CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

No. Just worry about it later. Right now, he needed a time-out. "Um... are we taking the car?" Snow asked; the tone was supposed to sound funny and prankster-like. When Diego frowned, he realized how badly he had failed. He blamed the cold for the lack of enthusiasm, but he knew it was really his own fault.

Diego coughed a burst of laughter. "You're so easy to fool." He breathed slowly and eased the laugh. "Yes, we're taking the car. I borrowed it from Cole. He's one of the warlocks here."

Snow took a step forward, hoping to get away from the cold. Fortunately, it hadn't followed; the further he stepped away, the less he felt it. "You have a warlock-friend?" he asked to shift his attention back to his date.

Diego shook his head slightly. "I wouldn't call it like that. We had a little bet a while back. It was before you came, so you wouldn't know. The point is he lost, and I told him to pay up today."

Snow's eyes widened until they almost fell out of their sockets. "You had him buy you a car?"

The vamp laughed louder. "No. Haven't ya been paying attention? I borrowed it. He put a tracing charm on it, so I can't steal it without breaking his spell first. Not that I would've tried to steal it."

Curiosity about how Wiccans used magic pulled at Snow again.

Diego tilted his head to the car again. "Shall we?"

Snow smiled a flashy smile and nodded.

They drove toward downtown Fallen without exchanging another word. Instead, Diego turned on the radio and switched to the sports channel; it was telling the scores of baseball beginning season. Snow thought back to the days when he watched sports games with either Benny or his dad. With Benny, it involved comments and small talks that made it hard to concentrate on the scores. With Dad, it was on a more quiet scale; his dad usually sat on his grandfather's armchair and made himself busy with grading tests or correcting papers on his lap while also partially paying attention to the TV, which kept him and Snow from really having a conversation about the games they watched. And right now, he was listening to the channel with Diego. It was unfamiliar, but comforting in some ways. Simply being near the boy gave comfort.

Snow eyed at the small town buildings of multiple shops, restaurants and the resident movie theater as they neared. To his surprise, Diego didn't turn the car in that direction. They continued driving forward. Snow had imagined dinner and movie on their date. That was what people normally did on their first dates. Benny had done it quite a few times in his short-lived relationships, which never seemed to last after what he'd called a 'great night', i.e. an evening that ended with sex. The thought made his heart clutch and brought back the memory of his fight with Benny.

"Aren't we driving into town?" Snow asked to distract himself.

Diego grinned and gave him a crooked glance. "No, we're going a little further out of town. There's a place up west that I believe you will like. Don't worry, we'll still be in the Texas Hill Country. I mean, we could drive all the way to Houston, but I can't afford the bill."

Snow chuckled and then tuned in to listen to the sports channel. It didn't take long before they started a conversation on the topic. After ten or fifteen minutes, Diego finally pulled over in front of a tiny diner. The upper side was lined with lights of pink and neon-green. Below the windows were brick walls decorated like pyramid tiles, partially shrouded by bushes. The diner inside was decorated with old black-and-white pictures on white walls. One side was strapped with a pink wallpaper met by the pink bar. Just by the sight of the place brought up memories of movies from the 70's at latest. Snow looked up to read the sign. Welcome to 60's Diner & Karaoke. "A karaoke diner?"

Diego smiled, flashing his teeth. "Open twenty-four hours. It involves dancing... and normality. They also have a stack collection of comic books. Plus it's the only place that seems to serve edible food to vampires."

Right. From what he'd learned in the past week, vampires weren't exclusive to their diet. They mostly need blood to survive - human or animal, but they could also eat human food, with a vast amount of exceptions since nothing tasted as good as they did to others. Chris, the vamp representative at the school, had also told him that vampires weren't dead or immortal; all supernaturals had a longer life expectancy than humans, but all eventually die. Vampires could live approximately 150 years. He had also learned about other supernaturals: witches and warlocks shared the same life expectancy. Werewolves lived about 3 decades longer. Shape-shifters about 200, but it was really faes who lived longer than most. He'd once asked Kylie about chameleons, but she hadn't been able to come up with an answer since she was still learning about her kind. Although she did tell him that her grandfather and great-aunt had looked 20 years younger than the human age. Snow found himself relating to her in this aspect. He was a merman, and he had no idea how long merpeople could live.

