Author's Note: Hey! This is just a one-shot piece featuring some original characters that popped into my head one day as I was rereading some L.J. Smith! Enjoy! Reviews/criticisms welcome! Oh, and Norfolk Academy is a real school in Virginia.
Lunch
Norfolk Academy, Virginia - one of the state's most exclusive private schools. It had accomodated many students throughout its many centuries, however,
it was for its sense of familiarity that Violet Stanford decided that they, her friends Demitry Mavros and Nicholas Ashby, would enroll to spend their daylight hours. Violet felt at home here, having attended over a hundred years prior, it reminded her of simpler times. Besides, the boys didn't seem to mind pretending they were normal teenagers. Nicholas, the youngest of the three of them, still yearned for human contact, not having yet distanced himself from his past identity. Nic enjoyed a budding high school football career at Norfolk and the occasional kegger on the weekends. Demitry, on the other hand, had been the hardest to convince to come here. His disdain for humans and his reckless feeding, sometimes in broad daylight, had had Violet worried that he would do something equally brash within the academy's halls, but so far, for the most part, Demitry behaved himself.
Violet strode into the school's cafeteria, her sensitive senses assailed by the loud buzzing of a multitude of students' voices and, more importantly, the overwhelming smell of human life. Violet licked her lips and quickly counted how many days had passed since she had last fed and was reassured that she could hold out for at least another day or so. She flicked an errant strand of auburn hair out of her slate grey eyes as she scanned the room for Nic or Demitry. Finally she spotted Nic, sitting alone, idly nibbling at what looked like a ham sandwich. She glided over to their table and folded her willowy frame into a chair across from him.
"How was your morning, Nicholas?", she asked, a ghost of a smile slipping across her lips. Nic grinned and shrugged non-committally. "Not bad. Seen Demitry?"
he asked, green eyes scanning the cafeteria. Violet shook her head no, unwrapping her own sandwich. Eating human food, at lunch break at least, was necessary to their cover that Violet insisted they maintain. "Didn't he come with you this morning?" Violet asked lightly. Nic turned to her, "No, I thought he came along with you? He wasn't in his room when I went to get him and that was after you'd left...how long has it been since he last fed?" Nicholas looked at her a little apprehensively and his feelings were echoed in Violet's own eyes.
"Should we go look for him?" Nicholas asked quietly, beginning to worry his bottom lip. Violet frowned slightly, still searching the cafeteria. "No, not yet..." she trailed off and sighed exasperatedly as she spotted Demitry sauntering in to the cafeteria. He smiled brightly from the other end of the room and waggled his fingers at them. His dark chocolate brown eyes brushed across all the bustling activity around him and his smile turned decidedly feral. Violet's frown deepened as Demitry arrived at their table and sat down.
"Don't you love the smell of cattle at midday?" He grinned sniffing the air around them. Nic and Violet exchanged a look. Violet rolled her eyes and Nic looked torn between amusement and being uncomfortable. Demitry snorted at them and lounged cat-like in his plastic cafeteria chair, lazily surveying the crowd of teenagers. A slow smile crept to his lips and he chuckled softly, "Speaking of cattle..." Violet's head snapped up and spotted Lauren Abrams making her way towards their table. Violet grew very still and Nicholas fidgeted in his seat nervously. Violet narrowed her eyes at Demitry but he ignored her, fixing his most luminous, disarming smile on the mousy girl nervously approaching their table. "Hi, Demitry!", the girl said cheerfully, her voice quavering a little, a shy blush staining her pale cheeks.
"Hello Lauren", Demitry replied, pitching his voice low and gazing up at her beneath hooded eyes, smile still in place. Lauren beamed, fussing with the books in her arms,blushing furiously. "Was there something you needed?" Demitry asked when she didn't say anything. Lauren seemed to be jolted out of a trance and her blush deepened."Uum, are...are we still meeting after school at the library? There's an algebra test coming up and all..." Lauren trailed off, embarassedly. Violet felt a wave of disgust creeping up on her. Lauren had been "tutoring" Demitry in algebra for the past few months. At least, that's what the girl was being manipulated into believing was going on between her and Demitry. Although Demitry enjoyed the hunt as much as any vampire, he saw very little reason in expending so much effort in acquiring a meal when, as he had once put it, there was a virtually inexhaustible herd of their food source right within their reach. Whenever Demitry had a tutoring session scheduled with Lauren, the girl would always return to school the next day looking pale and exhausted, usually wearing a turtle neck or a strategically placed scarf to hide the inexplicable welts on her neck. Demitry always made sure to wipe her mind afterwards, planting the idea that they'd been studying for hours before he brought her home. Violet's lip curved up in distaste. It wasn't Demitry's manipulation of a girl who was obviously besotted with him or even his risky feeding habits so much as the desperate look in Lauren's eyes and the need virtually seeping from her pores. Violet didn't fail to notice the faint yellowing, bruises on the hollow of her exposed neck.
"How about now?" Demitry suggested. Both Violet and Nicholas shot glances at him. Lauren looked confused. "Now?" Demitry nodded, his eyes glittering. "Why not? Why don't I take you out to lunch and then we can study at the library?" Lauren looked pleased, but unsure. "But, we'll have to cut class..." she said softly. Demitry's smile was unkind. "So? Lauren, don't you get tired of being dull?" Lauren's face fell and she swallowed thickly. "Well, I guess it can't hurt...but just this once, though, ok?" Demitry's smile slid back into place, triumphant.
"Sure. Just this once. It'll be fun, Laurie, just you and me." He got up and gathered his bag, turning to look at Violet and Nic. He grinned wolfishly at them. "Wasn't in the mood for a ham sandwich, anyway." He had the gall to wink at them. Violet and Nicholas could only watch as he sauntered away, an arm casually slung around Lauren's shoulders.
Nicholas sighed, shaking his head sadly,watching them leave the cafeteria. "Poor kid." Violet nodded, not taking her eyes off of their retreating backs. "Poor kid."