Dark Night

by Stefany Rattles

  “You know you’re the cutest chick I’ve ever seen.” A guy that I had just met told me in front of Mereily and Sophie. His name was Jack and he was cute too. Tall, and his eyes were grayish, you could tell he had a body, the whole package.

  “Hope you don’t think I’m going to fall for that, do you?” I said back at him. “Besides it’s not nice of you to say that, don’t you think my friends are good looking? Because I think they are the best looking out of everyone in this room.” I looked at them, and I wasn’t lying. All the girls looked alike, they weren’t wearing the same dress, but their hair was down and they wore a lot of makeup. I’d say we were the only three that didn’t look like the rest of them.

  He smiled and nodded. “Yes, they are pretty cute too. I mean all three of you are little hotties, but I’d like to get to know you better.” He said singling me out.

  “That’s nice of you, but only as friends. I’ll tell you right now so you don’t get any ideas.” I was playing, but really meant it too.

  The girls giggled and he laughed. “Sure. Would you like to dance?” He asked and I didn’t want to refuse so I took his offer.

  “Why not?” I waved at the girls and walked with Jack towards the dancing floor when a couple of his friends stopped us.

  “What’s up man?” A shorter guy than Jack said.

  “Nothing, just gonna dance.” He simply said. Then he looked over at me. “Oh. This is Mia….” He didn’t know my last name.

  “I’m Mia Dawney.” I said shyly.

  “Michael C. otherwise known as MC,” A darker guy spoke.

  “Will and Damian,” Two more guys said. Will and Damian were about average, but all were cute in their tuxedos. I noticed that some tuxedos were simple and some looked like something prince charming would wear, I realized they were the royals. Great, all the guys I met including Jack were related in some awkward way I didn’t want to know about.

  “Hi.” I said to them. Then I decided that Mereily and Sophie needed to dance too. “ Hey, are you guys dancing?”

  “Yeah, just looking for some volunteers,” Will said, putting his hands into his pockets.

  “Well, you see those two girls over there. I think they’re board, why don’t you show them a good time?” I tried to be persuasive.

  “Hell yeah,” MC answered. The other guys looked at each other for a second. “What’s the matter with you?” MC asked them.

  “They’re not royals.” Damian said.

  And that ticked me off.

  “Neither am I. Just because I’m wearing this stupid dress doesn’t mean a damn thing. You know what? Who told you it’s a bad thing to hang out with someone that’s not from your class?” I was talking to Will and Damian, who stared at me.

  “It’s not a bad thing, it’s just that they are not related to the king or queen, that kind of makes them look bad.” Jack answered. I couldn’t believe what he was saying.

  My jaw dropped, but I recovered. “You’re telling me that you want to date your cousins? What kind of sick people are you?” They got what I said and immediately straightened up.

  “Dude, she has a point. That’s sick.” Jack understood.

  “Man if you put it that way, I don’t want to date no cousin of mine.” MC said scratching his head. The guys thought about it for a second and changed their minds.

  “Yeah, on second thought I think I’m going to ask her to dance.” Will said walking towards Sophie.

  “Yeah, me too,” Damian said going for Mereily. A moment later I saw them waving at me and smiling. Good.

  “Thanks for having my back.” I said to Jack when we started dancing.

  “No prob. That’s what I’m here for, hey just so you know though, there isn’t just one King and Queen so every royal isn’t related in any way, there are others that come from other royal families, anyway it’s all complicated stuff you don’t need to worry about yet and I‘m here for you___.” I thought about what he said for a second and then I asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I wasn’t supposed to tell you yet, but I’m going to be___” Jack was interrupted.

  “May I?” Robert was next to us out of nowhere. Jack didn’t mind and he let him cut in.

  “Sure.“ He just shrugged and smiled awkwardly at me before he turned to leave.

  I felt uncomfortable touching Robert but when I did, it changed everything. I felt more of the electric current go through me and I it felt like I was hypnotized, I was still aware of what was happening. But I would have done whatever he wanted me to do if he said so. He noticed my change in mood.

  “Are you okay?” He got stiff. I think it was because he felt the same way.

  “I’m fine.” I forced myself to sound pissed, I hadn’t forgotten the way he treated me and for that I wasn’t going to give in to his mood swings.

  “I just want you to know…that you look amazing.” It shocked me when he said that, but I knew he was a man and they were all pigs. I wasn’t looking at him but then I had to.

  “Thanks.” I said dryly. I wanted to kill myself because of the strong desire that I felt in that moment. “You look great too.” I had to admit that at least. I swallowed so I wouldn’t smile.

  “Hmm... I heard what you said about the royals being all related and I think you handled it well. Considering the way your attitude changes from time to time.” He had to go there.

  “I could say the same thing about yours.” I smiled, a very not so nice smile.

  “There’s a reason for that Mia, I think you know what I’m talking about.” I absolutely knew what he was talking about. I knew he felt the same thing I was feeling and that made it harder for me to concentrate on blocking that out of my head.

  “What do you want me to say? I know you don’t want to feel that, but do you know what it does to me? Probably no… it doesn’t really matter. I guess there’s nothing we can do to change that.” I didn’t look at him, because if I did I would break.