Avoiding emotional overload, he went inside with Diego and took in the interior the moment they walked in. The loudspeakers were playing an old Elvis song when they walked in. The floor of black and white tiles resembled that of a black-and-white movie, especially met by a grand white wall. The long pink counter table was occupied by customers, menus, flower decorations, and strangely, a popcorn machine. Some of them wore fairly decent clothing while others mostly looked casual. A couple mingled at the furthest back. The wall leading to the kitchen was covered by sparkling metal like paint. On the other side, at the back of the diner was a small corner with twin loudspeakers, rested on top by a set of microphones and a touch-screen television with multiple set lists. The corner was blocked by a chain that hung a white sign reading Karaoke Opens At 9:00 PM.

Oh, wow, this really is a karaoke diner. Diego nodded toward an empty table by the window and Snow followed him. A blond waittress in a pink dress and white apron approached. Her tag read Miriam Q.

"Welcome to 60's D & K," she greeted poorly without looking at them. "My name's Miriam. How about I present tonight's special on the menu?"

Diego looked up. "What's tonight's special? Let's hear it," he asked.

"Pancakes with strawberry jam and a 60's lasagne followed by drinks of your choosing. I recommend it with a chicken salad and vanilla flavored ice-cream for desert." She looked up. Her eyes widened at Diego and then a grin suddenly appeared on her face.

Diego returned the gesture. Snow could swear he saw sparkles in his eyes. The mood suddenly fell a nudge. Then Diego looked at him. "What do you say? You wanna take it?" he asked Snow.

He forced up a half-hearted smile and nodded. "Two for us, then," he said. "And I'll have a cup of coffee."

Miriam was writing down the orders when Diego interrupted. "Um, actually, I'll take a diet Coke and a mushroom ravioli. I'm on a diet."

She nodded, and then walked away, but not before Snow noticed the golden glow she had around her when her eyes shot Cupid's arrows at Diego. The girl was obviously a flirter with a weak spot for cute guys. And who wouldn't be attracted to Diego, being the handsome guy that he was? The others at Shadow Falls were handsome, too. Lucas was like a movie star, and Burnett looked like he had worked as a model for Vogue. Derek was less muscular, but still manly attractive. Perry had broad-shoulders that made him look older. He even noticed that Steve had a cute ass.

But Diego was different. Olive-toned skin with strands so black, sparkling dark brown irises, and half-full lips sandwiched between a thin nose and black goatee on the chin. His Mexican features had a natural beauty that didn't exist on many people. If a modeling agent were to meet him face-to-face, he would probably see him as a rare find. At first, Snow was mostly taken by his beauty. Never had he come across such a beautiful person, human or supernatural. He had seen gorgeous actors and actresses on TV, but never met one in person. However, it wasn't just his looks that attracted him. The first time he saw the vampire soar in midair, he had looked like an angel. The boy's eyes bore glory, but also something else. Sadness. A life that endured what Snow had never lived through. But suffering wasn't what drew him in, either. No, it was something else. Something indescribable. Lost to words like ancient runes and lost languages. It couldn't be described properly, only felt in the core.

Diego obviously noticed his frown, because he said, "Are you okay? You were frowning like you've lost your favorite ball."

"I'm fine," he said reflexively, then flinched at the lie.

Diego, obviously picking up the lie in his heart, frowned, but didn't speak up. Snow debated telling the truth.

"Lemme guess," Diego spoke at last, "you were jealous 'cause that waittress smiled at me."

Hit the mark, all right. Snow grinned half-heartedly. "More like disturbed that she saw what I was seeing," he admitted.

"Which was?"

He looked at him. "How handsome you are. Which brings us to why you would ask me out when you could've asked anybody. I think some of the girls were quite taken with you, too."

He snickered. "Um... in case you haven't noticed, I'm gay. And there ain't got that many gay students at the school."

"Are you saying you asked me out because you were desperate to get a date?"

"No," he said with an annoyed face and weighted for a few seconds. "I asked you out because I like you, Snow. I thought I told you that last night."

