Cohen fumbled around with the key in his hand, struggling to unlock Mr.Kreo's office. After he received the short message, 'My office, now', he dropped everything and started running. He was always at the beck and call of the Elder, always obeying him. There was no other nickname more fitting for him than 'Elder's dog'. He scowled momentarily as the nickname sounded through his mind. I'm no do–...His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a low groan erupting from behind the door. Without wasting another second, he swung open the door, quickly shutting it upon seeing the vulnerability of the Elder who was lying motionless on the floor, bathed in his own blood.
"I thought you were supposed to be invincible," Cohen snorted as he weighed the situation, finally realizing that he had the advantage now.
Abaddon placed his hand flat on the ground, attempting to lift his abnormally frail body upward. His shaky arm proved to be nothing but useless. It gave out almost immediately. He made his hands into weak fists as he grew frustrated at his powerlessness. Cohen only watched in amusement, tilting his head to the side as he bent down to the ground.
"The all mighty Elder can't even get up! What a sight for sore eyes," He chastised him without any care for the consequences to come for making fun of Abaddon. "So what did you call me over here for?"
"Help," Abaddon managed to croak out.
"You must be going senile. I mean, why would I ever willingly help you?"
Out of a fit of rage, Abaddon forced himself to move, despite the pain in his body. He snagged Cohen's collar, dragging Cohen's neck downward and toward his open mouth. His fangs pierced through Cohen's skin. It felt like two knives were driving their way through the entirety of Cohen's body. He had been bitten plenty of times by Abaddon but this one was the worst. The pain was practically unbearable.
"Remember this well: you're nothing without me. My life gives you purpose. If I perish, you'll be in those High-tiers' shadows forever."
His voice scratched at Cohen's mind, clawing at his sanity as his body convulsed, desperately trying to break free from Abaddon. Though, he refused to let out the screams residing in his throat. He ground his teeth together, silently forcing himself to bear the feeling of his body being torn apart bit by bit.
"Fucking hell," He laughed shakily, using his hand to claw at the arm that had found its way around his torso. "If you're going to drink my blood, at least be gentle."
He tried to keep his voice from wavering while he was borderline pleading with Abaddon to ease up on him. As his blood continued to flow into the Elder's mouth, he grew cold. The only source of warmth he could grasp onto was coming from the very vampire that was putting him through hell.
"Deal with it," Abaddon replied curtly with his hold on Cohen tightening.
"Abaddon...I swear....I'll kill you..."
Cohen lifted his hand up, intending to wrap it around Abaddon's neck. He managed to get a hold of Abaddon's neck but was unable to do anything more. This futile attempt made Abaddon laugh. Cohen's hand fell limp as Abaddon leaned into him, burrowing his fangs in deeper.
"I suggest you don't make any threats toward me when you're in this position."
Sparks ignited inside Cohen's body. Everything around him was swirling in a haze of splotches of red and black dots. After another minute passed, his body stilled. Despite his efforts to keep his head upright, he found himself falling back to rest his head on Abaddon's right shoulder. Strands of his ginger-colored hair clung to his forehead that was coated with sweat.
"Bastard, you bastard," He breathed those words out, barely audible.
His unpleasant cursing prompted Abaddon to remove his fangs from Cohen's neck. The momentary relief allowed Cohen to catch his breath. Slowly, his once erratic breathing and heartbeat became normal again. Those few seconds of peace were put to an end by the sudden feeling of Abaddon's fangs forming two circular wounds in his neck once more. This shock wave of pain sent Cohen into hysterics. His chest heaved violently as he choked back the tears pricking his eyes.
"Let go of me, damn it!"
The sound of his ragged breathing flowed into Abaddon's ears. It was choppy and full of terror that could only be created by from the fangs of an Elder. He smiled into the neck of the ginger.
"It's quite fun to see you shaking and squirming like a scared little schoolgirl. I might just have to bite you more often now."
"Fuck you!" Cohen cursed through clenched teeth.
Abaddon watched as blood began saturating Cohen's white collar. The red line flowed from his neckline down to his lower chest. It curved around his buttons, leaving them white while the rest of his shirt became soiled with blood. A drop of blood fell from Cohen's nose and splashed onto one of the untainted buttons. His senses grew faint as more blood poured from his nose and neck. The hand that was gripping Abaddon's arm slid down to Cohen's side. He lost consciousness, silently pleading for it all to end.
... ... ...
An onslaught of noises bombarded Reed's ears as he awoke from his sleep. His ears began ringing, prompting him to sit upwards, still keeping his eyes closed shut. Almost every sound, both quiet and loud, was flowing into his eardrums. Slowly inhaling, he placed both of his hands over his ears. The muffled voice of someone speaking to him was shut out completely as the ringing became worse.
"Hey! Hey!" Their voice somehow managed to reach him.
