Note: this story has been published through Self Publishing. Keep in mind that the Wattpad version is only the first draft! For the polished version without the many mistakes, buy a copy!
Where can you order a copy, you ask? Please use Create Space, because they give me more royalties!
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On Amazon (but they barely give me any royalties).
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When the clock in the cafeteria showed me it was getting closer and closer to six p.m. every single second, I felt my heart speed up. It was Monday evening and I was about to do something I had been dreading all day.
I’d had a long day at school, and I’d barely seen Simon. And now, after having dinner with him, it was time for my detention. My detention with Eros. But I’d just put on a brave face, ignore Eros as much as I possibly could and try to focus on nice things – like the Guitar Hero competition I was having later tonight with Simon and his roommates.
I got up and straightened my skirt. ‘Well, I’d better get going…’ I said ruefully. Grinning in spite of myself, I messed up Simon’s hair with one of my hands. ‘See you later.’
He smiled back at me, trying to put some reassurance in it. ‘You’ll be fine.’
I stuck out my tongue. ‘Easy for you to say – you’re not in detention.’
‘True, but still; you’ll be fine.’ He got up too, walking me to the front of the room. ‘I’d happily walk you there, but I’m supposed to help Antwan with his English assignment.’
I smiled. ‘I know, you told me you’re sorry about that like a thousand times and I still don’t mind.’ In fact, I thought it was amazing his roommates finally seemed to think of him as a friend instead of someone who simply lived with them. It was ridiculous that I’d been necessary to accomplish that, but at least someone had.
‘See you later,’ Simon said. Surprising both me and himself, he hugged me quickly before walking away.
I stalked in the opposite direction, spotting Eve at the end of the hallway. ‘Hey!’ I greeted her and her boyfriend Drew happily. ‘How are you?’
Drew smiled at me. ‘Great, thanks. We’re having a bit of a romantic night, in fact.’
Eve gazed up at him lovingly. ‘Are you going to tell every single person that?’
‘Well, yes I am.’ He kissed her forehead, smiling sweetly. ‘I like the sound of it. We’ve been together for one whole year now and I’d shout it from the roof if you wouldn’t go crazy just at the thought of it.’
‘Aw… congratulations!’ I said, genuinely happy. ‘How great. I’d like to chat some more, but I’ve got detention to attend to, so…’ I started walking away, nodding at their nice comments, when I realized something. ‘Hey – I won’t be back at the dorm for hours, probably not before curfew, so you can have our room.’ I told Eve.
‘Wonderful,’ Drew rejoiced, his eyes betraying his fantasies. ‘Thanks.’
Eve giggled, letting him tug her along. ‘See you later,’ she called after me.
‘If I live through this…’ I mumbled, hurrying to the classroom where I was supposed to receive my detention. I arrived on time, seeing Mr. Hammerhead and Eros standing in front of the classroom. I wondered why they weren’t inside already…
‘Ah Be-, De-… erm, I can’t remember your name. So, let’s keep calling you newbie.’ Mr. Hammerhead smiled widely. ‘There you are. I decided that you and the God of Love need some kind of special detention. So you’ll be painting my office tonight. Everything’s ready, so good luck and I’ll be in the teachers’ lounge, drinking coffee. No need to tell me when you’re ready, I’ll see your work first thing in the morning. If I’m not happy, I will just call you in again. And believe me, I will find a reason to. You’re both not exactly sweet kids. No pun intended.’
With that, he took off, leaving me and Eros alone. I sighed, averted my eyes from him and opened the door to Mr. Hammerhead’s office. It was a big, empty room, with ugly yellow walls that once had been clean white. It desperately called for a fresh coat of paint. In the middle of the room were all the stuff we would need – paint, a ladder and so on. Without further ado, I picked up a brush, popped open a can and walked toward a wall.
‘Are you still mad at me?’ Eros' voice sounded startlingly serious. ‘Demona?’
I turned around so I could face him, but that only startled me more. His face was deadly serious, worried even. I swallowed and attempted to smile. ‘Only a lot.’
He grimaced. ‘Look – I know you won’t believe it, but I am sorry about how I treated you.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘And…?’
‘And what?’
‘You punched Kevin,’ I clarified accusingly.
‘Oh, that.’ Eros actually grinned. ‘Yeah, that wasn’t what I’d call a smooth move.’
I grunted and turned away from him again. Stupid, idiotic bastard. Why had I even bothered talking to him? He wasn’t going to act like a normal, rational being so I shouldn’t keep treating him like one. I picked up my can of paint and started on one of the walls. Big drops of paint slid down the ugly wall as I swished my brush furiously.
‘You’re mad again.’ It wasn’t a question this time. It was a statement.
I didn’t bother with an answer. He sighed and picked up a brush of his own, dipped it in the can I was holding and started helping me. We worked in silence for about fifteen minutes before he started talking again.
‘Why are you so mad at me?’
‘Give me one reason not to be,’ I hissed, not looking at him.
His fingers slid down my arm, taking my wrist in his hand. ‘Please, look at me.’
