MAEVE

Chapter 20

"I am really glad we found you, you know," Bob said suddenly, breaking our precious silence. I wiggled my brows at how uncomfortable he looked.

"Why? Because I turned out to be a girl, and a hot one at that?" I teased, and he smiled back, nudging me with his shoulders.

"That too. But mainly because you are our beacon of hope," He said with a mysterious smile. I perked up.

"Beacon of hope?" I asked with raised brows. He smiled again.

"Yes. Our moon light,"  He answered, holding some strands of my hair up, and to my surprise, it matched the moon perfectly.

                             ~

If I had thought arriving at the dorm safely and locking myself in my room would make the eerie feeling of been watched go away, then I was very wrong.

I ran to double check the locks on my windows. The woods just outside was bathed in shadows the moon could not even penetrate in, and as I stared more intensely, I began to make out shapes of different things, and they were all creepy.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but as I continued my stare fest with the woods, the moon shifted and landed perfectly on a still figure with a black coat, and top hat. It probably sensed me looking and turned slightly to the direction of my window, looking at me yet not quite. With a strangled yelp, I stumbled back and dove under my covers.

Biting my nails, I pondered on my options. I could call my friends now and blow what was most probably a result of my paranoid mind out of proportion. Or suck it up like a big girl, and survive till morning. And moreover, my friends looked dead tired, I could not be selfish.

Closing my eyes was a feat on its own, and once I did, I could feel the figure hovering over me and even thought I felt it's icy breath on my face, but once my eyes and lamp were turned on, it was gone. "You are under my protection, and that is the safest you could ever be,"  Elijah's voice fluttered softly in my mind. With a gasp, I realized all it would take for all this to end was a simple phone call.

"Pick up goddammit," I growled, pacing around and biting my nails anxiously. I was just about to stop on the third ring and resign myself to fate when he picked up.

"Hello,"  His grave voice sounding in my ears was suddenly one of the most wonderful thing I had ever heard. With a smile, I rushed to my bed and settled down.

"Umm Hello. I don't have time for this, are you going to speak up or not?" He demanded, his harsh tones ripping me from my safe pink bubble.

"Err Hi. There's no need to be so rude you know, I just wanted to check up on you,"  I snapped back, rolling my eyes. He was silent for awhile, and I contented myself with the sound of him breathing in displeasure.

"I am hanging up," His voice roused me again.

"Okay okay. Wait. I just_I can't sleep," I whined softly, hands covering my face.

"Okay_but are you in any kind of danger?" He asked carefully. I considered telling him, but how could I? When I was not sure of anything.

"No no, I don't think so," I answered slowly, biting my nails again. He was fated to me right? He had to care.

"Well then what did you expect me to do? Sing you something or?" He asked, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

"Okay! This was clearly a mistake. Bye," I snapped ending the call. I was not even sure what I was thinking to call him in the first place.

Triple checking my doors and windows, I settled back into bed.

"I don't even care if he calls back," I muttered under my breath and threw the phone across the room.

Sleep. All I needed was to just close my eyes and fall into blissful unconsciousness. I tried and tried. But whenever I closed my eyes, I felt phantom hands closing in, and whenever I opened them, I stared at my phone so far away.

"Don't you dare bloody call back, you hear me? Just leave me to suffer in peace," I grumbled at the phone I had just scrambled across my room to retrieve. Sleep. Just sleep.

Three harsh knocks sounded on my door, as if done by an extremely pissed off, or grumpy individual.

"I am brave dammit although I don't know which pervert is at the door now. Doesn't matter though, I can handle it," I muttered, moving forward slowly with a baseball bat I swiped from Noah balanced perfectly ( even if I say so myself) on my shoulders, and crept towards the door, heart pounding.

After deciding a sneak attack would be best, I stood slightly behind the door and turned the key. He would not know what hit him.

The door opened slowly, or maybe it was just slow from my perspective. Before I could talk myself out of it, I charged forward yelling a battle cry.

"What the fuck?" Elijah's pissed off face entered my line of vision. He was holding the bat up with one hand, and looked pissed enough to murder. I swallowed hard.

"Uhhh Hi. Sorry about that. You startled me," I laughed, trying to act real casual. He took a deep breath.

"Do you know the price for hitting royalty?" He inquired irritated. "Oh dear me, someone's testy," I attempted a cute innocent smile, about as innocent as a fox coaxing a rabbit from it's comfy hole.

"Royalty! That's new," I exclaimed. "Trust me I had absolutely no idea," I denied despite learning about the hierarchy from my friends a few weeks ago. He gave me a look to show exactly what he thought of me.

"I am not amused," He declared, and I bit back a smile.

"A fan of classical literatures, are we?" I teased with a smile.

Turning around quickly to hide his flaming face, he stalked to my windows. With him distracted I realized he was in his pj's and clutching a blanket and pillow.

"Excuse me, but what are the blankets for?" I asked, raising my brows. He swirled around with a glare.

"You interrupted my sleep," He said, as if by way of explanation. I rushed to block him with wide arms. I was not just going to sit and let him conquer my room without proper explanation.

"Yes and so? You could have just gone back to sleep," I offered generously. And he glared at me by way of appreciation. We were really getting along.

"I could have. But the fact that you were unable to sleep was keeping me awake, so I decided that if sleeping next to you would cure whatever unease you were feeling and let me sleep, then so be it,"  He ended, looking less than pleased.

"Well do not flatter yourself by thinking you were the only one I could call alright? I could have just as easily called Dre,"  I mumbled to myself, watching him situate himself.

"Whatever. Just go to bed already, it was a really long day," He sighed, midnight hair shielding his bowed head from view. I sighed, and settled under the covers.

Just before he settled down completely beside me, he jammed a pillow right at the middle, separating us. I snorted.

"Don't worry, your virtue is safe from me," I assured him with a grin.

"Oh go to sleep," He ordered. I should have probably felt uncomfortable but I didn't, cause he was right. Being beside him was the safest I felt in years.