Ch.17: The Sweet Tast of Your Lips

"Lisa! You're up!" Snatching her hands away from Ethan hold, Dia ran to her best friend and engulfed her in a tight hug.

"I'm glad to be alive, but Dia..."

"Yeah!" Dia buried her head in the crook of Lisa's neck.

"Did I really dream about vampires existing? Please tell me I drank some spiked punch and that vampires don't exist?"

Stepping back from her friend, the shorter girl didn't know how to break it to her best friend that vampire did exist and everything that happened last night was real.

"Come on, let's go talk in your room." Grabbing her hand, Dia began to take Lisa back to the room when she paused and shot Ethan a grateful gaze.

"Thanks for coming to my aid the other night." Dia's appreciation surprised Ethan a little, gaining confidence to ask,

"So this means you finally accepted my proposal and will go on a date with me?"

"How did you come to that conclusion?!" A flustered Dia stomped inside the room, missing the gawking look Ethan's blonde friend and Lisa was shooting him.

'This guy can't be the best friend I grew up with! He has to be an imposter!'

Jasper's disbelief was due to the fact that Ethan wasn't the type to flirt with girls, no matter how drop-dead gorgeous or cute they were. He preferred insults and glares than accept their affection, but did Jasper just hear him beg for a date?! Such actions did not fit Ethan's cold-blooded introverted nature!

Once in the room, Dia sat Lisa down and gently as possible broke the illusion that what transpired yesterday was not a dream but reality—dropping the icing on the cake when she told her best friend about her second identity.

"You're a what?!" exclaimed Lisa, jumping out of her chair, watching Dia take hold of the black bunny on top of her head and presented it to her panicked best friend.

"Oh, and this is my familiar Lilith, by the way!"

"Hello, little master friend."

"Dia, the bunny just freaking spoke?!" Lisa freaked out and shielded herself behind the chair, pointing at the cute bunny as if it was a the boogyman.

"Oh, so you can talk in this form?" Dia calmly asked her familiar, brushing a finger against the bunny chubby cheeks.

"When the situation calls for it, I can just communicate with you via mind-link."

"So am I the only one freaking out here!? I mean, we've got vampires! A talking bunny! Alice somehow wields a sword, and my best friend is a witch?! Like what the hell?!" Too many things were being revealed, and Lisa had a hard time processing them.

Dia stared worriedly at her friend, watching when the stressed-out girl ran her fingers through her long raven hair, in the middle of a mental debate with herself, when she finally sat back down in the chair.

"Dia, how long have you known you're a witch?" The severe tone in Lisa's voice made the brunette panic.

"I just found out myself and couldn't believe it either! My brother and aunt have been keeping a lot of secrets from me." Dia told Lisa how she was present the day her parents were killed.

"Wait! The day after your parent's death, I tried to visit you, but your aunt told my dad how you caught a serious illness and how you were lucky not to have been involved in their tragic car accident. For four days you were sick in bed, or at least that is what my dad told me. But before you start jumping to conclusions, Dia, I think you need to talk with them first to get their side of the story."

Lisa didn't want Dia to jump ahead with her conclusions, especially when dealing with such a serious topic that could strain the relationship between the two family members who were alive and whom she loved most. Dia knew Lisa had a point and nodded her head, agreeing to give the two a call once she got a chance.

"Okay, so placing aside all the supernatural stuff, that boy in the hall… he's the secret admirer you've been talking about, right?" Lisa cheekily grinned when she saw how bashful her best friend had become.

"Dia, I got a glimpse of him, and he's freaking hot with a dash of cuteness! Accept his proposal! I mean, the guy did come to your rescue, right?" Lisa wiggled her eyebrows.

"Yes! Yes! He's cute and freaking hot, but Lisa, I still feel shy! Plus, hello, I just found out I'm a witch! So let me first get my life in order before I start dating. Besides, I met the Headmistress, a terrifying woman, I may add, and she told me that starting today, I will be attending Night Class but didn't go into detail."

"Something tells me that Alice would be the right person to ask. How is she doing anyway?" Lisa was concerned for their friend. Alice was bleeding out on the ground the last time she was still conscious.

"Stable, but we shouldn't interfere." Dia remembered the intimate scene between Alice and that beautiful boy with whom she shared a mysterious history.

_ _

Alice's eyelids felt heavy as she cracked them open. Entering her view was a pair of gold orbs filled with concern that flashed with relief once they saw she had finally opened her eyes again. As she began to sit up, a hand reached out to assist her, straightening the pillows on which her back rested.

Staring down at her state of dress, Alice saw the dress she was wearing the other night had been replaced with a white nightgown. She peeked at the bandages covering the injury she received on her shoulder.

"That injury you received was the most severe. Thanks to the assistance from the Disciplinary Committee's Medical Team, the doctor said to give it a week before it will fully heal," said Malik watching how from the moment Alice awoke, she refused to meet his gaze.

Alice was in the middle of going over yesterday's events and scolding Sara for teaming up with Daphne when her chin was seized, forcing her to peer into Malik's golden irises.

"What do you think you are doing?" Alice leveled him with a firm gaze, not fazed by his beautiful perfect face.

"Even now, in this state, you refuse to pay me any attention. Alice, I never took you for a cruel woman."

"Then you never really knew me," Alice struck back. The tension between the two was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Staring into those gold orbs, she challenged him to rebuke the statement she said to him. Malik smirked and slowly inched his face closer until his lips were pressed against Alice's, whose eyes widened with shock. But the shock only lasted momentarily, guiltily giving into the pleasure his lips brought, a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Lisa, I said that it's not a good idea to barge in there!"

"Unless you give me a good reason, I'm barging in!" With a loud boom, the door to the room slammed open and both Lisa and Dia's eyes glued onto the kissing couple. Even with this interruption, Malik continued to kiss Alice much to her embarrassment.

"Hmm, so you two finally made up," casually said Ethan, leaning against the wall with his arm folded across his chest.

"Yay~! So Alice will finally stop ignoring us now?" piped Jasper's excited voice as Alice just wanted to push Malik away and bury her head under the covers.