Chapter Eight (Julian)
Horror exploded inside me as I stared at Adam's wide-eyed stare, his thumbs pressing my lips up to reveal my sleek white fangs. And no amount of "oh, I just got them sharpened like that" would make this believable as our fangs were much sleeker and natural.
Adam just stared at them, as if trying to make himself believe that they were actually there.
But I couldn't let him stare long enough as humiliation and terror burst inside me and I shoved his hands away. He fell back and I started to scramble off the bed away from him, leaning off the edge to grab my pants, but Adam grabbed my hips, making me yelp.
I snapped my head to look over my shoulder to see Adam between my legs, holding my hips as he glared at me. I felt so awkward and embarrassed in this position, half off the bed and half off with just my arms propping me up on the floor.
"I think you have some explaining to do." He stated, digging his fingers into my skin. I shook my head quickly and went to scramble off the bed again, but Adam tore me back by my hips, making me yelp and struggle to stay up on my arms. Then pain exploded up my back as I trembled, my arms threatening to give out.
I peered behind me, breathing heavily to see that Adam had torn me back hard and quick enough so he had pierced me again. My ass ached, but at the time was filled with such a fullness that my body screamed in pleasure.
I whimpered, ducking my head as my arms trembled and Adam kept himself buried to the hilt inside me, his nails grinding into my skin, probably leaving marks by now.
"Tell me what's going on, Julian. I want to know everything that's going on. Right now, and if you make any excuses, I'm going to hurt you and I really don't want to." Adam ordered, gripping me tightly as I panted for breath, trying to move away on my hands, but Adam held me still and just moving made everything throb, including my fangs.
Tears welled in my eyes as I tried to fight them back, but no amount of blinking or trying to calm myself down would work as they fell down my face and to the floor. I whimpered again, ducking my head before looking up over my shoulder, breathing hard.
"O-Okay, I'll tell you, please-- Haaah! J-Just, pull out! Take it out!"
"Not until you talk."
"A-Adam--"
"That's King to you." Adam corrected sternly. I don't know why, but that just turned me on even more as I moaned, arching my back, digging my nails into the floor as I struggled to gain control over myself. I tried to find words, but every time I opened my mouth to try, they only tumbled out as moans and whimpers. Adam sighed in frustration, then switched his grip to my waist and heaved me up so I was sitting in his lap, him still inside of me.
I moaned, arching my back against his chest as I reached behind me to grab at his shoulders and hair. Adam buried his mouth against my throat, his teeth biting down rather harshly, enough to make me yelp in pain. He kept his arms around my waist, one hand searching my groin and grabbing me firmly in his hand. His other hand swept upwards and pinched my nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
"Start talking, Julian. I hate being lied to." Adam murmured against my ear, his teeth clamping down on the shell of my ear. I moaned, tilting my head back so I was resting it on his shoulder, my breathes coming out in pants.
"Oooh! I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I couldn't say anything-- Aah! My parents would kill me. We're not supposed to tell anyone! Absolutely no one! It's just a rule of our society!" I gasped for breath as Adam shifted, thrusting his hips up so he was deeper inside me, the tip of him brushing a place that made my head swim.
"Society of what?" Adam demanded, tightening his grip around me as he dug his thumb into the tip of me, making me whimper and wiggle in his lap, which only sent more bolts of pleasure and pain coursing through me.
"V-Vampires," I cried, surprised that the tears were still streaking down my face, "We're vampires, all right! T-That's why my fangs...! That's why it felt so good when you sucked on them! I-It's why I can't let anyone see what's in my thermos at school-- Aahh! Haah! Because it's blood!"
"That's impossible," Adam spoke with warning in his voice, "There's no such thing as vampires. You told us you were lactose intolerant."
"I liiiiiied," I wailed, my body clenching around Adam as he shoved himself so far inside me that I felt like I was going to tear in half, "It was a lie! I don't even drink milk, Adam!"
"King." Adam thrust himself hard inside me and I choked on my breath to moan, gasping desperately for air.
"King! I don't drink milk; I drink blood! I live off it! It's why I hated going out in the sun because it hurt my skin!"
