by Dima Zales
I looked around for a way to could sneak away unnoticed, but the only thing that I saw was a cluster of trees behind the field. They were at least 30 feet away, so I couldn't get to them. I could run and climb, but I didn't dare try to jump that far.
I could hear smacking noises, and I groaned. They were making out, and that meant that they would be there for a while. I was determined to find a way out, and fast. Would they be so into making out that they wouldn't notice me climbing down the tree?
The noises grew more intense, and my anxiety built with every passing second. I even tried turning off my supersonic hearing, but that didn't work. For some reason, I could turn it on, but not off.
"Hey, Braydon. Don't do that," Natalie said.
"Don't be a baby, Natalie," Braydon said.
"I'm not a baby," she exclaimed. "You need to respect me."
"If you want to keep going out with me, you need to stop this virgin act. Stop talking and let's have some fun."
"It's not an act."
"Oh come on. You can't tell me you're a virgin."
"It's true, Braydon. Slow down."
"Look, I know you're only a sophomore, but I'm a senior and I don't expect to have to wait."
"It's my body, and if I don't want to right now, I don't have to."
"Dude, if you want me as your boyfriend, you need to have some fun," he said.
"I'm not a dude. And you won't even let me tell anyone that we're going out."
"You're ruining the fun," he said, and I heard the slurping noises.
I heard a smack. "I said stop."
"How dare you? You little whore."
"Whore?" Natalie exclaimed. "I won't let you past second base."
I heard another smack and Natalie hollered in pain. My anger had been rising through the entire argument. I wouldn't be able to contain it much longer.
"It's your word against mine at school," Braydon said.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Not unless you stop being a baby and start acting like a woman."
"Unbelievable. I'm leaving. I've had enough."
"I'll tell everyone how easy you are," he threatened.
"Then I guess you'll have to live with yourself knowing that you're both a jerk and a liar."
I heard what sounded like a punch and a thud. She must have fallen on the ground.
Without thinking, I raced down the branches and grabbed Braydon by the neck and shoved him into the tree trunk. "You will apologize to her and say only nice things about her at school, do you understand?"
"What the—?" he asked.
I squeezed his neck. "I said do you understand me?"
He gagged a little. "Yes, yes, okay. Let go!"
"If you treat her badly ever again, I'll see to it that you regret it for the rest of your life, got it?"
He nodded.
"Now take her home safely or I'll follow you home and kill you." I shoved his head into the tree to show him that I meant business. I raced back up the tree where I came from so that he knew I would still be watching him.
My heart raced, and I hoped that Natalie hadn't recognized me. I didn't want to explain it to her. Let her think that I was some sort of pot hallucination or something. I listened to them pack up their stuff and walk back to his car in silence.
Once the car had started up, I got down from the tree and raced around the field again to get rid of my excess energy.
I stopped to catch my breath before heading back to my car. I heard something in the sky to the north. I looked towards it, trying to decipher the sound.
Crows.
By the time I realized I was hearing hundreds of wings flapping, it was already too late to run away. They were overhead and starting to circle over me. I was frozen with fear, even though I had just scared a guy twice my size.
The birds flew over my head in their typical circle. I could barely the moonlight off in the distance through them. I always ran away but this time I wanted to see what they would do. I was gaining confidence with each moment.
One cawed, followed by another and then another, until they were all cawing at me. It was even creepier in the dark.
"Is that all you have?" I asked.
One crow broke from the crowd and flew right at me. I ducked away, but it came after me again. Another crow came down and started after me.
My heart raced as I moved to avoid each one. Their beady little eyes were glowing in the moonlight, and their cawing was close to deafening so close to me.
One by one, they were coming down from the group to chase me. It was becoming harder to avoid them. One bit me on the arm, and another got me on the leg.
I hit at them, but it did no good. I decided to make a run for it. They bit at me as I ran through the crowd. Thankfully, I could run so fast because I was back to my car in just a couple of seconds.
I had left the door unlocked, so I jumped in the car and closed the door as fast as I could. My heart was nearly pounding out of my chest.
What was their deal? What did they want from me? I drove home as fast as I could and managed to calm down by the time I walked through the door.
"Where have you been?" my mom asked, sitting in the kitchen. I was surprised that there was no rudeness in her tone.
"I just needed some air," I said. "Is Natalie home?"
"Yeah, she just got home and went to take a shower," she answered. "I really like that outfit, Alexis. Where did you get it?"
"Brooke made it," I said.
"I could always buy you some, you know," she said.
"I think she's having fun and getting credit for a class."
"I'm glad you two are becoming friends again. She's always been so good to you. I remember how crushed you were when she moved."
"It's good to spend time with her again."
"You and her cousin have hit it off also," my mom said with a smile.
I had to smile too. "He's amazing," I said, unable to believe I had admitted that to my mom.
"He seems nice," she said. "That family seems to take very good care of you. When they lived here, it was almost like they were as much your family as we were."
