disclaimer: i do not own xmen, only my character Evie.
Vampires aren't supposed to exist. Right? I mean, they're just fictional characters, the whole shebang all started off with some eccentric named Stoker, 'cause I read some of the book when I still in 'normal' high school. And even if they are real, could they be classified as mutants? Because there's one in the classroom, sitting right next to me.
-----------[Mutant High]-------------
I'm so nervous. I don't really feel like I belong here. I mean, all these kids were born and raised with an extra gene, a mutant gene that gives them these fantastic abilities, and well, I don't really have a mutant gene, per se, more like long, white teeth and maroon eyes. Which, by the way, I have decided to manipulate into my favourite eye color-- steel grey. Unrealistic, I know, but I can do this kind of things. My teeth are a different story-- my dad used to tell me to get them capped, but he never did. My mum suggested to hide the death pallor that runs through our family to get a tan. A tan is kind of out of the question though, but I'm working on it.
I was sitting in Xavier's philosophy class, something about the stages of mutant evolution and how it could affect our ideas, psychological profile and etc., a class that I found extremely interesting (although I can't really think of a career except philosophy professor), but I was squirming and nervous. A girl sat to my right, she kept giving me weird glances. She had long, auburn hair with a few streaks of white in it, and she was dressed almost old-skool Lolita, and I fancied her opera gloves. I wondered how many people knew what I was. It was unexpected how I got into here-- my dad had known Xavier from a while back, something about a mission in Europe during WWII, and since I wasn't doing very good in high school back in Illinois, dad sent me to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and I enrolled yesterday, and today was my first day of classes.
Already homesick, I wrote down the notes on the board. Class had ticked by twenty minutes and already I was bored and feeling out of place; I always liked dressing with some class, and I had came today wearing only a nice, fitted black t shirt and clean white jeans. Extremely clean, mind, I am very picky about cleanliness. It makes my nutty when I see dirt or dust, especially in my room. Speaking of which, my bags were still on top of the bed. I shared a dorm with four other girls. I didn't know who they were yet, but they didn't intimidate me as much as being in the classrooms. I'm not shy by nature, I just felt... way out of place. It didn't feel like I even had a right to be here. It's hard enough being a vampire.
Then, Professor Xavier made my already shaky frame of mind even weaker. To the point of collapsing.
"Oh, I almost forgot." the bald man smiled kindly in my direction and my face got very hot. I was thankful for my lack of pigment or blush, for I was not blushing. "We have a new student. Everyone, please welcome Evelyn Harper." Everyone slowly turned and looked at me, mutants of all ages and sizes and power. "Please stand, Evelyn. Tell us a little about yourself." He knitted his fingers over his chest and looked at me encouragingly. Swallowing the dry lump in my throat, I got to my feet. But my hand brushed my pen and it clattered to the floor, but I might as well flipped the desk over. Knitting my fingers at my waist unsuredly, I cleared my throat.
"Hi, my name's Evelyn, but you can call me Evie... I'm from Illinois. I'm seventeen."
"Would you care to share your power, Evie?" Everyone looked at me intently, curious.
"Well... um, I am a-- vampire." A few collective gasps and mutters went through the room, thankfully quiet. Man, if I could blush, I would be as red as a tomato. I spotted a pretty blonde girl near the back giving me an odd look-- but not a welcoming one, either. Scratching my cheek on habit, I slumped back down into my seat, Xavier gradually drawing all attention away, the whispers quieting to nothing.
"Yes, class, that is right. Although Evie is not technically a mutant, she still has abilities the human race would fear-- telekinesis, manipulation of fire, flight, shape-shifting... real old school." A few giggles passed through the crowd. "I expect you all to welcome her and make her feel as comfortable as possible. She's very gentle and courteous."
Sorry for the awkward moment-- I jumped, then realized it was Xavier's voice. I was well aware of his little ability to get inside your head and speak to you. But it's best we get it over with, lest you would rather be found out by being caught sipping diluted goat blood, hm? I looked at him and smiled sheepishly, and he winked and dismissed the class. The students leapt to their feet, the room instantly filling with chatter and movement. I picked up my purse and closed my notebook, stooping down to pick up my pen. When I straightened, the girl with the white streaks in her hair was standing in front of me, smiling at me a little.
"Hi. I'm Rogue," she extended her gloved hand and I shook it. It was a tender grip. "It's nice to meet ya."
"Hey... nice to meet you too."
"I love your pants, by the way." I smiled.
"Oh, thanks. Yeah, I got them on sale. At Wal-Mart." She giggled a little.
"Sweet, another bargain shopper. Wanna come with me and Jules for lunch?"
"Uh, sure. Where... are we going?"
"To the cafeteria! Scott Summer's meat-loaf extradorinaire!" she exclaimed, walking out of the classroom and into the hallway, keeping in step with me.
"Who's Scott Summers?"
