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Eros’ point of view
“How was your night?” Dylan flopped down on the couch beside me and yawned loudly. “I slept like a baby, but Corey said you were quite restless, talking in your sleep and stuff.”
I grimaced. Did my roommates really need to tell each other everything? “I’m fine.”
“Dude, you are so full of shit,” Dylan replied. “You look like hell.”
“Alright,” I conceded. “I’m tired, I feel like crawling right back into bed and I’m far from fine. Happy?”
“No,” he replied immediately. “Not happy at all. It’s that vamp girl, isn’t it? Is she making things hard for you?”
“Nah,” I denied. “It’s fine.”
But it really wasn’t. Claiming I was fine with Demona wanting to be with Simon was one thing, but actually living through her spending twenty four hours with the guy… that was no piece of cake. When they’d been with his family it had all been okay, but once they’d started kissing and touching and… I couldn’t even think past that. Mostly because I didn’t want to think about how they’d spent the night, but also because I just didn’t know. It couldn’t remember ever not knowing what Demona’d been up to and it didn’t feel right.
“What’s wrong?” Dylan asked, looking at me closely. “What did she do?”
I grunted. “You’re too perceptive for your own good, Dylan. Can’t you just be a normal, ignorant jack-ass for once?”
He laughed without humor. “If you can just be a normal popular dude, I can be that. But since you’re an all-powerful, mind controlling vampire with a huge crush on some stupid vampire girl…”
“Fair enough.” I sat up straight and pushed a hand through my unruly hair. “She was in bed with fairy all night.”
“Oh God,” Dylan said sympathetic. “And you had to live through it all?”
“Well, no… not exactly,” I started, wondering how to explain. “I guess I kind of… shut the connection off or something…”
The moment I’d felt them hitting a bed, I’d just known I had to get out of Dem’s head. I hadn’t known what they were going to do, but I’d been sure I didn’t want to feel it. Some noble part of me had even thought that she and the fairy deserved some privacy. So I’d tried to make myself as small as possible, to stay out of her mind, even though the emotions were overwhelming. My jealousy had been getting the best of me, so I’d had to push extra hard to get her feelings away from me. Suddenly, I’d felt all alone. There hadn’t been a trace of her left in my mind. I’d fumbled around for her, not believing she was gone, but all I’d found was the sense that she was still present, somehow, somewhere. Her emotions had finally been her own, no longer partly mine. It had been both amazing and terrifying.
“You managed to shut it off?” Dylan asked, sounding all excited. “That’s great.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I replied dully.
Of course I was glad that I hadn’t been there for whatever she’d done with Simon this night. But it didn’t feel right to not feel her. I was so used to having her around all the time, to checking in on her, to sending her signals all the time. Now she was gone… I’d felt restless all night, wondering what she was doing. And when she’d woken up earlier, I’d felt a surge of adrenaline and love going through me, but I’d managed to push it back again, making myself small inside her mind. I had no idea what she was doing right now, which was both comforting and maddening. Relaxing and sickening. Amazing and awful. Dylan would never be able to understand, especially since I hadn’t wrapped my mind around it yet myself.
“Are you joining me for breakfast?” I asked Dylan, getting up.
He grinned. “Dude, you’re wearing nothing but sweatpants, shouldn’t you put on some cloths or something?”
I looked down at myself and smiled slightly. “Yeah, sorry, I’ll just-”
I was rudely interrupted by someone banging on the door.
“Lord – is someone kicking in our door or something?” Dylan asked surprised.
“I’ll open it,” I told him, starting toward the hallway. Who the hell was knocking so hard?
When the banging kept going, I flung open the door in a rush and looked down the hall in confusion.
“Eros!” Demona was standing in front of me, wearing nothing but her underwear. “Thank God.”
She flung herself at me and pulled me so close I found it hard to breath. I put my arms around her and stroked her hair. Behind her, Simon was looking at us with an angry look on his face. He was wearing nothing but pants, just like me.
“What’s going on?” I demanded to know. I was still looking at Simon while I held on to Demona. “Did you do something to her?”
The bond was working again, making me feel all of Dem’s distress and sorrow. She seemed awfully relieved, which didn’t make any sense.