He snapped his red eyes open, determined to shut them up. In front of him, with a look of annoyance on their face, was a security guard. The bulging waistband of his uniform, along with the bits of rainbow-colored sprinkles on his blonde mustache, told Reed that this was the Chunkster, a guard that was not only fairly oversized but also notorious for picking on vampires.
"The hallway isn't your bed. Go sleep somewhere else, kid," the Chunkster — more commonly known as Robert to his coworkers — said, nudging Reed with the tip of his black boot.
Although the ringing in his ears was still as persistent as ever, he still managed to make out a few words. Struggling slightly, Reed compliantly stood up, swaying.
"Fix those beady red eyes of yours. They ain't going to scare me. No, they certainly will not." Robert seemed to be trying to convince both Reed and himself that he wasn't afraid of the brooding red-eyed vampire.
Reed scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. It seemed like the Chunkster was unaware of who exactly he was facing off with. Instead of humoring himself by putting the Chunkster in his place, Reed stuck his hands into his pockets and headed off down the hallway. As he walked, the ringing ceased, allowing him to relax but only a little. The hazy memory of that hunter was haunting him. He remembered going to attack them, but after that, everything was blank. It seemed like that hunter had gotten the best of him. His stomach lurched with an unpleasant feeling of fear. If that hunter went so far as to bring a knife with him to a school, then that meant his target was somewhere on campus. Cursing under his breath, he looked at his watch to see that over an hour had passed by since his run-in with the hunter. Within that time span, the target could have already been found and taken out. But, there was still the small chance that the hunter hadn't succeeded yet. That little bit of hope drove Reed to head for Abaddon's office. He had to alert the Elder of the possible threat that could be roaming around campus, and fast.
... ... ...
While Reed made his way to Abaddon's office, Cohen regained consciousness. Rather than being trapped against Abaddon on the floor in a puddle of blood, he was sitting in a black leather chair that was surprisingly comfortable. He scanned the room, not allowing himself to fall back to sleep even though his eyes were practically forcing themselves shut. There wasn't a single speck of Abaddon's blood left on the floor. His neck throbbed as he craned it to the far right to where Abaddon was lounging on a blue chaise. He had new clothes on that replaced the other ones that were drenched in blood. The formerly laid-back attire was changed into more professional clothing. Cohen's eyes lingered a little too long on the light-colored button-up that complimented Abaddon's dark skin. He grunted in discomfort as he focused his attention elsewhere, a sickening feeling growing inside of him the longer he acknowledged Abaddon. Taking notice that his red-headed assistant was back from the dead, Abaddon shot upward, heading right toward Cohen. A frantic spur of adrenaline hit Cohen, making him scramble out of the chair. He had to get out of there before he fell victim to Abaddon again. If he had to endure that kind of pain twice in one day, he might just break. Unfortunately for Cohen, Abaddon had no intention of letting him leave. Abaddon appeared before Cohen, smiling. The only option left for Cohen was to keep the Elder at an arm's length distance until he could make a beeline for the door. Though, he soon found himself backed into the desk with nowhere to run.
Swallowing down the salvia building inside of his mouth, he sputtered out, "I'll die if you take any more blood from me!"
In response to this, Abaddon leaned down into the crook of Cohen's neck. His breath fell onto Cohen's prickling skin. He gingerly undid the single bloodstained button on the white uniform.
"Don't be so troublesome. I'll be gentle this time," Abaddon promised as he unbuttoned yet another button.
His body stiffened. It didn't matter whether Abaddon was gentle or merciless, Cohen wasn't going to let him go anywhere near his neck. He firmly wrapped his hand around the wrist of Abaddon's advancing hand.
"No! Don't you even fucking dare!"
Abaddon clenched his jaw. This disobedient attitude of Cohen's was becoming quite the annoyance to him. Faltering for a second, he stepped back. Why fight back and forth with this brat when I can find a more willing and experienced person to bite? The aching in his abdomen answered his question. He needed blood to heal himself, and it didn't matter if that person was willing to give him their blood or not. After all, he was an Elder. People did as he wished them to, not the other way around. Tough luck, Abaddon thought as he closed in on Cohen who was not in the least bit thrilled that Abaddon had changed his mind. Impatiently, he ripped Cohen's uniform open, exposing the whole length of Cohen's left shoulder. The previous bite marks on his neck were still fresh, barely even scabbed over. With one last look into Cohen's raging eyes, Abaddon bit into him.
"You owe me a new uniform," Cohen snarled, starting to feel dizzy already.
