Versus: Destined Rivals
Chapter 1
“Aren’t you glad you came,” Aubrey smiled at Vance and sipped her red solo cup. “I don’t know yet, I just got here. Talk to me in a few minutes- wait, scratch that. How about don’t,” He didn’t look at her as he began his quick escape, but she was quicker. Before he could get away, her perfect cheerleading body was blocking his exit into the crowd of drunken dancing underage drinkers.
“You’re still mad me about that girl for the other night?” She flipped her long blonde hair and had a look of carelessness on her perfect face. “Look, Vance, she was a totally into me. And sometimes you got to do what you got to-“
“You got to do what you got to do, right. Well next time, find someone else to do. I’d been trying to crack her for a whole week, and I finally got her to come over, and I don’t appreciate you stealing her from right under me, literally.”
Aubrey chuckled and placed her hand on Vance shoulders. “Well, buddy, you shouldn’t have let me in. Not my fault she liked me more than you.” She smiled her perfect smile that Vance had seen all too many times. It didn’t affect him like it affected over guys; to him it was like any other smile.
“I let you in because I was into the idea of having two girls in my bed, not two girls stealing my bed.”
“Oh don’t act like you didn’t stay and watch!”
“I did stay and watch, come to think of it, I should have brought out the video camera.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t.” Still smiling, she offered him her hand. “Forgive me please? At least until I do it again.”
Vance knew she would do it again, and honestly he wasn’t mad at her. He just enjoyed how hard she tried to get him to forgive her. With a perfect smile of his own, he ignored her hand and pulled her in for a dramatic hug.
“You know I can’t stay mad at you. Not with an ass like yours.” To emphasize this, he deliberately placed a hand on her butt. She squirmed a little and broke free.
“Watch it, Hutcherson. We are on the same team, remember?”
“How could I forget,” he said.
“Vance! Get your butt over here! It’s about time you showed up!” Vance looked over at the male voice calling to him. Hunter Owen was standing on a table, hands cupped over his mouth and gesturing to Vance to make his way over there. Vance gave him a wave, and turned to Aubrey again. “Duty calls, Sweet Cheeks. See you at home?”
“Sure,” she said and disappeared into the crowd of the party.
Vance made his way to where Hunter was posted, finding a few of his friends and a group of girls he’s never met before.
“Okay, Vance is here, now we have enough dudes,” Kevin Anders said, one of Vance’s close friends. Jack Jackson and Chase Anthony were also present at the moment.
“Enough dudes for what exactly,” Jack-Jack asked. Everyone gave him crap for being the youngest, looking only 15, but in all reality he was older than everyone at the party. It didn’t help that he was shorter than everyone and dressed like a skater.
“We are taking shots… off the girls,” Chase grinned, and winked at a red head girl that was giving him the ‘I’m into you’ look.
“Yeah, so choose your partner and let’s get started,” Hunter insisted, and everyone paired up immediately. Vance ended up without a partner and looked around to see what went wrong.
Hunter had a tall brunette who was wearing too much make-up. Jack-Jack had a small blonde who looked like she was too young to be at this party. Chase had the red head, and Kev… he had two girls, one very pale, and the other the same complexion as him.
“Kev, you can only get one girl,” Vance remarked.
“I like a challenge, and what can I say? They like my black ass more than your white one,” Kev declared with a smile, while both girls next to him giggled.
Vance chuckled and shook his head, “It’s cool man; they aren’t all that great looking anyway.” To that the girls stopped giggling and gave him a look. “I’ll go find my own. You guys start without me.” Before the others could object, Vance turned and pushed past two girls who were having a little much fun without a guy in between. For a split second he thought of going back to join them, but thought against it. He wasn’t into being the third wheel again. Making his way through the crowd of overheated bodies, he tried not to brush against to many people. Surely they would notice the icy temperature of his skin, and wonder what was wrong with him. He hadn’t fed in almost two weeks, and he could feel the ache in his upper jaw. He knew it was a bad idea to show up at this party without feeding properly. Any other day, he was the best at self-restraint, but now, with almost no energy left in his body, and the sound of racing hearts surrounding him, he questioned his control.
I just need to chill, he thought, and headed toward the restroom. He saw it was occupied and leaned against the wall waiting for the occupant to come out. After some minutes of waiting, he tried to doorknob and it was locked.
“Hey,” he banged on the door, “Other people have to use the facilities too, you know!” After another minute of no answer, he contemplated twisting the knob so hard that it broke, but decided that would freak out the person inside. “Come on. You can still do your drugs or whatever you’re doing, I just need somewhere chill for a second. I promise I won’t tell the owner.” A few seconds later, the locked click and the door opened, but not enough for him to get inside. A girl looked out at him; an attractive girl looked out at him. She had long sandy brown hair the fell all over her shoulders and down her back, with large green eyes and full red lips set into a small heart shaped face. Her skin was well tanned and blemish free and he imagined what it would feel like against his.
“Can you find another room to chill in, please?” Her voice was soft and quiet, and friendly sounding.
“I did,” he lied smoothly. “They are all full.” As he spoke, he noted that she too is someone he has never met before, which kind of disappointed him. How romantic is it to meet someone in a stranger’s restroom?
