Video clips of the newer characters: Type in the general you tube URL and then copy & paste: watch?v=rIqhSVko8p0
(starts off with the original Twilight characters .. I didn't put Masen in there :( Sorry)
Chapter 36
The bell was about to ring in Caleb's first period English class and he glanced up toward the clock.
"Hey," Delilah whispered, looking up toward their teacher as she was scribbling out what the homework would be on the white board.
Caleb's eyes shot in her direction.
"Do you want to hit the library right after school?" she asked, "To study the chapter test on Lord of the Flies in here?"
"Sure," he whispered back with a nod.
Caleb had become more comfortable around Delilah now that another full week had just about passed. It was Thursday morning of the second week of school and things were beginning to feel routine. He was thinking about how to subtly bring up the Volturi without giving himself a way and thought maybe their afternoon study session in the library would be a good icebreaker for such a thing.
"I'll meet you out on the front steps at two-forty-five," he told her.
Delilah smiled, "Great," she whispered.
Mackenzie could hear every word, but wasn't sure if she should invite herself to tag along with them or not. For now, she decided to remain quiet and speak later with Caleb about his thoughts.
The bell sounded off, prompting all the students in class to eagerly stand up.
"Remember there is a quiz on chapters one through four tomorrow," the teacher called above the shuffling, "Prepare tonight. Use the study guide you filled out today."
Mackenzie scooted ahead of Caleb and Delilah, who were the last to leave.
"Have a nice day," Caleb said as he walked, waving to their English teacher on the way out the door.
"Same to you, Caleb." She crossed the room toward her desk and began to jot things down in a plan book.
"So, I guess I'll see you after school," Delilah asked him with a shrug.
He nodded, "Yeah. I'll see you then."
She leaned in and gave him a hug, making it last. A few students passed by, staring at the two of them in their mild embrace before Delilah pulled away.
"See ya," she said.
"See ya," Caleb said back. He began to walk when a boy from their class whom he'd had several other classes with caught up with him.
"Caleb," he called, waving him down.
He turned, "Hey Chris."
"Hey, um, are you going out with Delilah?" he asked.
Caleb laughed, "No. We're just friends."
"I think she has a thing for you."
He shrugged, unable to hold back a smile, "Who knows. I don't think so though."
"She always wants to be your partner in class and it looked like she was hoping you were going to kiss her just now."
Caleb laughed again and shrugged.
"You should ask her to the Spring Fling coming up before someone else does."
"Spring Fling?" he asked.
"Yeah," Chris said, "It was pretty fun last year. Everybody goes."
"When is it?"
"Two weeks, I think."
He nodded, "Maybe I will."
"She's into you," his friend said, urging him on. "And she's pretty hot."
The two of them laughed together and Chris began to part in the other direction, "I have to switch buildings for art, so I'll talk to you later man. Let me know if you ask her."
"Okay," Caleb agreed with a nod, "I'll see ya later." His friend gave a wave and headed out the door.
He wandered into his next class, finding that it, like all of them, seemed to take forever until the final bell of the day finally rang. He had seen versions of school dances on movies, and had heard from the older members of his family what they were like. There were a few stray pictures of Edward and Bella he had seen and a part of him thought it could be a good time.
Mackenzie was the first to meet up with Caleb in the parking lot at their usual spot after school. "Hey, are you staying or coming back with us?" she asked.
"I'm going to stay for an hour or two," he told her, "I'll send a text to my mom, but do you guys mind telling her I stayed after to study?"
She nodded, "I won't mention the word library, because then she might not believe me."
Caleb smiled and Mackenzie laughed lightly.
"Alright, well, I'm going to head over there now. I sent a text to Alex before but she never got back to me on it. If there's a problem you can honestly find me in the library." Caleb looked down at the watch on his wrist that read two-forty.
Mackenzie nodded, "Gotcha. I'll see you at home."
