I was pretty mean, wasn't I?

Sorry, I love you guys. You can go back to offering me sex, feedback, and candy.

Thank you again, so much, for all the feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

This is a strict chapter, one that follows the book.

This conversation is crucial, duh.

10. Spanish Inquisition

Part Three

"Hiya."

Great, Spence, sound like an idiot.

I couldn't think of anything else to say, and she didn't speak. Probably biding

her time, I presumed. It was a quiet walk to the cafeteria. Walking

with Ashley through the crowded lunchtime rush was a lot like my first

day here; everyone stared.

Was it horrible that I felt the need to hold her hand?

Maybe I would, but like I said, everyone fucking stared.

Shit, they all up in my bus'ness.

Okay, I need to stop watching late night t.v.

She led the way into the line, still not speaking, though her eyes

returned to my face every few seconds, their expression speculative. It

seemed to me that irritation was winning out over amusement as the

dominant emotion in her gorgeous face. I fidgeted nervously with the zipper on my

jacket. She had that hold over me, something that melted everything inside of me.

She walked throw the line, filling up a tray.

"What are you doing?" I objected. "You're not getting all that for me?"

She shook her head, stepping forward to buy the food. I reached into my pocket to pay for half but her stare stopped me.

Okay, she is so a dom.

"Half is for me, of course."

I raised one eyebrow.

She led the way to the same place we'd sat that one time before. From the

other end of the long table, a group of seniors gazed at us in amazement

as we sat across from each other. Ashley seemed oblivious.

Oh, wow, we even got the seniors to look over at some juniors. Okay, I can see why they are looking at Ashley, but I have no idea why they are looking over at me.

"Take whatever you want," she said, pushing the tray toward me.

"I'm curious," I said as I picked up a granny smith apple, turning it around in my

hands, "what would you do if someone dared you to eat food?"

"You're always curious." She grimaced, shaking her head. She glared at me, holding my eyes as she lifted the slice of pizza off the tray, and deliberately bit off a mouthful, chewed quickly, and then swallowed. I watched, eyes wide.

"If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" she asked

condescendingly.

I wrinkled my nose. "Glen fed it to me when I was three, it wasn't so bad."

She laughed. "Some brother, but I'm not surprised."

Has she ever met Glen?

I don't know.

Something over my shoulder seemed to catch her attention.

"Chelsea's analyzing everything I do and she'll break it down for you

later." She pushed the rest of the pizza toward me. The mention of Chelsea

brought a hint of her former irritation back to her features.

I put down the apple and took a bite of the pizza, looking away, knowing

she was about to start.

"So the man at the restaurant was cute?" she asked casually.

"You really didn't notice?"

"No. I wasn't paying attention. I had a lot on my mind."

"Poor boy, he was really diggin ya." I could afford to be generous now.

"Something you said to Cheslea, well, it bothers me." She refused to be

distracted. Her voice was husky, and she glanced up from under her long Maybelene lashes with troubled eyes.

"I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like. You know what they say about eavesdroppers," I reminded her.

"I warned you I would be listening."

"Hey, I told you that you wouldn't like everything I would be saying. I even held back talking to her."

Damn.

"You did," she agreed, but her voice was still rough. "You aren't precisely right, though. I do want to know what you're thinking. I just wish that you wouldn't be thinking some things."

I scowled. "That's quite a distinction, telling me what to think."

"But that's not really the point at the moment."

"Then what is?"

We were inclined toward each other across the table now. She had her gorgeous white hands folded under her chin; I leaned forward, my right hand cupped around my neck. I had to remind myself that we were in a crowded lunchroom, with probably many curious eyes on us. It was too easy to get wrapped up in our own private, tense little bubble.

But would now be a better time to reach out for her hand?

"Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" she

murmured, leaning closer to me as she spoke, her dark honey shaded eyes were suffocating.

Shit, how do I breathe?

I had to look away before I pass out of loss of oxygen.

"You're doing it again," I muttered.

Her eyes opened wide with surprise. "What?"

"Dazzling me," I admitted, trying to concentrate as I looked back at her.

"Oh." She frowned.

"It's alright," I sighed. "You can't help it."

"Are you going to answer the question?"

I looked down. "Yeah, I guess."

"Yes, you are going to answer, or yes, you really think that?" She was irritated again.

She was always so irritated.

Do vampires have PMS, cause she's acting like she does.

"Yes, I really think that I care more than you." I kept my eyes down on the table, my eyes tracing the pattern of the green and yellow of the tray.

The silence dragged on.

I refused to be the first to break it this time, fighting hard against the temptation to peek at her expression.

Finally she spoke, voice velvet soft. "You're wrong."

I glanced up to see that her eyes were gentle.

How could I be wrong?

There is no way in heaven she could care more than me.

"You can't know that," I disagreed in a whisper.

My head was filled with doubt, but my heart wanted to believe them.

"What makes you think so?" Her liquid topaz eyes were penetrating, trying futilely, I assumed, to lift the truth straight from my mind.

It wasn't going to happen.

My mind is locked up like the Fort Knox to her, and thank some higher being for that.

