HIDE (Boys Of Darlington Academy Book 1)

by D. V. EEDEN

  Miles chuckles, grabbing us both a bottle of cold water and a towel to dry the sweat from our faces.

  “Now that is letting yourself go. That is why I love dancing,” Miles takes a big gulp of water from the bottle, while I stare at him in appreciation. The way his Adam’s apple bobs from every gulp he takes, the sweat running down his pale skin. I shake off the weird feeling I’m having and gather my belongings in a bag to head towards the showers and freshen up before class.

  “Thank you,” I whisper to Miles, glancing over my shoulder before I leave.

  He nods and turns around to pack his own bag.

  Thankfully, I’m not late to my next class after lunch and Blaire is waiting for me at the entrance; everyone has already taken their seats.

  “Where have you been?” she raises an eyebrow at me and touches my wet hair, which I put in a messy bun on top of my head.

  “Dancing?” she confirms then wraps her arms around me in a brief hug before heading into the classroom.

  Hmm, okay.

  “Really, you’re fresh from a client and come straight to class?” Ruby bellows, staring at me through the slits of her eyes. “Good thing you washed before you came back. You still smell of sex though.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Ruby,” someone says as they enter the class and it’s Miles. I didn’t even know we shared a class together. He looks and winks in my direction before taking his seat on the other side of the room.

  “You know Miles Digby?” Blaire asks from behind me.

  “Yeah my dance partner, I was with him at lunch,” I tell her, wondering why she sounds so surprised.

  Ruby is staring at me like a lion stares at their prey before attacking. What the fuck have I done now? I don’t give her the satisfaction of looking back at her, but just continue sitting there, carrying on with my assignments. This is probably the only class I am academically advanced in, science.

  I mean, this is a weird university. You go to high school like normal people, but whereas most students go to college or university, this is an in between for the rich and elite. It’s the only school of its kind and all the elite from around the world attend here. I didn’t even check to see how much it costs to attend and I most definitely do not want to know.

  This is also the only class I don’t share with the three Royal douche bags. Thank god.

  The whole classroom is quiet as the sub teacher has sprung a little pop quiz on everyone for them to enjoy. I scan my eyes across the room, my eyes locking with Miles. He curls his lip into a smile for me from across the room, which sends a shiver down my spine and butterflies form in my stomach.

  He really is gorgeous; you’d think his face was sculpted by the Greek gods a thousand years ago. He made me feel so alive during lunch with our little dance around the room. Made me forget the other pricks at the school and realize I still have some good friends on my side.

  Ruby catches onto our little staring session and throws a note at Miles’ desk. He opens it, scans it quickly, and tears it apart, sticking his middle finger up at her in response.

  I barely contain a giggle because Ruby does not look too pleased with that outcome.

  The bell signals for the class to end and everyone hands in their tests to the sub. Ruby is the first one out of the classroom, mumbling shit to herself. Miles bumps his shoulder into mine and gives me another cheeky grin before leaving after her.

  Damn, his dimples when he smiles.

  “Ade, Miles is Ruby’s stepbrother. She will kill you,” Blaire sighs as we walk out together. “He’s also a dick, playboy of Darlington and never has girlfriends,” she explains.

  One, I did not even know they are related, but they’re step siblings, so why would Ruby be so pissed off about us? Two, I wasn’t interested in him that way, or even for a quick fuck, but now that I think of it… I wouldn’t mind being bedded by Miles Digby. His lean body pressed against mine and his devilish mouth…

  I quickly shake the thought out of my head before my imagination runs wild again. “We’re just dance partners for the recital and at lunch he cheered me up,” I explain. “Nothing is happening,” I say to Blaire. I kind of feel like I just lied to my best friend. And although nothing has happened between me and Miles, I want to see if something can.

  All classes are done for the day, and I have about five minutes to get to the library for my tutoring session with Hugo. The library is at least a fifteen-minute walk from where my last class is, so running is my only option.

