He cleared his throat loudly, and resumed with the lecture.
I held back a sigh, and did my best to follow the lecture material.
Slipping on the visor and headset, I dialed up the concentration aid to maximum output. In a short while, my mind settled into ‘learning mode’ and I was able to absorb the material being taught completely devoid of distracting thoughts.
All hail the wonders of the modern classroom.
I’d given up long ago wondering if the learning aids were subjecting us to subliminal messages.
#
(Haruka)
I needed to talk with Caelum, and it had nothing to do with him joining the class while sporting lipstick on his cheek.
No, this matter was entirely something else.
If what Siobhan and Alistair had overhead was true, then he was headed straight for a beating.
Why oh why did he have to make an enemy of the Princess?
Rather, why did he have to make an enemy of the Princess’s followers?
And why the Hell did he have lipstick on his face?
Wait—wasn’t the Vice-President wearing lavender lipstick? Could it be hers?
No, it couldn’t be! But what if it was? Did she kiss him? Why would she kiss him?
Ah, I can’t think straight.
I dialed up the concentration setting on my visor and headset.
Those distracting thoughts were slowly but surely suppressed into the back of my mind by the lesson material.
But when each class ended, those worries came charging right back at me.
I was glad when school for the day came to a close.
Seated at my smart desk, I peeked over my right shoulder at Caelum. I saw Caprice rise from her table while Caelum remained seated.
I had two choices. Speak to him directly, or pass word along to the only girl in school who wasn’t bothered to be seen in his company.
Should I decide by flipping a coin? Wait, I had no coins. Physical currency was no longer used and hadn’t been used in centuries.
I frowned. Did they just ignore each other?
Ah, this wasn’t good. Not good at all!
I held my head in my hands.
No choice. I’d have to muster the courage to speak to him. The problem was finding the right moment to approach him. Should I send him a message via school information network? No, he’d probably ignore it. He’d been ignoring me for the whole week.
This had to be done face to face to ensure he’d at least listen to me.
I ran my fingers through my hair. “Ah, what the Hell should I do?”
I felt a tap on my shoulder and jumped up and out of my chair in fright.
Caelum was standing beside my table.
I screamed. “Ca—Caelum?”
He looked shocked by my reaction and retreated a step.
I swallowed quickly and said, “Sorry. You just surprised me. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
He nodded slowly, then straightened as though on guard. “Haruka…can we talk?”
Talk? Did he say talk? Yes, of course. This was good. No, this was perfect. I just needed to slip a warning into the conversation.
I noticed I was biting a nail.
Caelum noticed too. He gave me a really concerned look.
If I kept acting nervous I was going to drive him away.
I took a deep breath to calm my hammering heart. I noticed he had his carry-bag hung at hip.
“Going home?” I asked.
“Yeah…but I’d…I’d like to talk to you first.”
I looked around. The classroom was emptying pretty quickly of its students. Siobhan and Alistair were watching me from the front of the room. They had their carry-bags at their hips, but looked uncertain as to whether they should leave ahead of me, or wait for me.
I turned to Caelum. “Could you give me a moment?”
He nodded cautiously. “Sure….”
Jeezes, he was acting like I was a bomb with a hair trigger fuse.
I approached Siobhan and Alistair. “You guys go on ahead. I might be a while.”
Siobhan eyed me suspiciously. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Thanks for asking.”
Alistair was staring at Caelum. “Just be careful, Haruka. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“Alistair, he’s my childhood friend. I know exactly what he’s like.”
She shook her head. “Haruka, he’s a Familiar now. You knew the old him. This is the new Caelum Desanto.”
Siobhan added, “Just remember, Familiars are more vampire than we are. Be careful around him.”
I nodded a little less confidently than I thought I would. “I’ll—I’ll be fine.”
Siobhan and Alistair shared a look, then Siobhan faced me and said, “We’ll wait for you at the shoe lockers.”
“Ah…okay. But I might be a while.”
“We’ll wait,” Siobhan repeated firmly.
I exhaled slowly. “Thank you.”
Alistair said, “Ask him about the lipstick.”
I jerked back. “I can’t do that. No, no way. Now isn’t the time for that.”
With a quick wave to my friends, I walked back in a hurry to my smart desk where Caelum was waiting and looking faintly uncomfortable.
“Let’s go,” I said.
“Uh, where to? The rooftop?”
“No, the rooftop courtyard is automatically locked after lunch break.” I finished packing my carry-bag with my belongs, then slipped the straps over my right shoulder. “I know a place.”
It was a secluded little garden area, one of four I’d found. During lunch break students would sit on the benches or the shaded grass and eat their lunches. But after class, I had noticed students tended to avoid this one garden. I had no idea why but it suited my purpose just fine.
Caelum was looking around curiously. “I had no idea something like this existed on school grounds.”
“There are four gardens like this one.”
His mouth made a few odd shapes as he gazed at the garden surrounding us.
