Chapter Two

"Are you following me, Elijah?"

"Obviously." I dropped my bag on the ground and sat down on the bench, taking in my surroundings. "You know, at my old school, we never got to sit outside." Then I noticed a boy sitting next to Clare (her boyfriend?), staring at me curiously. When I looked back, he nodded and sent me a somewhat girly smile.

"I'm Adam." He extended his hand, and I shook it, surprised by how feminine he was. Although, I couldn't really imagine Clare dating anyone particularly manly – besides me, that is.

"Are you two dating?" I dreaded the idea of being a third wheel, but if I turned out to like Clare, it probably wouldn't take long for Adam to take my place.

"No," she quickly interjected, "We're just friends. Neither of us really like people, so..."

"Antisocial, huh? My kind of people." I chuckled ever so slightly at the irony.

Just then, a familiar looking girl walked by us, sneering. "Oh, so the freak has more than one friend?" She was glaring directly at Adam. I recognized her as the girl I'd thought was hot on the first day – but she didn't seem very hot with a glower plastered on her face.

"He's a freak?" The words were pouring from my mouth before I stopped to think. "You're the one who can't get over yourself and close your fucking mouth!" I noticed Clare wince at my language, but I didn't really care.

"Wow. You're defending the tranny? Yeah, you're off to a good start here. Good luck!" She walked off, and I noticed Adam freeze up. Before I could question him about the 'tranny' thing, he was out of his seat and on his way to class – at least, that was what he mumbled before running off. I turned to Clare for an explanation, but she just shook her head.

Maybe he was? If so, I was a little hurt that they assumed I would care. Oh well... I would get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, I just enjoyed my lunch alone with Clare.

-!-!-!-!-

Clare POV

I tried not to laugh as Eli walked over to me and Adam. It wasn't that I had a problem with him, it was just amusing to see a junior who only hung out with sophomores. "Are you following me, Elijah?" I asked him with the flirtiest smile I could muster up.

"Obviously." I was a little taken aback by his blunt, though probably sarcastic, answer, but I continued to examine him. "You know, at my old school, we never got to sit outside."

He looked around for a bit, then seemed to notice Adam, who was obviously confused. "I'm Adam." They shook hands, and I couldn't help but notice the difference in their handshakes – Eli's strong, Adam's just a touch feminine.

"Are you two dating?" He didn't seem to like the thought, but he seemed apathetic. Adam's eyes widened a tiny bit, and I shook my head.

"No, we're just friends," I exaggerated the words – I certainly didn't want Eli thinking there was anything between Adam and I. Yeah, I'd only known him for a day, but him thinking I have a boyfriend would ruin my chances if I ever decided to like him. "Neither of us really like people, so..."

"Antisocial, huh? My kind of people." I tried not to smile too much at that – it was meant at a joke, and I was getting way ahead of myself anyway. I was about to make a witty remark when of all people, Bianca passed by.

"Oh, so the freak has more than one friend?" I wanted to slap her, to scream at her, to come up with something that would just shut her up – but Eli did that for me.

"He's a freak?" My mouth dropped open, and I waited for him to continue. "You're the one who can't get over yourself and close your fucking mouth!" I cringed, but decided I could see past the language considering what he was doing for Adam.

"Wow. You're defending the tranny? Yeah, you're off to a good start here. Good luck!" As she walked away, so did Adam, and while I knew Eli was desperate for answers, I just shook my head. Luckily, he dropped it, and I changed the subject.

-!-!-!-!-

Eli POV

"So, why did you move to Toronto?" I'd called Clare 'because 'I forgot what the English homework was', and we'd moved on to other topics.

"Oh, you know... well, I lived in Montreal, which was great and all, but since I suck at French... I figured I would move here." I bit my lip, hoping she wouldn't notice the hesitation.

"Wait. Is it... just you? You live alone?" She sounded like she was afraid I was going to invite her to my house and rape her, and I suppressed a laugh.

"Uh, well... I'm 16, I guess I just wanted to be away from my parents, and I have a job and a pretty cheap apartment, so why not?" I tried to avoid outright lying, but I knew it would keep getting harder. She'd have to find out sometime...

As if on cue, Aezen started crying. Shit.

"Is that a baby?" Once again, she sounded almost scared, as if this baby were the result of my last rape...

"Uh, no...? Hold on, call waiting." I pressed flash, put the phone down, and picked Aezen up from his crib. "Really, Aez? Bad timing much?" His crying quieted, and I picked up the phone with the hand that wasn't holding him.

"Hey. Sorry about that." She sighed, but said it was okay.

"So what was with the baby crying? I know what I heard, so don't tell me it wasn't a baby." Damn it. Looked like I wasn't getting out of that one.

"Oh, yeah. Uh... that was the TV." I guess just out of spite, Aezen giggled, practically right into the phone.

"Did you... did you just giggle?" She sounded incredulous, and I bowed my head in shame as I realized what I had to say.

"Yes. I'm ashamed to say it, but yes I did." I heard her holding back her own giggle, and glared even though she couldn't see it.

"Well, I gotta go, Elijah." She stopped to laugh at my growl. "Take good care of your baby," she added mockingly.

"Will do. Bye."

Well, fuck. That was close.