Twice Bitten

by Diana Greenbird

  I hit his arm with my free hand at his teasing, but took a few more gulps from the sweet drink, wanting the alcohol’s buzz to start working so I wouldn’t feel the bite of the cold so much.

  ‘What sort of beach bonfire has mixers?’ I asked, the sweetness from the sugar of the Coke and rum going down easily.

  Gi turned her head towards me; she’d been busy surveying the crowd, watching the students pile down from the makeshift carpark to here. There wasn’t much movement considering most of her head was wrapped up with red wool. ‘There’s only hard liquor and mixers for the first hour. They run out pretty quick considering they’re handed out by the Cheer crowd. After that it’s the kegs or BYOB.’

  I pulled my drink as far away from my face as possible. ‘A cheerleader poured me this drink? They probably pissed in it,’ I scrunched my face up in disgust.

  ‘Relax, love,’ Emerson said. ‘They had no idea it was for you.’

  ‘Roofies then.’ Yeah, date-rape wasn’t something to joke about, but I wouldn’t put it above some conniving bitches to drug a guy to get him to give them a shot. Especially considering the Sons fame at the school.

  Emerson’s retort was interrupted.

  ‘Gi! I can’t believe you’re here!’

  A girl in the winter cheer uniform, knee-high socks and a warm coat, ran up to Gi and hugged her like they were long lost friends and it had been a thousand years since they’d last seen each other.

  ‘Hey, Marcy,’ Gi smiled. It was tenuous, like she wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to react, but she hugged the cheerleader.

  ‘I feel like we haven’t hung out in a billion years. I’ve missed you! Where’ve you been, girl?’

  ‘Is she drunk, or…?’ I whispered to Emerson next to me.

  I didn’t finish, but Emerson got what I was trying to say: being that bitchy version of friendly that some girls were, lulling their target into a false sense of security before revealing their motives.

  ‘No, that’s Marcy Abrahams. Co-captain of the cheer squad. She’s Emma’s competition,’ Emerson whispered back. ‘Gi and her were old friends.’

  ‘Emma has competition?’

  Emerson smiled. ‘Yes. It was only because Emma was Gi’s best friend that got her the spot on the top of the pyramid, otherwise Marcy and Gi would have been co-captains, and Emma won’t forget that.’

  I gave Emerson a puzzled look. How did he know all the ins and out of high school drama even though we’d basically started at NRHS at the same time?

  ‘How’s your brother?’ Gi asked Marcy.

  ‘Amazing. Well, he totes will be next year when he’s made quarterback. He only missed out this year because of Grayson, but what’s he gonna do? He was up against a Son for heaven’s sake! How are my Bo-Peeps?’

  Gi gave a genuine smile. ‘They’re good. It was Wall-E and EVE this year.’

  ‘Adorbes! You got pictures?’

  Gi pulled up her phone and showed Marcy the pictures of the twins from last Saturday trick or treating.

  ‘They’re the cutest.’ Marcy noticed me and Emerson standing near her. ‘Oh! The girlfriend. Or… your girlfriend? I have no idea,’ Marcy said, looking between Emerson and Gi asking to which one I belonged to.

  Why was everyone so goddamn interested in who I was dating? Did everyone in high school have absolutely nothing else going on in their lives?

  ‘Liv,’ Gi introduced us. ‘This is Marcy.’

  ‘Hey, nice to meet you!’ she gave me a little wave. I gave her a small smile, just thankful she didn’t press the girlfriend thing again.

  ‘So, I’ve been dying to ask since I heard you both got the leads in the play. Is it weird having to kiss Emerson?’

  I braced myself for whatever homophobic remark was going to come next, but it didn’t come.

  ‘He’s, like, your best friend, isn’t he?’

  ‘Oh, Emerson’s way more weird about it than I am,’ Gi said, honestly.

  Grayson appeared from nowhere, making both the girls scream. He laughed at them, putting his arms around their shoulders like a co-conspirator.

  ‘Lord, Grayson! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?’ Marcy muttered to herself, hand over her heart, but she was laughing even as she scolded him.

  ‘That’s because he doesn’t want to get Liv jealous,’ he winked. It took me a second to realise he was talking about why Emerson was so weird in rehearsals when he had to kiss Gi.