Snow calmed down with an even breath intake. He debated again about telling the truth. The truth about how he felt and what he had been trying not to let bother him, because of all the messed-up crazy shit served on his plate for the past three weeks. "I'm sorry. I guess I just wanted to understand. I mean, no one's ever liked me the way that you do. And to be honest, I've never liked anyone as much as I like you before."

His eyes brightened even though his lips didn't smile. The waittress returned with a glass, a can of Diet Coke and a cup of coffee on a tray.

"Here you go." She glanced at Snow briefly before turning her full attention to Diego. "Anything else I can get you?"

You mean yourself? Snow thought and almost said it out loud.

"No, I'm good. Thank you," he said with a smile.

She nodded and walked away with her eyes at Diego for a few seconds before they looked forth. Diego picked up the spoon and scooped up a ravioli. Snow sipped his coffee in silence.

"Were you saying that you like me so much you're freaking out about it?" he asked. "That you aren't sure if it's real?"

Snow felt his nerves growing uncomfortably to his face. Diego shrugged. "I guess that blush of yours pretty much answers it."

Blush? Was he blushing? He picked up the tissue box on the table and saw a faint pink flushed on his cheeks. Oh, man, he really was blushing. Diego chuckled in entertainment, and then he found himself laughing, too. A warmth worked its way into his heart.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

The vamp shook his head. "Nothing. You just look really cute when you're blushing."

Snow punched him lightly on the shoulder to wipe the grin off his face. It didn't work, though. He only laughed harder, and looked gorgeous doing it, too. They laughed like that for the next few minutes, without touching their food.

"So, tell me about yourself," said Snow. "What were you like before?"

Diego frowned and dug in to his mushroom ravioli. "What would you want to know?"

"Everything. What you liked to do? Where did you live? Any interesting stories in your years?"

He didn't say a word at first. Obviously, he didn't like being questioned. Just like the time when Snow had asked him about how his vampiric conversion. Finally, he spoke. "I've been in the foster system for as long as I can remember. I've had a few foster parents who were what you call 'decent', but most of them weren't exactly idealistic figures. Some of them even got drunk so often I had to learn how to take care of myself early. You know, I had my first whisky when I was seven. Tasted like shit."

Snow frowned for the vampire. "Do you remember anything about your birth parents?"

Diego swallowed another ravioli with a deep frown. When he didn't speak, Snow assumed that he didn't want to mention his birth parents. But why? Did he really remember nothing from before the foster homes? "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's okay," he assured. "It's fine. I think I remember something from before that. But it's kind of vague. Just some distant, blurry memories." His eyes wetted. He drew in an abrupt breath and exhaled at a quick rate to hide his pain. Snow hurt for the boy who had endured so much in his life. It was unfair how some children were forced to lose their childhood so early.

"I'm sorry," he offered and reached out with his hand.

Diego pulled back before he could touch his shoulder, and held up his own hand to stop him. "It's nothing," he said feebly. "Believe me, once you get used to it, life becomes easier. Besides, I'm out of the ghetto now."

He remembered hearing him say the same thing once before, when he told him what it was like being a vampire. He suspected that Diego was holding back his own pain. And yet, he had wanted Snow to open up to him.

"Anyway, let's talk about you," Diego suggested with a humorous expression to shroud his sadness. "It's gotta be more interesting than my story."

He deliberated the wisdom of changing the subject for a moment. "What do you wanna know about me?"

"How come your folks named you Snow White, to begin with? Don't get me wrong, it's a good name, but it does make people laugh at you."

You have no idea. "It's actually Snow Robert White," he clarified. "My parents named me Snow because it was snowing when I was born. Of course, I didn't know I was adopted at the time, so I didn't know that I wasn't their son." The memory of that eventful day came to the surface again - and once again, it hurt. "They never told me anything, because they didn't want me to feel like I didn't belong. My mom was a musician and my dad's a college professor. He used to be a PhD when we were living in Florida, but then he quit his job and started teaching musical arts. Said he wanted a change and spend more time with his family."

"When did you move to Texas?" Diego asked.

