2. CLOSED BOOK

The next day was ultimately a lot better, much like Allen's optimistic premonition, for various reasons I would have never dreamt of, even if willingly.

Today, the predominantly sunny municipality was surprisingly overshadowed by dismal grey clouds that hung low in the darkened skies, depressed and yearning to come down and sweep the entirety of Bordj Omar Driss in one swallow (well, there were bits of sunlight creeping down in-between the clouds, but I prefer my eerie descriptions). I knew what to expect today instead of being thrown in with a bunch of alienated strangers, and classes weren't as boring as yesterday. I actually found myself listening somewhat and trying to take a few notes—in shorthand even, which is something I've deliberately never learned how to do, but have somewhat of a gist of it. The Hungarian girl finally confessed to me that she indeed did enjoy stalking and that it was one of the most prominent of her many unusual hobbies. That in itself planed a seed of acquaintanceship that would bloom into something resembling a flower of friendship. When Mr. Edelstein asked me a question pertaining to the history of Belarus even though I hadn't raised my hand for that particular question, I answered correctly, much to everyone's surprise. Physical education was even the least bit enjoyable, as we all got to experiment with fencing sabre. But the exceptionally best part of that day, hands down? Eduard Grullon wasn't in school today.

Before lunch, I was absolutely dreading the rest of the day, especially the hours when lunch and biology would roll by—grueling hours that I honestly could not stand, at all. I wanted nothing to do with the Grullon family, and I especially wanted nothing to do with Eduard. I convinced myself that if I were to see that handsome, inhumane, vampire-esque creature again, I would claw out his eyeballs and watch him bleed whilst laughing maniacally to myself.

But when I walked into the cafeteria with my new best friend, that Hungarian girl, whose name is Lizzy, I think—droning out her constant talk about one of the teachers, whose last name began with an "E"—I saw that the Grullons were all sitting at the same exact table as before. Except, that is, for Eduard.

Naturally, that caused me to smile, and I could have very well started jumping up and down with such uncontained excitement my head would have exploded. But before any of that could happen, Mark chanced upon us and practically dragged us to his table, Lizzy's friends immediately following her when they noticed we were to be sitting somewhere else today. I made no attempt to listen to them at all, anxiously waiting for Eduard to show up, just in case, so my excitement wouldn't be for naughty. I hoped, for once, that my inconspicuous suspicions of Eduard possibly being at school but just somewhere else right now were false. I even began to pray.

Fortunately, my prayers were answered congenially, for the seconds passed by, and I grew more and more relaxed that Eduard was definitely absent today.

I walked to my biology class with newfound happiness, something I've never really found myself exhibiting much, and I noticed that my table was empty. No Eduard. No Eduard Grullon. Mark, of course, was walking by my side like a pathetically loyal stray dog, panting and flirting like there was no tomorrow. His actions, to me, proved to be more annoying that friendly. I had hoped that he would have given up on me by now, especially noting the fact that I blatantly ignore him and have only responded to him one or two times, but it seems that he is not one that can easily read the atmosphere. That didn't bother me though. The very fact that Eduard Grullon wasn't here today, in itself, was able to make me in an uncharacteristically good mood today. That's all that counted.

I really, really enjoyed having a table by myself without being tense by my desk partner's hostile glares. Eduard was absent. I told myself that repeatedly, frequently, in my head, to reassure myself of its authenticity. It was hard holding in the mirth surging throughout my body; I couldn't stop laughing that it was the whole truth and nothing but it, that Eduard wasn't here. That was practically the only thing that was on my mind.

When the rather soothing day was done, and I stabbed a couple of students in the eye with my bloodied fencing sabre and got away with it by saying it was all an accident, I changed back as slowly as I could into one of my other gothic lolita-inspired dresses, of which some girls started to follow, thinking of it as a new trend. Afterwards, I walked back home with the most casual stride, a small smirk on my lips.

Along the way (in the parking lot), I saw the Grullons and the Fales getting into some rather expensive-looking cars. One was red, the other silver. I might have not taken too much mind to them if not for the ways they stared at me. Most of them seemed pretty happy considering their smiles, except for that one girl… Rosella was her name.

