A Night of Flame and Blood Page 5

  “Don’t be so egotistical, I never said I observed you.” He licked his full lips before meeting my eyes. “I of course was observing your sister Rebecca.” He stated nonchalantly. As if he didn’t just rip out my last shred of dignity.

  Of course, it had to be Rebecca, when is it not her. I held my head high and pretended like it did not affect me. I already had a lot of practice in this area.

  He surprised me when he laughed, and it was not even quiet, it was one that echoed throughout the classroom and interrupted the teacher’s lecture. Everyone, including me, looked at Daston in shock.

  “Mr. Warwick, do you have something to contribute to this lesson.” Mr. Hanna asked. He too looked baffled at Daston’s outburst, but recovered faster than the students.

  “No Mr. Hanna.” Daston responded once his laughing had subsided.

  “Then do you think my class is funny. Do you not know that once in here you are to remain silent?” Mr. Hanna stated.

  “Yes sir.” Daston said unaffected. “It was just that Brianna here is quite a comedian, isn’t that right Brianna.” He slugged an arm around my shoulders and gripped me tightly. The room went scary silent. The tension was so thick I could almost smell it. I wanted to shake Daston’s arm off, but he gripped my shoulder with a vice, not allowing me to move.

  Mr. Hanna went back to the lecture, but I could not care less. I was too concentrated on the arm around my shoulder. My heartbeat faster and I could finally breathe when he let go. I felt the glares on my back more intensely. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and die. But there was one more thing I had to do before I died.

  “So, I’m a comedian now.” I smirked.

  “Of course,” he glowered. “How could you think I was interested in Rebecca?” He asked. His face had an expression of disgust.

  “Because you said so?” I said it more like a question, suddenly unsure.

  “No; I said what you believed was true.” He inquired. He gave me a lopsided grin and turned back towards the board. “Besides I have more interesting people to observe than your sister.” He gazed back down at me, and this time, I knew exactly who he was talking about. Me.

  “So, I was right.”

  “Don’t get cocky, both you and I knew you were right.” His eyes were intense but something in them softened. “You should stop being so unsure of yourself, you are so much more than what everyone else thinks.” He whispered.

  I felt something warm and wonderful spread throughout my body, like a spark was ignited with his words. We spent the rest of the class in silence, the hectic assignments kept us busy, but there were times that I swore I could feel his eyes observing me as I worked.

  The piercing sound of the bell jolted me out of my oblivion. Daston sped out of the classroom in his usual routine as soon as the bell rang without even telling me goodbye or showing any signs of having talked to me. He was back to being stone faced Daston.

  I was actually starting to doubt my sanity; had I even talked to Daston, or did I imagine everything? I watched him walk away. Even with his tall frame he was graceful; his long strides were intimidating and taken with a purpose. He disappeared outside of the classroom.

  “Brianna.” Someone yelled in my ear. In my Daston haze it took me a while to realize it was Rebecca. “What were you doing?” She whispered urgently.

  “Nothing.” I hissed.

  “It didn’t seem like nothing; you were talking to Daston.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. “What did he say? Did he ask about me?” She whispered urgently.

  “Well..”

  “Wait, why did he put his arm around you?” She asked incredulously, as if barely now remembering. I honestly didn’t have an answer for that.

  “Brianna.” She sounded upset now. “Daston mentioned me, right?”

  “Yes.” Technically, he did mention her.

  “Good.” She said relieved. “I should have seen that he wasn’t going to sit with me, not when he’s shy.” She gathered her glossy hair in her hands and combed it through with her fingertips.

  I stood up and gathered my stuff while Rebecca yapped about how anyone would be intimidated by her beauty. I always wanted Rebecca to come talk to me, but now I think fate was mocking me because I wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

  I hauled ass out of there as soon as I was free from Rebecca’s clutches. I was just glad that she didn’t ask for any details.

  High School was hurriedly becoming interesting, maybe I wasn’t so much of a freak after all.

  Chapter 6

  You’re a freak, a huge freak. You basically have a big pulsing neon sign on top of your head that says, beware of the freak.

  I arrived in the cramped cafeteria to find Robert and mine’s table empty. Where the hell was he? He always ambushes me after fourth period; it was weird at first when I walked out of the class and was met by no one. So first no ambush and now he’s not even in the lunchroom. He actually left me to fend for myself. I was going to kill him.

  All the clicks were sitting on their tables so close to each other, each person was wedged between the next. I got in line for my food and got the only thing that looked decent from the choices, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

  The cafeteria was stuffed with people. I had to whir around the tables to avoid them. I winced when I felt someone get to close. Their body heat radiated off of them like hot irons. The walk of shame to my table was a long one; where the hell was Robert? I needed him here; his moral support was what got me through this hell.

  I rubbed my palms against the white table as soon as I got to my seat, tracing the scratches of graffiti with my fingers, anything to distract me from all the yammer that the pathetic high school teenagers came up with. I sagged in defeat and hid my face behind my hands.

  Someone please kill me.

