As Landon stood on the sidewalk with Casper beside him, he almost felt a bit of darkness creeping in. But, fortunately, the light radiating off of Casper was enough to push it away. A deep, unsteady breath of air was taken into Landon's lungs and blown out before he willed himself to answer his father's phone call. Slowly, he raised the phone to his ear, making sure to keep it a little distance away.
"What's the use of paying for your phone bills when you can't even pick up when I call?"
One shot to his heart. It was quite tempting to hang up, but he had to endure it. "I'm talking to you right now, aren't I? So, I did pick up my phone, despite what you believe."
This response earned a scoff from the other end of the phone. "Don't get smart with me. You know very well that you wouldn't be speaking like that if we were talking face to face, you fa-..."
"Save the name-calling for later. I'm assuming you called because of Nina, so get to the point already," Landon seethed with his eyes transforming to red.
Again, there was another scoff. That meant that Landon had really pissed him off.
"Because of you, the Veranos severed their business connections with us. I doubt you even understand how detrimental that is for my company!" He yelled into the phone, causing Landon to flinch slightly. "All you had to do was make that girl happy, and what did you do? You got her thrown into confinement!"
"What about me?"
Nothing but silence was heard, and that was exactly what Landon expected. His father didn't care about him, not since that day.
"I was almost killed by that psychopath and her friends. For the love of God, I had a bullet in my chest! I was dying!" Landon paused, trying to catch his breath. "You didn't even send me a card! You didn't call! You didn't text! Nothing!"
"And here you are expecting me to give a shit about your damn company! Why should I care when you don't care about me, huh?!" He shouted straight into the phone.
This time, his father sighed. It was a deep drawn-out sigh that sent a chill through Landon's body. "At least you're aware of it."
"As long as you're a little fucked up man lover, you won't mean anything more to me than a measly penny."
That was the final and last blow that stole the breath from within Landon's lungs. It ripped out his heart and tore it apart into tiny little shreds. Finally having enough of seeing his friend in pain, Casper grabbed the phone, ending the call without another word.
"You know, eating sweets always brightens my mood," Casper forced a smile as he fished a muffin out of the white paper bag he was holding. "Eat it and forget about that bastard, alright?"
Landon gazed at the muffin with teary, red eyes, before hesitantly snatching it. The red in his eyes slowly melted away into a pool of purple as he ate, walking alongside Casper.
"Hey, Casper," Landon talked while he munched on the muffin, much like how a squirrel nibbles on an acorn, "I think I'll feel much better if you give me a cookie too."
Casper rolled his eyes, happy that Landon was back to acting like normal, "I'll only give you one more pastry, fat ass."
"You're just envious of my dump truck," Landon jested, quickly snatching the cookie before Casper could rethink his decision. "But, seriously, thank you for everything."
"Someone's gotta keep you smiling, and we both know I'm the best at that," Casper brushed off Landon's gratitude.
He didn't want Landon to feel the need to thank him. After all, it was his job to heal Landon when Landon couldn't heal himself.
... ... ... ...
About fifteen minutes ahead of them were Reed, Ember, and Jared. They were almost toward the Lunette High campus when they finally realized Casper and Landon had lagged very far behind them. Although Jared was relieved to have fewer people tagging along on what was supposed to be an outing with just him and Ember, he still took the time to stop and send the two of them a quick text. As he looked up from his phone to where Ember and Reed stood, a shadowy figure creeped out from a restaurant's alleyway. Jared lunged for Ember as the figure's hand clamped around her wrist, pulling her into the dark abyss of the alley before Reed or Jared could stop them. Her shriek of surprise was lost in the wind as the figure sped away from the advancing High-tiers. Reed and Jared came to a halt at a big brick wall that extended thirty feet high. The alleyway had no outlet, yet, somehow, Ember and that person were nowhere to be seen. Out of frustration, Reed kicked a nearby garbage can over. As he glared down at the trash strewn across the ground, he noticed that the hair on his arm was standing on end, almost like there was electricity coursing through the air. Electricity? Only one name came to mind.
Jared had come to the same conclusion as Reed. Both of them turned to each other at the same time, calling out the name in unison, "Eric!"