I shrugged that awkward moment away and returned to my walk, finally reaching Toris's house. It was just last night when I discovered that Toris could cook practically anything you told him. That was good considering I was not exactly the best cook out there, but he did designate me the job to clobber the annoying gophers that happened to pop out from the ground in our back yard. I liked my job very much. I even earned a bit of money by doing so, which I probably may need in the future if I accumulate enough. Toris even willingly gave me a copy of the house key, much to my increasing happiness. And, when I came back home, there was already my supper, sitting there on the table, warm steam emitting from the food.

Life was a lot better in Bordj Omar Driss than I thought. This, I knew, wouldn't last. No. I didn't fully believe that Eduard would be absent from school for the rest of my life, just because of me. He would be back in a few weeks, and I would be back in my own hellish world.

Before that could happen, I decided to buy some groceries to help Toris a bit. It wasn't as if he asked me; this was all my doing, thoughtful or not. I wasn't exactly happy about being a burden to him, so buying the groceries could help him out. He did, after all, make my life a lot better. Living with my mother-figure was torturous. The only thing I really hated now in Bordj Omar Driss was… Eduard. Whom, of which, I need to stop thinking about.

The market wasn't far away from the school for Toris's house. Honestly, I've never been inside any kind of supermarket before, as my mother-figure usually was the one who did all the shopping. Thus, I felt like a total stranger, not knowing which brands to buy or what exactly to buy, as a matter of fact. That was when I realized I didn't have any money on me, which made me leave in the immediate, slightly embarrassed by my sudden epiphany.

When I got back home, I flew up the flight of stairs empty-handed and looked through whatever homework I had. In my room, in the lone corner, I found that there was a shiny new laptop: a smooth, pearly laptop with an apple logo on it. Attached was a note from Toris, which read something along the lines of, "Happy early birthday, Bells". My birthday was a few months back, so this must have been from a long time ago. My sign of gratification was a smile, warm smile, something uncharacteristic concerning me, but the fact that Toris would buy me something expensive even though I've always openly hated Bordj Omar Driss—it was heartwarming, to say the least.

I booted up my new laptop and immediately logged onto my e-mail, even though I never exactly used it too often. I already had three messages, all from the same person: my mother-figure.

"Bella," my mother-figure wrote, much to my dismay, and I was tempted to verbally correct her even though I knew she wouldn't be able to hear me. The rest of the message went…

Like, hi sweetie! Write to me ASAP and tell me all the totes juicy details, 'kay? Miss you already sweetie! Oh, and like, by the way, have you seen my favorite pink skirt? I can't like, find it anywhere, and it's totes bothering me… Love, Mom.

P.S. Tell Liet I like, said hi.

No, I thought lamely, going onto the next message. My mother-figure sent this one to me only a few minutes after the first one.

"Bell-Bell," she wrote, which I'm not sure whether or not is better than "Bella," but whatever the case, I found myself sighing.

OMG! Did something like, happen sweetie? Why haven't you e-mailed yet? OMG, I hope you're like, okay! If something happened to you, I would totally like, make Liet kill them and lock them away and stuff. Love, Mom.

The last one my mother-figure sent was just a few seconds ago.

Natalia Lorinaitis.
If you don't like, talk to me soon, I'm flying over there and like, talking to Liet and everything. Love, Mom.

That caused me to freak out, and so I clicked on the reply button and began to frantically type a brief response to make it so my mother-figure did not fly to Bordj Omar Driss, because we most certainly do not need him here. It didn't take me long to compose a message, but before I could even think about clicking on the send button, I heard a small click and a chat screen popped up, a short message on the screen.

feliksTHEcat says:
heey sweetie! sup

I would probably have ignored that, but the threat of my mother-figure flying all the way from Russia to here was something I couldn't chance. So, I began typing a short, brief message, just so my mother-figure could leave me alone.

Natalia says:
Nothing. Need to work on homework. Bye.

feliksTHEcat says:
kk bella! say hi to liet for me! like, baibai! :)

Like I would.

