Chapter 3: Friend or Foe?
As I realized what the girl was, my stare immediately became aggressive. It was my instincts kicking in, but I knew that this wasn't the time nor place for an attack or fight. It was time to act like a civilized person, which I was trying to do. But this wolf wasn't helping the matter.
The girl started to quiver and I knew she was on the verge of 'changing'. The last thing that we needed in this classroom was a humongous wolf. "No, not here. I've got to calm down. You can do it, Ilona. Just block him out" the girl thought. Apparently, she agreed with me.
I didn't recognize the name 'Ilona'. Before they left, Jacob introduced me to the local wolf packs so that they would know I was a friend. Ilona must be a new wolf. But she had incredible control that I didn't expect for her. As I went deeper into her mind, I saw that she had been a wolf for about two months. How had she gone on undetected by both packs?
"You're going to have to take your seat, young man. Class has begun", someone said. It was the teacher and I was holding up the class. I must have been more out of it than I thought.
"Sorry", I mumbled and headed to an empty seat in the back of the room, trying to keep my gaze away from Ilona and the girl next to her. It turned out that she was a wolf as well, but only had been able to change into a wolf for about two weeks. She probably didn't even know what a vampire smelled like.
When I sat down, I heard Ilona think again. "Why did he have to come now", she thought "we just got rid of those other bloodsuckers weeks ago. Is he one of them? Nah, he's probably another newcomer. But that still doesn't give him a right to be here. Cassie is just starting out and this isn't good for her".
The girl next to Ilona must have been Cassie. She was looking at Ilona curiously and wondered "What is that awful smell? Did someone put on minty perfume or something? My nose is burning like hell!"
Perhaps it wasn't a good idea for me to be here. Two wolves in a classroom with one vampire was bound to cause some tension. But Icould handle the both of them. They didn't seem like much, but I knew better than to underestimate the wolves. I just had to convince them that I was a good vampire. It sounded easy in my head, but when I actually thought about it, the matter seemed like the most difficult situation in the world.
English was going on slowly. The teacher didn't bother to introduce me in front of the class, which I was grateful for, and said that we were starting to read The Count of Monte Cristo. It was one of my favorite books that I knew by heart, so I should have no problem with any of the assignments. I lost interest in the class about halfway through, but still managed to pay attention.
I didn't hear anything anymore useful out of Ilona and Cassie, so I started to ignore them. They were just small speed bumps in the road that I would pass over quickly.
My next class was Spanish, a subject I would do fairly well in. I probably could speak the language better than the teacher could. Being able to be awake all night could have its advantages.
When I walked into the class, I felt the glare return. Ilona was in the second row to the left and her thoughts were screaming in protest. She didn't want me to be here, just as much as I did, which happened to be very much. Could this day possibly get any worse? Apparently it could. The only open seat was the one right next to her.
Taking a deep sigh, I walked over to the empty seat and sat down, feeling Ilona's eyes on my face. I decided to do the polite thing, so I turned towards her and gave a friendly smile. It was the smile I showed to make humans feel at ease instead of running away. The only thing my smile made Ilona feel was even more anger. But she still seemed to be keeping it together. She was much stronger than I thought.
As I looked over her face, I noticed many things. Her caramel skin looked soft and smooth, and still had roundness around her cheeks. She had long, black raven hair going down her back. But the thing that I noticed most of all wasn't her looks. It was her scent.
If I didn't already know she was a wolf, I would have guessed that she was a human. Her scent smelled like the forest after a rain shower, and only had a hint of musk. If I went any closer, I would have known that her hair smelled faintly of cherries. It must have been her shampoo. I have never noticed that a wolf could smell so appetizing.
It was a good thing I had just hunted a night before and didn't care for the scent as much as I should have. If I hadn't gone last evening, I was sure that I would have attacked Ilona by now and one of us might have been dead. Or whatever it is that vampires do.
As I looked over her, I heard her speak. "Why are you staring at me", she said. I could hear the anger in her tone, so I decided to speak in calm, and decent tone.
"Nothing in particular. I was just wondering if you had a pencil I could borrow", I said. It was a perfectly normal question that I thought she would go with. I didn't really need a pencil, but I hoped she would go with the excuse.
"Sorry, but I don't. Try asking the teacher", Ilona replied, making it sound as if she was being pestered a lot today. I was actually surprised she didn't call me a bloodsucker or leech. It must have been because there were a lot of children in the classroom already.
Giving her my thanks, I went up to the teacher, got a pencil and sat right back down in my seat. Ilona was looking at the front of the class, trying to ignore me. It was probably for the best.