"Alright." He began walking toward the library, noticing a light dusting of snow was beginning to fall. The sidewalk barely covered, but he could see that it was going to be one of those sticking type of snows. Although he couldn't feel it, he'd heard fro just about everyone how cold it was in Minnesota.
Caleb walked through the library doors and his phone went off.
"Turn your phone on silent," a grumpy library hissed from behind a desk.
He raised his eyebrows, "Oh, sorry."
Caleb readjusted the volume on his cell phone and began to text Delilah as he walked. Her second message came through before he could send out his first.
I see you. Look in the back right corner.
He looked up and saw her shy wave and slid the phone back into his pocket. Like always, others in the general vicinity tended to stare at their interaction. It was something he hadn't quite gotten used to and he wasn't sure if it was because they were both new students, or if it was because they were uniquely different in a way that people picked up on.
Delilah smiled and waved as he approached. Caleb sat down across from her at the table, noticing she already had a spread of their English notes across it.
"So... what do you think will be the importance for the conch shell?" she asked.
"Um..." he smiled and tossed his back pack to the floor by his feet. "I think it represents who has the power, or the speaking power at least for that particular moment."
"Yeah, that's what I would say too." She shuffled through a few papers and looked at him.
"Which character do you think will become the martyr?" Caleb asked, "She asked us to think of that."
Delilah thought for a second. "I'm not quite sure it would be Piggy..." She shrugged, "Simon maybe."
"Why?" He smiled.
Delilah let a smirk run across her face, "Well he's kind. He has morals. He hasn't fed into the violence and tyranny of some of the other boys.
"Hmm..." Caleb smiled at her analysis.
"What?" she asked, "You don't agree?"
"I do, actually."
"Why are you laughing?"
"For the record, I was smiling," Caleb told her, unable to hide his grin.
Delilah shook her head, "Well, I'd like to see you give a better answer."
"I don't think I could, actually. I agree with you."
She smiled and they continued to rummage through their notes until each of them felt comfortable.
"Excuse me!" the same librarian that scolded Caleb earlier called throughout the otherwise quiet library, "The board members of the school have issues a weather alert. You should all return your dorms and stay there once you arrive. If you happen to be a commuter, please begin to pack your things and exit the building."
Caleb looked out the window, seeing streaks of sun peeking through despite the thickening snowfall. He looked at Delilah. "We can't go out yet," he whispered.
She winked, making him smile and feel intrigued. "Come with me," she whispered, collecting her folders and throwing them into her bag.
Caleb smiled and did the same then tossed his own bag over his shoulder.
Delilah towed him by the hand, looking over her shoulder toward the older woman who wasn't paying any attention. She led him down a small flight of stairs that curled and lead to another small flight. At the very end of the second staircase there was a big, steel door that read: Authorized Personnel Only.
"Where are we going?" he asked, whispering, despite they were out of range of the ears of everyone above them. "How do you know about this place?"
Delilah pushed the door open and Caleb flinched as if he was waiting for an alarm to go off. She giggled and walked through the doorway with him just behind her, looking much more cautious.
"I have a lot of time to myself at night," she said as the door closed behind them, "I've explored all over this campus. This tunnel leads underground strait to the pool area."
"How did you find out about this? Aren't there like cameras or some kind of security system?"
Delilah shook her head, "Nope. No cameras. They lock the library doors at night, obviously; but there are security guards that roam the area. They don't actually have an alarm. I know, weird for this day and age right?"
"Yeah," Caleb said with a nod, looking around at the stone underground lair. The thought of his family's description of the Volturi made him think it would be a good opportunity to bring them up without suspicion. "This underground reminds me of a coven my family has talked about. They're kind of like the law setters, I guess."
Delilah tried not to show the panic in her face. She knew exactly who he was talking about. "Law setters?"
"Yeah," he said, trying to read her expression in the darkness. "The Volturi they're called. My dad and some of the others members of my family had to meet with their leader Aro and a few others not all that long ago at their request."