Cohen bit down on his lip as he felt Mr.Kreo begin to laugh. The feeling of his warm breath against Cohen's chilled skin sent a wave of nausea through him. He drew blood from his lip whilst trying not to throw up. There were too many things hitting him at once. The fangs biting into him, the fiery pain in his neck and shoulder, the inability to stand straight. It was all too much for him to bear. He almost felt himself slipping out of consciousness when a knock sounded at the door. Upon hearing the knock at the door, Abaddon stopped drinking Cohen's blood but didn't remove his fangs. Before allowing whoever was behind that door inside, Abaddon invaded their head. The thoughts of an all too familiar High-tier intermixed with his own. As he pondered the idea of letting Reed inside, Cohen prayed that Abaddon would release him. Cohen's knees began to wobble at the sight of the sinister smile stretching across those bloodied lips of Abaddon. That meant only one thing. That son of a bitch is going to let them inside! Soon after coming to this realization, Cohen started pushing Abaddon off of him. His fangs almost slid out of Cohen's skin when he quickly moved behind Cohen, pressing his chest flush against Cohen's back. Abaddon leaned himself against the desk as he secured his hold on Cohen to ensure he wouldn't be able to escape when the door opened.
"Are you out of your damn mind? Let go!" Cohen seethed, pushing his body forward in an attempt to get away.
It was to no avail. As soon as he started struggling, the pain in his shoulder increased tenfold. Unable to move without the feeling of his body being sliced open, he began shaking, realizing that there was no way for him to escape. Whoever was on the other side of that door would see him in this degrading position with Abaddon's fangs underneath his skin. He lost all sense of reason as he continued fighting against the Elder. The daunting thought of someone seeing him like this was too much for him to fathom. Even if it hurt him, he had to break free. Blood spouted from the two pairs of wounds in Cohen's neck as his jerky movements caused them to open up again. Despite this, he still kept going, now pushing himself into Abaddon. The desk behind Abaddon cracked under the pressure of his body that refused to move from its spot. It didn't matter how hard Cohen struggled, Abaddon wasn't going to let him go.
Abaddon removed his fangs from Cohen's shoulder to allow himself to speak, "Come in. Make sure to shut the door behind you."
His words seemed to echo through the room as Cohen's eyes went wide. He couldn't seem to tear his gaze away from the slowly opening door. In one last attempt to save himself from his impending humiliation, he threw his head back, aiming to hit Abaddon's own. This attack ended with a hand wrapped around his throat. It firmly pressed into the sides of his neck, closing up his airway. With tears blurring his vision, Cohen squeezed his eyes shut, unable to look at the person standing in the doorway.
Upon seeing the odd scene of Cohen being bitten by Abaddon, Reed stopped midway through the frame of the door, too shocked to move. This was the first time he saw the bastardly ginger look so shaken. Finally getting a hold of himself, Reed shut the door behind him. A small smile tugged at his lips as he turned around to get a good hard look at Cohen who was practically trembling under the hold of a vampire. It was refreshing to see Cohen being put back in his place.
Not even trying to suppress his laughter, Reed said, "I didn't know your assistant also served as a living blood bag."
That voice was one Cohen wished he hadn't heard. His eyes snapped open, taking in the full view of Reed standing in front of him with a smug smile. Anger brewed inside of him as he glared at Reed. That High-tier was the last person on Earth that he wanted to see. He went to step forward, wanting to punch Reed until the idiotic vampire forgot about this whole thing.
"Stay still." Abaddon locked his jaw around Cohen's shoulder.
This increase in pressure on his shoulder caused Cohen to cry out. His clavicle bone threatened to break due to the force being exerted upon it. That, added to the fangs inside of him, made him powerless to stop the painful noises escaping from his mouth. The smile on Reed's face only grew. It taunted Cohen, practically saying the words, 'You're pathetic'. Having about enough of being humiliated, he hung his head, no longer having the will to keep glaring at Reed who only smirked at him.
"Please, stop," Cohen whispered under his breath.
All of his pride was thrown out the window the moment he resorted to begging the Elder to show him mercy. Although he had been put through worse torture before, he couldn't stand to let Reed witness this. If those High-tiers decided to start feeding off of him because of this, he would kill them. Each and every one of them, including Abaddon. The thought of bringing all of those wretched vampires to death's door appealed to Cohen. A wicked smile, matching that of Reed's, appeared on his face. Sensing that something was off, Reed took a step backward. There was a strange aura emitting from Cohen. He sensed it before, but it was never this strong.
"I told you to let go, Abaddon," Cohen said, his voice unsteady, yet threatening.
Abaddon only scoffed at Cohen's remark. Then suddenly, a look of terror crossed over Abaddon's face. Even though it was only momentary, Reed caught onto it. Now Reed definitely knew that something was wrong. Just as Reed was about to take another step away from the two of them, Cohen broke free from Abaddon, much to the Elder's surprise. He was heading straight toward Reed. His gray eyes were animalistic and bloodshot. If there was one word that could be used to describe Cohen's current state, it would be unhinged. Very unhinged. Abaddon's eyes flared red as he ran toward Cohen. Once he reached Cohen, he placed a single hand on the back of Cohen's head. Reed stumbled backward when Cohen collapsed only a few inches from his feet. One of Cohen's hands clawed at the floor, then went flat.
"Ugh," Reed gagged as a foul smell attacked his nose. "It reeks of vampire blood in here."
