The remainder of my first day of South Park High was pretty uneventful as far as school goes. I was glad to find out that for the remainder of my classes I had at least one of the boys in my class, and all of them in my gym class. My last class was coming to an end and students all around me were shifting in their seats, unable to sit still waiting for the bell to ring to be free until tomorrow. I sit and doodle on the page of notes in front of me as the teacher rambles on, trying to get as much as he can in before the bell rings and everyone stampedes out.
I glance at the clock, the bell was scheduled to ring any second now. I casually covered my ears, acting like I was stretching and hoped I timed it right to avoid having my ears be raped for the 10th time today. I was used to dealing with a lot of things, but sometimes I get so sick of dealing with loud noises. It drives me insane that things that are already considered loud to normal people are amplified to me, but it's something I have no control over. The shriek of the bell came as I finished lifting my arms up, my hands blocking out some of the noise but not as much as I would like. I let out a sigh as I lowered my arms back down and gathered my things, students around me already popping up from their desks and rushing out the door towards freedom.
I always waited to leave, not wanting to deal with the pushiness of the crowd, so being alone and the last one in the room was not new to me. What was new to me however was the fact that I was approached by Kyle, who shared my last class of the day with me.
"Hey Luna!" Kyle energetically said as he approached me from his seat on the other side of the room. "You walking home or taking the bus?"
"Probably walking. I want to avoid the bus as often as I can. Why?" I answered without looking up from packing my stuff.
"Well, the guys and I normally walk home after school too, followed by hanging out. After you left the lunch table we agreed we wanted you to walk with us and, if you want, hang out." Kyle explained as he sat on the desktop next to mine to wait for me. He leaned down to be closer as I was finishing up and zipping up my backpack. "Especially Kenny." He whispered to me.
I froze for a moment at his name, just the fact that he especially wanted to hang out with me made my heart skip a beat… well if it beat normally it would have anyways. I stood up and swung by bag over my shoulder, "Well I shouldn't disappoint a fan of mine now should I." I smiled at Kyle as he chucked at my statement.
"I think you have a fan in all of us Luna. Well, maybe not quite Cartman yet, he's an asshole to all of us." He stood up and patted my shoulder before leading the way to the others who were all waiting around, what I assumed to be, Stan's locker. Assumed for the fact that he was the one shoving books and such into it.
"Hey guys, I have my last class with Luna." Kyle greeted as Stan finished up in his locker. "She has agreed to walk with us."
"Gracing you all with my presence yet again." I smile at them, "And Cartman, don't worry I'm not gonna ruin anything." I poked fun at the chubby guy.
"Beautiful and stands up to Cartman?" Kenny, now re-hooded, complimented, "Is there anything else that could make you cooler?"
I laughed as we made our way down the hall towards the front door, "Oh, I have a few surprises up my sleeve." Oh so much more I could tell them, but keeping my secret is essential. Plus if anything they would just be scared of me if they knew and I need to be able to fit in here. We all exchanged small talk as we made our way towards our street. I made a point to take quick glances at Kenny, seeing if I felt anything like I did at lunch. Lo and behold the times I was nonchalantly able to catch his eyes I felt that same tug.
I wonder if he feels it too. I asked myself as I once again sent a glance his way, once again catching his eyes. I came to the realization that he had been looking at me almost as much as I him when he quickly looked away after our eyes met fully.
"Uh, Luna aren't you cold?" Kyle asked, a pause in the small talk causing silence and the others to look towards me.
"No, why?" I gave him a confused look before I realized I just fucked up. Between the small talk and my thoughts, it didn't dawn on me that I had not put my sweater back on having removed it earlier in the day. My slender arms only covered by the sheer lace of my shirt. Normally this would be no problem, but in the middle of winter in this town the temperature was pretty damn low. Taking a quick glance around I realized we had walked a pretty decent distance before I was questioned about my lack of jacket. Shit shit shit! I mentally freaked, I knew any normal person would be freezing by now.
"She's too hot to be cold." Kenny said chuckling and winking at me as I turned my attention to him.
I made a "pfft" noise as I rolled my eyes and laughed, "Yeah, that's totally the answer." I replied to him. "I'm so hot that none of you even need jackets around me." I sarcastically added. I tried to play it off, but I couldn't shake the feeling of butterflies from Kenny calling me hot.
