World After Worlds

"Please don't get too close, Lyndon," Tiana muttered while her hands were against Lyndon's chest. He was so close that it was affecting how her mind was functioning. As she stared at his eyes, it felt like he was sucking her soul in. Any moment, he would kiss her like he did at the back of the academy.

Worst of it, all she could do was politely refuse. Because somehow, she was anticipating the next thing he would do to bring her the same thrill he made her feel when he unruly pinned his mouth on hers. She blushed at her thoughts…

"Why? Is your heart beating too loud because of me?" He asked but she could discern the arrogance in his tone. "You don't like me but your body is becoming weak from my touch? You want me to kiss you again, right?" He dispersed the grin on his face and stared at her with such a serious expression that made her heart go wild. Against the circumstances, Tiana struggled to show him that she could remain calm under his pressure.

"N-no, of course not. No! Why would I want to be kissed like that again?" She looked away and tried to hide her reddening face from him. This conversation was too embarrassing. He did not speak for the moment and pulled her closer. She gasped when she felt his mouth right next to her ear. His warm breath was giving her chills and a terrifying sensation of satisfaction. It was ticklish and very obscene. They're not lovers, why is he so bold right now?

"If you say please, I will kiss you."

"W-what?" Although her joints particularly on her arms were being useless she managed to push him away, with just enough distance between them for her to see his face. He looked so serious. He seemed to want her to beg him to kiss her.

Who in their right mind would ask someone to be violated? Despite his actions making her knees stagger she is not crazy to please him for rudely kissing her. Her first kiss earlier… She imagined it to become romantic and special. But when Lyndon kissed her— it was not romantic but sensual.

"Doesn't it feel nice?" He asked with a dire tone, she crossed her brows with the question he asked. Nice? What's nice? She could not function because of his doings and he was asking if she felt nice? Is he asking because he doesn't know or he was just teasing her? And why did it sound like he was copying someone else's dialogue? The way he spoke to her was so out of character. She stared back at him with the intention for him to notice that she was not feeling anything from what he was doing.

But minutes had passed and it seemed like he was waiting for her to answer his weird question. Fine. It was making her flatter. But the fact that she was cornered on the kitchen counter with his arm around her body—it was not that nice!

"What do you mean nice?" She exclaimed but lowered her voice, she had no courage to make him angry at her at all. In the end, she could not eliminate her 'people-pleasing attitude. "You are cornering me and confessing to me but you are so overbearing that it felt like you are threatening me. What's nice with that?" She uttered without looking at his reaction.

"Don't you like it?" She could not reply with another query that did not make sense. She turned to look at him and she could distinguish the disappointment in his eyes. She parted her lips to scold him. This was not a proper way to treat her but she could not bear to see what he would do when she denied it.

"I don't like it." She answered half-truth. Because she was not sure if she liked this or not. It made her flustered and her heart racing but being restrained and taken control over like this would not be good. "Would you like it if you were being cornered like me?" She felt him stiffen so her gaze fell onto his face. He seemed to recall something and saw his expression become complicated.

"I understand." He said but that did not answer her question at all. Tiana tried to think of a situation where Lyndon could be restrained like this and he would react the same as she does. FLustered, shy, helpless, and being asked sultry subjects. He loosened his grasp on her and gave her room to breathe. He turned his back on her and went to the sink to bring her a cup of water.

Tiana was not sure what had gotten with Lyndon today. He kept on advancing toward her. This surprised her because he was usually not the type of guy who would suddenly make these hasty moves. Kissing her out of nowhere and saying these shrewd confessions to her. He may be capricious but he was careful in each of the actions he would take. He would always take into consideration what might become the consequences of what he was doing.

She also found it weird before that he was slowly getting acquainted with becoming intimate with her. She thought it was too different from his usual self but she justified the changes by thinking that he changed like that to make up with her. That he changed because he was challenged by how Kraig was able to get too close to her in a short period.

For the time she had shifted her attention to someone else because he was being too timid. He realized that he should be aggressive and forward instead. However, his advancement today was specifically more interactive and vigorous.

But then again. This was such a weird incident. Although she knew people change all the time, why did it feel like he was changing because someone was influencing him? Someone was encouraging him to have a habit that he was having of the recent events? Someone was passing him this sick habit of bullying people to make his heart flutter.

That was not possible though.

How could that be when she was the only person who could be in contact with him? Every time he did things to her, it was faint but Tiana could see how different his eyes would be whenever he was aggressive to her. Like he was triggered… as if someone provoked him to force him to be with her… or was she overthinking? Why would someone provoke Lyndon to be in a relationship with her?

She would laugh at the thought that Lyndon was being controlled by someone else. That was such a joke. Who could manipulate a man like him? She couldn't imagine anyone would have the ability to tame him.

"Thank you," she yielded the glass of water and slowly drank it. He watched her closely and the fiery emotion in his eyes did not subside yet. It appeared to her that he was still under the notion of doing something bad to her.

Did he want to retaliate? He was mad, but why? What did she do wrong?

Then, it hit her. The realization.

Another possibility, that was much more plausible and realistic was he was not so benevolent with her anymore. Lyndon was simply into her, he liked her and he was behaving nicely—he had been patient for two months and maybe he was not as tolerant as he used to be. Who could be forbearing if someone you like was blatantly exhibiting favor for another person? He may have reached his limit, especially because she was too annoying these past few weeks. She was desperate to gain Kraig's affection that she had been acting such a nuisance to Lyndon. She can't blame him for suddenly being like this, it was reasonable. However, she might understand why he acted like this, that did not mean she could just accept his aggressive approach.

He said that he would court her but just by hearing his statement, it sounded to her ears as if she had already accepted his proposal.

When she was done drinking the water and the ambiance between them had calmed down, she looked at the apron he put on her and noticed that it was dirty. Not very dirty but there were stains on it… and it was yellow. Oddly, a person she always hated appeared in her mind. Out of all the colors in the world, why was it yellow?

"The assignment is about making a simple healing potion. Since we both can use mana to activate it, this would not be too hard to create."

"What I said earlier, I won't take it back. Starting tomorrow, I will court you." She halted on preparing the tool on the counter when Lyndon said those words. Tiana did not know what to say so she pretended that she had not heard a thing and they silently work in their assignment.