His brows furrowed together, confusion taking over him. When he first entered Abaddon's office, it smelled fine, specifically like pomegranates, courtesy of a recently lit candle resting on the windowsill in the office. Though the nice smell had quickly dissipated to make way for the heavy stench of vampire blood.
Abaddon cleared his throat, casting his eyes to the right. "I got into a fight with a certain someone earlier. They cut me a little bit, so the smell must still be lingering in the air."
"A hunter, right?" Reed guessed.
"How'd you know?"
Abaddon narrowed his eyes, beginning to think that the High-tier had overheard his and William's quarrel. If that were the case, he would have to wipe it from Reed's memory immediately. Out of precaution, he began raising his hand toward Reed.
"I bumped into the guy earlier, and I saw that he had a hunter's knife on him. We kind of got into a fight, but I blacked out before I could even lay a finger on him," Reed sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, "He must have been one hell of a good hunter, considering that he was able to get the better of the both of us."
Abaddon scoffed at his last comment, "You and I are on completely different levels. Don't go thinking otherwise just because Mr.Septhis was able to beat us."
"Shit," He cursed under his breath after realizing he revealed the hunter's identity to Reed.
The thought of simply erasing that part of his sentence from Reed's head was tempting. Rather than doing that, he decided to have a little more faith in the High-tier. After all, it might prove to be entertaining to see how things play out.
Reed's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He swallowed hard, trying to process what he just heard. A waver was in his voice as he said, "Mr.Septhis? He's....related to Ember?"
"Yup," He popped the 'p', enjoying the look of complete shock on Reed's face. "He's Ember's father, to be exact."
"Father? Holy hell, does...does that mean she's a..."
The once amused expression turned sour, his voice sharp as he quickly said, "No. Ms.Septhis is completely oblivious to her father's profession."
He stepped over Cohen as he advanced toward Reed, now towering over the High-tier. "And I intend to keep it that way. This little secret stays between us, understood?"
Nodding, Reed turned on his heels, wanting to get out of Abaddon's office. He couldn't think straight with the smell of vampire blood in his nose. But, even when he was far away from that horrible stench, he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Ember's father was a hunter. A hunter that injured Abaddon, an Elder!
"A fucking Elder!" Reed thought out loud, running his hands through his hair as he speed-walked down the hall. His face paled as he slowed down. "If he finds out I've been hanging around his daughter, he'll definitely kill me!"
The various ways that Mr.Septhis could bring Reed to his own demise danced through his head. Slitting my throat, shooting a hole through my heart, drowning me in a bath of melted silver and lamiacida, carving my heart out...he shivered, hoping that he wouldn't ever have to face her father again.
... ... ...
Landon tugged at the frayed ends of his jeans, twirling a piece of the white string around his finger. He struggled to hold back a yawn as Aiko continued to scuttle around her dorm. Clothing of all different types, dresses, crop tops, shorts, leggings, you name it, were littered across the room. Some lay in heaps, others laid all by their lonesome on the bed and floor. Aiko had almost cleaned out her whole entire closet, which she had failed to realize until she turned around to look at it. All that was left were empty hangers and a few pieces of clothing she forgot to throw in the trash. She picked one of the sad excuses for designer clothing out of her closet. It looked like a kindergartener had picked out the color scheme of neon pink and yellow. Her thin eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to recall why she had bought the ugly piece of clothing in the first place. Shrugging her shoulders, she blindly chucked it behind her. The shirt hit Landon square in the face, jolting him awake. He picked the shirt off of him, eyeing it with repulsion. It definitely looked like something Jared would buy.
He laced his fingers together, putting them behind his head as he leaned back in the wicker chair. "There has to be at least something in here that you can wear, Aiko. Stop being so picky. It's not like Reed's going to care anyway."
His face visibly contorted into that of an 'I fucked up' expression. That last part of his sentence was supposed to remain in his head, not said out loud for Aiko to hear.
Defensively putting his hands in front of him, he exclaimed, "T-that's because you're beautiful! Anything you wear would look amazing!"
She smiled sweetly at Landon before turning around to secretively roll her eyes at him in disgust. Though she tried to hide her rude response, her reflection in the circular mirror gave her away to Landon. He scoffed, rolling his eyes as well. I can't believe I let her rope me into this. Since he was too fearful of Aiko to resist her, he allowed her to drag him to her room to be his fashion stylist for her date with Reed. Now he's bored out of his mind, desperate to leave.
"How do these look together?" Aiko asked.
In her hands were a pair of low-waisted jeans and a sleeveless, cropped shirt. Although Landon's answer was going to be the usual 'It looks nice', he took his time acting like he was carefully observing the pieces of clothing.
After about a few minutes of rubbing his chin and humming as if he was deep in thought, he answered, "It looks nice, but it really doesn't matter what you wear. Clothing doesn't make up for the lack of a decent personality."