"When I was like four or five. My mom teaches art and music at an elementary school, but she always got home before either of us so she would have time to cook dinner. Sometimes she taught me how to cook, but I was mostly interested in learning about music. It was kind of my thing. Music and swimming. My mom taught me everything she knew about music, from instruments to dances."

Diego, who had been listening with honest interest, raised his eyebrows. "Really? Everything about music?"

He shrugged. "I mostly remember how to play the instruments, carry a tune and some dance moves. Just don't expect me to rap, they're too fast for me."

Diego laughed. "Then at least that's something I can do."

His eyes widened in surprise. "You can rap?"

The vamp shrugged nonchalantly. "A little. Learned that from one of my foster siblings. It looked fun at the time, so I played with it."

They spent an hour like that, eating and sharing funny stories about themselves. Diego had agreed to answer Snow's questions about his life as long as he traded with his own. The vamp had been lived around at least 10 states throughout the country. He had been to Atlanta, the lower parts of New York, and even Washington. None of which made him loath as much as the time he lived in the Olympic Peninsula, where constantly raining climate kept him indoors. He was newly transferred to a foster home in Paris when the change happened.

Snow knew his story was sad, but at the same time, he found it fascinating despite the fact that he had traveled across several countries through the summers.

"You went fishing in Canada?" asked Diego.

Snow shrugged. "My dad rented a lounge by Moraine Lake, and he thought it would be a good time for the family to enjoy winter."

He snorted, swallowed a clunk of his second Diet Coke and looked down on the half-empty ravioli. "You're very lucky, you know."

The compliment contained a sad tone and Snow suspected that Diego was wishing that he had a family like his. Sympathetic hurt clutched his heart. A sudden, unexpected thumping sound echoed throughout the café the same time Diego covered his ears with a squirmish face as if the sound had hurt him. And maybe it did. Snow recognized it as a microphone sound system being tested. It didn't bother him much, but he supposed having super hearing wasn't always a good thing. Especially when you have loud rocky music throbbing in your ears like hammers breaking through your skull. The volume finally lowered enough for Diego to lower his hands.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded uncomfortably. Snow looked to find a waittress at the karaoke corner. The sign had been removed, and the screen turned on. The waittress was holding a mic in her hand. "Hello, everyone," she spoke. "It is now time for our karaoke hour. Now, the staff will gladly perform a few numbers for all of you to enjoy. And of course, the meaning for the karaoke corner is for you to feel welcome to sing to your own heart's content. So please, feel free to step up if you want."

Smooth music started playing in the background and the diner lights dimmed till it almost looked as dark as a bar. Customers clapped and cheered, but Snow could barely hear them through his own throbbing heart rate. As soon as the waittress confirmed the karaoke's open hour, Snow felt the want to step up on that corner and pick a song to sing. But will he be good enough to actually sing? He had never sang in front of anyone but his folks at home, and those times had been free time lessons.

Diego probably heard his heart rate, because he gave a crooked, mischievous smile. "You wanna sing?"

He turned to the vamp. His mouth opened, but no words came out. Did he want to sing? Should he even sing? Maybe he should just sit back and rest. It was decided for him when another waittress appeared and picked through the screen for songs. She settled on one from the 80's. The crowd cheered and clapped and whistled like she was some famous actress. Snow, on the other hand, was unimpressed. Her voice lacked enthusiasm and her breath control definitely needed some work. It wasn't that she had no talent as much as it needed more practice. The way her hips popped from left to right sent her skirt swifting up to reveal her open thighs. She was practically juggling her butt, which made her almost look like a pros-... He turned his glance back to Diego.

"You can always get on stage if you want, you know," Diego suggested. "I would like to know how far those singing lessons have taken you."

Snow helplessly curled up his lips. Diego was curious about his talent? he thought with a rush of pleasure.

It looked almost like a spotlight. One which he had never had. The waittress was reaching the final part of a song; it was easy to hear in the escalation of tempo. And then it ended in high-squealed 'A'... and a total lack of tone control that probably would have gotten her face slapped. Not that he would do that. The other customers had their hands to their ears and looked away in annoyance. As the waittress stepped down, Snow's heart started racing. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant feeling, but it did make him feel queasy. He looked back at Diego.

