~~Daniil's POV~~
That was her impulse speaking, and not her. Waiting for her to realize she just asked of my well-being like a mom ready to take action, it took mustering every ounce of willpower in every fiber of my body to keep my lips from curving into a willy smirk as that would pull her into realization a lot faster than I wanted.
'Carson' itched behind my throat in sheer hunger for a reaction. But that'd be too hasty on my part. She'd probably be too flustered to respond to that.
By the time she finally arrived at her senses, it was too late. Her flickering jade eyes were so fucking heart-smelting that I could not hold back the teasing smile anymore.
"What would you do if I told you?" I teased, trailing closely beside her scampering self with minimal or no effort. Her cute petite legs stood no chance against mine.
After letting her a measure of gratification thinking she was actually succeeding in getting away from me, I grabbed her hand and turned her around, clashing our bosoms and hauling a deep gasp in response.
"What are you doing?" she asked through gritted teeth, surveying the scene for onlookers like she didn't already know we were alone. She was probably wishing she'd see someone go by and get the chance to get away from me but too bad.
I was done letting things go her way. From now on, we were gonna move in MY way.
"The more you run, the more you make me want to chase you," I drawled, steeling her movements, my gaze going a little hard to scare her. The sound of her rebellion was like sweet incense to my soul but fading it into inexistence under my command? Now that was my favorite kind of incense.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she snapped through gritted teeth, managing a charade of bravery as she stared into my eyes. But it was only superficial like she was intentionally keeping her gaze floating on mine, unwilling to peer in deeper. For fear of the unknown, I guess? She was probably smart enough to exercise some caution, new to this side of me.
Wasn't doing anything, just trying to scare her. A little. Something I enjoyed doing. And woe befell her the moment I learned she could feel the same for me.
Fear – my ultimate weapon.
"I'm buying. Lunch."
"Fuck you," she mumbled to my hearing, yanking herself away. Because I let her.
• • •
She slurped down on her drink, the straw fit in between her peachy lips. I watched in silence until the orange content was covering no more than the base of the cup, the ice now visible from above its surface.
"Carrot drink is your favorite?" I asked, not like I couldn't write a 10,000-word essay on her.
"Mm-mm," keeping her eyes away from me, she mumbled a response as she took another tiny bite off her hamburger.
Even her lip movements as she chewed did strange things to my soul. For all I knew, I may already have fallen hopelessly in love with this girl. It was just gonna take another millennium to actually accept that. I used to think the only lady who could occupy the space in my heart besides my mom was "her."
Maybe I could be wrong sometimes.
"What's your relationship with Carson?" I blurted.
She stopped chewing and for the first time since we sat on the same table across from each other, raised her eyes to meet mine. "Pardon?"
"Your relationship with Carson. What's it like?" I asked, raising the plastic disposable cup sitting by my plate to my lips.
They were nothing. I knew there weren't special ties linking them together, but one could never be too careful. Now that I wanted to completely uproot him from her life, knowing just how deep he'd gotten in would help a ton.
"A family friend?" she answered in the form of a question like she wasn't even sure herself. A good sign.
As expected, he could not hold a candle to me. Dude was nothing more than a PRETTY annoying bug trying to fit in where he could never. But not to worry, I knew his place and was going to toss him to it. Soon.
"Why'd you ask?"
"Just curious." I shrugged. "Because he seems pretty obsessed with you."
"I know."
"Oh, you do?" I reechoed in ignorance. Wasn't news. Just trying to hold a proper conversation.
She nodded, staring at me from below her eyelids as she steeped her head to sip the rest of her drink without lifting the cup off the table.
"What about you? Feel the same?"
She shook her head, making me believe it was a "no" until she said, "I think it's my turn now."
"Your turn to – " I stressed expectantly.
"To ask the questions," she replied, her expression going somber.
Squinting my gaze in scrutiny, I relaxed against the backrest with folded arms before saying, "Shoot."
"You're shitty to every other girl on campus except me. Why? Why are you always there when I need someone to come to my aid? Why do you like helping me? Just why are you being so nice to me?"
"Since when has it become a taboo to help people?"
"I keep chasing you away," she deadpanned.
"Because I let you," I mumbled to myself, throwing my eyes away momentarily.
"Pardon?"
"You were asking about my injuries," I stated, deflecting the topic, with my elbows perched on the table and my head shooting actively toward her. Flinching, she withdrew to maintain the distance. "Ain't you curious no more?"
Pinching her brows awkwardly at me she remained silent and tried picking up her drink only to realize it was empty.
She clicked her tongue, thudding the bottom against the table with a frustrated sigh. "You never wanted to spill."
"My dad," I disclosed.
"Your dad?!" wincing with brows shot up to her hairline, she exclaimed nonplussed, sincerely stunned.
"Yeah, my dad."
"Why? I mean – why will your dad even inflict such injuries on you?"
"Simply because I did something I love to," I answered casually.
"Okay, respectfully, that's just … What could you have possibly done for him to –"
"Defy him," I cut her off, earning myself a stupefied look. "I defied him, Ashley. That's my most favorite thing to do in this world."