The Vampire Prince returns to High School (Book 2)

Paying it Back

"He seems to be a nice boy," Mom answered.

Dad didn't reply.

"He is," I told her. "I mean, at first, it was tough getting to know him better because he doesn't open up well with people. After that, it got a bit better. He's still working on that."

"Seems like you've known him for a long time," Dad finally said. "Didn't you say you just met him?"

Busted. 

"John," my mom scolded. "Lighten up." She turned to me. "He's right you know."

Great. 

I cleared my throat. "True. He's not one of the newer students this semester. I had seen him around but never really talked to Alex before. Now that we're in the same class and we sit together, we get to talk more." I shrugged. "That's all I meant."

"Are you seeing him again?" she asked.

"I see him at school," I replied. 

Mom gave me a look. "That's not what I meant."

In response, I shrugged. "I don't know. We'll see. It's too early to tell."

Dad placed his utensils down. I swallowed thickly. He wasn't done with his meal yet. 

"We got some mail today," he said.

Mom also placed her utensils down and folded her hands on the table. My gut twisted. I was ready to bolt out of my chair. Had Camellia contacted them? 

"Oh?" I forced out. "Did we win a cruise?"

They shared a glance. Please let it be a cruise, I thought.

"Not exactly," Dad said. "We got an invitation."

I tried to keep the shock and horror from my face. Some of it might have slipped through because my parents frowned at me.

"Calm down, Rin," Mom scolded. "We're not making you go. Your dad and I are going."

"You are?" I squeaked out.

Why would my parents go to the Royal Ball? I get why they were invited in the first place (sort of) but why did they have to go? They were adults. They could say no.

"Of course," Dad replied. "It was nice of them to invite us and, your mom and I talked about it, and we decided to go."

"Wh-what are you going to wear?" I blurted out. "You can't just go in anything. There are protocols to follow. I mean, it's just a headache."

Mom chuckled. "Rin, what protocols? It's just a party."

I choked down my spit. "Party? It's way more than that. So many important people are going to attend. You can't just waltz in there."

"We are bringing a gift," Dad supplied. "We didn't want to show empty-handed."

"A gift? Who are you going to give it to?"

Mom and Dad shared a glance. 

"We're giving it to the couple," Mom answered. "I think Ian is going to appreciate what we picked out."

Ian? Wait. They weren't talking about the Royal Ball. What were they talking about then?

"What about Ian?" I asked. 

Dad frowned. "That's who we're talking about," he said. "He invited us to a cookout. He's been dating someone and invited co-workers to show up."

I guess I panicked for nothing. That was a relief. I was so happy to be wrong.  Camellia hadn't reached out to my parents, but she could. I couldn't let my guard down just yet. 

"That's nice," I croaked out. "I wonder who the lucky person is."

"You're invited too," Mom said to my surprise. "He liked your interview last semester."

"It's thanks to Dad that I was able to contact him," I reminded her. "Did he ever say anything about the cookies? I never asked."

"You can ask him yourself," Dad interjected. "We can all go."

I bit my lip. "When is it?" I asked.

"Next weekend," he replied. "Friday."

 What a coincidence. Ian's cook-out was a week from the Royal Ball. I was happy for him. At least now, he had someone to be with. Of course, that didn't mean that for Ian to be happy, he had to be dating someone. It was just nice that he found someone.

"Well, count me in," I told them.

To say that my parents were surprised was an understatement. They were speechless.

"What?" I asked. "Ian helped me out and I want to congratulate him. Is that okay?"

"Sure thing," Dad said. "I'll let him know."

Even though that was cleared up, Camellia's invitation hung over my head. Should I tell my parents? The answer was clear for that. I couldn't because they didn't know I owed the vampire mafia a favor. I could always make it sound like it came from the Royal family as a thank you for helping them pass the Vampire Equal Education Law. But that meant they would ask to see the invitation. They weren't going to believe if they didn't.

 Then there was Alexander. Should I tell him? What would he say? There was no win-win situation for me. If anything, I had some time to figure it out.