Onyx quickly threw on his clothes in an attempt to not be as late as he was the previous weekend. It’d been a whole week since he had last talked to Day with the exception of a few exchanged text messages between the two of them. If you could really consider those conversations, that is. The texts mostly consisted of Day attempting to start up a conversation and Onyx completely shutting down his efforts. It wasn’t as if he hated the guy. At this point, he could admit he was being a bit of an asshole, but it was well worth managing to annoy the guy for his own personal amusement. 

Day was already waiting for him a little more than a block away. A block away because he wasn’t comfortable with Day knowing where he lived. Not because he was ashamed of his home but more so because he didn’t want Day to get the idea in his head that he could come over for surprise visits. Seeing him once a week was well enough for Onyx, anyway.

He grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter along with his wallet and just as he was about to make his exit through the door, Cora appeared around the corner. At first, she just stared at him and he stared back; his lips pulling into a slight frown at the sudden agitation he was feeling due to her unexpected presence.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Does it really matter?” Onyx questioned. “The better question is where the hell have you been for the past three days?”

“I’m your mother,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest in challenge. “Watch it. And where I’ve been is none of your concern. If something were to happen to you, however, I would be the one getting shit for it because I’m your legal guardian.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “So tell me where you’re going or you stay here.”

Onyx rolled his eyes with a sigh. “I’m going out with a friend and you’re making me more late than I already am.”

Cora’s eyebrows furrowed. “Does Alyssa know about this friend?”

“Sure,” Onyx shrugged. “She knows of him.”

“Is this ‘friend’ actually your soulmate? You know… the guy?”

“Oh my god,” Onyx groaned. Why he ever expected Alyssa to keep her mouth shut about the whole ordeal, he’d never understand. “She told you?”

“‘Course she did.” Cora looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow. “Is this a date?”

“What the hell?” Onyx murmured while rubbing his forehead in exasperation. “No. I’m not gay. You of all people should know this shit.”

“Then why are you going out to spend the day with this guy?” She questioned. “You don’t even go out with Alyssa.”

“That’s because neither of us have money. My soul—” Onyx interrupted himself with a grimace before rephrasing. “Day is literally rich. He’s offering me one hundred dollars for every time I hang out with him.”

“So he’s your sugar daddy now?” Cora smirked, shifting in her place and placing a hand on her hip. “That sounds pretty gay to me.”

Onyx didn’t even bother responding to the statement; instead, making his way out of the house without another word. If one more person questioned him about his sexuality, he was sure he would scream. So what if his soulmate was a guy, a female, or even an elephant? His personal affairs concerned no one but himself. Despite the utter annoyance raging through him, even he could admit she had a bit of a point, but who the hell cares? Money is money no matter where or how you’re getting it. 

Onyx spotted Day some minutes later and tapped on the window due to Day’s obvious infestation in his phone. His soulmate jumped and somehow, that satisfied Onyx. What satisfied him even more was when Day regarded him with a look of shock as if he were staring a ghost in the eyes. As if he honestly believed Onyx wasn’t going to show which, in all honesty, who could blame him? Onyx took his seat in the passenger side of the vehicle once he heard the doors unlock and didn’t even get a chance to say anything before Day was making a much-expected comment.

“So, is being late just your thing?” Day asked and though his words suggested annoyance, his tone suggested something else; amusement. “Should I just tell you to come a whole hour earlier than I actually want you to from now on?  Maybe two hours?”

“Cora held me up with her bullshit,” Onyx excused and upon seeing the look of confusion on Day’s face, he elaborated. “She’s my mom.”

“Why do you call your mom by her first name?”

“I don’t know,” Onyx shrugged. “She just isn’t much of an actual mom to me. The only thing that ties me to her is the fact that she gave birth to me. We get along fine, but we don’t have that type of bond.”

Day hummed as he finally began to pull off from the curb and lead him to who knows where. Before Onyx could question him on the matter, Day had his own questioning to pursue. 

