© 2016 SilverStream22. All Rights Reserved.

~

  So I put my faith in something unknown 

I'm living on such sweet nothing

But I'm tired of hope with nothing to hold  

~

"Faye, honey, it's so good to see you!"

Surprise flourished through me when my flamboyant adoptive mother rushed into my dorm room, wrapping me in the smell of sage and lavender. Her mardi gras beads pressed into the skin of my decolletage. She smothered me with kisses on my face.

"Molly?" I blinked as I took a step back so she could enter. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, silly? Don't tell me you forgot?"

I rubbed my temples. "Please explain. I have finals coming up, I can't entertain right now even if I wanted to."

"Finals can wait!" she pushed my shoulder with the widest grin on her face. "Your birthday is tomorrow!"

I groaned, closing the door as my college room mate quickly fled before Molly could suffocate her with hugs as well. "Don't remind me. I'm sorry, but I'm not hosting a party."

"That's okay, I'll do it instead."

"What? No! That's not what I meant. Molly, please."

"Don't worry, Beau is coming too." she assured quickly.

That's not who I'm waiting for.

Ever since we were children in daycare, Molly has tried to put Beau and I together after she adopted me since I was the only child at the daycare who misbehaved like hell. The only person I did trust was Molly, who worked at the daycare part time. But every now and then, the two people I trusted just as much as Molly and Beau showed up. The last time I recalled seeing them was after they visited New York with several others who had the same eye color as them except for a girl with black hair. Molly said that they got permission from the daycare to visit me now and then, but I could hardly remember their faces, much less their voices. All I could remember was striking silver eyes. They both used to take care of me when Molly had night shifts at the hospital. If I stay past curfew, they would suddenly appear and scoop me in their arms, taking turns to put me to sleep.

"Where's your tea, darling?"

I snapped out of my past, turning to see her in the kitchen, tearing open the cupboards.

Uh oh.

"I sort of...don't have tea."

She paused, turning mechanically to me. "You...you what?"

"I'll go pick up some right now, I swear." I quickly snatched up the keys to my '67 Chevy Impala. "Earl Grey, right?"

She huffed. "You better hurry, missy. It's almost tea time!"

I gave a quick salute as I walked out of the door. "Yes, ma'am."

Taking the stairs two at a time, I quickly found my car and headed straight for the supermarket, keeping in mind not to wear out the ancient tires. Despite her age, I loved Danika, she was the best and only car I ever had. A firm pat on the headboard after I had pulled into a parking spot was my farewell as I got out and closed the door gently.

The supermarket was generous with it's offers this month, and I was ever so grateful since money was tight at my part time job in Wanda's Bookstore.

I plucked off the coupon list from key ring that it dangled from in front of every aisle.

"Soup...Soup...Swiss cheese....Tea!" After scanning through the list I found the offer. "A box half off if I purchase ramen?"

I raised a brow. It wasn't that bad. We were low on snacks anyways. Walking down the aisle, I snatched up Twinings Earl Grey boxes of tea bags and headed towards the Asian foods aisle. Passing over P.F.Changs, I came across Maruchan ramen, otherwise known as the best friend of college students. My stomach swirled at the sight of ramen, and not in the good way. Part of the reason why money was tight was because I spent it on healthy food instead of ramen this time around, which dealt a blow to my wallet.

"Great. You again." I muttered under my breath, reaching to grab a cup of beef ramen.

I felt a hand brush against my hip and then another. The hands became more firm and pulled me back against a hard chest.

"You were in the way." a deep voice whispered low as an elderly woman crossed with a cart in her frail hands.

I jerked my body away. "Hands off, pervert."

"Haha, that's a first." from behind me I heard another voice.

I turned to see a blond haired guy with a black v-neck, the black haired guy next to him donning a forest green one. They looked extremely attractive, and judging from the muscles on their arms, I had a feeling that beneath their shirts their abdominals were just as ripped.

I caught the glance of the blond one who pulled me back. Silver eyes. It was same for the black haired one.

"Excuse me," I murmured under my breath, rushing into the checkout line before they could say anything.

I clenched the fabric of my Ninja Turtles t-shirt, breathing heavily. There's no way that could've been them. Now of all times? When I looked like complete shit with my awkward lopsided bun and my over sized pajama pants? No, no, no.

Looking back, I saw the two of them conversing heatedly, their piercing silver eyes flickering over to me.

I jumped at an open check out counter, the cashier scanning my items before ringing up a total. I yanked out my wallet and handed him a five. "Keep the change."

I quickly ran out after grabbing the plastic bag that held my ramen and tea. I forced myself not to look back as I opened Danika and tossed the bag in the passenger seat, pulling out of the supermarket.

