i love you › seduce me the otome

SIX

SIX [rewritten baby boys/gorls]

          I bursted laughing as we exited the theater, turning my body towards the brunette next to me, "You were scared, Kody. I saw your face!"

          "Was not!" he argued. "I just... Had something in my eye!"

          "Yeah, tears."

          "Noelle!" I chuckled triumphantly as we hopped into his car. My laugh subsided and we were dipped in silence on my way home. Biting the inside of my cheek, the atmosphere tensed. To break the silence I turned up the radio, listening to the newest bops that were playing. It took around 15 minutes to get from the theater to my new house, and Kody marvelled at it. "Woah... This place is all yours?"

          I chuckled quietly at his expression, "I just moved in. My family situation is a bit bONkERs right now and Mika offered me a place to stay."

          "That's really sweet of her," Kody smiled. I nodded as he pulled up to the driveway and set his car in park. "To be real, I enjoyed tonight."

          "Me too." I smiled awkwardly.

          "Sooo," he dragged out, "see you tomorrow?"

          "Yeah. Night."

          "Goodnight."

⬫ ⬫ ⬫

          "Ah, back from her budding romance, I see?" Erik winked vivaciously as I entered the lively dining room. All side-conversations died down as they acknowledged my presence.

          "Watch it, period boy. I know where you sleep," I joked, jabbing a finger in his direction. Moving more into the dining room, I stood next to the empty seat by Matthew. "Anyway, how was your guys's night?"

          "Wonderful, miss." James smiled politely, "What have you been up to?"

          "Nothing," I responded quickly, my face quickly detailed rosily. "Just went out."

          "...With a boy." Damien read through my thoughts like it was a child's book! A fervent and teasing fire lit up in Erik's eyes before he spoke, "What kind of date was it? Candlelit restaurant? Homemade picnic? Oh, or maybe your favorite, a stroll alongside the beach?"

          "You didn't tell me it was tonight," Mika whined. "I wanted to see you off like you were one of my own children."

          I laughed, shaking my head as I backed over to the dining room entrance, "Well I've had enough of the weirdness tonight so I'm gonna hit the hay. Goodnight ladies."

          The boys cringed and looked at me in fake anger. I sent them a joking wink before waving wholeheartedly and scrambling off to my bedroom. Slipping off my top and jeans, I traded them for a comfy oversized sweater and black Nike spandex.

          Deciding not to lay on my white sheets, I migrated to the balcony. I hopped over the railings and sat on them, the cold concrete seeping through my thin shorts. I left my feet to dangle midair, letting my hands meet together on my lap. I cracked my uncomfortably arched back before slouching once again, staring out to the shining stars and moon.

          "Hey." My blood ran cold and I yelped, my hands flying to grip the railings so I wouldn't slip. I whipped my head around to see Sam standing at the entrance of the balcony. "Can we talk?"

          I kept my voice firm, free from any sort of distressing emotion as I turned back around and straightened my body. "You gotta learn to knock, buddy. I could've been changing for all you know."

          "I did. And then I heard the balcony door, so I assumed you were ignoring me or you couldn't hear."

          "And if I was?" I didn't want to seem angry, but I guess I can't help it. "I'm sorry, that came out bitchier than expected."

          "I deserved it," he replied, then sighed. "I'm sorry about this morning, Noelle. I didn't mean to act like that."

          "It's fine," I smiled to him, "I admire that you care so much for your brothers, especially so in your circumstances."

          "...So you're not mad?"

          "No, no! I'm just... Envious, I guess?"

          Sam turned to me in confusion, "Envious? Why?"

          I sighed, "It's a long story."

          "You're lucky I have time." He really wants to know, then.

          "Okay, uh... I grew up without a dad. So it was me, my older sister and older brother, and my mom. Growing up was hard. Not really financially, but getting the same amount of attention as my siblings. You'd think the youngest would be babied and all that, but there really was nothing like that."

          I paused before continuing, "Not saying that my mom was terrible or anything. She provided me with all I needed, and I'm very thankful, but... Since my siblings were three and five years older than me, they were always given attention because of extracurriculars or some kind of college thing. I felt left in the dark.

          "When I saw that you cared so much for Damien, I—I don't know, I probably sound really dumb, but I felt kinda jealous. Wow, hearing myself say that aloud made it ten times dumber. I'm sorry."

          "Don't apologize, Noelle. I... kind of understand your situation," Sam smiled sympathetically. "When I was in the Demon World, I was the third heir, which basically means I was never going to be the next demon lord. Not that I cared that much, since it would go to James and he was a lot more capable than me, but I just sort of... existed, I guess. I was treated well but I always felt less than because of the hierarchy. I didn't really want to talk about my feelings with others, so I felt pretty lonely."

          "Do you not want to or do you feel like you can't?"

          "Both, I guess," he shrugged, "I never had anyone to talk to so I didn't feel right to even consider that."

          "Well, we're talking now, so you can chat with me about your problems," I smiled sincerely. "Unless you don't feel comfortable. In that case, don't tell me anything."

          "It's only fair," he said. Sam took a deep breath before staring into my eyes. "...I guess right now I feel like I'm running out of time."

          I turned my body to align with his, "How so?"

          "Like," Sam stared up into the night sky, "I feel so uneasy. With Malix running around and you and Mika being... humans, I guess I feel pressured to kill him off?"

          "You don't have to worry," I lifted my hand to his shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly, "Mika knows taekwondo and I... can make holy water."

          He laughed softly, "And how do you do that?"

          "I boil the hell out of it," I gave him finger guns and grinned widely.

        "Christ, Noelle." A smile grazed on his lips as he face-palmed. "Hey, you smiled! You found it funny too!"

          "I think your idiocy is infecting my brain," he chimed with a joking smile.

          "Good one," I gave him a high-five. "Hey, it's getting dark out. Let's get back inside."

          With Sam's nod as confirmation we hopped off the railings carefully and slid into my room, heading for the doorway. I didn't really want this to end, even though the air was heavy from our history.

          "That was nice," I grinned, "I enjoyed talking."

          "Me too," Sam let a soft smile detail his features. "Night... doofus."

          Before leaving, he placed his hand on my head and ruffled my hair. Blushing, I watched as he calmly walked down the hall to his room, I called back to him, "Goodnight!"

          As I closed the bedroom door, I froze. Fuck, there's school tomorrow.