“What is it that ails you, señorita?” The boy asked while Lilian gawked at his attire. He seemed rather oblivious to the “wtf?” look on her face.
“Wha…?”
“Ah, forgive me. I have not even introduced myself.”
The strange pompadour boy bowed formally from the waist, like one might expect from a prince asking a princess to dance with him.
With this guy, it just looked dumb. As he bent forward, that ridiculously large hair bounced and flopped as he moved, wiggling like jello on his head. It even made a sound that, if it were put into words, would read something like boiyoiyoiyoing.
It was one of the creepiest things Lilian had ever seen, easily reaching the top ten most disturbing things she’d laid eyes on. Even Nue would be afraid of that hair.
“My name is Juan Martinez Villanueva Cortes.”
Wow, that was a really long name. And did he have two last names or was she just hearing things?
“And what is your name, my beautiful señorita?”
“Um…” Lilian found herself hesitating under this boy's intense stare. It was kind of unnerving. “… Lilian?”
“Lilian,” Juan breathed in the name deeply, his nostrils flaring. Lilian tried taking a step back, horrified, but the creeper knelt down on one knee and grabbed her hand before she could get too far. “Such a lovely name for such a beautiful, young flor.”
Lilian twitched. Did this guy just call her flour? As in that stuff she used to bake? How rude.
“Now.” The strange boy with the weird hair began stroking the back of her hand. Lilian shivered in revulsion. “Why don't you tell me what ails you?”
Quickly jerking her hand out of Juan's, Lilian glared at the boy. “Why would I tell you anything? I don't even know you!”
“But I just introduced myself, si?” Juan's expression became puzzled, like he didn't understand why Lilian was getting so upset at him.
“That's not enough to say that you know someone!”
“It is not?”
“No,” Lilian's voice was clipped as she spoke. “It's not. I don't know anything about you other than your name, and that's not enough for me to say I know you.” She tilted her head, then frowned as she added, “And why are you even talking to me? You don't know me.”
“Ah, but that is where you are wrong my lovely azucena.”
Lilian wrinkled her nose in disgust at this new nickname. She didn't know what azucena meant, but she doubted it was good. He had just called her flour seconds before, after all. And why wasn't her ability to understand any language spoken kicking in yet?
“I know much about you,” Juan restarted his spiel, “Long have I watched you from afar, admiring your beauty.” This guy had been watching her? What the hell? “However, it is only now that I have had a chance to speak with you.”
“Okay. One, that's just creepy,” Lilian told him bluntly. “And two, I don't want to talk to you, so you might as well stop while you're ahead.”
“Come now, la flor silvestre.”
“And there you go calling me flour again!”
“There is no need to be shy,” Juan continued, completely ignoring everything she said. It was really beginning to piss her off.
Now you know how Kevin feels.
“Shut up!”
“Now, now,” Juan spoke in a soothing tone. “There is no need for such harsh words. I am only here to help you.”
“I wasn't talking to you!” Lilian snapped. Juan blinked, once.
“Then who were you talking to?”
“No one,” Lilian replied sullenly, “None of your business.”
Juan looked at her for several more seconds, then shrugged and began advancing on her again. Lilian glowered at the boy who tried closing the distance between them. She took a step back, but this did not deter him in the least. He continued stalking toward her, until soon, her back was pressed against the wall and he was right in front of her. He placed his hands against the wall on either side of her head, keeping her pinned in place.
His face, just inches away from hers, had the young two-tails wrinkling her nose in abhorrence.
“I understand that you are intimidated by my magnificence, but you need not worry. Your beauty easily stands on par with my own masculino.”
Lilian was forced to stare into the boy's eyes, which she noted were a very dark black that clashed horribly with his bright blond hair. What was with that hair, anyway? It looked like it was alive. Sentient hair? What the hell?
In either event, she was beginning to seriously consider going kitsune on this boy, and smacking him with her youki-infused tails.
“Lilian? Who is this?”
“Beloved!” Lilian ducked under the strange boy’s arm, darted around him, and hurried toward her mate. Kevin only had enough time for his eyes to widen before she collided with him. A second after that, her lips were on his, kissing him hard.
“D-dang it, Lilian! W-what are you doing?!” Kevin hissed as he pulled his mouth away from Lilian, who whined petulantly at the loss. Why must her mate be so stubborn when she was trying to show him her love? Couldn't he see that she had to let the creepy boy know she was taken?
Deciding that she had not gotten nearly enough from that short kiss―which should have lasted much longer and involved a lot more tongue, as far as she was concerned―Lilian began placing tiny, butterfly kisses along her mate's jaw, smiling when his body shivered against hers. He may be resistant to her charms, but he certainly wasn't immune.
“W-would you stop that!” Kevin grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away. Lilian frowned, but complied. She didn't want to make him angry. “What's gotten into you?”
“What do you mean?” Lilian asked, confused.
“I told you not to get all kissy and stuff, especially when we're in public.” Kevin tried to sound patient. Tried, because he failed and his exasperation rang clearly in his voice.