I had decided to read The Scarlet Pimpernel, as it was the only novel I had right now. What we were studying in English class was something along the lines of Anne Rice's works, or possibly Bram Stoker, but all I remember is that it had something to do with vampires. Ironically, it is that very vampire that I was trying to rid my mind of. I wouldn't see him for a while, hopefully, so I should not be thinking about him at all. No. I shouldn't.

When I was reading the part about Chauvelin's "either—or," I heard Toris pulling into the driveway, and immediately he was inside the house, calling out my name. I rushed downstairs to greet him with a tentative handshake and even a small peck on the cheek, and he smiled at me warmly, ruffling the top of my head.

"What do you want for dinner?" he asked warily, tired from his job, I could tell. Some form of minimal pity washed over my face, and I nodded my head. It seemed he took it as a show of disappointment, for he started to freak out, much to my annoyance.

"Anything," I replied a few minutes later, which seemed to have calmed Toris down a bit, glad of my general answer. He would cook his favorite dish now, and his favorite dish just so-happened to be a pretty easy thing to cook.

I returned upstairs to complete small snippets of my homework, staring at the screen of my laptop for the longest time. I realized that my mother-figure was still online, though she was set as "busy," which I found ironic as he never really was a busy kind of person. My mother-figure had no job, yet found it in no way difficult to live off of nothing for years, and years to come. There must have been some secret magic my mother-figure was using to stay alive without even having to work, but whatever the case, the fact that my mother-figure was "busy" had me intrigued.

Though, before I could even further dwell on the thought, Toris called me down for dinner, and I rushed downstairs into the kitchen. Inside, the kitchen smelled of something good—a sweet scent, tickling my nostrils, my taste buds, my eyes. It was a much better aroma than the supper he had cooked for me a few hours earlier, and I was very appreciative of the fact, even when I found that I was not the least bit hungry.

We ate in silence for what seemed like hours, him staring at me a few times awkwardly, and me concentrating on my food. It was then when the quiet moments were too tense that Toris began to speak, his voice a bit cheerier and happier than before, even when his expression was trite from overwork.

"Is school okay so far, Bells?" he asked, a careful nod to conversation.

"It's okay," I replied after swallowing a mouthful of my dinner. "There are some people I find… bearable. Like Lizzy, Madeline, Gilbo. Then there are the people I can't stand. Like Mark." I said this in disdain, and he gave out a wholehearted chuckle.

"Mark? His name is actually Mathias Køhler, but he goes by Mark 'cause everyone pronounces his name wrong. And plus, he's from Denmark." I groaned at the irony of it again; I knew people noticed that, too, but just hearing it again made me want to puke. "Kind of a weird kid. Family… kinda rough, too. His dad owns the local bar, and he makes a pretty good living off of all the alcohol he sells. A lot of people are obsessed with it. Especially the Grullons."

"The… Grullons…" I said hesitantly, almost achingly, and Toris unfortunately took it as a question.

"Oh, do you know them? Dr. Grullon's family?" He sighed in scared admiration. "Dr. Grullon is a wonderful man, just a little bit intimidating at times. He sure is young though, and his wife especially. What a beauty." He shifted his eyes wearily, which reminded me much of how the Hungarian's expression turned upon talking about Dr. Grullon's enigmatic and mysterious wife. Everyone seems to be so secretive about this "wife" character.

"His kids are vampires," I stated plainly, playing with the last remnants of my food. He stared at me for the longest time before beginning to have a short laughing fit, ruffling my hair from across the table, and bumping the salt shaker whilst doing so. Bad luck.

"Nonsense! Dr. Grullon is the most amazing doctor you could lay your eyes on. He could work in any hospital in the world, making a million times more than he does, yet he lives here. I suppose their family is rich enough already, but still, I find it a blessing for such a nice and spectacular doctor such as Dr. Grullon to help us out here. We need it," he continued, becoming more and more stentorian, as well as excited and informational, much like everyone else was. Now I'm truly convinced that this municipality sells a documentary about the Grullons. "Honestly, they scared me the first time I saw them move here, a few years back. They had so many adopted children, and teenagers nonetheless! You really don't see that every day! They're all mature, though, and beautiful. Definitely beautiful. I haven't caught them doing anything illegal so far, which is saying a lot considering this era's population of kids are quite the troublemakers. They're just like a family too, sticking together as one, even taking trips down to the beach every so often." He pursed his lips, his eyes moving towards a picture frame hanging loosely on one of the kitchen walls. I knew it was a picture of him and my mother-figure.

