"I can't believe you're leaving."
"You are going to come back right?"
"She wouldn't. It's best for her there. Much safer back home."
I looked at the boys, making myself comfortable on the sofa with them. I've already decided to leave, no matter how stupid or dumb my decision was, it was mine to make. Draven and I would have never worked out either way. It was too dangerous for the both of us to be together. I had to stop trying. I had to stop him from taking all those risks and putting his life in danger for me. Not to mention, everyone around him as well. I don't want them to get dragged down into this because of me.
"I'm sorry. I just don't want you guys to be in danger because of me, not anymore. You've already done enough for me." I looked at everyone and then at Vincent, who turned away, obviously still upset about the whole idea of me leaving.
"The car is here." My breath hitched when I heard Lianna's cheerful voice echo through the room. She was pleased about this. Too pleased. I got up and looked at the boys as they got up. I hugged everyone and gave Vincent an apologetic look before turning to look at Lianna, who gave me the sweetest smile ever.
"Adriana, see me for a minute." I froze when I heard Draven's voice. I turned to watch him nod at me near the stairs and hesitantly walked over to him, fighting back the tears I fought so hard to keep in. Why did he want to see me at the last minute? I am trying so hard not to break down and if I see him alone like this, I'd probably not even be able to hold it in for another second. We didn't say anything until we reached up to his room. I followed him in and watched him turn around. My jaws dropped open when I noticed that his whole room were now covered in string lights, the table and bed decorated beautifully with candles and red roses. I gulped softly and looked at Draven, who gave me a small smile.
"Dra-ven, it's beautiful."
"I wanted to spend the last minutes with you like this," He took a step forward, running a hand through his hair nervously, messing it up in the process "I know this is going to sound cheesy as fuck, but," He chuckled but they held no emotion. You could easily see how broken he was. And it broke me too. To see him try so hard to the very end. If only it was easier than this. "Can I have one last dance?" He walked up to a huge speaker at the very corner of the bed and I hadn't even noticed it was there till until now. A familiar song started and I held back the tears as it started playing. Draven appeared in front of me and took my arms, already wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling my body closer to his. I breathed in his cologne and we started slow dancing to the song, my heart dropping as we continued moving to the music.
I'm not a perfect person
There's many thing I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
A single drop of tear rolled down my cheeks as Draven's grip around my waist tightened and I quickly buried my face in his chest as I followed his movements, fighting back my trembling knees.
I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
Draven pulled back and swirled me around before pulling me back in his arms again, causing my heart to race faster than ever.

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you.
We stopped when the song ended and I was about to open my mouth to say something when he pressed a finger on it, shaking his head slightly.
"I have something for you." He said slowly and I looked at him in confusion before he took my shoulders, turning my back to face him. My body stiffened when his breath hit against my neck before a necklace was carefully wrapped around my neck. I looked down at it awe and touched it, my eyes carefully studying the beautiful design and carvings on it.
"It's beautiful." I finally said, turning around and his eyes briefly met the floor before meeting my own again.
"It's a vervain necklace. It'll protect you for as long as you wear it." He explained and I nodded with a small smile.
"Thank you, Draven." He nodded and opened his mouth to say something else when someone knocked on the door.
"Her parents are here, hurry up."

My heart started pounding loudly against my chest and I looked at Draven one more time before he nodded hesitantly. I turned to leave, ready to open the door when a hand grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around hastily. Draven's lips covered mine within seconds and I kissed him back passionately and slowly, savouring our last moments together. He pulled away first and gently pressed his forehead against mine, his fingers on my cheeks now brushing against them in a comforting manner.
"I wish you'd stay." He fixated his eyes on mine and I saw the slight hint of hope flickering inside of them before I lowered my eyelashes on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Draven." I finally let the tears roll down my cheeks but Draven quickly brushed them away, shaking his head slowly.
"You'll be okay " He said softly, lifting my face to meet his eyes again and I nodded.
"Good bye Draven."
xxx
And just like that, a month passed by after I moved back home with my parents and let's be honest. I felt so broken and empty for the past few weeks. It felt like a part of was incomplete, lost without him. I would recall everything Draven said to me for days and had sleepless nights for weeks but I could never turn back and change everything again. I didn't have the courage to do it. And as badly as I wanted Draven to come back for me, he didn't. He kept his word and I never saw him after that, not even once. I'd hear rumors about him from my people but other than that, nothing. And the worst part is, ever since I returned, people in my town has been giving me nasty looks and throwing me scowls in disgust every chance they get. They were obviously not pleased with the fact that I didn't use the chance to turn into one of them. But that was my choice. And I had every right to make my own choice. Plus, with my parents supporting my decisions now, nothing was holding me back.
