Under The Moonlight

Chapter 10 - Part 1

Raven hugged me the moment I stepped into my room. The room was still dark, moonlight streaming through the seams of the curtain. I lost my balance with the sheer force of his hug and after struggling for a bit, I managed to find my composure.

"Happy birthday Seb." 

I gave into his hug. There was no way I could force myself out of it. I quietly mumbled a 'thank you' and nuzzled against his shoulder. This hug seemed more intimate compared to the other hugs I had received. Him patting my head increased the currently unwanted feeling. There were countless of sleepless nights because the immense guilt that arose after having said feelings.

They were unneeded and completely  unwanted, I had decided.

He suddenly let me go, suddenly remembering the gift he made for me. The lights came on and there it was. It was as magnificent as the first time I saw it. The complete painting stole my breath away. It was now framed and hung on the wall by the bedpost, smack dab in the middle. 

"You made me look alluring." I sang, touching the masterpiece.

"You always look like that Seb." 

I was sure I was red. I couldn't reply to that. The gears in my head were spinning again, trying to figure out the meaning to what he said. 

"I can see your brain in action, you know. I meant what I said, Sebastian. That is exactly how I see you." He still a smile on his face but I knew he was serious about it. He took a step towards me and I swore he could hear my heart hammering. I was frozen. 

He hugged me again and I was flush against him. His hand raked through my hair and I could feel goosebumps all over. No, I shouldn't be feeling this but I was and it felt equally right as it felt wrong. 

My phone chimed and I jumped. So did Raven. I looked down to find a message from Laurie and this time, Raven saw the message too. 

Laurie: A little birdie told me that it was your birthday today so happy birthday! Leah invited me for the small get together you guys are having today after school, so I'll see you sooner than expected. Happy birthday again, handsome. 

Texting a 'Thanks', I dropped the phone on the bed and turned to Raven who seemed lost in his thoughts. He had definitely seen the message. 

It was then that the trio had deciding to barge in, their voices merging into one large cacophony. They were demanding why we hadn't come back to the  living room and that the candle was dripping all over the cake. I pointed out that they could have just blown off the candles but I was shushed by Liam. They had not noticed how tense the air was around us.

I was dragged back to living room after they had finished gushing about the painting. They were completely taken by Raven when they got to know it was him who painted it and demanded that he needed to paint for them as well. He humbly played along but it was muted. Raven's demeanor  had slightly shifted and I was the only who had realized that. He was anything but happy. 

My phone chimed yet again and Raven immediately diverted his gaze to me, his multicolored eyes fixated on what I was going to do about Laurie. And I honestly didn't have a clue.