Dark Valentine (Monster High; Book 1 of the DV Duology)

Chapter 13: Watchman's Ease

Kieran

'You can't ignore me forever, Kieran. I will find you. Besides, I just want to talk; it's been far too long.'

That was what appeared in my iCoffin messages when I got to school the next day. It was exactly as Bram and Gory had said to me in the Coffin Bean that day—the man was persistent. But I wasn't going to fall for this. Being someone who'd put up a façade for centuries on end, I knew very well how to recognize when someone else did the same.

According to Bram, who I'd gotten better acquainted with, he'd left Transylvania. He hadn't clued in to where I was yet, but he knew it wasn't there. I knew that eventually he'd find me. It was inevitable.

I knew I had to warn Jackson of this sooner or later, and I would. I really cared about him, and the last thing I wanted was for either him or Holt to get hurt.

When Erika had said she thought people should learn to accept the both of them, I'd taken her words to heart and begun to socialize with Holt more. He'd finally started to warm up to me as well and we were able to hold friendly conversations no problem by this point.

In fact, we'd grown just as close as Jackson and I had.

Jackson was glad that Holt and I were finally getting along, and he told me so as we were walking to lunch with Deuce and Heath. The two of them had started sitting with Jackson and me, which was nice. They discussed their play a lot nowadays, which made sense considering how much had to be done. I was thrilled for Jackson when he told me he'd gotten the role of Dr. Jekyll, and I was looking forward to seeing them perform the play at the end of the year.

According to Jackson, they were to start rehearsing today. Everyone was asked to work on the songs on their own time as well as in class, and Deuce mentioned that Cleo was already working hard to memorize all of the ones she was singing.

"Have you guys gotten the actual script yet?" I asked.

"We're supposed to be getting them today, but since it's mostly the songs we've sort of got a head start," explained Jackson, "It's mostly just the dialogue we won't know until we have them. Except for the scene with the wedding reception—that's all dialogue."

"Speaking of singing, I never knew you had pipes, dude!" Heath grinned, "I thought that was all Holt."

"Well, they do share the same vocal chords," I pointed out.

"To be fair, I don't do a whole lot of singing, so that's probably why he assumed I couldn't," Jackson replied, "But I appreciate the compliment, Heath, thanks."

"No problem, Cuz," said Heath. "And then there's me, who can't sing for shit."

"If that was true, dude, you wouldn't have been picked to play Utterson," said Deuce, "Trust me, I heard your audition. You can sing."

I had yet to hear any of the drama class sing, including the three of them, so I couldn't really bring much to the conversation at the moment. Entertained nonetheless, I allowed the three to continue talking, and merely listened.

After lunch, Jackson invited me to visit his house after school, an offer which I accepted. When he, Clair, Chad and I had hung out on Halloween, we'd gone to Chad's place, so I hadn't been to Jackson's before. This would be a first for me.

I texted my mom, letting her know where I'd be, and after school Jackson and I made our way to his house. His mother was home when we arrived, so I was able to meet her as soon as we stepped inside.

"Hi, Jackson," Sydney greeted him when she saw us; "I see you brought a friend. I'm Sydney," she added to me, holding out her hand.

I shook it. "Kieran Valentine," I said, "It's nice to meet you."