There was a noticeable lack of pets at the dinner table.

I tried not to think about it too much until I finished my food.

Nico told me that I had to eat to help me feel better faster, so I wanted to hurry and do so before the reality of what happened to all of them could hit me.

So many of them were gone, just overnight. Like a massacre.

And no one but me seemed to be too bothered about that.

Sometimes I forget that this was a common occurrence for every vampire in here.

As far as I know, all of the pets that were here yesterday morning will be replaced with new ones by tomorrow.

"So I guess 8 was too many for Doe to survive then?" Nico asked the vampire to his right.

I turned my head a bit at the sound of her name.

She wasn't with Xander, which pretty much meant only one thing.

I felt my shoulders slump as I thought this over, the confirmation that she was gone sinking in.

Even though we didn't really know each other, I just felt upset over the fact that she was gone.

"Hm?" Xander leaned away from his food, raising a brow, "What are you talking about?" he asked with his mouth half full.

Nico just looked at him for a moment, trying to decide whether he was being serious or not.

"Your pet, Xander. She's not here so I'm assuming she's dead." He said casually.

Xander blinked at him for a moment before swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Oh... no, she's fine."He replied normally before taking another bite of his food.

Both me and Nico were surprised to hear him say that.

"Define 'Fine'," Nico told him.

Xander's eyes shifted to the side, "She's uh... alive?" Is all he said.

Ok, he was definitely acting weird.

"Why did that sound like more of a question than an answer?"

"I don't know! Why am I being questioned all of the sudden?!" He snapped, making me flinch back against Nico.

He didn't even bat an eye at Xander's unusual outburst, but his thumb did lightly rub soothingly against my leg once I flinched.

"Well, someones hostile," he responded, calmly taking a sip from his glass.

Xander sighed as he leaned forward, setting his elbows on the table. Both of his hands ran through his hair before he just rested his head on his hands.

"I'm stressed as shit dude," he said quietly.

I had to think over his words for a second.

Wasnt he the one that said that living without a care in the world was easier than stressing?

Nico's brows rose before a very amused smirk peaked on his face.

"Wow really? You stressed? That's unheard of." He spoke with a mix of amusement and sarcasm that I had never seen from him before, "What on earth could be stressing out the champion of not giving a shit?"

It was obvious that he liked seeing Xander like this.

And to be honest, so did I.

Xander took another deep breath before looking at Nico, his confident expression being nowhere in sight.

"Layla told me that she was going to look for a new pet tomorrow and so I panicked and told her that Id go with her because I needed a new one too." He spoke quickly, his face now showing worry.

All three of us just sat in silence for a moment.

The first thing I remembered when I heard the name 'Layla' was how she was the one who sucked her pet dry because she was bored of it.

I quickly jumped out of my thoughts once Nico started laughing.

It was a quiet laugh as not to draw too much attention to this conversation, but at this point, vampires were beginning to leave the dining hall so he didn't have to hold back that much.

I had never heard him actually laugh before so this was new to me.

It was smooth, it fit him perfectly.

And the smile that he was showing while he laughed... I wasn't used to that either... wow...

"So you're hiding Doe from Layla since you couldn't think of any other excuse to go with her?" he said amongst his laughter.

"I'm not hiding her!" he quickly defended, "I'm just... giving myself some more time to think of how I'm going to do this. I literally lied to Layla, Nico."

Nico just shrugged.

"You could just get another pet. Give Doe someone to play with."

"I don't want another pet, and I'm not getting rid of Doe."

Nico sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Did you specifically tell her that Doe was dead?" he asked.

"I-" there was a pause,"No."

"Then I don't see what the problem is."

Xander let out a small growl.

"The problem is that I told her that I needed a new pet and I don't!"

Nico rolled his eyes.

"I think you're reading too much into this," He began. " Just tell her that none of the pets there interest you and that you'll just help her choose one for herself."

Xander thought this over for a moment.

"What if she realizes that I lied."

Wow, he really cared about what this girl thought of him.

Nico just scoffed, "Believe me, Xander, I'm pretty sure you can lie out of this one, plus Layla may be a Bronwyn but she's not a genius."

My brows furrowed as he said that.

She must be the Lords daughter. I didn't even know he had a daughter.

"I heard my name!" An unfamiliar voice sang out.

All three of us turned our heads to the left to see who said it.

A blonde vampire strut towards us, smiling as we all looked at her.

Xander quickly sat up straighter as she approached.

I leaned back against Nico out of nervousness, but couldn't help but look over her features.

Frankly put, she was beautiful.

She had her straight hair pulled up in a half ponytail, showing off every perfect facial feature she had.

Her eyes were as golden as her fathers, which was kind of off-putting to me.

Even so, that didn't put a damper on her looks.

I let out a soft sigh.

No wonder humans envied vampire's looks.

In fact, think that this was the first time in a long while that I had actually envied them.

Nico lifted his hand in a greeting, meanwhile, I could tell that Xander was struggling to form words.

Wow, seeing Xander like this made him so much less intimidating. I guess a pretty girl was his only weakness.

"Hey Layla!" he exclaimed with some newfound excitement.

She sent him a smile before setting her arms on Nico's chair and leaning forward a bit.

"So what were you guys talking about?" she asked.

Xander didn't even miss a beat before responding.

"I was just telling Nico about our plans for tomorrow." He beamed.

She hummed as she looked down at Nico, a grin spreading over her face, "Oh really? You can come too if you want Nico," she offered as she ran a single finger through his hair.

I looked down towards my lap, not missing the hurt look that crossed Xander's face for barely a second.

She sounded like she really wanted him to go.

"Nah I'm good," Nico replied, sounding disinterested.

I was surprised to feel him run his fingers down my hair, "I've already got a pet."

I turned just in time to see the glare she had fixed on me before her smile briskly returned with a subtle, "Oh."

Nico seemed done with this conversation so he didn't say anything to bring it back.

But Xander sure did, right after he cleared his throat.

"So why are you down here at this hour," he asked, " don't you usually eat with your dad?"

She gave him a nod as she removed her arms from Nico's chair.

"Yea, but he put me in charge of the ball this year so I was just finishing up putting up the fliers." She explained, lifting the small stack of fliers she held.

"Its time for the ball again already?" Nico asked, not really sounding too excited about it.

I didn't even know that Vampires did those sorts of things.

"Mhm. In about two weeks," she told, "You should come this time, It'll be more fun since I'm hosting it. Plus you still owe me a dance."

Nico leaned forward a bit, enough to where my back was touching his torso.

"Yea we'll see." is all he said.

The conversation died out once again, and I guess Xander couldn't find a way to bring it back

"Well, I have to finish putting these up," She began as she took a step forward, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yea, See ya," Xander responded.

We watched as she walked away.

Xander's head whipped back towards Nico as soon as she was out of sight.

"I hate you." He spat.

Nico's arms wrapped around my stomach before he rested his head on top of mine. And as unusual at it sounds, I kind of liked it.

"Oh yea? The feeling is mutual, but whats the reason this time?" Nico questioned.

"Why does she like you more than she likes me?!"

Nico shrugged, "Dunno. I've literally never given her a reason to like me. Her dad pretty much hates me so I don't know what her deal is."

Xander growled before he abruptly stood up, "Whatever. I'm gonna ask her to the ball tomorrow anyways."

I'm pretty sure I heard a tinge of jealousy in his voice.

Nico did too, judging by the fact that he smirked.

"Have fun with that."