Okay. Not even going to bother with any excuses. My life has been and will continue to be a hellhole.
Thank you though, for sticking with me throughout my absence. :) I will not abandon this story. However, I can't make any false promises about being back, so don't expect me to update quickly.
I apologize beforehand if their are any mistakes, or if something if worded strangely. My lovely editor has been even more swamped than I have this past year, so I didn't want to put any more stress on her.
Chapter Ten: Bastard
Since then, it had been a painfully slow week. I was almost constantly reminded of my ''commitment'' by lingering eyes, whispers throughout the school, and the excitement radiating off Bastard and Aunt Dot. Not to mention I refuse to go out clubbing now, knowing Lucas had his little spies everywhere; that just about killed me. And to top it all off, Gregory seemed to be expressing his utter disapproval by avoiding me.
And, No, for those of you wondering, I did not faint when Lucas asked me out. Nor did I punch him (sadly). And, no, Gregory did not come out of his hiding spot and kill him (unfortunately). And also, no, Lucas did not randomly burst into flames (tragic). Of course, nothing in my life ever really goes how I want it to. Something about the laws of physics and me not being God, or whatever.
Oh, yes. I am currently in a dress. A sparkly dark green and creamy white ensemble, complete with ruffles and ribbons. I repeat: ruffles and ribbons. The dress puffed out and stopped near my knees. It was itchy, and extremely tight. Of course, since one of Luke-Ass' assistants dropped it off, he probably bought it himself. So I'm not too surprised the top half is as, ahem, formfitting as it is. In fact, I'm probably lucky it wasn't a cocktail with slits. It was so tight, though; I was having a difficult time slouching on the couch comfortably. However, I was bound and determined. If I want to slouch, then goddamn it, I am going to slouch! Add a caked layer of make-up and princess curls to this concoction of pure happiness and you get me, myself, and I. Aka, a pissed off teenager armed with a scowl that would make the bravest of men cower behind their mothers in fear.
Don't mess with me. You will die. Painfully.
"If it makes you feel any better, I think you look pretty," Tony complemented in a hushed voice. He seemed to have hopes of stopping my plans to destroy the existence of humanity. Or to, at least, stop looking like I would.
"Thanks, kiddo, but it really doesn't help." The 'date', for those of you wondering, was for me to be Luke-ass' tag-along at another party his grandfather was holding. That man has too many parties, if you ask me. I don't care if he wears a fricken monocle, enough is ENOUGH. And I've had more than enough McCashton to last me a lifetime.
"Dear God," I prayed aloud, looking towards the heavens, "If there really is a God, and you're really listening to me right now... Please. Save your child."
Lucas however did not get into a horribly mangled, skull crushing, disabling accident because he was knocking on the door. Which I was so not answering. Aunt Dot rushed out of the kitchen, only stopping to tell me to get up, and happily opened the door. She giddily chatted with him for a moment as I forced myself to stand. I looked to the ceiling.
"Oh. So you're one of those 'look but don't touch' kinda gods, huh?" I muttered before walking over to the door.
I absolutely hate to admit this, but Lucas actually was really good looking. He was dressed in a stylish, but not too flashy, dark grey suit with a green tie that matched my dress. His sandy blonde locks were combed back with an elegant curve in front. He was a little less than half a head taller than myself, which I seem to keep forgetting. I couldn't help but want to look up a little higher, which would, on another boy, be where red meets hazel. Sadly, I'm looking slightly lower with icy-grey meeting my eyes instead. He was awfully handsome. Unfortunately, he had this really bad habit of opening his mouth and pushing weird sounds out.
"Well, don't you look presentable?" There's that bad habit again. I smiled and started praying in my head: 'Dear Satan, smite him and you get my soul. Kthnxbye. '
I'll admit the McCashton Manor was incredible. Boarder-line amazing. And it would have been totally amazing if not for a certain someone pointing out how ASTONISHING it was. Or how the GREATEST architect of the 18th century had drawn out the floor plan. Or blah, blah, blah, I'm rich, blah, blah, blah, most girls would kill to be in your position, blah, blah, blah, I'll never work a day in my life, blah, blah, blah, I'm telling you all this cause I want you to know just how amazing I am, blah, blah, blah.
