Serene’s POV

He looked at me with those burning red eyes of his, they were as much angry as they were sad. Mostly, I can’t read his expressions or he seldom looks me in the eyes. But, today he was burning me with his gaze. His lips were making a thin red line and his red hair was dishevelled.

"Arlo, glad you are here." Ayrden smiled at him.

"Yes, Ralph said you needed me for something." He said dryly not taking his eyes off me.

" Oh! Yes. I wanted to talk to Mikasim but you know he is mostly with Tanzil and she doesn’t let any girl near him. So, could you deliver a message to him to meet me here today?"

"Ok," He replied calmly moving his hair out of his eyes as he crossed his arms and stood in front of me, making me feel extremely nervous.

"Umm, so how have you been?" Ayrden asked him awkwardly looking at me and then him.

"Ayrden, can you give me some time alone with Serene? I need to talk to her." He asked her in a soft voice.

"Oh, yes, sure sure. I already have some homework to catch up on. Serene, will you be alright?" She looked at me nervously. Before, I could say anything Arlo spoke.

"I won’t hurt her, unlike some other members of our team." his voice filled with sarcasm.

"Alright, I will get going then." Ayrden looked at us one last time and left. Arlo followed her and bolted the door. My heart began to thud. "Don’t worry, I won’t bite."

He spoke while turning towards me. I was standing by the wall close to the door. He came and stood right in front of me only inches apart and bore his eyes into mine.

"I came to the party last night, but you seemed to be having a good time with him so I left. I thought he would make you happy. Because your heart longs for him. I have known this since the beginning. The way your heartbeat changes whenever he is near. The way you look at him and can’t take your eyes off him. But, he hurt you." He placed his hands on my cheeks. "And, he made you cry. I won’t let him hurt you again. I am sorry, I wasn’t there."

His voice was soft as a whisper. My heart was going mad. Why did he have to stand so near to me?

"I don’t need anyone’s protection, Arlo. I can take care of myself and my feelings are mine. You have no right to spy on me or tell me how I feel towards someone." I told him defiantly.

"Do you have proper control over your feelings, Serene? Tell me the truth." He moved even closer and removed his hands from my cheek and placed them on the wall. "No," I tried to look away from his prying eyes. "Do you think anyone has control over whom they fall in love with? If it was in your control, would you have chosen Zeph?" He asked a bit agitated.

"What’s with these questions, Arlo? I am already not having a good day, please stop making it miserable." I whispered as a sob escaped me.

He sighed and removed his hands and took a step back." It’s not my intention to make you feel miserable or hurt. I would never do that. All I was trying to say is I, have strong feelings for you too. I have tried to control them telling myself I am not good enough for you. Your smell intoxicates me to a level I can’t even explain. I want to look at your smile the whole day. I could never muster up the courage to talk to you because I believed you were on a whole other level. I, just wanted you to be happy and I felt you were happiest with him. But, I won’t stand at a distance and see you cry."

He bowed his head with these words.

My mouth hung open at his words. Ayrden had told me that she thought Arlo had a crush on me, but I thought he was just being a supportive friend. I wasn’t aware I had been causing him so much pain.

"Arlo, I am so sorry. I had no clue I was causing you so much pain. I am really sorry." Tears spilt from my eyes as I covered my face with my hands.

He moved closer and embraced me. I didn’t stop him, I didn’t want to stop him. Maybe I should, because what good unrequited love would bring. I didn’t have such deep feelings for him. I hardly knew him. But, in that instant all I wanted to do was hug him, melt in his arms, and be comforted or maybe comfort him. I moved my hands to his waist, while he brought one hand under my chin and tilted it up making me look into his eyes. While he brushed away my tears with others.

" Don’t cry, everything will be alright. I will make sure of it. You will get him back if that’s what you want. But, if he keeps making you sad. I will kill him. " His gaze was so intense as were his words. He then brushed his lips lightly on my forehead before letting me go. I dropped my hands to my side.

He took my right hand in his: " I promise you, as long as you and I breathe, I will watch over you. You are so beautiful inside out, you don’t even know how special you are especially to me. "

"Arlo, please stop." I placed my left hand on his face and he closed his eyes. We stood there for what felt like an eternity without speaking. He didn’t say a word after that.

"I have to go now, kindly get that message to Mikasim." I asked him softly.

He opened his eyes and said reassuringly: "I will, let me walk you." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Ok," I replied. He left me near the staircase of the girls’ dorms. As he began to leave I called out to him: "Arlo, thank you." I tried to smile at him hoping he would smile too.

But, he didn’t. His mind was engrossed and he was still angry at Zeph. He nodded at me and then left.