Chapter Three

I sat up and adjusted the throw pillow behind me once more in a way that wouldn't hurt my back. After getting back from the library I went straight to the reading nook at the corner of the room to draw with my ipad. I went in for another stroke against the screen with my apple pencil, pausing when I heard a knock against the door. I set the ipad down and got off the seat , heading to check who was knocking. It was another weekend and Abby usually spent her weekends outside so I knew for a fact it wasn't her.

I swung the door open, half expecting some group of sorority sisters to convince me to join their cult. Instead,I was met with a 6'5 tower of hard muscle and ink. I've avoided this dude like a life threatening virus ever since the day at the food joint when I pieced together the fact that he was dating Abby. Plus I wasn't in the mood for his senseless banter.

"Abby's not around" I met his amber gaze, my hand tightening on the door handle. He slightly cocked his head to the side, noticing my defensive stance. He was so observant for some reason. His gaze like molten lava , seemed to pick up the smallest of actions, the smallest of expressions. He seemed to study every single atom on your damn skin, leaving a path of heat in it's wake.

"I'm aware of that. She said to wait for her here" His tone was low and gravely. Rolling over my nerves in a way I couldn't possibly hate.

"Oh-"I simply breathed out, hating the fact that my self therapy night would be interrupted by this asshole.

"Are you going to let me in?" His gaze flickered over my form in half a second. It was so quick that I wouldn't have noticed if I wasn't watching his face so intently.

I wordlessly opened the door wide enough for him to enter and closed it once he had brushed past me. I sat back at the window nook, making myself comfortable in the blankets as he drifted into the kitchen to get his canned beer that Abby usually kept stashed for him. I tried to concentrate on the image I was trying to make as his heavy footsteps filled my subconscious.

"What're you doing duckling?"

I looked up at him, my jaw involuntarily clenching from the nickname. He wasn't one to make conversation whenever he came here , all he did when he came to pick Abby up was to drink his beer and wordlessly wait for Abby to get ready. He never spoke to me or asked me anything.

"Apart from being dumb, you're blind too?" The words just tumbled out of my mouth as I looked up innocently at him. I silently braced myself for a worse comeback but instead he snorted and set his drink on a drawer. I watched as he pulled off his dark grey hoodie with one arm , revealing his taut body covered with a black tee. I didn't miss how the bottom of the tee lifted, revealing a lick of skin above the band of his Calvin Klein boxers that peeked from the waist band of his sweatpants.

Fuck.

I watched as he tossed the piece of clothing to the nearest bed which also happened to be mine. I swallowed as he walked right for me , sitting at the empty spot at the window nook.

"You know, for someone who looks so fragile you sure do got a mouth" He effortlessly pulled the ipad from my grip all while looking straight at me. I was sure I was hallucinating when his eyes moved to the lower portion of my face for a second before he looked down at what I had been drawing. I watched him stare at the screen for a tad bit too long before he broke the silence.

"Where did you get this image from?" he turned back at me.

"Well I drew it...don't be daft" I rolled my eyes.

His eyes narrowed in annoyance," I know you drew it, but what was your muse? You couldn't have just gotten it from your imagination" He pointed to the screen of the ipad. My eyes darted from his tense face to the drawing. It was a detailed drawing of a memory from my nightmare. The blood red moon shining it's crimson illuminance upon the dark forest floor, casting shadows of the black barked trees unto the bone littered floor. A cold shiver run down my spine as a brief memory of the crunch of bones under my feet run through my mind.

"Well it's from my imagination" I shrugged, moving to take the device from his grip.

"You're fucking lying" He scoffed, moving out of my way.

"What's your deal anyway, it's just a stupid drawing." I run a hand through my hair, feeling a headache of frustration begin to build behind my temple.

"My deal is you're not supposed to have an idea where this is"

"And why the hell can't I?" I shot back at him.

He opened his mouth to reply but paused and sighed. "Forget about it"

He looked back on the screen. "Moving on... let's take a look at your other stuff. Maybe we'll see other images from this your interesting imagination"

I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they'd be stuck at the back of my head for a second. I leaned back unto the cushioned wall behind me watching him scroll through the gallery of my drawings. My eyes trailed along the intricate lines of the sleeve tattoo that climbed up his arm and disappeared under his shirt. I wonder if it continued to his chest under his shirt.

