Doe's POV:

The additions of the cages this time made for a lot of unused space in this room.

And you'd think that if they were gonna use cages at all, they'd at least get some that we could stand-in. Or made from a material that didn't feel like ice.

I guess I'd forgotten that everything during this entire process was done with nothing the bare minimum in mind.

The 'dinner' they provided us proved it further when all we got was a paper bowl with a dainty scoop of apple sauce in it.

Not even spoons.

I probably shouldn't complain too much, knowing how truly lucky I was with my life as a pet.

It undoubtedly had its ups and very deep downs, but not once was I ever left to be hungry like I'm sure some of these girls have.

My finger tapped against the opposing forearm.

I used my arms to keep my knees tight to my body, conserving as much heat as I could.

It was better now that we were indoors, but my body heat hadn't returned to me fully yet.

I wanted to be at least partially comfortable before the lights went out so I could attempt to get some sleep in this place.

Which had to be soon, I knew it was late.

My mind decided to wander to that down-feather blanket of Xander's bed without my permission.

The thought of just rolling myself up in it and warming up in no time.

I squeezed my eyes shut, kicking the thought out where it belonged.

There was no use in dwelling on what I couldn't have at this moment.

My shoulders dropped with that realization, knowing that I was going to do it anyway despite what I tried to tell myself.

Now would be about the time that I went to Xander for some type of distraction but that wasn't tangible either.

My eyes lifted to the girl sitting criss-crossed in front of me, idly fidgeting with the sleeves of her hoodie that fell way past her hands.

Right as I looked up at her, she turned her head, following the vampire that was trudging past our cage.

My eyes narrowed as a thick strand of hair fell away from her shoulder, that with the way her head was turned exposing the discoloration on the skin of her neck that I hadn't noticed prior to this.

Now, my knowledge of certain things was limited, but I knew a hickey when I saw one.

It was something they brought up back in my training days since vampires were very fond of receiving them, and even more so in giving them.

Though this was the first time I'd seen anything of the sort on one of Nico's pets.

Nico, what the heck?

That made for a couple of things I've noticed today that stood her out from the rest.

Including the fact that she was supposedly very well dressed at the ball.

Intriguing.

And, well, there was no better time to try to dig for some more info than here and now.

I spoke as soon as she began to turn her head back.

"What's it like," I asked, leaning my head forward to set my chin on my knees, "Being Nico's pet?"

Her eyes widened and turned to the side for a second as if the question was embarrassing.

Well, if it was, she didn't have to tell me.

"It's... a lot different than I thought it was going to be. It started off kinda stressful, but as time went on, I've figured out that he's pretty lax with most things as long as I stay out of his way," She replied.

Okay... I guess that all added up.

Nico was very intimidating to everyone at first.

I leaned back against the cool metal, tucking my hair away from my eyes.

"He treats you differently than his other pets. Well, at least, as far as I've seen." I commented.

It was kind of weird knowing that I've seen more of Nico than she has, but I figured that information could be interesting to her.

Or I just knew that if someone else had that kind of information on Xander, I would want the deets.

The look on her face showed the exact reaction I was hoping for.

"Really? How," She pressed, leaning forward ever so slightly.

I had to fight the grin that wanted so badly to show at her half-supressed enthusiasm.

"Well, Xanders only had me for about two years now, so I've only seen two of Nico's other pets."

Dahlia only lasted about five months after I showed up, and the second, Eva, didn't get purchased for a while after, only to die during the next bloodmoon.

Neither of which he paid much mind to, let alone touched if it wasn't for blood.

I continued.

"I guess he just didn't pay as much attention to them as he does to you. I've seen how he treats you at meals and in his room. How he always makes sure that you're safe and comfortable and how he tries to fix the problem whenever you're not,"

I found myself pausing, the memory causing my hands to tighten their grip, " I've witnessed first hand how protective he is of you. He never acted like that with any of his other pets."

Thinking back on it, it all just seemed like bad timing.

I was scared of Nico in the sense that he was simply intimidating, but not one where I believed he would ever seriously hurt me.

I was just flighty after what had happened with Layla before all of that.

Which still had me feel like the verbal apology I gave her for what my lie lead Xander to do never felt like enough

My still-lasting guilt leaked through my voice as I tried to recall what I had told her happened versus what actually happened.

