Chapter 9:

-

Glenn walked Rosalind back to her dorm with his hands in his pockets. She clutched her purse close to herself, and had her eyes to the floor shyly.

"This is me," she said, pointed to a door on the left. Glenn made a mental note of her room number, and logged it away for future reference.

Glenn felt a little uncomfortable at the both of them standing outside her doorway, wondering if there was something he was supposed to say or do.

"I had a great time," Rosalind said with a small grin. It gave him some comfort that she was just as uneasy as he was. "Thanks for keeping me company while I hid away in the library."

Glenn nodded a 'your welcome', and half-smiled back.

"My pleasure," he said after a moment.

She nodded back, and opened her door.

"Goodnight," she said sweetly.

"Goodnight," he repeated.

Then, but some power, he snatched her hand to keep her from disappearing beyond view. He heard her inhale abruptly in alarm. He was a little surprised himself.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I know it's soon from your break-up, and everything…" Glenn said in a small voice. "But--"

"Yes," she interrupted breathlessly. "Yes, you may kiss me."

Glenn was a little taken aback by this, but was afraid all at the same moment. Kiss her? Where? Here? Now? What if he was bad at it? Surely Damien was a better kisser than he was. Would she care?

Glenn bit his lip, knowing he had to do it soon or else he'd miss his chance. Feeling as awkward as a chimpanzee, he stepped up close to her, and robotically leaned close to her face. She breathed in and closed her eyes, preparing for contact, or more like looking forward to it. It gave him courage, courage to take that one last step, courage to brush his lips lightly on hers, softer than a breeze of wind. Then he let himself go a little harder. He felt her lips do the same, and it was immediate bliss.

Afraid of this sudden high, he jerked away, his eyes flashing wildly.

"I'm sorry," he said lamely. "I'm probably bad at this… I haven't done this often… actually, I've never done this at all."
Rosalind appeared to be in her own little world, drifting off into a dream as she stared at Glenn with fondness.

"That was wonderful."

He hadn't expected that, and it made him stand up a little taller in pride.

"Uh, thanks."

"See you tomorrow," she whispered, then drifted inside her room. Glenn smiled broadly, then turned to go, his head completely in the clouds.

"So this is why you didn't come to the races tonight," Joe observed from the end of the hall. It was not an accusation or the like, but rather simply a statement of the obvious. It took Glenn a moment to overcome the startled jump he got at Joe's sudden appearance, but he recovered quickly.

"She's something, ain't she?" Glenn asked Joe, while glancing back at Rosalind's door.

Joe smirked and said nothing in reply. He seemed amused by Glenn's child-like love.

"You laugh," Glenn said. "But someday you're going to get crazy over some girl too. It happens to everyone eventually."

"Not me," Joe assured him with a distant sadness in his voice. "I don't believe in love. Sure, I'll continue the bloodline, but other than that…"

"That's pretty harsh, Joe," Glenn decided. "I can't believe you would say something like that. I have good money that says you'll change your mind."

Joe snickered his disbelief.

"That'll have to be some helluva woman."

-

James walked Evelyn up to her dorm, a broad smile on his face. He had always loved this part of a date, where the rubber met the road. Either the girl would let you kiss her, or not. Either way, you knew where you stood. James had been waiting all night for this moment. He felt slightly guilty for abandoning her in the crowd after Wayne had gotten hurt, but she was very understanding given the circumstances. It made James like her all the more.

"Thanks for taking me," she said quietly, peering around the corner into the next hall, where her room was. "Please, stay here. I'll walk the rest myself."

James frowned in confusion.

"Nonsense, it's no trouble."

"It is," she insisted quickly. "For me. My dad's here, and he's a little… embarrassing."

"Well," James stammered. "Everybody's family is a little weird. It's cool. I can handle anything."

Evelyn put her hand in his, looking at him seriously.

"Really, Jimmy, trust me when I say this is different."

As soon as those words left her mouth, an older man stepped into view, followed the echoing voices in the hall around the corner to where they stood. He was hopelessly balding and more than a little overweight, and James quickly noticed the small silver flask in his right hand. His walk was teetering, confirming that he was drunk.

"Evie, is that you?" he called out louder than was necessary.

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut in disappointment.

"Oh, no."

"Evelyn, do you realize you are exactly twelve minutes late?" the man went on. "I ought to kick your ass to next Tuesday. Who's this?" He finally noticed James, and immediately looked disapproving.

