by L. J. Smith
Ethan moved on from the girls, his eyes fixed on Matt, and Matt prepared to be sent in search of punch or ranch dip.
But Ethan, locking eyes with Matt, inclined his head a little, indicating that Matt should join him a little apart from the rest of the group. Matt jogged over to meet Ethan, slightly intrigued. What couldn’t Ethan say in front of the others?
“I’ve got a special job for you, Matt,” Ethan said, rubbing his hands together in obvious pleasure at the prospect. “I want you to invite your friend Stefan Salvatore to join us.”
“Sorry?” Matt said, confused.
“To be a Vitale Society member,” Ethan explained. “We missed him when we selected candidates at the beginning of the year, but now that I’ve met him, I think—we think”—
and he waved a hand at the quietly watching masked figures on the other side of the room—“that he would be an ideal fit for us.”
Matt frowned. He didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of Ethan, but something struck him as off about this. “But he hasn’t done any of the pledge stuff. Isn’t it too late for him to join this year?”
Ethan smiled slightly, just a thin tilting of his lips. “I think we can make an exception for Stefan.”
“But—” Matt began to protest, then instead smiled back at Ethan. “I’l cal him and see if he’s interested,” he promised.
Ethan patted him lightly on the back. “Thank you, Matt.
You’re a natural for Vitale, you know. I’m sure you can convince him.”
As Ethan walked away, Matt watched him, wondering why the praise felt sour this time.
It was because it didn’t make sense, Matt decided, walking back to his dorm after the pledge meeting. What was so special about Stefan that Ethan had decided they had to have him pledge the Vitale Society now instead of just waiting til next year? Okay, yes: vampire—that was special about Stefan, but no one knew that. And he was handsome and sophisticated in that ever-so-slightly European way that had al the girls back in high school fal ing at his feet, but he wasn’t that handsome, and there were plenty of foreign students on campus.
Matt stopped stock-stil . Was he jealous? It wasn’t fair, maybe, that Stefan could just waltz in and be immediately offered something that Matt had worked for, that Matt had thought was only his.
But so what? It wasn’t Stefan’s fault if Ethan wanted to give him special treatment. Stefan was hurting after his breakup with Elena; maybe it would do him good to join the Vitale. And it would be fun to have one of his friends in the Society. Stefan deserved it, real y: he was brave and noble, a leader, even if there was no way Ethan and the others could have known that.
Firmly pushing away any remaining niggle of not fair, Matt pul ed out his cel phone and cal ed Stefan.
“Hey,” he said. “Listen, do you remember that guy Ethan?”
“I guess I don’t understand,” Zander said. His arm around Bonnie’s shoulder was strong and solidly reassuring, and his T-shirt, where she had buried her face against him, smel ed of clean cotton and fabric softener. “What were you and your friends fighting about?”
“The point is, they don’t trust my judgment,” Bonnie said, wiping her eyes. “If it had been either of them, they wouldn’t have been so quick to jump to conclusions.”
“Conclusions about what?” Zander asked, but Bonnie didn’t answer. After a moment, Zander reached out and ran one finger gently along her jawline and over her lips, his eyes intent on her face. “Of course you can stay here as long as you want to, Bonnie. I’m at your service,” he said in an oddly formal tone.
Bonnie looked around Zander’s room with interest.
She’d never been here before; in fact, she’d had to cal him to find out what dorm he lived in, and how weird was that for a girlfriend to not know? But if she’d tried to picture what his room would be like, she would have assumed it would be messy and very guyish: old pizza boxes on the floor, dirty laundry, weird smel s. Maybe a poster with a half-naked girl on it. But, in fact, it was just the opposite. Everything was very bare and uncluttered: nothing on top of the school-issued dresser and desk, no pictures on the wal s or rug on the floor. The bed was neatly made.
The single bed. That they were both sitting on. Her and her boyfriend.
Bonnie felt a flush rise up over her face. She silently cursed her habit of blushing—she was sure that even her ears were bright red. She’d just asked her boyfriend if she could move into his room. And sure, he was gorgeous and lovely and kissing him was probably the most amazing experience of her life so far, but she’d just started kissing him last night. What if he thought she was suggesting something more?
