CHAPTER 139: LUNCHTIME DRAMA

Pierre reached out his hand to Eirin. "Come on. Let’s eat. Your stomach is going to start protesting again if you don’t."

Eirin could feel the embarrassment flowing through her whole body as her face turned a fiery red, a hot, liquid shame that made her want to disappear. She went back to her chair, her movements slow and deliberate, wondering why she had done such a ridiculous, childish thing. Her mind was so consumed with the image of Shade, of his presence, of his sudden, sharp gaze, that she couldn’t hide it.

"What are you doing?"

The voice, a low, smooth, and utterly familiar sound, came from right behind her.

Eirin flinched, her body a tight, tense thing, and dropped her spoon on the ground with a loud, clattering sound. She slowly turned around, her gaze meeting the intense, dark eyes of Shade Cromwell, who had appeared behind her as if he were a ghost.

"Hi! Shade and Naya," Pierre greeted the two, a wide, genuine smile on his face that was completely oblivious to the thick, tense atmosphere. "Why don’t you guys sit with us?" He stood from his chair and, with a welcoming gesture, moved to sit beside Eirin, vacating the seats in front of them.

Naya smiled before speaking. "Oh, we aren’t going to—"

Shade cut her off, a sharp, decisive motion of his hand. He sat down in front of Eirin, his presence a heavy, undeniable weight, and Naya, her graceful movements a silent, elegant protest, sat beside him.

"We’ll take the offer," Shade said, his voice a low, commanding murmur. He held his sandwich and cola in one hand, his posture relaxed, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

Naya’s forehead creased in a subtle, beautiful frown as she stared at Shade, her mind a frantic, confused mess. She knew how much Shade hated eating inside the cafeteria because of the noise and the crowds. He would rather eat in his dorm room, in a dark, quiet corner of the library, or anywhere that was not filled with people. But he sat there now, in the middle of it all, as if it was nothing, as if the noise didn’t bother him, as if the whispers didn’t reach him. The realization of why he was there, a deep, gut-wrenching pain, was a cold, sharp blade to her heart.

Naya’s grip on her can of orange juice tightened, her knuckles a white contrast to her pale skin. She sat beside Shade, trying to mask the hurt she was feeling, trying to pretend that this was all a part of a casual, friendly encounter. Her gaze landed on Eirin, but Eirin kept stealing glances at Shade, as if he was the only one she could see, as if Naya, a beautiful, powerful girl who had been by his side for years, was just an invisible, meaningless ghost.

"So, what are you guys up to?" Pierre asked, a gentle, easy light in his eyes. He didn’t seem to notice the silent tension between them.

Naya and Eirin could hear the girls all around the cafeteria, squealing at the sight of Pierre, at the sight of the four of them, sitting together, a group that was as beautiful as it was impossible.

"Did Ms. Hockenbury decide which mission she’ll give you guys?"

Naya sat there in silence, her body a still, tense thing, as if she had no plan of answering Pierre’s question at all. Shade was the same, a cold, unreadable mask on his face. The sight of the two sitting side by side, their silence a powerful bond, made Eirin agree that they do suit one another.

They had the same apathetic, detached aura, the same quiet, brooding intensity. They looked like a perfect picture of a couple from a teen-romance novel that Eirin would definitely read, an attractive and intense image of a dark, brooding boy and a beautiful, graceful girl.

"What kind of mission is it?" Eirin asked, her voice a small, hesitant whisper, a sudden, desperate urge to break the suffocating silence.

The moment Eirin spoke, Shade immediately answered, as if it was automatic for him to do, as if her voice was a command he had to follow without question.

"Just easy stuff. A simple, fast operation with the Black Star. Nothing to worry about."

Naya winced, a small, involuntary twitch of her lips. She tried to swallow her bread that she couldn’t taste any longer, a dry, tasteless clump in her throat. She wished that she could just leave that place, wished that she could disappear and not have to witness this scene. But she didn’t want to either. She couldn’t, not when Shade was there, not when the unspoken pain in her heart was a raw, aching thing that was begging to be acknowledged.

