Chapter 90: The Banquet

POV: Niko

It was already 5:40 when Niko walked into the gymnasium alone. The banquet didn't start until six, but between his stubborn search for the right suit and the drive over, he'd been certain he'd be late. He'd settled on all black in the end, simple and safe.

Carly had to meet her squad ahead of time, so they'd agreed he'd just meet her there. He'd never wanted her company more desperately. The second he stepped into the room, he felt like a fish out of water.

It wasn't that he was unfamiliar with this kind of setting. His family was the wealthiest in Black River Falls. He'd grown up dragged to his mother's charity galas and his father's company functions, against his will every single time. Fake smiles. Suits that had to be dusted off before wearing. Underage drinking the adults pretended not to notice because acknowledging it meant admitting they didn't actually care. Rooms full of people throwing money at causes they didn't believe in, just to prove something to each other.

That had been his entire life once, a life he'd hated, rebelled against, and finally abandoned. He'd thought he left it behind for good. Black River Academy was supposed to be different.

His lip curled at the sight of his jock classmates tossing a football across the room, yelling like idiots — and there, right in the middle of it, was Tommy Lancaster. They'd successfully avoided each other since the cafeteria brawl. Their eyes caught for a second across the room, Tommy's expression somewhere between confused and curious, like he'd forgotten exactly why he'd had that black eye in the first place.

Niko still couldn't believe Carly had ever wasted time on him.

He scanned the rest of the room. Coaches, professors, parents, all clustered into their respective cliques, sipping scotch and brandy with that practiced kind of laughter. Alcohol wasn't technically allowed at school functions, but money bought silence here just as easily as it did anywhere else.

His fingers twitched, but not for nicotine. This was something stronger, more demanding. He hadn't had blood since that morning, and the need was gnawing at him steadily. Since Carly, his feeding schedule had gone completely sideways. They hadn't really talked about it yet, mostly because he assumed it wasn't a lifestyle she'd take lightly, so he just hadn't brought it up.

He'd meant to drink before getting dressed and had been thrown off his routine by nerves he hadn't expected to feel. Whether it was Leona's attendance or the fact that tonight was their first real public outing as a couple, something had him on edge. Leaving sounded appealing. But tonight was for Carly, and she needed him there.

She needed him.

He ran a hand through his hair and went looking for any unattended liquor.

His expression soured the second he spotted Reba approaching, dressed in her maroon and black uniform, arms crossed, smirking like she already knew something he didn't.

"Well, I'll be damned. You actually showed up." She tilted her head. "Took me years to get you to one of these."

He slid his hands into his pockets, looking her over. "Hello to you too, little sister. Didn't realize you were even on a team."

"Right, because you haven't been helping me with routines after practice for months." She scoffed.

"It's difficult to remember anyone willingly puts up with you."

Their dynamic was always loud and hostile on the surface, but underneath it was something closer to genuine care. He'd offered, when she first joined the squad, to walk her back to her room after practice — to keep an eye out, since she was the only vampire on the team and an easy target. Witches didn't exactly play fair. He'd never admit that was the real reason. He just told everyone he had nothing better to do.

He laughed under his breath and shrugged her off.

She tilted her head. "What's so funny?"

He failed to hide his grin. "Nothing. Just difficult to take you seriously with that thing on your head." He pointed at the oversized glittery black bow wrapped into her ponytail.

Her mouth fell open in mock outrage. "It's part of the look, you prick." She smacked his hand away. "And it was your girlfriend's idea, if you must blame someone. I still can't believe Carly McPherson is actually dating you."

Neither could he, most days.

"I genuinely do not understand what she sees in you. Beauty, brains, ambition, standards — or so I thought. Must be the sex." She grinned.

"Not everyone needs to sleep with someone to keep their attention. Since you've never had that particular experience, I won't take the comment personally."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Speaking of, where's Carly?" He asked, scanning the room.

"Do I look like her keeper?"

"You've been with her for the last half hour, so yes, I'd say you do."

Reba rolled her eyes but relented. "I don't know exactly where she is. We did hair and makeup together in the locker room, but I left before everyone else. You know cell phones exist, old man."

"Obviously. The reception in that locker room is a disaster."

Her eyebrows shot up. "How would you know that?"

He decided this was not the moment to elaborate.

"Common knowledge." He said simply.

She raised a brow but let it drop, her eyes catching on his hands, which had started twitching against his sides.

"Regret throwing out your cigarettes, hmm? Or are you in the market for something stronger than fruit punch?" She teased.

"I need blood." He muttered.

Her eyes widened slightly. "You haven't fed?"

"Don't sound so concerned. I won't break."

"This is actually serious, Niko." Her tone sharpened.

"Didn't have time. Between the suit and getting here, I just forgot. Which is fine, considering I rushed here for Carly and have no idea where she even is."

Reba shoved him in the chest hard enough to make him grunt. "You haven't had a drop today? Are you insane? I'm shocked you're upright."

"I'm fine." He said. "I just forgot."

He was agitated, hands pulling roughly through his hair, lips trembling slightly, eyes briefly wild. Plenty of his old priorities had quietly slipped down the list since Carly became the main one. The balance used to be simple. One missed feeding had somehow become three.

"Forgot, huh?" Reba's eyes narrowed. "Or maybe dating a witch is throwing off more than your schedule. Maybe it's making you forget who you actually are."

His eyes narrowed back at her. "I thought you liked Carly. Idolized her, even. But you've been hostile toward her all night, and I'm starting to take that personally."

She raised her hands. "No bad blood here, I think she's great." A grin. "But like her or not, you're still my brother. I know how easy it is to lose track of basic things like feeding when you're caught up in whatever happy haze you're in, and you have been."

