APOV

*Thursday*

Jill was waiting excitedly for me at the bottom of the girl's dorms before I even arrived. Together we took a brief tour of the school since it was my first visit and then settled down under a shady copse to talk. Eddie kept watch on us from a small distance while talking with his friends.

I was listening to Jill's nervous rambling about random school events. I could see from her dim aura that she wasn't happy. She was making an effort at being cheerful, and I couldn't help but admire how gracefully she was handling her situation. I smiled and ruffled her hair- as always she was annoyed by it.

"I can see into your mind but still can't predict when you're going to maul my hair!" She exclaimed not unhappily.

"What can I say Jailbait, I'm a master at spontaneous actions." I teased.

I thought about my high school days at Alder Academy. My classmates thought I was a freak for not specializing in any element. If not for the wild parties I threw and attended, I would have been miserable too. But that wasn't a solution for Jill. I didn't like the idea of her doing that to gain fake friends. What she needed was a real friend who would support her, keep her trust, and appreciate her for who she was.

"I have you Adrian. The rest will work itself out. I'm glad you came to visit today," She said shyly having read my thoughts.

"My pleasure Jailbait," I smiled fondly, "Drinking alone was sad and pathetic, but it kept me from realizing how boring it is at Clarence's… day time TV sucks. But now that I'm cutting down I don't really know what to do."

"Well it seems your lunch with the human girl, Katie, went well. You seemed less broody than usual… at least until the end. What happened then? I could sense something was bugging you but it was confusing. Didn't you have a good time? Are you going to meet with her again? She seems nice- I mean she's human and nothing will come of it but having people around is a good thing right? Maybe if you make more friends it will help with your boredom. And I know what you mean… she looks somewhat familiar to me too but I can't think of when or when." She barely paused to breathe through all of this- typical Jill.

"Lunch was fine- it kept me from wallowing but I don't know that it was enough. Katherine is too straight laced for my liking. And I hated not being able to pay for it." I grumbled. She went by Katie but I just liked saying her full name and that's how I thought of her in my mind too- even though I called her Little Kat to annoy her.

Honestly lunch had been difficult because I had to keep pushing thoughts of Rose aside- like how she would have reacted to something I said or how she would have been trying to steal food off my plate or how she'd ripped my heart out and stomped on it. Then I'd abruptly change the topic to think of something else.

Katherine hadn't seemed to notice anything was off or mind the randomly shifting topics. Well I talked- I was afraid I'd fall back into a gloomy mess if I stayed quiet too long. Katherine had just nodded along or given some short witty responses but she humored me and didn't look annoyed. I was grateful for it. I had money to pay for lunch but would have made a big dent in my bank balance. I would have to switch to cheaper cigarettes if I wanted my funds to last the month- my money situation- like everything else in my life was really depressing.

Jill laughed, "She's a human. Maybe straight laced is a good thing! I can give you money… I have nowhere to spend it. Why were you suddenly so sad and upset towards the end?" Jill was nothing if not curious.

"No, I'm not taking your money!" I said intensely she was going to argue but saw I would never agree and just sighed. I continued more softly, "I don't know Jailbait… she had been humoring me the entire time… but she wasn't comfortable around me. Her reaction to my joke about making her life lively just made me realize how people see me all the time. It stung a little."

That it had affected me was the bigger surprise. I knew how people saw me back in the Moroi world. I had learned to ignore it a long time ago- I wouldn't have survived in court otherwise. However, Katherine was a stranger who knew nothing about me and yet her opinion of me was as low- as if I were a good for nothing spoiled party boy- which I was- but I hadn't even drunk that much around her or flirted too much with anyone this time so why would she think that of me?

"Well she's only met you twice and I can tell that despite her straight laced nature you are intrigued by her. She mustn't think that badly of you if she said you could call her again. You need friends too, and the fact that she is human would be a good thing… or you'd probably be busy trying to woo her to give friendship a chance." Jill sounded rueful and wary towards the end.j

I smiled sadly, Jill knew me too well. I didn't have many female friends not the kind I didn't party or make out or do more with at least occasionally. Jill was too young to be exposed to all the things in my head. "I guess you are right, I need more friends… even if they are human. She goes to college… there must be fun parties there and more people too!"

Just then, I noticed a redhead with an arrogant manner throw a flirty interested smile my way and then look witheringly at Jill. A glimpse at her aura showed curiosity, envy, anger, resentment, and nervousness. Jill noticed the girl's look and shrunk a little into herself.

"Who is that Jailbait? I don't like the way she looked at you. Is she giving you trouble?" I asked protectively.

"That's Laurel, she doesn't like me very much. But don't worry I can handle it." She sounded determined not to let me interfere.

Eddie decided to join us and I asked about the Laurel girl. He seemed to have adapted better to the human school and even had a few friends, maybe rooming with Zoe was the cause of her unhappiness. Eddie looked concerned about my question but he shrugged, "Girls are hard to understand. I don't really understand what Laurel's problem is." Jill shot him a harsh look before he could go on.

"Jill, you know we want to help you- it's why we are here. But you have to tell us what's going on." I tried being reasonable and used her first name to let her know I was being serious.

