┌───────── ·  ·  ·  · then ─────┐

↳ 006, summer, week 3

└──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────┘

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃. Naya, as always, insisted on not celebrating her birthday until the night of the big party, stating that 'it was more fun this way.'

Colette gave her a present anyway.

It was a sweet little thing she had picked up at the end of the school year. A small necklace, lined with soft pearls. It was something her friend had been looking at and never dared to say anything about it but when the pair would go to the little boutique, she'd hold the necklace against her fingers for a while in thought.

When she gave her the necklace, it surprised her to find that Naya had begun to cry when she realized what it was. She held it in her hand like she always did in that store, running her thumb over the pearls in a transfixed stare of want.

She made Colette put it on her immediately.

They decided to throw the big party on the night of Colette's birthday since Saturday's were always more fun and no one would have to work the next day. It was the optimal night to get wasted and lose their minds.

The week had been surprisingly great. Naya had been in good spirits and Colette's parents had been especially fun at breakfast as they celebrated her birthday. Eighteen was a big number, an important one, and her parents made sure it was just as special as it should've been.

They gifted her with a beautiful dress to wear tonight and although Colette would rather wear jeans, she found the sentiment loving. It was a blue dress, the color of the sky, and it went just below her knees with a long slit up the side. It was obviously a sundress, the material thin and floaty, the straps thin and the neckline scooping, it didn't leave much to the imagination. It was casual, borderline too nice for the type of party she and Naya were throwing but she didn't care.

She wanted to be beautiful tonight. She wanted to be effortlessly stunning.

Besides the good attitudes from both Naya and her family, things were going more than fantastic with Nik. They texted at every chance and even on more than a few occasions did they call the other. She would fall asleep listening to his voice, the slow drawl of his accent that pulled her into unconsciousness like a lullaby.

They had known each other for three weeks but it felt like a lifetime. Her spirit had known his before, she was nearly certain of it.

But, she had been certain her and Damon would one day fall like some of the greatest loves of her time but that hadn't happened. She shook her head, she didn't need to be getting her mind mixed up with such strange possibilities when there was only one in sight.

Nik. Coming to the party.

She'd invited him and he said yes, so naturally she was nervous. What would everyone think of her with him? Would he even want to be around a bunch of annoying soon-to-be seniors?

She ignored her doubt and gathered her belongings to take to Naya's house for the night. In her overnight bag she included her toiletries, a bottle of Titos, a bottle of cranberry juice, lingerie in a pretty lacy white, and the dress her parents got her even though she knew she shouldn't have put it in the bag but she didn't mind a few wrinkles.

She nearly left her room without her shoes and jogged back in to get them. Platform sandals she'd gotten a year and a half ago with Naya. Most of the clothes she wore now went back to that infamous shopping trip where she spent nearly every dime her parents had given her.

Leaving now with everything tucked away inside her bag, she kissed her parents on the cheek and even told them she loved them before she was out of the house, down the steps, and in her car.

The drive over, she pumped loud music through her speakers and ignored the nervous beat of her heart. Tonight would be beautiful. Tonight she would be beautiful.

Naya was already outside waiting for her, squealing loudly as she pulled into her driveway. She barely had the chance to open the door herself before Naya pulled it open and got her out of the car to hug and dance with her as she cried, "Eighteen! Eighteen! My baby is finally eighteen!"

Colette barely had time to lock her car before being whisked up the driveway and towards the house. Taking one step inside, she was already amazed. There were colorful streamers hanging from the ceiling, mixed in with twinkle lights that coated the walls like ice. They swirled together throughout the house, arching out the back porch where Colette saw was covered in more lights and little floating flowers rocking against the pool's surface.

There were coolers lined up outside ready to be filled with ice and bottles and she couldn't wait to dive into it all, to celebrate into the late hours to when she was born at a startling eleven-fifty-nine.

The hours would twiddle away, just as her last moments before becoming 'an adult.' But what was eighteen other than just another child?

"Time for arrivals should be around...ten," Naya explained as they walked up the stairs. The girl insisted on Colette taking the guest room, which was unlike them entirely, but Naya said something about wanting to lure a certain to her bed by the end of the night.

And how could Colette argue that? Didn't she want the same?

But, it felt weird, not spending the night in her bed. They always shared the blankets, the pillows, they had shared everything for so long and now it seemed that everything was slowly separating. But wasn't that supposed to be a good thing? To finally have distance?

