When Opposites Attract - Chapter 22

This chapter is dedicated to Kat and Lexy L. =)
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All I could do was stare at him, and I couldn’t help feeling a pang of jealousy at how good my features looked on a guy. His hair was yellow-blonde, the same shade as mine, cut to his shoulders. And I didn’t know why, but he really did remind me of a lion. His eyes could have been called mine, maybe a shade darker than my light blue. His stance was that of a typical Aloysius: head held high, back ramrod straight, legs set in position as if ready to strike. Something about him made you look twice. Not his looks, but there was just something there that seemed to be bubbling and boiling beneath the surface. But I recognised him from somwhere. I just <>knew I did. I just didn't know where from.

When I had finished assessing him, it was only then that I realised he was scrutinizing me, too, but he didn’t look surprised, which bothered me. Did that mean that I was making something out of nothing?

He moved closer to me cautiously and said in that same, gravelly voice that human girls dreamed their boyfriends to have, ‘It’s nice to meet you, Kaia. I’m Leion.’ he held out his hand, and I extended mine, and said politely, ‘It’s nice to meet you, too…Leion.’ His handshake was firm, slightly rough, and very brief.

‘Mateo,’ he turned to my boyfriend. ‘Show Kaia around while I serve dinner.’

Matt nodded, then squeezed my hand and lead me up the staircase. I gave him a grateful smile.

If Mateo noticed the extremely obvious similarities between mine and Leion’s appearance, he said nothing about it. In fact, he seemed to be deliberately ignoring the fact. I glared at him, but he missed the look.

The corridor was slightly narrow, and very long. I looked around wondrously at the dark blue painted walls, with darker swirls imprinted, as Mateo pulled me to a door on the far left, the only sound being the soft thud of our feet against the white carpet.

‘This is my room,’ Mateo said, and opened the white-painted door to reveal a large, open room, with dark blue carpet and white walls. A double bed dominated the right wall, while, at the far end, was a huge window, opening onto a balcony. There were several books and CD’s scattered everywhere, and the only other personal item I could see was a small photo frame sitting on his bedside table, with a beautiful woman with a big grin on her face waving. She had long, blonde hair and midnight eyes. Mateo’s eyes. His mother.

I teased, ‘Someone needs to tidy their room.’

He pouted. ‘Hey, I’m a guy. That’s all th excuse I need.’

He showed me the other rooms, too, chanting out names as we walked past. We came to the end of the corridor, and I grinned at the several small photos that hung on the wall. They were all of small children, and I guessed that they were members of the coven when they had been younger, and I immediately knew which one was Mateo.

‘Aw, look at you!’ I pointed to a grinning, little boy, with huge, dark blue eyes and scruffy hair. He was sitting on a bench, his two front teeth missing, and his tongue trying to touch his nose. I felt my heart warming.

I smiled up at Mateo, just as a voice called out from downstairs, ‘Food’s ready!’

He tugged me out of his room, and I whispered into his ear, ‘I’m really nervous now.’

And it was true. Even though they had seemed friendly enough on our introductions (well, except that Zeek guy…), I wasn’t sure if they were pretending. I wanted them to like me because if they didn’t, then that would mean severing my relationship with Mateo. And I couldn’t let that happen.

Somewhere at the back of my mind, my conscience was nagging me, But what about Mateo? It told me in its quite, evilly truthful voice. You know that he could never come and meet you coven And, as much as I grumbled about it, it was true. I couldn’t let Mateo meet my coven. They held grudges – all of them.

I was in-denial.

‘Don’t be,’ he murmured at the top of the steps. ‘They like you.’

But I didn’t know whether he was telling the truth or not.

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We sat in the dining room, a room that was white, but dimly-lit, which was odd, giving the place an eerie atmosphere.

Mateo pulled out my chair for me, and I smiled at him and sat down, feeling very self-conscious with the gazes of all of his coven members on me.

Leion came in one second later, holding a steaming dish of Macaroni Cheese. His gaze travelled to me. ‘I hope you like it.’

I smiled at him. ‘Macaroni Cheese is my favourite.’

He sat down on his chair that just happened to be opposite mine, and murmured so quietly I don’t think he meant for me to hear, ‘I thought it might be.’

When Leion had put a fairly generous amount of food on all of our plates, he told us to tuck in. And that’s just what I did. And I was surprised by how similar the dish tasted to the one I had back at home. I had thought no one could cook as good as Selene.

‘So, Kaia,’ I turned my head to the sound of my name, surprised to see that it was not Mateo or Leion had requested my attention, but Kian, the flirt. ‘I’m surprised you were allowed to come here.’