"He's one of the teachers. We call him Cyclops, though." I was about to ask why they called him Cyclops, when a young man walked up to us.
"Rogue!" he pecked her on the lips-- but his own mouth stopped a centimetre from hers. It didn't touch. I thought it was rather weird. Rogue flustered pleasantly and they joined hands. "Who's this?"
"This is Evie. She just moved here from Illinois."
"Really? What's your speciality, Evie? Shadow manipulation? Pyrokinesis? Wings?" he asked, looking intrigued. I faultered.
"Uhm, I'm a vampire." His eyes widened.
"That's...cool. I guess." Rogue nudged him and looked at me with apology.
"You know what, I think I need to call my mum." I said, in a rush. Rogue glanced at me, surprised. "Yeah, I know, but it's... kind of important. I'll catch you later." I turned on my heel and scuttled around, finally winding up at the dorms. Everyone I passed whispered and stared at me and I was thankful for my mum's genetics-- I slid through a wall very quickly, and dipped into my room, landing right on my bed. Four other girls, midst-changing, all looked up at me. Once again, if I could flush, I would be very red right now.
"Hi." A busty redhead said. "Are you Evie? Ms Grey told us you would be staying in here... with us. I'm Trisha."
"Yeah, I'm Evie."
"So, you got the same ability as Kitty? Walking through walls?" I held my tongue for a moment, and then nodded.
"Something like that."
"Sweet deals. Sorry, we're all kind of half naked."
"I'm Tristan." a short ash-blonde greeted, the farthest. "This is Sarah, and that's Kelly. The other girl is Rogue."
"Oh, I met her. What kind of a name is Rogue, anyways?" Sarah, tall and black-haired, shrugged.
"Don't know. Her real name's Marie, though. We're gonna go swimming though, in the pool. You wanna come?" The girls looked at me expectantly. I shook my head. Like I would want to prance around in a bathing suit with these girls, who were all very tan and Caliesque, compared to my Victorian gothic white skin and lanky, shapeless body.
"No, thanks, I'm a little tired."
"Okay then," The girls got into their suits and towels and walked out. Kelly and Trisha did not say goodbye, they kind of looked at me strange. I wondered how fast this was going to spread. I lay back on my bed, welcoming the silence except for the occasional laugh from outside the door in the hallway, or the sound of running feet and happy fucking teenagers. I sighed hard, and wished for a cigarette. Really bad. I kicked off my shoes and let them flop onto the floor, wondering if I shouldn't just jump in my car and take off. I had driven here all the way from Illinois, so there was no way in hell I was going to be sending my baby back there. My parents would definately crash it, when they were 'drunk on love', as mum was fond of saying. Gag.
Eventually I relaxed and let the tension of the first day roll off. I only had morning classes. I had dropped out halfway through grade 12 in Macey Lane's High School, came here. So I only had two classes a day-- Philosophy and Psychology, without a doubt the most interesting courses. They were hard and for the intelligent, but I had always been a bookworm so it should be a cinch for me. There was just one problem though-- it was really sunny here. I didn't burn and fry up like the traditional John Carpenter vampire. But I could get very sunburned and when my skin starts peeling, it fucking peels. Quite disgusting. I had an umbrella, mum insisted I bring it like a human mother insists her son bring his sunscreen and hat to summer camp, but like hell I was walking around with an umbrella. I felt alienated enough.
Sitting up, I realized another problem. I dragged my tongue over my smooth teeth. Hygiene was extremely important to me. I had to squeaky clean, cleanly shaven and plucked, all the time. A diet consisting of only raw meat and goat blood was probably going to murder my complexion. Speaking of which, I was starving. Xavier had told me to go straight to his office when the cravings arrived. That was the only issue, he had told me yesterday, I was forbidden to drink blood from the students. Human blood was delicious, a delicacy. And now I had to drink goat blood... urgh, I might as well go into the cellar and wait for a rat to crawl by.
I got up, put my shoes back on and quickly went up the hallways, moving with that supernatural grace that had earned me a lot of attention, and criticism. I was passing by some burly looking dudes that had been in my philosophy class. They were lurking outside the cafeteria and looked at me.
"Ooh, it's the vampire. Oooo-ooOOO!" One teased. The others laughed.
"Careful. She might suck your blood. Right, freak?" The laughter continued and I ignored them, humiliated. Fucking pricks. Maybe next time I'll rip your neck open. I thought bitterly, longing to exercise my skill. I came to Xavier's office, and knocked on the wooden door. I was comfortable with Xavier, he meant no harm and was genuinely a nice person.
"Come in." I opened the door and Xavier was sitting in the sunlight, behind his desk, smiling at me. I shut the door. "And do not worry, Evie-- those boys will not be bothering you again." I nodded, not sure if I should be relieved or not. "I presume you are thirsty?" Again, I nodded. "Well, I sent Logan to retrieve you some fresh lamb blood. How is that?" My mood brightened. Lamb blood was delicious.