Landon smiled, still not realizing that he had said everything after 'It looks nice' out loud. Once he saw the 'angry chihuahua look' on Aiko's face, he gulped. This one was definitely going to be challenging to fix.
"Do you mind repeating yourself, Landon? I didn't quite catch that," Aiko fumed, grabbing a pair of scissors off her desk.
"I-....uh....oh crap! Please don't kill me. I swear, I'll keep my mouth shut! I'll even go through all your stu-...uh, nice clothes with you!" He scrambled to save himself from Aiko.
Instead of using the scissors to cut Landon's tongue off like he thought she would, she used them to snip off a tag from the maroon crop top from before. He let out a sigh, happy that his tongue was still intact. That relief soon turned to shock as Aiko proceeded to take her top off right in front of him. His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when he saw her lacy, white bra. Frantically, he covered his hands with his face, bending over so that his head was now buried in the safety of his lap.
Laughing at his reaction, she calmly said, "I don't mind if you look. You're into guys anyway, right?"
"Right," He answered without thinking.
His body shot upwards, making the chair rock backward slightly, as he stared at Aiko in bewilderment. The inside of his mouth went dry as he paled.
Aiko smirked as she pulled the crop top over her head. "I overheard one of your conversations with your father a while back in the city house. You should really learn to wear headphones. I heard every single slur he called you."
"He sure knows a lot of them. Let's see, I'm pretty sure he said bloody faggot, man lover, dirty homo, and twink."
Out of habit, Landon chewed on the inside of his cheeks. The disgusting taste of his own blood flowed into his mouth as he bit down harder with every passing second.
"Please don't say anything to the others," Landon muttered, a bit of blood dripping from the edge of his lips.
"How can you expect me to keep my mouth shut? After all, I've got a really bad personality."
Tears almost sprung from Landon's eyes when Aiko snorted, "Oh, God! You must think I'm the devil or something. I would never out someone like that."
"Sure, I may do some pretty nasty things, but that's definitely not up my alley."
Landon was unable to tell if Aiko was pulling his leg or not. He studied her as she shimmed on the tight jeans. She jumped a couple of times to hike the jeans all the way up her hips. Seeing that Landon still looked like he was about to burst into tears, Aiko gave him a sympathetic look, surprising him. He didn't think it was possible for her face to contort into something that wasn't straight-up evil.
"It's up to you to decide whether or not to tell your friends about your sexuality, not me. I, for one, think you should just man up and say something.."
"Besides, the closet is practically glass with you. You're like one of those little fruit cups," Aiko giggled.
To him, having yet another person be accepting was the equivalent of being given all money in the world. Although this person may tend to be a bit cruel and unruly, he appreciated her.
He stood up, walking over to Aiko. This time, he looked at her properly before saying, "That's perfect. I'm sure Reed will like it."
With her outfit finally picked out, she shoved Landon out of her dorm, almost slamming the door on his fingers as he stumbled out. He shook his head in disbelief. She goes from acting like a saint to a she-devil within a blink of an eye. But, because of her, a bounce was in Landon's step. He smiled a little brighter, hummed a little louder, and breathed a little easier. All because she didn't judge him.
... ... ...
With a long sigh, Reed stuck his arms through the arm holes of a brown leather jacket. The leather jacket hugged his muscles tightly, and the white t-shirt accentuated his abs. Basically, he was a walking stud magnet. And the funny thing was, he knew it. As he shamelessly checked himself out in the mirror, he did a couple of twists and turns. After a while of mentally complimenting himself, he stopped, content with his choice of clothing.
"That ginger could never compete with me," Reed smirked, his ego inflating with each passing minute.
Reed wasn't putting an effort in for Cohen though. Believe it or not, this was for Aiko. He was going to go on a date with her tonight. They were supposed to go to a nice venue with a beautiful view of the city. Although he wouldn't normally be too keen on the idea of going out with Aiko, he agreed easily when she brought up the topic today. After all, she was going to be gone for quite a while due to her suspension.
"Alright, you can do it, Reed. Just smile and laugh, smile and laugh," He gave himself a pep talk, placing his hands on the top of his drawer as he hung his head. "Who am I trying to fool?"
His question went unanswered, only silence greeted him. He dug his nails into the palm of his hand. All he had to do was deal with Aiko for one more night, then he'd be free from her for two whole weeks. With her being gone, he won't have to walk on eggshells, nor would he have to worry about pleasing her.
As he went to leave his dorm, a gust of wind blew the curtains on his window back. The wind brought a single rose petal into his room. It swayed a couple of times before delicately falling to the floor by Reed's shoe. He stared down at it, a genuine smile pulling at his lips. One thought surfaced in his mind as he looked at the petal. Ember. I want to see Ember. The rose petal fluttered toward the door, almost as if it was telling him to go. He looked at his watch, worried that he wouldn't have enough time to swing by the infirmary. The digital numbers blinked, 7:35 PM. His date with Aiko was scheduled in forty minutes. Thanks to his ability to run insanely fast, he could just go from Ember's room to Aiko's door in the span of a few minutes. He had to be extra careful not to get too close to Ember though. If Aiko sensed Ember's aura on him, he'd be given a one-way ticket straight to hell once his girlfriend finished ripping him to pieces. And with that, he left his dorm to pay Ember a visit. Another gust of wind blew through his open window, sending a pair of rose petals into his room. Two red petals now rested beside each other on the floor by the door. The other petal lay shrouded in darkness under his bed. All by itself.