Not even death could separate you.

The guest room was cold, the duvet a rich brown and the walls a warm tan. The floor was hardwood and there was a small dresser against the wall in front of the bed, the wood the same color as the floor and duvet. The only true splash of color were from the evergreen throw blanket and the photographs hanging on the walls of the forest.

It was as if she were trapped in her own earthy grave.

Dropping her things on the bed, Naya poked her head into the room with a light giggle. "Anything special you want for dinner?"

Cole shook her head, saying over her shoulder, "Anything you want is fine, it's your day too."

She felt Naya's hands on her shoulder before they slid around her in a hug. She held Colette close to her as she said, "It's your day, Cole, I'll get you whatever you want."

I want riches. I want love. I want, I want, I want–

"Italian?" she offered.

Naya squeezed her softly before letting go and taking off towards her room, all the while saying, "Your wish is my command!"

That night, they ate spaghetti with garlic bread and they both had a glass of wine. The wine was red and as Colette drank, it felt like she was downing something more than that. Red wine always reminded her of cherries and blood, no matter the flavor.

Naya insisted on giving Colette her present later. She wanted to see the other girl all dressed up before giving her what she had. It didn't stop Colette from imagining all the little things she could've gotten for her, ranging from beaded bracelets to the dangly earrings she'd told her she wanted time and time again.

Once they finished eating, they had more than enough time to let the food settle and to clean the kitchen. She liked doing things like this, the mundane cleaning, the normalcy of washing dishes in a calming silence. She wouldn't mind being a housewife, she really wouldn't. Not having to go to work? Not having to bother with the stressors of a normal job?

No, she'd stay at home and clean the kitchen in her perfect little silence. Maybe she thought this way because she's always been taught to submit, not just by her teachers and authority figures but by her friends as well. She certainly wasn't the dominant one in her friendship with Naya or even the one with her brother and parents.

She learned to say yes. To nod her head. To say thank you. To say 'I'm sorry.' She was always supposed to apologize. Maybe that was why she wanted to be the little housewife, all for the wrong reasons instead of the good.

She would love not to work, not to get up at the crack of dawn and be forced to put on a bright smile for the higher ups. She wanted to roll out of bed and have her own agenda, to decide whether or not to take the garbage out, to clean the dishes, to do the laundry. She liked the idea of being in charge of her own work. But if she had a husband or even a wife, she knew what the outcomes would be.

Yes, honey. Of course, dear. I'd love to, darling. Big smile, doting nods, loving embraces.

But was that what she wanted?

No. You want the fight. You want blood and gore and everything ugly.

She placed her plate in the dishwasher and headed up the stairs to get dressed. She took her time.

There was something elegant in the way she applied lotion to her legs and arms. The way she slid on the white, lace panties and strapless, lace bra. There was an art to it as she slid the dress up her leg and torso before slipping her arms through the straps. The seduction that was in the way she zipped it up herself and her leg fell out of the slit, tanned and glimmering.

Her makeup wasn't heavy but light, like she was something ethereal and not of this world entirely. She felt foreign in her own skin when she looked at herself in the full-length mirror in Naya's bedroom as the girl got ready in the closed bathroom. Colette admired herself, running her hands over the way the dress clung to her skin, effortlessly showing off her curves and cleavage, which she was very proud of.

Her heels were white and not too tall, since she'd always had trouble walking in something that wasn't sneakers or flip flops. She ran her fingers through her hair before deciding to tie it up into a loose bun at the base of her neck. Strands of hair fell around her face and she smiled, practicing how she would be when people came up to her. How she would act when she saw him that night.

She didn't get another thought in before the bathroom door opened and Naya emerged. Colette lost some of her confidence, only slightly, at the sight of her friend.

Naya Pérez knew how to dress.

Skin tight black dress with a swooping V-line trimmed with lace. She looked like she belonged on the cover of Vogue, in photographs on the runway. Her hair was down and curled, bouncing with every step she took in her black heels. She looked more like an adult than ever with her red lips and dark eyes.

Angel versus devil. Light versus dark. Colette versus Naya. Forever in competition.

"God, you look amazing," breathed Colette before she could stop her gushing. "How long have you had that?" She pointed to the dress.

"For, like, ever," said Naya with a smirk. She approached Colette and ran her fingers over her dress, feeling the material that clung to Cole's skin. "Did you get this today?"

She nodded.

