“Hi, Melanie!”
I turned to the direction of the voice that called my name. I grinned broadly as I waved at Roxanne. “Hey, Roxanne!”
She smiled one last time then carried her tray to sit with Garret on their usual table at the far side of the cafeteria. I turned back to Jasper and Amanda. I noticed that they were both looking at me questioningly.
I shrugged at them. “What?”
Amanda pointed her index finger to me. “Roxanne Fox talked to you. She actually talked to you.”
“Uh… okay…?”
Jasper cocked an eyebrow. “Since when did you and her got into first name basis? And have you actually met?”
I bit my lip, realizing my mistake. “Um… remember when you dropped me at the grocery before I… uh, disappeared? Well, she was there and we got to know each other,” I lied smoothly. What else have I got to say, really?”
Amanda seemed to buy this since she suddenly gushed, “Oh my God! Was Garret with her? Did you talk to him? Are you in a first name basis, too? Could you introduce me to him?”
I laughed at Amanda’s eagerness. “Slow down, Amanda,” I said. “No, Garret wasn’t there. Only Roxanne.”
I glanced at Jasper and noticed that he looked unconvinced about me meeting Roxanne in the grocery. He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not convinced,” he said, stating the obvious.
I patted his arm gently. “Believe what you want to believe, my friend.”
“Has she got something to do about your sudden disappearance?”
“Of course not. Why would she kidnap me?”
And with that, he sighed in a defeated way and I flashed him a triumphant smile. As if on cue, the bell rang, signaling for lunch to be over. Amanda and Jasper stood up in the same time.
“I better go to Algebra. See you later guys,” Amanda said, waving her hand to me and Jasper.
“Yeah, see you later,” I muttered as I wiped my mouth with a table napkin.
After Amanda was gone, I was still sitting on my seat, moving slowly as a snail. Jasper sighed sharply. “Why are you moving so slowly, Melanie?” he complained. “We’re going to be late in Biology.”
“I’m not feeling well.”
With that, he placed his finger below my chin and motioned me to look at him. When I did and locked eyes with him, he frowned. “You look okay to me.”
I sighed. “I own this body, not you. So stop acting as if you know it.”
He grinned and leaned closer to me. When our lips touched, he whispered ever-so quietly, “Oh, maybe someday I’ll own your body.”
I slapped his arm playfully. “Shut up, you pervert.”
He laughed as I stood up. Then he slung his arm around my shoulder. We made our way to the Biology room as he began talking about random things. But I wasn’t listening to him. Instead, I was thinking about Jasper’s kisses.
They said when you kiss with the right one, there will be fireworks and then sparks will fly (well according to Taylor Swift, there was). Some say, there will be music. Some say, you will forget everyone—only you and that person exists. And some say, you will know that the person is the right one if you feel a tingling inside your chest. No, not a bad tingling, but rather a nice tingling.
Unfortunately, I can’t feel anything of these things when I kiss Jasper. Instead, I only feel his tongue on mine and his hands all over my body. There were no fireworks or sparks. No music or the time when you forget everything else. And most of all, there was no tingling inside my heart.
Sure, Jasper is a good kisser. But I really think he’s not the right one for me. We just have too much in common; it’s like dating my own self.
“Melanie, are you listening?”
Jasper’s voice snapped me back to reality and then I smiled sheepishly up at him. “No.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“I wasn’t—.”
“Yes, you were. You had that faraway look in your eyes,” he said, looking at me worriedly. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Earlier, you said you weren’t feeling well.”
“Well, I’m fine now,” I suddenly snapped at him. “Why can’t you just leave me alone, Jasper? Do you really need to know everything?”
He didn’t say anything and I bit my lip, regretting the things I said. Crap, I just hurt the feelings of my best friend. I’m such a good person, am I not?
I stopped walking and he stopped, too. I sighed and faced him. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just… really annoying. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate you worrying about me but I’m fine, seriously. I don’t want you to worry about me; I can take care of myself.”
He cupped my face with the both of his hands. “I’m sorry. I was just… I want you to be safe.”
I didn’t say anything but kissed his lips. He kissed me back, and nope, there were no fireworks or anything else. I pulled back from the kiss, feeling a little bit guilty. I know I’m making Jasper love me even more and it made me feel so guilty when the time comes when I have to reject him.
“Please, no PDA,” a voice said.
The both of us turned and there was Garret, anger very, very evident in his eyes. I can practically see the red aura glowing all around him. Obviously, Jasper didn’t see this since he smirked. “Sorry about that. Just having a good time with my girlfriend.”
I frowned at him. “I’m not your girlfriend.”
“Well, in a way, you are,” Jasper said, shrugging. I sighed—well, he’s right.
Garret just glared at us then continued walking to the Biology room. I sighed and followed him, Jasper beside me, his arm around my shoulders.
When we got to the Biology room, Ms. Patterson was already there. Walking quickly, Jasper and I made our way to our seats at the back. I ignored Garret’s glare as I sat on the seat beside him. When the bell rang for the last time, signaling for the start of the class, Ms. Patterson stood up and raised an eyebrow at me. “Care to explain where have you been, Ms. Meyer?”