I stopped walking, turned and looked at him.
“Caelum?”
He looked off into the distance for a long while. I was tempted to call out to him again, but chose to give him a little more time.
He swallowed noticeably. “Haruka, I’m sorry. I didn’t know about the lipstick.”
“Eh? Ah, it’s okay. I don’t have a problem with it. You’re free to kiss whoever you like.”
“No, I didn’t kiss anyone. She caught me by surprise—ah.”
He stopped quickly, then started to run his fingers through his hair in a panic. Just as quickly his hands came to a stop and he looked at me.
“Haruka, I’m sorry…sorry for running away.”
I felt my throat grow a little tight as I realized what he was talking about.
“Haruka, I’m sorry. I saw you and I didn’t know how to deal with you.”
“Deal with me?”
“I mean, I didn’t know what to do or say.”
The tightness in my throat grew. I forced my voice through it. “Caelum, how long have known each other?”
“Twelve years?”
“Why should now be any different from all the times we’ve shared in the past?”
“Because you’re an Aventis and I’m a Familiar.” He said it softly yet with no room for argument.
I took a deep breath. “Then why can’t we start over, as Aventis and Familiar? The Prides have no law preventing us from associating with one another.” I shook my head slowly. “There’s no law that says we can’t be friends.”
He was looking at me with a steady gaze. “You’re being naïve, Haruka.”
I inhaled sharply.
He shoved his hands into trouser pockets. “Familiars are bonded to the Prides. We’re servants to the Prides, but with more privileges than Regulars.”
“I know that.”
“You’re Pride is Avenir. My affiliated
Pride is Lanfear.”
I swallowed a little. “Yes, I know that.”
“Avenir and Lanfear don’t mix.”
I sighed. “It’s not as bad as you make it sound. I’ve looked into the situation with both Prides. There’s no outright animosity between them. In fact they have an amicable relationship here in Pharos.” I indicated the Academy buildings beyond the garden. “Here at Galatea, there’s no trouble between the two Prides.”
“Because they keep away from each other.”
“That isn’t true….”
“Our social standing is different.”
“That hasn’t stopped people in the past.”
“You mean people in love….”
I thought my heart was going to burst apart the moment he said those words, and he said them while looking straight into my eyes.
He was challenging me to reply with a counter.
Or was he expecting me to agree.
I had trouble meeting his gaze.
Caelum sighed softly, almost lost in the breeze. “Haruka…tell me the truth.”
I struggled to get a single word out, yet he remained so calm. “What truth?”
“Did you ever see me as more than a friend? What was I to you?”
I might throat tightened painfully, and I couldn’t reply. Long seconds went by, until he eventually chuckled lightly under his breath. He turned his face away.
“Sorry. Forget I asked.”
My heart was beating painfully in my chest. It was just like that day seven months ago when he bid farewell to our friendship. I was reliving that pain all over again.
Caelum regarded our surroundings. “I made a mess of things. All those years in school, I made a mess of things for you.”
I managed a hoarse whisper. “What do you mean?”
“You were popular, Haruka. There were so many guys that wanted to confess to you. So many guys that wanted to approach you.”
He wasn’t telling me anything new. Why was he bringing this up now?
He shook his head slowly. “I was asked so many times to put in a good word for you because they all saw us as childhood friends and nothing more. As far as they were concerned, the only reason you hung around me was because of that. Why else would a beautiful girl be friends with me? It pissed me off that what they said was true.”
I frowned at him.
He muttered loudly, “I got fed up being their errand boy. That landed me in a few fights.”
“I know….”
I was the one that would patch him up before classes resumed whenever he returned to the classroom like the walking wounded.
He laughed bitterly. “You’d ask me why, and I’d tell you those guys weren’t good enough for you.”
I nodded slowly.
He snorted. “Some of those guys were a lot better than me. Some of them would have looked good beside you. Some of those guys, I think I actually approved of.”
“…what…?”
“But I was jealous.”
My eyes widened for a rapid heartbeat. “Huh?”
“I was jealous of them. I was jealous of every guy that confessed to you, or approached you in a way that made their intentions clear.”
I couldn’t stop myself frowning. “Why?”
“Because they had more courage than me. I was envious of their resolve. Then I’d think of my situation and I had no choice but to accept the truth.”
“What do you mean? What truth?”
“That we were only childhood friends, and that I had more to risk than they did. It wasn’t a case of just crash and burn for me. It wasn’t a game for me. If I lost, then I lost for good and it wasn’t just a rejection. It was the end of what we had together as friends.”
“Caelum, you….”
He gave me a nod. “Yeah, I thought about it countless times. I thought about it every time I heard some guy had asked you out and been shot down.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He looked at me in disbelief. “I just told you why.”
I looked at him stupidly. “Did you really think I would reject you?”
Caelum was quiet for a moment before he blurted out, “Of course I did. Why do you think I never asked you?”
“So you’d already decided on the outcome by yourself.”
