Mina almost shouted in excitement, but she was able to restrain her excitement as she grinned. She led the way to their table, her face beaming with smiles as she selected a perfect seat for Dylan, where he could stay directly beside her.
Eila was still talking with Skyler, but when she looked up and saw Dylan pulling out a seat to sit directly in front of her, her stomach clenched instantly.
He was still watching her as he relaxed in his seat. He was sitting beside Mina, but he didn't seem to care, all his attention was on Eila, as though he was waiting for her to make one wrong move.
Eila stiffened, as her breath began coming out in short and shallow puffs out of nervousness. Her hands began to tremble, and so she clenched them tightly under the table, holding them down, one with another as she tried her best not to meet his eyes.
The waiter soon arrived and took their orders, and all this time, it was Mina making small talk to fill the air.
Dylan leaned back casually, but his eyes solely focused on her as he said coldly. "So, Eila," he said, purposefully dragging out her name. "How's your night going?"
Eila's cheek hit up instantly.
She didn't answer.
She couldn't. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to run.
Before the silence could stretch into something unbearable, Skyler jumped in. "She's good," he said throwing daggers at Dylan, obviously offended that he was disrupting his time with Eila. But when he looked at Eila, he shot her with a reassuring smile. "She is Just a little tired, right Eila?"
Eila bit the flesh in her inner cheek as she stiffly nodded quickly, flashing Skyler a forced grateful smile. Right now, she wished a whole would suddenly appear so she could jump into it and disappear, maybe that way she wouldn't have to be caught in the middle of these two men.
Dylan's eyes darkened at Skyler's interference, his jaw twitched and his hands slowly bawled into fists, but he was quick to steady himself again, and then he smirked.
"Oh? That's funny," Dylan mused, slightly tilting his head. "She looked pretty lively the last time I saw her." He said in a suggestive tone, and the table suddenly fell silent.
Eila's pulse roared in her ears. A tight knot formed in her throat, making it impossible to swallow. She wished she dared to glare at him or even slap him, but instead, she cowered, afraid to even meet his eyes.
He was the one who took advantage of her, so why was she this scared?
"Wait, Dylan do you know Eila?" Mina suddenly asked, looking hard at Eila before she softly turned to Dylan, but Dylan didn't respond, instead, he smirked.
The silence was now stained, and Eila felt all eyes on her. She was both embarrassed and afraid and the next thought in her head was to stand up and bolt. But suddenly, Skyler put his hand around her shoulder and spoke up for her.
"Yeah?" Skyler laughed, his eyes staring straight at Dylan as though challenging him as he said. "Well, you don't know Eila clearly, everyone has the right to be tired at times, everyone has their days off after all."
His retort didn't quite make sense to Eila, but it was enough to divert attention from her briefly. At this point, she wanted to peck Skyler and thank him for saving her *ss.
Dylan smirked, his gaze never leaving Eila. "I suppose." He said simply, but his eyes seemed to be saying something different.
The conversation carried on around her, but Eila was drowning in her anxiety. Each time Dylan directed a question her way, she froze, but Skyler would always step in for her, answering the question or throwing it back to him. It suddenly seemed as though they were both fighting for power at the table or were they fighting for her?
And just when Eila was about to relax, thinking that the worst was over, Dylan leaned in, his voice smooth but laced with something almost playful.
"You're quiet tonight, Eila. Cat got your tongue?"
The teasing tone broke her, and she instantly choked on the food she was chewing, in an instant she broke into a coughing fit.
She gasped, hacking violently into her napkin, and just then Skyler handed her a glass of water, not before sending a warning glare at Dylan who only looked amused.
All eyes were on her again, and Mina and Joyce exchanged exasperated glances, clearly unimpressed. But they wouldn't dare show their irritation, especially not in front of Dylan and Skyler, the two most popular guys on campus. So, they swallowed their displeasure.
"Whoa, you, okay?" Skyler asked as he gently stroked her hair while she drank the water hurriedly. This was caught by Dylan, and he felt his heart clench and his jaw tightened, his gaze at that point turned murderous as he watched Skyler's hand on Eila's hair.
He couldn't explain the need bawling in him to stand up and make a claim of her, it all felt strange and foreign, it didn't make sense but that was what he wanted.
Eila nodded at Skyler's question as she allowed him to take the glass from her, while she struggled to breathe. Dylan, however, just watched. His expression is cold but unreadable.
By the time the meal ended, Eila was a mess of nerves. They all strolled out of the restaurant together even though they hadn't come together.
Skyler was still by her side guiding her out, but Dylan was far behind them, flowing them calmly, but the coldness emanating from him was enough to keep everyone on edge.
Mina, who retorted to walking with him, kept trying to strike up a conversation with him, but even though he answered her each time, his mind was clearly on something else, or someone else.
Mina then excused herself to go get the car around, but just then Skyler got a call.
He gazed at Eila and then coldly at Dylan who wasn't even looking at him, and then he whispered to Eila that he would be right back and stepped away to answer the call.
Joyce took that chance to go after him, probably hoping to strike up a conversation with him, and soon just Eila and Dylan were painfully left alone.
The silence between them was so suffocating that Eila could have sworn that she began counting her breaths, her gaze focused on the exit.
She wanted nothing more than to disappear at this time, but Dylan was not one to be ignored, not when he was focused on something or someone.
Suddenly, his voice cut through the quiet, sounding very low and cold. "Why did you run?"
