Sultry.

  That was the word I had been searching for in my effort to classify Raven Blackwell’s voice.

  It was the perfect descriptor for the velvety, alluring way that she talked. I had never heard another voice like it. Except, funnily enough, in movies. Especially action movies. It seemed like there was always a femme fatale character that spoke in a fashion that was so clearly meant to attract the overly macho male lead and the viewer. It usually sounded forced and was the type of technique meant to entice easily charmed men that would fall for just about any woman who talked to them anyway.

  But Raven’s voice was nothing like that. It was similar, sure. But hers was authentic. I could tell.

  It was really quite disarming.

  Wait, wasn’t I in the middle of something?

  “WHAAAAAAAT!?” Eva screamed.

  Her shriek of disbelief was echoed by everyone in the hallway. It was deafening, but it dragged me back to reality.

  Raven was still pressing me against a locker, awaiting my response to her request to be her boyfriend. Her words had gone off like a bomb—except I think an actual bomb going off would have shocked everyone far less.

  That includes me.

  “I…”

  The hallway collectively sucked in a breath as I trailed off. A pin dropping would have sounded more like a steel beam plummeting from atop a skyscraper. My own heartbeat was blowing out my eardrums like an overworked subwoofer while I tried to find a reply somewhere in my short-circuiting brain.

  CLICK

  Someone in the surrounding crowd snapped a picture of me and Raven, and the sound of the shutter cracked like a whip in the silent hall. It distracted us but resurrected the rest of the paralyzed crowd.

  Mizuki shoved Raven off me and yelled, “get off!”

  An influx of angry voices flooded in.

  “Yeah, get off her you slimeball!”

  What? She was on me!

  “Is this ugly clown really making a play for Raven right now!?”

  “Why are we all standing around? Scalp this stringy-haired goon!”

  An army of pissed off boys spawned from the crowd of onlookers and broke into a full-on sprint towards me.

  “Oh crap!” I panicked and took off, dashing in the opposite direction.

  “Wait! Leave him alone!” I heard Raven shout behind me, but the horde didn’t listen.

  I was more thankful than ever that training for the gauntlet had forced me to get in shape, because without it, I’d have been caught immediately. Instead, my head start and fitness allowed me to attain a much-appreciated lead on the mob relentlessly pursuing me.

  “Move! Out of my way!”

  I barreled through anyone standing in my way—intentionally or otherwise—as I made a beeline for the exit. One of the school security officers tried to calm the juvenile riot by standing at the end of the hall in a blocking stance. I slid right between his legs, hopped back to my feet, and continued to make a break for the doors. The poor guy, unsurprisingly, was trampled, flattened, and rolled out like dough.

  Finally. There’s the exit!

  I burst through the double doors and jumped down the stairs, only to be blinded by a million flashing lights.

  What the hell?!

  Through squinted, sizzling eyes, I found another army waiting for me.

  “There he is!”

  An infestation of paparazzi had grouped around the area and exploded into a never-ending series of flash photography and rapid-fire questions.

  “Shinsuke Watanabe, there’s a picture of you and Raven Blackwell spreading on social media. Are you two officially an item?”

  How the hell did that picture get around so quickly?!

  “Answer the question, kid!”

  I tried to take off running again, but a wall of paparazzi blocked all escape routes.

  Damn it!

  The double doors flew open again, and out came Raven. She was collecting her breath as the paparazzi went ballistic at the sight of her. She quickly found herself as blind as I was.

  Raven pulled out her phone and said something I couldn’t hear over the swarm of human pestilence shouting at us. A few seconds later, a bunch of large men emerged from some parked cars and began to push and shove the paparazzi, creating a part in their group.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Are those her bodyguards?

  Behind Raven, the group of enraged students were visible through the glass windows, stampeding towards the doors. The roaring squeal of tires made everyone cringe as a limousine drifted perfectly into the opening of the paparazzi army. One of the huge men pulled open the nearest limo door and signaled Raven. She rushed down the steps, jumped inside the car, and called out to me.

  “Shinsuke, come on. Get in!”

  I looked back over my shoulder in time to catch sight of the student mob damn near throwing the doors off their hinges.

  I had no choice.

  I dashed through the opening in the paparazzi mob and jumped into the limo with Raven. One of the bodyguards slammed the door shut and the limo sped off.

  “Are you okay, Shinsuke?” Raven asked through heavy panting.

  “Define okay,” I replied.

  Bright light flooded the inside of the limousine and we both looked out the window in search of the source. A news airship was flying overhead, presumably broadcasting our hasty escape from St. Cirelia.

  Are you kidding me?

  “Behind us!” Raven alerted. The rear-view window revealed that an armada of paparazzi from the school were now pursuing us in their vehicles. I was amazed they were able to regroup in their clown cars that fast.

  “Hang on tight, Ms. Blackwell,” her driver advised.

  We drove out to the center of a four-way intersection where he ran a red light and executed the smoothest three-hundred-sixty degree turn this side of an action flick I’d ever seen. He slammed on the accelerator and sped back in the same direction we had come from. His quick thinking allowed us to catch our unwanted tails off guard and slip right past them.