"Daddy, this is James," she explained.

"I'll just bet he is," the man agreed in a slur. "You little floozy. You taking him back to your room?"

"Sir, it's not like that..." James tried to jump in.

"I wasn't talking to you!" the man snapped, and James shut his mouth. "This ain't your business, boy."

He turned back to his daughter, yanking her wrist over to his side.

"I knew it was a mistake putting you up in one of these dorms. Go get your stuff. I'm taking you home."

"What?" Evelyn spat out in disbelief. "I just got here!"

"Are you arguing with me?" he asked.

She immediately crumbled under his harsh gaze.

"No, sir."

She lowered her head and headed for her dorm.

"Seriously, sir," James insisted. "I was just making sure she got in safe."

"Yeah…" the man growled. "I'm sure. I was young once too, boy. You'd busy scamper off before I report you."

James wished he could say more, but he knew it wasn't his place. He had to bite his lip to keep from telling this drunken man off. Instead, he sucked it up and stalked off in large, angry steps. There was nothing he could do.

-

When James drove up to the front gate of the Danvers Mansion in deep thought, so distracted that he almost didn't spot it. It was one of Wayne's many motorcycles, sitting out on its kickstand blocking his way in. Though, its owner was nowhere to be seen. Wayne was probably inside the house, and just had forgotten to move the motorcycle aside. James sighed and got out of his car to move the bike out of the way.

Suddenly, two firm hands grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the side of his vintage mustang with a bang. It took James several moments to realize his assailant was Wayne.

"You have to help me!" he demanded breathlessly.

"What?" James stuttered, still getting his shock of being ambushed.

"She's out there with Damien right now and I can't sleep! You need to help me!"

"What?" James sputtered again, still unsure if he followed. "You want to go spy on her?"

Wayne nodded approvingly.

"I was going to say I needed to stay at your place to get my mind off it… but I like your idea so much better!"

"What? No!"

"Get in the car," Wayne said, shoving James back into the driver's seat. "You're going to drive us."

"Wayne--!" James protested as Wayne hopped into the passenger's side.

"You can ask questions on the way," he insisted. "Drive!"

-

James and Wayne climbed over the wall of the Roth Manor, going toward the only lights in the house. There was plenty of hedging to provide covering, and thankfully the house had only one floor, so there wouldn't be any more climbing involved. The house was abandoned save for the one lit room, obviously Damien's quarters. His room was more like a suite, many scattered trays of food, bottles of champagne, flowers, and candles.

"Damn that jerk," Wayne hissed through his teeth as they observed him through the window, lighting a few more candles. "Looks like he's been planning this for days."

Beatrice came into view, deep in conversation about something, and Damien only half-listened. Beatrice seemed defiant, and kept checking her watch often.

"Look, she's fine," James pointed out. "Can we go now? We're going to get caught…"

"By who, the boogeymen in the trees?" Wayne retorted shortly. "Shut up, we're fine."

James frowned at his friend's tone, but figured Wayne was upset by what his glued eyes were witnessing. Damien was currently removing his shirt to reveal his black wifebeater underneath. Beatrice didn't seem to approve.

"Yeah, you tell him, girl," Wayne egged her on.

Damien had a cup of coffee, it looked like, and seemingly offered to give her a cup of her own.

"No, you moron-- she hates coffee," Wayne muttered. True to Wayne's word, Beatrice shook her head and denied the offer.

Damien sat down next to her, but she wouldn't face him. They were still arguing about something, but what, they couldn't tell.

"You back off, freak," Wayne urged Damien away. "Can't you see she's not interested?"

Damien slipped his hand into hers, and brought it to his lips, kissing it tenderly. Beatrice seemed tired of protesting and simply let him. He began to work his way up.

"You'd best back aw-off…" Wayne sang his warning under his breath.

Then Damien pulled her chin gently to face him, and let his face lean close to hers.

"Oh, no, you don't…" Wayne went on griping.

They were getting close… Much too close. When Beatrice tried to turn away, Damien grabbed her face and crashed his lips onto hers.

"OH, HELL NO!" Wayne yelled, springing to his feet out of the hedge in which they hid. James immediately grabbed him and yanked him back down, just as Damien whipped his head in their direction.

While Wayne silently fumed, James held his breath, wondering if their cover was blown. To answer to his question, Damien marched over to the window. That's when James's heart stopped.

They were so busted.

-

Please review.
Signed,
--RedRogue