XX | Better Things to Choke With

Pride-Niklaus's point of view

♕︎ ♕︎ ♕︎

Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton, followed by Hunting Adeline, the Cat & Mouse Duet. That's the name of the books she's been listening to the audiobook of. The books she got back to listening hours after she left the party. I searched online for a piece of what I've heard and found it. Adeline Reilly and Zade Meadows being the protagonists of the really fucking dark romance.

It's weird to me because my father's middle name was Zade, but alright. I know I said I wasn't going to keep listening through the ear pod I stole from her, but I couldn't help it. And I also couldn't help buying the physical books in the new cover either, just to provoke some reaction from her today. I can't wait to see her face when she finds me reading the dark porn book she was listening to.

Those last two days after the party were weird. Everyone was weird, and I was weird too. I won't stop fighting against her because I confess I love doing it, but I don't know if it's right to reason our conflict based on me protecting the said dignity of my mom, since I doubt she had any dignity when she did what she did. Harming someone who isn't in a strong enough state to fight back was just the line for me. Especially when I prize fighting fair so much.

The other Captains are all weird, especially after Freya told them what had happened in the party, and Apollo, who wasn't there, seems to be grooving. Scarlet didn't say a word to anyone else since then, and none of the seven of us went to the party Adeline threw. It would be too shameless of us to attend to it.

Speaking of the vampire, my sister has been grooving because of how she thinks Adeline will never give her a chance and will hate her forever now that we know our mom killed her beloved older brother. And Kai is also apprehensive about our next classes, since he's paired with her and everything got weirder after her reasonable outburst in the party.

None of us mentioned anything to Atlas either, so he doesn't know any of us know what happened to him, and he's back to being a high-energy sunshine with golden retriever energy as if that breakdown had never happened. He doesn't seem to remember that he managed the impossible of staying inside Scarlet's penthouse either. Which only means he really did cry until her lost his consciousness, which is extremely worrisome when it comes to someone who can't necessarily sleep.

In those two days, as I kept the ear pod with me, when she wasn't listening to music or to the dark porn audiobook, she receive six calls. Two from Adeline, one from Apollo, one from Atlas, one from her father Chaos Cornelius Moreno, and one from her maternal aunt Nyx Anastasia Bathory, and I heard it all through the ear pod, of course.

Adeline's first call was to know if everything was alright, and the second was to tell her that she had already cleaned the mess of the party with the other girls from their sisterhood. Apollo was freaking out because of Atlas's breakdown which he was absent on. Atlas was thanking her. Her father was… being a good father and checking up on her, which made me kind of jealous since I've always wanted a father like that, and he also asked her about her brothers.

Now, the call that got me hooked was her Aunt Nyx's. She apparently was the bad influence who suggest Scarlet to read those dark porn romances, and was asking what were her thoughts on the Cat & Mouse Duet. However, that was not all. No. She also asked Scarlet if the tattoo she made on her back when they met each other on winter vacation had healed already.

I had no idea Scarlet had tattoos too, since she's always all covered up, and that definitely got me bloody curious. Especially because her aunt asked twice if she had told her the truth about the meaning of it, which I had no idea what might be, since she didn't mention what tattoo was, but only deepened my curiosity.

─ Hot, Deadly, Sinful, & Made in Hell

Me: I'll be out first. You all go together.

I sent the text on the group as I finished passing the highlighter on my high cheekbones, after the black nail polish dried from my nails. War of Hearts by Ruelle played on the left red ear pod that I hid on my ear under my black wavy hair that is at least long enough to cover my pointy ears─ which both me Dove got from our demon side─ successful. Then, I got the physical copy of Hunting Adeline, the second book, since I red the entire first book last night, marked on chapter 12, and went to my kitchen.

Preparing a bottle with my new favorite cocktail, without the blood, as the ingredient is a no to me─ big ew on that,─ and a slice of the spicy cheese, rice, and pepperoni pie I made for myself three hours ago. Plus five strawberries, and I was good to go. That is, until my phone vibrated on the pocket of my black jacket, as I'm using the same designed uniform I was on Friday.

─ Hot, Deadly, Sinful, & Made in Hell

Kai: Are you alright, Nik?

Kai: You stayed locked in that penthouse the whole night.

Micah: We can go have some drinks in the academy pub, since they let all those above 18 drink there. We're all turning 21 this year, we can go there.

Dom: What the blonde said.

Dom: Just stop acting so weird, it's freaking me out.

Nathan: You're just freaked out because he didn't call us for dinner.

Nathan: Or breakfast today.

Nathan: Bloody glutton.

Dom: *offended demon gif*

Dom: Shut up, wings. Don't expose me. Where's our friendship?

Nathan: You do remember demons like you have wings too, right?

Dom: Shut up, six wings.

Nora: That's why I'm more into girls *eyes rolling emoji*

Nora: But are you really alright, Nik?

Dove: We're here for you, brother.

Me: I'm amazing.

