“Nowadays, humans are lecturing me too,” Alexander mumbled under his breath and stormed off the empty classroom. Then he reached room 240, where Becca and Lucas were working together sitting on the last bench.
Spotting Alexander, Lucas said, “Look who decided to show his handsome face.”
“At least, I am handsome, unlike you,” Alexander retorted and stole a glance at Becca, who smiled at him. That damn contagious smile.
“You two should help me find a topic,” Becca announced. “And why are you standing there, Alex? Come and sit.”
With a curt nod, Alexander made his way over to them and sat on the last bench as well, next to Becca.
“So, what should be the topic?” Becca asked, hoping to get a nice answer, but she ended up being disappointed.
Lucas replied, “I have no idea. I am hopeless in writing stuff with feelings in it.”
“How to murder annoying people,” responded Alexander, which made Becca and Lucas look at him as if he had grown two heads. “What? I can write something—no, actually. I can note down plenty of ways to murder them and you can make prose out of it,” he told Becca.
She sighed in disappointment. She understood that it was hopeless to expect anything from those two. She re-read the notes she wrote during the class.
“I don’t fucking understand the point of all this,” Alexander grumbled. “Why should we be punished in the first place? His class was boring.”
“I know, right?” Lucas agreed. “His voice sounds like he is constipated.”
“Also, today was the first class and he already started talking about the stupid love,” Alexander grunted in annoyance.
Immediately, an idea sprang into Becca’s mind and a smile crept on her face. “Guys, I have got a perfect idea.”
“Which is?” inquired Alexander, not finding her smile comfortable at all.
“Non-happily ever after,” she replied. “We can write a poem on love which has a sad ending.”
“You mean unrequited love?” Lucas asked to be clearer on the scope of the project.
Becca nodded her head. “Yes.”
“That is perfect,” Lucas said with a smile.
A grin evolved on her face, which instantly dropped when Alexander said, “This idea is shit.”
She turned towards Alexander. “Why do you think this idea is shit?” she asked, feeling offended.
“Because love is crap,” he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
A gasp escaped Becca’s lips as she stood up from her seat. “Did you call love crap?”
“Uh-oh,” Lucas murmured, realizing what was about to happen.
“Yes,” Alexander said calmly, while reclining back in his seat.
“Love is not crap. Rather it is the best feeling ever,” Becca spoke up. “Do you not believe in love, Alex?”
“No,” he deadpanned.
“Why not?” Becca was unhappy because her friend didn’t believe in love, something she would fantasize about all the time. “Love is such a nice feeling, so pure. If you love someone, it means you care for that person, you want to be with that person. It is a positive feeling, which is ever-lasting.”
“Yeah, right. Such a waste of time.”
Alexander didn’t seem bothered while Becca was trying to prove that love wasn’t crappy. Each time she tried to prove her point, Alexander would give such a response that infuriated Becca more than before.
Lucas enjoyed watching them and took a sip of his cold drink which he had on his hand.
“Okay, fine. Work on that topic with Lucas,” Alexander said harshly and got up from his seat after he understood that Becca wouldn’t stop talking until he said that he believed in love. It was angering him and he didn’t want to expose his true self to Becca. His eyes turned red once again, unable to control himself from exposing his real form.
“Wait, Alexander,” Becca uttered while standing and grabbed his hand, stopping him from walking away. “Don’t go.”
As soon as Becca’s warm hand touched his cold one, a feeling of warmth reached Alexander. At that instant, his red eyes turned green, as if her single touch calmed the savage beast within, a vampire.
It was the first time his anger was vanquished into calmness with a single touch, that too with the touch of Becca Hertford. He thought, what was this Becca Hertford?
Chapter 9: Poem Completion
Alexander turned to Becca and said with an expressionless face, “Fine.” He didn’t argue further as he took a seat once again.
It amused Lucas when he saw that Alexander actually calmed down with one touch from Becca. How can this be possible when Alexander is known as one of the most dangerous vampires because of his temper? Lucas wondered, still not believing what he saw right in front of his eyes.
“Let’s not argue anymore and stick to unrequited love,” Becca beamed when Alexander didn’t protest on the topic anymore and she sat back on her chair. “Are you okay with it?”
“Will you change the topic if I said no?” he deadpanned.
She shook her head and twitched her lips. “Unfortunately, not. I love this topic so I won’t change it.”
Alexander said, “Then why did you even ask whether I was okay with it?”
“Courtesy,” she simply replied with an innocent look covering her face. The look almost melted Alexander, so he decided not to talk back further and let her do whatever she wanted to. “Okay, so how should we start?” Becca started.
Lucas shrugged his shoulder in response.
“Maybe from a person’s point of view who has a crush on someone,” Alexander suggested. “Maybe a girl’s.”
“Why not a boy’s one?” Becca questioned, which made him want to bang his head on the wall.