"Oh, I wouldn't doubt that." Kenny retorted. The feeling of butterflies I had only escalated when he replied back to my sarcastic remark. It was all just joking around, I knew that, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that there was some truth to his words. That he was using these opportunities to hit on me.
"Hold on guys." I stopped in my tracks as I slid my bookbag off my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground as I pulled my sweater on over my head. "There, now no one has to worry about me being cold." I smiled to the group, picking my backpack up as we all continued on our way home.
The small chit chat picked back up and before I knew it we had reached my house. I began to break off from the group, digging around my pockets for my house key. "I'll catch you guys later, I gotta talk to my parents about something." I feigned disappointment, but in reality really needing to talk to them. I said some lame goodbyes and watching the group as they made their way towards their own houses. As I was about to go inside, I caught Kenny looking back at me waving. I gave a small wave back, my heart feeling like it was going to be ripped out of my chest. The feeling intensified the further down the street he went. I sighed as I turned and entered my house, leaning against the front door as it closed.
I stood there, confused and annoyed as I let out a groan and covered my face with my hands. Out of the people I knew in Seattle and how close my friends from there were to me I never felt formed the soul bond with any of them. Suddenly moved to a town in the middle of nowhere and meet four boys who just so happened to like me enough to welcome me and I start to fall for one of them. Is that even what was happening? I mean I could just want his blood, the fact that he had the smell of immortal and human was more favorable to the animal blood I had to live off of.
"Luna, how was your first day at school?" My mother's voice came from the kitchen.
I didn't reply right away, still standing with my face covered. This conversation was not one I wanted to get into right now, for this was a huge deal to immortals. My parents have been soul bonded for a couple hundred years and they always told me that one day it would happen to me too. That there is always someone out there for us immortals and once we find them then living for eternity doesn't seem so lonely anymore.
Come on Luna! You need to figure this out. I slowly straightened up from leaning against the door and made my way to the kitchen, still not replying to my mother's question. I mean as far as I'm concerned the guy human, and I'm... well not. So in theory, the soul bond can't happen between us.
"Luna?" My mother looked at me with slight concern as I stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, looking down and crossing my arms over my chest.
"School was fine." I responded finally. Slowly looking up to meet my mother's eyes. "I.. I kinda need to ask you about something though." I hesitated as I forced the words out. I may be 18 and to a human that is a normal time to start dating, but for a vampire, or any immortal for that matter, my life has only just begun.
"Well, I may kinda have an answer." My mother smiled at me as she turned back to the counter, grabbing a glass full of fresh blood and handing it to me.
"Have you and dad found out if there are any other immortals of any kind in this town? I asked as I reached out and took the glass, putting the warm liquid to my lips and downing the glass in one go.
"Well, no not that we know of. We certainly haven't found any of our kind in particular." Her answer only slightly shocked me. I knew not to expect our kind but I figured with the fact that Kenny had an immortal smell there would be some form of immortals here. Weather that have been undead, Fay, or form of nymph, but for no other immortal being to be living here made me even more confused.
"Okay, next question. Is it possible at all that someone can be both human and immortal?" The words coming slowly. "I mean, hypothetically it's possible right?
My mother let out a little laugh, "Luna, you know that humans and immortals can't have children. The two types of DNA just don't work together. Imagine part of your body constantly growing and aging and part of it staying the same for years and years. It's just not possible for someone to live with their whole body fighting against itself from the inside out."
"Yeah, you're right." I silently said looking back down and fiddling with my glass. "Um, there's something else I want to ask about." My voice no louder than a whisper, not that it mattered at all. I knew my mother still heard me loud and clear.
"And that would be?" She stood with a hand on her hip and a full glass of her own in the other.
"When you and dad first realized the soul bond snapped into place, what did you feel?" Silence filled the air, my mother looking at me with wide eyes that screamed a mix of happiness and concern.
"Well," She began moving to sit down at the table, motioning for me to do the same, "I knew a few weeks after I met your father and with the bond being between two specific people I knew he felt it the second I did. I was 30 at the time and he was 50, not that age matters after you reach 21, the years just add up after that. Now here we are 250 years later and still feel as strongly towards each other as the day we met."