Snow had expected the vamp to see the plain worry rearing his face, but instead he cocked his head aside. "When you're singing karaoke, it doesn't matter how good or bad you are, so just pull out that gut of yours and rush onto that stage. And don't worry, I promise I won't laugh if you do suck."

Oh, that's very helpful. Snow drew in a rapid breath and mentally pulled up his manly guts and strided toward the stage. Every step taken seemed to put more weight in his feet. Once up on the stage, he searched through the screen for set lists. There were different categories, ranging from classic to modern. The seconds ticked by and Snow settled for one of Whitney Houston's numbers. Music started, the screen showed lyrics. Half the crowd looked at him in expectation, making it unnerving. His lungs choked for air.

"Just close your eyes and feel the music coming to you, let it soothe your fears," his mom's voice whispered. Doing as he remembered, he slid his eyes shut and visualized himself singing at home, in the living room. Then filled his imagination with waves of the sea, the same ones that had offered peace and serenity. It helped, the waves were already washing over him. Light as a breeze of wind, and yet bold as a rock, the serene power touched and guided his heart like breeze blowing white curtains as he sang the words. By the time the song ended, he had no idea what had come over him. He didn't open his eyes during the entire song. When they did, they were met by tens of sets of eyeballs throughout the diner. There didn't seem to be a single set of eyes that didn't gaze his way. A clap sounded in the distance; Snow reflexively looked for that sound; it came from the far window, where by Diego sat clapping with the same dazed expression worn by the rest of the audience. The clapping then started escalating throughout the place, followed by occasional whistles and 'encores'. All of it washed over Snow with a sense of excitement that pushed back the partially active adrenaline burning in his chest and outsounded the propelling beat of his heart.

"You were unbelievable in there," complimented Diego whilst walking back to the car.

"Why, thank you," said Snow cheerfully.

It was the first time he ever sang in front of an audience. He never realized how exciting it could be. Of course, he knew a similar sense of excitement back when he was the star of the swim team. The joy of accomplishment and belonging when he won the trophies one after another. It had been different because while he was swimming, he was really fighting his way through it all. Fighting to be on top, fighting to win the prize. So this was really different - not in a weird way, considering everything was different now - but in a way that came naturally. He hadn't needed to fight for anything. It all just came to very easily, like a piece of puzzle falling into place. Just like being a merman was a piece of a giant mystery solving on its own. The imaginations of possibilities stretched out in the horizon like a wide sea. He could visualize himself standing on the stage, singing in the Carnegie Hall with his name written all over the plaques; or maybe he could be a marine biologist - if he ever focused on biology; or perhaps an archeologist. They seemed to have the greatest chance of learning about history. Maybe he could become one and set out to learn about his origins in ways that weren't written down on paper.

"Is everything okay?" Diego asked, noting his silence. "You were excited for a minute there, and then you went all silent."

Snow shook his head. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about my possibilities. I mean, I was so great back in there that I started wondering if I could become a singer."

Diego laughed in a way that made him alive. "I'm sure you can do anything. You're gonna go the distance, Snow."

"You think so?"

"Since the next morning when I saw you in the woods." He placed his hand on Snow's neck and gently pulled him in until their lips met. Snow melted into him. The scent of Diego seeped in through his nose. Diego's arms whooshed up and pulled Snow away in a flashing blur that the motion mostly felt like a shake. Eyes blazing red, his lips curled up to snarl - with the sharp teeth stretched out, and Snow worried that he had done something wrong for a half-second before realizing that his gaze wasn't focused on him.

Looking behind, across three cars were three guys wearing black leather. It was hard to see in the single light pole looming several feet away, but from the dark orange glow illuminating their irises, Snow assumed them to be supernaturals. Snarls echoed from their throats.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here," growled one of the guys. "A gay weirdo and bloodsucker out on a date like some sweet ol' couple going on their anniversary. Must be from that school. They really know how to corrupt your minds."

Diego snarled. "Get outta here before I rip your hearts out."

Snow tried to restrain him with a hand to his chest. Now was not the time to get violent. They were outnumbered by one, and according to what Burnett and Mr. Richards had told him, supernaturals weren't allowed to fight in the open where ordinary people could see them. But from the murderous looks on the guys' faces, riskful violence may be the only option. If anything, one of them crouch in a position that seemed to promise to take the first step. Diego tensed as if wanting to make the enacting move.