  I heard a hard set of footsteps approach me. The weight of the bench sank down as if someone had sat on it. Finally, Robert came. I took my hands off of my face and stared into emerald green eyes. Daston’s emerald green eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” The question came out sharper than I intended. He cocked his eyebrow in that infuriatingly sexy manner of his, seemingly amused.

  “Is that how you talk to someone who’s trying to be nice.”

  “Oh, I get it, so this is a pity sit.” I said harshly. My temper was rising. Pity was the worst thing he could do for me.

  His eyes narrowed. “You know damn well I don’t pity you.”

  “Then what?”

  He cupped his chin with his hand. “Because you were alone, and that was too my benefit. I can’t very well talk to you when you are around your friend.” He gave me a suggestive look and looked me up and down. “There might have been another reason I wanted to come here,” He grinned. Was he flirting with me?

  I raised my chin up and glared, “Well you can’t sit here, that’s Robert’s seat.”

  “Yes, where is Robert. I thought you two were inseparable; adjoined at the hip or something like that. I guess he’s not coming.” He leaned in towards me and skimmed my cheek with his finger. “Better for me.” He winked.

  I pulled away, contemplating on whether or not I should throw my plate at him like I’d seen in old movies. I settled on scowling at him. “Well, you’re not helping me out by staying here; you’re actually annoying me so get lost.”

  “Brianna you wound me.” He grabbed his chest with his hand and sighed. “I’m honestly touched, you know what they say, thin line between love and hate.”

  “It’s not that thin.”

  He looked at me from under his lashes and tilted his lips up in a crooked smile. I hated the fact that my heartbeat quickened; how could this jerk still affect me?

  “You’re different.” He stated. I had already heard countless times how I was not normal, but when he said it, it sounded like a complement.

  “Did you barely realize that?” I sassed. I always use attitude to hide my feelings; it was a defense mechanism.

  “
No; I always knew you were different. It’s why I came here.”

  I tilted my head in thought. Why he came to sit with me? Somehow, I felt it was more than that.

  “Really, is that your kink then; going after weird girls and doing god knows what.” I grumbled. I was beginning to think that I was some weird sort of experiment for him.

  “I never said you were weird, just different. That’s not a bad thing.” He reached forward and put his finger against my temple. “You see things.” He whispered.

  “What?” I screeched.

  “Brianna,” he gave me a pointed look. “Don’t act dumb with me.”

  I tilted my chin up, defensive. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.” He couldn’t mean—

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s really on your mind.” He gazed at me intensely, like he knew I was holding out on him.

  “What are you talking about?” I whispered. Surely, he could not know about the dreams.

  “Nothing,” he looked away from me but not before I heard him mumble, “It’s better this way.”

  My curiosity peaked over his words until I could not help but ask. “What’s better this way?”

  He whipped his head to face mine and cocked and eyebrow in question. He was playing dumb. “You heard exactly what I said, and if you don’t want to answer me fine, but don’t try to make me feel stupid by pretending you said nothing.” I growled under my breath.

  I watched his neutral expression fade for a second, replaced by a spark of surprise before the shields went back up and he became stone once again. I guess I wasn’t going to get anything more out of him.

  I scowled at my peanut butter and jelly sandwich; my appetite was gone. I wanted nothing more than to pin Daston on my table and force him to tell me what he meant. And I was not even thinking about the pinning as being anything sexual, mostly.

  “You’re mad at me.” He chuckled.

  “Way to state the obvious. What are you doing here anyways, other than trying to be chivalrous and your bad attempts at flirting?”

  “Bad attempts. If I was flirting, there wouldn’t be any bad attempts.” He gave me a look that hit all the way down to my underwear.

  He glanced around the cafeteria and stood up abruptly. He began to leave without saying a goodbye or an acknowledgement. I was getting pretty fed up with his briskness, “So you’re leaving; so much for being chivalrous, a gentleman would have at least said goodbye.” I called after him.

  He spun around in one quick motion and gave me a gallantly mocking bow. “So sorry, fair lady, I will now bid you farewell and good morrow.”

  A small laugh escaped me as he walked away. He was brash and annoying, but even I had to admit that Daston was actually funny when he wanted to be. I watched Daston disappeared behind the cafeteria doors and that’s when it hit me. I had almost forgotten I was interacting with Daston in front of the whole school. When I looked around I noticed several people glancing at me. On the other side of the cafeteria, I noticed Rebecca frozen in between a group of her friends. Her face was in complete shock, and it was only when her friend, Janelle, nudged her that she snapped out of it.

  I shrugged at no one in particular and took a bite out of my sandwich. The bell rang while I was mid sandwich. I gobbled the rest of it and washed it down with juice. I got several curious looks from people as I made my way to class, and there were times when I swore someone was trying to approach me. Figures that when you’re the topic of gossip everyone wants a piece of you.

  I made it to my class unscathed, but was cornered by Jackie before I could get in. Her blond hair was up in a sleek ponytail and her eye shadow emphasized the dark blue of her eyes. We had this class together; she sat in front of me but never acknowledged my existence outside of calling me loser and freak.

  Jackie made a show of putting her hands on her hips as she approached me. “So how much did you pay Daston so he could sit with you?” She looked down at me; she was about five inches taller than I was, but her heels made her grow an extra four inches, making her look like a model with her height and skinny figure.