“Eros…” Dem’s voice was so tiny, so breakable. “I thought… I thought you were dead.”
Oh no, the bond! I realized. She didn’t realize I shut it off!
“I’m here, little one,” I whispered. “I’m just fine, no need to worry.”
“Do you always have to get in the way?” That was Simon, his voice loud and angry. “Can’t you just let us be for one single day?”
I gritted my teeth and tried not to respond. I needed to focus on the girl in my arms, not on her angry… well, her angry something. I guess boyfriend wasn’t the right term. Not now, at least.
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
We all turned to see Mr. Hammerhead standing in the hall with a bright smile on his face.
“What am I witnessing? Please enlighten me!” Before anyone could answer, he went on: “not a threesome about to happen, surely?”
“We’re just…” Simon started.
“About to get some breakfast,” I finished lamely.
“In your underwear?” Mr. Hammerhead replied with a barely repressed chuckle.
In a very dim-witted attempt to cover up the fact that Demona was wearing only a top and a lacy slip, I stepped in front of her, only emphasizing that I was in nothing but my sweatpants.
“I’m sorry, but I am going to need you to go with me,” Mr. Hammerhead told us, suddenly serious. “I can’t let this kind of behavior go unpunished.”
I knew better then to question him – this teacher was one that you couldn’t mess with. I’d been in detention so often because of him that I’d come to know him quite well. If there was anyone in this school who really knew how to do his job, it was Mr. Hammerhead. He cared about his students and made them laugh, yet he was respected by even students like myself, who were nothing but trouble.
“Here,” Dylan said behind me. “You’ll need these.”
I turned around to see him standing there with three heavy black coats in his arms. One was mine, and the other two were his. He handed Simon his old coat, and he held open his brand new one for Demona. She gratefully let him wrap it around her and she drew it tightly around her. I shrugged on mine and looked at Demona. Simon had his arms around him at the moment, but she was looking at me, her eyes wide.
“Dylan, what the hell?” I mumbled under my breath. “I’m not even allowed to borrow your new coat.”
He grunted and looked away from me. “Yeah well, anyone who’s this shaken up when she thinks you’re dead… She can’t be that bad if she cares so much, right?”
Before I could respond in any way, Mr. Hammerhead was already yelling at me for not moving faster. I shot a rueful look at my roommate and hurried after the others.
Demona’s point of view
His glow was so much more than just black. I didn’t get why I hadn’t noticed it before, but his aura was more like a shimmering, shining cloak made out of night or something. Not just black, but a combination of all colors, combining into this shimmering dark shade that engulfed his whole body. I’d never seen anything like it and it was impossible to keep my eyes off of him.
“Dem, are you okay?” Simon’s voice was obnoxiously loud and insistent – well, it seemed like that to me. He was actually whispering and he was obviously worrying about me a lot. I knew I should stop looking over my shoulder at Eros and his remarkable glow, but I just couldn’t. Just moments ago, I’d thought he was dead for crying out loud. It had been the most antagonizing feeling ever.
“Shush, I’m all right,” Eros murmured, next to me in a flash. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”
Simon shot him a vile look, but I just smiled and held out my hand for him to take. I knew I shouldn’t, but I didn’t know why I shouldn’t. There were a million reasons why I should stay away from Eros, and somewhere in my mind I recalled kissing and touching Simon not so long ago… It seemed so unimportant and distant right now, though. All that mattered was Eros being alive.
“Oh, I totally forgot…” Mr. Hammerhead stopped right in front of his office and gazed at us with a strange look in his eyes. “I’ve got to take of something. Would you mind waiting in my office for a moment? I just need to go next door for a moment.”
We complied and went inside to wait for him.
“Don’t you just love the color of his walls?” Eros commented with a tiny smile. “The people who painted this room are obviously very talented.”
I laughed breathlessly, remembering how confusing that night with him had been, painting this very office. It had been one of the first times he’d truly been honest with me. It seemed like eons ego… Then I remembered how it had felt to think I’d lost him forever and I sobered up immediately.
“Why couldn’t I feel you this morning?” I asked softly, moving away from Simon. “I thought…”
“I know,” he replied quickly. “I’m so sorry, if I’d know that you’d think… well, I’d never have done it, but I just… Well, I didn’t want to witness you and him…”
Simon flushed bright red and put his arm back around me. “So what did you do exactly?”