  I don’t want to get on the wrong side of Hugo, adding him to my list of tormentors. The hallways empty quickly as everyone goes to their dorm rooms before dinner, so running through the hallways is a little easier than having to push people out of my way.

  I make it in time, bracing myself for an hour of torture, catching my breath and wiping the sweat from my forehead with the sleeve of my blazer. I round the corner and catch Hugo already seated at the table, all the books and papers meticulously organized around him. He looks sweet and innocent sitting there, writing something down in his book. My opinion changes when he looks in my direction.

  Okay there it is, the cold-hearted murderous look on his face.

  Taking in a deep breath, I take a seat directly in front of him. Hugo hands me a piece of paper, which is one of my pieces of homework already marked by the teacher. How the fuck did he get this? I look at the page and then at Hugo in confusion.

  He stares at me blankly before speaking. “I took it,” he shrugs as though it’s a normal thing to do.

  I roll my eyes and look back down at the paper in shock. I got a C on my math’s paper, which is probably the best I have ever done. I secretly whoop in my head and as if he can read my mind, he grabs it out from my grasp and sighs.

  “Don’t get too excited. It’s not that great,” he drawls. Hugo shrugs off his blazer, sliding it on the back of his chair.

  Oh Jesus Christ. My mind goes blank and my mouth goes dry as I can faintly see tattoos peeking out from where he’s taking off his tie, unbuttoning the few buttons at the top of his shirt. His neck is now on full display and it’s covered in tattoos. You would never know with his blazer on, but now that I look at him closely, I can see the black ink hiding behind the white fabric of his shirt. I swallow the hard lump in my throat and try to distract myself with something else.

  “With my tutoring, I want you to achieve an A on everything. Nothing less.” His voice sounds raspy and I see his whole persona matches the way he looks – dark and mysterious.

  His raven black hair shines in the sunlight beaming from the stained-glass windows, highlighting a slight dark blue tinge in his hair. I kind of wish my hair were that colour. It matches his dark ocean blue eyes and tanned skin.

  Hugo is the only Royal who hasn’t insulted me yet, but I feel it coming. I doubt he will continue to play nice, especially after my slight altercation with Blake in the dining hall this morning.

  “We will work on this paper this evening, as there will be another math’s test soon,” he says bluntly,handing me a worksheet to work from.

  I nod, scared to say anything in case I offend him. He starts to explain formulas to me, and we work on the worksheet together. He gives me another practice test to do now so that he can mark it before our session is over and I immediately start. I try and answer each question. I glance up and watch as Hugo completes his own homework. I try not to stare at him too much, but my eyes keep drifting back towards this god in front of me. A slight draft wafts through the library where students keep opening the door, and the smell of him teases my nostrils. The delicate scent of pinewood and orange fills the air around me.

  I catch myself and shake my head, continuing with my test. I’m acting like a horny little teenage girl around these Royals. I’ve never really thought about boys before. I was always too busy with school, my social life and surfing in the ocean. It never crossed my mind to even look at a guy and think I want a relationship or even to jump his bones.

  Moving to England h
as changed me in ways I never thought possible.

  Hugo holds out his hand to take my test once I have finished, handing him my test. He has a little tattoo on his wrist of a sword with a snake wrapped round the blade. I sit back in my chair, waiting for him to mark my answers.

  “Not bad, but you need to study more,” he purrs without looking at me. The markings on the page are all in red when he slides it back to me. I stare at it in disbelief, he’s given me a B.

  Woohoo! I scream in my head.

  Hugo stands up, packing all the books away in his backpack and holding onto his blazer. “Same time Wednesday,” he says and then suddenly he’s disappeared. Maybe he is the quiet one out of the three? I imagine having either Charles or Blake as my tutor.

  No fucking thank you.

  After my tutoring session with Hugo, I head off to my official dance practice with Miles for the recital. This time we’re not alone and the whole class joins us to practice, which I am thankful for so that my head stays in professional mode rather than flirt with Miles mode. We sit on the floor in the corner of the room looking through his phone playlist to pick a song for the routine.

