Rose. Rose."

"What?"

"What are your thoughts? Do you want to do it or hold on till later?"

"Hold on. What are you talking about?" I was way too lost in this conversation.

Christian had cornered me outside of my fourth period class to talk gibberish. At least that's what it sounded like to me.

"Did you hear anything I just say?" Christian asked exasperated. I could tell it was something important; he had those wild eyes he gets when he makes a breakthrough.

You see there's a reason why Christian and I don't have friends. Well at least there's a reason why Christian doesn't have friends, my reason is still a mystery to me.

Christian has a past time that is more of an obsession than anything else. He was obsessed with the underworld—hell—and was convinced that there were portals here on Earth that led to it.

He tries to contact the dead on normal days and tries to impress girls on weird days.

Even to me he was freaky, but we freaks stick together. We had seen each other through some tough times, plus I had no one else to sit with in lunch and even an outcast doesn't want to be lonely.

"Yes, I heard you call my name."

"That's not funny I'm serious." He gave me his best serious face which looked more like he was constipated but I got the point.

"Ok sorry. What did you say?"

"I found a book—"

"Stop right there. You come every day saying you found a book and it turns out to be crap." Seriously his dad works in a library, when doesn't he find a book.

"But this times different. I actually read some of it and I think this ones the one."

"Then I hope you and the book have a very lovely relationship. Seriously I'll be rooting for you two." I chirped with fake enthusiasm. Christian cracked a smile but otherwise didn't acknowledge my joke.

"So you going to help me out." He pleaded, he even went as far as fluttering his eyelashes and pouted his chapped lips. He hadn't done that since we were twelve so it didn't have the same effect it used to. This time around it only made me bark up a laugh so loud Russians in Moscow heard me.

Christian tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for my laughing tirade to finish.

"Ok that's enough laughing at my expense. Seriously Rose shut up." Christian said when after two minutes I still hadn't stopped laughing. I could tell he was trying to sound angry but I could hear the smile in his voice.

I was between my sixth or seven hundredth laugh when I heard it. A loud clanking sound on the floor and it was approaching fast. But I couldn't stop laughing, even Christian had joined in.

The clanking sound stopped a few feet away from us but I managed to see what it was. Three sets of heels large enough to poke an eye out stood next to the water fountain about ten feet away.

I looked up in time to see their owners glare at me, their faces mingled with disgust and disbelieve.

Sure most of our laughing happened in the confines of Christian's bedroom but they shouldn't look so amazed that we actually do laugh.

"Uhh. Look at those losers." One of the girls said, Lissa I believe her name was. She was with two other girls, but she appeared to be the leader in their little click. The statement alone would have pissed me off but what really threw the match in my internal fire was the look that they gave us. It was one that said we were scum on their shoe.

They effectively stopped our laughing. I wanted to punch them in those glossed up lips of theirs for ruining the moment of happiness Christian and I were sharing.

I didn't know much about the other two but I knew Lissa. She had gotten meaner throughout the years. I never really talked to her but when we were little she seemed friendly. Her mother died when she was eleven. Lissa changed after that. Most people don't give her any grief because they feel sorry that she's motherless, but I feel like she's playing up that fact. She uses it to her advantage, which is a shame because her mother, Rhea, was a wonderful woman. I don't think she would appreciate what a bitch her daughter had become.

All three of them were wearing heels but Lissa was the one dressed more extravagant. She wore this beautiful golden dress that her blond hair seemed to mix in with. Her jade green eyes sparkled with mischief. They all looked like they had just walked off of the run way. Their hair was perfect, not one hair out of place and their makeup was done to perfection.

You could almost taste the plastic when you looked at them.

Instead of beating the life sized barbies half to death, like I so badly wanted to do, I walked away with Christian. I knew I was being the bigger man for walking away but right now I wanted to be the little man because at least he gets to bash their faces.

"Don't worry about them Rose. They're assholes anyways." Christian said as we walked away. He smiled down at me and put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down. Sometimes I didn't get why Christian was alienated—other than the obvious—he was so nice and caring. And he never let anything get to him; it was like he was content with being a freak.

I looked at him through my periphery and saw what everyone else might see. Black messy hair and blue eyes that contrasted to the extreme with his pale skin. He wore all black from head to toe and had this weird trench coat that made him look like a bootleg vampire. Honestly he looked like evil incarnate, like he could kill you at any moment.

Christian being the weirdo he was loved it. Only I knew what a real marshmallow he was.

Christian had the tendency of being squeamish at the sight of blood. And in more than one occasion had fainted at the sight of it. I unfortunately found that out the hard way when I scraped up my arm and instead of Christian helping me I had to carry him to his bedroom when he fainted.

"So underworld searching at your house." I said, changing the subject. It worked, Christian's face immediately brightened up at my words.

"Alright Rose we got ourselves another lead." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation and gave me his famous devilish smile. "Maybe this time we'll figure it out."

