Only Liars, But We're The Best

When I came around, the sun's rays were shining warmly on my face. As I slowly pried open my heavy-lidded eyes, I took in the surroundings around me.

I realized I had managed to land myself in my bed, but I'm guessing that either one of the guys carried me here. I looked down and noticed that I was still wearing yesterday's clothing. Nonetheless, I was grateful for having to wake up at all.

I tossed aside the blanket and fully stretched myself before getting up and out of bed. As I brought my feet down on the floor, my toes brushed against something.

Or someone, to be precise.

Withdrawing my feet instantly, I peered over my bed to see what I had accidentally stepped upon. To my utmost surprise, I saw my best friend curled up and fast asleep on my bedroom floor.

Also, not forgetting to mention that he was butt naked.

"Ryan?!"

My high-pitched squeal startled Ryan, that he woke up with a start. Which, was a bad move as he turned to face me hastily; full-frontal in his naked glory. I gave out another screech before shutting my eyes tightly. Reaching out blindly for my blanket, I chucked it towards Ryan.

The thudding of footsteps were heard along the corridor and they were coming towards my bedroom. I had a feeling that my screams not only startled Ryan, but the other guys as well.

"Mai! Are you al-- What the fuck?" Joe hollered.

"It's not what you think it is!" Ryan yelled. "I can explain!"

"What are you doing in Mai's room? In the nude?" Patrick asked, his voice higher than usual.

I opened my eyelids slowly, half afraid to see the commotion happening around me. With a peek, I glanced at Ryan first to make sure he was covered up. He was bundled up in my blanket and my eyes immediately shot open.

Joe, Patrick and Andy were confronting Ryan, and they were blocking my bedroom door, not allowing him to escape. Ryan's face paled even further.

"Listen to me, please! I'll explain. Just- just trust me," Ryan pleaded. His hazel eyes showed fear, while the look on his face made my stomach do a backflip.

"Leave him alone," I said out loudly, surprising the guys. All of them turned to me, uncertain whether it was alright to let Ryan off the hook.

I got off from my bed and walked towards the four men. "I trust him, 'cause I know that look on his face. He's telling the truth."

Relief washed over Ryan and he let out a soft sigh. He gave me a look of gratitude and I returned it with a small smile.

"But first, let's get him some clothes, yeah?" Patrick remarked, earning a guffaw from Joe and making me go red in the face again.



"You're a what?!" Pete cried out, startling the rest of us.

"I'm a familiar," Ryan replied, flinching at Pete's outburst.

"In case you're wondering what's a familiar, it's a supernatural being which helps a witch. Familiars usually takes form of a cat, hence that's why witches are always portrayed with a black cat in fairy tales," Patrick explained.

The six of us were seated in the living room later that evening, to talk about Ryan's incident which happened during the day. Initially, we thought of having to wait until Pete wakes up for the interrogation, but Patrick was too impatient and the four of us had listened to Ryan's explanation right after he got dressed.

Ryan was a familiar, sent to me to become my aid; my loyal bodyguard. His family came from a long line of familiars and they had been serving my family ever since my ancestors manifested their powers.

The relationship between a witch and a familiar was the same as that of a master and a slave. However, I refused to think of Ryan as my slave. How could I treat him as some kind of lowly creature made to serve me, when we had been friends since young? I still couldn't digest this shocking information.

"And you've been keeping watch on Mai in that form since..." Pete trailed off.

"Ever since I first met her, back in elementary school. Under the bleachers," Ryan answered, his gaze shifting to me. "I only started to make myself known to her recently, 'cause she's learning to accept herself for what she really is."

"You knew I was a witch all along?" I asked, failing to hide my surprise as Ryan didn't include this little fact during the afternoon's meeting.

"Yup. I was assigned to aid you ever since I was born, like how it had been for my grandad and your gramps. That's how it works in a family of familiars. Your dad denied his lineage by refusing to manifest his powers, hence that's why my mom wasn't called upon to serve him. Nonetheless, she was always ready to aid your dad if the need arises."

There was a moment's pause when Andy spoke up.

"But, why now?"

Everyone turned to look at him. Andy shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the attention. He cleared his throat and raised his voice a bit.

"What I'm trying to say is, why make yourself known after all these years of keeping yourself hidden? You and Maiya had been friends for nearly fifteen years, and you waited 'til now to tell us that you're not even human?"

"I had to do this as Mai was reluctant to manifest her powers earlier. If she hadn't stop practicing magick, I would have told her the truth. Furthermore, she's now part of the supernatural world, knowing that vampires roamed the streets at night." Ryan finished. He glanced at Pete and gave a curt nod to my stepbrother.

"Did anyone in my family knew about you being my familiar? What happened to your grandad after gramps died? And oh my God, all this while when I let you stay here, thinking you're just a normal cat!" I cried, horrified at the thought of having Ryan to spy on me while I was changing.

"Whoa, calm down Mai," Ryan said. "One thing at a time. And to clear things up, it wasn't my intention to sleep in your bedroom yesterday night! I was too tired to get back to my own place after fighting off Brendon." I could hear his voice hitch a little at the mention of our former friend. "Besides, that was why you didn't see me in your bedroom every morning as I took off before you wake up."

"I was the one who placed the cat in your bedroom, after you passed out on me," Patrick said softly. "He did good, scratching Bren all over the vampire's face until we arrive." A wave of relief washed over me and I looked at Ryan to urge him to continue.

"Your gramps knew about me, seeing she is a powerful witch. Your dad and Dale doesn't know though. I told Lynn to keep it a secret until you're ready to accept what you are."

"A witch and her familiar have a strong bond with each other. However, it will be broken once any one of them decides to break it, and the only way to do so, is to get married. So my late grandad's bond was broken when Lynn decided it was time for her to settle down. Otherwise, familiars and witches will be bonded to each other for the rest of their lives."

Ryan paused to take a sip of water, then continued. "Safe to say, we're stuck with each other for a long time, Mai."

Pete stood up abruptly from his seat, startling us all. "Speaking of Brendon, you both know him?"

"Yeah, he's Ryan's roommate. I know him too," I answered on behalf of Ryan.

Pete's face creased with worry. "Didja both know that he's The Dandies second in-command?" Ryan and I shook our heads. Yesterday night's incident flooded back to me and I let out a loud gasp.

"Pete, Brendon said something about William wanting to capture me alive."

"Fuck."