I leaned into Simon, but tried to lean forward to Eros at the same time. I’d never been in a more confusing state of mind.
“I shut off the bond.”
Simon and I both gasped loudly.
“But… that’s impossible,” Simon said. “You can’t just… that can’t be.”
Eros looked down on me and touched his fingers to my cheek for a moment. “I just wanted to get out of your head, Dem. I’m okay with you and him… but I just can’t… Having to experience everything the two of you do… it’s a bit much honestly. I tried to keep myself out of your head, and suddenly, I just couldn’t feel your emotions anymore. I knew you were there, but I didn’t know what you were feeling. I didn’t know anything was going on until you pretty much kicked my door in.”
“But that’s amazing!”
I looked at Simon in shock. I pushed him away from me and took Eros’ hand in mine.
“You’ve got to be kidding!” I yelled. “I thought he was dead, Simon. I can’t even think straight right now, okay! Obviously he’s not supposed to shut the bond off. He can’t just… I thought he was dead, I thought he was gone, he… I can’t ever go through that again.”
Eros hushed me and pulled me to his side. “Dem, he’s right – it’s kind of a big deal that it’s possible to shut the bond off, at least for a while. It means there might be something we can do about our bond. Like protect ourselves from harm.”
“Harm?” I asked incredulously. I shook him off and went to stand alone. I didn’t want either of them near me right now. “What do you call what happened today, huh? I thought you were no longer with us, Eros. I’ve never felt so afraid in my life. I thought I’d lost you forever, and you talk about protecting ourselves from harm? I’ve never been so scared in my life. If you were dead… I just don’t know… You just can’t ever make me feel like that ever again, understood?”
Eros’ eyes were intent on mine and his smile was surprisingly gentle. “I promise, Dem, of course. I’m sorry you had to go through that. I’m okay – you realize that now, don’t you?”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt both Eros’ and Simon’s feelings rushing over me. Eros was carefully composed and very much trying to calm me down. Simon was all over the place, his feelings a tangled mess of hurt and anger. I almost laughed – normally, it was the other way around. Who the hell made Eros king of the sane and Simon a member of a society of the madmen? Feeling Eros even though I couldn’t see him made me realize he was indeed alright. He wasn’t hurt, let alone dead. He was alive and kicking, thank God.
I opened my eyes again and felt a little bit saner. “Okay, I’m fine, stop looking at me like I’m about to go ballistic on you,” I told Eros sternly.
He laughed and looked a bit more like himself again, his eyes bright. “You can’t blame me for questioning your sanity though – you ran through the hallways in your underwear, Dem.”
Crap. I looked down on myself and grimaced when I saw I really didn’t have much on underneath the heavy coat Dylan had lent me. That guy was alright after all.
“Guys,” Simon’s voice was strained. “I hear something…”
We all went quiet and listened intently. Something in Simon’s voice told me he wasn’t talking about a creaking floorboard or a student whistling in the halls. And indeed I heard something: it was Mr. Hammerhead talking to someone.
“It’s coming from here,” Eros whispered, moving to the side of the room, where there was a door that presumably opened into the classroom next door. We all pressed our ears up against the door, trying to catch what he was saying. When I saw Eros’ fangs glistering in the sunlight, I quickly extended mine as well. It made my vampire hearing that much better. Simon put a hand on my shoulder and drew on my energy so he could hear better too.
“…still so young,” Mr. Hammerhead was saying. “I don’t get why we have to test them already.”
“They are practically adults,” a man’s voice replied. I felt I should recognize it… “They can deal with a village full of humans, I’m sure.”
“Oh my God,” Eros whispered. “It’s Mr. C!”
“I don’t doubt their ability to deal,” Mr. Hammerhead replied angrily. “I’m questioning the need to have them do so. We both know it’s nothing more than a test.”
I felt Simon’s hand tightening on my shoulder and realized I was holding my breath. This seemed awfully important.
“It’s important to know how strong they are,” Mr. Combright replied. “We-” His next words were muffled by the sound of his footsteps.
“I disagree,” Mr. Hammerhead argued. “If you want students to do something for you, I think you need to be honest with them. You’re just using them.”
