The door creaked open.
"Davon?" a familiar voice called softly. It was Devin, followed closely by Anastasia and Patricia.
They had decided to check on Elise and Davon after realizing they hadn't shown up all morning. Devin was about to make another joke when his words caught in his throat.
There, tangled together under a blanket on the couch, were Davon and Elise—fast asleep, Elise's head resting against his chest, his arms loosely wrapped around her like she belonged there.
Anastasia's jaw dropped. Patricia blinked twice, completely speechless. Devin's lips slowly curved into a mischievous smirk.
"Well, well…" he drawled quietly. "Didn't see this coming."
Davon stirred at the sound, blinking awake groggily. "Huh… what time is it?"
Devin folded his arms. "Time to explain why you're cuddling her in my living room."
Elise's eyes fluttered open at the sound of Devin's voice. When she realized the position she was in—and the audience staring at them—she yelped softly and tried to wriggle out of Davon's arms.
"W-we just—uh—it got cold!" she stammered, her cheeks turning crimson.
Patricia covered her mouth to hide her laugh while Anastasia looked like she might faint from secondhand embarrassment.
Davon stretched lazily, completely unfazed. "Relax, guys. Nothing happened… well, aside from a little accidental kissing."
"Davon!" Elise hissed, her face now bright red.
Devin snorted. "Accidental, huh? That's a new excuse."
Davon grinned. "What can I say? She tripped—onto my lips."
Elise grabbed a pillow and smacked him with it, while everyone burst out laughing. Patricia clutched her stomach. "Oh my gosh, Elise, your face is so red!"
"Ugh, stop laughing!" Elise groaned, burying her face in her hands.
Davon chuckled, his voice softer as he glanced at her. "You're cute when you blush, you know that?"
Her blush somehow deepened.
Devin rolled his eyes dramatically. "Please, get a room."
Davon shot back, "Says the guy who spent half the week glued to Anastasia's side."
"Hey!" Anastasia protested, but her flustered look gave her away.
Patricia sighed playfully. "Wow. Everyone's getting kissed but me."
The room fell silent for a beat. Lucian, leaning against the doorframe unnoticed, smirked. "You want to fix that?"
Patricia blinked, realizing too late that she'd walked right into that one. "I—No! That's not—Ugh!" she huffed, face burning as everyone laughed again.
The rest of the day passed in teasing and laughter, the kind that made the past few weeks of chaos seem far away.
That night, the girls gathered in Anastasia's dorm, hair tied up and snacks scattered everywhere.
"So," Elise began, half-smiling, "Patricia, are you ever going to make your move?"
Patricia groaned. "Can we not talk about that right now?"
Anastasia giggled. "Come on! You like him, and it's obvious he likes you."
Elise nudged her. "Yeah, besides, you can't let us be the only ones with stories to tell."
Patricia tossed a pillow at her. "You mean you and your vampire prince?"
The room went quiet. Then Elise blinked. "Wait—what?"
Anastasia leaned forward dramatically. "Think about it. The boys never eat with us, they move so fast, and Devin literally tracked us by scent!"
Patricia gasped. "Oh my God, what if they are vampires?"
Elise stared at them for a moment… then burst out laughing. "You two watch too many movies!"
But as the laughter filled the room, none of them noticed the faint glint in the night outside the window—or the way Davon's eyes seemed to shimmer red for just a heartbeat as he leaned against the wall outside, smiling to himself.