Vampires Rule // Colby Brock

|~25~|

Without a word, we head towards the inside. I don't get to walk up the steps because he grabs me by my hips and picks me up. I let out a little yelp of surprise that only turns to a bit of a giggle as he places me on the top step, then jogs up to be on the same level. He takes my hand again and opens the front door for me, waiting.

It's been forever and a bit since I came into this house. It's feels weird for more than one reason. The last time I was here, I was mad at Colby and almost ran out. Now I'm here, and I'm with him. Officially. We're dating: boyfriend and girlfriend.

Oh, god. The boys are right around this corner. And the girls. I have to admit, I'm not going to look forward to their comments. I have some replies set up but that's only if one of them says something specific. It's going to be hard to stand up for myself, however, I'm determined not to let them push me around. Just because Colby has a girlfriend now doesn't mean they can treat him—or me—any differently.

That dreaded garage door sits in front of me, closed. I feel my heart beat quicken just a little but I keep up my good mood. I reach out for the knob, twist, and push open the door.

In contrast to the dark hallway, the room is lit up with LEDs. It's different to last time: more colourful. The LEDs are flashing different colours from red to green to purple at a slow rate, creating this mysterious but intriguing atmosphere.

Of course, my fascination with the change doesn't keep me distracted for nearly long enough. The heads of almost everyone in the room turns to mine and I see each of them look at our hands.

Colby comes into the room with me, shuts the door, and doesn't even hesitate to sit on the beanbag. And to pull me with him. I'm not on his lap, but close since the way the chair works pushes us together in the middle. Just when I think he's done showing everyone there's something going on between us, he leans back and drapes his arm lazily over my shoulders.

I meet Tara's eyes and see the expression on her face. It's priceless. Her jaw has completely dropped and she looks a mixture of shocked and happy, as shown by the tilt in the corner of her mouth that makes her look like a kid at Disneyland. Exactly like one.

"Hey, Elton? Am I dead?" Brennen asks without taking his eyes away from us. Elton punches him hard on the arm but he doesn't flinch. "Huh... must just be a different dimension."

I don't know what happens when I open my mouth, I only know that my attitude comes from nowhere. Maybe it's just I don't like to be treated like a museum artefact? "If it was a different dimension, then you'd actually be attractive." I remark, raising a single eyebrow at him. A hint of amusement flashes in his eyes as the others around the room snicker or laugh.

Naturally, I glance at Colby. It's a surprise to see that he's relaxed around his friends because he's let himself smile as he looks at me. Wow. This is different. I expected hard-ass, dickhead Colby the second we came through the gate but I'm getting the one that I know instead. The softer one. He'd hate that if he heard my thoughts.

"Has Colby gone and got himself a feisty girlfriend?" Elton asks with a smirk, looking at me.

"I don't want to hear another word about it." Colby snaps in his direction. I don't mind that his attitude has come out for second because mine did too. I'll let him off as long as he doesn't become distant.

"Is that a threat or a request?" Jake questions. He knows that he's only pushing his luck, which is why Colby only glares angrily at him. "Message received." He goes back to Tara, snuggling unexpectedly into her neck. She smiles and lets him. Weird. Guess he's just a bit of a neck-snuggler like Colby.

Speaking of, I decide to test how far he'll go with this 'not gonna be an ass' thing. If this makes him distant, then that's my fault. I'll admit that, but I'll also scold him later for it.