A Grave Problem

40. Answers

At six o'clock sharp, Mia was waiting patiently by the front doors of the mall. She'd almost decided not to bother being on time; so far, every time she'd met up with Zev and his friends they'd always been late. But she'd decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and she was glad that she did. She hadn't been standing there for more than a minute when Zev came up behind her.

"Hi." he said, making Mia jump. She hadn't been startled by anyone in a while – usually she was able to hear them coming a mile away. But Zev was a werewolf, after all. Maybe it made him almost as sneaky as she herself was. Or maybe it was just the fact that she wasn't expecting him to show up for at least another ten minutes.

Mia looked Zev up and down, realizing he was dressed nicer than when she usually saw him. Not that he was too formal or anything; he just looked a little better in a polo shirt than the T-shirts he usually wore. Mia was glad she'd decided on a skirt.

"You're early." she said, surprised. Well, maybe not early, but definitely earlier than he usually was.

"What are you talking about? It's six o'clock right now – I'm on time." A look of realization passed over his face. "Hey! I'm not the one who's always late. It's usually Luke. And sometimes Conner."

"But never you?" she laughed.

"Not when I'm by myself." he grinned. "So what do you feel like eating?"

"Nothing," was the answer Mia wanted to give. Instead she said, "Anything's fine with me."

Zev thought for a minute. "How about pizza? Everybody likes pizza."

There was a pretty good pizza place with about thirty different types on the other side of the mall, so they started walking that way. It was pretty crowded, but fortunately they didn't actually have to wait long to be seated.

"Booth or table?" a ponytailed college student asked.

"Booth." Zev said before Mia had the chance.

They threaded their way through the restaurant, and Mia was glad to see that the booth they were given was in the corner. At least they'd only have to worry about the people behind Mia and the table on the right actually hearing anything they said.

Mia thought they would get right to it, but before she could figure out the best way to lead into the conversation, Zev was asking her what she wanted to eat.

"BBQ chicken pizza?" she asked. At least the spice would be a little different.

"Sure." Zev said, sounding a little more excited than Mia thought was really necessary. "You know, you're the only person I know who likes that besides me and Conner."

"I've never had it before." Mia confessed.

Since she'd become a vampire, Mia felt like food just didn't have the same taste anymore. It seemed more bland, somehow. She hoped the sauce on this would be spicy enough that it would actually taste like something.

Once the food was ordered, Zev's attitude seemed to change just a little bit. He wasn't talking quite as much, and he was starting to shift nervously on the bench across from her.

"Are you ok?" Mia asked. Normally, he was so confident. Even though she knew they would be talking about him in a few minutes, it was still strange to see him acting this way.

"Of course." he grinned at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He glanced quickly around the room, double-checking that there really wasn't anyone within earshot. "So...you had questions for me?"

"I don't really know where to start." Mia confessed. Finally, she decided she may as well start at the beginning. "How long have you been...you know...?"