"You're not my mother, Reba."

Why is she on my back about this.

This was the absolute last conversation he needed right now. Talking about it only made him fixate on it harder. He was fine. Managing. He didn't need his little sister pointing it out, the same as always.

She scoffed. "First, don't curse at me like I'm one of your friends. Second, I never claimed to be your mother. I'm just a concerned sister stuck with a stubborn ass for a brother. Forgive me for caring."

"Then don't."

Her eyes burned with the threat of tears she clearly hated showing him. He never seemed to understand or care about her feelings, and some days she wished she could just stop trying, stop reaching out, if only to spare herself the guilt of a relationship that already felt past saving.

Right then, Carly pushed through the gym doors, bright smile and ponytail swinging, mid-conversation with a few of her teammates — coven members, by the looks of it. They seemed to be talking easily, civilly. A relief to see.

He tried not to let his mind wander somewhere inappropriate at the sight of her in that uniform, the short skirt, the black briefs barely visible at the slit. He also decided not to mention how ridiculous the bow on her head looked, somehow still managing to look good on her.

Their eyes met across the room and her smile grew. He matched it, watching her wave goodbye to her friends before jogging over.

She surprised him by leaping straight into his arms, legs wrapping around his waist, ankles locking behind his back. He caught her without missing a beat, barely a second to react before her mouth was already on his.

The kiss was slow, easy, just a lazy slide of tongues and quiet little sounds between them. He kept her lifted by the hips, holding her like she weighed nothing at all.

She pulled back, nose brushing his.

"Hi, boyfriend." She said.

"Hello, sweetheart." He smirked. "Quite cheery today. No pun intended."

"Hello!" Reba announced loudly, hand over her chest. "Don't mind me, just standing here trying not to vomit all over this freshly waxed floor. Carry on."

Carly flushed. "Sorry, Reba. Didn't see you there."

"Clearly."

The tension between the three of them was thick enough to slice. Reba's mood had soured visibly in the past minute, and both of them noticed it.

"I'm going to go compel the human bartender into making me a double martini." Reba announced, tightening her ponytail. "You two have fun. Sounds like it's going to be an interesting night." She winked before walking off.

"Well that wasn't awkward at all. She seemed pissed. What were you two talking about before I got here?" Carly asked.

"Nothing important. Just Reba being Reba." He said.

She hummed, hopping down and running her hands down his chest.

"Wow, my boyfriend cleans up nicely." She wiggled her eyebrows.

He looked her over slowly. "And my girlfriend looks absolutely devastating in this uniform. Any chance you'll wear it just for me sometime?"

"We'll see." She smiled.

"No blushing, no deflecting my attempts at seduction? You're in a good mood."

She kissed him quick. "I am. I'm really happy. Today's been good. Did you see me with Sierra and the girls earlier? We talked the whole time getting ready and it went really well."

"Is that so?" He brushed her hair back.

She nodded, unable to hide her smile. "We just talked about normal stuff. Graduation, homecoming. Friend stuff. Sierra actually asked if you and I were going together. Like it wasn't obvious, but the effort counted, you know? They actually asked about us. It felt natural, like everything before was just a hiccup."

"It wasn't a hiccup, Carly. They abandoned you the second you didn't agree with who you wanted to love."

"I haven't forgotten any of that. But this is one of my small miracles, okay? Two weeks ago I thought my friends would never speak to me again, and now they're asking genuine questions about us. I'm finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel." She beamed. "I'm the happiest I've ever been, with you, and slowly getting my coven back. Everything's finally feeling right again. Maybe even Whitney comes around eventually."

He scoffed. "Speaking of miracles—"

"Oh, can you take a break from being a sarcastic ass for one second?" She scowled.

"'Sarcastic ass.' Haven't heard that one in a while. Bringing back old nicknames, princess?"

Her close-lipped smile betrayed her annoyance, and she shoved him lightly before wrapping her arms around his neck instead.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy watching her this happy — it was the only thing he'd ever wanted for her. But he was also protective of every soft, raw piece of her, and he knew exactly how much losing her coven had hurt, even if she never said it outright. They'd burned her once already. He didn't want it to happen again. He couldn't control any of it, though. So if even a small amount of this joy was what carried her through, he was going to support it fully.

"You make me the happiest." She said softly. "Ass tendencies included."

If he'd had a heartbeat, it would have been pounding through his chest right now.

Everything inside him said he didn't deserve to feel this good, didn't deserve her light. But the moment she looked at him like he was her whole world, that fear quieted, even if it never fully disappeared. Which only made him think this couldn't possibly last.

"Two weeks ago, if someone told me I'd be the reason Carly McPherson was happy, and vice versa, I'd have torn their liver out for sport." He said.

She knew he wasn't joking. It still felt surreal, how far they'd come in such little time, going from sworn enemies to this — something deeper, more magnetic and frightening, and exciting in equal measure.

She kissed him again, dragging him in, not caring that half the room was watching, classmates and parents and even Tommy taking notice. The whispers were loud and obvious. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything except this — this finally being able to kiss him without an ounce of guilt in front of half the town.

This was what she had been waiting for.

"Well, you two certainly know how to make an entrance."

Carly froze.

She pulled away instantly, a gulp dropping straight into her stomach as she turned slowly toward the voice behind her.

"Um. Hi, mom."

Author's Note:

Leona's entrance landing right as we finally get this glimpse of Niko being genuinely happy and protective and warm is exactly the kind of gut punch this story needed. Drop a like and tell me how prepared you are for whatever Leona's about to unleash, because I have a feeling "not very" is the correct answer.