-----

Chapter 18

Eros's P.O.V.

Bang! I slammed my hand on the wooden desk in front of me, my emotions boiling over.

"Fuck, I'm such an idiot!" I ran a hand through my hair, pacing back and forth over worn down, dull gray carpet. How ironic, I thought to myself. That matches my mood perfectly! I was standing in an unoccupied office room, but I don't remember how I ended up here. All I did remember, was running as fast as I could to try to escape what had just happened.

A voice in my head nagged at me, telling me I was acting like a mad man, like a little boy with a crush that had just been rejected and couldn't handle it, but I knew I wasn't being silly. I wasn't acting like an immature brat, Violet was. When I first saw her looking at me strangely, I figured she was just intrigued by the idea of me being the Demon prince.

But, when she started to act different towards me, compared to the way she acted with the rest of the guys, I thought she might have a crush on me. And of course, at first I was shocked by the idea of it. I mean, all along I'd been nothing but mean to her, and she repaid me by having a crush on me. However, after thinking about for a few days, I became even surer that she actually liked me.

So understandably, I don't know what to feel now. After thinking that she liked me all this time, to be crushed like this, has me doubting everything. Everything that I thought was a subtle hint showing me her true feelings may have all been in my head. What if it was all a ploy? What if-?

No! I told myself resolutely. She likes me, and I like her. No more thinking about it, until I get a chance to talk to her again properly.

I looked around the vacant office in an attempt to distract myself from my round-about thoughts, taking every inch in and trying to work out what it had previously been used for. The office was an ordinary one, with a desk in the middle of the room and several chairs surrounding it.

The scent of pine seemed to fill the air, though it wasn't strong, and therefore hinted this was the type of wood the desk was made from. I knew it to be very sturdy from the excess amount of strength I had applied earlier and could only imagine it was of considerable value. I continued my account of the room and saw two black, leather sofas pushed against the far wall. In addition to these, a big but empty, wooden cupboard seemed to take up much of the wall that wasn't filled with large windows. I sighed and shook my head.

"Bullshit!"

I sat on the sofa with my head in my hands, thinking about what happened yesterday even though I was trying not to.Why? Why did she ignore the fact that she likes me? Why did she say that it was a big mistake? I knew that she was lying when she told me she felt nothing when we kissed! Her face said it all, even though she tried to hide it, and if I wasn't so shocked, I would have tried to argue with her longer. Something must have happened for her to say that, and I was going to figure out what. But of course, the one question that kept on going through my head in the meantime was 'WHY?'

Maybe it's because of Giovanni.

I gritted my teeth. No, Violet doesn't like Giovanni like that. He's just a brother to her. But then again, what kind of judge am I? Maybe she really did see a spark between them, because she didn't see one between us, but I did. I thought she liked me, and look where that got me.

No! Eros, stop doing this to yourself!

I knew I was right, and she did feel the same way, but I couldn't stop myself from second guessing it. I mean, when someone reacted that badly to something, how was my ego not meant to take personal insult? It was like being told you weren't good enough for someone, and not surprisingly, it didn't feel very nice.

I heard heavy footsteps coming towards the room and stop in front of the door. I sighed in exasperation; I could never get left alone from people I didn't want to see. The door suddenly burst open, making me jump, before I blew out a breath of relief after seeing that it was just Peter.

"Ah, there you are." He grinned, walking in my direction. He was in his usual cocky mood, thinking that he was the king of the world. Dumbass.

"Why so stressed, cousin?"

I rolled my eyes. I swear, sometimes I feel like chocking Peter. And right now, I don't think I'm in the mood to be able to deal with anything he has to say.

"None of your damn business." I replied harshly.

He mimicked me and rolled his eyes, getting on my nerves so badly in just thirty seconds that I wanted to snap.

"Angry too." He pointed out, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

"Something to do with a lady called Violet?" He asked, waiting for my answer.

"Get out of here Peter, I'm not going to explain myself to you." I replied, looking at him dead in the eyes. Peter didn't look fazed by what I said, and instead, sat in front of me with a look of determination.

"So you're going to give up, just like that? Where's the Eros that I know, the one that never gives up?"

"And who the hell told you that I'm going to give up?" I smirked, and Peter laughed.

"I know that look, Eros. Ha, what are you going to do?" He asked, eyes full of anxiousness. I shrugged, standing up and fixed my shirt.

"You'll see." I grinned, walking out of the office, hearing Peter's half-hearted laugh ringing in my ears.

I have the perfect plan to get Violet.

Violet's P.O.V.

I tapped my fingers against the table and counted the seconds until class ended. It was the last period of the day and after it, I could go and meet Claudia. She and I had agreed to meet outside of the school and go to her dorm to have some 'girl' time, as she called it. I wasn't the type of girl that overly enjoyed that kind of thing, but maybe it would give my head a break, thinking about someone else's problems instead of mine.

I groaned silently, as a thought popped into my head that I had forgotten. Today after school I was scheduled to train with Peter, and if last time was anything to go by, I knew it would be both frustrating and fatiguing. How could I be so stupid and forget that I already had plans? I put a hand on my forehead and sighed in regret. I guess the trip to Claudia's dorm would have to wait until later.

