𝘊𝘙𝘐𝘔𝘚𝘖𝘕 ° 𝘑𝘈𝘚𝘗𝘌𝘙 𝘏𝘈𝘓𝘌 ✓

29 | THE SUN AND MOON |

"Vampires are largely territorial, little one. Even of their pets," Alec snickered at her expression, her eyes were the size of the full moon with shock. It was kind of endearing.

"You are an evil genius."

Alec chuckled darkly. "What? Did you think I was keeping you around to develop a long-lasting friendship?"

Rory frowned at his mocking words. "I'm strangely offended." She stared at him scrutinizingly. "You're low key my best friend, Alec."

"Low key?"

"Like on the down low, or just not blatantly," Rory was used to explaining modern slang terms to the ancient vampire by now.

He hummed lightly, taking a second to absorb her description. "Well, you are the only other person I tolerate in this world below my sister and masters." Alec arched an eyebrow, "So I suppose you are my 'best friend' as well."

Rory felt herself smile widely. "We should get t-shirts. Double-A? Aurora and Alec. Hashtag Alory? LMAO—oh wait you wouldn't get that," she snickered at the look of puzzlement on his face. The grin didn't disappear for hours.

"Where in America do you hail from, pet?" Alec asked out of pure boredom as he shot pencils at the ceiling again, exerting the perfect amount of strength to make them stick. He appeared to be adding constellations by the pattern of the impaled pencils, the exact ones above the city as well.

"Where do I hail from?" She held in an obnoxious snicker. The way Alec spoke sometimes made her laugh. "I'm from San Antonio, Texas." She jokingly saluted him with two fingers.

Alec nodded thoughtfully. "Mmm, once a site of brutal vampire wars—you humans would call it the American Civil War."

"I had no idea," she said lightly with just enough sarcasm Alec wouldn't detect.

It's not as if her ex vampire boyfriend was a literal Major in the confederate army at the end of his human life and the second in command of his ex girlfriend's newborn army in the beginning of his immortal life.

Alec smiled at her widely. "Humans are stupid."

"Yup." Rory pointed to her desk, his eyes following the slender, tanned limb. "Hey, pass me that box of fruit snacks, will you? I'm starving."

"Me too," he sighed deeply, his eyes darkening in agreement.

She was no longer scared of him and his empty threats. Now that they were well acquainted, whenever she did push his temper too far, all Alec did was take away one of her senses, usually her sense of touch because he found her freaked out expression amusing. When he made her mad, Rory forced him to follow her out in the public Florence night life or watch sappy, romantic movies he had no interest in.

"The prince is never going to come in time," Alec scoffed as the movie played, an Italian twist on the tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Lucky for Rory, there were english subtitles for her to understand the film. Despite living in Florence for almost four months, she was not a master of the language, at least not like Alec was, as he obnoxiously pointed out the incorrect translations and corrected them for her viewing pleasure. Rory's mother had sent the movie to her as a gag gift for her eighteenth birthday and it was the first time Rory had a chance to watch the strange movie.

"What if Sleeping Beauty's already dead?" Alec sneered at the screen as the prince attempted to search for the princess's whereabouts.

"You don't believe true love's kiss will break the curse?" Rory pretended to be shocked by Alec's cynicism. She tossed more pieces of buttery popcorn in her mouth.