I COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT YOU
Hope too was convinced to get back to the school.
Our start over.
She could say this was simple. That this was a way to put the past behind you, take what you learned and begin again.
Not me.
Not when my past was thrown in the face of everyone at the school. When all they could see was what I feared. That they'd see me like a monster, like my dad had been.
Parker.
A name shared with Josie and Lizzie but with less horror. People put two and two easily.
'Whose her father? Oh, look she has the emotional capability of a teaspoon. It must be the sociopath Kai'.
This is what I would have liked to avoid. The stares. The fear.
I mean... I did like the way people would stay away from me, but that was because I alone inspired that vibe of 'get out of my way', not because of who my dad was.
And again. Being related to Kai Parker has screwed my life.
What's that for starting over, huh Santa?
Fuck you.
~8~
That wasn't the only thing that changed.
The whole school felt like it changed. Kayla couldn't find a single classroom where it was supposed to be, and she didn't want to ask Alaric (who she still was avoiding like the plague) or Hope.
Hope who apparently had a new roommate.
An issue Kayla wasn't going through because no one had wanted to be in the same room as Penelope. It made her smirk because yes, bitch. The Satan reputation still remained and no one wanted to accidentally get caught in a possible hex she may or not may left in the room.
For once, - technically twice - Kayla had a single room since she arrived at the school.
As she tried to find her classroom, eyes locked on the schedule, a brunette girl who reeked too much of perfume walked closer from behind Kayla.
"The spell room is on the next hallway"
Kayla stopped walking, turning around to face her, "Alyssa, aren't you supposed to be in class?"
Alyssa Chang, Hope's new roommate.
"Bathroom break" Alyssa replied, walking closer and peering down at the girl's schedule. "So are you and you seem lost, thought I could give you a hand"
Kayla raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Really? No hidden agenda?"
Alyssa smiled a little. "No, Kayla. I'm just being friendly. Unlike everyone else" Kayla looked away, sighing. "Us, misunderstood girls must stick together, right?"
"No, thanks" Kayla said curtly, turning around and walking away. Alyssa looked down, a slight frown in her face. "I don't do well by being ignored and tossed aside right after"
That's right.
Had Kayla forgotten to say Alyssa had been too one of her first friends when she first arrived at the school?
However, it was obvious to her that she wasn't meant to have friends.
Friends stabbed you in the back. And if she was being honest to herself, she's been waiting for Hope to do that too all this time.
~8~
Kayla had seen Sebastian walking around the school with Landon. She figured it had something to do with behavioral tests or something to stay.
She wanted nothing to do with it but unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side at that moment as Landon approached her with the vampire in tow.
"Kayla is one of the witches you should be aware of" Landon said which made her smirk sarcastically as they stopped in front of her. Sebastian looked at her in recognition. "She may be a little test before you encounter the other witches"
"I'm not your lab rat, Kirby" Kayla told him in amusement, turning to the vampire, "I still have your locket. It's in my room for whenever you want it back"
Sebastian tipped slightly his head, "I would love that, thank you Mikayla"
Landon looked between them, incredulously. "How do you-"
Kayla interrupted in annoyance, looking at Sebastian. "How do you know my full name?"
Sebastian smiled a little, "Pardon me. Elizabeth mentioned it. It is your name and it's quite as beautiful to not use it"
"Charming" Kayla chuckled as Landon blinked in shock by not seeing her bitchy attitude. She looked at his judgy eyes, raising an eyebrow "Now, if you use it..." she let the threat hanging out there which made Sebastian look down and smirk to himself. Kayla gave them both a sweet smile, turning around to leave. "Remember I don't like you, Kirby. Oh, and trust me when I say this charm may not work with the others"
Sebastian smiled.
Landon sighed out. "Yeah, she doesn't like me quite at all"
Sebastian simply chuckled, amused.
~8~
A loner will always be a loner.
Kayla never sat with anyone - unless Hope showed up and sat with her - and she wasn't going to start now.
Which is why Alyssa calling to her when she was about to sit in an empty table made her freeze.
"Why don't you sit with us, Kayla?" Alyssa asked. The other girls exchanged hesitant looks which Kayla definitely noticed.
"I don't think your little cult is okay with that" Kayla said bluntly.
The other witches shifted uncomfortably.