She sighed and looked behind him, checking if anyone else was around, then she opened the door wider to let him in. She shut the door behind them, and walked past him to sit on the close top of the toilet. The restroom wasn’t very big, so he just leaned against the sink.
“Why are you in here anyway? You do know there is a party going on out there,” Vance asked her curiously.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just, I don’t know anyone here, and I felt awkward sitting down on the couch with everyone around me, so I came in here to hide out until my cousin calls me,” She looked down at her hands playing with the ruffles on her yellow dress.
“Who is your cousin?”
“Abigail Brady? Do you know her?”
No, “Yes. We had some classes last year. She’s cool.” Vance thought maybe if he knew her cousin he could figure out who this girl was. “You don’t look familiar though, are you new here?”
“Yes, I just moved here last month,” she glanced at him, then back down at her dress. He could tell she was a shy girl, and he thought it was cute. He rarely met girls as attractive as her who were shy.
“Why’d you move to Hudson Arbor out of all places in Michigan?”
“My dad and his wife live here,” she answered simply.
He knew he shouldn’t ask, knowing it was probably going to be something sad but he couldn’t resist. “What about your mom?”
She was quiet for a few moments, fiddling with her dress, and then she looked up at him with sad eyes.
“She died a year ago, and I had been living with my grandmother in Florida. She got sick and they had to send her to a nursing home and then they sent me here to live with my Dad.”
He wished he hadn’t asked; he hated sad stories.
“I’m sorry,” he said with as much sympathy he could manage. She shook her head, and sighed looking back down at her dress. He began to think; maybe she isn’t shy after all. Maybe she’s just sad. Sad people depressed him, and he tried to avoid them. He had his own sad moment to deal with.
Time to change the subject, he thought.
“I’m Vance by the way. Vance Hutcherson.” He smiled and held his hand out to her. She looked at him and smiled.
“I’m Alina Brady. Nice to meet you.” She took his hand and shook it softly. Her hand was so small and delicate in his, and her finger nails were painted a shade a green that matched her eyes. Eyes that at the moment were widen with surprise. He saw the muscles in her arms contract, like she was about to yank her hand away, but then they relaxed, and she just smiled again, but not without her eyebrows creasing with concern.
“Your hand is freezing,” she stated, pulling her hand away slowly.
Of course it was, because he was thirsty and she was a very beautiful girl; his favorite. The ache in his jaw came back, and his sense of hearing and smelling enhanced like someone just took cotton out of his ears and nose for the first time in his life. His eyes pricked a little, like they would if they were about to start watering, but he knew that wasn’t the case. She was still looking at him with a look of concern. He could hear her blood pumping through her body, smell the sweetest scent, and see the pulse of the source in her neck. Every sound, even the music that was muffled outside of the room seemed to flood around him. He took a deep breath involuntarily and the ache is his jaw increased and pin pointed to his canines, a feeling he never got tired of. Every color in the room enhanced and sharpened. The color of her warm skin looked inviting, and her yellow dress was almost too bright to look at.
Before he had time to even think, there was a loud bang on the door, which to him sounded something like someone shooting a gun right next to his ear. It cleared his mind enough for him to focus and get control. He turned away from Alina, and looked in the mirror at his own reflection. He tried to forget that there was a beautiful girl sitting behind him. Hopefully she didn’t notice how his blue eyes turned a startling silver, and that his lower lip was bleeding from where his fangs had bite into it.
From outside the restroom door, someone was yelling.
“Whoever’s in there needs to get the hell out, I have to piss!” From behind him, he heard Alina stand up. Vance had himself under control now, and turned back around to look at her. She looked at him too, with wide eyes, but they weren’t scared.
“You okay?” she asked him quietly. He nodded and headed toward the door.
“Wait, don’t let him in!” She said hastily, and went to the door to stop him from opening it.
“You heard him, he has to piss.” He ignored her hand and yanked the door open. The guy waiting was obviously drunk.
“You too were in there. Together?” A goofy smile spread across his face. “Hey, Baby, you don’t have to leave just yet. I can do whatever he was two times better.” He grabbed her arm, a little too rough.
“Let go of me,” Alina yanked her arm away with a strength Vance didn’t even think she had, and began to walk away. The drunken guy didn’t want to give up though; he went after her, grabbed both her arms and yanked her back.
Vance intruded then. He grabbed Alina’s waist, barely noticing how curvy it was, and held her up before the guy pulled her down to the ground with him as he stumbled back. After Vance made sure Alina was safely standing, he turned back to the guy who was just now getting up.
“What is wrong with you? You don’t grab a girl like that,” Vance scolded.
“She’s not a girl, she’s a whore,” said the drunk guy, staring at Alina with drunken dislike. That was the end for Vance. He lurched forward, snagging the guy by the neck and slammed him against the wall, squeezing a little harder than he intended. He knew the guy couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to get his point across.
“Vance,” he heard Alina’s voice next to him and felt her soft hand on his arm. “It’s okay, he’s not worth it.” At that, Vance let go and watched the guy sink to the ground coughing and trying to catch his breath. Vance looked at Alina, and she looked at him, with large green eyes.