"Can't we talk about something other than you or your family for a change?" I interupted. He stopped gabbing and looked at me with an unsure look in his eyes. Why? they seemed to be asking. Why talk about anything other than himself? Wasn't his family the best topic for conversation? His family was rich, well-known, and in high standing. Not to mention, he himself was absolutely fantastic. Why shouldn't the two of us talk about him all night long?
"It's really annoying." I informed him. He seemed surprised by this and didn't say anything else as we went up the long driveway. When I glanced over at him, I couldn't tell if he was sulking or just trying to think up a conversation.
The music was semi-loud, classical, though I couldn't tell you much more because it was giving me a screaming headache. The bagpipes weren't helping save any lives at this point. My job as a date was simple enough: walk around with Lucas, look pretty, laugh or nod my head every once and a while, and try to pretend like I wasn't the one who accidently broke the ice sculpture by the food table.
This was definitely not my kind of scene. The music, for one, was slowly destroying my brain cells. The Manor had glittering floors, walls, and sculptures that appeared to be priceless. It occurred to me that, in doing business with someone like Lord McCashton, Uncle Bob would never have to worry about looking for work again. In fact, his business would probably even be fought over by a list of high ranking clients. But this crowd wasn't for me. I knew all these people, without knowing any of them. I had seen their type before, at my father's business functions when I was younger. Nobody here cared about the person they were talking to; or even the person they were here with. Everyone lied. Lied about the music, about how well they were doing, about this and that and everything. No one really went past the formalities.
I wanted loud thrashing. I wanted yelling. I wanted bodies moving in awe-inspiring fashions. I wanted drunks to beat my frustrations out on. I wanted to scream, tear my eyes out, and lash out on whoever got too close.
I all I got however was classical music and bagpipes. The pompous laughter of an ancient, but amused wealthy woman. Graceful movements to match the music. And a sea of soft spoken voices. Even Lucas was relatively quiet. Once it got to the point where strangling my fingers no longer keeping my homicidal cravings a bay, I excused myself.
I roamed around the large house, searching for some means of an escape. I smiled and nodded my head at all the people I made eye-contact with, hating every moment of it. Just as I had years before as a little girl. I finally found my way to a large balcony; it seemed the small crowd out there was having a party of their own. Completely severed off from the one just mere inches away. The outdoor party had it's own music, too: fiddles, flutes, bagpipes, and a tambourine. It actually sounded a lot better than you might think. A more enjoyable celtic style than whatever the hell had been being played at that other party. This flock of higher-ups were considerably looser, too. Most likely because the glasses in their hands were nearing the bottom; if not already empty.
I walked to the end of the terrace, away from both parties, towards a small bushel of red rose looking flowers; which had been cut to perfection. Bored out of my mind, I plucked all the petals off one, gathered them in my palms and released them when a small gust of wind came. In my mind I looked like a Disney princess after singing the opening musical number, but in reality I probably just looked ridiculous. Regardless, I was rather proud of how far my petals seemed to be flying away. Like they were on a mission. Yes! Fly, my pretties! Find a way for me to escape this well-furnished prison!
They danced over and beyond the tops of the faraway pine trees I could just barely see under the thin vail of moonlight. I decided it would alleviate my headache if I stayed outside for just a few more minutes. The air was chilled, and I was a bit cold. Not cold enough to convince me to return to the party any sooner, heavens no. But still enough to be mentioned off-handedly.
I walked along the darkened shadows of the McCashton Manor, eyeing all of the flowers and the like. Giving their all to add an air of sophistication to the unworthy surroundings. I hate to admit it, but it was absolutely stunning. I wanted to walk down the steps and wander through the fairy tale garden, but the shadows from the party's light turned into hellish creatures dancing in the garden. So I stayed above them, taking in the beautifully blooming flora from a safe distance.
I silently wondered how many people had ever actually stopped to enjoy garden. Not many, I thought bitterly. People like the McCashtons only had large and lavish things to appear large and lavish themselves. If they wanted to, they could probably have the lawn ripped out and moved to a different side of the house, just because it was less cloudy on that side. Wasting all that money for absolutely no reason. Don't they know how many people they could help just on the money used for the upkeep of this unused garden? I gave a deep sigh.
