cloud

When I wake up, I almost forget where I am. My head shoots up, alerted, and my eyes dart around the room. It isn't until I can hear the muffled sound of Raiden's voice from down the hall that I remember where I am.

I must've fallen asleep after we ate.

Glancing at the window, I notice the sunlight out. It's morning now. I take a glance in the direction where Raiden's voice comes from before moving to the kitchen. I check for anything that I'd be able to take with me. If I left right now then I'd be in the same position I was in before. Hungry, tired, and lost.

As expected from a guy who lives alone, Raiden didn't have much in the kitchen. He had a few items but most would go bad if I tried to take them with me.

"Will you stop?!" I hear Raiden shout which causes my search to pause. "I'm not rejecting him. I'm not marrying her so you can tell Demos to fuck off."

Who's he talking to and who's Demos?

Moving closer to the door, I press my ear to it in curiosity. There's a silence before I can hear Raiden laugh. "You haven't even met him. Spare me your bullshit. He's my mate and that's not just going to magically change."

Before I get the chance to move away, the door opens causing me to stumble forward and into Raiden. He blinks in surprise as I push myself off of him.

"I'll talk to you later," he says with a sigh.

Judging by his tone he won't.

Raiden hangs up the phone and the two of us stare at each other in silence. I'm expecting him to ask me what I'm doing or why was I listening in on his conversation, but instead he manages to pull a slight smile onto his face. This one doesn't meet his eyes, though. It's strained and tired — an expression I wasn't used to seeing on Raiden's face.

I don't like it.

"Are you hungry?" Raiden asks as he moves past me. He moves to grip my hand before second-guessing himself and pulling away. "Let me make you something," he says, not waiting for an answer. I follow behind him as he makes his way to the kitchen. "Do you like pancakes?"

"Pancakes are fine," I tell him.

Raiden nods and begins to start cooking. I move towards the couch and turn on the TV. The room is silent beside the show playing in the background. Whatever he had been talking about earlier had gotten to him.

When I stand up, he doesn't seem to notice. Frowning, I make my way to the kitchen and see him standing there. His lips are curled into a frown, and his brown eyes have this distant look in them — like he's there but not at the same time, his hand tightly grips a spoon covered in pancake mix, and the pancake he had previously been making is now burnt.

"Raiden," I call out but get no reply. "Raiden," I say louder. When he still doesn't answer, I raise my hand and place it on his shoulder. "Raiden!"

I can feel him tense before he quickly turns to face me. "Yeah?"

"You're burning the pancakes," I tell him.

Raiden's eyes travel to the pan and he cursed to himself before shaking his head. "Sorry."

He quickly moves to dispose of the pancake leaving me there to watch him. Part of me wants to ask if he's okay. I mean, I know he isn't but still.

I open my mouth to say 'are you okay?' but instead I say, "So what are we eating now?"

Raiden bites his lip before shaking his head, "I don't—" his eyes light up. "How about I show you around the pack? We'll get food while we're out."

"I have no clothes," I deadpan.

Raiden doesn't seem bothered by this. "You can wear some of mine. Come on, it'll be fun."

I want to say no. The idea of being stared at like I was some animal in a zoo exhibit wasn't pleasing to me and neither was the suggestion of wearing any of his clothes but when I stared at Raiden's face, I couldn't help but sigh.

He looked so hopeful.

I guess I was going to have to learn my way around the area to find the best way of escaping.

"Fine," I say and Raiden grins at me. "But I need to shower."

"Let me get you some clothes," Raiden says as he disappears into his room. I can hear the sound of shuffling before he returns with clothing and a towel. "Bathroom's at the end of the hall."

After taking the items from him, I make my way down the hall to the bathroom, close the door, and lock it. Leaning back against the door, I sigh and run my hand through my hair. In the short time that I had been here, I've done more socializing than I had in years. So far the pack didn't seem that bad. Staying with Raiden didn't seem that bad.

But what if it was a lie?

What if this pack was no better than the one I had just left? Sure, they may be acting nice for now but what happened when they dropped the act? I was an outsider, they had no reason to be kind to me.

"Cloud, are you alright?" I hear Raiden call.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I push myself off the door and towards the shower. "Yeah, I'm fine!"

Once I set the clothes down, I turn on the shower and begin to undress. Raiden's face flashes through my mind, but I push the thought away. He doesn't matter— this pack doesn't matter because soon I would be gone and forget all about it.

I'd forget all about Raiden.