Then, he turned and walked away from her, not looking back. All he knew was that it was a close call in the restroom and he knew if her stayed with her longer he’d talk her into coming up to a room with him and then… he couldn’t do that to her. He returned to his group of friends, now playing beer pong, where the group of people surrounding them had grown.
“Vance! Where you been?! Jack-Jack did 12 shots in a row,” Chase shouted over the crowd around him, who were cheering Kev and Hunter on as they bounced Ping-Pong balls into shot glasses. Both Kev and Hunter have good aim, so both of them were downing them back to back.
“I’ve been everywhere. I think I’m going to head home though, I’m not up this tonight,” Vance said to Chase as he stole a glass from Hunter’s round.
“No, no, no. Not yet. When you left, this chick came over and asked about you. Bro, she is… She looks pretty damn good,” Chase chuckled, and slapped Vance on the shoulder with his hand. “She’s right there,” he pointed to a girl who was sitting a little ways away from them. She was wearing a very tight, red party dress that showed off all her curves. Her hair was long and black, and from where her dress stopped, her long smooth legs were crossed, wanting to be touched.
“I think I know who that is,” Vance grinned. He took another shot before he went over to her.
“Jade. What are you doing here,” Vance asked the long legged beauty. Jade was the one who got away from him the other night, with Aubrey.
“Aubrey called me. I want to apologize about the other night. I want to make it up to you,” She uncrossed her long legs and stood up in front of him, with a smile on her face.
“I don’t think I forgive you, at least not right now. You’re going to have to convince me,” Vance smiled back at her. She nodded, understanding what he meant, placed her hands on either side of his face and gave him a slow kiss on the lips. Then she took his hand and maneuvered through the crowd toward the stairs.
Bursting into one of the empty rooms, her hands automatically reach from the hem of his shirt. He kicked the door shut behind them, and pulled her roughly in for a kiss. This kiss wasn’t gentle or slow like the one downstairs. It was rigorous and urgent, and he honestly didn’t see any point in going slow. They both wanted something and they weren’t about to beat around the bush. He let her pull his shirt over his head and toss it while his hands scrambled to find the dresses zipper. He found it, but before he could yank it down she was falling backwards onto the perfectly made bed with him on top of her. Still kissing her, he realized he wasn’t excited for the chance to sleep with her like he was before. He only wanted one thing from her right now. At the thought of it, he embraced the ache that had returned. Breaking the kiss, he trailed his lips down her neck, finding his favorite spot, all the while listening to the rapid pace of her heart beat. It was like music to his ears, and drowned out all other sound. It was what he focused on as he reached for her wrist and pinned them above her head. Placing kisses on her neck here and there, she made a sound of anticipation, and at that, he nibbled first, and then sank his aching canines into her neck. She jerked with surprised but not from pain, he knew. Her hormones were clouding her mind so much now that it couldn’t register pain. Another sound escaped her lips as Vance began to drink. He could feel the blood warm him from head to toe as it filled his veins. The feeling that he loved the most in world came to him. The feeling was euphoric; transcendental.
A few moments later, he knew he had had enough and broke off, making sure to lick the wounds so they would heal quickly. He pulled up and looked down at Jade. Her eyes were closed and her breathe was slow; she was asleep. Feeling satisfied he stood up, found his shirt. After making sure Jade would be okay, he headed out the room and back down to the party that seemed to be a little more inviting than it had to him before. Smiling, he joined the crowd of dancing people, just as he would any other night, and finished the night off the way it should be finished.
* * *
Alina took one last look in her full length mirror. She saw a normal, simple girl. Converse, skinny jeans and a plain green V-neck t-shirt was the outfit for her first day at her new school. Hudson Arbor High School… it sounded nice enough. Only thing to worry about now was what the people were like and if she would be able to survive them for her senior year of high school. With a sigh, she turned away from the mirror, grabbed her bag and a light jacket and headed down stairs.
“Oh good, Alina came down. What’s some breakfast, honey?” Her dad’s wife, Rebecca asked. Rebecca was a petite blonde, with a big mouth and a moody personality. Alina didn’t like her, but she tolerated her for Ronald, her dad. There must be something likable about her; after all, he did marry Rebecca and not her own mother, Haley.
“No thank you, I’m just going to go,” Alina said while slipping her arms into her jacket and heading for the door.
“Are you sure, I made it for you and-”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Alina cut her off. Realizing she sounded kind of stingy, she smiled and added, “I’ll catch you later.”
“Say hi to Tori if you see you at school!” Rebecca called after Alina as she shut the front door. Tori was her half-sister, daughter of Rebecca and Ronald, who was only fifteen and seemed to get a lot of her looks from her mother. Tori and Alina didn’t get along very much, even then she’d tried. Tori was a difficult person to understand unlike there seven year old twin brothers, Nile and Kyle. They were the most lovable kids ever.
On the walk to school, which wasn’t that far of a walk from her father’s house, she thought of all the possibly outcomes of this day.