  “You’re wrong.” He said firmly.

  “About what now?” It irritated me when he said it like that, regardless I looked back at his gorgeous eyes and he looked straight into mine.

  “First of all, I don’t think you’re blood is nasty. In fact it’s so good that I can’t stop thinking about it and you… You call to me. I don’t know how you do it but I can feel what you feel and it drives me crazy. Second of all, no, I don’t want to feel that because this is wrong, but it’s done and I’m not complaining we both like it.” He didn’t look away, still trying to figure out what I was thinking. He was right about the last part, but I was trying to process what he had just said.

  “What do you mean when you say I call to you?”

  “If you’re alone, I feel it, why do you think I appear around you?”

  “But I wasn’t alone five minutes ago.” I pointed out.

  “Not physically. Do you see? I can’t stay away, and it’s killing me to even try. What are we going to do now? I can’t stand you, and you can’t stand me, but our blood or something within us wants to be together.” He sounded miserable, again I felt sorry for him and for myself because he was right about everything. No. I didn’t like him at all, I thought he was the hottest guy around but that was it. He had issues, I couldn’t stand him.

  “That’s creepy. I don’t know what we're going to do, but can we please not think about it tonight. I have enough on my mind right now.” I reminded him, that he was still touching me. I was trying to control myself and when he realized that, he immediately stopped dancing.

  We walked towards a table and stood at least two feet away.

  “We should keep distance. I don’t want to end up hurting you again or vice versa.” He winked like he was playing around then he got serious.

  “Did you really mean what you said in the plane?” I thought he had forgotten about that.

  “About what?” I played stupid.

  “You know, about my eyes?” He remembered, and I didn’t want to meet his hot gaze b
ut… going against my better judgment I did.

  “Uh… I don’t think I remember…… oh, yeah that… I think that they are incredible when you’re not angry. But when you’re mad they’re obscure and I don’t like it.” I admitted. But when I looked into them and I wasn’t afraid it was because they were the bright emerald green.

  Something was making me feel funny, and before I did something I would regret, he spoke, “I guess you’re not as cold as I thought you’d be.” When he said that, he brought me back to reality. I stepped back.

  “Yeah, and you’re not such an ass all the time.” We smiled at that and walked away from each other.

  CHAPTER 9

  After having that conversation with Robert I had a few dances with Jack and then Mereily and after all of that, I headed upstairs. I wasn’t in the mood for more “dancing” I had met half the students and I wasn’t really interested in getting to know everyone in one night. It was past ten and the halls were dark. There was no one wondering around like I was. I guess everyone really was enjoying the party, I was thinking about going back later when they presented the awards. I thought I should support Mereily and Sophie, I knew they would appreciate it. I heard steps coming forward and I kept walking normal until I saw the person that came into view.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Sophie asked. She was by herself.

  “I was just going up for a minute. I thought you were with Mereily?” She flinched when I asked.

  “No. She’s hanging out with Gene and her friends, I don’t know why Gene talks to her though and she’s not a royal… yet. But still they talk like they’re best friends. When Mereily first came here I was the first one to talk to her, and when she was sick I was there with her, through everything. Gene didn’t even start talking to her till a few weeks ago. I think she’s up to something.” She said quietly. I looked at her face and she looked really upset by this, she really thought that Gene was up to no good.

  “Don’t get worked up over her, we’ll know if she’s up to something don’t worry. I don’t like her at all, but we don’t know what’s going on in her head. Oh, by the way. How was Will treating you?”

  She grinned. “He was nice. I just wished that Kevin would notice me, I don’t know. But Will really got into the dancing, twirling and turning and I was dizzy after that, I had to get my inhaler. Sometimes I need it for my asthma.” No wonder she was looking like Mereily, the poor girl had asthma.

  “I didn’t know that, sorry.” I apologized, I felt kind of guilty because It had been my idea.

  “Not your fault. It’s not as bad as it used to be. It’s about seventy percent cured. No big deal.” She was acting like it was nothing. But I knew that just like Mereily she wasn’t going to tell me more. I left that subject alone.

  “Well, I’ll go back with you. If Mereily is still with her then we can hang out for a while.” I decided that maybe I wanted to get to know Sophie better. I didn’t feel sorry for her per say, but I didn’t want her to be a loser like I remember to be when I was in Castle High. She smiled and we went back to the ball room. A lot of the students were still dancing, others were just sitting, eating, talking in their own little world. Jack was still talking to some friends, he didn’t even notice when I left. But I think that was best he was a royal after all and I didn’t want to be much of a friend with them. I also spotted Robert standing by himself he met my gaze and stared for a minute when Sophie got my attention.

  “Mia? Hello?” She waved her hand in front of my face.

  “Uh.. Sorry. I spaced out.” I lied. I glanced back to where Robert was standing and he wasn’t there anymore. “Let’s sit there.” I said to her. When we reached our seats the music stopped.

  “Good evening students. Today we have some special news and awards we are giving out.” It was the same lady from the auditorium that spoke while she stood by the podium. I didn’t know her name.

  “What’s her name?” I whispered to Sophie.

