13

13. Giant

RAMI

***

My back was slammed on the ground and the smirking vampire over me trapped me in between his arms, hovering over me. My stomach erupted with butterflies as those red eyes gazed through mine. His lips parted and his breath tickled my warm face. "You still owe me dinner, Nazari." My mind brought me back to two nights ago at the pool, and my face heated up even more. "Also, remember, do not be distracted when you are fighting. Even if your opponent is absolutely dashing."

This arrogant vampire.

My right leg kicked is left one, causing him to lose his posture. Then, I swiftly flipped us over and pinned him down to the ground. "You are so right. Don't be distracted by your unbelievably attractive opponent." Idris smiled softly and made no other movement. I returned with my own smile.

Then the sound of someone clearing their throat called our attentions. Looking to my left, I see Andromeda Rojas and Lysander Starveling sitting on the ground with popcorn in their hands.

"I hope you two know we're still here." The werewolf grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. "But if you wanted privacy, all you had to do was ask."

I jumped away from Idris and laughed awkwardly. "We were just training. Clearly, Prince Mosquito lost his touch."

"Have not."

"Shouldn't you be working on the car?" I asked Drew, who continues to shove popcorn in her mouth. "It's about to be midnight and we're still stuck in here."

In the middle of driving, something went wrong with the car's engine and Drew said she could fix it easily, since her car would have problems from time to time. Idris and I could have left and ran to a nearby hotel, but we didn't because we are such good friends. We could have carried the two non-vampires and ran to a nearby hotel, but then we would also have to take our belongings, which would make everything heavier, and unfortunately, vampires are not as strong as Superman. Also, even if we decided to carry them, one of us would have to carry Lysander while running and no doubt Idris would have made me carry the big guy, so I would have died. So here we are, waiting in the middle of nowhere, in a spooky dark forest full of strange things. I saw the weirdest looking insect: one head with two attached bodies and I almost jumped in Lysander's arms.

But apparently, Drew finished and decided to join her werewolf boyfriend and watch me and Idris train, as if we are a TV show.

"I'm just taking a break." The girl fiddles with her Gryffindor scarf. "We'll leave in a bit. The car needs a break, too. That's why it went all weird. We have been going for almost two days with no stops. For now, how about, we make a campfire and - "

"Sing the campfire song?" I chimed in. "I'll start!" I cleared my throat. "Let's - "

"Quiet." Idris held a hand up to silence me.

I put my hands on my hips. "How rude. I was just about to sing the greatest song ever - " A cold index finger prevented my lips from parting. Idris' eyes roamed around the trees around us as if checking for something. Suddenly, all of us held our breaths and observed our surroundings.

Despite the size of the forest, we were sure that there are no one else but us, and the spooky forest creatures. Right now, all we are hearing are crickets, the wind blowing and the trees whooshing with it. The sky held nothing but the first quarter moon and the bright stars. As for the scent, all I'm getting is the werewolf's odor, Drew's sweet vanilla-smelling human blood, and Idris' mysterious scent that I absolutely like, but will never ever tell.