Chapter 1
Carrie's POV
I snorted, holding back an amusing laugh, as I pulled out my math textbook from locker before slamming it shut again.
"Seriously Carrie, I'm being serious!" protested Zach, staring at me in disbelief for my snort of derision.
"We all know you are dude," Jaime told him, his sky blue eyes sceptical at Zach's hypothesis as we started making our way through the hall to fourth period Trig. "Along with the theory that a racoon had somehow been stealing milk from your fridge."
I let out another laugh, hugging my math textbook closer to my chest recalling the night where Jaime made us camp out in his kitchen for the notorious milk thief. It turned out his little sister had a craving for milk in the middle of the night.
Zach looked doubtful for a second before regaining his usual determined, yet still adorable facial expression.
"Okay, that was a bit of an epic fail, but this my friends, is a revelation," he said, with a tinge of victory, nodding his head in an attempt to convince us.
"Of course," I said, nodding as convincingly as I could.
"I'm telling you, making us do trigonometry is the Illuminati trying to take over and fuck with our minds," Zach said tactically.
"You have fun telling Mrs Webber that," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure she'll let you off the pop quiz with that reason," Jaime said.
"And I'm sure you didn't come up with this new found theory just because you spent last night with Brook instead of revising," I pointed out, walking through the classroom door that Jaime held open for me, slighting ducking under his toned bicep, giving him a small smile at the action.
"Brook?" Jaime questioned in disbelief as we took our seats near the window. Jaime and Zach sat against the window, Jaime in the first seat and me in the column on the right next to Zach. "As in my Brook?" I groaned, mentally kicking myself for bringing up Zach and Jaime's overactive, and with the distinct possibility of being ridden with STDs, sex life.
Brook Wilson was the head cheerleader, and Jaime being Jaime, as well as the school's quarterback, got first pick at his choice of who he bedded. Zach was like Jaime's very impressionable little brother, leaving him to follow in Jaime's footprints.
"Dude, no way in hell is she your Brook. Well, that's certainly what she was saying last night... If you get where I'm coming from..." Zach said, almost mockingly, his eyebrows dancing up and down.
"We totally have a connection, everybody knows that," Jaime said, turning around to look at him straight in the eye. I shook my head at them, mindlessly flicking through my math notes.
"No," Zach said, sounding like he was fighting off a laugh. "You my friend have a connection with her, but she just thinks you're, and I quote, 'too overprotective and thinks with your dick.'"
I snorted, not looking up from my notes. "Sounds about right," I muttered.
"I'm not too overprotective," he said defensively, before pausing for a moment before continuing. "Why does she think I think with my dick?"
"Dude you tried to follow her into the restroom just to make sure she was okay." I pressed my lips together in an attempt to stop myself from laughing. I had been there when that had happened and from a distance Brook's reaction was downright hilarious. It also ended up with Jaime being drenched in Brook's diet coke.
Jaime carefully contemplated the first part, before questioning the second, slightly more inappropriate complaint.
Zach hesitantly glanced at me, suddenly aware that I was listening in. I immediately narrowed my eyes, silently daring him to continue. He muttered a response, too low for either Jaime or I to hear. He repeated it again, slightly louder, but still too quiet for us to hear.
"I swear to God I will start calling you corncob again," snapped Jaime, looking pissed off.
"Cause you make her give you a blowjob before every time you stick it in her!" Zach said so loudly that the whole class, including Mrs Webber were staring in our direction just as Zach turned an adorable shade of pink.
"Mr Cunningham!" Mrs Webber spat out outraged, as the class erupted into laughter. One of her hands clasped to her chest, mouth agar in shock at Zach's outburst.
It turned out we were so busy getting an audible answer out of Zach, that we had all failed to realise the start of period bell had rung, the rest of our trig class had all sat down and our teacher had called us to silence, all before Zach shared too much information about Jaime's out of school activities.
Zach muttered an apology before shrinking into his seat, trying to shrink into his seat as the laughter dimmed down with the help of Mrs Webber's threat to put everyone in detention.
"Damn the Illuminati," muttered Zach as the pop quiz questions was passed around.
"I never knew you two had a thing for each other," Bella said, directing it towards Jaime and Zach as we sat down with our food.
"What?" Jaime asked, pizza already hanging out of his mouth. Bella raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow before a devious smile spread across her face, a smile that I had both grown to love as well as equally hate, the hate normally stemming from me suffering the consequences.
"I just thought the fact that Zach gave you a blowjob before you, and I quote: 'stuck it in him', meant that you had a thing for each other..." she said, her voice quietly trailing off.
Jaime's pizza suddenly flew and landed on the middle of the table, dripping with saliva.
