A/N: I want to get the story rolling and that's why I'm posting these chapters together so quickly. Please, tell me what you think! Thank you.
"Scarlett, seriously get up. The sun sets in fifteen minutes and we still have to get ready!"
Evie shook my cold, dead body until my eyes finally flew open. I forcefully shoved her hands off of me and growled, "Fine!" I reluctantly rolled out of bed and looked at the clock. 5:57.
"Why are you waking me up so early? We have a good five hours until the party starts."
Evie rolled her eyes and threw a pair of sweats at me. "Yeah, I know that, but I figured we'd spend some time on homework and then get some breakfast first so we're not eating the party goers." She said the last bit with a slight hint of hostility.
"Okay, fine. Just give me a second to wake up." I slipped on the sweats and grabbed my hairbrush. "Is Will here?"
"No, he needs to finish his speech on the Westernization of the old world." She snorted. "Gag me."
"God forbid you have a boyfriend who actually does his school work." I stopped brushing, looked at her skeptically and then, because it was obvious she was upset with him, I sighed and asked, "What was the fight about?"
"I don't know what fight you are referring to," she replied flippantly as she examined her nails.
"You know damn good and well what I'm talking about." Evie kept looking at her nails. I impatiently snapped in her face and looked at her irritatedly.
She rolled her eyes and walked to the bed. "I got pissed off at him because of the way he took one of his victims." She looked at me, sickened. "You know how I feel about being a vampire, Scar. I really hate it. I mean, the intensified senses, the speed, the beauty thing, it's cool and all, but I hate killing people."
I heaved a sigh again and sat across from her with my legs crossed. "Evie, how long have you been a vampire now? Sixty years? We're alive forever. You're going to have to get used to the killing."
"I'm used to it just fine, but I don't like it any more than I did the first time." I sighed and put my head in my hands. She scoffed and said, "Sorry, I know it must be hard for your best friend to be such a wimp when you're queen of human deception and gore."
"Oh stop it, Evie. You know that's ridiculous." I glanced at the curtains. There were no sunrays peaking through the cracks on the side, so I walked over and pulled them back. The dark had returned.
"Finally," Evie sighed, irritatedly. "Let's just get out of here, eat fast, come back and get ready, okay?" Before I could respond, she was out the front door.
By 11, Evie and I were dressed in our party clothes, her in a black leather skirt and a sequin stop, me in a short, blood red mini dress. Both in heels, both full of blood.
Will and Zack showed up at about 11:30. We all walked into town and found the bar where this party was taking place.
One thing that's so entertaining about humans is their love for beauty. An attractive girl walks into a bar, every human male turns on the "charm" and tries to get them to bed. It's especially fun for us vampires because it makes hunting unnecessary. They just fall right into our cold, cruel hands, giving us what we're taking from them.
When we got to the bar, there was music and smoke coming out of the doors. I smiled wickedly and winked at Will and Evie. I grabbed Zack's hand and pulled him up to the door with me. At the door, there was a security guard standing with a clipboard and a serious look on his face. I changed my expression from wicked to sweet and batted my eyelashes at him.
"Hi there. Looks like a fun party in there. You want to let us in?"
His expression didn't change, but his eyes widened slightly. "Is your name on the list?"
I pulled my hand from Zack's and placed it gingerly on his arm. "Why don't you tell me." I focused all of my energy on the answer that I wanted and looked at him with an intense longing passion.
Almost robotically, he nodded. I pulled my hand back and watched as he mechanically opened the door and extended his arm, inviting me in.
I smiled triumphantly and said, "That's what I thought. Thank you."
I took Zack's hand again and pulled him through the door with me.
"Was your name on that list, Scar?" Zack asked me, knowingly.
"Is my name ever on the list, Zack?" I laughed back at around and pulled me in to dance with him. The speakers made my head spin and my torso pound. It pushed its music into my dead, useless heart and shared it's beat, making me feel alive all over again. Closing my eyes, swaying to the music and letting loose made me temporarily forget that I was eternally bound to this damned Earth and all of its cycling inhabitants. For a few moments, I felt like had something in common with the people around me; life. I felt like my hourglass was emptying and my time was growing shorter with each new song. I felt like a human.
