"W-Wait what... did you just say?" Keiran uttered in disbelief. Who would've thought that this guy would approach them and tell them that he'd be joining them after refusing their offer so many times? Is this some kind of joke?
"Really? Then let me get the form." Rytz excitedly rummaged through her bag to look for the club application form.
"Hey hey, slow down." Keiran panicked and stood up and held Lucien's wrist.
"I think you need to clarify something. Let's talk somewhere else." The young man whispered and immediately grabbed Lucien away from his friends. Utterly confused with the strange actions of their friend, Rytz and Krist turned to look toward each other as if they were talking through their gazes and then looked back at the two persons walking away from them.
"Since when did those two get close?" The girl asked and gave her friend a confused gaze, but Krist only shrugged his shoulders. With their confusion unanswered, they just both ignored what happened and decided to divert their attention to the books they were reading.
Meanwhile, Keiran released his grip on Lucien's wrist when they reached the quiet alley beside building B of the school. He looked around, ensuring that there were no other students around who might hear their conversation. He once swore not to tell anyone about Lucien's secret, and he'll make sure no one will know aside from him.
"What was that?" Keiran asked, still confused about the words he heard earlier. He examined Lucien's expression, trying to extract what's exactly in his mind. However it seemed like his attempt went in vain, Lucien was literally wearing his usual bored face.
"What?" Lucien blandly said which made the other party sigh in utter dismay.
"Don't throw the question back at me, Lucien. You rejected our offer so many times, but what's with the sudden change of mind?" Keiran asked. Lucien rubbed his chin as if he was thinking about something.
"Hmm... Let's say..." Keiran caught a breath when Lucien suddenly stepped closer to him. With each step backward, Keiran felt the unforgiving brickwork of the alley pressing against his spine, leaving him with nowhere to go but closer to Lucien. Sweats began to form on Keiran's forehead when Lucien's face was just an inch apart from him, the air thick with tension as Keiran's heart pounded in his chest. Lucien's presence was overwhelming, his gaze holding Keiran captive like a moth drawn to a flame. He moistened his suddenly drying throat.
"I'm just making sure you're keeping your word." The young vampire resorted before his brims raised into a half-smirk. The scent of Lucien's cologne filled the confined space, mingling with his breath's cool, minty freshness.
"Wait wait wait, you're too close," Keiran implied as he slightly pushed Lucien away from him.
"So you're joining our club to keep an eye on me? Don't you know I'm known for being a man of my word? What if something happens and my friends accidentally know your identity?" Keiran's brows crossed when Lucien snickered.
"Let's just put that aside, for now. You want your club to stay on this campus right?" Lucien responded, trying to change the topic. He couldn't really tell his ulterior motive for joining their group. But there's only one thing that he needs to do: keep himself near Keiran.
"And just think of it as your reward for keeping my secret." Upon hearing what Lucien said, Keiran remained silent. He was battling his thoughts about whether to accept this guy to the club or not. However, Lucien has a point, this is not the time to worry about anything else and just focus on saving the club. They'll be reporting to the club administrator tomorrow.
Keiran heaved out a deep sigh, "Okay, fine by you then." He uttered as a sign of defeat.
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
"Where have you been? What took you so long?" Rytz resorted upon the return of their friend and Lucien, whom they presumed to be their newest member.
"We just sorted things up." Keiran briefly responded and took a seat opposite his friends'. Silently, Lucien took the initiative of taking the vacant position beside Keiran. The other two, Rytz and Krist remained quiet but they were secretly talking through their gazes. Little did they know that Lucien was eavesdropping on their silent conversation through his telepathy.
"Something's weird."
"Since when did they become close?" -Krist.
"I thought Keiran ended up being rejected again?"- Rytz.
"Do you think something' s going on with them?"
Lucien smirked hearing their silent talks. It was only altered when Keiran called Rytz's attention and asked something for the upcoming quiz later. The four of them spent the entire break preparing for the long quiz later, and Lucien could say that it was not that entirely bad to join their circle. Just like any other students, they seemed to enjoy their adolescent stage. One moment they were all focused on their notes and books, and Rytz and Krist suddenly started bickering over a mere solving procedure. Lucien saw Keiran still focused on his book like he wasn't affected by the noise.
Later that afternoon, after the long and exhausting quiz and the class' dismissal, Keiran asked everyone to gather in the club room for the membership signing. Rytz took the initiative to grab an application form and gave it to him which Lucien eventually filled with the necessary information. Of course, he put false information in the data that needed to be hidden before giving the form back to the girl.
"Yey! Finally, our savior-- I mean our new member." Rytz almost jumped in excitement. Krist also welcomed Lucien and thanked him for joining the group. Lucien didn't stay long with them and decided to leave ahead of them. Everyone thanked him again and allowed him to go home since the sun was already setting. Now that Lucien has finally joined them, guess they don't have to worry about the disbandment. Overwhelmed by joy, Keiran and his friends felt much excitement to report to the club administrator.
Among the three of them, Keiran was the last one to leave the campus since Rytz needed to do groceries for her mom, and Krist had some errands to do for his grandpa. Noticing the black car outside the gate, the young man paused and breathed deeply as he suddenly felt his chest tightened. Knowing that he's going home late, his mother will probably have her sermon again.
Upon reaching home, the house was quiet, and he didn't hear any greetings from his mother. Guess she was out for a late meeting. Luckily, it sounded like no sermons tonight. Without a word, Keiran strode upstairs and went to his room, threw his things on the mini couch, and jumped on the bed in utter exhaustion. For a few minutes, the young man cooled himself before he went to the shower.
Keeping the towel onto his hair, Keiran sat on the bed and scanned his phone. He was busy scrolling on his social media when he heard a thud on the balcony. Alarmed, Keiran immediately took the vase from the cabinet and slowly went to the door leading to the balcony. His eyes widened in confusion and surprise as he opened the door.
"W-What the hell are you doing here?"