When I woke up next I was pretty sure I had dreamed everything.

Zain was gone, maybe never even having been there to begin with. I was glad today was my day off as the only indication so far that I DIDN’T dream up everything is that I indeed felt like shit. The cuts were gone but my head still throbbed and my body felt weak, like I just had to do a massive feeding like the first time. I could barely remember what happened, the only things clear being the fact that I was stupid and almost died, the connection to the note, and his last, mildly cryptic answer. Breaking the rules...I understood what that meant, but the inflection in his voice insinuated there was more to it than that.

My awareness of everyone became much more detailed, that note putting me on edge now for a different reason. It could have been from anyone...someone that knows me, and is watching me. Eyes, watching, all the time. I swallowed, worried. Even though Zain had asked me not to say anything, the fact that I was still alive would be a pretty big tip off that not only did it not work but that it was guaranteed that I would know now that something was up. Or maybe...maybe I could play it off as a result of the harassment I had been getting.

Or maybe, I thought to myself as I saw Victoria walked by from the food court. Maybe it actually was because of the harassment. Victoria would want me gone, afterall, or maybe she thought it would be the perfect prank.

No, she’s not stupid. She knows that killing me would kill her precious Zain. She didn’t even react upon seeing me the next day. Besides, that vampire, the thrall, said “he.”

It was easy now, though, to know which vampires were aware of this development. Most everyone’s eyes now just fluctuated between their natural colors and red depending on the day, but it seemed like certain shades indicated different levels of stress. The ones whose eyes glowed the brightest all had one thing in common; worry and fear. It wasn’t hard now to see why.

“Hey Greg!” Claire called as we passed by the tall, pale vampire with blue eyes. “You get those forms in yet?”

“Not yet,” he answered. “They’re still not going to be ready ‘till December, you know.”

“I knoooooooow. I just finally have enough points! I want to make sure I’m on the list.”

I blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Remember when I said I was saving up for the excursion?”

“Oh, right, the one that happens every Spring I think.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you gotta have enough points saved up and be able to submit a form in time before they fill up. Greg here works in the paper-filing department place thing.”

He rolled his eyes but smirked. “I handle submission forms and accounts.”

With a jolt I recognized him. “Oh! Right, you helped me set up my card!”

He bowed. “That I did. You’ve been working hard, too. Plenty of points flowing in.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I blushed, and then felt a chill. What if…?

“So yeah, make sure I get one first Greg!” Claire poked him teasingly, making him laugh.

“I already promised to send you one first thing, what more do you want me to do?”

We continued our way to class, my head spinning. It would make sense, he’d be able to have access to all sort of information. Including my location; all he’d have to do is see where the points came from to know where I was spending and earning them at any given time. And no one would question him if he went looking for information.

I thought about bringing this up to Zain, but almost forgot I’m suppose to pretend like the discussion we had didn’t happen; it would definitely look suspicious if I just went to talk to him when we publicly hate each other.

Which...after that incident, I’ve been feeling conflicted about. Zain’s a petty jerk but...now I understood why. He’s been under a lot of stress, and vampire or not he’s not that much older than me. I barely scratched the surface of the politics he’s been having to deal with probably from the time he was born. It didn’t excuse his behavior, but neither did it validate mine. We’ve both been childish.

I sighed, drifting on my back across the water of the pool, mulling over my thoughts. It didn’t excuse anything but...but that night he was being genuine with me; he didn’t have to tell me anything. And maybe it was because he was scared and that was what broke his pride and made him open up, or maybe it was something else, but it happened. He wouldn’t even tell Victoria...but he answered me.

“You’re taking that out of context,” his voice echoed off the pool room walls.

I jumped in shock and choked on the water, spinning around. “Zain?!”

He sat crossed legged on the pool’s edge, looking mildly annoyed but somewhat amused, in a pair of blue swim trunks.

“You shouldn’t just make assumption about people, you know,” he continued, my reaction curling the corner of his mouth slightly into a smirk.

I flushed. “When did-? How-? What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been here the whole time. You just walked right in, not even paying attention. I wondered how long it would take you to notice. Apparently never.” He slid into the water. “Might I ask what you are doing here, out so late at night?”

I narrowed my eyes, flustered and swimming backwards away from him. I didn’t know how to answer him. He chuckled.

“That’s what I thought,” he smirked.

“Don’t vampires have their own pool?” I chided.

“Sure, but it gets so crowded.”

“So?”

He gave me a look. “So how come you’re not swimming during designated swimming hours instead of the dead of the night?”

I looked away. “The door was unlocked…” I muttered bitterly.

“Everything is unlocked.”

“Aren’t you lord of the castle?”