"I'm really sorry for that. I really should have quit acting like I was sick as soon as I saw what Xander was going to do to you." my voice hushed towards the end.

With Xander's want to fix everything, there was a part of me that wanted to explain everything. To help defend his molecular amount of honor in hopes that it would begin to grow as fast as possible.

But now wasn't the time.

"It's fine," Her soft voice began, " I can understand why you did it, and honestly I probably would have tried to do something similar if I were you."

'If I were you.'

I wondered what exactly it was she thought I was going through.

With everything that Xander showed himself as, it couldn't possibly be anything good.

It honestly couldn't have been too far off from what was really happening, she just had the wrong vampire pictured as the culprit.

There was a tug in me that wanted to attempt to change that for him.

Still... her forgiveness didn't seem like enough.

I felt myself sigh with that thought.

"What's it like being Xander's pet?" She asked.

I tucked my head in, wildly unsure about the almost humorous reaction her question pulled out of me.

My lips pulled to the side to try to hide it.

That... was a very loaded question.

"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." She hastily followed up, panic spilling through her words as if she had just intruded upon something.

She must think what I go through is really bad then.

Which it was. I can't deny that one bit, but thinking back now after what he did last night, it felt as if I was looking back on it and watching it all burn.

My laugh did break through this time, luckily as a quiet one.

"No, It's fine," my giggle followed through into my words, "It's not as bad as you'd think."

If anything, I wanted to try to clear some of the air.

If Xander was going to do it with Nico then I might as well help him out by clearing some of his name with Khloe.

I couldn't get too deep into the 'who's and 'why's, just enough to ease some of that panic this topic brought her.

I didn't want to even touch Layla's play in all of this.

This story wasn't mine to tell after all, not without his permission at least.

Her interest grew, altering her position to mirror how mine was when she explained hers.

How do I even start this...?

I blew out a preparatory sigh, that small speck in me that always somewhat cared for his dumb ass since seeing how Layla treated him deciding that now was its time to shine.

"I know he seems like a really tough and relentless guy, but I've come to find out that there's a lot more to him than that. Although he likes people to think that that's all that he is... someone who doesn't have a care in the world and who likes to live life as it comes. That's the first impression I got from him when he bought me."

That first day... All I remember was how terrified I was.

I was convinced right there and then that my life was over the very the second his fangs were in my skin.

Flipping through my vague memories of that day, I could now so effortlessly spot the signs that he didn't enjoy any part of that.

I hooked a finger around the collar of my shirt, pulling it down enough to where most of the scars were in view.

Layla usually went for my left side...

Ah wait- She's gonna think that all of these were from him!

Shit... I wasn't good at this sort of thing...

I kept talking, hoping that I could salvage it.

"You probably think I'm treated like crap now, but I was treated a lot worse until recently," Until he started lying to her, "It wasn't what I was expecting when I got purchased, and I never really got used to it. Although it didn't take long before I actually realized that his whole tough-guy attitude was a coverup." I explained, releasing my shirt.

Three months to be exact.

Three months for me to conclude that he alone wasn't a threat to me.

That I could let my guard down when it was just me and him.

And to think about how I used to talk to him compared to the completely unfiltered way I do now.

My smile came unprompted, "He'd probably kill me if he ever found out I told you this, but he's a really insecure guy. He worries a lot about a variety of things and just doesn't know how to deal with it..."

Or he couldn't. He physically couldn't fix himself when he was stuck to her.

Gosh, there was so much I wanted to say. So much I wanted to explain and clear up and have her realize.

With the encounters she's had with him, she had every right to despise him and yet the thought of her hating him made something in me ache.

It wasn't all his fault.

He wasn't faultless in any sense of the word, but even then he was aware of that and actively searching for proper solutions.

I couldn't explain why this need to defend him was coming so strong to me.

It made my brows furrow.

Why was I getting emotional just talking about this?

"I don't know... In all actuality, it's a really long story, and both Xander and I have gone through a lot to have finally ended up how we are now. I've figured out that he's not a bad guy..."

He's not... I think that much I could confidently say.

