2202/08/2010: So I can't believe it's almost been a year since I started this story, but the important thing is that this story is on HIATUS, and have been this way since last November. (It's on my profile). Anyway, I'm sad to say as of now I haven't yet started on the next chapter. I highly doubt that this story will be finished, so read at your own risk!
A/N: I'm back! I know, most of you thought I'm probably dead or something, but nope, here I am, very much alive and kicking! But anyway, it's a new story! Aren't you excited? I know I am. I'm so going to enjoy writing this story. I've always wanted to write a paranormal romance. Hehehe. But I know the summary sucks, so there is a better one on my profile page. Go check it out.
Edit (3/12) : I have shortened this chapter from the original. It's a bit different in terms of POV and content. I cut out most of the end and put them in the second chapter. So check out the new version and tell me what you think!
Chapter One
"Welcome back to a new semester!"
A collective groan rose within the group of students at the cheerful voice of their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Rosa. No one was completely awake yet. In fact, nobody actually wanted to be there. After all, what sane person would actually want to go back to school after three months of carefree summer?
"Come on. Be excited! You're seniors this year."
Cam snorted. He didn't understand how anyone could be excited to be back in school, seniors or not. As far as he was concerned, this year was the same as any other.
As Mrs. Rosa started handing out their schedules, he decided to take a short nap. However, as soon as his eyes were closed, he found himself back at the white sandy beach he had just left hours ago. He was lying down on the warm sand on his stomach, bathing under the bright sun. The soft waves occasionally reached far enough to drench his feet in warm water. He sighed in satisfaction as his body relaxed after a long day of exercise.
Stop thinking about that! A male voice suddenly said curtly in Cam's head. He recognized the voice. It was his brother, Marcus.
Confused, Cam sent out a question, think about what?
Sorry, was I projecting it? Another voice, this time female, said with feigned innocence.
That was when Cam realized that the sandy beach he had just been lying on wasn't a figment of his imagination, but rather his sister Rhia's. It seemed that Rhia, while thinking about the island they'd stayed on for the last few months, had projected her thoughts unconsciously, causing not only him, but also Marcus and doubtlessly his other sister, Lillian, to experience the same things.
Yes. Lillian finally joined their conversation. She didn't sound too happy. It's hard enough to block out all the fantasies of the humans around me. I don't need you to project yours too.
Sorry.
Cam could tell from Rhia's tone of voice that her apology was sincere, so to cheer her up, he said, Don't worry. I was enjoying it.
Thanks. He could see her smile at his words.
You're welcome.
Then his mind was blissfully quiet again as the conversation ended. He was suddenly sick of sitting down. He also needed fresh air. His nose was starting to twitch. That was always a bad sign. He hadn't exactly gotten used to living among so many humans after several months of surviving on a deserted island with no one but his family. Fortunately, just when he thought he couldn't stand it anymore, the bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom.
He was the first one out of the door.
Ten minutes later, Cam was sitting in his first period, toying with his pen. He was terribly, terribly bored. He had no interest in economics. Never had, and never will. Heck, if he really wanted to learn about economics, he could go back in time to talk to Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx himself. He didn't need Mr. Stanbi to tell him the textbook version of what these two people had wrote and theorized.
The troublesome thing was, he wasn't interested in much of anything. Sure, sometimes he would play some pranks to amuse himself, but usually he loses such interests after a week or so. Nothing had yet to hold his interest for long. Sometimes he worried about his own lack of interest in the things of this world, but then again, he had plenty of time to search for an interest. After all, his kind lived centuries.
Realizing that no one in the room had any interesting thoughts, Cam dreamed about the sandy beaches he had just returned from, along with the time when he had escaped from the deserted island to mix with humans. Ahh, and the women. They were the most beautiful and exotic women he had ever seen. With their luxurious dark hair, and…
Then his vision changed. Instead of the women, he saw a man that was over six feet tall. The man's features were sharply chiseled, with high cheekbones and a strong jaw. His body was that of an athlete's, muscled but not buff. He flashed a dazzling smile, showing two rows of white teeth.