The only thing Reed failed to remember was that he was going to visit the infirmary room of a hunter's daughter. He remembered this all too late. Just as he was about to push open the door to Ember's room, he came to a dead stop. If her father happened to be in there, he was as good as dead. His escape plan of jumping out the window was shut down as he realized there was only a single heartbeat in the room. But...that could be Mr.Septhis's heartbeat for all I know! That hunter could very well be waiting patiently for Reed to show up. Shuddering, Reed forced his fear down and pushed the door open. It creaked dauntingly, causing him to jump a little bit. Once he saw that there was no Mr.Septhis in sight, he pulled himself together, clearing his throat as he saw that Ember was staring at him with an amused look on her face. He scowled, not finding her reaction to his visit very pleasing. With the outfit he had on, he at least expected her to be surprised, but her heart rate stayed the same as ever while his heart rate quickened at the mere sight of her. Although her hair was tangled and her nose had a bit of dried snot on the edges of it, he still found himself gazing at her like she was the prettiest being on Earth.
"Aw, how touching? You got dressed up for little old me," Ember cooed, sitting herself up as Reed came to her bedside.
"In your dreams. I'm only dressed like this because I'm going on a date with Aiko," Reed explained grudgingly.
An evident scowl appeared on Ember's face at the mention of Aiko. Now she wished she never said anything. It would have been better to be oblivious to the fact that he was going to eat dinner with that snake.
"Don't tell me you're jealous, Little Rabbit." He raised his eyebrows, grinning. It was Reed's turn to be amused now.
"Yeah, right!"
Her strong reaction prompted him to keep teasing her. "You probably were secretly wishing that I got all dressed up just for you. The look on your face practically screams that."
"Personally, I think a ball gown would suit you much better than that ugly outfit, Princess!" Ember hit Reed in the face, stomach, and chest with her pillow. Her assault with her pillow came to a stop when he grabbed it away from her, laughing. A bit of tears sprung from the edges of his eyes. "Hey, come here for a second."
Ember motioned for Reed to kneel down so that his head was level with hers. As he did so, she grabbed the sides of his face, taking him by surprise. He almost pulled back because of how shocked he was, but he held himself in place, not wanting to let Ember see him become so flustered by such a tiny action. She tilted his head from one side to the next, like she was examining him.
"Wow, you must have been hit with the ugly stick when you were a kid." She abruptly shoved him away, a faint blush on her cheeks.
After being away from him, it seemed she had become quite strange. Everything about him was weirdly alluring now. Maybe it was because she still had a fever. The lack of heat on her forehead told her otherwise though.
"I have a question," Reed stated as he placed his forearms on the edge of Ember's bed, resting his head on top of them. "It's very important, so you better take it seriously."
"And why should I answer it? I feel like it's going to be something really stupid."
"Well, you basically palmed me in the face a few moments ago. I think my nose might be broken, you know," He exaggerated, trying to guilt trip Ember into answering his question that was, in fact, stupid.
She rolled her eyes with a sigh, giving in, "Fine, ask away. Be warned that if it is a dumb question, I'll throw you out."
Reed shrugged, hoping that she was just bluffing as he said, "Who's better? Me or that dumb red-headed skank?"
Red-headed skank...? She mulled over his choice of words, trying to figure out who he was referring to. The image of a certain smiling, freckled-face ginger popped into her head. A skank wasn't how she would describe Cohen, more like sweet. Her thoughts of Cohen were interrupted by the sight of Reed who was staring at her intently, waiting in suspense for her answer. Her cheeks puffed out as she failed to hold in her laughter. The High-tier looked like a puppy waiting for its owner to give them a treat. She could even see the imaginary tail wagging behind Reed.
"Cohen's better."
Reed completely deflated at Ember's answer. Now he looked like a puppy that had just been scolded harshly. She bit her lip, partially feeling guilty for tricking Reed as a means of revenge for asking her a stupid question. In all honesty, Reed was better than Cohen. Way better. And that may or may not be because of bias due to certain feelings.
"Cheer up, Princess! I'm just kidding." Seeing that Reed was still looking glum, Ember finally admitted, "You're better than Cohen. Although he may be nice and everything that you're not..."
"Hey!" Reed shouted, pouting a little.
"He's not you. You're the one who turned my boring life into a whole shit show, which is mostly a good thing. And, although I may not have liked it in the beginning, I have come to appreciate it because you showed me what I have been missing out on all the years. I mean, I never knew what true friendship really looked like until I met you and those other goofballs."
