by Unknown
“Oh posh. You know what I mean. Come in line with me,” she pleaded.
“Why? So I can watch you text Craig like you have all day? What are you two talking about anyways?”
“I can’t say with his best mate – she imitated the way he says mate – around. No offense K,” she smiled at Kellan.
“None taken,” he replied. James distracted him then by asking about the theatres in Seattle.
“Ok, let’s go. But I better be entertained,” I grumbled. We made our way to the cafeteria line. Even though it’s a fairly new school, they kept the old cafeteria style delivery in lieu of a food court.
“O.M.G. Lex!” she squealed the moment we were in line. “Craig is just… so… wonderful and perfect and all I’ve ever wanted and more!”
“I’m glad. Now cut to the good stuff.”
“We’ve talked about everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. I don’t think I slept even two hours last night.”
“Are you planning to stick to generics?”
“No. O.M.G. Do you know he’s only had one serious girlfriend? And she’s a you know what. He lost his virginity to her too.”
“You told him you know?!”
“No… kinda…”
“Mel! You promised! On Gran’s grave too!”
“Chill Lex. I didn’t say a title and I didn’t detail anything. I just said I know he’s not like me,” she spoke softly and quickly leaning into me to avoid eavesdroppers.
“What did he say? Do you know if he said anything to Kellan?” I spewed, worried of the possible backlash if Kellan knew I’d told her. He’s very protective of this kind of information and truth be told, I should have been more secretive.
“Hello beautiful,” a male voice from behind greeted. I knew without turning it was Jason. “Tell me, do models like yourself actually eat?”
“Give it a rest Jason. Go back to your brat pack,” I replied, still facing forward to Mel. She grabbed her salad and a package of Italian dressing.
“Agree to a date with me and I’ll leave you alone,” he attempted to bargain.
“No.”
“I’m afraid I’ll just have to keep trying until you say yes. Trust me, one yes is all it will take for you to forget the rest.”
“I’d like to forget you. Just leave me alone before I get mad,” I warned. I was doing my best to remain calm and ignore him, but that was proving much harder since he’s a persistently annoying pest.
“What happens when you get mad? I’m kinky; I may find it sexy,” he pressed.
“Come on Lex,” Mel grabbed my hand and tried to speed up the line with gentle shoves at the goth girl in front of her.
I felt the serum begin to rise in my throat. It didn’t burn but its presence was obvious now. I could drain Jason in minutes and my serum would destroy the evidence in seconds. And if he pushed me too far, I was afraid I might do just that.
I heard him stirring behind me, probably conjuring up another one-liner. …and I was right.
“One date with me and you’ll be happy.” Lame. He was officially lame. He grabbed my butt and slightly squeezed it. The serum surged and I began to shake slightly trying not to shred him. He leaned towards my ear and whispered, “I can definitely make you happy.”
“You have two seconds to remove your hand,” I stated between my teeth. Breathe in and out. Stay calm; I needed to stay calm. The serum was beginning to run warm, my blood was already boiling and my patience was dwindling with him.
He was testing me because he didn’t move an inch. Through gritted teeth I asked Mel to get Kellan. I couldn’t lose my cool. I couldn’t out us and I knew Kellan would protect me from that. She didn’t hesitate.
“I’m waiting to be punished sexy,” Jason taunted.
I quickly spun around, grabbing his hand at the same time. I squeezed it within my own and held it out to the side. I glared at him and snatched his shirt with my other hand tugging him into me like every bully I knew.
“Lexi. I… uh. Ouch. Damn, you’re hurting my hand,” he struggled to free himself.
“If you ever, I mean ever…”
“Lexi, let him go,” Kellan rushed to my side. He pinched my wrists and forced me to release him. He leaned down and whispered near my ear, “You know he’s not worth it. Come with me.” I relaxed and listened to Kellan. I turned to walk back to my table of friends.
“Guess you’re not so tough after all. That’s okay. You can still punish me later,” he winked, trying to get the other students around to join in.