“Is your real name actually Onyx?” Day suddenly asked. “Or is that some alias you made up on the spot?”

Onyx cocked an eyebrow. “What? Does my name not sound real enough for you?”

“I’ve just never heard of someone named Onyx…”

Onyx rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the small huff of laughter that escaped his lips. As awful as it may have sounded, he liked leaving Day utterly suspicious and questioning of his every move. In his mind, it meant he was doing something right. “Onyx is actually my middle name. My first name is Currinthian but I’m not exactly fond of it, so I prefer for people to refer to me as Onyx.”

“What’s wrong with the name Currinthian?” Day asked. “I think it’s kinda flattering.”

Onyx chose to ignore the hint of a compliment. “I don’t know. I just never liked it. If there was one thing my asshole father did right, it was suggesting Onyx as my middle name.”

“You don’t get along with your father?” Following a nod from Onyx, he asked, “why? What did he do?”

“He decided he wanted to become a stereotype and left us behind. I never really knew the guy so it doesn’t bother me that much. Cora didn’t seem to mind much, either. I don’t think the two of them ever really cared for each other. I was just the unfortunate consequence of what was meant to be a one night stand, I guess.”

Day laughed, albeit hesitantly. “Did you just basically call yourself a mistake?”

“What’s true is true,” Onyx shrugged. He leaned back in his seat and watched as they drove past multiple homes and buildings. “So… where the hell are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise,” Day opted to answer, “but it’s a nice place. I promise.”

“You don’t have to spend a ton of money on me,” Onyx muttered. “I’d actually prefer it if you didn’t.”

Day only chuckled. “I’m paying you just to be here. I might as well go all out.”

“What prompted you to make such a stupid deal, anyway?”

“I don’t think it’s stupid. I think it’s a reasonable sacrifice to make since my soulmate is as stubborn as a mule.”

“Maybe I’m not usually this stubborn and you just rub me the wrong way,” Onyx pointed out. “Maybe I’m a ray of sunshine whenever you’re not in my presence.”

“Are you?”

“No.”

Day glanced Onyx’s way to give him a small smile before turning his attention back to the road. “Thought so.”

Onyx turned his attention to the car window when he figured their conversation was over and couldn’t even pretend to be surprised when he realized Day was taking him downtown. Downtown with all of the expensive shops, restaurants… you name it. He hated the sudden panic that ran through him when he thought of all the possibilities.

What if Day was really taking him to some extremely expensive restaurant where only the very upper class resided? He couldn’t really be that dense, could he? He wasn’t well dressed for that sort of thing, and he definitely wasn’t prepared to face the proper social etiquette that would no doubt be expected of him. 

Dammit. Why had he agreed to this? Why despite every instinct in his body telling him to do otherwise had he thought it was a good idea to take Day’s deal? If he hadn’t humored him the very first time he’d seen him, he wouldn’t currently be in this situation. Matter of fact, if he had never let his curiosity get the better of him and followed that mysterious pull, he would have never met Day in the first place. Then, he would have no idea of the complete and utter fuckery the universe had pulled on him, and he would be able to sleep at night.

From the corner of his eye, he watched as Day lifted his wrist up to stare at his pulse curiously. The pulse that was no doubt telling Day things he didn’t want him to know.

“Eyes on the road,” Onyx murmured with a twinge of annoyance. “If you have a death wish, good for you, but you have a passenger who doesn’t in case you forgot.”

Pale blue eyes met his own. “Are you okay?”

“Of course,” he lied, his gaze falling elsewhere. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“My pulse just suddenly skyrocketed like crazy and to be honest, it scared the hell out of me.”

Onyx smirked a bit. “That’s good.”

Day chose to ignore his needlessly cruel comments and instead sent him another look of concern. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not sick or… worried, or anything?”

“I’m fine.”

That wasn’t exactly a lie. He was fine as long as Day wasn’t planning on doing what he expected.