All the noises around Ember blurred together as her kidnapper ran through the city. As they slowed down, a cigarette smell mixed with stale beer attacked her senses. Wherever they were wasn't a highschool friendly venue. When they let go of Ember, she fell onto a floor cluttered with red solo cups. The cups rolled across the floor while she struggled to get up. It felt like there were needles stabbing her limbs. She quickly recovered, getting prepared to attack the person in front of her. Right when she was about to land a perfect uppercut to their chin, she paused. They were wearing what looked to be a Lunette High uniform. It was tweaked a little to fit this person's tastes though. The sports coat was replaced with a leather jacket, and the button-up wasn't even buttoned, giving her a perfect view of his muscly chest.
"Take me back to Reed and Jared," Ember ordered the intimidating white-haired vampire before her, "Or I'll call the cops on y-..."
Her phone went from being in her hands to being in the vampire's hands within seconds. The sound of electricity crackling met her ears. A plume of black smoke burst from her phone as white sparks erupted from his hand. Her phone screen flickered red before going completely black. There was no doubt that her phone was now busted.
"Hey!" She yelled at him, grabbing her warm phone from his hands, "Why the hell would you do that to my phone, you asshole?!"
Forgetting about all the lessons she went through with Reed, she stomped toward the white-haired vampire. Her finger pressed to his bare chest as she continued screaming furiously, "Don't think I'll let you go after breaking my phone. I don't care if you're a vampire, human, or alien! You better fork up some money so I can buy a replacement!"
He fiddled with a ring on his hand, ignoring Ember. This only pissed Ember off even further. So much so that she took a solo cup that was sitting on a scratched-up coffee table and threw the remaining beer inside of it on him. That was enough to get his attention.
"I don't need to concern myself with you. All I want is to get Jared and Reed over here," He explained with a slight hint of boredom. "You were the only good bait I could get my hands on, so be quiet like a proper little human."
Flashbacks of what happened with the Montclaire High-tiers bombarded Ember's mind. What if this vampire wanted to injure them as well? The worry on her face was quite obvious.
"I'm not looking for a fight. Just trying to spend some time with my friends."
"If you're friends, then why don't you just talk to them in school?" Ember asked.
"That's easy," He placed one hand in front of his face. Tiny bolts of electricity shot from his palm, spreading out like a spider web across it, "It's because I'm what they call the riff-raff of the Lunette High-tiers."
"They won't talk to me in school due to my not-so-clean reputation," He shrugged, though there was a shimmer of disdain in his eyes.
"They're not perfect angels either," Ember pointed out. "I don't see why they can't just talk to you unless they're just being stuck u-..."
"No, they're not being stuck up," He interrupted her, "They're being smart. If they start talking to me in front of everyone, they'll be criticized until there's no tomorrow."
"So think twice before you call them stuck up, got it?" He leaned down toward her, boring his purple eyes into her own.
Before Ember could offer a reply, Jared and Reed came bursting through the door that was just barely hanging on its hinges.
"It's not polite to enter someone's house without knocking," He managed to say that one sentence before being slammed on top of the coffee table.
"Eric, say your final words," Jared seethed.
"How about we talk about this over a cup of tea?" Eric attempted to reason with Jared.
"I hate tea," Jared stubbornly replied, pressing Eric's body harder onto the table, causing the stubby wooden legs to groan slightly under the pressure.
"Oh, I know."
They continued to banter back and forth as Reed expertly stepped through the maze of solo cups to get to Ember who was glumly staring down at the broken phone in her hands. A pang of guilt hit him. He should have been able to stop Eric from taking her, but he couldn't. Maybe those people are right. The people he would be referring to were the ones claiming he was a weak High-tier, undeserving of his top position.
"It took you long enough," Ember grumbled, flipping her phone over in her hands to examine the back of it. "I might have ended up dying from the smell of cigarettes if you took any longer."
"I'm sorry."
She was only joking, so when she heard him apologize it really threw her off. Frantically, she said, "I wasn't being serious! Couldn't you tell that I was making a joke?"
Grinning, he quickly exacted his revenge, "Was I supposed to laugh?"