I blushed, and my cheeks turned an even darker red when everyone’s gazes turned to me. ‘Well…’ I deliberated. I shot a sneaky glance at Mateo, but he, too, was looking at me with curiosity. ‘They don’t….they don’t really know.’

Nobody reacted as I expected. Leion smirked; Jake grinned, as did Kian; that Zeek guy that appeared to dislike me looked faintly amused; Demetri chuckled, and Jozef snickered into his pasta. Mateo, however, scowled at me, and I mock-glared up at him warningly, ‘Don’t you give me that look, mister.’

Kian cackled, ‘Ha! Look’s like you’ve finally found someone to put you in your place, old buddy.’

Mateo pursed his lips but despite himself, a grin was tugging at the edges of his lips. ‘Oh, you have no idea how she acted when she didn’t like me.’

I grinned, embarrassed, and Kian looked at me, excitement plain n every angle of his face. ‘What did you do? Did you hit him?’

I shook my head, feeling regretful. ‘No. But when he punched my friend, I almost did.’

Everybody’s gazes turned to Mateo, who looked slightly uncomfortable. ‘You punched her friend?’ Jake asked, the one with smooth, dark brown skin.

Mateo scowled at nothing in-particular. ‘I didn’t mean to.’

I snorted. ‘Bullshit. You walked all the way from the other side of the history block to where we were standing. I’d say you meant it.’

Everybody laughed, and Kian asked, a twinkle in his eyes, ‘Why’d you punch him, Matt? Were you jealous?’

Mateo, who was looking thoroughly disgruntled, said immediately. ‘No.’

I rolled my eyes and told all the occupants of the table. ‘He’s lying. He was totally jealous. And all just because my friend was asking me on a friendly outing-’

Mateo gawped, and his fork clattered on the china plate. ‘Friendly outing? Did you see the way he was looking at you?’

I turned my nose up, away from him. ‘You, mister, are exaggerating. Dan is my friend.’

A sudden, sly look closed up the openness on Mateo’s face. ’Not if I can help it.’

I growled warningly. ‘You know what happened last time. Don’t go there again.’

Mateo pouted. ‘Why not? I thought you liked my dominance.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Only when you’re not being controlling.’

A grin spread across his face. ‘I’m controlling?’

‘Like you wouldn’t believe.’

I turned back to my food to realize that everyone was still staring at us. I blushed and worried my lower lip, and Leon said. ‘We’re sorry that Lydia and Tianie couldn’t be here.’
I frowned. ‘Who’s Lydia and Tianie?’

‘The only girls in our coven,’ Leion explained. ‘They were a bit…angry, hearing that you’d be visiting here.’

So it wasn’t an all-boys coven. ‘Why were they angry?’

‘Well, they still views you as the enemy.’

I felt a surprising warmth thread through my body. So they didn’t think of me as the enemy anymore? ‘So…they wanted to…hurt me?’

Leion’s lips twisted. ‘You could say that.’

I snickered. ‘I’d really love to see them try.’

Leion smiled. ‘You’re a fighter?’

I thought about that for a moment, and then concluded, ‘Well, not on purpose. I just have a bit of a temper. Selene calls me hot-headed – but she’s just being nice.’

Demetri blinked. ‘I know that name. Selene’s the….’

‘Leader of my coven,’ I finished for him. ‘Yeah.’

Kian gawped. ‘Your leaders a girl?’

I glared at him, my natural instincts being to protect my own. ‘You got a problem with that?’

‘No, no,’ he backed down, looking slightly startled. ‘I just…I always thought leaders were guys.’

I snorted. ‘Not necessarily. And there could never be a better leader than Selene. She’s the most reasonable of all of us.’ I said this after I had swallowed another mouthful of macaroni.

Everybody was quiet after that, and we all continued eating, leaving me to my thoughts.

Mateo had been right – they all seemed to like me. But seemed was the key word. What if they were all just being nice to me because Mateo had threatened them if they did otherwise? But that sparkle in Kian’s eyes didn’t seem fake, and nor did the geniality in Demetri a, Jozef and Jake’s smiles. And as for Zeek…well, who could really tell? His increasingly reserved nature so far seemed to be his disposition.

But I knew that what his leader, Leion, thought about me was the most important opinion of all. I knew that he liked me by the warmness of his manner, the sincerity in his tone. But there was…there was something underneath what he let people see, I could tell that much. It was like he was holding something from not only me, but the members of his coven, too. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.