Too much homework! Sorry for not updating sooner! T_T

I don't own the Night World Series. Sucks for me.

Warmth in the Darkness, Chapter 4: Freaking Out, Enter Keith and Alex

Vivienne's P.O.V

He was Asian, by the looks of him. His eyes were a soft dark brown, which she knew would look defensive at any moment, and his black hair was highlighted with gold streaks.

It was the mysterious Asian guy from her creepy dreams.

What… no… this can't be happening. No… no… "No…" Vivienne shook her head frantically. A guy from her dreams show up? A stranger? This is absolutely… ridiculous. She took another step back. It must've been a coincidence. It has to be. It's too weird –

"What are you talking about?"

Vivienne was too in denial to notice that she had been talking out loud. She looked at him dazedly and shook at her head at him. "No." She took a step back again, still looking at him. "It can't be… impossible… no… NO!" She yelled the last word at him, not caring that everyone was staring at them. She was too freaked out. Vivienne sprinted to the English classroom, ignoring the pain in her muscles from the days before. She didn't look back.

Once in the safety zone, she collapsed into her chair, forehead touching the cool desk, hair forming a dark curtain. She bit her lip and took deep breaths through her nose, trying to calm down. It was just a coincidence, an accident, nothing to care about, she chanted in her head. She refused to believe it meant something else. If it did.

"Hey, Vivienne!"

Vivienne groaned. She needs a few minutes to herself to sort out this alone. It was just a coincidence, and it –

"Vivienne." Someone poked her on the arm.

"Go away."

The poking became harder.

"What do you want from me?!" She snapped, whipping her head up to glare at the person. But her gaze faltered as she recognized who it was. The guy towering over her had messy brown hair, eyes a shade lighter than that and a muscled body. It was Keith Hallows, the hottest guy in her school, who was incidentally her old nemesis because of his asshole-ly nature. Vivienne sighed internally. Unfortunately, hate is a very passionate emotion, and it can easily cross the line that turns it to love. So that was where she was now. Keith Hallows, the asshole, as her secret crush.

"I heard you went to the hospital."

Was he asking if I'm okay? Vivienne thought. That could almost make up for what creepy things had happened before. Almost. She blinked and put her head on her hand.

"What's your point?"

He grinned suddenly. "I was wondering… did you go there to get a breast transplant? Not that I'm looking there." But his eyes said otherwise.

Vivienne's jaw fell open. Well screw that idea. He was trying to be cocky. "Go rot in hell!" Then she stood up and shoved him. Hard. Keith actually took a few surprised steps back before bumping into someone behind him.

"What's your problem?!" It was Eliza, and she was batting him with another paperback book.

"Screw off!" He muttered, trying to keep his cool.

Eliza glared and hit him a few more times before letting him go. Vivienne watched Keith walk coolly back to his group of friends and join the conversation. She studied his handsome features for a few seconds more before returning to her moping. It was just an accident, nothing else, damn Keith –

"What happened?" Kristina, Penelope and Rachelle were looking at her. Oh crap. She said it out loud again, didn't she?

Play dumb, a voice in her mind advised her. She followed the instructions. "What do you mean?"

Kristina rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend. We heard you. What was an accident? And what about Keith?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eliza look up sharply from her book. Oh great. She was in the center of attention. "Keith came up and then he said that he thought I got a breast transplant at the hospital. And then he looked." Surprisingly, she didn't even feel a bit embarrassed when she said that.

"He what?!" The shriek of four horrified girls had the force of a million bombs exploding, a hundred towers crashing to the ground, and a thousand guns firing at the same time.

"He looked at my… thingymabobbers." Vivienne was actually glad she told them. Now all she had to do was sit back and watch Keith get tortured.

"My innocent child!!!!!" Eliza screeched. "Everyone! Get a weapon!"

Vivienne tried to hide a smirk as her four friends stomped towards Keith's posse with math textbooks, lipstick and purses at the ready. They were so hilariously protective. Dimly, she heard Rachelle warn Keith's friends to step aside and stay that way to avoid getting hurt. Vivienne's shoulders were shaking with kept laughter so far. She watched as Eliza whacked him everywhere with a textbook, Rachelle use her brutal slapping skills against him, Kristina swing her purse at his friends to keep them away, and Penelope draw on him with a tube of cherry-red lipstick.

