Diana sighed, glancing at the alarm clock on her night stand for what felt like the fortieth time in the past three minutes. It was still 5:01 PM, just like it had been the last time she checked.
She generally didn't take naps very often, but now, what with her new schedule, she had to find some time to sleep. She spent most of her recent nights out with Caine and Drake, watching sleepily as he talked about all his plans with that annoying voice he used when he spoke about anything he thought his listeners should find to be very impressive.
Diana didn't use to dislike spending time with Caine that is, not until Drake had joined in their little group of freaks. Caine was changing a lot now and Diana didn't like it.
She was once able to charm him with just a simple gesture- maybe with a small smile in his direction, or perhaps by "accidentally" brushing her hand against his.
But not anymore. Now, he was too focused on his ominous plots and schemes to even notice when she did those things.
All though that may have been a bit of an exaggeration. He did notice maybe, but he didn't react to them the same way he used to. It was getting more and more difficult to keep Caine under her spell.
That had to do mostly with Drake Merwin.
They were mortal enemies, Drake and Diana. They were, after all, the two competing for Caine's trust. Because when one had Caine's trust, they shared his power. And Drake and Diana loved power.
Diana rolled onto her back, stretching out her legs. She wished that she didn't have so much to worry about so that she'd feel more comfortable going to sleep.
But, lately there had just been too much going on. The world was changing so quickly she felt almost lost. She used to know everything, but now…now she often felt like she knew nothing at all.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a light knock on the door.
She groaned, slamming her fist down on the bed. She just couldn't get a second of peace, could she?
Well, she thought, I can get peace if I just don't answer.
She smiled to herself, then felt stupid for doing it, and scowled instead.
The knock on the door came yet again, this time followed by a voice.
"Diana, are you in there?" Caine asked from outside.
Diana continued ignoring him and shut her eyes, thinking that somehow now she would be able to sleep.
She was surprised when she heard the door creak open followed by the sound of Caine's footsteps as he entered her room. He stopped her bed and Diana could feel his eyes on her face.
Oh my lord, this kid's a creep, she thought, almost opening her eyes and asking him what kind of meds he was neglecting to take.
But, she forced herself to continue to pretend to be asleep, not wanting to talk to Caine at all right now.
She felt his hand touch her shoulder and forced herself to remain still and not slap it away like her instincts told her to do.
Diana had never exactly been a very touchy-feely person.
"Are you asleep?" Caine questioned in a whisper, as if he actually expected her to answer if she was.
But, then again, it was probably wise of him to ask that question, considering she actually happened to not be asleep.
He touched her hair lightly and she felt his cold breath next to her ear. She had to restrain herself from shivering and hoped that he wouldn't see the goose bumps she felt run up her legs.
"God, I'm such a coward," He mumbled under his breath.
After hearing Caine Soren say that, Diana suddenly wished she had hidden a video camera somewhere in her room before Caine had walked in.
Caine stroked the line of her jaw softly, using a gentleness that Diana had never fathomed he was able to posses.
He spoke again, this time with a little frustration in his voice.
"But, of course, the one time I gain enough courage to come up here to ask you out, you're asleep," He sighed, backing away from her a little, something that Diana found herself disliking.
Diana exhaled and turned towards Caine, feeling both amused and extremely awkward about the situation she had gotten herself into. Unfortunately, her turning had caused some of her long, wavy hair to spill over her face and tickle her cheek badly, making her desperate to scratch it.
Thankfully, Caine, after waiting a few more seconds to make sure she was still asleep, pulled her hair back behind her ear, then smoothed it out with his hand.
"Wow," He said. "I am a lot braver when you're unconscious, aren't I?" He chuckled a bit. "Maybe that's because right now you're not throwing insults and mocking me all the time."
Diana almost laughed with him, but quickly stopped herself, both because she was supposed to be asleep and because this whole thing was a little too intimate. Diana wanted to use Caine, not bond with him. And the way he was touching her, and that tone he was speaking to her in made her feel strange. It made her feel uncertain, and to Diana, uncertainty was weakness.
But, Caine continued, oblivious to her growing inner rage.
"I should probably take advantage now shouldn't I?" He asked, his breath touching her ear again.
What the hell is that supposed to mean? She worried, praying to god that he wasn't psycho enough to rape her in her sleep.
