Decadence

White Lie

A/N: Thanks for those who commented on and gave advice for my story and for those wondering no Decadence has not been abandoned! It's author is just one of those horrible people who's bad with consistency. To make it somewhat more manageable and help me update more frequently I've decided to decrease the length of chapters also. This may also help make it less daunting to read. This chapter or the next will also have a time skip occur so look forward to that! Now on with the show!

Aidan's P.O.V

"Even after you left, when the three of us were alone together all Damian did was stare at her. It was disgusting," were the embittered words that I whispered into Nic's ear after pulling him off to the side.

All of us had been visibly shaken both by what had occurred with Severin and the aftermath when he had broken down into a pathetic mess and wept. Having no other option but to give him time to himself, Damian Nicholas, Aniya, Rayne, and I had all awkwardly slipped out of the room and gone our separate ways, with Damian whisking Aniya away with him and Rayne dismissively mumbling something about meeting back up with Mikhail. 

With only the two of us left, I pulled Nic off to the side discreetly and immediately dispensed my displeasure at being left alone with lovesick Damian and Aniya. However, Nic's delayed reaction to the fact that I was now speaking to him and overall belated disposition soon had me worried instead. Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered that Nic might still be reflecting over not only Severin's mental break down but also what had transpired earlier and the very real likelihood that we would all soon be made to live under one roof.

Before I could open my mouth again to ask if he was alright, Nic's eyes suddenly lit up and he responded, "It seems like all of us will be seeing a lot more of each other from now on huh? I might as well say this now since I won't have the chance to later, but I know that you of all people would be against this sort of outcome and yet you still-"

Against my will my body lunged out and enveloped his in a tight hug before he could even finish the sentence, my arms wrapping around his smaller frame as I buried my face in the small crevice between his neck and shoulder blades and pulled him against my own chest. Nic's body tightened nervously before relaxing, obviously taken aback by my abrupt action. His arms hung uselessly at his side, neither returning nor rejecting my hug.

Nic, who'd almost been killed himself by Severin and had exhausted himself earlier trying to help him had taken the time to consider how I felt, regardless of how from an outsider's perspective, being designated to join the main house of my family would be considered an honor. Yet somehow the raven haired teen had known that I had always thought differently about it, that even as I stood there in silence and received the news along with the rest of them, I had also been against living here. 

In truth, my displeasure at the ideal had rivaled Damian's and yet all I could do in that moment was be resigned to my fate. In the end, I too had wanted to scream out my refusal but had stopped myself from doing so. I'm sure that it was the same even for Nic when he chose interject in defense of the heavy decision.

"Thank you," I expressed tersely, knowing that Nic would keenly pick up on what was left unsaid... as he always did.

"Exactly how long are you going to hug me for?" he said in a small voice, prompting me to quickly detangle myself from him and emit an awkward cough.

"Don't be so gloomy dude! Think of this as an extended sleep over. We have four whole years to get in as much manly bonding as we want am I right?" I playfully elbowed the smaller male, grinning from ear to ear in a show of enthusiasm.

Nic scoffed slightly before rebutting, "Just try telling that to any of the others. I don't know about you but I'm not so sure Damian is going to be in the mood for bonding any time soon, if ever..."