“I already knew the outcome.”
I clenched my hands and couldn’t stop my arms from trembling. “Do you know how tiring it was to reject each and every guy that came up to me?”
He shook his head. “No, but I did try to save you the trouble.”
I growled in my throat. “You would have saved me the trouble if you’d just told me how you felt.”
“I couldn’t tell you—”
“Because you’re a coward.”
He blanched, then swallowed a heartbeat later. “I had no choice.”
I leaned back and yelled up at the sky.
“Haruka?”
“You are impossible! You are so impossible to deal with.”
I was hyperventilating.
Why was I blaming him? I was the same. I fell into the same trap he did. I had the same reasons he did for not confessing. In fact, I was hard set on believing he should be the one to make the first move.
I should have never listened to all those stupid advice columns.
Why the Hell did I read those idiotic magazines? Was I looking for a miracle solution to the problem?
I pressed down on my chest.
This was my problem. I should have fixed it myself rather than listening to someone else’s advice.
I should have told him how I felt.
I gasped.
Caelum was standing over me, his arms on my arms. “Haruka? Haruka what’s wrong?”
I tried pushing him away but he was stronger than me.
What? I’m an Aventis and he’s a Familiar. Shouldn’t I be the stronger one?
“Let me go,” I pleaded.
“Not until you calm down.”
Again I growled in my throat. “Stop acting so mature. This is your fault after all.”
“Huh?”
“It’s because you never told me the truth.”
He dropped his hands from my arms. His expression grew neutral, unreadable. “You haven’t answered my question.”
I blinked at him dumbly. What question? I tried thinking back to the start of the argument. What had he asked me? Why couldn’t I remember?
Caelum saved me from floundering through my short term memory.
“Haruka, did you ever see me as more than just a friend?”
Ah…that question.
His eyes were locked onto mine.
No running away this time. It had finally come to this point, and Caelum wanted an answer.
I opened my mouth, but no air came out. No sound. No words.
Why? Why didn’t my voice work? Damn it, not now!
I tried again without success.
Caelum turned away, and my heart sank.
My reaction had hurt him. He took my inability to reply for an answer.
And so he turned away.
But he wasn’t moving away. In fact, he was standing in front of me looking toward the trees at the far end of the garden.
I peeked around him.
Five white uniformed students stood there with arrogant, amused smiles on their faces.
I suddenly remembered Siobhan and Alistair’s warning. “Caelum—they’re here to—”
“I know.” He turned to me quickly, and his gaze forcefully grabbed mine. “Haruka, I’m sorry but I’m going to need your help.”
“Wh—what do you want me to do?”
He reached out and took hold of my left wrist. “I’m sorry. I won’t take much.”
I watched him bring my wrist up to his lips. “Caelum?”
“The bleeding won’t last long. Staunch it, and then get out of here.”
My eyes grew wide, very wide, at sight of him sink his canines into my wrist.
Siobhan’s
words came back to me.
He’s more of a vampire than we are.
It hurt like Hell when my skin tore.
It hurt even more to watch him drink the crimson fluid that welled up from the wounds.
And then after a few moments it was over.
Caelum had a handkerchief in hand, and he used it to wipe at his mouth a moment before pressing it down on my punctured wrist.
“Keep pressure on it,” he said.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I looped the handkerchief around my wrist, and applied pressure to the wound. I looked up at him.
Caelum looked to be in pain but he was doing his best to hold it back.
“Go,” he said. “Get out of here. They came for me, but they might do something to you if you stay.”
I started shaking my head, but he reached out and bodily spun me away from him.
“Get going,” he snapped while pushing me away. It wasn’t hard enough to make me stumble, but I did stagger for several feet.
I half turned to face him. “Caelum—”
He shrugged out of his jacket. He had an anguished smile on his face. “Don’t worry. It’s not the first time I’ve gone through this. I had this coming. I offended the Princess.” He shrugged faintly. “But, it’s probably just an excuse for them.”
I swallowed quickly. “I’m going to get help.”
“Don’t. This won’t take long.”
I watched him start to unbutton his shirt. “Wh—what are you doing?”
“I don’t want it to get dirty.”
Behind him I saw the five seniors grow impatient. They sauntered out of the trees and into the clearing at the center of the garden. A couple of them took off their jackets like Caelum did.
“Haruka.”
“Y—yes?”
“Run.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not leaving.”
Suddenly he was right before me. His eyes looked into mine as though staring straight into my soul. His face, his presence, completely consumed my awareness.
I felt him…inside my mind.
I heard his voice…inside my head.
“Haruka, run.”
I could barely breathe let alone protest. Then suddenly my body began to move. It started backing away unsteadily from him.
Then it turned and ran.
I regained control as I fled down the path that led out of the garden. It stretched through an arcade of trees. Once past the trees, the path curved sharply in the direction of the Academy buildings.
Pride X Familiar ReVamp (Pride X ReVamp Book 1) Page 13
