Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming [A Vampire Academy fanfiction]

Chapter XVIII

"I got a question for you, "Adrian said next to me in the cab. He stared at me fondly with his green eyes. I never knew they were that green up close. Maybe I was hallucinating. They seemed to get brighter and brighter and brighter as he stared at me. I glanced at his eyes curiously for a quick moment.

Holy crap.

"What?" I replied a bit nervously. His eyes, I hated to say it, were beautiful. A bright, gorgeous, mesmerizing green that could see right through me. He turned away awkwardly and looked out the window. The taxi cab rolled onward. I had a sudden urge to reach out and touch him. What was this? When did Emma DiCamillo want to touch? I hastily start chewing on my lip, trying to make the feeling in my stomach go away. It persists anyway. 

"How do you know where Cass is supposed to be? Does Wesley have her locked up somewhere?" Adrian asked. "That little sass monster!" Adrian mock-gasped in horror, referring to Wesley. He sounded like a flamboyant Asian figure skater. The taxi driver gave us a disturbed glance. I tried not to let it bother me.

"Sass monster?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Adrian Ivashkov stumps me sometimes. I don't quite understand, but maybe I'm not supposed to. Maybe I like that.

"I just made it up from the top of my head." He played with his lighter. "You know school resumes back at St. Vlad's soon," he told me.

"Really? Where did you hear that?" I questioned, dubious and excited to go back to school. There was so much to look forward to, and I couldn't wait to see Ashley once again. I drummed my fingers on my thigh and hummed a song I heard somewhere on the radio. 

"They called and sent a mass e-mail. I would think you of all people would keep track of that kind of news," Adrian retorted. Was he teasing me? I notice his facial structure for the first time and the way his after shave smells and the way his pants hang off of his body at some sort of eerily perfect angle. My breath hitches as I stare at him. He's like a god, leaning back in his seat and staring out the window. He doesn't make eye contact with me.

"Mr. Ivashkov. I dare say, are you teasing me?" I say, putting my hand to my chest. I shake my head at him, but a smile cuts over onto my face and I burst into a fit of giggles. He smiles at me and starts laughing too. 

"Oh I dare not! That would lead to ultimate doom!" he crows. I can't help myself. I double over in fits of unexpected laughter. They plague my body in marvelous waves of sheer delight I get from the sound of Adrian's voice and our joking banter. I feel almost guilty for laughing at a time like this. Cass is a strigoi and I'm trying to save her. I chatise myself for not being proper and my sense of benevolence takes over me. I straighten up and my laughter quiets down. I think of Cass for a moment and I merely turn my head to peek over at Adrian and smile. My face crinkles into a small frown and I ball my hands into fists. Why do I feel this way around him? And at all times, like this?

Adrian Ivashkov makes me question myself. Emma DiCamillo never questions herself.

"Airport," the cab driver said, announcing that we were here. He found a parking spot and I climbed out of the cab, proceeding to walk towards the trunk to get my stuff. I had packed a few weeks worth of clothes and supplies. I didn't know how long this would take and how much convincing I would have to do with the infamous Rose Hathaway to let Lissa see Cass. I could already imagine the questions that she would ask and the things that she would say. I rolled my eyes and the cab driver popped open the trunk. My hands inched towards my suitcase by Adrian's hand clamored on top of mine. I could feel the heat rising up to my cheeks. A strange spark of electricity came between us and it left me all tingly. I removed my hand immediately. 

"What are you doing?" I ask, chewing on my lip again. It was certainly becoming a bad habit of mine.

"What does it look like I'm doing Miss Smarty Pants? I'm getting our luggage." Adrian hoists both his suitcase and mine out of the trunk while I pay the cab driver. My heart does a somersault when I hear the word our. He wears my old knapsnack proudly and carries a suitcase in each hand. "Do you have our boarding passes?" I zip open my purse and dig around in it. I haven't had the time to organize it lately, and I was usually so neat. I found the boarding passes at the bottom, still in the envelope.

"They're right here," I say. I sound flustered and I hold out my hands to him for him to take the boarding passes.