The sound of quiet snoring mixed in with Ember's voice, "No one has done that except for you, Reed. So, thank you."
Carefully, Ember bent down to place a soft kiss on top of Reed's head. Of course it was just a display of gratitude between friends. Just friends...for now at least. Instead of rousing Reed from his sleep, she did nothing, not wanting to wake him. If she did, he would most likely go to Aiko. She settled herself back down under the covers, shutting her eyes. For once, she was going to be a little selfish and do what she wanted. And that selfish act of hers was keeping Reed with her for the night. Sorry, not sorry, Aiko. She smirked before falling to sleep.
... ... ...
A live jazz band played an upbeat tune at the restaurant, La Bulesca. Couples that had been dining together took each other's hands and walked onto the dance floor located beside the many tables. Every single one of them were smiling or laughing or even doing both as they danced, pulling their partner with them to the beat of the music. Only a few stragglers remained at their tables. It was either because they were still eating or they were alone. In Aiko's case, it was the last reason. She swirled the sparkling water around in her glass as she tried to distract herself from the empty seat in front of her. It was now well past their scheduled date time and Reed still hadn't shown himself. Despite this, she kept trying to tell herself that he was just running late, that he was right around the corner, running to make it on time. But, even when she stared at the glass doors leading to the indoor dining area, Reed never came. Feeling a slight chill on her skin, she pulled her shawl above her shoulders, covering the outfit she had spent far too much time on picking out. It seemed like that was all in vain though. The very person she chose to wear this outfit for wasn't even there.
"Miss, would you like to order something?" A waitress asked Aiko who was too busy looking at the doors for Reed to pay attention to her. "Miss?"
"What?" Aiko snapped, glaring at the waitress.
"Would you like to order something?" She repeated with a colder tone.
"Ah, um," Aiko skimmed across the paper menu, searching for something small to order. If she wanted to be able to be here when Reed arrived, she had to get something or else they might make her leave, "I'll have the calamari dorati."
The waitress scribbled her order down before quickly walking off, eager to attend to other, more respectful guests. Glad to be alone, Aiko gazed off at the skyline lit up by the lights on the buildings in the city. She wished Reed was here to share this view with her. It would look so much prettier if he were beside her. Resting her head in her hand, she tore her attention over toward a couple sitting at a table a few feet in front of her. She scowled when they began kissing each other. After staring at them a bit more, she was able to make out some of their features. The bouncy brown hair of the girl and the buzzcut of the guy instantly gave away their identities. They were the vampires she had a scuffle with during the night of the Duo Games. After they finally finished sucking face with each other, Aiko frantically pulled the menu upwards to hide herself from Anastasia. She definitely didn't want to be seen by that girl. The chances of them getting into another fight were quite high. If she got into trouble again with the same person, her suspension might be extended, which meant more time away from Reed.
"Guess what I saw when I was leaving the infirmary?" Anastasia leaned herself across the table, whispering this to Uri.
Even though she was whispering, her voice was just loud enough for Aiko to hear it. Interested in what was about to follow, Aiko trained her ears on their conversation.
"Don't just leave me hanging. C'mon, tell me."
"Get this, Reed Karayan was checking in with the nurse. At first, I thought he may have somehow gotten himself injured, but when I signed myself out on the log, his name was next to the visiting section for Room 10...Ember's room. And I was a little bit curious, so I kind of snuck a peek into the room, which I know is wrong! I couldn't help it though! Anyway, I saw him sleeping by her bedside with his head on her bed. It was adorable, really."
"Who's Ember? That doesn't ring a bell."
"The High-tier's mutt," She sighed, not too fond of using such a cruel nickname to jog her boyfriend's memory.
Recognition lit up on Uri's face. "Oh! That chick? Really? I knew the two of them were more than just friends."
"You can't just assume that!" Anastasia almost shouted, surprising her boyfriend a little bit. "Uh, I mean, it would be bad to go around saying they're together. It'll only turn into another nasty rumor."
"Rumor? But it has to be true! What guy visits their so-called friend and then proceeds to fall asleep by their bedside?"
Instead of providing him with an answer, Anastasia only stared at him, waiting for him to answer his own question. After a bit of silence passed between them, he finally said, "A guy that's absolutely whipped obviously!"
Anastasia laughed at him, shaking her head as she recalled that Uri had slept by her bedside when she was healing in the infirmary too. As the two of them directed their conversation to a new topic, Aiko stopped listening to them. Her head was spinning with questions. She chewed on her bottom lip, a sinking feeling beginning to form in her stomach. Reed stood me up. It hurt badly enough to make her start crying. Her mascara smeared down her face as tears obscured her view of the once breathtaking city. Clutching the fabric of her top, she hurriedly gathered her belongings together, standing up.
