“...What are you doing?” I ask Liam as his hand caresses my knee.
“I don't want to part with you... We've been together the whole weekend and now I don't want to spend my day away from my witch.”
He leans his head on my shoulder and I chuckle. I feel that too... He and I are almost inseparable lately. He sticks to me like a bodyguard at all times, and since we get to spend every day, night, and weekend together when I don't have classes, it feels odd whenever we can't be close to each other...
“Come on, we have to live like normal people. Remember, this is what we wanted. A normal young adult life. Having fun with our friends, working or studying, having a place that we actually pay for instead of living off our siblings?”
“...Do you think your sister will like me more once I get a real job?”
I grimace.
To my surprise, Amy didn't care much about me having two male roommates, but one being my boyfriend did make her raise an eyebrow... I think she takes Liam for some hooligan or something, and she literally grilled him with all her questions when we went to see her. Although, she did say she'd respect my choices. I think she was more worried about me "meeting" my father at that time, but that was really nothing special. He just turned out to be the arrogant prick I had figured he'd be... at least he agreed to answer my questions. He confirmed he was a werewolf, although an Omega who didn't give the gene to his children, and decided to live like a human and forget his previous pack. Strangely, the more I listened, the more I felt he was someone who had a difficult past with no desire to go back to it, so I didn't ask. He did give me information about Clarissa's birth mother, so we managed to find and visit her grave two months ago...
The relationship with that estranged biological father will probably remain a bit odd, but I don't care anymore. Amy, however, calls me once a week, and we see each other when there's an opportunity. I think she's the only person I consider my family who doesn't live in Silver City...
“Can you have a... man-to-man chat with Ben?” I ask Liam.
“With Ben? Why?”
“He and Kelsi keep fighting lately, so... I think he could use a little pep talk from an expert.”
“Oh, so I'm an expert now?” he asks, kissing my temple.
“Kelsi isn't a werewolf... and I'm not just a werewolf, either. I think they just need some assurance that it can work…”
“Well, there are other ways than a bond between mates…”
I smile, and my eyes go down on the ring on my finger.
It's not a fancy one, just a simple silver ring with a little black diamond on it, but it matches the one on Liam's finger. We didn't even have a fancy ceremony or anything like that. We just bought these on a whim last month, but in our hearts, we were actually engaged long before that. This was just... another token of our promise to stay together.
"Alright, ladies, we have arrived, please don't forget to tip your driver!" announces Ben with a chuckle.
"You silly..."
Still, Kelsi puts a shy kiss on his lips, making him all happy again. Liam gets out of the car to take the passenger seat, hugging me before I go.
"Stay out of trouble, hot stuff," he whispers.
"You too, babe. See you tonight..."
We kiss each other a couple more times, unwilling to part, until Ben honks to remind us where we are. I chuckle and let him get in the car while Kelsi pulls on my bag.
"Come on, he's had you all weekend, it's my turn!"
I laugh and walk to university arm in arm with my best friend as she doesn't even wait before telling me all about their messy date night. I won't tell him, but I also enjoy spending time without Liam; Kelsi being human allows me to forget all about the witch and werewolf matters for a moment, and just be a young woman like any other living her life. Plus, it makes it twice as exciting when we reunite...
I think this new, strange, and busy life balance is exactly what I needed. University is just the right dose of boring I needed in my life, and as I sit down to take notes for my first class, I leave all the crazy outside, just chatting with Kelsi like any other duo of girls complaining about our clingy boyfriends... She even insists on redoing my black nails as that class is even more boring than anticipated, and I don't say no.
I know she has noticed I grew a few visible gray hairs in just six months, but Kelsi didn't ask about it. Either she already knows, doesn't want to know, or knows I don't want her to, I can't tell. Perhaps both of us know we don't want to talk about it, so we don't; I don't care about it, either, I'm just glad the way things are. She knows her witch of a best friend has her secrets, like I always have, and we are both okay with it. It's even cute how she is an expert on witches and witchcraft so she can help me, but we also have random conversations about video games, our latest dates, and any gossip we can get from the university. I still get weird glances or people whispering behind my back from time to time, and I'll never really blend in with the other people our age, but I don't care.
I've got the greatest friends I could possibly need by my side already.
After our last class of the afternoon, Kelsi and I decide to walk downtown to grab a coffee, outside of the university campus; this might only be our first year studying there, but neither of us want to stay longer than needed. Without much of a surprise, Spark appears at the corner of a street to greet us with a loud meow, and I happily grab my cat to carry him in my arms, the usual purring following.
"I just wish he'd be more... human, at times," sighs Kelsi, "and at the same time, I hate that I'm almost forcing him to be less of a werewolf! I feel like I'll never compare to the chicks in his pack..."
"Wait, Ben has girl... friends?"
