Liam groaned as he lay on the bed, Matheo sitting by his side with a smirk on his face. He didn't understand why he was so happy about the situation. This was obnoxious to him.
"What are you smirking about?" Liam asked in an annoyed tone, receiving a chuckle from the questioned man.
"You really are mad with her, huh? Maybe she came to apologize again?" He teased as he pushed Liam, who pushed back with a smile.
"You're such a jerk! That was so embarrassing! Like, how could she just walk into the shower room and expect to talk! This girl gets under my skin and not in the right way." Liam whined, plopping on his back to stare at the ceiling. He didn't understand why she kept trying so hard to apologize to him. She always was so dead set on making his life miserable before, so what changed now?
"I'm just saying, takes a lot of guts to speak back to her like that." Matheo said with a chuckles as Liam rolled his eyes.
"I'm just sick of being bullied, I've changed now and will never let anyone step on me like that again." Liam said confidently. He was going to refuse her apology no matter what. She had no right to apologize after so long.
"I think you are right not to stand bullying, but would it be bad for you to let go of the past? All that anger, it can't do you much good, you know." Matheo said as Liam sighed and sat up. He knew it was true. Having so much anger was not doing him any good.
"I can't just accept it and move on, Matheo. It has haunted my dreams." He said as Matheo nodded. He would definitely ask what it is Narcia had done to him when they became closer. He didn't want to push his new friend so soon.
Liam stood up and started to grab a few things from his drawers, Matheo watched with curiosity as Liam pulled out what looked like an outfit.
"Where are you headed to?" Matheo asked as Liam sighed.
"To work." He said, making Matheo nod. Liam clearly didn't enjoy his job from the looks of it, but it wasn't like good jobs ever threw themselves at you.
Liam changed into his outfit and waved to Matheo as he left. He locked the door and ran downstairs, grabbing a water bottle on his way by the kitchen. He unlocked and picked up his bike before making his way to the forge downtown.
"Hey, kiddo! I thought you weren't gonna make it for a moment there!" The owner said as Liam locked his bike on the rack at the front.
"Sorry, Mr Jenkins. I got a little caught up with school." Liam said with a nervous chuckle before the large man gave him a hard slap on the back.
"Go on, boy, we have a lot of requests that came in this weekend. We'll work pretty late tonight." Mr Jenkins said as Liam rushed over the raw metal area.
Liam grabbed a few chunks and rushed over to the pots, placing them in before throwing them into the blaze, sweat already starting to form on his forehead. He wiped it away and started to use the blowing machine to enhance the embers. Hours passed rapidly as Liam worked, hammering the metals he had cooled down after melting them. By now, it was almost midnight. He stepped away from the heat and sighed, satisfied with the two swords he had made and the shield.
"Who still orders this kind of stuff..." He said with a groan as he took his gloves and shirt off to cool off. He walked over to the front desk, where he signed the book, making the first order finished.
"Oh? Already finished, young man?" Mr Jenkins asked as he put a massive mace to the side, most likely one he had just finished forging.
"I still have another order of armor, but... The request and dimentions are peculiar." Liam said as he passed the book to his mentor, who exchanged it with a wet towel. Liam took the towel and started to wipe the back of his neck as the door opened, a shiver running through Liam.
"Welcome to Forged with our blood. What can I do for you tonight?" He said as he looked up, his eyes widening as he saw who was standing there.
Narcia blushed at the sight and covered her nose. Her mate's scent was so strong in the room. Liam frowned at her action. He knew he didn't smell bad.
"What are you doing here?" Liam asked with venom, not wanting to deal with her at his work.
"O-Oh, right, I came to see if my order was ready." She said weakly, her eyes looking directly at Liam's chest. She looked like she was devouring him with her eyes, and it made him uncomfortable.
"Lady Porskin, how delightful to see you. How is your mother doing?" Mr Jenkins asked, trying to lower the tension in the room.
"She is doing great, I came on my father's behalf. He ordered an armor. Order 345, I think he said?" She asked softly, looking at the floor embarrassed. She loved the sight but couldn't help from shying away from it at the same time.
