Chapter Twenty-Six

After we eat our dinner, Adrian kindly decides to do the dishes for me while I wipe up the countertops. I’m happy to report that he isn’t acting awkward again after our engagement on the sofa, and continues to act flirty and sweet towards me. Once we finish cleaning up, I sit down on the couch again with a fresh cup of tea, made to my liking this time.

Adrian follows me but hesitates at the arm of the couch, pretending to show interest in the height of the flames in the fireplace. I watch him through my lashes, quirking an eyebrow. “You were doing so well, too,” I muse, gaining his attention.

He smiles shyly like a little boy talking to his crush at recess, and I have to admit that his dimple helps. “Sorry,” He apologizes, reaching to tousle his hair uncomfortably. “I’ve never been in a situation like this before, so I’m sorry if I’m a little awkward.”

I smile reassuringly and pat the cushion beside me invitingly. “That’s reassuring. Just come sit with me, I promise I won’t bite you,” I offer a wink as if it would help him make his decision on whether to sit down or not.

Adrian plays it cool and takes the offer, plopping down beside me. “Who said I was worried about you being the one to nip?” He jokes, reaching to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. Much to my dismay, he had also decided to put his shirt back on before he began cooking, so I don’t get the same view as I did before. It’s still nice to look at, of course.

I snip my teeth at the air playfully threatening to prove him wrong. “I can be feisty, too you know,” I say, reaching for the remote. “What should we watch? You can pick this time.”

Adrian gives me a doubtful look but accepts the offering. He turns the TV on and flips through the options, pausing at a paranormal movie before glancing at my expression and scrolling away. “What genres do you like?”

Usually, I wouldn’t mind a horror movie, but the actress on the thumbnail of the one Adrian scrolled past reminded me of the woman we drove past earlier. I shudder at the memory, fighting the urge to rub my arms with my hands. “Comedies, Actions, and Dramas are good,” I suggest hopefully.

Adrian glances at me again and opens the search bar. “I can do all of that in one. Get ready to laugh a lot.”

I sip my tea, grateful that he took my suggestion. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

“It’s only a threat if you don’t enjoy it,” He says with a chuckle, pressing the play button. “It’s an old movie though, so be prepared.”

I give him an offended look. “Hey! I like old movies. I’m not that young, you know.”

He gives me an incredulous look and turns his attention back to the screen, though I can feel him glance at me as the opening scene plays. He’s definitely right about one thing, though; I’ve never seen this movie before. I can tell that it’s filmed in the early ’90s by the camera quality.

When I glance over at him, I can see his smug look. He must be able to tell that I have no clue what this movie is about, but he doesn’t say ‘I told you so’. We watch the film for a while before I can admit that it’s actually pretty funny, though in a cheesy way. I receive a please look when my chuckle mingles with his, and he casually stretches his arm around the back of the couch.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask after a moment, tracing the rim of my mug with a finger.

Adrian’s fingers trace a pattern onto the bare skin of my shoulder, though his eyes remained trained on the screen of the television. “Hmm?” The deep tone of his voice is so casual, though it gives me butterflies. He seems so relaxed and domestic, totally unlike his strange actions on campus today. I have to ask him about it before my curiosity eats me up.

When I don’t answer right away, he glances at me curiously, tapping my shoulder with his thumb. “Is something on your mind?”

“Why did you treat Serene like that earlier? You seem kind of familiar with her.”

His tapping stops momentarily as he analyzes my question. “I wouldn’t say that I know her personally,” He says finally, stroking my skin again. “I just know about her from other people. And I never said I didn’t like her,” He points out, sounding mildly offended as if I should have guessed that for myself.


I furrow my brow as I stare into my green drink. “So you really just treat everyone like that?”

“Like what?”

I turn to stare at his profile, burning holes into the side of his head. There’s no way he doesn’t know that he treats people like shit. He even admitted that people ‘respect him’ or whatever, so he knows that people look up to him at least. “It’s not normal to glare at people all day. They all act like they’re afraid of you, aside from Serene.”

He presses his tongue against the side of his cheek, making it seem like he was hoping I wouldn’t bring up the subject again. He sighs and leans for the remote, pausing the movie. “I was hoping you wouldn’t catch on to that,” He sighs, leaning his head back.

I stare at him. “My eyes work, Adrian. How could I not notice? How am I supposed to rust you if you keep sweeping things under the rug?”

He seems to consider my expression deeply, pondering each word carefully. When he turns to look at me, his eyes shine with something… admiration, maybe? “You’re very perspective. I give up, I’ll spill everything. You won’t believe me though,” He warns, lowering his chin to look me square in the eye.

I frown, feeling like he’s teasing me. “You’re not fooling me. Just tell me.”

Adrian’s expression doesn’t change, remaining serious. “I’m a werewolf and everyone’s scared of me because my dad is their Alpha. And Serene is a Witch, so she follows her own rules which is why she isn’t afraid.”

It takes me a long time to process his words as I continue to stare at him. He’s definitely being a dick right now, but his small smile makes me think otherwise. He must be a good actor. I huff and tip back the rest of my drink, setting it down on the coffee table with some unnecessary force.

“I told you, you weren’t going to believe me,” He states, sounding almost defeated.

I scoff at him, unnerved by his acting skills. He’s totally chasing the wrong career path. “Alright, then. You don’t have to tell me. Let’s just watch the rest of this movie, I’m tired.”

Adrian presses his lips together in a hard line but does as I asked, pressing play on the remote again. I hate that I’m too frustrated at him to thoroughly enjoy the funniest parts as I should, and I dutifully ignore Adrian each time he tried to catch my gaze. Eventually, the movie ends, leaving us to sit in uncomfortable silence now that the characters have left us alone together.

It’s true that this new school seems less than normal, but I’m too much of a realist to believe in werewolves and witches like in my shows. It’s pretty fucked up for him to tease me like that, and I don’t plan on letting him off the hook so easily.

He seems to sense this and grabs my arms when I begin to stand up, gently pulling me back down. “Lydia…” He says softly, apology written in his tone.

I gaze into the fire, unwilling to look at him in my humiliation. “You didn’t have to be such a dick about it,” I say, my voice coming out quieter than I would have liked. “I deserve to know what’s going on around me. I’m not just some dumb girl.”

Adrian’s lips form a line, regret written on his face. “I know, I didn’t mean it like that,”

“Yeah, I’m sure you didn’t,” I don’t bother to hide my sarcasm. “Im sure that we have vampires attending school with us too, right?”

Adrian’s eyes widen for a moment before letting a chuckle out. “Maybe we do. Keep an eye out tomorrow and tell me what you decide. Seriously though,” He says, drawing a hand breath my chin and turning me to look up at him. “You’re definitely not stupid and I would never think that about you, okay? Let’s go see the Dean tomorrow after class. I think you should meet each other.

I sigh, still in a pouty mood from what he said. I don’t know if I can trust anything that he’s told me now. Maybe he’s just playing a game with me though. I nod and peel myself away from him, moving to go upstairs. “Okay, whatever you say. I’m going to bed.”