I stared back, struggling to think clearly in spite of her face, to find some way to explain. As I searched for the words, I could see her getting impatient; frustrated by my silence, she started to scowl.

I lifted my hand from my neck, and held up one finger.

"Let me think," I insisted.

God, I'm human, I take time.

Her expression cleared, now that she was satisfied that I was planning to answer. I dropped my hand to the table, moving my left hand so that my palms were pressed together. I stared at my hands, twisting and untwisting my fingers, as I finally spoke. It was a thing I did when I was nervous.

Focus on hands so I don't get distracted by her gorgeous face.

"Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes," I hesitated. "I don't really know. Cause, of course, I don't know how to read minds, but sometimes it seems like you're trying to say goodbye when you're saying something else." That was the best I could sum up the sensation of anguish that her words triggered in me at times.

"Perceptive," she whispered. And there was the anguish again, surfacing as

she confirmed my fear. Shit, she was gonna say she is just fucking with me and that she's gonna kill me dead in a second and dump my body under a tree. "That's exactly why you're wrong, though," she began to explain, but then her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'the obvious'?"

"Well, look at me," I said, unnecessarily as she was already staring. "I'm so normal it is boring. Well, except for bad things like all the near-death experiences and being so clumsy that I'm almost disabled. Then look at you!" I waved my hand toward her and all her bewildering perfection. "You're a fucking Goddess."

Oh, that is an understatement.

The understatement of the century.

She was more than that.

Her perfectly arched brow creased angrily for a moment, then smoothed as her eyes took on a knowing look. "You don't see yourself very clearly, you know. I'll admit you're dead-on about the bad things," she chuckled blackly, "but you didn't hear what every human in this school was thinking on your first day."

Oh, that they wanna fuck me?

Hell, we're teenagers, most of us (excluding me) wanna fuck whatever walks on two (sometimes four) legs.

Our hormones is outta wack.

We're always horny.

But unlike them I just find internet...

Whoa, let's back up there.

What were we talking about? Oh yeah, everyone seeing me.

I blinked, astonished. "No, I don't believe it," I mumbled to myself.

"Trust me just this once, you are the opposite of ordinary."

My embarrassment was much stronger than my pleasure at the look that came into her eyes when she said this. I quickly reminded her of my original argument.

"But I'm not saying goodbye," I pointed out.

Hell, I would hold onto her leg if she tried to leave.

Common, you would to, don't lie.

"See? That is the proof I am right. I care the most, because if I can do it," she shook her head, seeming to struggle with the thought, "if leaving is the right thing to do, then I'll hurt myself to keep from hurting you, to keep you safe."

I glared. "And you don't think I would do the same?"

(read: I wouldn't. Look at above statement.)

"You'd never have to make the choice."

Thank the higher being of my day.

Who was it today?

Oh, Ashley.

Abruptly, her unpredictable mood shifted again (read: she's bipolar); a mischievous, devastating smile rearranged her features. "Of course, keeping you safe is beginning to feel like a full-time occupation that requires my constant presence."

Mmm, maybe I should fall more.

"No one has tried to do away with me today," I reminded her, grateful for the lighter subject. I didn't want her to talk about goodbyes anymore. I mean, if I had to, I supposed I could purposefully put myself in danger to keep her close. But, I banished that thought before her quick eyes read it on my face.

That idea would definitely get me in trouble.

"Yet," she added.

"Yet," I agreed; I would have argued, but now I wanted her to be expecting disasters.

Some girl's fake pregnancies, others fake falls.

Sue me.

"I have another question for you." Her face was still casual.

"Shoot."

"Do you really need to go to hiking this Saturday, or was that just an excuse to get out of saying no to all your admirers?"

I made a face at the memory. "You know, I haven't forgiven you for the Antony thing yet," I warned her. "It's your fault that he's deluded himself into thinking I'm going to prom with him."

"Oh, he would have found a chance to ask you without me. I just really wanted to watch your face," she chuckled, I would have been angrier if her laughter wasn't so fascinating. "If I'd asked you, would you have turned me down?" she asked, still laughing to herself.

"Probably not," I admitted. "But I would have faked an illness later."

She was puzzled. "Why would you do that?"

I shook my head sadly. "You've seen me walking. I would have thought you would have caught on to my ability of..."

"Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?"

"Exactly."

"That wouldn't be a problem." She was very confident...and at times dominate. "It's all in the leading." She could see that I was about to protest, and she cut me off. "But you never told me, are you resolved on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"

As long as the "we" part was in, I didn't care about anything else.

Cause I was getting a little too excited about Saturday.

"I'm open to alternatives," I allowed. "But if we're not going hiking, let's take my car."

"Why?"

"Well, mostly because when I told Paula I was going hiking, she specifically asked if I was going alone and, at the time, I was. If she asked again, I probably wouldn't lie, but I don't think she will ask again, and leaving my car at home would just bring up the subject unnecessarily. Plus, you drive crazy."

She rolled her eyes. "Of all the things about me that could frighten you, you worry about my driving." She shook her head in disgust, but then her eyes were serious again. "Won't you want to tell your mother that you're spending the day with me?" There was an undercurrent to her question that I didn't understand.

