Annalise Writes

Chapter 11

Cackling with glee and a sense of utter invincibility, Jaxon and I flew across campus with the speed and awesomeness of twin pterodactyls soaring through the sky.

I heard Lord Maxwell's voice shout from behind us, "Stop, stop, you chortling goons! Come back before you commit to another moment of this foolishness and depravity!"

I snickered defiantly and continued to flap my arms. Faster, faster! Higher, higher! Lord M would never catch me at this rate!

From the dustiest corners of my mind, I vaguely recalled that we were supposed to be going somewhere important, but, quite unexpectedly, I also felt really, really hungry. These pangs of hunger echoed through my sad, little tummy, shoving all of my other important, irrelevant thoughts elsewhere for the time being.

I halted abruptly in front of Drumheller Fountain and called out to Jaxon, "HEY! YOU WANNA GET SOME PIZZA?"

"OH, MY FUCKING GOD!" Jaxon gasped happily. "YOU'RE A GENIUS, ANNALISE! PIZZA WOULD BE FUCKING AMAZING RIGHT NOW!"

Lord M caught up to us without breaking a sweat. He eyed us curiously with his dark, devil-black eyes.

"Pizza, you say? Might you be referring to the Neapolitan flatbread that is baked with a various selection of delectable toppings?"

Jaxon nodded with a dazed smile. "YEAH, THAT'S PIZZA FOR YA."

Lord Maxwell licked his lips. "Then, by all means, we must go consume the pizza together! I, myself, am feeling oddly famished as well. It is a most bizarre feeling. I have not worked up such an appetite for mortal eatables since I last possessed a beating heart of my own..."

"THAT'S WEIRD," I remarked offhandedly. "ANYWAY, I KNOW THE YUMMIEST AND BESTEST PIZZERIA ON FIFTH AVENUE! LET'S GO!"

Jaxon grinned and pumped his fist in the air, "LET'S FUCKING GO!"

Lord Maxwell drawled eagerly, "Indeed! Lead the way, Annalise!"

Over the next hour or so, the three of us slowly ambled our way over to Mamma Maria's. The ten-minute walk took a lot longer than it should've because streets that were once familiar to me now became strangely unfamiliar.

My brain felt foggy as hell, and, to be honest, my sense of direction had never been great even when I was 100% sober.

"THAT'S WEIRD," I remarked again and again as I tried and failed to locate Mamma Maria's.

Lord Maxwell claimed that we were wandering around in circles, but I ignored him. What did he know? He was a relic of the past!

After several more misguided wrong turns and U-turns, Lord Maxwell, Jaxon, and I finally stumbled upon Mamma Maria's through sheer luck.

Once we were seated inside, Jaxon and I guzzled down a pepperoni pizza while Lord Maxwell demolished an entire meat lovers pie all by himself. I filled up my belly with delicious, artery-clogging carbs. Every bite tasted like a piece of heaven.

When there were nothing but crumbs left on our plates, Jaxon burped. Lord Maxwell sighed in contentment. We slouched back in our chairs in a comfortable food coma.

The clouds in my mind also began to clear and fade away.

Just then, my eyes grew wide as a sudden realization smacked me upside the head: I had accidentally skipped class this afternoon!

Thank goodness I didn't have any important projects due or an exam to take today, otherwise, I would be in some real deep shit...

I glared at Lord Maxwell. "Dude! What the heck! You made me miss my class!"

Lord Maxwell arched an eyebrow and smiled coolly. "Did I, truly?"

"You did, you did!" I exclaimed heatedly.

Lord Maxwell pouted. "What about Jaxon? Why are you only flinging accusations in my direction?"

I blinked rapidly. Was this guy for real?

I explained angrily, "Because you're the one who tried to suck us dry! I can't remember the last time I ever got so high off of, off of... whatever it was that you did to us!"

Lord Maxwell grumbled, "I do not feel as though you should blame your own irresponsible behavior on me."

I balked. "Excuse me?"

The vampire smirked. "My love, you should feel honored, flattered even, that I grazed your palm with my dark kiss. Most mortals would give up an arm or a leg to offer themselves to me!"

My brow furrowed. Whoa, whoa, whoa!

When had Lord M become such a punk? Wasn't he supposed to be a consummate gentleman in my story?

I demanded, "What's going on with you? Why are you acting this way?"

His stupid smirk widened. "Whatever do you mean?"

At this time, Jaxon floated back down from his high.

He deadpanned to the vamp, "Annalise wants to know why you're acting like such an ass, Lord M."

Lord Maxwell scowled slightly. Then, his expression became thoughtful. "To be honest, I am not quite sure what has come over me in that past few hours. Reluctantly, I must agree with you. I am behaving very much out of character. These changes in me are a bit troubling when I examine them more closely."

Jaxon looked perplexed. "What are you talking about?"

Lord Maxwell fell silent for a moment longer. Finally, he said, "I believe I have a theory about what might be happening to me..."

I leaned in anxiously. "Go on!"

Lord Maxwell continued in low, awestruck tones, "It might very well be possible that I am developing my own identity—a new sense of self, if you will—that extends beyond the configurations and descriptors from which your words initially embedded into my being. To be frank, Annalise, I am beginning to feel more like myself than I have ever been, and this sensation is terribly exhilarating and exciting!"