The bell finally rang and everyone stood up, collecting their stuff off the desk and shoving it into bags. Some were rushing to get somewhere, anywhere, more exciting, whilst others dragged behind, as though dreading what they had to face next. And I understood what they were feeling if they had to head to detention now; I just wanted to get out of this cement prison.

However, just as this idea flitted across my mind, so did the image of Claudia's face as I broke my unfortunate news to her, and suddenly, the idea of detention didn't look so bad. I got up quickly though, putting the notebook that I'd been doodling on for the past sixty minutes in my bag, and ran out of class, not wanting to make Claudia wait.

"Violet!" I heard Claudia's voice holler.

I turned around and smiled when I saw her walking in my direction, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. This wasn't the first thing that I noticed, however. Instead, it was her bright neon green t-shirt, with a pair of red jeans to match. And yes, she did look like a giant walking, talking elf.

As she continued walking towards me, I noticed her catching the eyes of other students around her, and to be honest, I didn't blame them. I mean, she was practically glowing. She had her golden locks pulled up in a bun, making her look even more beautiful than her wacky outfit did, and that was a pretty hard feat to accomplish.

"And look who's glowing today." I teased, winking in her direction when she was finally within hearing distance.

"I know, right?" She giggled.

And before I even had a chance to respond to her comment, she was off and away talking about how a guy named Max started flirting with her. I didn't know what had made Claudia this boy crazy, but sometimes it astonished me how there they were never far from the front of her mind. I expected her to have grown out of it by now, but hopefully, she just had a bit more growing to do. However, even though I always told myself that Claudia was just unique, my assumption was proven to be a bit too right when she told me that she actually knocked the guy out cold. She knocked the guy out cold because he flirted with her!

"Are you serious, Claud?" I said, through my laughter, not knowing whether to feel glad my sister could stand up for herself, or to feel sorry for the poor guy, Max. Claudia had a proud look on her face, like she just accomplished something, and immediately my thoughts towards the latter of the two options. Poor, poor guy, probably never even saw it coming, I thought with a shake of my head.

"Yupp! I'm glad that all the personal training I did finally came in handy. So, ready to go?" She grinned, looking like a five year old. My own smile vanished when I remembered Peter, and what I would have to say next. I started playing with my fingers, not knowing how to say this to Claudia, but also not wanting to disappoint her. The look on her face told me how much she was looking forward to this, and her being... well her, I know she will go crazy at the idea of being ditched.

"Uh, well about that..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say, or how to phrase it so that it wouldn't sound as bad.

"Why do I have a feeling that what you'll say next will turn me into a mad woman?" She sent me a fake, sickly sweet smile that I knew she used only when she was trying to hide her real rage. I rolled my eyes at her childish act and wanted to make a snarky comment, but I was still afraid that my life would be over in a matter of minutes.

"I have training today with someone." I explained simply, waiting for her reaction, knowing that this could end in any way.

"Is he sexy?" She stated bluntly. I rolled my eyes at her typical Claudia response, only caring about 'sexiness' when it came to guys, but released a deep sigh of relief. That could have gone a lot worse. And as I thought about Peter, I realised how easily I would get off if I said yes. And I wouldn't even be lying! I mean, he is well built and my jaw practically fell to the ground when I first saw him, so yeah, he is pretty hot. I nodded and Claudia's expression immediately cleared, making me want to do a happy dance but I managed, barely, to constrain myself.

"Okay then, let's go see Mister Hotstuff." She entwined her arm with mine and we started walking to the gym, where my training was to take place.

---

"Hi princess." Peter greeted, walking our way. He wore a tight, sleeveless, V-necked gray shirt with a pair of red shorts, and I almost laughed aloud at the ridiculous image of him and Claudia in matching outfits, wishing he had worn a green t-shirt too. His hair was ruffled and untamed, looking like he had just woken up and rolled out of bed to come here, without checking his appearance first, and I sighed in jealously.

How dare men be able to look that good, first of all. And secondly, without even doing anything! I heard Claudia murmur 'total hotty', making me roll my eyes but again be relieved that he met her 'high' standards. However, once Peter stood in front of us, his eyes went directly to Claudia's and I began to have a bad feeling about this. Maybe I should have just said no and faced her wrath. Alone. Away from Peter.

But it was too late for that now, as Peter had started the conversation. Damn, no getting away now.

"And who do we have here?" He smirked, checking Claudia out from head to toe. Manwhore! His eyes stopped to linger to particular, ahem, assets, and I stopped myself from clicking my fingers in front of his face and saying, 'My eyes are up here, buddy' as I knew that Claudia would hate me forever for it. Apparently it was part of the 'girl code' to not go out of your way to embarrass another girl in front of a cute guy. And yes, I had learnt that lesson the hard and had it grilled into me ever since.

And just as I predicted, Claudia didn't notice and instead, giggled and extended her hand as though he were a perfect gentleman.