"Why don't you burst into flames then or ashes or at least fucking sparkle?"
"I-I'm not a g-goddamn fairy-- Hahh! My skin burns, but because of the amount of blood I drink, it protects me like sunblock sorta!"
"What blood do you drink? How do you drink it?"
"B-Blood bank! M-My parents own a hospital chain and they can get away with stealing blood for us! I only drink blood bags, not from people, I swear! Not from people, I swear, I swear!"
"And why should I believe you?" Adam demanded, making me sob as I held onto him desperately, trying to move to relieve the pain and discomfort from having him buried inside me, but not moving. I could feel him pulsing and hear his blood rushing through his system, making my fangs throb. I grabbed at the bed sheets, trying to point to the edge of the bed.
"U-Under my bed, look! I stuffed blood bags under there and you'll even see the punctures in the empty bags!" I panted. Adam frowned, then scooted back on the bed. I cried out as he moved inside me, tugging me backwards along the bed with him. He leaned over the side, one hand wrapped around my arm to keep me still.
I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to move.
I felt like I was going to explode!
I panted hard, shifting myself up and down on top of him. Adam had been about to reach under the bed before he growled low in his throat, throwing himself back on the bed to lay down. He rested his hands on my hips as I pulled myself up and down, breathing hard as Adam's rock hard cock plunged inside me.
I reached my peak no more than a moment later, throwing my head back as I rode out another powerful orgasm. My whole body trembled and quaked as I clenched around Adam, who gasped as he came again inside me. Adam finally let go of me as I fell to the bed, breathing hard. I clenched the blankets in my fists and watched as Adam stared up at the ceiling, panting before he rolled over on the edge and reached under the bed.
I winced, propping myself up on my elbows before going still as Adam picked up one of the blood bags that was still full. He dropped it, making me wince as he picked up another one that was empty. It was completely drained and looked like a juice box that had the life sucked out of it, all scrunched with a pair of puncture holes in it.
I watched Adam lay on his side on the edge for a moment, one arm hanging over the edge. I hesitated before slowly lifting myself up.
"A-- Uhm, K-King, I'm really, really sorry," I managed, reaching up quickly to wipe the tears from my eyes so I didn't look as pathetic, "I'm so sorry I lied to you... I couldn't tell you. Believe me, if I could've, I would've, but my parents... My... people. Our rule is not to give ourselves away to humans. It's dangerous. Just because I'm nice doesn't mean there aren't people like me who aren't."
Adam didn't say anything. I sank down on the bed again, watching the muscles in his back ripple. I felt a little tremor go through me at the sight of my nail marks across his shoulderblades. Dark red and jagged, little bits of skin having been torn off under my fingernails.
Despite the fact that Adam just teased me with sex to get me to talk, I wasn't hurt or anything with him. I was a guy; I could handle this sort of shit... I just wished it wasn't about me being a vampire.
Now he knew.
Now Adam knew about me, about my parents, about vampires.
He probably hated me. He probably thought I was a monster or some sick psycho. He might not even believe me with the blood bags there. He might think I drank from unwilling victims on the street like Dracula and what the hell was that sparkling comment? I didn't sparkle in the sunlight; although, I'd rather sparkle than spontaneously combust. At least sparkling gave me enough time to run.
"All right." Adam said at last, then rolled over onto his back, drawing one strong leg up as he draped his arm out, wedging it under my head. I blinked, looking at him in confusion as he pulled the blankets up over us, pausing to yawn.
"A-All right?" I asked, confused. Adam nodded, studying the ceiling.
"Are you deaf or something?"
"N-No, b-but--"
"Stop stuttering."
"S-Sorry, I mean... Sorry, I just... I don't... You don't care?" I asked at last. Adam stared up at the ceiling flatly, licking his lips in indication that he wanted to smoke before he rolled over on his side to face me, his eyes closed. He rested an arm under his head, sighing as his other went over me, pulling me close.
"Frankenstein, werewolf, vampire, fairy, or fucking wizard, I don't care what you are. I meant what I said and I'm not changing my mind. But that doesn't mean you can bite me." I blinked at that and looked at him, but he kept his eyes closed.