"You look as beautiful as ever, Cam," he said invitingly.
"What the fuck?" Cam bolted out of his seat, suddenly disoriented and fearing for his life. Well, not so much fearing for his life, but still, that was a very disturbing image.
Mr. Stanbi stopped talking halfway through his sentence. Everyone turned to stare at him, who flushed. He really had no idea what had happened.
"Mr. Delantari, if you would please sit down," Mr. Stanbi said calmly.
"Sorry," he mumbled and sat down. Mr. Stanbi then continued to talk about David Ricardo. Cam was lucky that Mr. Stanbi wasn't one of those teachers that got terribly upset when students interrupted their lectures. Someone laughed in his head as soon as he sat down.
Rhia, was that you? he asked angrily, mad that she had made a fool out of him.
Aww, admit it. I got you pretty good.
Yep, she did, but no way in hell was he going to admit that. That was low, he hissed.
Whatever, you big baby, she said cheerfully.
An idea hit him then. Hey, you want to get some fresh air? It's awfully stuffy in here, he suggested with a wicked smile.
Oh, you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you?
I'm suggesting exactly what you think I'm suggesting. He sent her an image of him winking.
Rhia giggled. You're so bad.
But you still love me.
Keep telling yourself that.
So? he asked, even though he already knew her answer.
All right. I'll meet you in a few.
Great.
They cut off the mind link then. Cam used a little of his power to influence Mr. Stanbi to look his way as he raised his hand. Then he asked to go use the restroom. Mr. Stanbi agreed without making a fuss. He quickly made his exit and headed for his meeting spot with Rhia.
She was already there. Her smile, as bright as the sun, was one that she reserved for him only. As soon as he stopped beside her, he said joyfully, "This is going to be a great year."
Marcus sat in his Calculus class, not really paying attention. Instead, he stared out of the window, looking at nothing in particular. Don't get him wrong. He loved math. It was challenging, but it made sense, most of the time. But he didn't really want to listen. After all, he could just pluck that day's lecture later from any one of the students sitting in the class beside him. Besides, it was too early to use his brain at the moment. The organ in question still felt fried from the number of thoughts that had bombarded him as soon as he set foot in the plane less than 24 hours ago.
Marcus! Marcus! A familiar voice called frantically in his mind.
What, Rhia? he snapped back. What did she want now? His younger sister, Rhiannon, Rhia for short, was nothing if not annoying. Sometimes he wondered why he was stuck with her for as long as he could remember. Oh yeah, because he really had no choice in the matter. If he had, he would get as far away from her as possible.
Wow, calm down, tiger. Look to your right! At the door.
Frowning, Marcus turned. There they were. Rhia and Cam. Standing outside of his classroom.
What are the two of you doing?
Skipping, what else? Cam grinned at him unrepentantly.
It's the first day of school.
All the more reason. The teacher will just think we're either lost or transferred out of their class. They won't mark us absent.
Marcus's expression darkened even more. He was glad no one noticed his expression right now. Otherwise they'd be scared of him for the rest of their lives.
Oh come on, what kind of jock are you?
Don't call me that. If he wasn't confined as he was in his seat, he could jump up and swing a good punch at Cam. As it was, he couldn't do that. But that was beside the point. He hated the term jock. All these human categories bothered him to no end. He played sports, not because he enjoyed the institution, but because sports gave him a way to vent out his frustration and pent up energy. He was good at it too. He should be. After all, his supernatural abilities gave him an unfair advantage most of the time. In fact, he often had to hold back his power just so he didn't kill these humans.
As for categories, he was no jock. He was an alpha male of the pack. Plain and simple. It still bothered him that he should be sent to a human school for education. However, Jacob and Alicia had insisted, so he had listened. For now.
If you're not going to join us, we're off. Enjoy calculus. Cam and Rhia waved and disappeared from view.
Good riddance.
As he continued to sit through class, he found himself counting the seconds until the bell rang. After that little interlude with his siblings, it became hard for him to sit still. His hands started to get itchy, to do something, to hit something maybe. He didn't know.
