I KNOW THIS IS LATE BUT I PROMISED I WOULD PUT THEM ON CHAPTERS SO HERE IS A FAN MADE IMAGE BY VampireFreak333
Apologies for mistakes :/
____________________________________________________
I sat in Michael's kitchen Saturday morning with my head in my hands. My body was trembling from the small chill I still had in my bones and my mouth was as dry as the desert. Why did I have class today? I was such a mess.
Michael sent me home as soon as I walked into his class Wednesday morning. He'd taken one look at me, asked me to step out of the class and had practically pushed me out of the front doors. I'd missed his class and poetry. Plus, yesterday's and Thursday's classes, modern lit and poetry again.
Michael had picked me up Wednesday evening assuming I was sick from when I'd been out in the blizzard. To be honest, I was a little bit. I had a bit of the sniffles and Michael's been the best person in the world by checking up on me on his breaks and coming straight home after work to look after me. He was too damn wonderful. No, he was a saint.
He cooked me food, got me like three boxes of tissues, one for each day the minor cold would probably last which was correct.
I inhaled sharply to make sure my damned nose didn't drip. Uh. I felt like shit, I probably looked like it as well. And Michael kept asking me why I wanted him to stay away from him. He said me being sick wouldn't do a thing to him even if he kissed me on the lips. But it was just the fact I was sick. It's gross!
I had to leave in five minutes to get to class. The snow was still on the ground but the roads were clear.
Oh, I still haven't told Michael yet.
I've been sick, how the hell could I? I've literally been a zombie. Whenever I did try to tell him, I'd either have a coughing fit, sneezing fit or my voice would just disappear.
Started Tuesday night ended Saturday morning. I feel a whole lot better but I still had a pink nose and have to carry around a tissue box.
I lifted my head from my hands and pulled my hair out of my face into a loose ponytail.
"Are you going in today?"
I turned my head to the side and nodded. "I have to. It's my last History lesson for Greek Civilisation before the holidays. And I need to hand in my essay."
"I almost forgot. This semester ends Tuesday." He lifted my chin with his fingers to look me in the eye. "How are you feeling? You sound a lot better."
"I do feel better. Considering the fact you didn't let me leave the house once since Wednesday."
"I didn't want you getting worse." He pecked my forehead. "Do you want me to take you in?"
I shook my head. "I need to put a bundle of the clothes back in my room ready for the next trip to the infamous laundry room."
"I can do that for you. I've done it twice already."
I stood up and wrapped my arms around his strong waist. I rested my head on his shoulder with a sigh and let his warm strong arms embrace me. "You are wonderful."
"I care about you so you should know by now that your well-being isn't a responsibility. I want to look after you, not because I have to but because I want to." He pressed his lips to the scar on my hairline on the top of my forehead.
"I'll drive myself and be back around twelve." I smiled as I stepped out of his arms to pick up my bag.
"My arms will be open until you step back into them."
I chuckled. "How sweet."
"How sarcastic." He replied before I walked down the hall and out the door.
I was wrapped up in a sweater, a coat, a scarf, a hat, leggings and over that jeans, my black army boots and two pairs of thick socks. When Michael rummaged through my wardrobe he meant business.
I drove, carefully, to campus fully aware of the fact I still haven't said a thing to Michael since mentioning it on Tuesday in his classroom.
I am a wimp. A complete wimp. Or I've just been to sick and stressed to fully want to tell him. The pros and cons of everything were weighing out each time I thought about the truth.
As I walked into the building I realised how empty the building was. The snow must have stopped people from coming in. Or everyone's classes were cancelled. I waddled into my classroom and smiled at Laura and our friend, who has a very dry sense of humour, Daisy. There was literally only ten people here.
"Where have you been?" Laura said as I approached them.
"I've been sick." My voice was slightly scratchy so I cleared it. "And I've been with a friend."
"Boyfriend." Daisy corrected. She was a petite little thing with long brown back length hair and big brown eyes. Her pale skin clear apart from the patch of freckles on her nose. "This girl has been starry eyed since September."
My cheeks were already red from the cold so they didn't notice the sudden flush to my cheeks. "I--"
"When do we get to meet this man, Eves?" Laura said as we walked to our seats.
Before I could answer, our teacher rushed in wearing a thick red coat and a dark brown wooly hat. "Don't sit down." She said as she pulled off her hat letting her short blonde hair sprout left, right and centre. "There's no point in having my lecture today. There are only twelve of you after all. Hand in your essays and we'll go into the library to start doing references for your second piece of coursework."