"Hello, I'm Princess Claudia from the Angel Kingdom. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Peter smirked and took Claudia's hand in his, but instead of shaking it, he kissed it. Wow, didn't see that one coming, Mr. Smooth Guy, I thought triumphantly. The smirk plastered across my face practically broadcasted the sarcasm running through my mind, and I noticed Peter quickly turn his attention back to Claudia so that she too wouldn't see it.

"The pleasure is all mine, Princess Claudia. I am Peter Hemsworth from the Demon Kingdom." Claudia drew back her hand and smiled.

"Aww, so cute." I squeaked, but flinched when I realized how awful I sounded. I didn't want them to think I was serious, and knowing Claudia, she would automatically assume I was just complimenting her. Yeah, that doesn't say anything about her ego, does it, I thought wryly.

"Are you two love sick puppies done now?" I demanded, putting a hand on my hip.

Yeah Violet, very smart! Why couldn't you just tell Claudia that you're going to come here on your own in the first place? Then this would have all been avoided. Both Claudia and Peter looked in my direction, Claudia glaring while Peter had a big smirk on his face. Oh no, I was going to getting it from Claudia about this later. Great.

"Jealous much?" Peter asked, raising an eye brow.

I scoffed, "You wish."

---

Peter pulled out a pair of boxing gloves from a cupboard leaning against a nearby wall and threw them in my direction. Yupp, finally some training. I shook my head in disgust as yes, I did realise how sad my life had become. Before school had ended, I hated the idea of having to do something so strenuous. But now, I needed something to get all the built up irritation, from watching the two of them flirt continuously, out of my body or I was going to blow up at somebody. And boy did I feel bad for whoever that person was going to be.

"Put these on." I caught both gloves between my hands and stared at them. Is he expecting me to box with him? Because that really wasn't happening, unless I wanted to be beaten to a pulp, which funnily enough, I didn't. However, knowing that all these bloody males were so cryptic and never just answered your questions when you asked them something, I slipped the gloves on and simply waited for him to tell me.

I tightened the laces with my teeth, and looked down at my hands, wondering if I would be able to fight. I mean, hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not a complete 'girly-girl' and violence, but even I know my weaknesses. So fighting against guys that are taller, stronger and much heavier than me is one of them, I'm pretty sure.

"Follow me." He said, walking forward. I followed him and stopped when he stood behind a punching bag.

"I want you to beat the bag." He explained.

"Go on." He crossed his arms, making his bulging muscled flex, intimidating me beyond recognition.

I looked down at my hands and then back up at the bag. I repeated this once. Twice. Three times. I took a deep breathe. I pulled my hand back and...

Punched the bag so half-heartedly, it barely moved. In fact, I think I missed it moving. Huh, I guess I must have looked away when it happened or something.

Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Violet, the voice in my head snickered.

"You can do better than that, Violet!"

My second punch was harder.

"Weak, so weak, and here I thought you'd surprise me."

Whack.Whack.Whack.

"Harder, Violet. Think about anything that angers you. Unleash all your anger on the punching bag."

Well I have plenty of that, where even to start. My past, I thought.

Whack.Whack.

Peter had to lean all of his weight against the bag to stop it from swinging, and it just riled up my determination even more, as I became able of what I was capable of. Until that moment, I hadn't realized that I was angry at my past. But I guess there really is a silver lining to every cloud, because right now, it was providing me the drive I needed to centre my energy.

Crying over my parents!

Whack.Whack.

Every time I think of them, tears start to spill.

Being bullied at school.

Whack.Whack.

No one knows how hard it is to be called a freak.

I punched the bag until I could no longer lift my arms, even though I tried, still feeling the stirrings of anger inside of me. So it wasn't until I stopped, gasping for breath, that I realized I was crying and so exhausted that I didn't even want to move. I felt the gloves being unlaced and pulled from my hands, but could only barely make out Peter's face in the blur of tears running down my face. He pulled me into his chest, drawing soothing circles on my back as I continued crying, over so many things I didn't know which to deal with first.

"It's okay, princess." He said, trying to calm my nerves down. After he had somewhat succeeded in this, he pulled away, wiping the tears off my face and taking a step back to give me a little bit of space.

"Feeling better?" Peter questioned after I had had a moment to regain my breathe a little bit.

I nodded in response and knew that I just needed some time to understand the raw flow of emotion that had coursed through me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, and I didn't even realise so much was hidden beneath the surface, until provoked to find out. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see Claudia with a sad smile on her face.

"Are you okay, V?" She asked me, her tone laced with sorrow after witnessing the depth of my despair.

I once again wished that I hadn't allowed her to come with me, not wanting her to feel guilty or think that I was miserable all the time. Because really, I wasn't. I didn't hate my life nor did I wish that it was any different to what it was now. Only when I was forced to think deeply about the past, did I even notice the slightest bit of resentment I harboured.

And just like that, with a snap of my fingers, it became so all-consuming that I knew I had to get it out of me before it ate me up inside. It wasn't healthy to not let such desolate feelings out, and that was my chance to do so without hurting anyone or anything bad resulting from it.