Authors: Ashley Andrews
“I think it's a
matter of
who is
stopping you, right Xavier?”
He whipped his
head around and couldn't believe who stood in front of him. That voice and that
face were totally familiar to him, and he had never imagined seeing her, little
own having her speak something like those words to him in a soft, seemingly
accepting manner. Even more surprisingly, he couldn't picture
her
flying
out to Austria, leaving America behind. He'd never believe that she could just
give up the United States and her memories in that country. He knew that he
wouldn’t, unless he was really needed by his kingdom. He couldn't help but
smile. It was nice to have a friend in this distant land.
“What brings you
here, Yvonne?” He could hear the European vampires scoff at the name. They had
added competition now. “Was the U.S. getting boring for you?”
She smirked in
return.
“Never.” Gone was
the placid tone of her voice. The haughtiness returned. “I just realized that
without you
there
, I didn’t have many reasons to stay in America.”
“Who is
she
?”
a number of voices rose and asked.
“Just a friend.”
Yvonne heard
relieved sighs. “What's with the sighs? Don't you people know that he already
has a fiancé?”
Heads turned
sharply and coldly to face the blonde vampire whose mischievous smile unnerved
even Xavier. She stood at the center of the dance floor. Her thin, toned arms
were crossed over her chest and she began to tap her foot on the marble floor.
Xavier had a feeling that instead of being thankful for his friend's presence,
he was going to regret having Yvonne here.
“So you all
didn't know?”
Before anyone
could answer, a guard approached the young, free–spirited crowd and said that
the King and Queen wanted to talk to their son and Yvonne. Nodding in
acknowledgment, Xavier bid farewell to the females he'd been dancing with
before he threaded his way through the crowd with Yvonne following close
behind. When they stood before the European rulers, they knelt and bowed their
heads.
“So who's this
friend of yours?” Frederick Kristofferson asked, placing a large yet frail hand
on his boy's shoulder. “I'm assuming this isn't
her
. If I read your
mind correctly, your name is Yvonne, am I right?”
“Yes, your Royal
Highness.”
“So what brings
you here to Austria?”
Before Yvonne
could get a word out, Xavier beat her to it, answering, “She's here to bring me
home.”
“Do you really
want to go back?”
His father's
voice was beginning to crack, and it was obvious he needed to rest. Worse
though, was that it was evident his father was deathly ill.
But Xavier still
couldn't accept that fact. If he did then that would mean he'd really have to
stay here in Europe, train and start ruling a Kingdom he hadn’t lived in for
the past eighteen years. He had so much to live for, but his responsibilities
needed to come before his dreams.
“I want to stay
with you and Mom.”
“I thought you
wanted to go back?”
That was Yvonne,
and Xavier turned to face her.
“You don't know
what I want,” he answered immaturely.
“Wrong.” A few
eyebrows rose up questioningly, particularly those of Xavier and his parents. “I
know that you want Adrienne.”
“Of course,” interjected
Henrietta, who was smiling at her son. She couldn't believe how in love her son
was. She hadn't even been sure if Xavier had the capacity to like someone in a
romantic way since he'd always been so closed when it came to his emotions. “I
could read it in his mind.”
“She wants you
too, Xavier,” said Yvonne, and this caught him off guard.
“How would you
know, Ivy?” As much as he wanted those words to be true, he couldn't figure out
how Yvonne would know. She and Adrienne had never been on good terms with each
other. To hear Yvonne talk somewhat nicely about Adrienne seemed like a
complete dream. It was like reaching for the moon with your hands. It was that
improbable.
“Trust me.”
“I do, just not
when it comes to matters about Adrienne,” his voice was starting to tremble. He
decided it was because he kept thinking about his fiancé. He couldn't help but
feel like a pussy whenever he thought about her. She was making him lose his
masculinity. “You two aren't even friends.”
“Yeah, well, we
came to a truce right after you left.”
“Teenagers.”
Xavier and Yvonne
heard his father mutter.
“I'm not going to
pine after you, not anymore.” Apparently, this caught Xavier's parents by
surprise. They hadn't realized the appeal their son had with females until
tonight when they saw the number of girls throwing themselves at him. “I said I
wanted to live in Europe because of you. That's partly true, but I'm also going
to
try
to move on, away from you.”
Xavier exhaled
deeply. He couldn't believe Yvonne was really saying those things. Had she
finally given up her petty feud with Adrienne? Was she finally going to stop
bothering him?
“You don't know
how relieved I am. Are you really going stop?”
“My advances,
yes, but being friends?”
“Never,” Xavier
finished.
Smiling, she
opened her arms wide open and began to walk closer to him. Returning the offer,
he, too, extended his arms and took her in for a bone–crushing hug. The embrace
lasted for a few seconds, and after that, they pulled away, grinning at the
fact that things were starting to get better. Xavier shook his head at the
realization. He couldn't hate her after what she said, and he was glad she’d
come to this party.
“So now that you
two made a truce, does that mean you are friends?”
She swatted his
arm and started smirking. “I wouldn't go that far. No, we aren't friends.”
He shrugged his
shoulders and returned her smirk with a grin. “Are you really planning to live
here in Austria, in the country? I always thought you would move to a more
urban setting.”
“I'm going to live
in France after we graduate,” she cut him off. “You know how much I can't stand
rural settings.”
“That's why I was
surprised when I saw you a while ago. You're one of the people I least expected
to see here.”
“Who would the
least be? Adrienne?”
He nodded his
head.