Toris usually talked a lot, but never in my life have I heard him talk this much. It was a lot longer than one of the speeches my English teacher would make, and that is definitely saying a lot. Mr. Edelstein talked way too much when it came to the matter of literature and whatnot.

"They're pretty, but they're vampires, believe me," I tried to convince Toris, who just looked at me with an amused grin on his face.

"Like I said, nonsense! And if you think the children are pretty, you should see Dr. Grullon and his… wife." Shifty eyes. "If he wasn't married, every man and woman and their dogs would be on his back, begging for the doctor to take them! It's absolutely blasphemous, if you ask me."

"I didn't."

"Oh."

And then we were back to our momentary silence as we finished the rest of our food, which, by that time, only consisted of a few scraps of meat here and there. Toris said he would do all the dishes, and so I was left to finishing whatever homework I had left. He, of course, went to the living room and started watching some television. From what I could hear, it was some melodramatic soap opera, something he probably gained from living with my mother-figure for so long.

I was able to sleep peacefully, but somewhat anxious too, for I definitely did not want to see Eduard again. I hoped he wasn't at school tomorrow, or the rest of the school year, but that would be irrational.

The rest of the week was really boring, with nothing to do, nothing exciting to do—just like how an average, mundane school life would be. I knew where all my classes were now, and by now, I had memorized most of Lizzy's friends, as well as Mark's, even though I really could care less.

I was happy, though. Eduard Grullon didn't come back to school for the rest of the week.

Every single day, I internally celebrated upon realizing that the obvious-vampire-creature Eduard was absent, again and again, for what seemed like the longest time. The rest of the Grullon family—his siblings—of course showed up, without him, but that didn't affect them much. They were all still beautiful, still graceful, without their fifth wheel. Sometimes, it seemed that such a person as Eduard hadn't even existed, but I knew that wasn't true, for the cold glares he gave me were burned forever in my thoughts, something permanent.

Everything quickly became habitual by Friday. Biology class felt safer, more secure, without Eduard glaring at me. He probably dropped out of school, moved to Alaska by now, without his family. He was old enough; he would be able to support himself.

Naturally, my first week at Bordj Omar Driss went pretty smoothly. Toris was gentle, caring, as a proper father should, spending a bit of time with me, though not much thanks to the grueling hours of his labor. Life for me was mildly productive, as I cleaned, I finished my homework, and I started taking a small interest in fencing and planting flowers, something I wasn't able to do in the frigid temperatures of the subarctic Russian territory.

Eventually, people came to know me and greeted me respectfully as I passed by. While I normally would have liked for them to fear me, I figured this would be okay, as it would make my revenge a whole lot easier if one would provoke me, as their being nice and my being nice would make them put their guard down. We had a few quizzes in our classes, more in English than in any other class. I passed most of them, though, and my grades thus far are steady B's, sometimes fluctuating between A's and C's, but almost constantly B's.

The comfort level of my being here in Bordj Omar Driss was totally unexpected. If anything, I would have expected a disaster. This was not the case, especially considering a hostile vampire was out of the picture. Now someone just had to do something with the other rancor-filled vampire, the one named Rosalie, and maybe just wipe out the rest of the vampire family in the process. That would make my living in Bordj Omar Driss all the more better.

It was on one day that the skies grew dank, cold, dismal. Grey. And, the clouds began to produce little tidbits of white fluffiness: snow. Falling in one of the sunniest places on earth. This brought upon a disheartened feeling of nostalgia in my heart, and I found myself smiling softly even despite the horrible memories I have shared with the snow, commonly pertaining to my mother-figure's idiocy with snow.

"I can't believe it," Mark gasped beside me, staring up into the sky, a single snowflake gently falling on his eyelashes. "It's snowing! It really is!"

He sure is good with the matters of observations. "It reminds me of Russia."

