The Devil's Daughter

►chapter twentythree ♣ eerhtytnewt retpahc◄

 "Good Morning, students. Please settle down." The Headmistress said. It took a few moments but the room came to a quiet. Faith looked to Caroline who kept giggling silently with Mat who whispered in her ear. Damon, on her right, had his arm around her, pulling her as close as possible while his hand played with her fingers on her lap.

The Headmistress had called them all to an assembly in the auditorium. All the students packed tightly into chairs, reaching about 700 students total. Once the silence settled, the Headmistress began.

"As you know, our school is one of the top schools in the world in every subject. This includes Performing Arts. To stay at the top, we have a play performed by the students towards the end of December. We will hold a vote for which play to perform, and auditions start at the end of the day and end by the end of the week. Everyone is allowed to try out. In one week we will have the cast. The options are outside on the wall with a ballot box. If you have any questions, you can ask any of your teachers after the assembly. You are dismissed." The chatter of students immediately started again.

As she turned to Damon, Faith had her attention pulled from multiple different angles. "Are you going to try out, Faith?"

"You should audition for the main role, Faith."

"Are you going to the audition, Faith?"

Too many people overwhelming her with attention making her feel trapped, but she only smiled and shrugged. "I'm not sure. Depends on the play I guess. I'm not really much of an actress." She told one of the girls who had asked. She was one of the popular girls, high on the social ladder. Still below Faith, and desperate for her friendship.

Faith smiled politely as Damon escorted her out of the room, his hand on her lower back as he acted as a bodyguard against the other students. Every person she met, she gave a smile and a nod, pretending that she was listening.

Outside the auditorium, a ballot was set up. Three different plays; Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and The Odyssey, with posters set up and a ballot box set beneath it. There was a long line for the box, but they let her skip to the front, all the while asking what she'd pick.

The answer was obvious of course. Though Hamlet was beautiful and full of betrayal and anguish, and The Odyssey was nearly 100% death, her favorite play was Romeo and Juliet. What other play out there would have so much human stupidity. The crush of one's hope, the familiar betrayal, the anguish and hatred amongst the families. The pain both in the play and in the eyes of the audience was like a buffet of emotions to feed off of.

So she smiled at her fellow students and said. "I think I'd love to see Romeo and Juliet. It's so romantic." She sighed softly as she leaned into Damon. The crowd gushed in agreement and soon the ballot box was filled, and the class had their answer.

Later on in the day during class, the speaker hanging on the classroom wall beeped loudly, calling the attention of every student. "Attention. This year's play has been anonymously selected. Romeo and Juliet casting will begin at 4pm." The speaker beeped again and cut off, immediately setting off a cheer from the students, all eager to see her pleased.

"It's amazing how you have the whole school wrapped around your finger." Damon kissed her neck as she played with her salad. She hadn't eaten anything since she'd been on the surface, but she made it look like she ate enough as to not raise any suspicion. The only thing she really ever needed to survive was a certain amount of souls after a while. She'd last as long as 2 years without consuming a soul, but it usually left her quite weak, so she tried to have one every month.

Faith giggled, stretching her neck out so he'd have more room. "It's a gift, really." She pushed Damon away slightly, pecking him on the lips and forcing a blush onto her cheeks and ducking away.

Caroline chuckled and leaned into Matt. "So Faith are you going to try out for the play?" She asked as Matt kissed her forehead.

Faith shrugged, "I don't know, I'm not much of an actress."

"You should try out anyways." Matt said, taking a bite out of his burger. Faith faintly wished she had the same kind of appetite, wished she found the same pleasure of eating human food.

"Should I?" Faith asked, nervous.

"For sure. You'd definitely get the part." Caroline said but Damon frowned.

"Wait. Doesn't Juliet kiss Romeo?"

"Yes, yes she does," Caroline smirked.

"Then she can't do it," Damon said, simply. Faith raised her brows and moved out of his arms.

"Excuse you?" Damon's eyes widened slightly. "Are you forbidding me to audition?"

"I mean," Damon's voice stuttered slightly, as he cleared his throat. "I'd never forbid you, babe."

"Of course not, because I"m auditioning." Faith looked away from Damon. "And you aren't allowed to tell me otherwise." Her hand was on his thigh, pressing hard enough for her nails to draw blood through his jeans. He flinched but rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You could always audition for Romeo, Damon," Matt said with a smirk.

"I don't act." He glared back.

"He's not allowed to audition for Romeo, either." Faith said, her chin up.

"Talk about a double standard," Damon mumbled, peeling her hand off his leg and locking her fingers with his.

"Besides," She whispered to him, "you could always beat up my co-star after the play." She smirked as his arm tightened around her. "Just imagine. The many, many times, I'll have to kiss another student. The many, many times, someone else will touch me." Within a second, with no room to react, Damon snapped and turned his head, smashing his lips against hers. His mouth moved against hers, fighting roughly against each other as his tongue slipped past her lips.

Faith felt euphoric. The anger within him fueled her, just as his lust. She didn't want to step away, but then she remembered where she was and she slowly, but very forcefully pushed him off. She looked around, her lips swollen and in pain, and noticed the students gaping at them. With a huge blush, that was very much real, she turned to a smirking Damon as he kissed her cheek. "You're mine, no matter who else touches you."

A small panic entered her mind. This wasn't how a doll acted. She wouldn't make out with her partner in the middle of lunch for all to see. So she decided to use it to her advantage. If the student body thought she and Damon were having a hard time, many boys would audition for Romeo, just to sweep her off her feet and steal her from Damon. So she glared at him, stood up from her seat and slapped him across the face, her cheeks red with anger and embarrassment.

Without saying a word, she left the cafeteria, hiding the smirk on her lips as she felt everyone's eyes on her.