Crimson Awaking

Chapter Two: Events

At school, Claire was walking to her 4th class of the day, her mind reeling from the events of what had happened that morning. She could still taste the remnants of the blood and her vomit in her mouth. It made her want to throw up just at the taste, but she forced herself to hold it in. Just then, the sound of footsteps came up behind her. She turned to see it was her friend, Bryon, approaching her.

"Hey, how are you doing, Byron?" asked Claire as she walked next to him.

"I am good. How about you?" replied Byron, joining Claire in her walk to her 4th-period class.

Claire took a deep breath. 'I am doing okay for the most part."

Byron could hear a twinge of pain and shock in Claire's voice. That was enough to make him pull her aside by the arm. He didn't let go until they were in an empty hallway, away from prying ears. Something was bothering his friend, which her attempt at sounding okay didn't hide. Standing in front of her, he met her gaze.

"What's wrong?" asked Bryon, a stern tone in his voice.

"Nothing," was Claire's immediate response. "I am fine."

Claire didn't want to talk about what was bothering her. She didn't want to talk about Adrianna. If anything, Claire was desperately trying to keep Byron off the subject, to keep Adrianna's vampire identity a secret from him. Yes, she trusted him with everything going on in her life. But she had promised Adrianna that she wouldn't tell Byron her secret. That was hard to do, especially as they were so close. Yet, she did it, regretfully. Now, here she was, lying to her best friend because she had made a promise to the other one.

Resting his hand comfortingly on her shoulder, Byron spoke in a calm voice. "Claire, I have known you since kindergarten. I can tell when you are lying. Please, tell me what's wrong."

Claire looked down, knowing that Byron was right; he did know her very well. That was one of his many qualities she was grateful for. Though, right now, it wasn't so great. Biting her lip, she decided to come clean about the events of the morning.

"Adrianna... kissed... me." The words barely tumbled from her lips. Almost like she was afraid they would break something if she spoke them aloud.

Byron's hand fell from Claire's shoulder as he stepped back. The news was a shock to him. It wasn't that he opposed the idea that Claire could be into girls, he had figured she probably was interested around 8th grade. But it was because he had feelings for her. Emotions that had developed around 6th grade when he had finally noticed how beautiful she looked, especially in the light of the setting sun.

"Wh-what, did you just say?" asked Byron, not wanting to believe what he just heard.

Claire looked up, staring at her best friend right in the eye, and repeated what she had just said. "Adrianna kissed... me."

That made Byron turn his back to her. His blood boiled as he realized that Adrianna was finally making the move he should've made. He took a deep, trembling breath, trying to calm himself. There was no use in him getting angry at Claire at the moment. And right now, she needed a friend to support her, not someone berating her about whom she should date.

"So, it was true. Claire and Adrianna..." thought Byron as he balled his hand in frustration at what happened before relaxing it.

"So, what? Are you dating now?" He asked, his voice dripping with venom despite his efforts to hide his disagreement with the events.

"Well... I don't know," replied Claire. "I didn't get around to asking her that. Especially not after I told her just to go and leave me alone."

The bell then rang, interrupting Byron before he got a chance to ask another question. Licking his lips, he turned around and faced Claire. His rage darkened his eyes. He walked up to her and rested both of his hands on her shoulders, locking eyes with her.