Gods & Monsters(9)

There’s a full-blown smirk on his lips and his eyebrows haven’t come down. Oh, and he’s blocking the seat next to him with his long, stretched-out legs. He’s daring me to sit in the front.

I put my hand on my hip and shoot him an arrogant look — for about two seconds before the bus lurches again and I stumble. Again. He presses his lips together, no doubt trying not to laugh at me. I don’t think I like him very much right now.

“Well, if you must know, I’m going to sit.” My voice, in comparison to his, is squeaky and high and so childish. I hate my voice for being so stupid and I hate his voice for being so awesome. There’s no justice in the world.

I take my backpack off and raise my own eyebrows, asking him to make space for me, which he does with twitching lips. I plop down on the seat and shove the backpack between my legs.

Some people are still watching me, so I narrow my eyes at them. Sniffing, I slide up the seat and sit back. I’m not going to say a single word. Nope. My lips are sealed. I swing my legs. The toes of my shoes graze the floor. I look at the white metal ceiling.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I tell him.

Darn it. I gave in.

His clothes rustle against the leather seat and I feel him turning toward me. “Yeah? Could’ve fooled me.”

I glance at him from the corner of my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugs like he doesn’t care one way or another and turns toward the window, keeping his silence.

I fully face him then. “No, tell me. Why would you think I’m afraid of you?”

Scoffing, he gives me his full attention again. “Look, I don’t care either way, all right? I don’t care that you can barely look at me or that you run away when I’m around. Doesn’t matter to me. Now, if you’ll leave me the fuck alone, I’ll be grateful.”

I gasp. It’s not as if I haven’t heard the f-word before. When you’re best friends with Sky, you hear it all. But Abel says it like he’s been saying it since the day he came into this world, like fuck was his very first word. It sounds strong, confident and practiced from his mouth.

“Hey.” I poke my finger in his bicep; his skin is warm but I don’t want to think about it right now. “I don’t run away when you’re around.” That’s not exactly true but he doesn’t need to know that.

He scoffs again.

“No, seriously. I’m not afraid of anything. Least of all you,” I insist, rolling my eyes.

Abel leans against the window, sprawling in the seat and crossing his arms across his chest. He’s wearing a black t-shirt again. I wish I could tell him to wear another color. Black is so… dull.

“Really? You’re not afraid of anything.”

“No.”

“Right.” He nods but he doesn’t believe me; it’s in his tone. “What if I told you that I bite?”

“What?” I laugh.

“Yeah. They call me a monster, right? What if I told you I’m exactly what they call me and on top of that, I’ve got sharp teeth. What then? Are you gonna have nightmares tonight?”

I stare at him for exactly five seconds. Yeah, I count them. Then I bend down and fish out my half-eaten stick of Toblerone, and wave it in the air like a weapon. “Then, I’d tell you that you’re not gonna bite me.”

He stares at the chocolate with amusement. “How’d you figure that?”

“Because I’m not food. And if you really wanted to bite something, I’d give you this. My chocolate.”

He chuckles and I swallow. His chuckle sounds like his voice. Not the sound I’ve ever heard from a boy, and not from a grown-up, either.

He’s staring at me like he always does. “Then I’d tell you that I don’t like chocolate.”

My hand freezes in the air and my mouth pops open. “You don’t like chocolate?”

“Nope.”

“No way.” I grimace, my hand falling down to my lap with a thwack. “Oh my God.” I was not prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared for the monster to say that he doesn’t like chocolate. Except, Abel’s not a monster and I wasn’t really going to give him my chocolate.

A short laugh bursts out of him as he stares at me. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re more concerned about my lack of chocolate love than the fact that I might seriously be dangerous?”

“Oh, please.” I wave my hand. “You’re not dangerous, but what kind of a person doesn’t like chocolate?”

“The kind who likes…” He shrugs. “I don’t know… fruit?”

“You like fruit?” I screech, then glance around to find Jessica and the gang watching our exchange. But as soon as I glare at them, they all turn away.

“This is getting worse by the minute, isn’t it?”

“Duh. How can you like fruit and not chocolate?” I shake my head, frowning. “I can’t even understand that. That’s not normal.”

Chuckling, he shrugs. “Maybe nothing about me is normal, Pixie.”

Pixie? Did he just get my name wrong?

“My name’s not Pixie.” I raise my eyebrows at him, feeling oddly disappointed and irritated. “It’s Evie.”

“Evangeline Elizabeth Hart. I know.”