"It's beautiful." Naya twirled one of the loose strands of Cole's hair around her finger, pursing her lips in an achingly beautiful way. "I've never seen you so dressed up before, don't tell me it's all for Nik?"

Colette could hear the disgust in her voice as she said his name and her cheeks flushed. "No, of course not." She was doing this for herself. She was doing it to show everyone how she wasn't as invisible as they all thought.

"Liar," whispered Naya with a bite. She spun away from her, going to her dresser and searching through the top drawer before pulling out a small box with a bow. She grinned, holding it out as she said, "Happy birthday, Colette Copeman."

She took the box and found that her fingers were trembling as she pulled the string and the bow came undone. She felt as if herself would be the next to come undone, to unwind and fall. As she pulled the top off, she found herself at a loss for words.

It was a small, little thing on a gold chain. It sat in the bed of soft tissue paper, glistening with a soft blue hue of something exotic.

"It's–" She shook her head with a breathless laugh. "It's beautiful."

Naya grinned, reaching out and taking the necklace out from the box to hold it up. She unclasped it and motioned for Cole to turn around and she did, her heart racing at the beauty.

"What type of stone is it?" asked Colette as Naya draped the necklace across her neck where it rested in the crest between her collarbones.

Once it was clasped, Naya murmured, "It's a moonstone."

Colette let her fingers play with the little stone, smiling.

"It harvests its energy from the moon," explained Naya, her eyes trailing over the necklace and the way Cole's fingers still smoothed over the gem. "Some believe it's a symbol of love, that it can heal the wearer. There are some that even believe it can help awake psychic properties, influencing your dreams." She shrugged, reaching out but stopping herself. "I thought you'd look pretty in it."

Colette's smile eased and she whispered, genuinely, "Thank you. I love it."

The doorbell rang downstairs and Naya shook her head, a wicked grin now spreading across her face, all traces of the softened girl before vanishing.

"It's party time," she snarled in a deep voice, smirking. "Push your tits up, you're an adult now."

Colette reached out and took Naya's hand before she could walk away and greet the guests. "Happy birthday, Naya."

Naya grinned, squeezing her hand before quickly making her way to the doorway and disappearing on the other side. Colette waited until she heard the girl's heels on the stairs before turning to admire herself in the mirror. The necklace was perfect against her skin and she was in awe at the beauty of it, the light hue sheen like it was iridescent against her delicate tan.

Hadn't she heard of a moonstone before? She could taste the word on the tip of her tongue, taunting her. Now that she was thinking about it, weren't there a lot of things missing from her brain?

There had been times last year when she'd end up somewhere she didn't have a clue how she got there. And conversations with people that fell short, that left her more confused than anything else, but what was there to be confused about?

She shook her head, twirling a strand of hair around her finger and smoothing her dress out with her other hand. Plastering on a big smile, her lips shaking with the effort, she left the room and descended down the stairs.

"Did you see how Tyler keeps bringing those total skanks to every party?" said Caroline, eyeing the boy from across the backyard. He was showing some girl by the name of Tiffany how to properly throw the pong ball.

"You guys aren't even together right now, Care," said Elena, her brows furrowing as she too watched the boy.

Colette sipped at her Vodka Cranberry, licking her lips as she said, "You should just go for it, cross the bridge and take what you want, you know?"

Caroline shook her head. "It's too complicated."

"Sometimes," said Colette with a grin, "complicated is fun."

"Says you," laughed Elena, drinking from her beer.

Colette didn't know how she found herself with the two other girls but she wasn't mad. The conversation flowed naturally and it was almost like they had all been destined to be friends. Naya's image of being enemies and rivals felt completely out of character for Cole and the two other girls.

"Still no word from Stefan?'' asked Colette, receiving a strange look from both girls. She rolled her eyes as she added, "Damon called me last week about if I had seen Stefan at some bar I went to with Ny."

"And did you?"

"Did I what?"

Elena frowned. "See him."

"Of course I didn't," said Colette, taking another long sip from her cup. "I don't think anyone knew us there and vice versa." She took another draw from the cup, the drink soury sweet on her tongue. "Seems weird though, for Stefan to go rogue like this for the summer."

"You have no idea," muttered Elena. She glanced up and Colette followed her eyes, smirking behind her cup as she spotted the other Salvatore standing in the porch doorway. Wearing what he always did, Cole could admit he looked good against the flashing twinkle lights.

