Blood Lines

9. Dance

By 7pm that evening Clae was pacing down the steps of the women's dorm in a light blue gown, her hair done up in a loose loop, her cheeks red with exasperation and her mind stony. How had she gotten dragged into this?

Samantha and Jess, who were accompanying her, had gone all out, dressed in satiny gowns, full makeup, bangles and necklaces. Clae was a little drabber in comparison, for she had point blank refused make up or lavish jewelry. She wore one quaint necklace, as thin silver chain connected to an amethyst, one of the few tokens she had retained from her mother, who had died when she was young.

When they entered the main hall, it was to find guests in finery, classical music and an intoxicating array of buffet dishes lining the far wall. Clae, who hadn't eaten much, decided not to gorge herself immediately and instead headed to the bar for her favorite drink, an absinthe with water, while Jess and Samantha greeted some friends from the Literature Department. She gazed out at the assembly in some fascination. Everyone present was wearing their finest garments. Some of the more vampire crazy girls had gone to the extremes of lowcut and sleeveless gowns, all the more attractive to vampires searching for a vein.

The vampires themselves were mesmerizingly beautiful. She hated herself for noticing Jasper and Reginald, both in suits of white, and despised herself even more for ogling Lena, who was wearing a black dress with only straps for sleeves. The presence of these three in particular was dazzling even amongst the others of their kin. She wondered vaguely at this for a moment. Why were they all so noticeable compared to the other vampires?

"Clae, over here!" Jess called, waving her over.

Inwardly groaning, she headed over to Jess and Samantha's group of friends, who were all vampire fangirls by the looks of them.

"Diego is going to bite me tonight!" one girl whispered audibly at the center of the group and the rest of the girls erupted into shrieks and giggles. Feeling slightly sick, Clae attempted to stand by the very edge of the group until Jess insisted on pulling her to the center.

"Is it true you don't have a boyfriend?" one of the girls asked eagerly.

They all seemed to hush instantly, awaiting her answer.

"Ah, not at the moment," Clae said finally, to a few moans and whoops from other girls.

"You should ask one of the vampires to bite you," another girl urged, gazing longingly at the assembled vampire entourage.

"You're really pretty, I bet even Jasper would bite you," a third girl sighed.

Quite taken aback at being called pretty by a girl she barely knew, Clae downed the rest of her drink, feeling a warming sensation rising through her. She headed to the food table after that and loaded up a plate of brisket, salad, potatoes and curry. It all looked delicious. She finished this and was just about to dive into a second when Jess reappeared, grinning in excitement.

"The first dance is starting, let's get in line!"

She hauled Clae off to the queue for the dance. The first dance was a randomly paired one. To her complete horror, she was paired with none other than Reginald, which made her skin crawl. Reginald, smiling delightedly, twirled her about as if she was a puppet, beaming at her toothily the entire time. She tried to ignore him as much as possible, focusing on Jess a few feet away dancing with their classmate Victor. Jess was flushed and beaming, looking stunning in Victor's arms. A few feet away, one of Jess's friends was dancing with Jasper, a glazed expression of ecstasy on her face. Clae sighed, rolling her eyes.

The dance finally ended and Reginald bowed politely to her, though his eyes were raking her exposed neck as he did so. Relieved to be away from him she headed back to the bar, ordering another absinthe to cool her nerves. Jess, who was looking disappointed at having to end her dance with Victor, had considerably brightened at the prospect of Jasper extending his hand to her. He looked positively demon-like in Clae's opinion as he held Jess far too closely, though she didn't seem to have noticed anything. She sat there nervously for a few moments, watching the scene.

Next second someone had joined her at the bar, plunking down in the seat next to her. Both of them looked around at the same time and Clae almost choked. It was Lena, gorgeous in her black dress with her amber eyes and perfect skin but no less infuriating in any possible way to her. Lena seemed to weigh the possible courses of action, just as Clae was doing upon recognizing her drinking companion. To get up and walk away or to cope with the situation. After a moment of staring and bristling, both girls turned slightly away from each other.

"Gin and tonic," she heard Lena order.

Clae sipped moodily at her absinthe. She hated to rush such a good beverage but she wanted to be away from here as fast as possible. She turned back to the dancers and once again her eye was caught by Jasper dancing with Jess. Was it her imagination, or was he looking creepier than usual? She tensed. Beside her, she felt Lena look around at the scene as well.

"The hell-?" she heard Lena mutter under her breath.

Suddenly Clae shot up. Beside her, Lena too had moved to her feet. Jasper had just leaned into Jess far too close for comfort, his open mouth seeming to extend towards her neck. Clae marched over to them and yanked Jasper's arm. He looked up in surprise and to her horror, she saw a tiny nick on Jess's neck, just above her collar bone. Jasper's left tooth was slightly red.

"Is there a problem?" he inquired licking his lips innocently from beside Jess, who was looking shocked at the intrusion.

"Get your hands off of her," Clae said, tightening her grip on Jasper's wrist.

The vampire stared at her and then smiled coolly. "Or what?" he whispered softly to her, so that Jess couldn't hear.

Cold fear flooded Clae's mind but she stood resolute. "Just leave her alone."

Jasper smirked, his eyes narrowing. "Come outside with me and I won't lay another finger on her."

Clae's heartbeat quickened. "Fine."

They exited the hall together into the crisp evening air leaving Jess looking confused behind them. Japser didn't speak as they stopped just outside the hall.

"What the hell was that?" she shot at him, turning to stare into his brilliant mahogany eyes.

"Just a little sign of my affection," Jasper said, preening and slipping a hand through his dark hair.

"That wasn't cool at all," Clae said, glaring at him. "You were going to bite her right then and there!"

"My dear a taste isn't a bite, and why do you even care? The sweet girl has been desiring me for months," he crooned. "Why not give her what she wants?"

"She didn't ask you to do that, she just wanted to dance," Clae said, her fists clenched.

"Honestly, you are such a prude, although you do look quite beautiful tonight," Jasper said, moving a step closer to her. "Just relax, we're all here to enjoy each other's company. What's the harm in a little flirting?"

And before she knew what was happening, he had taken her hand and pulled her to him. His hand was strangely cool and his body felt ridged and powerful. She tried to pull away but he bent his face close to her and whispered. "You always look so beautiful, don't you know?"

Some strange aura seemed to open around him, an overwhelming radiation of power and control. Clae felt shaky with sudden fear. What was going on? Weakness seemed to overcome her and she felt powerless to resist. Something grazed her neck and she stiffened. It was a smoothness that felt chilling and enticing at the same time.

Suddenly the sensation broke and Clae felt the ambiance surrounding her move away. She thought she saw someone coming up behind them.

"Leave her," a voice commanded and suddenly she felt a blurriness come over her. She knelt where she stood, unable to stand, vaguely aware of Jasper standing over her. As he came back into view, she saw him gazing intently at someone behind her.

Jasper's face was a mask of ravening vehemence. He looked positively violent in that moment. But the next second his features contorted in something resembling a smile. "As you wish. I care not."

Then he was gone, vanishing into the night.