"Why? There must have been a reason, right?" Her voice was strained, as she felt uncomfortable talking about the Volturi in any way, shape or form.
"Um, well, not a real reason. I think Aro just kind of wanted to check in. My dad lived with them for a short time back in the sixteen or seventeen hundreds."
"Sixteen or seventeen..." Her voice drifted off, "Wait, he did? Are they good guys or bad guys?"
"Well my dad respects them for keeping order. They were the first intelligent vampires he'd ever come across." Caleb shifted his eyes to meet Delilah's as they talked. "There were a few times, though, that they almost killed several members of my family; my parents included. It was all before I was born, but my parents are the two greatest people out there. It kind of makes me wonder why they did that."
Delilah tried to hide any emotion on her face, as it mostly lingered with confusion. The information she received from Aro and Jane was far different. "You said they were law setters?" she asked again, "So what law is it that they felt your parents broke?"
"It wasn't just my parents. His own daughter Luciana didn't even agree with him. Sometimes I wonder if she's the only reason why he hasn't been more persistent in pursuing our family. She lived with us for awhile, or right down the street anyway because she didn't want to go back to Italy with him; and she fell in love with a werewolf."
"A werewolf?" Delilah's eyes widened.
Caleb laughed, "Yeah. There were a bunch of them living near us in Washington."
She realized she had never been told of werewolves, though why should she be surprised? "So, this guy Aro... his daughter lived with your family?"
"Yes," he said, "And we'd all still live together if we didn't have to move. The main reason we did was for my dad. We knew he couldn't continue working as a doctor in Forks because we obviously can't be in one place without people recognizing that we stop aging, so as a group we decided together to move out here for him so he could continue doing what he loves."
"Isn't there a lot of blood in hospitals? How can he even stand it?"
"My father has never killed a human being... ever. He hated it when he became a vampire at first. He said he wanted to die so he wouldn't hurt anyone else, then he realized that he could feed on animals in order to satisfy his thirst. When he finally got it all under control, he began to blend in with society like you're doing now. After awhile he was able to become a doctor without really thinking about the blood anymore."
Delilah looked at him with awe-stuck eyes. The story she'd been told about Caleb, his father and the rest of the family had been quite different. She knew Caleb had no reason to lie to her. "Why didn't he just take on a different profession that didn't involve blood on such an every-day level?"
Caleb shrugged, "He wanted to help people."
Her eyes moved back and forth to read his expression and she suddenly had a lump in her throat. Her chest felt heavy and she felt almost claustrophobic.
"Are you alright?" he asked, picking up on her body language.
Delilah nodded, "Yeah."
"What's wrong?" he asked, sensing he'd undoubtedly touched some kind of nerve. He was hoping she would break down and tell him everything, though a part of him sensed that she was truly feeling bad. He held a soft spot for that part of her.
"I, um..." she shook her head and looking around toward some cobwebs that gathered under a pale light on the wall, "I just never had parents, or a family like you have; ever."
Caleb looked her in the eyes and couldn't tell at that moment if she was lying or not.
If she is, she's a great actress, he thought, seeing the sadness that continued to linger in her eyes.
"I don't want to talk about it," she told him, "If that's okay."
Caleb nodded, "You don't have to."
Delilah looked at him again with soft eyes and sighed, then continued to walk down the hidden, underground corridor. Something in the darkness created a rhythmic dripping sound and she cleared her throat, managing a smile, "We're almost at the pool," she said, "That dripping sound is my indicator."
Caleb gave her a closed-mouth smile, dying to dig deeper into her life. He decided to hold off, sensing their time together wasn't quite over.
"I don't smell anybody, do you?" she asked, taking a deep inhale through her nose.
He shook his head, "No."