"Adriana, come on already! You have got to stop being depressed 24/7 and get out already. You've been like this for weeks!" Emily was now starting to pull my hair and I groaned in annoyance before slapping her hand away.
"Leave me alone to die." I grumbled, burying my face harder inside my pillow.
"No. Your parents are worried about you, babe. You have got to stop acting like this. I thought you wanted this." She pinched my arm and I sat up with a squeal.
"Well, it is what I wanted. But that's because I had no choice. I can't put Draven or the rest of the Ardelean brothers in danger because of me."
"Bla bla bla, omg, you should just write a book about it already. Going on and on about how they're having trouble protecting you and looking out for you. News flash babe, if they found protecting you as a threat or burden to them, they would have gotten rid of you a long time ago. You left on your own." Emily frowned at me and I let out another groan before motioning her to shut up.
"What's done is done. I can't do anything about it anymore. And-" I slapped a hand over Emily's mouth before she could speak. "I'll go to the movies if it means you'll drop the subject."
Emily's eyes lit up and she instantly nodded in victory.
xxx
"How did we end up in a restaurant again?" I took a seat with Emily at the table before a waiter walked up to us, handing us the menu.
"I am starving. It's my treat so count yourself lucky tonight." Emily brushed her blond hair away before going through the menu.
"I'll just order a sandwich and mojito." I closed the menu and Emily chose her food before we gave our orders.
"So tell me more stories about them." Emily leaned forward and I let out a playful groan.
"I've already told you a million stories," I laughed as she shook her head. "How am I supposed to remember every detail of everything's that happened in that mansion?"
"You are supposed to remember, honey." Emily stopped when the waiter arrived with our food.
"How come?"
"Oh don't pretend Adriana. Being chosen was a big deal. You literally changed history by returning back home like this. I can't believe he would actually let you go." I looked at Emily as she sipped her coffee.
"Yeah..." I mumbled softly, not really wanting to talk about Draven or remember him. It would kill my mood and make me feel gloomy all over again. "Not exactly a good decision for some people though." I glanced at the people near our table as they whispered to each other, sending me small frowns and scowls before turning away.
"Oh don't bother. They're just jealous that you got to tame the wild beast."
"He's not a beast." I corrected Emily with a harsh tone and she raised a brow before shrugging. "I'm sorry. I just-"
"It's cool, I get it." Her lips played into a wry smile and I slapped her hand before chuckling.
"Stop, it's not like that." I argued and Emily started cooing and making weird noises, causing me to flush in embarrassment. We finished eating and both of us decided to go back to my place to watch a movie. After paying, we started leaving and I stiffened a little when I felt eyes behind me, burning holes through my back now. I glanced back to face no one in particular, except random people who were enjoying their food at the tables. Brushing off the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, I followed Emily back home, not exactly wanting to stress over nothing. It was nothing, right?
That night, Emily and I stayed up late, watching horror movies, and I think it's safe to say that we were scared shitless the whole time. Squealing and screaming every now and then hugging each other for "protection". I suddenly stiffened when I felt a shadow passed through our window swiftly, making my head snap towards it. Nobody.
I looked at Emily and noticed her eyeing the window as well and I gulped softly, realizing that I wasn't the only one who felt another presence with us now.
"Hey, you said Mr and Mrs Reed are working late tonight right? Does that mean we're both alone..."  Emily's voice trailed off when all the lights turned off from the house, causing us both to gasp softly. My heart was now beating loudly against my chest and I grabbed Emily's hand, my blood freezing at the thought of someone attempting to break into our house.
"Em-I-I think someone's in the hou-"
"No, bitch fuck you, don't say it, don't you dare scare the shit out of-" the sound of our backdoor slamming shut through the kitchen made her cut off and both of us jumped up with a gasp, my whole body starting to tremble now.
"He-hello? Mom, is that you?" I called out weakly, standing up, my mind suddenly dreading over the thought that it could be Dexter breaking in. But there is no way. It's been more than a month since he's been onto me. If he wanted to take me away, he could have easily done so all these days.
"Mom?" I started calling louder when Emily slapped my hand.
"Are you insane?! Are you begging to get killed? Why don't you just call the killer out, hunh? That'll make his job easier, don't you think?" She spat, both of us trying to adjust to the darkness now.
"Oh, and what do you suppose we do then, smart ass? Wait here to greet him?"
"That's exactly what we are supposed to do!"
