Chapter 32

The First Date Is A Tad Awry

"Oh dear lord. I guess that didn't go exactly as planned." Cassy mumbled, going back to reading her book. Brent huffed and lifted Tiffany's unconscious body into his arms.

"It actually went better than planned, mother." he retorted, irritated. He headed toward the staircase before Cassy could say anything else. I followed him up the stairs to his room and opened his door for him.

"How did she take it before?" I asked, leaning against his doorframe as he laid Tiffany on his bed and quietly took off her shoes.

"Well, she didn't scream." He muttered, setting her tennis shoes on the floor and turning to look at me with a small smile. "She was quiet, really quiet. Which worried me a bit, actually."

"She'll be fine, I'm sure. You never know, she may even want to become one of us." I said, shrugging my shoulders. Brent's face went grave and he shook his head.

"She has a very caring, loving family. I don't want to take that away from her." He looked away from me and at the blankets, then gently took Tiffany's hand in his. "I'll stay with her until she gets old. I'll mourn for her when she dies, and then I'll simply be forced to move on."

I never knew such words could be so touching. I stood there, contemplating whether I should leave to give them privacy or stay longer. I went with the former, and backed out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind me. Once outside his room, I let out a long sigh I had been holding. I really wondered what it felt like to be loved like that.

"Ava?" Lukas's voice came from the top of the staircase down the hall. I walked toward him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Have you heard from Alec?" He asked, his brows furrowed.

Come to think of it, Alec was the only Darquecaster who wasn't here. Also, I hadn't quite heard from Max either. Usually he'd have texted me by now, ex or friend-wise. I shook my head. "No. Any idea where he may be?"

"GPS tracking comes in handy." Lukas offered, raising said object. I snorted a laugh and nodded.

"Alright, let's go find him." I said, trotting down the stairs with him. It gave us something to do, after all.

We ended up taking Lukas's car of course. He'd had the scratch I'd made to his car fixed and I felt guilty about it for a moment as he pulled out of the garage.

"It says he's in Denny's. Huh, what a weird place for him to be." Lukas mumbled in slight confusion. He drove out of the driveway and when we were on the road, glanced out of the corner of his eye at me.

"So, uh, you and Alec, right?"

At first I didn't understand what the hell he meant, but then it comprehended when I realized he sounded morose. I glanced at him with a calm expression. "Not yet." I said honestly. "I'm not even sure if I feel that way about him. But what Elly said is bothering me, so I'm just going to try it out."

"Try it out, huh?" Lukas chuckled. "You realize you have other, more important things to think about then 'trying out' Alec, right?"

"Like my family and friends being mortal?" I grunted, looking out the window at the trees passing by. I know the real reason Lukas wanted to get us out of the house. Because everyone at the house was basically a couple. I was pretty sure he was just avoiding awkward talk right now.

"Yeah. Did Alec even give you the chance to think about that before he changed you?"

"Not exactly. But I was in the middle of dying, so I can't really blame him."

"Hm." Was Lukas's reply. Then the car went silent again. After a few minutes, I nonchalantly looked at his speedometer to see him only going 80 MPH on the empty road. I snorted.

"You can go a little faster. Not like we'll die if we get into a car wreck." I mumbled. I heard Lukas snicker and press harder on the gas.

"I remember why I liked you so much."

"And why you tried forcing me into several things?"

He put a hand to his heart in mock hurt. "That wounds me. I would never have gone further against your will." he said almost honestly. Almost.

He was now going 110 MPH. "So you've finally given up on me?" I asked slowly.

"I've thought about it." Lukas replied. "After all, if Alec feels the same way about you, then obviously I'm no match whatsoever."

I thought a moment. "You know, he said something to me earlier, and I have a feeling I should ask you what it means."

"Oh?"

"After school today, he'd told me, I changed you so we could be together longer, or something like that. Do you think he was being honest?"

Lukas waited a long moment to reply, staring hard at the road. "Alec has never lied once in his life. At least, that's what of I'm sure of."

