Chapter 9

9

NIKO

King storms out of the bar, and an audible exhale leaves my lips. I wasn't trying to be mean. But to be honest, I can’t even explain it myself. It’s hard for me to be around humans; I don’t feel comfortable enough. I’m so scared about being made fun of, that even though he says he wants to be my friend, I worry about whether or not he really does. How do I tell someone I’m scared of being made fun of by humans, but at the same time I’m attracted to a human for the first time in my life. My emotions are all over the place, and I don’t know how to handle it. Plus, the alcohol is not helping.

I take another sip of my drink looking out onto the dance floor. Mateo is still talking to the guy from earlier, so I sit and wait patiently. I don't like going out onto the dance floor by myself, which is why Mateo is usually out there with me. Some people tend to get too handsy, so I like to use Mateo as a buffer between me and anyone who tries to dance with me.

Scanning Zomb-Bar, I take in all of the different people, both human and monster. Some of the monsters are even in their shifter form, which means they feel comfortable enough to be themselves. I raise my hand up and pet Rob, another one of my snakes. He curls around my finger, loving the attention.

I really hate that I can't shift. It's always been in the back of my mind, but now seeing those monsters that can easily shift in and out of form, I'm jealous.

I watch as a Mummy and a Harpy grind together on the dance floor next to two humans gazing unapologetically at them. Their eyes are tracking every movement, and I can't tell whether they're fascinated or disgusted seeing a Mummy in their wraps and a Harpy with huge wings spread wide. I’m starting to think I was wrong about humans, and that maybe most of them are more welcoming than I thought.

A gust of cool air hits me as the front door swings open and King walks back into the bar. I eye him as he walks over to his friends, takes the pitcher of beer, and pours himself a new drink. He and Will talk for a while, and I'm still staring as Will flashes his fangs and King leans closer.

Not wanting to see more, I turn away trying to find Mateo again. He's over in the corner with his friend, and I know I've lost him for the night. After downing the last of my drink, I put the cup onto the counter, then decide to head out. I really don't want to be around King, and it seems as though Mateo is occupied.

I head back toward the dorms, going straight to my room, locking myself inside, and hiding away for the rest of the night.

Waking up the next morning, I have a crick in my neck from sleeping wrong. I fell asleep in the chair in the corner of my room while listening to Spookify. Music is always my go-to when I'm having any types of feelings. If I'm depressed, angry, happy—any emotion at all really—I turn on Spookify and get lost in the music.

I head out to the common area and see that both Mateo and King are already awake. They're sitting on the couch watching some TV show. They both turn their heads when they take me in, but King is the only one to quickly turn away.

Okay, so I do feel bad for how I treated him last night. It’s not his fault I don’t understand my own feelings. Grabbing some juice from the small fridge, I pour it into a cup and take a sip. Mateo stumbles in behind me and I turn around and offer him a small smile.

"Did you have fun last night?" I ask, then laugh when his eyes get big.

"What do you mean?"

"With that guy. Did you have fun with him?"

"Oh, Sam? He's just a friend."

"You guys did look very friendly." I smirk, bumping my shoulder into his.

"Ha. Ha. We are friends. I sat next to him in my statistics class, and we hit it off. He's just a friend," he says it as though he believes it, but the small blush has me thinking maybe Mateo has a little crush on this Sam person.

"Okay, okay. If you say so." Deep down, I hope this guy turns out to be more than a friend. I don't want to see him going back and forth with his ex again.

"What did you do to King? I know there's animosity, well from you, but I was getting it from him this morning too."

"Why? What happened earlier?" Curiosity eats at me, and I want to know.

"I asked him if he wanted to head down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast and he originally agreed, but when I said to wait for you, he changed his mind. He wouldn't tell me why he changed his mind, but I can only assume that you did something."

I shake my head scoffing. "Why would you assume I did something? What the hell, Mateo?"

Mateo stares me down and my snakes start to cower. "You've had a problem with him since before he even walked in. Hell, you had a problem with him when you didn't even know who he was. All you knew was he was a human and on the baseball team, and you instantly hated him. I've seen him try over and over again to be your friend, only to constantly be shut down. So yeah, I do assume you've done something, since he's all but given up on being friendly with you."

