*Oliver's POV*

"Melanie, no. Get her to sleep. I don't care if you need help! You're in New Jersey! I'm in New York. Okay? Good. Bye."

I finally clicked off my phone and ran up the stairs of the Met. Schuyler and I had agreed to meet at the Met when I finally got back from my trip. I went in, and went into the place where Schuyler and I always went in the Met. When I got there-by the Egyptian place-I noticed another girl our age there. She was…different. I don't think I'd ever seen her. She must be from out of town.

I waited and looked at the things I'd seen a million times when I noticed that another girl came to join the girl. I looked at the cropped blonde hair, the stone blue glass eyes, and the petite physic. It was Erica Remorve, no doubt, but who was the girl she was talking to? The other girl was kind of pretty-dark hair pale skin-but who was she?

"Erica?" I asked, walking over to her. The other girl looked up and she turned to me. It took her a while to realize who it was.

"Oh Oliver! You're the one who works at the-," Erica paused, looked over at the other girl, and then continued to say, "-The Blood Bank. The organization our family helps run," She said to the other girl. The girl nodded and looked down at her map of the Met. Then Erica gasped. "Oh Oliver forgive me! This is my niece Bella. Bella this is Oliver. Bella's just moved here. She's in your school," She said in a fast succession. The whole time Bella kept her eyes on her aunt, and looked a little overwhelmed by her aunt's fast talking. When Erica finished, I held out my hand to Bella. She took it and finally looked up.

My eyes went directly to hers. They weren't anything amazing, but what was behind them made me think. Her eyes were different from everyone's around me. They had a special purity to them that you didn't see in Blue Bloods. Pretty yet reserved. And for some reason, her eyes didn't leave mine either.

We finally awoke from the stares when someone made a coughing noise. We dropped our hands and was about to see who made the noise when Bella asked, "I didn't see you in school today," She said. It wasn't a question. Odd, since she didn't really seem like the type to have that much force in her voice. But it was a kind of…nice force.

"I've been back in New York for an hour. I-," I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around. Uh-oh.

"Oliver! Who's your friend?" Schuyler asked, slightly perturbed. But as I looked at her black clad body, I felt the attraction to her I always had felt after she had first sucked from me. I shook my head to wake myself and turned to Bella.

"This is Bella. She just moved here," I said, trying to fight the pull toward Schuyler. It was so weird in public.

"Oh yah, I've seen her around in school. I'm Schuyler," Schuyler said, running a hand through her jet black hair. She said it slightly passive-aggressively, but I don't see why she felt threatened. We had a bond that couldn't be broken now.

"Hi Schuyler. I'm Erica's niece. How do you guys know her…?" Bella said, in a truly innocent voice. I had a weird twinge when she asked in that sweet voice. Schuyler took the question.

"All the old Upper East Side families help fund the Blood Bank. You're family was one of them. But unfortunately Erica's the only one left here-," Schuyler continued, but I jumped in.

"How bout we talk Schuyler? We haven't seen each other in months," I commented to get her off of Bella. What was Schuyler's problem? Schuyler shrugged and we waved goodbye. We walked to the other side of the room. Schuyler crossed her arms and sighed. Her face wasn't mad, but actually kind of sad. I looked at her. "Schulyer, what's up?" I asked, looking over to you. She shrugged again, and then sighed.

"Oliver, don't trust her. She's marked for a Blood. And even though you aren't a Blue Blood, you're a human consulate. And Mimi has declared war on her." My eyes scrunched together.

"Why would a marked person even come close to Blue Blood territory? It isn't in their instincts-"

"A Blood arrived this afternoon. There's going to be a battle, no doubt," Schuyler said morbidly, and then walked away. Why did she all of a sudden have a problem with him? I sighed and sat down on a bench. Things were getting weird.

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