"With Paula, less is always more. And she's a devote Nazi catholic. I'm prolonging the whole 'let's tell mom you're gay' for a while. I doubt she will do anything since she's guilty for never being there, but her eyes will scream disappointment." I was definite about that. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public eye, and you can stay with me, if you'd like to." Again, she was leaving the choice up to me.

Doesn't she get it now that I'm never going to turn her down?

"And you'll show me what you meant, about the sun?" I asked, excited by the idea of unraveling another of the unknowns.

"Yes." She smiled, and then paused. "But if you don't want to be alone with me, I'd still rather you didn't go hiking by yourself. I shudder to think of the trouble you could find in a city that size."

I was miffed. "Don't you get that I'm not going to turn down time with you."

She interrupted me, "I'm starting to get that." Her eyes did that unfair smoldering thing again.

I couldn't argue, with the eyes or the motivation, and it was a moot point anyway. "Plus, I like being alone with you."

"I know," she sighed, brooding. "You should tell Paula and Ben, though."

"Why in the world would I do that?"

Her eyes were suddenly fierce. "To give me some small incentive to bring you back."

Pfft, who said you have to bring me back?

I gulped.

But, after a moment of thought, I was sure. "I think I'll take my chances."

She exhaled angrily, and looked away.

"Let's talk about something else," I suggested.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked. She was still annoyed.

I glanced around us, making sure we were well out of anyone's hearing. As I cast my eyes around the room, I caught the eyes of her sister, Kyla, staring at me. The others were looking at Ashley. I looked away swiftly, back to her, and I asked the first thing that came to mind.

"So," I said after a moment, finally meeting her now-anxious gaze. "Aren't whale's scarce?"

She raised an eyebrow and the corners of her mouth turned down in

disapproval. "Depends on the season."

"Ah," I said in a politely disinterested tone, looking for my juicy juice.

Damn, these things just make me feel so damn attractive when I suck on them.

Pfft, I feel like a damn five year old.

But they're so addicting.

"Of course," she said, and her tone mirrored mine, "we have to be careful not to impact the environment with injudicious hunting. We try to focus on areas with an overpopulation of predators, ranging as far away as we need. There's always plenty of animals in Death Valley, and they'll do, but where's the fun in that?" She smiled teasingly.

"Where indeed," I murmured around another bite of pizza.

Well, isn't she just the Eco Friendly girl. Aww, I like her even more.

Go Green!

I've been watching WAY too much HGTV.

Can you believe that a studio apartment in Los Angeles cost 300,000 dollars? Fuck that, Ohio is like 50 k.

Oh, yeah, too much HGTV.

"Early spring is Madison's favorite season, the bears are just coming out of hibernation, so they're more irritable. So, we head up to the Rocky's and hunt. She's a feisty little thing. " She smiled at some remembered joke.

"Nothing more fun than an irritated grizzly bear," I agreed, nodding.

She snickered, shaking her head. "Tell me what you're really thinking, please."

"I'm trying to picture it, but I can't," I admitted. "How do you hunt a bear without weapons?"

I mean, I know they're strong, but seriously.

"Oh, we have weapons." She flashed her bright teeth in a brief, threatening smile. I fought back a shiver before it could expose me. Damn, that was hot too. "Just not the kind they consider when writing hunting laws. If you've ever seen a bear attack on television, you should be able to visualize Madison, or even Aiden, hunting."

I couldn't stop the next shiver that flashed down my spine. I peeked across the cafeteria toward Aiden, grateful that he wasn't looking my way. The thick bands of muscle that wrapped his arms and torso were somehow even more menacing now. Then I glanced at the gorgeous dark head girl. She was so lithe, I couldn't see it with her.

Ashley followed my gaze and chuckled. I stared at her, unnerved.

"Are you like a bear, too?" I asked in a low voice, Aiden looked like a damn bear.

"More like the shark, or so they tell me," she said lightly. "Perhaps our preferences are indicative."

I tried to smile. "Perhaps," I repeated. But my mind was filled with opposing images that I couldn't merge together. Only thing I really had was a wet Ashley in the ocean...naked."Is that something I might get to see?"

Haha, please?

"Absolutely not!" Her face turned even whiter than usual, and her eyes were suddenly furious. I leaned back, stunned and, though I'd never admit it to her, frightened by her reaction. She leaned back as well, folding her arms across her chest.

"Too scary for me?" I asked when I could control my voice again.

"If that were it, I would take you out tonight," she said, her voice cutting. "You need a healthy dose of fear. Nothing could be more beneficial for you."

"Then why?" I pressed, trying to ignore her angry expression.

She glared at me for a long minute.

"Later," she finally said. She was on her feet in one lithe movement. "We're going to be late."

I glanced around, startled to see that she was right and the cafeteria was nearly vacant. When I was with her, the time and the place were such a muddled blur that I completely lost track of both. I jumped up, grabbing my bag from the back of my chair.

"Later, then," I agreed.

Believe me, I wouldn't forget.

end of chapter ten