Disclaimer: I don't own Darren (he belongs to Daren Shan) or Faith (she belongs to... whoever wrote for Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Friday. I was in the library, sitting on the couch, watching the rain. Darren was there, too. He'd been following me for the past few days. If Nadia and my assumptions were correct, he could've shadowed me much better. It was almost like he wanted us to see him.
I could feel his eyes on me. I was tempted to stare right back at him… but I was too preoccupied with watching the rain. I loved the rain. It was almost like some sort of drug for me, the way it smelled; the way it fell on my skin, the way it tasted. It'd send me on this natural high that I couldn't get out of and that was damn near impossible to control. I traced the small trails of the rain drops on the window with my finger… and almost jumped out of my skin as a dark shadow flew past the window. I hopped to my feet when I saw who was outside. Two people were fighting just outside the window, both very familiar to me. Their shouts were masked by a long clap of thunder. Suddenly, the taller figure lunged at the smaller one, sending him flat on his back. I rushed out of the library and out into the rain. I took a sharp right and ran to the library window. The two figures were rolling around beneath the glass. I ran over to them and tried to pull them apart, only to be thrown against the wall. I scrambled to my feet and tackled the tall one to the ground. The two of us fell on the smaller one, pinning him to the ground. The tall one shoved me off of him and rolled off the small one into a crouching position. "Neesha, this is no concern of yours!" Marti shouted at me through the rain, his face completely enveloped in anger.
"It is my business when you include others like us! What the hell do you think you're doing! Are you trying to get us caught!"
He was on his feet by now, hands balled into fists and ready to strike. The small one was standing behind me, wiping blood from under his nose. "Tyler, what happened?" I asked the boy as he pushed the blood-stained tips of his hair out of his eyes."
"I've no idea what his problem is! He just attacked me out of nowhere! I…"
He stopped in mid-sentence and looked up to somewhere behind Marti. Marti and I turned around and saw Darren and three other people standing behind us, watching. "We'll finish this later," Marti murmured threateningly so only Tyler and I could hear, although I'm pretty sure Darren heard it, too. A loud clap of thunder blasted our ears and the six of us rushed into the library building. Once inside Tyler shook his head, sending water everywhere. Marti did the same, followed by a glare as he leaned up against the wood paneling of the side entrance. "You're bleeding." I set a finger to my forehead and drew it back when I saw the blood on my fingers. Now I noticed how much my head was throbbing. "C'mon, I'll take you to the nurse," said Tyler as he held out his hand.
"No, I'm fine."
"You idiot, Neesha," Marti said, "Your head's gushing."
"No it's not," I said as I wiped a drop of blood away from my temple.
Tyler and Marti looked at each other, and then back at me.
"Don't even think about…" Before I could get out my warning I was being dragged down the hall, Marti's arm under my right elbow and Tyler's under my left.
About 10 minutes later, I was sitting on the cot in the nurse's office, holding an ice pack to my now freezing forehead. Tyler and Marti were with me; Tyler's nose had stopped bleeding and Marti was holding two icepacks over a bruise on his leg and on his arm. We were sentenced to two weeks in OCS (On Campus Suspension). I'm not sure how I ended up in trouble… I mean I did stop the fight after all. Oh well, better brace myself for when I get home. Most of my free period was left so I'm supposed to stay in the nurse's office and 'think about what I've done'. The only problem; I've got nothing to think about. So I sat on the cot, swinging my legs back and forth, holding the ice pack to my forehead, watching the doorway. I stopped my legs when Darren appeared in the door. He glanced at Marti and Tyler (who were staring at Darren, very much alert). He looked to me. "Neesha, I'm supposed to walk you home or something." He sounded reluctant. Hm… maybe…. I scare him! Nah, he probably just thinks I'm weird and wants to stay as far away from me as possible. Yush! And another one bites the dust!... or whatever.
"Why?"
"I'm not sure. He said something about Faith not being able to come get you."
