Chapter 7
My eyes scanned through the Grill to find Kaleb but, instead I found Olivia and Scott sitting at one table talking animatedly and laughing. It was good to see them getting along, especially after they have been fighting so much lately, I will make it a point to ask Olivia about it later this evening.
Just as I was about to walk toward them my eyes wandered to their left and there he was, sitting with his eyes fixed on the book, an amusing smile was fixed on his lips. I honestly found my heart pounding as I walked towards him.
It seemed like he somehow acknowledged my presence before his eyes could look up because when he did look up his eyes were soft and inviting, as if they knew who would be in front of them. I could not help but blush a little as I made my way to him, I tucked my hair behind my ear and then finally I reached him.
His amusing smile never disappeared as he got up, "Hello Lillian" I gasped automatically as he spoke my name in his voice soft as velvet. "Hi" I mumbled idiotically, and like the gentleman he is, he pulled out the chair for me and I got in.
Once we were settled in at our table my eyes turned to Olivia and Scott who were smiling at us – Olivia was grinning. I waved at her and then action for me to come, but she rather told me to stay put with her hands. She got up from her seat happily and walked over to us.
My eyes flickered to Kaleb, who seemed entertained by us. "Hey Lily" Olivia said excitedly, "Hey Olivia" I spoke slowly with a smile. "Hello Kaleb" she was bolder than me, "Hello" his voice was still amused – I wondered why? "Would you like to join us?" he offered genuinely, "Scott and I are working on our project too, maybe after we have all worked on our projects" she replied with a grin, and I chuckled. "Sure, we will be waiting" Kaleb looked at me briefly before turning his attention back to Olivia, "Great!" and with a smile to both of us, Olivia returned to her table.
"So…" Kaleb's whole attention was on me now, "I did my homework" I pulled out my notebook and book and handed him my notebook. He flipped through the pages, and he looked impressed, should I ask him if he did his work? Probably not. "Lillian" he started but I interrupted him "Call me Lily" I was not used to or fond of my full name. "Alright" he started again, "Lily, this is great work, I think we will complete this project much earlier than the due date" and while I was proud to hear that, somewhere I felt a little sad because that meant I would not spend as much time with Kaleb as I thought.
"Great" I tried to sound enthusiastic but failed miserably, and that amused Kaleb again. "You want to hear what I studied?" he tried to hide his smile, "Sure" I placed both my hands under my chin and sat quietly, he chuckled before starting.
Either Kaleb was an excellent story teller or he had done a great deal of research on this on personal level. His words were confident as if he had lived those moments, I could feel Goosebumps on my arms as he spoke, I could picture every moment of this war and to be honest it did not sound all that glorious now that it felt as if I was hearing it from someone with a first-hand account of the events.
To my great embarrassment, I allowed my eyes to check for any rings on his hand. There was no ring, in fact the only jewellery he was wearing was an amulet around his neck, I could only see the black thread around his neck and the rest was hidden under his shirts. I quickly turned my eyes towards his face and I swear he still looked amused.
"You made it so easy to understand" I complimented him once he was done, "Thanks" he ran his fingers through his hair "How do you remember everything so perfectly?" I asked and his gaze dropped from my face to his hands, "I love History as a subject, so I read a lot of things" His eyes flickered back to my face. "I also have an idea of making the project" he started enthusiastically this time, "if you want to hear it" he tried to contain his grin and I did not want him to – I wanted him to smile openly.
"Let's hear it" my voice matched his level of enthusiasm, "I believe you are good with dates" and he was right, I was excellent with dates, I nodded, "Why don't you cover the timeline? I will make the report on the topic" he told me, "But wouldn't you be burdened?" I asked him, "No, and besides we can step into each other's territories to help" he grinned. "Sure, let's do it your way" I agreed and then straightened up. "Great, we will keep each other updated" he said and I nodded.
"I think I am going to remember everything you said quite clearly" I said, "Good, it will help us in our presentation" he reminded and I nodded.
