Diligo Est Amicitia

Chapter 19: Grey Meets Amber

A/N: Boom, baby! Six days of no update and DEA's already on second page. Hmm... this community's moving fast and I'm never one to like to be left behind so here I am with Chapter 19 and I hope you really do enjoy it! For those who want to know who Peter and the Girl - who I am introducing in this chapter - looks like, check out my profile for the link. Until then!

Stupid idiot, I found myself thinking as I smiled at Caleb Danvers who was doing his warm-ups by the side of the pool. You have absolutely no idea what you're going up against. I don't particularly care for mortals… they have such a short life span that they might as well not live anyway. There is the occasional grandpa who got to survive his hundredth birthday but by then, you're so weak that you can't get out of that bed you've been lying on for the best part of twenty years so what's the point?

I don't care that he's a witch; he's still human. He'll live and he'll die. I have never been a mortal; never. I'm not one to be narcissistic but really, compare a mortal to a vampire or a lycan. True, with mortals, there's a possibility that they'll end up in Heaven but they'll always have to go through Hell for the sins they've committed. Me and the other immortals? We walk on this Earth forever. Of course there's always the chance we'll get struck down by a member of the Rebellion or by some other design but that's the thrill of it.

Earlier on, the Sons of Ipswich badgered me with questions; how old I am, how was my hometown. Especially that blonde… what's her name? Sarah… I'm wondering whether her interest in me is to find out what's been happening in her hometown or it's about something else. Either way, I'm not interested. I had only seen Boston for a week; it wasn't enough to satisfy questions about whether her favourite flower shop was still running as usual.

I tug on my Speedos, so far the most repugnant thing I have ever put on my body. Lilith obtained it for me since I have none. I don't understand… can't mortals simply swim naked?

"SpeeDO?" I had repeated after Lilith, my tone ultimately acerbic. "Well, how about SpeeDON'T?"

My arm is still bruising slightly after that punch on the arm Lilith gave me. Of course, she meant it all in the good name of play but with all that vampiric power she has, it's a wonder there isn't an earthquake everytime she starts stomping.

This material only irritates me, making me feel uncomfortable. It covers nearly nothing… what's the point of wearing it? Sure, I wear clothes; the Spencer uniform – but I recognize it as a necessity… when you meet people or when you step outside and get exposed to the climate. However in the water, I feel free. There is nothing I can't do in the water. Absolutely nothing. Don't they feel it? That vibe pulsing through their veins? The way the water beckons and seduces? If not, how can they call themselves swimmers?

The coach has acknowledged my presence and the fact that I am challenging Caleb Danvers. First, though, I am required to beat his time; 1:14. Unbelievable. Do they really swim that slow? Jamie holds me back before I prepare to dive. She says nothing but her eyes beg me to be reasonable. Human. I remind myself. Be human. A lot to ask of an immortal.

I finish with a time of 1:10. Realistic, no? I see the shocked looks on Caleb and his friends and the coach. Hamm claps me on the back and praises me. This is it. I'm up against Caleb in five minutes. He does his warm-ups and I do mine. I actually just copy him; I don't need warm ups. The moment I splashed into the water, I feel a freshness wash over me, energizing me almost as much as coffee does. Reminds me that I'm going to have to get some.

Caleb's ahead of me slightly… fine, what I'm doing is cruel, I'll admit but for a moment, I just wanna enjoy the water. There'll be plenty of time to catch up with him. I can just imagine the look on his face as I pull the rug from beneath him. Not pleasurable for me will it be; I have never enjoyed disappointment on anyone but this is what you get for challenging me. I don't back down and I don't get kind to let you win. I dish it as it is.

Later…

Now, taking care of three wild eighteen-year olds can be tough. And when the going gets tough, the tough get going… to the coffeehouse. Humans may be selfish, greedy, idiotic scumbags but there's one thing no lycan, vampire or centaur can disagree about and that is: humans make great coffee. Only some, though; most of them deserve to go right to Hell where Jamie can make sure they stay there. Moll's is a nice place… or so Fin says but I'm going to take her word for it.

The most magnificent aroma greeted me as I walked in through the door. Mmm… Fresh coffee. I make my way over to the counter where a man, whom I assumed was the owner, nodded at me, already prepared to take my order.

"Can I get a mochaccino, double mocha?" The owner nodded, then turned away to the counter behind him to make my coffee. I hesitated slightly, then decided to go for it. "Extra mocha, in fact. Thanks." He nodded again. "Then again, just dump as much as you can into my cup." This time, the man turned around fully, his eyebrows meeting one another and giving me a look I didn't quite like.

Now, just to be clear on things, I am not scared of humans. But sometimes, just sometimes… they're so weird. What's wrong with adding more coffee powder into the coffee? Won't it make it more… coffee-er? I decided to settle for the innocent look. "It's kind of an emergency…"

Casting me one more strange look, the café owner stirred up my coffee in a Styrofoam cup and handed it to me. While he was busy getting my change, I took a sip, swirling it in my mouth to get a real taste of it. Like wine, really. "Mmm…" I gulped it down. Perfect. I looked back to the owner who was staring again, my change in one hand. "Good coffee." I complimented, taking the shillings and dumping it into my pocket.

