Eevie
Thank you, Elena, for letting me have this night with Nori, I tell Elena as stare at my reflection in the mirror. I was standing in the bathroom at the dance, and there were a couple girls in the bathroom with me. One was dressed as a sexy nurse, and the other as a sexy police officer. Both were pulling off their costumes quite well.
I silently observed them as I pretended to wash my hands and mess with my hair and makeup. I looked on point this evening, and I knew it. I enjoyed the stares of the girls as they exited the bathroom. Turning my attention back to my reflection, I took pride in my outfit. It had taken me most of the evening to put together.
My long hair had been curled, and it fell in waves down my back, and I had done what the kids these days were calling smokey eyes with bright red lipstick. I wore a slinky, bright red dress that covered the bare minimum, with tall thigh high leather boots. My horns were on full display, and if anyone commented on my eyes, I’d tell them I had bought contact lens for them. I was the sexiest devil at the party. But only because the only props I needed were the dress. Everything else was real. I was a devil in real life.
I had to beg Elena to go shopping and buy the dress for me. It had been an ordeal going shopping and having to switch back and forth in the changing room. It took us three stores before I found this dress. It had been the perfect choice. Elena didn’t have a lot of make-up, but thankfully Alexis let Elena borrow what we needed. We found the shoes at a thrift shop we had been walking past. It had been the perfect day.
Well, almost perfect. I was feeling a bit hungry lately, but it was unusually bad today. I needed to feed on a soul soon. I should have been good for a month or so, yet. I was hoping my last feed would be able to tide me over until I was able to make it back to the demon realm and could deal with it at home. But all the demon fighting and spells were taking a toll on me it would seem. I wouldn’t be at full power until I fed again. I made a mental note to go hunting tomorrow night.
Are you going to stay in here all night, or are you going to go party with Nori? I’m sure he feels awkward out there waiting for you, Elena broke my concentration. But could she really blame me for oogling myself? It had been so long since I had last seen my reflection. But I looked just the same as I remembered. Nothing had really changed, not in my outward appearance anyway. And why should it? It had been a few months now, but months was nothing to a demon.
I’m going, I’m going, I chuckled to myself as I adjusted the top of my dress before heading back out into the crowd.
The bathroom had been a small reprieve from the loud music and cluster of bodies. Now, my ears were being bombarded with noise, the scent of sweat and different perfumes mixing together made me a little nauseous, and I could barely move through the crowd without bumping into every other person. We were on a dry campus, but I thought I could smell the scent of vodka, and I assumed someone had spiked the punch, which is probably where Nori was waiting for me, but I had a hard time finding his scent in the mix.
But I had been right. I found him talking to another college student. I smiled. Nori had just gone as himself. His ears and tail on full display. Everyone seemed to like his costume. When prompted, he just told them he had thrown together whatever he had found lying around his parents’ basement. It was a great cover story.
I made my way through the throng of scantily clad college students and draped my arm over Nori’s shoulder, leaning into him, catching him by surprise. I watched with delight as the young man Nori had been talking to looked me up and down once and then made a point only look at my forehead.
“Nori, there you are. I was hoping we could go dance a little?” I told him, ignoring his new friend. I had been itching to get out on that floor and move since we got here.
Nori turned towards me, which made me drop my arm and stand up straight. “I suppose I’d be up for a little dancing,” he smiled at me as he took my hand and began leading me out onto the dance floor. He turned to his friend and excused himself.
When we found a clear spot to move around, the song suddenly changed to a slower number. I didn’t recognize the song, but I could hear Elena “awing” in my head, so it must have been a popular song.
I haven’t been to a human dance in decades, but Nori makes it easy as he grabs my hands and puts them around his neck before he places his hands on the small of my back, pulling me close to him. I lace my fingers together, my thumbs tracing the back of his neck, playing with his hair. I lean in and place my cheek on his shoulder as we sway to the music, turning in a slight circle. I watch as the kids around us are all doing the same thing.
“Thanks for coming to this with me,” I say into his ear. “I just really wanted to be able to stretch out my own legs for longer than a demon fight, you know?”
I feel Nori’s chuckle vibrating through his chest more than I hear it, “And miss you dressed like that? Not in a million years.”
I smile that stupid grin people get when they are falling in love and can’t help themselves. I can feel it on my face, and for once, I’m not trying to hide it. I wished Nori could see how happy he makes me. For once, I don’t want to worry about our families, or demons, or even Elena and Noel. It’s just us. We’re happy, and I’m in love. And it’s absolutely wonderful.
I find that the notion doesn’t scare me as much as I thought it would. Did I want to tell him how I really felt? You bet your sweet butt I did. But I also didn’t want to say too much too soon and scare the poor guy. After all, we really hadn’t known each other for that long. It might not be love I’m feeling but just a deep infatuation that will pass.
Turning my head into Nori’s neck, I snuggle into him. “You make me very happy, Nori,” I smile, pressing even closer into him, loving the feeling of being in his arms, of being at this human dance with him. “I’m glad you came here with me.”
