CHAPTER 271: 271-THEY ARE SLIPPING AWAY

Clementine:

"What?" they all said almost in unison.

"I need to speak with you guys about her. Can we please leave this place? I know she’ll come out, and it’ll be so awkward that our conversation will die in a few seconds," I said, asking them to talk about it somewhere she wouldn’t be around.

"Okay," Troy replied, scratching the back of his head.

"I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re with you, okay?" Haiden added as he gently placed his hand on my shoulder, giving it a light pat.

I was glad they understood. By the time she walked out, we had all gone back to our beds.

The next day, when we woke up, I immediately checked on Oriana. She was acting normally, though I didn’t know why I felt so cautious about her.

After everyone had showered, we were called to breakfast. We expected them to send us into the woods, but they didn’t.

It was a rainy day, and we were told to wear our sweaters and warm clothes.

As we sat together for breakfast, we couldn’t help but exchange glances. Ian sat apart, which didn’t surprise us. But it was Oriana clinging so close that I began to wonder how I would even talk to my friends about her.

"Haiden, can you please pass me that?" Oriana asked, pouting as she extended her hand, trying to look cute while wiggling her fingers, her shoulder raised so high it almost touched her ear.

Her other hand rested in her lap.

"Sure," Haiden replied in the same playful tone, handing her the salt and pepper.

Whenever she spoke with him, he didn’t look at me, and I felt slightly uncomfortable. With others, I could excuse it, thinking she didn’t know what was going on between me and them, but with Haiden, she did.

Almost everyone knew he was my mate. So for her to flirt with him bothered me. You can’t just call yourself someone’s friend and then flirt with their mate right in front of them.

"You know, Haiden, I love your biceps. You’re going to help me work out," she said, giggling with him.

"Really? You don’t know how to work out?" he teased, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I don’t. Why don’t you teach me?" she insisted, pouting.

I stabbed the omelette a little too hard, hoping Haiden would finally notice my discomfort. But it seemed like I was invisible. He carried on.

"I can teach you. Doesn’t my bicep show that I work out too?" Troy teased, rolling up his sleeves to display his muscles.

And she started giggling.

"Of course, anyone can do it," she replied in her cheery little tone, then turned to me.

"Clementine, you have the best squad mates. Thank you so much for introducing me to them and letting me join your friend group." She smiled brightly, happily flirting with my mates.

I didn’t blame her. She was just taking an opportunity. My mates were at fault for encouraging her.

"Anyway, I’m done," I said, finally sliding the plate away. And finally, my squad mates noticed.

"Why, you barely ate anything?" Yorick complained.

Instead of answering, I gave him a look of disappointment, hoping he would understand why I was leaving so early.

"Is it because of me?" Oriana asked. She had the nerve to do that.

However, I refused to act bitter in front of her or give her the satisfaction. I had a bad feeling about what was coming.

I remembered exactly what she had told me back in the North, that if it ever came down to choosing between her and me, they would choose her.

And I had a feeling this was her way of proving it. I could see it in her eyes.

"No, of course not. Why would she leave because of you? She’s the one who made us really befriend you," Troy said before I could respond and I just shrugged.

"See? You have them to answer for me." It was clearly a sarcastic remark, but they didn’t notice.

I stood up and walked out, moving quickly toward my dorm room, grumbling under my breath the whole way.

"Clementine!" I heard someone call. It was Oriana. I turned briefly, expecting the others to be with her, but she had come out alone.

She stopped in front of me, breathing heavily, her mouth still full of food. She must have run halfway through breakfast just to bother me.

"You saw that?" That was the first thing she said, and I clenched my fists.

"So that’s what you were doing, playing with their emotions, making them think you’re their friend," I shot back, reminding her that this wasn’t acceptable.

"I’m just trying to show you," she hissed.

"Please, Oriana, you need to stop doing this. I told you I’m not leaving my friends for you. I hope you understand that. And if you try to play them, or me, you’ll have to face me," I warned, anger slipping through my voice before I realized it.

Maybe it was time she saw I wasn’t blind to her games.

"Fine then. You’re right. We can all be friends instead of just you and me," she hissed, though there was a challenge in her tone. "I’ll finish my breakfast with my friends then."

With a smirk and a bitter tone, she made it clear she wasn’t going to stop.

And as I stood there watching, she walked away, swaying her hips, heading back to sit and eat with my mates.

This time, when I was in the room, my squadmates were the first to come in.

"I need to speak with you about Oriana," I said, instantly getting up from my bed and drawing their attention.

They looked at me and then smiled, almost as if confused by my impatience.

"I’m serious." As soon as I said that, their smiles faded. They finally looked serious.

"Okay, fine. Let’s go have a talk," Troy added, gesturing toward the door.

We began to walk out, and I noticed Oriana heading toward us. Her forehead was furrowed as I led my mates away from her toward the ground.

I saw her trying to follow us, but once we stood in a circle, she stopped and started to walk away. She didn’t completely leave, she just went around the corner. There was no way she could hear us from there.

"What’s going on?" Haiden asked, arms folded over his chest.

"I need you three to stop acting like you don’t know. I’m uncomfortable with all of you acting strangely around her," I said, watching them pout.

Oriana still stood in the distance, hands loosely tied around her stomach, watching us.

"Clementine, don’t you think you’re being too harsh on her?" Yorick asked gently, the first to disagree.