"The world is so unfair..." I muttered to myself.
"You've got an annoying habit of not greeting me."
"Well excuse me for- What the hell?" I screeched, gaining some drunken stares. I quickly threw my hands in front of my mouth and stared at the young, wincing vampire. The prying eyes turned away, no longer interested.
"By all means, talk louder. It isn't like I really need my hearing." He said with a grimace, rubbing one of his ears. I put my hands down and glanced around before straightening up.
"What are you doing here?" I whispered urgently. Gregory didn't seem to notice. He was too distracted by my appearance. My skin prickled and a blush began to rise as I felt his eyes smooth over my every feature. Not just looking at me. No. Being looked at I could deal with. This was on a completely different level. He was drinking me in, etching my mold into his mind, like he had nights before. I could hardly breath but forced out a scoff, then placed a hand on my hip and the other on my head in a mock sexy pose.
"Forget what you're missing out on?"
He brought his eyes to mine. Said, "You look ridiculous, mortal." then when right back to my body.
"Fuck off, Bat Boy!" I roared, stomping in the opposite direction; cheeks burning with rage and embarrassment. Gregory shot out in front of me at a dizzying speed, causing me to loose balance and fall back. He caught me with his quick reflexes, but I regained my footing and pushed him away just as fast. I turned on my heel, crossing my arms, getting ready to storm off in the other direction. Gregory circled to my front and held my cold shoulders in his icy hands. Trying to get me to focus on him. I looked away.
"Don't. You'll trip again."
I managed an inaudible "Fuck you." as my anger slowly drained into utter humiliation. My cheeks were aflame and I could feel tears prickling behind my eyes. He gave a long sigh, then bent himself down to my eye level. I still didn't look at him. Heaven forbid I actually cried in front of him for something as stupid as his opinion on an outfit. I would die of sheer embarrassment and probably end up crying even more!
"I didn't mean you looked stupid. I- No, I did- but not that way. You looked... funny."
My head snapped to him, furiously threatening him with my flaming hazels. "Funny? Here I am, all dolled up, and you think I look funny!" I shrieked.
"Wh- No! You don't look- The way you were standing earlier that was- That- " He made an annoyed sound with the back of his throat and lowered his head in defeat. I continued to stare daggers into his head. Slowly he raised himself to his full hight and held onto me with new found confidence. "You look... Stunning. Really. I... I don't think I've every seen such a beautiful woman in my entire time of living."
I couldn't possibly look him in the eye after he said that, forget about glaring. Glancing this way and that, I avoided his eyes at all cost as a new shade of red conjoined with my cheeks. I lightly began shooing his hands away, which let go with reluctance.
"Alright. Fine." I grumbled, "You're off the hook this time. But why are you here?"
"I'm here to save you," he said with a simple shrug. As though it were something he did every Friday night.
"Save me? Save me from what?" I asked curiously.
"Anything you could ever need saving from." His eyes and words played at my heart strings, but I gave him the most skeptic look a blushing girl could ever hope to give.
"Uh huh. How did you say you knew where I was, again, Mr. stalker?"
"I have my ways." He replied with a wink. A freaking wink!
"Such as?"
Gregory was now at his most favored distance from me, with only the faintest of space between us. He came in closer until the only thing between our lips was something small, thin, and soft. I looked down carefully between the smirking, vampiric, madman and myself to find a single red petal. I don't want to make my head explode so I'll just pretend like I can't feel his lips behind the rose piece.
"Ah. Clever." I managed, feeling our lips brush against one another through the petal.
He pulled away from me and released the petal. I watched it flutter away. Anything to keep from his smoldering eyes. Once I finally looked back at him, I saw that he had kept his hand out to me. I guessed the idea was for me to, ya know, take it. And, as a simple teenaged girl with a heart pounding faster than it should: I did. He rewarded my hand with a light icy kiss before I was whisked away into the shadowy garden. He led me through the darkness until we were far enough, away from the drunken onlookers. Then he rose into the air and pulled me gently with him. The over all tender treatment was awkward for someone like me, especially coming from someone like Gregory, but it was one of those awkward things that you wish would last just a little longer.