It was like that for the whole period. We didn't speak with each other anymore and when the class was over with, I was practically the first one out of the classroom, trying to forget Ilona's mouthwatering scent and move on.
The first half of the day went by quickly. Neither of the girls were in my other classes, so that was an upside. Soon, it was lunchtime and I was sure I would see them both again.
I sat down at an empty table right by the window, staying away from everyone else. It was better that no one came in contact with me. I was lucky that everyone else chose to stay away.
As I looked around the room, I saw many students talking and laughing with their friends, and I heard everyone of their trivial thoughts. Sometimes those voices could really give me a headache.
I took out my iPod that the Cullens graciously gave to me and put the ears buds in my ears, trying to drown out the thoughts. I put on a soft piano piece that usually took my minds off all the things. But still one thought managed to eek its way into my mind.
"Look at him sitting there, thinking this place is his. How dare he come here and ruin everything. That leech better know his place soon", Ilona thought. I looked up to see her and Cassie staring at me with much intensity. I looked away from them and stared at some cracks in the wall, trying to take my mind off them. The last thing I wanted here was trouble.
The lunch period passed quickly and I headed to my next class, putting my iPod back into my pocket. Neither Ilona nor Cassie seemed to acknowledge me any further, which I thought would be a good sign. Little did I know that one of them would get me sooner or later.
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As the day quickly went by and the final bell rang, I headed out to the parking lot to get my car, another gift from the Cullens. Apparently they wanted me to drive fast as well as they did. But as I headed over to my 2009 Mustang Giugiaro Concept, I found that someone was following me. Of course, it had to be Ilona.
When I stopped by my car, I turned around and asked "Is there any specific reason why you show such hostility to me"?
Ilona scoffed and said "I have a damn good reason to, leech. You better not hurt anyone in this town or you'll find yourself ripped to shreds and burned in two seconds".
Rolling my eyes, I replied "You shouldn't judge a person based on what they are. Maybe you should get to know me before you should supposedly rip me apart".
"Yeah, like that'll ever happen. You just learn your place, bloodsucker", she retorted in an icy tone. She was starting to make this more difficult than it had to be.
"For the record, my name is Garrett and I would be glad if you called me by it", I said, opening my car's vertical door.
"Whatever. Just stay away from everyone", Ilona said before walking away.
"That won't be a problem", I muttered, going into my car and closing the door. Why did I have to come to this school? There were plenty others, but no, they had to suggest this one. But I would go along with it and try to keep the peace between me, Ilona and Cassie. Starting up the car, I pulled out of my spot and drove out of the parking lot, going much faster than the legal limit already. Having a very fast car can have its perks.
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When I arrived at the big, white house that I called home, I noticed a yellow Porche parked in front of it. I didn't expect Alice to be making surprise visits, but nothing surprised me anymore.
I parked my car in the garage and went inside. The house looked just the same as when the Cullens had lived here, only they took some things with them, but they graciously left the piano for me. Once I came in, I noticed Alice, by herself, standing by the spiral staircase. Once she saw me, Alice gave a look of relief and darted towards me, giving me a hug.
"We were so worried about you, Garrett", Alice thought, which made my brow furrow.
"Was there a reason to be", I asked, a bit confused. Alice must have seen something coming my way, but it couldn't have been Ilona since she had done no harm to me.
"I didn't see anything coming for you. We all thought you had been found out already", Alice said, releasing me and took a step back. "You smell awful. That's probably why I didn't see anything for you".
"Because I smell terrible", I said with a smile. I knew that wasn't the real reason, but I thought the mood needed some lightening. "I forgot that you couldn't see anything with the wolves interfering".
Alice smiled back and said "They didn't give you any trouble, did they"?
I shook my head. "They only gave a warning. It was strange that they hadn't been informed about me. Didn't Jacob tell his and Sam's pack about my arrival", I questioned.
"Yes, but maybe they aren't from their packs. They could be from a whole different one", Alice suggested.
"That could be it. While I looked into their minds, it didn't seem they are in such a large group. There are only two of them, so they won't be too much of a threat. I think I could reason with the Alpha later", I said. Ilona seemed like a difficult person to convince, but I had to try.
"Just be careful, all right? We don't want anything to happen to you. You're family to us", Alice said with a careful smile.
"I will, Alice. Why didn't the others come", I said. Surely the rest of the Cullen family should have come. Did my 'death' concern them like it did Alice?