"That's great."
"Good." He opened a drawer to his desk and removed a bottle that was filled to the brim with bright red blood. My mouth began to salivate. My heart came to life and started to thud almost painfully, the skin of my forehead becoming tight and my eyes getting dry. It had been twenty-four hours since I drank. I retrieved it from him. I was about to twist off the cap, when I paused.
"Um, should I go somewhere else?"
"Feel free to go wherever you like, Evie. However, maybe you should tell anyone who is curious that it is cranberry juice." I laughed a little.
"Okay. Thank you, so much." Feeling elated, I bounced out of the office and nearly smashed into a tall man with sunglasses. He held my shoulders, steadying me while I got all embarassed again. "Oh God, I'm sorry!"
"It's quite alright." he said. "I'm Scott Summers by the way."
"Come in, Scott!" Xavier called from behind me, and I got out of his way and retreated down the hallway. Maybe I should find the basement. The sunlight and the lights in this place was making me slightly dizzy. Light never really settled well with my eyes. The pupils would dilate until my eyes looked black. Often many people had the impression I was on a lot of drugs. Which felt like it now, when I cracked the bottle and took a long sip.
Somewhat like getting a sensual electric shock, warmth wrapped my body tightly, and a near orgasmic sigh escaped my lips before I could catch it. "Uh, yeah!" I hissed, gulping down half the bottle. Power rippled through me; I could feel it tingling at my fingertips, along my hairline, behind my eyeballs. My heart hammered violently in my chest, and euphoria reached its peak for me. A large smile stretched across my face. It felt like I could take on the world. I felt fang-tastic, hahaha. I paused by a mirror and glanced in-- nothing, of course. Vampires can't see their reflections. The effect was always eery, but as of this moment I didn't care.
Bouncing down the hallway, I returned to the cafeteria, and I found Rogue, Bobby and two other students sitting on several couches, grouped around a television that was on some hiphop music network. Mum and dad were always into classical music. My older sister Bubba had a taste for old rock n roll. My big sister was kind of my role model-- my idol, when I was younger. Bubba's real name was Barbara, but mum once called her Bubba and the name had stuck. Bubba was in Europe, overseas, a mortician in France. She always had... strange tastes.
"Hey, Evie." Rogue waved me over. "What's that?" she asked, spotting the bottle in my hands.
"Cranberry juice. Damn good." I sat down next to her.
"Oh. I see." She looked a little unsure. "This is Kitty, by the way." a petite brown haired girl smiled at me shyly. "Bobby, you already met. This is John." A blonde boy, hair all slicked back like, grinned at me. "You hungry? You can finish my loaf. It's kind of icky, though." I looked at the meat and ran my tongue over my teeth again, my taste buds tingling at the remains my drink had left on them.
"No, thanks. I like it extra-rare." John burst out laughing.
"So do I. I'll have to take you out for dinner sometime." he said.
"Maybe." I replied.
"So there's a party tonight, Rogue," Bobby said, a little impatiently. I had probably interrupted them when I had arrived. "You comin'?"
"I don't know, Bobby, I don't really like parties... besides, Logan's coming back today!" she said, brightly.
"Awe, man, screw Logan. He's so grumpy." Kitty said, haughtily. "But, if you wanna go Bobby, I'll come!" Rogue shot her a nasty look, and it appeared I only noticed, for Bobby was agreeing enthusiastically. John was staring at me. I took another sip from the bottle, for my high was dying off. It went back into full-gear.
"Okay." Rogue said, a little quietly. She looked rather hurt and jealous. I knew how she felt and I nudged her knee. She looked at me, and I dipped into her mind. Fucking bitch, back off-- I pulled out and her face went a little pale, and she looked a little sick. "Yeah?"
"Nothing."
Evie, Xavier's stern voice. Remember what we talked about. Don't take advantage of the students. I didn't reply, but I didn't pry into Rogue's mind anymore. I took another sip and shook off the electric thrill of reading someone's mind. It always left a twangy feeling in my brain, as if it had been pulled out and rung up and dried, and then dropped back into my skull. My forehead felt tight again. I sipped the blood.
"Oh!" Rogue stood up abruptly, feigning anger. "I totally forgot! I have an assignment for Storm's class. I'll catch ya'll later." she collected her bag and walked away fast. Kitty snorted.
"What's wrong with her?" She stood up and sat down next to Bobby. She turned her attention to me.
"I think she saw a slut. Over there, somewhere." I pointed behind her, and before she could turn around, I got up. "Bye, guys." I walked away, ignoring angry whispering. I felt accomplished. Bobby hadn't stopped her. I don't know why he seemed attracted to Kitty, she was nothing compared to Rogue, who was extremely pretty. I thought about following her, but decided that she should be left alone. I had been dissed and played before. It was never fun. I floated around the school for a bit, and then when lunch was over, I went out into the empty courtyard.
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