Maybe he should have skipped after all.
Five, four, three, two, one.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Lillian shot up in her seat and stuffed her things in her bag. Thank God that was over. If she had to hear another word about the scientific method, she would gladly shoot herself. She marched out of the room and almost bumped into Kevin Sutton, captain of the football team. Normally, her sharpened senses would warn her if anyone was in her way, but in her hurry to get out of the class she hadn't been paying attention.
"Hi, I was waiting for you," Kevin said as he walked beside her.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the jock. Even after three months of summer, one thing hadn't changed. And that was Kevin's persistence. He'd been trying to get her to go out with him ever since sophomore year. Her answer had been "no" from the beginning, except he didn't seem to get the message.
For three years.
"Don't you have someone else to bother?"
"Nope. Unfortunately for you," he smiled good-naturedly, flashing his dimple.
"Yeah, unfortunately for me…"
The problem was, she liked the guy, although totally in a platonic way. She enjoyed his company, occasionally. He knew that, so he rarely followed her to the point of stalking. The only reason he was waiting for her was because last year, they had somehow gotten into the habit walking to lunch together. Guess he didn't want to give that up just because they weren't in the same class before lunch.
"Homemade lunch as usual, huh?" he commented as they stopped in front of her locker. As soon as she opened the door, his hand shot out and grabbed the lunch bag.
"Hey, give that back!" She tried to get it back. Of course, if she were allowed to use her abilities, it wouldn't be a problem. As it was, she had to deal with being a normal five-foot-seven female trying to wrestle with a six-foot-five male, and a football player at that.
"Hold on. I'm just trying to see if you packed anything for me."
"Why would I do that?"
"Ahh!" he said victoriously. She knew he had found it. "But you did. My favorite turkey sandwich." He took it out of the lunch bag. "I knew you liked me after all."
"Jerk!" She snatched the bag back. Why did she pack that sandwich? Maybe she did think of him that morning when she packed lunch, so what? It didn't mean anything.
Kevin started eating almost immediately even before they left the building. He was done by the time they arrived at the courtyard, where most people ate lunch, if they could find a spot. They headed to the big tree dominating the yard, where their friends were.
"That was good. Thanks, Lia."
Lillian made a noncommittal sound. She was still embarrassed about him finding the sandwich. She didn't know why. It wasn't like it was the first time she did that. It had become a routine sort of thing to bring him something for lunch since last year. But still, on the first day of school, without anyone to remind her? It made it seem too much like she had non-platonic feelings for him. She didn't like that.
"Look who's here!" Travis, the quarterback of the football team and infamous playboy of the school, waved when he saw Kevin and Lillian.
"Yo man, how's it going? How was Hawaii?" Kevin was immediately distracted and left Lillian's side. Soon he was immersed with his buddies from the football team, half of whom he hadn't seen in the summer. This time, Lillian did roll her eyes. She knew it. All he wanted from her was food.
"Lillian!"
Lillian turned toward the sound. Jenny was waving at her and sitting with everyone else not far away. By "everyone else", Lillian meant the seniors and juniors from the varsity cheerleading team. Smiling, she headed there.
"How are you, girl?" Lillian hugged Jenny, her vice-captain of the team.
"Fantastic. What about you? That's a nice tan you've got there," Jenny said. The rest of the girls agreed and all looked at Lillian enviously.
"Well, I did stay on an island for the last month," she said with just enough provocation.
"What? No way!" Some girl squealed. Lillian wasn't sure which one. "Tell us all about it! Were there any hot guys?"
Then Lillian started her well-rehearsed story, interrupted occasionally by squeals of delight. She entranced them with her stories of made-up hotties that fought over her. After all, she couldn't tell them the truth, that she had spent three months on a deserted island with no one but her siblings and occasionally her foster parents, doing nothing but learning how to survive and scavenge for food like those people from Lost, and training, always training. No, she couldn't tell them that. Instead, she made up this half-true half-false story to entertain her listeners.
