Page 45 of Vexing the Viper

"How does it feel to be with the coach's son?" Sam jokes, not knowing how much it actually sucks for me.

"Man, I hate it. I want to tell everyone he's mine, but Niko's so worried about what his dad will think."

"Because you're a human?"

"No, well… Shit is that why he's worried?"

It's plausible. Niko disliked me at the beginning because I'm a human. What if that's the true reason he wants this to be kept a secret? What if his dad doesn't want him to be with humans either? Well, fuck. I didn't see that coming.

"I was kidding, King. I doubt that's it. But maybe talk to him." He shrugs, picking his bag up off the floor.

"Yeah, I will."

But truthfully, I don't know if I will. The non-monster thing has always been a sore subject between the two of us. And if he's trying to keep us a secret because of that? I won't be able to handle it. I love him too much.

Oh, fuck–I love him.

Standing up, I close my eyes and sigh heavily. The grumpy Gorgon got under my skin and made me fall in love with him. I'm not surprised, though. I can only hope he feels the same.

21

NIKO

I makemy way off the elevator, smiling when I see Kovi sitting at one of the empty tables in the middle of the room. I push the cart over and drop down in the seat next to him.

"Hey, how you been?" I ask, knowing Kovi has been dealing with a lot of ups and downs since school started.

"Oh, hey, I've been… Well, not the best.” He proceeds to tell me all the drama that’s been happening with him and the guy he was dating. My heart aches for my friend. "So, are you going to the Halloween ball?” Kovi asks.

"The Halloween Ball? Isn't it on Halloween and the blood moon?" I ask, staring at him.

"Hell yeah, and campus is gonna be alive with decorations. The twentieth anniversary of the Halloween Wave, how sick is that?" he says excitedly.

"Ah, well, I don't know if I'm going to go or not," I say, rubbing my finger along the spine of the book I’m holding.

"What? Why not?" he asks with a bewildered expression on his face.

"You know how hard it has been for me this semester. I'm always in my monster form. Celebrating everyone out and about in their shifted forms when I'm always stuck in mine doesn't seem like my kind of party."

"Niko, it's about more than that. What about the fact that, for some of us, we want to celebrate monster history? It's not something to hide. And think about it this way: you're lucky. Since you're always in your monster form, you don't have to worry about changing into some kind of life-threatening hazard.”

“I still think a reprieve from this…” I adjust my cap, and Coby pokes his head out for a moment before I push him back in. “Would be great. But the grass is always greener on the other side of the graveyard.”

He chuckles. “I like you the way you are, Niko. Never change, my dude.”

"How did you get to be so wise?" I joke.

"I've always been this way,” he replies. He puffs up his chest and preens, and I snicker.

I stand up and move to push my cart. “Look, regardless of our humans, you should at least go to the dance if it’s important to you. With everyone shifting out, it ought to be fantastic for you.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he says. “‘Our humans?”

"Erm, well the human roommate is now… the boyfriend, so there's that."

"What? Damn, I've missed a lot. While I might not have a date to the Halloween Ball, you should go and show off your man, Niko." He says, patting my shoulder.

"I'll consider it," I say, knowing it's the only way he's going to drop it. Coby nips at my cheek and I swat him away, not in the mood to be called out by my snakes.

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