Kellan promptly stood right in front of him, limb to limb. “You listen to me Kelly. You ever harass or lay a finger on her again and I will break every. single. bone. in your body. Consider this your only warning,” he defended me harshly, a dark, serious and threatening tone to his voice. I was jumping for joy inside. I could see the surprise in Jason’s eyes though he tried to maintain his cool outside.
“Whatever man. She’s not that hot anyways,” he dismissed the whole idea but was smart enough to walk away back towards the pop’s table.
I did a quick 360 to ensure no teachers were around; of course if there were they should have intervened by now, but that doesn’t mean they do. Most teachers have no problem looking the other way when it involves the star quarterback of the football team. There were only two lunch ladies lost in a conversation over back aches and hip replacements. And the cashier was lost in her MP3 player which was apparently playing yesterday’s novella. I didn’t even know soap operas were downloadable.
I turned back to Mel who had diligently followed Kellan. “Thanks. Grab your salad. I owe you.”
“Thanks but I’ve definitely lost my appetite,” she sighed.
“Sorry,” I said as we started walking back towards the table.
“It’s okay. Truth?” she asked. I shook my head. “Things were so much easier when I didn’t know. I fight off a stroke every time you raise your voice a hair.”
“Well don’t.” She glared at me. “I know, I know. Easier said than done but, seriously, I can handle myself. Obviously.” I ran my hands up and down myself as if I was a game show prize. “And if not I’ll summon my prince charming or walk away; no harm done,” I shrugged.
“I hope you’re right,” she sighed, fidgeting with her hands.
I suddenly felt a pull, a tiny tug on my upper arm. I stopped to see Kellan now glaring at me. – What’s up with all the intense vision today?! – I stepped back as Mel continued and returned to the table. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked.
“You broke the rules? You told Mel what you are?” he fumed in a low, heated voice.
I hated seeing Kellan angry but it was a million times worse when he was angry at me. I had only been the brunt of it once before when I had lied about my pallet. When you transform into a vampeen you will either eat human food, mainly raw red meat and sunny side up eggs, with animal blood from time to time or your vampire side is a bit more prominent and you must feed off of human blood to prevent becoming a vegetable. I didn’t feel comfortable feeding off humans so I lied and swallowed some steak. Two faints and a lot of sleep later, I awoke to an angry, no make that pissed, Kellan who went off on me about being irresponsible. So seeing him like this now jolted me a bit.
“I didn’t tell her. She guessed. Too many accurate Hollywood portrayals. But I stopped her before she said the word. I told her everything I can do and eat, or drink I probably should say. But she knew most of them already. I did what I could to let her in but also keep her out. I know the boundary line and I protected her and us from it,” I explained.
He rubbed his forehead. “This is not good Lexi. She shouldn’t even be suspicious if you were doing everything right.”
“What do you mean? I was doing everything right. She’s my best friend, like my sister. If one thing is even slightly off with me her radar goes off ten miles away,” I quietly huffed, angry that he’s blaming me and angry with myself a bit for caving. I knew this was how he would react
when he found out. Wait. “Did you see this when we connected?” I asked. Usually most things were unveiled and accessed when me and Kellan united in our make-out sessions.
“Surprisingly no,” he replied.
“Hmm. And you didn’t see about my true pallet before either. We connected on the beach the day of the shopping trip in Savannah with my Aunt Claire (who spent too much money on a new wardrobe for me after my transformation), but you didn’t find out the truth until the doctor told you later,” I continued.
“Right,” he nodded in agreement. I pursed my lips as I pieced together the puzzle.
“You know how the doctors said I have a gift which they said was my mind? You know, mind over matter? Because I don’t want to drink human blood, I willed my nose to block out the scent of both so I’m not tempted. I wonder if that carries over into other stuff. I wanted to protect my secret to protect my friends and dad. I was afraid to consider them food. And with Mel, I want to protect her at all cost. I don’t want anyone to be even slightly suspicious of her true IQ on us. So much so that maybe I willed it to be locked within my mind. Maybe I can lock what I don’t want revealed in my mind and alter the forces that direct or interfere with it on me. Do you think I’m completely off?” I questioned trying to work through it verbally as adrenaline slowly coursed me.