"Oh my God, Jaime that's fucking disgusting!" Mia half screeched, snatching her can of diet coke away from the table and cradling it in her hands. Her blonde ringlets bouncing above her shoulders as she shook her head at Jaime with a furious glare plastered on her face.
"Where did you hear that?" Zach asked, suddenly more interested in the conversation than whatever monstrosity was lurching around in his sloppy Joe.
"Dude, you go to high school, word spreads faster than Veronica Scott spreads crabs," Bella said snorting, twirling a strand of hair around her index finger.
"Ah man, Brook's going to be pissed," Jaime grumbled, still mourning the loss of his pizza, gazing at it sorrowfully.
"Well, I'm sure you can make it up to her on Saturday," Mia chirped in, smiling slightly. I could feel my cheeks pale from the previous laughter.
"What's this I hear about Saturday?" Ethan said, putting his tray down next to Zach, pulling out the chair with his leg. Ethan's hair hadn't changed since I first stepped foot in Morganville High, he claimed it was a work of art, but his mom just claimed it was a waste of hair products.
"Carrie's party on Saturday!" Bella replied too enthusiastically. I glared at her, almost resenting her for bringing back up the subject.
"Care Bear does not like the sound of that, does she?" Jaime sang in a childlike voice, pouting his lips as he reached over to pinch my cheek. I pouted, letting them all know of the intense displeasure they were putting me through. The name Care Bear however, was thanks to Eve. The girls heard her call me that once and the nickname just went from there.
"Come on!" protested Zach, who was all for the idea of a drunken house party. "It'll be fun."
"It might, but you're just using it as an excuse to get laid," I shot back, a bit too triumphantly.
"No, there is also going to be cheap alcohol, mild use of low class drugs, various sex acts in the bathroom and cake," he added. "I don't see what's not to love," he said shrugging. I tried not to roll my eyes, but I couldn't help smile.
"See there's even cake!" Bella said; trying to convince me once again as the bell rung, signalling it was time to part our separate ways.
The warm Texas sun continued to beam down on me as I made my way home. The facade of being a supposedly normal teenager was slowly becoming as normal as breathing, as if it were second nature. I guess I could never truly get away from my past seeing as it made me who I am now, but those feelings were slowly being replaced by better ones. Those memories however would always be imprinted in my mind.
But Morganville hasn't been the same Morganville since I first got here. A cure for vampirism got introduced, meaning the vampire population decreased considerably in size. Obviously some of them refused it, but most of them seemed to be fully on board with it. Michael and Eve were practically the first ones in line. Now they were both living the Glass House expecting a baby looking as if they were just starting their lives together. Amelie, Myrnin and Oliver were among the very few who refused it and remained in power but humans weren't exactly seen as walking blood bags.
Shane, Claire and I moved out once sophomore year finished and bought a near enough replica of the Glass House that was a couple of blocks away from the original. Founder's Houses were dotted all over town looking more or less the same. But that wasn't the only reason we moved out. About a year after I came to Morganville, Claire gave birth to my brother Mason.
He was utterly adorable and just learning how to walk so he toddled around the place, holding onto walls to stop himself falling. But what was even cuter was Shane, Claire and Mason together. They were what you expected your perfect family to be like. Mason looked like a small version of Shane; he had his features and hair, but had Claire's curious personality. But everyone said Mason and I had the same smile.
I fished out my keys as I climbed the stone stairs until I reached the large green wooden door. I opened it as I threw them back in the bottom of my bag but before I could even step over the threshold, I was awakened with a very loud voice.
"Cawwwwieeeee," Mason screeched as he ran towards me, hugging one of my legs with all his might. He hadn't quite learnt how to pronounce most of the alphabet, so I became 'Cawwie'. I chuckled as I lifted him up so he rested on my hip.
"Hey Mase," I said smiling, planting a kiss on his small nose. He giggled and became intrigued with a lock of my hair.
"Mason come on, you need to eat!" Shane said frustrated, walking from the kitchen, holding what looked like oatmeal in a blue plastic kiddie bowl. He smiled apologetically at me as Mason decided to turn my hair into what closely resembled a beehive.
"Sorry sweetheart," Shane said, as he managed to unhook a very clingy Mason from me. "How was school?"
"No, Daddy!" Mason protested as Shane held him over his back to stop him from escaping.
"The usual," I said, trying to detangle my hair as I followed them into the kitchen.
Shane plopped Mason down on his high chair, much to Mason's distaste. I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and sat at the table, smiling slightly as I watched Mason's reactions to the sloppy oatmeal.
"So what time does this party of yours start on Saturday?" Shane asked, as he pressed a plastic spoon against Mason's tightly closed lips.
"Oh God, Bella's gotten to you, hasn't she?" I said, mentally regretting ever let my friends meet my parents. Shane chuckled at my response before grinning at the now empty oatmeal bowl and letting Mason run free.
