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Chapter 22 - Sexy Combination...Purr

SEBASTIAN POV

Light filtered through the motel's grimy yellow curtains like it was trying to escape.

Then came the alarm.

That awful, buzzing relic from the depths of hell — somehow worse than the iPhone default.

Sebastian groaned and lifted his head. The pillow had branded his face with deep, angry creases. Dried drool decorated his cheek. His hair looked like a rooster that had gone feral in a thunderstorm.

He shifted and felt something crunchy under his stomach.

"The hell is—"

He rolled over, reached under himself, and pulled out his trail mix bag.

Except it wasn't so much a bag anymore as it was a confetti bomb — peanuts and raisins scattered everywhere.

He blinked at the mess.

"Ah, right. Fell asleep mid–pity party. Classic."

Dragging himself to the bathroom, he stared at his reflection. A disaster. But a disaster with plans.

Then he remembered — Alice's house. Real food. Home-cooked meal.

Instant mood upgrade.

He cleaned up, brushing his hair into something resembling human order, and opened the motel wardrobe. It looked like the start of a tragic documentary: "The Man Who Owned Two Hoodies."

He sighed. "I need to start this coven thing before my fashion becomes a cry for help."

He picked the same jeans (again) and swapped his zip hoodie for the identical non-zip version. Fresh start. Kind of.

Bag in hand, he stepped outside into a light drizzle. Naturally. His hair immediately gave up.

"Cool. Wet rooster aesthetic again. Chicks love that."

He trudged across the school parking lot, already considering the possibility that vampires were secretly weather gods who hated him.

That's when a dark grey BMW E46 M3 rolled in, purring like a mechanical tiger. The V6 sang a beautiful, expensive song.

Sebastian's head turned on instinct. Who's this rich legend?

Then the door opened.

And out stepped Alice.

He froze. His jaw actually dropped a little.

A BMW. Alice. A BMW Alice.

He had two options:

Run over and propose.

Pretend he wasn't a broke mortal mesmerized by German engineering.

He sighed. Stay strong. You are not a gold digger.

He thought about his motel, trail mix, rain walks, and… okay maybe a tiny bit of a gold digger.

Before he could spiral further, Alice walked over, bright-eyed and deadly adorable.

"Sebastian," she said, stopping inches away, tilting her head, "what do you think of my car?"

He lowered his head, meeting her gaze. "It's beautiful — almost as beautiful as you."

She smiled, satisfied. "Really? You like it? You'll get a ride in it later."

His brain short-circuited. Ride… M3… food.

Today might actually be the best day of his life.

"What are you cooking?" he asked, already grinning.

Alice just smiled mysteriously. "It's a surprise. But I promise you'll like it."

He didn't care what it was. As long as it wasn't trail mix.

At his locker, he used his powers to flick the lock open like a show-off magician. Alice raised an eyebrow, amused.

"You have math first with Jasper," she reminded.

Sebastian nodded. "Right. Math. Torture with numbers."

With Alice's help, he found his classroom — though she might as well have been leading a lost puppy.

He was worse than Zoro at school navigation.

Inside, he spotted Jasper sitting in the back. He plopped down beside him.

Weird. The Cullens always sat alone. Intimidation? Or just general "don't talk to us, we sparkle" energy?

Jasper looked over.

"What's up?" Sebastian asked.

"Just hoping you're not picky with food," Jasper said, his Texan drawl smooth and slow.

Sebastian frowned. "Nah, I eat everything. Well, almost everything."

Jasper looked relieved. "Good."

Sebastian blinked. Weird thing to be relieved about, cowboy.

Then Jasper asked, "Do you like going fast in cars?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "You mean… speeding?"

"Yeah. Alice loves it. Very, very illegal speeds."

Sebastian stared at him. "Are you high? Can vampires even get high?"

Jasper smirked faintly. "You'll see."

Maybe not so reliable after all, Sebastian thought. Cool accent though.

The rest of class was uneventful torture.

Next class too. No Alice. Tragic.

He wandered to his locker, dumped his books, and headed to the cafeteria — the land where cuisine went to die.

He spotted Alice waving him over. She pointed to the seat beside her… and to the tray in front of it.

His tray.

He sat, inspecting the meal. Everything was exactly what he usually picked — the least likely to kill him.

He looked at her. "You got everything right."

Alice beamed. "See? I pay attention."

Sebastian took a bite of the sandwich. Immediately regretted it. "Still as dry as the Sahara. I'd rather chew a nicotine pouch."

He looked at her again. "How did you get here before me? Again?"

Alice smiled smugly. "Asked the teacher if I could leave early."

He blinked. "And he just said yes?"

"Helps to be a straight-A student."

Sebastian nodded solemnly. "Can't relate."

Then: "How come we don't have any classes together?"

Alice frowned. "Only Thursdays and Fridays. It's tragic."

"Tragic indeed," he agreed.

The rest of the Cullens arrived, pretending to eat like professional food actors.

Emmett plopped down across from him. "Hey man, you ready to come over later? We can play Tekken."

Sebastian perked up. Tekken? Old-school gaming? I'm in.

"Sure," he said. "I don't mind wiping the floor with you."

Emmett grinned. "Big talk for a human."

As they bickered, Rosalie sighed. "She's staring again."

Sebastian followed her gaze. Bella. Mouth slightly open. Like she was buffering.

He locked eyes with her, then lifted his hand to his chin and flicked it upward.

Bella froze. Blushed. Closed her mouth.

Emmett exploded into laughter so loud the entire cafeteria looked over. Even Rosalie cracked a smile.

Alice elbowed him lightly. "That was mean."

Sebastian shrugged. "Public service. Preventing fly intake."

Jasper tried not to laugh — and failed.

Alice giggled too. "You're terrible."

"Eh, if she's gonna treat us like a reality show, we might as well give her a comedy episode."

Bella didn't stare so openly after that. Progress.

Classes dragged by, and soon it was time to leave.

At his locker, a cold hand slipped into his.

He didn't even need to look. "Alice, walking me to my locker?"

She grinned. "Someone has to. You'd get lost otherwise."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not that bad."

She turned left.

He frowned. "My locker's to the right."

She smirked. "See?"

He pointed dramatically. "You're too distracting. That's my excuse."

She lowered her head shyly but didn't let go of his hand. "This way, lost boy."

He smiled, letting her lead.

Once they reached his locker, he tossed his books in and slammed it shut. "Let's roll."

He marched toward the exit with an exaggerated soldier strut. Alice giggled behind him.

Outside, the lot was empty except for her M3.

He rushed ahead, opened the driver's door, and bowed slightly. "Your chariot awaits, milady."

Alice curtsied playfully and slipped in. "Why, thank you, good sir."

He shut the door, walked around, and climbed in, eyes wide.

"Damn. Leather seats. Fancy."

Alice smiled. "I hope you like excitement."

Sebastian smirked. "Excitement is my middle name."

The tires screeched before he finished the sentence.

He gripped the seatbelt. "Cool, cool, cool. Just gonna… recalibrate my life choices."

Alice grinned. "You'll live."

"If not, at least I'll die impressed," he muttered.

END CHAPTER 22

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