Chapter 18 - Brunch

"Heya! I thought you said you weren't coming," a voice greeted me just as I took a seat. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Silver," I muttered, noticing Selena waving toward the source of the voice. With a resigned sigh, I turned in the same direction and saw him approaching with a tray of food.

I knew it.

This bastard's a high-ranker.

"Can I sit with you guys?" he asked, and I was about to flat-out say no when—

"Of course," Selena replied with a small smile.

Weird.

For a moment, I thought we were on the same page.

"Sweet," the bastard said, taking the seat.

Sigh.

Looks like I'm stuck with him today, no matter what I do.

To make this already frustrating situation worse, he's far stronger than I thought.

"...Didn't know you actually swing both ways," he said out of nowhere, just as I was taking a sip of water while waiting for Selena's order to arrive.

"What—? Argh!" I choked on the water, spluttering everywhere.

Damn it.

I'm going to kill this imbecile.

"What do you mean by 'swing both ways'?" Selena asked, patting my back while wearing a smile that made me uneasy.

"Well, I don't know how this might sound, but…" Silver trailed off, his expression brimming with mischief.

This lunatic.

He's actually trying to kill me!

"IF YOU SAY THAT, I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU," I snapped, still recovering from nearly choking to death.

"Whoa, chill there, bruh. I was just messing with you," he laughed before turning to Selena. "Sorry for pulling your leg there. Don't worry, your guy's clean. But I'll make it my personal duty to let you know if he's ever tempted to..." He trailed off, but the implication was clear.

"I'd appreciate that. Really," Selena said with that same unsettling smile, turning to me.

"What the heck are you idiots even talking about? She's not even in a re—" I started to protest, but then—

What the hell?

It felt like…

A weight. A pressure I couldn't even explain.

I turned slightly to face Selena and saw her smiling in a way I didn't like, her eyes narrowing to slits.

Wait.

Is she… Is she trying to crush my balls?!

"She's not even what? What were you saying?" Silver asked, curiosity evident in his tone.

The pressure increased, and it felt like I was going to snap.

"She's not even the type to care about that sort of thing," I managed to force out, trying to keep the pain from showing on my face. The pressure eased, just a little.

"Huh? She doesn't care if you cheat on her?" the bastard asked, feigning a bewildered expression.

It was obvious he was doing this on purpose.

"Yes," I replied, gritting my teeth.

The moment those words left my lips, it felt like a mountain had fallen onto my crotch.

I was dying.

And I couldn't move.

She had her hand on my lap, and it seemed she was using telekinesis to pin me down.

Talk about a dilemma.

"What?" Silver blurted out, turning to her. "So you don't care if he cheats?!"

"As long as it's with Selena, I don't mind," she replied casually, then smiled at me.

Ugh.

Right.

Selena was her middle name. Like everyone else, she only shared her first name—Anna.

But this bastard didn't know that, so he completely missed what she just meant.

"Selena? But the girl wasn't Selena," he said, and if I could, I'd have shoved a knife into his windpipe.

"Really?" Selena said, moving her free hand to her chin, assuming a thoughtful pose.

"Yeah."

Sigh.

"Huh? And who exactly was that?" she asked.

"Well, it's some girl from class who kept looking at him for some reason. And, well… so was he," he said.

"Hmm. Then that must've been Tessa," Selena said, shaking her head playfully as though deep in thought.

I turned to glare at the bastard, already understanding her game.

Don't. Say. It.

"No, I think he called her... Eloisa," he muttered.

Before I could even react, a voice came from behind.

We all turned to see three girls stepping into the cafeteria.

Oh crap.

The real problem was the girl on the left. She was looking at me strangely.

"Can we sit here?" she asked.

I could see Ariana looking confused.

"No," I said firmly, but she ignored me completely and sat down anyway.

I can't even explain this anymore.

What was this lunch turning into?