The rest of the day went by in a flash. Everyone was exited for the activities planned for the following day. Alice and Sage danced around the hallways in excitement. It always ceased to amaze me how much energy those two had. I don't think that the actual dance was what they were excited for. I was sure it was because I had actually agreed to go dress shopping with them since I had a 'date.'
They had never gotten me to go shopping with them before. If I went shopping it was always by myself and I was always right in and right back out again with what I had came for. I detested shopping.
I'm not even sure why I agreed to go to the dance. I mean when it comes to balance, I have two left feet. I can be walking down the halls, minding my own business when out of no where I will fall. And the sad thing is, there's usually no one around me to blame it on.
Jasper. He was why I agreed in the first place. There's just something about him that would make me do almost anything for him. But it's not his fault. He doesn't really know how much control he has over me. I know he's dangerous and if mom ever found out what he was…..well I don't know. He told me before how dangerous he was and that I should stay away from him. But the thing is, he kind of didn't stay away from me.
I smiled to myself. Too late now. I glanced at the clock. The bell should ring any minute. I held my breathe. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I didn't know why I felt so uneasy.
When the bell rang, I slid out of my seat with ease and made my way to my locker. I quickly placed my books inside and made my way down the hall towards Alice's. She was already standing there, placing her binder inside. I could see down the hall that Sage was making her way towards us as well.
We both reached her at the same time. Alice's eyes lit up when she saw me.
"Glad to see you didn't ditch." She said smoothly.
"I didn't really have a choice. You know where I live." I murmured.
Alice chuckled.
"Ready then?" Sage asked.
"As ready as I will ever be." I sighed.
We walked towards Sage's car. Alice and Sage's excitement grew with each step we took, knowing that I had no where to run.
We passed Jasper and Desiree on our way out. Jasper looked up at me with those beautiful emerald green eyes and smiled. Desiree turned her head slightly. Once she saw who he had smiled at, her lips mimicked his.
I couldn't help but return their smiles. It made me so happy that Desiree actually accepted me now. Before she was cold and bitter towards me.
As we passed them I could hear Alice and Sage giggle. Ever since Jasper and his family arrived here, Alice had it in her head that Jasper had liked me. Well in a way he did, but not in the normal way at first. Part of him, I was sure, still hungered for my blood just as the day he came. He denies that it has any control over him like it used to, but every once in a while when I get to close, I see the restraint in his face.
We climbed inside of Sage's car. Alice and Sage took the front while I placed myself in the middle seat in the back. Ever since I was a child i have had a fear of being by the window in the back seat of a moving vehicle. That is where all the casualties usually happen.
"Told ya so." Alice chimed as we pulled out of the parking lot.
"What?" I asked, confused.
Alice turned to face me, "About Jasper."
I rolled my eyes, "So what about him?"
"I told you that he likes you. and I was right. you can see it in his eyes everytime that he looks at you. there's something about him... I think that if anyone ever tried to hurt you he would step in and beat the crap out of them."
Sage laughed.
I looked away. I knew that if someone tried to hurt me, they would get more than that done to them.
A silence passed through the car. The ride to Elizabethtown was only twenty minutes, but it seemed like longer.
"Who are you two going with?" I asked.
I had forgotten completely to ask them.
"Jaedon..." Alice said.
Sage squealed, "I knew you liked him."
"Hey! he asked me!" Alice said, "What about you?"
Sage paused, "Damon."
Alice and I stared at her for a moment. "I though you hated him!" I exclaimed.
"I don't hate him..." She began, "anymore."
"But you said that if he ever came near you again you would scream." Alice said.
"That was before I got to know him. He's actually really nice..."
My mouth popped open. "You like him, don't you?"
Sage winced and that was all I needed for her answer.
We ended up going to a store called the butterfly boutique. It was a nice little place that seemed old and rundown on the outside, but on the inside, it was beautiful. There were columns made of marble all around. The walls were a pale white that shimmered in the sunlight. There were racks of dresses that occupied the area of the store.
Alice and Sage made their way towards different racks leaving me standing in the middle of the doorway. I looked around and made my way towards the blue dresses. I looked through them, all the while nothing catching my interest. I was almost done when something caught my eye. Over in the corner, almost hidden away from the world was a strapless blue dress with a silver sash. It had a silver corset. Silver sequins decorated the dress, making it seem like it glowed. I immediately took it off the rack and made my way to the dressing rooms.
I slipped it on easily. It hung perfectly on me. I knew instantly that this was the one that I wanted.
"Come out! we want to see!" I heard Alice's voice call.
I opened the dressing room door. I could see that Alice and Sage already had their dress picked out.
Sage's eyes lit up, "Oh-my-god, Raya. It's beautiful!"
Alice nodded in agreement, "It suits you perfectly."
I blushed and quickly returned to the dressing room. We were able to find shoes and a few accessories that matched with our dresses.
We stopped for dinner at a small restaurant a couple doors down. The waitress sat us in a window seat in the corner.
Looking out the window, I could see the sunset in the sky. The colors were absolutely beautiful.
"I can't believe how fast that was! one store and boom! we have everything!" Sage beamed.
I nodded. Alice looked at me smiling, pleased that I hadn't bailed or been a pain.
"So it wasn't that bad now, was it?" Alice chimed.
I shook my head, "No." I admitted.