  “She’s an Elder. They’re the teachers. I think her name is Abi.” She whispered back. The room was silent while Abi spoke.

  “Tonight, we have some royals among us that we have not yet recognized. That is our fault, I apologize. We had a mess up with some paper work, and now we will announce who these students are. As I call your name please exit the room and follow Goddess Illyanne.” She paused for a second.

  “That is crap.” Sophie said.

  “I hope they call you though, it’s only fair.” I told her keeping my voice down. She nodded, as Abi spoke.

  “Before I begin with the list, there is a new student here tonight.” I blushed when she said that. “Her name is Mia Dawney, will you come up here please Mia?” I tried to hide but she spotted me, I had no idea how she knew me but she saw me and I had no choice. I stood up and wished I was ten inches tall. I walked around the tables and up the steps to the mini stage they had made, I stood in front of the whole student body and I wasn’t shy for some reason.

  Abi was a tall lady, around early thirties and smiled a lot.

  “Welcome to Dark Knight Institute. You are a royal, take this and Isabelle will see you tomorrow, first thing in the morning. You may take your seat.” She handed me a package I didn’t know what to say I bowed and walked in shock back to where Sophie sat with her mouth hanging open. I shook my head at her, trying to tell her I didn’t know. I really didn’t, I was just as surprised as she was and everybody in the room stared. I didn’t see Mereily, but I knew she was probably staring too. Abi started with the list of students, I blocked out until I heard the names

  “Sophie Carmichael, Mereily Jolie….” Was all I paid attention to, I saw Sophie’s face brightened and she stood up and walked passed me, smiling. Then when I finally reached my seat I saw Mereily going the opposite direction. I couldn’t see her face but I bet she was as happy as Sophie was. I sat down but I didn’t know that someone had joined the table.

  “You are special.” Jack said. Then I realized something, I leaned back in my chair and I rolled my eyes.

  “Oh. So that’s why you talked to me? And that’s why you took my side earlier, you knew this was going to happen and here I thought you weren’t like the rest.” I folded my arms across my chest and turned to look at Abi speak to the small group of kids that were standing on the stage.

  “Did I miss something? You think I talked to you just because I knew you were a royal?” He paused for my response and I ignored him. “That’s not why. I was about to tell you before Lord Robert interrupted us…. I’m supposed to be your mate. And the only reason I knew you’re a royal was because I overheard a conversation that Illyanne was having with someone on the phone. I didn’t know that until after I talked to you anyway.” I turned to look at him. I could see he was serious about what he was saying.

  “Oh no,” My eyes dropped I looked down and then I searched the room for Robert I didn’t see him. “What are you talking about? Your mate?” I couldn’t be with him now… I really didn’t need this boy crap. Not now.

  “Everyone has one, I thought you knew.” He was right about that. I did know, I just chose to ignore Robert when he had told me the same thing earlier today. That’s why he was worried. I had to get out of here, as soon as possible.

  “I’m sorry, I have to go.” I told Jack as I got up and left the room forgetting everyone in there and leaving Jack looking stunned after me.

  I just couldn’t handle it anymore. It was awful, everything. I didn’t want to be part of the royals or be with anyone. This was already a mess. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could in my heels and tripped but I got a hold of the wall and kept running until I reached my room. I opened the door and when I went in I saw Robert and Genevieve making out. My heart stopped for a second and then I took a deep breath. “Robert, can you not take her somewhere else, please?” I decided I didn’t want to look at them. I was staring at the TV screen. They were “watching” the news. More like they were making out on the sofa while the TV was on. I knew I was crying but
I just wiped my eyes with the back of my palm and walked to my bathroom. I heard a door close and hoped that they had left, then I sat inside the bathtub and turned the shower on hot water. It always made me feel better after a terrible day. I was still wearing the dress but I didn’t care,

  The more I thought about it the more convinced I was that I was just overwhelmed with all the changes that were happening to me in such a little time. I would just keep telling myself that it would get better and that’s all I could do.

  Knock knock knock

  “Are you alright?” Robert asked. I didn’t want to answer but knowing him, he would probably get a goddess here or something.

  “I’m fine. Aren’t you busy anyway?” I told him that so he would leave me alone. He didn’t answer for several minutes and then someone knocked again. I stood up and opened the shower curtain. “Robert you better leave me alone! I’m not in the mood.” I tried to yell but the shower running made me sound like I was talking normal.

  “It’s me, Mereily.” She said from the other side of the door. “Let me in.” She said softly, and I opened the door for her. “Mia? What’s wrong?” She was looking around. I had a puddle of water on the floor she turned the water off, I was sitting in the tub and she went to the closet to look for something.

  “Mereily. Is it this bad? I don’t know why you’re asking me what’s wrong, because clearly everything is wrong with me. I bonded with Robert, he’s making out with the girl he says he never liked and in my room while I’m dealing with Jack telling me I’m his mate and to top it all off I’m a freaking royal.” I put my hands on my face. “This is bad.” I wasn’t exaggerating. At least I didn’t think I was. She didn’t answer… I guess she didn’t want to lie. She had a robe and a towel in her hands.