"I... wouldn't bite you." I said carefully. Would I? I'd never thought about me biting him. Would I have the self-control? I didn't have enough during sex, let alone if Adam happened to bleed around me or not. Adam hummed in response before speaking.
"Good... I'm not a tween from a vampire drama that's gonna beg you to bite me. You can bite me when I feel like it."
"Okay... Uhm, so... But... That still doesn't mean this is okay." I added. Adam peeked an eye open as I propped myself up on my elbows as he rested his head in his palm, watching me as I cleared my throat to speak, brushing the hair back from my face.
"I wasn't lying about before. My parents and the marriage thing. A lot of people... in our society do things like that and my parents are one of them. They want me to marry another vampire. That's why I can't be with you. Even this right now is super dangerous and it could get you killed." I explained carefully, glancing toward the door to make sure no one was ready to come in. Adam narrowed his eyes, propping himself up.
"And who would kill me? Your fiance?"
"Well, amongst others, probably."
"And you think I'm scared of your jealous fiance."
"Adam, I don't think you get the concept of being a vampire."
"And I don't think you know me as well as you think you do. Vampire or not, I called you first."
"Whoa, hold up," I protested angrily, turning my head to frown at him, "Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I'm a prize or an item on your Christmas list. I'm free to make my own decisions."
"And you choose that other guy over me?" Adam asked. I felt like a spear had shot through my heart at the look on Adam's face. It reminded me of the look on his face back in the clearing at school when he had held me against him. It stole my breath away. Adam leaned closer, reaching up to brush the hair back from my face before tucking it behind my ear so he could cup my cheek.
"I know you love me, Julian. You're a really bad liar." He murmured, making me sigh in frustration.
"I know." I grumbled. I was relieved to see a smile pull at the corners of Adam's lips before he dipped his head foreward, our lips connecting. My heart fluttered in my chest and I carefully brought my hand up along his arm before dragging it against his hard, muscled chest. Chills swept through me to hear his heart skip a beat at our kissing and touching.
"Sorry about before." Adam muttered after we parted to slump back on the bed, his arm resting under my head and his fingers raking through my hair gently. I frowned, confused for a second when I remembered and my cheeks darkened.
"Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing... You turned me on." I added under my breath. A wicked smirk crossed Adam's lips as he stared at the ceiling, his hand pulling the hair back from my face.
"Damn, a vampire and a masochist. I feel like a won the lottery."
"Tsk! Just because it turned me on doesn't mean you can do it again. I wasn't kidding about before... This..." My voice trailed and Adam's smirk vanished. He got that hard, cold look on his face again, making me grimace.
"This is the last time." I forced myself to say and I pushed myself up. Adam didn't move, laying on my bed and looking up at me with his eeriely calm expression, but even that was pretty hot. His cheeks were still a little flushed from all our screwing around (literally) and his dark eyes were hooded, his arms now folded under his head.
"Adam?" I asked cautiously. Adam closed his eyes.
"I'll just talk to your parents."
"Adam, that's really not a good idea."
"Then what? Talk to your fiance?'
"How about talk to nobody and live?"
"Live without you? Not likely." Adam deadpanned, his eyes still closed and his expression still relaxed. I sighed in frustration, then buried my face in the pillow. I had to try to explain this more clearly in a way that Adam knew this was too dangerous. God, I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold onto him forever. I wanted to tell my parents that I changed my mind and tell Wulf to find someone else, apologize to Alexander for making the same mistake he made.
But the look on Alexander's face when he told me about that human, Nicholas...
He was so hurt, so broken up. He really loved that human as much as he loved Vladimir. That human died because of our enemies, because of the people like us who couldn't stand to see anyone else happy.
I couldn't let that happen to Adam. I couldn't let Adam die... If he died, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
And without realizing it, I had fallen asleep with those thoughts in my head. I sank into the velvety darkness of a deep sleep, and into a horrible nightmare. I remembered walking down the hallway at school, but it was so dark and there were only a couple lights on in classrooms. I went to each door, but they were locked. I was getting frustrated.
