CHAPTER 161: JEALOUSY 2

Andria’s POVi

He then gave us a weird smirk and then turned towards the crowd.

"Thank you all for being here tonight," he said into the mic. His voice came out smooth, that same deep, lazy tone that could easily pass as velvet.

The girls screamed again, and I swear, some of them nearly fainted when he winked.

Aven groaned beside me. "Damon is just ridiculous."

I could feel the tension rising already. I knew this would happen, but Aven is so adamant, and I couldn’t care less.

I tried not to laugh. "You’re just jealous."

He turned to me with a dry look. "Jealous? Am I the jealous one here? I think he is the jealous one, I’ve got our mate beside me."

Damon continued. "I’ve got a song for someone special."

The crowd gasped and whispered, eyes darting around, probably wondering who it was for.

But his gaze was still on me. I froze, staring back before I caught myself and looked away.

Aven noticed instantly. "Who is he looking at?"

"No idea," I lied too fast.

Damon started to sing, and his voice filled the hall like a current of electricity. I could feel goosebumps rise on my skin as he sang.

The crowd was swaying. And yet, even with hundreds of eyes on him, his gaze kept drifting back to me.

I forced a laugh at something Aven said, just to keep things casual, but that only made Damon’s tone shift, and his gaze deepen.

And at that moment, all I could think about was how much those hours in Aven’s apartment had caused me and how I could get my friends to forgive me.

There was sudden calm in the hall as everyone just listened to his voice. Damon was a good singer, I admit; his voice triggered lots of emotions and goosebumps, too.

Then, suddenly, he stopped singing.

He lowered the mic and smiled, straight at me.

"Aria," he said, and my stomach dropped. I turned around and I noticed almost every student’s eyes were on me at that moment.

The entire room gasped, and soon it gave way to whispers. I didn’t enjoy this type of attention.

Beside me, Aven stiffened and then smirked. "He didn’t just..."

"Oh, he did," I muttered.

Damon’s grin widened. "Come on up here."

"What?" I blurted, already shaking my head. "No. Nope. Not happening."

The crowd started chanting my name. "Aria! Aria! Aria!"

Aven muttered a curse under his breath. "He is doing this on purpose."

I glared at the stage. "Of course he is." Aven knew this might happen, but he insisted on parading me. He was inconsiderate of Damon’s feelings, knowing that Damon was also my mate, and now Damon wants to get back at him in his own way.

Although I enjoy the fact that at last these cocky successors now fight for me, I still didn’t want the dilemma it put me into. It feels so heavy, the burden of more than one mate, being swayed by the emotions they evoke, especially with Kaelric and Aven, whom I have consummated with.

"Damon, he knows how to play dirty, " Aven murmured, half rising from his seat.

"Well, I guess that makes you two," I said quickly, forcing a smile. "Because even you don’t play nice."

The cheers grew louder. Damon extended his hand toward me from the stage, that stupid, confident smile never leaving his face.

I sighed and walked onto the stage. Immediately, I got to the stage, and the cheers got louder, but my eyes drifted towards Becca, Michaela, and Mel. They weren’t excited at all; they looked unperturbed.

Damon took my hand and spun me around, and everyone lifted their phone, each trying to capture the moment.

"You really love attention, don’t you?" I whispered as he pulled me towards me after the spin.

He leaned closer, just enough to whisper into my ear. "Only when it gets me this close to you."

I shot him a look. "You are impossible."

He grinned, winking at me. "So I’ve been told."

He started singing again, this time in a softer tone. He sang, and somehow, he made it sound like we were the only two people in the room. Holding my hands and staring into my eyes.

I felt the whole room disappear, and all that was left was the two of us in a garden of peach and cherry blossoms.

I couldn’t look away from him as he sang; it felt like a charm as the bond between us started to radiate.

He started singing a song almost every student was familiar with, raised his brows at me, beckoning me to join him, which I did, and soon the crowd was also singing with us./

The crowd clapped and swayed.

Damon stared hard at me, causing my heart to beat fast. I hated that in this moment, I was excited even though my friendship was at stake.

And just when I wasn’t expecting it, he leaned in and kissed me. His breath was hot against my mouth as he took my lips whole. I couldn’t tell who was a better kisser between Aven and Damon. But I knew that while Aven’s kiss felt intimate, Damon’s kiss felt hot.

My whole body felt so hot, my nerves and Athena, they all seemed to secrete the horny feromones. I wanted this to stop, and also didn’t want it to stop.

The crowd screamed. Cameras flashed, and some were clapping.

When I finally pulled back, I was breathless, my heart slamming against my ribs. I tried taking slow breaths until I steadied my breathing.

"You have succeeded in putting up a good show, Damon. I could call it the highlight of the day, Kissing booth and talent, all in one," I whispered in his ear.

He chuckled. My eyes turned towards the spot where Aven had sat, and I noticed he wasn’t there. I scanned the room for him, then spotted him moving towards the exit.

He wasn’t going to wait to hear the result of the talent show; my chest tightened instantly. He must have been so pissed off, but why would he?.

I turned back to Damon, and he was grinning mischievously.

I looked towards the spot where Becca, Mel and Michaela had been sitting, and they were gone. My heart sank.

I hurried off the stage instantly, leaving a baffled Damon. I rushed into the crowd, passing rows and columns and dashing towards the exit.

I hoped they hadn’t gone too far, to their apartments. But when I got outside, I couldn’t see them anywhere.

I turned back and headed backstage, where the other council members were. Today should be my worst day and still my best day in Ashwood.

When I reached backstage, Jason and Macy turned to look at me in uniform, each with a mixed expression.

I wasn’t sure whether to scream or laugh. Maybe both, so I just looked at them and took a seat beside them.

The talent-hunt judges we had picked were preparing their results, and anticipation hung in the air as Allison took the stage to announce them.

Macy turned to look at me. "Where have you been, Ari?. I mean, you just disappeared, and the next thing I see is you on stage. My goodness," she whispered dramatically,

"You actually kissed him on stage, in front of literally everyone. Aria, that was even more bold than I thought you to be with things like that."

"Not intentional," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Intentional or not, you’ve basically set the academy’s gossip line on fire," she said, grinning way too much for someone watching her friend spiral. "Half of the females in this hall are ready to fight you. The other half probably wants to be you."

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Macy, please don’t make this worse. Besides, they already know Damon is my mate."

She shrugged innocently. "And if they weren’t previously aware, he has made it known. I mean, you and Damon just broke the record for the most replayed moment in Ashwood history. I was actually expecting Aven to storm off the way he did, because if he didn’t, I would eat my shoe."

"Great," I muttered. "So everyone saw me ruin my friendships and piss off one of my mates all in one move to entertain them. Maybe I should get a trophy. This isn’t helping."

Macy tilted her head, studying me. "Okay, sarcasm noted. But seriously, what happened out there? You looked happy and out of this world. Like you weren’t thinking, just feeling," she paused and then asked. "Is that how having a mate feels like?"

That was the problem, I was in a dilemma, I haven’t been as confused as I was today in my entire life. I was torn between staying in the same seat as Aven and ignoring Damon.

But then I would have ruined his performance, and that wouldn’t be nice, even to their friendship.

"I don’t know what happened," I said softly, running my fingers through my hair. "It just happened, Damon took me by surprise. I wasn’t just feeling; I was actually surprised."

Macy gave me a look. "You kissed him back, Ari."