  “I didn’t pay him anything.” I raised my head high determined to not be intimidated by big blond bimbos.

  “Ha. What a bunch of bullshit. No one would sit by you willingly unless his name is Robert.” She sniffed. I was actually shocked that she knew Robert’s name.

  “Whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter, so if you don’t mind, MOVE.” She didn’t budge, I gave her a sly smile and stared at her, right in the eyes and watched her recoil away from me. I watched her eyes open wide in surprise before I went inside.

  Chapter 7

  I rushed through the hallways looking for Robert. I had called him several times on his cell phone, but he hadn’t answered. He wasn’t even in any of his classes.

  Did he ditch? Impossible, Robert was such a pansy when it came to ditching. He was always too scared that his mother would find out. But there was no other alternative. He didn’t even go to first period, which rules out illness unless two seconds after we separated, he got sick. Robert ditched to read the book.

  My hands tightened into fists. Damn, Robert knew I always wanted to ditch, why couldn’t he take me with him?

  I walked out of school feeling dejected. I had spent the last twenty minutes of my afterschool time looking for Robert only to come to the conclusion that I was ditched. I circled the parking lot and found the “cool” parking spot empty. Rebecca had once warned me that if I was not in the car when she got in, she wasn’t going to wait around. I never had a reason to be late before, until now. Today was not my day. Everyone was leaving me.

  Damn it Rebecca.

  I peaked at the sidewalk next to the school and contemplated what had to be done. I had to walk five miles in the sun to get to my house. Normally I wouldn’t have a problem with walking, but today was hotter than usual. The fabric of my shirt was sticking to my skin as I wiped the sweat off of the back of my neck. I did not want to make that walk.

  I took out my cell phone and called Rebecca’s number. She answered after the second ring. “Yes sister.” She said sweetly.

  “Where the hell are you?” I yelled into the phone.

  “Such anger sister. My friends asked me for a ride home, and you were taking forever, and when I called you the line was busy. So, I am taking them home first, I’ll come back for you after kay.” She giggled. I could hear her friends chattering in the background.

  “How many are there?”

  “Three of them, I am dropping off the first one now.”

  “Fuck, that’s going to take forever.”

  “Don’t get pissy, give me like twenty or thirty minutes, I’ll be there.”

  “You better.” I grumbled. “Or I’ll tell mom you left me.”

  “I did not!”

  I hanged up on her. My backpack was starting to feel heavy on my shoulders. I walked to the curb and sat down. I reclined back and used my backpack as a pillow. The heat from the sun was making my face red. Most of the students had cleared out. The few that passed me by gave me weird looks. I smiled at them and they cringed.

  “You like to creep people out, don’t you?”

  I sat up startled. His mouth was curved in a condescending smile and his green eyes glowed with a certain mischief that was painfully attractive. “Oh, it’s just you.” I laid back down and put my hand in front of my face to block the sun. “Are you stalking me?”

  He snorted. “I bet you’d like that.”

  I smiled. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  Daston walked towards me and plopped down next to me. “Give me some of that backpack.” He pushed me gently so that there was room for him to put his head on my backpack.

  “No, why?” I struggled against him, he still managed to put his head down. He smelled like fresh pine tree.

  “That’s better. Damn it’s hot, why the hell are we here under the sun?”

  “Yea, exactly, why are you here? I was just having the loveliest ti
me here by myself.”

  “No, you weren’t, but you are having a lovely time now though, right?”

  “Ha! You wish.”

  “Cocky much.” He bumped his head against mine. “I might wish a little though.”

  “Really?” I smiled accidently.

  “See.” He poked my cheek. “I knew you wanted that.”

  I frowned quickly. Damn it. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. “This is nice.”

  It really was. I closed my eyes too, even the sun was not bothering me anymore.

  “Why are you out here?” He mumbled lazily. “You usually leave right away.”

  “Rebecca is dropping off some friends, then she’s coming back for me.”

  “Ugh, that sucks.” He turned towards me, his nose poking my cheek. “You think she can give me a ride?” His soft breath was warm against my skin.

  “Ha! Are you kidding me? If you asked her, she’d probably drop down to her knees and call you daddy.”

  He cringed. “That is not a visual I wanted.” He turned his head back up. “I live close to you guys, so she can drive straight home, I can walk the few blocks from there to my house.”

  I turned towards him quickly. “Creepy, how the hell do you know where we live?”

  “Cause I stalk you.” He said sarcastically and laughed.

  I rolled my eyes at him. I was never going to get a good answer from him. “Why are you popping up everywhere today? I can’t take one step without you being there. Aren’t you..” I stopped myself.

  “Aren’t I what.” He closed his eyes tightly. “Afraid you mean? Is that what you were going to say.” He opened his eyes and angled them towards me.

  I stayed quiet. I did not know what to say. It seemed silly to tell him yes. I looked away.

  “Look at me.” He said forcefully. I turned towards him. His mouth was set in a grim line and his eyes held nothing but the truth. “These people here, they are afraid of everything. They are afraid of who they make friends with, what they look like, what they wear. But most of all, they’re afraid of you”