V FOR VAMPIRE // jenlisa

Chapter 3

L.

I scan my eyes over the school map, squinting angrily at the schedule. I won't be out of here 'til afternoon. This staying covert as a high school student plan might have been a little bit of a miscalculation. I nod my head to myself as I realize that I can fix that.

My head snaps up as the hallways close up around me, or at least that's what it feels like. The air is somehow stuffy and slightly, strangely electric on my skin as my eyes search for something that might have caused this although I wouldn't really know what. As my eyes meet several others, I know exactly what is happening. The first pair of eyes I meet are Kai's as I grit my teeth, his expression staying intact. Confusion overtakes me as I scan the faces beside him. They're together, I mark very apprehensively, very aware of their differences. They're studying me intensely, which makes me want to run to hide myself because they might be dangerous. I'm almost sure they are as the group approaches me, but I stay rooted in my spot because I don't want to seem like a coward.

"Maybe we should get straight to the point." A girl from the group with bleached hair says, her words contrasting the warmth of her voice.
She's talking to them but her eyes are trained on me.

"Certainly." Another girl speaks up, her voice a little impatient, maybe anxious. For as little as she's said, she sounds very proper.

"This is the girl, of course. I picked up on her right when she walked in our class. I'm sorry about being forthright, Lisa, but I couldn't stop thinking about..." Kai stops for a little as if he's cut off the words he wants to say, "Well, now you're here. Maybe we can work something out."

"Work what out?" I ask, keeping my voice level despite all the confusion, anger and fear I feel.

"We need to talk to you. Personally. Honestly." Another guy from the group speaks up, his voice deep and thoughtful. When he speaks again, his voice is lowered to a rough hush, "Not all this human stuff."

My eyes widen. They have recognized me. Maybe I should have expected that given I have recognized them as well. But who are they? The question nags the back of my mind incessantly.

I back up, my steps heavy with suspicion.

"What do you want?" I ask, anger lacing my tone.

"We would like to have a chat. It is crucial. We would not be wasting our times if it weren't." The girl with the proper thing going on says, her hazel eyes fixed on me.

"I don't trust you. I don't trust any of you or anyone at all for that matter." I say, my hand bunching the school map into my palm, crumpling it.

"We need Seulgi." Kai says to the proper girl as the girl with the bleached hair nods, her eyes falling to her group member expectantly.

"You're one of us, anyway. You yield the same powers as us so there is nothing to fear." The thoughtful boy says to me as I huff.

"Me against all four of you?" I chuckle dryly, "I know better than to be that kind of idiot." I say firmly as the boy shakes his head.

"We can talk in public." The girl with the bleached hair says as everyone's eyes snap wildly to her. Her voice remains calm despite the reactions, "She isn't going to agree to going somewhere private and I think we all understand why that could be one of her concerns. She's outnumbered. I say we take care of this in the cafeteria. The students in this school are dumb enough to let anything they hear slide, and they won't hear anything, anyway given anyone in our radius would be under mind-control." The girl finishes as everyone's expressions relax and there is a beat of silence as everyone considers her words.

"That might be alright. So long as everyone vows to remain cool-headed and we do not cause a ruckus in the middle of the school. We do not have the resources to persuade every single student that nothing had transpired in the cafeteria in the unfortunate possibility that it does." The proper girl says, reiterating how proper she actually is. I'm having a hard keeping up with her.

"That can be arranged." The thoughtful voice cuts in as I roll my eyes, not being able to fight my own curiosity as I conclude that they aren't trying to harm me. For now.

"Are the terms acceptable by you, Lisa?" The proper girl says as I hesitantly nod.

Heads turn wildly as we seat ourselves to the far side of the cafeteria. Kai avoids sitting next to me, given the grimace I sport when his scent hits my nostrils and I feel almost guilty when his expression turns to one of a lost puppy. I push that emotion away as the guy with the thoughtful air about him meets my eyes.

"First of all, we should get to know each other, no matter how boring you might find it. I am Taehyung." He says extending his hand that I eye before shaking lightly, hyper-aware of all the eyes on us around the cafe. "This is Irene, my sister." He says, pointing at the proper girl who looks nothing like him, although they are both equally good-looking. "And this is Wendy, my other sister." Taehyung says pointing to the girl with bleached hair on my side and she flashes me a tight-lipped yet warm smile. She looks nothing like him either. Are they lying to me? He smirks as he introduces Kai, "Kai, as you know. You might have picked up on the funky smell around here." Kai grunts and rolls his eyes.

I can't resist the urge so I ask, keeping my voice as low as possible, "Why are you letting a werewolf hang around you?" Kai starts visibly fidgeting.

"From the start of time, I think it's been established that werewolves are our archenemies, however, what is the basis? We are just born, or turn, and then what? We are fed a spoon-full of 'we are enemies for reasons such as scarce supplies of food and now the werewolves hate us and so do we'. Maybe that could have been an issue back in the days but we're more civilized now. Our preferences remain the same but we have transcended our predatory instincts, at least us, and we're hoping the majority of our society will follow. Kai saw that, and stressed on it. He started not feeding on the humans when he was six, and saw no logic in having to put up with the attacks on vampires his pack conducted. He was eventually thrown out and wandered the world, a lone wolf, literally. We met him, somehow, fortunately, in fact. Now he's a great asset to us." Taehyung finishes as an uneasy feeling strikes me.

I look at Kai whose timid gaze falls on me. I feel guilty again. I stand up, my chair scraping the tiled surface of the cafeteria floor.

"I can't talk right now." I say, ready to leave.

"Lisa. Please. As I have said this meeting is very significant. We have to talk." Irene says desperately as I shake my head.

"You know what? I'll catch you people later. But don't dare show your faces to me before I come to you or all hell will break loose." I say, sure to let them see my determined eyes before I turn to leave the crowded area swimming with different intensities of sweet scents.