"No, you are here because we share a bond that we need to learn to control. Eddie is here to keep me safe from Moroi rebels and Strigoi. Any other thing that comes up is for me to deal with. I don't want to be a helpless girl that you two have to run to rescue all the time!" She was upset and her eyes were moist.

"We don't think you are weak or helpless, you are brave and strong and kind. It doesn't mean that we can't offer help or that you can't accept it." Eddie tried to be soothing but it didn't work.

"I'm not brave or strong. Both of you treat me as if I'm fragile! And you, Eddie, won't even teach me self defense because you think you will hurt me!" She was really upset and Eddie looked uncomfortable.

"You don't need to learn to fight… if it ever comes down to you having to fight then I'm not doing my job right!" Eddie tried desperately to explain… it seemed like a conversation that had been rehashed multiple times. I could understand Jill's side. She had actually died at court. Perhaps if she had some training she could have fought back and felt less like the sitting duck she had been.

"I don't know Castile, it seems like a good idea, and if it makes her happy then don't stop her. No one is saying she will actually have to use those skills… but having them won't hurt anyone." Jill flashed me a happy smile and it warmed me. Those smiles had been rather rare since the move to Palm Springs. I mussed her hair again and she glowered at me.

Eddie didn't seem happy but he agreed, "Fine, I'll teach you. When do you want to start Jill?"

They started to discuss how to time their sessions, what she wanted to learn, and how to keep it relatively private from other people in the school and so on. I stopped paying attention- I was looking around the school observing people's auras when suddenly it landed on a familiar yellow and purple one. Katherine? What was she doing here still? I was shocked.

Jill felt it through the bond and looked up at me. I just shook my head and signaled her to continue her planning with Eddie. I looked towards Katherine and noticed she had her laptop out and was working away on it while looking around at the school and the football field occasionally. I was wary of her continued presence here… why had she stayed? Had she seen us sitting here? Was she spying on us? Humans worked with Strigoi… maybe the rebels had hired humans too.

She didn't feel like a threat though. I had spent the afternoon with her and she hadn't pried into my life or asked me anything to raise my suspicions. I was fairly good at reading people. Should I go over and talk to her? She knew I had family here… maybe she wouldn't be so wary of me if she met them.

Even as I was thinking these thoughts, the football practice ended and a good-looking dark haired muscular boy came towards her. She smiled at him and they talked for a bit before he went off again. Of course, she wasn't a spy! That was silly of me. She was just here meeting someone. I wondered if that was her boyfriend and the reason she was so immune to my charm. It was an amused thought.

Eddie and Jill were still making their plans. They seemed to have settled on early morning before breakfast when the students were usually still asleep and the sun wouldn't be strong enough to bother Jill. They were now discussing how Zoe would react to this. I frowned, I knew Zoe was a part of the reason Jill was unhappy. Another thing I didn't know how to help with.

I looked towards Katherine again- she had been on the phone but hung up just as the footballer came back from the changing room and she was gathering her things to leave with him. When she mentioned she had things to do this evening I had imagined piles of books and note making. I was amused at how wrong I had been- Katherine it seemed was full of surprises.

It was getting late and Jill had assignments to finish so I said my goodbyes- happy that tomorrow was feeding day so I'd have some company again- and walked towards the bus stop I'd seen earlier. For some strange reason I found myself thinking about Katherine. Meeting her again had been interesting. She looked so familiar for some reason- as if I'd seen her before. Jill mentioned the same thing but I'd forgotten to ask her about it.

Katherine was… classy. I couldn't think of a better word to describe her. I barely knew her but I doubt I'd change my mind on that- even covered in oil the day her car broke down she had been well-dressed and very put together. Stylish sophisticated women weren't a new thing for me considering where I'd grown up- but they were constantly focused on competing with and out doing each other. Katherine, however, was so unassuming- she was attractive and had a great body... perhaps a bit too thin… but she didn't flaunt it or even seem to be aware of it- it wasn't a trait I'd come across before- royals and party girls were pretty much the opposite of it.

She was my opposite- reserved, hard working- if her books had been anything to go by, independent, and self- sufficient. She didn't treat me like most other women either- no dreamy admiration, or flirty banter or attempts to brush up against me, or any of the other things girls usually did to get my attention- it was a refreshing change. Watching her calm face crack into various expressions (often exasperation) in reaction to my antics at lunch had been fun.

Rose had been resistant to my charms but she had still admired my looks, flirted back, and kept me on my toes. Not that I wanted Katherine in that way… she was just the first person I'd met here. She seemed like a nice person and intriguing- but she wasn't really my idea of fun. Jill was right I needed friends and I would work on making some- including Little Kat.

What I really craved and needed was some excitement and distractions though- especially since I had lessened my drinking. I missed being around people- missed being the center of attention- I missed wild parties and the opportunity it provided to forget everything else.

If I wanted to stop thinking about Rose then I had to keep myself occupied- I was starved for a social life. And Palm Springs had none to offer. I went back to Clarence's and poured myself a drink and tried to figure out how to keep myself entertained while Lissa worked to get the laws changed- and not think about Rose in the meantime.