Alyssa forced a smile, "We're all witches here. We are on the same side"
Kayla raised a brow, looking to one of the girls. "Didn't I threaten to burn your hair once?" the girl looked down, uncomfortably. Kayla looked at other girl, tilting her head aside "You, I'm pretty sure Penelope and I hexed your diary one time to read out loud your words"
The girl gaped in disbelief, "It was you?"
Kayla smiled sarcastically.
Alyssa sighed. "You didn't hurt unless provoked" she pointed out, giving the girls Kayla talked to a pointed look. They had been the ones to bully Kayla since she arrived and lost control of her magic the first day, hurting Hope. "All that was left in the past, right?"
"Yeah, keep dreaming" Kayla rolled her eyes, taking a seat in the empty table, her back to the witches so she noticed when MG made his way toward them.
Alyssa too noticed him "Hey, Greasley, I heard he's moving in on your girl" Kayla followed MG's gaze, seeing Sebastian and Landon walking down the stairs. "Is that him?"
"Well, she's not my girl" MG said sharply, seemingly upset. "And can I sit with you and the witches? I've had enough of vampires today"
"You could always be a loner" Kayla sing sang under her breath so only he could hear her.
MG was going to sit with her until Alyssa gestured at him at the free seat she had been saving for Kayla. "Oh, you're our favorite vampire" MG glanced between the two girls, hesitantly. Kayla pointedly looked away so MG took a seat next to Alyssa, sighing. "If you hate him, we hate him"
"He makes us look bad with his old-ass Dracula ways" MG grumbled, staring at the other vampire.
"So run him out" Alyssa stated simply. Kayla whirled around in the chair, eyebrows raised. Alyssa smiled, noticing she had her attention. "He's doing his behavioral tests"
"Make him fail?" Kayla scoffed sarcastically.
Alyssa nodded at her, smiling "Exactly"
MG looked between the two girls. "How?"
Alyssa and Kayla exchanged a look.
Kayla clicked her tongue, looking away.
Alyssa smiled, standing up. "Find me a Band-Aid, will you?"
"If I were you, I'd hold my breath" Kayla warned MG, turning around but watching the scene play out as Landon spoke about the vampires to Sebastian.
She took a bite of her apple unfazed when a plate shattered and all the vampires in the room stiffened and the wolves began to growl at them in warning, flickering her eyes toward a bleeding Alyssa who looked oh so innocent.
"Oops" Alyssa said, blood dripping from her hands at her feet, "It slipped"
Dorian immediately took action, walking toward Alyssa, "Code red" he began leading her out of the room, the other witches followed, except for Kayla who was enjoying the show too much "Vamps, clear out. Now!" in a whoosh all the vampires disappeared except for MG, "Jed, calm your pack down"
Jed tilted his head, looking at the wolves "Wolves, follow me"
The wolves left.
The only ones remaining in the room were Landon, Sebastian, Kayla and MG.
It was within the silence that Kayla finally realized that behind her, MG was breathing heavily, turning her head to see him fixated on the blood in the floor, veins crawling under his eyes. She straightened in alarm as she noticed Sebastian wasn't having the same problem.
"MG" Kayla snapped, lowering her apple. The other boys then noticed her presence too. Sebastian snapped his eyes to MG again, knowing he wouldn't be able to control himself.
"I'd stay back" Sebastian warned the girl who didn't listen as she stopped in front of the vampire who had vamp sped toward the blood but stopped the moment he realized Kayla was in front of him.
"Move" MG growled, panting heavily.
Kayla stared at him unfazed. "Told you to hold your breath"
MG could hear her heartbeat the longer she kept this close. It was steady because she didn't fear him, but her scent, her blood called to him the most than the one spilled on the floor.
Without warning, MG grabbed her by the shoulders, stabbing his nails sharply into her skin, vamp speeding them toward a table, pushing her down, about to bite her neck before he was violently pulled back away from the witch by Sebastian.
Kayla hissed in slight pain as MG's nails being pulled back scratched her skin, blankly sitting up in the table as Sebastian tried to control MG, who kept his eyes on the now bleeding shoulders of Kayla.
"Breathe, Milton, breathe!" Sebastian told him, straining himself to not let the struggling vampire touch the human behind him "Focus only on the sound of my voice. Breathe! Breathe. Breathe" MG panted, shuddering. Landon ran to Kayla's side in worry as Kayla looked down at the scratches, pulling down the school blazer to see the injures slowly closing up thanks to Hope's werewolf healing. The entire time a blank look in her face. Pain and being hurt was not new for her. "Breathe. The urge will pass"
The veins crawling under MG's eyes faded, his face turning to normal as he gained control, holding his breath, face twisting in guilt as he noticed he had hurt Kayla, unable to look into her eyes or Sebastian's.
