I Am The Queen 21 Chapter 19

At the end of cla.s.s, beside the business management department's building, in the narrow hidden alleyway, three men were beating a single defenseless boy to the ground.

"Heh! Stupid poor kid! Just watching your face makes me angry!" One of the boys spat out as he punched Eric on the face which the latter just let him without retaliating.

How could Eric fought back when one of the boys, the fat one, was holding him in both arms, rendering him immobile for the leader, a guy with blonde hair, to hit him like a sandbag while the other one was laughing and cheering on the side.

"Why don't you just quit school? Don't you know that your mere existence irritates me?!" The blonde guy sneered, landing another punch on Eric's face while the other two edge their leader on.

Teenagers, the age where one wanted to feel dominance. Wanted attention and praise. Wanted to fell superior above the rest.

And this inner wants could be satisfied with different means.

Some would excel thru academics. Some would gain attention from their achievements. Some would gain recognition in sports. Some would be popular with their looks and wealth while some just wanted to beat others to feel superiority.

For Eric, he had the unfortunate luck to be the receiving end to satisfy other's needs. He had gotten used to it.

Of course, no one likes to be beaten up nor feel pain. So he avoided them whenever he could, but being a student at the same department proved to be a curse that he couldn't dispel.

He didn't retaliate, not because he didn't know how to fight nor because he was scared. It just for the simple reason that he didn't care.

He didn't want his life to be complicated. If he retaliated and beat up the guys who bullied him, for sure, those guys would seek revenge with back up, and he would have to fight all over again, causing a never-ending cycle of battles.

A never-ending cycle of fighting.

He didn't want that kind of life. He was contented to be that unimportant side character that n.o.body noticed.

The pain would go away, and once the guys had their fill, they would leave him alone for days until they wanted to fed their manliness ego once more.

Eric sighed.

Amidst the barraged of punches and kicks, he didn't let out a single word. It was not because he was immune to pain, it was just that he didn't felt that much impact.

The moment that the blonde guy strikes him, he would time the man's movement and slightly tilted his face to lessen the impact. If the blond guy started to punch and kick his stomach – well, unfortunately for the guys who dared to, their punches and kicks lacked the strength that Eric didn't have to avoid them at all.

Compared to Eric who was well toned despite his lousy countenance and weakly appearance, the other men were all talk with weak limbs. With all the jobs Eric had been doing coupled by his knowledge in martial arts, the blondie could be considered a seasoned fighter if the man could manage a blow that could make Eric grunt in pain.

But all in all, fortunately for Eric, all the men he had encountered were wanna be fighters pretending to be bada.s.s – except for that one time…

Thus, he was okay if this guy beat him. He didn't care for his weak punches and kicks anyway.

"d.a.m.n it! Say something nerdy! Your silence only infuriates me more!"

The blonde guy roared and grabbed Eric by the collar, throwing him on the ground.

THUD!

The blonde man finally lost it when Eric remained calm and expressionless, staring at him with dead eyes. "Heh, let's see if you won't squeal this time."

The man let out a small knife.

"H-hey..." The fat guy and the other guy wanted to stop their leader, but the blonde man snapped at them.

"Shut up!"

The blondie then turned to Eric looking all menacingly as he licked his lips, "a scar on that annoying face of yours and maybe you can do the whole world a favor."

The blondie grabbed Eric's collar and pointed the knife against Eric's cheek while Eric was still the epitome of calmness.

"Motherf.u.c.ker! I hate that face of yours!"

The raging man pressed the knife on Eric's face when out of the blue – a plain lavender handkerchief slowly flew down between Eric and the blonde man, gently swaying against the wind. The pleasant fragrance almost made the two males closed their eyes as they savored that fresh peaches drowned in honey milk scent.

It was so soothing that the blondie's hot boiling temper instantly cooled down as he stopped and darted his eyes upward towards the management building.

Eric too raised his head, wanting to discover who the handkerchief belonged to, though he already had an inkling.

The other men also glanced upwards, mimicking their leader's action.

At the four-story building on the rooftop, a G.o.ddess of fire and ice was staring down at them, looking all bored with one hand lazily propping her chin. Her eyes were radiating coldness and animosity while her lips curved in a taunting smirk.

Evangeline Heart.

The men momentarily lost themselves at the sight of the beauty. They thought that it was an angel they saw only to found out that it was the devil wearing a fluttering red scarf, fitted turtleneck s.h.i.+rt and slacks paired by that dangerous six inches pump shoes.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Tsk. Let's go."

Blondie lost his will and vigor to fight. Couldn't stand Evangeline's imposing aura and piercingly cold mocking and belittling eyes.

The three men left, leaving Eric behind, wiping the blood from his lips with his thumb.

Eris looked up once more only to found that Evangeline had already retreated from plain sight. He bent down and grabbed the handkerchief that was lying on the ground before he dashed off towards the building's rooftop.

----?----

At the rooftop, Evangeline lazily stood at the center with crossing arms and slanted hips. Her high ponytailed hair and long scarf fluttered with the wind.

The entrance to the roof deck opened and Evangeline tilted her head in a sweet smile, looking at Eric who was slowly walking towards her.

"h.e.l.lo, Eric." She greeted all smiles, yet beneath her eyes held furry.

Eric just nodded and handed the handkerchief to her, "I believe this is yours." Eric said, all polite with his uneven thick eyegla.s.ses parked above his nose, messy hair, old clothes, scruffy backpack and wounded face.

Evangeline raised her head high, but even with her six inches' shoes, she was still a head shorter than Eric.

Instead of grabbing the handkerchief, she opened her hand, implying to place that piece of fabric directly on her palm.

Eric slowly walked towards Evangeline and handed that piece of silk to her, but before the handkerchief could land on her palm, Evangeline retracted her hand causing the fabric to fell on the ground.

"It's dirty. I don't need it anymore." Evangeline's lips hooked up in a smirk as she ruthlessly stepped on the handkerchief with her expensive shoe. She was implying that it was already dirty since Eric had touched it.

Didn't have an ounce of conscience nor compa.s.sion even when the man practically climbed all the way from the ground to the roof deck to return her hankie.

Eric remained poker face, oblivious to the girl's flat-out mockery of him. He knew that it was the woman's way of revenge for what happened in that café, days ago.

Eric continued to stare at Evangeline, unfettered by the woman's intimidating stare and smirking lips.

"It's a pity. I kinda' like the smell."

Then Eric turned around and went down the flight of stairs, leaving the woman behind.

…..

…..

Evangeline blinked.

It was already some time since Eric left, but she remained paralyzed in her place. What Eric said to her caught her off guard. She didn't know what the man was implying.

D-did he said... he like my… smell?

Although Evangeline still couldn't accept that a man could make her feel all uneasy and giddy inside. Her lips, however, didn't shy a smile forming on her face.

It was a weird feeling.

A first kind of feeling.

Like she wanted to whip the man for being unaffected by her allure, but at the same time, she wanted to giggle from his misleading words.