Behind Me

7: prejudice

I was asked a question in class about that war. The great war that had reshaped this world into what it currently was. According to my limited knowledge, there had been a time when the beasts had been under the mercy of the demons; that is, until the wolves had decided to retaliate, leading the beasts to war until both sides had to succumb to the pressure of loss and quickly signed a peace treaty under the guidance of the one who was known as the goddess Viastra's avatar.

It hadn't been easy. it took half a century before the then monsters had realised how much damage had been done alongside the extinction of several races. The races that had seen the wrong end of it were now referred to as neutrals because as much the the treaty was meant to help, they either became secondary citizens under the powers they chose to answer to or went into seclusion, hidden away until they chose not to.

I had to answer who had won the war but it hadn't been about taking sides. The war had dealt a great deal of damage to both opponents and casually giving an answer to that would have been, in my words, disrespectful. However, the demons had to make the greater compromise which included the vampires finding another source of nutrition besides preying on the beasts and the Fae finding something else to work their experiments on without harming the beasts; this among many others.

Mei had been going on about how awesome I was as we walked beside each other towards the exit. She was quite a funny character considering she had been the one giggling the loudest each time I stuttered or fumbled.

"you're really good at this, you know? It's cool how you're able to catch up despite meeting us in the middle of the year. "

Even I found it overwhelming at times.

"you think so? "

"positive. Unless... What sort of witchcraft are you practicing? "

I smiled.

"you did not just accuse me of being a witch. "

"do I have to burn you to a stake to prove it? "

I had been wrong to have told her about the Salem witch trials. Maybe I was indeed a witch.

"know you wouldn't even if you had to. You're a really naughty menace you know that? "

She laughed heartily.

"thank you for pointing out the obvious. Just know that I would at least try to. "

I was quickly getting accustomed to that smile, her laugh and all of her mannerisms in fact. I made a mental note to try and protect that smile no matter the cost.

Mei suddenly pulled my arm as if pulling me out of the way and I realized I was about to bump into someone. I placed a hand in between us to avoid colliding into him. Seeing his face, I knew I had no reason to feel any kind of surprise as this had become somewhat of a cliché joke that was no longer funny.

Val... Again!

His expression slowly changed from what I assumed was pure, genuine shock to his usual cocky and annoying smirk. I wasn't going to waste my time engaging in some senseless conversation with him so instead I walked off right before he was going to say a word.

And like a coincidence, there was Noa by my side, leading Mei and I away from the awkwardness of that situation. Again he was walking a bit too fast to keep up with and I felt almost out of breath just outside the building.

Where did he even come from?

"Noa, what's going on? "

"I just wanted to ask if it would be okay for me to take you home today. "

"no fair Noa, you keep taking Erica away from me. " Mei whined.

"I know, I know, and I'll try to make it up to you in the future. "

His assurance did not stop her from pouting while mumbling curses at him.

Noa turned his gaze back to me and I knew I wasn't ready to say no to him. I didn't owe him anything but still yet I was torn between thinking logically about this and just going with the flow.

"is there a reason why you want to take me?"

"there are some things I'd like to discuss with you. And I also enjoy conversing with you. "

"okay then. Well my driver certainly isn't going to like this. "

I turned to Mei seeking her permission.

"I certainly can't say no to you Erica. " she smiled at me and wrapped me in a tight hug which I gladly reciprocated.
"do take care of yourself. And take care of her too, jerk."

she sent Noa a threatening yet playful glare. Before saying goodbye to us both and leaving.

"thanks for chasing my friend away, genius. " I poked at his chest and swiftly turned around, smiling at his startled grunt and making my way to his vehicle.

The ride after that had been as eventful as any other.

"try your best to stay away from Val. " he was so direct and I almost felt like every interaction with the Vampire had been my fault.

"tell that to the universe then. "

"I'm sorry and I know it sounds too straightforward but I will be honest with you. He is no good. "

"I get it. I didn't need you to remind me. You should also try to adjust your obsession with him because it is getting out of hand. "

"I am not obsessed with Val. "

"is there a particular reason you want me to be weary of him? Maybe if you tell me I will be more careful. "

"I don't have a specific reason not to like him and truthfully on his own he can hardly harm anyone. However, while in fact I do hope to play around with his ego every once in a while I'd like to remind you what your species is to his kind. "

"he's a bloodsucker, I get it. It just sounds like racial prejudice to me. "

"I am not... " his tone was suddenly defensive and I chuckled a bit as I watched him gather himself, realising that I had been messing with him.

"on a more serious note Erica, it's not just about him being a vampire. I'll let you know that the Vampire Royal family is at liberty to keep humans as pets for their own personal uses. "

"oh. " my reply had been thoughtless. He seemed to have known this and kept silent long enough that I let the little piece of information he'd given me sink in so that I fully understood what he'd just said.

"oh... No! " it was a wide eyed exclamation this time and was just as humorous as it sounded. I silently hoped he wouldn't take into account my split second stupidity.

"yes" he said with a big nod.

"but I thought humans are protected under the law. "

"that law was put in place quite recently and that is not long enough to iron out the kinks. Furthermore, the alpha who proposed the law is no longer in power. Not to mention there's hardly any depth to beast laws on demon land. "

If his aim had been to terrify me well then he had succeeded.

"I just want you to be careful."

That had been the close of our little conversation before I had to be dropped off. I wished he could be the one to take me home more often but that would never be the case. That day, we'd exchanged numbers and social media.

I wished I had an idea of what his intentions towards me were and why he'd been so keen on keeping me safe. I did hope to be closer but not enough that I began to have actual feelings for him because I knew very well that under the right circumstances I was very easy to please. And right now I thought I was very easy.

Behind me.