“No, that actually makes sense. You know strong vampires can hypnotize you the same way you yourself do a human. If that part of your thoughts is protected then so is Mel. If that part of your feeding hesitation is blocked, then you have no weakness to them. We’ll need to test the theory later. I would like to have my dad test you, but he’s an officer in the army, high in the ranks, so we can’t risk it. I’ll figure something out though,” he stated. He gently moved me back towards the table just in time for the bell to ring. I gathered my bag along with Mel before he escorted us to American History.
“Remind me never to invite you into the lunch line again. My stomach is going to hate me by fourth period,” Mel grumbled.
“Sorry. Do you want a soda or snack from the machine?” I really did feel bad for ruining her appetite. I suppose I was lucky in that department. I didn’t know of any vamp who could or would turn down blood regardless of the slaughter they’d just witnessed, if that’s what their pallet prescribed of course.
“No. Craig is picking me up. He’s promised me a drive thru pick up on him,” she detailed, beaming at the mention of his name.
“Did you tell him?” I groaned.
“Of course. You can’t start a relationship with secrets and lies. Plus he knows you.”
“Don’t kill her. I would have told him if she didn’t,” Kellan jumped in.
“Gee thanks. And to think, you two are my best friends…” I sarcastically pouted.
“Suck it up. You know we love you,” Mel chuckled, already back to texting Craig.
“I’ll see you after class,” Kellan prompted, kissing my forehead. “Mel, please make sure she doesn’t kill anyone,” he smirked.
“Oh, ha, ha,” I grumbled, puckering my lip to show him I disapproved.
“You know I’m joking but please behave,” he softened his tone before turning to rush to his third period.
As we walked into class, the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach returned, and not just because Jason was in the same room. No, it was much bigger than him. I didn’t know what it was but it was close; the twinge of a defensive reaction within me confirmed this.
“Have you ever wondered why history is always taught by a football coach? Every high school; it’s all the same,” Mel commented nonchalantly as we waited for Coach Thompson to arrive.
“No. Mel, I have a bad feeling…”
She immediately turned to me in alarm. “Don’t freak. I’m not losing it. I just… I feel like something bad is about to happen.”
“Like what?” she whispered glaring at everyone as she scanned the room.
“That’s what’s irritating me. I don’t know,” I squirmed staring at her.
“Coach is coming,” I announced, turning back towards the chalk board in the front.
History passed with no incidents, nothing out of the ordinary aside from a bad new dye job for Coach. He’d killed his greys with an unfitting almond brown. I was dismissing it as his mid-life crisis.
Kellan was promptly waiting to walk us to English. I was proud to say I’d read our book assignment, Pride & Prejudice, the old fashioned way, just at a much quicker pace. Apparently Kellan over exaggerated our reading ability, but the photographic memory and keen comprehension skills part was right on point.
English started out a repeat of yesterday. It turned out Chris permanently swapped seats with Jason, which meant he would be sitting between me and Kellan for the rest of the semester. After the cafeteria mishap though, I was optimistic that he wouldn’t cross me again. I was probably wrong since he had a stubborn streak and tended to chase the girls who rejected him, which, thus far, were me and Jenny. He chased her for four months solid freshman year before she caved.
I should have been flattered since no boy, girl, or thing gave me as much as an acknowledgement of existence before, but knowing what he wanted and how he really was annoyed me. It went to show – no one can get by on their looks alone.
“Hello again Lexi,” Jason greeted as I reluctantly took my seat.
“We just had history together and you didn’t say a word to me then. I’d like to keep it that way,” I grumbled, turning slightly towards him while keeping my distance.
“I was mad. It was stupid. I’m not use to dating Super Woman yet.”
