My Stepbrother's a Vampire!

8; The Proposition

The drive to school is rampant with anxiety and anticipation. Both emotions belonging to me, of course. Alec is as calm as ever. Though I feel as if there is more lurking beneath his careful surface.

I take the chance to speak at a red light. "You need to act natural," I tell him, and he responds with an exasperated glance. "Don't give me that look, Alejandro, I'm serious. People know you and George don't get on. What if they make the link?"

Alec rolls his eyes. "Then they'll have no evidence to substantiate it. Don't fret so much. I'm very familiar with this situation." He grins when I pull a face at that last sentence—how many have fallen prey to his vampire ways?

The traffic light gives way to green and I step on the pedal. Alec raises an eyebrow.

"What?" I ask

"Did you just address me by my full name?"

I smile. "Yes, I did. Why?"

"Nothing. Your voice just makes it sound molto sexy."

I grimace exaggeratedly. Though inside, my subconscious marches to attention, blowing kisses to Alec and jutting out her chest provocatively.

"This has to stop," I say. "You hitting on me. It feels wrong. Almost incestuous."

Of course, I am laying it on a bit thick. Alec's smooth words paired with his gorgeous accent make for a heady concoction. He makes me feel warm.

Alec beams widely. "I know you don't actually think that. Your mouth says one thing but your body speaks another."

He laughs when I blush, and then make a particularly unladylike gesture with my hand at him. I reach Manley High and pull up into the parking lot.

"It also reminded me of someone," he confesses once Brenda is fully stationary. "You calling me Alejandro. My lover, back in Italy. Isabella. She called me by the same name."

My subconscious and I freeze in perfect unison. We stay in this flabbergasted state long enough for Alec to regard us weirdly.

He says, "Is there something wrong?"

"Lover?" I repeat, an octave off. My tone conveys something that causes my subconscious to go rummaging around for her nun chucks and boxing gloves. "You have a lover?"

Alec nods slowly. "Yes, Kara, I do. I thought you already knew this." He pulls up his shirt and gestures to his triquetra tattoo. He points to one of the three ends. "She is represented on my skin through this mark. The triquetra in itself represents my alliances, and the life force that feeds upon them. She is bound to my existence, and I hers."

I raise my hand at him. "Yeah, yeah. So why aren't you with her now?"

A dark look washes over his features. His voice becomes like a gravestone; hard and deathly. "That is a long and dark story."

My subconscious has become poised and ready for a fight. I still feel a tad sour at the revelation that Alec has a girlfriend. Is this jealousy?

We climb out of Brenda, and I am too busy imagining just how tall, tanned, full-lipped and busty Alec's Italian mistress is to register the darkly sombre mood that is inhabiting campus. Finally, Alec nudges me and gestures leftwards with his head.

By the picnic benches, a group of students have milled together, maybe twenty in total, and they are staring intently in our direction. Some are girls who smile and wave promiscuously with their sluttish fingers at Alec, but the rest of them bear less friendly expressions.

"Ignore them," I mutter lowly. "Including the girls."

This elicits a faint smile from Alec, and he mouths the word 'Jealous?' at me.

I ignore the taunt. "And apart from classes, don't let yourself wander or be seen alone. Come and find me."

We enter the main building and Alec does something that surprises me; he leans down and presses his smooth, perfect lips to my cheek.

"Looking forward to it," he murmurs after the kiss. "See you after first period then, I guess."

And he walks away, leaving me to stare after him in wonder whilst I caress my cheek.

Emma waits for me by my locker. I know immediately from the blanched quality to her russet complexion that she knows of the bad news. Of course, that is a given. Her sister is the girlfriend of the victim.

"Hey," I greet her friendlily. "How're you holding up?"

Emma shakes her head. "I'm guessing you've heard." At my nod, she exhales deeply. "It's so weird. Santana was being her usually bitchy self at breakfast this morning, asking if I was going to make myself throw up after my cereal, and then George's mom called...and...." Emma trails off and her eyes take on a stricken, pained quality; my heart goes out for my best friend and I reach out to embrace her.

"That bad?" I ask as I pat her back soothingly.

Emma sniffs into my shoulder. "She wanted to go out and drive straight to the hospital, but dad said she was too upset, so he took her keys. And then she went crazy. Crazy. She started screaming and wailing. The neighbours thought we were exorcising her."

I let go of Emma, and glance at her face. Her full, Native Indian features are curved down slightly in distress. Why is she so caught up? I wonder internally. Santana is her sister, I guess, but George isn't dead, and it isn't like they were close anyway.

"Where is Santana now?" I ask.

Emma sniffs. "I don't know. She was locked away in her room when I left."

I squeeze my friend's arm; her skin feels cold. "Maybe she went to the hospital to see George."

Emma makes as if to nod, but then stops short as a sight behind me catches her eye. "Or maybe not," she says, sounding surprised.

Curious, I turn around and see none other than Santana, in her cheerleading uniform, looking every ounce as gorgeous as she usually does. Trailed, of course, by Mandy and Kelly. She has cornered a freshman girl into a locker, in a pose I am very familiar with—in fact, half of Manley High is familiar with it. Santana's terrorization physique. She invades a person's personal space and attacks them with insults until they break down. Indeed, as Emma and I watch, the girl starts crying and sinks to the floor, and Santana straightens up, evidently satisfied.

"Er, Em," I say slowly. "She doesn't look too upset."

Kelly looks around the hallway and spots the two of us; she nudges Santana to capture her attention and points in our direction. Santana notices and begins to make a beeline.

In my mind, a large neon signs blares to brightness, displaying the words: OH CRAP

"Hello, little girls," Santana greets once she has reached us. "How are things going in the land of loserville?"

"Why are you here?" Emma asks in confusion. "Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

A flicker of some emotion disrupts Santana's bitchy facade—she scowls, fighting it off.

"That isn't any of your business. And you." She faces me. "I need to ask you something."

I swallow, trying not to convey the sudden alarm I feel. Oh no. This is it. She knows.

"Where's your brother?" she ends up saying.

I blink, sure I have misheard. "Excuse me?"

"Can you not hear, dumbass? I asked where your lousy brother is."

I clear my throat. "I don't know. Class, I guess?"

Santana nods. "If you see him, tell him I'm looking for him."

Before I can respond, Santana clicks her fingers and she, Mandy and Kelly follow after her.

 "What does she want with Alec?" I groan aloud.

And somehow, I know it is not good.

P.S: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I have a whole free week coming up, so hopefully there'll be more chapters posted. Stay tuned!