"They'll manage to keep themselves occupied with food and all types of distractions. Eden is famous for keeping its residents... occupied."
Famous? She didn't even know this city existed! It wasn't on any of the maps she had read and analyzed in her past.
Her eyes stopped on his lips and as if someone had pressed a pause button, she felt like she couldn't remove them no matter how hard she tried. His breath grazed across her lips as he leaned down, strands of his jet-black hair caressing her forehead—
"Theo!?"
"Fuck." he muttered, his lips still hovering above hers and Eva closed her eyes, trying not to giggle out loud.
"Why isn't Eva in her room? And why the heck is your room locked?" came Gwen's voice as another knock was heard on the door and Eva slowly backed away from him.
She watched his face take on a frustrated look as he raised his inked hand to run it across his mess of a hair. Eva swallowed and went to open the door before she could get carried away again.
This couldn't happen once more. She needed to avoid him as much as she could. Her plan didn't include him and she wasn't going to drag him along to Hell with her. She had to make him love himself, she couldn't fall in love instead!
Grabbing the knob, she swung the door open to see Gwen raise her fist. It paused midway and both their eyes widened simultaneously at seeing each other.
"Oh." Gwen's lips formed a perfect "o" as she nodded her head as if she just realized something. Panicking, Eva shook her head, parting open her lips to clarify the situation.
"It's not what you think. My bathroom sink broke—"
"And she'll be staying with me from now on—" Theo stated, approaching her from behind but Eva interrupted him as soon as she got the chance.
"No, I will be staying in another guest room. I think another one will be available in this large house." she gave her sweetest and widest grin to Gwen while her eyes relayed the secret message, 'Please get me out of this situation...'
Gwen's eyes darted from his face to hers as she wondered who she should listen to. Her friend or the one he was obsessed with?
"Uh... why don't you decide it between yourselves?" she asked and turned around to run away, completely forgetting the message she was assigned to pass on by the rest of the residents. 'Ugh, Kai is going to kill me...'
Eva grabbed her sleeve before she could make a run for it and almost begged, "Just point me to a room that is accessible." Please, she pleaded through her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to sleep next to this guy! It would be nothing but a great distraction and would put her emotions into chaos once again.
Gwen sighed, not daring to look at her King and childhood friend as she raised her forefinger and pointed to the room beside the one they were standing.
Eva's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she stared at the only open room. Was it better to sleep beside him or in the room beside his?
"..." The second option was the wisest, for now, she thought to herself and gave Gwen a grateful smile before slowly sliding near to her soon-to-be bedroom. She had narrowly managed to escape the Devil's den, and she sighed in relief.
Her eyes glanced sideways and immediately looked back at Gwen nervously. Theo's expression was not too pleasing to look at now. He seemed annoyed beyond measure and Eva didn't know what she should do to calm the beast down.
"Kai's uh...." Gwen started hesitantly and Eva threw Theo a glare, not remembering the anxiety in her a few seconds ago.
"What?" he asked in an irritated tone, crossing his arms over his chest.
Eva parted open her lips to reproach him but somebody already beat her to it. Gwen's glare would've turned a normal human being into nothing but ashes. It was a wonder how Theo was still able to stand on his feet without stumbling.
"Don't you use that tone with me, you jerk!" she yelled and Theo opened his mouth to retort back. Eva could almost see fume emerging from his head.
"So this is how I'm welcomed after dropping in after a decade and a half?" he questioned and Eva slowly felt her heart drop-dead inside her chest.
His friends that he was now meeting... he hadn't met them for how long exactly!? What had happened that he hadn't gone to visit? Why didn't they come to meet him!? All sorts of doubts and questions entered her mind and her ears turned numb to the conversation that was taking place in front of her.
He was a vampire and that meant he was older than he looked. How many years had he spent alone in a castle, with nothing but walls to accompany him and his Kingdom's responsibilities? What was hiding behind that façade that he had put on? How many secrets were buried deep in his dark abyss?
"Eva?"
She looked up, startled, and felt both their eyes on her. Her eyes wandered from Gwen's worried face to his emotionless one. The flash of concern in them made her chest feel tight with some unknown feeling. Bile rose in her throat and she tried to forget the feeling her heart was building. She didn't like it and didn't want to spend her precious time thinking about it. Her main focus should be making a master plan for revenge but she was getting distracted every minute she stayed in his company...
She never knew it would come to this. Would she have to start avoiding him now? His small touches and caresses, would they turn nonexistent when he saw her backing away from him?
She was freaking out and the look on his face showed that he knew it too. She needed to get out of here to set her messed-up thoughts back into order. If she didn't, who knew? Her original plan could end up changing just because of her fluctuating emotions...