Forbidden (BoyxBoy)

Chapter XIV: Monsters

Jason.

On Thursday night, my mother had set the table in the dining room instead of the kitchen. When I got home, she was carrying a stack of dinner plates to the long, rectangular table which sat untouched in our day-to-day family life. This, I deducted, meant we were expecting guests.

As a means of greeting I took most of the plates from my mom and helped her carry them into the dining room, where Zach was morosely counting out the cutlery. Touching silver tended to leave nasty burns on our kind, and so our silverware was not in fact silver at all. Setting the plates down, I watched my mom place them around the table. 

"Who's coming?" I asked. My mom didn't look up when I asked her. 

"Just the Rothchild's and Elijah." She explained. I wasn't surprised, Dean's family were practically apart of ours, and Elijah came for dinner at least twice a week. I hadn't seen him in a few days, and I wondered if he had looked into my witchwolf english teacher yet. 

Speaking of english, my time with Alaric had been minimal for the last few days. Our teachers had been frustratingly punctual, meaning that the only times we got to chat were in between classes and occasionally when we saw each other in the hallways.

 Most of the time, though, Dean and Frankie were at my side. I didn't quite know why I didn't want them to know anything more about Alaric than what had been said at breakfast earlier in the week, but I found myself avoiding looking at him when they were around. Maybe I was scared they would catch me getting lost in him: studying his composed face as he weaved through the crowds, observing the way he gracefully flicked his wrist when he checked his watch, noting the way his striking eyes regarded me contently.

My body tingled all over knowing that I would see him tomorrow, and that it wouldn't just be in passing. I found myself wanting to know more about him, wanting to peel open his cool, composed exterior and glimpse at his soul. I knew that what I was feeling was dangerous, that getting too tangled up in a human was a risk that would never pay off. At the end of the day, my human life ended at the end of this year, and then I would have to close the door on my time in highschool, and on him.

Because humans did not belong in the world of monsters. 

"Earth to Jason?" My mother laughed, waving her hand at me from across the room. I shook my head of thought, and chuckled at my mother's bewildered expression. 

"Sorry mom. What did you say?" I asked, my cheeks reddening. She shook her head incredulously. 

"I said that you should go and change, they're going to be here in about an hour." She suggested, looking me up and down. 

I'd been too distracted this morning to think about what I was wearing, and I honestly looked like a mess. I suddenly realised that I had seen Alaric in english today, and that he had probably noticed how terribly I was dressed. He always looked put together, his uniform of slim jeans and expensive-looking, thickly knitted turtlenecks in dark colours never failing to show off his tall, lean frame and pale eyes. 

I nodded my head vehemently at my mother, eager to change out of embarrassment. 

I showered quickly and hurried back to my room, where I rummaged through my closet. Spotting a smart, cream cable knit, I made a mental note to wear it to Alaric's house the next day. Yes, that will look nice. I wanted to slap myself for even caring. And yet, thinking about my plans with him tomorrow made me smile.  What the hell is happening to me?

I opted for a long sleeve henley thermal and a pair of clean jeans. Jogging downstairs, I found Elijah coming through the front door, a bunch of wildflowers in his hands. My mom was coming out of the kitchen, beaming at her favourite nephew as she accepted the bouquet and kissed him on the cheek.