The Vampire Prince goes to High School (Book 1)

Friends?

"Really?" I choked out.

It came as a surprise because I didn't actually think he would do it. He knew I was using him, right? The Prince smirked as if sensing my thoughts. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"That's it?" I asked. "Just yes? Aren't you too eager for this?"

The Prince stood and walked up to me, keeping the smirk on his face. I folded my arms across my chest and stood my ground. He leaned forward and stopped only inches from my face. Unconsciously, I moved back. It was clear to me why everyone was obsessed with him. Although it pained me to admit it .... he was ... good looking - if you're into dead guys. I could see why anyone would be physically attracted to him.

I cleared my throat. "You have no concept of personal space," I told him.

"If I do this for you," he began. "I need a reward."

My eye twitched. "No."

The Prince grinned. "I haven't asked for anything yet."

"I know what you want and I'm not giving anything to you."

I straightened to my full height and unfolded my arms. "You said it yourself. I see no reason why I would even want to swear any loyalty to you let alone give you even a drop of blood." I took a deep breath. "Honestly, at this point, I don't even know why you're still here. You must be really bored to waste your time like this."

For a moment, the smirk on his face faltered but I ignored it.

"Don't you have any friends?"

The air in my room seemed to grow colder. I waited for the Prince to answer my question but his reply never came. On second thought, maybe I was a bit too rude? I glanced at the Prince. His face was expressionless. I glanced away quickly. Yeah, I might have been rude but that couldn't bother him, right? Did he really not have any friends? That wouldn't be hard to believe simply because I had no idea why anyone would want to be his friend. The Prince wasn't the friendship type.

He had said it himself. He wanted to rule humans and have everyone at his feet. I think that applied to vampires too. Otherwise, the media would have shown the Prince's friends a long time ago. Believe me, the Prince wasn't known to keep anything private. Sure, my real relationship with the Prince was a secret but, at the same time, everyone knew who I was - more or less.

Uncomfortable with the sudden silence, I cleared my throat. "Look, having friends is great but you also have to be careful. Not everyone likes you for you. You got to find friends that would willingly jump into a burning building after you."

Oh, gosh. What was I doing? Did I really feel bad about throwing salt into a wound? Nobody wanted to be reminded that they had no friends, even the Prince, I think.

I cleared my throat again. Where was the Tutor when I needed him? I looked at the clock. There was still a few more minutes before lunch ended.

"Good talk," I forced out and went to my desk.

I grabbed my history book from the pile beside my desk and started to read about the implementation of vampire laws into human society. The work for the week had been marked with a Post-It note with instructions. Everything was due by the end of the week. At least the Tutor was kind enough to hand in my work. I don't think he trusted me enough not to forget.

A few seconds later I realized that I was reading the same sentence and I had no idea what it said. I glanced up and saw the Prince staring at me. Crap. I should have just kept my mouth shut.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Have a good lunch?"

The Tutor's sudden voice at the door made me jump. I still wasn't used to that.

"Ye-"

"Get out," the Prince ordered.

In the moment that it took me to flinch, the Tutor was out the door. My stomach dropped. The room had gotten colder.

"You seem to be under the impression that you are at liberty to say anything you please."

His tone was low, menacing. I focused my gaze on the beige desktop in front of me. I swallowed thickly trying to calm my raging heart.

I took in a shuddery breath. "And you seem to be under the impression that I am one of your subjects," I whispered.

The Prince's shadow fell over me. My chin trembled and pressure build behind my eyes. I took another deep breath and met the Prince's gaze. His eyes glowed red.

"Did it bother you that I said you don't have friends?" I asked in a low tone. "Is that why you're mad?"

It was strange. Feeling some guilt about what I told the Prince. How was I to know he didn't have any friends? Maybe he did or had at some point but how was I to know? Come to think about it, I knew next to nothing about the Prince. It's not like I had any reason to - until now.

"Would it make you feel better if I apologized?" I asked.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I sighed. Of course, he wasn't going to outright say it.

"I apologize if what I said hurt your feelings," I told him.

"I'm not a child," the Prince growled out. "I am royalty. I don't need forgiveness. Especially from the likes of you."

And all my guilt vanished just like that. "I don't know why I even bothered," I muttered. "I try to be civil but I guess I shouldn't waste my breath."

The Prince stalked around the desk until he towered over me. I pressed my back against the wooden chair making my back hurt. Suddenly, the Prince lowered himself until we were face to face. I gulped.

"You need to know your place," he told me.

I swallowed thickly. "You will never reign against humans," I said hoarsely. "You need to stop your delusions."

The Prince narrowed his eyes. "We'll see about that."

A/N: Next week, I decided to do something different. There won't be an update today. Sorry. Instead, I'll have a little Q&A. If anyone has any questions on the story or on anything else, feel free to ask me.

If there are enough participants, I'll choose top 10 or more and post my responses here. If not, I'll answer whatever questions come my way.

Thanks. Enjoy.