He gave me a shocked stare, something of interest and surprise, and grinned widely—toothy, as always, sparkling and shining with pearly whites. "You used to live in Russia?"

"Yes. I grew up there." That's what I told him a few days back, but it seems he forgot. I don't blame him much. I suppose my voice can become overshadowed by stronger, louder voices at times. "It's weird. I didn't think there would be snow here."

"There usually isn't," he stated in a matter-of-fact way, arms akimbo, his nose turning slightly red. He grinned. "This is my only my second time seeing snow. The first time was when I was only three."

"Same here." I paused. "Three and a half."

Mark laughed bemusedly, and then, all of a sudden, without so much as a warning, something white hit the back of his head. A snowball, dripping slowly down his back. He shivered slightly, and we both turned around, frantically searching for whoever produced the deadly weapon of mass destruction. I had my suspicions on that one crazy, demented, narcissistic, and troublemaking albino. Surely enough, it was the albino, who looked very much like a snow rabbit against the whiteness of the snow. Beside him was the tentative Canadian girl, Madeline, who was clutching on to the albino's free arm like it was her only support. Whilst I was staring at the duo, who seemed so perfect in the snow, I heard Mark creating his own weapon of mass destruction and aimed it carefully for the albino's head. He missed.

"Umm, bye," I said, walking inside as I spoke. "I don't like immaturity." This, I found, was caused by my mother-figure's insolently childish behavior, of which I was forced to stand for years. I grew tired of his immaturity, so Toris's opposite nature was a definite plus in living here, in Bordj Omar Driss.

He gawked at me, but before he could even say anything, another weapon of mass destruction landed perfectly on his face with a huge splat!

Everyone was talking about the snow like it was some sort of sacred relic of some sort, like no one had seen it before. Of course, that was only natural for a sunny place such as this. It seemed like I was the only one unaffected by such things. Then again, I was not the most talkative type in the world, so I suppose that's partly due to my taciturn nature.

Lunch was dreadful. Mark followed closely behind me, laughing with tears of joy staining his reddish cheeks. Lizzy was already pulling me down to our table, chattering away, mostly concerning the snow and a bit of the school's popular gossip here and there, and that's when I realized the Grullon table had five separate entities circling around their respected table again. Eduard was back. After all this time, he was back.

Lizzy tugged at my arm after she realized I was staring at the Grullons, and she smirked in satisfactory, sending me a hopeful stare that glowed with mischievous intent.

"Bel! Do you… like him? Eduard, I mean?" Her voice was in sing-song fashion, high-pitched, and very annoying. I wanted to punch her pretty face then and there. I would have, too, if not for the fact my body was frozen in spot from my sudden realization of Eduard being back.

"What's wrong with Bel?" Mark asked Lizzy, who just smirked in response, wrapping an arm around my neck, much like how she did in during the first day we had met.

Before I could answer Mark's question, Lizzy began poking my cheek, smiling. "I think our little Bel here is in love!" And, at that proclamation, I growled and pushed her arm off around me, sighing angrily.

"I don't like anyone," I said plainly, dangerously. I could feel my face grow unnecessarily hot. Whether or not it was from embarrassment or cholera or both, I know not, but the fact remained that I looked much like a tomato. Mark constantly asked me if I was alright, genuine concern in his eyes, and I kept telling him I wasn't, but the reasoning behind my words were never explained. I doubt I could have explained them. Well, maybe I could have, but just thinking about the very source of my illness made everything all the more worse.

Though my mind was telling me not to, I decided to steal a short glance towards the Grullon table, just to see if Eduard was still in a cranky, rancor mood. He wasn't, however, much to my surprise. They were all laughing (except for one Rosella, whom of which was scowling with petulant annoyance, and whose face was as red as a rose, for lack of a better descriptor) wholeheartedly. Eduard, Gasper, and Emma all had their hair in a perfect mess, damp and dark from the melted snow. Alicia was laughing as Emma was shaking her hair like crazy, little droplets of melted snow splattering across their table. Rosella looked on in disgust, though it seemed that she was in a much nicer mood than usual. Even on such a miraculous day, the intimidating Grullon family were all enjoying the wonders of snow. The only difference they had from everyone else was the sole fact they made the snow look beautiful on them, modeling the white substance perfectly.

