A V I V A

"Mom, do I have to wear this?" I groan, looking at myself in the mirror with a frown.

She stares at me, irration written all over her face. "Quit whining, will you? This is the tenth dress you've tried on today, and we have to be at the gathering in one hour."

I press my lips together, frustrated. This is exactly why I hate these parties. Well, this is one of the many reasons. Right now, I'm currently dressed in an ugly faded yellow dress that reminds me of urine.

"I'll just wear the other one." I say with a sigh, pointing at the strapless royal blue dress.

Mom smiles in satisfaction and hands it over so that I can go change into it. After I'm done, her smile grows wider while I glare at the innocent floor.

"Good," She says, then shoves my makeup bag into my hands. "Now fix your face and hair. When you're done, meet us downstairs. And hurry."

I nod, too lazy to talk. It was so incredibly hard to get out of bed today, because I was just so comfortable when I woke up with Alec next to me. But eventually I had to kick him out early in the morning, at around five, so that if my mother came barging into my room again she wouldn't freak out.

A few minutes later Dad ushers us into the car. When we finally arrive at the banquet hall, my eyes sweep over the crowd in search of my cousin. But when I spot Weylen and start walking towards him, Mom grabs my arm and shakes her head, jutting her chin in the direction of Uncle Gordon.

Great, now I'll be stuck here for even longer than I planned to.

We stroll over to Uncle Gordon and I plaster a polite smile on my face. Faith does the same beside me, except hers looks a little too fake. Uncle Gordon finally sees us and greets my parents first.

Faith pokes my side. "When you and Weylen ditch, I'm coming with you. You're not leaving me with these old people who talk about how much dandruff they have, no way."

I bite back a laugh and say, "Fine, just don't be annoying."

"Deal." She says.

"Aviva! How lovely to see you again." Uncle Gordon shakes my hand.

"Hi, Uncle Gordon. It's nice to see you, too." I really don't care.

"How is the matchmaking going?" He asks.

"Great," I answer. "Much better than last year."

Can I go now, please?

"Wonderful. Now, has your mother told you about the special guest we have tonight?"

Special guest? What special guest?

My eyes snap to Mom's, but she quickly looks away and begins to chat with another woman.

"No, she hasn't. Who is this special guest, Uncle?"

"Well, I'm afraid I cannot tell you if your mother has not. You'll just have to wait and see." He cracks a smile and winks. "I'll give you a hint: they go to your school."

I raise a brow in question, but Uncle Gordon tips his hat at me. "It was nice talking to you, Aviva."

I open my mouth to speak but decide otherwise when he makes small talk with my sister. I take the opportunity to escape and find Wey, tapping Faith lightly and hoping she'd understand what I mean. She nods.

My thoughts wander to the special guest that my lovely mother forgot to mention. Maybe Weylen knows, or my other cousins.

"Vi!" I spin around at the familiar voice and grin wildly when I see Puppy Boy waving his arms to get my attention.

"Hey Weylen," I stick my tongue out at him. He rolls his eyes and points at a table where two of my other cousins sat.

Jack is twenty and a Vampire. His twin sister, Vanya, is a Shapeshifter. They're Uncle Gordon's kids. I greet them both with a genuine smile.

"Do any of you guys know about the special guest?" I ask, my eyebrows pinched.

They all shake their heads.

"No idea. We just found out ourselves." Wey explains, sighing.

"Uncle Gordon told me they go to our school."

Vanya says, "Looks like we'll find out soon enough."

I scrunch my nose up in confusion and follow her gaze that travels towards the doors. We're all silent as we try looking over the crowd to see who it is.

My eyes grow wide when I see familiar black hair and blue eyes.

"Paige?!"

But she's Human . . .

Weylen pulls at his hair. "The special guest is Paige? Hell no! Vi, hide me. Once she sees me, she'll never leave me alone."

I snort. "What is she doing here? She's not a Supernatural."

Humans are not permitted at this gathering. It makes no sense, why is she here?

"Maybe she's related to one." Jack points out. Vanya shakes her head just as Faith appears beside me.

"But then why would she be a special guest everyone talks about? This makes no sense."

"What are you guys talking about?" Faith questions, but we all ignore her.

"I say we make a run for it. Aviva, do you got any of that invisibility potion on you? We'll sneak right past her and-"

"Shut up, Weylen." I snap, annoyed with him. "First I want to know why she's here, so it's best we stay."

He pouts. "Fine."

"Aviva, why is that nasty waitress coming towards us?" Faith asks.

What?

Sure enough, I glance over Vanya's head only to see Paige striding with her emerald green dress draggging on the marble floor. She wears a smirk that only grows wider as she gets closer. Finally, she stops in front of me.

"Hello, Aviva." She says flatly.

"What are you doing here, Paige?" I get straight to the point.

She laughs like it's the funniest thing in the world, but it sounds so fake at the same time. "I was invited, of course."

"But you're Human," Faith pipes up, crossing her arms over her chest.

Paige's lips curl into a snarl. "I know, honey. But I was still invited, so here I am. Thought I'd hang out with people I know."

Her gaze lands on Weylen and he stiffens, his expression full of disgust. I feel bad for him. Why is Paige so obsessed? She wasn't ever even a problem a year ago.

Deciding to save him from an awkward talk, I hold my phone under the table and call his number. His phone is on silent.

"Wey, I think your dad's calling you."

He looks down at his phone and back up at me in confusion before getting the message. "Oh. Um, I have to take this call."

He jumps from his seat and scurries away in relief. When I end the call, my phone buzzes.

Weylen: Thanks. I owe you one.

Me: You bet you do. I'm expecting a shit ton of chocolates by the end of next week.

When I look back up, Paige is eyeing me suspiciously. I notice that my other two cousins have left me to suffer with her, and so has Faith.

"What are you really doing here, Paige? And don't you dare give me bullshit."

She scoffs and takes a sip of the drink that was in her hand.

"That's for me to know, and for you to never find out."

With that, she spins on her heel and disappears into the crowd. But I don't miss the faintest of shadows trailing after her.

♡♡♡

I know, I know. It's an extremely boring chapter. Hopefully the next one will be better.

Anyways, do you guys have any guesses? Why was Paige at the gathering if she's Human?

Don't forget to vote and comment!

❤ Chloe