Azure

☾ 24: Party ☾

Before I knew it the next day had arrived. Katherine and I continued on our journey with less teasing thankfully. Along the way, we both drank from blood bags. I could tell Katherine wasn't fond of the cold blood yet I didn't question why she wasn't just drinking it how she liked.

After some time we stopped for a short break at a coffee shop in a nearby town.

"Hey, Katherine!" A boy yelled as he ran over to us.

"Toby! How have you been?" Katherine replied as they hugged.

"Great! What brings you back here?"

"Just passing through. This is Cassy." She gestured towards me.

"Hey, Cassy. I'm Toby."

"Nice to meet you." I greeted him as we shook hands.

"So, Katherine I'm glad I bumped into you again. The timing couldn't be better! Ryan is throwing this huge paint party tonight. You have to come! Cassy too of course, the more the merrier after all! Just don't wear anything too fancy."

Katherine and I exchanged looks.

"I don't think-."

"We wouldn't miss it for the world." She interrupted me with a glowing smile.

"Great! It's at nine. I'll see you two there then!" He said before running off.

"What was that? I don't want to go to a party! Aren't we supposed to be going to see my parents?" I asked.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Come on! What's one little party going to do? It will be fun! Plus I need a drink or two... and I'm pretty sure you could go for one too."

"I'm not going to drink from anyone," I said plainly.

"Why not? You could just swipe their memory anyway like it never happened. It's not like you have to kill them either. The sooner you do the sooner you can learn to control it rather than doing it accidentally and risk killing someone."

She has a point but still a party?

"Let's go pick out some clothes." She said giving me no chance to respond.

She grabbed my hand dragging me around through different stores. It was an interesting experience shopping for clothes you liked that you knew were going to get ruined by paint. Once we settled on outfits, Katherine taking a lot longer to choose than I, we started getting ready at a nearby hotel.

After getting dressed I examined my choice of clothing. I had chosen a black oversized t-shirt loosely tucked into some jean shorts. For footwear, I wore a simple pair of black converse.

Ever since the revelation that Mason had lied to me I haven't been wearing the necklace he gave me.

"Are you done yet?" I asked Katherine through the bathroom door.

"Give me a second. Inpatient much?"

I rolled my eyes just as she came out. Katherine sported a white cropped hoodie, and black ripped shorts paired with black boots.

"Y-You're wearing that?" I asked.

"Yeah, I have two pairs so I don't mind. Why are you wearing all black? The paint isn't going to show very well." She said as she put away the clothes she was previously wearing.

"T-That's the point," I mumbled.

I couldn't stop myself from staring at her outfit.

"Right, I forgot you're no fun... and why do you keep stuttering?"

"I-I'm not," I said trying to distract myself from her smooth legs.

"I can feel you staring. It's my clothes, isn't it? To be fair you're showing quite a bit of skin as well." She turned to face me and smirked.

"I wasn't staring! And mine cover more than yours..."

"Aww, blushing because you got caught?" She laughed.

I groaned. "Let's just go!"

Not waiting for a reply I walked out of the room, Katherine following shortly behind.

"Just keep in mind I'm not your usual art piece. In fact, I'd much prefer you touch me rather than admire me from afar."

I didn't even have to face her to know she was smirking. Katherine turned around to face me when I abruptly stopped walking.

"Can you stop with all the teasing and flirting?" I grumbled trying to seem angry in hopes it would distract from my warm cheeks.

"I would if it truly bothered you, but hearing your heart race each time makes me think you like it." She said eyes sparkling with wonder.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't like it! I'm just surprised by how forward you are."

Katherine hummed in response. Her eyes stayed glued to mine. I was getting nervous under her intense gaze. After what felt like hours, she bit her lip to suppress a smile and continued walking.

I remained frozen wondering what just happened and despite being confused I felt like I had failed a test of sorts.

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"When he said paint party he meant it," I said taking in my surroundings.

The paint was visible everywhere as the strobe lights lit the room. Everyone was either squirting paint tubes or painting on themselves with brushes.

"This is going to be fun. Care to hit the dance floor?" Katherine asked as held out her hand.

It was almost hard to hear her over the music but I was able to focus my hearing on her.

"I'll pass thanks," I said walking past her to the mini-bar and taking a seat.

"Fine, since you're here how about a real drink?" She smirked as she sat next to me.

"I don't want to kill anyone and I also don't want to stay sixteen forever."

She laughed. "This is sad you know. Major concern out of the way, you won't kill anyone on my watch. I can help you control it so that's not a problem. Also, you aren't sixteen anymore."

I looked at her confused which made her laugh more.

"I can't believe you would forget your own birthday." She turned to a random person. "May I see your phone real quick?"

"Sure." The random guy said. Katherine showed me the screen and my birthday had indeed passed a few days ago.

"Thank you." She said as she returned the phone.

"Wait, how did you know?" I questioned.

"I know a lot about you remember? The real question is how did you not know?" She hummed. "Now how about that drink?"

"I still think I'm going to pass for now..."

Katherine sighed. "Listen, I don't want you to think I'm forcing you. It's your choice if you choose to live a boring human life then that's fine. I, however, am going to enjoy this party and the blood in it." She said leaving me behind.

I don't know what I wanted to do. Should I just do this? I mean if she helps me control it then there is no problem. But do I want to be seventeen for the rest of my life? It doesn't seem too bad. Getting old and eventually dying doesn't sound appealing either. Katherine seems to still be enjoying life and she's been around for a hundred years... The more I think about it the more I'm starting to see that there are more pros than cons and yet I have to remind myself this is an irreversible decision. So, I have to choose wisely otherwise I'll be stuck with regret for the rest of my life.