  ‘Why would I get jealous of Emerson kissing Gi?’ I asked.

  ‘You two aren’t going out?’ Marcy asked me.

  ‘Me and Gi, or me and Emerson?’

  Grayson laughed obnoxiously. I would almost think he was drunk if it wasn’t impossible for him as a vampire.

  ‘I don’t date,’ I said.

  ‘You should make that drink stronger,’ Grayson told Emerson.

  ‘She’s not your girlfriend then?’ Marcy asked, her face screwing up in confusion.

  ‘Not for want of trying,’ Grayson said.

  Emerson stared daggers into the other Son’s head.

  ‘What? Have I made it weird?’ he asked, pretending he was innocent.

  ‘Grayson!’

  Grayson looked up from us to where his teammates were calling him over.

  ‘You should go to them,’ Emerson said, smiling through clenched teeth. Okay something was seriously up with those two.

  A beat passed between the two Sons before Grayson nodded.

  ‘Catch you later,’ he said, giving Emerson a two fingered salute and winking at me – whatever that was supposed to mean.

  ‘She doesn’t date,’ Gi said, but it was a pointed comment – surprisingly at Emerson, not me. He looked at her beseechingly, but I wasn’t sure what silent conversation was going on between them.

  ‘How are rehearsals going with you guys? It’s only a month or so ‘til the showcase, isn’t it?’ Marcy asked, trying to make the conversation normal now that Grayson had disappeared and screwed up the vibe.

  Emerson and Gi started rehashing who the other guys on the cast where, how the singing and acting was coming on – Marcy gushing constantly about how amazing the clips she’d seen from NRHS Drama Club’s Facebook page were.

  I drifted to the edges whilst they were occupied, making my way closer towards the bonfire, sipping on my drink. The fire continued to grow. I watched as the flames spread.

  Despite being in two fires during my life, for some reason the same amount of terror that I felt sometimes when panic attacks were triggered for me didn’t surface. I wasn’t sure why. The fire at my grandma’s had nearly killed me as much as the vampires who had murdered my parents. Perhaps it was because I knew fire itself had no malicious intent. It just was.

  ‘I figured you wouldn’t like wearing gloves,’ Charlotte said, appearing next to me.

  ‘Jesus,’ I swore, nearly dropping my Solo cup.

  ‘Sorry,’ she laughed; she very clearly wasn’t. What was it with vampires sneaking up on people tonight?

  Charlotte had donned her mortal mask: an actual facial expression. It was jarring now to see her as the popular It girl, the third Son. She laughed, she smiled, she had flocks of teenagers around her wanting to know her opinion, laugh at her wit. It was a stark contrast to the expressionless lamia I had seen in the walls of her own home.

  I shook my hand which had some droplets of my spilled drink thanks to Charlotte jarring me. I took the last few sips before throwing the cup into the fire.

  ‘Why’d you say that about my gloves?’

  Charlotte was staring at me, that animal look in her eye back, not quite concealed by the perky charm of her cheerleader façade. ‘Silver doesn’t work through them. They seem like your security blanket.’

  I bristled at that.

  ‘No need to get so defensive. I used to wear a silver necklace before-’ she stopped speaking abruptly.

  ‘Before you were turned.’

  ‘No, before I met Emerson. My coven was pretty closed off; we’d
never met vampires before. I was prejudice against them… I thought they were all savages and only concerned with physical power; that they wouldn’t be able to control their hunger.’

  ‘But that changed when you met Emerson.’ It wasn’t a question.

  ‘You saw our relationship,’ Charlotte said. ‘I don’t need to answer that for you.’ She stood beside me a moment, watching the fire crackle.

  Besides silver, fire was the only other thing that could harm vampires as badly. Charlotte looked oddly mesmerised by it. Like she almost wouldn’t mind the pain.

  ‘One of your rings isn’t silver.’

  ‘No. It was my mom’s. My dad gave it to her when he proposed. It was some sort of family heirloom.’

  ‘It has an aura, not unlike your odd energy.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The boys wouldn’t notice it… but it was something I felt when I watched you eating.

  ‘Do you feel anything odd when you wear the ring?’