Once we were done with the project work our eyes lingered to Olivia and Scott's table. There books were kept aside long ago and they were having some drink. "Let's join them" Kaleb said as he got up, I started packing my bag and when I looked up, Kaleb had his hand out for me to take which I did without a second thought.
His hand was so soft, but hard at the same time. He helped me out of my chair and then we dropped our hands, I wanted him to hold my hand, was that weird? We walked to their table and they both were happy to see us. Kaleb and Scott shook hands as they formally introduced themselves and then we all took our seats.
I sat on Kaleb's right, Olivia sat on his left and Scott sat in front of Kaleb on our small square table. We ordered ourselves drinks as well and the chatter started.
"Where are you from Kaleb?" Scott asked first, "Colorado, my mother and I just shifted here" he replied confidently, "and your father?" Olivia asked, "He passed away, he was in military" he told us and it was me who spoke next, "I am so sorry" Kaleb gave me a small smile and replied "Thanks."
It was an awkward silence now which was filled with another question, this time by Kaleb. "So, have you all always lived in Mystic Falls?" and that brought a smile on all our faces as we looked at each other. "Yep" I told him, "Our parents have been friends since childhood and so have we" Olivia stated meaningfully. "That sounds wonderful" Kaleb nodded.
Our table was filled with childhood memories and laughter, not just of us three but of Kaleb as well. His childhood seemed so normal, it was impossible that he was a vampire; mom, dad, Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Enzo were wrong, he could not be a vampire.
He could tell us where he shifted from, he had a mother who currently lived in Mystic Falls, his childhood seemed as normal as ours, there was nothing out of ordinary with Kaleb. I kept glancing at Olivia who seemed to think the same as I did.
When the night ended the four of us walked to our cars, said our goodbyes and got in our cars and drove off. I could feel my cheeks burning up because I knew that Kaleb kept glancing in my direction when he said good night to us, he shook hands with us and maybe I am reading too much into the situation but he did not let go of my hand for a long while and we both looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. I felt perfectly at ease as he held my hand delicately, his eyes were intense but soft. I did not want to let go of Kaleb's hand but I had to and I did when I got in my car and drove off.
I was positive that Kaleb was not a vampire, he was not dangerous and I had to tell this to mom and dad. Another good thing was that Scott seemed to move on, he welcome Kaleb into our small group as openly as Olivia did, which felt good. I just hope that our friendship does not just last till this project rather I hope it is something to look forward to for a long time.
When I rang the doorbell, it was like mom was standing on the other end of the door since she yanked open the door as soon as I rang the bell.
"Hey honey" she smiled and I smiled back as I got in. I went straight to the kitchen where I knew dad was placing the food on the dining table. "How was your study night?" mom followed me in, "We are much ahead of everyone else in the class" I told her truthfully as I took my seat. I could feel her hovering over me even when everyone, including Stefan, was in their place for dinner.
"Mom, go on, ask me" I told her, "Ask you what?" she tried to play innocent and I rolled my eyes. "Kaleb is not a vampire and I have a proof" I told them, proudly. Stefan had a smirk on his face and I smiled back at him.
"How is that?" dad asked me this time, "He was born in Colorado and his dad was in military where he died and he moved with his mom here" I told him, "His mom could be a vampire too" mom shrugged, oh my god! What would take to convince these people?! "Mom, C'mon!" I exclaimed. "He told us his childhood stories, very similar to the childhood we had" I told them and then they dropped the topic.
I know they were not convinced and honestly, that is not my job. If they want to believe he is a vampire, then so be it but I will not stop seeing him just because my parents are paranoid. I know that I feel safe with Kaleb – vampire or not – I know what I feel.
A/N: Hey Readers,
I am sorry I have not uploaded a new chapter in a long while, the thing is I have been ill for more than a month, still am and it is hard on my body, I am sorry guys, anyways, here is a new chapter. Please it is a request to all my readers to leave a review and let me know your thoughts on the same. I will be waiting -Fingers Crossed-
-JT