A few of the students let out a small groan. Someone even asked, "We're not doing it over Christmas are we?"
She waved her hand in the air. "Heavens no. I'm not an evil teacher. I don't want you all hating me."
I smiled at the middle-aged woman and followed everyone down the hall into the library. Daisy, Laura and I settled on a table upstairs away from everyone else. But then our lecturer, Mrs Jade Andrews, who preferred us all calling her Jade, called Laura downstairs to discuss something.
"So, this man you're canoodling with."
I lay my head on my arm and turned to face her beside me. "What about him."
"Aha! You didn't deny it."
"I just don't like talking about my relationships with people. I never really have."
"I think you should start then." She smirked.
"No, but thanks for the suggestion, Daisy." I sighed.
She shrugged and stood up. "It's always worth a shot. I'm going to grab a few books."
I watched her walk off and turned my head so my forehead was rested on my arm. Uh. I'm so tired. I hate colds. I hate being sick.
I hadn't lifted my head but I could feel someone standing beside the table. For some reason, I just knew it wasn't the girls.
Especially when I heard a male voice speak, "If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
I looked up to the blonde male with narrowed playful eyes and sat back. Lucky Romeo and Juliet is one of my favourite plays from Shakespeare. Also, lucky I played her in the ninth grade play and still remember her lines. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
His grey eyes widened probably because he wasn't expecting my answer. "Have not saints lips and holy palmers too?"
I smirked. "Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in pray'r."
He chuckled suddenly. "I wasn't expecting a reply."
"I was Juliet in my ninth grade play. I'll never forget those lines. They were my favourite." I looked at his grey low cut t-shirt and his blue jeans before saying. "Why are you back?"
He lifted one of his arms to reveal four large books. "I took these after you left on Tuesday. I'd come to return them. I wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Return them during the day?"
His lips tugged up into a mischievous smile. "I'm fond of the librarian."
I raised a brow as I glanced to the sixty-five year old woman waddling behind the counter. "I'm sure."
"It's surprisingly dark outside. So I snuck in again."
"Right then. So what books did you take out? Was one of them Romeo and Juliet?"
He smiled sheepishly. "Maybe."
"What else?"
He sat down opposite me and lay them out in front of me. "Wuthering Heights, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Jane Eyre."
"Very literate," I smiled.
Tate's smile turned into a frown as he tilted his head at me in that childlike way. "You're sick."
I chuckled. "Very observant. But I assume you already knew?"
"Well, yes. But I didn't know you were this bad."
"I'm not that bad. I'm getting better." I rested my chin in my hand.
"I suppose." He mumbled before gathering his books and putting it to the side of the table.
Something clicked inside me and I started laughing a little.
He gave me a quizzical look. "Why are you laughing?"
"You care." I said with a smile.
His nose flared. "No-"
"Oh, be quiet Tate." What's the use in that stupid act he puts on anymore? He wasn't fooling me anymore, no. But I wasn't about to tell him that. So I changed the subject. "So tell me old timer, what mischief have you been causing while I've been away?"
"I sleep during the day, remember? If I can't go out in the sun, why should I be awake?"
I glanced around the library and noticed he was right; it was weirdly dark today. The sun wasn't even out. "Are you tired?"
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I suppose. I haven't slept for almost twenty four hours but I'll be fine." He glanced behind me and smiled. "Your friend is coming."
"Leave." I said almost immediately.
But it was too late. Laura had already returned. She stopped beside the empty chair next to me and stared at Tate. "H-hello." She stuttered.
His grey eyes had turned mesmerising and I had to literally kick him under the table to control himself. He rolled his eyes at me and looked back to Laura, thankfully, his eyes were back to normal. "Hello there."
Laura looked to me with a kid in the candy store look at stumbled to sit down. "Who...?"
"James." He lied as he held out his hand. She took it hesitantly. "I'm a very close friend to Evie."
Her eyes widened. "Oh, my gosh are you her mystery man?"
"No--" I said but she ignored me.
"Finally!" She clapped her hands together and leaned forward. "How old are you? How did you meet? You are truly attractive. Well done, Evie."
"We aren't even--!" I squeaked.
"I'm twenty-three, we met a while ago and thank you." He winked.
"Laura--" I started but once again she interrupted.