"Emily, shut up! Us being sarcastic right now is gonna be the death of us and we can't-" Both Emily and I screamed when we heard something fall from the kitchen, causing us both to whimper in fear before we started backing away.
"Who's there?! Whoever you are, you better stay where you are, or we're calling the police!" I don't know where I got the sudden burst of courage from but the moment my dumbass-sorry-excuse-of-a-best-friend spoke, my confidence crumbled back into pieces.
"But Adriana, our phones in our bags and we don't have-"
"Emily, I swear to god, I will kill you myself if you don't shut up-" I stiffened when I heard footsteps approaching behind us, making my knees tremble in fear. We both slowly turned around and my breath instantly caught in between my throat when my eyes landed on the guys in hoodie. There were at least four or five of them now, all of their faces covered in black masks as they took another step towards us, the darkness covering half of their figures now.
"Wh-who are you people? I'm warning you, if you are going to-" I stopped to scream when one of them took a few steps towards us and before I could even think straight, I grabbed the nearest object I could grab from the sofa and threw it towards the guy. I watched his face hurl to a side before he hissed in pain and the guys started bolting towards us, causing a blood curdling scream to escape through my lips, which was soon mixed by Emily's. I grabbed Emily's hand and started running towards the stairs when someone grabbed my shoulders and ripped me away, sending me hurling back before I bumped against something hard.
"Don't fucking touch me, get your hands off of me!" I screamed and elbowed the man right in the stomach, causing him to take a step back. I used this chance to jerk myself away and turn around to punch him with everything I got. As soon as my fists collided on his face, he grabbed my wrist and I squealed when he lost his balance and fell, causing me to fall on top of him. In a swift motion, I sat up, wrapping my legs around his torso and balled my hands into a fist, ready to punch him again and make a run for it when the lights turned back on, causing my body to stiffen. Laughter erupted through the room within seconds and I froze to look at the man under me as he slipped off his mask, causing my eyes to widen in disbelief.
"Raymond?! Wh-what the hell!" I gawked at him, my jaws dropping open in shock before I looked up to face the Ardelean brothers, who were now hurling back and laughing their asses off, some of them clutching their stomachs and gasping for air now.
"I will kill you, I swear! You're such a dick!" I heard Emily growl and I looked to my right to notice her already on top of Edward, hitting him with her "weapon" which by the way, was the sofa cushion. I glared at the boys who were still laughing and chuckling, trying to keep a straight face as I sent them a million daggers.
"I can't believe you guys!" I got up and finally grinned as they walked up to us. "Why're you here?" I tried to hide my idiotic smile as they chuckled again. It felt so good to see them, I didn't even realized just how much I actually missed them until they were standing right in front of me now.
"We missed you, so just came to catch up." Edward cleared his throat before sending a wink towards Emily, who scoffed in annoyance before tightening her arms around her chest, obviously trying to hide her face from blushing now.
"You guys could've knocked and just-"
"Now what's the fun in that, hm?" Alaric grinned before waking up to me, giving me a quick hug. I hugged him back and then gave some quick hugs to Raymond,  Edward, Tyrell, and Kevin.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked and watched the boys explore my house curiously.
"They're kinda busy so we decided to drop by first." Edward replied, taking off his hoodie.
"Must you guys wear hoodies?  Do you guys have any idea how scared we were? We thought-"
"But that's the whole point Emma-"
"Emily." Emily corrected Edward through gritted teeth I couldn't help but chuckle at their little fight.
"Yeah whatever babe," He waved her off and I watched Emily pretend to strangle him from behind with her hands.
"We saw you guys watching a movie and decided to grab some hoodies and begin the fun." Kevin grinned and my jaws dropped open in disbelief.
"You mean, you guys planned this? The lights and-" my lips formed into a smile as the boys grinned at us with a nod.
"Assholes, we are so getting you guys back for this." Emily chuckled and I nodded.
"Give it your best short, darling. Can it be one of those hilarious pranks where you accidentally slip and fall on my dick-" before Edward could finish, Emily grabbed the cushion from the ground and hurled it towards him. Edward caught it with ease before chuckling and I watched them both quarrel some more before Raymond walked up to me.
"So, how about we do something fun tonight? Maybe play a game or let us watch the movie with you guys?" He cocked an eyebrow playfully and I couldn't help but nod in excitement. Raymond suddenly stepped forward to envelope me into a hug and I froze in position, breathing in his scent.
"It's so good to see you, Adriana." He said in a gentle, sweet voice and I smiled before hugging him back.
"It's good to see you too."    
xxx