Bleeding Love

by Ashley Andrews

  For a moment there, Adrienne was surprised. Xavier was one of the most patient people she knew, but tonight, he was far from being tolerant. He wasn't controlling his anger, even his jealousy. He was insulting the other vampires, and Adrienne couldn't help but feel flattered. Was he getting this worked up because someone had made-out with her?

  “There, you said it yourself, we almost exposed our kind, but we didn't. Vlad didn't let anyone see his fangs.”

  Xavier was getting tired of the stupid debate his classmates were putting up. He was going to let Adrienne's father handle them since he didn't want to stress himself more worrying about what punishment to give them.

  “Not my problem. You can just explain yourself to Principal Stahl,” Xavier said and he opened the door to Adrienne’s father’s office.

  * * * * *

  “So you guys made a bet about my daughter?” the principal asked.

  His voice was calm, and that unnerved the guys even more than it would have if he’d shown some emotion. The mood of the room was dark and silent since its occupants had no idea what direction the principal would head with this.

  “We didn't mean to anger anyone,” said Vlad, his bright red locks slightly covering one of his eyes.

  “We also didn't think anyone would care or that Xavier would get jealous,” one of them said.

  Xavier stiffened at those words, causing Adrienne to look at him and smile encouragingly. If they had been sitting beside each other, she would have reached out and held his hand. But that wasn't the case at the moment; they had been situated across the room from each other.

  “We just wanted Vlad to have a little fun,” another commented to the snickers of his friends.

  “Talking to Yvonne and the others was more than fine already,” Vlad said, eyeing his friends before turning to look at the principal. “It was them who wanted to have fun. You could say I was the lab rat.”

  Principal Stahl nodded. He was listening, thinking about everything that was said, and what wasn’t. He weighed the options. “So tell me, who deserves to be punished?”

  “Mr. Stahl, are you letting them have a say in this?”

  “Xavier, relax,” Adrienne said, making her way towards him. She just wanted to pacify him. “It's nothing big.”

  “Your girl's right, you know,” said Vlad. “I'm sorry Adrienne.”

  And just like that, she was willing to let his rude friends and him go. Vlad's smile was infectious, and Adrienne was such sucker for Adonis-like men.

  “Principal Stahl,” Adrienne started, addressing her father formally. “Why not just give them a warning for now? They were right. We weren't exposed, and no one saw Vlad's fangs. Everyone just thought he was a normal hormone-driven teenager who got a little rough.”

  A few vampires smirked when Adrienne said that.

  “Just make sure that if they do pull something like that again, a proper punishment will be given.”

  “Adrienne,” Xavier sounded disappointed with her judgment. “He bit you without your consent. You're just going to let that go?”

  Adrienne nodded and reached for his hand as she intertwined her fingers with his. By holding hands, she was telling him to calm down, to relax, and to accept the fact that she didn't want any drama to take place. “It didn’t mean anything, Xavier.” She turned back to Vlad. “Just don't do that anymore guys, or if you do, let us, women, know,” she said mischievously, even adding a small wink.

  All the guys' frowns turned into small, subtle grins as they looked at each other with a little hint of disbelief etched on their faces.

  “Wow, just wow,” said the one who had been rude to her a while ago. “You're just going to let us pass? Or is this a hoax?”

  “No tricks here, guys.” She let go of Xavier's hand now since she felt him relax. “I don't want to punish any of you. It's the night of the carnival. I want everyone to have fun, and this is high school. We’re supposed to do these kinds of things.”

  Vlad decided to speak up, saying, “Just admit that because you enjoyed the kiss you couldn't press yourself to punish us.”

  His voice was teasing, and Adrienne shook her head. She could see the two of them eventually becoming friends. He had a pretty wicked sense of humor.

  “Don't push it,” she said to him before casually leaning her shoulder against Xavier's.

  * * * * *

  “Just come with us. I'm sure Aidan's going to come,” Adrienne said, tugging on Xavier's arm.