"Well, yeah, that's what normal people do when others make a joke."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Jared executing the wrestling move, flying elbow, against Eric. This caused Eric to burst into a coughing fit from getting winded. Still coughing violently, he rolled off the coffee table and onto the floor. His body came to a stop beside Ember's left foot. Reed brought his hand up from his side, snaking it around Ember's waist, then pulling her toward him and away from Eric. Her back was now firmly pressed against his stomach. This slight contact made her shuffle forward a bit, as she could already feel the warming of the tips of her ears. But, she didn't move too far away. The fresh smell of Reed's cologne kept her close by. His cologne mellowed out the horrid cigarette stench lingering in the air. She caught herself leaning back to get a better smell of the pleasant scent of citrus and amber wood.
"I'll be nice and pretend you weren't sniffing me just now."
"Shut up," Ember grumbled, embarrassed that she was caught by Reed.
He turned his attention to Jared. "We need to get back to school." He didn't have to tell Ember this, as it was clear she wanted to leave Eric's place as soon as possible. "Mr.Kreo won't be too thrilled if he finds out we were with Eric again."
"Hey! I'm not that bad of an influence!" Eric yelled from the floor, glaring up at Reed. "And I thought you didn't care about what that fanged fossil said!"
Reed ignored the screeching from below, sending Jared a look. Both of them knew very well that Eric had to be put back in his place. Long ago, he had decided to step down from the pedestal the five top High-tiers sat upon for the whole world to see. The moment he did that, there was no rewind button. All the times when the five of them could freely talk in public and just be normal friends were gone. That was his choice, but that one simple choice had plenty of consequences he wasn't prepared for. And this was one of them.
"I got it. Now take Shortstack and go," Jared sighed, dismissing Reed's stern look.
With that, Reed tightened his grip around Ember before taking off in an inhumanely fast sprint out the door. The door creaked shut, filling the emptiness that had settled in the room. The once rowdy and friendly mood was smothered by a more serious one. Despite this, Eric continued acting oblivious, laying on his stomach with his legs swinging back and forth in the air and his head resting in his hands. Jared stared down at him, smiling with a slight wince. He would be lying if he said he missed the old times when it was the five High-tiers, not four.
"Listen, Eric-..."
Standing up, Eric put up a hand, stopping Jared mid-sentence. He closed that hand into a fist, then opened it, pointing his finger at Jared. A single streak of electricity shot from the tip of his finger. Jared shot out of the way, barely saving himself from being electrocuted. He skidded to a stop a few feet from where Eric stood with his head hung.
"I get that you guys can't risk being seen with someone like me, but..."
His voice trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. What he wanted to say remained lodged in his throat. I just want us to act normal for once. Even if it was just for a short amount of time, he wanted them all to act like regular teenagers. That was something that could only be dreamt about though. While he was able to do such a thing, his friends weren't. Because of that, a rift has been made between them, all because he was the only one who valued his happiness over that of a petty rank. He was never happy with trying to live up to the expectations of a High-tier, but he wasn't happy living the life of a failed High-tier either.
"Just visit me once and a while, alright?" Eric asked, a plea hidden beneath his words. "Things get kind of shitty when your friends avoid you like the plague."
"I mean, you at least owe me that much. You asshats didn't even wish me a happy birthday," He added, trying to hide his sadness with a nonchalant tone.
Taken by surprise, Jared sputtered out, "That's today?"
"It's on the same day as every other year."
Jared rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly saying, "Uh, happy birthday, Eric."
An awkward smile fell over Eric's face. Although that happy birthday wasn't the best, he was just glad to have gotten one. "Thanks, but next year you better send me one hell of a good present. I'm thinking a Lamborghini would suffice, or maybe a villa on the beach."
"Actually, no, a bunch of pole dancers would be way better. I could probably bring them over to Mr.Kreo's office and get the old geezer some action," He continued fantasizing about his present for his nineteenth birthday while Jared only laughed at him.
Jared cut off Eric's long list of possible presents, "I'll give you a picture of me with my signature on it, how about that?"
"I'll pass."
The utter repulsion in his reply made Jared bust out laughing. Soon, Eric was joining him. When their laughter finally died down, they continued talking. It was almost as if things were back to normal again, and that was all Eric ever wanted.
... ... ... ...
With her head tucked into the crook of Reed's neck, Ember held onto him tightly, almost crushing the life out of him as he came to a stop at her dorm. Fortunately, most of the Lunette students were currently dining in the cafeteria, so he didn't have to worry about onlookers seeing the bizarre sight of Ember clinging onto him like a koala on a tree. He tapped her left shoulder blade, signaling her to unwrap her arms and legs from around him.