The 'he' Darren was referring to was our principal. Not Faith who is in fact, my guardian.
"Why not one of them?" I asked, motioning to Marti and Tyler.
"I asked him… he said something about not trusting you with them."
I laughed, Marti smirked and Tyler snickered. Darren just looked confused.
"Alrighty, then."
I pulled the icepack away from my forehead, hopped off the cot and walked into the little mini bathroom in the corner of the office. The bleeding had stopped a little while ago, and a small purple band-aid now sat over the cut on my forehead. I walked out and dropped the pack on the counter. I followed him out of the nurse's office and into the entryway of the school, then out into what was left of the rainy Friday.
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"Can I ask you something?" Darren asked as we walked along the wet sidewalk.
"You just did, but go ahead."
"When you stopped Marti and Tyler from fighting… what did you mean by 'others like us'?"
I paused, unsure if I should tell him. It would be a bit dangerous for us if he knew.
"I don't think I can tell you," I said as we walked down the hill and into the cover of the little forest.
"Why not?"
I rested my hand on the damp wood of the fence. It's funny… the fence always seems to be damp. "Because… it's mysterious. Oooooh," I said, waving my hands around in a swirly manner.
He arched an eyebrow and I lowered my hands back onto the damp wood.
"It's… complicated. And besides, I'd probably get into huge trouble if I said anything. Can I ask you a question?"
He paused, probably thinking about what I was going to ask. "Um, sure," he said uncertainly.
"What is someone like you doing in a school? I mean, shouldn't you be scaring helpless children or…. sleeping or something?"
He was quiet for a few moments, probably trying to decide whether I knew what he was or not.
"I hope you know I'm kidding about scaring kiddies. That would be mean, and you don't strike me as a mean vampire," I said pleasantly.
"You know what I am?" He looked surprised, oddly enough.
I looked at him. "Yes. Nadia and I figured it out a few days ago. Don't worry," I laughed as I saw the slight look of panic on his face, "we won't tell a soul."
"What gave me away?" he asked warily.
"Don't take this personally, but… you smell different. Now, are you going to tell me what you're doing here or not?"
"Only if you tell me what you are. You don't strike me as the average human girl."
I gasped dramatically. "What gave me away?"
"You smell different. No offense," he mocked.
"Well, that's a bit obsessive, isn't it? I mean first, you stalk me, and not very well might I add. And now, you smell me. I think you have a few more problems than near immortality and blood lust."
He gave me a weird look. I think he thinks I'm crazy.
"Well, I gots to go," I said after an exceptionally long moment of silence and weird staring.
"Wait!" I paused with both legs on the other side of the fence, "Aren't you going to tell me what you are? I told you what I am."
"Technically, I figured it out – you never told me. And no, I'm not gonna tell – not until you tell me why you've been following me."
Darren sighed. "I can't."
I shrugged. "You'll just have to figure it out on your own then."
I stepped away from the fence and walked across the grass towards the sidewalk.
"Neesha!" Darren called.
I turned around to face him and started walking backwards. He wasn't that far away; maybe 5, 6 feet at most.
"I'm not exactly who you think I am."
I arched an eyebrow and cocked my head to the side. "Oh no? Then tell me, Darren, what exactly are you?"
He smirked. "I can't really tell you, can I? That wouldn't be fair to me, now would it?"
Frowning, I stopped walking. "Shan are you blackmailing me? 'Cause you're not doing a very good job at it."
He rolled his eyes. "Look, when you tell me what you are—"
"I won't."
"—or when I figure out what you are, I'll tell you what I am."
"I see. But I already know what you are."
"Well, yes, but… not all of it."
I made a face. What the hell is he talking about? "Not all of it... Not all… Oh! You're a half-vampire then?"
His smirk immediately dissolved from his face. I'll take that as a yes. "Well, that explains a lot."
"Am…Am I going to find out what you are, then?"
I smiled. "No."
I turned back to the sidewalk. "I'll see you Monday, Darren!"