The Crystal 3 by Jones M (best beach reads TXT) 📖

form blocked the view of his class. He turned, and I saw that some of his students were curiously looking at me.

"Wow. You really do teach!" I said. Zane smiled at me, opening the door wider. He backed into the class as I stood there, only meeting his gaze and seeing the stares from some of his students.

"Would you like to enter and meet everyone?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Oh, no, no. I was just coming to say hi before I went to... uhm... this thing with Ashley."

"It's okay, Emery. My students don't bite like those dreaded piranhas from Piranha 3D."

Zane shuddered as if repulsed by the memory of the movie. That earned him a few chuckles.

"Okay," I entered the class with Zane closing the door behind me.

I was surprised once I entered it. It did not look like an ordinary class. There were some wooden tables, sure, but the class was filled with sofas and mats. It almost felt like a comfortable home.

I momentarily stood still as I looked at the occupied seats. Zane's students were not many. They were around 10, and that made me calm.

"Hi!" I greeted with a smile that I hoped did not look creepy.

"Hi!" the class spoke in unison. Nothing else was said. I could hear a clock tick as a second passed.

With a smile, I looked at Zane's students for a while and then looked at Zane.

"Okay. Now I have to go," I spoke, going for the door.

"Are you Emery?" a deep voice inquired, stopping me in my tracks. I turned to face the guy. He was still in his teen years like most of the class, and he had blonde hair. He was looking at me with a smirk as he stared at me.

I cautiously nodded my head in response to what he asked. "Yeah."

The guy smiled before saying, "Zane talks about you sometimes."

"Luke!" Zane shouted with a censoring voice. I turned to face him, noticing that a blush had started to form on his cheeks.

"Ooh! Can you sing?" Luke asked.

"Uhm..." I trailed off as I tried to come up with a lie. I didn't expect Zane to be a teacher, let alone a music teacher. It was all shocking to me, and so I was still trying to come to acceptance with it.

"Please?" the other students pushed, making it hard for me to say no.

"I could suck," I said as a warning.

"I have a feeling you won't," Zane said as he stared at me with a smile.

"You won't," the guy whose name I learned was Luke replied.

"Yeah," another girl spoke. "We saw your performance on the American Idol! What was the song called again?"

"Umm..."

"Could you also make a digital copy so I could listen to it?"

The girl suddenly gasped.

"Can you sing it? Oh, and another one?"

Everyone including Zane was staring at me with expectant eyes.

"Fine," I sighed. 

I sang the first song I ever wrote: Mr. Know It All. Everyone was silent, and I felt as if I was on stage. The class had enchanted the nearby music instruments to come up with the tunes that were similar to those I used in the song. When I was done, everyone applauded me.

"Thank you, thank you. Now I--"

"Another one!" The girl who told me to sing had shouted, earning sounds of agreement from the rest. I sighed. It looked like I was not going to sneak away so soon.

I looked at Zane for help, noticing that he was smiling at me. He just shrugged his shoulders.

The class was suddenly quiet as I thought of a song.

"Fire and ice..." I began singing Ellie Goulding's 'Still Falling For You.'

Once I was done, the whole class applauded again. I heard a bell suddenly ring.

"Alright, everyone! That was the end of our class," Zane shouted as the students began packing their stuff. "Make sure you do your assignment!"

"What assignment?" I asked Zane.

"Picking a song about love and coming to sing it in front of me."

Before I could say anything, some of Zane's students gathered around us. I thought they wanted to talk to Zane, but they apparently wanted to know more about me.

They acknowledged that I had a beautiful voice. Some even asked for opinions on how to maintain a tone, even though I was not a professional musician. That was quickly followed by them begging for me to visit them again. I promised to visit again, and they were happy. Then they bid Zane and me goodbye as they left the class.

"How did you like them?" Zane suddenly asked. I faced him, noticing that he was packing a small brown leather suitcase with some documents.

"They're great," I replied, earning a pleased smile from Zane. He took his suitcase as I opened the door before we were walking out of the class.

"You will come again, wouldn't you?" Zane continued. We were passing the empty open classrooms. A janitor made himself visible with a bucket of water and a mop.

"I shall."

"Great! My students love you," he continued, and I blushed. 

He suddenly grabbed my waist, pulling me towards him as his lips started devouring mine.

The kiss had taken me by surprise, but it didn't stop all the wonderful emotions I felt around Zane. 

After what felt like a long time, he ended the kiss and grinned at me. I felt my cheeks turn a deep shade of red, making Zane chuckle.

I really needed to sort out my feelings for Zane.

