Haha! I finally got it written! Thanks to MoonGoddess0808, incarnated-soul, End-of-ur-world, Ande, Terriah, and jrepg for their reviews on chapter 10! Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Clara was feeling queasy. It didn't seem like the proper reaction to have when Bracken offered to take her to school. It also didn't seem like the proper reaction to have when the walked down the hallway at school with their fingers intertwined. She should be excited. Everyone was gawking—especially the girls. And it wasn't a freaky kind of gawking. No, it was an I-wish-I-could-be-her kind of gawking.

The car ride had been murder because they first had to drop Drew off at his house. He didn't say a word. He only sat there with a sullen, closed off expression, his shoulders tense. And it tore at Clara's heart to see him like that. She only wished that she could somehow make everything better. But Bracken was right. Drew was a dangerous person. She could pity him, but at a distance. There was no point in getting herself in unnecessary trouble. She'd only end up regretting it.

Lizzie almost screamed when Bracken and Clara walked up. Her eyes got all wide, practically bugging out of her face. She placed her hand over her mouth and just stared for a few seconds, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then she seemed to relax enough to say hello.

"So you guys are...Well, you're together, aren't you?" She added.

Clara didn't really know how to answer that question. They hadn't technically talked about that--and she didn't know if she really wanted to. At the moment her stomach was only flopping around and telling her that she'd made a big mistake. She wished that it would settle for just one minute so that she could take a moment to think clearly. Her emotions kept getting in the way.

Before she could answer, Bracken replied. "Yeah."

"Hey, I know you don't I?" Bracken added with a wide and friendly smile for Lizzie. "You used to date my brother? Like a year back?"
Lizzie was nodding in a bubbly fashion, her cheeks glowing with pride. Bracken as in the Bracken Redfern knew who she was. Clara could tell exactly what was going through her friend's brain at the moment. It wasn't hard considering they'd known each other for so long. "Yeah," she said, reaching out an energetic hand. "I never really saw you around though. I didn't think that you would know. It's really nice to meet you."

Bracken smiled again, calm and cool as ever, grasping her hand. "Of course I knew. I don't miss out on stuff like that."

Clara found her mind wandering as her well—boyfriend and her friend continued to talk. Well, Bracken was talking. Lizzie was practically squealing, being her bubbly self as usual.

Clara's hand felt uncomfortable within Bracken's grasp. It felt damp and clammy, and she just wished that she could pull it away. She was too shy to try. She was worried that Bracken would get a bad implication from the action—which was totally silly. But she was thinking it anyway.

Luckily, Bracken said. "Well, I have to go…I've got an early morning meeting with a teacher. I'll see you guys later."

Clara nodded mutely. Bracken leaned over quickly, leaving a light kiss on her cheek. Then he left. It wasn't even a moment after he turned the corner that Lizzie began to squeal in a high-pitched voice. She gripped Clara's wrists, nearly jumping up and down.

"I can't believe it!" She squealed. "My heart almost stopped when I saw you two coming through the door! I never thought it would happen because you never tried to get him!"

Clara swallowed and shrugged. "Yeah…um…"

Lizzie gripped her shoulders and shook her slightly. "What's going on with you? Why aren't you excited?"

Clara shrugged again under Lizzie's insistent grip. "I don't know…" she trailed off. "Maybe I just thought this was what I wanted. And then when I got it, I realized that it wasn't."

Lizzie was shaking her head in bewilderment, like the idea shouldn't even be running through her head. It wouldn't have run through Lizzie's head. She was one of those people that just lived in the moment. "What's the big deal? You got what you wanted. Just be happy with it. Have fun while it lasts!"

Clara only nodded grudgingly.

"Do you realize how many girls would kill to be in your position?"

There's one that doesn't, Clara thought. That's me.

A commotion pulled them from their discussion. Students were yelling and cheering. Clara frowned. The noise was coming from the main hallway. Lizzie was already heading over to the noise. She couldn't stand to miss a juicy story.

Clara followed her with a puzzled expression. They veered into the main hallway and nearly hit a mass of students standing in a circle. Must be a fight, Clara decided. Nothing else brought the students like a moth to a flame.

She raised herself on tiptoes and tried to look over the sea of heads. And there—up against the lockers, a guy was being held by his shirtfront. He wasn't a tiny guy either. He looked like the kind of guy who could hold his own. Clara's eyes trailed along the hand that was holding him pinned to a boy that was standing with his back to her. She knew him immediately as she saw that tousled, curly dark head.

"Great," she muttered under her breath and began to worm through the crowd. As usual, Drew was getting into trouble. But she felt somehow responsible for this outburst.

She didn't know what she was going to do when she managed to get through the crowd. She only knew that she needed to do something. Some of the students resisted to her pressure, wanting to keep their front seats to the fight. Clara did something she had never done before—she shoved them aside and broke into the center.

Drew's tense back was to her. The guy was pummeling at Drew's grip, but to no avail. Clara was once again reminded of how strong Drew was. But he would never hurt her. That fact was suddenly so crystal clear within her mind.