I was actually shocked though. I never thought that I would like shopping with them. I Looked up across the room. Over in the corner across from us, I could see a table of 3 boys; They were about our age, but yet I had never seen them before.
One of them, was looking our way and talking to the others. He was obviously the youngest judging by his boyish grin. His hair was black, but in the light, it shone as a dark blue. He had brown eyes that reminded me of a puppy dog. His two comrades had lighter hair and blue eyes. They seemed to be intrigued by what the dark haired boy was saying.
The one on the left looked towards us. When he realized that I had seen him, his face turned red instantly as he turned away.
"What are you looking at?" Alice asked.
Sage followed my gaze to the table across the room. Alice followed.
"They keep looking at us." I said.
Sage's head turned towards me, her eyes inquiring. "Really? I wonder why..."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dark haired boy get up and smile at the others. He gestured towards us. They both looked at each other, then decided to follow their friend. They stood up and threw some bills on the table to pay for their meal. Then they started walking in our direction.
"So what do you think that the theme will be this year?" Alice asked.
My attention turned from the boys to her.
"The theme for what?" I asked.
"For prom. I heard that it's supposed to be the best one yet!" Alice chirped.
"Hmmm...good question." I said.
"Excuse me ladies," Came a voice from the end of the table.
I looked up to see the boys from across the room standing right in front of us. Up close, they seemed to be like Jasper and his family. They had perfectly tanned skin, with beautiful faces. I knew though, that they were not what Jasper was.
Alice looked at them with a blank face. Sage smiled politely before answering.
"Yes, boys?" she emphasised 'boys.'
"We were just wondering if you wanted some company." dark haired boy said.
Alice, Sage, and I exchanged glances. Alice seemed somewhat alarmed, but Sage gladly accepted.
"Sure." she shoved over towards me, making room for them. Two sat beside Alice, and the other went beside Sage.
"So, what are your names?" The dark haired boy asked.
"I'm Sage," she said playfully, "And that's Raya and Alice."
"I'm Christian," the dark haired boy said, "And that is Dimitri and Kale."
Dimitri smiled at us. His attention then turned towards Alice. Kale sat on the edge with a hard look on his face, as if he had just smelled rotten eggs.
I looked at their faces carefully. Each had it's differences, but each seemed similar.
Out of nowhere, a song started playing. I looked around until I realized that it was my phone. I dug it out of my pocket, realizing that everyone's eyes were fixated on me.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Raya! where are you?" a voice shouted frantically from the other end.
"In Elizabethtown with Sage and Alice. Why? Who is this?"
"It's mom!"
"Mom?! What's wrong?" I asked.
"You girls need to come here now! Its urgent!" mom shouted.
"Okay, we'll be there soon."
"Hurry home safely."
I closed the phone and looked up at Alice and Sage. "We need to go. Mom said it's urgent, and she never does unless it really is." I said.
Alice and Sage nodded their heads in agreement. Mom was never one to overreact. I knew that better than anyone.
We looked at the boys apologetically and made our way out the door. Sage revved the engine as we roared out of town. I was anxious to know what had happened.
It took only fifteen minutes to get back to White Lake. Sage drove as fast as she could without getting pulled over.
We stopped in front of my house and climbed out of the car. I could see that Jasper was here, and so were his brother and sister. I gathered that the silver Porsche parked behind my mom was Terran's.
We headed inside, unsure of what to expect.
Everyone was in the living room, crowded around each other. When we entered, I saw my mom sigh with relief. Jasper's gaze followed hers to the doorway where we stood. He seemed relieved as well. He stood and walked over to us, all the while keeping a straight face. He looked at Sage apologetically and then turned to me.
"I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do for him….." he said quietly.
I looked at him confused, "Who?"
Jasper turned back to face Sage, "I regret having to be the one to say this……" I turned so that we could see into the living room better.
There in the middle of the room, lay a boy. He was not too much younger than us. His short brown hair was laying on every direction. His eyes were closed, and he looked as pale as a ghost. I took a few steps forward to get a better look. That's when I realised that it was not only Jasper and his family here, but Sage's as well. I saw her mom sitting around the boy, sobbing. That's when it hit me; This boy laying in front of us was Jared, Sage's little brother.
I glanced behind me, already aware that Sage was crying in Alice's arms. I went over and squeezed Sage's hand, tears forming in my eyes. I glanced over at Jasper, who just looked at me as if he was the child who had put his hand in the cookie jar and had gotten caught. He turned to go into the kitchen and then stopped, and half turned to see me. He waved his hand for me to follow.
I didn't want to leave Sage, but I figured that Jasper had something good to say. We entered the kitchen and stood by the table. I looked out into the now dark sky, seeing the true darkness for the first time.
Everything that was happening, was just getting worse and worse.
"We have a problem…." Jasper begun.
I looked up at him.
He looked at me with solemn eyes, "At first we thought that someone was after us….."
"What? Why?"
"When Cody was killed, I was one of the last ones seen with him. He showed me around the school on my first day."
"But why would someone be after you?"
"Because of what we are. Not many people would be as understanding as you were if they found out. But then, as more time passed, we all came to the same conclusion."
The way that he looked at me at that moment made me shudder. He had never looked at me like that. With so much worry on his face. It scared me for what was coming next.
"Whoever is doing this, is not after us. They're after you."