What was going on? Where was everyone?
"He will die." The dark eerie voice sent cold chills rushing down my spine, goose bumps flying over my skin as I did a 360 to try and figure out where the voice was coming from when my eyes landed on the intercom speakers lined up along the walls.
The voice was cruel and angry.
"That entire, filthy family will die for what they've done... I will not let them get away without the divine punishment. By Nemisis' name, I will destroy the Grey and Gothica clans. I will wipe them off the face of the planet and rip them apart, piece by piece, just as they did to my son..."
What? What's going on?
I went straight for the principal's office, my sneakers beating the tiled floors and making it echo. I ran around a corner at the end of the hallway and neared the main office. I burst in, then froze to see tape and a recorder at the mic. But what terrified me most was the blood splattered across the glass of the secretary's office. The rich, metallic scent of blood that suffocated me and hung in the air like fog.
I stepped around the side to go into the little box office, but a shrill scream caught me off guard and it took me a moment to realize it was me as I focused on the sight on the inside of the secretary's office.
A hand was holding onto the recorder, the mic sitting on the edge of the table on its side with the tape on the button. The hand holding the recorder was Adam's. He was lying against the desk, his eyes still open, but half-lidded and staring at nothing as blood bubbled from his torn open throat.
I choked and fell back, expecting to hit a wall or the floor, but I fell backwards into darkness and cried out, reaching out to grab onto something to break my fall. I only grabbed air before I fell into what felt like a black sack or something. I watched the top close over top my head and I screamed again, writhing and fighting against the velvety material that ensnared me.
Another scream ripped free before I threw my hands out and pushed the material away from my face.
I found myself shooting up in bed, crying out and covered in sweat. I grabbed around at my blankets desperately, looking around frantically, but Adam was nowhere to be seen. The hysteria from my dream followed me as I threw my blankets and pillows, scrambling out of my bed to rush to my bathroom, breathing heavily.
"Adam?! Adam!" I panicked, rushing around my room and even went to the window until I caught sight of one of my songwriting notebooks on my keyboard. I ran over and snatched it up, my eyes searching the note there.
Julian,
Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I wanted to avoid your parents bursting in on you. When you come to school, we need to talk a little more about you know what. Meet me near the gym around 8:05.
King.
I grimaced, running a hand through my hair before I plopped on my bed, sighing in relief as I held the notebook to my chest tightly, curling up with it.
Goddess, that was the scariest dream I'd ever had in my entire life. I could still feel my heart about ready to rip through my chest and every time I closed my eyes, I saw that terrifying image of Adam in the secretary's office. I shook my head quickly and closed my notebook, dropping it on my bed before I made my way to the bathroom so I could shower and change into my clothes.
It was about seven, so I had more time than usual to get ready. I took my time shimmying into a pair of black skinny jeans and a navy v-neck, throwing my jean jacket and fingerless gloves on before I got my bag all ready and went out to the kitchen where I downed a good two or three bags of blood before filling up my thermos.
"Up early again?" I looked up to see my mom walking in with a gentle smile. She was wearing a neat silky blouse and a black pencil skirt to go with her ankle boots. I just responded with a nod, which she returned before coming in to warm herself up a cup of blood.
"So, Wulf says he'll be stopping by again today to take you out to eat after school. He's so incredibly nice, Julian. I really think you chose a fine man." She explained gently, holding her steaming cup. I forced a smile, shifting a bit uneasily as I leaned on the counter, looking down.
"Uhm... So, you're not mad that I'm into guys either?" I asked. My mother snorted.
"It is very rare to find someone of our species who's a biggot."
"Well, don't you want, like, grandchildren or something?"
"And make me look older? No, I'm perfectly fine."
"You know, they say being gay is genetic. Are either you or dad...?" My voice trailed and carried a dry tone that made my mother chuckle as she averted her eyes, bringing her mug to her red lips. She took a sip, making them redder before she licked them.
"My sister was into women. And your father's had his fair share of other lovers." She admitted with a shrug, making me raise an eyebrow.
"Dad? Into guys? That's just creepy." I added with a snort. My mother laughed, putting her mug down and giving me a stern smirk.