I couldn't help but wince. If he hadn't lied, then obviously all those times he insulted me had been true. My eye twitched. What. An. Asshole.

"But anyway," Lukas changed the subject, slowing the car down as we made it into town. Denny's was around the corner. "I think you have more to worry about right now than lies and truth."

"What do you mean this time?" I asked as we pulled into the parking lot of Denny's. Lukas pointed past his windshield as we parked next to the doors. I followed his finger with my eyes to a window. Beyond the window was the table, and sitting at the table was none other than Alec.

And across him sat Max.

I unbuckled my seatbelt faster than my mind could catch up, and was out the door in a second. "Ava!" Lukas called after me, getting out of the car. I slowed down for the sake of humans, and entered Denny's. One of the pretty, dainty blonde female workers smiled at me.

"Just one?" She paused then looked behind me at Lukas. "Or two?"

"None." I replied, walking past her to Alec's and Max's table. Lukas stayed behind to chat with the female. I guess he ended up taking a table for one. Ignoring them, I turned my glare on the two boys who were now staring at me in surprise.

"What brings you here?" Alec asked me nonchalantly, tipping back in his seat. I looked at Max, ignoring Alec's' question.

"Did he hurt you? Threaten you in any way?" I asked quickly.

Max gave me a smile and made to reply, but Alec snorted. "No, of course not. We're buddies now."

I stifled a laugh with my hand. "Buddies?" I laughed, turning on Alec. "I swear, if you threatened him in any way…"

"He didn't." Max said calmly.

I blinked. "Huh?"

Alec leaned forward in his seat and Max raised a hand. They shook hands in front of me and then Max stood, pulling car keys out of his pocket and swinging them around his finger. Wait, car keys?

"Well, it was nice meeting with you. I'll be off now. See ya, Ava." Max waved bye as he walked past us and out of Denny's. I stared out the window at Max as he climbed into a pretty little Honda and drove off.

"Max…is driving?" I asked faintly.

"He is also your ex-boyfriend and my new friend. Err, acquaintance." Alec corrected smoothly, taking a small sip of the soda that I'm sure Max had ordered for him.

I sat down wearily across from him in the booth. "This is all really strange." I stated quietly.

"You're telling me." Alec replied. A long silence stretched between us. I could hear the other people in the restaurant speaking, even though they were across the room. I could smell the food strongly being baked and cooked in the kitchens beyond the counter. Strange indeed. Everything was strange right now. It was if turning into a daywalker had brought me to a whole new world.

"Excuse me, miss?" A small voice asked. I looked up and the same blonde that had greeted me when I rushed in was standing there with a notepad and a pen. "Would you like anything…?"

"Uh, n-" My shin was kicked from underneath the table. I resisted slapping Alec and instead corrected myself and said, "Yes, actually. Can I get a rootbeer and a small slice of…apple pie?"

Wow. Why did all of that suddenly sound disgusting to me? The girl smiled-her nametag read, Julie- and then looked expectantly at Alec.

He blinked. "Nothing for me. This soda is just f-"

I kicked him.

"Can I try some of that apple pie, as well?"

"Of course! It'll be coming right up soon." she jot down our orders and then smiled once more at Alec and batted her lashes. For a second, I was afraid she wasn't going to leave the table. I had an odd sense that I was a tad jealous.

"Julie~!" Lukas called from across the restaurant. Julie seemed to snap out of her daze and then turned and practically raced over to the other vampire. With her out of the way, I raised an eyebrow at Alec. He had an unhappy grimace on his face.

"Was it necessary to kick me?" He demanded.

"Was it necessary to kick me?"

"We need to get blood as soon as we eat." He muttered to me, as if changing the subject. I smiled and nodded.

"I just hope I wont throw it all up. It already sounds awful to me. And I used to love rootbeer and apple pie!" I exclaimed.

Alec suddenly leaned forward on his elbows and a small smirk graced his handsome face. "You do realize this is our first date, right?"

"No shit, Sherlock." I groaned, and then let my head fall onto the table in embarrassment.