He knew that if he said to write from a boy’s perspective now, she would question as well. Not wanting to answer any more questions of hers, he spoke up, “You decide whether it will be from a girl’s perspective or a boy’s.”
Becca put the back of the fountain pen on her cheek, thinking whether it was a good idea or not. “What if we write it in such a way that it can reflect feelings of a person? Like, it can be from a boy’s perspective, also a girl’s or maybe of a trans as well.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Lucas said and shoved the notebook towards Becca. “You write it. If Mr. Risorito sees my handwriting, he will make us write three more poems as a punishment for not taking his words seriously.”
“Alex, do you want to write?” Becca asked Alexander, who found her posture beautiful with the back of the pen on her cheek. She looked cute. Immediately, he shook that thought from his mind.
“No. You may write,” he responded curtly.
She nodded and started scribbling down the sentences, along with Lucas suggesting whatever popped into his mind.
Alexander leaned against the chair and decided to take some rest. He missed sleeping in his coffin, and he was tired. The weather was chilly, which uplifted his mood a little.
He occasionally stole some glances at Becca. He had no idea why he felt there was a string pulling him towards her, but all he wanted to do was to get out of the human world and return back to where he actually belonged. Away from humans and most importantly, away from Becca before things started to take a wrong turn.
###
Two days had passed and the poem submission was supposed to be on the next day.
Mr. Risorito completed his lecture and looked at his wristwatch. He had a few minutes left before the class ended, so he marched to the last bench and asked Becca, Alexander, and Lucas, “Trio, is your poem ready yet?”
“Trio? Us?” Lucas inquired, confused at the group name the teacher gave them.
“Who else?” Mr. Risorito arched an eyebrow. “The three of you sit together, you guys are backbenchers, and always talk about God knows what. So, I want to know about the status of my assignment.”
Becca replied politely, “It’s almost done. We will submit the poem by tomorrow
.”
Alexander didn’t bother to even look at the teacher. How could Mr. Risorito say that we always talk in class? he thought.
They did talk, but it would be about the poem most of the time.
“Good. I will be waiting,” Mr. Risorito said and the bell rang. He walked out of the classroom along with the other students.
“Oh, my God, this shit is tougher than I thought,” Becca groaned in frustration, looking at the first two lines of the poem.
“Told you, this is shit,” Alexander murmured.
She rolled her eyes. They have only written two lines in two days, and they only made it that far after much discussion and scrutinization. “What will we submit tomorrow?”
Lucas suggested, “You can complete the poem at your dorm tonight and then submit it.”
“But this was supposed to be a group project.” Becca narrowed her eyes at Lucas, who let out a nervous chuckle.
“I trust you blindly. I am sure that whatever you write will turn out to be great.” With that, Lucas grabbed his book from the table and ran out of the classroom, escaping the writing task.
Becca looked at Alexander, who had his eyes closed and leaned against the seat. “Alex…”
“Don’t even think I will complete it for you,” he said.
She furrowed her brows. “How did you know I was about to ask that? You didn’t even open your eyes.”
“The way you called out my name, it screamed for help.”
Becca sighed in defeat, knowing none of the boys would help her. “Fine. I will try to complete this evening by staying in the library.”
“Best of luck.” Alexander got up and as he was about to walk away, he glanced at Becca. “Are you planning to stay here and skip your other classes?”
When the realization hit Becca, her eyes widened in horror. “That bastard Lucas ditched me and went to class already,” she said in annoyance, and with her bag, she ran out of the classroom like a madwoman.
A chuckle escaped Alexander’s lips seeing her. “She is crazy,” he mumbled. In these few days, Alexander started to be comfortable with Becca around him. He was slowly learning Becca’s nature and he found it to be amusing. He had the urge to know more about her, but he refrained from doing so. He never brought any books or carried any bag, so he went to sit under the stone pine tree once again till classes ended for the day.
###
It was later that evening and Becca was busy trying to complete the poem by sitting in the library. When no idea sprang into her mind, she decided to return to the dorm and take Vanessa’s help. However, it saddened Becca that Alexander and Lucas, both of her friends, left her alone with the group punishment on the day before submission.
Meanwhile, Alexander was in Becca and Vanessa’s dorm room, going through Becca’s belongings while Vanessa was sitting on the bed, scrolling through her phone.
“Are you sure you will find the potion in her belongings, Alex?” questioned Vanessa.
“This is the best time to check whether she brought the potion with herself or not. She is in the library completing that stupid poem,” Alexander answered, checking Becca’s closet. When his hands fell on the tampons, he immediately shoved them back to where they belonged. “Why do girls have so much stuff?”
“I don’t know,” Vanessa responded. “Ask a girl who is human.”
While checking in between Becca’s clothes, her captivating smell was all over the space. “I don’t understand. Don’t you find her smell attractive, Ness?”
She thought for a moment before answering, “I can usually control myself, but with Becca, I can smell her too. It’s like her blood is inviting me to have a taste, but I have control over me. However, when I feel like I cannot control myself, I stay away as I did for these two days straight.” She kept her distance from Becca for the two days and gained control over herself once again.