“Come with me,
first,” she said, and before he knew it, she pulled him out of his own party
and into one of the more private rooms of the castle.
The lights were
off, so the only source of illumination was the moon beam seeping through the
large windows. From a distance, he could see a tall, dark figure that appeared
to be looking right at him. He couldn't help but smirk. More surprises were in
store for him. “Who would this be?” Xavier asked, and as the person stepped
closer, he could make out a mop of medium brown hair and emerald green eyes.
He
was
definitely someone he'd never expected to see in Austria, or with Yvonne for
that matter. “Tristan?” Xavier was very confused.
“The one and
only.”
“You two came
here, together?”
“I
dragged
her.”
“I thought you
wanted to live in Europe?” Xavier asked the blonde.
“I made that
decision during the plane ride.” She pursed her lips. “Only about an hour ago. I
told your mother we were coming, and she gave us this room to rest in. She
didn't want Tristan to go down to the party.” Her eyes sent him a message—Henrietta
didn't want a human being to be in a room full of vampires. “She knew that he
wouldn't like all those old people.”
“Your mom got
that right, so I just chilled here while waiting for Yvonne to come and get
you. I just have to say though; I had no idea you were this loaded.”
“So do you two
have a purpose for coming?” Xavier cocked an eyebrow up. “Are you two—you know—together?”
“Yes to both
questions,” Tristan answered, and to confirm Xavier's thoughts, he walked
closer to Yvonne and wrapped an arm around her waist.
“When did this
happen?” Xavier began to chuckle. He couldn't help it. Tristan had no idea what
he was getting himself into, and to add to that, he'd never expect Yvonne to
consider dating a human. “Has the world done a one-eighty?”
“Even if it has
been only a week, a lot has happened since you left,” Tristan answered.
“That doesn't
really answer my question.”
“Just pack your
bags, Xavier.” Tristan had never really been close to Xavier, but he wanted to
help. He knew that Xavier would be able to make his best friend happy, and he
wanted that for Adrienne. He kind of felt bad for leaving her now to hang out
with Yvonne. He didn't want to betray her, but at the same time, he enjoyed
Yvonne's company so much that he couldn't leave her. This was the only solution
he could think of—to bring back Xavier, so the two could finally get together
and live happily ever after.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously,”
answered Yvonne with an all–knowing smirk. “We asked your parents already. They
just want you to come back and visit them soon.”
“I told them I
was going to stay.” Xavier couldn't help the smile that was slowly appearing on
his face. “I just left someone back home that I need to set things right with.”
Adrienne let out
a soft yet audible sneer at the realization of how her day would go. There were
no parties tonight, which was extremely bizarre considering it was a Saturday.
If there was a party, she hadn't been informed about it. This possibility was
highly unlikely since she was always invited to the parties her neighbors and
other townspeople held.
For the past few
weeks, she had been dying to have a break and a day off from studying, playing
tennis, and all her other activities. Now that she got exactly what she’d asked
for, she wanted to just get out of her house. Its sickening silence was getting
to her. With Xavier gone, it seemed like there was nothing to do in the mansion
anymore, which was ridiculous since this place had a pool, a game room, a video
room, and other top-of-the-line entertainment facilities. She shook her head at
how desperate she sounded.
“I need to get a
life,” she muttered to herself before walking over to her bedside table and
picking up the cordless phone.
She dialed
Brianna's number, held the handset against her ear, and waited for someone to
answer on the other line. After a ring or two, someone finally picked up, and
she could hear the soft, chuckling tone of Brianna.
“Hey Bree, lemme
guess,” The laughter in Brianna's background didn't die down. “Aidan's there?”
The line went
silent before Adrienne heard a guilty laugh emanate from her friend. After a
few shuffling sounds here and there, a masculine voice replaced the feminine
tone she had been talking to a while ago.
“Hey Adie, what's
up?” Aidan asked, his voice light and casual. “Brianna just left the room to
get some more food.”
“Hey there.”
Adrienne shuffled her entire weight from her left leg to her right. “I was
planning on asking Brianna if she wanted to hang out, but I see you got to her
first.”
They both shared
a sheepish laugh, and she could imagine Aidan scratching his head at the
moment, thinking of what he could possibly say back to her. She walked around
her room, fixed a few things here and there, and listened to her best friend's
boyfriend.
“I know it's not
in my place to ask, but why don't you come over here to Bree's place?” his
voice sounded sympathetic before it swiftly switched to a teasing one. “I'm
getting tired of having to spend every waking hour with Brianna, just to let
you know.”
Before Adrienne
could reply to that, Aidan muttered a string of profanities. She concluded that
Bree had heard everything her boyfriend said and was now playfully punishing
him.
“Oh so it's like
that now, huh?”
Adrienne listened
to the adorable couple bickering through the phone.
“How about I kick
you out of my house?”
“I was sucking up
to your best friend, you know,” Aidan said, his tone of voice still sarcastic. “Aren't
guys supposed to do that? Suck up to their girlfriends' friends to get a few
brownie points?”
“Oh Aidan!”
Adrienne was chuckled softly. “You have my blessing a hundred and one percent.”
“Don't push him
further, Adie!” That was Brianna's pitiful sounding voice.
“You're such a
killjoy Bree, seriously.”
Adrienne heard her
friend punch Aiden one more time.
“Oh, and the
vampire's talking like he's the master of,
fun
. Kill me now.”
“I'm just like
Aidan, Bree!” Adrienne then feigned a threatening tone. “And did you just
insult us?”