That all changed when I opened my eyes and caught sight of an actual human sitting up on the balcony, staring at me. He was sitting with a group of guys, meaning he wanted only one thing. All of his buddies were doing the same thing, browsing the catalog of women around them. All of them but one, who seemed to be preoccupied in his cell phone. My eyes fell in front of me to where Zack had just been to find that he'd found entertainment elsewhere. I looked around the crowded, smoky room to find him sitting at the bar with a curvaceous, blonde bombshell sitting in his lap, eating out of the palm of his hand.
My attention turned back to the humans from before. They were all taking shots, even cell phone boy. He looked different than his comrades. They were all clean cut, polo and kaki wearing, pretty boys (what Evie and I call "bros"). Cell phone boy had longer, shaggy dark brown hair, and was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. He looked out of place, like he'd so much rather be at home or out participating in something entirely different.
The original guy, one of the bros, turned his attention back to me, and my stomach lurched. I quickly shifted my glance and immersed myself into the crowd. Being surrounded by humans was having a negative impact on my hunger, which was growing rapidly impatient. I snuck behind the DJ stand and up onto the balcony. He noticed me immediately and started walking towards me. He ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair and with a big smile plastered on his face, he smiled at me and said "Well hey."
I put a hand on my hip and replied, "Hey yourself."
"You here alone?" He asked, slyly.
"I could be." I raised my eyebrows and examined my fingernails. "What's it to you?" I asked, pointing my finger at him.
"Well, if you are, I was thinking maybe I could buy you a drink and you could come sit with my friends and I."
"You can buy me a drink, but I can't promise anything about the second part."
"We're some really nice guys," he said with a suggestive grin.
"We'll see," I smiled, coyly. "Now, what about that drink?"
"What would you like?" He asked, leaning over the bar.
"Bloody Mary." I said, matter of factly, laughing internally.
"Nice," he commented. "One Bloody Mary for the lady, sir," he said to the bartender. While waiting for the drink, he said, "My name's Danny, by the way."
He handed me my ironic drink and paid the bartender, then said, "So, would you like to come sit with us?"
I sipped my drink, pretending it lived up to its name in order to tame my hunger, and accepted. "I guess there's no harm in it."
"Definitely not," he smiled. "This way." He led me through the crowd and said, "I didn't catch your name."
"I'm Jenny."
As we walked to the table, I caught Evie's eye. I raised my glass and winked at her. She shook her head disgustedly at me before winking back. I turned back to Danny and saw that we had reached our destination. Five guys were sitting at the table, making Danny the sixth. A bleach blonde bro in a striped polo shirt had a brunette bimbo eating a cherry and tying the stem for him. Another bro, a brunette bro and a red headed bro were watching in amazement. The fourth, and other blonde bro, was ordering more drinks with a heavy tongue. Cell phone boy was again on his cell phone with a toothpick in his mouth.
"Hey guys, this is Jenny." He said, showing me off to his friends.
The four bros stopped what they were doing and turned to me. I watched as each of their jaws dropped and rolled my eyes internally at the obvious reaction of the male species.
Danny and I sat down at the table and he said, "That's Jess, Nelson, Mitchell, and Tommy." He pointed at the drunk, the brunette, the redhead and the bleach blond. "And that one with his face buried in his iPhone is Callum," he said irritatedly.
Cell phone boy looked up and said, "Someone mention my name?"
"Yeah, Cal. This is Jenny," he said, gesturing to me with his hand.
"Hi," I said with a small wave.
Callum directed his attention to me. His eyes grew wide, he took the toothpick from his mouth and I heard his heart beat pick up. I was used to men being pleased by my appearance, but Callum's reaction wasn't one of desire. It was a reaction of fear. "H-hey," he replied shakily.
He stared at me from across the table for a few seconds. Danny cleared his throat and said, "Cal, man you okay?"
Cal shook his head, looked at Danny and said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine sorry." He turned his attention back to me and asked, "Have we met before?"
"I don't think so," I replied skeptically.
"You're not in any of my classes or anything? Do you work around here?"
I shook my head.
"That's so crazy. Do you know my sister, Cory, by any chance?"
