"Hey, Corey, why so mopey?" I asked, popping my head around the corner. Corey's head whipped to look over at me and immediately his face light up in a grin. I blushed, offering a smile of my own. "Never mind," I teased.

"Hey, Y/n," he greeted, chuckling. "Nice to see you."

"As always," I agreed.

---

"You okay?" I looked over to see none other than Corey, and I offered a small smile.

"Of course," I replied, forcing a chuckle. My droopy tiredness gave me away. Noticing his happy, bright smile and his eyes that followed my every movement, I rose an eyebrow. "We're you all exhausted and half dead earlier?" I asked.

"He was exhausted and half dead point five seconds ago," Mason interjected, coming up behind Corey and nudging him, both of them laughing.

"Sudden boosts of energy are my thing," Corey reasoned, shrugging. He seemed really sheepish and almost nervous though.

I just nodded and let it go. I didn't have energy for that right now.

---

"You look REALLY into that paper," I joked, plopping down next to Corey. He looked up, his eyes gaining life again as the glazed look wore off and he looked at me, a smile immediately lighting his face. He was such an adorable little piece of work, I swear.

"Research," he explained.

"For school or for Theo?" I asked, tilting my head.

"THIS is for school," he told me, pointing to the paper he'd been staring at. His hand moved to motion to a book as thick as my hand was long. "THAT is for Theo. I'm prioritizing."

"Seems legit," I sighed. "Let me help?"

Corey smiled. "Sure. That would be great."

---

"THAT'S SO DUMB!" Corey yelled. He was in an argument with Mason again. The two had gotten along forever, until about a week ago when tension between the two suddenly sky rocketed. Neither of them would tell me what was going on, but seeing my two best friends at each other's throats wasn't my favorite thing in the world. Not to mention I had a HUGE crush on Corey and Mason had been my friend for a while and I didn't want to lose either of them. I always seemed to get involved, though, and it was the worst thing ever to be in the middle of them yelling at each other.

"YOU CAN'T HIDE IT FOREVER!" Mason grunted back, trying to keep calm, but his frustrating getting the best of him.

"I CAN, AND I WILL!" The door I'd been turning my back on to avoid the argument suddenly busted open and I spun around, not sure whether I had to calm one of the boys down or duck behind something so I didn't get the blunt end of either of their anger. Corey was suddenly in the door frame, and when his eyes landed on me, he relaxed and smiled. It was an instant reaction that threw me completely off kilter. "Y/n?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Hi," I responded, waving, as if I'd just walked up.

"Did you... hear?" He asked, pointing the room behind him where Mason was walking up. When mason saw me then how calm Corey was, he groaned in frustration and walked back into the room, seemign to refuse to deal with whatever Corey was making him deal with in front of me.

Weird.

"Not really, no," I admitted, shrugging. It was honest, so I didn't have to feel guilty. "Just the end there, where you stormed off."

Corey chuckled nervously. "Cool." His smile shook and he looked to the side. "I have to go, emergency stuff with Theo. See you soon, I promise." Then he was gone. I found my eyes following him, even if my feet stayed planted on the floor as if they were cemented there. I watched him slowly walk away from me until he turned the corner.

He thought I looked away, though.

Right before he disappeared from view, his shoulders sagged and he rubbed the back of his neck irritably, his shoulders tense, and his body rigid.

Something was going on.

Whatever it was, it was stressing Corey out, and separating Mason and Corey. A lot.

I didn't know why they wouldn't tell me something so important, but it didn't matter.

I was going to find out.

---

"Well that's weird," I mumbled. My eyes scanned the page again and again, looking at the words as if I couldn't see them. I couldn't, actually. They swam in front of me, jumping off the pages and doing cartwheels. Flips. Dances. "Stop moving, damnit!"

"I can't tell whether you're yelling at me or the book," a joking tone voiced. I looked over to see Corey, his regular, goofy grin on his face.

"The book," I clarified. "Well, the words on the book," I added as well. "My ADHD went away when I got the bite, but my exhaustion didn't." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I didn't even question that Corey was in my room at two am with no explanation or invitation. I'd just gotten used to him climbing through my window to check in on me and make sure I was sleeping, or get cuddles after a nightmare, or whatever.

"You need to sleep then," he told me. I nodded, a heavy sigh physically showing as my chest dramatically raised and fell. I slammed the book closed and tossed it on my dresser, pulling the blanket up as I lay back, my head hitting the pillow. My eyes trained on the cracks of the ceiling, but even with my killer need for rest, I couldn't fall asleep. "Here. Let me help." Corey, sensing my tension and frustration, climbed in bed with me. We cuddled up and to my surprise, my body relaxed and my eyelids became as heavy as my mind.

Soon, I was fast asleep.

---

"Y/n, hey!" Corey greeted, smiling. I cocked an eyebrow as I approached him. He was surrounded by his pack of Chimeras, and I was surrounded by mine. I was a vampire, but I was still considered part of Scott's pack. In the circumstances, with our packs face to face,  didn't comprehend how he could be excited to see me. We were about to fight. Again.

"Hey, Cor," I responded anyway, waving and smiling awkwardly. Theo looked at Corey as if he was retarded, then paused, looking at me like he was very, VERY intrigued. He looked at me so long and intensely that it made me squirm uncomfortably.

"Leave them alone, Theo," Scott growled. "This is about you and me." There was a pause as Theo rose an eyebrow, as if challenging him. "You've been lying to us. All of us."

The whole time Corey kept losing focus, looking at either me or Mason, a little bit worried we really would have to fight.

We didn't.

We never did.

When I finally got home, late into the night, Corey slipped through my window again.

"I wish we were on the same team," he sighed. I stared at the roof, silent. He crawled into bed with me and went to pull me close to cuddle but I pushed him away.

"What are we?" I asked, looking at him. I was exhausted and tired of all the bullshit. I liked Corey. A lot. I couldn't handle this battle between us anymore.

"Well, I'm supposed to say friends," he told me. "But I don't think that's true anymore. At least, not for me..." He looked at me, as if expecting me to rebuff him. I smiled.

"Is that why you always smile when I come around?" I asked.

Corey laughed. "You make me happy. Giddy, even. I can't hide it."

This time I did bring him close. "I like you too, you know," I told him. "But what happens now? We date? I mean I would, but... You're with Theo and I'm with Scott..."

"Let's not worry about it," Corey told me. "Let yourself be the kids we are and we can worry about everything later. Deal?" He looked down at me, smiling. As per usual. Even I could feel the buzz in my body, more warmth than usual, at his ever close presence.

"Deal," I whispered. Then he kissed me.

Now, Corey wasn't the only one smiling. We both were. And neither of us stopped the rest of the night.

-

A/n: This is shit too wtf is wrong with me