"We're there already?" She squeaked, opening her eyes. Ever so slowly, she placed one foot on the ground, and the other followed soon after. She cleared her throat, pulling down her hiked-up skirt. "Don't get any strange ideas. I only hugged you because I didn't want to die."
"And what 'strange ideas' are you referring to exactly?" He smirked.
Realizing she set herself up, she quickly changed the subject, not being subtle about it in the least, "Anyways! I'm pretty hungry, so I think I'll head to the cafeteria. See you-..."
As she made a hasty escape down the hallway, Reed's hand caught her wrist, making her come to a sudden stop. She let out an exasperated sigh. The reason behind his stopping her was most likely to continue tantalizing her for what she said earlier.
Instead, Reed said, "I'll go with you...to the cafeteria, that is."
His offer surprised her, as it was a tad bit out of character for him to say such a thing. He was always worried about how others would perceive him when he was around Ember. Hell, if he were to waltz into the cafeteria with Ember beside him, people were bound to start chattering amongst themselves, immediately forgetting about the food on their plates. But, the thing was, he was willing to risk the chance of rumors being spread.
She pondered over his offer for a bit, weighing the pros and cons of accepting it. Finally, she answered, "As long as I don't become your dinner, you can come with me."
"I can't make any promises," He half-joked, happy that she hadn't rejected him.
Almost instantly after hearing his response, she turned on her heels, going straight for the exit. If he couldn't reassure her that he wouldn't try to bite her, then his offer was rejected. She'd rather go to the cafeteria by herself anyway. Going with Reed was basically asking to be the center of attention. Everyone would stare at them as soon as they arrived, bought their food, sat down, ate, and threw out their food. Their eyes would only divert from the two when they finally left.
Right as Ember pushed open the door that led outside, Reed hastily followed her, yelling, "Wait up! I won't drink your blood. I promise, okay?"
"Look, I'll even stay three feet away from you for the whole entire time if you don't trust me!" He caught up to her, keeping his distance as they walked through the grass to the pathway that led to the quad.
Ember laughed to herself, finding his desperation to convince her to be funny. "Calm down, Princess. I'm not the type of person to let a fair lady like you be by their lonesome at dinner time."
"If anything, I'm a prince, not a princess," He corrected her. "And I guess if I'm a prince that would make you a peasant."
"Peasant, my ass. I'm the queen," She declared, raising her head high whilst placing her hands on her hips.
Laughter erupted from their mouths simultaneously. It danced through the night, winding down the pathway. As they laughed, Reed stole a glance at Ember. At that moment, her eyes were absolutely fascinating in the moonlight. They were just beautiful. She's beautiful.
"You're breathtaking," Reed murmured under his breath, still gazing at her.
Taken aback by Reed's sudden boldness, she stuttered, "S-stop fooling around. It's...it's not funny!"
He broke his promise of keeping three feet of distance between them as he moved closer to her. "This time, I'm being serious."
Ember moved farther away from him, crossing her arms over her chest protectively. He was getting way too close to her. Was this him trying to lure her in to get a taste of her blood? When that thought passed through her head, her heart ached more than it should have. This was exactly why she didn't want to get involved. She didn't want to get attached. She must remind herself that this guy was an apex predator, not her friend. Despite knowing this, she still found herself wanting to trust him. But trust isn't something you can build up in the blink of an eye.
"You have a snowball's chance in hell if you think you can drink my blood by coercing me with some pretty words, Reed," Ember snapped, bringing her guard back up. "Keep your distance from me or I'll sock you."
He was foolish to have made such a risky advance toward Ember when he knew about her being a true blood. Of course, she would be scared away the moment he said 'you're breathtaking'. Seducing your prey is close to being number one in a vampire's playbook. Everyone knows that. But he was truly speaking from his heart. Not a single thought about Ember's blood drifted through his mind as he gazed at her. It hurt that she still only saw him as a vampire, an untrustworthy vampire at that.
"You know, I was so hell-bent on walking with you because I was worried that some vampire might try to attack you on your way to the cafeteria. But I guess you wouldn't feel any safer with me by your side."