I smiled, "No, I'm afraid I don't. Sorry"
"Don't apologize, Jen. Cal here's just had a little bit too much to drink, right, Cal?" Danny shifted in his seat and put an arm over my shoulders. He was obviously annoyed at the fact that I was focused on Callum and not him.
"Man, that's weird. I swear I've seen you somewhere before." Callum shook his head.
"I guess I haven't been fortunate enough until now," I joked.
Callum grinned and Danny looked at him threateningly.
Callum turned his attention to Danny and said, "Dude, chill. I'm not trying to take your date. Have another drink and pull the stick from your ass." He threw the toothpick on the table and pulled out his cell phone again.
I couldn't stop the smile that formed on my mouth fast enough before Danny saw it. "Thanks a lot, man. Now I look like an asshole."
"No worries, Danny." I said, sweetly, smiling at him.
He grinned back and looked at Callum smugly who rolled his eyes and went back to his phone.
About an hour later, Jess was passed out face first on the table, Tommy had left with the bimbo and Nelson was out looking for one of his own. I was sitting with Mitchell, Callum and Danny. Danny had been drinking steadily for the last couple of hours and got more touchy-feely with each shot. Callum had tipsy-d up a bit himself and had actually put away his cell phone.
"So, if we don't have any classes together, what school DO you go to?" Callum asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"I go to Stoker." I replied, avoiding Danny's hand from landing on my knee by crossing my legs.
"That night school on the edge of town?" Mitchell asked interestedly.
I nodded.
"You must be really special then," commented Mitchell. "Not even Ivy League kids can get into Stoker. They don't even give you an interview unless you meet criteria."
I shrugged, "I just got lucky, I guess."
"No, I think you're special," Danny said, trying to grab my hand, but I moved it just before he could grasp it.
"Ha, thanks." My lips pulled into a strained smile.
After about thirty more minutes of shooting the shit, Danny said, "I've got to go to the bathroom." He stood up and smiled down at me. "I'll be right back."
Mitchell stood up and said, "I'm going to, uh, walk around." He walked away and disappeared into the crowd.
"Yeah, walk around my ass," Callum said, throwing his head back and pouring the remainder of his glass down his throat. He cringed at the taste and then said, "He's trying to get ass, just like the rest of my friends."
Even though I'd already known about Danny's intentions, it sounded so bad coming from Callum's mouth. "I guess I'm just a piece of that ass." I said, leaning on my elbow and running my hand through my hair.
"To Danny, probably." He shrugged. "I don't know, though, you seem pretty cool. I definitely wouldn't pin you as a hook up and run kind of girl."
I smiled. If only that's all my one night stands consisted of. "Thanks. I'm glad I still have an innocent demeanor."
He shook his head. "I didn't say innocent."
I looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"
He cleared his throat and said, "All I'm saying is, you don't come off as some stupid doe eyed, perfect little Christian girl trying to step out of her box. You seem like the kind of girl who's been through some serious shit, but still manages to get through each day."
I laughed shortly and looked down.
"Was that funny?"
"No no," I replied. "I'm just laughing because you're kind of right. I didn't think I was so readable. Usually, guys don't even think about what I'm really like."
"Well, you have to remember, I'm not the one that's trying to get in your pants."
I nodded my head and said, "Yeah, you're right."
We were quiet for a minute, then Callum leaned forward and said, "You're not actually falling for Danny's crap, are you?"
I shook my head and chuckled, "No."
"He is all over you. It's kind of pissing me off that he has such a lack of respect."
"You're telling me? If he lays another hand on me, I just might bite his head off." We both laughed, but for different reasons. He laughed at the exaggeration. I laughed at the fact that I was serious. "But you're Danny's friend, aren't you? I mean, shouldn't you be used to this kind of thing?"
"Oh no. I rarely ever go out with these guys for precisely that reason." He sighed, "We were good friends when we were kids and we ended up at the same college. We don't really hang out at school much. It's kind of like an old time's sake thing."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're nothing like the other guys. I noticed even before I came over here."
"Yeah, well it wasn't always that way. I used to be like them, then I woke up after my dad passed away." He had a surprised look on his face and looked at me. "I don't know why I just told you that."
"It's okay, I don't mind."