  Holy hell! How did I end up in this situation?!

  “Jamie, take us back to my apartment. I want to speak privately with Shinsuke,” Raven requested. “Lose these pests whatever way you have to.”

  “Of course, Ms. Blackwell. No worries.”

  The tone in which he spoke assured me there was a prideful, daredevil glint in his eyes without even needing to see them.

  He pushed a button that retracted the side mirrors, and, with our slightly slimmer profile, he whipped the car to the left, somehow squeezing it through a long alleyway. We emerged onto another street to a chorus of honks, but the airship and paparazzi were gone for the time being.

  “Nice driving, Jamie.” Raven praised.

  “I try, ma’am.”

  How the hell haven’t we been pulled over?

  ***

  It seemed we’d permanently lost our pursuers as we cruised into the fancy part of Valport—the Stellaris District. I recalled many of the bypassing surroundings from when Cynthia had brought me to the area to shop for a tuxedo. Though, the last time I had been around, it was still bright out. The sun had already set, so the dazzling lights of upscale stores and massive advertisements for musicals and expensive jewelry were illuminated in their full glory. It was quite a sight.

  Jamie pulled up in front of a fancy, high rise apartment. “We’re here, ma’am,” he announced.

  Raven opened a compartment inside the back of one of the chairs and retrieved a jacket, a face mask, and a hat. She swiftly equipped all three and passed me a hoodie and another face mask.

  “Here, put these on so we can go inside without being bothered.”

  I nodded and put the mask on first. I slipped into the hoodie, pulling the hood as far over my face as possible, and followed the actress out of the limousine.

  She led me inside the building into the fanciest apartment lobby I’d ever seen. A fragrance of apple-cinnamon hung in the air and elaborate chandeliers dangled far overhead. We walked quickly over the marble floor, lined by lush, indoor plants, and passed the front desk. An indoor waterfall flowed down from high atop a wall, cascading down into a serene seating area that resembled a little grotto. I marveled at it as we bypassed it to the elevators. We stepped inside and rode it all the way up to the penthouse which was, apparently, hers.

  We went inside and my jaw dropped. It was a Xanadu that seemed to verge on infinite space. Sprawling white marble echoed our every slight step, and the tall, panoramic windows offered a breathtaking view of the city that could make anyone feel like they owned it themselves. Though, I was a bit surprised at the sparse amount of furniture and decoration. It seemed like she had just recently moved in. Still, somehow, despite sleeping over at the castle multiple times and visiting an extravagant casino hotel, I still had the capacity to be wowed that people lived in such luxury.

  “Here.”

  She led me to a lush, lone couch in front of a large, free-standing fireplace. We sat together and peeled out of our disguises.

  She folded her hands over her knee, the digits on her right hand stroking the back of her left hand with purple painted nails.

  “I’m really sorry about today, Shinsuke. None of this was supposed to happen this way.”

  “How was this supposed to happen? Were you joking when you said you wanted me to be your boyfriend?”

  “No. I meant every single word,” she insisted. “I’ve wanted to be with you ever since I first saw you.”

  “I’ve never met you in my life. What do you mean ‘since you first saw me’?”

  She slid her hand onto my thigh and moved much closer to me. “Shinsuke, please just give me your answer…”

  I jolted involuntarily at the sensation of her touch, causing me to slide on the couch a bit. We both reacted to catch ourselves and she was now nearly on top of me.

  “R-Raven…I—”

  BUZZ

  BUZZ

  BUZZ

  My phone began to vibrate uncontrollably in my pocket, breaking up the tension in the moment. I checked the screen to find a myriad of text messages flooding into my inbox.

  (Mom) The news is saying you came onto Raven Blackwell and ran off in a limo with her! What’s going on?

  (Dad) Son, your mother says you’re not answering her text. The news is going crazy. Are you okay?

  (Mizuki) Are you safe, Shinsuke??? Where are you? What did you say to Raven?

  (Sensei Dioli) Are you with Raven? Did she say what I think she did back there?

  (Eli) Damn, man. I haven’t even made it out of Steylian airspace yet and you’re already in another fix. You’re a true cartoon.

  (Cynthia) What the hell are you doing?! You were supposed to resume school and training with Eva. There’s a picture of you and Raven on every channel right now AND you got into a highspeed chase? Are you stupid?!

  I groaned and shut off the screen.

  Give me a damn break already…

  I turned my attention back to Raven who was still above me, waiting for a response.

  “Sorry about the interruption. Raven, I—”

  She pushed her soft finger against my lips, hushing me instantly.

  “Don’t say anything. This day has been a disaster. I couldn’t blame you for being flustered, and I can’t expect a proper answer from you now after everything that happened.”

  Her finger slowly slid down to my chin as she continued.

  “How about this: I’m going to go get out of this uniform and into something comfortable. Then we can talk about all this properly, okay?”

  “O-Okay,” I caught myself saying before I really thought about it.

  “Thank you.”

  She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me close for a beat before disappearing into a hallway far at the end of the room.

  My cheeks burned for whatever reason, and I buried my face in my palms to extinguish the flames.

  What did I just get myself into?