The thing about Troye

19

Troye scratched at the back of his head, his eyes skittering back and forth across my face, scanning it- reading it.
His soft but slightly cold hand slides down my arm and grasps mine in his.

"Tyler...if you're really the one, you won't feel a thing, okay?"

His big blue eyes are filled with love and something else I can't place. He cups my cheek with the other hand, and after brushing some stray hairs away. He leans down to kiss me deeply.

The kiss becomes more passionate and I stop him when I feel fingers linger under my rumpled uniform shirt.

With my eyes closed, I whisper, "To mark me is much more than a bite...isn't it?"

I can feel his smirk against my neck and my heart leaps.

"Tyler, marking is the part that makes you mine. Forever."

I pause, weaving my hands through his hair and tilting my head to give him better access to my neck.

"Do it then," I whisper.

Troye continues his assault on my neck, leaving me gasping for breath. He moves up my jaw, capturing my lips in a kiss. I let out a whimper, which gets muffled by his lips on mine. As the kiss gets more heated, Troye pulls back and stands up, pulling me with him, up, and out of the small bathroom, closing the door behind him. With a smirk, he pins me to it and kisses my neck again, sloppily. I can feel his fangs scraping against my pulse.
"My pleasure."
                                 ***
*Tyler, now hand in hand with Troye- walks down the twisted path of the woods, helping each other jump over logs, and having sword battles with sticks. The setting was no longer eerie but filled with happiness and light. Laughter echoed through the gnarled trees as the boys approached the portal to the Mellet's System.
***

I wake up and feel an abnormally heavy arm around my waist, blocking me from getting up. The dream I had woken me up early- at 3:03 in the morning exactly, and I frown, trying to decipher it. The air feels heavy and my vision is much too focused- I wonder if I had slept in contacts or something. No, that can't be right.
I wriggle carefully out of Troyes grip and tug on a pair of clean boxers, the fabric itching at my thighs. I blush at the thought of what had happened last night and shake my head. I make my way quietly to the bathroom and cringe at my reflection; my messy hair is strewn about everywhere, my still pink face, my pale skin covered in marks, and...oh.
I trail a finger down my neck and stop before they could hit the two perfectly round holes at my vein, my eyes widening. It's all so unreal. I'm still convinced that I might be tripping. Had someone made me try acid??
Gulping, I quickly fix my hair so it looks nice, and rummage as quietly as possible around for a toothbrush and toothpaste. I open my mouth to start brushing, but instead I drop the toothbrush instead. It loudly smacks onto the countertop with a clink, but I barely notice.
Two pronounced fangs replace my once human canines. I do the only thing I can think of; scream.
"Oh God. Oh god, oh God- oh what have I gotten myself into- Troye!" I yell at the top of my lungs.
I hear a groan and some rustling around before the shirtless Australian boy appears in the doorway, his expression clearly reading : Oh. Shit.
I stare at him and he stares back, neither of us moving. His eyes shift from me, to the fangs, to the holes in my neck, then lets the cycle repeat.
"Was this part of the..."
He gulps and I can hear his heart beating wildly.
"They... I..." He steps towards me and wraps me in a hug, sighing into my bruised neck. I groan a little in discomfort but don't let him go until a thought hits me.
"Troye! The shocks stopped," I point out, holding his hands in mine, looking up at him for any sign of emotion or confusion.
"Yeah, I guess they did. Are you feeling okay? Is anything else...off?" He asks, rubbing comforting circles on the tops of my hands with his thumbs.
I fidget and lean back on the sink, hopping onto it, and Troye leans on the wall behind him, opposite of me. I run my tongue over my newly formed teeth.
"I had a dream last night," I say, voice shaking. Before he could ask me something, I continue.
"It was me and you, heading for the portal, we were-"
"You know about the portal?!"
Oh shit.
I jut sit rigidly on the counter, staring into his eyes. Neither of us speak.
"Tyler..." Troye drawls, advancing toward me slowly, smacking his hands down on the sink. His hands hit on either side of me and he stands between my legs.
"The portal. How do you know about it." His eyes glimmer and darken as his glance burns into me. Time stands still, I can hear a trickling noise, a sort of static, and I realize that I'm so concentrated, I can hear the blood rushing through his veins. My heart rate is up and now I know for sure he knows. Startling me, Troye grips my jaw in his fingers.
"Tyler."
I close my eyes and exhale.
"Troye, let's go get cleaned up, then I'll tell you what you want to know, and you tell me what I want to know."
Wordlessly, he pushes lightly away from me and exits the bathroom.

                               ***
"So you're saying you had a dream, so you followed me and heard, like- everything."

"Yes. And you're saying that you didn't mean to turn me into a vampire?"

"Yeah. I think my dad might have something to do with the dream thing, it sounds like an effect of one of his rarities. And you're telling me that Korey told you all of the stuff about us?"

"Yeah, he said he's from a different system. And why would your dad give me dreams?"

"He's powerful, he wants what's best for me. I think looking into your dreams and manipulating them was a way to find out if you were my mate. He said he was trying to help. He also used dreams to give me my deadline, to show you really were the one. Tilly, I think since following what happened in your dream the first time worked for you, maybe we try doing it again? Together?"

"I mean...we can."

"Ty, I'm just trying to help."

"I-I know I'm just scared, and very confused."

"I'm so sorry I got you into this mess."

"Troye?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."