"Sweetheart, we're your parents and, though we're older than the country itself, that certainly doesn't mean we don't have fun from time to time." She pointed out, making me scrunch up my nose in disgust.
"Ew, mom! I don't need to know what you and dad do in your free time!" I exclaimed, making her laugh as she walked over, giving my cheek a harsh pinch before she surprised me with a pop on the butt cheek.
"Go brush your teeth so we can go. You have to be at school on time." She scolded, making me roll my eyes as I obeyed and went to brush my fangs before returning to see my mom grabbing her keys. We went out to the car, the cold morning air teasing my cheeks. I paused as I opened the car door, sniffing the air.
It smelled as cold as it felt, but for some reason, it smelled like there was something else on the air. I shivered and climbed into the car again, sighing as my mom turned on the radio to listen to the stupid NPR station that only made her worry more than she already did. As if hiding our vampire identities weren't hard enough, we had to worry about the human issues too.
My mom dropped me off and I hung around outside by the doors with the rest of the students, who basically ignored me. I felt eyes on me, though, and peeked up past my hair to see Walter staring at me from the back of the crowd. I fought hard to resist a smirk to see him wearing a cross necklace and a little bottle was sticking out of his shirt pocket that looked like holy water.
Oh, for the Goddess' sake. This was just too sweet.
I remained where I was sitting with my ear buds in before the bell rang and I waited until Walter got near me before I hopped off the ledge, making Walter almost leap five feet into the air. His friends gave him weird looks and moved on silently after giving me filthy scowls.
"Hi, Walter. How's the nose?" I asked casually, making him narrow his eyes and hold the cross on his necklace up in my face.
"Get away from me, you bloodsucking freak." He sneered, making me raise an eyebrow.
"That's rude. I was just being nice."
"Nice my ass! I know what you are, Grey." He seethed past clenched teeth. He baited himself into this next part as I tried to give him my serious face.
"Oh yeah, Bella? Then say it. Say it out loud." I mocked. Walter's cheeks reddened, but instead of punching me like he used to, he turned and ran away. I laughed out loud, watching him leave when I felt a shadow fall over me, making me snap my head to see Mr. Takahashi coming up the steps, wearing a pair of nice black slacks and a matching button up shirt under a wool Calvin Klein coat.
"Starting your day off with teasing, Mr. Grey?" He asked me flatly, holding his brief case in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. I looked at him innocently, tightening my grip on my bag strap over my shoulder.
"Never, Mr. Takahashi." I replied. He responded with an amused stare before looking away at the sun with a quick frown before ducking his head. His cheeks looked pink for a second, but the shadows fell over his face as he cleared his throat, walking past me into the school. I shrugged and walked in after him. I was headed toward my locker when I remembered the note Adam left.
I really didn't want to meet with him, but how uncool is that? Sleep with him, then ditch him and pretend he doesn't exist the next day? I didn't want to do it. I should at least leave with a nice goodbye... and try not to feel like total shit.
I took a deep breath and changed course, heading toward the gym. There was a very short cut hallway to the gym doors, maybe just a couple feet, and sure enough, Adam was waiting there.
And damn, did he look so bad ass in his tight jeans with dangling chains off the loops and a torn concert t-shirt under his black army jacket. His big black boots only made him taller and more sexy. His hair was a little damp from a shower, hanging over his forehead and above his gorgeous hazel eyes.
"Hey." I greeted quietly, glancing at the crowded hallway that was a ways behind me before I ducked into the short hallway and out of sight. As soon as I looked up, Adam stepped up to me, making me back up against the wall, staring up at him with wide eyes. He didn't even pretend to be subtle about it as he leaned down, kissing me on the lips. And this was no "good morning" peck on the lips. His mouth claimed mine, his tongue forcing my lips open so he could feel around inside.
He left me breatheless as he pulled away. I leaned against the wall, breathing gently as I squirmed a little, trying to will the hard on in my pants away.
"Glad you saw my note." Adam started. I blinked, then blushed as I shifted from foot to foot, fiddling with the strap on my bag.