Everyone could be very friendly, and I’d make lots of friends by the end of the day, she thought optimistically. Or everyone is rude and judging and they cast me out. She made a face at that thought, and put it out of her mind. Everything will be fine. I’m a likable person. Well… likeable enough.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud music. Turning to look she saw a red convertible racing down the street, music blaring, and with at least seven people all squeezed into it. There were three sitting in the front and three sitting in the back with a fourth sitting across their laps. One of them, a boy who was sitting in the front squeezed between to girl, was standing, arms in the air, yelling something that sounded like “Fuck the police!” She couldn’t really tell over the music. Everyone in the car was laughing, and trying to pull him back down. Then Alina recognized the guy standing. It was that guy from the party who asked to share a restroom with her. Vance, she thought his name was.
The car passed, and turned the corner, ignoring the stop sign. Thinking back to the party from two days ago, she tried to remember how the guy, Vance, had been.
He seemed nice enough, kind of weird, but nice. She smiled remembering how he defended her against the jerk that called her a whore. Very friendly too, she added as she recalled seeing him being lead upstairs by a girl wearing a very short dress, and again later on that night taking a shot out of a girls cleavage with his mouth.
Alina crossed the street and started down a new street that was full of parked cars and students walking every which way. Here goes nothing, she thought was a sigh, and entered the building. She was instantly relieved. It wasn’t totally different from what she was used too. The halls were swarming with people just like they were in her old school back in Florida. Alina took out the class schedule that was sent to her house a few weeks ago, and checked her locker number. Not paying attention, she bumped into someone and the books they were carrying crashed to the floor.
“Oh god, I’m sorry,” she said automatically bending to help the stranger pick them up. A few people turned to look at them, but didn’t seem to be really interested.
“How cliché is this huh?” The stranger, a boy said scooping up the books she didn’t grab.
Looking at him, she noticed he was a little scrawny, and at her old school, he would be categorized as a nerd. He had short black hair, a large nose, and braces. Alina found herself laughing at what he had said.
“Yeah, I guess it is. I’m sorry,” she apologized again.
“It’s fine. I’m just clumsy. You’re new aren’t you? I’ve never seen you here before. Well, unless your freshmen, which can’t be true, because you look nothing like a freshmen. So you are a senior?”
“Yes,” she smiled at him. He was a talker.
“Oh good,” he grinned and shifted the books he was carrying to his left arms and held his hand out to her, “I’m Dexter Van Sandley. Welcome to HAH!”
Hesitantly, she shook his hand, “Excuse me, what was that?”
“HAH! Hudson Arbor High? It’s kind of a thing we say around here. Funny, huh?” He chuckled then, noticed that she was holding her schedule. “You’re looking for your locker aren’t you? I can help you with that, it’s easy really. Here hold these.” He shoved his books into Alina’s arms and took her schedule from her hand.
“Your locker number is 3022, come on, I’ll show you were it is,” he paused, looked in a direction and then sped off, leaving Alina to trail behind carrying his heavy books he made look so easy. As they weaved through people in the halls, Dexter yapped on about how the school was laid out and three different routes I could take to arrive at my classes on time.
“Here we are,” He said a little too excitedly. He did the honors of opening it for her, and then took his books back. “This is the senior hall way by the way, your core classes will most likely be in this hall along with all your friends and stuff,” He smiled at her again. “It was nice meeting you… I never got your name.”
“Alina,” a voice called behind her, making her jump a little. Vance came into view beside her. He smiled at her and just like the night of the party, she noticed how attractive he really was. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, with jeans that looked brand new, and some really cool Nikes. His dimpled smile was gorgeous, his eyes were the bluest she’ ever seen them and she found it unsettling to look directly into them.
“Hey Vance. I’m not surprised you know the new girl,” Dexter rolled his eyes and said in a low voice while jerking a thumb at Vance, “Watch out for this guy. He’s a heart breaker.”
Vance laughed, which sounded a little forced, and then clapped a hand down on the back of Dexter’s neck.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s lying,” He said in a smooth voice looking at her. Then he looked at Dexter, and smiled again.
“Good to see you again, Dex,” he said, shaking Dexter a little, then he let go and his eyes met Alina’s. “And you too, Alina.” The way he said her name made it sounded like he enjoyed how it sounded coming from him. Still looking at her, he reached his hands out again, just like before. Giving him a friendly smile, she grabbed his hand, expecting it be cold, and being surprised when it was actually very warm. And then she was surprised again when instead of just shaking her hand and letting go, he brought it up to his mouth. Then he let go of her hand, turned and left her and Dexter by her locker. Dexter chuckled and shook his head.
“What’s funny?” she asked curiously.
“Nothing… it’s just; it looks like he has his sights set on you this year. Be prepared, that’s all.”
“He seems nice enough, why would I need to be prepared?”
“Well, Vance is what you call a man-whore,” Dexter proclaimed. “He gets around a lot, and for some reason he gets away with it; Him and a few of his friends. I’m just saying, be careful around him. Like a said before; He’s a heart breaker. See you.” Just as he was about to walk away he turned and added, “Oh and, usually in the mornings, we go to the cafeteria for breakfast.” And with that he left just as Vance did.
