The Big A.S.S. Party (Zodiac Academy, #5.5)

by Caroline Peckham

Note to all students: Vampire bites, loss of limbs or getting lost in The Wailing Wood will not count as a valid excuse for being late to class. If you want to socialise with your fellow students

“Fuck, Grus, I have no idea why, but when you talk like an insane person it turns me on so goddamn much,” Max growled.

Lmaoooo

It felt so much more intimate than kissing or even bumping naughty norberts. We were baring our souls and letting them snuggle up like wombats in the wild.

“Oh, silly boy,” Geraldine said as she looked down at me with wild eyes. “You didn’t think you’d be in charge here, did you?”

“I wanted to see Roxy smile and Darcy…fuck, she’s dealing with enough shit. I just wanted one good day. It might not be a fucking fairy wonderland in here, but it’s a place where we can all forget the world for a while.”

"It's just, her fucking birthday. And after we saw the place they were living in the mortal world, I'm willing to bet she never had parties or presents or any of the shit we take for granted and now I can't even give her a fucking kiss. I feel like she's mine, but she isn't at all. If she was my girl, I'd give her the damn world for her birthday. And now I have to just stand back and turn up at a party I was never even meant to be invited to and question myself over the gift I got her for the millionth goddamn time because it feels like a dick move to give it to her and an even bigger dick move not to and I just..."

Geraldine: Is Mildred dealt with, you tantalising terrapin? Maxy Boy: She’s all locked up, you sexy starfish.

Hahaha

I laughed and my smile widened as Geraldine finally fell for the lie, her face splitting into a wide grin.

"You got me a present?" she asked curiously, looking up at him as she bit her lip and waited. "I got you both one," he replied, pulling two little boxes from his pocket and handing them to the twins. "As it's both of your birthdays."

Awwww

Inside the box was a platinum charm bracelet with seven charms on it. One for each of the elements they possessed, air, fire, earth and water, another with the Gemini symbol on it, a letter G and an R.

Tory laughed as she opened her own box and lifted a matching bracelet from the little cushion inside it. The only difference to this was the Dragon charm carved entirely out of rose quartz which shone pink beside the letter R. She stared at it for long enough to make it clear that she understood the meaning of the rose quartz. Darius was telling her that he belonged to her and that he wanted her to belong to him in return. Even if the stars wouldn't allow that in a physical sense.

"If you're barnacle enough then come and follow me and show me how well your haddock can do the ocean jive." "I dunno what the fuck that means, but I'm in,"

Darius was standing close enough to Tory for them to be sharing body heat without quite touching each other. Instead of watching any of the fireworks, his gaze was fixed on her, this look of longing on his face that made my soul hurt.