I hadn't been paying attention to where we were going, so when we slowly descended onto a tree-limb I tried to take in my surroundings. It was too dark to make out anything other than trees, but there were lights in the distance, so we were either still fairly close to the Manor or so far away that we were near the city. Gregory moved to sit on the limb and I followed suit, not trusting my balancing act this high up in heels. My eyes were focused on the fairy dust glittering all across the cosmos. The amount of stars I could see was astonishing.
"They're everywhere..." I murmured. Los Angeles could never hope to see as many stars in a decade as I was right now.
Gregory hummed a response. "I've seen more."
"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief. "Where?"
"It was a long time ago," he answered," before there were so many lights and buildings littered everywhere."
"Oh." He probably meant before the industrial revolution. That made sense. Though, I wasn't entirely sure when the industrial revolution started in Europe. I tried to think back to my years of US and World history; pouring through the dates and facts as best as I could remember them to be.
His velvety voice broke through my concentration: "I warn you, if you continue to ignore me I will be forced to bite you." I popped out of my miniature history lesson to give him a mockingly-fearful look. Complete with the overly-dramatic arm-propped-up-with-the-back-of-the-hand-on-the-forehead-thing.
"Oh nooooo. You mean after all we've been through? Oh, cruel world, you tricked me! Oh, you horrible, horrible thing you! Bite me? Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!"
He more than easily picked up on my sarcasm. He didn't like it. "True, I may not have any actual plans of bitting you. However, that in no way should make you assume I will not push you out of this tree if you don't stop." He threatened.
"Yes, sir," I said turning stiff as a board and taking a fist full of his sleeve into my hand. He laughed. It stopped just as quick as it had started. He relaxed a little more and continued to gaze at me, almost in that love-struck sort of way teenagers have when they... Well, I wont get my hopes up, but surely you know what look I'm talking about by now. Yet by now he had changed his face to one of pondering confusion rather than blissful gawking.
"What?"
"Just a thought. As true or untrue as it may have been, you always have had an idea to why I was..." He searched for the word... "interested in you, Jennive."
I nodded, realizing that was the first time I ever heard him say my name. Initially, I had thought he was hanging around me specifically for my blood, but that turned out to be false. As proven by the numerous amounts of times he could have already done so.
"Most mortals," he continued," would be running for the hills at the mere mention of a vampire. Yet, not only do you not run from me, you actually trust me not to hurt you. I dare you might even enjoy my company. Why?"
I cleared my throat. "Well for starters, you've obviously never heard of the Cullen family."
"The who?"
"Exactly."
"You're stalling." Indeed I was. And I would continue to do so.
"Tell me the reason you like being around me so much, and maybe I'll tell you."
He backed away a little. It was only at this moment I realized how closely we were sitting next to each other. He looked embarrassed. Though, without the blood to make him blush, it was hard to be sure.
"Oh, now you don't wanna talk? Come on. Fair's fair! Or maybe you don't really wanna hear why I stick around?" I said smugly. He smiled.
"That." I blinked.
"That?"
"Yes. That. That... I don't know what it is. The way you... Speak, and... Dress, and act, and everything. It's... It's nothing like how women are meant to be- I mean, at least, not how they were meant to be when I was still..." We silently agreed upon what he had meant. "You're just... interesting..."
"Soooo..." I looked away trying to piece it together," You like me 'cause I'm different?" I locked on his eyes. It was funny having him be the flustered one for a change. I could see the appeal.
"I... I guess... In a sense... I mean, I suppose..." He said, not really want to admit to anything. Though I snickered at his reaction, I did feel a little bad for him. Turning emotions and thoughts into actual words was a hard thing to do.
"All right. Why do you 'like' being with me?" He said trying to imitating the way I had said it, but the tiny differences made it hard to speak.
"C-Cause..."
"Because...?" I turned scarlet. Good God, how I hate the teenaged nervous system.
"'Cause... you're... uh... Y-You know. You're..." I tried. I really did try to form words, but they just wouldn't come out. Instead, I ended up flailing my arms around like an idiot and having Gregory laugh at me.
"You're not very good with your words, are you?"
"Oh, you were only slightly better!" He continued to smirk and raised an eyebrow at me. Waiting. Staring. Fuck.
