Page 27 of Silver Tears

“Ladies,” he says with a smile as he leans against the locker next to mine and waits for me to sort out my books.

“Hi Seb.” A girl with long black hairs says, wiggling her fingers in greeting. “Hi, Milly.”

I look up, perplexed at hearing her say my name. I didn’t even realise she knew who I was. There hadn’t been many girls who had attempted to get to know me since I started here.

“Uh, hi,” I reply with a confused frown. Seb offers his hand out for my bag and throws it over his shoulder.

“Have a good day, ladies,” he says with a cheeky wink. He reaches out for my hand and tugs me toward the sixth form lockers. I roll my eyes when I hear a twitter of farewells for him.

“Have a good day, ladies,” I mock, doing a dramatic wink. “You’re a shameless flirt.”

“Aw, don’t get jealous, babe,” Seb teases, blowing me a kiss.

“No,” I warn. “Not babe. Using ‘babe’ is not allowed.”

He shrugs his shoulders, oblivious to all the stares and gossiping as we move down the hallway. “I really like precious, anyway.”

I tap my chin and grin at him. “Maybe I should have a nickname for you as well.”

“God?” he suggests with a smirk. “Master?”

I whack him in the chest with the back of my hand. “Neither, but I’ll think of something.”

We meet back up with his friends, and Vee and Eliza smile warmly at me, making me feel welcome. Seb walking me to class is another surreal experience. I expect him to leave me at the door, but he keeps a firm hold of my hand as walks into the classroom. He looks around and asks me which is my seat. I point to a desk over by the windows and he follows me over. Seb places my bag down on the desk before he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me against his body.

“Remember, Oscar-winning performance, Mills.”

I barely have time to register his words when he places his lips against mine. My gut reaction is to pull away, but he squeezes at my waist, reminding me we’re playing his game now. He makes all the rules. His lips are soft and warm, and the kiss is better than I could have ever imagined. Not that I have imagined it. Not at all. When he pulls away, I’m a befuddled mess. He looks down at me, biting that bottom lip of his with those sexy ‘come hither’ eyes.

“See you at lunch.”

“Yep, lunch,” I reply, nervously twirling a strand of my hair around my forefinger. I stand there like an utter fool watching him leave. Then I remember the classroom is full of students. One girl looks at her friend and fans herself, mouthing ‘hot.’ This whole fake dating thing is going to be much tougher than I ever imagined. I should have known his kisses would be epic. He’s an Ace, everything they do is bigger, better, and perfect.

I keep my head down for the rest of the class and I’m the first one out of the door when the bell goes. I turn on my phone as I walk to my next class, and I grimace when a message pops up from Ruby. It’s a photo of Seb and me walking out of the café last night hand in hand. The text message says, ‘Why do I know nothing about this????’

Sighing, I text back. ‘It’s complicated.’ Ruby knows me better than anyone. She is the only other person on the planet who knows about Charlie and my mum. There’s no way I can hide the truth about what’s going on with Seb from her. She’ll sniff out a lie from five miles away.

As lunch approaches, the sense of dread in my stomach escalates. I am so not ready for this. As I pass the girl’s toilets, I contemplate hiding out in there for the full hour and hoping no one notices I’m missing. Seb wouldn’t let me get away with that, though. He’d come and find me and drag me out anyway. Pushing my shoulders back, I enter the cafeteria. I don’t look over at their table, keeping my eyes trained on the food counter. I grip my tray tightly, reminding myself to breathe. I yelp when an arm wraps around my waist.

“Hey there girlfriend.”

“What are you doing?” I hiss, keeping the fake smile plastered on my face. Why is he manhandling me in the food queue?

“Showing everyone how eager I am to see my new girlfriend.” He nuzzles into my neck, and it takes all my effort not to lean my neck to the side and give him better access. “Hmm, you smell good, precious. What is that perfume?”

“It’s the anti-Seb scent,” I snap, hating all the attention he’s drawing towards us.

He chuckles in my ear as we move forward in the queue. “Damon knows.”

My heart stutters in my chest. “Come again?”

“He knows. He rang Eliza.”

He is all too calm about this. He mentions it like he is talking about the weather. Why isn’t he worried?

“He’s going to kill you. Maybe if I run away straight from school tonight and hide out somewhere, this will all blow over.” Running away right now feels like the safest option.

“Relax,” Seb says, nibbling at my ear with his teeth. “Your brother loves me. I saved his life, after all. I have the scars to prove it.” He gestures to his wrist and the burns that are still healing. My hand reaches out without thinking and strokes across the pinkish and wrinkled skin.

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