  ‘It doesn’t feel any different to any of my other rings.’

  Charlotte cocked her head to the side. ‘Magic can be infused into objects. Try taking it off sometime and compare how you feel. See if any of those senses start acting up or whether Emerson’s dissociation changes.’

  With that, she disappeared into a throng of other people.

  Gi and Emerson were still talking with Marcy. More cheerleaders had joined them, as they’d spotted Marcy having snagged the attention of one of the Sons. The last thing I wanted was to be pulled into that group.

  It was easy to go back into my former role as the loner and slip through the shadows unnoticed. I found myself on the outskirts of the party, far enough away from the bonfire’s warmth that only those people who were dedicated to being on the periphery would go.

  I was alone only for a moment; I didn’t see I’d escaped to a place someone else had already claimed as their own sanctuary from the It crowd. I figured I was about to be told to piss off, but that didn’t happen.

  ‘You wanna smoke?’ the guy asked, holding out a cigarette from the packet.

  He was dark in all senses of the word. Black hair, black eyes, that half-emaciated look that would have been sickly and unattractive if he wasn’t also toned with muscle. His skin was pale, but not in the flawless marble sense of Emerson. He had stubble formed on his cheeks, the scratchy kind that would turn into a beard in a few days, not the patchy shit that most teenage boys put up with.

  ‘Nah, I quit. Bad for the lungs,’ I said.

  I considered maybe turning back, but talking to one guy rather than the horde I’d escaped from was a no brainer. Plus, not to stereotype, but he looked more like my usual company. Not lively cheerleaders and baseball stars.

  He chuckled, low. He thought I was joking or some shit, but I actually had quit since I’d punctured my lung falling off my motorbike. It wasn’t like I’d craved them, anyway. I was simply a social smoker. Or rather an anti-social smoker; I had always used that as an excuse to leave situations I didn’t like.

  He tapped out a cigarette for himself. On automatic, I flipped open the Zippo lighter I had in my pocket, and lit it for him as he put it to his lips.

  ‘Thought you said you’d given up?’ he asked.

  ‘Lighters are multifunctional. Good for all bad habits: like pyromania.’

  He snorted a laugh, taking a deep drag then blowing it out. ‘I can definitely see why you’re a thorn in Emma’s side.’

  He flicked some of the ash from the cigarette. I didn’t respond.

  ‘Liv Morgan, right?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Grayson says you’re off limits.’

  ‘Grayson says, does he?’

  He didn’t answer. ‘But since I’m captain, I think I can decide whose off-limits or not for myself.’

  ‘You’re captain of the football team?’ I choked out.

  ‘Were you expecting someone else?’

  ‘I don’t know, someone who screams less Ted Bundy?’

  ‘I don’t exactly have that Prince Charming smile. But I get your point. You think I’ve got some serious serial killer vibes.’

  I shrugged. I didn’t. My best friend was Death. This guy was one of those who was popular because, despite how hard he pushed people away, he was a natural born leader. Typical Alpha aura. Drew people to him. Bad boy jocks didn’t tend to be killers. It was usually the ones you least expected – the ones who did have that Ted Bundy charm, all smiles and winning personality, but a soul like tar.

  ‘How’s Gi enjoying the party?’ He took another long drag.

  I tensed up, unsure where this was going. I hadn’t been expecting that question. ‘You’re Gi’s friend, right?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Marcy’s question had emphasised that the rumours were still going around school that she and I were more than friends.

  ‘There’s no way to say this without coming across as a grade-A twat,’ he said – only he didn’t say twat. ‘But are you gay?’

  ‘What – why?’

  ‘I figure Grayson’s put you out of action for the second Son, but that just means he likes you. Doesn’t mean the feelings are reciprocated. I just want to know if it’s that dude you’re not into, or dudes in general.’

  ‘Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m not gay.’

  Captain of the football team smiled. ‘Good. I asked because I want to make it my business.’

  Every sentence he said seemed like a rehearsed line. They didn’t sound quite right on my ears, too forced and scripted, but that was probably because I’d not had a guy flirt with me in a long time. From the sexy-low tone he was using, I knew he was going to kiss me before I felt the heat of his smoky breath on mine. I wasn’t quite sure I didn’t want to kiss him, but as he approached, it wasn’t his lips I imagined on mine, but-

  ‘Emerson, what the hell?’

