Page 25 of Zodiac Monsters

Chapter 9

I didn’t sleep a wink after my date with Marcus. It wasn’t the revelations that got me. It was the fact that I didn’t ask enough questions. The right questions. I barely learned anything.

It was like I showed up to Differential Equations when the teacher still needed to teach me 2 + 2. I was so far out of my wheelhouse; I couldn’t even discern the best place to begin.

So instead, like a jealous, insecure nerd, I just offered myself as a blood bag, because he made a really good sandwich, and I didn’t like the idea of him being with other people. That was magical compulsion due to the mate mark, I bet. I didn’t know how marks worked, but that seemed more likely than believing I was that much of a fan girl.

Okay, I was kind of his fan girl. If he was telling the truth, then he was the first guy to ever want me just out of genuine interest. Not to mention he was also one of the best looking men I’d ever met in my life. And he was a vampire? My teenage comic book reading heart would be telling me to propose.

I couldn’t even villainize him as one of those creepy ‘five-hundred year old immortal seeking a sixteen year old virgin’ type vampires. He was barely older than me. If he turned me one day, we could live a big, long, sexy eternal life together. That was win, win, win, and win.

It all sounded great in theory, but in reality, this whole situation was much more terrifying, especially when I didn’t know for sure what each month would look like with him or with his brother.

What a mess.

Either way, there was no reason I needed to keep avoiding Marcus. I’d been a bit cold to him since the field trip out of frustration, but he was bonded to me on some level of semi-permanence, so it would probably be wise to keep that friendship strong.

With a sigh, I plunked onto my bed and mentally prepared myself for a very long couple weeks. We’d start learning about the Pisces in Astrology Club soon. I didn’t know if I should be excited or terrified of a sign represented by fish.

Well, if the Aquarius didn’t drown me, how bad could this sign be?

It was amazing the way Professor Karras had managed to create a consistently non-awkward and impersonal front throughout Physics. He did a good job of barely acknowledging me, while also answering my questions like I was anyone else. The easy going man in class was nothing like the professor I knew.

Having learned just a little bit more about him, I wanted more than ever to sit down and talk and get more of that information first hand. He was so unapproachable though, and I didn’t want to cause him additional grief by trapping him after class. Our relationship was a confusing, squiggly line, where it was near impossible to figure out which side was appropriate and which side was crossing a boundary. It was clear that he didn’t want to be alone with me over the field trip, but that didn’t change that we shared some sort of bond. He was a closed book, and I needed him to at least let me peek at the title page.

As Astrology Club came around, another week closer to the Pisces full moon, I walked into the classroom and patted my cheeks in a silent pep talk. If all went well, I will have convinced myself to be bold, speak up, and participate in the open. It was important I gather any information I could within the next two weeks.

When I sat down, Marcus was already settled at the desk beside me. Linda was flirting with the professor as usual, and I tried not to be annoyed in light of our new found sort-of-friendship. There was nothing wrong with her as a person beyond my own insecurity and that spike of irritation every time I watched her talk to Adrian. I didn’t want to base my opinions on her around whether I decided I was good enough or not, but her natural perfection had a tendency to bring out my defeatist tendencies. I’d have to unpack all that one of these days. Maybe when we got to the month of the Virgo, I’d discover it was all astrology’s fault.

I laughed internally while keeping up a neutral expression externally. All mocking aside, it wasn’t like I could argue that zodiac signs were part of fake pseudoscience anymore. Not when I just rode that water bearer and goat dick.

“As we cross into the month of March, let’s hone in on discussing our first Mutable sign of the year.” Professor Karras began the lesson by drawing a symbol composed of a line crossing two curved brackets. He wrote Pisces in bold letters beside the symbol.

“Mutable?” Linda asked with a few fast, fluttery, flirty blinks. “What does that mean?” I got the impression that astrology was even more her personality than it was Marcus and Adrian’s, so I would hazard a guess that she knew the answer to that question. She was just trying to be engaging and keep Adrian’s attention. But I didn’t know anything about anything, so I wasn’t going to complain.

“It means that someone who is born in the month of the Pisces is more likely to be open to compromise. A mutable sign is willing or capable of change, and they’ll often put their partner’s needs and wants before their own. Of all the signs, a fluid water sign like a Pisces is especially open to adapting, to the point that they can lose themselves in their pursuit of meeting their partner’s expectations.”

I glanced subtly at Marcus. He seemed pretty good at adapting to my needs. My mom had probably mentioned what sign was what, but I could never remember all of these bazillion little details.

I returned my attention to the front of the room, then I raised my hand.

“What other signs are like that? Is the Leo a Mutable sign?”

For the first time ever, Adrian’s mask didn’t just slip—I think it straight up fell off. He full blown snort laughed, and had to cover his face to hide the amusement on his lips that was still vividly apparent in his turquois eyes.

Marcus stared at me wide eyed, and if I didn’t know better, I might say I’d stunned him into mortified silence.

“A mutable Beta…” He grumbled beneath his breath, the words muffled by his fist over his mouth. “Is that really how you see me, Lila?” He said, directly into my mind.

I just smiled sweetly at the vampire, and I’d admit that I liked being on the offensive for once. If they were all going to withhold information, I was going to use my own ignorance to make them wish they had taken the time to fill me in.

“Is being mutable bad?” Linda asked next, watching the small, quiet scene we were all making.

“No, not bad.” Adrian managed to wrangle in his shaking laughter long enough to speak like an authority figure. “There are a lot of advantages to having traits that go with the flow and don’t pose challenges. But no, a Leo is not, by nature or the stars, mutable. A Virgo, however, is.”

It was Marcus’ turn to smirk-laugh at me, and I sucked my teeth in response.

Adrian continued. “As is the Gemini and the Sagittarius. Every element has one of each. Each designation brings different traits, distinguishing what might otherwise be similar elements. It’s easy to dismiss astrology when you only have a basic understanding of its principals, but once you truly dig into the many layers of every star sign, I think you’ll see more and more of its value and truths.”