Chapter Eighteen

After our sweet and warm moment in the woods, Nicolas and I continued on our way again. But this time he wasn't walking ahead of me. We walked right beside each other, closer than ever before.

Our arms touched every now and then until I realized that we both were subconsciously brushing our arms against each other so frequently. The realization added a hop to my steps and I beamed every time I felt his warmth through my side.

By the time we reached past the trees and at the edge of the woods, the sun had already set and things were barely visible anymore. Nicolas stopped all of a sudden when we neared the last row of the trees.

"I can't go past here." He whispered, looking at my house in the distance.

I looked over to him, trying to decide if I should ask for the reason or not.

He seemed to have understood my confusion as he started on his own. "The last time I left..." He trailed off but it was enough to remind me what he was talking about.

My hand went to his back and moved in circles, trying to comfort him.

"I can't risk it again." He finished with a defeated sigh.

"You don't have to. My house is right there." I pointed to my house's backside a few feet ahead. "I'll be fine."

When he still didn't look up, I continued. "I said, it's okay." I pressed my hand harder against his back before stepping away. "I'll be going now."

I started walking backward in the direction of my house while still facing him. "I'm going for real."

When he still didn't look up, I let out a frustrated sigh and turned around to finally be on my way. "Bye then." I waved with my back to him and started walking again.

"Bye." A whisper came a few more steps later, making me smile wide.

I turned around instantly and grinned at him. His expression wasn't clear under the moonlight, but in mind, he was grinning just as widely as I was.

Turning back around, I walked home, humming some random song I couldn't remember the lyrics of. Just like the day of my arrival, grandma was seated in her rocking chair right on the porch. Her hands clasped in her lap as she stared straight ahead with her chair completely still.

I sat down beside her feet without a word and both of us just watched the cars passing by in silence.

"Hungry?" She asked when my stomach growled loudly.

"Starving." I answered, suddenly remembering I hadn't eaten anything all day.

Grandma and I headed in and I helped her put her chair back in before settling down at the dining table.

"I'm guessing everything is okay now." She said, before taking the first bite.

I already had my mouth full and incapable of talking, so I just nodded excitedly.

She chuckled. "I'm glad."

"Me too." I said, swallowing the food in my mouth.

Grandma and I had moved to the living room after dinner while I told her about my day. She was seated on the couch and I sat on the floor with my head resting against her knee. "I still have a lot of questions, but I think we'll be okay."

Her hand was caressing my hair and I felt completely content with my life. "As long as I don't have to see you crying anymore, I'll be happy."

It felt extremely embarrassing hearing her say that. "I know, I'm too old to be crying still."

"That's not it. I just don't want to see you hurt again." She put one of her hands on my shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"Don't worry. It won't happen again." I assured her, turning my head back to give her a smile.

She smiled back and continued to move her hand through my hair softly.

"You know, he said he's okay with me being a guy." I told her, remembering another thing he and I talked about before.

"That's good." She said thoughtfully.

"I guess werewolves are pansexual." I thought out loud.

"Pan what?" Grandma asked in confusion.

I yawned before I could've answered her and she patted my head. "Go sleep. We can talk tomorrow."

"But-" I was interrupted by a yawn again.

"Goodnight." She pulled me up to stand alongside her and pushed me toward my room.

"Goodnight." I complied with another yawn and headed to my room quietly.

~~~

The next morning I woke up to Marco barging into my room again. I didn't even notice him coming in until he jumped over my legs hidden under the blanket.

I glared at him and let out a painful grunt. "It hurts. Get off."

Instead of getting up, he laid on his side, propping his head against his bent arm. "You're late. Everyone is already done with the training."

Ignoring him, I pulled the blanket over my head and closed my eyes. When Marco started pulling my blanket down, I kicked my legs being crushed under him. "Stop!"

"Get up then." He retorted and pushed his bent elbow against my leg.

I wailed in pain to get him to stop and when he didn't, I agreed reluctantly. "Fine. Get off now."

He got off immediately and grinned at me. "I'll be back if you aren't ready in five."

He took off before I could've even replied and I grumbled quietly before finally getting up.

Marco wasn't kidding. He was already on the top of the stairs by the time I got out of my room.

He flashed me an evil smile and received a glare in return.

"Let's go." He announced, grabbing my wrist and pulling me downstairs hurriedly.

"Breakfast is ready. Eat it before you leave." Grandma hollered from the kitchen just as we were about to leave and I let out a sigh of relief.

I didn't realize how hungry I was until she mentioned breakfast. This time I was the one pulling Marco behind me as I entered the kitchen.

All three of us sat down and I was almost done with breakfast when I heard grandma's voice.

"Are you pansexual as well, Marco?" She asked casually, as if asking about the weather outside.

I choked on air which soon advanced into an uncontrollable coughing fit. "Grandma, no." I squeaked in between the coughs while I struggled to catch my breath.

"Why not?" She asked, sounding genuinely offended. "I already know what it means." She added proudly.

I had to down the whole glass of water and clear my throat a few times before I felt capable of speaking again. "It's not something you ask out of the blue."

Grandma opened her mouth to respond but stopped right away when Marco burst into laughter beside us. We looked over to him in confusion and he laughed harder looking between grandma and I.

"It's fine." He assured me and turned to grandma. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Grandma and Marco went back to eating their food without another word and I stared at both of them in wonder. My throat felt too raw after coughing so much and I didn't feel like eating anymore.

I quietly waited for both of them to finish before I washed the dishes and started helping grandma place them back on the rack.

"I'll wait outside." Marco informed me and left.

"Grandma, it's rude to ask someone that." I whispered as soon as I heard Marco shut the door behind him.

"Ask what?" She turned to look at me.

"About his sexuality like that." I explained further.

"Why's that? He can ask me the same, I wouldn't mind." She shrugged and focused her attention back to organising dishes.

I sighed. "It's not that simple, grandma."

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked over to me. "I'm ready to understand anything as long as you're willing to explain it."

Putting down the dishes, she rested her hand over my head softly. "I won't do it again if it bothered you. I just don't want you to feel like you need to hide things from me ever again."

When she removed her hand, I stepped forward to give her a hug. "Thank you, grandma."

She rubbed my back and I held onto her until I heard her chuckle beside my ear. "That's enough. Marco is still waiting outside. Get going."

Pulling away, we both smiled at each other.

"I'll be back soon." I said, rushing over to the door to put my shoes on and get going.

"You and I both know that's a lie." Grandma retorted from the kitchen before laughing.

She laughed even harder when I didn't say anything to prove her wrong.

"Have fun." She teased one more time before I quietly left the house feeling too embarrassed to even say goodbye.

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