New Boy in School...And He's a Vampire?!

New Boy in School...And He's a Vampire?! [Chapter Four]

“He’s so... I dunno, mysterious. I feel like he’s hiding something.” I said quietly, looking off into the distance. Daria smiled knowingly.

I went back to staring out over the land. The patio overlooked a beautiful lake and in the distance you could see a few mountains.

It was quiet for a moment before someone walked out onto the patio. I looked up and my breath caught. It was Kaiden, of course. He looked distracted and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking of the blonde girl. Maybe wishing he were still dancing with her.

He sat down in the chair beside me and we both just dazed off for a while.

“Fire!” Someone called. A lot of people screamed.

Daria, Kaiden and I jumped up from our seats. Matt came running outside, spotted Daria and ran over to her.

He quickly pulled her inside, indicating that we should follow. Kaiden took my hand and we ran after them.

“Help!” Someone screamed, coughing. Once we were inside we could see that almost everyone had left the house. It was smokey and dark, except for the red-orange light dancing on the stairwell walls. I guessed that the fire must be upstairs. There were several people shouting outside and some creaking noises from upstairs.

“There’s no one up there, is there?” Kaiden yelled to Matt. He shook his head, looking around for who had screamed help.

Kaiden and I spotted Ashley Brooks, a smart, kind girl, laying on the floor by the TV. She was obviously unconscious. Kaiden got Matt’s attention and they walked toward her.

There was a creaking sound and then a crash from upstairs. “The house is caving in.” Kaiden explained. Matt picked up Ashley and Kaiden started going through the rooms, looking for others.

Daria and I stood in the living room, not really sure what to do. Matt nodded toward the door and Daria followed him out. She stopped to make sure I was coming.

“I’ll go help Kaiden.” I told her but I’m not sure she heard me. At that moment there was another loud crash from upstairs and several other noises that I couldn’t identify.

I walked into the room Kaiden had gone in and saw him pulling a girl up from the floor. It was the blonde girl he’d danced with. He brought her over to me and asked me if I could carry her out. I nodded.

He looked through the rest of the rooms but didn’t see anyone else. He grabbed my hand again and we followed Matt and Daria out the door.

“Did anyone call the police?” Kaiden asked Matt. Almost as soon as he was done speaking we could hear sirens.

Matt took Ashley over to some of her friends and they laid her down and started tending to her. Dawn was standing the middle of her lawn crying, a couple of people standing with her, comforting her.

Kaiden and I walked over to an empty space on the lawn and laid the girl down. She was starting to come around.

“Courtney.” Kaiden said, brushing her hair back so he could see her face. It looked like an intimate gesture to me and I looked away for a moment. “Are you alright?”

She looked up at him, confused then nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Kaiden helped her stand up and she said thank you to him. He turned back to me and together we walked back to Daria and Matt. Most people were starting to clear out now. The house was really on fire now, all the windows illuminated with bright orange light. It looked sinister and scary.

“How did it start?” Daria asked Matt tentatively.

He shrugged and wrapped his arm around her. She was shivering delicately. She gave me a weak smile and then asked Matt if they could go home. He nodded and they waved and walked to their car.

Kaiden took my hand and we walked to his car, too. He opened my door for me again, not smiling this time.

I realized how horrible I smelled. Like smoke. He got in and started the car, pealing away from the burning house and they firetrucks that were spraying water everywhere. It was a sad scene.

The ride back to my house was a silent one. Neither of us knew what to say. When we pulled into my driveway, I hesitated before opening the door.

“Would you like to come in?” I asked.

“Won’t your parents mind?” He asked, giving me an odd look. I noticed how beautiful the color of his eyes were. How they were deep and seemed to hold a lot of emotion.

I shook my head. “They’re not here.”

He turned off the ignition and climbed out.

We walked up to the front door and I couldn’t get the feel of his smooth skin off my mind. I wanted to take his hand again. I didn’t though, afraid that he didn’t want me too.

After unlocking the door and turning the lights on, I led him into the kitchen getting out two glasses. I poured us some water and watched him as he looked around the house.

“Nice place. It’s cozy.” He looked back at me and smiled.

I shrugged. “I suppose. I don’t really spend much time anywhere except my room.”

“How come?” He asked and I could hear the true curiosity behind the question.

I shrugged. “My dad’s hardly ever hear and I have everything I need in my room. Except maybe a fridge.”

He smiled at my weak attempt at humor. Then the strangest look came across his face but it was gone before I knew what it was.

“I should get going. It’s getting late.” He murmured, standing up. I noticed he hadn’t touched his water.

I walked him to the front door and said a quiet goodnight then walked up to my room. I was so exhausted I just plopped down on the bed without taking off my dress or heels. I pulled the pin out of my hair and let my bangs fall down across my face and the last conscious thing I thought of the smell of smoke in my hair.

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KAIDEN’S POV

I drove slowly home, thinking about Celia and the way she looked in her dress. I lingered on the way her hair swirled around her shoulders and down her back and curled at the ends.

When I got home I pulled up the curb and looked around the empty street. For a usually busy New York street, it was awfully quiet.

I sighed, trying to clear my head. On the way back to Celia’s after the party, I had an easier time of control myself. She smelled so strongly of smoke that most of her usual scent was masked. In her kitchen, however, the whole house was filled with it.

Without really knowing what I was doing, I unlocked my door. The house was shabby and small but warm and inviting. When I’d moved her I had decorated in my own tastes, adding a little of my mother’s. That was probably the only good thing about her. She had very good taste in decor.

My father, however, would prefer to be in a completely empty and plain room so long as he was waited on by competent servants and got what he wanted.

I closed to door and locked it behind me, more out of habit than anything.

I thought about the fire, wondering how it started and thinking of how bad it could have been. What if the fire was on the first floor and he, Celia and Daria couldn’t have gotten off the patio?

I shook my head, knowing that it was pointless to bagger myself. I moved toward my room, in no hurry. Once inside I stripped down into my boxers and got into bed. Tomorrow would be my second day of school and for some reason, I wasn’t very excited.

I wanted to see Celia again but I was a bit nervous. What if she didn’t want to see me?

I dozed off, wishing that I could be holding Celia comforting her about the fire.