(Eva)
It was everything that I could do to hide what I was feeling from Mason by the end of the trip. I kept my back stiff and my walk steady as I got out of the car and walked back to my dorm. I could feel Mason's eyes on me, and the last thing I wanted was for him to follow me in because he thought something was wrong with me. He had been so wonderful to me, but somewhere between the airport and arriving at my dorm room, everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours had finally sunk in. And it had been more than my poor mind could take.
I had gone from never interacting with anyone and spending my time locked in an attic for four years, to being around thousands of people. My skin was crawling, and not in the tingling way that it did whenever one of the guys touched me. My heart was racing, and I was having trouble breathing. Once I got inside the main door and out of Mason's view, I practically ran to my dorm room, throwing the door closed behind me and collapsing in a heap on my floor, trying to stave off the panic attack that was bearing down on me.
While the crowds and contact had been overwhelming in themselves, finding out that I wasn't human, and that the men I was falling for weren't human, had tipped me over the edge. I had consciously avoided talking about that issue with Mason. I had thought that I was handling it alright after my conversation with Beckham. He had been so patient with all of my questions, but the more I thought about it, the more fractured I could feel my mind become.
I had always known there were monsters in the world, the Andersons and many others in the foster system had taught me that, but finding out that I was most likely an actual monster was overwhelming. I counted out my breaths, focusing on breathing in and breathing out slowly even though my body was trying its best to hyperventilate. Tears slid down my face. I was being stupid. Hadn't I loved snuggling with Mason? Hadn't I felt safe wrapped in Beckham's arms on the beach? Why was this just hitting me now? I needed to pull myself together. Classes started the next day, and I was not going to show up to class having a fit, or worse yet, miss my classes all together because I was freaking out.
I laid on the floor for who knows how long before I decided to try crawling towards my bed, my limbs shaking, and my breathing still coming out in gasps. I tried to pull myself up to my bed, but I was breathing so fast at this point that I couldn't pull myself all the way up. I felt a sudden rush of air behind me and then strong, familiar arms lifted me onto my bed. Damon was here.
"Please don't touch me," I called out, sobbing.
"What's wrong? What can I do?" he asked, panic threaded through his voice.
I didn't answer him. I just shook my head. I was now hiccupping from how hard I was crying and my body had started shaking as well.
Damon had immediately let go of me when I asked him to, but the shaking must have been too much for him to watch without trying to do something. He carefully laid down next to me, folding me into his arms. I had thought that I didn't want to be touched, but his familiar warmth had the immediate effect of grounding me and stopping my shaking.
His hand slid through my hair softly, and he began to talk in a gentle tone about random things. I couldn't concentrate on his actual words, but the smooth cadence of his voice calmed me. His voice sank into me, relaxing my body, and soon I found myself falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I woke up the next morning, the mellow light of dawn streaming in from my window. Damon's arm was wrapped around my waist, his face nestled in my neck. I turned as slowly as I could so I could look at him. He looked so calm asleep. Damon was normally so intense, always moving and full of energy. I hadn't gotten to see him asleep the night I had been at his place, so I felt like I was getting a rare treat.
"I can feel you staring at me," he said all of a sudden with an amused voice.
I blushed, even though he hadn't opened his eyes yet, and flopped on my back.
"Hey, come back. I was snuggling," he said, in an adorable voice, finally opening his eyes and looking at me.
I got lost in the emeralds of his eyes for a moment, getting reacquainted with their beauty. It seemed like I hadn't seen him in forever. A rush of regret flowed through me at the way I had left him the other night. Even with that, he had been so sweet last night, gifting me with sleep that I for sure wouldn't have gotten if he hadn't been around. Except…how had he gotten in my room?
"So, I think you are the sweetest boy ever for taking care of me last night…I'll just preface my question with that first," I said hesitantly. "But how exactly did you get in my room?"
"I heard that you and Beckham had a conversation about the three of us on your trip this weekend?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered hesitantly.
"And he didn't mention what exactly I am?" he asked.
"No," I answered, suddenly nervous.
"It might be easier for me to show you," he said. "First, promise you aren't going to run from the room screaming though."
Well now I was very nervous. What if he was some kind of shifter like in werewolf books, and I had a gigantic wolf sitting in my dorm room? I backed up slowly towards the wall and pulled the covers up to my neck.
"I'm ready," I announced.
Damon laughed at me uneasily. He slowly stood up and faced me, situating himself in the center of the room. Suddenly there was a loud crack, like Damon's bones had all broken into pieces. Two enormous, charcoal colored wings burst from behind him. They extended to each side of my dorm room, taking up every inch my room had to offer.
I couldn't help but gasp. Damon was some kind of angel I was guessing? Majestic didn't do a good enough job of describing how striking and impressive his wings were.
He looked at me shyly.
"Well," he said tensely. "Do you think I'm hideous?"
I pulled down the covers and crawled off the bed, walking towards him. I reached out a hand to stroke one of his feathers before pulling my hand back abruptly.
"Am I allowed to touch them?" I asked.
He looked surprised, and then hopeful.
"Yes of course!" he said quickly, taking a step closer to me to allow me better access.
I brushed my hand against the edge of one of his wings. Up close I could see that there was actually silver threaded throughout the charcoal feathers. They were breathtaking.
Damon shivered as I continued to stroke him.
"Am I hurting you?" I asked.
"No, baby. Let's just say that my wings… are very sensitive," he said with a sly smile.
I blushed, immediately knowing what he meant…But I didn't stop stroking his wing. I was fascinated by it. It made Damon look that much more masculine, like he was a god that had come out of the pages of a mythology book about the creation of the world. Suddenly I wanted him to know how "un-scary" I found him. I wanted him to know just how much I appreciated all he had done for me since we had met, how sweet he had been.
I took a step closer, moving slowly so that Damon could see what I intended to do. He held his breath and watched me, his tongue peeking out and slightly moistening his lush lips as he waited with anticipation to see what I was going to do.
I moved my hands away from his wings and touched his chest. I realized that he hadn't had a shirt on at all since he had come to visit me last night, and I greedily took an opportunity to admire his sculpted chest and abs, running my hands all over them. I looked back up at him and stood on my tippy toes, delicately brushing my lips against his. He took a deep breath in and then pulled back suddenly.
"Are you just kissing me because Mason or Beckham aren't here right now?" he asked, vulnerability leaking out of his words.
"I'm kissing you because I'm falling for you, and I'm so appreciative you are in my life," I answered meaningfully, holding his gaze in the hope that he could see how earnest I was being.
Damon studied my face for a moment.
"I'll take whatever you are willing to give me," he muttered before sweeping me into his arms and kissing me so passionately that I lost my breath.
"I want you to know every part of me," he said after pulling back from the kiss. "I'm going to prove to you that I can be everything you need."
I opened my mouth to object. It wasn't that Damon was lacking, it was that all three of them held a different part of me. One couldn't replace the other. He didn't let me respond however.
"It's your first day of college," he said excitedly. "I know you probably have a million questions for me, but I'm going to go get us coffee from Leslie's while you get ready, and then I'm walking you to class. We can talk about everything else when it isn't your first day of school."
He kissed me again hurriedly, and then left the room, actually using the door this time before I could even get a word out. I touched my lips, now swollen from his attention, and idly wondered if he realized he didn't have a shirt on. There were bound to be heart attacks around campus and the city when people saw. I laughed to myself, feeling so much better than the night before, and excitedly started getting ready for my first day of college.