Night Cat | Night Cat #1 (CURRENTLY EDITING)

Night Cat - Chapter 10

 Dear Boys, Get Your Head's Checked.

“He WHAT?!?!”

I gulped. Xander’s eyes had turned a cold stony gray and were flashing dangerously. This was so not the reaction I’d been hoping for.

“Okay, Xander...” I raised both my hands up, palms turned towards him. “I really think you need to calm down.”

“Calm down? Calm down?” Xander stood up, flinging his book on Animal Behavior onto the carpeted floor. Again, not the reaction I was expecting. “How the hell can you tell me to calm down?”

I bit my lip, thinking of a way to talk him out of ripping someone’s head off. “Well, I think you’re just overreacting a little…” I trailed off when I saw his eyes narrow in my direction and his face turn a weird shade of red.

“Overreacting???” I cringed. The guy was practically screaming and the fact that we were the only ones in the house made it all seem louder than it actually was. “Avery, the thing came to your house! It knows you! Do you know how dangerous that is?” He ran a hand through his light hair, growling. “Or do I need to remind you that the guy is a cold blooded killer?”

I gulped again. No. He definitely did not need to remind me about that. I hadn’t forgotten.

“I know Xander.” I stood up to look him in the eyes – something that, even in my chucks proved to be a bit of the challenge. I did mention that the guy was six feet tall, didn’t I? “I just don’t think that losing your head is going to help us find a solution to the problem.” I mimicked the soothing tones my mother used with all her patients. She was a hypnotherapist, and watching her had given me a few tips on how to calm people down. “Just breathe for a sec and then we’ll figure something out, okay? Losing your temper isn’t going to do us any good.”

I don’t know if it was my awesome reasoning skills or the soothing tone of voice, but soon, Xander’s face returned to its normal color and his cold eyes turned warm and smoky again. “You’re right Avery.”

“I know I am” I replied primly, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him. Xander rolled his eyes and shook his head, not bothering to reply. We lapsed into silence after that.

I looked around the room as I timidly nibbled on the huge chocolate-chip cookie Xander had given me earlier. Two walls in Xander’s room were painted a soft, slate blue and the other two were painted in a color that looked a little like teal to me. There were posters of his favorite bands and singers plastered all over the walls. Greenday, Daughtry, Metallica, Rascal Flatts, Skillet… and some more that I hadn’t even heard of before. I grinned. The boy had good taste in music.

“So…” Xander cleared his throat and broke the silence. “You and Keegan…What’s the deal with you two?”

I nearly choked on the bite of biscuit I’d just taken. Not this again! What the hell was wrong with these two guys? I swallowed the cookie without chewing, feeling the crumbs scrape against my esophagus. “Nothing.”

He raised his left eyebrow, questioning what I’d just said. “Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. “Didn’t look like nothing.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, it was.” I crossed my arms over and chest and sat down on the edge of his bed. “He’s one of my oldest friends.”

Xander snorted. “It looked like he wanted to be more than friends.”

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and my eyes narrow. He had not just said that… I stood up furiously, this time managing to look straight into Xander’s eyes. “If you’re going to turn this into an interrogation of my personal life, please tell me now so that I can leave.” Xander flinched at my seriously pissed-off tone. “I really don’t need to take this crap from both of you.” And with that, I promptly turned on my heels, picked my bag off the floor and stomped out the door.

I had barely reached the staircase at the end of the hallway, when Xander caught up with me. “Avery, wait.” He grabbed hold of my wrist, and I felt some of that earlier warmth tingle under my skin. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

Warm feelings or not, I wasn’t about to let this go easily. Somebody had to straighten things out with these two; and I had a feeling that Xander was going to be more reasonable one out of the two.

Well, on the surface, at least.

“Damn right it isn’t.” I said, jerking my hand away from him.

My action seemed to hurt Xander’s feelings – God knows why, though – and he looked at me with this pained expression on his face and suddenly, I didn’t feel so tough anymore. I sighed. “Look, Xander. Keegan is one of my oldest friends and you’re…” He looked up at me expectantly. “And you’re a good friend of mine too.” I completed, trying not to notice the disappointment in those gray eyes. “I don’t want to ever choose between the two of you.”

“But—”

I held up my hand. “So please, I’m asking you as a friend, don’t start anything. Okay?” He started to object again. “Please Xander. For me.”

He closed his mouth and looked thoughtful for a minute before finally sighing. “Fine.” He replied shortly, nodding.

Surprising myself, I reached over and pulled him into a tight embrace. I’d startled Xander with my sudden burst of touchy-feely-ness, but after a second’s hesitation, he relaxed and hugged me back. “Thank you.” I whispered.

When we pulled apart – an inappropriate number of steamboats later – Xander had a thoughtful smile playing on his lips. “What?” I demanded, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Keegan’s not the only one.”

“Huh?” Was it just me, or was I saying that a little too often these days?

“Keegan.” Xander repeated. “He’s not the only guy that’s fallen for you.” He chuckled at my questioning look. “No, I’m serious. Sebastian and Timothy practically have shrines dedicated to you in their rooms.”

I felt my eyes going wide. WHAT? Seeing my horrified face, Xander stopped laughing and became serious. “Kidding, Avery. Kidding.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m just saying that those guys are just two out of the hundreds of guys out there that would kill for you to notice them. Sebastian, Timothy, Keegan, William, m—”

He stopped short and grinned at me sheepishly, running a hand through his dark, ginger spikes. “Well… A lot of guys. Let’s just leave it at that.”

I shook my head, frowning. Guys… Another language I didn’t quite understand yet. How anyone could like someone like me was a question I couldn’t even begin to answer. I was about to tell this to Xander when I glanced up at him and saw the way he was looking at me.

That’s when the light flicked on.

Keegan, William, m—”…

He’d been about to say “me”, hadn’t he? I gulped. Again.

Oh, no. Life was getting way complicated.