~

"Sugar, what's wrong?" Molly seemed mildly concerned as I paced up and down, thousands of scenarios and possible chances of them coming to New York now of all times running through my head.

I needed to breathe. Breathe.

Molly held me still, rubbing her warm and gentle hands up and down my arms. "Sweetie, did something happen?"

I shook my head, glancing out of the window that was on the second story of the girl's dormitory, my heart beating erratically. "It's nothing. I just thought I saw a ghost." Two of them.

Although I yearned to see them, I was also a little scared. They were subtle with their possessiveness, before they had constantly tried to keep Beau away from me even though I was attached to the hip with him when we were younger. After they stopped visiting, I found myself growing distant from Beau in terms of wanting to be at his beck and call. In doing so, Beau got attached to me. I haven't seen him since senior year in high school, but I hoped that his attachment would be long gone.

"I'm okay, Molly. I promise."

"I hope so. Now do me a favor and finish up the tea with 2 teaspoons of honey? I'll be using the loo."

I smiled waveringly, walking over to the tea that she ditched in the process of making to help me calm down. Squirting a heavy dose of honey into a teaspoon twice, I dropped it in the tea and swirled it around slowly. I did the same with my own teacup just as Molly returned.

"Ah, don't you love the smell?"

I took a quick sip of my tea after dropping in an ice cube. "It's refreshing compared to having sodas all the time."

She frowned, leaning forward to pinch my cheek. "You're so American now. I remember your Italian accent when you were younger."

My cheeks stretched with my grin. "I remember you chasing after me when I yelled at you in Italian."

"We thought it was best for you to be with a family that has the same heritage as you...but then they returned you to us speaking in Italian."

I wrapped my hands around the cup, letting the hot tea warm my cold fingers. "I remember that. I had revealed the affair that the mother was having and told the father and once she found out, she sent me back."

"Such a troublemaker."

I took another sip of my tea, the ice cube settling it to a temperature that wasn't scalding. "Technically I solved their issue."

A sharp knock on the door had me finish the rest of my tea and set the cup in the sink. "Coming!"

I ushered Molly to my room, if it was one of Deans, the last thing I needed was him or her lecturing Molly on my absence in my college classes despite my sky high grades. Sleeping in late was key for me.

"Yes?" I opened the door hesitantly and was surprised to see a petite brunette with a NYU lanyard around her neck

"Faye, right?"

"That's me."

She handed me a envelope. "This is for you."

"What is it?" I asked.

She shrugged, smacking on gum rather noisily. "Two guys came in and told me to give it to you."

My body locked up. "Excuse me? What did they look like?"

She cupped her chin in thought. "Insanely hot. They wore aviators like they were made for them. One was blond, the other had black hair-"

"That's all I needed to know, thanks." I rushed and slammed the door, pressing my back to it as I stared down at the envelope.

"Molly!" I called out.

She came back with one of my scarfs. "You still have this ancient thing?"

"Do you remember those two guys that always came to visit me?"

Her brows knit in thought. "You mean the Monticello brothers?"

"They sent me this." I held the envelope up.

"Then open it!" she exclaimed. "Enough of your teenage melodrama, Faye, just open it!"

Biting my lip, I slid my finger across the back of the envelope, tearing open the top. I pulled out a piece of paper that had the flawless handwriting of two people.

Faye,

First and foremost; If you ever push me away from you ever again you will be punished.

Secondly, I expected you to have outgrown Ninja Turtles, but it is a welcome surprise nonetheless to know that you haven't changed too much. Expect the two of us to be at your birthday party. We know that Molly holds one for you every year, and although we were not there in presence, we have been there for you throughout your coming of age.

However, do keep in mind that the moment you are twenty-one, Draver and I will have you as ours. All will be explain in further detail, but for now please have Molly brush upon the surface.

- J

Below that was message from Draver.

Faye,

Is it possible that someone could look delectable in Mickey Mouse pajamas? I think you've managed to pull it off. I'm assuming you still have Mr.Raindrop, after all he was the last gift we got for you. Although it's been it's a lot of years, I'm pretty sure you still remember the two of us judging from the way you fled. 

I'll apologize first, because my brother can be a little slow when it comes to saying sorry. We didn't mean to leave you. It's just that...as you matured, we had to force ourselves to stay away from you until you were in college.

By the way, congratulations on being on the Dean's List. I'm proud of you. I see that you're still in love with mythology since you're majoring in Classics, so hopefully our secret to why we look the same as all those years ago won't shock you that much.