"They weren't really sure if you were gone or not, so they sent me to check. Edward, Bella are helping Renesmee with the move and you know Jacob and Rosalie would be right beside them. Emmett would stay with Rosalie and everyone else was getting settled.
They really do care for you, Garrett. They just didn't need any bad news right now", Alice explained. I knew that Jasper would be out hunting probably since a new town meant new scents and he still wasn't used to the vegetarian ways. I smiled smugly at the thought.
"And you were the only one who actually wanted to come. Thank you, Alice and don't worry. I've taken care of myself before and it won't be any more difficult now than it once was", I said with a reassuring look in my eyes.
"I hope so. But do you think you can call us just to show us that you weren't ripped apart by wolves", Alice teased with a small grin.
I smiled back and replied "Sure. You should get going Alice or they will get worried about you next".
"All right. Just be careful", Alice said. Then she gave me one last hug and headed out the door with graceful steps. After I heard her car pull out of the driveway, I let out a breath and went to my room, waiting to see what tomorrow brought.
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When the next morning came I went through the same process as yesterday; get different clothes on, put my prop school supplies in my car, drive to school, and suffer thought the boring school day.
When I went to English, I realized that I was actually anticipating it. I wanted to smell Ilona's intriguing scent again and actually speak with her . What was going through my head? Did I actually enjoy the girl's company? After all the years I've been this monster it must have been making me go insane. But as I went into the classroom, I noticed that Ilona and Cassie weren't in their seats. They must be absent for the day, so I didn't care too much about it. I took my seat and waited for the class to start.
The day went by slowly and I couldn't wait to get back home. I couldn't see how humans could deal with this torture for twelve years. But I'm sure that dealing with the torture of being a monster for an eternity was even worse than school.
Finally the day ended and I went to the parking lot to pick up my car. As I drove home, I wondered why the two wolves weren't in class today. What was I thinking? I shouldn't be even concerned about them. Clearly something was wrong with my head.
Once I got home, I didn't bother to call Alice. She would know that I was okay, since she probably could see me now since the girls were gone. I headed up to my room again, where I spend most of my time during the night, waiting for tomorrow.
The next day was just as same as yesterday. The wolves still weren't in class and I was still curious. Was I the reason for their absence? I definitely thought that was the case, so once again, I just let the thought go.
That was how the whole week went. Ilona and Cassie still didn't show up and I started to feel glad they were gone, but also a bit disappointed. I wanted to smell Ilona again, her scent was oddly addicting; like a certain type of drug. Maybe that was how Edward felt when he met his Bella. I had heard their story once and it did interest me.
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Through the week, I became more relaxed, but also a bit thirsty. I decided that when the weekend arrived I would go hunting. My existence started to go into a routine and it started to get even duller.
The weekend passed quickly and I got my hunting over with. Now I wouldn't feel that urge to attack Ilona, if she was there, as much as I would have even when I was thirsty.
When I arrived to English, I noticed the scent I became all too familiar with. Ilona and her friend were back. But this time, they didn't even acknowledge me, which perhaps was a good thing.
I made it to my desk without either one of them glaring at me and I tried to stay out of their thoughts. They would just be fraught with more hostilities towards me anyways. But as I sat down, I noticed a small note on my desk.
I opened the small piece of paper and it said
Meet me in the forest by the school this afternoon. I need to speak with you.
There wasn't even a name on the note, but I guessed who it was. I noticed Ilona's handwriting from sitting next to her in Spanish. If she wanted a meeting so be it.
When it was time for Spanish, Ilona kept quiet next to me and I did the same. Her thoughts consisted of homework and tests she had to study for and she didn't even think about me. I was a little bit surprised at that.
While I sat next to Ilona, I noticed that her scent was even better up close than it did before. Perhaps she did something to perfect it. All through the class I only concentrated on her scent and nothing else.
After that, the day passed by quickly. It must have been because I was curious about what Ilona needed to speak with me about. Or was it some kind of ambush? I didn't really care at this point so I decided to go along with it.
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As the final bell rang, I passed through the parking lot and into the small forest that was near the school. Ilona must have walked or ran much faster than I had since she had beaten me there.
She looked a bit surprised to see me, but I only saw it in her eyes. Her face held no emotions and her thoughts were blank. I saw that her fists were clenched in small fists as I approached.
I made a small smile and said "So, you wanted to speak with me"?
(Dun, dun, dun, what's going to happen next? Find out in the next chapter of Nightfall. I only suggest that you please write reviews. It helps me try and make the next chapter even better than the last, so please give me your thoughts.)