"After all, I'm trying to get a bite out of you too, aren't I?" He mocked her, feeling slightly annoyed.
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. Her habit of assuming the worst in Reed just because he was a vampire was really biting her in the ass. Now she wished she could take all the things she said before and stuff them back in her mouth. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat, trying to think of how to make up for her mistake.
As Reed purposefully strayed from her on the dirt path and onto the dewy grass, she apologized, "I'm sorry, I know you meant well."
Stopping in his tracks, he turned back to look at her. Say something else, damn it. Sorry's not gonna cut it! Her mind went blank as she struggled to think of what else to say to him.
The moment Ember let her gaze settle on him, words began pouring from her lips like someone else was speaking through her, "I just...have my reasons for acting so cautious around you and other vampires."
"I know. It must be hard," He accidentally let his thoughts come out of his mouth.
It sounded like he knew exactly what those 'reasons' of Ember's were. Her eyes widened in fear and a little bit of shock. He grimaced, cursing in his head. Shit! I can't believe I said that out loud! The look on her face was enough to tell him that she was about to run. He had to think of something and fast or else she might just flee off to another country.
"Everyone has their reasons. I mean, I too have my own reasons for being an asshole at times!" He frantically fixed his huge fuck up, smiling through the pain of having to call himself an asshole.
This made all the worry lift off her face. She snickered, "Actually, you can be a major asshole sometimes."
"Hey, what did I tell you? No cursing around vampires, Little Rabbit," Reed scolded her.
"Don't fret, Princess. I won't curse when I'm with other vampires. But, you're special, so I'll use whatever foul words I want with you," She explained, unintentionally drifting toward him as they walked.
"Special? I'm not sure if I want to be special to you," He remarked.
After a few seconds of silence passed between them, she replied, "Too bad. Whether you want to or not, you'll always be special to m–..."
Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying. The cheesiness of her sentence was a solid ten. One was the minimum, bearable amount of cheesiness. Ten was the equivalent of her shooting up spray cheese up her nose and it coming out of her mouth in the form of an embarrassing sentence.
Before Reed could say anything, Ember quickly told him, "Forget about everything you just heard me say."
"What if I don't want to forget?"
That was the wrong thing to say. Immediately, Ember went straight for a stick laying in the grass to her right. She wielded the stick like a sword, running at Reed. In response to this, he ran in the opposite direction into a garden, straying from the path leading to the cafeteria building. Although Reed could easily outrun her or take the stick from her hands, he kept running away from her and evading her attacks like a regular human would. Funnily enough, he liked acting as if he were a normal human, not a High-tier vampire.
Slightly out of breath, she huffed out, "I'll make you forget!"
"That flimsy twig won't even leave a scratch on me!" He yelled over his shoulder while leaping over a bed of primroses Ember had recently planted.
"Why don't you stop running so I can test that out?" She raised the stick above her head with a wild grin.
Ember ran around the bed of flowers, not wanting to risk crushing them as she followed close behind him. Running wasn't her strong suit, but she was determined to catch Reed. This determination allowed her to keep up with him. When she was closing in on him, he suddenly halted. Her mind told her to stop, but her legs kept going, causing her to collide with his hard back. He jolted forward, losing his balance as they both fell. Quickly, he twisted his body around, pulling Ember flush against his chest so he could cushion her fall. They laid on the ground with their chests heaving up and down as they attempted to catch their breath after running around for five minutes straight. Instead of moving herself off of him immediately, she laid her head on his chest, relaxing.
"Your heartbeat is going a mile a minute," She commented, closing her eyes.
"It's been a while since I've run without the use of my powers," He explained, holding back the urge to run his hand through Ember's hair.
"Well, it's nice to listen to."
As she listened to his heartbeat, she forgot that she was laying on top of him. At this moment, with the moonlight shining down on them, she felt peaceful and safe beside him.
"Open your eyes for a second," He told her as he propped his upper body up with his elbows.
When she did, all she could see were his purple eyes. In the darkness, they shimmered brilliantly, like jewels.
"I wish I had your eye color," They admitted in unison, still staring into each other's eyes.
Reed smiled, shaking his head, "Be happy with your green eyes. Practically everyone else around here has purple ones. It's refreshing to actually see something different."