I was surprised to hear my mom talking so kindly about both myself and my friends. Who was she and what had she done with my disapproving, snooty mom? I didn't know how to respond.
"Make sure that you're here for your birthday," she told me. "Your dad and I have a surprise for you."
"Please don't let it be a party," I said. "I can't handle any more attention."
"We're not planning a party."
"Good. Well, I can't wait to see the surprise. I better get some studying done before my grades suffer."
"What do you consider suffering? Getting an A-?" She was smiling.
"Goodnight, Mom."
I had been studying for about an hour when Natalie came into my room. She had her arms full of salty snack foods.
"Hungry much?" I asked, trying not to laugh.
"I'm starving," she exclaimed. "Want to eat a snack with me?"
"Sure, but I don't think I can eat all of that."
"Good. I don't want you to," she said. "I just want some company." She sat down, opened a bag of chips and practically inhaled the entire bag.
"Don't eat the bag," I exclaimed, half afraid that she might.
She ignored me.
"Where were you tonight?" I asked, curious to hear what she would tell me.
"I went out with some friends after practice," she said in between gulps.
"Maybe you should have had some dinner," I told her.
"I did. I'm just starving that's all. Maybe I'm having a growth spurt. That's what dad always says when I eat a lot, I'm growing."
"Right. What friends did you go out with tonight? You look a little freaked out," I said. "Are you okay?" She didn't actually look freaked out, but I wanted to find out what I could about what she saw in the field. She might have thought that was me, and if she did I would have to do damage control.
"Why are
you so nosy?" she asked me. "You're never nosy like this. Is it because you're popular?"
"I don't care. Don't tell me who you were with," I said. "Just tell me why you look so freaked out."
She sighed and opened a bag of flavored popcorn. "Well, we were outside and something strange did happen. One of the guys that was there was being rude to one of the girls. Then out of nowhere, some girl roughed him up, threatened him and just disappeared. It was really strange."
"Do you know who it was?" I asked.
"No. If I did, I would have said."
"She didn't sound like anyone that you knew?" I asked.
"No, she didn't really sound like a person," Natalie said. "I know that sounds crazy, but it was like she was some kind of…oh I don't know. Not a person, like something on a movie."
"That is strange," I said, relieved that she didn't think it had been me.
I was trying to read her mind, but was unable to. I wasn't sure if it was what she had been smoking or because I needed to work on that skill some more. These powers all seemed different in the ways that they worked.
She started chatting about unimportant things as she finished off the bag of popcorn, so I tuned her out and went back to my homework. She noticed, but didn't seem to care.
Later that night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I suddenly had the very strong sensation that I was not alone in my room. I was suddenly wide awake but frozen in place, afraid that if I moved I would somehow be more vulnerable to who or what was in my room with me.
Wishing for stronger night vision, I looked around my room as best as I could in the dark, lying down without moving my head. I couldn't see anything unusual.
I tried to breathe normally once I noticed that I had been holding my breath. The creepy feeling would not go away and continued to become stronger as I laid there.
I debated with myself about what I should do. I could sit up quickly and turn on my light, using the element of surprise to my advantage, or I could announce that I know that they were there.
I decided that I would get up and turn the light on so that the intruder wouldn't have the advantage. Before I budged, I thought I saw a movement on my left. I tried to focus on that spot, but I couldn't see anything at all. I knew that I needed to do something fast before they were able to act and harm me.
I tried to move but was frozen in fear. Some fearless leader of a vampire princess I was. If all of vampiredom was going to rely on me, I might be the downfall of an entire species.
Suddenly, I jumped up, turned on the light next to my bed and grabbed my Aboriginal rain stick, ready to hit someone with it. I looked around my room and felt silly since I didn't see anyone.
I turned around and saw him behind me. He was right next to me before I could blink.
"What are you doing in my room?" I exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Cliff said. He reached for my hand.
"What exactly were you trying to do?" I asked him, as my heart rate returned to normal.
He looked into my eyes with his chocolate eyes and I started to melt. "I didn't get to see you today and I just wanted to get a glimpse of you. I just thought I would see you sleep for a few minutes."
If anyone else had said that, it would have been completely creepy, but coming from him it was so sweet. I couldn't get over how mushy I was toward him. This was still such a new side of me. I wasn't sure that I would ever get used to it.
Finding out that I was turning into a vampire princess was even stranger, and I was getting used to that, so surely I could get used to having a romantic side. That should be less strange than becoming what I had always believed to be a mythical creature.
"That's okay," I finally said, still lost in his eyes.
"I couldn't go a full day without seeing you," he said, stroking my hair. "I don't know how I managed all of those years. Now that I have seen you again, I can't stay away."
"You don't have to," I told him. "I don't want you to stay away. I would be happy if we could spend all of our time together and forget about everything else."