I jerked back my hand. ‘I would appreciate it if you would keep your hands off of me.’
‘Will you talk to me if I do so?’
I sighed in exasperation. ‘Fine.’
‘Tell me why you are mad?’ His voice was light now, amused almost.
‘Well, for a whole bunch of reasons. For one thing, you used mind control on me. You punched Kevin and then denied it. You treat me like I am amazing one minute, and then you act like I am nothing more than a bit of dirt under your expensive, polished shoes. You treat my best friend almost worse than anyone else treats him – which is pretty bad already. You tricked me into kissing you with your compulsion. You intimidated a guy that asked me out – this Holden – for no good reason. Do I really have to go on?’ I glared at him, still keeping up the painting.
‘Will you listen when I explain myself?’ Eros asked, brushing his fingers across my back, but catching himself in the act before he’d really done anything. He smiled apologetic, obviously hoping I wouldn’t mind too much.
‘Fine, go ahead.’
‘Well, I am sorry about the mind control. Truly.’
I gasped. ‘You… you are admitting it?’
He sighed. ‘It’s a long story.’
I put down my brush and sat down on the ground. ‘Well, tell me. We’ll finish this up tomorrow. Or later. Whatever.’ I was too curious to realize I was supposed to be mad at him.
Eros smiled, sitting down opposite me. He was close, a bit too close to be comfortable, but I didn’t say anything. ‘Well. I can control anyone’s mind if I want to, even supernatural people’s minds. Even your mind, as you know. I guess I’ve been able to do it for a long time, way before I came here, but I only realized what it was when I’d been here for about six months. I found out as much about it as I could and I practiced on some classmates, without them realizing. I thought I could control it, but I can’t.’
‘What do you mean?’ I frowned. ‘You can’t always control minds?’
Eros smiled, but there was no joy in it. ‘No, it’s more like the opposite… I can control anyone’s mind at any time, but I can’t always control when I do it. My control can slip and then I’m letting the other feel what I want and they will do whatever I want without me even trying to control them.’
‘Oh,’ I mumbled, frowning again. ‘Does that happen a lot?’
‘No, rarely. Only when I’m… too preoccupied to stay in control all of the time. It happened around you.’ His eyes were searching me for a reaction. ‘That one night in the empty classroom.’
‘When I kissed you back,’ I realized quietly. ‘And you didn’t want to use it?’
‘I didn’t even realize I’d been using it until I saw your dazed face when we broke apart.’ His face was rueful. ‘I’m truly very sorry.’
‘But… you say it only happens when you are preoccupied and you kind of project your feelings on the other…’ I mused. ‘So… you were actually…’
‘I wanted to kiss you so badly I made you want to kiss me back without realizing it.’ He sounded unsure now, not certain if he should be telling me this. ‘And I can’t promise you it won’t happen again.’
I gulped. ‘Are you… preoccupied right now?’
He smiled slightly. ‘I am in control, don’t worry. I have to focus really hard, especially when you are this close, but I’m not controlling your mind.’
‘How can I be sure?’ I hedged, hoping he was telling the truth. The idea of him tricking me into kissing him again wasn’t exactly reassuring. It did make me feel strangely smug to know Eros wanted to kiss me, and had to work at not making me want to kiss him too. A small part of me did want to reach over to him, to touch him. But I couldn’t tell if that was just me or a slip in his careful control.
‘You can’t be.’ He put a hand on my knee. ‘But I can promise you I won’t try anything. And you should be able to recognize the feeling - the fog settling…’
I leaned back a little, putting a bit more distance between us. ‘Okay… but you did mean to control me the other times.’
‘I was hoping you would let that go.’ His face grew mocking. ‘It seemed funny at the time to confuse you a bit. To control you while trying to convince you I couldn’t do it.’
‘Yeah. Real funny.’ I pursed my lips. ‘The kiss I can forgive.’ Partly because it hadn’t been that terrible, but I’d keep that to myself. ‘But the mind control in general… I don’t approve.’
‘I don’t need your approval.’ He looked away from my face. ‘Do you want me to explain the rest?’
‘Sure: talk,’ I said lightly, trying to appear aloof instead of fascinated.
‘You said I treat you in two different ways. Amazing and like a piece of dirt.’
‘Under your expensive, polished shoes,’ I verified with a small smile.
‘Right.’ He grinned. ‘Well, I treat you like you are amazing because you are.’ He closed his eyes, his head in his neck. I held my breath, hoping he’d elaborate on that. ‘You’re one of a kind. The only female vampire ever.’ Not what I’d hoped to hear, obviously. ‘And you are the hottest girl in school.’ His wide grin made me smile, too. ‘As for the bad treatment… You are a difficult girl, Demona. I don’t know how to act around you. You get offended about little things, and you accept big flaws in my character like they’re nothing… I don’t get you and that infuriates me.’ His eyes were open now, blazing. ‘You awaken the worst and the best parts in me alike.’