"When you're done checking me out why don't we talk about this drawing of yours" Castiel's gravely voice snapped me out of my wayward thoughts.

"I wasn't checking you-" my words died in my throat the moment I looked up at him.

My heart dropped into my stomach. "That's not what you think it is, I swear"

He looked back to the same drawing I was looking at. "Are we fantasizing now, duckling?"

It was a scribble of a pair of eyes, with long elegant lashes and pupils an intricate mix of aged scotch and molten lava. Eyelids lowered in a way that perfectly mirrored Castiel's perpetually cold bored look. Even the way the brows on the drawing were an exact duplicate of Castiel's own, a mixture of tamed and rugged.

"That's not you I swear" I tired explaining , my neck and face burning with embarrassment. "It was just a random drawing when I was bored"

"You were bored and your first thing you did was to draw my eyes duckling?" He set the ipad down and fully turned to me. " I sense an obsession" A smirk was beginning to crawl unto his face making my blood boil even more.

"Don't be so full of yourself. You really think I have the time to draw a feature of yours. There are thousands of people with amber eyes so don't be stupid enough to believe I drew you" I spat.

"It's entertaining watching you lie to yourself duckling"

"Stop calling me that" I shoved against his chest, being more than shocked when he didn't even move an inch upon all the force I put into the push.

"You know what, give me that" I made a move to take back my ipad when he effortlessly snatched it up before I could.

"No" He simply said, shrugging his annoyingly broad shoulders.

"What exactly is your fucking problem. One second you're seeing me outside and pretending you don't know me from no where and being so rude to me when you do end up speaking to me for some reason. And another second you're all up in my personal space, looking through my personal drawings like you have the right to. Well Castiel, do me a favor and get the hell away from me with your silly mood swings" The words just rushed out of me in a second.

I hadn't noticed how close we were until I took in a deep breath after my rant and his intoxicating scent assaulted my senses. I blinked , suddenly feeling flush from our proximity.

He also blinked, mirroring my actions. "I don't have mood swings" He simply said.

"So after all I just said that's the only thing you could register" I huffed.

"I registered that you get quite red when you're angry" He tilted his head to the side, sucking in his bottom lip. The motion made my stomach flip for some weird reason. The weird feeling mixed with the indescribable anger brimming my veins made my teeth clench and fingers curl.

"You are so fucking annoy-" My attack was cut of when the door swung open causing Castiel and I to turn to the source of noise. I inwardly groaned as I watched Abby walk into the room and set her bag on her bed.

"Hey guys" She gave a small smile. Her eyes darted to Castiel's hoodie on my bed then to us, her brows furrowing slightly. I jerked back immediately , hating the fact that I was so close to her boyfriend. Whatever feeling I had was instantly replaced by a sickening one.

"Hi" Castiel said in a clipped tone and stood, fetching his hoodie from my bed and slipping it on. " Why are you late?"

"I had important things to take care of Castiel" She smiled tightly at him.

"Well we need to go" He brushed past her and walked out. Without another word she also walked out after him and slammed the door behind her, leaving me all alone and feeling like the worst person ever.

********

I pushed out the dozenth deep breath I had taken so far in the last minute alone. I leaned back into the plush seat and tried to focus on the minimalistic setting of the waiting area of the dean of student's office. My train of thought about the cute potted plant on the glass center table before me was interrupted by a man's voice.

"Are you okay?"

My eyes darted up immediately, meeting a boy around my age with tousled golden hair and forest green eyes. He was sitting in the lounge chair opposite mine , flipping through a magazine.

"Yes, why do you ask"

"Well you've been bouncing your leg at an incredible speed ever since you got here so I think I should be concerned" He smiled, setting the magazine on the table.

"I'm fine really, just very nervous" I admitted.

"Care to share?"

"Well I got an email to see the dean for some reason. And I don't know if I did anything wrong. Maybe I'm getting expelled or something" I sighed.