  ‘’So, I think the performance needs to be broken down into three different routines. That will get us a good grade and showcase our talent’’ Miles states, as he scrolls through his Spotify playlist.

  ‘’I agree, so I think three songs and three routines?’’ I suggest, the corners of my lips tugging into a smile. I know we can achieve this as we work so well as a team.

  ‘’That is a brilliant idea, we can start off with Ballet to set the mood, and then possibly ballroom to then tango. So, we are building the suspense?’’ he says as his eyes go wide to match his grin. My belly fills with excitement, and my skin flares with goosebumps at the thought of our brilliant idea.

  The first song we decide on is a piece by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, ‘Swan Lake’, which will be ballet dancing. The second song to break the classical number is ‘I Don’t Care’ by Apocolyptica, as Miles loves his rock music and thinks we can do a romantic number with this one. I agree. We start practicing some techniques with the first two songs so that we have a flow going before we decide on another. We practice for nearly two hours straight and into the evening before calling it quits.

  “Hey, it’s still dinner time, do you want to get dinner together?” he asks, his dimpled smile automatically making me agree. We walk to the dining hall together, discussing our routine, choice of music and what we could do to make it better.

  ‘’We can ask Miss Younge to go last, as our performance will probably go on the longest?’’ I suggest to Miles, which he nods and agrees to.

  ‘’I also think an outfit change in-between could be awesome?’’ Miles says, as his beautiful eyes connect with mine. My mind goes blank and I have to shake the admiration off before I digest what he said. An outfit change between routines could also add more dramatics. I smile at Miles and nod before tearing my eyes back down to the ground. My cheeks burn as I start to blush and feel giddy and before I know it, we are walking through the dining hall doors.

  All the student’s eyes land on us as we walk through the double doors and lucky me, the Royals are at their table. I forgot that I’m dressed in gym shorts and sports bra, instantly turning my cheeks red from the heat. God, I wished I’d gotten changed before anyone else could see me. I really don’t like my body on display for everyone to view. I am so self-conscious it’s unreal, always comparing my body and looks to other pretty girls. I obsess over the way I look but, in the end, I am still not happy with how I look.

  We take a seat at another table in the hall, furthest away from the Royals, which I am guessing is his usual table. We order some chicken fajitas for dinner tonight to load up on carbs and protein.

  “So…” I drag out the word. “I didn’t realize Ruby Lockhart is your stepsister,” I say, resting my chin on my hand and staring at him.

  He clicks his tongue on the roof of his mouth before turning to look at me. “Yeah, her mum married my dad only last year,” he whispers. He seems hesitant to talk about it.

  “What about you, why are you here?” he questions me in turn, affection in his eyes and I can’t help but fall for his sweet persona. So, I decide to open up and tell him what I haven’t told anyone else here. Not even my best friend.

  I take a deep breath, whispering to Miles so no one can overhear.

  “My mum was murdered a month ago.”

  Miles leans in closer, his leg brushing against mine and I feel comforted. “She was shot in the chest, in front of me, by some random guy whilst we were shopping,” I continue with a shaky breath. Sometimes I forget there are still emotions there as I tell the story. “She went into hospital, was in a coma for a few days before my step-dad called me and told me she didn’t survive.”

  I stop talking about my past before I spill too much. I still don’t want to confess who my father is, and I don’t want to know what the consequences would be if my father found out I told someone our secret.

  Finally, I am saved by the waiter bringing our dinner to the table. We tuck in and talk about each other’s hobbies and interests which is a nice distraction from telling my story ‘’So what did you do for fun in South Africa?’’ Miles asks before he takes a sip of his water.

  ‘’Umm, well I love surfing as I grew up near the beach and dancing. That’s all I ever really did’’ I smile, my blush creeping up my cheeks again. My heart thumps against my chest as I expose myself further to Miles. ‘’What about you?’’ I ask in return.