Me: I'm just out because I'm reading some dark porn book.

Me: *inserts pic of the book cover*

Me: Darkest book I've ever read, it's the second one.

Me: I spent the whole night reading the first.

Dom: *extremely offended demon gif*

Dom: You stood us up for a… porn book?

Me: It's not just a porn book, the story is dark and twisted and awesome.

Me: And I know you ate seven extra big hamburgers last night, Gluttony.

Me: You did post about it.

Dom: *demon scoffing gif*

Dom: That was just an entry.

Kai: And people think I'm the crazy one in here.

Micah: To be honest, we're all crazy in here.

Nathan: What the blonde said.

Micah: Will you two stop? *annoyed emoji*

Dom: Nah.

Nathan: What the brunette said.

Dom: Hey, arsehole, cut that out.

Nathan: Nah *grinning mischievously emoji*

Me: Anyways, see you in class.

Dove: Now it's easier since no one can take our seats.

Kai: *haunted demon gif*

Kai: You say that because you're paired with cinnamon-roll boy.

Dove: Adeline is not a bad pair.

Kai: You say that because you're not paired with her.

Nora: It's quite befitting though in a funny way.

Kai: *demon gasping dramatically gif*

Kai: Explain.

Nora: Nik and Persephone, Captains of Inferno and Tartarus, paired.

Nora: You and Adeline are the Vice-Captains of both houses, paired.

Nora: Dove and Atlas are the youngest twins of both Captains, paired.

Nora: See? Befitting.

Kai: It's only gotten clearer to me that we were cursed *skull emoji*

Rolling my eyes to their idiocy, I put my phone back on my pocket, opened a portal to the Advanced Literary XII classroom, and found Scarlet already there in her seat, taking a sip from her blood cocktail, as the sped up version of Talk the Talk by Rihanna ft. Jay Z played on her ear pods.

But this time, maybe because only half of her attention was into the song, she noticed me here before I sat down by side-glaring me from head to toe and looking to the front of the classroom again, bored.

I walked towards her taking in every detail, noticing how she was using a black turtle neck hoodie that was very tight on her body this time, with the black leather pants going from her waist to down her ankles and marking all the curves of her body, and matching with the short black boots with a 15cm platform on it. Her long red hair in two long root braids, each braided with a black ribbon on it, with golden thin rings on it. Two rings in each of her hands over her black gloves, matching with the necklace around her neck over her shirt with a prism-shaped ruby amulet, and her crescent moon earrings also made of golden and ruby.

And when she brought the straw of her bottle to her scarlet red lips, I sat down and made sure to put the book with the title to her, on the desk together with my iPad, pen, and phone, as I put my bottle near my feet. And Gods, when her eyes fell to the book, they widened in a insane way and she straight up choked on her drink. "Alright, morning to you too, Scarlet. If you drink too much at once you will keep choking. But there are definitely better things you could choke hard on rather than you drink," I purred turning my eyes to her as she was still struggling.

Fuck, I really want to fucking help her out, but she'll mutilate my pretty hands if I try to touch her. I need my hands and if everything works out the way I want to, she'll need my hands too.

But when she kept choking, I clenched my jaw, "I'm going to raise your arms, alright? But you better not mutilate mine for that," I warned her and she freed her hand from the bottle, so, I slowly got closer and held her arms up, and the touch burn through my skin even through the layers of cloth. "Now breath," I told her, but with her eyes closed, she kept choking. "You do know how to breath, no? Or will I have to even teach you that? Come on, Scarlet. With me, breath in," I did it, "hold it, and breath out. Now, again."

Only when I noticed that she was breathing alright again, I released her arms softly on the desk. "Why… why did you helped me?"

I ignored her gaze, "I find coughing a inelegant action. Choking on your drink like that, is even more inelegant," let's pretend that didn't happen to me on Friday night when I first heard that part of the audiobook all of a sudden. "And it's not like you will die from it."

"Now my throat is sore," she complained to herself under her breath.

But my dirty mind took it to a entirely different side. "It could be better. Soreness if definitely part of it, but you could be choking in something a lot more pleasant than that drink."

She glared daggers at me, "Stop being indecent near me, Pride-Niklaus."

"What is your dirty mind thinking of?" I scoffed feigning innocence. "I'm talking about lollipops, Scarlet, not about a cock. Though that would also fit right."

Her eyes widened again, "What's wrong with you?"

"You," I said matter-of-factly. "You are what is wrong with me. Besides, it's you who's taking my words to a dirty side, I'm not the one being indecent here, you are. So, why are you acting like that, Scarlet? It's not my fault if your mind is filthy and dirty with whatever kinds of smut you've been feeding yourself with."

Scoffing, she pointed at the book now in my hands, "Said the one who's reading the biggest dark porn book ever."

There it is, my wanted cue. "How do you know it's a dark porn book? Is that why you choked? What? Have you been reading this kind of books?" I feigned surprised as I stared at her. "Aren't you a prude?"