Delilah led the way through a larger, wooden door that seemed to be almost falling apart and Caleb followed her. It led to another single staircase that lead up to a cement platform about ten feet long that led to another steel door. She pushed that one open and the smell of chloride filled their noses. The school's massive pool stood vacant, as did the bleachers surrounding it. Large windows decorated the tops of the walls and revealed the dark gray sky that continued to brew snowflakes in buckets outside.
"I don't think anyone will be coming in here for the rest of the day," Delilah said, "We can hide out here until the sun's down."
"I think the sun's gone," Caleb said, pointing toward the big windows. "It must have been some weird, freak thing. My dad said we're suppose to get a pretty big storm."
She nodded and looked around, "I guess we could go then."
Caleb looked at her and shrugged. He walked toward the pool and dropped his bag by the bleacher on the way before he squatted own and dipped his hand in.
"Cold?" Delilah joked.
He snickered, "Freezing."
She laughed and joined him by the ledge.
Caleb looked over at her and removed his shoes, then rolled his pant legs up to about the knee and sat down, dangling his feet in the water.
Delilah smiled and looked around, then followed his lead. She leaned back on her hands and sighed.
"Are you sure something else isn't bothering you?" Caleb asked her.
"No," she shook her head. Her eyes stared into his. "I'm not going to lie, though, you're one of the only people who I can talk to here."
Like before, Caleb couldn't tell if her words were honest, though they appeared to be.
Alice did say that she told Aro she didn't have a family, he thought.
"Nights kind of suck sometimes," Delilah admitted, splashing a little water back and forth with her foot. "I'm running out of places to roam around school property."
He laughed, "Why don't you come hang out with us some time?"
"I don't want to impose," she told him, "I don't think your sister likes me very much."
"She's just overprotective, that's all," he said with a smile. "She got her heartbroken once and she doesn't want the same to happen to me."
Delilah looked into his eyes, almost pained at the words she was about to speak, "She thinks I'll be the one to do that to you?"
Caleb shrugged, "Who knows." He looked over at her anxiety-ridden face and smiled.
She nodded to him slightly and looked down. She suddenly didn't know what to do; who's story to believe. She had been manipulated many times in her life and now she wasn't sure if she was by Aro and Jane or not. All she could tell, was that Caleb was a good, innocent person. He was nicer to her than anyone had been her entire life.
Delilah swallowed hard and looked up into his eyes.
Caleb looked back, "I told her we were just friends, anyway."
"Yeah," she said quietly, nodding as she did.
For several seconds neither of them looked away and Caleb looked down briefly for a moment when he felt her foot graze his.
"Oh, sorry..." Delilah said.
"It's alright," Caleb assured her. He felt a knot begin to develop in the pit of his stomach and sensed she did too from the tense position of her hand against the pool deck tile. The next couple of seconds felt like an outer-body experience almost. Caleb felt like he was being willed to move toward her, as she did the same to him. A moment later, he felt his lips touch hers, gently at first, but after the first touch his hesitation was gone.
Delilah closed her eyes and kissed him back, just as nervous as she could feel he was.
What are you doing!? Caleb asked himself, but couldn't bring himself to stop. Her lips felt too perfect against his own.
Delilah pushed him back and finally turned away.
Right away, he snapped back to reality and began a rattling off a series of stuttered apologies. "I-I don't know why I just did that. I'm sorry. Delilah, I'm... really really just.. I'm sorry."
She stood up and looked at him, not knowing how to feel. This is exactly what she was suppose to do in order to help Aro, but at that moment she couldn't do it. She couldn't lie to Caleb and kiss him. He was too good for what she was doing behind his back.
"Delilah..." he said again, shaking his head.
She took a deep breath. A part of her wanted to smile and kiss him again because it felt so right. Another part of her knew it wasn't fair unless she told him the truth. And what about Aro? Her mind was suddenly a mess and she knew she had to leave before she made a rash decision one way or another.
"I... I have to go Caleb. I'm sorry." Delilah tried to smile at him, but she couldn't. She grabbed her shoes and ran back toward the door for the tunnel.