When she was done, another round of dreamy sighs started until Lillian tactfully directed the subject to someone else's summer vacation. She listened absentmindedly as she ate her lunch.
That was an entertaining story. So where was this Jeff dude? How come I didn't see him? Rhia's annoying little voice said in Lillian's head. Before she could reply, Rhia continued, or did the sun make you so delirious that you dreamed him up?
Shut up, you…
Uh huh, language, language, Cam cut in. But that was definitely refreshing. Better than the real thing. Not that I would want to meet this Jeff guy or anything.
Lillian's teeth ached from clenching so hard. Figures. Cam always stuck by Rhia no matter what the little twerp did. Marcus! she called her other brother sharply.
Silence.
Lillian looked up. There he was, lying on the tree branch, napping. She was right. Nothing had changed.
She finished her lunch and rejoined the girls' conversation. It seemed like Jenny had met a nice English boy while she was visiting her grandfather in England.
"So are you keeping in touch?"
"Yes. He said he's coming soon."
"Ooh, nice. I can't wait to meet him," Hannah said enthusiastically, too enthusiastic, if you asked Lillian, but then again, what was high school without backstabbing girlfriends?
"Lillian, please don't steal him away this time," Jenny half-begged.
Lillian almost gagged on her food. She wasn't even interested. "Trust me. I'll stay far far away this time. In fact, I don't even want to meet him."
Once her problem was solved, Jenny returned to describing her perfect prince. Lillian snorted. As if she could help it if guys were attracted to her. She didn't even have to do anything. All they had to do was see her, even catch a glimpse of her, and they'd be mesmerized. It was a part of her heritage.
If Kevin hadn't fended off guys trying to get near her for the past three years, she'd have followers wherever she went in school. In a way, she was grateful for Kevin and his interference, even if it meant he annoyed her sometimes.
Lillian glanced at the football player sitting a few feet away from her. He was laughing at something one of his friends had said. His shirt clung to his muscular body. His long legs were stretched out in front of him. He looked totally relaxed and comfortable surrounded by his group of followers. When he caught her staring at him, he grinned and winked.
Her hearted jumped. No way. That did not just happen. Her heart did not jump for that human boy, for he was a boy compared to her. Nope. It definitely didn't. Her heart simply continued to beat, performing its normal function. She simply noticed its constant beating at that point in time.
So nope, no heart jumping.
Rhia slumped down in her seat, sulking. It was the last class of the day. Cam and she had wanted to leave early, but just as their luck would have it, Mr. Berger, the assistant principal, caught them when they were near the door. He was one of the few principals that always knew what Rhia and Cam were up to, so there was no way to get out of his clutches without making a fuss. In the end, they had to go their separate ways and return to class.
So now, she was stuck, in economics. Her nose itched. Her skins were becoming sensitive to the touch. She had a major headache. She wondered what would happen if she just lost control right here. That would not be a pretty sight. Luckily for those around her, she managed to reign in her animal side, at least for the moment.
She wanted to scream as Mr. Stanbi asked them about their summer reading assignments. Needless to say, she didn't read them. She was on a damned deserted island for three months. Reading wasn't on the top of her priority list. Survival was.
Once again, she wondered what the hell she was doing in a high school with a bunch of human teenagers whose hormones were running just as wild as hers. This was definitely a practical joke on the part of her foster parents, Jacob and Alicia, a joke they'd managed to convince their four kids to play along with. Rhia could still recall the conversation clearly in her mind.
"No!" The four of them shouted simultaneously at the absurd suggestion.
Alicia batted her eyelashes at them. "Please? It will be a lot of fun."
"No," Rhia said calmly once again. She couldn't even imagine going to any sort of school, much less a high school populated by humans.
"If you think it's fun, then why don't you go?" Cam challenged.
"But we don't look like teenagers," Alicia whined.
"Besides, we think it would be a good experience for all of you to have some human interaction. It is imperative that you know how to control yourselves in the midst of human society," Jacob explained.
"But why high school? Aren't there anything else? Like finding a job?" Lillian asked.
"We think high school will suit you guys perfectly. You guys can keep a really low profile there."
