A V I V A

Once we get home, I bombard Faith with questions, but not many obvious ones so that she won't catch on.

"What's Carl like? Alec told me he keeps to himself, most of the time." I ask, running a brush through her long, silky red hair.

"He's sweet, I guess. But quiet? No way. I mean, maybe a little bit. He's always listening to music." She laughs softly. "But hey, Alec's pretty cute, don't you think? For you."

"Sure, but you and I both know that isn't happening." I say, rolling my eyes.

Yes, us Cupids can find a person attractive, but that doesn't mean we're actually attracted to them. Even I can't deny; he's got good looks. But Cupids are cursed, remember?

"Ugh, that reminds me. I've got to go help Dad and Uncle Gordon decorate for the lame gathering." Faith sighs, putting in her gold studs.

I put the brush back on her vanity and furrow my brows. "But that's not until next week."

She scoffs and pulls on her shoes, grabbing her tiny purse. "You know how Uncle Gordon is."

I chuckle in agreement and flick her pointy ear. "Have fun, little Elf."

Faith pouts. "I hate how you get to stay home and not help with a thing."

I shrug and wink at her. "Hey, you're the Elf. You're a helper, remember?"

She gives me a bored look and leaves her room, going downstairs to see if Mom needs any help. My office is always closed on Saturdays, thank goodness. When I see her stirring something in her stereotypical cauldron, I decide to rearrange all the books on the shelves, along with the potions. I'm incredibly bored, so why not?

Sweat trickles down my neck as the potion Mom's bubbling up heats the whole shop, making it feel like a desert. Thankfully, my short bob of hair doesn't stick to me.

A few customers enter the shop and I smile warmly at a mother and her child when they approach me.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" I ask with a genuine smile on my lips.

The women smiles back at me while the little boy - about six or seven years old - studies his surroundings in awe. Maybe this is his first time coming here.

"I'm looking for a children's book for Shapeshifters." The women says, glancing at her son. I identify her as a Vampire.

I nod and scurry over to a book shelf full of information on Shapeshifters and find one for kids. I go behimd the counter and scan the code while the lady takes out her wallet.

"That will be eight ninety nine." I state, taking the cash in her hand and putting it into the register. "Is that all for today?"

She nods, taking the book from my hands. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Ma'am. Have a nice--"

The boy cuts me off, his bright blue eyes full of curiosity. "What Supernatural are you?"

The lady frowns at her son, but I smile when I realize his senses haven't developed yet.

"I'm a Cupid." I say.

The boy cocks his head. "Oh, that's cool. I haven't met a Cupid yet. I'm a Shapeshifter, don't really know much about them, though. Want to be friends? My name's Max."

I laugh and bend down so that I'm Max's height. "Of course! I'm Aviva. Nice to meet you, Max."

After they leave with a wave, I return back to my room and drop into my spinning chair and look outside the window. The sky was dark, and it was around elevan. We already had dinner, just before Faith had left to help with the gathering.

I change into my jammies, which consists of a pair of Superman shorts and a tank top with a printed bunny. Going to the bathroom, I wipe off whatever makeup I had on, leaving my face bare and brush my teeth.

When I walk back into my room a soft tap on the window distracts me. I run over to it and slide it open, closing it right after Alec jumps in.

I turn to look at him and almost burst out laughing at how adorable and childlike he looks, wearing a black hoodie with cat ears.

"That's one cute hoodie you got there, King." I cross my arms over my chest in amusement.

Alec pouts. "Hey! This is my favourite hoodie, and I'm freezing."

That's strange. The air conditioning isn't even on, and I don't feel cold one bit. In fact, it was pretty warm in my room. Maybe he's sick?

"Do you have a cold or something?"

He shakes his head. "No. I just get real chilly sometimes."

My eyes narrow at Alec, and an idea pops into my head. I spread out my duvet on my bed entirely, then order him to lay down in the middle.

"Uh, why?" He asks, doing as told.

"Because, it's burrito time!" I grin, wrapping the duvet around him so that he is rolled up.

Alec's eyes twinkle when he laughs, but the sound is stopped when my mother's voice is calling from right outside of my door. Our eyes grow wide.

"Aviva? You in there, sweetheart?" Mom's words are muffled by the door.

I snap into action. "Quick! Let me in the burrito and make sure she can't see your head."

I throw another blanket at the end of the burrito so our feet aren't exposed. If Mom sees Alec, she'll lose her shit. I help him unwrap the blanket and get in with him, then wrap us both in. His arms are around my waist and he keeps his head by my neck while mine is popped out in the tight, yet oddly comfortable position.

The door swings open and Mom steps inside, scanning the room until her gaze rests on me. Well, my head.

"Hi, Mom. What's up?"

Her eyebrows shoot up to the moon. Looking at me like I've become some sort of alien, she says, "Well, you look comfy."

I grin. "Yup. What do you need?"

"Well, I was wondering if you've had any contact with that Alec boy."

At the mention of his name, Alec's fingers start tickling my sides lightly.
I go still. Crap, he's going to ask a lot of questions, later. I grab a hold of both of his hands after a bit of struggling.

"No, Mom. Why?" I lie.

She shrugs. "Just thought I'd check up on you. I've warned you before, and I'm warning you now, Aviv. Stay away from him."

Even though I wanted to press her further, I also really needed her to leave. Especially now, because Alex seems to be getting a little reckless.

"Alright, then. If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Mom."

"Good night, Aviv." She replies, turning the light off as she closes the door behind her.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and after a few seconds I ducked my head inside the burrito, my face only centimetres away from Alec's.

"What was that?" He whispers.

"That was me having a really terrible conversation with my mother." I sigh. My hand brushes against his and I bite my lip. His skin was ice cold, he wasn't lying when he said he was freezing.

"No, I mean why was she telling you to stay away from me? How does she even know me?"

I close my eyes. How am I supposed to answer that, when I don't know myself? The first part, at least.

"I don't know, Kitty." I smirk, acknowledging his black cat hoodie once more. I open my eyes."That's what I'm trying to find out."

He smiles slowly at the nickname, and my smirk grows when I take that as an indication that he likes it. Alec yawns and his grip on my waist tightens.

"Carl's already talking about Faith, nonstop." He says, popping his head out of the burrito. I do the same.

"It won't take long for them to find their marks." The corners of my mouth turns up.

"Marks?"

"Yeah. When you meet your Soulmate, a mark apppears on your skin that relates to them somehow. For example, Faith hasn't noticed it yet but, there's a mark of headphones on her right shoulder."

"Oh, that's cool. So, it's like a tattoo?"

"I guess you can say that." I say. "Now, let me out of this thing?"

Alec smirks and shakes his head wildly. "But I like this position. It's so very comfortable. Can we just sleep?"

I laugh and take my arm out of the wrap, booping his nose. "No can do, Kitty. You should go home."

He pouts, and after a five minute long debate, I win and push him towards the window after getting out of the duvet.

"Dream of me, Cupid." He winks, repeating the same words he said from last night and disappearing when he jumps off my window.

How the hell does he do that?

♡♡♡

I feel like so far, this is probably my favourite chapter, even though it's kind of short. What about you guys?

Don't forget to vote and comment!

❤ Chloe