~ Rhian ~

"Nooooo!!"

Gasp!

My gaze met with Gem's face the instant my eyes flicked open, causing me to dart away from him. Beads of sweat rolled down my frowning face while I tried to comprehend what I had just experienced.

"What happened, Rhi?", he asked in his usual tone.

Overwhelmed with emotions which I couldn't label, I slammed my palm hard into his face twice.

"Damn...that hurt", he exclaimed while rubbing the spot.

My confused gaze still remained glued to him while I continued panting, causing him to frown back at me.

"Did you have a nightmare?", he asked.

Still paralyzed by the fear that lurked within me, I nodded in positive response, unable to utter any words.

"What did you see?"

"So-someone tried to kill us all", I managed to respond.

His frown grew deeper as he took my hands, but I quickly pulled them out and gulped while staring into his deep blue eyes.

"Was...was it me?"

He peered at me, causing my stomach to twitch a bit because it felt like he could see through me. An awkward silence existed between us as we stared at each other for a long while.

"I love you Rhian, and I'll rather die than let anything happen to you"

I spiraled back into reality immediately I felt his hands take mine. While staring deep into his eyes, I could see nothing but the truth in them...but it didn't all make sense.

'What then does my dream mean?', I wondered. 

I shook my head, bringing myself back to the moment again;

"I know it's probably 3am in the morning, but I wanna hear the whole story of how you got possessed by the demon... everything", I requested in a reassured tone, intertwining my fingers with his.

He sighed.

"Do you really wanna hear it?", he asked.

"Yeah". I blinked twice, relaxing myself upon his broad chest.

With his arms gently wrapped around my chest, he began to narrate everything to me using the calmest tone possible.  It was quite an interesting but horrifying story, especially because it wasn't a horror movie but a real life situation.

"....and the priest was the last person I...it murdered, before I was finally delivered", he paused, knowing too well that I had a question to ask.

"If you... I'm sorry...it killed the priest, then how did you get delivered?", I asked with a frown.

He sighed.

"My mum somehow managed to break through its barrier, reaching out to me for a minute...then she hugged me, placing a crescent shaped amulet upon my nape to draw out the darkness..."

He reached into his silk shirt, pulling out a crescent amulet which was attached to his silver necklace.

It was then I understood why he cherished that amulet so much.

"It eventually worked, cus the amulet is a family heirloom which has been considered as a sanctified object for ages...but my mum..."

He paused again, causing me to adjust myself until I was facing him. Tears had already began to seep from his eyes while he kept on caressing the amulet.

Curious, I asked in a whisper, "What happened to her?"

He sniffled, before letting out another deep sigh.

"The demon took her soul instead of mine, while it was being banished out of my body....she sacrificed herself for me"

"My dad and I watched her fade away like dust"

My heart became flooded with pangs of guilt on hearing him munch those words. He must've been going through pain all along and I kept on pushing him away merely because I found out that he was once possessed.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I pulled him into a tight embrace. As he wrapped his arms around me, I let my hands roam until they reached his nape and I began to caress the crescent mark. At first I felt him jolt, causing me to think that he was uncomfortable with it, so I quickly pulled off.

"I'm sorry", I whispered into his ear.

"I don't usually allow people to touch it...but go ahead, touch it", he responded.

I ran my fingers through it one more time before he unhooked himself from my comforting embrace. Our eyes were locked upon each other as we slowly moved closer until our lips united in a kiss. This wasn't like any kind of kiss we had...it was specially fuelled with burning passion, and something in me began to desire him.

I could guess how surprised he was as I unbuttoned his shirt and began to stroke his bare chest, while our lips remained hooked together. He realized that I was ready for him, towering over me to take the lead.

Laying on my back, I watched him undo the hooks on my night dress in the mildest manner possible. He looked so handsome when trying to be calm and had a sweet scent of lavender, which was probably because of his hair shampoo. I couldn't help but wish that I could just eat him like candy.

A deep sigh escaped my mouth as he began savouring my bare body with deep kisses, but I felt a bit disappointed when he suddenly halted.

"Why'd you stop?", I asked.

Staring deep into my eyes, he asked, "Are you sure about this?"

"I love you, Gem...", I whispered, pulling him close to me.

"I love you too, Rhi"

He began from where he stopped, planting kisses upon all the sensitive parts of my body. I shuddered as he approached the side of my neck with another hot kiss, rocketing me into a higher realm of pleasure. Just like that, we became locked to each other, our bodies intertwined in a moment of intense connection.

**************

The sun's bright golden rays reflected upon my face through the silver window blinds, almost blinding me as I shot my eyes open.

I enjoyed listening to the peaceful sounds of his heartbeat, while my head laid upon his bare chest. Damn, I loved the fact that he always slept like a baby, looking so innocent.

Reaching out for his hand, I gently placed it over my chest with a smile impressed upon my face. Just when I was about to get lost in the memories of what we had the previous night, I was yanked back to reality by the blaring sounds of my alarm clock.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I groaned, rolling out of his grip towards the wooden cupboard where the clock sat.

"Fuck...", I spat before clicking the 'off' button on the clock's screen.

I turned to him, watching his eyes gently flutter until they finally shot open. His face became imprinted with a warm smile as he stared into my eyes for a few seconds;

"Good morning", he greeted.

"Good morning", I beamed.

"Why do you look so worried?", he asked, noticing how fast my smile melted into a frown.

"Today's Saturday", I answered.

I rolled out of bed, pulling the hooks on my night dress back in place after my feet touched the ground.

"Wh...oh, I almost forgot how we all agreed to spend the whole day in the library, so we can ace the history test on Tuesday", he said, jumping out of bed too.

"Fuck History", he murmured.

I smiled and turned away, planting my gaze upon the mirror in front of me. I quickly picked up an elastic band in a bid to pull my head into a simple bun.

Walking up to me, he offered, "Lemme help you with that..."

I agreed, letting go of my hair before handing the elastic band to me. He pulled my hair, grazing his hand over my nape;

Jolting my neck forward, I exclaimed, "ouch!"

"What was that?", I asked with a frown.

He remained silent, causing my heart to skip a few beats. I reached for my nape, running my fingers through what felt like an injury, which suddenly appeared there.

"I'm sorry", he apologized.

The mirror reflected his confused face as I took off my fingers, allowing him to stare at the injury for a few seconds.

"Shit...", he murmured.

"Give me your finger", he instructed.

I obeyed and he placed the finger which I presented, upon the burning injury, gently letting me feel every inch of it with the finger. I gulped, enduring the stinging pain,  with a dozen thoughts swinging past my mind until I realized what he was trying to do.

"What the hell?...", I exclaimed.

"It feels exactly like your --"

"My demon mark", he cut in.