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“I thought you were going to crack the table,” I add in a stage-whisper. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
Instantly, Landon’s gaze becomes hooded and intense. My heart rate rises in response to some physiological cue I can’t see.
“You could never get on my bad side, Layla.”
A loud bang makes us jump apart, and I glance forward to see the professor has closed the door. What is it with the teachers and their dramatic entrances here?
“Welcome to Bio 103, class. I’m Professor Calhoun. I hope you like the person you’re sitting next to. They will be your best friend for this semester in both lecture and lab Thursday afternoons.”
Landon turns to me with a giant, cheery grin, eyes sparkling, and my heart melts a little.
If he’s going to keep looking at me like that, I may not hate Bio after all.
ChapterNine
Layla
* * *
Even though the professor’s lecture is absolute gibberish to me, it seems I’m fortunate in my choice of lab partner because Landon has no problem understanding and explaining what he said.
The odd incident with the girl Landon called Amber and her twin bodyguards has completely slipped my mind by the time class is over, but I’m reminded of it when she turns around to glare hatefully at me before exiting the class.
“Seriously?” I mutter, shoving things into my backpack.
“What?” Landon looks up, confused.
“Nothing. I just caught that girl glaring at me again. You don’t have any idea why she hates me so much, do you?”
“Erm, I’m not exactly an expert on girl stuff,” he coughs awkwardly. “I dunno about you, but I’m starving. Milo and Jared should be waiting for us, lets go get some lunch.”
Once again, my intuition pings; he knows something he’s not telling me.
We walk across campus, with Landon pointing out various buildings he recognizes from his campus tour I was too late to receive. I sort of listen to him and sort of watch the other students we pass.
About half pay no attention to me at all.
Most that pay attention give me an appraising look, or seem genuinely excited to see me, a complete stranger, which is definitely odd.
But even more odd are the few decidedly unfriendly looks. Given that it’s the first day of class, I’d assumed a solid quarter of the students would start out new and anonymous, just like me, while upper classmen might know each other and already have friends. Perhaps some kids from the local town might attend together and carry over any friendships or prejudices from high school.
But what on earth could that possibly have to do with me?
My skin crawls knowing that a lot of things are going unsaid. I wish I had more concrete proof than a creepy feeling, but that feeling has served me plenty well on the streets, and I’ve always trusted it. Even in the foster home, it warned me when there was danger coming my way.
In fact, I first noticed it not long after my parents died. It was as if an instinct for self preservation sprung into life, with an internal voice warning me of danger and deceit.
Right now Landon still pings as safe, but I know he’s not telling me something. So I follow him to the cafeteria, but keep my eyes open for trouble.
As promised, Milo is waiting outside the glass doors with another guy. This one falls between Landon and Milo in height, but is far more muscular. A white t-shirt sets his gleaming dark skin off. It strains at his wide shoulders and matches the brilliant smile that breaks across his face when he spots us.
“Layla, this is Jared,” Landon begins as we approach. “Jared, this is-”
“Layla,” my name rolls off his tongue with a distinct Tennessee accent I’m beginning to recognize. He grasps my hand and shakes it gently. “It’s a pleasure.”
“Nice to meet you,” I reply, feeling the now-familiar sizzle of electricity across my skin at the contact. Jared’s eyes are so dark I can barely distinguish the iris from his pupils, but they gaze upon me with warmth.
“Are you hungry? We’ve got an hour before English 101.” He gestures to the cafeteria door that Milo is holding open.
