A Grave Problem

18. Alone at the Theater

The bell rang, and Mia and her friends slowly packed up their things and made their way out of the cafeteria. Carmine headed off to history, and Mia and Anna set off for chemistry. Once they rounded the corner, Mia turned to Anna.

"So, do you have plans tonight?"

Mia had decided to wait until Carmine was out of earshot before asking Anna. It wasn't that Mia was deliberately trying to do things with Anna behind Carmine's back – it was just that in this particular instance, she would feel better if Carmine didn't come along.

It had been a while since Mia had hunted with Anna, and she was starting to miss it. It wasn't just the fact that Mia kept hearing that unearthly wail every night that made her ask if Anna wanted to go hunting; Anna was Mia's best friend, and hunting with her was always fun. With the two of them together, they could take on two or even three people at a time instead of having to wait for someone who was by themselves. Not only that, but Anna kept it interesting during the times when there just wasn't anyone around. When she was by herself, Mia had no choice but to wait, trying her best not to look too much like a suspicious teenager lurking in the shadows. So Mia was more than a little disappointed when Anna told her she wouldn't be able to go tonight.

"I'm really sorry." she said. "Luke asked me if I wanted to do something tonight."

"That's ok." Mia said, trying to hide her disappointment. She hated to admit it, but Anna caught her off guard. Mia liked to think she knew what was going on with her friends. Since Hana had surprised her – first by attacking her and then by turning on her when things got rough – Mia tried to keep better tabs on what her friends were up to. She'd thought she'd been doing a pretty good job, but she'd had no idea that Anna was going out with Luke tonight. Why hadn't Anna said anything?

Mia's initial reaction was one of suspicion, but she quickly brushed that aside. Anna was one of the most loyal people Mia had ever met. There was no way she would do anything serious without letting Mia know. She probably just forgot.

"What are you planning on doing?" Mia asked, trying to show interest instead of either the suspicion or disappointment she felt.

"I'm not really sure yet. He said something about a movie, but I don't know which one he wanted to see."

"That sounds fun. Tell me how it is." Mia said.

It sounded to Mia like a date, which surprised her. She'd known Anna and Luke had been doing a lot of things together recently, but she hadn't heard that they'd been on any dates yet; usually Luke's friends came along with them. Surely Anna would have told her if things were getting serious with Luke. Mia thought back and suddenly wondered if she just hadn't been paying enough attention. This whole thing with the banshees must have been affecting her more than she'd realized.

"So how serious are you and Luke?" Mia asked. She knew she should have asked before, and she felt a little bad about that.

"What do you mean?"

If it had been anyone else, Mia would have said they were playing dumb. But with Anna, sometimes it was hard to tell. She wasn't stupid, of course – Mia didn't really have patience for stupid people. But she was sometimes just a little...off. Mia knew it was because she'd managed to isolate herself for about two hundred years, and resolved to never cut herself off from others like that.

"I mean, how long have you been dating?" Mia asked.

"Oh... I don't know that we're actually dating." Anna said, but her face turned a little pink.

"If he's taking you out to the movies, it's a date." Mia said matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Then I guess it's been two or three months." Anna said.