Kiara Petro was sitting beside Faye... no, she was actually in the cafeteria, sitting at the unpopular table. When she dropped her tray on the table, the loud clatter echoed through the immediate space, and everyone there stopped talking as they stared at the girl. The sudden, awkward silence spread like a cold wave, their forks hovering mid-air while their lungs locked up in absolute confusion.
"What is she doing here?" Haley whispered to Sasha. She leaned her shoulder close, her voice barely a breath as her eyes flicked rapidly toward the uninvited girl.
Sasha made a hand gesture, meaning she had no clue.
"Did you miss something, or why are you at the wrong table?" Faye said, staring at the girl who was casually eating. Her eyes narrowed into a tight, suspicious glare, her posture locking straight as her lungs pulled in a deep, guarded breath.
"No, my sight is perfect, and I’m definitely at the right table. Hi, Faye," Kiara said in a jovial tone. She offered a bright, easy smile, her chest expanding with a relaxed breath staring at Faye..
Faye, confused, drifted a little away from the girl, and Kiara adjusted too, moving closer to her.
"I thought you ate in a private cafeteria, you know, the luxury kind," Malo said.
"We stopped having our lunch there weeks ago. Beam is currently having a meeting with the vice principal, and Princess is with her children, so why shouldn’t I have lunch with my friend?" Kiara replied, her voice smooth and airy as she tilted her head.
Now everyone was shocked. They didn’t react, they just froze, trying to process the last word..
What did Kiara just say?
"Friend?" Faye repeated. The word left her lips in a dry, breathless whisper, her jaw clenching as she stared at the girl beside her.
"Yes, mostly you, my Faye. You are my friend now. Here, you should eat this meat. It’s lamb, and it’s nutritious for us wolves." Kiara said with a light chuckle.
"Are you even a wolf?" Sasha muttered, still frozen by the scene.
Kiara picked up a piece of lamb from her plate and placed it on Faye’s plate with a smile.
"You should eat. You know that isn’t on today’s food timetable," Kiara said kindly. She leaned in just a fraction closer, her eyes sparkling with a weird, bright energy.
"I don’t want your meat. Take it back," Faye said.
"Okay," Kiara replied as she took the meat back from Faye’s plate. She picked it up with her fingers and dropped it back onto her own tray, her face not showing a single hint of annoyance.
"Uhh, Kiara, I don’t know what is happening. I’ll just assume that Princess might have forced you to act kindly toward me, but I don’t want your kindness," Faye said.
The way Kiara was acting was making Faye hold her breath. It felt like she was in another world. Never in her life would she have thought Kiara would be sitting this close to her or calling her a friend. Something wasn’t right..
"Princess doesn’t tell me what to do. I am not Beamer. I am Kiara. There is a difference," Kiara said. She set her fork down, her breathing remaining perfectly calm and even as she countered the accusation.
"Then what are you trying to pull off here? We both know we don’t like each other. I don’t like you,"
"Oh, that’s right. The reason you don’t like me is because of your phone. How much was it? Even though it wasn’t entirely my fault because I didn’t expect a phone to be on the ground mall, and my heels didn’t know either. Let me pay for it, and let’s call it a truce." Kiara explained, her hand waving dismissively through the air.
Faye wasn’t convinced. Something had to be wrong here. She watched the girl’s steady, rhythmic breathing, her mind racing at a frantic speed to find the catch.
"Kiara, what do you want from me? Because this is stupid and obvious." Faye snapped,
"I want nothing from you, just your friendship. Think about it. Me and you as besties. It will be fabulous. Faye Grande and Kiara Petro, the strongest duo in history," Kiara said as if she were already living that life.
"Hello, she already has a best friend, and he is sitting right here. That’s me, Malone Griffin..." Malo said, pointing at himself. He slammed his hand flat on the table, his heart hammering a fast, angry beat against his ribs as he glared at the girl.
"Your friendship with Faye cost her her relationship with her girlfriend, and now they are living in separate houses. What kind of bestie does that?" Kiara said, her eyes turning cold as she fixed her gaze on him.
"At least I’m not the type to sleep with my besties and turn them against each other. And also, they are on a break!," Malo replied. He didn’t like what Kiara was doing, even though he didn’t understand why she was doing it. His voice was loud, his breath coming in hot, rapid pants through his teeth.
His first priority was to protect his best friend. He wasn’t going to let this rich, arrogant girl slide in and mess with Faye’s head while she was already hurting.
"Well, I’m not the type of bestie who is cowardly and weak. You are both. Despite having a wolf, you can’t use it because you’re a scared little boy." Kiara sneered, her tone dropping into a sharp, nasty slice.
"Okay, that is it. Kiara, bye-bye," Malo said. He stood up from his seat..
"My parents are members of the school council. I have a claim in this school, which means I can leave whenever I want." Kiara countered, not shifting an inch as she stared him down.
"Sasha, throw this pest out of our table!" Malo said, turning his head to command the girl beside him.
"Uhh, I don’t receive orders from you. You don’t have the voice of my Sire," Sasha muttered with a mouthful of food. She didn’t even look up from her tray, her jaw working steadily as she swallowed another bite.
As Kiara and Malo were going back and forth, out of nowhere, both of them were kicked away from the table. It looked as if the wind had dragged them away, but it was actually Sasha receiving a command from Faye.
It was a mind link.
When everybody continued eating, Henry’s eyes remained fixed on Kiara’s plate. The small boy hadn’t stopped staring at the juicy meat since she had dropped her tray down.
"Can I take the lamb?" he asked, pointing at the meat. His voice was small and sweet, his chest rising with a quiet, hopeful breath as he looked around the table.
No one answered, so he simply reached over with his hand and dumped it onto his own plate.