"He is truly a beaut though Evie, I am impressed--"
"--We aren't together." I finally finished. "He is my cousin." I said.
"Oh," Laura looked taken aback. "In that case, hi, I'm Laura." Her voice turned 'seductive' and of course I use that term lightly.
He laughed but I cut off his next reply, "No, Laura. Off limits."
"Mean." She stuck her tongue out at me. "Ah well." She turned to me. "Anyway, Jade called me over to talk about my performance in all of my History class's right? And I started thinking, what the hell is wrong with my performance? But then she says..."
I glanced at Tate from the corner of my eye and saw him watching us like he was actually interested in what we were talking about.
"...Technically, I'm acing all of my history classes. She made me go over like I'd committed a crime." I'd missed half of what she said but I didn't really need to hear the whole thing to understand what she was talking about.
"So, you're okay?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yes. Plus, Reeves says I'm doing brilliant."
"That's good then. What about Ferell?"
She waved it away. "Ferell is an ass. He gave me a good report but he said I talk too much. Where did Daisy go?"
"To get books or go on the computer-"
Just like that she returned. "Uh, Carter called me over asking me if I wanted to go to his..." Daisy's brown eyes settled on Tate as she stopped by the table for a few seconds before saying. "Hi. Anyway, he asked me to go to his dorm room after class to 'study'," She held her fingers up for quotations before she sat down. "I was like, 'No, honey, I don't know what's been on that STD ridden dick of yours since we broke up.'" Laura giggled but I glanced at Tate for his reaction. His lip tugged up into a smile. "He looked so embarrassed but to be honest I didn't care."
"I don't think you should care, Dais." Laura replied. "He was an ass when you were together and obviously now one of his sluts have moved onto a new guy so don't even think about it."
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't..."
I stood up and moved to the seat beside him. The girls didn't even notice. "I'm so sorry. They're never usually like this, honestly."
"It's quite alright. I haven't heard the young generation of women talk about men this close. It's very interesting." He didn't take his eyes off the girls. "Except I don't like how the men are portraying themselves."
"That's the 21st century for you. Have you been living under a rock?" I took a deep breath and turned my head away just before I sneezed.
"Something like that. Bless you."
"Thanks." I mumbled as I whipped out a tissue.
He smiled and ran a hand through his short hair. "I have to stay until its night again just in case the sun does come out of those clouds. And you can leave after..."
"I get my references done. Which isn't going to be today so I'll probably be leaving soon."
I watched as the girls started opening books and pulling out their notebooks. "Oh, by the way, Jade said she wants us to choose any topic to do with Greece."
My eyebrows furrowed. "What part of Greece?"
"She didn't specify." Laura replied.
"Great." I mumbled.
Tate started to stand up and all of our eyes turned to him. "I can help you."
"But-"
When he put his hand on my forearm to pull me up it was barely a feather's touch compared to when he first grabbed me. "Come on."
I followed him to the same section we were in on Tuesday and watched him scan the spines of the books.
"What's the point? I'm not actually going to get my references done."
One of his shoulders moved up into a shrug. "May as well get started."
I watched him for five minutes gingerly handle books and slot them back when my mind started to wander. I started to compare him to the character I first met. He was sharp then. Even the first time he met me when he looked his most vulnerable.
I touched my fingers to my scar and couldn't help asking, "When we first met you were... Different. You touched my scar."
His hand paused before he slowly slid the book back into place. "Yes?" He said without turning to me.
"Why? You were different."
He glanced at me from the side and resumed looking through the bookcases.
"You looked human that day."
That made him laugh. He spun around. He looked furious except his eyes betrayed him. His grey eyes were almost warm. Not burning hot with anger but just warm and inviting.
"I looked human? Of course I looked human. My body is one of a human being. However the soul inside of me is demon. I am far from human, Evie."
"And yet you speak to me like any other person would. You smile, you laugh, you do anything any other human would do."
"Except I drink human blood to live. Do you? Does your friends? No. They don't. That's not human is it? I could kill you right now. It would take one bite and that would be it." He stepped forward but I stood my ground. His eye twitched probably because I didn't back down. "And with me I don't know if I can control it like your vampire can."
I scowled and lifted my hand to his chest. "You don't scare me. And you never will." I pushed him. He didn't budge at first but then he stepped back with narrowed eyes. "If you wanted to remain a threat to me, then you should have thought about that before you started trusting me and I you."
