CHAPTER 105: THE SUPRISE PARTY.

Charis

I sighed for the umpteenth time today as I trudged slowly to the front of the class to take the attendance.

I was exhausted.

It’s been thirteen days since my life changed dramatically. Rhett and I had grown distant. Kael had gone back to his pack after requesting a long break before we returned to Ravenshore that day.

Rhett had his hands busy with his fiancée and would only talk to me when it was important; otherwise, we were strangers now, and Slater seemed distracted. He was either slipping out of his room in the middle of the night when he thought I was sleeping, or would remain fixated over something for hours without talking to me.

As much as I hate to admit it, I missed the boys. I missed attention and craved it. My wolf had gone silent, more silent than it had ever been, and tomorrow was my Eighteenth birthday.

After tomorrow, I will legally become an adult. It would mean more access to resources and maybe, I might try to come up with a better solution than Ravenshore now that I can travel.

After calling out the attendance, I trudged wearily back to my seat and sat down, dropping my head on the desk. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard someone rapping against the vinyl surface of my desk.

I lifted my head slowly, blinking to clear my vision. I was surprised to see Marcus standing in front of me. Immediately, I sat up straighter, already feeling tense at his presence.

"Good Morning, Marcus," I said quietly, hoping I sounded polite enough.

Marcus nodded curtly and stared at me for several minutes without speaking, unlike him. I felt like a piece of lab experiment under his gaze, which was increasing my anxiety by the minute. The last time we’d spoken was the day Kael had asked him to come pick me up from the hospital after Rhett’s surgery.

Our conversation that day had ended on a sour note. Marcus had broken down, and I didn’t want to handle it. Since then, he’d only given me fleeting glances across the dining hall or in corridors whenever we met without saying a word to me.

Like Phil in my class, who I thought would make my life a living hell, but after I returned to classes after Rhett’s surgery, Phil wouldn’t even look at me whenever I entered the class. The closest interaction we had with each other was when he responded to his name-call whenever I had to mark attendance.

It seemed both Phil and Marcus had decided that they would no longer be a thorn in my flesh. It was a relief, but also somehow, seeing Marcus standing before me now, made me relive the traumas I’d suffered in his hands.

"When the Student President is standing before you, you fucking stand up," Peter barked from behind Marcus. "Who the hell do you think you are, Riggs?"

I muttered a word of apology and scrambled to my feet, nearly knocking over my chair in my haste to show respect. My heart was racing as I stood there under Marcus’s scrutiny.

I couldn’t afford to be careless again since my protectors had all deserted me.

"I heard tomorrow is your birthday," Marcus said finally, making me look up.

"Yes," I nodded, managing what I hoped was a genuine smile despite my nervousness. "My Eighteenth birthday."

He nodded and then turned to the class. All my classmates had been watching us with quiet curiosity, but when Marcus turned to face them, they all pretended they were busy.

"Listen up, first-years," Marcus started. "I’m throwing a birthday party for Eamon, and it’ll just be for a few hours since we still have school the next day. Everyone in this class is invited. The time is ten PM at the outdoor swimming area by the garden."

The classroom erupted into excited whispers as most of the students stood there eyeing me in disdain. The announcement had stunned me into silence. I could only stare at Marcus with surprise.

The only birthday I’d ever celebrated was my fifteenth, and it was a small event with mostly Slater and his family present. I’d never celebrated my birthday. My father thought it was a waste of resources, especially for someone like me.

A birthday party for someone like me by someone like Marcus? I didn’t know what to think.

"Attendance would be taken," Marcus continued, addressing my class. "I expect to see everyone there. No exceptions."

I followed his gaze to see that they were fixed on Rhett, who had his feet on his desk, idly pressing his phone; he hadn’t even bothered to look at Marcus, who seemed angry at his attitude.

Marcus then turned back to look at me one final time, his expression still unreadable. Without saying another word to me, no explanation, or discussion. No asking me if the party he was throwing was something I wanted—he walked out of the classroom, leaving me standing there confused.

As soon as he was gone, I slowly sank back into my chair, my mind reeling with a thousand questions. A few of my classmates rushed to my desk.

"Will there be girls from Ebonvale attending the party?" one boy asked. He was Eddie, and he had a bourgeois glass that kept slipping to the bridge of his nose.

" I-I don’t know," I shook my head. "I didn’t even know he would be throwing me a party," I said truthfully.

"You’re so lucky, Eamon," another boy sighed wistfully. "Your brother is the Beta Prime, you’re friends with the First-Year coordinator and friends with the Student President, you must be working overtime."

The small crowd by my desk burst into laughter, that was when I realized what they truly meant. I lowered my face, feeling my ears turn red in embarrassment.

"Tell me, do you get these favours by kissing them or..."

A pair of white sneakers that were unmistakably Rhett’s landed on the head of the boy who was asking the question, and he screamed in pain. When he turned, eyes brimming with fury, Rhett was standing a few feet from us, both hands tucked into his pockets as he glared at the boy.

"What did you do that for?" the boy asked, straightening and walking to Rhett. "Is he your boyfriend too?"

"Yes!" Rhett replied, taking a step towards the boy and pinning him with a cold gaze. "What are you going to do about it? If you want to stay in this school until the end of this school session, stay away from Eamon. Did you hear?"

The boy bowed his head fearfully, his gaze flitting from me to Rhett and back to Rhett. "I’m sorry," he said after a few minutes with a forced lightness in his tone. "I was just trying to—"

The boy didn’t finish his explanation before Rhett shoved him out of the way and walked up to my seat, then reached for his sneakers, which I had picked from the ground and dropped on my desk.

He picked it up and slipped it on his foot, then turned to me and said in a quiet tone.

"Come with me."

Then turned and started moving towards the door.

I wanted to stay back, but when I looked back, I saw the entire class glaring at me with murderous intent in their gazes. Without being told twice, I scrambled to my feet and hurried after Rhett, who was already at the door of the class.

I walked with Rhett silently until we arrived at the student’s car park. He opened his car and motioned for me to come closer. When I did, there was a box there, and he pointed at it.

"That’s yours," he said quietly.

"Mine?" I stuttered. "What is inside?"

Rhett turned, staring at me fully for the first time in weeks. "I think Marcus suspects you’re a girl. The birthday party by the swimming pool is a trap. No one had ever held a birthday party there."

"Oh!" I nodded, frowning, trying to grasp what he meant.

He sighed tiredly, rolling his eyes. "They might try to push you into the pool, no matter what binding you used to hide you—" his eyes strayed to my chest, and I felt my cheeks turn red at what he meant. "When you’re wet, everyone would see your outline and who knows what Marcus intends to do with that information."

The thought of being exposed in front of everyone made my heart race with fear. "W-what do I do?" I asked, fighting the panic that had welled up in me.

Rhett looked at me for a few seconds and brought out the box from the car, closing the trunk, and shoving the box into my hand.

"That’s a wearable skin, designed according to your skin tone and looks too good to be true. I had it designed specifically by a lab abroad, so it’s the real deal. It clings to your skin as soon as you put it on. Wear that before you come to the party tonight."