Chapter 25

25

NIKO

Standing in front of my dresser, I start to grab my beanie, then I throw it back down. "I don't need you anymore," I whisper to the fabric, laughing when Lox hisses happily in my face.

While I know my insecurities aren't going to go away with the flick of a wrist, I know I'm on the path to feeling more confident in who I am: a Gorgon. Apparently, a Gorgon that Kingston is in love with.

I look into the mirror seeing my eyes are a light shade of green I've never seen before. I lean in closer and smile, realizing my cheeks have a pink tint to them as well. Gazing up at my vipers, I grin, loving how happy they are, too. They're slithering around, attacking each other playfully.

I quickly get dressed, then head out to the common area to see if Mateo is here. King woke me earlier before going to the Athletics Center. They have one final practice today before the fundraiser scrimmage tomorrow. I walk over to the couch, taking in a snoring Mateo, no longer in his shifted form.

Tapping his leg, I push at him until he wakes up, his eyes slowly blinking open.

"Hmm?" he asks groggily, glancing at me with one eye.

"Rise and shine!" I chirp, yanking the blanket off him.

"Ugh, you're in love and happy. Gross." He smiles anyway, tossing his pillow at me.

"I am. It's a great feeling," I say to him. Mateo sits up, grinning at me. "I had a pretty great night too."

"Oh, please do tell. What happened once King and I left?"

"Sam kissed me." Mateo's cheeks turn a bright red, and I squeal.

"Fucking finally. I've been waiting for one of you to make a move on the other."

"Truthfully, so was I. But I wanted him to see me before that happened–all of me. I was nervous, of course, thinking he wouldn't like me in my Wolf form. But when he saw me, he wasn't disgusted. He smiled and said I looked amazing."

"I love that for you, Mateo. Tell me more. Who made the first move?" I ask, scooting closer to him.

"He did. After the Halloween Ball, he walked me back to the dorm room and I shifted back down to my normal form. I wasn't expecting anything to happen, but as I went to open the door, he grabbed me and kissed me."

"Oh, Medusa," I sigh happily.

"I was shocked at first, but when I realized what was happening, I kissed him back. After we kissed, he asked me to go on a date with him, then we said goodnight." Mateo gushes, happiness radiating off him.

I hug him tightly before saying, "Can you believe we're both dating humans?"

"Humans and baseball players," he states, and I look at him wide eyed.

"Oh, my Medusa. Why did that never click for me before? A fucking baseball player," I mutter.

"Hey, they have their fundraiser thing tomorrow. Do you want to dress up with me?"

"First, I realize I'm dating a baseball player, and now you want to dress up? Ew," I joke.

"Come on, Niko. You know you want to."

"No," I lie. I actually really do want to. I want to show King I support him since he's always supporting me. "Fine, what did you have in mind?"

Mateo jumps up, grabbing my arm. "Come on, we need to head to the sports store by the Athletics Center."

I'm standing in the bleachers of the stadium with Mateo vibrating at my side. Glancing down at my outfit, I sigh, not sure how I let him talk me into wearing this.

"Did we really need to go all out and wear this much?" I ask, looking down at my outfit. I'm wearing Creelin U Cockatoo socks peeking out under my ripped jeans. Instead of my usual black leather jacket, I'm wearing a jersey with King's name and number on it. Okay, I'm not complaining too much about that one. But, then, to top it all off, I'm wearing a team baseball cap on my head and a foam finger on my hand. I glance over at Mateo who's wearing the exact same thing except with Sam's name and number.

"Trust me, when King sees you, he's going to love it."

"Yeah, whatever," I mumble.

The team walks out onto the field, and I'm blown away. King and Sam stand up front, but, behind them, monsters file out in their shifted forms. I notice Trent—and all eight of his legs—walking over to second base. Making their way to the outfield is a Minotaur, and a three-headed Hydra starts making his way to first base.

"Wow," I say, sitting down in my seat.

"I know, isn't it amazing?" Mateo looks at me, and I notice tears in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I ask, wondering why he's tearing up.

"I'm really okay. I told you Niko, having humans was going to be so good for Creelin U."

"Yeah, you were right," I admit, turning back toward the field.

The game starts, and I eagerly watch as the team takes the lead early, each of the players working extremely hard. My eyes stayed trained on King as he plays. I know, in the back of his mind, he's always worried about how well he does or doesn't do, but from where I'm sitting, he has nothing to worry about.

The other team hits a ball that makes it to the outfield, and my heart beats wildly as I watch King jump up, his head twisting left and right, scanning the field. I stand up, my eyes glued to the ball. When it lands in King's glove and he tags the other player out, I scream loudly, yelling King's name.

King turns around and locks eyes with me. I wave and laugh when King shoots me a wink, one not at all subtle. Thinking back to the last time I was at one of his games, I smile to myself. Things have changed so much in such a short period of time.

"They're fucking killing it!" Mateo yells next to me, and I nod my head in joyful agreement.

We watch the rest of the game, jumping up multiple times to yell and cheer on our boys. Halfway through, I take off my baseball cap, leaving it in my seat. The vipers play around for a few seconds before giving their attention to the game, watching King. They love him almost as much as I do.

During the last inning, a player on the other team hits a ball hard, and I watch in amazement as the Centaur takes off, his legs galloping fast across the field. His hand reaches up and he catches the ball before tossing it to Trent. Trent switches the ball to his longest arm, whipping it through the air. The ball flies over Sam's head as he ducks and lands directly in King's glove. The player is running at full speed toward King, but King's faster. He dips down, tagging the player out.