"Yeah, well... Thanks for that. What did you want to talk about exactly?" I asked, daring to look up at him. Adam stared at me for a while, then frowned.
"I really don't want you to marry that guy." He deadpanned. I winced, lowering my arms to my sides as I pushed off the wall.
"Adam, I don't really wanna marry him either, but--"
"So why are you so desperate to push me away and gravitate toward him? If it's about last night, I'm sorry. It's why I waited so long to actually say something," Adam drawled, making me blink and look at him curiously before he frowned, "Because every time I look at you, I just want to push you down and fuck you senseless."
"You're making this sound like a porno." I managed in embarrassment. Adam shrugged.
"Call me honest."
"Call you crazy," I corrected, making him cock a brow, "Adam, I... Goddess, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say something like that. And last night... It's... It was like a dream, but... But we can't. If we ended up together, you'd die." I remembered my dream and it scared me even more now. Just standing here with Adam could be dangerous. What if someone was watching? Those terrorist people that Mark mentioned? Or the ones that killed Alexander's human lover?
"I won't go down without a fight." Adam pointed out, making me flinch and turn to look at him in agony.
"And that scares me even more. Adam, you know how strong I am. There are people in my world stronger than me. I pretty much destroyed Walter's nose and fractured one of his ribs. And when we beat the crap out of his brother? I nearly broke his leg if you hadn't of pulled me off him. You're a great fighter, I know you are. You taught me everything I know and I've seen you tear people apart, but... But the people in my world--"
"Vampires." Adam filled in flatly, making me grimace.
"Yeah, we're way stronger than that. They'll rip into you like a pack of hyenas and just thinking about it is making me sick and-- Damn it, Adam! I like you, so much! I... I love you." I managed. Adam paused and his eyes seemed to glow before he came so close that he had me pressed against the wall. I could feel every curve of his hard, rippling muscles and the bulge in his jeans that ground against me, stealing my breath away as his lips came dangerously close to mine, our eyes still locked.
"Exactly," He breathed, his voice quiet, "I love you too... And that's why I'll get rid of anyone in our way. I've waited this long to be with you. I'm done waiting. You're mine. I proved it last night, didn't I?" I quivered as his lips brushed mine, giving me pleasant chills. I held onto his arms, trying to keep him at bay so I could concentrate, but it was so hard. His scent was filling my senses. His musky, manly cologne and natural scent mingled with the sweet blood rushing through his veins. I parted my lips, my fangs elongated and ready to sink into his warm flesh.
"You won't bite me." Adam's voice cut into my senses and I snapped my mouth shut. I quickly shoved him back, which only worked a little much to my irritation.
"S-See?! Even I can't control myself and it's scaring me, Adam! I rather you be alive and... and... somewhere else than around me when you could die any second!" I exclaimed in exasperation. Adam frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but the final bell went off and I winced.
"I have to go to class." I ducked quickly before Adam could say or do anything else and bolted down the hallway. I ran hard and fast, not even stopping by my locker as I raced into my first period, making Mr. Takahashi look up from calling roll, his eyes narrowed.
"Mr. Grey."
"Two seconds. Two seconds late." I panted, making Mr. Takahashi hum before gesturing for me to sit down. I nodded in thanks and went to my seat, settling down as Mr. Takahashi cleared his throat and stood at the front of the class.
"All right, everyone. Yesterday I gave you the assignment to research your favorite historical topic and to turn it in today. If you'll please take those out so I can go around the room to collect them." He explained, making me stiffen in my seat before sinking down in misery.
As if fighting with my should-be-boyfriend was bad enough, I forgot to do my homework.
Wait, no.
I remembered.
I just didn't do it because I was too busy having sex.
Oh yeah, hey, Mr. Takahashi. Sorry about not doing my homework. I just had the craziest sex last night with Adam John Wayne. I mean, dude, we just went at it like bunnies.
Yeah, that would go over well.
"And where's your assignment, Mr. Grey?" Mr. Takahashi asked as he approached my desk, making me wince as I sat up, clearing my throat and just improvised.
"Sorry, lemme get it." I replied, picking up my bag and shuffling through it. I feigned surprise and checked a second time, pretending to be panicked.