He shrugged. "I guess you're just easy to talk to."
I smiled at him and he smiled warmly back. Just as he was opening his mouth to say something, Danny walked up and said, "I'm glad to see that you two are getting along." He didn't look glad at all.
"I think it's time for you to go, Callum." Danny said, rudely.
"You know what? I was just getting ready to go." I didn't like where this was going, and I wasn't hungry anymore.
"Oh, don't leave on my account. I'll leave and you and Cal can get back to whatever–"
"No, really. It's like 2:00 A.M. and I can hear my friends calling me." I stood up.
"I don't hear anything." Danny said, stepping closer to me.
Evie, get Will and Zack and come up on the balcony. It's time for me to go and I need to make a smooth exit. I thought, calling Evie.
Before I knew it, Zack was walking up to us with Evie and Will at his heels.
Jenny. Call me Jenny.
Zack nodded shortly at me. "Jen! There you are. We're just about ready to go."
"Brilliant, me too." I turned to Danny.
"I had a great time. Thanks, Danny." He looked displeased.
"Yeah."
I looked at Callum and smiled. "It was nice talking to you, Callum."
He smiled at me, "You too, Jenny."
Danny looked back and forth between us and grunted, "So glad I picked up a girl for you, Cal. Thanks for stealing my catch."
Callum shook his head, nodded at me, grabbed his jacket and walked away.
I watched him go, and then looked at Danny. "I wasn't there to be caught or stolen, Danny. If you hadn't been drunk, maybe you could have been a better 'date'. An P.S., I wasn't going to fuck you, so I guess you were wasting your time anyway. You should thank Callum for saving you the disappointment."
I grabbed Zack's hand, and stormed down the stairs. Once we hit the cool evening air, I let go of Zack's hand and crossed my arms.
"That was interesting, Scarlett. You didn't even eat anyone."
I scoffed at him and made a face. "That was my initial plan. Then, things changed."
"By things, I'm assuming you mean your target?" Evie asked.
I popped my knuckles and sighed, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"That Cal guy was cute." Evie stated. "Don't kill him, okay?"
I looked straight ahead and said, "I'll probably never see him again anyway. What does it matter?"
"Someone's got a human crush." Will teased. I rolled my eyes.
"William, I do not have a human crush. Never mention this to Alexander. I'll never hear the end of it from him." I shook my shoulders and unfolded my arms.
We were just outside the city limits when I saw a group of guys following a girl down a street. A perfect group dining opportunity.
"Who's hungry?" I asked, opening my mouth and revealing my fangs.
The three others did the same. We quickly hid behind four buildings encircling an intersection. There were five guys and they had the girl surrounded. Just as they started to close in, I walked out. Two of them saw me and said, "Oh look, another pretty lady for us."
Once they got close enough, I smiled and exposed my fangs.
"Wha– what are you?" One guy asked.
I laughed cruelly, reached out and grabbed his head. In a split second, I smashed his head with incredible force into the ground. The second guy started to run, but I caught up with him, pulling his legs out from under him. Literally. Zack, Evie, and Will had taken care of the others already and Zack was going to clean up my mess. After I drained my legless victim, I wiped the blood from my face and joined the rest of them standing in the center
"Where's the girl?" I asked Will who was picking up his dinner.
He pointed down the street in front of us. I nodded and began running after her. I ran for about a block until I caught sight of her. I jumped and landed in her path.
The girl screeched to a halt and then looked at me with wide eyes. I put my hand on her shoulder. Her eyes glazed over and she looked at me with a stoic face. "You don't need to be afraid. You're safe. Now tell me, where do you live?"
"I live right down the street," she said in a dazed voice.
I focused my energy on my words and said, "You didn't see anything. You got home safely. No one was following you. You didn't see anyone get hurt."
She nodded. I took my hand off her shoulder. Her eyes unclouded and she looked up at me.
"Are you lost?" I asked in a concerned tone.
She shook her head. "No, I'm just walking home."
I smiled, "Okay, well get home safely."
She smiled back and began walking. I followed her to her house in the shadows to be sure she got there in one piece. I followed her until she stepped over the threshold and into the house.
I walked back to Evie, Will and Zack feeling like a little less of a monster.