"He'll be back for the school year, right?" Colette asked, interrupting their collective staring.

"Right now, I have no clue," said Elena, flicking a long strand of hair off her shoulder. "He's been completely M.I.A. and it's not like we constantly text or call but, I don't know, it'd be nice to at least hear something from him."

"He seriously hasn't sent you anything this summer?"

She nodded as Caroline said, "End of last year was...difficult."

"Difficult?"

They both nodded.

"A...guy came into the picture, made things really complicated," explained Caroline. "Got between Elena and Stefan–"

"What? He, like, wanted to sleep with you or something?" asked Cole.

"Or something..." murmured Elena, her eyes once again trailing off to find Damon. "Anyway, him and Stefan went away together for the summer."

"Wasn't he visiting family, though?"

Elena nodded, looking at Caroline who nodded too. "They became...sort of...attached. So they went off for the summer."

"Let's hope it's just for the summer," said Caroline, bringing her cup to her lips as she eyed the Lockwood boy for the fifth time during their conversation.

"God, Care, just go over and say hi to him!" laughed Colette. "As the certified birthday girl, you have to listen."

Elena nudged her. "Do it before Tiff comes back from the bathroom." She nudged her again and urged her with her eyes before the blonde huffed loudly, put her cup down, and stalked across the yard.

Colette hid her chuckled behind her cup as Elena said, "When Damon called you, was that all he asked you?"

Colette's brows furrowed. Jealous? She nodded. "Just asked if I had seen Stefan and I hadn't, although," she said, drawing out her last word as she moved to sit against the railing, "I kind of wish I had." She shifted so she was comfortable before asking, "Do you think he'll call you next week, for your birthday?"

Elena's brows rocketed and Cole had to hide her smile. She didn't expect her to know her birthday but it was a hard thing to miss when Caroline would most likely throw some form of party to celebrate and practically invite the entire town.

"I don't know," the girl answered honestly. "Things have been so crazy coming off of last year so I just–" She sighed and shrugged. "I don't know if I want him to come home."

"Oh?"

"I'm afraid of what he'd bring back with him."

"Like what? An STD?"

Elena laughed, shaking her head as she said, "No, no, more like who'd he'd bring back."

Colette hummed in response. "Like that guy who tried to get between you two?"

She nodded. "This guy, he's bad news. He did some really horrible things and if he came back, it'd screw everything up."

"Was this that creep who requested that song for you at one of those dances last year?" Colette remembered dancing away with Naya and noticing the golden group's smile fall at the announcement of a new song dedicated to Elena before running off together. She just couldn't remember the name and it was on the tip of her tongue like something poisonous.

Elena chuckled, taking a sip from her beer before saying, "Nothing gets past you much, does it?"

Colette shrugged, noticing Naya making her way over to them and scooted off the railing. "It's easy to remember the little things when there's no one there to stop you." As Naya grew closer, Colette threw back the rest of her drink and said to Elena, "When you go unnoticed, you'll find it as easy as me to notice the things others don't around here."

"Elena," Naya said once she approached them, speaking in a long voice as she looked the other girl up and down. "Your boy toy's looking for you."

Elena didn't seem to get it before Naya smirked and said, "Not Damon. Matt."

Elena sighed and the pair watched her chug her beer before heading off to find the blonde boy. Naya flung an arm around Colette's shoulders once the girl was gone and chuckled. "It was actually Damon but I didn't want her to talk to him before I did."

"Still trying with him?" asked Cole in feign shock yet not surprised.

Naya rested her elbow against Colette's shoulder, looking out over the party. It had gained a sizable turnout and it was rising in volume every hour and would do so until everyone began to leave.

"As if I'd ever stop," she said, shrugging as she handed Colette the drink in her hand. "Here, try this."

"What is it?" asked Cole as she sniffed it and scrunched her nose up in disgust. The liquid was red and it smelled cheap.

"I don't know," said Naya with a wave of her hand. "Made it in a rush, just tell me what you think."

She raised the cup to her lips and took a small sip, the liquid was thicker than she expected and coated her tongue. It had a strange sweet, metallic taste that was sharp in the back of her throat as she swallowed. She took one more sip for good measure and raised her eyebrows with a forced grin so as not to hurt the other girl's feelings as she said, "Not awful."

"You hate it," mumbled Naya with a small laugh as she took the cup and drank the rest. She didn't so much as grimace as she drank, tossing the cup aside and not caring as it landed in the bushes. As she walked away, she said in a horribly snarky voice, "Nik showed up."

