Prey

Chapter 58

Xander's POV:

I eyed myself in the mirror as I tried to tuck away the hair that didn't want to join the others.

Eventually, I got it to where the half ponytail I'd begun to favor looked somewhat decent.

Decent enough to where I didn't feel the need to attempt doing it again in hopes of getting a better result.

If it weren't for Doe's help, my outfit would have been as much of a mess as my hair was.

I wasn't motivated at all into putting a lot of effort into tonight.

Every second it got closer it just seemed... less and less appealing.

To think that when I first heard about it I was so excited for what it might bring.

But now... If it wasn't for the fact that Nico was attending, I might just not have gone.

I took a step back, looking over the outfit that doe had put together

She must think that I looked good in blue.

And well, I couldn't even disagree.

She put me in a light blue undershirt first of all, before spending a while debating between velvet and worsted wool for the dress jacket and matching pants.

Both of which sported a deep navy.

The wool ended up being the fabric that won her approval.

She said it was because of the intricate little designs stitched into it that you could only notice if you were close, and the few little glass gems hidden sparsely and randomly throughout.

She liked how it looked when the light caught one of them just right.

It reminded her of a night sky.

The only thing that I chose was the tie.

I wanted her to pick, but she insisted that it be my choice.

I thought that maybe she believed that she was being too bossy with what she chose for me to wear.

But I made sure she knew that I appreciated it, and complimented her on her taste.

She had become good with these sorts of things in the past year.

She graced me with her presence soon after that thought, stepping into the bathroom and giving me the look over I just finished giving myself.

I turned towards her to help her out, the mere sight of her making my ever-growing displeasure for this whole event grow.

Here I was all dressed up, and she just stood there in her pajamas.

I knew that this wasn't something she wanted to go to, but it felt strange that I was going to this without her.

Whether that was just my want to stay by her side just in case or something else entirely.

I just wanted to be here with her.

There was a part of me that wanted her to say yes when I asked her if she wanted me to stay.

I could explain that to Nico.

I could take that time to slowly and steadily get her to warm up to me again.

Even if we could never go back to where we were before, I wanted to try.

She crossed her arms as she examined me, lips pursing out.

Her scan stopped at my tie, shoulders dropping.

She already knew what I had chosen, but she wasn't too happy about it.