She reached up and tapped him on the shoulder before he could cause any further damage. The crowd gasped at her audacity. She knew what they were seeing. Shy Clara Goddard, the girl who couldn't speak to a guy without fumbling over her words, trying to break up a fight. It was quite the site, she could imagine.

Drew sighed and dropped the guy, turning toward her sharply. Almost violently. As soon as he saw her, his hands dropped to his sides and he sent her a look. A look of shame and of anger. He was mad at her. That much was obvious.

But in that instant, most of the fight went out of him.

Clara took hold of his arm with a firm grip and began to pull him away through the crowd with a grim look. He allowed himself to be towed under her touch. The crowd parted in a wave, looking on like this was the biggest news they'd seen in their four years at Miada High School. Lizzie was among them, her eyes bugging. She knew how much Drew scared Clara, so this was probably giving her a heart attack out of amazement.

She ignored the stares and brought him down a side hallway. There was a little nook under the stairs that would be out of the sight of human eyes. She pulled him in before anyone got the chance to look down the hallway.

The warning bell rang, and for once she didn't care. What did a class matter at the moment. Her every limb was tingling with a sort of nervous energy and she knew that something more important was happening here.

Ignoring the tingling, she turned around to look at him.

"What was that?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest to hide the fine tremor that had overtaken her. "You can't just go beating people up because you feel like it. People matter."

Drew responded with an exasperated glance. "What did you expect me to do, Clara?"

She felt pleasurable shivers tingle down her spine as he said her name.

"I was trying to help his girlfriend and he turned on me," Drew added sullenly. He let out a disgusted groan. "I can't do it! Do you hear me? It just won't work!"

Clara frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about changing," Drew replied, looking her straight in the eye with a hard look. His tone was clipped and grating. "That's what you want, isn't it? So I tried. But I can't change. People won't let me. Whenever someone says the name Drew in this school, people only think of all the bad things I've ever done. Or all the stories people have made up—that aren't even true! If something bad happens, Drew did it! My name's tainted!"

Drew was working himself into a real rant now, pacing back and forth like a caged jungle cat. "I'm like Jezebel!"

Clara found herself becoming more and more uneasy as he turned to pace in another direction and then back again. She reached out to grab his arm and pull him to a halt. There was a faint buzzing in her ears, but luckily she only touched the cloth of his sleeve.

"Jezebel?" She asked. The name sounded familiar.

"You know," Drew replied grumpily. "That biblical queen. The one who sacrificed babies to her god, Baal. She killed the prophets of other religions and forced everyone to worship her god. The name's tainted now. It's a beautiful name, but it's tainted all because of one woman. No one can ever think of that name as anything else again." He said the last part distinctly, through gritted teeth. "People don't allow other people to change."

It was a beautiful name. Something about it stuck in her mind.

Drew suddenly reached out and snatched her hands, bare skin to bare skin. Electricity shot up her arms and she gasped.

"You feel that, don't you?" Drew said with almost a desperate look on his face. "I know you do. How could you do this to me? Why Bracken, Clara?"

Clara swallowed hard as her chest began to balloon. Her body was overrun by tingles and her chest ached sweetly as the balloon grew. Her body was awash with sensations and her mind was completely aware of his hands holding hers with a warm and gentle grip. He looked so warm and solid that a part of her wanted to fall right into his arms.

The fuzz was engulfing her brain. His words managed to break through the fuzz, completely crystal clear. "I can't change for you. I want to, but I can't."

His eyes were so sad, so wounded. Clara didn't know what to do—maybe she didn't need to know. Something was already happening. Her chest was at the bursting point. And his mind was nearing hers, drilling through the space that connected them.

Suddenly she found that she wanted this to happen. Whatever it was, she wanted it. Needed it. More than she'd ever needed anything in her life.

Overcome by a wave of emotion, she leaned forward audaciously. His lips met hers halfway, and then were just kissing, carried away on a sea of delight. He pulled him to her until their bodies were flush against each other. She leaned against him, feeling his heart beat wildly and trusting him not to take it too far. She was too lost in the sensations to be responsible for her actions.

And all the time the space between their minds was drilling ever closer. And then, contact.

Clara! The thought hit her mind on a wave of dizzying sweetness.

Clara gasped, her knees turning to jelly beneath her. She buckled. Drew wasn't able to catch her because he was falling too. They fell, clutching to each other. Nothing else was solid in the world. There was no other world except them.

Drew, she responded almost inarticulately. She was too filled with wonder to say anything more. Her mind was continuing to think internally. She realized distantly that her thoughts were drifting toward him of their own accord. So this is what I was afraid of. It's nothing to be afraid of. It's wonderful.

She didn't even stop to think about how this could be happening. It just felt so right.

Yes, was his only response. He was gone. He'd lost all control and he was reveling in it. She realized that they were still kissing. His kisses moved along the side of her jaw and then he began raining kisses on her neck.

Well, if he was going to get lost in it, she might as well too. She basked in the glow that was illuminating their minds. She reached out to brush his mind with her own, feeling like she wanted to be very gentle with him. His mind was so bruised. She could feel it, even from here.

His hot breath was on her neck. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain that made her teeth ache. She could feel him nuzzling her neck.

An odd thought occurred to her. Is he drinking my blood?

And then the world was lost.