"I have always known that you like her son," The middle aged man said to the young man beside him.
Ezra felt an impending headache come upon him. He knew what would follow. Talks of how he should cherish the one he loves and become man enough and express his feelings.
Just then Erica walked to him, Gia trailing behind her.
"If it isn't my love sick cousin." Gia looked up to meet his eyes then looked away shy. But Ezra looked on. Not at her but the figure behind her.
Though 3 kilometers away, he could still tell who it was, the reason he was here.
"Hey, I still can't believe that you changed your mind and decided to be here," Erica said, giving him a light punch.
He averted his gaze from the figure onto her.
"What? " He asked.
"I just asked a question. Don't tell me you weren't paying attention." She looked at the direction he was staring at.
"I heard." He lied smoothly. "I just wanted you to repeat." He smirked against her glare.
"And, has it made you grow taller?" she bit back.
"Do not forget that I am 6 '4 compared with you, what is it again, 5' 5, oh, now I remember, 5 '3," he replied, laughing as her eyes became red in anger.
Her claws came out and she reached for his face but he dodged.
"Erica!! What is that?" Her mom came right onto her. She took hold of her hand to take a closer look. But she struggled against her grip.
"Mom, what are you trying to do?"
"Did I just see your hand with claws?"
"What? No. Stop, you are embarrassing me." She closed her eyes, calming her nerves.
"See, there was never a claw." She showed her hands to her mom and then shot a glare at Ezra who was laughing at the corner.
He heard her call him "Satan" but he just laughed harder.
"Enough children!!" His mom said. She looked between the both of them.
"This should be the last time you display such cosplay," she said.
"Erica, you should know better than him, you are the eldest. And you, Ezra, I don't know why you change your mind, but if you are here to show yourself to the world then you better get your bags. There's no way I'm going to let you ruin the family legacy." She gave him a hard look while he stood looking down as if wrongly accused.
Someone walked to her, whispering into her ears and she left with the person.
Ezra looked to the place he had seen her. She was gone.
In the midst of hundreds of students who resumed this year's academic session, it wasn't easy to spot a particular black-haired right away. Still he scanned through each face.
"You look distracted," someone whispered into his ear, breaking his gaze. Gia.
She looked down when his eyes landed on her.
"You are looking for someone?" She asked.
He saw his dad send him a wink from the corner of his eyes. Ever eager to match him with Gia at every given opportunity he had.
"A friend," he replied.
"Kingsley is here too?" She asked, looking around as if he was close by.
"Not Kingsley." Just then, his mom arrived. She handed some papers to them.
"Here, take this to the banking department." He quickly glanced through.
"Really? Are they stuck in the 1900's?" He asked and his mom sent him a glare.
"Hurry now. Where is Erica?"
"I don't know." He shrugged, walking away.
"Ezra, wait for Giana!" His mom said, but he just strode away.
He was in no mood to play babysitter. Besides, Gia could find her way.
It had not taken him long to arrive at the bank. He walked inside, heading to one of the receptionists.
His phone rang from his pocket and he pulled it out intending to answer. Just then, someone bumped into him.
The familiar scent of sweet berries drifted into his nostrils and he inhaled deeply drinking in the soothingness it offered. It was raw, overwhelming yet pure.
It had been ages since he last felt this pull. Without having to look at the intruder's face he immediately realised who it was. His mate.
She looked up to meet his face, first embarrassed, then upset, possibly because she felt he was at fault. He could tell from her facial expressions, always easy to tell.
She was still as gorgeous as he remembered.
His heart race uncontrollably, as everyone seems to disappear and all was left was her in front of him.
Her eyebrows shoot up and he found himself ready to apologise even though she was the one who had bumped into him.
Just his lip opened, he heard Erica's voice call his name. He turned, walking away.
He didn't want Erica seeing her just yet.
"Jerk." He heard her say under her breath.
He smiled. Even her voice sounded the same.
When Erica saw him, she immediately began complaining
"I have been calling you for ages. And why are you smiling?"
"Who was that?" Gia asked.
"A friend." He said against Erica's accusing eyes.
"Oh the one you spoke about?" It was Gia's turn to receive Erica's look.
"He just told me some minutes ago," Gia said to defend herself.
Erica looked between the both of them then her lip pulled up in a smile.
"Awwn. You guys are now keeping secrets."
She linked hands with him.
"I'm not interested in a couple's secrets. Come let's submit this. I can't wait to meet my roommates," she said, pulling him along.
Meanwhile, Gia pulled out a phone, dialing a number.
____
Erica was thrilled to receive her room and was jumping when she saw that she shared the same room with Gia.
Ezra pinched the bridge and his nose. He wondered how she, out of the people on earth, got related to him.
"What's your room number?" Gia asked him. He looked down on the sheet in his hand where the number stood bolden.
"Room number Five," he said. Even though he hadn't wanted her to know his room, he changed his mind. She could be useful in his plot for revenge.
A young lady walked over to them.
"Please who is Giana Thompson?" She asked.
"I am. Any problem?"
"Uhumm. Nothing serious. Here. Miss Ann told me to give this to you. She mentioned something about some mix-up." She handed a sheet to Giana which she collected.
"Thanks," she said and the lady walked back.
Gia opened the paper and stood still for some minutes. Ezra saw a subtle surprise which crossed her face before disappearing.
She looked up again, passing the paper to Erica. Erica's face turned into a frown then stormed inside but Gia stopped her before she could go further.
"We will still be in the same Hostel, it's not that big a deal," she said to her.
Ezra raised his eyebrows wondering what was in the paper. He collected it from Erica's hand. It was a change of hostel room and class schedule.
"Let me go! How could they do this to us?" Erica said in a loud voice.
Ezra rolled his eyes at her outburst. Always so dramatic.
"I'm leaving," he said walking away. He didn't have the time for drama.
He walked towards the private parking lots. His dad was still around.
"Hey son," he called upon sighting him. "Where are the others?"
"On their way." He opened the car boot, bringing out his luggage. He should have sent them earlier.
"Need help?"
"Nope. I'm good. See you whenever that will be." He nodded, dragging the boxes along.
The hostel was a 10 minutes walk away from the private lots and he arrived quicker with his long stride.
His room was at the left, second to the last.
A door just beside his room opened and an older man walked out.
He recognised him immediately. His mate's dad. A younger male came out after him.
Ezra cock his brows, his source had told him she was the only child of her parents, perhaps it could there be an error?
He greeted the father and son pair, and they nodded in reply, going back to their discussions.
The younger man looked like he was getting scolded or something.
Ezra pushed open his room. The room was cozy, tidy. He had requested a private room.
He walked in, stopping to check on the bathroom. It was okay. Though it wasn't as big as the one back home.
He settled the boxes into the wooden closet and walked to the window. There was nothing fascinating, just the sound of chaotic chattery of the students as they tried setting hangs in the air.
Ezra walked back to the bed, collapsing directly on it. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and he needed all the energy in the world to face it.
His lip curled into a faint smile as memories from earlier played in his mind.
He had not expected to meet her that soon. Thoughts of how her wild eyes had held him captivated played in his mind.
After so many years she still held this sort of pull on him.
A part of him was pleased and while the other part felt trapped. And it was drawn on him, he could never escape it, the endless circle of loving her. But this time, he was going to fight it, this was his chance at healing.