Eila's breath hitched as she wondered what he was asking about. Was it her running in the hallway, or back at his place? She bit her lower lip nervously, but the action was caught by Dylan.
He felt something move inside of him, and without thinking, he turned her around and pinned her to the wall, his eyes penetrating deep.
Eila's eyes widened as she let out a sound of shock as her back hit the cold wall, but when she saw the look in his eyes, her protest died on her lips and nervousness took over. Again, she bit her lips, her hands trembling in fear.
Dylan's eyes darkened as they drew to her lips. "Don't do that." He said in a voice that it didn't quite sound like his, and Eila's eyes widened in surprise.
"What?" She asked slowly. Her eyes were wide and innocent and they seemed to stir up something deep inside of him, reminding him of that night when she was under him, looking up at him with those pair of s*xy innocent eyes.
"Stop biting your lips, or I might just kiss you." He breathed and Eila's eyes widened even more. She immediately freed her lips and even tried to move away from him, but it was impossible with the wall right behind her.
"Please let me go." She said with all her might, but they still sounded as though she was begging.
Dylan's eyes darkened further as he held her there. "Why? Were you afraid Skyler would find out?"
Eila's head snapped up, and her eyes widened.
A slow smirk played on Dylan's lips. He had her exactly where he wanted.
Eila's stomach twisted painfully.
She needed to get out of here.
Gathering all the courage she had left in her, she brought her face up to face him, with so much fierceness in her eyes.
"I do not think I owe you anything, so please I will appreciate it if you leave me the f*ck alone." She said defiantly.
For a moment Dylan was stunned, but then he smiled, loving this side of her. "Really," He breathed against her lips, and to her surprise he gazed her lips with his, and her breath hitched.
That sound was enough to move something in him, as his hold on her tightened, but just as his lips neared hers with the intention of claiming them as his, he suddenly shoved him in his gut, but he was quick enough to duck. However, she took that chance and ran, but not before hearing his solemn promise, "You cannot run from me Eila, I will make sure of that."
Avoiding Dylan suddenly seemed like the hardest task alive. It was now as though he had this hack of appearing everywhere she was.
Presently, she was hiding behind a wall so that he wouldn't see her.
But then the question occurred to her, 'Why was she hiding this much?' She clearly didn't do anything bad, if there was anyone to blame it should be him not her.
Taking a deep breath, Eila stepped out from her hide out and sighed. She was already feeling very down again, but she reminded herself that thinking about things like this was just a waste of her own time. The deal was done, and even if she was to come across Dylan, she should just pretend like nothing happened.
Eila hurried off to the library with this thought, she couldn't keep avoiding Dylan. It was she who had lost her virginity, at least she can keep her face by pretending not to care.
She had to pick out a few books from the library before going to class. She didn't have the extra money to buy her own textbooks, so she made sure to pick the textbooks needed for each class from the library, and returned them after classes.
When she checked the time, she realized she was already late for her class, and so had to hurry up.
However, when she approached the school field, a ball suddenly hit her, sending her to the ground with great force.
Eila's whole body stiffened, especially her head where the ball had hit her. She winced from pain as her hand flew to her head from the anguishing pain of the hit.
Her eyesight blurred and so did her hearing, but when she blinked severally, she was able to take note of the guys heading to her direction with concerned looks on their faces, one was Skyler and the other….Dylan.
Without another thought, Eila got up and dashed out with speed of lightening, her heart pounding as she ran. She knew she had resolved to appear unfazed whenever she met Dylan, but those were mere thoughts, they were nothing compared to seeing Dylan face to face, especially not after what happened at that restaurant.
Eila didn't stop running until she got to class. She was so tensed up that she didn't even hear most of the things Professor Ken had to say throughout class, but one thing that sank to her was the mention of the school project.
Eila winced, she still needed money, and the school project meant she would have to stop some of her part time job, so she could have time to prepare the project with whoever her partner was.
As classes ended, Eila's first thought was to check her bank account balance. The amount there was still very small, and very much below the expenses she had lined up for the month. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that it was evening and that she hadn't tasted anything apart from the sausage roll she took in the morning.
"Eila, hey are you alright?" Someone called out from the class entrance as she got out of it, and she froze.
Right in front of her was Skyler's concerned face, and beside him was Dylan with an unreadable expression on his face.
Eila felt her whole-body freeze. She hadn't realized they had followed her to class. 'Had they been waiting out here for her?' She wondered in fear. She didn't know what surprised her more; was it the idea of them waiting for her together even though they were practically enemies, or the fact that they were there?
"I...I….." She began to shutter as she tried her best not to look in Dylan's direction.
Skyler however was too concerned to notice how tensed up she was, "Are you hurt anywhere? You bolted before I got the chance to check."
He said as he took her face between his palms, scanning her face with his hawk like eyes.
Something flashed in Dylan's eyes then, she wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't looked at him when she did.
His jaw twitched, but then he looked away without saying a word.
"I am fine," Eila managed to say inspite of herself, but Skyler wasn't willing to accept this.
"Come on, let's have you checked out. That ball hit you hard, and there could be an internal injury. Don't you feel dizzy?" Skyler asked urgently as he took her hand to lead her out.
Eila wanted to tell him that she did feel dizzy, but it was because she was very hungry and tired, and not because of the ball, but she was sure that Skyler would not listen. And she wasn't about to embarrass herself in front of them.
She let herself get dragged away by Skyler, very much aware of Dylan who was following closely behind her. It felt as though the whole world was against her today, and all her planned defensive actions flew out of her brain.