Jealous
[ˈjeləs]
Adjective
1. Hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage
“You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.” -The Handmaid’s Tale
When Keir finally showed up for class that Friday, he was somehow surprised to find Nyx sporting a football jersey and a letterman jacket. He shouldn’t have been, because of course Nyx would be the captain and star player of the football team. Humans always had a weird fascination with death, and this town was no exception. They flocked Nyx and Silas like sheep, because they basically oozed death and mysterious power, even humans’ dull senses could feel it to some degree.
He had to admit though, Nyx did look really hot wearing a deep maroon letterman jacket and jersey, pale eyes ringed with eyeliner as he talked to other football douches. His girlfriend was hanging off his arm, clad in a skimpy cheerleading uniform, her red hair pulled up in a high ponytail complete with a bow. She looked so smug, a small, triumphant smile on her painted lips that made his stomach churn with annoyance. It was like she had won some grand prize and was promptly showing it off to make others jealous. It irritated him even more that it was working.
Keir shook his head as if to clear the nasty thoughts bouncing around his brain and turned to pretend that he was organizing his locker. He’d only been going to this school for a few weeks, and the amount of loose papers he’d managed to shove in the small space was pretty astounding. He’d never really need to know all of this mortal junk, but his parents wanted him to have the “full human experience”. Whatever that meant. After hiding the crumpled papers behind a neat row of textbooks he’d never opened, he shut the locker and turned to head to his first period. That is, until he nearly collided with a person who was standing entirely too close to him.
“Silas.” Keir took a step back because he didn’t trust the weird freshman. His eyes were boring into him as usual, making him drop his gaze to his hands uncomfortably. “Is there uhhh, something you need?”
“No. I just figured we could talk before class begins.” He said but didn’t offer anything else to continue the conversation.
Keir furrowed his brows, because he didn’t understand what was happening. “Okayyy… about what?”
“Oh.” Silas blinked as if he was surprised that he was getting this far. He was quiet for a moment, and Keir thought about making a run for it, but then he seemed to find a topic. “Nyx told me you have a familiar.”
“Yeah, she’s a Mourning Dove.” Keir silently cheered as the warning bell rang. He gave Silas a quick wave and scurried to the safety of his classroom.
Keir dropped his bag to the floor and plopped into his seat, Nyx following suit only moments later. “What’d my brother want?”
“I don’t know.” He grumbled as he pulled out his notebook for class. He didn’t want to speak to the elder Erebus either.
“Are you okay? Did he say something to you?” Nyx laid a cold hand on his shoulder.
Keir shot him a glare and shouldered his hand away. “No, I’m fine.” Then he turned toward the front, ignoring the questioning looks the Necromancer was sending him.
“When you respond like that, I don’t believe you, Sunshine.”
“Quit calling me that.” He hissed, which made Nyx smirk and only irritated him further.
“You seem stressed. Maybe I could help you release some of that pent-up anger?” He suggested, and Keir had a feeling that the sentence had a double meaning.
He wanted to strangle him.
“Maybe I should make Dandelions grow out of your ears.”
“As cute as that would be, plants and I don’t really get along.”
The bell rang before Keir could actually strangle him, and Mr. Johnson called the class to order.
***
Keir was left alone for the rest of the school day, fortunately. He couldn’t wait to get home and not be around a bunch of annoying, juvenile couples. Seriously, they were everywhere. Holding hands in the halls, kissing under the stairs, sitting entirely too close together during lunch. It made him want to puke.
So, when he trudged up the steps to his house and opened the front door, the last thing he expected was to be tackled by two-hundred pounds of pure muscle. Naturally, he screamed because he was both startled and now falling, but he was quickly pulled upright by a pair of strong arms.
“Keir!” Staring at him with a wide grin on his face was his best friend in the entire world, Reid. “It’s been like a billion years! How are you? Oh, you seem skinnier. Have you been eating?”
The Seer hardly let a breath in, babbling about how he took time off from work to visit him as he pulled Keir into the house. He didn’t stop until he had Keir in a stool and was setting various unhealthy snacks in front of him. Despite his large and foreboding stature, Reid was like a concerned puppy. Always trying to be helpful but is oblivious to the fact he isn’t helping much. “-and basically, I’ve just missed you so much and things have been so boring without you. How are you settling here?”
“It’s okay. I haven’t really made any friends.” Unless a creepy fifteen-year-old and a horny Necromancer count. Unfortunately, Keir didn’t think it did. He popped a Cheeto in his mouth, chewing on the crunchy snack. “It’s really different here than back home.”
“Really? You’ll have to show me around today!”
This sparked an idea in the Naturalist's head. He looked over Reid, closely. His hair was brown and trimmed neatly, skin tanned a golden brown, and he was built from playing sports in college. Keir had never really thought about it too much, but his friend was handsome.
“Actually, do you wanna go to a football game with me?”
Comments (16)
See all