Page 49 of Vexing the Viper

"Man, you've been out of it all day. You okay?"

I rub my temples and close my eyes. "I don't know."

"Did you and Niko break up?"

I laugh sadly, because god knows if we did. "I don't think so. But we've barely talked the past couple days. We got into an argument, and neither of us are letting it go. I don't think I'm in the wrong though."

"If you don't mind me asking, what was the argument about?"

"I asked him to the Halloween Ball and he said no."

"What? Why? I thought you guys were dating."

"Fuck, so did I. I honestly wasn't expecting a no. I thought my asking him was a formality, but he shot me down quickly, then got pissed when I tried to pry as to why he didn't want to go with me."

"And he wouldn’t tell you why?"

"Nope," I say, popping the P. "He told me to drop it, so I did."

"Damn, man, I'm sorry."

"The worst part," I say, looking Sam in the eyes. My eyes start tearing up, and I blink quickly, hoping they'll disappear. "I think he's ashamed of me. Dating a human, I mean. I think that's why he doesn't want to go. He doesn't want to be seen with me."

"I don't think that's it."

"Okay, then what else could it be?"

"Didn't you say he was worried about Coach knowing?" Sam says, his eyes quickly looking in the direction of Coach’s office.

"Yeah, but Coach won't be there. And if we ran into Coach we could have said we went as roommates. He wouldn't have known."

"Fuck, man. I don't know. But I do know you should talk to him." He grabs my shoulder, squeezing it in solidarity.

"I will. Maybe."

"No, you will definitely. You both deserve to hash this out."

"Okay, I will."

Sam fist bumps me before we finish grabbing our stuff and leaving the locker room.

I don't talkto Niko all day. I keep avoiding him, or maybe he’s still avoiding me. After my test, I go to the Athletics Center and work out until it's dark, then I head to the dorm room and crash–in my own bed. Which is where I've been sleeping the past two nights.

Today is the Halloween Ball, and I've spent the whole day out of the dorm. I woke up early, went for a run, then went to the gym to lose myself in working out for a few hours.

Niko may not want to go with me, but I'm still going to fucking go. Luckily, a group of the guys on the team are all goingtogether, so I decided to tag along with them. We're downtown at a local shop trying to find something to wear.

"How does this look?" Will asks, walking out of the dressing room in a baby blue tux.

"Um." Staring at him, I'm not sure if he's seriously considering the outfit or not. "There's ruffles on the shirt."

"I know," he gushes, pulling at the neckline. "Isn't it perfect?"

Oh, so he's serious about the outfit. "Well, if you like it, that's all that matters." I grimace, knowing I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that. Looking over to the other side of the store, I see a Lagoon shifter looking through tuxes with a human by his side. My heart hurts seeing them be so open knowing all I want is to be doing this with Niko.

"Did you find something to wear, King?" he asks when he steps back out of the dressing room, changed back into his everyday clothes.

"Yeah, I figured simple is best." I shake the black tux in the air, smiling a bright smile I don't actually feel. I thought I would be dressing up to be with Niko, but now there are other plans.

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