Inject Me Sweetly / Dusk Until Dawn

:Inject Me Sweetly: Chapter Twenty-One

Luckily, Leah, who nearly tackled me to the ground when she seemed to jump out of nowhere, broke the moment. Joel reached out to steady me as my brother started laughing, relieving the tension. Vincent looked down at her like she was an unwanted bug in his room. Grimacing in pain, I unwound her slim arms from around my neck, pushing her off me. She beamed at me. "Hey Emily! You didn't tell me you knew the transfer kids!"

"I haven't seen you all day," I pointed out.

"Are we going to go eat or not?" Joel complained. "I'm with Vivi. I'm hungry."

Vincent threw an elbow in his direction. "Don't call me that!"

Jake looked at Joel appreciatively. "Vivi? I see great minds think alike."

"You call him that too? Well, great minds think alike," Joel responded smugly. "Two against one, Vivi."

"Whatever," he growled, pushing past me. "I can figure out things by myself."

On instinct I made to go after him, but my brother grabbed my elbow, yanking me to a stop. "Hold on there."

"What?" I asked wearily.

"Make sure he doesn't deal any drugs or anything, Em. He looks like the type."

I almost laughed. Drug dealing? Vincent? Could vampires even do drugs? That wasn't actually a bad question. I'd have to ask one of them when no humans were around. "I'll be sure to, er, keep an eye on him."

Jake crossed his arms. "Good. I have to go; otherwise I'll be late for fourth period. Enjoy your lunch."

"I'll walk you to class!" Leah offered enthusiastically. She threw me a quick glance. "Make sure you save me a seat at the table."

After bidding adieu to her and my brother, I gestured for Fiona and Joel to follow me the rest of the way to the cafeteria. When we entered, the first thing I noticed was Vincent. He was sitting at one of the tables to the far right, brooding. No one was approaching him. A gaggle of sophomore girls stood near him idly, shooting glances at him and whispering every now and then, almost as if they were trying to gather up enough courage to go sit with him.

"Can you guys figure out the lunch lines?" I asked, turning to Joel and Fiona. "The one on the far left is a la carte, and the two on the right are main lunch."

Joel flashed me a grin. "I think we can figure it out."

"Okay, then meet me by the door again, okay?"

They nodded and took off together. I turned back to Vincent and his followers. One of them took a hesitant step forward, causing her friends to giggle. After a second she moved back into her group, shaking her head. Before any more of them could try to approach him again, I quickly strode across the cafeteria, coming to a stop next to him. "Let's eat outside," I blurted.

He glanced up at me, dropping his brooding look for the moment. "Why?"

"Because there's—" I cut myself off, my eyes widening. I couldn't say it was because there were too many girls in here. That would make it seem like I was jealous... While it was okay to be jealous since I had a crush on him, he didn't know I did, so I couldn't act like it. "It's a nice day?" I finally finished.

"So?"

I scowled at him. He had to make it difficult, didn't he? "Look, I've been locked up inside your house for nearly two weeks. I want to eat outside," I told him, lowering my voice.

He gave me a bored look. "Why do I have to come?"

"I want you to," I responded in a duh voice. When I realized what I said, I bit my cheek to stop from blushing.