"Oh, Liam was about to do that one just now! Weren't you young man?" The owner said as he put his hand on Liam's shoulder. Liam shot a betrayed look at his mentor, who squeezed his shoulder and walked off laughing.
"I will get right to it, miss." Liam said as he bit the inside of his cheek, making his way towards the stations.
Narcia watched as Liam put his gloves back on and pulled out the molten metal, putting it in a thing that he then put in cold water. She watched intently as his muscles moved to his actions, the sweat that appeared as he hammered down the metal to make the form requested. It was like she was stuck in a trans as she watched him mold the armor in the shape of a wolf head. She gulped as her legs rubbed against each other. She was starting to feel inappropriate about the whole situation.
Finally, Liam dipped the head in cold water and brushed it a bit before coming over with a sigh. He slammed the armor on the counter and looked at her dead in the eyes, sweat still rolling down his cheeks from his wet hair.
"That's gonna be -"
"Credit card."
"I didn't even tell you the amount."
"I don't need to know, just pass it on my credit card, please." She asked softly, her legs still fidgeting a bit. Liam frowned but did so anyways, letting her pay with the card.
"It's pretty late... Shouldn't you be accompanied back home?" Liam asked as she picked up the now packaged order.
"I'm pretty capable of taking care of myself." She said with a frown. Why did he care if she went home on her... own. Was he offering to walk her!?
"If you say so, but at least go with Mr Jenkins to be safe." He said with his arms crossed, walking to the washing station. He splashed some water on his face and dried himself with a clean towel before putting his shirt back on. When he turned towards the counter, Narcia hadn't moved at all. He frowned and walked over to her before he noticed they were completely alone, Mr Jenkins had already left.
"Damn it..." He cursed under his breath. He would totally chew at him tomorrow for putting him in this situation.
"I just need to lock up the shop. Just wait outside." He said as she walked outside with a smile. He cleaned up the place, closed up the store, locked the door behind himself, and walked to his bike to free it.
The air was a bit colder now that it was very early in the morning, from the looks of it, maybe it even neared 3 am. He noticed her shiver a bit, but he didn't want to say anything. He wasn't going to act like a boyfriend to her. She wasn't even a friend. But slowly, he noticed her go from small shivers to full-on trembling. He unlocked his bike and sighed. He didn't like it at all and took his coat out of his bike bag to put it on her shoulders.
"Thank you..." She said quietly as he shrugged and started to walk through the dark street. The night was quiet and dark. You could barely hear the sound of the leaves shuffling.
They continued to walk for a while before a very loud thump was heard, causing both of them to look towards the noise. Narcia growled as she stared into the forest with a confused Liam standing by her. Whatever was there better leave her mate alone.
"Let's hurry back to the university grounds." She said hurriedly, grabbing Liam by the hand and starting to run. An electric current coursed through them nicely, Liam couldn't believe how nice it felt to hold her hand.
"I thought we were going to your house! And if you keep pulling like that, I might have to let go, Narcia. I have a bike to pull!" He said quickly, causing her to slow down and look back at him. He managed to get back his balance and walked quicker than earlier to compensate. He didn't want to keep lurking near what was in the dark.
They finally arrived where lights showed the streets, and they both sighed in relief as they slowed their pace, now safe from the thing they had fled from. Narcia suddenly started laughing as she covered her forehead with her hand, barely believing what had happened.
"We really ran from a noise in the dark... I guess things never change..." She said as Liam remembered that time they wanted to see the starts at night when they were ten, but ended up running inside in fear from a noise. It also reminded him that she was only allowed to go to his house, but he never went to hers. She usually came to bully him anyway. That time was a rare one where her parents didn't come home. She had been scared for them and came to him for comfort. He was a fool to have trusted her because she never changed even after that night.
They made it to the campus safely. The school looked so peaceful in this silence. Narcia looked at it with a smile. It was nice to stay in silence. She turned towards Liam witha soft expression, she wanted to reach out for his hand again, to feel that electric current she had felt before, but he jerked away from her.
"Good night, Narcia." He said before walking away, making her sigh and drop her arm next to herself as her wolf whined. He hadn't even taken his coat back.
"Good night, Liam."