DUSK

fourteen

Lunch was tense. I could practically feel the hate radiating from Stephen, directed right at Will.

Will pretended to be oblivious. I'm sure he thought it was because he knew what we had done.

That was part of it.

He was also confused. Alice was obviously adept at disguising her presence. I had to be right in front of her, before I could sense her non-humanness. I assumed she wanted my mother to sense her. So, she relaxed her guard, somehow.

Stephen had no idea, how this human male could have imprinted me.

This situation would amuse me, but for my fear of how this might go. I stayed close to Will. I feared Stephen accidentally giving away that part of him, before his mother could tell him.

Why hadn't she told them on Sunday?

~~~~

As the last school-bell rang, I spied Nelli leaning against her locker.  Tears streaming down her face.

"That fucking asshole!" she screamed, pounding her fists hard enough to dent the door.

"Nelli..." I said, shocked.

"That self-righteous dick said he couldn't pretend anymore.  Said I was a superficial twit. Not too much of a twit for him to go out with for two whole weeks, though!"

She slid down the stacked lockers and sat helplessly on the shiny linoleum floor.

"Ibis... I'm pretty, right?"

"Nelli, you're gorgeous.  You can do much better."

"Well, you sure have. I can't believe how gone Will is for you. The way you look at each other." She sighed and looked down at her feet.

"I wish I could have that. He even let you give it up." Jesus, was it obvious to everyone?!

"...I was starting to wonder about him, you know?" She said, chuckling through her tears.

"That bastard!" -and back to Stephen.

"Listen, Nell.  How about we all go and help you drown your sorrows in an anti-love movie??"

"Anti-love?? Like what?"

"Well, I'm partial to Carrie."

 "Wait, isn't that the one where the girl kills the entire high school?"

"Yup."

"I've seen it... At least the good one took her to prom."

I laughed and gathered her up, carefully into a side-hug.

"Okay, we won't see that." It was now time to take one for the team.

Despite her efforts to be disliked, I now understood that was because she feared real closeness with others.

I had smelled some things on her, that lead me to believe her home life wasn't exactly roses and daisies. Booze, cigarette smoke, the musk of a dirty old man.  I could tell he hadn't...done that yet. But he certainly would get there, soon, if left to his own devices.

She didn't know it, but I had been keeping track of her, on the sly.

She lives close enough, so I can. So, far it's just been inappropriate comments and breaching her personal space. Just enough, so she'd second-guess herself on what was really going on.