CHAPTER 46: DISASTER IN THE SHOWER

Sylas’s eyes were focused on her. They lingered for a long time, before he tilted his head back, closed his eyes for a heartbeat and sucked in a deep breath.

When he opened it, he didn’t look directly at her.

He couldn’t afford to get sucked in by those eyes.

Theo reached in and grabbed his arm, gently caressing the strong muscles, "Don’t you want to?!" She asked in the fervent whisper, her eyes twinkling with delight and hope.

He made the mistake of looking at her again, and she smiled at him.

"You’re drunk," The words were spoken like they were scraping against restraint, "You don’t know what you’re saying,"

She pouted harder this time, "Nooooooo...I’m perfectly fine,"

He didn’t listen this time. Didn’t give her or himself the chance to. When he pulled her arm this time, he didn’t let her sweet tone and words draw him back.

They got out of the bathroom, Theodora still actively complaining behind him. Sylas remained silent, his teeth clenched hard as he forced her back into bed.

"I won’t be able to get any sleep like this," She said sluggishly.

"Yes, you will,"

"I’m not even sleepy,"

"You will be,"

"You don’t understand," She cried, "I need to take my bath and get to class. My homeroom Professor...,"

"Your Homeroom teacher won’t punish you," He finished.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"I’ll talk to him," He said.

"He won’t listen to you. " The only person he could possibly listen to is the Commandant, and I’ve heard rumours that he’s even more powerful than the Commandant," she said, throwing the covers aside and trying to stand up. "That is why I have to go." I need to go,"

Sylas groaned again, "If you walk out there, everyone is gonna know your secret,"

She blinked, then gasped, "Oh my God," then she touched her face and chest frantically, "Wait, where are my boobs?!" She cried.

Sylas dragged his fingers down his face, biting back another groan, "You need to lie down. I promise I’ll convince your Homeroom teacher no matter what it takes, and..., I’m gonna find your boobs,"

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously before a silly grin spread across her face again. "You promise?"

He nodded, "I promise,"

"Can I take my bath before I go to bed?"

His eyes twitched, "Is there any chance that you’re gonna stop doing this without taking your bath?"

She shook her head, "I’m quite stubborn,"

"I’m aware,"

Sylas pushed up to his feet and helped her out of bed. They walked into the bathroom again, and he helped her get into the glass cubicle where the shower awaited.

"If you fall, it’s none of my business," He said, a hand around her waist.

"You’re not staying with me?"

"No!" He snapped.

She pouted again, "Alright," She said and placed both hands on the wall, trying to steady herself, "You can go now,"

He turned on the shower for her, then walked out and closed the cubicle.

He had just turned to leave when she whined, "I can’t get my clothes off,"

He ignored it and kept going.

"Professor?" She called.

His muscle twitched.

"Could you help me take off my clothes?"

"Do it yourself,"

He could hear her struggling, "It’s not working,"

"Try harder,"

"I’m stuck,"

He glanced back for a second and saw her shirt halfway through, her hands suspended in the air, and her pants barely hanging from her waist.

She cried again, "I’m really stuck, and my eyes are spinning so hard,"

Against everything, he walked back to the cubicle and pulled off the shirt from her head in one fluid movement, only to catch a different sight than expected.

He froze.

"Why did you change back?" He whispered.

"Changed?" She glanced down at herself and saw that she was back to her female form, "Wow! You found my boobs!"

Sylas turned around quickly, clearing his throat, "There’s a towel hanging by the door. Use that,"

"Seraphina said something about breaking down the alcohol, that I needed to change back for that to happen... Blah, blah, blah..., and she was gone again,"

"Seraphina?"

"Ugh! I can’t stand on my own. I can’t do anything in this state,"

"That’s exactly why I said you should go and lie down,"

She squinted her eyes at him, "Is it just me, or do you look tense from the back?"

He stepped out of the cubicle, a little too quickly, "I’m fine,"

"Alright," She said and kicked off her pants, a hand still supporting her weight to the wall, "But don’t leave me, ok?"

"Just take your bath already,"

She swayed as she stood under the shower, and the warm water cascaded down her body. She sighed as the warmth caressed her skin, already feeling rejuvenated again.

She looked up and saw the blurry figure of Sylas standing right outside. His shoulders were even more tensed than before, rising and falling fast.

Was he okay?

"Professor, are you sick?" She asked.

There was no reply.

"They said if you feel sick and you take a bath, you’d feel instantly better," She continued innocently.

Only the sound of the shower could be heard.

"Professor?" She took a step forward, trying to find her balance, "You should really take my advice. Right now, I feel so much better and you can also--"

"You need to stop talking!" He snapped so hard she almost didn’t recognise his voice and yelped.

The balance she had been struggling to keep slipped, and her eyes spun even faster as she felt herself falling back.

She extended her hand to grip something, but her desperate flaring hands only met thin air. For a brief moment, she felt like puking really badly and couldn’t keep it from coming out.

Just as she accepted her fate and waited for impact with the bathroom floor, she heard a swift intake of breath, followed by rushed footsteps.

A cold arm wrapped around her back, a sharp contrast to the warm water and shivers rolled down her spine. Pressure was applied to her back as she was reeled back forward, toward his body.

Her palms fell on his shoulders, and her body crashed against a firm chest, steady and solid.

The shock made her breath hitch.

"You’re unbelievable," He rasped, staring down at her face.

She wanted to say something back and tilted her head up a little too fast, vision swarming, and suddenly their lips met.

It wasn’t graceful nor intentional. Her upper lip pressed clumsily against his lower lip - warm, soft, cold, a split second of stunned silence, and the shower running between their faces.

And then, it happened.

A violent jolt ran through her stomach, and she made a funny noise with her throat. Before either of them could move, the contents of her stomach were all over his lips and tongue.

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