The Forbidden flame

I woke up the next morning to someone humming in the kitchen in my dorm.

My first thought was that someone had snuck into my room while I was asleep so in panic I grabbed one of my heels and moved silently to the kitchen.

As I got to the kitchen I raised the shoe and charged forward when the person suddenly turned around in shock and managed to dodge my shoe at the last moment.

I was shell shocked looking into the face of the culprit.

"Hi, my name is Chloe and I'm your roommate," she stretched out her hand to me seemingly unfazed by what just happened as she pulled her airpods out of her ear.

I gasped, my cheeks heated. The first meeting and I already embarrassed myself badly.

I shook her hand.

"My name is Ellie, I am so sorry about this, I thought you were a burglar because I didn't hear you come in last night," I said awkwardly.

"Oh, it's fine. I actually came back pretty late, around 3:00 AM and I didnt want to wake you," she shrugged.

She was beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes, slim and at least 6 feet.

She looked like she belonged on a runaway and not in a dorm room with a roommate who almost hit her with a shoe.

We stood there awkwardly staring at each other until a beeping sound broke the silence.

Her food was burning and triggered the fire alarm.

We hurriedly put out the little fire before attracting a crowd, all awkwardness gone thanks to the mini emergency.

Once our room no longer looked like a furnace I breathed a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding.

Then our eyes met and we both burst into laughter, I was glad we found a way to break through the tension, a weird way but it worked nonetheless.

I immediately went into the bathroom to take a quick shower and when I came out Chloe knocked on my door and offered me toast.

As she stretched it out to me I just stared at her then she hurriedly said, "I'm not much of a chef but at least I didn't burn this one."

We laughed again then I took the plate from her and expressed gratitude.

I munched down on the toast greedily, I didn't even realize how hungry I was.

It felt great to bond with Chloe, but I couldn't lie, the text from Axel had me feeling all sorts of emotions and restlessness was at the very top of that list.

I needed some alone time to process my emotions and Chloe wasn't exactly the most quiet roommate.

She was either on a call or playing loud music and as much as I loved a good dance session, that was not what I needed right now.

So I took my phone and texted Maya to tell her I wanted to quickly check out the library and I'll see her later.

Then I got dressed, informed Chloe I was stepping out for a bit and left for the library.

As I walked to the library I was in awe of how beautiful the school looked and the weather was just perfect.

Soon I got to the library and was relieved to see that it was almost empty.

I took a seat, put down my bag and stared at the message on my phone.

I kind of felt like I was overthinking something simple but then again it felt like he was warmer than I remembered him being.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and got up to find a book to get lost in.

As I skimmed through the shelves, my fingers paused on a worn copy of Romeo and Juliet. I

slowly pulled it out.

Her favorite.My mother was part of the reason I was such a romantic.

She used to tell me how she fell in love with my dad the moment she saw him.

I smiled at the memory... then tucked the book under my arm before the ache could settle too deep.

I traced my fingers over the cover of Romeo and Juliet, a faint smile tugging at my lips.

My mom used to call it the greatest tragedy and the greatest love story all in one breath.

My phone buzzed, a notification from one of my apps which I totally ignored and found my way to Axel's message.

"Please stay safe, my little one." My chest tightened.

He'd used that nickname for years, but last night... last night it felt different. Softer. Possessive. Like he didn't want anyone else calling me that.

I stared at the words, the way he said my, like I belonged to him.

Was I reading too much into it?Maybe.Probably.

But I couldn't shake the way he looked at me in the car,the flicker in his eyes before he pulled back.

I sighed and opened the book, hoping the words would drown out my thoughts.

They didn't.

I went back to my dorm room and met Chloe in the sitting room.

"Hey Ellie, I'll be having some friends over tonight just to watch movies and hang out, feel free to join us."

"Ok then, thank you for inviting me, I'll try and pop in." I replied and entered my room.

I slept for a while and when I woke up it was already dark so I freshened up and went to the living room to join Chloe.

She was there with four of her friends, to my dismay the guy that winked at me the day I moved in was one of them.

He smiled at me as soon as he saw me, but his smile just made me uneasy.

"Hey Ellie, I'm glad you decided to join, these are my friends, Jess and Tariq" she said nodding in the direction of a cute black guy and a pretty brunette who waved at me.

"That's Connor," she said, pointing at the guy that winked at me.

He was handsome, blonde hair and green eyes but I already had my heart set on a particular someone.

She turned to the guy behind her who had his hand on her waist, "And this is my little munchkin Ethan."

She kissed him passionately and his hand tightened around her waist.

The "Little" munchkin in question was at least 6 feet six inches tall.

They were so lost in each other that I'm sure the rest of the world didn't exist to them at that moment until someone cleared their throat.

With introductions out of the way the get together was cool, Jess and Tariq found a quiet spot in the room and whispered sweet nothings to each other.

Chloe and her Ethan were obviously cuddled up together at another corner of the room leaving just me and Connor.

He approached me and tried to strike up a conversation but I kept giving him one word answers.

I wasn't doing it intentionally, but my mind was elsewhere. After a while he gave up and left me alone.

After a while Jess and Tariq left and I somehow fell asleep.

I woke up to a hand clamped over my mouth, I looked around in panic and the room was empty.

Then I looked into the supposedly beautiful green eyes that looked dangerous at the moment.

"Don't move and don't scream, if you don't scream I'll make it quick." He threatened with a sinister smile.

You have got to be kidding me.I thought about the whole situation and laughed. Connor stopped, looking at me like I had gone crazy.

Then I snapped into myself.

I bent my knees and planted my feet, hard, like I was anchoring into the earth. He thought I was small, that I'd just give in. He didn't know I was about to fight.

I grabbed his arm, the one he was using to pin my shoulder  and yanked it tight to my chest. Then I trapped his leg with mine, locking him in.

He hesitated, confused.

And that's when I struck.

I bridged my hips up, using every ounce of power I had, and rolled hard to the side. His balance slipped. I used that moment ;that one second of surprise to flip us.

Now I had the upperhand and I immediately landed a heavy blow on him that rendered him unconscious.

At this moment I couldn't be more grateful for dad making me get up from bed at 5:00 everyday since I turned 12 so he could train me to defend myself.

That move I just used was one of the first moves he taught me.

I dragged Connor outside and punched him one last time to make sure he wouldn't wake up anytime soon, then locked the door and went back inside my room.

I took a quick shower and texted Maya about what just happened, then a plan formed in my head as soon as I put the phone down.

I took my phone again and dialed my dad's number. When he picked up I told him all about what had happened with a little exaggeration here and there.

 Dad was mortified and insisted that he couldn't let me stay in that dorm. He said he'd tell Axel to come pick me up till we can find a better option.

As soon as we ended the call I smirked, my plan worked. There was no way my dad was going to let his precious only daughter stay in a dorm that wasn't safe. Even if I could defend myself,he would be more comfortable with me staying with his best friend.

In a way I had Connor to thank for this new arrangement, at least now I have a valid excuse to stay with Axel. And with us being so close he can only resist me for so long. I sighed happily and was about to doze off when my phone vibrated.

It was a text message from Axel. I opened it to read it and I couldn't believe what I saw there.

"Axel : I'm in front of your room, come and open the door please." I rubbed my eyes to make sure I saw right, then I checked the time. It was 4:00 AM.

Dad said Axel would pick me up in the morning so why was he here already. with all these thoughts running through my mind I quickly left my room and went to open the door.

With a huge calming breath I opened the door and he immediately pulled me into a tight hug, breathing in my scent.