Chapter 14: Knight In Shinning Armour

Arabella's POV

Hand in hand, Erika and I both made our way to the school's front yard where our transportation was currently waiting along with the other students from our classroom surrounding Mrs. Grot. By the time we arrived, she was currently taking roll call, just in time for my name to be mentioned.

"There is in fact a sitting arrangement on the transit for various amount of reasons that I won't disclose with any of you. As soon as you hear your names please take a seat beside your riding partner. Aaron Herondaé you're partnered up with Erika Simpson."

"Ace Payne and Max Kepler, Arabella Smith and Tyler Hart."

Excuse me?!

I swallowed the bile in my throat, my mind drifting off to the occurrence in the elevator ten minutes ago. Out of instinct I searched for Tyler in the crowd, only to see his back faced away from me as he surrounded himself with Ace and two other guys I've never seen before.

Normally I'd already catch him smirking at me and I could bet my life on the fact that he knew I'd search for his gaze, he was purposely turned away from me. Maybe it's because I saw him in his weakest point, apparently he never shows any signs of fear and vulnerability, I caught him in an inevitable spot, if he didn't portray it he's probably lose his mind.

"Oh, I'm paired up with a total hottie," Erika snapped me out of my thoughts, nudging me in the arm softly as she motioned towards one of the guys standing beside Tyler. I didn't ask her how she knew it was him since we barely know anyone in this class but instead I took in his features, a small smile curving on my lips.

He was mid height, not too tall, not too short for a guy. Blonde hair cascaded down his face, blocking my view from his eyes but I could still see his defined jawline, his pink lips glistening in the sunlight, pulled into a smile as he reacted to something Ace said. My lips moved with his and I once again found myself being mesmerized by a guy.

"I'm guessing you think he's cute too. . ." Erika trailed off. I cleared my throat and averted my eyes from his, letting it fall onto her face which was held with a very judging stare. "What? so now I can't think other guys are attractive?"

"No, no. I'm not saying anything. Look at this on though, the one standing next to Tyler. He's an eye candy." I trailed my eyes towards them once again and caught the gaze of the other mysterious guy. Tall, maybe six feet. Brown hair trailed past his shoulders, a hint of blonde mixed within it, also glistening in the sunlight. He looked like a young Leonardo DiCaprio, handsome to say the least. He really was a catch.

"Hey, earth to Bella. The bus is loading, let's go."

I followed Erika onto the bus, the air conditioning immediately enveloped my body. All the heat from the weather and possibly from something else seemed to dial down as the coolness seeped through my bones. Mrs Grot motioned towards the very back of the bus, motioning towards an empty seat in which Tyler and I will occupy in 0.15 seconds.

With a huff I shoved my bag into the compartment above my head and slumped down onto the seat. Erika settled in the seat before me, bickering with Mrs Grot on where she preferred to seat to which she was immediately shut down.

Tyler soon made an appearance, his super model friends trailing behind him, all looking less tense and upset than he did. He avoided eye contact with me and shoved his bags into the compartment before sealing it shut and lowering himself onto the seat beside me.

Ace sat across us with Leonardo DiCaprio, and Blondie sat beside Erika who flashed him a flirtatious smile.

"Will you look at that? Tyler and Bella sitting in a tree—"

“—K.I.S.S and you'll meet my fist." Erika sing sang in response to Ace, who glowered at her in response. He flashed me a smirk and averted his eyes towards Tyler who grumbled, his arms folded before him as he deepened his scowl.

"Arabella huh." Blondie mumbled as he turned around to face me, he draped his arm over the seat and sent me an inviting smile, his eyes which were now visible to me glistened when they interlocked with mine and for a sheer moment I found myself smiling until Tyler's monotone voice broke our gazes.

"Yeah don't think about it, Aaron." He grumbled. I pursed my lips in a thin line and snapped my head towards him, preparing to swear his ears off before Max's voice broke through the tension. "Arabella? The girl who drives Tyler crazy?" Max suddenly, I glanced at him and faintly smiled–not genuine but annoyance since he basically added fuel to the already blazing fire. "I might just steal you from him because he's wasting his time," he winked.

"Would you look at that." Erika chuckled, her brows wiggling towards me as she motioned towards the boys who were no doubt seconds away from having a brawl. "Don't you know when you steal you get punished. I'll break your jaw, that's for sure," Tyler exclaimed threateningly as he leaned forward, his eyes penetrating through Max's head.

Anger suddenly began to boil beneath my burning skin, Tyler was no doubt beginning to grind my gears and I was certainly fed up with his constant mood swings. "Is she a dog? You don't own her." Aaron snapped as he leaned into Tyler's face, his brows arched in question.

"No, she's not a dog. She's Arabella Smith, someone that you assholes are gonna stay far away from because that won't make Tyler happy now would it?" Tyler said in monotone. I was stunned, on the edge of my seat ready to add my opinion into a conversation that was about me but very not discreetly excluded me.

"What's the purpose of fighting for this slut anyway, she's not worth any of your time so get on with your lives if you know what's good for you boys." An unknown voice spoke up from behind me. Everyone including myself turned towards her as she leaned over her seat, her eyes glared directly at my head.

You've got to be kidding me.