Chapter 1
“Aren’t you glad you came,” Aubrey smiled at Vance and sipped her red solo cup. “I don’t know yet, I just got here. Talk to me in a few minutes- wait, scratch that. How about don’t,” He didn’t look at her as he began his quick escape, but she was quicker. Before he could get away, her perfect cheerleading body was blocking his exit into the crowd of drunken dancing underage drinkers.
“You’re still mad me about that girl for the other night?” She flipped her long blonde hair and had a look of carelessness on her perfect face. “Look, Vance, she was a totally into me. And sometimes you got to do what you got to-“
“You got to do what you got to do, right. Well next time, find someone else to do. I’d been trying to crack her for a whole week, and I finally got her to come over, and I don’t appreciate you stealing her from right under me, literally.”
Aubrey chuckled and placed her hand on Vance shoulders. “Well, buddy, you shouldn’t have let me in. Not my fault she liked me more than you.” She smiled her perfect smile that Vance had seen all too many times. It didn’t affect him like it affected over guys; to him it was like any other smile.
“I let you in because I was into the idea of having two girls in my bed, not two girls stealing my bed.”
“Oh don’t act like you didn’t stay and watch!”
“I did stay and watch, come to think of it, I should have brought out the video camera.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t.” Still smiling, she offered him her hand. “Forgive me please? At least until I do it again.”
Vance knew she would do it again, and honestly he wasn’t mad at her. He just enjoyed how hard she tried to get him to forgive her. With a perfect smile of his own, he ignored her hand and pulled her in for a dramatic hug.
“You know I can’t stay mad at you. Not with an ass like yours.” To emphasize this, he deliberately placed a hand on her butt. She squirmed a little and broke free.
“Watch it, Hutcherson. We are on the same team, remember?”
“How could I forget,” he said.
“Vance! Get your butt over here! It’s about time you showed up!” Vance looked over at the male voice calling to him. Hunter Owen was standing on a table, hands cupped over his mouth and gesturing to Vance to make his way over there. Vance gave him a wave, and turned to Aubrey again. “Duty calls, Sweet Cheeks. See you at home?”
“Sure,” she said and disappeared into the crowd of the party.
Vance made his way to where Hunter was posted, finding a few of his friends and a group of girls he’s never met before.
“Okay, Vance is here, now we have enough dudes,” Kevin Anders said, one of Vance’s close friends. Jack Jackson and Chase Anthony were also present at the moment.
“Enough dudes for what exactly,” Jack-Jack asked. Everyone gave him crap for being the youngest, looking only 15, but in all reality he was older than everyone at the party. It didn’t help that he was shorter than everyone and dressed like a skater.
“We are taking shots… off the girls,” Chase grinned, and winked at a red head girl that was giving him the ‘I’m into you’ look.
“Yeah, so choose your partner and let’s get started,” Hunter insisted, and everyone paired up immediately. Vance ended up without a partner and looked around to see what went wrong.
Hunter had a tall brunette who was wearing too much make-up. Jack-Jack had a small blonde who looked like she was too young to be at this party. Chase had the red head, and Kev… he had two girls, one very pale, and the other the same complexion as him.
“Kev, you can only get one girl,” Vance remarked.
“I like a challenge, and what can I say? They like my black ass more than your white one,” Kev declared with a smile, while both girls next to him giggled.
Vance chuckled and shook his head, “It’s cool man; they aren’t all that great looking anyway.” To that the girls stopped giggling and gave him a look. “I’ll go find my own. You guys start without me.” Before the others could object, Vance turned and pushed past two girls who were having a little much fun without a guy in between. For a split second he thought of going back to join them, but thought against it. He wasn’t into being the third wheel again. Making his way through the crowd of overheated bodies, he tried not to brush against to many people. Surely they would notice the icy temperature of his skin, and wonder what was wrong with him. He hadn’t fed in almost two weeks, and he could feel the ache in his upper jaw. He knew it was a bad idea to show up at this party without feeding properly. Any other day, he was the best at self-restraint, but now, with almost no energy left in his body, and the sound of racing hearts surrounding him, he questioned his control.
I just need to chill, he thought, and headed toward the restroom. He saw it was occupied and leaned against the wall waiting for the occupant to come out. After some minutes of waiting, he tried to doorknob and it was locked.
“Hey,” he banged on the door, “Other people have to use the facilities too, you know!” After another minute of no answer, he contemplated twisting the knob so hard that it broke, but decided that would freak out the person inside. “Come on. You can still do your drugs or whatever you’re doing, I just need somewhere chill for a second. I promise I won’t tell the owner.” A few seconds later, the locked click and the door opened, but not enough for him to get inside. A girl looked out at him; an attractive girl looked out at him. She had long sandy brown hair the fell all over her shoulders and down her back, with large green eyes and full red lips set into a small heart shaped face. Her skin was well tanned and blemish free and he imagined what it would feel like against his.
“Can you find another room to chill in, please?” Her voice was soft and quiet, and friendly sounding.
“I did,” he lied smoothly. “They are all full.” As he spoke, he noted that she too is someone he has never met before, which kind of disappointed him. How romantic is it to meet someone in a stranger’s restroom?
