The Bite [Luke Hemmings AU]

Chapter Twenty-One

Tomorrow. Zack will die tomorrow.

I stood up from my bed and rubbed my eyes. I took in a deep breath before getting ready.

I would miss school tomorrow and sleep tonight. I sighed as I looked in the mirror. My eyes were puffy with dark circles around them.

I had the same dream I always had, but this time I was on the other side of the glass and it was Zack dying by the hands of Collin. I could hear him screaming for me and crying for help. I tried, but it was no help.

I threw my hair in a ponytail and washed my face with cold water.

There was no way I was going to try to look decent.

I ate breakfast with my mom in silence. I was about to leave when the front door opened.

Cooper popped in with a sheepish smile on his face. I smiled softly at him.

I still hadn't told him. He'd been hanging out with Ariel so much that he didn't have time for me.

I stepped towards him and hugged him tightly. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me.

"Take me to school?" he asked when we pulled away, his arms on my shoulders.

I nodded with a smile. He looked behind me and smiled at my mom.

"See ya, Mrs. H," he said as his arm went around my shoulders. We walked out to my car.

Luke stood in front of my car with a cheesy smile on his face.

I chuckled at him and rolled my eyes.

"Shotgun!" Coop yelled as he ran to the passenger side of my car.

As I drove to school, I kept looking back at Luke in my rear view mirror. He had this look in his eyes. It wasn't humorous, it was sincere and it hinted at worry.  He knew how much stress I was under.

"So, what's been going on between you and Ariel?" I asked Cooper after a bit.

"Nothing. We've just been hanging out," he said nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right," Luke said with an uncomfortable chuckle.

We got to school and Luke got out of the car quickly. He gave me a look that I interpreted as, "Tell him now."

I sighed as Cooper and I walked to the school.

"Coop," I said quietly.  "I really need to talk to you. Without any interruptions," I said shakily.

"Okay," he said, nodding.

"Darcy saw Zack die," I paused. "I saw him die. Collin is going to kill him," I said quietly. "Tomorrow," I added.

He looked over at me as he stopped in his tracks. "What?" he asked.

I opened my mouth to speak when Zack himself walked up to us with a smile.

I could've cried in that moment. Most likely the next time I saw him, he'd be dying or even dead.

I smiled weakly at him. Cooper just stared at me with an unrecognizable look in his eyes.

"I have class," I said quickly before turning down a hall to go to my locker. Luke stood by my locker with his arms crossed over his chest. I bit my lip as I approached him. I got to him and I just hugged him. I didn't cry, but I almost did.

"I can't," I said. "I just can't watch him die," I said and pulled back from him.

"It's going to be okay," he cooed with hands on my shoulders.

I shook my head. "No, it's not," I said quietly.

Luke looked around the hallway. "Let's get out of here," he said quietly and grabbed one of my hands.

"And go where?" I asked, getting a little annoyed.

"I don't know. Anywhere you want to go. We can go back to the cabin. We could take a walk in the woods. We could go back to my place. I just want you to get your mind off of all of this," he smiled down at me.

"I can't escape any of this, Luke. This is my life. I have to face all of this. I can't run away," I said, about to start screaming at him.

"You need a break from all this stress, Claire," he added.

"I can't take a break! One of my best friends is going to die tomorrow!" I said in an angry whisper.

"Claire," he said in pain.

My eyes widened as I looked down. My claws were starting to dig into hand. I gasped and took my hands away. "I'm so sorry," I said as my hand came to my lips, my claws had retracted.

"It's fine," he said as he gripped them trying to contain the blood.

The bell rang.

I sighed and softly grabbed his hand. I held my hands around it while I stared into his eyes. I pulled it up to my lips and kissed it.

He smiled softly. I looked down at his hand to find that there wasn't a wound, but blood covered his hand. I grabbed the other one and examined the two. Neither had wounds.

"Luke," I said softly.

"What?" he questioned.

"It's gone," I said.

He looked down at his hand frantically.

"How is that even possible?" I questioned.

"I don't know," he said, amazed.

"I haven't gotten that ability. I-I don't understand how I could heal you," I said softly.

I took his hand and intertwined our fingers. I dragged him to Saunders's classroom. I walked in.

"Mr. Whitemore, can we talk to you in the hall?" I asked with a forced smile.

He nodded and walked out with us. He shut the door behind him. "What?" he asked.

"I got Luke with my claw earlier, now look," I said and held up his hand.

Saunders looked at his hand with furrows brows. "There's an indent where it went in. It's not him healing himself. You healed him?" he asked and looked up.

I shrugged. "I have no clue," I said softly.

"Go clean the blood up and get home. We'll figure it out later. I'll tell everyone you two got sick," he said and went back into his room.

I ran to a janitor's closet and grabbed a mop. Luke and I cleaned up the blood quickly. We went straight to my house. The entire way there, I couldn't help but wonder what was going on with me. How could I heal his hand? I've never done it before. It frightened me quite frankly.