Nobody said anything. Jacob was right. A high school was the perfect cover for them.
"So yes?" Alicia was close to jumping with joy and excitement. For someone that was a few hundred years old, she should act like it more often. "Pretty please?"
The four of them looked at one another. "I still say no. Rather than going to school, we should spend our time training," Marcus grumbled.
"But think of it as application for your training. If you never interact with humans, you will never know the true extent of your control."
"I don't need control."
"That is where you're wrong, Marcus. All of us need control. Abusing our powers will lead to nothing but destruction," Alicia said kindly.
"I'm not saying about abusing them! Just that… why put ourselves out there just to learn control?"
"So that you're not overwhelmed when you do come into contact with more humans than you've ever done before," Jacob answered. "Remember, son, humans are the most populous species on this planet."
"I still don't like the idea," Marcus mumbled.
"Neither do I," Rhia agreed with him for once.
"I'd like to try it. I think it'll be an adventure," Cam said from his seat.
"Cam!" Rhia looked at him, shocked.
He grinned. "Think about it, Rhia, all those people. It'll be great. At least I don't have to stare at you three's faces all year around."
"So your true feelings finally come out." She crossed her arms.
"Oops."
"So one vote for 'yes'. Any others?" Alicia looked around. Her hopeful expression was rather pathetic but also adorable.
Lillian shrugged. "Shoot, why not? If you insist."
"Two…" Alicia turned to Rhia next. After a few seconds, Rhia's shoulders slumped. What the hell? "I guess. It could be interesting."
"Yes! Three! High school it is," Alicia announced happily. Outvoted, Marcus promptly left the room.
So now, four years later, Rhia was still living out the consequences of her decisions.
She sighed. It wasn't like she despised the place or anything. There were a lot of fun times during these last four years. She also enjoyed hanging out with people other than her siblings, but…
"Ms. Kresnauve!" Her attention was suddenly drawn back to the class at hand.
"Yes, Mr. Stanbi?" From the look of the students around her, she realized this wasn't the first time the teacher had called her name. She really was out of it.
"Would you kindly tell us which economist coined the term 'comparative advantage'?"
Her mind drew up to a blank. She hadn't been listening, nor did she read the summer assignments. However, this was when her supernatural abilities became convenient. She swiftly took the answer from Mr. Stanbi's mind and replied, "David Ricardo."
"Good. Thank you, Ms. Kresnauve. In the future, please refrain from daydreaming," the teacher admonished and returned to lecturing.
She took the admonishment in stride. It wasn't the first time teachers had warned about her daydreaming, but most of the time it was hard to pay attention unless the subject was interesting. And as old as she was, few high school subjects held her interest. Maybe they should've gone to a university instead, not a high school in the middle of nowhere.
Fortunately for her, the bell rang before she completely dozed off. She grabbed her bag and zoomed out of the room like a bullet, leaving a trail of amazed students in her wake.
I'm not going to lose this time! she yelled to her opponent. She pumped her legs faster and faster, sprinting toward the parking lot.
Ha! We'll see about that!
Fine. Let the race begin!
Edit (3/12): For those of you who read the first version, is this better than the original? I'm just wondering. It is definitely shorter ^.^.
A/N: So? Did y'all enjoy it? I know the change in POV was probably confusing. It was confusing for me to write it, but I really wanted to introduce all four characters, because they're all important, although since it's a romance of course I'm going to focus on only two people. Can you guess who without reading the summary on my profile page? Trust me, things will start to get moving in the next chapter. This was more like an introduction more than anything. Also, the POV will stop swinging back and forth so much. You don't want to get a headache reading it, and I don't want to get a headache writing it.
Another thing, the mental conversations are all italicized. I hope you don't confuse them with the individual thoughts of each person that is also italicized. I tried very hard to make them distinguishable from one another.
So please review and tell me what you think of the new story! Wonderful? Exciting? Good? Bad? Gross? Horrible? Toss it in the trashcan? Lol. (You can tell I'm really excited. I'm practically jumping up and down! XD)