Taming the Beast novel Chapter 49

After dropping Preston off at Mrs. Piggens, Aiden and I drove to school. We grabbed Aiden a schedule from the main office before we went to find our lockers. His was right beside mine. I still don’t know how Keegan managed to convince the office to let him attend with no papers or anything. Walking through the main hallway was really awkward. It was like Aiden and I both had a giant neon side above our heads that screamed ‘look at us!’ while rotated with flashing. Girls were eyeing Aiden like he was a chocolate bar and they were on their period. The guys were looking at him like he’d just landed from Mars and they didn’t know how to feel about it yet.

Aiden seemed uncomfortable under their stares. His cheeks had a light pink tint to them as he subconsciously moved closer to me. We finally reached our lockers. I opened mine before I finally took a good look at his schedule. It mirrored mine exactly. Somehow, I knew Keegan was behind that. He was trying to keep me protected. I know he wouldn’t say so, but the stranger who tried to kill me in the woods put him on his toes. I chuckled and shook my head before I handed the schedule back to a nervous-looking Aiden.

“We have all the same classes,” I informed him. He seemed to relax tremendously.

“Why is everyone staring at me?” he practically whispered, leaning closer to me. I chuckled and shrugged, pulling out my necessary books.

“Because you’re hot,” I laughed quietly. His eyes bugged at that which only made me laugh harder. “Aiden, you’re practically man-candy to girls here,” I shrugged. He looked at me curiously.

“But not you?” he asked. My lips pursued together in a tight indifferent smile.

“I don’t see you in that way. I see you as a friend. I’m in love with Keegan. He’s my mate,” I said. He nodded and smiled.

“At least I can count on that,” he said, bumping my shoulder lightly. I laughed and shook my head at him. He filled his locker and stuffed his bag in there too. He leaned against the lockers and smiled at me. “You’re refreshing,” he said. Before I could ask what he meant by that, I felt someone push me back before standing in front of me. I was now staring at dark brown curls and sandy blonde hair up in a ponytail.

“Hi,” one of the girls said seductively. I moved around them to see Aiden send a quick glare to the floor before he looked at me. I shook my head and mouthed ‘no’. He understood immediately and looked at the girls indifferently.

“Hi,” he greeted back. They smiled and I went to stand beside Aiden. They completely ignored me… which was reasonable. They were here to hit on Aiden after all.

“I’m Carly and this is my friend. Amber,” the girl with the sandy blonde hair said. Aiden gave them a polite smile.

“I’m Aiden,” he said back. Their smiles widened.

“You must be new. We haven’t seen you around before. Where are you from?” they asked. That was a good question. I looked at Aiden expectantly. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before he smirked at my curiosity.

“West Virginia,” he answered.

“Well, welcome to Belford High School, and South Carolina. Here’s my number if you ever need any help with where to go,” she said, handing him a slip of paper. Her eyes flickered to me. “Or who to hang out with,” she added. The comment was clearly meant for me and I knew it, but I couldn’t bring myself to react. I just stared at them. I felt Aiden’s hand slip around my waist as he pulled me in front of him so his chest was against my back. He rested his chin against my shoulder and smiled.

“Will do,” he said knowingly. He wasn’t going to call them. They both glared at me.

“You got the last new kid!” the brunette named Amber said. I only shrugged as I found myself smiling. They muttered something under their breath before they spun on their heels and walked away. I laughed as Aiden let go of me. I turned to look at him to see him smiling smugly. I sobered up a little and looped my arm with his. I was still smiling like an idiot as I started dragging Aiden in the direction of our first class.

“This is great! It’s like having a gay best friend,” I said. I was extra giddy today. Aiden scrunched up his nose as he looked at me.

“I’m not gay, he pointed out calmly. I laughed and shrugged.