Chapter 17: Not Bothered
"I’ll prove him wrong."
When the next morning started, Theo followed Danielle down the stone walkway. He walked half a step behind her, the way he always did in silence and watchful.
Students drifted past them in little groups, laughing, yawning, clutching books and coffee cups. Danielle could feel the eyes on her.
When they reached the class building, Theo stopped at the door. "Go," he said, moving his head toward the hall. "I’ll wait here."
Danielle adjusted her bag on her shoulder and nodded, pretending she didn’t notice how easily his tone still commanded her to listen. "You don’t have to-"
"I do," Theo cut in without letting her finish. "Go."
She went.
A few girls from her class spotted her imdiately and waved her over.
"Danielle!" one of them called, grinning. "Who was that guy yesterday? The one who was forced to shut up? He looked like soone out of a movie."
"I liked the other guy!"
"Yeah! He isn’t from our class!"
Another girl laughed. "Yeah, he’s too old to be a student here. Is he, like...your boyfriend?"
Danielle paused mid-step, glancing toward the glass window where Theo still was standing outside, with his blank expression, and hands in his coat pockets.
"He’s just...soone my father hired," she said shortly.
The girls exchanged glances, amused and unconvinced. "Hired? Wow, what kind of job needs that kind of face?"
Danielle rolled her eyes. "It’s complicated. Drop it."
But their giggles followed her anyway as she moved toward her seat.
Then, the energy in the room changed when Jackson started coming in.
He looked calr, but his eyes still continued to have that sharp, snake-like glint that made Danielle’s stomach squeeze inside.
He scanned the hall once, saw Theo, waiting outside the door, and his smirk returned instantly.
"Well, look who’s still babysitting," Jackson said loudly enough for Theo to hear through the half-open door. "What, afraid your little princess might trip on her way to class?"
Theo didn’t answer right away. He simply looked at him, the sa still face he’d worn during a hundred missions before this one.
Then, almost lazily, he replied, "Afraid you might try to touch sothing that doesn’t belong to you."
A few students heard and gasped. Even Danielle’s friends turned toward the doorway, waiting for Jackson’s coback.
Jackson forced a laugh. "Cute. You practice that one in the mirror?"
Theo decided to move his head slightly, smiling slowly. "No. I don’t talk to mirrors. I prefer dealing with real cowards...like the one standing in front of ."
That did it...
"Hahahha!!!" The laughter that followed wasn’t friendly. Jackson’s smirk vanished for half a heartbeat before he turned away and entered the class, his pride was dragging behind him like a torn coat.
Danielle sat rigid, her notebook was opened but blank. She didn’t dare look at him when he took the seat next to hers.
"Still hiding behind your bodyguard, baby?" Jackson murmured under his breath, setting his bag down.
However, Danielle didn’t reply.
The professor began the lecture, talking about market theories and economic shifts, but the words barely registered.
Danielle could feel Jackson’s presence beside her like a cold full of danger statue.
Then she felt it.
His hand slid under the edge of her desk, brushing against her thigh.
Danielle gritted her teeth, and felt every vein in her body locking. He pressed harder, fingers gripped, her skin and started squeezing.
"Ttysss."
Then, there was a quick pinch that made her skin burn.
Danielle’s pulse spiked, but she didn’t move.
She could feel Theo’s unseen eyes on her...Danielle didn’t have to look to know he was watching through the small glass panel near the door. Watching for any sign of weakness.
So, she sat still.
Jackson moved slightly, whispering, "Go ahead. Call for him. Let’s see how long he plays the hero for you."
Danielle’s pen moved across the page, not reacting to Jackson’s comnts. Her face also didn’t change, neither her breathing seed shallow.
The pressure on her thigh increased for not minding Jackson. It really was hard enough to leave a mark, but not enough to draw attention.
Danielle didn’t even blink.
When she finally turned her head, it wasn’t to plead. It was to look at him.
Her face looked calm, detached, and maybe even bored.
"Do you need sothing, Jackson?" she asked softly.
He blinked, thrown off.
Seeing his stupid eyes, Danielle’s lips ford a smile, and she sounded as smooth as the pen gliding over her notes. "You’re shaking."
Jackson looked down at his own hand. He wasn’t, but for so reason, the mont she said it, it felt like he was.
His confidence slipped just a little, like soone had tugged the ground from under his feet.
Danielle matched his energy, and also got closer to him. "You think I’m still scared of you?"
Jackson tried to speak, but the words felt locked in a cage right away. He withdrew his hand.
Danielle straightened and went back to writing, her heartbeat was louder in her ears, but dealing with a bully-made her soul feel better.
Across the glass panel, Theo’s jaw unclenched slowly. He had seen enough.
When the bell finally rang, Jackson stood up too quickly, grabbed his bag, and stord out. Danielle didn’t even glance his way.
Theo waited until the hall cleared before stepping inside. The students passed by smiled politely, a few whispered about the "hot guard" again.
He stopped by Danielle’s desk, trying to speak casually but his eyes looked brighter than usual. "You handled yourself."
She looked up at him, and saw his pupils turned bigger. "You saw?"
"I see everything," he replied. "Good job."
Danielle closed her notebook and was trying to stand up as well. "You were right," she t his eyes. "I don’t need to wait for soone to save ."
Theo gave a small nod. "That’s the point."
So, they left the class and walked out together, completely unaware that behind them, Jackson watched from the end of the hall.
He whispered under his breath, "You’ll regret that, Danielle."
Theo’s gaze flicked back for half a second, and even from that distance, Jackson noticed it when their eyes t.
Theo’s stare carried a ssage clearer than words.
’Try it again.’
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