She sighed and looked behind him, checking if anyone else was around, then she opened the door wider to let him in. She shut the door behind them, and walked past him to sit on the close top of the toilet. The restroom wasn’t very big, so he just leaned against the sink.
“Why are you in here anyway? You do know there is a party going on out there,” Vance asked her curiously.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just, I don’t know anyone here, and I felt awkward sitting down on the couch with everyone around me, so I came in here to hide out until my cousin calls me,” She looked down at her hands playing with the ruffles on her yellow dress.
“Who is your cousin?”
“Abigail Brady? Do you know her?”
No, “Yes. We had some classes last year. She’s cool.” Vance thought maybe if he knew her cousin he could figure out who this girl was. “You don’t look familiar though, are you new here?”
“Yes, I just moved here last month,” she glanced at him, then back down at her dress. He could tell she was a shy girl, and he thought it was cute. He rarely met girls as attractive as her who were shy.
“Why’d you move to Hudson Arbor out of all places in Michigan?”
“My dad and his wife live here,” she answered simply.
He knew he shouldn’t ask, knowing it was probably going to be something sad but he couldn’t resist. “What about your mom?”
She was quiet for a few moments, fiddling with her dress, and then she looked up at him with sad eyes.
“She died a year ago, and I had been living with my grandmother in Florida. She got sick and they had to send her to a nursing home and then they sent me here to live with my Dad.”
He wished he hadn’t asked; he hated sad stories.
“I’m sorry,” he said with as much sympathy he could manage. She shook her head, and sighed looking back down at her dress. He began to think; maybe she isn’t shy after all. Maybe she’s just sad. Sad people depressed him, and he tried to avoid them. He had his own sad moment to deal with.
Time to change the subject, he thought.
“I’m Vance by the way. Vance Hutcherson.” He smiled and held his hand out to her. She looked at him and smiled.
“I’m Alina Brady. Nice to meet you.” She took his hand and shook it softly. Her hand was so small and delicate in his, and her finger nails were painted a shade a green that matched her eyes. Eyes that at the moment were widen with surprise. He saw the muscles in her arms contract, like she was about to yank her hand away, but then they relaxed, and she just smiled again, but not without her eyebrows creasing with concern.
“Your hand is freezing,” she stated, pulling her hand away slowly.
Of course it was, because he was thirsty and she was a very beautiful girl; his favorite. The ache in his jaw came back, and his sense of hearing and smelling enhanced like someone just took cotton out of his ears and nose for the first time in his life. His eyes pricked a little, like they would if they were about to start watering, but he knew that wasn’t the case. She was still looking at him with a look of concern. He could hear her blood pumping through her body, smell the sweetest scent, and see the pulse of the source in her neck. Every sound, even the music that was muffled outside of the room seemed to flood around him. He took a deep breath involuntarily and the ache is his jaw increased and pin pointed to his canines, a feeling he never got tired of. Every color in the room enhanced and sharpened. The color of her warm skin looked inviting, and her yellow dress was almost too bright to look at.
Before he had time to even think, there was a loud bang on the door, which to him sounded something like someone shooting a gun right next to his ear. It cleared his mind enough for him to focus and get control. He turned away from Alina, and looked in the mirror at his own reflection. He tried to forget that there was a beautiful girl sitting behind him. Hopefully she didn’t notice how his blue eyes turned a startling silver, and that his lower lip was bleeding from where his fangs had bite into it.
From outside the restroom door, someone was yelling.
“Whoever’s in there needs to get the hell out, I have to piss!” From behind him, he heard Alina stand up. Vance had himself under control now, and turned back around to look at her. She looked at him too, with wide eyes, but they weren’t scared.
“You okay?” she asked him quietly. He nodded and headed toward the door.
“Wait, don’t let him in!” She said hastily, and went to the door to stop him from opening it.
“You heard him, he has to piss.” He ignored her hand and yanked the door open. The guy waiting was obviously drunk.
“You too were in there. Together?” A goofy smile spread across his face. “Hey, Baby, you don’t have to leave just yet. I can do whatever he was two times better.” He grabbed her arm, a little too rough.
“Let go of me,” Alina yanked her arm away with a strength Vance didn’t even think she had, and began to walk away. The drunken guy didn’t want to give up though; he went after her, grabbed both her arms and yanked her back.
Vance intruded then. He grabbed Alina’s waist, barely noticing how curvy it was, and held her up before the guy pulled her down to the ground with him as he stumbled back. After Vance made sure Alina was safely standing, he turned back to the guy who was just now getting up.
“What is wrong with you? You don’t grab a girl like that,” Vance scolded.
“She’s not a girl, she’s a whore,” said the drunk guy, staring at Alina with drunken dislike. That was the end for Vance. He lurched forward, snagging the guy by the neck and slammed him against the wall, squeezing a little harder than he intended. He knew the guy couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to get his point across.
“Vance,” he heard Alina’s voice next to him and felt her soft hand on his arm. “It’s okay, he’s not worth it.” At that, Vance let go and watched the guy sink to the ground coughing and trying to catch his breath. Vance looked at Alina, and she looked at him, with large green eyes.