"Leave us alone, we don't want to fight." Snow tried to say it as calmly as possible, but instinctively had doubts about the success.

The guys didn't obey. Instead the other two made the same crouching position. The shadows shrouding their faces curled back, and Snow saw and recognized their werewolf patterns.

"You're gonna die anyhow," said one of the wolves. "Compared to what's gonna happen, I'd say we're offering you a gift."

"A gift of death?!" snarled Diego.

But Snow was mostly taken aback by what the wolf had said. "Compared to what's gonna happen, I'd say we're offering you a gift." "What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

The wolf in the middle lost his crouch, looking quite amused with himself. "Awww, the little boy has no idea what's coming." He turned to his teammates. "Should he know?"

"Maybe we should show him some mercy. Once he's dead." That confirmed it. These guys weren't going to leave them alone. In fact, they weren't even kind like the ones back on campus. Of course, they weren't the most sociable, but none of them had ever looked this scary. These must be from one of the gangs that he had heard so much about. Dangerous and havoc-wreaking everywhere they went.

They had stumbled across these supernaturals. Diego gave a violent shriek. Snow reached out to grab his arm and yank him back. Thoughts for an escape rushed through his mind like data. They could race to the car before the wolves caught them, but the wolves were probably fast enough to stop them. Or they could fly away. The wolves couldn't do that. Before he had time to settle on either plan, Diego had blurred out way out of his grasp and launched himself over the cars toward them. The wolves reciprocated the assault with pride as two of them crashed into him and pushed him out of view. Snow immediately dashed around the cars. A loud bang echoed through the lot, and then a car alarm followed. Snow panicked briefly for the attention the alarm was surely going to draw, but his main concern was for Diego. Power and protectiveness came together and that gave him courage to fight. He was almost past the last car when one of the weres suddenly leaped in front of him, his eyes glowed orange in comparison to his growl. His violent gaze dissolved briefly into bewilderment as he studied Snow's brain pattern. "What are you?"

Snow brought out memories of self-defense he once learned from kickboxing in gymnastics and tried to knee the wolf in the gut, but he was faster. He whooshed out of the leg's way and caught him by the ankle, then threw him back to another car, setting off its alarm as well. Pain pounded in his brain and on his back and sent him to the ground.

"Hey, Tyler, let's get outta here!" one of the other two wolves shouted. "Humans are coming. We have to get outta here before they get the Po-Po."

The wolf, Tyler, stayed where he was and looked at Snow like he was prey. With a hiss, he launched forward again. In a fit of instinctive reaction, Snow feebly shielded himself with his hand. Then before he knew what he was doing, power surged through the tissues of his palm and blew out. A sudden gust of wind blew past him in a powerful rage directly at Tyler and sent him flying several feet back until he crashed hard into another van. The vehicle received more visible damage with an evident buckle where the wolf hit. Snow began to find his strength again. He fought the pain as he stood back on his feet. The wolf seemed to have more endurance - he stood back up as though he hadn't taken a hit. Unfortunately, his temper didn't show the same. The orange irises had turned a shade darker. Snarls erupted from his throat. Sounds of fists echoed from the side, and then a blur flashed out from behind the car to the wolf's back just before he had the chance to turn around and took an elbow to his neck. Snow realized then that the blur was Diego. His eyes glowed a rose red and his fangs were so sharp they looked horrifyingly deadly. He sent a foot into the crouched wolf's gut and kicked him into another car and another alarm set off. He then rushed to Snow's side, caressing him with his hands. He saw a bloody scar looming on the side of his face before the vamp wrapped him in with his arms and then the world spun around him. When it stopped spinning, he found them next to their car.

"Get in," Diego ordered directly.

Snow obeyed, and then he was in the driver's seat. The darkness blocked out Snow's vision, but he felt Diego's speedy movements around the gear before the engine roared and then they raced out of the lot. Diego gave the wheel a non-deserving slap and shrieked, "Dammit! Those crap-wreaking wolves! I should've given them a good beat down." More swearing. A drop of blood coursed down to his chin, but the cheek wound was already folding back together. Then he eyed at Snow. "Are you okay? Did that wolf hurt you?"