He chuckled, looking genuinely amused. " I definitely don't think that's the case. You don't look like a rebel. You'll be fine"

There was something about the way he instantly comforted me that made me feel comfortable and calmed my senses.

"Okay then" I stopped bouncing my foot. " Why are you here then... a bit of a rebel yourself?" I smiled.

The boy before me looked nothing like a rebel, he didn't look like Castiel who was all broody and dangerous looking. This boy screamed sunshine and happiness.

"Well if being a rebel consists of not buying the list of groceries I'm about to be given then maybe, 'cause i'm definitely not in a walmart mood today"

"The dean is your-"

"Mom , yes. Don't think deep into it" He glanced around before playfully whispering the last part to me. " She's such a pain sometimes"

"I can imagine" I chuckled.

Just then the secretary emerged from the office and signaled me to go in. I gave him a last smile before I rose from my seat and cautiously paced to the door of the office. I took one last fortifying breath before I entered the heavily air conditioned room.

The dean was a pretty petite woman with greying golden hair that sat behind a large oak desk practically ten times her size. Her spectacles were perched on her small nose as she busily clicked away on her keyboard. My eyes left her to survey the entirety of her luxurious office.

"Oh hey there" Her voice got my gaze snapping back to her face.

" Uh, hi" I swallowed around the lump that had formed in my throat.

"You should come have a seat" She smiled at me , gesturing to one of the two seats in front of the desk. I gave a subtle nod and obeyed, placing my palms on my jeans clad knees to get rid of my sweaty palms.

"How are we today Elena" She clasped her hands together and rested them on the surface of the desk, regarding my silently.

I swallowed, " I'm fine ma'am. How are you too?"

"I'm quite alright" Her focus shifted back to her computer screen for a split second. " Do you have any idea why I called you to my office today?"

"No ma'am"

"Alright, let's get started then" She beamed at me. " So in your essay when applying you mentioned about your piano playing skills that you've won several awards for am I right?" She peered up at me from above her spectacles.

"Uhh yes" I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Good. Well we're going to be having a very important conference with so many important people from around the country attending. And on the program line up there is a brief interlude of a piano duet which you will be participating in with someone equally as talented as you are."

My mind sped with the suddenness of it all. My lips opened and closed with unfinished sentences.

"I would love to" I finally breathed out. " Oh my God this is amazing"

"I knew you would rise up to the challenge" Her warm smile spread to a full grin that doubled my excitement. " Other details of your performance will be sent to your email , including your partner ,the date, the venue for your practice among other things. I wish you the best Elena"

"Thank you so much" With that I practically pranced out. Excitement bubbling in me. When my dad left , I buried myself in being a master at playing the piano. I would play for hours when my mom finally gifted me one on one of my birthdays. It was the only thing that distracted me from it all. The music dulled the pain and calmed my senses. And then I begun to contest in music shows and won most of them. This was the perfect opportunity to go back into my old habit.

"Hey, how was it?" A voice interrupted me on my way out . I turned to find the boy I was talking to earlier-the dean's son, standing a few feet behind me.

"It was good actually , thanks for helping me out earlier" I tucked a stray piece of my hair behind my ear . He was tall enough to make me tilt my head up so I could look at his face. I was going to admit that he was very attractive....in a golden retriever kind of way.

"You're more than welcome" He smiled that familiar smile that warmed my insides for some reason.

A second or two passed by before I broke the silence. " I should probably go-"

"We should hang out sometime" He cut me of before I could finish my sentence. " I mean... whenever you're free to" I could tell he was nervous by the way he absent-mindedly scratched the back of his golden mop.

"Uhm I actually wouldn't mind" I smiled at him.

"Sure" He breathed out, almost as if he was holding his breath for my answer. "Can I get your number or something...to text and all."

"No problem"

He handed his phone to me and I typed in my number.

"I'm Tyler by the way" He was doing the head scratch thing again.

"Ellie" I handed the phone back to me " See you around Tyler"

With that, I spun back around and headed towards the exit, my mind racing with so much possibilities and questions. Both about my new gig and Tyler.

He was cute.

Very cute.