I can practically hear the smile in his reply, “Likewise, Eevie.”
I pull back so that I can look into Nori’s eyes. I see such warmth and passion reflecting back at me. I wonder what he can see pooling in mine. Can he see my love? My fear? My joy? Maybe I have too many emotions playing in my eyes and all he sees is chaos and confusion. That’s all I’m really good for: chaos.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” I told Nori before I leaned my head forward, hoping he’d meet me halfway.
He did not disappoint. Nori didn’t say anything; he just leaned forward and placed his lips over mine. Our kiss became multiple kisses, our lips and tongues dueling each other. We kissed with a hungry need to taste, to feel each other. I unlaced my fingers and gripped Nori’s hair firmly, and I could feel his hands on my hips before they moved further south to grip my butt.
You know how in the movies when the main characters kiss and the rest of the room kind of fades away and the sounds vanish? It’s true. Every cheesy, clichéd bit of it. I was so intensely making out with Nori that I forgot where we were or what we were supposed to have been doing.
I wanted to rip his shirt off and feel his bare skin beneath my fingertips. I wanted Nori to be writhing in passion so much so that he wouldn’t be able to bear to be apart from me. I wanted to paint his skin with kisses, my lips the paintbrush.
The spark between Nori and me was the most intense thing I had ever encountered, and I never wanted to let it go. It was everything you read about in novels, everything you saw in the movies. The songs all make sense now. I would hold on to this feeling, or I would surely die trying.
“Okay, guys. Break it up. The dorm rooms are there for a reason,” I could hear a voice, but I didn’t stop kissing Nori, nor did he stop kissing me.
Eevie! If you don’t stop, you’re going to get kicked out of the dance. Elena’s voice broke through the fog, and suddenly I remembered we were at a college Halloween dance. And one of the chaperons was looking at us with a combination of annoyance and knowing. How dare he judge me for kissing Nori.
Without thinking, my body moved of its own accord. I couldn’t control my body as I took a step back from Nori and grabbed the chaperone by the throat and lifted him a foot in the air. I was taller than the guy by a few inches. “We were having a moment,” I snarled. “And you ruined it.” My eyes flashed dangerously. Did he understand he was on the cusp of death? Did he understand that I literally held his life in my hands?
Elena
Stop! Eevie! Let him go! I was screaming at her in my head. I tried to force a mental switch, but she was pushing back at me. She didn’t want to let me in control. But somehow I won and was able to switch with her mentally.
I let go of the poor, confused, and now scared chaperone and tried to laugh. The sound was weird coming out of Eevie’s mouth. It sounded fake and forced, exactly what I wasn’t going for. “Sorry, I’m the devil and all that. Couldn’t let you off so easily.” I wasn’t very good at pretending to be controlling.
The chaperone had a hand to his throat, and I could see the marks Eevie left on his skin. “Don’t you think you took it a little far?” he asked hoarsely.
Nori grabbed my hand and started steering me away. “Sorry, sir. Someone spiked the punch, and she had a few to drink. I’ll take her home now.”
“See that you do.” I could feel his eyes on us as we left the dance.
We hurried down the hallway and stepped outside. There wasn’t anyone around, but we wanted to be on the safe side and just hurried down the sidewalk to the little garden area where Noel and I had first met.
What the heck was that all about? I asked Eevie as we walked.
I don’t know what came over me, I’m sorry. She replied, sounding more like herself finally. But I need to hunt. I need a soul. I’ve been hungry for a couple weeks, but with your studies, I never said anything. I thought I could last until we went back to the demon realm.
So what? You just lose control like that when you get hungry? I asked angrily.
Yes and no. I get weaker and thus more volatile. My hunger just enhances my demon side because my demon side wants to survive. So it brings out the survival instincts in me, I guess. It’s hard to explain. But I’ll be back to normal after I feed. She sounded genuinely sorry, which made me feel badly for her that her night had been cut so short.
Nori and I sat on a bench, and he turned to look at me. “Elena? Did you switch with Eevie?” he asked, and I nodded my head. “Is Eevie okay?” he asked, confusion lacing his every word.
“She is now," I nodded.
"What happened?" he asked. "Can you switch back with her?"
I can handle myself, I promise, Eevie assured me, and so I left her back in control.
"I'm sorry, Nori. I didn't mean to ruin your night," she looked so embarrassed, fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.
"I just want to understand what happened," Nori told her.
"I need to feed on a demon's soul," Eevie explained. "When I get overly hungry, my carnal, demonic side comes out a little more."
"Well, then we just need to find us a demon. Shouldn't be too hard around here," Nori stated matter-of-factly. I was glad he didn't ask any more questions about Eevie needing a demon soul. I knew how uncomfortable a conversation that would be.
"But we need to be careful of the exorcists. I was waiting to go back to the demon realm before I fed again, but I didn't want to go earlier than I needed to. Maybe we could finish our date night in the demon realm looking for a demon to hunt?" Eevie suggested.
