Page 52 of Falling in Love with A Tiny Bat

See, even as an extrovert, I have some reservations.

Alexios stares at me after I’m finished explaining that we’ve been invited to movie night, and he is a terrible son. Hand on my hip as I shove eggs around in a frying pan, I hiss, “I mean,seriously? You’ve not been here for over a week. Why didn’t you tell your parents you were going somewherebefore? Where evenwereyou?”

Oop.

Well.

I guess I wasn’tquitefinished.

Wholly disinterested, Alexios lingers in the kitchen and drawls, “I was with Castor, helping him take care of Ash.”

“And you didn’t leave a note? I understand that you’re a full-grownthingand even Meda goes off on littleadventuresnow and again, butover a weekof absence? Without tellinganyone who cares about you?” I snap. “What is wrong with you?” That line gets through to me, making my nerves pinch as my own tone echoes in the back of my head. I sound like my mother. The last thing Ieverwant to do issound like my mother. Releasing a breath, I calm myself, rein in my tone, and say, “Kass and Pollux have been worried. You could have communicated better.”

Bracing an elbow against the counter, Alexios arches a brow and murmurs, “What did you want me to say? ‘Hey, Pollux and Kass, I’m heading to Castor’s. Don’t wait up.’?”

“Yes.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe that would have gone over well.”

Huffing, I glare at him. “You’re anadultfaerie, aren’t you?”

“Regrettably.”

“That means you’re allowed to make your own decisions, right? That means you get to say,hey, Mom and Dad, I’m going to go try drugs with some homeless friends in the back of a Walmart parking lot.It’s not about whether it goes over well. It’s about people who care about you knowing where you are in case they need to help. You havegoodparents. Act like it.”

“In my defense, Alana knew where I was, and noweveryoneknows where I am, so you’re really having areactiontooutdated information.” He smiles, and his stormy eyes crackle. “Are we having a lover’s quarrel?”

“That would require us to be lovers, Xios.” I dump the scrambled eggs onto a plate and hold it out to him.

His smile vanishes as he looks down. “No.”

I shrug, snatch a fork, and grab the ketchup. Once I’ve covered my eggs in ketchup, Alexios stares at me like I just kicked a baby bat. I take a bite. “What?”

“I… Are you messing with me? What in the world did you just do to your food?”

I stab another lump and bring it to my lips. “This is a perfectly normal way to eat eggs.”

“It isn’t a disgrace to your family name?”

I pause chewing to shudder and remind myself that Kassandra isverysilly for thinking Alexios and I arealikein any way. After all, she only probably knows the both of us better than anyone else who knows the both of us.

Stabbing another egg, I point my fork to his lips.

The man jerks back as though I have shot him with a gun.

Red floods his cheeks, making his pale skin appear ketchup smeared. “H-hold on,” he stammers. “My heart. It’s…” He fights for a breath as he plants his shaking hand over his chest, twining it in his clothes. Soft, he says, “It’s reacting very poorly to this situation…”

“Do I need to do the airplane?”

His panicking eyes hit me.

I reel my fork back. “Nroom.”

Pain suffuses every last one of his pores. “Snowflake, please… Don’t infantilize me when we’re on the verge of an anime micro-trope.”

Oh. Sothat’swhat’s happening right now.

Unable to hold back my smirk, I say, “Aah.”

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