The Vampire Prince goes to High School (Book 1)

Help?

My mind went blank. I was speechless. Why would he show up out of nowhere? Why was he in the girl's restroom?!

"Run along to the office and let them know what happened," he said.

Puzzled, I frowned. Since when did he care about -? The girl beside me jerked away suddenly. Surprised, I stumbled back and stared wide-eyed at her as she headed towards the door. I swirled around and came to a stop. Everything I wanted to say vanished. The Prince looked haggard. Was that a tint of grey I spotted on his skin? His hair was disheveled and he wore the same clothes I last saw him in.

"Come with me," he simply said.

He walked past me but I didn't move. Instead, I crossed my arms across my chest. "I'm not going anywhere with you," I stated. "The police is looking for you." I turned around. "Tell me a good reason why I shouldn't call them right now?"

To prove my point, I yanked my cell phone out of my pocket and held it up. The vampire appeared right in front of me.

"Because that would be a very bad idea," he said softly. His eyes glowed an unnatural red color. 

I shivered but I didn't take a step back. "You're going to have to do better than that," I forced out. Pressure build behind my eyes. Unable to keep his gaze, I looked away. 

"You're a criminal," I continued. "Do you honestly think I'm going to go anywhere with you after what you did? Heck, I still wouldn't anywhere with you even before last night but at least I had some idea of what your goal was."

The Prince sneered. "Is that what you're choosing to believe?" he asked.

My eyebrow shot up. "You're saying that all of this is a misunderstanding? I find that very hard to believe."

"Typical," he said. "I had, for a moment, mind you, thought that you would be smarter than the rest of the herd but I was wrong."

I barked out a laugh. "So, you're asking me to trust you and yet here you are insulting me. You're doing a poor job of convincing me."

"I did not drive a car into that club," the Prince growled out.

Did I honestly think the Prince was going to admit to a crime? "Run back to your daddy," I spat out. "He'll cover for you like always."

 I stalked past him only to be stopped by an iron grip on my arm. Crying out, I came to a full stop.

"What the hell?" I asked, swirling around. "Are you trying to rip my arm -?"

I trailed off. The Prince was close. Too close for comfort. Any closer and my face would be pressed against his chest. Clearing my throat, I took a step back. He didn't let go of my arm. His fingers dug into my arm. Wincing, I tried to break away but he didn't release me.

"Ow, stop. Let go!"

With a final jerk, I got my arm free. Glaring at the Prince, I massaged my arm. "What's wrong with you?" I asked angrily. 

"I did not kill those people," he stated in a low voice. 

Feeling my eyes swell, I turned away from him. "They have you on video."

"I was framed."

"Then go tell your lawyers that," I muttered. 

Blinking away the tears, I stared at the cell phone in my hand. It would be easy to call the police. The Prince would run away when they came. Well, he would if he even allowed me to call them. Knowing him, he would break my phone again. Sonia's gift was in my bag pack. Did I really want to assault the Prince with deadly pepper spray? The idea was tempting.

"Rin."

At the sound of my name, I shivered. He said it almost pleadingly. He's just pulling my leg, I thought. Nevertheless, I turned to look at him. His head hung low and his figure trembled. My heart lurched unexpectedly. 

"What are you doing?" I forced out. "You look pathetic. It's unbecoming. Just wave this whole thing off and act like the arrogant jerk that you are. That always works for you."

He didn't say anything. I took a shuddery breath. So he was framed. That wouldn't be far-fetched but that just seemed like something out of a film.

"You're saying that someone dressed up as you, hijack a car, and crash into a -"

"I was framed," the Prince stated. His tone was low.

I shoved my phone into my pocket. It would be a waste of effort. He would just leave. I glanced at him. The Prince stood to his full height now and a tic worked at his jaw.

"Fine. But why are you here? Shouldn't you be out there trying to prove your innocence?"

"No need," he said. "I don't need to explain myself to anyone."

A small smile pulled at my lips. His ego was back. "That still doesn't explain why you are here."

"I don't need to explain myself to anyone," he repeated.

That didn't take long. "Go back home," I sighed. "Make a statement that you were framed, maybe provide an alibi - I'm sure someone took a picture of you somewhere. Go after these people and do . . . something." I shrugged.

"They won't believe me," he said.

"I'm sure your father can think of something."

His eyes narrowed. "He won't," he growled.

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? How do you know? You tried?"

He didn't answer. Something was up but, did I really want to know? I shook my head.

"You know what? I don't really want to know. I'm done."

I was tired. Tired of everything. I was tired of playing the Prince's game. He just wanted to have fun without thinking of anybody but this was going too far. I didn't want to go through this anymore. When I tried to leave, he didn't stop me. The door swung closed behind me. I dragged my feet down the hallway. My stomach churned unpleasantly. I wanted to believe that the Prince was framed. That would be the most logical explanation and part of me did believe him. I just . . .

"No," I said aloud. "Stop."

I rubbed my face. This was too much. I was over thinking this. Even if I was "done", the Prince wouldn't leave me alone. Maybe if I ignored him long enough, he would stop. He would get bored.  I could only hope that he would . . . I groaned. Even when I didn't want to overthinking things, I was overthinking.

"Having trouble?"

I stopped. I didn't even bother to turn around. "What do you want?" I asked weakly. "Why are you still here?"

"I need your help," the Prince said.

I twirled around. "Wh-what?" I blurted out. 

Did I just hear correctly? The Prince raised an eyebrow. 

"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to help or not?"