  At the moment, Adrienne was trying to entice Xavier into coming with her to Max's place. Her group of friends had decided to crash over at the guy's place to unwind, relax, and catch up on things. It was only going to be a few people, not a big party. That was why Adrienne couldn't figure out why Xavier was so hesitant about coming.

  “You should just go.” He wasn't looking at her. “I can take care of myself.”

  “It's going to be fun! Trust me.”

  She was pulling him now. At first, he was trying to fight back, but after a while, he eventually gave up. Xavier was allowing Adrienne to drag him off to his car, and they would bump each other at the hips from time to time. The walk to the parking lot was silent but not at all awkward, and the both of them like that.

  “I should call Bree and ask her if she and Aidan are going to ride with us,” Adrienne then said, fishing her mobile phone from her pocket.

  She held the cell against her ear and waited. After a few rings, Brianna picked up, sounding busy, breathless, and in a rush.

  “Hey! Are you okay?” Adrienne glanced at her fiancé, who was busy starting the car. “You sound like you can't breathe!”

  “Umm, yeah?” Brianna said, her voice hesitant. “Well, Aidan and I—if you know what I mean.”

  Adrienne's sly grin quickly turned into a smirk before she ended up laughing her ass off. Xavier looked at her with a cocked-up eyebrow, curiosity washing over his face. He concentrated his hearing, trying to here the other side of Adrienne and Bailey's cell phone conversation.

  “Yeah, I do know what you mean,” Adrienne answered, mouthing the story to Xavier in a few short whispers. “And if you guys want a ride to Max's, I'd say take another deep breath and hurry to the parking lot if you don't want us to leave you guys.”

  And just like that, Brianna Kim hung up on Adrienne, who quickly came to the conclusion that her Asian friend, along with her vampire boyfriend, was running like there was no tomorrow. She was right, very, very right, because after a few minutes, she saw two dots quickly coming closer to Xavier and her.

  “Thank God you guys are still here!” Brianna shouted, slamming Xavier's car door closed. “The others already left a while ago. They said something about buying the booze.”

  Adrienne nodded in understanding before saying, “That shouldn't take them long, but I bet they get there right after we do.”

  The drive to the Winter’s household was far from quiet, especially in the backseat where Brianna and Aidan were seated. There was no dialogue between the two, just distracting noises, smooch, moan, smooch, moa—

  “Shut up already, you two!” Adrienne's voice was loud and clear. “Can't you like get your hands off each other for just a few minutes?”

  She turned her head to look in the backseat and saw the two groping each other. Aidan's mocha-colored hair was completely mussed up while Briana's top was all askew. The two, in unison, were breathing heavily, gulping in all the air they could.

  “I didn't know it would bother you so much, Adie,” Brianna said, her voice so soft Adrienne wouldn't be able to hear it if she weren't a vampire.

  “Well, if there's moaning and groaning right behind me,” Adrienne was biting her lip, trying to control her irritation. “I think it's just natural to get bothered.”

  Xavier snickered, and Adie eyed him lethally.

  “What are you smiling about?” her voice was stern. “Are you jealous or what?”

  Xavier's smirk turned into a full-on laugh.

  “Far from jealous, A
drienne,” he said, reaching for her arm and tugging it. “I just remembered something,”

  The other vampire turned her body to the side. She was now fully facing Xavier, who still kept the smile on his face in place.

  Brianna and Aidan, on the other hand, kept quiet, inching a few spaces away from each other. They were scared of Adrienne and her temper.

  “And what's that something?”

  “Remember the night you broke up with Ethan?”

  Adrienne stiffened in her seat.

  Xavier continued. “Well, the first time I saw you two that day he was straddling you and kissing you feverishly.”

  “And your point is?” she replied, trying to keep her cool.

  “What Aidan and Brianna were doing a while back was nothing compared to what you and Ethan used to do.” He was smiling at her. “So just relax, okay?”

  Ashamed, Adrienne bit her lip before she fished her mobile out of her pocket. She sighed and then said, “I'm going to tell Sab and the others to hurry up with the drinks. I want to forget what you said, Xavier.”

