh, pissed off!" She snarls. Natalie can see the smoke of embarrassment coming out of Ginny's head as she continues laughing. "A prefect? Really?" Ginny changed the subject. "Are you sure you're qualified for that? How did they let your rebellious arse in?"

"Hey, that is not a nice thing to say." She scoffed. "I am trying to build a good reputation for myself since we're in our third year now. It's for my future, babe."

Ginny snort. "Alright. My mistake."

Natalie is pretty much a magnet for all troubles. She's like the English version of Poppy Moore. Ginny always thought that Natalie could nail the Rich Girl vibe if given the chance. Their first and second years were filled with nonsensical shenanigans that almost got them expelled. But before that happened, Ginny pulled the "Let me call my dad" card and managed to make her family sponsor the school. It was the brattiest move she'd ever done in a while, making her father wail in utter bliss, muttering nonsense like, "Oh! My daughter is back!" and "Oh, I couldn't be so proud!" and all sorts of bullocks.

She felt her phone vibrate, capturing her attention. Ginny knitted her brows upon reading the message.

Unknown: Hi, darling. Dinner at my place? We can still have that movie night right after ;) (2:30 P.M.)

How dare. She grimaced. Who would dare send her a booty call? How utterly shameless. She swiftly replied, asking who the person was. After a second, her phone vibrated.

Unknown: It's your future wife ;) xx (2:32 P.M.)

How dare this person assume her sexuality? Ginny was supposed to block the number when another message popped up.

Unknown: Don't freak out. It's just me, Persephone. Give me a tinkle later. Class is about to start ;) xx (2:32 P.M.)

Ginny frowned, but before she replied to Persephone's text, Natalie called her.

"Ginny, we gotta go. Class is starting. Who are you texting?" She said in a hurry and walked towards the classroom.

"No one," she abruptly replied, hiding her phone in her pocket. "By the way, what's the meeting all about?" She asked instead to distract Natalie, which the latter enthusiastically answered.

"Well, we'll continue to vote on what sort of activities will be included in the carnival. I happened to suggest one and got it approved yesterday." She beams in excitement and faces Ginny. "I'll be in charge of the kissing booth, and you're going to help me."

Ginny narrowed her eyes in confusion and replied, "What the hell is a kissing booth?"

To be continued...