  ‘’Well, dancing was always my passion, but I grew up around horses, so I played Polo a lot when I was younger’’ he says with a grin on his face

  Chapter Nine

  Miles and I finish our dinner and indulge ourselves in a dessert. Normally I do not eat a lot of sweet things due to dieting, but we share a caramel ice cream sundae. Considering the day, it is needed. We leave the dining hall and thankfully the Royals have already left without saying anything else.

  We end up splitting ways on the first floor where the boy’s dorms are situated, but unfortunately for me girls’ dorms are on the top floor, so there are two more flights of stairs for me to enjoy.

  I had promised Blaire at lunch that we would have a girls evening and watch loads of chick flicks tonight, which I am really looking forward to, so I hurry up the last flight of stairs. I stop in front of my door, facing a note stuck to it that is addressed to me. I grab it and quickly open the dorm room to find Maisie and Blaire sitting on the floor, painting each other’s toenails.

  “Hey sorry I’m late, I went to dinner with Miles after practice. I was starving.”

  They face each other with concern and it clicks in my head what they are thinking.

  “We are just friends,” I sigh, but I know for a fact they don’t believe me. I put my satchel on the table near my bed, clutching the note in my hands.

  ‘’Hey, did you two see the note addressed to me stuck on the door?’’ I ask, but they shake their heads.

  “Have you read it yet?’’ Maisie asks and I shake my head, slumping down on my bed.

  The girls follow my lead, sitting next to me on the bed, intrigued to see what the note says. I rip it open and find that I don’t recognize the handwriting and neither do the girls.

  “We know your secret,” I read aloud and my heart stops.

  Do they know who I really am? Who my dad is?

  The girls look at me with questioning faces, but do I lie, or do I tell them the truth?

  “I have no idea what secret their talking about,” I shrug, ripping the note up into a million pieces before throwing it into the trash can.

  “It’s probably someone playing a stupid prank on you,” Blaire insists, and I hope she is right. It could just be someone trying to scare me off.

  I get changed into comfier clothes before joining the girls for our movie marathon.

  “Hey, what film do you girls wanna watch? We have Mean Girls or John
Tucker must die?” Maisie questions whilst setting herself up on the floor.

  “Defo Mean Girls because Ade reminds me of Kat!” Blaire squeals, and I roll my eyes at her but then giggle. It’s nice to see her excited for something. I mean I could see the resemblance, only due to us both moving from Africa, but nothing else besides that.

  “I think we should dress up as Playboy bunnies for Halloween this year,” Blaire insists as we watch the scene where Kat dresses up as a zombie bride. To be honest, that would be me.

  “Halloween is still a few weeks away,” I say, secretly hoping we do not dress as Playboy bunnies. My dad would murder me if he saw me dressed like that.

  “Well it’s never too early to start planning costumes. Halloween is the biggest party of the year and it’s literally only four weeks away.” Maisie comments in between.

  “We’ll have to go shopping,” Maisie squeals and I roll my eyes at them both. The thought of attending another Darlington party makes me feel uneasy. I might not even go to this stupid Halloween party.

  We watch a few more films before Maisie retreats to her own dorm and Blaire and I settle in our own beds. I aim to have a good seven hours sleep tonight without any interruptions. Blaire puts earphones in to help her drift to sleep and the faint sound of her snoring helps me relax.

  The following day I follow through with my normal routine, but today I woke up earlier than normal from a restless night’s sleep. Already I can tell that everything will get on my nerves so I after I get dressed into my uniform I blow-dry and curl my dark locks into soft curls. May as well make myself look as presentable as I can. I put on some mascara and nude lipstick

  Seeing as I am up this early, I text Blaire to let her know that I’ll meet her in the dining hall for breakfast, but for now I make my way to the library to pull out some more books to read for my business economics class. I take a seat at my usual table, pulling out my laptop to jot down notes for my assignment later and I insert my earphones to drown out the silence that surrounds me.