Allure ( The Gates Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

"Okay, what is going on?" Mia asked the minute she entered Andie's room, Brett, Lexi and even Lukas right behind her

"What?" Andie asked distractedly, looking up from her book.

Lexi sat next to the girl on her bed. "Don't 'what' us, girl. The whole town is talking about you and Mr. Radcliff. They're saying you're having an affair."

"Yeah, so what is going on?" Brett asked angrily, his eyes threatening to turn a wolf-like yellow if he didn't calm down.

Andie sighed and gave the same abbreviated speech she'd given to her father. "How does a vampire have life force?" Lexi asked immediately afterward.

Andie shrugged but Mia knew the answer. "Life force is a lot like your soul or spirit. It has nothing to do with whether or not your body is alive. Vampires are sentient creatures who have free will and can make their own choices therefore they are 'alive' and have 'life force'. In fact, now that I think about it, this makes sense."

"How so?" Andie asked in curiosity.

"A vampire can live for hundreds of years. That's hundreds of years worth of life force accumulated. That's perfect for a succubus. They can take what they need and, if the vampire's old enough, they'll never even feel the difference," Mia explained. "I'm so sorry I never thought of that sooner," she apologized to Andie, knowing how difficult things had been for the girl as she struggled to find a way to survive without hurting others.

"It's okay," Andie replied, smiling at her friend. There was no reason for Mia to have put the two together. It was complete coincidence that even led Andie and Dylan's paths to cross.

"No, it's not okay," Brett broke in angrily, glaring at Andie. "I can't believe you'd go to a vampire over a werewolf."

Lexi, Mia and Lukas exchanged uncomfortable glances. "Guys, could you give us a minute?" Andie asked as she stared Brett down. "Brett and I need to have a long overdue conversation." The other three reluctantly vacated the room leaving the former couple alone. "Brett, I think I've been pretty clear and patient about this," she stated gently.

Brett scoffed and looked to the side of the room. "I can't help it, okay?"

"Yes, you can," Andie insisted. "I know that you think you love me-"

"I do love you!" he interjected, angry that she was degrading his feelings.

"Okay, I'm sorry." She raised her hands in surrender. "But I don't love you. I care about you as a friend, but I don't feel anything more for you and you need to accept that. I'm not going to come back to you. I thought if I gave you time, you'd move on, but you didn't. So then I thought if we could just be friends, you'd realize that there couldn't be anything more between us, but still you didn't. Brett, I'm at my rope's end here. What am I supposed to do? What can I do to help you move on?" she asked.

Brett looked at her seriously for a moment, before scowling and looking away. "I guess you can't."

Andie gave a small, sad sigh. "I think you need to date other people," she said. "Find someone new. Someone who will like you back."

"Like who?" he scoffed but fell silent at her knowing look. "You know about...?"

"Lexi's huge thing for you?" she asked with a small smile. "Find me someone who doesn't." Brett awkwardly cleared his throat, his cheeks turning red. "Look, you should give her a chance. She really likes you and she's done a lot for you. Couldn't you at least try and go out with her on a few dates? See if there's even anything there?"

Brett thought about it for a minute before giving a small sigh which Andie knew meant agreement. "You're such a meddler, you know that?" he asked with a small smile.