He smiled and the way that the skin around his eyes crinkled nearly turned me into a puddle. More than anything, I wanted to kiss him, but I suspected that he was raised to be the perfect gentleman. That only made me want to kiss him more. I feared that I would give into my craving, so I leaned against him so that I wasn't looking into his face. He wrapped his arms around me.
"I missed you so much all of these years. It feels unreal actually to be near you. Like I'm living in a dream, and I don't want to wake up."
"I don't know how I managed to forget. Obviously, the memories are still there since I've been having such clear, realistic dreams. I'm sorry, Cliff."
"You have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing at all. You were little, and the people who were supposed to protect you failed. Your mind wasn't controlled, but when Mattie told you that you had a new family, you were susceptible to believing her because of your age. Then when your new family told you that your memories of being a princess in a castle were only fantasies, you were still so young and came to believe them. You had to deal with the reality that was in front of you. I think that you've handled everything with such ease."
"I don't feel that way, but thank you. I wasn't able to keep my…uniqueness a secret. I have always been freakishly smart, and learning has been too easy. When I read something once, I can't forget it."
"That's because you're a vampire. We rarely forget anything."
"Brooke told me that. Among people, it's freaky."
He hugged me tightly. "There's nothing freaky about you. You knew you were different, and now you know why."
A tear rolled down my face. "Why did this happen to me, Cliff?"
He reached for my hand, and I felt calm at his touch. "It was meant to be for some reason. Everything that we've been through will make us stronger."
"Why does your touch always make me feel calm?"
"I have the ability to calm emotions with my touch. I can't control the emotions of others, but I can feel them. I don't know if this will be something that I'll be able to develop further or not. Don't worry. I wouldn't use this against you. Only to help you."
"I wonder if I'll have any gifts like that," I said and yawned.
"I know you need your sleep," he told me. "But you don't need beauty sleep, because you couldn't get any more beautiful. I'll get going so that you can rest, but promise me you'll come over after school tomorrow."
"Of course. I have a lot to share with you, because so much happened today. But I would be up all night telling you about it."
"I can't wait to hear about it," he said. He lifted up my hand, which he was still holding, and kissed it. My heart raced, and my face flushed red.
"For someone who can calm my emotions you sure have a way of exciting them."
He smiled.
10
The next afternoon, I had managed to avoid all of the people who wanted to talk to me at school.
I was sitting outside in the cold with Amanda while she poured her heart and soul out to me. She was heartbroken over Emma deciding not to be our friend anymore. She was worried that I wouldn't want to be her friend either because I was becoming so popular. She was also afraid that her parents were going to get a divorce.
She started crying and told me that her whole world was falling apart.
I quickly tried to think of something I could say to make her feel better, but I couldn't think of anything at all. I gave her a hug and asked what I could do.
"Maybe we could just get out and do something after school," she suggested, sniffling.
I had promised Cliff that I would get together with him, but I couldn't tell Amanda no while she was sitting there crying. "What do you have in mind?"
"The volleyball team has a game here after school," she said. "Let's go watch it. I know that you don't like going to the games, but I would like to go, and not alone."
"I
hate to ask this, but could I invite Cliff and Brooke to join us?" I asked. "I already promised Cliff that I would hang out with him after school, but I want to hang out with you too."
She gulped for air, still crying. "That's fine. Emma always brought Chase with her when he wasn't wrestling."
I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Cliff asking him if he wanted to join us. He said he would meet me at the gym after school. I told him he could bring Brooke and Steve if he wanted too.
"Okay," I told Amanda. "It's set. We'll all meet at the gym after school to watch the game."
She smiled. "This time it's not just a practice."
I laughed. "Hopefully there won't be any exploding lights this time."
She laughed. "Or exploding smoothies."
That afternoon, I exercised all of my restraint not to run at lightning speed to the gym to see Cliff. I wanted to look deep into his eyes again, even if I only had a few minutes alone with him.
When I saw him from a distance, I couldn't help myself. I did run at him at full speed.
"Alexis," he exclaimed. "You look so pretty. But try not to run so fast around people. We want to blend in, remember?"
I smiled at him. "Then you're going to have to stop looking so alluring. I can't help myself."
He smiled back and wrapped his arms around me. I closed my eyes and enjoyed being in his embrace, knowing that it wouldn't last long enough. Forever wouldn't even be long enough.
"Aw, look at the lovebirds," I heard Steve's voice behind me.
"The perfect couple," Brooke chimed in.
Cliff let go of me, and I turned around. "Hi guys. It's great that you could make it too. So much has happened that I need to fill you in on."
"More than just the birds attacking you?" Brooke asked me.
"Huh? How did you—? Oh, right. Your visions," I said. "Yeah, that's only part of it."
"Can you give us the short version real quick before your friend shows up?" Steve asked.
"Well, I can try," I said. "I'll have to fill in the details later though."
"That's fine," Cliff said. "Just give us the headlines for now."