4. The 'Corpse' Boy

ALEXA

I was about to touch Nicholas Alexander. I panicked because I had just hit and run my classmate on my first day of school, but that fool Jacob prevented me from helping him.

“Don't touch him! He's a corpse!!”

“A corpse?” I asked hysterically, already too panicked. “Yeah, sure he's a corpse if we don't help him immediately!! We must bring him to the hospital before he—” “'Ughh…”

A groan sound was heard, and looking down, I was shocked to see Nicholas Alexander trying to get up!

“Nicholas!!!!” I exclaimed, about to help him, but I was slapped away when I tried to hold him.

“Don't touch me,” he said coldly. I was shocked, because I swear I saw his eyes glow blood red for a second, but before I could examine it again, he had darted away, entering the house in front of Jacob's, which meant we were neighbors.

“But the wound…How can he stand and walk so fast when he was just…” and before I could recover from my shock, I felt something shift roughly beside me. Jacob looked sullen and walked away quickly without waiting for me!

“Jacob!!” “Don't get close to that corpse.”

“Huh?” and before I could ask him about it, he had entered the house and slammed the door shut. Why was everyone so angry at me?

“It wasn't even me who hit him,” I sighed roughly, suddenly feeling bad-tempered too, before entering the house.

+++

The next day reflected my mood. Instead of cloudy, it was raining. Fucking hard.

“Jacob is sick, so I'll drive you.”

“Ohh…” I replied briefly, still feeling annoyed. So that's why he hadn't come downstairs, hm?

“Why not chickenpox too? He's been exposed to a lot of dirt and 'corpse',” I thought, stuffing all the bread into my mouth in one go as I had no appetite before grabbing my bag, ready to leave.

“Oh, you want to go now? Wait, let me finish my smoke first and—” “No need, I can take the bus,” I replied to Harold. “Also, no need to pick me up because I'll take the bus for home,” I added before walking away. I needed to be independent, right?

“I can't rely on that jerk,” I thought angrily.

+++

At school, I arrived early, just like Mr. Aria advised. However, the seats were full, and the only one left was the back seat, right next to Nicholas Alexander.

“Fuck…” I looked at the vampire boy before looking at Grumpy. Beside Grumpy was a brunette girl who I noticed was Mr. Aria's mistress, and from Grumpy's face, I knew he was actually crushing on her.

“Sorry…” he mouthed, and I just nodded before sitting next to Nicholas Alexander.

The pale boy watched me, and somehow he shifted as if giving me space. I frowned, taken aback by his sudden 'kindness', and if only he hadn't been cold to me yesterday, I would have thought he was adorable.

“Just wait until break, I guess,” I thought, hoping the day would pass quickly.

However, I seemed to have hoped too much, and instead of getting away from Nicholas Alexander, our class had an extra lesson, and it was physics lab class, and the partners had to be seatmates!

“Fuck…” I thought, sighing roughly as I had to stand next to Nicholas Alexander, who was busy examining the electric train. Girls squealed behind me, and for once, I didn't enjoy their envy and wished someone could replace me standing next to the physics prince.

“I'm already done. Want to check it out?”

“Sure…” I replied coldly, taking the train toy lazily. However, afterward, I looked at the electric train tracks confused—Nicholas had disassembled it, which meant I had to reassemble it to do the experiment.

“Shit! how did Mr. Aria show the example…” “You know, if you can't assemble it…you can just ask.”

“I'm sorry?” I looked at Nicholas Alexander, surprised. I wasn't just shocked to hear how soft and deep his voice was, but also surprised because the physics prince, who had been silent all this time, was talking!

Nicholas shrugged and took his hands out of his pockets, standing next to me. I sucked in my breath because he was getting closer, and I could smell the luxurious scent of vanilla Jo Malone from his body.

“You know, I realized that you haven't been focusing on Mr. Aria's lesson,” he whispered in my ear, while taking the track components from my hand and assembling it. His sharp black eyes focused on mine, and I couldn't help but be more hypnotized by this pale man. “If you can't handle physics class, then don't take this class, Alexa.”

“You're lucky to be in the same group with me, because if not…you won't survive. You'll stay back a year like Grumpy.”

“Tsk, who wants to take this class anyway,” I said quickly, taking the components from his hand as I started to remember the next steps. “Besides, it's not that I can't do it, I'm just not used to it yet. If I've been in this class for a long time, I'm sure I can master it. And far better than you.”

“Oh…”

Then Nicholas Alexander said no more. But from the way his arms were folded across his chest and he gave me space without breaking contacts, I knew he judged me.

“Why can't he just leave like other partners, though…” I thought, trying not to be distracted by his intimidating eyes, and thankfully, my assembly went smoothly.

As I started to examine the toy electric train running, I secretly looked at Nicholas Alexander and thought: How can he look okay as if nothing happened?

“His skin isn't burned like someone spilled hot soup on him, and his gestures aren't like someone who was just hit by a Land Rover…Did I just dream yesterday?” I thought, looking at Nicholas's smooth skin and how easily he moved. But I knew that I definitely didn't dream yesterday because Jacob hit him and pissed.

“But about the soup, how come people didn't see it? I mean, it should have been clear that he protected me, right? That fatty boy who spilled it should have seen hi—” “Look out!!” 

“Huh?”

And losing my focus, I didn't realize that I pressed the electric circuit too much, the electric train went too fast, and it was going to crash into the toy wall!!

“Shit!!!” I quickly rushed to the toy train to stop it, but I was cut off as the train kept moving uncontrollably, and when I was afraid that the toy would break and I would have to replace it…The toy stopped.

I was shocked when I saw Nicholas stop the electric iron train with his bare hands, and I was even more shocked when I saw his blood-red eyes looking at me.

“What—but the distance between the wires and this train is far…and his eyes…” I was stunned by his red eyes, they were so bloody red and I swear they looked very bright and inhuman, and before I could break the silence or at least push him, Mr. Aria approached us.

Nicholas let go of me and immediately left, and when I turned to the table, wanting to clean up the mess…I saw a bandage on it.

“Since when did he put it here?” I thought, remembering that Nicho had never stood on my right side, but my left side all this time.

+++

As I went home, I felt so tired and still confused by what had happened. However, when I intended to calm down by eating, I saw a sight that I would never forget at the dining table.

“Fuck…”

“A—Alexa, this is not what you think—I—ugh!!” 

There, at the dining table, I saw my stepbrother, naked and aroused with his legs spread.

But that's not all.

On top of him was a hot blondie, and I noticed that she was Ashley Winter, Jacob's long-time crush.

“Shit…”