He blinked and that innocent look in his eyes flooded to the surface. His head tilted to the side. "You trust me?"
"Why shouldn't I? I mean fair enough for the obvious reasons like the fact you've been told to watch me but other than that you're not a bad guy, Tate."
He snorted. "Yeah. Right." He spun around and resumed looking through the books like nothing happened.
"No more argument? That's it?" I asked.
"What else is there to say. We both made our points. No winner, no loser."
"There is never not a loser," I mumbled. "and in this case it is you."
He spun around and landed his hands on my shoulders. "Look into my eyes,"
I stared down at the floor. "You're going to..."
His hands loosened. "No. I couldn't do that."
Should I take the risk? What if he did? But if I said I trusted him then I should. I lifted my eyes to his. "What?"
"I admit I lost, fine. But the reason I stopped this fight was before both of us said something we'd regret later. Also you said you trust me." He smiled and dropped his hands from my shoulders. "That is a fine reason to admit defeat."
"Ha ha." I turned around to leave when he grabbed my hand. I turned around and saw the sincere look on his face.
"Thank you."
"For?"
"Saying I'm not a bad guy." He smirked.
"You're not. I don't understand why you're doing what your doing and... I won't ask again." I squeezed his hand before letting go.
"Good choice. Now, let's get your references done. It won't take long and I know exactly what you should do. Trojan War."
That didn't sound like such a bad idea. We didn't go back to the table but stayed in the aisle to work on what books I should use and if I should come across any websites I might use. Around forty-five minutes passed when I started to get bored.
He was reading a book on the Greek Gods totally off topic but hey. I thought back to Tuesday when he was thirsty and asked, "Have you... Fed?"
He glanced up. "Yes."
I swallowed. "Do you...?"
"Kill? Not if I can help it, if I'm being honest with you."
"Have you tried...?"
"Animal blood? Yes. Once in the nineties. I lasted about a month before..." He looked away from the book to the ground in front of him. "Before my maker told me to stop being foolish and drink what I was born to drink."
"Have you tried since?"
"I've tried yes but it's hard." He sighed.
"Try again." I insisted. "You have the power to. You restrained yourself from hurting me in the forest at the party when you were thirsty. Try again."
He sighed. "I don't know..."
"Come on, what have you got to lose? Try it."
He raised a brow and shook his head but then he said, "Okay. Fine. Next week. I will try it next week."
I grinned in triumph. I'm getting somewhere with this vamp. "Great."
We finished up my references and I looked at the time. "Time for me to get going."
I stood up after packing away my laptop and taking the books I will sign out. He followed. "Random idea..."
"What?"
"Meet me here again on Monday."
I shut my eyes and let out a long drawn out sigh. I couldn't. I needed to tell Michael. Meeting him again would only make everything worse. "I can't."
"I know you think you're lying to him but you're not. You're not lying or telling the truth. I'm asking a lot of you. But... I honestly have never felt so human in the past few weeks I've spent with you. You're like... A... A..." I heard him clicking his fingers obviously trying to find the right word.
I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him. "Friend?"
"Yes. A friend. A word I grew less familiar with after I died." He chuckled.
He didn't want to meet me when we first met. And now look. I didn't answer as I turned my back on him. But then he said, "I'll see you Monday, Evie."
"Maybe." I mumbled.
I couldn't do it anymore.
After checking out the books I stopped off at the house to change into a similar jumper I had worn to the library and put on my other thick coat. If Michael asked I'd say I got extra cold. Michael had already come in here to drop off the clothes because there was my laundry sack ready to go.
I'll do it later. I ran back downstairs after having a major long sneezing fit and back to the car. Uh, I hate colds. They suck so much. After parking up, I strolled into the house and ran around until I found him sitting in his study on his laptop. His chair spun around to face me and my heart warmed at the sight of his brilliant smile. He was dressed in casual grey sweat pants and a black t-shirt. Oh god. I needed to say it now.
"Michael--"
He patted his lap and gave me his, "Come hither" look.
I sighed and walked over after dropping my bag. I didn't want to actually sit on his lap in fear of he would smell Tate on me. I stopped a few feet away from him although I ached to be in his arms.
"Didn't I say my arms would be open until you got home?"
I looked up from the ground and saw the way his face went from playful to serious within a heartbeat. "What's wrong?"
I took a deep breath. "Michael I need to talk to you about something."
_________________________________________