Lilian ignored the tone in his voice, naturally; she had a lot of practice doing just that.
“No, you just said not to be so open with my affection in public. Not to stop entirely,” Lilian corrected him. He’d told her that a few days after she had joined him at school. She didn't see why, especially when she needed to ensure that any hussies encroaching on her territory knew that Kevin was taken, but she listened nonetheless. Her mate had requested it, and she would do as he asked.
“Right, I did say that, didn't I?” Kevin gave a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah, well, we're in public now, so you need to tone it down.”
“Yeah, but it's after school,” Lilian pointed out. “There aren't that many people around anymore, so it shouldn’t matter if we get up to anything naughty, ufufufu…”
“Doesn't matter.” Kevin shook his head. He couldn't believe they were having this conversation. “We're on school grounds. Besides, what about him?” Lilian looked over to where Kevin was pointing, scowled, then turned back to look at him, her hair whirling like wisps of fire.
“Who cares about him?” She declared angrily. Kevin looked perplexed by her vexation. He’d never seen her this angry before. Naturally, he was a tad confused about why she was acting so choleric toward the boy in the weird outfit.
He opened his mouth, but didn’t get a chance to say anything, because another voice spoke up first.
“So you are Kevin Sweeft.”
Kevin and Lilian turned to look at Juan, who stared at the athletic young man with an expression that disconcerted the pair. It wasn't necessarily a piercing expression, but it unsettled them nonetheless.
“I have to admit, I expected someone a bit more… .” The boy with the super-sized hair sniffed derisively, “… impressive.” A vein pulsed on Kevin's forehead as Juan continued. “You are just a tweeg.”
“Yeah, well, sorry for not meeting your expectations.” Kevin rolled his eyes. Why did everyone think that just because he was thin, it meant he was some kind of eighty pound weakling? He might not be one of those star quarterbacks, but all that me
at on his bones was pure muscle. Besides, this boy was even thinner than him. “And just who are you anyway?”
“I am―”
“Nobody cares who you are,” Lilian snapped in a surprisingly rude voice. Kevin stared at her in shock. There were a number of times when she had been somewhat hostile―usually when Lindsay was around―but even then she’d never been this rude.
Just what had this boy done to piss her off so much?
Lilian grabbed Kevin by the arm and began yanking him along behind her. “Let's go home, Beloved. I want to spend more quality time with you. Alone.”
The way she said that made shivers run down Kevin's spine. Call it a hunch, but he didn't think being alone with her right now would be very good for his health.
***
Juan Martinez Vallenueva Cortes smirked as he watched Lilian drag the young man away.
“That did not go as expected.”
Not that he had really known what to expect. Lilian was like a whirlwind. She had appeared in this school out of nowhere and took it by storm, which was actually the reason he was so interested in her. Well, one of the reasons he was interested in her. The other had to do with his job, but he figured that mixing duty and pleasure wouldn't hurt, just so long as he accomplished the tasks assigned to him.
“Then again, the chase is the most exhilarating part of catching any prey.” And he would catch her. Juan Martinez Vallenueva Cortes always caught his prey in the end!
“Dammit! Someone stole our matador outfit again!”
Juan heard shouting from a nearby door that led to the theater.
“I bet you it was that Juan Pompadour guy!”
“Let's show him what happens when you steal our costumes!”
“Hm, I suppose zees would be a good time to make my exit,” Juan mumbled before bolting from the building like a bat out of hell. Good thing too, because mere seconds later, the theater doors burst open and a horde of angry thespians ran into the hallway.
Juan was still wearing the matador costume when he left the building.
***
“Are you going to tell me what that was all about?” Kevin asked. Lilian let go of his arm and allowed him to walk next to her.
“It was nothing,” she said, turning her head away at the flat look Kevin gave her.
“That was most definitely not nothing.”
“That guy was just creeping me out. He kept on calling me flour, and I think he was trying to ask me on a date or something, despite the fact that I'm already taken.”
“Flour?” Kevin blinked. “You mean that stuff we use to bake with?”
“Yeah. Can you believe his nerve?” Lilian huffed. “I can't believe he called me that, and then to ask me on a date afterward. I swear, some people just don't seem to understand that I'm not interested in them.”
“You don't say…” Kevin felt there was a certain irony to that statement, but chose to ignore it. “So, if you didn't want him hitting on you, why didn't you just, you know, use an enchantment to make him leave?”
“I did.” Lilian scowled, her nose scrunching up in a rather adorable expression of frustration and bafflement. “It didn't work.”
Kevin almost stumbled, but caught himself at the last second. “It… didn't work?” He looked at the young woman beside him, shocked.
“Don’t you remember what I told you? If a person is stubborn enough, they can resist an enchantment,” Lilian said. “I'm guessing that pompadour guy was just really determined to date me, and his desire was strong enough to override my enchantment.” She shrugged. “I can't imagine why he would want to date me, though.”
Kevin could.
“Besides,” she hugged his arm to her chest, pushing it between her two heavenly mounds. “I'm already taken.”