When the waitress arrived with Aiko's dish, Aiko was nowhere to be seen. The seat was left empty with only a twenty dollar bill resting on the table. Gratefully, the waitress picked up the money, walking away with the uneaten dish still in her hands. She saw that one coming from a mile away. Many women and men walk into this restaurant, doe-eyed and love-stricken. They sit at their tables, waiting for their partner to arrive, longingly gazing at the other couples already dining together. As they sit there, they order something, still hoping that their date will come, even if they are late. Then it finally sets in that, no matter how long they wait, they're not coming. Then they leave in a hurry, trying to get out of the restaurant before everyone else notices their tears. The cycle continued on as yet another person fell victim to a little thing called love. Their heart torn in two and their eyes shedding tears for the one that didn't come.
... ... ...
Aiko's eyes glistened under the lights hanging above on the ceilings of the hallway. Hanging on her shoulder was a large, pink bag filled with her belongings that she had hastily thrown together while crying her heart out. The thought that Reed had ditched her for Ember kept tantalizing her every second. Although she knew Reed was never truly in love with her, she was able to endure it. Each kiss, each touch, and each moment they had together made up for it. But now those things were becoming meaningless. She could no longer delude herself. It was obvious that Reed's thoughts were always elsewhere. He didn't see her when he looked at her. He didn't hear her when she spoke. He doesn't care about me. He doesn't love me. Those thoughts sunk into her heart, spreading their poison until she couldn't bear it any longer. She barged through the infirmary door, mouth trembling, eyes threatening to spill over with tears once more, and heart thoroughly broken. The nurse sitting at the front desk tore her eyes away from her phone. Her hair was white and wrinkles covered the entirety of her face.
The nurse cocked an eyebrow at Aiko's disheveled state. "Are you injured or sick?"
"I'm not. I just need to visit a friend of mine," Aiko explained, slipping a lie into her explanation, as Ember Septhis was far from being her friend.
Her wrinkly hand turned around the digital clock on the ledge of the counter she was sitting behind. The clock numbers read 9:20 PM. She then silently motioned toward the sign hanging on the wall. Aiko rolled her eyes before looking at what the nurse was pointing to. On the wall was a sign with cheesy clipart of a smiling vampire. Below it were the bubble letters reading, 'We no longer accept fanged visitors after 8:00 PM. Please come back tomorrow!'. She inhaled through her nose, then blew out a frustrated breath of air. Like I'm going to let that stupid sign stop me. She made her way over to room ten. By the time Aiko quietly pushed open the door to Ember's room, the nurse hadn't even lifted herself out of the chair. Aiko's heart sank down to her stomach as she took in the sight of Reed sleeping peacefully with his head resting on the cot. There was a smile of happiness spread across his face. Though Reed was always smiling at her, he never smiled like that. That wasn't the worst part of it all. The two of them were holding hands. It looked as if Reed had initiated the hand holding. His arm was stretched upward onto her pillow with his fingers interlocked with her own. The position appeared to be quite uncomfortable, yet he was still smiling in his sleep. Instead of stomping over to Reed and dragging him out of the room, she just stood by the doorway. Her hands fell to her sides as the anger inside her disappeared like a clap of lightning. It lit her up, sending rage through her body, then it darkened, leaving nothing but the feeling of despair.
"I don't care if you chose her," She muttered this to herself, tears wetting her face. "I'll hold onto you until the very end, until you break away from me, until you hate me...because that's what love is all about, right?"
Her love was deformed and cracked. It was nothing like what she read in romance novels and movies. But it was still love nonetheless. She no longer wished for a happy ending that almost all the characters received in the stories she had read. Ember had stolen that happy ending from her. That didn't matter though. Aiko didn't need a happy ending to stay with Reed. All she needed was to make him keep believing the one thing that wasn't true.
"I'm the only person that will ever love you. You'll realize that soon enough."
She closed the door, heading out of the infirmary just as the nurse finally managed to stand up. Even though Aiko had already left, the nurse still felt the need to check on the patient that Aiko had visited so briefly. It seemed like a fight may have occurred, judging by the tears that were in the vampire's eyes. When the nurse entered the room, she saw what had caused Aiko to look so distraught. The nurse tilted her head slightly, frowning. That vampire shouldn't be in the infirmary this late at night, especially when they were sleeping near a human. Noticing the two were holding hands, she let out a quiet gasp. Now she was under the impression that they were dating. A vampire dating a human was almost unheard of. She continued staring at them in disbelief until she finally took a hold of the side of the door with one of her hands, pulling it shut with a soft click.
"I'll let those two be," She thought out loud, humming to herself as she walked back to her seat.
In this world, people have forgotten that love has no limit or set rules. Love will flourish everywhere, even in the strangest of places. And, in this case, it flourished between rivaling species, one a predator and the other the prey. Their love might not be known to others or even themselves just yet, but once it was...all boundaries would be broken.
... ... ... ...
Have any questions or comments about the story? Contact me via: elm.wpe@gmail.com !
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