Groggily, Liam awoke. Remembering what had just happened, he looked around, expecting to see Vylyx. Nothing. It was just a dream. But it felt so real. He sighed before realizing there was a wet spot in his pants. A wet dream.
Sitting up, Liam scratched his throat, it felt... sore? He got up to look in the mirror, and sure enough, his pale neck had slight bruising and swelling on his neck where he had been choked by Vylyx. It couldn't have been real, could it have? No, he must've been choking himself in his sleep. Not a good sign. Getting dressed, he reached for his turtleneck. He'd probably have to buy some makeup to cover up the bruising, and if he kept this up, he might have to buy some restraints, he thought to himself. He quickly scarfed down a small breakfast before rushing out the door.
~ ~ ~
Today was the first day back from winter vacation, the first day of the second semester. His first class of the week, Mythology and Legend. He slumped in his seat, taking out his cheap laptop before the door opened for another student; he looked up to see Kayden. Dammit. She glanced at him before taking her seat towards the front. He wondered if perhaps she saw him that night. He wondered if that night was real or just a dream.
As everyone took their seats, the professor introduced themself to the class and started to present the syllabus. Liam's attention diverted to Kayden; he'd been in this professor's class before. It wasn't long until she turned around, making eye contact with him. Her black lipstick-coated lips curled into a friendly smile before he quickly looked back at the professor.
" Alright, class, now for the first unit, we will be doing a bit of a fun project. I will assign you a partner, and you and whoever it may be will be constructing your own mythology. A pantheon. I have a detailed sheet with more specifics, but broadly, I expect deities or powerful figures and some myths and legends." The professor started.
Liam panicked to himself. This professor assigned groups randomly, which Liam normally preferred, but knowing his luck, he was about to be assigned Kayden. Sure enough, the professor began to call out Liam's name and then Kayden's.
After listing the partners, the professor instructed everyone to sit beside each other. Liam just sat there, letting Kayden move to him.
" Hey!" She said, sitting beside him and plopping her stuff down next to her seat. "You are Liam, right?" She asked.
" Yeah." Liam nodded, still unsure if she recognized him in the forest. He heard her chewing, probably on the gum.
" You work at that antique shop, right?" She placed her laptop on the desk. She blew a bubble from her gum, which popped before it got too big.
" Y-yeah..." Liam continued.
"That's cool. I go there a lot, I like old things," she logged in. "What about you? "After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "Do you say anything other than yeah? Do you work there for old things or for a paycheck?"
" Sorry," Liam stammered, "I like old watches," he admitted. He first applied there for the money, but as time passed, he liked collecting old and broken watches.
They began to discuss the foundations of their project, and just as soon as the period started, it seemed to be coming to a close. Liam sensed that she did not know he was there that night, and he even began to wonder if it was just a bad dream. As they talked, Liam questioned why he even hated her. She never really talked to him much, nor did he talk to her, but he always avoided her.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked brightly, snapping Liam out of his thoughts.
"Y-yeah," He responded shyly.
"Cool!" She grabbed her stuff and smiled at him, blowing one last gum bubble before walking out the door. Liam gathered his things and headed to a cafe for lunch.
~ ~ ~
Liam departed the bus and stood outside the ancient-looking building. Within the next few classes they shared, they agreed to go to the town library together on Friday. Entering the building, aptly named the Old Book Nook, he sat at one of the tables to wait for her with a pretty uninteresting mythology book.
"Hey! Sorry I'm a little late. I got held up back at my dorm." Kayden took a seat across from him. She looked a little more dressed up than usual, though still in all black.
"It's okay. I ran a little late, too," Liam replied, putting down his book happily. They began to make headway for a while before the sun began to set.
"It's getting a little late, but I'm kind of hungry. Would you like to join me for a dinner run?" she asked as they gathered their things.
"Sure!" Liam said he'd taken a liking to her.
"Cool! I think I'm just gonna grab a quick sandwich at the local deli," She made her way toward the exit, beckoning Liam to follow.
"You've got something on your-" she gestured to the corner of her lip. He tried to rub it off but felt nothing. "Here, let me-" She grabbed a napkin and brushed something off before her phone rang. "Hello?" she answered. Liam heard a muffled voice at the end of the line. "Really? And you're telling me this late? Again?" She paused, then sighed. "Yeah okay, whatever-what time do you think you'll be done?" A pause. "Okay."
She turned to Liam. "Sorry, that was my roommate." He shrugged. "...Warning me not to go back till later tonight because they have a friend over," she said, putting air quotes around 'friend.' I don't suppose I can kill some time with you?"
"Uh... yeah, no problem!" Liam said. "But most everywhere is closed by now," he checked his watch, 8 o'clock, even this sandwich shop was closing up now. "But we could probably just watch a movie at my place? I live off campus a little bit, but it's something."
"Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun!"
~ ~ ~
"It's a little small and a lot messy. I wasn't expecting anyone," Liam let her into the small apartment.
"That's okay; mine is the same," she condoled to him. She took a step in, "well... maybe mine is not the same," she giggled. "this is pretty messy-"
"Yeah, sorry," Liam apologized.
Having her take a seat, Liam turned on the TV and put on a newer movie neither of them had seen. They sat fairly close to each other due to the small size of his couch, and he felt himself getting a little drowsy. Seems she did, too, because she began to put her head on his shoulder for a little while before-
"Hey, I kinda need to use the restroom..." she said slightly awkwardly.
"Oh yeah, it's the first door in the hall," he pointed out the hallway.
Upon returning from the bathroom, Liam noticed something in her hand. It was the small, shitty makeup kit he bought to cover up the bruising on his neck.
"Lookie what I found," she teased, a grin on her face. "Now, might I be presumptuous to say you don't have a missus?" She chuckled a bit before approaching him on the couch.
"No-" He shook his head. "But that's not, it's for-"