"Is this poisoned?" I asked, eyeing the sushi suspiciously.
Gabriel chuckled and took a bite of the sushi. "See? It's fine."
I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "I'll eat it, but you have to answer my questions first."
Gabriel smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he packed up the sushi. "Sure. What questions do you have for me?"
I took a deep breath, trying to stall. "Okay, who are you?"
Gabriel's smile faltered for a moment, before he replied, "My name is Gabriel Iglesias. I'm 20 years old, and I go to Burntoash college, same as you."
I felt a spark of recognition. I had seen him before, in a TikTok video. He was one of the guys who had randomly bombed some girls' TikTok.
"Wow, I go to school with a murderer," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
Gabriel chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement. "I guess you do."
I cleared my throat, feeling a flush rise to my cheeks. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."
Gabriel's smile softened. "It's fine. You're not wrong, you know..."
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "You normally do kill?"
Gabriel's eyes seemed to cloud over for a moment, before he replied, "I'm sorry. I don't normally kill like this."
There was something about Gabriel's words that sent a chill through me.
"Do you know me?" I asked.
Gabriel's smile returned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "You can say that," he said, his voice low and husky.
I felt a flutter in my chest, despite myself. There was something about Gabriel's smile that made me feel like I was melting.
"Next question," Gabriel said, his eyes glinting with amusement.
I took a deep breath, trying to focus. "Why did you kidnap me?"
Gabriel's expression turned serious, his eyes narrowing. "I didn't kidnap you, I saved you."
I tried to process the events of the past few hours. He had saved me from my kidnapper, but I had also seen him kill someone. I couldn't shake off the feeling that he was a dangerous person, and I didn't want to be around him despite the physical attraction I felt towards him.
"So, who kidnapped me?" I asked, confusion etched on my face.
Gabriel's expression turned serious, his eyes clouding over. "The guy that hurt you. He said something about your mother, but I wasn't really listening," he said, his voice measured and even.
A faint sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach as I remembered the man's words. "So, how did you find me?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Gabriel's eyes seemed to gleam with amusement. "I was informed that you'd been kidnapped, so I came to look for you."
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "You were informed?"
Gabriel nodded, his expression serious. "Yeah, I was."
"Who informed you and why was it important for you to know that I was kidnapped?" I asked, my eyes locked on Gabriel's. Without context, it sounded like he was stalking me but it couldn't be. Why would a well put together person like Gabriel stalk a good for nothing street rat like me?
The room fell silent, the only sound the soft hum of the air conditioning. Gabriel's gaze never wavered, his eyes holding mine with an unnerving intensity. He gave a small, enigmatic smile, and I knew in that moment that he had no intention of answering my questions.
I decided to shift tactics, asking something else in the hopes of getting a more forthcoming response. "Why are you being nice to me?"
Gabriel's smile returned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Because I like you."
I felt a surge of fear, mixed with something else. Something that felt almost like attraction.
"Oh," I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper.
Gabriel's eyes seemed to gleam with amusement, before he replied, "Actually, I think you should eat and sleep now. You're still feeling the aftereffects of the accident."
I nodded, feeling a wave of relief wash over me as I had been trying to avoid the awkward conversation it had turned to.
He handed me a plate and I removed the cover that protected the food, I grabbed a chopstick and grabbed a sushi. As I did this, I couldn't help but steal glances at Gabriel. He was watching me, his eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made me feel like I was melting.
And then, something strange happened. Gabriel's eyes seemed to glaze over, his expression turning almost... erotic.
I felt a wave of disgust wash over me as I took in Gabriel's bizarre expression. His eyes had glazed over, and his face had contorted into an unsettling mixture of pleasure and longing. I wondered what could have triggered such a strange reaction, and then my gaze fell upon the sushi in my hand. My eyes widened in horror as I realized that I had unknowingly taken a bite of the same piece of sushi that Gabriel had bitten into earlier to prove that it wasn't poisoned. A shiver ran down my spine as I grasped the implications of his reaction. What kind of person gets turned on by something like that? I felt a surge of revulsion at Gabriel's perverted attitude as I heard him mumble some inaudible words.
"Gabriel?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He seemed to snap out of his trance, his eyes focusing on me once again. "Yes?"
I hesitated, unsure of what to say. But then, my curiosity got the better of me. "What did you just say?"
Gabriel's eyes seemed to gleam with amusement, before he replied, "I said, you're insanely sexy, Betty. I don't know how much longer I can keep to myself."
I winced inwardly at his words, careful to keep my expression neutral. I didn't want to provoke him, not when he was capable of killing me at any moment. The situation was unsettling, to say the least, and I longed to escape his presence. Gabriel's behavior was repulsive, and I couldn't help but think that he was a disturbed individual - a handsome but deadly pervert.