“I’m not!” Mr. C’s voice was hard now. “I know you have very strong morals, but you need to realize why I’m doing this. We have some very special students in this school, Duncan, we can’t ignore that.”
“Duncan?” I mouthed at Eros. “Duncan?”
He just shrugged his expression solemn.
“They maybe special, Carrick, but to me they are students in the first place. Not pawns for you to move around to see what use they might be.”
Mr. Combright said something that I wasn’t able to hear and Mr. Hammerhead snorted.
“Don’t think for a second the students are gonna play along to your little game, Carrick.” A door opened and hasty steps were takien, away from the door we were pressed up against.
“You know what’ll happen if you tell any of the students,” Mr. C said in a cruel tone of voice. “I’d hate for your job to be on the line once more.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Mr. Hammerhead yelled after him. He didn’t sound close to our door anymore. It seemed more like he was… crap.
The door we’d come trough flew open and Mr. Hammerhead stood there, looking at the three of us with our ears pressed up against the door.
“Damn, could you be any more obvious?” he snapped. “Ah well, I take it you heard enough of our argument to know something’s up?”
“What are they trying to use us for?” Simon asked immediately. “This is about the full moon, isn’t it?”
“I’m not at liberty to speak to students about matters that concern nobody but the school board,” the teacher replied, but his eyes bored into Simon’s. It seemed like he wanted to convey something to him without having to actually say it. “Anyway, I don’t feel like throwing your asses in detention today, so I guess you’re free to go.”
“But sir-” I started, but he wouldn’t let me say any more.
“You listened to a private conversation I was having with a highly respected colleague.” The way he said it made me think of how Mr. C talked: like praise was something dirty, something that always meant the opposite. He sounded like Mr. Combright using the word gifted. “You shouldn’t have done that, and you should be glad I’m letting it go.”
“Thank you, sir,” Eros replied quickly. “That’s nice of you.”
“Sure it is,” Mr. Hammerhead replied gruffly. “Oh and guys…” He sighed. “Could you all do me a favor and not parade around in your underwear? I don’t know what the hell is going on with the three of you, but if there’s a problem, you can always come talk to me, okay?”
The sudden change of topic took me off guard. What the hell was going on? First I thought he just wanted to give us detention, then he purposefully made us listen to an argument he had with another teacher and now he was telling us to come talk to him if we were in trouble?
“Thanks again,” Eros answered. “We’ll be on our way now.”
I opened my mouth to say something else, but Eros grasped my arm and pulled me out into the hallway.
“Aw,” I whined. “Let me go!”
Eros kept a tight grip on my wrist and pulled me after him, all the way back to his dorm. Simon walked behind us, a distant look on his face.
“Eros!” I yelled. “Let me go, okay!”
He turned around and sighed. “Jesus, you’re all over the place, Dem. Get a grip, okay! I know you thought I was dead and everything and that must have been terrifying, but get it together!” His eyes were shooting fire at me and I shrunk away from his scorching stare. “Mr. Hammerhead was trying to warn us that Mr. Combright hasn’t been telling us the truth without breaking his vow to the school board not to speak about secret school affairs with the student body. Instead of harassing him and yelling at me, you should be trying to figure out what game the school board is playing.”
“Do not tell me-” I started.
“Shut up!” Simon screamed, totally unexpected. “Shut the hell up, Demona.”
I blinked in surprise. “Simon Summers, please tell me you did not just tell me to shut up.”
“I did, actually,” he replied irately. “We get it, you’re traumatized, you’re a temperamental girl, and you have a very potent need to understand every single thing that happens.” He sighed deeply. “But could you just for once shut the hell up and let us think for a moment?”
“Fine,” I agreed stonily. “You do that, Simon. Think all you want.” I took off the heavy black coat and handed it to Eros without looking at him. “I’ll be in my room, if you’re looking for me.”
“Dem, you’re not going to walk away like this,” Eros brought in. “Keep the coat on, please.”
I laughed without joy. “I walked here like this and I’m still alive, so I think I’ll be just fine, thank you very much.”
With that, I stalked off in the direction of my dorm. I had no idea what I was doing or why, but I knew I needed to be alone right now, to take a hot shower and ask myself one basic question. What the hell had happened today?
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