"Do the other managers usually help you?"
"No. But they're not heavy, and I like the exercise."
"Yeah, as if you need that. Okay, I'll see you this afternoon, then."
"No!" Sheer panic erupted in her voice and across her face.
I looked at her, eyebrows raised.
"I mean, it's fine," she added. "I really don't need your help. I'll see you at the game, okay?"
Her cheeks were pink, and she was looking everywhere but at me. Oh, yeah, she was definitely hiding something.
I'd just have to swing by the dance room after school and see what she was up to.
Savannah
I kept thinking the more time I spent around Tristan at Charmers practice, the easier it would become to ignore him in history class. But the only people I could successfully ignore in there were Dylan and the Brat Twins. In fact, I'd gotten so good at tuning them out in class that the twins actually seemed to think I was deaf now. Which was pretty amusing, considering my already batlike hearing seemed to be growing more sensitive every month. Thankfully Dylan had decided to leave all the bullying attempts to the girls for a while.
Unfortunately, even my supposed deafness didn't stop the twins from trying to bait me before the start of every history class in increasingly louder voices.
Today, the conversation was about who in the school was worth taking a bullet for. A stupid question, in my opinion, but the twins seemed to consider it a deep, debate-worthy topic.
"Hey, Tristan," Vanessa said. "Who would you take a bullet for?"
"Uh, anybody in the school, I guess," he muttered without turning to face them.
That's my Tristan. Smiling to myself, I pretended to focus on reading a book for an English assignment and prayed Mr. Smythe would hurry up and get to class.
"Oh, surely not just anybody," Vanessa whined. "I mean, you wouldn't take a bullet for the freaks, would you?"
"Such as?" Tristan sounded like he was warning the blondes about something, his voice dropping to a near growl.
"Well, like Freaky Eyes there," Vanessa stage-whispered.
Three guesses who that was. It took everything I had not to snort with laughter. The Brat Twins were so transparent they were pathetic. They were just trying to make me mad. But they kept using old material in their attempts. And then they were dumb enough to wonder why being called a freak no longer bothered me much. I turned the page in my book and continued reading, confident that my Ice Princess mask was in no danger of cracking today.
"Sure," Tristan replied. "Why wouldn't I take a bullet for her?"
"Because she goes around putting these horrible love spells on the guys," Hope answered, not even bothering to fake a whisper. Half the class had to have heard her. "Probably because she's so ugly. It's the only way she could ever get a guy to like her!"
The twins erupted in high-pitched giggles.
Now that was going too far, even for them. Fury tried to warm up my stomach, and my eyes stung. Oh, no, no way was I going to cry. I quickly imagined my anger turning into ice water running through my veins. Ice Princess, I reminded myself. You are surrounded by ice and untouchable. My heart rate slowed down, and I felt that coldness within spread to my face.
Sometimes, like now, my ability to embrace the emotionless cold within me was almost frightening. It had to be from the vampire side of my genes. It even made me feel like a vampire. But it was a heck of a lot better than breaking down into pathetic tears in class.
I was so lost in thought, I almost didn't notice how my skin broke out in prickly goose bumps. Probably another sign warning me not to slip too deep into Ice Princess mode.
"Girls, should you really be talking about this sort of stuff?" Tristan was definitely growling at them now.
"Oh, you're right," Hope whispered. "I didn't think..."
"You never do," he muttered.
Nice comeback. It almost made me feel better. But not quite. The coldness inside me wasn't appeased much. It wanted revenge. The chilling fury grew, spreading like poison, settling in my chest and stomach and making the muscles stiffen then cramp. Oh ow. Okay, that actually hurt.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tristan glance my direction with a frown.
As soon as I thought about him, a new sensation took over, a pure and seemingly endless need that crowded out all other thoughts from my mind. Need for him. This was worse than simply wanting something, worse even than the usual yearning I felt around him. This was like being trapped in the desert for days and stumbling across a jug of ice-cold water. I craved him. My body screamed at me that I would feel so much better if I just leaned across the aisle toward him and...
Oh, no. Was this the bloodlust my family had warned me about?
I had to get out of here. Now!
I managed to stand up then stagger down the aisle to the teacher's desk. But Mr. Smythe wasn't there yet.
I kept going, changing direction toward the door. I was outside and a few yards from the building when I met the teacher.
I gasped out the first thing that came to mind. "Going to be sick."
"Do you need to see the nurse or-"
"No. Bathroom. I'll be right back." I kept going until I reached the nearest girls' restroom at the top of the hill and around the corner to the left.
But I wasn't really nauseous. Just...thirsty, or hungry, or something. It was as if my body had become this foreign thing I was trapped inside, and my mind didn't know how to communicate with it anymore. I didn't know what it needed. But at least I was pretty sure it wasn't blood. Hopefully.
I leaned against the edge of the sink, which felt warmer than me at the moment. I focused on my breathing, willing the pace to slow and deepen. Okay, that was one area I was still in control of, at least.
Then I looked up at my reflection. My eyes...they were nearly white. I'd never seen them that color before. They didn't even look like my own eyes anymore.
Closing them, I made myself calm down. Then I noticed my hands were freezing. I turned the hot water on and stuck my hands under the stream until I could feel my fingers again. The heat felt so nice, I pushed up my sleeves and scooped the water over my forearms, too. Gradually, the coldness inside faded away, leaving me exhausted. But normal again, thankfully.
I really had to get a grip on my temper. This was ridiculous.
When I returned to the classroom, the Brat Twins started giggling again just as the usual ache from being near Tristan spread through my chest and stomach like another muscle cramp.