Wednesday September 20th, 2000
To Mia's dismay, she had become the center of attention for the rest of that week. Sam was impossible, following her around, obsessed with making amends to her somehow. She wanted nothing more than to be forgotten at this point and had wished she could have shared some of this attention with William. But no one seemed interested in his firsthand account. People avoided him and his family as usual.
William never glanced at Mia and when they had class together he seemed totally unaware of her presence. He was doing everything correctly now; to please Katherine and protect the others he stayed in High Point. He hunted no more than the rest of them, and everyday he went to school and played human. Everyday he listened carefully for anything new about the Croft's but the girl only repeated the same story over and over. There was no danger.
William was determined to change the future, he would prove Ella wrong. Neither William nor Mia spoke to each another again. Everyday after school William would run, he felt better when he was flying over the ground. He was not convinced that he loved her, although he admitted to himself how easy it would be to do so. It was not letting himself fall in love with her that was difficult, but he was determined.
Friday September 22nd, 2000
Avoiding Mia was about the limit of what William could bare. He could pretend to ignore her, and never look her way. He could pretend that she was of no interest to him, but that was the extent, just pretense not reality. He still hung on every breath she took and every word she spoke. He could see she was unusually excited today, he longed to know why.
William lumped his torments into four groups, his first two were similar, his thirst and his curiosity. The thirst was the most primal torment. Each time he tasted the air around her, it was the same as the first day, fire and a need for brutal violence. The curiosity was the most constant of his torments. He never stopped wondering what she was thinking. But it was Mike who was the most surprising of William's torments. He would never have imagined that such a boring, generic mortal could be so infuriating. And finally the last of William's torment, the most painful was Mia's indifference to him. As he ignored her, she ignored him. For all William knew she never thought of him again.
Tuesday October 10th, 2000
More than two weeks had passed, and every day it got harder for William. He was still determined not to interfere with Mia's life, if he was destined to love her he felt the very least he could do was avoid her. Mia and her parents had settled in nicely to their new lives, everyday it got easier and easier and for the first time in a long time Mia could see a brighter future on the horizon.
Although he didn't, William should have felt some gratitude towards Mike. Out of all of them he kept Mia talking the most. William learned so much about her through these conversations, but Mike's assistance only aggravated him. He didn't want Mike to be the one to unlock Mia's secrets, William wanted to do that. It helped that Mike never noticed her little slips; Mike had created a Mia in his head that did not exist, a girl just as generic as he was. Mike hadn't noticed the unselfishness and bravery that set Mia apart from others. He didn't hear the abnormal maturity in her spoken thoughts or the patience when she feigned interest in his rambling stories, and didn't guess at the kindness behind that patience.
Through her conversations with Mike, William was able to compile a list of Mia's qualities. She was kind and modest, unselfish, loving and brave, all adding up to a very simple description. Mia was good, through and through.
These helpful discoveries did not warm William to Mike. The possessive way Mike viewed Mia, as if she were an acquisition to be made, provoked William almost as much as his crude fantasies did. He would routinely sit on her side of their table before class began, chattering at her, encouraged by her smiles. William amused himself by imagining backhanding Mike across the room and into the far wall. It probably wouldn't injure him fatally… he thought to himself.
It was Charlotte who made Mia aware of an event looming on the horizon. She called her that night to ask her if she was planning on going to the Homecoming game next week, and if anyone had asked her to the dance yet. Aware that Charlottes question was more about whether Mike had asked her, Mia did her best to assure Charlotte she was not interested in Mike without making it obvious.
"No, no ones asked me." Mia said nonchalantly. "I'm not planning on going, actually."
"Really?" Charlotte asked half hearted. "It's going to be a lot of fun."
Mia suspected that Charlotte enjoyed her inexplicable popularity more than her actual company.
"Yeah, I'm going to be out of town. You'll have to tell me all about it when I get back." Mia encouraged.