I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. I rubbed my eyes, kicking the blanket off. "Callum?" I called out.

Then I heard the bathroom door open. "I'm taking a shower, what's up?" he asked. "When did you wake up?"

"Right now," I sighed, rolling onto my side and hugging the pillow he slept on.

"Okay, I'll be out in ten minutes." Then he closed the door.

I took a deep breath, forcing my eyes open and cherishing the scent of the pillow. The scent of him, actually. He smells like... citrus and... is that lavender? Both, actually. Yeah. Citrus mostly and a tinge of lavender, floral, actually. He smells like citrus and flowers.

My eyes went to the rose that was sitting on his window. I crawled out of bed, walking over and picking it up. I frowned, "Hmm?" It has a piece of the stem missing just like the last one I saw. I stood there, dallying and staring out of the window, watching some people running around campus.

My body sensed it before I thought about it. He's standing right behind me. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Watching people," I answered. "In a non-creepy way," I added.

He chuckled, putting his hands on the desk from behind me. "And who exactly are you watching?" he asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

I looked at him from the corner of my eye, and just to get on his nerves... "Atticus."

His grip faltered and his hand fell off the table.

I laughed, still not turning to face him.

"Why are you watching Atticus?"

"He isn't even there," I scoffed. "I was just watching the crowd." I turned around and found myself wishing I hadn't when I realized he was standing there with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

"I don't understand how people here like Atticus," he scoffed, opening his closet and grabbing a black t-shirt with jeans. "He's even more of a dick than I am."

"You think you're a dick?" I laughed.

He isn't. At least with me.

He glanced at me while grabbing a pair of socks. "I know I am," he smirked.

"Wow, look at that. Now that you're all recovered you're back to being a... a devil," I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest.

He tossed his clothes on the bed and walked back over to me, trapping me between him and the table by putting his hands on it again. "A devil I am," he grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to my room." I turned to leave but he grabbed my hand and put me back in the same spot. I looked at him expectantly.

He leaned in closer, reaching behind me and grabbing my keys before taking my hand and placing them in my palm. "Don't ever try that Atticus joke with me again. I hate it," he whispered into my ear. He pulled back to look at me and then shook his head, throwing off water droplets everywhere.

I closed my eyes and looked away, clenching my jaw. "You are so annoying!" I yelled through gritted teeth, pushing him away, only for him to step closer again.

What is with him today? It's like he recovered and he was reborn, why is he acting like that?

He leaned in. And then kept leaning in. And for a split second, I thought he was going to kiss me. But then again, why the hell would he do that? He turned at the last second and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

"Callum, what are you doing?" I asked warily.

"Wishing you a good morning," he winked before pulling away and grabbing his clothes, heading into the bathroom.

I sighed to myself, staring at my keys in my hand. I left, going to my room to change, freshen up, and then leave his spare keys with the principal as she asked me to do once I was finished using them. I didn't feel like going all the way downstairs for breakfast, so I thought I'd skip it and just grab a snack later since the cafeteria offers snacks all the time. So I brushed my teeth, grabbed an outfit, and then hopped in the shower.

I rubbed the water out of my eyes and sighed, turning the water off before reaching for my towel after I finished showering. I squeezed all the water out of my hair and towel dried it briefly before wrapping the towel around my body and stepping out. I opened the bathroom door and headed straight for the closet, freezing in my tracks.

"Hey," he grinned, very openly checking me out while sitting on my bed.

"What in the name of hell are you doing here?" I asked, approaching my bed where my clothes were splayed out. Underwear and bra included.

"Oh, nice," he smirked, holding up my black lace bra.

I yanked it out of his hand and bunched up my clothes in my hand. "What are you doing?" I whined.

"You weren't there for breakfast so I got you yogurt, a muffin, and two hash browns. I put the yogurt in the fridge, the rest is right there," he pointed to the small coffee table by my fridge.

"Thank you," I nodded. "But what are you still doing here?" I groaned, going into the bathroom and setting my clothes on the counter, turning to him while closing the door, only sticking my head out.

"Waiting for you," he nodded.

"For what?" I questioned.

"I need to go to the library. I have something I need to find."

"So then go, please let me get changed," I huffed.

"No one's stopping you," he chuckled.

"You can't go without me? I'll meet you there."

"Fine. But I have a feeling it's going to be a busy day. Don't say I didn't have time for you."

"When have I ever said that?" I cried, stomping my foot.

"That's because I always have time for you," he smirked. "Speaking of time, you're taking too much of it. So I'll see you there." He stood up and then left.

"What is with you today?" I sighed to myself after he left while closing the door and wrapping the towel around my hair after I got dressed. I left my hair to air dry but put a hair tie on my wrist to throw it up once it did. I ate the yogurt, grabbed the muffin and hash browns to go, and then headed out for the library. I stuck the hash browns between my teeth and locked my door, eating while rushing to the library.

I ran down the stairs and made it to the library, not bothering to check down here because I knew he was upstairs. I got up there and found him in the same spot he always sits in when we're here. "Hey," I said while walking over.

"Hey," he said without looking up at me.

"What are you doing?" I settled into the spot beside him, crossing my legs.

"Looking into something," he mumbled, scanning the page quickly before flipping to the next one.

"What?" I asked, peering into the book. "About darklings?" I looked up at him.

"Something like that," he sighed, closing the book and moving onto the next one. "I remember reading about uh, how do I- like a destined partner, that these rare people get."

"Like a soulmate?"

"Hmm, maybe. But it's not necessarily a romantic soulmate. It's more like someone they're tethered to. For instance, if students here are rare and human both, then each human here is tethered to a rare one. They kind of help each other."

I nodded in understanding. "So, they're like each other's support, right?"

"Right. And they're always drawn to each other when they first meet. After that, they can choose to break their tether or keep it hidden. But it's always hidden to others regardless. Sometimes, who you're tethered to ends up being your soulmate."

"So, what are you looking for?" I asked, taking the book he closed and flipping through it.

"I'm trying to see how someone can figure out who they're tethered to."

"You just said they're instantly drawn to each other."

"Yeah, but that's not enough. There have to be more signs," he mumbled absentmindedly.

"What is this for?" I inquired.

"Knowledge." He stopped to look at me. His eyes trailed up and down, looking at my clothes. "You look nice," he nodded.

"In... pink sweatpants and a white t-shirt?"

"Yeah," he said, going back to reading.

"Let me help you," I cleared my throat, setting my muffin down before throwing my hair up in a bun. I ate the muffin while looking through the books with him. "Oh, here!" I exclaimed, ten minutes later.

He turned to me.

"See. It talks about the tether and its signs." Wait a second. Why am I helping him so eagerly? "There, I found it for you. Now, what do I get in return?"

He read the page, nodding to himself before closing it and then turning to me. "Did you read this?"

"No, should I?"

"No," he answered quickly. "What do you get, huh?" he asked.

I nodded eagerly.

He snatched the rest of my muffin and planted another kiss on my cheek. "A kiss," he grinned.

Seriously, what the hell has gotten into him today? He's... flirting with me. Isn't he?

I'm not crazy, right?

He is flirting with me.

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