He wasn't the villain, he was just a massive, blind idiot tied to someone who knew just how to string him along.

But that was severed now.

Now he just left me with someone who could let that small speck safely grow into something more.

The man who takes fatal blows for me and then holds me as if I were the hurt one.

The one who's always there for me and offers back rubs seemingly whenever he possibly can.

My hands began to do something similar to the opposing arms.

It didn't feel the same.

The man that gets so lost in his stories that his hands wander, and has never once crossed a line I've wordlessly set.

And the panic when he's thought that he did.

"He's getting better though and being his pet isn't as terrible as it used to be. Now that I've figured out a better way to help him it's been easier." My voice died for a moment, "Maybe one day I'll tell you the full story, there's just a lot to explain.

I just hope that one day, I'll have a chance to talk to her privately again.

"It's probably not even my story to tell, but hopefully you'll get to hear it regardless."

Or Maybe Nico will talk to her.

Either way... I just wanted her to know.

"Wow... That's..." It was clear that she wasn't expecting anything like that.

"Not what you were expecting huh?"

She shook her head, "Not at all."

"Yeah...," As I expected, "He's a complicated vampire."

There was a short silence.

"So that day that you dislocated your shoulder... was his story true?" She asked, still a bit cautious of her wording.

My lips pressed together tightly, my left arm lifting to my right shoulder.

It wasn't the complete truth, but the most important part of what he said was true.

The part I knew she was alluding to.

That I fell and he saved me.

"Yeah. That was true," I admitted quietly.

My hand tightened around the spot, feeling the soreness that still lingered.

I thought that I was done for right there and then.

That I was going to die from a single accident in a moment of weakness.

To think of what I would have missed had he not caught me...

To think that it occurred to me at that moment that nothing would have changes in his life if I were to disappear.

That it would do nothing but clear his lie. Help him save face.

"He saved my life that day. I really didn't think he would do something like that. I thought he was just going to let me fall but..."

That weird, unwelcome ache grew stronger.

Alright, I couldn't do this anymore.

I wasn't sure what exactly was happening but I was not a fan of it.

Khloe, on the other hand, was obviously fascinated.

She'll get the story... one day.

For now, though, I knew of something that would quickly change the subject.

It wouldn't be a smooth transition by any means, but as long as it got the job done, that's all I cared about.

"But what's the story behind that?" I asked, simply raising my pointer finger to that place on her neck I had spotted prior.

Her head quickly turned to the side, her sleeve-covered hand raising up to cover her mouth.

An... interesting reaction to say the least.

"Nico just wanted to make sure that he had laid his claim on me so none of the vampires here would touch me," She hurriedly explained, an awkward smile sitting on her face.

I... guess that's one way to do that.

I'm just relieved that it wasn't what my mind immediately jumped to.

Plus, it made sense. I have noticed her explanation fit with what I'd seen here the year before.

I certainly wasn't hurting in that department with all these scars.

Alright. Smart, I'll give them that.

"Oh. Makes sense."

She deflated a bit at my casual response, that being the last thing I saw before the lights shut off.

The suddenness of which admittedly made me jump.

"Lights out!" A vampire yelled, his voice bouncing annoyingly off of the walls.

A door slammed shut and locked a few seconds later, leaving all of us in complete black darkness.

As in, I couldn't even make out a hand in front of my face.

It made me wish that I'd just look up and find that familiar green glow I was so accustomed to.

Stop...

"Well," I began, "Goodnight I guess."

They didn't want us making any noise, so might as well just call it a night.

"Yeah... Goodnight," She whispered back.

We both shuffled against the cold metal to try to find a comfortable position.

An impossible feat given the circumstances, but I was going to have to make it work and just accept that my neck was going to be sore the next morning.

I curled myself up into that familiar position, laying on my forearm to try to replicate a pillow.

Or Xander...

I couldn't replicate the arms around me that now guaranteed safety or the sound of his breathing-

Okay. This was getting annoying at this point.

My eyes opened brows furrowing angrily at my own thoughts of all things.

The ones that just couldn't seem to leave him alone despite knowing that this current setup was only temporary.

How bizzare.

I turned myself around to face the back of the cage, pushing myself as far up against it as I comfortably could.

Stupid leech needs to get out of my head.