Chapter 7

Mackenzie laid in the center of her bed and sighed. She'd finished her homework, watched a little television and now boredom was sinking in. Since Nicole and Salvatore had been spending most of their time together, her partner-in-crime had been taken away.

Laughter trickled in through her open doorway, and Caleb and Delilah walked by talking about whatever had happened during their day at school.

She glanced to her left, making eye contact with both of them, one after the other, before returning her stare to the swirling patterns in the ceiling.

"Mac." Caleb pulled Delilah by the hand into the room. "What's up? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She gave a closed-mouth smile. "Just bored."

He leapt onto her bed, and Mackenzie began to laugh.

"It sucks that Nicole doesn't go to school with us," she said, shaking her head.

"I know," Caleb nodded, "Now that she's with mini Aro..."

Mackenzie chuckled. "He is kind of hot for being the son of Aro."

Delilah nodded and Caleb gave a her a joking look of disapproval before he cracked a grin.

"He's not ugly," Delilah said with a laugh, "Is all I'm saying."

"He's kind of like your cousin," Caleb teased.

"What?" she made a face.

"Caius... Aro... aren't they brothers?"

"Not by blood," Delilah told him, emphasizing the last word.

"I'm happy for her," Mackenzie said, "They went through quite an ordeal to be together." She raised her eyes to meet Caleb's, "Just like you two did."

"Why does love always include blazing fire and near-death experiences?" Caleb asked. He laughed, but was serious.

"That's what happens when you mingle with Volturi." She looked at Delilah and raised her eyebrows with a grin.

"Hey, I've never really been Volturi," she laughed, defending herself.

"But you did try to play me," Caleb reminded her, leaning back on his elbows.

"You were doing the same thing," Delilah reminded him.

"Yeah, that had a How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days feel," Mackenzie joked, "Only with darker undertones to it..."

"Think they're coming for us?" Caleb asked. He shifted his gaze between the two girls.

"Alice would tell us," Delilah said.

"Not if she can't see them coming," Mackenzie added, "Because of Vincent's shield."

"Right..." she nodded once and spaced out for a moment.

"Let's not think about it." She sighed.

"Why don't you hang out with us tonight?" Caleb suggested. He looked out the window.

"What are you guys up to?" Mackenzie asked him.

He looked at Delilah and they shared a grin.

"What?" she urged.

It had been one week since the two of them had gone to the 'Immortal Society' meeting and they had plans to meet up again that night. English class had proved to be everyone's favorite class, as they used a little imagination to tie the two to things together. Chris had been chomping at the bit to confront their teacher with the information they'd learned about his teenage days and the society logs.

"We're meeting with some friends from school," Caleb explained.

"What's the catch?" Mackenzie eyed him, "I feel like there's something sneaky involved just by the look on your face."

Caleb laughed, "Okay, you're right."

"What is it?"

"It's nothing bad," he went on, "We discovered that our English teacher used to kind of search for vampires and witches and stuff... or at least he used to meet with a group of other kids and they'd talk about it; research it."

Mackenzie raised her eyebrows. "Okay..."

"Anyway," Caleb continued, "They used to have this 'immortal society' thing. We found a map last Friday night and followed it to this cave-like place."

"Why does this sound like a really bad idea?"

"They have no idea what we are," he assured her, "I don't think any of them really believe this stuff." Caleb smiled at Delilah, "If they only knew."

"What if one of them gets curious and digs a little deeper?" Mackenzie asked him.

Caleb gave her a look, and then shrugged. "What are they going to do? Claim we're vampires?" He laughed, "As far as they're concerned, vampires can't be out in the sunlight and die by a stake through the heart."

Mackenzie couldn't help but smile.

"Come with us," he urged, "It's all in good fun. I get a kick out of it, and the kids are all pretty cool."

She sighed and nodded. "Alright," she agreed, "I need some low-key excitement in my life."

"They, uh, we did find something in one of the journals," Caleb confessed. "It had something about Stregoni Benefici."

Mackenzie pressed her eyebrows together and thought for a moment before the light bulb went off in her mind. "Wait... like your dad?"

He nodded.

"And you still think this is a good idea?" Mackenzie looked at him, "There's not a picture of him or anything is there?"

"No." He shook his head, "Just stories... the same ones you find on the internet nowadays."

"They seem to think it's impossible for a vampire to be good," Delilah said.

Mackenzie repeated Caleb's phrase, "If they only knew." She snickered, "Your dad just started working as a doctor again. I'd love to see them wrap their heads around that one."

"At the very least you'll get some laughs out of it," Caleb told her. "Come on. It'll be fun."

She sighed and nodded. "Okay. Yeah, I'll go."

"Don't let me twist your arm."

Mackenzie laughed lightly, "No, it sounds fun." She stood up from the bed, "Let me just get myself together."

Caleb popped up and quickly swept Delilah off her feet and into his arms.

"We'll probably leave in a half hour," he explained, "Take your time and head down the hall to our room."

"Oh, it's both of yours room now?" Mackenzie asked with a grin.

Delilah giggled and looked at Caleb.

"I thought your parents axed that."

"They tried," he explained with a smile. "But..." he shrugged.

Mackenzie shook her head. "You're such a little trouble maker, Caleb."

"He's dangerous," Delilah said, "That's what attracted me to him in the first place."

Mackenzie laughed and Caleb grinned. "Mr. Dangerous," she rolled her eyes and then nudged Caleb in the arm.

"Half hour?" he asked.

"It's a date," Mackenzie joked.

The two of them smiled and Caleb whisked Delilah out of the room.

Mackenzie stared at the open door before shaking her head and smiling. There was a small part of her that thought something could go wrong with this society, particularly because of the accuracy of the information with Carlisle. However, she knew thought to herself that that chance was minimal and her new Friday night plans kind of sounded fun. With that, she searched her closet for some warm clothes and got ready to go out with Caleb and Delilah.