"Thanks, Cara," he said
gratefully. "You saved me from eating with the airhead imbeciles that were
waiting outside."

"No
problem," she replied. She glanced back at the classroom door, where I was
watching them with hostile eyes. Cara drew herself upright, looking like she
was ready to fight a war.

"You're eating with us too, right
Aralynne?" he inquired innocently. "Shouldn't we get going?"

I gave an inaudible growl before
slugging my bag over my shoulder and dutifully following them. Cara pointed out
several school landmarks as we made our way to the cafeteria. Judging by Seth’s
expressions, he found her pleasant enough to converse with.

When we
entered the cafeteria, dozens of eyes looked up to snatch a glance of us. This
time, Seth offered no one but me a smile, knowing that it will only get on my
nerves, and we walked to join the group of Cara’s closest friends.  Andrew, Jason and Tammy were easy to get
along with, and also easy to keep an eye on, so I didn’t really mind Cara
spending time with them. After all, some part of her life still had to remain
normal.

"Guess
what's for English homework, guys?" Tammy prompted.

“I’m sure we
will find out the next period, Tammy. You don’t always have to tell us
everything beforehand.”

“Aww, come
on!” Tammy whined. “this is so different to the assignments we normally get,
there’s just no way I can not be
psyched about it!”

Cara’s
natural curiosity soon got the better of her.

“Very well
then, spill!”

Tammy looked
as if someone just gave her a million dollars.

“It’s an
essay on what magical or fantasy creature you think you are most like! The best
part is that we weren’t given a word limit. I’m so going to have fun writing that!”

"You should be a leprechaun,
Tammy," laughed Cara. "You always get so lucky on exams."

"If I'm a leprechaun, you’re a
unicorn."

"I'll be the flying pig,"
Jase called out. "Andrew can be my gnome servant."

“Seth could
be a....dark wizard of some sort. He just has that mysterious aura surrounding
him.” I chuckled at the comments.

"Actually," Seth said,
"you know what Aralynne reminds me of?" he interrupted the group of
friends, his voice automatically demanding their full attention.

“What, Seth?” Andrew inquired.

Seth’s reply was smooth, cold and
deliberate. I could see the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he
spoke the words.

“A vampire....”

Vampire. The
word echoed in my ears.  No matter how
true the term was, hearing it spoken out loud by anyone outside the Circle and
those I protect made me uncomfortable. But of course, he is just out to tap
dance on my last good nerve. I should not overreact; that would be playing
right into his hands. I should just remain calm…

“A vampire?
That’s just silly…why would you say that, Seth?” Cara was the first to break
the awkward silence. Though looking quite relaxed on the outside, I could see
her hands shaking. Poor human. She isn’t good with “weird”. She will never be
able to survive in our world on her own.

I, for one,
decided to keep quiet. For now.

He paused
before answering.

“There is
just something about her. The pale skin…bright eyes…” he seemed to trail off,
lost in thought. How many characteristics was he going to mention?

“Vampires are
also known to have fiery tempers…” a strange emotion lurked within his
eyes…thrill, excitement? Cara swallowed hard as he, once again, hit home with
his comment.

He seemed to
rule the conversation now. I bet that’s a first for a new student.

“Besides, I
haven’t seen her touch her lunch yet, is human food too repulsive for you?”
playing games. That is the way you have always been. You tend to play games, to
torture your victims…and only when they literally beg for death do you kill
them. I’m not like them, Seth. I won’t be killed.

“She actually
has quite an appetite. She, very often, comes close to plummeting us into
bankruptcy! It’s her fault that I have to work double shifts sometimes!” poor
Cara tried to make a joke to get rid of the tension, but failed. All her
friends were quiet too, watching me and Seth.

“If that’s
the case, I’d like to see her eat something.” He pressed, staring at me, his
excitement growing at a rapid pace. I didn’t blink, only stared right back at
him. I wondered how this must look to humans; those who don’t know a thing
about the ancient battles.

 I wasn’t planning on backing down, so I took
the apple from Cara’s tray and slowly, purposefully took a big bite out of it,
letting the sweet nectar fill my mouth. A deceptive smile crept across his
features as I chewed, then swallowed. No one has to know what I’ll have to do
later on to get rid of this.

Another
silence ensued.

 It was Tammy’s turn to speak.

“Well
Aralynne, you may consider writing about vampires for the essay anyway. You do
know a lot about them remember, probably because you are so into mythology?”
Mythology? Yeah right.

“I might just
do that, Tammy. Vampires are such fascinating creatures, after all...” I
replied, not once breaking eye contact with Seth. I swear it almost felt
possible to cut the tension with a knife.

His gaze was
still locked on me. I kept my pose.

“Oh really?”
he asked in that annoying, smooth voice. It took a lot of self-control not to
reach out and slap him.

“Yes. Like
you said, vampires are easily recognized by their pale skin and vivid eyes, but
there is much about them that you forgot to mention…” all the humans were still
silent. Underneath the table, Cara was squeezing my hand. Our fight seemed to
be forgotten already.

“Like what?”
his smile faded slightly, and everyone waited for me to go on.

“Humans
should fear vampires, for they have the power to eradicate humanity forever.
Their abilities are supreme- they are faster, stronger and more durable than
humans, and many have had centuries to sharpen their skills and intellect. But
instead of fearing them, humans have romanticised them, viewing them not as a
terrifying reality but glamorous fiction... that is one of their greatest
mistakes. After all, vampire can crush a human skull without any effort at all.
Without fear inspired stories, humans have no real idea what to expect of the
Fallen Ones...” as I spoke, I watched him struggling to keep his poker face.

“Now, if
vampires do exist...and one of them thought someone knew, she won’t think twice
before smothering them in their sleep. If I were you, I’d think twice before
just speaking...”

When the bell
rang, Cara and her friends got up at record speed, eager to escape this
atmosphere. I waited for Seth to walk by me before sneaking up on him from
behind, pulling him back, placing my lips at his ear in the process, my cool
breath tickling his neck.

“Remember…” I
said as I tightened my grip on his shoulders, sinking my nails into his flesh.

“I bite.”