Chapter 2.
Deadly Truth
The next day when I went to school it couldn't have been more abnormal.
"Hey!" Called a now friendly Raven Madison, she hopped beside me between passing periods and leaned on the locker neighboring my own. "So … Not to be weird but… You aren't feeling strange after being taken to the nurse – are you?" She was looking me up and down, grabbed my arm and lifted it as if her answer were in my pits.
"I feel the same…?" I laughed, pulling my arms back and looking her over as well. "Are you feeling alright Miss Madison?" She was turning red for such a pale girl.
"W-well yeah, I mean I'm just asking because Claude is a straight up player! So you had better be careful!" She leaned towards me and glanced around with her hand up – trying to act sneaky I suppose. "I hear he has gotten around with a bunch of girls."
"Who has?" My locker door was suddenly shut, I looked at the closed locker and then over to see Claude with his flame tattoos reaching up his arms and accentuating his muscles. "Surely not myself – I mean I just got to this school!"
There was this unspoken tension between Raven and Claude, rather than ask about it I decided it would be wise to just walk away – which resulted in the both of them shouting at me in unison.
"She's my friend Claude! This means she's off limits!" Raven snapped to the pale boy, placing her arm around my shoulders and sticking her tongue out at him. "So shove off!"
"Oh really? Did Skye just so happen to become your friend within a day?"
"Yes! Tell him Skye!" Raven swiveled our bodies around and unhooked her arm from around my shoulders. I looked at Claude, who was standing a bit further from me; my cheeks were getting really hot while the silence bore into my head.
"Yep, we're … t-totes? Friends… now?" I tried to make it seem as believable as possible but Claude seemed unmoved. "We have bracelets at our houses with bats on them that say BFF."
This had Claude rolling; he wiped a fake tear of laughter from his eye and stepped towards me. "Then it looks like I'll have to buy you something better when we go on our shopping spree tonight- hm?"
Raven pulled me back to her and glared, "You're not taking Skye out on a date! Who knows what you're going to buy her – you pervert!" I fidgeted a little bit and gulped at the thought of the name she gave him – pervert.
"You know, I think it's time for us to get to our classes – as for me I have lunch." I slipped away from the two and began walking calmly to the lunchroom before they were beside me again.
"I have lunch now too!" Raven shouted with an excited smile across her lips.
"What do you know – so do I!" Claude wrapped an arm around my waist, kissing the top of my head. "It's like it was destiny."
"Or just the emptiest lunch period." I grumbled, rolling my eyes at him and peeling off his arm. "Don't you two have other friends that are missing you right now?" I wondered.
"Nah I think my gang can handle themselves without me …" Claude mused – tapping his chin with a black nail polished finger.
"Becky is probably snogging with Matt! Er- Skye… what about all of your friends?" Raven came back with, hurrying beside me so she could shoot a winning smile.
"Oh- I have friends too …" I turned red and thought about that whole ordeal in and of itself. "They get really busy." I could see Claude studying me silently from the corner of my eye as Raven patted my back.
"Skye… do you not have-?" I gently pushed off Raven's hand with a little smile across my lips.
"I'll see you two around." With that I fast-walked through the doors of the cafeteria and made my way to the corner table in the back of the lunch room. No one liked sitting there since it was by all of the trash cans and the smell was enough to peel the paint off the prison walls of Dullsville high.
I sat there in peace – reading the newest chapter in my favorite manga, Battie Magica, till I heard the familiar voices of my new friends from the hall.
"Hey! Skye! We can sit here can't we?" Raven laughed and plopped herself down across from me with Becky and Matt beside her. "This is Becky- and her boyfriend Matt! What is it that you're reading?"
"Uh, just a comic book." I felt it was easier to explain books to people since not everyone knew what manga was.
"I think I saw you reading that in mythology." Raven wondered, tapping her chin as she looked the cover over from where she sat. "Which reminds me- I am having the hardest time with the current assignment in that class- do you think you can help me?"
I blinked; someone really wanted my help…?
"Well… Yeah… We're covering the tasks of Hercules- And what he wants you to do is write a short summary of tasks you might do if you were stuck with the same inner-turmoil as Hercules."
"What was his inner-turmoil?" Becky wondered, now becoming intrigued.
"Hercules was driven mad by Hera and killed his entire family- although he didn't know it was Hera that made him do it. So Hercules went about doing chores in order to make up for murdering his family – but then ended up burning himself alive, which caused him to burn off his mortal flesh and become a god."
