Chapter 8
Ash
Istood in the threshold to Silver’s dorm room, still not really sure how we’d ended up there. The kiss in the cafe was nice, but going back to his room so quickly definitely wasn’t on my bingo card. Was he expecting me to put out? Did I want to? And, most importantly, did I take a shower this morning?
“Just make yourself comfortable,” Silver said, gesturing to the large private room he had. “That beanbag is especially soft.”
I nodded and moved toward the beanbag, trying to appear more relaxed than I felt. My heart was still racing from that kiss at the café, and now here I was, in Silver Erestolal’s private dorm room. The same Silver whose reputation preceded him across campus. The same Silver who had just given me my first kiss.
“You want something to drink?” he asked, opening an enchanted mini-fridge tucked beneath his desk. “I’ve got water, some energy drinks, and... this weird purple juice my mother sends me.”
“Water’s fine,” I managed, lowering myself onto the beanbag. It was indeed incredibly soft, enveloping me like a cloud. My shadows seemed to like it too, stretching out lazily across the fabric. Why hadn’t they gone away yet?
Silver handed me a bottle of water, his fingers brushing against mine. That same electric jolt shot through me, and I nearly dropped the bottle. Gods, what was that? It happened every single time we touched.
“So,” he said, settling down on the beanbag beside me. The furniture shifted under his weight, and I found myself sliding toward him, our thighs pressing together. “That was your first kiss, huh?”
I felt heat creep up my neck. “Y-Yeah.”
He smiled, but there was no mockery in it. “Was it any good?”
“It was perfect,” I admitted, unable to meet his gaze. “Better than I imagined.”
Silver’s hand found mine, our fingers intertwining. “I’m glad. And for the record, it was pretty damn good for me too.”
I finally looked up at him, searching those silver eyes for any hint of deception. But all I found was warmth and something else I couldn’t quite identify. It was a kind of intensity that made my stomach flip.
“I still don’t understand why you’re interested in me,” I said quietly. “And don’t say it’s because I’m cute again.”
Silver laughed, the sound rich and genuine. “I already told you the truth. What would you like me to say?” He leaned a little closer, the scent of his rich cologne rolling off him in waves. “Would you like me to tell you that I’m using you? That I’m just looking for a fleshlight for the night? Would that finally satiate your curiosity?”
“I mean…” I shook my head. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m expecting you to say I guess.”
Silver turned, looking at me with those intense eyes that were the same color as his name. “Did someone hurt you or something? Why are you so convinced I want to just use you?”
I looked down at our hands, still intertwined. The question hung in the air between us, heavy and unexpected. Had someone hurt me? The answer was both yes and no. Not in the way he probably meant, but in a thousand small cuts over years. There were whispers when I walked by in my normal human high school, the dates that never materialized, the mockery when I tried to put myself out there. I was always the outcast. Too strange for the human world and not powerful enough for the supernatural one. I was always caught in the middle.
“Not exactly,” I said finally. “Just a lifetime of being invisible. Or worse, being visible for all the wrong reasons.”
Silver’s thumb traced small circles on the back of my hand, sending tingles up my arm. “You’re not invisible to me.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that,” I admitted, a small smile tugging at my lips despite my anxiety. “It’s just hard to believe.”
“Why? Because I’m popular? Or because I’m the football captain?” He shifted on the beanbag, causing me to slide even closer to him. Our hips were now pressed together, and I could feel the heat radiating from his body. “That doesn’t mean anything, Ash. It’s all surface stuff.”
“Says the guy with the perfect face and body,” I countered, then immediately wished I could take it back. Way to sound bitter and pathetic, Ash.
But Silver just laughed, the sound warming something inside me. “Perfect? Far from it. You should see me when I wake up in the morning. I look like I’ve been dragged through the Twilight Realm backwards.”
The casual mention of his homeland made me curious again. “What’s it really like there? The Twilight Realm, I mean. The books in the library are pretty vague.”
Silver’s expression shifted slightly, a shadow passing across his features. “It’s... complicated. Beautiful but rigid. Imagine living in a perpetual sunset, where the colors never quite fadeto night or brighten to day.” He paused, his silver eyes distant. “Everything there has a place, a purpose. Including me.”
“And you don’t want that purpose?” I guessed, sensing there was more to his story than he was letting on.
He sighed, his fingers tightening around mine. “It’s not that simple. I just wanted some time to figure out who I am outside of what’s expected of me.”
I nodded, understanding that feeling all too well. “That’s why I came to Widdershins. To be something more than just the weird kid from the disgraced family.”