Peeking around his shoulder, I see King is no longer on the couch, so I can only assume he went to his room or he left. "I told him we weren’t friends," I mumble, feeling like shit.

"Last night?"

"When we were at Zomb-Bar and you went off with your friend. He came over to me and tried talking to me. I told him we weren’t friends, and he got upset."

"Is that all you told him?"

"Yes," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Fucking hell, Niko. What is wrong with you?"

I sigh, slumping my shoulders. "Yeah, I know. I fucked up. I'll talk to him."

"You better. I can't live the rest of the school year under all this stress."

I head back to my room before I close the door and sit on my bed, dropping my head into my hands. King didn't deserve any of the treatment I've given him since he showed up. And he deserves an explanation. Now, if only he'll listen to me.

Later that night, I'm sitting in the common area waiting for King to return. He still hasn't come back to the dorm since he slipped out early this morning, and I know he's doing it to avoid me.

Grabbing all my textbooks, I set them out on the table, then grab my papers and highlighters. I don't know if he'll want to do any tutoring tonight, but I'm going to sit here and wait to see if he does.

I wait on the couch for another hour before I hear the sound of the door being opened. King walks into the room, and I have to swallow my tongue. He's so damn gorgeous, but when he's wearing his workout clothes I'm done for. He's clothed in black basketball shorts and a cut off tee, with his nipple peeking through. Oh, fucking hell, his nipples are pierced. I can see a hint of abs, and I wish for his shirt to hit the floor. His baseball cap is on backwards, and I watch as he slips off his shoes and tosses his workout bag onto the floor.

King walks right by me, heading toward his room without saying a word. He's not in his room for longer than a minute before he's out again, his towel and caddy in hand. He walks across the hall to the bathroom and slips inside, the door softly locking behind him.

I hear the water turn on, and I start imagining him naked in the shower. His rough hands caressing his body, touching places I could only dream of. My eyes close and I picture myself in the shower with him, my hands running over his chiseled chest. I imagine myself dropping to my knees and taking him in my mouth. My vision quickly switches to us changing spots, and he's on his knees sucking me down like a pro.

I'm jolted out of my daydream when Coby and Rob hiss at my face, alerting me that I’m no longer alone.

"Hey, man," Mateo says, walking through the front door.

"Uh, hey." I breathe out, hoping he doesn't notice my hard-on–or the fact I was daydreaming about our roommate who's still in the shower.

"Have you talked to King yet?"

"No, but I will."

The water turns off and King steps out of the bathroom, steam billowing around him. He nods to Mateo before walking back into this room.

"Do it soon. I would really like it if my roommates were talking to each other."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"I'm gonna head to my room. Let me know if you need me."

Mateo takes off, and I wait patiently on the couch to see if King will come back out. He doesn't leave me waiting long, coming back out a little bit later. But, fucking hell, he's trying to kill me.

He's shirtless and wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that are riding low on his hips, the prominent V on display for me. Without the shirt, I can see his abs perfectly, and I have to stop myself from drooling everywhere. He strides out into the common room, typing away on his phone. He stops short and glances up at me before directing his attention back to his phone. He sits down on the couch, grabs the remote, and starts flicking through the streaming service we have.

I take the hint and turn back to my books, deciding to focus on getting some more of my work done. King sits next to me, snickering at whatever show he ended up putting on. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as he types on his phone then puts it away only for it to go off a second later and him responding again.

Turning to face him, I clear my throat. "Wanna get some tutoring done tonight?"

King looks at me briefly before diverting his attention away again. "No thanks, not tonight."

"Are you sure? I have everything all set up."

"Yeah, I'm good. Maybe tomorrow, though."

My hand rubs the back of my neck and I take a deep breath. "Do you think we could talk about last night?"

"Hmm?" He glances at me, then looks back at his phone. "Actually, I need to take this. See you later."

He jumps up answering the call saying, “Hey, Mom,” as he rushes down to his room.

I guess I'm trying again tomorrow.

Jerking awake, I look at the clock on my nightstand, bolting upright when I realize I'm late for class. I throw the blankets aside and rush out of bed, barely making it without falling flat on my face. I toss on pants and a shirt, then tug my beanie on my head. After looking at the time again, I see I only have five minutes before class starts, so I decide to forgo my contacts and decide to slide my glasses on.

