Pretend As If You Didn't See Anything (Hemlock Grove / Peter Rumancek)

Chapter 2: I Know What You Are.

I stiffened. My pulse quickened and my heartbeat thudded in my ears. Peter looked up at me, and he knew I knew his secret, and that scared the shit out of me. I could still smell blood on him. Who's was it? Was it human?He's going to rip me to shreds.

Lynda cleared her throat, feeling the sudden tension in the air. We both broke apart, and shifted, keeping our distance from each other.

Lynda faced me, and handed me the candle. 

"This is made of-" "Holy basil. For stress reduction and a better metabolism. Thank you! This is very thoughtful. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off." Lynda seemed awestruck. 

"No! Not at all! It's fine, really. Your knowledge amazes me!"I laughed. 

"Thank you! I practice in voodoo. My father was a priest." Peter was looking at us.

 "Oh, really?" I nodded my head. 

"Well,we better get going. Peter has school tomorrow." Peter rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah, I do too. Maybe I'll see him there. Goodbye!" They walked out the door and closed it, but not before Peter could look over and glance at me, almost warning me to stay away.

I blew out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. That was terrifying.

*******************

I woke up to my alarm blaring in my ear. I rolled over and checked the time.

8:45

Shit. I was late.

I rushed into whatever clothes I could find on the floor and ran to my truck.

"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. I fucked this up already."  I mumbled to no one. I need to get a cat.

I ran to my boxes and threw on a pair of pants on and a shirt that didn't smell too bad. 'I guess a shower will have to wait 'till tomorrow'

*******************

I walked up to the front steps to the intimidatingly huge high school, and stepped in. I was greeted by the smell of old text books, cigarette smoke, and puberty. It seemed as if everyone's head had turned just to stare at me. But what had caught my eye was Peter, standing next to a tall boy with short blonde hair. I could smell it from over here. The blonde was an Upir.

Why are they together? Let alone talking? They're natural-born enemies. The way the gods put it.

I shook off the feeling of dread and walked down the hall. I was almost to the office when I heard Peter. 

"Arianne! Come here!" Fuck. I turned around and walked towards the two. The blonde was eyeing me cautiously. 

"Arianne, this is my friend Roman Godfrey. Since you're new to this town, I thought I'd introduce you to some decent people." He smiled like he was proud of something.

"Godfrey? Like the giant tower in the sky?" Roman's curious look turned into a smirk. 

"Yeah, that's mine." he chuckled cockily. He looked into my eyes as if he was trying to read my soul. This asshole's trying to mesmerize me. Over my dead body.

As soon as that thought passed, Roman's eyes widened and he took a step back, smirking. I probably shouldn't have added that last part. Roman chuckled. 

"Are you new to town, Arianne?" His velvety voice rang through my head.  

"Yeah, I just got here yesterday. I already miss Louisiana though. Nothing compares to swap land." I sighed, smiling. This time it was Peter's turn to chuckle. 

"Try being a Gypsy. You don't get time to miss where you're living for the month." He smiled at the dark joke. The bell rang, signaling it was time for class. Before we broke apart, I looked Roman in the eyes. 

'I know what you are' 

I walked off as fast as I could, my heart racing.