The Grullons looked different, though, especially Eduard. They all looked more animated, filled with more vitality, more youthful. It may have just been the snow that made them look younger, even when they all still had dark circles under their eyes, which were a lot less noticeable than before. And their skin, though still an eerie alabaster, seemed to glow a lot more, much like the usual sunshine in this little municipality.

"See, she's even staring at him!" Lizzy made a noise of heartfelt affection, a noise that was something along the lines of "awww". Her eyes were probing me with further insight, maybe even a ruthful response, but nothing came from my mouth. It seemed as if I was too intoxicated with the perpetual beauty of the Grullons, and I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't take my eyes off of them, even when Lizzy began to poke my left cheek, much to my irritation. You just can't help but stare at such perfection. You just can't help but stare at those cold, cold vampires.

And then, it was at that moment when Eduard's eyes darted away from his siblings and locked on my violet ones. I thought of looking away, but instead of the hostile expression he gave me just a few days back, he just looked really intrigued, much like the first day at lunchtime. I then quickly assumed he was bipolar and mentally noted that on my mental note board.

"Oh my gosh, Eduard Grullon is staring at you, Bel," Lizzy muttered in disbelief, giggling softly, but at the same time gawking. And it was true: he was staring at me, and I couldn't help but stare back at those curious blue orbs, a sea of mysteries that were only a grasp away.

"I thought he hated me," I said, originally meant as a mutter, but Lizzy heard me anyway.

She blinked at me, then smiled. "Nah. I don't think so. I think he likes you, Bel. I think you're finally the girl he's been looking for!" She was so ecstatic, her hyperactivity rubbed off on me, and I began to smile. Smile. It wasn't for Eduard though, but it seemed like he took it that way. "The Grullons usually don't like anyone outside their family, but one of them is actually staring at you. The only single one, fancy that!"

"I get it," I mouthed, glaring at her. She only snickered thoughtfully, looking away from the Grullons and returning to whatever the rest of our table was talking about. The rest of the lunch, I was looking down on my empty lunch tray, trying to avoid as much eye contact with anyone as possible.

Unfortunately, after lunch, even though I wanted so much as to avoid Mark today and walk to my next class by myself, he suddenly jerked his arm forward and snatched mine in his, walking steadily outside. Once outside, everyone seemed to groan sadly at the same time, as it began to rain, melting all the remaining snow on the pavements. It was a lot warmer, closer to humid, and completely unbearable.

Of course, Mark being Mark, he began to whine and flail (much like how my mother-figure would have reacted in a similar situation) about the sudden change from snow to rain, up until we finally reached our next class. Our next class was, of course, biology. It just had to be biology.

When I walked hesitantly in class, only to trip inside thanks to Mark pushing me, I found that my table was still empty. It was a good sign; maybe Eduard had left early, and I would be all alone in my wonderful solitude. That's never the case when it comes to these circumstances, however. Inconveniences always manage to pop up. He is my main inconvenience concerning the entirety of life in general.

It was then when I was silently concentrating on my notes, attempting to study at the last minute for a possible pop quiz, I heard a musical serenade whisper in my ears, beautifully, like an orchestrated musical, full of violins and winds and legatos. "Halloo there."

My mind was in an amalgam of confused questions. Why was he talking to me? Why was he smiling at me, when just a few days back he was frowning and glaring at me? Why were his eyes suddenly a lot clearer, a lot nicer, a lot bluer?

He must have noticed my confusion but said nothing of it, only opening his mouth to introduce himself properly, his peculiar and antique-sounding tone of voice still intact. "Halloo," he reiterated. "Minu nimi on Eduard." When he noticed my confused look, he laughed, his acute cheeks flashing with bubbly pink. "Excuse me! I mistook you for an Estonian. You look like one." A smile, a wink. "I am Eduard Grullon, and you… you are Bel Lorinaitis, am I correct?"

"How… do you know my name?" This came out as a hesitant, tentative stammer, a clash of meek words forming into a quiet string that could hardly be labeled as a sentence. Even then, he just laughed, a slow ritardando of strings.

