Chapter 54

OPHELIA “C ome sit up here, Pyro.” Axl grabs my hand and leads me to the back of the lecture hall. I don’t miss the admiring glances he attracts from the students we pass. I glance at my usual seat near the fire escape. “But I always sit near the front.” Two rows from the front to be exact. Something about not being at the back, front, or in the middle is oddly comforting for me. Malachi takes my other hand. “It’s way more fun at the back, baby.” “Yeah, so much fun.” Xavier laughs darkly “Is she with all of them? Ugh,” a girl mutters as we pass. A round of giggles follows. My cheeks flush with heat, and I pull on Axl’s and Malachi’s hands, trying to hurry to the back row, but Axl stops in his tracks. He turns to face the two giggling girls and flashes them his biggest panty-melting smile. Despite what they just said about me, they flutter their eyelashes at him. Squeezing my hand tighter, he lifts it to his lips and presses a possessive kiss on my knuckles. “Yeah, she’s with all of us,