 

Chapter 20

 

Emery's P.O.V

A week had passed. Selena was still busy with stuff involving her upcoming coronation. Zane and I had been hanging out some more ever since I went to his class. In fact, I had visited his class on two other occasions. His students were great and also fun to hang out with. During the week that had passed, I got to know more of Zane. However, my feelings for him were growing as the days passed.

Any doubts of Zane having changed his previous outlook on life had been completely erased. It was like he was a new person I got to know every day, and it was getting harder and harder not to let my crush on him affect my judgment. 

Especially since he found every opportunity to confuse me with his kisses and to make me lose my mind with his fiery touches. 

I was afraid I had already gone too deep. What would I do?

I was at my home when I decided to call Zane and ask if he was free. He said he couldn't do anything because he had some work to do. I did not know how to feel when Zane told me that. I was happy that I got a break from the onslaught of emotions I felt when I was around him, but I was also sad that I wouldn't get to see him.

It was very confusing. I needed to deal with my feelings before they took total control of me.

A knock sounded on my door, bringing my attention to my surroundings. Since Zane was busy with work, I planned to spend the day watching Disney animated movies. Unfortunately, the knock on my door signaled that it would not happen.

With a sigh, I headed towards it. I opened it, surprised to see Logan and Harry.

"Hey..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Hi, Emery! What are you planning to do today?" Logan asked with a smile as Harry looked everywhere but at me.

"Movies. Why?"

"Well, we thought you might want to go shopping with us--"

"I just went shopping yesterday," I interrupted.

"Not for you," Logan said with narrowed eyes. "Harry and I need help with grocery shopping, and I thought that a woman knows what to get for a house."

"Why didn't you ask--"

"Selena is busy with the coronation, which, to my surprise, is in a few days. Ashley and Elizabeth are helping her with the preparations while trying to calm her down."

I smirked, knowing that I was fortunately not included in the current mess that was Selena's coronation. I quickly wiped the smirk off when I remembered I was free, which meant spending time with Logan and Harry.

It wasn't that I hated them. I only spent time with them when we were in a group like during the dinner we had with Elizabeth and Erick. It would seem awkward for me to be around them. Also, I was feeling particularly lazy on that day.

"We'll even buy you two boxes of pizza," Logan added. "And Harry can cook for you."

"What?" Harry asked Logan in disbelief.

"No backsies," Logan replied.

"Fine," I replied, getting out of the house. "But you don't have to cook for me, Harry. The two boxes of pizza will be enough."

Harry did not reply. I chose not to think about it when I spotted Logan's eyes observing me.

"Aren't you going to change?" he asked. I had worn a brown shirt with a blue pair of jeans. I had straightened my hair, and I had applied a decent amount of makeup.

"No. Why?" I asked him. Logan took his time to reply.

"Doesn't matter," he said, walking towards something on his left. I turned to the direction, noticing a black car had been parked there.

"You guys came with a car?" I questioned.

"Yep," Logan replied.

"Why? If we can teleport, why can't we just do that to the city?"

"Do you know the way to the city?" Logan countered. I went to say yes, but I stayed silent as I thought about it.

I didn't. The only times I went there was through the power of teleportation.

"There you go. Now, come on. We have some shopping to do," he said as we approached the vehicle. Logan opened the door near the back seats. 

The car had black leather seats and tinted windows. I entered and situated myself on the back seats. Logan and Harry walked to the front seats and closed their doors once they had sat. Harry started the engine, and we were soon on our way. 

I observed as Harry drove the car towards the direction opposite the one that led to the castle. The ground was populated by grass and dirt, and I was surprised that the vehicle could even move.

"You should tell Erick to have some guys tarmac a pavement for you," Logan said minutes later when we began going through a rough patch on the ground. I looked to my right, noticing that the nearby surrounding trees completely hid my home. I then looked forward, seeing that we were approaching a six-lane tarmacked road. It was smooth sailing from there.

It honestly did not feel like we were driving to the city. There was barely any sign of civilization as the vehicle covered more distance. The only things I could spot were the trees and fields of green all around.

About twenty minutes later, I spotted some signs of civilization. It first started with some houses. I could then spot familiar buildings in front of me that showed we were close to the city. A short while later, Logan, Harry and I were driving through the city. We soon packed near a large building with blue glass-tiled walls that reflected the sky and nearby buildings.

"We're stopping here," Logan said as Harry stopped the engine. I opened the door beside me, slowly getting out of the car as I looked at my surroundings.

I felt suddenly lost.

"Come on, Emery!" Logan said as