Chapter 7( Riley's pov)

Chapter 7

Riley’s pov

I opened the door of my dorm only to be met with an unexpected sight.

Felix and Oscar were sleeping on the bed while intertwined and half-naked. Not wanting to disturb them, I tried to enter quietly.

I tripped over a pair of boots that I hadn’t noticed; my face fell flat, which attracted some noise and woke them up.

"The fuck! Riley, is that you?’’  Oscar exclaimed

‘’ You ok?’’ Felix asked

"Yeah, perfectly fine, all good," I groaned.

"Yeah, you don’t sound good," Oscar observed as he got out of bed to help me up.

He had already put on a shirt, and Felix was trying to dress up and arrange the scattered room.

‘’ Sorry about this,’’ Felix mentioned, gesturing to the now somewhat cleaned floor

‘’I apologise for coming without letting you know.' I grimaced at their half-naked body

"I should have been expecting you; you are my roommate. But I thought… I mean, we thought you would be with…. 

‘’Them?’’ I added, rolling my eyes

Yeah, them…why …are you not with them?’’

‘’ Why must I be with them?’’

‘’Because they are your mates and you had your heat.''

‘’ Not you too,'' I muttered as I lay on my bed, facing up

‘’What do you mean by not me too’?’’

‘’The mate's story and bond, all that bullshits and lies.’’

"You need to start accepting the reality, Rley," Oscar added. 

"You don’t understand. This cannot be my reality; my reality is to make my father proud and get his attention on me again. My reality is to make sure to become a track star and live a happy and comfortable life!’’ 

Pausing before continuing, "Not this psycho fantasy world where everyone has a term, and I have mates, which is quite ridiculous by the way, because why in the world am I getting tied to three weird people who are immortals, and I'm meant to give myself away to them just like that…because they said or you said so?! No! Absolutely not!''

I said angrily, and by the time I was done, I noticed how heavy Felix’s and Oscar's faces were with no emotion whatsoever.

"I know it’s quite hard to accept the new change that suddenly happened to you; it’s probably fast, and you have never heard of it until now, but that doesn’t change the fact that we exist and we are different, but you also need to understand this world too, because the world that you knew of will never accept you," Oscar said.

"Oscar! That’s quite harsh!’’ Felix scolded, but Oscar simply ignored him and went into the bathroom. 

"I'm sorry about how harsh he is; he can be like that sometimes," Felix said as he moved closer to me.

"What do you think I should do? ’’ I asked resignedly.

Felix froze, not expecting a sort of question from me.

‘’I think you should try to adjust; I mean, calm down and think about  your decisions, especially the one about leaving.’’

I froze at the word "leaving" because I had never mentioned it to anyone before. 

"How did you know that I was planning on leaving?'' I asked, with my heart pounding. 

‘’ Oscar knew; he knew you were planning on leaving the school premises.’’

Oh…’’ I said upon my realization

"Oscar's a fae, so he can read people’s expressions on their faces, one of the fae’s abilities. I know you didn’t think of what-ifs, but I like you as my friend and roommate, and I don’t want you to disappear before I get the chance to know you." 

"I can’t… I can’t throw my life away just like that, just for fantasy… I simply can’t, I’m sorry," I said, hoping he sees my point of view.

He nodded gently as he grabbed my hands. 

"Fine, I have a request," he added. 

The bathroom door opened as Oscar came outside, kept his eyes on us, and sat on the bed.

‘’ One week,'' he said

"One week? For what? I asked, confused.

‘’Stay with me for a week and plan your escape later on.''

‘’What?’’

‘’I know how it sounds.’’

"Is this a setup? Did you meet with them to pull this on me?" I asked, getting agitated. 

"NO! It’s just I… I—" He dropped his head, fiddling with his fingers.

"Be his best friend for a week; he likes you, and he doesn't have any friends," Oscar interjected. 

‘’I’m really not the kind of person you would want to befriend,'' I replied

"You are right, in one month you have collected more enemies than most people would in a year," Oscar revealed. 

"Oscar!" Felix scolded quietly while he replied with a shrug as he made eye contact with him.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused

"Ah… you don’t get it," he added.

"Get what? THE FUCK? Just get straight to the point; stop going through corners! I argued as I clenched my jaw and tightened my fists.

"Well, the immortals are quite popular here…everyone wants them, and everyone wants to be with them, and you…you are a threat and everyone’s common enemy. Except for us…not us,'' Oscar explained.

‘’What? Why?’’ 

‘’ Please, you can’t continue to be this slow, Riley! You are their mate! Which means you are now a competition to them.’’ Oscar added

Oh.

"Fuck, I forgot about the game. I need to go, baby; I will come to you," Oscar said as he turned to Felix and kissed him like I wasn’t standing three feet away from them and left.

I took in a deep breath to think about what I had just heard, but Felix got my attention as he cleared his throat.

I turned to face him. He looked flustered and all red from the kiss he had earlier.

‘’You need some ice to cool down or what?’’ I teased, but this only made him redder.

I chuckled at the sight. "Ok, tomato cheeks, be careful or you might burst."

"Stop it." He blushed in reply.

‘’Should I?’’

"I should go and have my bath… You should get ready for class, too," he said as he hurriedly left for the bathroom. 

Now alone, I went to my desk to think; remembering Rica, I tried to get his attention.

"Hey…you there?"

"You should probably listen to them…especially Oscar…sounds smart.''

‘’You should listen to yourself; not long ago you wanted us to leave!’’

Yeah, I did, but now we shouldn’t….this is a good thing, kiddo.’’

 ‘’And how is this a good thing?’’

‘’Our mates, we met our fucking mates.’’

"Well, I see you are insane, and I won’t be doing this shit with you or them. Once it’s a week, I will leave and try to break the bond with those monsters.’’

The word "monster" felt forbidden, like I shouldn’t have said it, but I tried to ignore the spark as I thought of them.

"Don't be stubborn now; there’s nothing out there except for the fact that you are trying to prove yourself to a family that doesn’t care about you. How about…’’

''How about you fucking get lost!'' I yelled out loud.

"Riley? You ok?’’

A familiar voice asked from behind.

"I'm fine," turning around. "Ready for class?"

"Yeah, let me get my bag." Replied Felix, who now looks put together and fit in his black shorts and black sweater.

I kept my eyes on him as I tried to ignore Rica, who kept rambling in my head. By the time Felix was ready to leave, he had gone quiet.

"What do you have as a first class?'' Felix asked

"Not sure; I will get my timetable from the locker. Will you come with?’’

"Of course! "Yes," he replied with a smile, which I found contagious. I couldn’t help but return the smile.

Getting to the corridor, the air felt different, and it made me anxious.

"Are you good?" 

"Yeah, let's get my stuff so we can head to class," I replied as I opened my locker, got my books, and continued walking with Felix.

‘’So I have anatomy class now.’’

"Oh, me too! We get to go to class together.'' 

I smiled at his enthusiasm and told him about all of the classes I'm having, and it turns out we have the day together.

We got to class and took a seat. I started to feel the odd atmosphere that happened in the corridor, but I decided to shake it off, thinking nothing about it.

"Kiddo, I have a feeling that something bad will happen soon," Rica called my attention.

"I know, I can feel it too," I replied, trying to hide my nervousness.

You should leave…like soon,'' sounding worried.

"Oh, so now you want me running? What a hypocrite.''

No, seriously…" Before he could complete his word, someone entered the class. 

"Riley Lightwood?" An unfamiliar face stood at the entrance and scanned through the room until their eyes found mine. "Your attention is needed out here!"