  Emerson had grabbed the guy before he made contact, pulling his arms behind his back and pushing him away from me. He stumbled, nearly falling onto his ass, twisting his ankle in the process. Emerson stood in between us.

  ‘Huh,’ the captain of the football team said, recovering quickly. ‘You definitely are the Sons’ girl.’

  ‘I’m no one’s girl,’ I said, storming off.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Emerson caught up with me easily and instantaneously.

  ‘You’re actually asking me that question? Are you dumb, or just being purposefully obnoxious?’

  Emerson huffed, but didn’t say anything. I was too wound up to even contemplate not going on a rant.

  ‘What’s wrong is that everyone on the planet seems to be obsessed with whose girlfriend I am. And you’re not exactly helping matters by throwing any guy who tries to kiss me to the floor.’

  Emerson tried to speak. I interrupted, stopping still in my tracks. ‘You get that you could have broken that prick’s ankle being all alpha-asshole on him, don’t you? And then you would have cost the school their captain when everyone’s so freaking jazzed about making it to the finals this year.’

  ‘You’re pissed at me because I nearly cost the school a… football trophy?’

  I threw my hands up in the air. ‘You’re totally being purposefully obtuse. I’m not talking to you.’

  ‘Hey, hey, hey,’ Emerson said. He stood in front of me so I couldn’t walk away. ‘Sorry,’ he said, with a half-smile. ‘But are you telling me you actually wanted that guy to make a move on you.’

  ‘If I didn’t, I would stop him myself. That’s not your call to make.’

  ‘I know,’ Emerson said. I glared a little more. Emerson put his hands up in a surrender sign. ‘I know. You’re a bad girl with the ability to defend yourself, I’ve seen it. I just got jealous, alright?’

  I snorted. ‘You got jealous?’

  I recalled the bad boy cliché type Mr Captain of the Football Team was. What on earth did Emerson have to be jealous about over him…? But then again, he had been jealous over that frat boy who flirted with me.


  ‘Yeah.’ Emerson palmed the back of his neck, massaging it, as though he had a knot there he needed to work out. ‘I brought you here because – even though I know we said we weren’t going to label this or anything – I wanted to take you on a date. One that didn’t end with you morbidly recounting your close-encounters with death.’

  ‘You – you what?’

  ‘Halloween night, even with all the ridiculous shite you put me through when you were high, was the best night of my life. When I’m with you, I actually feel alive again. I feel like me. Like I was before… everything happened. How could I not want to do all that again? And I got jealous when I saw that you had left to hang out with Tristen instead of me.’

  ‘Oh.’

  I didn’t know what else to say. I mean, I wanted to have a go at him for being ridiculous and going along with me when I’d thought this was a group hangout. I would have been down for it if he’d just wanted to have a fun night he could remember even if the other guys weren’t there.

  Emerson tried to stop fidgeting, but his jaw and fists were clenched tight in response to the pent-up energy. His expression reminded me of Charlotte’s as she watched the fire.

  ‘God, you have no idea how badly I wish I could see your aura right now.’

  I realised in the silence he’d been studying my face intently.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘To know how pissed off you actually are. To know if you actually wanted Tristen to kiss you, or whether you were just going to let it happen because this party is too boring for you and that was the first interesting thing that’d happened for you tonight.’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘To the second one, yes.’

  ‘You didn’t actually want to kiss him?’ Emerson asked again.

  ‘Not him specifically.’

  ‘Is it me?’ Emerson asked, then he coughed, like he was trying to cover for being too eager. ‘What I mean is, when you kissed me, did you want to kiss me specifically or did you want to just kiss someone?’

  ‘Which time?’

  Emerson’s eyebrows pinched in the middle. ‘Any time. Was there ever a time it wasn’t me you wanted?’

  I laughed humourlessly. ‘I thought we already established that my crush is all me, Emerson. Your vamp-glamour doesn’t have that effect.’ God, he was an annoying prick for making me admit this shit. ‘Yes, it was you. Every damn time it was you.’