edited

|Adara De Clare|

The morning comes. That's the only bad thing. It's time for me to get up but I don't want to. Thank God that I changed my curtains. Instead of my blue ones, they're black. The blue would let the light in and wake me up. The black, however, that one shuts the light out.

My eyes flutter open, and I'm met with darkness. I turn over, looking at the clock. Oh great. I'm late for school. Like three hours late. Crud. Honestly, I fell asleep at around three in the morning. I also forgot to set my alarm on the clock.

I feel something wiggle beneath the blankets and at first, I shift back until I remember Nikolai transforming into a Flaix last night, along with me begging him to stay. Goodness! Why do I say and do the most embarrassing things? My entire life is an embarrassment.

Nikolai pokes his cute, fluffy, orange, and white head out of the blanket, and I coo at him. I have no idea if it's possible for an animal to look exhausted but he looks like that right now. He looks like he could sleep for centuries and still be tired when he woke up.

"Hi," I say, my voice squeaks a little, and my hands start to feel clammy.

I know that he's a cute animal right now but he's still the Prince who intimidates me by being the complete opposite of me.

'Morning. How did you sleep?'

He asks me as he yawns then he licks his paw.

"Great, but I'm so late for school," I tell him and his small, cute head flicks up to the clock.

'You could just skip and rest for today.'

He looks up at me with his brown eyes, and I have to resist the urge to scoop him up in my arms and cuddle with him as tightly as possible.

Agh! Lord, he's adorable.

'Thank you.'

My cheeks heat up, and I hold my head down in embarrassment. "Stop that!" I blush.

'Can't help it.'

I bite my lip, trying to get rid of my blush. "Are you hungry or something? Do I feed you? Or no?" I change the subject.

'You don't have to. What food would you even get me anyway?'

I chuckle a little, "That's true."

'Are you going to stay home or not?'

I yawn, stretching, "I'm staying home. Do you know if my parents came home yet?" I ask him, chewing on the insides of my cheek.

'They didn't. They'll be at the Perslea Kingdom with the Queen for a week or so.'

I nod. Somehow, being here alone without my parents sounds terrifying. I don't want that. It was okay last night because he was here with me but he can't be here every single night for an entire week. It wouldn't be right. Even if he would transform into that Flaix again.

"Oh," I answer, feeling glum. I look at the floor, nibbling on my lip and playing with my fingers. Anxiety builds in my chest and the fear of that vampire or even another one attacking me climbs into my brain. Tears well up in my eyes.

I hate this. Why did I have to be so sensitive? I could've just gotten over it but no, it's decided to follow me. I bite my lip hard, trying to stop myself from crying.

What if when he leaves, a vampire comes and bites me or even worse—kills me. That's terrifying.

Nikolai transforms into his human form, leaving the cute Flaix behind. Why did he do that? When he's that cute creature was adorable which lessened my anxiety, but him being him makes it worse. I'm reminded that he's judging me.

My palms become rather sweaty and I swallow a lot, trying to get that ball in my throat to go away.

"Nikolai, I. . ." I start trying to tell him that I'm fine but I can't get it out.

"Come here." He tells me, his voice soft, and I immediately look up at him. It always surprises me when he's patient and soft with me. It seems so unlike him. I love that he's like this but also, is there an ulterior motive? Or is this who he truly is, and he just has high walls?

He looks at me with sincere dancing in his light brown eyes. I slowly walk toward him and he wraps his arms around me. My head resting on his chest, I hear his heartbeat's serene sound. It calms the disturbing waters of my mind.

He rests his head on top of mine, and he rubs my back while patting my hair. "Do you want me to stay?" He asks me and I freeze up.

It wouldn't be right for me to ask for him to stay. Just no.

He lifts my head, making me look at him. "Do you want me to stay with you?" He repeats. I look away from him, nodding.

"You don't have to feel shy or uncomfortable when asking me to stay. Do you understand?" He tells me and I chew the inside of my cheek.

"Don't you have other things to do, though?" I ask him.

He smiles, "No, none of that matters."

I blush, holding my head down. This has to be the most intimate we've ever been. I really like it. He holds my body close to his. Making sure that I'm comfortable and warm. He rests his head on mine and rubs my back.

I relax my head against his chest, "Thank you." I mutter and he nods, kissing my head.

"Please don't feel pressured to ask me something? Okay?" He tells me and I nod.

"Okay," I say.

Maybe I can ask him later why he changed so quickly. From being insolent to being kind and caring.

We stay there for a little bit. Just us together. Rocking side to side just a little. My body warms up, and I wrap my arms a little tighter around him. He is so comfortable. I could literally stay here forever.

"Are you hungry?" He asks me and I shake my head.

After all the food we ate yesterday? Yeah no. I'm still full. Later though.

Against my wishes, we part. "I need to text or call Via, Justina, and Sasha to tell them I'm not at school before they begin fussing," I tell him, reaching for my phone on my desk.

"Who's Sasha?" He asks, falling back onto my bed.