I was anticipating Kellan to jump in and defend me, yet all he did was chuckle from his seat. “See, even your friend agrees to us.”
“There is no us, Jason. Never has been, never will be, nor do I want there to be. So do me a favor and shut your pie hole,” I said frustrated by both men now.
“I love it when you talk sergeant,” he smirked leaning in as he ran his fingers through my hair.
“Okay, I’ve had enough,” Mel sternly stated as she stood to hover over Jason. Her left hand was firmly placed on her hip and her right pointed at him which meant she’s about to lay into him.
“You listen to me and you listen good. Lexi doesn’t date dogs, and since you play for them, it makes you one of them. So before she smacks the crap out of you and makes you trail back with your tail between your legs and not her crotch, I suggest you lay off it. And if you can’t find a way to do it, then I’ll make room for you in my dog’s house. And don’t think I won’t personally escort you to it on a leash,” she roared. She then turned to Kellan who was oddly intrigued by her outburst. “And as for you. Grow some balls and claim your territory.” She whisked back around and returned to her seat. The class broke out in a mixture of taunts and laughter with a few cheers tossed in.
“Now, now; settle down class,” Mrs. Henderson ordered as she entered the room.
“Thanks,” I whispered to Mel.
“Anytime. Of course I’m assuming I’ll need your protection at some point,” she pouted a bit before facing the board again.
“I hope not,” I spoke more to myself than her.
My bad intuition subsided through most of the literature repetition but flared with a vengeance the last twenty minutes of class. The serum rose in my throat and burned my tonsils as if I was starving. The hairs on my body began to stand as fear and awareness rose within me. I’d deepened my breaths hoping to calm myself with little success. I turned to Kellan with a pleading, worried expression but was startled to see he was already snarling. This could only warn of one thing – danger.
I’d never reacted like this before. I felt as if I was panicking though I was under control. I needed my nose to work; because it wasn’t, I didn’t know if it was a person or vamp I should be cautious of.
The final bell rang and everything went into slow motion for me. Kellan raced to me forgetting all covers.
“Get out of here. You and Mel get to your house
fast,” he warned too low for humans around to hear.
I swiftly grabbed our belongings, thank God for vamp strength, and yanked Mel beside me into a death grip.
“What’s wrong Lex?” she pressed in a rushed whisper. She knew better than to not tag along but was clearly leery.
“I don’t know. Danger of some sort. Kellan left and said to go home asap,” I explained hurriedly. I pushed through the crowds as fast as Mel could travel. I used my heightened senses to scan the area hoping to uncover where Kellan was or who he was after.
As soon as we reached the parking lot I froze. Mel passed me and tried to pull me forward, but I couldn’t move.
“He’s here…” I choked.
“Who’s here? Come on Lex! We have to go!”
“Mike.”
“Oh, shit,” Mel stopped dead in her tracks.
“He’s a… a… um…”
“Spit it out Lex! I’m totally freaking,” she blurted.
“He’s a… me,” I replied staring dead faced into Mel’s sapphire eyes. I returned my attention to what was in front of me – a glowering match between the one I hated and the one I loved.
No one seemed to take notice. Students, faculty, parents and others swarmed to their cars looking to escape school, not the war about to erupt, as quickly as possible.
“Give it up,” Kellan prompted in a low menacing voice.
“As soon as she’s mine,” Mike stated. “Do you know a vampire can claim a human or a vampeen as their own and no one can touch them… ever?” he teased as the evil villain he was.
“Don’t even think of threatening me or her,” Kellan snarled.
I heard an engine blaze through the traffic and breaks squeal. I recognized the sound instantly as Kellan’s car. Craig was at Kellan’s side in a split second. I took the momentary distraction for a stunned Mike to whisk Mel to my car. We were inside with the doors locked in a matter of seconds.
“Ugh, I feel sick,” Mel scrunched at her waist breathing deep.
“Sorry, but I had to get you to safety,” I remarked. “Craig and Kellan can take it from here. We’re going.”