"Aghh!!! Fuck off! What's your problem?!" Keith was unsuccessfully trying to protect himself from the harassing warriors.

"You pervert!" Eliza shrieked.

"How the hell am I a pervert?! I didn't – ow!! Back off! OWW!!"

"You looked at –"

Oh my god. Please don't say my name, pleasenopleasenopleaseno, Vivienne thought frantically. Now that would be embarrassing. In front of the whole class.

"– a girl's boobs!" Rachelle yelled.

Thank you, Vivienne breathed.

Everyone started to gather around the fight scene, excited murmurs and giggles drifting through the room.

"What is going on in here??"

Crap. It was Mr. Gyld. His face was pink-ish and he held the attendance folder as if he was going to rip it to shreds in a moment.

The four girls froze, and Keith took this opportunity to tattletale. "Mr. Gyld! These… freaks are hurting me!"

Mr. Gyld's eyes narrowed. "You four. At my desk." He jerked his chin at the corner and strode there.

"But – but – look at me!" Keith spluttered.

And so the class did. Everyone paused for a second before laughing at him. Even Mr. Gyld had a smirk on his face and his eyes were twinkling. Keith was truly a mess. His brown hair had bits of red in it and his face was smeared with the lipstick all over the place. There was a long, fat trail that ran from his forehead, curved around his nose, to the corner of his mouth.

"Don't they at least deserve detention for about a week?!" He yelled, furious for the embarrassment.

Mr. Gyld immediately turned serious. "Mr. Hallows. Don't yell in my classroom. I think I can be the judge of that." To the girls, he motioned them to go there.

Vivienne immediately felt nervous for them. Mr. Gyld was rather strict, and he might actually give them detention. They didn't really deserve it; they were just trying to avenge her. She rose fluidly and crossed over to the desk.

"Mr. Gyld," she interrupted politely. "It has nothing to do with them."

He stopped talking and the four girls looked at her.

"My friends are very protective, and once I told them that he… looked at me, they wanted to avenge me." She stood there solemnly, feeling a little embarrassed about telling a grown man about this. "Keith was basically raping me with his eyes and I feel that my 'bubble' has been invaded, making me feel very uncomfortable. I believe Keith should be the one who gets detention, instead of my friends, who were just trying to bring justice." She crossed her arms and gazed coolly at the teacher, refusing to crack a smile. She had just made it sound so formal, and it was a very big contrast to her usual type of speech.

Mr. Gyld cleared his throat and his eyes darted around the room. "Vivienne, thank you for telling me your opinion." His tone was formal, too. "I respect your wishes, and so I will do as you say. However, that does not give these girls a permission to attack Keith." He gestured to them, raising an eyebrow. "No matter how funny it was, it was very inappropriate to do so, and I believe you owe an apology to him."

The girls groaned and rolled their eyes.

"Would you like to serve detention after school with him?" Mr. Gyld raised an eyebrow. "I have room for four more."

"Umm… we'll just go apologize." Kristina looked embarrassed. "When?"

"Now, please."

The girls tromped away. At least they didn't have to do detention, and that means it wouldn't reflect on their impression. Vivienne shrugged and then drifted back to her seat. Oh, and if they did have detention, she would get left out again, caught out the net of inside jokes. She thought that selfishly, and regretted it almost immediately. After all, the punishment was caused by their protectiveness, so why was she jealous? She gazed at her friends whispering in each other's ears and giggling quietly. Even if it isn't right, it still hurts to know they'll come back with some joke that she doesn't get. No, I won't be jealous. I won't freak, she chanted in her head. Freaking out… she closed her eyes, remembering what had happened in the hallway. I won't freak, she reminded herself sternly. I won't freak, I won't freak, I won't freak, I won't…

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I won't freak, I won't freak, she thought dully, walking from the cafeteria to her locker. All morning, it was banging repeatedly in her head, and she was getting tired of it. Suddenly, she spotted a tall, dark shape behind her from the corner of her eye. Again. She groaned. This person had been following her ever since she had stepped out of the English classroom and everywhere she went. That is, of course, an exception to classes. She whipped around abruptly and scanned the crowd. Nope. No one. She turned back around slowly. Maybe she has problems? Oh whatever. Maybe it was Penelope. Maybe it was Darrion. Maybe it was a teacher. Maybe.

