Page 72 of Villain

Then again, his fantasies had also always been relatively tame. The types of boring daydreams he was certain the Demons would all laugh at if he voiced them out loud. Things like flowers and first dates leading to making out in the corner of a dark movie theater or at most, passionate lovemaking in a locked bedroom with the lights dimmed.

Nix was grateful that he was adaptable. Adjusting to his surroundings had always been easy for him, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he might not be taking that too far in this case. How much of himself was he willing to change or lose here?

The anger that had driven him to upend his entire life was still simmering beneath the surface despite everything that had been done to him so far, but he needed to speed things along. The initial plan had been to get in and get out. He’d given himself one semester to wrap things up, find answers for himself and Branwen’s brother, and then he was meant to reenroll at Hyacinth.

The only person he’d said as much to was Briant, since there’d been no good way to explain that to his parents. That was still the goal. Nix had no intentions of graduating from Foxglove Grove, which meant he would only be here for four months.

Surely he could keep himself together in that brief amount of time?

If he had to suck a few more dicks and spread his thighs, who cared?

And if he secretly kind of liked it sometimes? What did that matter either?

Nix was merely immersing himself in the role. That was all.

The bell rang and he started collecting his things on autopilot, mind still circling. He was so caught up in his own world, he didn’t notice West until an arm came into view and stole his backpack just as he was closing it.

“Stalling, Nixie?” West asked. He’d already stood and was now sitting on the edge of the long table that connected the row, eyeing him down with mild suspicion like he thought there was a chance Nix might try and bolt now that it’d come time to pay up.

“No,” he said. “I keep my word.”

“Something we have in common.”

He didn’t bother mentioning it was probably the only thing they did. Just as he was about to rise, his mutli-slate went off and Maestro flashed across the surface.

West snorted and snatched Nix’s arm, lifting it into the air and taping the accept call button before he could stop him. Since he left the earbud attachment set in the side of the device, it automatically switched to speaker, Lake’s monotone voice cutting the air between them a moment later.

“I’m almost done with practice,” he stated. No hello or anything of the sort. “Come to the stadium.”

“Nixie’s a little busy at the moment,” West answered before Nix could think of anything to say.

Lake was quiet for a breath before asking, “With what?”

“A taste test.” West grinned when Nix tried to end the call, grabbing his hand roughly and shaking his head. “I’ve been eating kuy berries for days in preparation for this, so you better be prepared to hear how much better I taste when you get home later.”

Nix’s mouth dropped open. He couldn’t be serious…could he?

Kuy berries were a sweet fruit found on the opposite side of the planet in the hotter regions. It was considered to be an aphrodisiac, not because they legitimately increased a person’s sex drive, but because they had the odd after-effect of altering the taste of…well. There’d been more than a few studies on it, of course, but like with most things, taste was subjective. Some people swore by the kuy effects and others claimed there’d been no difference.

Nix had never even considered trying it out for himself, whether as the one consuming the berries or the one feasting on come after someone else had.

“You should seriously get that complex of yours checked,” Lake stated, only for West to snort.

“Says the guy who’s clearly jealous right now.”

Was he? Nix hadn’t picked up on any changes in his tone, how could West tell?

“Fuck off, West.”

“I’m about to, Maestro,” he dragged out the username, laughing when Lake actually cursed on the other end of the line. “Have fun jerking off on your own.” He clicked the end button and dropped Nix’s arm. “Ready to go?”

Nix stared at him. “I really wish you two would stop using me as a pawn between you. What’s even up with you guys? I thought you were best friends.”

“We are,” West confirmed. “What? Never heard of friendly competition before?”

“If it were friendly, you wouldn’t have spent days eating fruit.” Although…Nix’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t really, right?”

West leaned in. “How about you get up so we can leave and you can find out for yourself?” He swung Nix’s backpack over his shoulder, dropping his gaze to the ground when something slipped out and hit the floor with a heavy thump. “What is that?”