Here he wanted him to fail when he couldn't even control himself from the urges or hurting his own friends.
"I'm sorry" MG whispered, feeling three pair of eyes on him. Sebastian slowly let him go. "I'm sorry"
With that, MG vamp sped out of the room.
Kayla's injures finally healed.
Sebastian took a deep breath because Kayla's blood was still fresh, but he knew how to control himself, slowly turning to Landon and Kayla, "The witch, she broke that plate on purpose" he stated. Kayla raised her eyebrows, looking away. Of course. Vampire hearing. "You put yourself too in danger in purpose"
"Landon wanted me to test you, didn't he?" Kayla smirked.
Landon widened his eyes. "Not like this"
Sebastian's lip curled slightly in sarcasm towards the witch, looking toward Landon, tiling his head aside. "Between them and your... budding Ripper, are you sure it is me that you should be worried about?"
Sebastian walked away, leaving.
Landon stared after him, furrowing his eyebrows.
Kayla rolled her eyes, jumping down from the table, starting to walk away until Landon's hand in her arm stopped her.
"Are you okay?" Landon asked, eyeing the blood stains in her blazer.
"Of course I am" Kayla told him. "I wouldn't have let him bite me. My siphoning, unlike the twins is hurtful. I would have stopped him like that"
"Sebastian-" Landon trailed off.
"He was faster" Kayla admitted, starting to walk again. "Don't pretend to care, birdboy. It's not a good look on you"
"Is Hope gonna get matching scratches?" Landon called out to her. Kayla stopped walking. "She's going to worry about you. Just saying"
"I know she will" Kayla said, looking at him over her shoulder. "And she doesn't have to. I am fine. Don't you have a test to do?"
Landon was left alone in his thoughts.
~8~
"Why were we bleeding?"
"Hello to you too, Hope" Kayla finished writing an assignment, looking up to see her friend and cousin in front of her.
Hope had her arms crossed over her chest while Josie held her bag protectively to her chest.
"Don't get cute with me" Hope told her, narrowing her eyes, uncrossing her arms, using a hand to point out the dried blood around her shoulders. "Felt like someone scratched at me, suddenly I'm bleeding. Thank God for my super healing, but then again I was like, I'm not in a situation where I could potentially get hurt-" Kayla sighed, rolling her eyes. "So, what happened? What did you do?"
"What makes you think I did something?" Kayla asked, raising her eyebrows. Hope stared at her pointedly. "Stepping in front of a potential ripper when out of control counts?"
Josie lowered and furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "MG? Is everything okay with him?"
Kayla sighed. "I don't know. I think so? You have your roommate to thank for" she looked at Hope, sarcastically. Hope made a face. "But I'm fine. Nothing happened"
"But it could have" Hope protested.
Kayla put a hand in her arm, squeezing reassuringly. "Nothing happened. I'm fine" Hope sighed, nodding. Kayla looked between them, "Now, what's up with you two?"
Josie and Hope exchanged a look.
Kayla raised her eyebrows, expectantly.
Don't make me snoop, Hope.
"I'm going to help Josie with her Sandclock" Hope replied, giving her friend a look.
Josie widened her eyes at Hope in disbelief. "Hope!"
"She would have read my mind to find out and it wouldn't have been pretty" Hope defended. "Besides, we don't have secrets. At least lately. We can't"
"And I definitely don't want anything to do with your freaky Sandclock" Kayla commented, shrugging.
"Finally something we can agree on" Hope said with a smile.
Josie sighed, also relieved. "Yeah. This thing... I wouldn't wish upon anyone these visions of doom"
"Creepy" Kayla remarked, trying to keep her eyes away from Josie's bag, because that way it was easier to pretend the dark magic emanating from her purse wasn't calling out to her.
"Josie and I will get going then" Hope told her. "Just making sure you were okay"
"Have fun working on that thing" Kayla waved them off, returning to her writing.
Hope chuckled, nodding to herself, standing up and gesturing at Josie to walk with her.
Kayla sighed to herself once they were gone, glancing down at her hand, immediately stopping the siphoning she hadn't realized she was doing, curling her hand into a fist.
She definitely didn't want to be close to that Sandclock.
At all.