"All right," He said. "I'll say it."
He took a deep breath, preparing himself.
"Diana Ladris…I'm in love with you. Desperately, hopelessly in love with you. So much, in fact, that it makes me sick because you are a weakness to me. And people like us…We can't have weaknesses."
Diana froze, her breathing stopped. She'd been a little extreme when she thought he was going to rape her, but apparently not extreme enough.
Diana never thought Caine would think he was in love with her. She hadn't been trying to make him feel what he thought was love, only lust. She had tried to seduce him, not make him affectionate towards her.
Uncontrollably, in a sudden panic, Diana's eyes flew open.
She saw Caine trip back out of the corner of his eye, startled, and then quickly jump up into a standing position.
She looked at him, not sure if he knew whether or not she had been awake through the entire thing.
They both stared at each other for what was the most awkward minute of Diana's entire life, each of them trying to hide their panic and look like they were just chilling. Which was a little dumb-looking, considering how she was in a lying position and Caine was standing sketchily over her bed.
"Hey," He mumbled lamely, as if he had just so happened to bump into her on Coates Academy's school campus.
"Hi," She responded, not quite sure what else to say. She cleared her throat, sitting up a little. "So…What bring you into the girls' dormitory? Did they finally give you that room transfer you needed?"
"No," Caine answered, obviously not getting the insult. "I was just uh…" Diana nodded at him, urging him to continue. "Stopping by to ask you…what the geometry homework was."
Diana stared at him hard, annoyed with how he couldn't even come up with a half-decent excuse.
"It's Saturday, Caine," She mumbled.
He clenched his jaw and she could tell he probably wanted to punch himself in the face at that moment. "Yeah…It is, isn't it?" He said, his voice a little uneven.
Diana almost felt sorry for him, but then remember that he was the one responsible for making her feel the way she did and her pity instantly vanished.
"Wow, Caine, I had no idea you were so studious," She told him in mock surprise, beginning to enjoy the humiliation she could tell he was experiencing.
That's what you get when you wake me up at three in the morning every night so I can watch you rant and then try to interrupt the nap I finally made time to take, she thought, smirking openly.
"Yeah, well…I like to work ahead, you know," He said quietly, like he thought the less volume he used, the less of a moron he'd be making himself look like.
"Well, sorry to break your heart, but we didn't have any homework for over the weekend," She said, standing up and walking over to her bathroom, picking up the plastic cup she always kept by her sink and filling it with water, sipping it as she stepped back into her room.
"Oh, well. I'll just have to do something else…Like…practice with my new power or something," He said, trying unsuccessfully to switch to cool.
"Huh," Diana strolled over to her couch, sitting down gracefully. "Are you sure that's all you wanted to ask me, Caine?" She asked, examining her nails nonchalantly.
Some part of her told her to shut up, to not get him to admit that the real reason he'd come up here was to ask her out, because then she knew she would feel strange again. But the side of her that liked to get revenge on people, the side that generally held the most power over the actions she made, wanted him to feel extremely embarrassed.
"What do you mean?" He asked casually, leaning against the wall by her nightstand.
"I mean that it's a bit odd that you'd come all the way up here to ask me what the Geometry homework was when you can get it online or, you know, ask your roommate."
"I was in the neighborhood," He mumbled, making Diana want to throw something at him.
"Uh-huh. Well, one thing you have said to me today has been true," Diana said, leveling her gaze with his "You are a lot braver when you think I'm unconscious."
Realization flooded in Caine's eyes along with horror, and he looked about ready to pass out.
"Well," Diana continued, smirking in triumph. "I have to go. I have a date with the library," she mocked, standing and grabbing her bag.
On her way out the doorway, she mumbled, "You can show yourself out," sure that he would as soon as he was able to calm his shock down enough to enable him to move again.
Diana's smirk faded as soon as she was in the dormitory's empty hall way.
The way she had felt back there when Caine told her his "true feelings" had been unacceptable. And the voice in her head that was telling her not to make Caine regret ever letting those five little cursed words escape his mouth, had to be stopped.
The world may have been changing quickly around Diana, but Diana wasn't going to allow it to change her.
Diana Ladris would always be Diana Ladris: seductive, manipulative, and merciless. She would never allow that to change.
She would never even dignify Caine with a response to his false declaration of love.
In fact, she would die first.