Zander was eyeing her thoughtful y as Bonnie blushed.
“You know,” he said, “I can sleep on the floor. I’m not—um—
expecting—” He broke off and now he was blushing, too.
The sight of flustered Zander immediately made Bonnie feel better. She patted him on the arm. “I know,” she said. “I told Meredith and Elena you were a good guy.” Zander frowned. “What? Do they think I’m not?” When Bonnie didn’t answer, he slowly released her, leaning back to take a close look at her face. “Bonnie? When you had this big fight with your friends, were you fighting about me?” Bonnie shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Okay. Wow.” Zander ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I know Elena and I didn’t real y hit it off, but I’m sure we’l get along better when we get to know each other. This wil al blow over then. It’s not worth it to stop being friends with them.”
“It’s not—” Tears sprang into Bonnie’s eyes. Zander was being so sweet, and he had no idea how Elena and Meredith had wronged him. “I can’t tel you,” she said.
“Bonnie?” Zander pul ed her closer. “Don’t cry. It can’t be that bad.” Bonnie began to cry harder, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he held on to her. “Just tel me,” he said.
“It’s not that they just don’t like you, Zander,” she said between sobs. “They think you might be the kil er.”
“What? Why?” Zander recoiled, almost leaping across the bed away from her, his face white and shocked.
Bonnie explained what Meredith thought she saw, her impression of Zander’s hair beneath the hoodie of the attacker she chased off. “Which is so unfair,” she finished,
“because even if she did see what she thought she saw, it’s not like you’re the only person with real y light blond hair on campus. They’re being ridiculous.”
Zander sucked in a long breath, his eyes wide, and sat stil and silent for a few seconds. Then he reached out and put a gentle hand under Bonnie’s chin, turning her face so they were gazing straight into each other’s eyes.
“I would never hurt you, Bonnie,” he said slowly. “You know me, you see me. Do you think I’m a kil er?”
“No,” Bonnie said, her eyes fil ing with tears. “I don’t. I never did.”
Zander leaned forward and kissed her, his lips soft against hers, as if they were sealing some kind of pact.
Bonnie closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss.
She was fal ing in love with Zander, she knew. And, despite the fact that he had run off so suddenly last night, just before Samantha’s murder, she was sure he could never be a kil er.
30
“Cappuccino and a croissant?” the waitress said, and, at Elena’s nod, set them down on the table. Elena pushed her notebooks aside to make room. Midterms were coming up, on top of everything else that was happening. Elena had tried studying in her room but was too distracted by the sight of Bonnie’s empty bed. She and Meredith were al wrong without Bonnie.
She hadn’t gotten much done here at the café, either, despite getting one of the prime big outdoor tables that she could spread her books out on. She’d tried, but her mind kept circling back to Samantha’s death.
Samantha was such a nice girl, Elena thought. Elena remembered how her eyes lit up when she laughed and the way she bounced on the bal s of her feet a
s if she was bursting to move, run, dance, too ful of energy to sit stil .
Meredith didn’t make new friends that easily, but the wary coolness she usual y wore with strangers had relaxed around Samantha.
When Elena had left the dorm, Meredith was on the phone with Alaric. Maybe he would know what to say, how to comfort her. Unwil ing to break into their conversation, Elena left her a note indicating where she would be if Meredith needed her.
Stirring her coffee, Elena looked up to see Meredith coming toward her. The tal er girl sat down across from Elena and fixed her with her serious gray eyes. “Alaric says Dalcrest is a hot spot for paranormal activity,” she said.
“Black magic, vampires, werewolves, the whole package.” Elena nodded and added more sugar to her cup. “Just as Professor Campbel hinted,” she said thoughtful y. “I get the feeling he knows more than he’s saying.”
“You need to push him,” Meredith said tightly. “If he liked your parents so much, he’l feel like he has to tel you the truth. We don’t have time to waste.” She reached out and broke off a piece of Elena’s croissant. “Can I have this? I haven’t had anything to eat today, and I’m starting to feel dizzy.”