"Claire actually, she's all for it," he said, looking pretty sheepish.
"You know you two should be supporting my rebellion," I said, taking a bite of my granola bar. "This party is going to be filled with all sorts of illegal and inappropriate."
"You act as if I've never went to a party, I know exactly what goes on," he said, chuckling. I rolled my eyes, almost expecting one of those stories that started off like 'back in my day.'
"Then you should know there's going to be underage drinking..." I said, raising my eyebrows.
"I know," Shane said, nodding slightly.
"And drugs..." I prompted.
"Yeah..." he said, voice now slightly wavering and a frown starting to form on his forehead. I mentally grinned, knowing I was about to hit the jackpot.
"And testosterone filled..." I knew I would have gotten away with not having a party if I had just finished my sentence, but I was stopped midway with my ears filling with the sound of Mason crying.
"The place is busy tonight," I noted as I leaned against the table, gazing at the lightly dimmed room filled with the sound of talking and the gentle scraping of metal against ceramic plates.
"Yeah, this place is all fully booked for the rest of the week," Finn said smiling slightly, gazing around the room. I turned my gaze back to him whilst he was still looking around, watching as the tips of his ears grew a light shade of pink as he watched his business buzz with life.
Finn had been one of those to take the cure and had been human for the last few months. The cure for him had been harder than most other vampires as he'd been a vampire for the last couple of hundred years. His body had initially rejected it and he had spent weeks strapped to a hospital bed to stop him from gouging his eyes out or something as equally damaging.
I stayed with him on weeks on end when I wasn't at school, it was hard, seeing him in so much pain, but he didn't have anyone else in his life. I was the one who held his hand, wiped the sweat off his forehead and whispered that it would all be okay when he was struggling against the ropes that held him to the bed as he screamed for someone to end his life then and there.
We spoke about the complications of the process the night before he went through it. We both knew it would be hard for him, considering how much pain Eve and Michael went through and they haven't even been vampires as long as Finn. But Finn made me promise not to let him back out, no matter how hard it got for him, and in turn, I promised not to leave him. He told me I didn't have to stay, not if it got too much or if I had better things to do, but I stayed with him through the bad, just as he had for me.
But we eventually got through it, and here we were, sitting opposite Finn in a fancy restaurant that he had opened near the Square. His sky blue eyes sparked as they caught the light of the vintage light bulbs that hung low from the ceiling, also illuminating his high cheekbones and well defined jaw line. His jet black hair was styled messily across his now tanned forehead and brushed over the top of his ears. It was messy but was more on the sophisticated side, not that Shane approved of 'Flick' anymore than usual.
"You're staring at me again," Finn said, smirking slightly. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I bit my lower lip staring back into Finn's blue eyes.
"You're problem with that?" I said smiling. He chuckled, reaching over the table letting his fingers brush against my hand, feeling the warmth radiate in the small space between us. I felt my heart beat a little faster as he touched me and I knew he could feel it as his smirk got a little bigger.
"Nothing at all," he murmured, as he laced my fingers through his.
Life right now was about as perfect as it could get, I just hoped it would stay like that.
Amelie's POV
The quiet that had been undisturbed in my office for the last few hours had now been ripped apart by the loud knocking at the door. I mentally groaned and condemned whoever had dared disturbed the peace.
"Enter," I said loudly, letting whoever was behind the door know of my current mood.
"Amelie," Oliver said, acknowledging me with a curt nod. I didn't have to lift my head away from the thick novel on my desk to know it was him or his actions, we've known each other for too long to anticipate or be surprised by one another and our actions.
"Oliver," I said monotone, replying with a nod. "What do you want?"
"Charles has escaped," he said. My head snapped up, if I was human, the action would have left me with a broken neck.
"What?" I snapped, feeling my fangs extend and my eyes glowing a deep shade of red.
"He's escaped," Oliver replied bluntly.
"How?" I snarled.
"We're running low on numbers, they simply couldn't contain them," Oliver said.
"Where is he now?" I said quietly, almost scared to know the answer.
"Close," Oliver said, so quiet I could barely hear him. I felt myself slump against my chair, letting my head fall so it rested on my hands. "What do we do?" he asked me as if I held the answer to all our problems.
The air was thick with tension as he waiting for me to answer, and in truth, I didn't have a good enough one. Vampire numbers were dwindling. All of them wanted humanity, and for what? The hope of having a life filled with happiness and love. I couldn't exactly stop it, no matter how much I wanted it. Leaving me left to deal with the catastrophic mess behind.
"We have to let him," I replied, as I turned my gaze upwards to stare at the dark black view knowing there was a monster somewhere among it.
There you go, the first chapter of the sequel to Second Chance. If you haven't read it, it's on my profile.
Please review to let me know what you thought of the first chapter, sorry if it's a bit long.