Did she just hear her properly? Did she say what she thought she said?

"Did you invite him in?" Colette called after her, giddy.

Naya glanced back and nodded, her eyes and nose scrunched up in distaste. "He's in your room."

Colette could hardly breathe as she tried to collect herself. She could barely contain her glee and from skidding inside and racing up the stairs. Instead, she took a deep breath and steadied her shaking hands and as she got the nerve to move, she heard Naya murmur under her breath as she passed, "Pathetic." But, before Cole could even feel the pang of the insult, she heard a softer, "God, he doesn't deserve you."

She was already inside and walking towards the staircase in the front hall to even fully process the meaning behind the words. She would never truly understand, that is until it was too late.

At the top of the stairs, she smoothed out her dress and fixed her hair from the frizz she attained outside in the humid night air. She took a deep breath and then another before approaching the half closed door.

Pushing it open slowly, she saw him and he saw her and it was like a movie or a poem or something gloriously beautiful. The clock next to the bed ticked and both their eyes left the others and glanced over and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as he spoke.

"Happy birthday, Colette."

She approached him slowly, letting the door fall shut behind her as he stood from his spot perched on the edge of her bed. He met her halfway and she couldn't breathe from how excited she was and how close he was getting.

Open your heart, open your eyes, open your legs and show him the rotten core inside.

He reached out, brushing his knuckles against her cheek before inching his fingers into her hair. He was warm against her cheek, like he was made of heat and the sun was running liquid fire through his veins.

"God," he breathed, shaking his head in disbelief, "you're beautiful."

She looked up at him, lips parting with a short breath. She wanted him closer, she wanted him to wrap his arms around her and touch the places she always dreamed of his hands going. She wanted to hear his accent against the inside of her thighs, to feel his devilish fingers clawing at her sides, she wanted his heart inside her one chest. She looked up at him through her lashes and wetted her lips. "Kiss me."

He wasted no time.

His lips pressed against hers and it was like the fireworks had gone off inside her head. Sparks of red and white and orange, dancing across the inside of her eyelids as he parted her lips with his and she tasted him. He was sweet and savory, and she imagined it was what the forest tasted like, something forbidden and dark.

Her hands went up to clutch at his shirt, the material too thick and she had pulled off him before he even had a chance to protest. He looked at her and she looked at him, his face slightly red and his pupils dilated. His chest was broad and tanned and the muscles, oh, his muscles. Her fingers ran up his sides, feeling the bumps and grooves of his muscles and she felt them twitch underneath her touch. He was forged by fire and violence, she knew that by touch alone, her heart aching for whatever this man had to have gone through. He was built from scraps and hatred and she couldn't get enough.

He looked at her for a long time, eyes searching her face as she tried to catch her breath because god, it was exactly like she imagined. It was brutal and gorgeous and it was going to tear her apart in the end, but she didn't care. Oh god, she didn't care.

His next kisses were hungry and she felt herself, heart and soul, get devoured by his touch as one hand got lost further into her hair and the other gripped her hip, fisting her dress in his fingers. He backed her up to the bed and she helped him with the zipper down her back. It unzipped and the sound echoed in her ears as her heart beat frantically and torturously.

She kicked off her heels and let her dress slip off her shoulders and down to the floor where it puddled by her feet. It took only one look at her body for him to ravage her.

Her back against the bed, his tongue against the soft flesh of her neck and going lower and lower. Her hands lost in his hair, his scruff burning against her thigh, her breath lost in her throat. She cried his name like it was something more sacred than the names of gods. She said his name like a promise, like something far better than what they were.

She was not going to come out of this alive. He will carry a piece of her for eternity. She was certain of it.

When he had shed the rest of his clothes and she had done the same, he moved against her, slipping into her with a slow agility that took restraint and care. He filled her up in a way she could hardly explain, like she was finally full and whole. Like something she had been waiting for had finally found its way home.

He moved inside of her and she ran her nails down his back, gripping the hard muscles that flexed and worked together as he picked up a pace that sent her seeing stars. It had hurt at first but she didn't bleed and she didn't have any fear, not with him. There was nothing there except this tidal wave of something that she would be able to face and not have to do it alone.

He said her name into her neck, against her lips, near breathless and achingly broken.

Colette, Colette, Colette.