"Why are you hading them to me? Can't you see my hands are full? I thought you were a little smarter than that," Adrian quips, and he sticks out his tongue as we head towards the gate. Our flight leaves in 45 minutes. The airport is filled with people and I have to dodge a few dhampir-style. It's insanely crowded and everybody trucks around with some sort of baggage with different colored scarves and coats. It's chilly and my nose looks like a raspberry.

"Attitude!" I say to Adrian, mocking his earlier comment to me. I stick out my tongue just like him and he swats one of the suitcases at me, bumping it into my hip. I gasp and push him into one of the seats near the gate and I laugh at him. His beautiful green eyes twinkle at me and I wonder if we were just flirting for a fleeting moment. The laugh is short lived when I hear the familiar chime of my cell phone; I never put it on silent anymore. The number is unknown and not in my contacts.

"Hello?" I walk away and put one of my hands in my pockets, leaving Adrian to sit by himself. I hear a lot of crackling and static on the other end of the phone. "Hello? I'm sorry, this is Emma DiCamillo. There's a lot of static. Could you tell me who you are?" My tone is polite but straightforward. I wish I could sound that way around Adrian. Adrian. Adrian. Adrian. My mind wasn't even focused on the goal anymore. Focus, Emma! The static and the crackling on the other end persists, and I contemplate hanging up.

"Hello Ms. DiCamillo." The voice on the other end is a voice I've never heard before. It's deep and raspy and sounds like the guy has a sore throat. I tap my foot impatiently. I have other calls to make besides wasting my time talking to this guy.

"Do I know you?" I inquire, leaning on one of the charging stations for cell phones. Adrian is sipping a latte and eating a brownie from Starbucks. I scrunch up my face at him, mystified as to how he bought coffee without leaving the luggage unattended. He waves at me happily, as if telling me to hurry back. I turn my back on him and wait for the voice on the other end to answer.

"I need to ask you to stay away from Wesley Lazar. Stay away from the Lazars, period, or you'll regret it." My mouth drops open and I'm about to say something, but the phone clicks and the man on the other end hangs up. I'm left with a dial tone as I stand there. I wonder what I've done wrong to Wesley. I dial him up immediately, but all I get is his voicemail. I'm Wesley Lazar. You know what you need to do when the beep sounds. I tell him to call me back and put my phone back in my pocket, puzzled by the enigma that was set forth by a simple one minute phone call. I walk towards Adrian, the grey seats lined in rows around the gate area neatly and orderly. The sunlight filters through the window and make dancing shadows on the cold floor. Everything in the airport seems too neat and orderly, like the designer was a control freak that had to have everything spotless...not that I was complaining.

I plop down beside Adrian and I sigh. "Can you try and call Wesley for me?" Adiran is still sipping his latte and he looks at me. He gives a reluctant nod.

"How'd you get your hands on the Starbucks anyway?" I reach over to him and break off a piece of his brownie, putting it casually in my mouth like it belongs to me. I lean back and stare at the ceiling, trying to breathe slowly and steadily. I didn't want to panic. It was probably nothing. Maybe Wesley had overprotective parents that didn't want him involved in all of this stuff. I couldn't shake the paranoia I had now. Was I being watched?

"There's no answer," Adrian says, and he puts his phone away. "Oh, and the lovely girl over there decided to do me a nice favor and buy me all of this," he says happily, nodding his head to the cute little redhead with braids. She wears purple rimmed glasses and her skinny jeans are a little too tight. She smiles and waves flirtatiously to him. Referring to Mean Girls, she would be a regulation hottie. I feel my stomach clench and I wonder if I'm jealous. I've never exactly been jealous before, especially not over a guy. I look at Adrian and I look at the girl again. I sigh and ignore my feelings. Get focused.

"Adrian, you won't believe what just happened. This guy called and -" Just before I can finish my answer I hear a huge blast coming from down the huge walkway of the airport. I frown and I hear plenty of screams. Everybody else around me gets up and me and Adrian follow, peeking out behind the corner to see a flood of smoke and a fire.

"It was a bomb!" I heard somebody shout. Frantic cries from panicked travelers echo all the way down to me and my eyes widen. Could this all be from the phone call I just received? Or was I just being a worrywart? My heart pounds and my dhampir instincts rush in. I take off faster than a race car. I run towards the wounded before I can even think, leaving Adrian behind in the dust.