Academy of Blood and Magic

3🖤

Shelbee yanked me into a tight hug, lifted me off my feet, and spun me around a few times, squeezing me hard enough to take all the breath out of me and nearly crack one of my ribs.

"We got in!" she yelled into my ear, causing me to wince.

"I see that," I wheezed.

"Shelbee," the guy beside us laughed. "Don't kill her. Let her have a chance to actually go here first."

"Yeah, Shelbs," I grunted. "Can't breathe here." I patted her back until she let me go.

"Sorry," she said and let me go, giggling like a kid on Christmas morning. "I'm just so excited that we're all coming here. This is my boyfriend, Nick, by the way."

Nick extended his hand towards me. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," I said as we shook and smiled at him.

"You know, we should throw a party this Saturday," Shelbee suggested. "Celebrate us getting in. We deserve it, you know?"

"Yeah, that sounds cool," Nick said. He stretched and rolled his neck from side to side. "We've been working our asses off. We need a break. And I can bring booze. Tristan can set us up."

"You in?" Shelbee asked me.

"Yeah, sure. Where'll it be?"

"Probably at Nick's place. His parents are never home, so we'll have the whole place to ourselves. Our friends are going to be there too. You should come."

"Yeah, it sounds cool. You mind if I bring my boyfriend?"

"No, not at all. Bring him. I'd love to meet him."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brandon's black Mustang pull into the student parking lot and park in one of the spots. My eyes widened in surprise and I started walking over to the car.

"I'll see you guys later," I called over my shoulder. "Text me details about the party, Shelbs."

"K', see you later!"

"See you," I called back.

I approached the passenger side of the Mustang and opened the door. Brandon grinned at me from behind the wheel.

"Hey!" I said, beaming. I climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door behind me. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to surprise you and to congratulate you in person. I told you you'd get in."

"How'd you know I got in?"

"From the smile on your face. I seriously doubt you'd be grinning like that if you didn't. Anyway, I'm going to take you out to dinner."

"That sounds great." I quickly texted my parents that I got in the school and was going out to dinner with Brandon and shut my phone off immediately. I knew they were going to be pissed that I was going out with Brandon, but I didn't care. I wanted to spend time with him and they'd have to get over it.

He drove me to Olive Garden without even asking. For the second time in two weeks, I was at Heaven.

However, as we ate our salads, I noticed that the couple at the table beside us with a baby kept glancing over at us, their expressions pinched with worry. I took a moment to read their auras - I could make out a light pink glow emitting around them and their child. They were definitely human - and I knew why they were nervous.

Supernaturals and humans had lived side by side with each other for over fifty years now. There have been some humans that have gotten used to walking beside a supernatural and embraced the fact that we now openly lived among them, but there were plenty - too many - that were prejudiced against supernaturals and didn't even want to be in the same room as them.