I sighed. I’ve been lying to my other teachers for the rest of the day, telling them I have to go to somewhere because of a very important manner. “I have to leave Chicago for a couple of days.”
“And why’s that?”
“It’s a very important thing. You don’t need to know about it. Family matter.”
“Ah,” she said, nodding at me, understanding. Then she cleared her throat. “So, ladies and gentlemen, today, we’re going to work with our partners. If you may, please sit beside them.”
“Crap,” Jasper muttered under his breath.
I rolled my eyes at him. “Sit with your Abigail.”
“Oh, shut up,” he groaned but stood up anyway.
I glanced at my Biology partner, Garret. He was still glaring, but not on me. He’s glaring at the floor. Poor floor.
“Did you remember what I told you last Saturday?” he suddenly asked, looking at me.
I raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t there when I left.”
“I called you.”
Immediately, the memories of him calling me when Jasper and I were in the middle of… The thought made me blush with embarrassment and Garret rolled his eyes at me.
“You were busy,” he stated.
“Of course I was.”
“Ugh, that’s so disgusting,” Garret said, rolling his eyes at me. “But you need to know something.”
“Something about?”
“Why the doctors told you not to look back, right? That you need to leave the vampire world permanently?” he said, looking at me intently.
I nodded, not sure why he knows this and why he was asking me about this. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”
“Have you noticed the expressions of the King and the Queen? Weren’t they… acting strange?”
I gasped, but not so loud. “How—how did you know about that? You weren’t there.”
“I was out because of some princely duties,” he explained. “And that duty is you. The council was talking about you.”
“The council? What council?”
“The vampire council. The King and the Queen wasn’t there so I was the one who presided that time. And I learned that the council is trying to decide your fate.”
My blood turned to ice as I looked at Garret, trying to decide whether he’s joking or not. But he’s face was dead serious. Oh my God. I thought I’d be back in my normal human life? I thought I could leave everything behind me?
“My… fate?”
“Yes, your fate. We were trying to decide whether to kill you or not.”
On instinct, my hands flew to my mouth. I stared at Garret’s grey-blue eyes, horrified. I thought staring at them might calm me down but it did not. I was panicking inside.
“Kill… me? But why? I didn’t do anything wrong!” I said frantically. “I just witnessed you—you know! I promised I won’t say anything to anyone! No one won’t believe me anyway, so what’s the point?”
“It’s not because of that,” Garret said gently. “It’s because of your blood.”
“My blood?” I repeated, frowning at him. What does my blood got to do with this?
“Your blood is dangerous to every vampire alive. You are a threat.”
“What—what do you mean? It’s not my fault my blood tastes sweeter than most humans!” I argued.
“I know it’s not. But you need to listen to me. You are dangerous.”
“W—why?”
“Because your blood is very addicting. If some vampire would drink from you, they won’t be able to stop and they’ll act crazy, craving for some more. You’re going to die and eventually, the vampire who drank your blood will be the most powerful vampire who ever lived. The vampire who will drink every drop of your blood will have the power to kill anyone he wanted, to devour any human he wanted.”
“How do you know that? You drank for me, yet you’re still the same!”
“I stopped drinking your blood, right? I didn’t finish if it wasn’t Roxanne who stopped me,” he explained.
“And besides, how did you know that if someone will drink my blood then they will be powerful?”
“The doctors did their research,” Garret replied.
“But they could be wrong!” I protested.
“Those vampire doctors are the best. They couldn’t be wrong. They can’t be wrong.”
I shook my head. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I’m not supposed to tell you,” he admitted. “But I know you need to know. You need to know what the hell is happening if you aren’t careful with your blood. Don’t tell anyone I explained to you about this, okay?”
I didn’t answer. I just stared at the ground, my head down. But Garret continued, “And I should talk to you about Dr. Jensen Weston.”
I glanced at him. “Who the hell is that?”
“He’s the best of the doctors. But mostly, he stays so quiet.”
“Is he the guy with chocolate brown hair and evergreen eyes?”
Garret nodded. “That’s the one.”
“What about him?”
“You need to stay away from him,” he said urgently. “He craves for power, wealth and everything that makes a man greedy. I won’t be surprised if someday, he’d kidnap you and drink every drop of your blood.”
“Oh my God,” I muttered.
“Don’t panic,” he suggested. “No one’s going to hurt you.”
“And why not?”
“Because I’m here,” he replied, looking at me firmly, his grey-blue eyes locking on my blue ones.
I stared at him and I know.
I’ll be safe.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Hey there! :) Sorry if this wasn't that long. I don't know what else to write. -.- Zzzz... But at least you know what is going on with Melanie's blood. :D But that's not the only reason why her blood is sweeter than most. ;)
Hope you liked this chapter. :) Maybe you could vote or comment? Thanks so much. <3
Thanks, Lovella. xoxo. :)