Then, he turned and walked away from her, not looking back. All he knew was that it was a close call in the restroom and he knew if her stayed with her longer he’d talk her into coming up to a room with him and then… he couldn’t do that to her. He returned to his group of friends, now playing beer pong, where the group of people surrounding them had grown.
“Vance! Where you been?! Jack-Jack did 12 shots in a row,” Chase shouted over the crowd around him, who were cheering Kev and Hunter on as they bounced Ping-Pong balls into shot glasses. Both Kev and Hunter have good aim, so both of them were downing them back to back.
“I’ve been everywhere. I think I’m going to head home though, I’m not up this tonight,” Vance said to Chase as he stole a glass from Hunter’s round.
“No, no, no. Not yet. When you left, this chick came over and asked about you. Bro, she is… She looks pretty damn good,” Chase chuckled, and slapped Vance on the shoulder with his hand. “She’s right there,” he pointed to a girl who was sitting a little ways away from them. She was wearing a very tight, red party dress that showed off all her curves. Her hair was long and black, and from where her dress stopped, her long smooth legs were crossed, wanting to be touched.
“I think I know who that is,” Vance grinned. He took another shot before he went over to her.
“Jade. What are you doing here,” Vance asked the long legged beauty. Jade was the one who got away from him the other night, with Aubrey.
“Aubrey called me. I want to apologize about the other night. I want to make it up to you,” She uncrossed her long legs and stood up in front of him, with a smile on her face.
“I don’t think I forgive you, at least not right now. You’re going to have to convince me,” Vance smiled back at her. She nodded, understanding what he meant, placed her hands on either side of his face and gave him a slow kiss on the lips. Then she took his hand and maneuvered through the crowd toward the stairs.
Bursting into one of the empty rooms, her hands automatically reach from the hem of his shirt. He kicked the door shut behind them, and pulled her roughly in for a kiss. This kiss wasn’t gentle or slow like the one downstairs. It was rigorous and urgent, and he honestly didn’t see any point in going slow. They both wanted something and they weren’t about to beat around the bush. He let her pull his shirt over his head and toss it while his hands scrambled to find the dresses zipper. He found it, but before he could yank it down she was falling backwards onto the perfectly made bed with him on top of her. Still kissing her, he realized he wasn’t excited for the chance to sleep with her like he was before. He only wanted one thing from her right now. At the thought of it, he embraced the ache that had returned. Breaking the kiss, he trailed his lips down her neck, finding his favorite spot, all the while listening to the rapid pace of her heart beat. It was like music to his ears, and drowned out all other sound. It was what he focused on as he reached for her wrist and pinned them above her head. Placing kisses on her neck here and there, she made a sound of anticipation, and at that, he nibbled first, and then sank his aching canines into her neck. She jerked with surprised but not from pain, he knew. Her hormones were clouding her mind so much now that it couldn’t register pain. Another sound escaped her lips as Vance began to drink. He could feel the blood warm him from head to toe as it filled his veins. The feeling that he loved the most in world came to him. The feeling was euphoric; transcendental.
A few moments later, he knew he had had enough and broke off, making sure to lick the wounds so they would heal quickly. He pulled up and looked down at Jade. Her eyes were closed and her breathe was slow; she was asleep. Feeling satisfied he stood up, found his shirt. After making sure Jade would be okay, he headed out the room and back down to the party that seemed to be a little more inviting than it had to him before. Smiling, he joined the crowd of dancing people, just as he would any other night, and finished the night off the way it should be finished.
* * *
Alina took one last look in her full length mirror. She saw a normal, simple girl. Converse, skinny jeans and a plain green V-neck t-shirt was the outfit for her first day at her new school. Hudson Arbor High School… it sounded nice enough. Only thing to worry about now was what the people were like and if she would be able to survive them for her senior year of high school. With a sigh, she turned away from the mirror, grabbed her bag and a light jacket and headed down stairs.
“Oh good, Alina came down. What’s some breakfast, honey?” Her dad’s wife, Rebecca asked. Rebecca was a petite blonde, with a big mouth and a moody personality. Alina didn’t like her, but she tolerated her for Ronald, her dad. There must be something likable about her; after all, he did marry Rebecca and not her own mother, Haley.
“No thank you, I’m just going to go,” Alina said while slipping her arms into her jacket and heading for the door.
“Are you sure, I made it for you and-”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Alina cut her off. Realizing she sounded kind of stingy, she smiled and added, “I’ll catch you later.”
“Say hi to Tori if you see you at school!” Rebecca called after Alina as she shut the front door. Tori was her half-sister, daughter of Rebecca and Ronald, who was only fifteen and seemed to get a lot of her looks from her mother. Tori and Alina didn’t get along very much, even then she’d tried. Tori was a difficult person to understand unlike there seven year old twin brothers, Nile and Kyle. They were the most lovable kids ever.
On the walk to school, which wasn’t that far of a walk from her father’s house, she thought of all the possibly outcomes of this day.