She traced the yellow stitching of an 'L' on the right pocket of his dress shirt with her pointer finger, deciding, "I'll stick with green eyes then. Besides, it suits me much better than that ugly color of purple."
"A few moments ago, you were wishing to have that ugly color of purple instead," He pointed out, watching her as she finished tracing the 'L'.
Looking up at him, she shrugged, "You convinced me otherwise."
Their little moment was ruined by the sound of Ember's stomach growling extremely loudly. Reed raised his eyebrows, surprised that her stomach was able to produce such a big noise.
"Seems like someone's hungry," He teased her as they stood up.
She punched him in the arm, "If you didn't run away, then we would have been eating by now."
"To be fair, you were chasing me with a stick," He defended himself, returning her punch softly.
... ... ... ...
When they arrived at the doors that led to the cafeteria, Reed pulled open the door, holding it open for Ember. She hesitated, giving him a suspicious glance. Was this another one of those tests? He motioned with his hand for her to go inside. It wasn't a test, after all, which surprised her. She walked inside, still completely shell-shocked by Reed's odd behavior. Before he could follow her into the cafeteria, his phone jingled. He let the door close shut, reluctantly pulling his phone from his pocket. The moon hid behind the clouds as he read over the text from Aiko, 'Come to my dorm. I need your help'. He went to shut his phone off but he stopped. No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn't ignore her.
Ember pushed open the door, sticking her head out to see Reed still standing outside. "Get your ass inside or I'm going to take the last piece of cake at the dessert counter."
He put his hand holding his phone behind his back, typing with his thumb. His message read, 'I'll be there soon'. Once he finished, he gave Ember a fake smile. "I just remembered that I have to do...something. You better save me half of a slice for when I come back though."
"I may or I may not," She laughed, then ducked back inside and closed the door, drowning out the sound of the chattering students eating dinner.
Reed trudged over to Aiko's dorm. He would much rather be eating dinner with Ember in the cafeteria, but unfortunately, his girlfriend came first. When he finally arrived at her door, he paused for a second, contemplating whether he should leave or not. If he sent her a text saying something came up, then he could go back to Ember. Just as he was about to turn around, the door swung open. Aiko had her bleached blonde hair in a messy bun. She was decked out in a painting smock. Gray splotches were littered across it. On her cheeks, forehead, and the tip of her nose were spots of the same neutral-colored paint. Before Reed could ask why it looked like she had taken a bath in paint, he was tugged inside her dorm by his arm. He was dragged across the fluffy, white carpet on the floor and over to her tiny bed. Not a single word passed between them as she sat Reed down on the bed. His face fell as a possible reason for her calling him over passed through his mind. Instead of undressing as Reed expected her to, she began fixing Reed's posture. He went from slouching to sitting straight up with his head tilted slightly to the side.
"Alright, perfect! Stay just like that," Aiko told him, scurrying over to the wicker chair.
He followed her with his eyes as she pulled a sketchpad, along with a pencil, from her desk. She crossed one leg over the other before setting to work. Her pencil scratched across the white paper, creating the shape of a head.
As he sat there quietly, he kept his attention focused on her concentrated face that was illuminated by the star-shaped lights hung around the room. The soft glow made her features even prettier, believe it or not. Despite this, no thoughts of her beauty floated around in his head, instead, all he could think about was Ember. To be sure that no vampires were bothering her as she ate, he trained his ears on the noises emitting from the busy cafeteria, trying to find any sounds connected to Ember. Thankfully, he was able to focus on her heartbeat. It was steady, which most likely meant that she was fine. Would I be able to get there in time if something goes wrong? His leg started to jiggle up and down as he grew impatient. Fifteen minutes had passed by already. Each time he secretly checked his watch, another minute ticked away. He said he would be back, but, at this rate, Ember would end up leaving the cafeteria alone.
"Reed, quit moving around! I'll be done soon, so bear with it for a little longer."