"Oh crap, I think I might've left it in my locker." I managed. Mr. Takahashi sighed in frustration, pushing his glasses up on his nose as he averted his eyes.
"Of course. Go get it." He ordered and I nodded, getting to my feet and heading out into the hallway. I went to my locker, popping it open and pausing to stare at the dents I had caused. The fact that the faculty had yet to headslam me about this was a shocker. I pretended to do a little searching before I went back to class, promptly informing Mr. Takahashi that I must've left it at home, promising to bring it in the next day.
Man, I'm good.
I went through the rest of the day, forcing myself to try and take the stupid notes and worksheets that were passed out. None of it really mattered to me. Why should it? Firstly, there was nothing I was into, except being a musician and you hardly needed to go to school to be one, right? And secondly, I was being forced to marry a rich guy, who probably couldn't care less if I did well or not.
The only thing doing school work did for me was keep my parents off my back, and even then I could get an A and my mom would be jumping all over me to get an A+, which probably wasn't even possibly, but what did I know? The highest I ever got was a B and that was in P.E.
The only time being a vampire even counted.
I was relieved by the time lunch came around. I debated whether eating alone or not again, but decided against it as I didn't want a repeat of last time, so I found my group of friends eating outside with their lunches. Seth and Kipp both looked relieved to see me, completely unaware of what had gone on between Adam and I. Or at least, I think they did.
Their reactions at the Samhain party at Gothica Manor made me wonder how much Adam told them about us.
"Good to see you, man," Seth greeted brightly, giving me a high five as I sat down and he took a big bite from his Subway leftovers, "We missed you at lunch yesterday. Figured you got in a spat with King."
"Kinda." I admitted, glancing at Adam, who said nothing. He hadn't even touched his food, in fact. The microwave heated BBQ rib sandwich sat in its aluminum wrapper, untouched, and his Gaterade not even opened.
"Glad you're back, though," Kipp chirped, sensing the awkward silence, crunching on potato chips as he spoke, "It's been kinda lonely. Speaking of which, you see Walter? He was waving a cross around earlier and got in trouble for bringing holy water to school. Something about disrespecting religion." I grinned.
"Wicked. Maybe they'll throw him in the nuthouse." I said, making Kipp laugh and Seth snort as he bit into his sandwich. I smiled, then glanced over at Adam, feeling my smile melt as I tried to figure out what was going on in his head, but he said nothing and I gave up. I was the one doing this to us. I shouldn't be trying to get closer. It was dangerous. I kept telling myself that as I decided to talk to Seth and Kipp.
"So, what's that whole school newspaper thing going on with the survey?" I asked. Seth looked at me in confusion.
"Survey whatsit?" He asked. I frowned.
"Some dumb survey that the school newspaper club is gonna put in the yearbook or something like that. They asked everyone really stupid questions." I explained, then paused as Seth and Kipp shared funny looks. This time, Adam looked up with a frown.
"We didn't know about it." Kipp said at last.
"Yeah," Seth agreed, "Ain't nobody came to us about it and you know those bastards get to us eventually. Who told you about it?" Now it was my turn to look confused.
"Mr. Takahashi? He told me the school asked him to ask me these weird questions." I answered, making Seth scrunch up his nose as Kipp frowned now.
"What kinda questions? Like, favorite store sorta things?" He asked. I shook my head.
"Things like about my family and history sorta stuff." I replied. Kipp looked surprised.
"Now, it ain't like I make it my duty to know the rules to the school, but I definitely know that they're not allowed to ask you those sorta things here. It's even written in our planners." He added, reaching into his messenger bag and tossing me his planner. I flipped to the rule page and scanned before I found the rule that prohibited the faculty from questioning students about their personal life.
"What the hell?" I asked, confused. Why would Mr. Takahashi ask me those creepy questions and tell me it was a school survey?
I looked up and met Adam's eyes. He was giving me a hard stare. I felt like an ice cube was sliding down my spine.
Okay, even Adam knew this was creepy.
And judging from the look on his face, it was creeping him out too.
And what creeped Adam out, scared me even more.