Naya’s eyes landed on Pierre after noticing how he kept taking care of Eirin, a gentle and selfless affection that was the opposite of the cold, distant aura of Shade. It exceeds the usual care he showed for his friends.

Something dark bubbled inside Naya’s head and made her mutter out words she usually does not say.

"Are you two dating?"

"What?"

Eirin and Shade asked back at the same time, their voices a surprised, disbelieving chorus.

Naya frowned after hearing the two. "Why are you the one reacting?" She turned to Shade with a suspicious, knowing look in her eyes.

Shade rolled his eyes while clearing his throat, a familiar, dismissive gesture, but a small, faint smile touched his lips as he stared at Eirin again, his dark eyes an unreadable abyss.

"Oh, were you asking about Eirin and me?" Pierre smiled, a gentle, easy light in his eyes, as he continued giving Eirin food, his movements a constant, loving rhythm. "We’re not like that. We’re just friends."

Naya raised an eyebrow as a small, triumphant smile formed on her face. She could feel the atmosphere surrounding Shade, a heavy weight that was a sure sign of his anger, and she knew her questions were pissing him off.

’But that wouldn’t stop me,’ Naya thought, a small victorious smirk on her lips. She had to know. She had to know if this girl was just a passing fancy or if she was a new kind of threat.

"It’s the first time I’ve seen you taking care of another girl who’s not your sister, Pierre. Do you like Eirin that much?" Naya asked, her gaze fixed on Pierre, her eyes sharp and probing.

Eirin was taken aback by Naya’s question. She never expected Naya, the gentle and timid she had come to know, to act like that, to be so direct, so... predatory, although they had a rough start, she still saw her as a kind person.

Pierre smiled, a genuine smile that reached his bright, beautiful blue eyes. "I do. I like Eirin. She’s amazing."

Eirin’s eyes widened, shock on her face, and Naya blinked lots of times, a rare moment of stunned disbelief. "Whoa, that’s unexpected. I thought you would just brush it off." Naya’s eyes then landed on Eirin, her gaze a sharp, unreadable thing. "What about you, Eirin Luxfield? Do you like him too?"

Eirin gulped; the food in her mouth suddenly became tasteless. She doesn’t understand why Naya was asking her such a question, in the middle of eating, too, in the middle of a tense silence that was a testament to the unspoken emotions in the room.

"I—"

"Oh! It’s Eirin!"

A new voice, a loud, joyful sound, called out to her, and Eirin’s attention was caught by Trixtan after he called her name.

"Oh? What a weird combination," Trixtan added, a playful confused look on his face after noticing Pierre, Shade, and Naya sitting together.

Sapphire, with a bright, beautiful smile on her face, bumped into Trixtan’s back and peeked, her eyes sparkling with excitement after seeing the people sitting on one table, a beautiful reunion of old friends.

"Can we sit with you guys?" Sapphire asked, her voice a sweet, innocent plea, as she pulled Trixtan’s arm, her body leaning closer to her brother, her eyes filled with hope.

And that’s how they ended up all sitting together, a large, chaotic, and impossible group of friends, with a heavy and awkward atmosphere enveloping them. The silence, though broken by the new voices, was now filled with a new kind of tension, a quiet, subtle hum.

The atmosphere was so thick with unspoken tension that it made Eirin uncomfortable. Every gaze from the people at the table felt like a physical weight, a suffocating pressure that made her food taste like ash. Her appetite, which had been so strong just moments before, vanished, and she couldn’t continue eating. She simply sat there, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, a miserable knot in her stomach.

"What’s wrong, Ei?"

Trixtan’s voice, a soft, concerned murmur, cut through the noise. He sat beside Eirin and placed his tray of food in front of him. He had also decided to start calling Eirin by her nickname, copying Coleen, a small, intimate gesture of new friendship.

Trixtan noticed her untouched food and the tense, uncomfortable line of her body. "Is the food not to your liking?" he asked as he picked up his spoon and fork, but he soon realized the source of her discomfort. His gaze landed on the man sitting right in front of Eirin, a cold, intense stare that was fixed on her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Dude, why are you staring at her like that? Do you want her to melt or something?"