Beechwood Academy

chapter fourteen

"Anything?" Duncan asked, joining Rudy at the shelf he was scanning over half heartedly. He was lost in thought, Duncan knew something was bothering him but he wasn't going to pry. He was keeping a secret too, and telling Rudy what Sammy had told him was a scary move. If Rudy wasn't telling him about that night then he obviously wanted to keep it buried, Duncan wasn't going to take a chance and ask him about the night his boyfriend died. Or maybe Rudy didn't want to relive that night so he kept quiet about it, Duncan could understand that.

"Duncan," Rudy mumbled, turning to the American boy with an expression in his eyes that Duncan couldn't place. "Miss Drake told me that Jared is alive."

"She—what? Okay, well Sammy told me he was most definitely dead." Duncan said, leaning against the library shelves.

"Part of me hopes he's right." Rudy whispered. He looked at Duncan as if he was waiting for him to damn him for wishing his boyfriend was actually dead. But Duncan didn't, he shot Rudy a sad look and stood up straight so that he could stand in front of Rudy. He was a few inches taller than the ginger but his height comforted Rudy in an odd way. Rudy explained without being asked to; "I've gotten over him. I mean, obviously I still love him with every bone in my body but I think it would just hurt me more if he comes back because I've gotten over the fact that he's dead. If he's alive and Miss Drake just kills him again I won't be able to recover a second time."

"I get it, Rudy. You don't have to explain yourself." Duncan whispered. "If he is alive, you won't lose him again. I can promise you that."

Rudy just shrugged and returned his gaze to the shelves of books on mythical creatures.

* * *

Daisy sat on Sammy's bed calling out vocabulary words for him to memorize the spelling of. The first word was aluminum.

"I'm dyslexic." Sammy said as soon a she called out the word. "Also, I thought spelling words was a middle school thing, why are we still doing this?"

"Spell aluminum." Daisy said. Sammy sighed and dropped his head into his hands and began silently sounding the word out like a child. "That is why we still need to learn spelling." She shrugged.

"Okay, and why are you helping a dyslexic creature who feasts on blood learn how to spell aluminum?" Sammy stood and sat on his bed across from Daisy and ran a hand through his blond hair.

"We're friends, aren't we? It's what a good friend would do." Daisy shrugged. Sammy's shoulders slumped at her choice of words but she didn't notice. "Also, I wanted to ask you something."

"Alright."

"Can I see your teeth?" She asked, moving closer to the boy. Sammy shot her an award-winning smile showing off his pearl white teeth. She laughed. "No, your other teeth."

"Why?" Sammy said in a low voice.

"I read about creatures like you and Miss Drake and the drawings of your teeth look so unrealistic, I just want to see them first hand." Daisy put a comforting hand on his knee and crossed her legs Indian style. Sammy sighed and looked around the room as if making sure someone wasn't watching when it was obvious they were alone. He closed his eyes and when he opened them Daisy could see a faint red tint in his iris. He shot her another smile but this time his teeth were jagged and sharp like something out of a horror movie. She didn't cower away from him, though, she moved closer. "They're beautiful." She whispered. Sammy's face turned the color of a tomato and his teeth retracted and became his normal set of pearly whites.

"Nothing too special," Sammy shrugged.

"Are you kidding? That's insane!" She smiled, excitement filled her eyes causing Sammy to smile too. He really liked her, he just couldn't admit it. She started to lean forward and as soon as he noticed he pulled back and got off the bed. She watched him, the joy falling away from her face.

"I can't do that to you, Daisy." He shook his head and began to pace.

"Why?" She asked, stepping off the bed to catch his shoulder to make him stop pacing.

"You'll grow old and I'll be sixteen forever, in about thirty years people would start calling me your son. You understand that, don't you?" Sammy asked, his blue eyes piercing her soul.

"I know, but I'm a strong believer in living in the moment. I'm not worried about thirty years from now." She shrugged, standing up on her top toes and pulling him down, closer to her face. "Maybe I like younger guys." And then she kissed him and he kissed her back. There was nothing in that moment other than him and her. He wasn't some blood-thirsty creature and she wasn't some curious nerd, they were two teenagers who would do anything for each other.