The Beautiful Monster

"Why? Are you… obsessed with me or something?" she asked him, wanting to know what his deal was with her. They only talked once. She didn't count their last encounter as a friendly conversation.

Tyler smirked and shook his head.

"I don't find this very funny," Melina said coldly. She didn't understand why he was laughing when he could see that she was uncomfortable and anxious because of everything going on.

She didn't want to be involved in any game that he was playing.

Tyler's expression straightened out as he sighed, continuing to kneel in front of her.

"Look, I'm not stalking you or anything. You're a nice girl, and I got a little concerned after seeing that person digging around in your room. It looked like she was up to no good," he said, leveling with her.

Melina blinked a few times as she held his gaze, trying to tell if he was lying or not. He seemed genuine, but she didn't trust her judgment.

At first, she thought that he was nice and innocent. He had proved her wrong already.

"What did she look like?" she asked, wanting to know more about this person who concerned him so much that he had to go rummaging around her room.

"Blonde and preppy," Tyler said, lifting an eyebrow at her. "Sound familiar?"

Melina's mind immediately snapped to Blair. That sounded like her. Why was she digging around in her room?

"Blair," she murmured, lowering her eyes. She was even more confused now.

"Oh, you know her. Well, she was looking like she was up to no good. She kept checking to make sure no one saw her enter and leave you room. It didn't look like she had a key either," Tyler informed her.

A sick feeling filled Melina as she tried to process everything. Did Blair do something that triggered the fire?

She didn't think that her only friend would actually do anything to hurt her. Blair wasn't a violent, malicious person. It just didn't make any sense to her.

"She didn't do anything. She was probably just borrowing something," she replied as she shook her head.

Tyler narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at her, reading her expression.

"Are you sure? It's just weird that she was in your room and then a fire broke out," he pointed out.

Melina abruptly stood up with a glare on her face. She then swayed, her head feeling light. She stood up too fast, the blood rushing to her head.

She started to lean too far back, feeling Tyler's hand on her back as he caught her and pulled her straight.

When she leveled herself out, she looked up at Tyler, seeing how close they were. Her breath hitched at first as she became entranced by his bright blue eyes.

Then, she remembered what all he did, how suspicious he was. She pushed him back away from her, putting distance between them. She didn't trust him to even be within a few feet of her.

There was no telling what he would try to do next. He was unpredictable and odd. She couldn't believe she thought that they could actually be friends.

"You were in my room too! And you were there after her!" Melina snapped at him. In that moment, she felt so alone, not knowing who to turn to or who to trust. She didn't like this feeling. She breathed in uneasily.

"I didn't start that fire, Melina!" Tyler told her firmly as he stood up, looming over her.

Melina glared up at him, feeling her heart race. She refused to let him intimidate her, even if he was twice her size.

He could be as defensive as he wanted to be. She wasn't going to trust him. She just wanted to be away from him.

"Leave me alone, Tyler," she spat before storming away and heading back inside. By the time she got back to her room, school officials and security were already surrounding it.

The fire had recently been put out, smoke still spilling out into the hallway. The other students had been ordered back to their rooms.

President Kavon turned to Melina. He was a tall, lean man under a black coat. He had to be in his fifties or sixties with fading, white hair and broad wrinkles around his eyes.

However, he was a powerful witch, having been President for countless years.

"Melina, there you are. What in the world happened?" he asked as he gestured to her destroyed room.

"I'm sorry for going off, President Kavon. Another student took me outside for some air," Melina explained to him and the other school officials.

She hoped that she wouldn't get in trouble for this. She hadn't done anything to set her own room on fire.

"I woke up to the fire burning in the corner of my room. I have no idea how it started."

"You weren't burning any sage or candles?" President Kavon asked her, lifting an eyebrow at her.

Melina shook her head.

"I swear. I went straight to bed when I got done from classes yesterday," she told him. "I truly have no idea how the fire started."

President Kavon shared a look with his fellow officials and the security team. There seemed to be unspoken words shared between them that Melina couldn't understand. He then turned back to Melina.

"We'll need to investigate your room. Obviously, it's in no state for you stay in. For tonight, stay in the infirmary so that Mrs. Holland can keep an eye on you. We'll get you settled in a new room tomorrow," President Kavon said.

Melina nodded politely.

"Thank you, President," she told him sincerely. She hated the circumstances, but at least they weren't tossing her out on the streets.

She appreciated them helping her out. She glanced at the burnt remains of her room with a frown. "I guess I'll need to buy new supplies."

President Kavon gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'll talk to your professors. I'm sure we can help you out," he told her.

"Thank you," Melina said, figuring that she would be left with the dirty clothes on her back for right now. She hated that she lost everything, but she was grateful that she was still alive.

She easily could've burned alive in there, which would've been a terrible way to die.. Her dad would've been devastated. "You're not going to call my dad, right?"

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