"Everyone knows your name, Bel. You were the talk of the town even before you came here."

"No that," I interjected rashly, nodding my head. "Bel. How do you know I go by Bel?"

He looked at me with an expression of mixed confusion and wonder. "Would you prefer Natalia? Maybe Nat?"

"No, Bel is fine," I said, exasperatedly. "But no one knows my nickname until I tell them."

"Oh." He looked thoughtfully at me, his glasses reflecting off of the single light bulb above us, glowing and blinking with a luminosity that rivaled the sun. "Why do you go by Bel then, when your name is Natalia?"

"Long story." Typically, I'd rather not explain, but it must have been the first time someone actually had the guys to ask me why. It was as if asking the etymology of my nickname would bring grave consequences upon them, which usually is not the case, unless they just so-happened to provoke me even longer. Nonetheless, I was not in a talkative mood. Eduard was already confusing me; my head was in too much of a jumble; I couldn't concentrate at all.

"Please enlighten me," he said, smiling, a dazzling, beautiful white smile. "Bel."

I sighed, defeated by his probing eyes and smile. "My older brother gave it to me."

"Why?"

"It was snowing. Then he looked at me and told me I was as pretty and innocent and fragile as snow. Snow is white. Bel means white in Russian."

"Ah, really!" He laughed, very much amused. "I agree with your brother, though. You really are as pretty as snow. Like… Snow White." He smiled at that, and said nothing more when I remained silent despite his rather nice commentary. I suppose I never exactly realized the connection of my name to Snow White, but it was a really nice connection. My brother always had told me fairy tales before I fell asleep, and it seemed that he oftentimes told me the story of Snow White. In Russian, usually when it's snowing considerably gently.

A few seconds later, the teacher finally began his lesson on organic molecules. Our group project was easy, but the unnerving part of it all was the fact that Eduard was staring at me the entire time, almost endearingly. And, even though I knew he wasn't concentrating as much as he could have, we were still the first group to be finished with the assignment. From the corner of my eye, I could see his handwriting, as beautiful and elegant as he was. I noted his eyes were a different and lighter shade of blue then from what I remembered on the first day, which were exceptionally dark and caliginous.

The teacher, Mr. Vargas, walked up to our table and examined our completed project with much suspicion. "Did Natalia help you at all, Mr. Grullon?"

"Bel," he corrected almost instantaneously, nodding towards my direction. "She identified half of the molecules, sir."

Mr. Vargas looked at me, suspicions having cleared, and smiled thoughtfully. "Excellent. I presume you are of high ranks in the sciences, yes? At least, from what I've seen."

"More or less," I mumbled, and the two bellowed out in a fit of laughter. I continued to stare nonchalantly, my hands becoming clammy and sweaty and nervous for some unknown reason. Mr. Vargas then left us alone after a while to check up on the progress of the rest of the class, and I remained still, looking down on the blackness of the table, staring at my reflection. I looked red.

"It's too bad about the snow, right, Bel?" Eduard asked me, staring outside thoughtfully. He returned his attention towards my direction, an eyebrow peculiarly rising upwards in wonder.

"Yes. I miss the snow," I said, more like a quiet whisper than anything. Still, he was able to hear me perfectly, and he began stating that he did too. That caused me to quirk my own eyebrow in curiosity, though I decided not to ask him what he exactly meant by that. That could be for another day.

"You used to live in Russia," he stated in a matter-of-fact way. It wasn't a question.

"I grew up there," I said to my surprise. I hadn't exactly conversed with people much, and I usually stayed quiet whenever someone tried to talk to me. But there was something in the way he looked at me that caused me to melt on the spot, something that provoked me to talk and do his bidding. That, of course, further helped me prove that Eduard Grullon was, indeed, a vampire. Vampires are very convincing, after all. "I don't like the sun much."

"This must be horrible then, to live in such a sunny place. It is almost always sunny here," he said thoughtfully. He looked at me with such fascination, his light blue eyes glowing with childish curiosity. "Why did you move here, of all places, Bel?"

"Long story."

He rolled his eyes as if to say "déjà vu much?" and I found myself sighing again, succumbing to his unsaid and voluptuous wishes.

