Creeping*

I slept deeply that night, exhausted from my thoughts the whole day. I'd expected only darkness but something... someone welcomed me in my dreams.

Fingers stroked my hair gently and I felt a sharp blade caressing my chest. I opened my eyes and gripped the wrist that held the knife.

I found myself within touching distance of the most dangerous male I've ever seen. Again.

The stranger who claimed that he is Riley is back.

And he's in my room.

Alone.

"I can't seem to kill you now that I've broken the curse." He withdrew his knife and tucked it safely away from me and said, "But that would not stop the other Knights from killing you."

My eyes widened in shock as I scooted away from him in my bed as much as possible."What are you doing here?"

"Calm down. I won't hurt you. This is just a dream. " He bridged the remaining distance and ran his fingers through my hair. I flinched when he patted my head carefully, his hand seems to linger before dropping. He turned his back on me.

"How can you assure me that you wouldn't hurt me when you could touch me like this?" I allowed myself to appreciate his sheer male beauty while fear gripped me tight at the same time. "For all I know, you could choke me to death by now and when I wake up, I'd be dead."

"Have you ever heard of Astral Projection? I can't do it for long." The stranger finally turned to glance at me. His tone was silky smooth. "The shadows might possess my body anytime. My physical form is vulnerable right now. I risked myself for you. There are things you should know. I came here to warn you about them."

"Stay away from me. I don't even know who you are." I warned him as I moved farther, stumbling out of bed in haste and I tripped on the blankets.

"I told you I'm Riley, didn't I?" He smiled, amused. I knew he was laughing at me.

I looked at him funny. I should be the one laughing at him right now. Still, I'm irked by the stupid words that came out of his stupid heart-shaped mouth.

"Fine. You don't believe me?" He raised a brow. "Take off the necklace."

"Over my dead body," I said. I have a feeling I wouldn't like the results. "Why don't you just grab it and break the chain if you want it that badly?"

Why is everyone so fixated on the necklace anyway?

"What? So I could choke you to death as you wanted? I'll pass." He chuckled. "We might be friends, Cass, but common sense must have told you it's bad to give suggestions to a potential killer." The stranger rolled his eyes the same as what my best friend Riley used to do.

The tiny hairs of the back of my neck slowly rose. I swallowed before speaking, "So you admit you wanted to kill me?"

"Just take off the goddamn necklace." Something bright and angry glittered in those blue eyes; I have no choice but to obey. With shaking hands, I unclasped the opal necklace and dropped it on the floor.

Everything seems to be in slow motion as I see Riley with long auburn hair and the familiar blue eyes meeting mine. Riley's eyes were remarkably clear, as calm as the deepest ocean.

My hands fumbled to pick up the necklace and wore it again and I saw the male stranger in front of me. I let go of the necklace and touched it again. A girl. A boy. Riley. Then, the stranger. I did it repetitively and I still couldn't believe my eyes.

"What the actual fuck?" I yelped, spooked. The hairs on my neck lifted again. I forced myself to return his gaze.

His responsive smile was so wicked as he said, "It's called glamour, baby."

We stare at each other.

Almost a minute later, I spoke to him. "I'm going crazy as my mom said. God, the moment I wake up in this nightmare I'm visiting a psychiatrist. That's why I haven't seen your family even once because you were living a pretentious life! You lied to me for a year!" I burst out as I paced in my room like a caged animal and narrowed my eyes at him. "Tell me, do you even have a family?"

"I have a family and the moment they're near, they'd kill you." He said a matter-of-factly.

"Why?" I asked.

"I'll tell you if you tell me who gave you the necklace."

"The psychic," I told him. I have every intention of finding out what he knew. "She gave it to me."

"Describe her for me." He said dryly.

"If you see her in person, you'd fall in love right away. She's so beau—"

"Oh shit." He cursed.

I searched his face for answers. "Why?"

"You met the Goddess of Beauty herself. Aphrodite gave you Aegis to protect yourself from the other Houses."

"Aphrodite?" I asked in disbelief. "As in the Greek Goddess?"

To my surprise, he answered without hesitation. "Yes."

"Aegis nullifies all kinds of magic and it will make you impervious to spells and weapons. I wonder if Zeus knew that she's playing around with Destiny." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "What is it with you that Aphrodite is interfering with?"

"Maybe, she got bored?" I supplied stupidly.

I don't even know if what he's saying is true or not. There's a reason why a myth stays a myth. Because it is not true!

"Assuming I wasn't hallucinating, what is your true form? The female or the male?" I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. "I'm so messed up in my head right now I don't know what to believe anymore!"

"I'm truly a male. The female, Riley, is the glamour." He explained, his voice low and rough as his eyes lingered for a second longer than necessary. "It'd be easier to get closer to you that way and for you to let down your guard on me."

"Yeah, enough to let down my guard and have sleepovers with Ri—I mean you! I laid with you in the same bed and took off my clothes and changed in front of you while you watch me with rapt attention!" I shot back, clenching my fists needing to punch something. His arrogantly handsome face will do. "And here I thought my best friend went lesbian on me or something!"

"I didn't watch you like a pervert, okay?" He traced the shape of my body with his eyes while I wore only skimpy sleeping clothes. He leaned forward a fraction. "I was just fascinated a bit. I'm a breast kind of guy so it puzzled me to see a flat-chested one."