The girls stared at me blankly as I looked back at them, not really sure what just happened and why they were so surprised.
"You actually listened?" Raven squinted her eyes at me, "but… It's school."
"Mythology is my favorite, it's like one big story… and the kind of stories that I actually enjoy too." I bubbled up with delight as I thought about it all – mythology- I sighed.
The bell rang which was indicating we had to get to class now – which is when I stood up and started to walk away but then I heard the familiar call.
"Skye!" Raven was standing now as well with a little smile on her lips, "I wanna walk with you – you're really cool."
I couldn't stop thinking about that, why would someone think I'm cool? After all … I'm not that great of a person… I wasn't even trying to be cool.
In all that time of ogling over some silly compliment I hadn't noticed Claude standing in front of me as I walked – the rest of the crowd parting around him.
"You ready toots?" I heard his voice too late and rammed right into him, adjusting my glasses and looking up to him – he was grinning that smug grin that made his lip ring shine. "I'm going to have you get at least three dresses!" he nodded, placing his chin in the crook of his thumb and index finger. "What else would you look great in…?" Claude grabbed my shoulders and looked me up and down now. "You'd probably look good in everything."
"Don't say that- and don't look me over!" I walked around him, "Raven was right… You really are a pervert."
"H-hey! No I am not! I don't just go around looking at everyone's body – Just yours!" My cheeks turned red as I looked back to him and punched him in the arm.
"Pervert!" I can't believe I actually agreed to go shopping with this gothic Dalmatian.
He walked me to his sleek hot rod and opened my door, grinning as if he was too proud of his sweet ride. "So what do you think of her?" He wondered, leaning on the door once I took my seat in the car.
"It's nice."
"Nice?" He placed a hand over his chest and laughed in such a way you might have thought I insulted his fashion choices. "I can assure you she is more than nice."
"I don't base my feelings off of the kind of car someone drives." I grinned, "Let's get this over with – the faster that I get this done then I can finish my summary for Mythology class."
"Ha! You're a cute little nerd- huh?" He jumped into the passenger side and leaned over to me- planting a kiss on my cheek. My hand moved up to it slowly as I rubbed the spot where his lips made contact with my skin. "Admit it – You like the kisses too!"
"Nope." My hand dropped as a smile pushed across my lips. "Just drive bat-boy."
What the hell did I get myself into?!
I was standing in front of a mirror and looking at my reflection- wearing a tight lace black dress with a torn pattern at the bottom and hints of glitter about the fabric. "I will not own this- you can't wear this casually!"
Claude was studying me – walking up to me and whirling me around in a circle with my arm in the air like a ballerina, he stopped me when I was facing him.
"You're right… Looks like this will just have to be for our dates then." He sighed like he was disappointed!
"No! This is not a purchase and I am changing right now – we are leave-!" Claude slithered his arm around my waist and held me so I was looking at myself in the mirror.
"Do you just not want to make a scene? Is that all?" He cooed in my ear, a grin spreading across his lips. "What are you so afraid of, toots?"
"Nothing, let's go." I looked away from my reflection so I could slip back into the fitting room and shove the outfits he picked up back into his arms. "How about you take me home?" I offered with a small smile. "We can go somewhere else another time."
His eyes lit up and he plucked out a few outfits from the cluster – looking back to me with a devilish grin.
"So you mean we're dating?"
I turned red and shook my head, crossing my arms in a large "X". "Nope! No way! We are not dating!" I glared at him now, pointing my finger in his face. "And so help me if I go to school tomorrow and anyone calls me Claude's girlfriend I will come find you… And kill you."
"Is that a threat or a promise?" He laughed, walking to the cash register to pay for the items, I kept protesting and by the time I knew I wasn't going to win I decided to look off stubbornly – as if pouting would solve my problems.
As I looked off … I spotted the rounded mirror in the upper corner of the store … Claude wasn't standing beside me. At first I debunked it as something like – it was hard to see anything in those mirrors, but as I studied it harder I realized that he really wasn't there.
My gaze looked back to Claude… The drinking of my nose blood made much more sense now – but how could he run around in the sunlight?
"C-Claude…?" I whispered to him as he picked up the bags and started to leave the store, he looked back to me with a satisfied grin. "Claude… I- Uh…" I pointed to the mirror, when he looked back he gulped and then looked at me- giving a nervous grin.
"Oh yeah… S-Surprise!"
Claude was a vampire!