Alexander’s hand fell over a notebook. He opened it and found Becca’s research over the Lycans. A smirk took over his lips.
It was proof for him that Becca knew about the vampire potion because it was her research over the Lycans, which meant she researched about the vampires as well. Why would someone research about other creatures, that too, someone like Becca if she didn’t know about the existence of these creatures? he wondered.
“Did you fin—” Vanessa stopped midway as the Insworthe twins sensed the familiar scent nearby. “Shit.”
At that instant, he put the notebook back where it was and closed the closet. Then he closed his eyes and chanted something, which made him go invisible.
Vanessa heaved a sigh in relief and continued back to scrolling.
Becca turned the doorknob and stepped into the room. “Ness, I need your help wit—” She stopped when her eyes fell on the familiar person standing near her closed closet. “What are you doing here, Alex? How did you get in?”
Alexander used his full energy to go invisible, yet Becca was still able to see him. What would he do now?
Vanessa’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. She can see you, Alex, she said in her mind.
And I have no idea how. I used my full power to go invisible, and this is the second time she could see me. The first time was when we first met and I thought maybe my power wasn’t working, said Alexander.
“I am waiting for an answer here. How did you get in?” Becca asked, being dumbstruck.
“Ness helped me get in,” Alexander said, putting Vanessa in the trouble. He smirked in his sister’s direction when Becca looked at her for an answer.
Mentally cursing Alexander, Vanessa stood up from the bed and informed Becca when an idea popped in her mind, “Alex was so worried about the completion of the poem. He even begged me so that I could sneak him inside the dorm somehow because he wanted to help you.” She smirked back at her brother, who was throwing daggers at her with his eyes now.
“Really?” Becca was taken aback at the response. She looked at Alexander with her innocent grey eyes. “Are you here because you are worried about the task?”
Alexander scratched the back of his neck and let out a nervous chuckle. “Uh, yeah. I am here to help you?”
A big grin appeared on Becca’s face, thinking that Alexander actually cared about the group task and took the risk to get into her dorm just to help her. She was grateful and extremely happy. All of her stress vanished as she grabbed Alexander’s hand and said, “Come. We will complete the poem together and submit it.”
Chapter 10: Tables Turned
Finally, after much effort, Alexander, Becca, and Lucas turned in their poem.
“Is it completed?” Lucas asked Becca after Mr. Risorito took the paper.
“Yes,” Becca responded curtly, nervous about how the poem turned out. What if the teacher didn’t like it and gave them double punishment?
“Don’t you feel ashamed for even asking that question, Lucas?” Alexander said in annoyance. “You bailed at the last minute.” Alexander ended up completing the poem with Becca last night.
Since it was difficult to leave the room, Becca and Vanessa slept in one bed while Alexander slept on another bed. When Becca fell asleep, Alexander got out of the dorm and Vanessa went back to her bed. In the morning, Vanessa informed Becca that she helped him to slip out from the girls’ dormitory.
“I didn’t run away,” Lucas protested. “I had some important work to do.”
“Guys, look,” Becca said, grabbing the attention of Alexander and Lucas, “Mr. Risorito is reading our poem.”
Mr. Risorito’s lips twitched in amusement, reading the poem. He walked towards Becca and handed her the paper. “Read the poem aloud along with the name of it.” He looked at the students in his class and announced, “Everyone, listen to Becca Hertford. She, and her partners Alexander Insworthe and Lucas Kade, wrote this poem as their punishment.”
“Alex, why don’t you read it? I’m too nervous,” Becca informed Alexander.
He said with a small smile on his lips, “I am sure you will do grea
t, Becca.” He had no idea why he smiled or had confidence in her. It just came out of his mouth naturally.
Becca stood up and sucked in a deep breath. “The name of this poem is Crushed.” Then she started reciting the poem.
The stars start to shine,
Making everything glow in the sky.
I wait for you at nine,
But never approached, not knowing why.
Whenever I see you, I feel my heart race,
Walking through the hallway, I increase my pace.
Keeping my other thoughts aside,
I started thinking about you sitting beside.
You're so kind,
Making your perfect image stuck in my mind.
Yet we're far away,
Getting crushed every day.
Everyone clapped after Becca finished narrating the poem.
“This is how you should write a poem,” Mr. Risorito said to the class and looked at the trio proudly, especially at Becca. “I figured out you have a thing for writing after seeing this poem. Good job.”
“Thank you,” she said with a big smile on her face and sat back on her chair.
After that, Mr. Risorito started the class.
“I knew you would do great,” Alexander whispered, making Becca’s breath hitch.
Becca was happy that Alexander had faith in her, but his close proximity was making it difficult for her to even mumble a small thanks. So, she just nodded her head as a response.
The Vampire Potion (Vampire World Book 1) Page 5