“I don’t think so Marcy.” He moved to walk around her, but she sidestepped quickly, putting herself back in his way. Aggravation spurted through him; he just wanted to get to Cassie, to touch her, to ease the crawling, burning sensation that enclosed him whenever they were apart.
“Well why not?” She planted her hands on her hips, her delicate brow furrowed angrily.
“Because I will be taking Cassie to the dance.”
“After what happened yesterday?”
He frowned at her in confusion. “What happened yesterday?”
“With Mark Young,” she reminded him impatiently. “That was awful. I can’t believe she led him on so badly. I always liked Cassandra, but I never realized what an awful person she truly is. I can’t believe you would want to be associated with someone like that. I mean…”
“Enough!” he cut in sharply, his gaze darting swiftly to Cassie. She was still standing by Chris’s car, her eyes fixed upon them. Though she was well out of hearing range, she was frowning intently, her eyes were narrowed fiercely. He turned his attention back to Marcy, trying to control the anger surging through him. “Yesterday was not her fault, and I don’t want to hear one bad word you have to say about her. Ever!”
Marcy’s eyes widened, her mouth parted slightly. He moved swiftly around her, disgusted by her pettiness and cruelty. Cassie watched him warily as he approached, her bright smile was gone. “What was that about?” Melissa asked softly, nodding toward where Marcy still stood with her mouth agape.
“Nothing.”
The last thing he wanted was for Cassie to know anything that Marcy had said to him. Though Melissa did not look appeased, she did not press him farther. Cassie gazed up at him, a wounded look in her eyes. He glanced back at where Marcy stood, about fifty feet away. A group of girls was now gathered around her, seemingly trying to console her. Though he could hear what they were saying, and did not like it, there was no way that Cassie could hear them above the noise of the other students, and the radios. No human could.
Hurt radiated from her as she continued to stare at Marcy, but there was also a spark of anger in her gaze. Though she could not hear them, she must have assumed that they were talking about her. That had to be it, he decided. Otherwise, if she could hear them, then that would make her something… Well, it would make her something other than human.
Devon studied her carefully, trying to decipher the mystery that she suddenly seemed to offer. She was most certainly not a vampire, he would have known that instantly, and she would not be here. Not in broad daylight, and not with a bunch of high school students. He was the exception to the rule, on both counts, for the most part. He also would have smelled it on her, would have sensed it in her blood.
No, she was definitely not one of his kind. But then, what was she? She couldn’t be a Hunter, he’d heard that they had all been killed off, and he suspected that he would have sensed that in her too. But if she had heard his conversation…
The thought trailed off in the face of the distress she emitted. Wrapping his hand gently around her neck, he pulled her close in an attempt to ease the pain enshrouding her. She had to be human, that was all she could be. He was making far more of it then he should.
Glancing around the car, he was surprised to realize that it was only Chris and Melissa standing with her. Usually there was a crowd gathered around, mostly males, causing a raucous as they humiliated themselves while vying for her attention. Today, there was a wide berth around them as glances and whispers were cast Cassie’s way. Even with him over here, the girls did not approach.
“I have become a pariah,” she said softly, giving him a wan smile.
He glanced back at the crowds gathered together; her tried hard but was unable to ignore the whispers directed her way. Somehow, what had happened in the cafeteria yesterday had been twisted, and turned against her. He didn’t know how it had happened, for he wasn’t entirely sure how the minds of teenagers worked, but somehow they had cast her into the role of villain, and they were keeping her there. He thought it was partly due to jealousy on behalf of the girls, and resentment on behalf of the boys, but he also knew that he played a large role in it.
Due to what he was, he had a stronger allure to women. He was like a Venus flytrap, luring in its prey, moments before snagging it and draining the life from it. Though he did not kill anymore, the powerful lure was still there, ever present, and unable to be turned off. This draw had pulled in a good amount of the female population in town, and had also caused anger and resentment toward Cassie to fester. They wanted what she had, and they did not like the fact that she had it.
And the boys did not like the fact that she had rebuked them all, disdaining their advances over and over, and then accepting his. Their pride had been wounded, their ego’s bashed, and they were not happy about it. Though many of them had never liked him, they had also turned on her now. Anger curdled inside him. He did not care what they thought of him, but she did not deserve their disdain and spite.
His protective urges surged forth. He wanted to take her from here, shelter her from the cold anger that radiated from them. Protect her from the inane cruelty of the foolish human race. However, he knew that he could not. Though his life was not tied up in these people, and this school, hers was. She had to live out this part of her life, had to fulfill her dreams and her hopes, and her future. Unfortunately, he had caused her this pain, and he wanted nothing more than to take her away in order to keep her safe from it.
“Ridiculous,” Chris muttered.
Devon glanced over at him as he pulled Cassie a step closer, wrapping his arms tenderly around her waist. Chris met his gaze, his eyes distant and far older than they had been yesterday. Devon was shocked by the expression in those eyes, and the hopelessness that filled them. He didn’t know what had happened to Chris between yesterday and today to cause such a change, but he was certain that it was far worse than what was going on with the student body now.
Cassie shrugged, her fingers curled into his back. “It’s alright,” she said softly. “Let them believe what they want.”
Melissa sighed heavily and bent into the car to grab her backpack. “They’re a bunch of jealous idiots Cass.”
Cassie bit into her bottom lip; her eyes were troubled as she managed a brief nod. “Well, whatever they are, I don’t care. I never wanted to be homecoming queen anyway.”
“We know.”