I opened my eyes as the sound of my phone alarm disturbed my slumber. Lethargically, I turned off the alarm and put my head back down on the pillow. It wasn’t until a few moments later did I realized that Nikolas wasn’t lying down next to me.
Sitting up, I looked around for any signs of Nikolas, but there were none. The futon next to my bed was empty. My eyes widened, thinking that something bad happened to him. I grabbed my phone and saw that I had a notification.
Please don’t be alarmed when you wake up. I forgot my sunscreen so I left before sunrise.
Have a good day at school
I let out a sigh of relief. For a second, I thought Anji did something to Nik. I thought.
I made my bed, changed my clothes, and walked out of my room to wash up before breakfast. On my way to the bathroom, I bumped into Anji in the hallway.
“Morning, brother.” He groggily rubbed his eyes. “Where’s Nikolas?”
“He left early for school.” I lied.
Anji put his hands down and blankly stared at me, almost as if he saw through my lies. He cleared his throat and entered the bathroom.
“Wait, Anji, I was going to use the bathroom first!” I banged on the locked door.
I could hear my brother laughing on the other side.
-
I put down my school bag on my desk and let out a yawn. My classmates started to walk inside with their friends, the classroom filling with the sound of chatter.
I suddenly felt something on the top of my head. I looked up and saw Ryunosuke smiling. “Morning.”
I nodded and greeted him the same.
Ryunosuke took the open book off my head while asking, “So Akio, how did it go yesterday?”
My back stiffened. This morning I didn’t think once about what happened last night.
I ruffled my hair, clenching at my pink tufts. “Um, we made up.”
“Made up? Meaning, no more misunderstandings?”
I nodded with a forced smile.
“Did anything else happen?” Ryunosuke lifted one brow.
“Yea, he,” I gulped, “we slept toge-”
The book from his hand collapsed onto the floor. He leaned forward, right in front of my face with wide eyes. “You guys did WHAT?”
Sen came up and greeted the two of us. “Hi, guys!”
My head darted towards Sen, but Ryunosuke was still staring at me. “Did he force you to do it? Isn’t that too sudden for two people who just started dating?”
Sen gasped. “Aki-chan is dating someone?!”
I frantically covered his mouth with my hands, vigorously shaking my head. “I’m not!” I furrowed my brows. “I don’t know what we are…”
“But you guys did it?” Ryunosuke crossed his arms, his left eye twitching. “I’m cursing that mosquito son of a–”
“We didn’t do it! We, um,” I felt the temperature increase in my face. “Spooned.”
Sen grinned. “With whom?”
I muttered. “Nikolas.”
The boy became wide-eyed.
My left hand clenched onto my right wrist, not realizing what I revealed to my friend. “If you see me differently now that’s fine, but I hope that doesn’t change our friendship.”
Sen shook his head, glaring at me. “What? Why would I? I’m surprised because I didn’t know Nikolas was your type.” He smirked.
I could feel my ears and cheeks turning redder every second he continued to speak.
“That means you like tall, strong silent men.” He gasped. “Does that mean you have a thing for blonde guys or maybe that doesn’t matter to you? Oh! Do you like men who-”
Ryunosuke put the palm of his hand on Sen’s face. “Please, calm yourself.” He fixed his glasses and shifted his attention to me. “In that case, the two of you aren’t official?”
I looked down at my lap and shook my head. We confessed to one another, but we didn’t establish what our relationship was…
“I think that’s fine,” said Sen with a smile. “You two like each other, right? When the time is right, you can become official.” He crossed his pointer and middle fingers while giggling.
With the sound of the school bell prompting the start of the school day, everyone went to their assigned seats and our teacher entered the room to begin teaching.
-
Nikolas’s suspension eventually ended and he was able to go back to school. Every other night or so he visits me before starting his school night. This has been our routine for almost a month now. But, there has yet to be any progress made between the two of us. We’ve hugged, but he’s hugged me before, so I don’t count it. He's also kissed me, but it wasn't on the lips so I don't count that either.
I did my homework while I waited for the vampire to come to my window. Around an hour before midnight, I heard a familiar noise outside. I walked to my window and I was instantly greeted by the vampire. I smiled and opened the window to let him in.
The temperature has gotten colder, so he wore an ash-gray scarf around his neck. I find it amusing because he’s already cold to the touch.
Our usual greeting is hugging one another when he enters the room. He’d sit on my bed while I continued to do homework or I’d join him on the bed and we’d have random conversations. Tonight, I needed to finish my assignment, so I sat at my desk.
Nikolas walked to my side and peered over my shoulder, watching me solving a chemistry problem.
I briefly glanced at him before continuing to work. “You gonna watch me?”
He gave me a nod and leaned his chin on my shoulder.
Internally I was screaming. Nikolas has NEVER done this before. In the corner of my eye, I could see his ruby eyes watch as my pencil moved. He tilted his head to the left so he was now leaning on me. I so badly wanted to scream, but that would wake up my family.
I finally finished the problem to find out I got the wrong answer. With a groan, I tediously looked through my work.
Nikolas pointed at a section of my paper. "Isn't this supposed to be a different number?"
I looked at where he pointed and I nodded. "Aw man, I put the wrong molar mass." I started erasing my answer. "How did you know it was wrong?"
He pointed to the periodic table on my desk.
I sheepishly smiled and finished the problem the right way before starting the next problem.
After a few minutes, Nikolas asked, "Are you almost done?"
I nodded. "I got a couple more and then I'll be done."
I saw the vampire slightly pursed his lips, still watching my pencil move.
I smiled. "What is it? You want my attention?"
He didn't respond at first, but I felt his chin move in a nodding motion.
The smile on my face became wider. "I'm almost done. This is my last problem."
Nikolas moved away and started to play with my hair. He took out the hair clip I used to hold up my bangs and started to brush it back. His fingers massaged my head making me feel very relaxed.
"Alright, I'm done." I started to put my pencil and homework away.
The vampire stopped giving me a massage and plopped onto my bed, patiently waiting for me. Once I was done, I sat down beside him.
He turned towards me. "I have something to ask you."
"What is it?"
Nikolas looked down at his scarf and started playing with the fringe. He's been acting cute tonight. I don't think my heart could handle it anymore.
Finally, he looked up. "Will you be my date to the Winter Solstice Ball?" He muttered.
I blinked a few times before processing what he said. HIS DATE?!
"It's alright if you don't want to." He fixed the scarf around his neck which was now partially covering his mouth.
My eyes widened and I shook my head. "No, no, I would love to go!"
Although his scarf was covering his mouth, there were hints of a smile on his face. The way his eyes softened and the subtle movement of his cheeks expressed his happiness.
Nikolas's eyes met with mine. "The ball is next Tuesday. Don't worry about attire, I'll provide you with clothes to wear."
"Sounds good to me." I happily smiled at him. That'll be the perfect time to ask him if we're official. I assured myself.
He peeked up at the clock on my wall, standing up from my bed. "I have to go now. I'll give you more information later."
I nodded as we walked to my window.
The two of us embraced one another. Nikolas lifted my chin with his hand and I stared up at him. He gave me a peck on the top of my head while caressing my hair. I couldn't help but melt to his touch. Slowly, he backed away and flew out of the window, leaving my head and heart restless for the remainder of the night.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