Looking at the strained lines on Meredith’s face, the dark shadows under her eyes, Elena felt a sharp stab of sympathy. “Of course,” she said, pushing the plate toward her. “I just cal ed Damon to come meet me.” She watched as Meredith decimated the croissant, stirring stil more sugar into her coffee. Elena felt in need of comfort.
It wasn’t long before they saw Damon sauntering down the street toward them, his hair sleek and perfect, his al -
black clothes casual y elegant, sunglasses on. Heads turned as he walked by, and Elena distinctly saw one girl miss her footing and fal off the curb.
“That was fast,” Elena said, as Damon pul ed out a chair and sat down.
“I’m fast,” Damon answered, “and you said it was important.”
“It is,” Elena said. “Our friend Samantha is dead.” Damon jerked his head in acknowledgment. “I know.
The police are al over campus. As if they’l be able to do anything.”
“What do you mean?” asked Meredith, glaring at him.
“Wel , these kil ings don’t exactly fal under the police’s agency, do they?” Damon reached out and plucked Elena’s coffee cup from her hand. He took a sip, then made a smal moue of distaste. “Darling, this is far too sweet.” Meredith’s hands were bal ing into fists, and Elena thought she had better speed things up. “Damon, if you know something about this, please tel us.” Damon handed her back her cappuccino and signaled the waitress to bring him one of his own. “To tel you the truth, darling, I don’t know much about Samantha’s death, or that of Mutt’s roommate, whatever his name was. I couldn’t get close enough to the bodies to have any real information. But I’ve found definite evidence that there are other vampires on campus. Sloppy ones.” His face twisted into the same expression he’d made after tasting Elena’s coffee. “Probably newly made, I’d guess. No technique at al .”
“What kind of evidence?” Meredith asked.
Damon looked surprised. “Bodies of course. Very poorly disposed of bodies. Shal ow graves, bonfires, that kind of thing.”
Elena frowned. “So the people who have disappeared were kil ed by vampires?”
Damon wagged a finger at her teasingly. “I didn’t say that. The bodies I examined—and let me tel you, digging up a shal ow grave was real y a first for me—were not the same ones that vanished from campus. I don’t know if your missing students were kil ed by vampires or not, but somebody else was. Several somebodies. I’ve been trying to find these vampires, but I haven’t had any luck. Yet.” Meredith, who normal y would have jumped on Damon’s comment about this being his first time digging up a grave, looked thoughtful. “I saw Samantha’s body,” she said hesitantly. “It didn’t look like a typical vampire attack to me.
And from the way Matt described Christopher’s body, I don’t think his did, either. They were”—she took a deep breath—“mauled. Torn apart.”
“It could be a pack of real y angry vampires, or messy ones,” Damon said. “Or werewolves might be vicious like that. It’s more their style.” The waitress appeared with his cappuccino, and he thanked her graciously. She retreated, blushing.
“There’s another thing,” Elena said once the waitress was out of hearing range. She glanced inquiringly at Meredith, who nodded at her. “We’re worried about Bonnie and her new boyfriend.” Quickly, she outlined the reasons they had for being suspicious of Zander and Bonnie’s reaction to their concerns.
Damon raised one eyebrow as he finished his drink.
“So you think the little redbird’s suitor might be dangerous?” He smiled. “I’l look into it, princess. Don’t worry.”
Dropping a few dol ars on the table, he rose and sauntered across the street, disappearing into a grove of maples. A few minutes later, a large black crow with shining iridescent feathers rose above the trees, flapping its wings powerful y. It gave a raucous caw and flew away.
“That was surprisingly helpful of him,” Meredith said. Her face was stil tired and drawn, but her voice was interested.
Elena didn’t have to look up to know that her friend was watching her speculatively. Eyes demurely downward, feeling her cheeks flush pink, she took another sip of her cappuccino. Damon was right. It was much too sweet.
31
Why do they always want to be on top of buildings?