"Yeah, yeah! I know that. I mean how did it make you feel? How did seeing him and being around him make you feel?"
"Well, when a bond snaps into place you feel drawn to one another. It's complicated to explain…It feels… It feels like..." My mother trailed off, thinking of the words to describe the feeling.
"Like something has a hold of your heart and looking at that person feels like someone is pulling you towards them. And when they aren't near you your heart feels as though its being ripped out of your chest." My answer wasn't a question, it was a statement. The best way I could describe how I had been feeling all day.
"Yes.. When the bond is fresh that's exactly how it feels. Obviously the longer you are with the person the more calm it becomes, but the same strong feeling of love and compassion never changes." My mother's soft gaze fell on me as she reached out her hand and grabbed one of mine. "Luna, tell me who it is." She smiled at me with a comforting smile.
I hesitated, opening and closing my mouth but no words coming out. I returned my mothers look, tears welling up in my eyes. Very rarely did I ever cry, but my mind was full of thoughts and confusion as I finally got my words out. "Mom, I think I soul bonded with a human. Not just any human either, but a human who had the scent of a type of immortal that I don't think even you and dad know." I sniffed as a tear fell down my face. "I'm just so confused about the whole situation."
"Oh honey," The soft comforting "mommy voice" came out as my mother stood up and pulled me into a hug. "I hoped you would be older when this happened to you, but I can't control fate." She stroked my hair lovingly. "Luna, there's no way he is both human and immortal of any kind… but there is possibility of soul bonding with a human. It happened to my sister."
I pulled away to look her face to face, "Aunt Alice? But, that would mean Uncle Claude was human at one time."
"That's correct. We never felt that it made a difference so its information we just don't feel is necessary. He was her love and she his, he wanted her to change him so he wouldn't have to grow old and leave her. He had the choice to stay human, but they wanted to have a life together and build a family so he chose to become one of us. It didn't make a difference in how we viewed him, he was part of the family once Alice started dating him." Her hand settled on the top of my head. "So, what's his name?" She asked again.
I sighed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hands. "Kenny, his.. His name is Kenny. I met him this morning at the bus stop with three other boys named Kyle, Stan, and Cartman, thought in one of my classes I realized they called Cartman by his last name cuz the teacher called him Eric."
"Are they the ones you walked home with?" Of course she heard them, what with me saying bye to them right outside the house.
I opened my mouth to question her about if she could smell them too, but decided against getting into an argument and just nodded in agreement. She again dismissed me when I mentioned Kenny possibly being part immortal, but if she could smell them then she should have smelt what I did. I chose to push it to the side for now, not wanting to put her in a bad mood. We stood there together for a few minutes, the silence between us somewhat comforting.
"Luna, I'm going to tell you one thing that is very important for you to follow now that you have a bond in place." The silence was broken, my mother's voice still calm but now held a firmness to it to emphasis just how serious she was. "For immortals both feel the bond's strength equally, but humans do not. This being said Kenny will still feel it, but not nearly as strong as you will. You need to be stronger than the… urges… you get are."
"Oh god, No! Mom.. Just.. No!" I stuttered, my hands flying up to my ears as if I could drown her out. "I don't need this talk."
"Luna, I'm talking about other urges. But, yes you will have to deal with those type too." She laughed under her breath at me before continuing. "I'm talking about your thirst. He is human so his blood will cause you to feel more of your thirst than normal, meaning you will need to take extra blood with you when you are around him or just be able to resist it."
I shrugged my shoulders as I contemplated, "Makes sense. But considering I made it thought one day without biting anyone, I'll take my chances. My will is stronger than you know." I turned to head up to my room, feeling contempt with how the conversation went and my head now cleared up with thoughts now all in place. I paused in the doorway, looking over my shoulder back at my mother. "Thanks for not freaking out and talking with me." I smiled at her as she hushed me and put her hands on her hips.
"You're welcome honey. Just be careful." Her voice followed me as I continued on my way to my room.
Okay Luna, just take things slow. Get to know each other and see how trustworthy he can be. I knew I would have to be careful with going about the next steps I would have to take. If I bonded with him, that means he would eventually have to know about me being a vampire. I closed my room door behind me before flopping on my bed with a groan. This was going to be a challenge much harder than just making friends and I had no idea if I was totally ready to tackle it.