I slowly turned around. Adrian was standing there, looking at us with a blank expression. Well, he was wearing a smirk but I could tell it was forced.
Eddie rejoined the group. "Jill should be out any minute. I've already seen other models start to come out of the dressing room." He glanced at Adrian and looked down at his empty hands. "I'm surprised you haven't already made a stop at the bar."
"I'm going to need to very soon." He looked at me. "Nice to see you again." Then, after a pause he added, "nice jacket."
"I was cold." Was the only thing that came out in response.
Come on, Sydney. My inner voice pleaded, exasperated.
Before anyone could respond with a more intelligent sentence, Jill approached us.
"Sydney!" I turned around just in time for Jill to run up and hug me. "Thank you so much for coming."
"You were amazing, Jill." She pulled away. "Seriously, you were breath-taking."
She smiled and looked over at Trey. "Thank you for coming, too." She gave him a hug. "When Sydney asked if she could bring you, I almost hit myself for not thinking to invite you myself!"
"Don't worry about it. You looked badass up there, I'm just happy I got to see it."
"Thank you." She responded, shyly. "They actually have a separate section for models and their guests. Do you guys want to move over there? It's less crowded."
"Sure, let's go." Eddie said as he walked up to Jill and extended his arm to her. "Lead the way."
She blushed, but grabbed his arm and started walking. As we followed I heard Eddie tell her how amazing she was, and how glad he was that she could model again. I guess some things haven't changed. I wondered if they would ever tell each other how they feel.
"I'm getting a drink." Adrian said to no one, and then walked in the opposite direction as us.
Trey frowned and shook his head.
The more we walked, the more people we ran into. So, Trey grabbed my hand and led the way. He was able to more easily follow Jill and Eddie since he was taller.
We arrived at a section that required Jill to provide her name. We were allowed in and walked to a circular table with Jill's name on it. Adrian joined the group again, this time with a drink in his hand. He stopped across from me and glanced at Trey's hand still in mine. I pulled my hand away from Trey's and sat down.
Trey sat to my right, with Eddie sitting to his right. Jill sat next to Eddie with Adrian to her right, which meant that Adrian was sitting to my left with only an empty chair between us. I ignored how the left side of my body felt slightly warmer than the right side.
"When are you traveling back, Sydney?" Jill asked, pulling me from a distracted state I wasn't even aware I was in.
"Oh, um the day after tomorrow. My flight leaves early so that I can make it back at a decent time."
"Does that mean you would be able to get breakfast with us tomorrow morning? It'd be nice to see you again before you left." She asked, with a smile. "Only if you want to, of course." She added quickly.
Jill was one of the most genuine people I had ever met. I was happy that she no longer had to live in hiding.
I smiled back at her. "I can meet you for breakfast. Just tell me where and when."
"Are you allowed to tell us where your new post is? It must be an exciting spot for them to have needed you so suddenly." Eddie asked.
Trey responded before I could say anything. "She can't tell us. I asked her the same thing at dinner and she changed the subject."
I smiled at Trey. "Well, you're right that I can't tell you." I turned to Eddie. "Sorry, you know how it is."
Adrian snorted as he was taking a sip of his drink. When he noticed that everyone was looking at him he at least seemed a bit surprised. Like, maybe he didn't mean to react out loud. He started to say something but Jill interrupted him.
"Well, I hope your new post is going well regardless of where you are."
"Thank you," I responded. "How about you, are you staying at Court or going back to Michigan?"
I didn't miss how she quickly glanced at Eddie before answering me. "My mom and I were asked to move to Court. I'm being homeschooled the rest of the year, since I've already missed so much. I'll miss my friends back in Detroit but I'm excited to not have to pretend to be a human anymore. No offense."
"So, you'll all be living at that vam-." Trey stopped himself and looked around before continuing. "At that vampire Court?"
"Yes. I'll be getting my official guardian assignment soon, though. I should know within a week if my request is approved."
Request? That piqued my interest. I thought all guardian novices were assigned their charges. "Novices get to request who you're assigned to?"
"Not usually. Only those of us with… special circumstances." He looked uncomfortable for a second, which was something I was not used to seeing from Eddie.
Eddie definitely had gone through his fair share of special circumstances. Like being captured by strigoi and used as a feeder, or seeing his best friend die and then seeing Jill…
"That doesn't mean I'll get the assignment I asked for, though." He finished.
"We'll have a hell of a time together, Castile." Adrian noticed my frown and answered my unspoken question. "He requested to be my guardian. I mean, who wouldn't choose me if given the opportunity? Oh wait…"
I took a deep breath.
Stay calm, Sydney. There's no need to respond. This is nothing you can't handle.
I looked over at Jill and noticed her frown. That's what ended up pushing me over the edge, that he could have been ruining her night.
"Have you considered that maybe not everyone wants to choose you?"
He was in the process of taking another sip of his drink and paused with the cup halfway to his mouth. He put it down on the table and answered with a smirk.
"Sure. But that wasn't the case last time."
"I don't think you should be so certain of that."
"Oh, I'm 100 percent certain that they wanted to choose me." He leaned forward and lowered his voice in a fake whisper. "They were just too scared."
"Okay, I'm lost but I also don't really want to know what you guys are going on about." Trey interrupted before I could respond.
I was so frustrated, I couldn't look at Adrian any longer. How dare he assume that he knows what I want? How dare he even try to bring it up here and now?
"Sorry," I told Trey. I could feel myself blushing. Why was I blushing!
I will not let Adrian Ivashkov get under my skin again for the rest of the night. For the rest of my life, actually, since I'll probably never see him again after this.
