Vampires Suck

Chapter 14: A Great Ending to a Bad Day

For being my "#1 Fan" Haha, like I said with her, y'all are going to have to fight for that title xD She's been pretty supportive of my works, and I wanted to thank her for that.

I didn't get very far down the hallway before I bumped into yet another hard chest. God, what the hell was up with the boys in this school and their freaking muscular bodies? Slowly, I lifted my eyes up, dreading to see who it was I'd bumped into this time—hoping it wasn't Dane, or even worse, Aiden.

However, when my eyes found those navy blue ones, I let out a shaky, elated breath. Luke, sweaty from football practice, gave me an expression that was at first surprise, which then turned into happiness when he realized it was me, but then transformed into worry and concern when he saw the state I was in.

"Diana—what's wrong?"  he asked anxiously, and then adding quickly, "Why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

A small part of me found his concern touching and nearly amusing, but the pain I felt from my earlier confrontation with Aiden prevented me from actually being able to show this. Instead, I just shook my head, trying miserably to form a small smile, as I said, "No, I'm not hurt." Physically, at least.

He seemed to be a little relieved at this statement, but only for a moment. Then, the concern filled his face again, along with a hard look, and he asked this time, "Who did this to you?" I found it a bit strange that he automatically assumed that someone had done something to me—and not that something tragic or accidental had just occurred. Still, I was just as touched by his concern.

I didn't want to talk about what had just happened with Aiden and Dane, so I just shook my head. His eyes searched mine, and he looked like he didn't want to simply drop it. Finally, however, he seemed to accept that I didn't want to discuss it any further. So, respecting my wishes, he nodded his head in understanding and dropped it. What I didn't expect was for him to suddenly grab me and pull me into a tight hug.

For a moment all I could do was stand there like that, stiff and full of shock. But then I slowly got over it, and hesitantly I put my arms back around him, returning his embrace. He began to stroke my hair and whisper sweet condolences and comforting words. I don't know why, but this seemed to open up some sort of dam in me and I just couldn't hold in the tears anymore.

Cue the floodgates.

Suddenly, it felt like all of the hurt and pain that I'd just experienced just came pouring through, and I could do nothing to stop it. I didn't want to stop it. For once, I completely shed my tough exterior and let myself be vulnerable.

But this time, I knew I was in good hands, literally. I gripped onto Luke tighter, as if he were the anchor keeping me to my sanity. All the while, he continued to stroke my hair and whisper into my ear. I could barely make out half of what he was saying, but for some reason—perhaps it was just the sound of his voice—I found myself actually calming down because of it.

Finally, after what felt like years, we both pulled back from each other. Luke still kept his arms around me, however, and he lifted one hand to gently wipe away some of the tears still lingering on my cheek. I felt myself blush, which was crazy considering the situation I had just been in. I tried not to replay my emotional breakdown in my head; it would've only embarrassed me further. Like most normal people, I'm not very attractive when I start really crying, and even though I tried to hold them in for the most part, I'm pretty sure I let out a few unappealing sobs.

When I looked back up at Luke, however, he showed no traces that he thought the same, and he simply looked at me with this expression that I couldn't quite interpret, the force of it making me both heat up and feel a bit uncomfortable at the same time...