  “I want to forget what you said, Adrienne.”That was Brianna, and she was chuckling softly when she said it.

  Just like that, the two were okay, and Adrienne's temper diminished. She realized she was just being bitchy, and Xavier was right. She had done things with Ethan which Brianna hadn't even done with any guy.

  “Then they seriously need to hurry up now,” Adrienne replied, smiling to herself.

  Waiting for Max and the others to arrive didn’t take long, they got to the house just a few minutes after Xavier, Adrienne, Brianna, and Aidan did.

  Adrienne and Brianna greeted everyone while the two male vampires stayed in the background since Adrienne knew that Ethan would say something rude about the guys. The moment they unpacked the food and the drinks from Ethan's truck, the whole group headed over to the terrace to get the very, very small party started. Bottles of vodka, rum, and tequila were opened, and after a few minutes of social drinking, everyone sat on the grass and formed a circle.

  “Truth or dare, anyone?” Max asked, setting his girlfriend, Sabrina in between his legs.

  A few people nodded while the majority shook their heads.

  “What are we? In middle school?” Ethan interjected, a small laugh erupting from deep within his chest. “We should play I Never.”

  Xavier, leaned his head closer to Adrienne's and asked, “Don't they have better things to do than play these kinds of games?”

  Adrienne laughed. “Xavier, relax,” she told him, squeezing his shoulder to calm him down. “You're too uptight.”

  “Why?” said Ethan, and he put up a front that made him look like he knew more than the vampires. “Scared of an innocent, little drinking game?”

  Boys being boys, Xavier let his ego get to him, immediately agreeing before downing a shot of vodka to officially start the game. Tristan, Ethan, and Max whooped while the girls shook their heads and smirked. Both Aidan and Xavier didn't know what they were getting themselves into, and even Brianna looked a little scared and nervous.

  “Ethan, you start,” Adrienne said, laughing. “This should be fun.”

  Her ex smirked in return, replying, “This is going to be hard, you know. I've done everything with you, Adie.”

  Was this supposed to irritate and unnerve Xavier? Adrienne thought, turning to her side to confirm her suspicions. She’d guessed right apparently. While Ethan was getting ready to say his piece, Xavier fidgeted in his place, and Adrienne saw his ears start to turn red.

  “I've never,” Ethan started.

  “Hurry up, man!” yelled Tristan, idly playing with an empty bottle of beer.

  “Shut up!” Ethan shouted before laughing. “Fine! I've never, I've never kissed a married woman.”

  Everyone groaned in disgust and looked at each other, trying to see if someone was going to take a shot. After a millisecond, Max reached for a shot glass and downed its contents. His girlfriend squeaked and looked at him with eyes shaped like saucers.

  “I used to kiss my mom on the lips when I was a small kid.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “We all used to do that, asshole!” said Ethan, laughing at the idiocy of his friend. “You know what I meant,”

  “Alright. Alright.” He growled at the memory. “She was hot, so don't blame me. And that was just when I was a horny bastard. I'm all clean now.”

  “You still are a bastard, you know,” Sabrina butted in, giving Max a small peck on the lips. “So who’s next?”

  “Spin the bottle,” someone shouted. “Let it decide!”

  They did, and it pointed to Brianna.

  “Everyone, get ready to take a shot!” Tristan joked.

  Everyone in their group knew that Brianna was the most innocent one among them all. She drank and went to parties, but that was it. She never crossed the line which was a very nice thing. Their group needed someone to control them when things got a little out of hand, and Brianna was always there. She was like the mom of the group.

  “Ha-ha, very funny Tryst.” She rolled her eyes at him before exhaling deeply. “I'll get straight to the point,” And she did. “I've never had sex before.”

  Everyone except for Brianna, Xavier, and Aidan took a shot, and after they did, they cheered for their immaturity, shouting, and clapping. The alcohol had started to affect many of them since some were already lying down on the grass. Drinking pure vodka was definitely a bitch.