"Thanks." He nodded in a gruff voice. "Now would ya mind getting outta the way, sonny? I've got other customers."

I started to turn to look over my shoulder but before I could, a figure rushed past me to the counter, slightly bumping against me. "Uh… a cappuccino please?"

I tried to get a look at her; she hadn't even apologized! But her hair hid her face, long bluntly cut bangs, which had been highlighted past recognition of whether she was a blonde or a brunette. It was only when she turned to face me that I saw her. The first thing I found myself thinking about was that the streaks matched her. Her eyes were gray, pink eye shadow had been lightly applied around her eyes and she had practically mutated her ear.

I understand that ear piercings were considered an accessory, all of my three girl friends had it but what she had done to her right ear was… brutal! Silver studs and earrings decorated the side of said ear. I had never seen anything so atrocious. But still, a part of me admired her for the pains she must have gone through to have that many metals going through her ear.

"Uh… hello?" Oh shite. It was only then that I realized I had been staring at her.

"Yeah?" I shut my mouth, drawing out my most coldest, iciest facade. The code of conduct I had been brought up with told me to be nice to her; she was a member of the fairer sex after all and Dad had taught me to respect the opposite gender, even the humans but I chose to ignore it. She still hadn't apologized.

"D'ya mind?" She pointed past me to the box of coffee stirrers. She had already had her cup of coffee in hand and the owner, together with the people queuing up behind the girl, were glaring at me murderously for holding up the line.

"Uh… yeah. I'm just leaving." I grabbed a stirrer myself. "Great coffee!" I repeated, managing a weak smile at the owner.

"Just go!" He bellowed.

I made my way out just before he started to make his way over the counter to personally haul me out. I managed to catch one last glance at the strange girl before the door closed; she was sitting at a table deeply immersed in sketching something. I shook my head, frowning. Fin must've been insane to recommend this place to me. Impatient café owners and bizarre customers. Forget this shack! There were hundreds more places to go for coffee!

I entered Moll's for the second time in two days. Thankfully, the owner wasn't there; just his assistant. I ordered my coffee, black, took a few packets of sugar and proceeded to find an empty seat somewhere. Mission Impossible; it was a full house. I had tried other coffee shops in Ipswich but blech! Moll's was the only one serving beverages fit for consumption. So here am I again… thankful that the owner wasn't around. I was just about to give up finding a seat when I saw her. The weird girl from yesterday.

So I walk over to her table, the only one which happens to have a vacant seat. Being the gracious being that I am, I generously let go of yesterday's discourteousness. Instead, I decided to be polite to her, just to show her that I am practical. "Is this seat taken?"

"Nope." She shook her head, not even bothering to look up from whatever she was doing.

I shrugged, pulling out the metal chair and sliding into it. She looked up, startled. "Whoa, bub. I said the seat wasn't taken. I never said you could sit in it."

I raised an eyebrow. Rudeness must play a huge part in this girl's life. "Well, since no one was sitting in it and this seat wasn't taken, I assumed it was vacant."

"You assumed correctly." She snapped back, quick to reply. "What you didn't assume correctly was the fact that I didn't invite you to sit down."

I huffed. "Well, do you mind being kind for just an hour and let me sit here?"

She frowned as if uncertain what I was implying about that 'being kind for an hour' before she finally dropped it. Ah, a small interval of sensibility, at last! "Fine." She muttered.

We sipped on our drinks for a while. She was occupied with her work and I had time to kill before the tomorrow and another day of school. "Do you go to Spencer?" I gave up; I was bored after all.

"Nope. I just wear the uniform for kicks." She rolled her eyes. Right, I told myself. Stupid question to ask of a sarcastic eighteen-year old girl. "'Course I go to Spencer."

Usually, I'd give up talking to her but the tone in her voice after she'd say those five words intrigued me and I dug for more. "Then how come I don't see you?"

"Well, you would…" The girl trailed off slightly as she picked up a pencil. "… if you looked harder." At my bewildered look, the corner of her lips twitched in a sad smile. "I'm mostly invisible to everyone." Hmm… unpopular. I had heard of these things during my travels in America but to meet someone who was experiencing all that was… well, something else. I found it rather ridiculous, actually. Wasn't school for education? Oh well, what would I know? I haven't stepped into an academy for more than four decades.

"Do you enjoy it?" I asked.

"Enjoy what?"

"Being invisible."

"Sometimes." She sighed. Then she gave me a quick smile. "But humans weren't built for absolute isolation, y'know? They need contact with people."

"How about your parents?"

"They don't bother about me. I guess the only reason they sent me here is so that I can get that easy ticket to Princeton and they can boast about it to all to those rich scumbags they call their friends."

I nodded. "Peter Lycan." I extended a hand.

She looked at it for a minute and for five seconds that she shook it; her grey orbs met my amber ones. "Delancey Lane."

Crickes