Poly

Chapter 1

"Hey, save me a seat in clawculus?" I asked Neighthan as we packed our bags in study howl. But he didn't seem to hear me. He kept looking down in his backpack and mumbling something to himself. I stopped packing. What was he thinking about? Did I do something wrong while we were so quietly studying the past hour? I gently cleared my throat. Neighthan looked up and met my eyes. 

"Hm? Sorry I dozed off again." he said and looked away again. I frowned. This behaviour didn't seem like Neighthan at all. He was a little shy, yes, but always attentive. Something was definitely going on. In fact there had been for some time. But he would never talk about it. Something that also not seemed like him at all. I sighed and walked up to him.

"Are you alright?" I asked. "You haven't been yourself these past weeks. Did I do something wrong?" Neighthan shook his head and took a deep breath.

"No, everything is fine. Don't worry. I-I'm just thinking about this big history test." he said and smiled at me. I took his hand. 'But he finished that history test 2 days ago,' I thought to myself.

"Neighthan, please talk to me if something is up. I'm here for you." I said. Neighthan slowly looked up and into my eyes. For a second everything felt as when we started dating, and were still in our 'honeymoon' fase.

"You can always talk to me about your feelings." I added. Neighthan stiffened, let go of my hand and grabbed his backpack.

"Wow, would you look at the time. I'm gonna be late for class. See you in clawculus?" he looked so uncomfortable. What did I say?

I nodded and he gave me a gentle kiss on my cheeks. Then he slowly backed away and left me standing by myself in study howl. I was speechless. I sighed and continued packing up my notes and books. 

"Wow, what made him run so fast out of here?" said a voice behind me. I turned around and met Draculaura bare her pearly white fangs. Her smile could always cheer me up, but recently I felt like I needed a prescription of a thousand smiles from Drac if I needed just the slight hope of cheering up. 

I shrugged and turned around continued packing. Drac sat down next to me. Her smile had turned into a frown matching my own. 

"Hey, what's going on ghoulfriend?" she asked and laid a hand on mine. I sighed. What should I tell her? That my boyfriend couldn't tell me why he had been upset for what seemed like months? There was no easy way to explain that. 

"Has Neighthan acted weird to you?" I then asked. Draculaura looked down for a second.

"Maybe a little bit. Why?"

"I don't know. He just seems very closed off. We never talk like we used to. I feel left out, Drac." I buried my face in my hands. Why was there always something up with my relationships? Couldn't the universe just give me a break for one second?

"Have you asked him directly if something is wrong?" she asked.

"Yes. But he always flakes out and exits the conversation. What if he is hiding something from me? All this worrying is tearing my stitches up!" 

Draculaura put a hand on my cheek, trying to calm me down. 

"Sweetie. If you feel like something is going on with him. I think you need to confront and talk to him about it." she said. I looked up at her.

"You think so?"

Draculaura giggled and nodded.

"I've been alive for 1600 years, ghoulfriend. I've had to confront some boys before Clawd. And has mostly helped for the better." 

"You're probably right. I'm just scared of the outcome." 

"Cheer up, ghoul. Everything is going to be fine. We can ask Clawdeen if you want? But I'm sure that she'll tell you the same thing." 

I shook my head. I knew Drac was right. Neighthan hadn't been acting like himself for a really long time. I needed to know if he was hurting and if it was my fault. 

"Thanks. You always know what to say." I said and gave her a hug. 

"Come on. Let's go before we miss Dead Languages. Mr. Rotter is already in a bad mood today." Draculaura giggled. I was glad that I always could count on my ghoulfriend when I needed it.