  “You night class people are really dweeb, you know that,” Ethan was the only one who was rude enough to say that in front of them. “I wouldn't be surprised if you two entered the convent after graduation.”

  “And it wouldn't come as a surprise to me to see you in prison for rape,” Adrienne said.

  “If that happens, you're probably going to be my victim.”

  “I am no body’s victim, Ethan. You might remember who had to be helped out of my house last time.” The ex-couple continued their bickering. Amusing and entertaining their audience, but eventually, the others got tired of listening to them, so they the spun the bottle and its nose pointed towards Adrienne.

  “Oh,” Adrienne said, still thinking of what to say. “Well, I've never taken any form of drugs.”

  Unsurprisingly, Tristan, Ethan, and Max all took a shot, and after doing so, they were completely wasted. Each of them had probably finished half a bottle at the least before the game even started, and they had quite a few shots because of the game. Seems like there wasn’t much these three hadn’t done. The three guys were on the brink passing out, while the girls just looked at them and chuckled at their moronic ways. The two vampires, on the other hand, shook their heads in disappointment. The humans were just wasting their short lives.

  “It's my turn now!” Sabrina said quite gleefully, playing with Max's hair while he rested his head on her lap. “I've never,”

  “Make this a good one, babe.”

  She kissed him on the lips to shut him up.

  “I've never drank blood.”

  “Eww, disgusting Sab!”

  That was Brianna, forgetting for a moment what her boyfriend was. When realization dawned on her, she covered her mouth with her hand and smiled sheepishly to herself.

  “Does sucking the blood of your wound count?” someone asked.

  Before anyone could answer, Aidan, Xavier, and Adrienne all took a shot, the alcohol leaving a burning sensation in their throats. As always, Ethan had something to say about the vampires.

  “You two geeks are getting weirder and weirder as the game goes on.” He ran a hand through his jet-black hair. “And I don't want to bother figuring out what's going on with you two.”

  “You should just keep it that way,” Adrienne said, feeling a little woozy herself.

  “But blood?” That was Sabrina. “That's so like, eww!”

  Adrienne smirked and then winked. “It's still better than hooking up with a married person though.”

  All of them turned their
heads to their side and eyed Max, but said person was too drunk to actually care. His head was propped on his girlfriend's lap while he closed his eyes and rested. The night, or morning, went on like this, and the game only stopped when everyone, even Xavier and Aidan, passed out on Max's garden.

  Tomorrow was sure to be another fun night. It was going to be the Halloween dance, where the Night and the Day classes would once again have to mingle with each other.

  Chapter 11: Halloween Trilogy: Scare 3

  Adrienne Stahl's Halloween costume was a mixture of cool, hideous, and funny. She opted to go as a monkey, just for the fun of it, complete with a long brown tail, bulging arc-shaped ears, a hand-crafted nose, matching brown gloves, and the same colored socks. Enough said. She knew she was going to be out of place amongst her group of friends with Brianna and Sabrina probably wearing provocative outfits, but she wanted her costume this year to be different from her previous ones. She was getting sick and tired of donning short, tight dresses, and bunny ears. She was, most probably, going to get laughed at, but she was going to get the last laugh. Adrienne was, after all, the principal's daughter.

  “Hey Adrienne, are you ready?” a smooth voice said from the other side of her bedroom door.

  She shouted a short yes before walking over to her door and opening it. Standing before her was Xavier, who looked all-high and mighty in a classic black tux, the same-colored cape, and formal shoes. He had used red face paint and drew thick and curvy red lines on the skin right under the sides of his lips. Adrienne smirked.

  “Let me guess,” she started, arms crossed over her chest. “You're a vampire?”

  Xavier, in return, opened his mouth wider and showed off his pointed white fangs before saying,” Does this answer your question?”

  Leaning forward, Adrienne closed the distance between Xavier and her as she smiled at him quite unabashedly. She then extended her reach to be able to touch her fiancé's pointed teeth. They were sharp, and when she smoothed a finger over them, Xavier's hand circled her wrist.