A chorus of screams erupts in the stands all around us. Someone throws their popcorn in the air and it hits us in the face, but all I can do is laugh. They fucking won the game! Gripping onto Mateo's hands, we both jump wildly, yelling in excitement before turning and facing the field.

The team is on the pitcher's mound celebrating, some of them throwing their hats up into the air. Knowing that it's too crazy to try and get through the crowd of people, Mateo and I hang back, letting the stands slowly clear out.

Once most of the people have left, we make our way down to the field and wait beside the dugout. My dad is giving the team a talk about the game, and when I hear everyone cheer loudly, I smile knowing they deserve it.

Trent walks out first, followed by Will, then more players file out behind them. My dad comes out next, and when he sees me, he smiles at me, reaching his hand out to touch Lox.

"Two games in one season, huh? I like seeing you out there in the stands. Reminds me of when you were a little kid."

"I think I'll come to more. I kinda forgot how much fun they could be."

"I'd really love that, Nikolai." The assistant coach walks out, and my dad follows behind him. "I'll see you later, son."

Mateo and I wait as the dugout empties, until eventually King and Sam make their way out.

"You played amazing!" I yell, running up to King and jumping into his arms. He easily catches me, my legs wrapping around his waist. Knocking his ball cap off his head, I take his mouth with mine.

Pulling away, he lightly smacks my ass, "I'm going to need you to come to every game now if that's how they're going to end."

I laugh loudly, sliding down his body. "You guys played an outstanding game."

"Thanks. Wanna hear some good news?"

"Of course, I do." I tell him, grabbing his hand. We start walking away from the dugout, following behind Mateo and Sam, who are holding hands as well. I smile, looking at my best friend, happy he's found someone. Giving my attention back to King, I squeeze his hand. "Tell me."

"Coach said the dean gave him word that the rules for all sports at Creelin U are going to change. He said when they first created it, they only changed the rule for some of them, wanting to see how it would be first. But after watching our scrimmage, they realize what a mistake they made, and that all monsters should get to choose what form they want to play in regardless of the sport."

"Holy shit," I breathe out. "That's what you all were hoping would happen, right?"

"Hell yeah. The coaches were so fucking ecstatic to tell us. None of the other teams stand a chance against us now. Also, seeing you in my jersey is such a fucking turn on, Niko." He grabs my hand pulling me to a stop. "Thank you for coming, and for cheering me on. Even though baseball isn't your thing."

"I'm starting to realize there are many things I didn't think were my thing, but I actually closed myself off to certain ideas. You've opened my eyes, Kingston Porter. In so many ways."

In the middle of the sidewalk, King kisses me passionately, my heart beating wildly for him.

"Come on, there's one last thing I want to do today."

King drags me through the quad, bypassing Savannah who's walking with Vanessa. Vanessa eyes King and me holding hands before turning her attention back to Savannah.

"Hey, what ever happened with you and Vanessa?" I ask as we weave in and out of crowds.

"Who?" he questions, his brow furrowed.

"The Vampire you danced with at the bonfire."

"Oh shit, I forgot about that. Damn, that seems so long ago. Nothing really. She texted a few times, then stopped. My mind was occupied with someone else." He squeezes my hand, and I snicker while thinking of how much we've changed since then.

We finally make it back to our dorm room where King sits down on the couch and pats the cushion for me to sit next to him.

"Is everything okay?" I ask. "You didn't shower after the game, and you raced back here just to sit on the couch?"

"You'll see."

King looks down at his phone, smiling when it starts ringing in his hand. I glance down at the screen to see “Mom” calling. My eyes widen as King slides to answer the call.

"Hey, Mom." I can hear her soft voice on the other line, and my nerves start to amp up. Is he going to introduce me to his mom? "We won! And we get our official schedule in the next few weeks, so I'll share that with you so we can plan a day for you to come."

His mom keeps talking, King's smile growing wider with each word she says. Their conversation eventually dies down and King glances back at me. "Mom, there's someone I want you to meet."

He scoots closer to me, and I instinctively move to pull down on my beanie, only to remember it's no longer there.

"She's going to love you," he whispers away from the phone. I can't speak, so I nod instead. "Mom, this is Niko. My boyfriend."

He tilts the camera so my face is in the little box in the corner. His mom's face shows up on the screen, and all I see is King. She has long, curly, brown hair, but her brown eyes are the same as King’s, warm and welcoming. She smiles sweetly at me before saying, "Hi Niko. I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to finally put a face with a name."

"You've heard about me?" I squeak, looking wide-eyed at King.

"Oh, honey. Kingston hasn't stopped talking about you since school started."

"Mom," King whines, cutting her off. "Don't embarrass me."

His mom chuckles, and I feel my nerves start to dissipate.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Porter. You've got a pretty great son."

"That, I do." His mom stares at me, and I start to get anxious again. "Your vipers are beautiful," she finally says, her eyes softening.

Tears prick my eyes and I smile. "Most people just call them snakes. How'd you know they're vipers?"

"My son has told me many things about you. You seem to be all he can talk about lately. I can't wait to meet you in person."

"I can't either," I tell her with a lump in my throat. King has been talking to his parents about me? Glancing at King, I grab his hand, interlocking our fingers.

"I love you," he mouths, his eyes only on me.

"I love you, too."

His dad comes on the line and we end up talking to his parents for a while. They seem great and I love that King wanted me to meet them. Once we hang up, I jump into King's lap kissing him passionately. I'll never tire of this.