Bonnie thought irritably. Inside. Inside is nice. No one falls to their death if they’re inside a building. But here we are.
Stargazing from the top of the science building while on a date with Zander was romantic. Bonnie would be al for another little nighttime picnic, just the two of them. But partying on a different roof with a bunch of Zander’s friends was not romantic, not even slightly.
She took a sip of her drink and moved out of the way without even looking as she heard the smack of bodies hitting the ground and the grunts of guys wrestling. After two days of living with Zander, she was beginning to get the names of his friends straight: Tristan and Marcus were the ones rol ing around on the floor with Zander. Jonah, Camden, and Spencer were doing something they cal ed parkour, which mostly seemed to involve running around like idiots and almost fal ing off the roof. Enrique, Jared, Daniel, and Chad were al playing an elaborate drinking game in the corner. There were a few more guys who hung around sometimes, but this was the core group.
She liked them, she real y did. Most of the time. They were boisterous, sure, but they were always very nice to her: getting her drinks, immediately handing her their jackets if she was cold, tel ing her that they had no idea what she saw in a loser like Zander, which was clearly their guy way of declaring how much they loved him and that they were happy he had a girlfriend.
She looked over at Zander, who was laughing as he held Tristan in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles over the top of Tristan’s head. “Do you give in?” he said, and grunted in surprise as Marcus, whooping joyful y, tackled them both.
It would have been easier if there were other girls around that she could get to know. If Marcus (who was very cute in a giant shaggy-haired Sasquatch kind of way) or Spencer (who had the kind of preppy rich-boy elegance that some girls found extremely attractive) had a regular girlfriend, Bonnie would have someone to exchange wry glances with as the guys acted like doofuses.
But, even though a girl would occasional y appear clinging to the arm of one of the guys, Bonnie would never see her again after that night. Except for Bonnie, Zander seemed to travel in an almost exclusively masculine world.
And, after two days of fol owing the macho parade around town, Bonnie was starting to get sick of it. She missed having girls to talk to. She missed Elena and Meredith, specifical y, even though she was stil mad at them.
“Hey,” she said, making her way over to Zander. “Want to get out of here for a while?”
Zander wrapped his arm arou
nd her shoulders. “Um.
Why?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her neck.
Bonnie rol ed her eyes. “It’s kind of loud, don’t you think?
We could go for a nice quiet walk or something.” Zander looked surprised but nodded. “Sure, whatever you want.”
They made their way down the fire escape, fol owed by a few shouts from Zander’s friends, who seemed to think he was going on a food run and would shortly return with hot wings and tacos.
Once they were a block away from the rooftop party, the noise faded and it was peaceful, except for the distant sound of an occasional car on the roads nearby. Bonnie knew she ought to feel creeped out, walking around at night on campus, but she didn’t. Not with Zander’s hand in hers.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” Bonnie said happily, gazing up at the half moon overhead.
“Yeah,” Zander said, swinging her hand between them.
“You know, I used to go on long walks—runs, real y—with my dad at night. Way out in the country, in the moonlight. I love being outside at night.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” Bonnie said. “Do you guys stil do that when you’re home?”
“No.” Zander hesitated and hunched his shoulders, his hair hanging in his face. Bonnie couldn’t read his expression. “My dad … he died. A while ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” Bonnie said sincerely, squeezing his hand.
“I’m okay,” Zander said, stil staring at his shoes. “But, y’know, I don’t have any brothers or sisters, and the guys have sort of become like a family to me. I know they can be a pain sometimes, but they’re real y good guys. And they’re important to me.” He glanced at Bonnie out of the corner of his eyes.
He looked so apprehensive, Bonnie felt a sharp pang of affection for him. It was sweet that Zander and his friends were so close—that must have been the family stuff he had to deal with the other night. He was loyal, that much she knew. “Zander,” she said. “I know they’re important to you. I don’t want to take you away from your friends, you goof.” She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the mouth. “Maybe just for an hour or two sometimes, but not for long, I promise.” Zander returned the kiss with enthusiasm, and Bonnie tingled al the way down to her toes.
