Grey

Chapter 7

He took a step back, smirking. His turquoise eyes twinkled brightly with what I recognized as amusement. Leaning back slightly, he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. His leather jacket was soaking wet, droplets of water dripping down it and onto his grey V-neck underneath. Isn't that the exact opposite of what jackets were supposed to do?

"And why exactly, should I be scared of you?" He hummed melodically. I don't know why I was so comfortable in this situation. He had just cornered me up against a car, interrogating me, and here I was, acting all suave like I knew what I was doing.

I didn't.

I was screaming inside.

I couldn't threaten him. He'd laugh it off. I couldn't boast about my physical prowess when he was twice my size. I couldn't boast about my intelligence because I had no way to prove it. How could I make him scared of me?

"Why should I be scared of you, Grey?" I countered, choosing rather to ignore his question. His smirk widened into a satisfied grin, recognizing that I didn't know what I had to be scared of. He took a step forward again, my back pressing against the wet passenger door of his car. I shivered as I felt the cold metal against my spine through my jacket. I should've worn thicker clothing. Washington in the fall- not the warmest place on the planet.

"Oh, mea bellator, if only you knew who stood in front of you at this very moment," he breathed lowly. A shiver raced down my spine and I clenched my jaw, refusing to break eye contact. This guy- how arrogant could you get? He probably thought he was some Zac Efron who could just say "do you know who I am?" every time someone threatens his ego. Newsflash buddy, you're a nobody. Just like me.

"Let me take a guess. Arrogant washed-up jock from some inner-city school who had his heart broken once and decided right then and there that from that point on, he no longer had one. I'm close, aren't I?" I narrowed my eyes at him and he raised an eyebrow, his eyes never leaving mine. His eyes- I couldn't look away. They were so bright, so blue, so terrifyingly brilliant- there was a small part of me that wanted to cower at his gaze, that wanted to acknowledge how beautiful he was. Unfortunately for him, the part that wanted to prove I was his equal was much more dominant.

"Not at all," he smirked in satisfaction and I rolled my eyes, folding my arms tightly across my chest as the rain continued to pour down on us.

"My point is- you're nothing new. I've met people like you. On top of that, you literally told me you didn't like me the last time we spoke. So, tell me, why won't you leave me the hell alone?" I retorted coolly. His brilliant eyes narrowed at me, obviously disliking the question I'd asked.

"If I could leave you alone, believe me, I would," he scowled, mumbling under his breath. What is that even supposed to mean? Why wouldn't he be able to leave me alone? This was a big enough campus, it's easy to avoid people you don't like. I've done it before, I should know.

"Why can't you?" I challenged, watching his eyes alight in a blue fire. He was getting irritated. Good. I was getting somewhere.

Or, at least, I thought I was.

Grey appeared to bite his tongue, clenching his jaw angrily and rolling his eyes. He let out a frustrated growl and took a step back from me before angrily walking over to the driver's side of the car and getting in, slamming the door shut so hard, I thought the glass would break. I opened my door and got in, avoiding eye contact with him.

I couldn't keep track of him. One second, he was rude and condescending, the next annoyingly flirty, and the next, mysterious and secretive. I couldn't figure him out. I knew I got weird vibes from him- vibes that had me wondering if I was sitting next to a serial killer. Maybe weird wasn't the right word- frightening was more like it. He just seemed like a threatening person, like you didn't know when he could snap. He was a paradox- cool and calculating, but also hot-headed and impulsive. Grey was like some odd combination of ice and fire, and I didn't know how to act around him. He was a mixture of two extremes, a perfect recipe for chaos, and I was the idiot who'd gotten trapped in that web.