The sound of Ember's heartbeat was cut off as he lost focus after being startled by Aiko's voice. His lips set into a fine line. He wanted to just get up and leave. The only thing that was stopping him was himself. He was too afraid to upset the one person that claimed they loved him. If he left them, who would he be able to turn to? Who would love him? No one. Unbeknownst to him, there was someone else lying in wait for him. He may not realize it yet, but he was waiting for them as well. Slowly, his body relaxed as he gazed out the window, staring at the crescent moon. The rhythmic sound of Ember's heartbeat found its way to his ears once more. Any of those suffocating negative thoughts from before were put to rest as he smiled, reminiscing on Ember's words. You're special. Though he wouldn't admit it, he loved hearing those words come from her. It made him inexplicably happy.
"Does that sound good?"
"Yeah, it sounds great," Reed responded without knowing what Aiko had said before.
"I knew it. You were thinking about something or, rather, someone else," Aiko accused Reed, glowering at him as she set down her finished sketch of him. "I can sense a human's aura all over you. I'm almost certain that I know who this mysterious human is."
Out of shock, Reed burst into a coughing fit. Ember's aura must have stuck to him when they were fooling around in the garden earlier. Going into his girlfriend's dorm with her aura on him was like walking into a lion's den with a steak tied around his neck. Surely, he would be eaten alive.
"Honestly, I'm disappointed. I thought you were my boyfriend, but it seems like you are eagerly falling right into Ember's arm," She sighed, standing up from where she sat.
Reed went to get up from the bed, but she placed a hand on his shoulder keeping him seated. The look that was laying in her eyes was one of complete malice.
"You love me," Aiko quite literally told Reed as if she was in control of his feelings and not him, "Right? Tell me I'm right, Reed."
He swallowed. It felt like his mouth had turned into sandpaper. Averting his eyes from her, he whispered, "Right."
She brought both of her hands to each side of his face, making him stare right at her. A wicked grin formed on her lips as his words echoed through her head. That wouldn't be enough to satisfy her though. What she wanted was assurance. The assurance that he was still hers.
"Say it," She whispered to him, drawing her lips towards his.
He pulled backward slightly, forcing himself to say, "I love you, Aiko."
When she went to kiss him, he turned his head to the side, frowning. For a split second, her eyes flashed red in a fit of anger, but she controlled it, not wanting to lash out at him again. Besides, he would come around if she pushed him a little bit. All he needed was some convincing, then he'd comply as he did before.
"Stop thinking about that human. You're a High-tier vampire. Being with her would be taboo." She chose her words carefully, hitting all of Reed's vulnerable spots in a few sentences. "All you would do is ruin her life."
"You don't want to ruin her life, do you?" Aiko murmured this softly, pressing him down onto the bed as his expression went blank. "I'm sure you're smart enough to make the correct choice, Reed."
And with that, he kissed her. There was no passion, no love, nothing was behind the kiss they shared together on her bed. He expertly threw off both his and Aiko's clothes without breaking their kiss. A gasp left her lips as his hand traveled below her torso and beneath the band of her underwear. Each movement he went through was meaningless. Even with Aiko moaning, engulfed in pleasure beneath him as he embraced her, he didn't feel a thing. But, every once and a while, the feeling of hatred would surface. A feeling that almost always was accompanied by what he believed to be love.
... ... ... ...
As Ember was finishing her meal, Reed finally was able to escape from Aiko. After giving her what she wanted, he hastily got out of bed. Carefully, he slipped his clothes back on, trying not to wake his sleeping girlfriend. When he put his sport coat over his dress shirt, his phone buzzed. He unlocked his phone to read the message from Ember, 'I already ate your half of the cake, sucker'. Smiling, he replied back, 'Stay at the cafeteria, I can walk you to your dorm'. As he went to leave, a hand caught on the back of his sport coat. Immediately, his heart sank. That hand could only belong to Aiko, which meant that he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Another message from Ember displayed on his phone screen, reading, 'There's no need. Cohen is with me'.
"Who are you texting?" There was an edge in Aiko's voice, as she suspected that it was a certain brunette.
"No one important," Reed muttered, throwing his phone onto the wicker chair.
I guess...she was right. Grudgingly, he let Aiko pull him back into bed with her. She snuggled up against him, nestling her head into his chest. When she fell asleep again, Reed turned his back toward her, frowning. First, the Montclaire High-tiers attacked him and his friends, then he had to deal with people whispering about him and those rude articles online, and now he was stuck laying beside a girl who he had to convince himself he loved. Things couldn't possibly get any worse. Of course, they can.
... ... ... ...
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