We gazed into each other’s eyes for a few intent moments. I didn’t seem able to look away from the darkness that was visible in his eyes as well as around him, shimmering like a cloak. After countless minutes, he scraped his throat and smiled at me. ‘I believe your next questions were about Holden and Kevin?’
I blinked, recalling what we’d been talking about. ‘That’s right.’
‘Well, Holden first then.’ His eyes narrowed, his face went rigid. ‘That was simply because he treated you like you are just some easy girl. He’s an idiot.’
‘I won’t argue with that, but you didn’t need to interfere.’ I said, taken aback by his seriousness. ‘I can handle myself.’
‘I know. But I couldn’t let him do that… I had to step in…’ His eyes glazed over, he was probably recalling that particular day. ‘And I’m not sorry about that.’
‘But you are sorry about punching Kevin?’ I asked sternly. He had to be – it was inexcusable.
‘I am sorry it upset you,’ he admitted. Not quite the same as being sorry about actually punching him, but it was something. ‘I never intended for you to get involved in any way,’ he continued.
‘Why did you punch him?’ I asked, curious but still severe.
Eros grimaced. ‘Because he asked you out when I’d specifically told him not to.’
I gasped. ‘W-what? Are you insane?’
‘It was only because I was afraid you would say yes to him,’ Eros justified, as if that changed everything. ‘And judging by the look on your face, you almost did.’
I shoved backwards when he reached for me. ‘Stay away from me,’ I warned. ‘You’re a madman. You can’t go around punching guys that ask me out. Besides, if you’d punch anyone, it would make more sense for you to punch Simon as he’s the one that’s actually taking me.’
‘He’s no threat,’ he assessed lightly. ‘You don’t want him that way. I can tell.’
I recalled the warm hug Simon had given me just before we’d parted ways tonight and I realized I wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Sure, he was my friend and I liked him in a non-romantic way. But… Well, I just thought Eros might be wrong. Maybe. Sort of.
I swallowed, trying to store my thoughts about Simon away for later. ‘Still, you could have asked me yourself.’
His eyes widened. If I wasn’t mistaken, he was dumb-struck. ‘And you would have considered going with me to the dance?’
I played with the idea of Eros leading me into a darkened room where many of my classmates were dancing. It didn’t revolt me like I’d expected it would. ‘Before we got into fights in which you controlled my mind on purpose, I might have considered it. I might have even said yes.’
He closed his eyes for a second, sighing. ‘Well, it’s a bit late for that now, isn’t it?’
I laughed harshly. ‘I’m more likely to go with that idiot Holden than with you.’
Eros smiled tightly, pretending not to be offended. ‘Well, then I guess I should be glad Simon’s taking you. At least I won’t have to worry about you going somewhere private with him to do things I don’t even want to think about.’
‘Why does it bother you so much?’ I asked suddenly, leaning toward him. Why was he so interested in me?
‘I don’t know,’ he confessed. ‘You confuse me. I’m not in love with you, if you think that’s it. I don’t even think I’m capable of that. But you are… strangely fascinating to me.’
‘Okay…’ I wanted to get into why he thought he wasn’t capable of love, but I was pretty sure he’d shut down altogether and I didn’t want that. ‘Well, there is only one more thing you need to explain now.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘You are talking about the way I treat your dear friend? That’s simple. He’s a male fairy. And he’s hanging out with the most desirable girl I know. That’s infuriating. And it’s funny to make him mad.’ He grinned, his eyes twinkling. ‘He’s awkward when he’s mad. Like he can do anything to change the way everyone treats him. Like he could ever defend you against the horny guys around here.’
I got up and picked up my brush. ‘Well, as you’re being mean about my best friend again, I think this is the best time to end this conversation. Let’s get to work.’
Eros didn’t say anything, but he picked up his own brush and helped me paint the walls. Just before we parted ways when we were finished, he caught my wrist and forced me to look him in the eye. ‘I trust you to act like this all never happened.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘Like what never happened? Like we never painted a room? Sure, no biggie.’
He grunted. ‘You’re impossible.’
I smiled sweetly. ‘Better remember that, God of Love.’
He rolled his eyes at Mr. Hammerhead’s nickname for him. ‘See you later, newbie. Sleep tight. And give the fairy my regards. Or a kick in the face, your choice.’
‘I will act like I didn’t hear the last part,’ I sighed in annoyance. ‘Bye now.’
I didn’t tell Simon about what had happened with Eros. I just didn’t think he’d understand. Because no matter how many things Eros had done that weren’t right, I believed every single word he’d spoken tonight. Simon would only tell me he was playing me and I didn’t feel like arguing tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Although I doubted I’d ever tell him about this. It was the first thing – aside from Kevin asking me out – I wasn’t telling him. It didn’t feel right, but I didn’t feel like I had another choice.
He was still my best friend. And the way he looked at me when he opened the door for me made me think about what Eros had said again. You don’t want him that way. I didn’t think he was wrong, exactly. I just thought he might be proven wrong in the future. Maybe. Kind of.
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Where can you order a copy of this book, you ask?
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On Amazon (but they barely give me any royalties).
Don't hesitate to message me about where to buy it!
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