When it was over and their heart beats were louder than the pounding music below, and they were painted with a light sheen of sweat, he kissed her gently before smiling. A small laugh erupted out from her and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"I don't want to say wow," she whispered, "but wow."

He brushed some hair from her face, propping his head up with one hand as the other twirled her hair around his finger. "Honestly, I didn't think we would've done that tonight." He let out a small laugh. "I had an idea to sweep you off your feet and out of this town, to spend a night with you properly."

"This couldn't have gone even more perfectly than it did." She caught his hand as it moved to her waist. His fingers were like lava against her skin and she knew if he touched her as gently as he just did again, she wouldn't be able to control herself. "You were perfect."

"Let's hope no one is looking for you," he murmured, rolling over onto his back and opening his arm for her to slide up against him. She rested her head against his chest and his fingers danced across her shoulder. "Would be a bit awkward if someone were to knock right about now."

"I'd tell them to go away."

"Even Naya?"

"Especially Naya."

He laughed at that and she heard it rumble inside her chest, shaking her. She ran her fingers over his chest, playing with the necklaces around his neck. He was missing one and she fingered the other two as she said, "What happened to the tooth?"

"The tooth?" he questioned as she craned her head to meet his eyes.

"The tooth necklace you used to wear," she laughed, making a point of playing with the necklaces. They held secrets, like his eyes and hands did.

He grinned, moving to feel around the side of the bed before pulling up his jeans. He pulled the necklace from his pocket and held it out in the palm of his hand. "I was going to give this to you before we got...so perfectly distracted."

"Oh, Nik, I can't take this," she breathed, shaking her head as she sat up. She brought one of the blankets up to cover her chest as she brushed the hair from her face. "You wear this all the time, I can't take this from you–"

"I want you to have it," he said, sitting up with her and holding it out. He undid the clasp and whispered, "You're the only person I want to have it."

She nodded, unable to form a proper word as she moved so he could drape it across her neck. Once it was clasped and laying against her chest, the tip of the tooth brushing right between her breasts. She ran her fingers over the little thing as she faced him. The tip was sharp and if she pressed down hard enough against her finger, she could draw blood and it fascinated her. She kept running her thumb up and down its jagged smoothness, murmuring, "What type of tooth is it?"

He ran a finger over and down her jaw. "A wolf's fang."

She surged up onto her knees and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him as she said, "I love it."

They got lost in each other's hands and tongues and Colette forgot entirely about the party downstairs. She had made enough of an appearance and the god worshipping her body was all consuming.

He held her close later until the music stopped and the sound of people leaving sounded throughout the growing quiet home. He slipped free from the bed as she slept and slipped out the door and down the stairs without a soul seeing him. It was as if he had never been here at all, which was what he liked most.

He saw no one and they saw nothing.

A ghost in wolf's clothing. Invisible and quiet and creeping out doors. The invincible monster had come for his girl and he would continue to come back again and again to have her pressed against him.

She was something he had never encountered, something warm and sound and present. He would be the death of her, he knew it because most things were his own doings, but he couldn't stay away. That was why he stayed for a moment, down by the street, looking up at the home and considering going back.

He left, knowing he'd see her again.

A few hours later, when the guest room door creaked open and the soft sound of bare feet padded across the floor, Colette slept deeply. What she didn't know, and what she would never know for a long time, was that Naya stood beside her bed with a long slender knife in hand with only one thought in mind and that was to kill, to destroy, to maim, to bleed. But she rested her hand back down to her side and retreated from the room.

It wasn't the right time. Colette was tainted, she could smell it.

She would be renewed in the morning and she would just try again and again, however long it takes until she's able to raise the blade and bring it down.

Naya Pérez would not rest until the job was done. They would be together forever, no matter what it took to get them there. She would keep her safe for eternity, she would protect her until the last draw and beat of her heart.

She would not lose her yet.

AUTHOR'S NOTE━━ok soooo.....a lot to unpack here LMAO

so....nik and colette....they in love or whatever but if only she knew the truth....

also what do you guys think naya is doing/planning? like homegirl has some major issues, that we know, but do you think she's doing this all for a good reason or shes just acting up to act up?

anywayyyy sorry for not updating in like 2 weeks AHH so sorry!!! had an exam last week and i've had papers due all this week so if this feels rushed i am so sorry ahhhh

love u all and pls pls vote/comment AND MAYBE ILL GRACE U ALL WITH A LONG NASTY SMUT SCENE IDK DIK