A rewrite of The Hunters: Destiny Rising. By LJ. SMITH.
LJ.SMITH created Klaus.
A stand alone monster.
No family.
No redeeming qualities.
"I'm one of the Old Ones! An Original! Do you know what that means? I've never died. Every one of you has di...
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Elena trailed out of her freshman English section near the end of the crowd, still stuffing her notebook into her bag. Zipping it closed, she looked up to see Andrés waiting patiently in the hall directly outside her classroom.
"Hey," She said. "What's going on?"
"Stefan and I think it's not a great idea for you to be on your own right now," he said, falling into step beside her. "He and Lexie both have class, so I'll walk you wherever you're going."
"I have Powers of my own, you know," Elena said, a little haughtily. "Even if they're not really fighting ones yet, I'm not a damsel in distress."
Andrés nodded, a slow, solemn dip of his head. "Forgive me," He said formally. "I don't think any of us should be alone now. James's death proves that."
"I'm sorry," Elena said. "I know it's been hard for you, especially since you were living at James's house."
Andrés nodded. "It has," He said, and then made a visible effort to be more cheerful, throwing back his shoulders and pasting on a smile. "But I must take advantage of the chance that allows me more time with my charming and beautiful friend."
"Oh, in that case," Elena said, following his lead and took Andrés's proffered arm. As they moved down the hall, she examined him carefully out of the corner of her eye. Despite his courtliness, Andrés looked haggard and worn, the lines at the corners of his eyes more pronounced. He looked older than twenty now.
James's death had hit them all hard. It felt more real, somehow, than Chad's death. It had happened in James's house, not on a battlefield and so proved that death could come for them anywhere. When Elena had looked in the mirror the last few mornings, the face gazing back at her was grimmer, her eyes rimmed with gray circles.
Still, they had to keep going, for one another. Whistling in the dark, people called it, when you kept your own spirits up by finding any happiness you could.
Squeezing Andrés's arm affectionately, Elena asked, "How are you settling into Enzo's room?" The police had sealed James's house, so Enzo had offered up his own empty room to their visitor. Enzo himself was back to camping out in the half-burned boathouse with Chloe.