"Oh, she's a girl I'm doing an art project with," I tell him.

"Why not with your best friend?" He asks, putting his hands behind his head.

"Neither of us can draw. We had to sacrifice each other in order for the good grades to roll in." I explain to him and he nods.

"You like her? That 'Sasha' girl?"

I sit down on the bed beside him, and the bed does a little bounce. I turn to my side to see him looking right back at me. His brown eyes stare into mine and I swallow, feeling a bit self-conscious.

"Well, she's a bit extroverted and the complete opposite of me but yeah I like her. She lets me look at her drawings from time to time." I tell him.

"Oh, but she's not your friend?" He asks me and I shake my head.

"We don't hang out. The only time we talk is when Via isn't there. She's more of an acquaintance." I tell him.

I dial Via's number and it rings for a little before she picks up, "Hey Via."

"Adara! Where are you?! I'm at lunch, where are you?" She asks and I hear a lot of talking in the background. She's in the cafeteria. Usually, we eat out at the breezeway.

"I'm at home, sorry hon," I tell her and she gasps.

"Oh my gosh! Are you feeling alright?" She asks me, sounding frightened.

"I am, I just woke up really late this morning," I tell her and she scoffs.

"Girl! It's the second week of school and you've been absent like four times. I'm sure you have stuff dealing with at home with. . .you know who, but still." Her voice gets lower and I know what she's talking about.

The Prince and our 'relationship'.

Well, our real relationship now. I think.

The Prince moves up further on my bed and he lies properly on my bed. He takes up my blanket and puts it over him.

Is he cold? Does he even get cold?

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." I apologize and Nikolai sits up on the bed.

"Why are you apologizing? You don't need to for feeling exhausted?" He tells me and I bite my lip.

On the other end, I hear Via's huge gasp and small scream. "He's with you?" She asks in a whisper-scream.

Blood rushes to my cheeks and fills my brown cheeks to a rosy pink color. "Yes," I admit and she squeals low.

"Oh my gosh! Was he with you this whole time?" She asks and I bite my lip a bit harder. I can't answer that question. If I do, I know that she'll go absolutely insane.

The longer I take to answer, the higher her squeal goes. Good God, this is what I was trying to avoid. "Girl!" She says.

"Shut up, Via. Have a great lunch, I love you, I'm sorry but I have to go. I need to go call my group members to let them know I'm not at school." I tell her and she sighs.

"Fine. I will talk to you tomorrow." She says and then we hang up.

I dial Justina's number. It rings for a little before she answers, "Hey, Justina. Just wanted to call and let you know that I'm not going to be at school today. I'll be working on my part of the project though." I tell her and her sick voice comes through the phone.

"Oh okay, I'm not at school either, I've been feeling sick since yesterday." She says, sounding as if she was going to vomit.

My eyebrows knit together and thoughts rush through my head. If she's faking this entire pregnancy, she's sure going to extreme lengths to do it.

"Okay, I hope you feel better," I tell her then we hang up.

I wait for a few seconds before I dial Sasha's number. The thoughts rush through my head, and I make sure that I don't look at Nikolai. If I do, I will regret it. I can feel him looking at me. I don't want to look at him and have that conversation with him right now.

Sasha answers after the third ring, "Hey, Adara? Is something wrong?" Her high voice answers. In the background there's music so I'm assuming that she's in the Art room. Definitely not our teacher's art room but another one.

Only one other Art teacher plays music in class: Ms. Butler. She is literally the nicest teacher ever, and the only Art teacher that doesn't stress us out.

Man, I wish I had her as my teacher. We all know that Sasha is her favorite student, even though she doesn't teach her currently. She used to teach her and absolutely loved her. I heard that she used Sasha's art as some assignments for other students in her other classes.

"Hey, Sasha, no nothing's wrong. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not at school today, but I'll be working on the essay for the project. When I come back to school I can finish helping you with the rest." I explain to her.

She pauses, "Y-yeah about that. . ."

I crease my brows, "Sasha?" I call her name.

"So, I got a little carried away and I may have ended up finishing the project. All that's left is the essay explaining what the art is about." She tells me and my eyes widen, then my shoulders fall down in relief.

Thank God, I hate art.

"Oh, I just don't want you to feel like you did everything," I tell her.

"Oh no, no, no, no, I don't. It's my fault I got carried away. Do you want to continue working on the essay together?" She asks me.

"No, no, I can do it. I'll do it, don't worry. Besides, I have the time." I tell her.

"Okay, I understand." She tells me then we hang up.

I put my phone down then I open my computer and sit around my desk. I prep myself to get ready to work.

Nikolai sighs behind me and I turn around to see him looking at me. He's still lying down on the bed.

"Can't you come here?" He asks, patting the empty space on the bed beside him.

I smile, "No, I have to do work. Besides, that History project is going to take me forever. Please make yourself useful and answer my questions about your family." I tell him and he laughs.

"Fine, I shall." He says, crossing his legs over one another and getting even more comfortable in my bed.

I really really really, like him.

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