"What else do I need to do?" Jennifer stood up in shock. What was the next test? Adrian never told her anything like that. What if she failed it? Will she be rejected from the den? What did she have to do? Will they ask her to hurt someone? Spy on somebody? What if they ask her for something Jennifer can't do? Jennifer was getting anxious by the minute. She should have thought it through. She urged all the members to trust her and now… here she was. Shivering in her boots because she was too scared to give the second test.
"Don't stress out too much. It's nothing. Wait, let me explain." Adrian said when he saw Jennifer worried about her second test. The way she stood up displayed how nervous she was although honestly, she was doing a good job concealing her emotions. "Since all the members of the den trust each other with their lives during a mission, we all follow the 'no lying' rule. All of us know about each other's life and mindset. All you have to do is talk about your life and how you dealt with your problems in front of everyone. The only thing to keep in mind is that nothing should be left out." Adrian explained Jennifer all about her second test.
"Because we don't want you to leave anything when you give the acceptance speech, we will give you three days to plan out your speech. Make sure you cover up everything completely." James concluded today's meeting with these lines. "Everyone, we will meet again on Sunday to listen to Jennifer's acceptance speech." Adrian summed up the meeting and exited the room with a nervous Jennifer beside him.
"Baby, what if I leave anything by mistake?" Jennifer asked Adrian and James who were walking beside each other in front of Jennifer. Adrian turned around and exchanged a dark look with James. "Baby, just make sure you don't leave anything. The consequences are really dreadful." Adrian put a strand of hair behind Jennifer's ear. "What will happen?" Jennifer asked again. "Stop protecting her. If she's going to be a member, she needs to know." James whispered to Adrian.
"You will be charged of trying to cheat the den and for that the punishment is draining blood. Like it you forget to say something that happened 5 years ago, you will be slit open 5 places of your body and the blood will be allowed to drain for 5 seconds." James explained. Jennifer was really disgusted. Like how could they do something like this to anyone. Slit them open in 5 different places. "Just make sure you don't miss anything. Rest everything I can see." Adrian tried comforting Jennifer who was visibly uncomfortable.
"Has anyone ever received this punishment before?" Jennifer's question sealed Adrian's and James' mouth all at once. Adrian's eyes met James' eyes and he told him to stay quiet. "Why are you both so quiet? Say something. Has anybody ever received this punishment before?" Jennifer repeated her question eyeing Adrian and James suspiciously. "Actually yes! The most recent punishment was given to Adrian only." What???? Adrian??? "Yeah! But his punishment is halved because he is the leader and that comes with leader privilege." James spoke.
Adrian mentally face palmed himself. First day into the den and Jennifer is so uncomfortable. It was a bad decision. Definitely. "You were punished for what?" Jennifer looked at Adrian who was looking here and there, too afraid to meet her eyes. "For hiding that I'm in love with you." Adrian spoke truly. James made sense. If she was going to be the members of the den, she should know. "What!" Jennifer was shocked. Why would he hide it from them? She thought he trusted them. "I'll explain. Actually, I fell in love with you the day I saw you at the cafeteria. But I didn't tell anyone. For about one year I didn't tell this to any member of the den because I was afraid they might stalk you or force you into a relationship with me."
"You see, for them Adrian's happiness matters above everything. He was the one who saved them so Adrian didn't tell anyone so that they wouldn't harm you." James competed Adrian's explanation when he saw him struggling with words to confess it. Jennifer was so heartbroken. "Where did they slit you open?" Jennifer hurriedly swopped up Adrian's sleeve with swift and precise movements of her hands revealing no cuts. Adrian looked at her. "I'm the leader. Remember?" he smirked. "How will they create a half cut?" Jennifer opened her mouth thinking of how they would have carried out his punishment. "They just pricked me with a needle. It is fully healed now. Not a single drop of blood was wasted." Adrian smiled.
"Yeah! But that's bad. You should have just told them. You got pricked." Jennifer looked at Adrian with doe eyes. Adrian kissed Jennifer on her forehead. How innocent she looked! "Now make sure you follow the instructions properly. You have a girlfriend whose ready to fight the entire group of needed just to make sure your punishment wouldn't be carried out. So if you don't want me to die while fighting them, you better follow the rules you made." Jennifer flicked Adrian's nose.
"Okay. Fine. Its too late now. Go home and prepare for the Sunday speech diligently." Adrian said and drove to drop off Jennifer at her home. Jennifer stepped out of Adrian's car and saw him drove away as she thought about him fondly. What did she even do to deserve such a loving boyfriend? To protect her, he accepted such a gross punishment. Jennifer made a mental note to never let go of Adrian in this lifetime. Ever. She wanted to make him hers.
She saw sure she wouldn't find anybody like him, even if she tried so Jennifer just wiped out the little tear drop from the corner of her eye. She then turned around and sneaked inside her room with great difficulty but she managed it. That night, Jennifer sat at the corner of her room thinking about her relationship with Adrian, their love and her possible future with him. By the time Jennifer felt sleep take over her, she was sure and more motivated than ever to complete her speech and become a member of the den to respect Adrian's decision.