"I like you- I mean, I like being around you 'cause you're not like... any other guy I've met. And not just the vampire part, even if it is pretty cool. It's just 'cause, ya know, you..." I searched for the words. "You just have this thing about you. I'm not sure what it is. It's a little crazy, but you just... seem to understand a lot of the things about me, better than most. Maybe even more than I do. I don't really know why or what it is about you, to be honest. But there is something about you... Something that I like." It took an eternity to get out that handful of sentences, which made me feel like a moronic dingbat, I might add. I secretly hoped Gregory had gotten bored with my little speech and stopped paying attention to me. Upon glancing at him, my wishes were unfulfilled as the red pools took in my very being once more.
"Well, aside from the more than obvious insanity-"
"Hey!"
"You like me because I'm different?" He paused, and I mumbled a quick "Maybe" in an embarrassed response. "Hm. Now, where have I heard that before?" he teased. I turned to him, still redder than hell.
"I may like you, and you may be able to fly, but neither of those things will stop me from throwing you off this tree, if you keep that up," I warned, mimicking his earlier threat. He nodded.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," he said reclaiming my hand in his own.
"Good."
We stayed like that for awhile in a comfortable silence, but in the back of my mind it kept gnawing at me. I had to go back to that house. Back to that party. To that ass-hole. The 'I got lost on my way way to the bathroom' trick can only work for so long an absence. And after at least half an hour, it doesn't hold so well.
"I should be getting back."
"Why?" Gregory asked, offended.
" 'Cause if I don't, Luke-Ass will think I ditched."
"But you did. To be with me, remember?" He said leaning closer to me, trying to get his point across. (Yes I blushed. Shut up).
"Yeah, but he's blackmailing me, remember? If I don't go back, he'll probably end up convincing everyone and their mothers I'm a no-good whore." Gregory furrowed his brows.
"You're not a... whore," he said, almost not wanting to use that word in my presence.
"I know that, but I don't want everyone in Scotland thinking I am. Not to mention, with Facebook- Oh my god- That shit's gonna get to somebody who knows somebody who knows my dad. And that will not be pretty in the slightest. So no thank you."
"Hm." Isn't he thoughtful? A true poet, really. "I don't like him," he stated bluntly. I stared at him in confusion. "Lucas." He clarified.
"Lucas?" I asked, almost disbelievingly. "Why do you hate him? I mean, not that I blame you or anything, but..."
"He touched you," he answered simply, as though it were supposed to make sense.
"He... touched me? Yeah, a lot of people do that. It's kind of impossible for a person to not not be touched at some point throughout their lifetime."
"No. Those few nights ago. He touched you here," He moved his hand up to my wrist," ...and here." He held an icy hand against my cheek, stroking it gently. "I didn't like it. Not. One. Bit." His eyes were hellbent on stealing not only my breath, but my soul as well. I'm almost entirely sure of it.
"O-Oh." Slowly, painfully slowly, Gregory leaned in closer. A longing glance at my lips before returning to my eyes. My free hand raised cautiously to caress his jawline. The forrest was quiet before, but now I couldn't hear anything over the sound of my heartbeat. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I heard myself wonder if he could hear it, too. His lips pulled into a knowing smirk. I took that as a yes.
Suddenly, Gregory's eyes ripped away from mine, behind us, towards the thicker part of the woods. He gave a light growl. I tried to follow his line of sight, but hell knows I couldn't see a half a meter past my nose. He let me go and stood up; my body shouted in protest wanting to be held just a little longer.
"Rookery is near, we must to go," he said, picking me up, scaring me shitless, and putting me down just as fast. Only, we weren't in a tree anymore. Not even on the outskirts of the forest. In fact, we were in the shadows of the large outdoor patio. The guests to the party were nearby, in the light. It was déjà vu, and I was confused, to say the least.
"Where-? We-? How-? I don't even- What?" My confusion towards the sudden change dissolved quickly as a cold finger hooked under my chin and iced lips graced my own. Before the shock even came, the kiss was over and the culprit was long gone. I lightly put my hand to my tingling mouth before turning beat red and rushing inside, cursing under my breath:
"B-Bastard."
End Chap. ten
Thank you for being so patient and understanding with me.
You are seriously the most wonderful readers in the universe! *hearts*