Everyone could be very friendly, and I’d make lots of friends by the end of the day, she thought optimistically. Or everyone is rude and judging and they cast me out. She made a face at that thought, and put it out of her mind. Everything will be fine. I’m a likable person. Well… likeable enough.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud music. Turning to look she saw a red convertible racing down the street, music blaring, and with at least seven people all squeezed into it. There were three sitting in the front and three sitting in the back with a fourth sitting across their laps. One of them, a boy who was sitting in the front squeezed between to girl, was standing, arms in the air, yelling something that sounded like “Fuck the police!” She couldn’t really tell over the music. Everyone in the car was laughing, and trying to pull him back down. Then Alina recognized the guy standing. It was that guy from the party who asked to share a restroom with her. Vance, she thought his name was.
The car passed, and turned the corner, ignoring the stop sign. Thinking back to the party from two days ago, she tried to remember how the guy, Vance, had been.
He seemed nice enough, kind of weird, but nice. She smiled remembering how he defended her against the jerk that called her a whore. Very friendly too, she added as she recalled seeing him being lead upstairs by a girl wearing a very short dress, and again later on that night taking a shot out of a girls cleavage with his mouth.
Alina crossed the street and started down a new street that was full of parked cars and students walking every which way. Here goes nothing, she thought was a sigh, and entered the building. She was instantly relieved. It wasn’t totally different from what she was used too. The halls were swarming with people just like they were in her old school back in Florida. Alina took out the class schedule that was sent to her house a few weeks ago, and checked her locker number. Not paying attention, she bumped into someone and the books they were carrying crashed to the floor.
“Oh god, I’m sorry,” she said automatically bending to help the stranger pick them up. A few people turned to look at them, but didn’t seem to be really interested.
“How cliché is this huh?” The stranger, a boy said scooping up the books she didn’t grab.
Looking at him, she noticed he was a little scrawny, and at her old school, he would be categorized as a nerd. He had short black hair, a large nose, and braces. Alina found herself laughing at what he had said.
“Yeah, I guess it is. I’m sorry,” she apologized again.
“It’s fine. I’m just clumsy. You’re new aren’t you? I’ve never seen you here before. Well, unless your freshmen, which can’t be true, because you look nothing like a freshmen. So you are a senior?”
“Yes,” she smiled at him. He was a talker.
“Oh good,” he grinned and shifted the books he was carrying to his left arms and held his hand out to her, “I’m Dexter Van Sandley. Welcome to HAH!”
Hesitantly, she shook his hand, “Excuse me, what was that?”
“HAH! Hudson Arbor High? It’s kind of a thing we say around here. Funny, huh?” He chuckled then, noticed that she was holding her schedule. “You’re looking for your locker aren’t you? I can help you with that, it’s easy really. Here hold these.” He shoved his books into Alina’s arms and took her schedule from her hand.
“Your locker number is 3022, come on, I’ll show you were it is,” he paused, looked in a direction and then sped off, leaving Alina to trail behind carrying his heavy books he made look so easy. As they weaved through people in the halls, Dexter yapped on about how the school was laid out and three different routes I could take to arrive at my classes on time.
“Here we are,” He said a little too excitedly. He did the honors of opening it for her, and then took his books back. “This is the senior hall way by the way, your core classes will most likely be in this hall along with all your friends and stuff,” He smiled at her again. “It was nice meeting you… I never got your name.”
“Alina,” a voice called behind her, making her jump a little. Vance came into view beside her. He smiled at her and just like the night of the party, she noticed how attractive he really was. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, with jeans that looked brand new, and some really cool Nikes. His dimpled smile was gorgeous, his eyes were the bluest she’ ever seen them and she found it unsettling to look directly into them.
“Hey Vance. I’m not surprised you know the new girl,” Dexter rolled his eyes and said in a low voice while jerking a thumb at Vance, “Watch out for this guy. He’s a heart breaker.”
Vance laughed, which sounded a little forced, and then clapped a hand down on the back of Dexter’s neck.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s lying,” He said in a smooth voice looking at her. Then he looked at Dexter, and smiled again.
“Good to see you again, Dex,” he said, shaking Dexter a little, then he let go and his eyes met Alina’s. “And you too, Alina.” The way he said her name made it sounded like he enjoyed how it sounded coming from him. Still looking at her, he reached his hands out again, just like before. Giving him a friendly smile, she grabbed his hand, expecting it be cold, and being surprised when it was actually very warm. And then she was surprised again when instead of just shaking her hand and letting go, he brought it up to his mouth. Then he let go of her hand, turned and left her and Dexter by her locker. Dexter chuckled and shook his head.
“What’s funny?” she asked curiously.
“Nothing… it’s just; it looks like he has his sights set on you this year. Be prepared, that’s all.”
“He seems nice enough, why would I need to be prepared?”
“Well, Vance is what you call a man-whore,” Dexter proclaimed. “He gets around a lot, and for some reason he gets away with it; Him and a few of his friends. I’m just saying, be careful around him. Like a said before; He’s a heart breaker. See you.” Just as he was about to walk away he turned and added, “Oh and, usually in the mornings, we go to the cafeteria for breakfast.” And with that he left just as Vance did.