- D

I grimaced, knowing full well that my bunny Mr.Raindrop was sitting comfortably in my bed tucked under my sheets. How they knew all this stuff about me had me shaken. How could he have possibly known that I was on the Dean's List? The only person I ever told was my roommate and Molly.

But Molly is one to brag...

"Their secret...you know it don't you?" I said softly, folding the paper back into the envelope.

She wrung her slightly wrinkled hands together. "I wasn't supposed to tell you until you were twenty-one. They said it was for the best. Not many humans know the secret."

I frowned at her diction. "What do you mean 'humans'? They're human too."

"Not...not exactly." she guided me to the couch. "Precious, there's no easy way to say this. But, well, you know lycanthropy?"

"Yeah, a man who turns into a wolf." I answered slowly. "I do major in Classics, I know Greek mythology. Lycaon was the first werewolf. He was cursed after trying to feed Zeus human remains."

"Exactly. Well, the thing about the Monticello brothers- they're like an advanced form of werewolves, which also exist as well, called Lycans."

I let that register in my mind slowly and thoroughly before inhaling through my mouth and exhaling through my nose. "Is this some sort of birthday prank? Cause I don't get the joke. Is it because of my major in Classics?"

She shook her head, her hands finding mine. "No, Faye, listen. I made a deal with him to stay away while you were going through puberty until you were old enough- until you were college. Then, they could have you under werewolf law."

"That's insane!" I cried out.

"It's not insane, it's the truth." Molly gave me a pained look. "Are you angry with me?"

I took control of my breathing, slowing drawing in calming breaths. "Of course not. I'm just confused. I think it's better if we don't dive into this subject. The last thing I need it to be drowning in a stress belonging to something other than finals."

She rubbed my back soothingly. "I'll take my leave. You, however, are still coming to your party tonight at midnight."

"Where are you even going to hold it at such a short notice?"

"I'll find a way, I always do, pumpkin." she winked before closing the door behind her.

I walked back to my room, surprised to see that my window had been opened and it was dark out already. Leila, my dorm mate, was probably out at her part time job already.

I walked past my bed, closing the window sharply. I stood there for a moment, resting my weight on my palms as I stared outside the window where stars sparkled brightly and the moonlight filtered onto my carpet.

I pulled the curtains shut, I stepped into my bathroom and turned on the shower. Turning back to my wardrobe, I pulled out a matching set of blue underwear and tossed them in the sink before peeling my layers off and throwing them in the laundry basket. I stepped into the shower, feeling the hot water work it's magic into my sore muscles that were bent out of shape due to my increasingly bad posture due to intense studying. If I didn't relent now and take a break, my back could deal some serious blows in the future. I so did not want back problems. I popped the cap open of my lavender conditioner, working it into my hair. After a couple of minutes I rinsed the suds from my hair and stepped out of the shower, the steam wisps curling around my ankles.

I grabbed a towel and quickly dried myself off, pulling on my blue bra and boy shorts. I found it difficult to sleep with a shirt on since I tossed and turned often.

I walked out the bathroom just to see a shadow in the corner of my room as well as at the foot of my bed. I froze, assessing the situation. A burglar? No. What burglar would come attack college students who lived off cheap ramen and soda? Oh wait, a perverted burglar.

Taking my chances, I lunged for the wooden katana Molly had gotten for me two summers ago, which I had set on a stand on top of my dresser next to my wardrobe.

Spinning the katana, I leveled it at the shadow in the corner. "Step into the light. No funny moves, just because this doesn't have a blade doesn't mean I won't cause any serious damage."

A hand appeared out of the darkness, grabbed the katana and yanked the forward, bring me with it. Warm and tight, an arm wrapped around my waist, gathering me to a familiar chest.

Oh no. They broke into my dorm?

I squirmed in his tight grasp. Stepping forward, I saw a halo of golden hair, just ends just shy of his broad shoulders that were hidden under the same black v-neck.

"Jazz?"

His silver eyes hardened. "What did I say about pushing away?"

"Nothing." I said stiffly. "You wrote about pushing away-" I yelped and grabbed at Jazz's shoulders when I felt hands settle just beneath my bra on my sides.

"Draver," I breathed.

"Hello, love. Glad to see that Mr.Raindrop is still with you. I'm sure he's stocked up a lot on your love and affection."

"We, however, are lacking in the department." Jazz said quietly, silver eyes meeting my own. "I hope you plan on fixing that. We don't want to have to take matters into our own hands."

"Because if we did," Draver's teeth found purchase on my ear, releasing a soft moan from me. "you would be completely and utterly at our mercy."

Jazz nipped at my throat, making me gasp sharply. "Don't have us wait too long, Faye."

With that, they were gone.