I didn't want to tell him that it probably wouldn't happen. The underworld didn't exist. I humor Christian because he's my best friend, but I knew it wasn't and I sat in our usual lunch table, way in the back corner away from everyone else. We found it easier to be ourselves when we were out of everyone's sight.

Still you couldn't block everyone's annoying voice and we could still see them so it wasn't too great.

I nearly stuffed napkins in my ears to block off what some of the girls were saying. It always had to do with make-up or a cute boy but a shrill voice made my ears perk up. More by what she was saying than by her voice because her voice was enough to make anyone want to claw their eyes out.

"I wonder what he's doing here; he never comes to the cafeteria." She cried out.

It was impossible to not know who she was talking about. Who else never came to the cafeteria, or interacted with humans for that matter.

Immediately the buzz of girl's voices grew to an excruciating level, clearly excited at this prospect.

"You think if I ask him out he'll say yes."

"Maybe if I pull my shirt lower."

"I'll put some of my cherry lip gloss that way he'll notice my lips."

Every word was more pathetic than the next. And it all had to do with him, Dimitri. I couldn't even concentrate with what Christian was telling me which had something to do with sandwiches. Or maybe I was just really hungry.

"Who is he staring at, it can't be at her." The same annoying pitchy voice said. Of course all their voices were annoying to me so I couldn't be sure if it was the same.

I almost looked up but I figured that would be too vain of me. I mean I only have him for one class, maybe I was wrong and he stares at a lot of girls. Maybe I have had gum in my hair these past two weeks and I've missed it in the shower—as illogical as that sounds.

"Hey, Ro. Rose. Rose." Christian called. I ignored him, too lost in my thoughts to pay attention to what Christian was talking about but he wasn't having that.

"Ouch." I cried out when Christian elbowed me, hard, on the ribs.

"What was that for?" I sneered because ow that really hurt.

"Sorry, but that was the only way to get your attention." He chuckled. I signaled for him to continue. "The new guy is staring at you." He smirked. "He's looking at you all lovey dovey." He made little kissing noises and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Be quiet." I whispered in panic. Hopefully nobody noticed that. What would they say? Worse yet what would Dimitri say. Not that I care more about what he has to say.

I choked back my internal tirade and looked up to see several curious faces but of more importance I saw Dimitri staring straight at me. He was sitting in the extreme edge of the bench. His torso and head were inclined in my direction.

This was the first time he had ever looked at me outside of the classroom. I couldn't help the butterflies that seemed to have erupted in my stomach. His strong jawline quivered and for a second everything seemed to stand still. The only thing that seemed important in that moment were his eyes, those chocolate brown eyes that have haunted me these past two weeks, those eyes that were looking at me so intensely I felt as if I would burst into flames.

He turned away abruptly, and the spell ended, everything went back to normal. The gush of sound came back and everyone came to view. It was no longer me and him we were back in the cafeteria—not that we ever left but it felt like we did. It only lasted a second but it seemed so much more than that.

I watched as Dimitri gathered his things and fled the cafeteria in a frenzy; So much for spending time with humans.

"I bet he stared because she's so weird."

"Did you see how he just looked away when she looked up, she probably freaked him out."

"Of course anyone would be freaked out when looking at that."

And just like that the mystery as to why Dimitri was looking at me was solved. Even I was starting to believe what everyone was saying because there was no way someone like Dimitri would be interested in me—even if he might be a sociopathic murderer, he would still have better taste.

I tugged on my brow hard enough to rip hairs—a nervous tendency I never quite got rid of—so I wouldn't have to face the bitter truth. I was a freak and no one would be interested in me.

"Don't listen to them Rose they're idiots." Christian grabbed my shoulder as if to shake some sense in me. "I saw the way that kid looked at you and it didn't have anything to do with your freakiness."

"Gee thanks, you kind of ruined it in the end though."

"No I didn't. I think your freakiness is your best asset, everyone else just doesn't know how to appreciate it." He placed his pointer finger on my chin and lifted my head up. "And always keep this up, never down." He advised

"Wow, to what do I owe all these complements," Because the last time I got these many complements from Christian we were thirteen and he was trying to convince me to give a letter to my sister on his behalf.

"Dude, you're my friend. We might tease each other all the time, but at the end of the day you got my back and I got yours." He said. His blue eyes dead serious, there was no joke in them.

I swallowed back the strong emotions I was feeling and gave him my most sincere smile.

"Come on we've got to get to class." He jumped up and grabbed my arm. I was surprised when I saw that nearly everyone was out of the cafeteria. I was so caught up in my emotional roller coaster I failed to register the bell.

Christian lead me out of the cafeteria by the arm like a five year old but I managed to take one last glance back. There was no one left in the room but slight movement made me aware of a shadowy figure slumped against the wall. I blinked in shock and it was gone. The cafeteria was empty again; I felt chills run all over my body.

What the hell was a matter with me?

I didn't look back again least I see something else that apparently wasn't there.