I Hunt Monsters

Chapter 6

Good old Felansyde High. I'd been attending for just over a year. I walked toward the entrance, passing numerous people still milling about outside.

I was just about to enter the gates when…

"Hello, Aidan!" An arm wrapped around me. "It's so good to see you!"

*Oh bloody hell. It was Louise, the vampire girl.*

"Excuse me, why are you here?" I looked at her.

"Why would I not be here? I study here" Louise said, her smile was wicked.

She turned around and just barely kept her voice from being a full-on shout as she said, "It's so NICE that YOU and YOUR PARENTS visited my HOME! You know, the VAMPIRE HOUSE!" She turned to a random kid passing by. "Aidan is my friend, and I'm a... VAMPIRE!"

Said random kid took a few steps back, wide-eyed. Dozens of other kids were staring at us. A few were snickering but most just looked baffled.

"Hey! What are you even saying?!" I said, "Ah, I see what this is." I nodded grimly.

"Well, buddy... how – are those your friends?"

I sighed, before turning around.

*Oh, there they are, my lackeys…er…my friends*

The tallest of the bunch, Greg, gave me an odd look. "Uh, hey boss. What's going on?"

"Aidan?" Louise asked. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

I face-palmed as I lamented. *I shouldn't have dilly-dallied this morning.*

The shortest, Jimbo, raised his eyebrows thinking for a while before suddenly staring wide-eyed. "She…she is the vampire girl from the Silver's! Boss! Is she your girl?!" Jimmy blurted.

*Cough cough…girl?! What makes you think she's my girl?! Shouldn't you be asking first if I know her?!* I face-palmed.

Louise frowned, then… "Oh, Aidan!" She slapped my back. HARD. "Very funny. I'm Louise, Louise Silver."

Matthew's eye twitched. "I know." The other three: Jimmy, Gregory, and Alex also all had the corner of their eyes twitching.

Her smile faded. "I suppose you would."

Their eyes locked into a mutually intense and angry glare.

"Hey, Boss?" Matt looked at me. "Is everything alright?" He gestured toward Louise. "I mean with... whatever this is?"

Louise gave me a coy look but deep inside her eyes, she's giving me a threat.

"Yes," I said, through gritted teeth. "Everything. Is. Fine."

"...Alright." Matt looked back and forth between me and Louise. "I guess I'll see you around?"

I nodded.

"Oh, by the way, we're meeting by five, we've got to finish our assignments!" I said, giving Matt a hard stare.

"Uh boss, I don't think we had an assignment…" Matt scratched the back of his head, *Stupid underling! He didn't get my signal!* "…oh yeah, yeah, I forgot! Yes, boss, we'll see you at five!" He answered, but it was already too late when he noticed my signal.

Louise frowned at me.

"Forget it, you guys seem to have something else to do" I shook my head, face-palming as I headed towards my classroom.

…

I had assumed I'd be relatively free for the rest of the day, and wouldn't have to worry about Louise until after school but I was wrong…Despite us not having a single other class together, Louise was somehow always waiting for me right after I left class. It didn't matter where the class was, or how far hers must have been, she was always somehow just there.

She made it clear she 'desperately needed' my assistance.

With everything. Apparently.

She had me carry all her books. She had me open every door that stood in her way. And she just couldn't seem to help but loudly proclaim that I was doing all of that to the entire freaking planet!

Eventually, lunch came.

I gloomily marched down the hallway to the cafeteria. Louise followed closely behind.

As I was walking, I overheard two girls whispering amongst each other.

"There he is, Aidan!."

"I know right? Sooo handsome~"

I nearly stopped dead in my tracks, only Louise's prodding kept me moving. I strained to hear what they were saying, even as we kept moving.

"When did he had a girlfriend?"

"...I dunno, but aren't they cute? Aidan is handsome and he's pretty much the boss of almost all the bullies, though he's not a bully himself. And the girl, she's perfectly beautiful, I heard she's a vampire?"

"Yes, she's from the Silver's. They're very adorable!"

A sinking sensation settled into my stomach, my face darkening. *Bloody hell! Why did everybody think of her as my girlfriend!* What exactly were those girls thinking about us?

"Hey, Louise!" A tall girl with shoulder-length jet-black hair rushed up to us.

"Hey!" Louise dragged me over to her. "This is my new friend." Her voice held a mischievous tone.

"New 'friend', huh?" The girl crossed her arms, looking me over with a raised brow. "Is that a fact?"

"Hey! Aren't you Mr.Miagi?!" The girl asked me.

"And you are?" I asked, expression bland.

"I'm Ateia, by the way!" "So…." Ateia looked us both over. "When did you two hook-up?"

You know, it's the first time I saw you hanging out. I know Mr.Miagi pretty much doesn't hang out with others, even with his lackeys. And you, Louise, you have had just transferred school here today."

*Cough* I nearly choked at her remark.

Louise stared at her friend for a really long time.

Ateia's eyes darted between the two of us, her expression growing more mischievous with each passing second.

A hint of red touched Elizabeth's cheeks, its pretty visible from her pale cheeks.

I coughed awkwardly. "We-"

"That is not even slightly what is going on here!" Louise shouted.

Ateia took a step back. "Oh, Louise. I was just-"

"I would never in a million years! I wouldn't... that- why would you even think that!"

"Um." Ateia scratched her head. "You two were being so lovey-dovey all day. It seemed pretty obvious." She said, her tongue stuck out.

"B-but we weren't!" Louise stammered. "At all! He was just carrying my books, and opening doors, and...."

"Hmm?" Ateia smiled mischievously. "That's what boyfriends do for their girlfriends, you know."

Louise stared at me.

I was flustered. It was then that I realized that she was actually very pretty.

I felt a blush touch my cheeks. "I, uh..." I shuffled nervously before casting a glance toward Louise.

She stared right back, wide eyes studying my expression. "Say it!"

"W-we're not like that," I said.

Ateia nodded. "Sure."

"He's telling the truth!" Louise shouted. "We're not a couple! He was just helping me out."

Ateia rolled her eyes.

"I-I... I need to go." Louise quickly took off.

"Wait!" Ateia followed closely behind. "I want details!"

*whew* I took a deep breath

*The demoness is finally gone. But why am I blushing!*