Snatching my backpack up from the ground, I rush out the door and down the stairs, knowing I don't have time to wait for the elevator. I'm in such a damn hurry, I've never been this late before. I don't know why my alarm didn't go off this morning. Fuck, I think it was when Mateo and I were up studying, and I assumed I had set it, but I must have forgotten.

I race into the quad, trying to run around all the students that are crowding the space. There's a Sasquatch standing on the walkway talking to a Loch Ness Monster, so I rush onto the grass trying to bypass them. The grass is wet and slippery, and my feet slide as I'm trying to run.

"Watch out," hits my ears, and I turn around, ducking and hoping they aren't talking to me.

Out of nowhere, I'm being knocked onto the ground, a huge body slamming into me, and my glasses flying off in front of me.

"Oh, shit, I'm so sorry. I was chasing the ball, and you ran in out of nowhere. I didn't mean to hit you."

I start to look up when I remember my glasses flew off my face.

"Fuck!" I roar, not lifting my head, but start frantically looking around the ground for my glasses. "Do you see my glasses?"

"Yeah, man. They're right here. Sorry about them."

He hands me my glasses and a cry gets caught in my throat. They're broken. Fuck, they're broken, and I'm surrounded by students. What the hell do I do now?

"It's okay," I choke out, trying to hold back the tears that want to fall. "I gotta go."

Standing up, I keep my head down, trying to navigate through students in the quad without looking up. It's so fucking hard, and I don't even know if I'm going the right way. Every time I try to look up, I see a pair of shoes on the floor, and I know I can't glance up. I can't risk turning someone to stone.

With shaky hands, I pull my beanie over my face, trying to see if that helps, but when I look up, all I can see is the fabric. Tears start to flow freely. I hate being in this situation. This is why I'm always prepared. I shouldn't have been in a hurry. If I’d woken up on time, I wouldn’t have been rushing and run into the middle of a fucking football game.

Holding my backpack to my chest, I breathe in deeply, trying to calm myself down, but it's no use. The tears won't stop falling. Looking at the ground, I recognize the edge of the benches, which means I'm in the middle of the quad. Still so fucking far from my dorm. I throw myself onto a bench and I cry silently, hoping all the students disappear into their classes soon.

"Niko?" I hear King's whispered voice beside me, and I nod my head.

"Yeah, it's me," I choke out, holding onto my backpack tighter.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"I was late for class, so I was running, and I ran into a crowd of students." I hiccup, wiping at my tears that won't go away. "I got knocked down and my glasses flew off. They’re broken, and now I'm struggling to get home."

"You can't get home?" he questions.

"If I make eye contact with someone, they'll turn to stone. So, I've been keeping my eyes down trying to find my way back to the dorm by looking at the ground, but I can't do it. I can't fucking find my way home, King."

"Hey," he soothes, rubbing my back. "Let me help you. Can you stand up? What if you put your beanie over your eyes, and I'll guide you back to the dorm?"

"You'd do that?" I ask, my chest swelling at the thought of King wanting to help me even after everything.

"Yeah, Niko. Of course I’ll help you. Now, come on. Stand up."

I quickly pull my beanie over my head as I stand up. King grabs onto my shoulder and guides me out of the quad. I still keep my head down, just in case, but the tears slowly start to dry up.

"Why are you helping me?" I ask, knowing I've been a complete ass to him every chance I got.

"I'm a nice person, Niko. I always have been. You just haven't let me show it."

"I'm sorry," I whisper, a ball forming in my throat. I can't believe how badly I've been treating him, and he didn't even hesitate to help me.

"I got you."

He guides me all the way out of the quad toward the dorm. We enter the elevator in silence, and he walks me down to our suite. Once we're inside I keep my eyes down, but start walking to my bedroom.

"Thank you, King."

"No problem."

I quickly hurry into my space, looking for my contacts. Putting them onto my eyes, I pull on my beanie and walk back out of my room. I owe King a huge fucking apology, and I can only hope that he'll listen to me.

I quickly enter the common room but notice it's dead silent. "King?" I question, walking around searching for him. He doesn't answer. Walking over to the window, I pull down on the blinds, and as I see King walking away from the building, I deflate.

Okay, I guess no apologizing right now.