She turned her locker combination, still wary of her surroundings. 23… 25… what was that?! Another dark shape was watching her. She turned around sharply and caught a flash of gold and black before it disappeared. Oh hell. Why not? She locked her lock and tried to inconspicuously chase after the guy. "So now I have a stalker," she muttered to herself. Joy. Vivienne darted around two boys shoving each other and around a girl applying makeup. Do that in the washroom, she thought disgustedly. Almost there, she thought. The stalker's back was just inches away from her fingertips. She sprinted the distance away. There. She was right behind him. You're dead, she thought to herself grimly. Vivienne reached out and yanked him backwards… and almost dropped him when she caught sight of his face. It was the Asian guy she dreamt about. Oh screw that, she thought and viciously shoved him up against a wall, isolated from the crowd of rushing students.

"Oww! What the hell is your problem?!" He shoved Vivienne away and rubbed his head, brown eyes were flashing with annoyance.

Vivienne stumbled against the opposite wall from his shove and glared back defiantly. "Why the hell were you stalking me?!" She yelled back, pushing away the panic and pain. That guy's strong, she thought absent-mindedly.

He crossed his arms and looked away, frowning. Why am I not leaving? She asked herself. Oh, cause you're a fricken romanticist and you want him to be your "soulmate", she answered herself savagely.

"I wasn't stalking you," the guy finally said, turning back to the hallway. He took a few steps hurriedly, trying to blend in.

Vivienne pressed her lips together and dragged him back. "Yeah, right. I saw you. Every. Single. Time." He looked like he was about to protest but ended up smiling sheepishly. That's a very nice smile, she thought.

"Fine. I was." Then his brown eyes turned defensive. Vivienne shivered uncontrollably and looked down. This was the exact way she saw him in her dream, and not even a single hair was out of place. She breathed in through her nose and out her mouth slowly. Calm down, she thought. Her hands clenched the straps of her bag unintentionally. I will not freak, I will not freak, she thought, gritting her teeth. A hand touched her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Vivienne looked up. The guy had a worried expression and his eyes were warm, no longer defensive.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Vivienne forced a smile. "Back to the point. Why. Were. You. Stalking me?" She pushed him away as gentle as she could and crossed her arms.

The guy grimaced. "Well you just ran away from me this morning and I don't even know what I did to you." He scratched his arm thoughtfully. "And by the way, when I saw you bang into the door, I wasn't laughing at you. I swear."

Vivienne sighed. "Whatever."

He sighed too before brightening up. "Soo… I don't know your name yet. I'm Alex."

Vivienne raised her eyebrows at him. Well he can change topics fast. "Riiiight. I'm Vivienne… what class?"

Alex grinned. "The best class ever. Mrs. Johnson's class."

Vivienne smirked. "Hell no! My class is the best and you know it. Mr. Gyld's class." She sang, watching Alex's expression turn jealous. "Told ya. We're the best… aaand I gotta go now." Unfortunately, the bell rang right then, so she had to get to Art. Yes. She smiled at the thought of that period, turning away. Art was the best class because there was unlimited talking and well… she was the top drawer in her class, so far. Not to brag, she added hastily.

"Wait!"

Vivienne turned around. "Yeah?"

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets, soft brown eyes turning lighter in the sun's rays. "Vivienne," he said, testing out the new word. "Umm… I'll see you after school?"

Vivienne nodded and waved goodbye before pushing through the crowd.

Here you guys are! Don't be mad at me please! Especially a certain someone. *coughElizabethNewforestcough* Review please?? I'm losing confidence in this story. :(