"My parents got divorced," I said, groaning when he told me he wanted me to expand on the thought. He sounded like Mr. Edelstein then and there, who always demanded the student to expand on their thoughts, giving more insight and commentary on our individual musings. "A few months ago. I don't know why. They started fighting a lot. Then they just left each other."

"Why did you move with your father?"

"My mother is… he doesn't have a job. They both thought that it would be better if I lived with Toris for now. He's able to support me."

"Your parents… are both… men?" He asked this with a hint of confusion, yet at the same time, it seemed like he knew what the feeling was like.

"Yes. I am adopted, much like you are," I said carefully, not minding that it sounded the least bit stalker-ish. He didn't seem to notice that fact and instead opted for a smile of both pity and understanding.

"I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I was alone until I was seventeen."

"How old are you now?" I asked suspiciously.

"Seventeen," he said, laughing softly. He then looked at me straight in the eyes, his blue eyes dancing with mirth and merriment. "It is fine, that your parents are both men. My parents are both men, too."

"Is… that so?" That was why everyone seemed to look a bit too suspicious on the mention of Dr. Grullon's "wife," because that supposed wife figure was a man. And apparently, Eduard knew exactly how it felt like to be an orphan, to be with homosexual parents, to be in a life where no one else could truly understand.

He looked at me straight in the eyes, his deep blues crashing waves of excitement on my purple orbs. More and more, it felt as if Eduard and I had more in common than what I would have originally thought. And, this was only the beginning. I wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing, but whatever the case, my feelings and former spite towards Eduard was misplaced—unfair. He was bearable—a lot more bearable then people of the likes of Mark—and he was understanding. He knew what it was like to be an orphan, to have older siblings and to feel inferior to them (well, assuming he is the youngest), to have parents that are homosexual. He knew what it was like to be me, and I knew what it was like to be him. It went hand in hand, almost like a jigsaw puzzle, and for that, I was surprisingly glad that we became friends instead of staying enemies like a few days earlier.

"Yes, but they both love each other, which is what counts." He nodded proudly, mentally admiring his parents' relationship, I could tell. "Besides, it is not like my parents are the only homosexual couple in our family." I knew he was referring to the much-talked-about relationship between Emma and Rosella, but I said nothing about them. He, too, dropped the subject there and suddenly said, "You know, Bel… You are very hard to read. I cannot tell what you are thinking, ever."

"Unless you're a mind reader, I doubt you could," I said softly. At that moment, the bell rang, and Eduard stole one last glance at me, smiling whilst doing so, and rushed elegantly out of the room, much like the first day. I stared back in hidden amazement.

Mark, out of habit, walked up to my side, fawning over my and throwing down every single comment he had in his arsenal. More flirting. Great. But, when he began to talk about my lap partner—Eduard—his tone darkened to the point of eminent violence. "Grullon was pretty fuckin'… nice today, I guess." His voice was despondent, weary. Jealous.

The last class, gym, went by fast. All I could think about was Eduard and his sudden change in attitude towards me, as well as the fact that he seemed to look different. I knew he was a vampire and all, but while some facts supported this, some just didn't seem to live up to the requirements of a vampire. The main one, I began to note, was the fact that the Grullon family leaved in one of the sunniest places on earth. It didn't seem like they were affected by it at all, which is just too uncanny and too suspiciously weird not to realize.

I left gym in a hurried daze, walking outside, only to be welcomed by small droplets of rain. The rush of rain had slightly gone down and was only a gentle sprinkle.

When I was outside, I noticed a tall, erect figure standing under the rain, perfect in every way possible. It was Eduard Grullon who was currently standing next to a very fancy and expensive-looking car. It was the shade of the shadows. Next to him were the other Grullon family's cars, all adjacent to each other in a marvelous display of royalty, much like a museum. They were all laughing. At what, I know not, but they were all laughing (except for, typically, Rosella, who was frowning as usual). But, from what I could see, Eduard was inconspicuously staring at me with half-lidded eyes, and all I did in response was rush back to Toris's place, feeling the gentle rhythm of rain on my heated, flushed face.