“You're really not going to let this go, are you?” Kevin said, sounding resigned.
“What do you mean, Beloved? Let what go?”
As Lilian gave Kevin a genuinely confused look, the young man sighed and let his shoulders slump.
“Nothing. Let's just go home.”
“Okay.”
***
As Kevin and Lilian left the school, neither realized that they were being followed. Their pursuer had grown suspicious of the red-haired girl. She had also become very disgruntled by the sexually overcharged female's sudden appearance and disruption of her class. Worse still, that vile redhead had somehow managed to ensnare one of the students!
Ms. Vis had known there was something unusual about that red-haired female from the moment she had laid eyes on her… okay, so maybe she had only begun suspecting something after the pair had served detention with her, but that was neither here nor there.
Ms. Vis still didn't know what happened during that detention exactly one week and two days ago. The only thing she remained certain of was that they had managed somehow to skip out without her knowledge. Even worse, she knew they had come to serve detention, yet still managed to give her the slip.
She did not remember what transpired after assigning them a punishment. The last thing she recalled was a pair of bright green orbs, and then nothing. She had woken up several hours later, asleep on her desk, in the middle of the night, with no memory of what happened, and not a single clue as to why she was still in her classroom.
Something had obviously happened, and seeing as the last person she had interacted with was Lilian Pnév̱ma, that something had to be her. That infuriating girl with long red hair; there was something odd about that girl, and Ms. Vis was going to find out what. It was her duty as a teacher.
She had been sitting in her car ever since school let out. Ms. Vis knew that Mr. Swift and that girl would stay for an extra two hours after school. She had followed them to the track field every day since they had duped her.
Ah! B-but it wasn't like she was stalking them or anything. It was… it was… research! Yes, research. It was important to learn more about the girl―students!―the two students who had managed to evade punishment. She couldn’t allow them to get away with disrupting her class like that. They needed to learn discipline.
It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they had somehow managed to befuddle her and escape detention. Not at all. And she certainly wasn’t following them in the hopes of learning something that would give her leverage over them. Of course not. This was about teaching them right from wrong. It was about learning responsibility.
Nodding to herself, Ms. Vis reaffirmed her belief in the righteousness of her cause. She was doing this for their own good.
It was September, so the air was a bit chillier than it had been, as she waited in her little Toyota Corolla. Her car was parked near the school entrance, where she knew Mr. Swift and that girl arrived and left on his bike.
She had entertained the idea of waiting in the teacher’s lounge, but thought better of it. What if they decided to leave early? She could miss them, which would be unacceptable.
And so, Ms. Vis had staked out the school entrance in her car for two and a half hours. She knew they usually stayed at the track field until four-thirty, but there was never any guarantee that this would always be the case. For all she knew, Mr. Swift's coach might decide to let practice off early, and then she’d miss her chance to stalk―follow them, and gather more dirt.
Mr. Swift and the girl eventually showed up. As the pair came into sight, a prominent scowl marred her face. They were walking far too close for her liking. That girl was holding Mr. Swift's arm to her chest as they walked, hugging the appendage so close that it was literally smashed between her cleavage!
H-how shameless! This girl was far too shameless!
Starting her car as Mr. Swift and that girl left on his bike, Ms. Vis followed them, maintaining a good distance from the pair so as not to arouse suspicion.
She studiously ignored the many cars honking at her as she drove twenty miles below the speed limit. Such things did not concern her. Didn't these people realize that the education of her student was on t
he line?!
Kevin and Lilian appeared blissfully unaware of the long line of honking cars several hundred meters back. It may have been due to their conversation.
“Ne, ne, Beloved, have you ever wondered what it would be like to have sex on a bike?”
Kevin nearly crashed his bike into a potted cactus.
“W-w-what the heck are you saying?! Of course not!”
As she watched the pair, she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose in disgust. That girl was draping herself over Ms. Swift like some kind of scarlet woman, and the way she nuzzled the back of his neck with her nose… it just wasn’t acceptable! Unacceptable! Such vile acts shouldn’t be committed in public!
What an immodest girl! There was no way Ms. Vis could allow such audacious behavior. This was a gross violation of the school's “no public displays of affection” policy, and needed to be corrected immediately. Once she found enough dirt—erm, evidence—on them, she would use it as leverage. Yes, yes, it was all coming together now. She would find out all of that girl’s shameless secrets, then force her to stop acting in such a shameless and abhorrent manner.
She continued to follow the duo as they finally made it to Mr. Swift's apartment complex, or maybe it was that girl's place? He had to drop her off before going home himself, right?
The two hopped off the bike. Ms. Vis parked her car around the corner and out of sight. Exiting, she crept along the wall until she reached the corner, peeking her head out as the young man and that girl walked up the stairs.
When they reached the top, he locked the bike against the rail, while the girl unlocked the door. Ms. Vis furrowed her eyebrows. Confusion set in. What were they doing? Why were they entering the same apartment? Wasn’t Mr. Swift just dropping the girl off? That had to be it, unless…
A Fox's Tail (American Kitsune Book 2) Page 10
