He knew Ryka didn’t like it – it wasn’t sweet enough – but Kyle loved coffee. The smell especially. And after being stuck in a stuffy classroom with twenty-one teenagers following their gym period, it was as close to Heaven as he was likely to get. Fully enjoying the aroma, he filled his mug before setting the pot back on the warmer.

Two of his colleagues, who had been in the adjoining room making photocopies by the sound of it, stepped into the teachers’ lounge. And nearly jumped out of their skins when they saw him. They tried to hide their reactions, and Kyle obligingly ignored their fear, instead offering a friendly nod as they headed back out into the hall. Both forced nervous smiles and hurried away.

Ryka only mumbled in his sleep. Neither their sudden terror nor Kyle’s discomfort were enough to rouse the demon. With a sigh, Kyle sat down at the table. If anyone else came in, he’d leave. His classroom was empty; he’d really just wanted a change of scenery. It wasn’t worth the startled gasps and looks of wide-eyed terror, though he supposed Ryka would disagree. If he were awake.

So when the door opened, he started to stand but quickly plopped back down when he saw who had entered.

“Hey,” Adam greeted, genuinely cheerful. “How’s the coffee today? Someone burned it yesterday.”

“Pretty good, actually. Thankfully.”

“That’s very good news, because I really need this.” Adam filled his travel mug to the brim before taking a seat across from Kyle. Eyes closed in caffeine-induced bliss, he took a sip. “That’s much better.”

Kyle laughed. “Long night?” It was still early in the school year, and students and staff alike were struggling with the transition.

“We were up way too late watching TV. Got sucked into some home improvement show, and suddenly it was one in the morning.” Adam paused to take another swig of his coffee. “You look well-rested, though.”

“Don’t I always?” Kyle joked. Now it was Adam’s turn to laugh. More often than not, Kyle sported dark bags under bloodshot eyes. Ryka liked to stay up late, meaning his host had to do the same. And unlike his parasite, Kyle couldn’t sleep off their late nights the next day. Summoning him in the morning would have improved his appearance, but created another issue entirely.

“Is saying I’m not going to say anything saying something?”

“Yes, but don’t worry about it. I know what I usually look like. But he’s been lazy lately, and that means I get to sleep. Just like he is now, the lucky bastard.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“That’s a bit inconvenient, isn’t it? That he’s basically nocturnal?”

“Usually. I know it is for me. It’s boring for him. He knows he needs to let me sleep at least some of the time, which means he has some pretty dull nights.”

Since Kyle had made it very clear the demon was currently dozing, Adam felt safer asking questions. Not that he was planning on prying too intently. “So, what does he do then, when you’re asleep?”

At that, Kyle smirked. “He’s going to say I’m ruining his reputation if I tell you.”

“Then you don’t have to,” Adam quickly replied. He didn’t need to end up on Ryka’s bad side, which seemed a very easy thing to do.

Shaking his head, Kyle told him, “No, I can tell. It’s … unexpected, I guess.”

Since Kyle wasn’t blushing, Adam assumed this wasn’t going to be anything he didn’t want to know, either. So now he was really curious. “Okay ….”

“Well, I told you he reads with me. Usually, anyhow. I think he’s pretty well burned out on the Civil War, but too bad.”

“Right.” It had been surprising enough to learn that whenever Kyle was reading, Ryka was as well. Even more interesting had been hearing this from Kate’s point of view. One of the things that had attracted her to Kyle had been his interest in a wide variety of subjects, as evidenced by the far-ranging assortment of books he’d always checked out from the library. She had looked a little ill when Adam had informed her that many of those selections had probably been Ryka’s.

“He does like reading. I mean, he likes TV more, but even if I left it on, he’d only be able to hear it. So, I’ll put on an audiobook. And he listens to that all night.”

“That is … yeah, unexpected is the right word.”

“And if he gets tired of that, he turns on the radio.” Adam knew Ryka was becoming quite adept at playing with electronics, so this wasn’t surprising.

“I’m just amazed you can sleep through that. I feel like it would wake me up.”

Kyle shrugged. “I’ve always been a deep sleeper. And he’ll just knock me out if I’m tossing and turning too much or start to wake up.”

Background noise had never been a problem. The only time Ryka’s overnight audiobook habit interrupted his sleep was if Ryka was listening to some steamy romance. It had happened twice that Ryka had found a startling – but certainly not unpleasant – way to wake his host.

Shaking his head to clear the thought before Ryka noticed it, Kyle returned his attention to Adam. “So yeah, if you have any recommendations, I’ll take them.”

“That’s practically my job. And it’s actually Kate’s. We’ll make a list.”

“Much appreciated. I really like sleeping, so anything to keep him entertained while I do that.”

“Of course. Anything we should avoid?”

“Nothing religious. Or supernatural stuff that’s based on - and I use this term loosely - true events.”

“Gotcha.” Adam had been prepared for that. He knew there were certain things host and parasite couldn’t say, or stand to hear. But there was apparently more to it than that.

“I don’t need him writing the editors with corrections.”