Chapter 156 Chapter 156
Quickening her steps, she went back to his side and clung to his arm to make sure he wouldn’t do something stupid. Her hand engulfed his as she interlaced their fingers. “What’s going on?” she asked curiously.
“Oh, we were just trying to find out where he bought his contact lenses,” Naomi explained and shrugged.
“But he doesn’t want to tell us,” her boyfriend Preston added annoyedly.
“I’m not wearing contacts, how many times do I have to tell you?” Maxwell shot back.
“You are. There is no way your eye color would change from blue to red by itself. And… and eyes don’t fucking glow on their own.” Paul persisted. “Tell us where you got them.”
Valerie was the only one who heard the low growl coming from deep within Maxwell’s throat. His eyes narrowed, and his magic flared. Hope sent them a warning stare, but Valerie was already on it.
“Hey, just leave him be, okay?” she chimed in. “His contacts are custom-made. You won’t find them in any shop.”
“Aww, man. That sucks,” Preston sighed.
“Fucking humans,” Maxwell hissed and glowered at him, making him take a step back.
“Calm down,” Valerie whispered at him, knowing that his keen ears picked up her words even with the loud music in the background. “They’re a little drunk. Don’t take them seriously, okay?”
She was relieved when she felt him relax, knowing that she’d been right on time to stop him from throwing a fit in the middle of the nightclub.
“So, is the high and mighty ‘demon’ over here up for a challenge?” Preston asked, looking sour. Maxwell’s thoughts were written all over his face. It was all too obvious that he wanted to rip the human’s head off for continuing to annoy him.
“Or are you a coward, huh?” Lisa said when he didn’t answer. “And Valerie, what about you?”
“What are you even talking about?” Valerie asked, a sense of ominous foreboding growing within her. She didn’t like where this was going.
“We planned something special for tonight,” Naomi said, not noticing the tension that suddenly hung in the air. “It’s Halloween, we can’t let this pass without having a real scare.”
“What are you on about this time?” Hope sighed, exchanging a look with Valerie. They both knew this wouldn’t be the first time Naomi got herself in trouble with a stupid idea.
“We did some research and found a supposedly haunted building that isn’t too far from here. We could even walk there on foot,” Lisa grinned. “Would be the perfect opportunity for a dare.”
“Haunted, huh?” Hope mumbled, crossing her arms.
“Typical humans,” Maxwell muttered lowly and rolled his eyes. “How stupid.”
“You’re just scared,” Lisa taunted him. “Too scared for a dare…”
“I’m not fucking scared,” he growled. And he really wasn’t—but he was extremely annoyed at the idea of hanging around with a bunch of dumb humans who were begging to get in trouble. He had a hunch that Valerie would make him save their asses in the end. And that sounded like a whole lot of unnecessary work. In his opinion, humans didn’t deserve to be saved. Many of them were sinners anyway, so what did it matter if they went to hell a bit earlier than planned?
“Are you coming with us then?” Lisa asked. Valerie barely knew her and the other university students who were friends with Naomi, and so far, none of them had left a good impression on her. It seemed that they liked to get involved in trouble.
“Listen, I’d prefer if we stayed here,” Valerie replied. “The party is really fun, so why leave?”
“It’s not Halloween if we don’t do something exciting,” Tom said.
“Yeah, exactly my thought!” Lisa agreed.
“So, Maxwell, will you skip this opportunity like a coward?” Paul sneered, receiving a glare from the demon who was ready to strangle him.
“Shut the fuck up,” he growled.
“Stop arguing, please,” Valerie chimed in. She was getting uneasy with all the tension around them and wanted this issue to be resolved quickly.
“Does that mean you and your coward of a boyfriend will stay back?” Lisa asked provocatively.
Valerie could almost hear Maxwell snap. She felt his boiling rage that was about to explode, and she knew that he would do something bad if she didn’t interfere.
“We will accompany you, okay? But only if you stop it with the insults,” Valerie said. “That’s not exactly nice, you know?”
“I agree with her,” Naomi said and gave Lisa, Paul, and Tom a disapproving look. “You guys shouldn’t act like jerks to my friend.”
Lisa rolled her eyes but finally shut up. Hope heaved a sigh of relief, and so did Valerie. However, her relief didn’t last long when she remembered what she had just agreed to. Unease made her stomach churn. What kind of place did they want to visit in the middle of the night? And wouldn’t that count as trespassing, too? Or perhaps breaking?
Maxwell’s arm hooked around her waist. He leaned down to whisper into her ear. “Valerie, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. If they get in trouble, it’s on them.”
She knew that he would say something like that since he didn’t care about them. However, Valerie wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she let her friends walk right into a dangerous haunted place without keeping an eye on them. They were defenseless and an easy target. Valerie at least had her magic to depend on—and Maxwell.
“I can’t let them go there alone, Maxwell. Please understand,” she told him seriously. The deep sigh she got from him meant two things. Yes, he was annoyed, and yes, he would accompany her.
“You'd better make two cakes tomorrow,” he grumbled.
“Of course,” she smiled.
—
By the time the group exited the building, it was only 1 am, too early to leave in Valerie’s opinion. They passed a large parking area where she spotted a few people. Some of them were drunk, others seemingly waited for a ride home.
While the group of eight adults walked down the street, she wished she could use her magic to light up the night, but that wasn’t an option right now. And so she used her smartphone as a flashlight since the streetlamps here were either broken or ridiculously dim.