He sighed in exasperation. “I’m not going to kick everyone out just because I had the urge to take a midnight swim by myself.”

I moved away from him some more, trying to push back the oncoming nervousness and instantly feeling that dumb pulling sensation come back. “I’m not leaving.”

He shrugged and tilted onto his back. “That’s your choice. But I was here first.”

I hmphed and kicked all the way to the other side of the pool, trying to put as much distance from him as possible and ignore the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. I wasn’t about to let him bully me out, this was my space. I don’t care if tonight he was here first, I’ve been doing this for awhile now. This was my escape, my solace, where I can calmly forget and relax.

I dove under, letting the water muffle all the noise and envelop me in calm. The pool lights danced about, reflecting off the ripples in the water. The weightlessness combined with the silence felt like another world, like a dream. I spun around, feeling lithe and graceful, a sensation I could never achieve on land. I dove deeper, flipping and twisting in an underwater dance, feeling completely at ease.

And suddenly I had a partner, matching my pace, mirroring my movements almost perfectly. I felt a challenge; he was trying to show off. I wasn’t about to be bested in my own element. We twisted and turned and circled and dove. A smile was growing on my face. I think he might’ve had one too. It was like we were different people, two different creatures in an alternate reality, all forms of animosity washed away with the water. He glanced at me and I saw green and gold.

Then suddenly my lungs were on fire; I need air. I kicked desperately, covering my mouth and nose as I felt the overwhelming need to inhale. I gasped as my head broke the surface of the water and coughed, my chest burning and heaving. Zain held me above water as I regained my bearings.

“Are you alright?” he asked, worried.

“Yeah,” I coughed again, sheepishly looking up. “Sorry, I just forgot...how to...breathe…” my voice trailed off as what I saw made my brain stop and my breath catch in my chest.

Zain’s eyes weren’t red anymore.

They were a shimmering green, like a supernova cloud, with specks of gold staggered around his pupils. They were beautiful, and lost, enveloping me in a sensation that felt like drifting off into space. His gaze held mine, surprised same as I was, no thoughts crossing our minds. He wasn’t angry, or irritated, or accusatory, or anything. We just...stared, not breathing, his hands still holding me up by my waist.

A strange, tingling sensation from where he was touching me made my heart race and break the spell. I pushed off, away, and swam to the edge of the pool, feeling my face go red and my heart fluster. My thoughts were everywhere in an intangible mess of feeling. I couldn’t think straight. But his eyes still lingered in my mind.

“...I’m gonna...go,” I said after a moment, my voice echoing soft off the walls. He didn’t respond. I started lifting myself out, trying to regain my composure before my thoughts started straightening out.

“Wait,” I heard his voice call out and I froze, my heart climbing to my throat. “What’s that?”

“What’s wh-” Before I even had the chance to turn around, there was a sudden rush of water as Zain swam impossibly fast right up behind me, a single finger pulling down slightly on the back of my one piece. A shudder ran up my spine as I realized what he had spotted.

“It’s nothing!” I squeaked, unhooking his finger and scrambling out of the pool.

The water splashed loudly against the pavement as he pulled himself out of the pool; his eyes were red again, narrowed and probing for answers.

“That didn’t look like nothing,” he scowled, taking a step closer. “Tell me.”

I kept my back away from him, not looking directly at him and desperately trying to put the walls back up. “R-really, it’s nothing…”

“If it’s nothing then why are you lying?”

He stepped closer and I continued to back away.

“Because it’s not your business…” My back hit the wall, startling me and causing me to look up. Zain’s face was suddenly very, very close, his red eyes forcefully holding mine in place, his arms boxing me in from either side. Fear rose up to my throat; no, please no, I don’t want to think about it, just stop, I don’t want to remember…!

“Remember what?” he murmured hypnotically. “Tell me.”

“No!” Through sheer force of will I wrenched my eyes shut and shoved him away. My breath was panicked. He let himself step back from surprise as I quickly grabbed a towel, shaking, and covered the tip of an ugly grey mark on my back.

Soon as I took a step towards the door he was in front of me. I ducked under his arm, not looking at him, but he grabbed my arm instead.

“I’m not just going to let you off so easily,” he growled, and I seethed.

“Let me go!” I twisted my arm away hard, my voice shrill. “Why do you even care?! You wouldn’t even-! Just leave me alone!”

I stormed out of the pool, and he didn’t follow.

Tears filled my eyes as a disappointed sorrow filled my chest. My wrist was starting to throb a bit. I wiped my eyes, trying to keep my composure the whole freezing walk back to the dorms, still in my swimsuit with only a towel draped over. As soon as I got to my room I shut and locked the door and cried against it.

I hate him. I hate him so much.