He shook his head. He was too shocked to talk, but not because of the frightening encounter. It was really sudden gust of wind that caught him off guard. He wasn't sure if it was really his doing. The silence broke with Diego's angry growl and, "I'm gonna kill them. No one touches my boyfriend."

That last word sent a tinge of amusement, except he didn't smile. There was something about the wolves that bothered him. When they reached campus, Diego and Snow immediately reported to Burnett, and, after a high-pitched amounts of swearing and Holiday's warning about language, interrogated the boys - if you called unwanted comments 'interrogating'. Within fifteen minutes, Burnett questioned the boys' plan of eating outside of campus and demanded a reason.

"We just wanted to try a new place, and I heard that the 60's Karaoke had a nice environment," Snow lied. When Burnett growled like a feline trapping its prey, he realized that he had forgotten vampires' lie-detecting abilities and felt trapped. Diego sent him a surly glance. As if to prove how feeble his lie had been, Holiday's disappointed expression reminded him of her ability to sense emotions, meaning everyone in the room knew he lied.

Burnett turned to Diego. "You better tell the truth or I'm gonna be setting both your asses -"

"Burnett, calm down," Holiday intervened and touched Burnett's shoulder.

His posture slowly relaxed. Diego looked at Snow before he answered. "We made plans yesterday to eat somewhere other than the cafeteria," he said. "Those weres didn't show up until after we got outside. We were lucky to get away before someone saw us." His voice was casual and calm, but Snow sensed something else underneath.

Holiday and Burnett gave them deliberate looks and shared with each other. And then the vamp turned back to the boys.

"I'm gonna get someone to find those wolves and then I'll personally interrogate them," he said. "From now on, you two stay on campus. This has raised quite a riot and attention. We can't risk anyone seeing you or you getting hurt. Do you understand?"

Understand? Yes. Like it? No. Snow felt like a prisoner in his own school. But that didn't mean he didn't have a point. He and Diego nodded in agreement before he decided to questions of his own. "While we're on the subject, the wolves said something. They said something about what was gonna happen. That what they were gonna do to us would be a gift... or something. It sounded like a threat, but I'm not sure what it meant."

While Holiday looked confused, Burnett hardened his lips and his eyes flared again. "It means they're gonna cause trouble," he seeped and started pacing with a serious/furious vampire look.

"What does that mean?" Diego asked this time. "Are they gonna cause trouble to the townspeople?"

Holiday attempted to remain calm as she spoke. "It's nothing to worry about." Burnett shot her a look.

Snow immediately picked that up. "So there is something going on."

It wasn't the anger on the vamp's face that intensified Snow's suspicion, it was the worried look on the side. Something was definitely going on, and whatever it was was enough to put his worries in place. Could the school be in danger? The town? What about the people living in town? Maybe he was worrying too much, but since their encounter with those dangerous werewolves, Snow wasn't sure if he was worrying pointlessly. He realized right then how much of his life had changed in the past couple of weeks. Right until three weeks ago, he was a Nationals-winning athletic swimmer with a secure record at the school, and then in a blink of an eye, he found himself at a magical school where he roomed with a shape-shifter, a werewolf and the vampire he was attracted to. Not to mention the powers he had discovered growing inside himself and the fact that he could pop a tail whenever he was in water. And his friendship with Benny had taken a 10 stories downturn. And now he was facing the dangers raised by other supernaturals. And yet he was surprisingly calm. Normal people would've gone into shock when they faced these types of situations and gone frantic to protect themselves. Fear was definitely wrapping around his core, but the sense of calm warred against it and kept it at bay. Snow remembered how afraid he'd been when he faced the ghosts earlier today, how anxious he had been about his own sexual orientation, and most dreadful yet was the vision he experienced when he lived Lydia Hall's last dying moment that tore his inside apart. And yet in the face of true life-threatening situations he found the strength to keep himself collected. Maybe it was temporary, but he could use it right now.

Intaking a sharp breath, he braced himself to say one last thing. One more important to him than to the others. "There's something else you need to know."