Redemption

A/N - This update was incredibly fast, but I never complain when people are update-aholics, so I hope neither do you. All it takes is one review to spur me to put up the next chapter, and I recieved that (thank you cobraqueen, btw), so now I'm ready to actually begin letting the story unfold. Enjoy.


"Cicily, you're looking quite ravishing this morning." Benjamin slid into the seat next to her, leaning close to run his nose through her long blond hair. She growled and I saw her eyes flash from across the picnic table. Benjamin just chuckled and leaned back out of her personal space, running a hand through his bright red hair. "Ah, Sissy, one day you'll see how much you love me." He took an apple from his bookbag and rolled it across the table to Adrian, who caught on to the game and rolled it back with a grin. The two boys created an impromptu game of apple soccer while Thomas strode over and sat down on the other side of Cicily, barely grazing the tip of his nose to her lower jaw while he pretended to examine something on the seat next to him. Any human would have missed the sign of submission and loyalty, but I did not. Cicily smiled at him and nodded once before returning to her previous task of scanning the courtyard.

The five of us sat together like this every morning, relaxing in calming presence of the outdoors before being ushered into out classes. I snapped some more bobby pins into my hair while I watched the gleaming red apple without interest. The human food held no appeal to me, nor to any of us. I took a deep breath and noticed Thomas watching me from the corner of my eye. I turned to him and he gave me a half-hearted smile, the sadness buried beneath only amplifying his handsome features.

"We'll hunt tonight." Cicily said suddenly and without looking at us. Adrian's lopsided grin grew even wider and Benjamin hissed approval under his breath. Even the corners of Thomas's mouth seemed to lift a bit. The news put us all in high spirits, because hunting meant a trip to the country and a chance to run free. The bell sounded and we all departed, calling a few goodbyes over our shoulders at each other as we made our way to our classes.


________________________________


I sat in the back of US History in a chipper mood. Just the thought of being able to transform and hunt made my body tingle and ache. The wolf inside of me was wagging her tail. I sat back in my seat and prepared myself for the 45 minutes of doodling I did almost everytime we were given notes. I knew the lessons we were taught inside and out, from hearing them so many times, so took the opportunity to draw. I managed to ignore the scratching of pencils and even breathing that my sensitive ears picked up, and began on drawing a wide-eyed deer, the likes of which I hoped to catch that night. It wasn't long before I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It hit me like a semi, all at once, leaving me no time for preperation. My senses went on high alert as my instincts screamed that something was not right. I looked around quickly, my heart racing. What was wrong? My stomach clenched into a knot as I had to stifle a feral growl. I couldn't lose control, not around all of these humans. What was making me feel this way? Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

The teacher looked at the door and smiled, stopping his notes on the chalkboard mid-sentence and crossing the room to open it. Though I didn't understand why, I suddenly saw who was making me feel this way. Standing in the doorway was an unnaturally good-looking boy. He was suprisingly pale, with jet black hair that hung shaggily around his face in loose curls. His eyes were like coal, with no distinction between pupil and iris. As soon as I saw him his eyes were on me. I had to press my lips together to keep from snarling, my knuckles white from the grip I had on the edge of my desk. I didn't understand. I had always known when I ran into another lycanthrope, and he most certainly was not one of us, but there was still something screamingly unhuman about him.

I saw him stiffen when his eyes fell on me. There was a moment when jet black met storm grey and I felt like the drop of a pen would have been a nuclear explosion in the tension we had. My muscles quivered, ready to spring to action in a millisecond. There was something terribly wrong, and I knew I needed to talk to Cicily immediately, but she was in class and he, whoever he was, was blocking the doorway. The teacher said something to him and he smiled, showing off glistening white teeth. The pen-drop tension disappeared, but I was in no way at ease. I stopped tuning out everyone and took in the sounds around me, starting with the teacher.

"Yes, yes, yes, come in. I was told you'd be coming today. Class, this is our newest student. Erm, yes, well, would you mind introducing yourself?" The teacher didn't seem to notice that there was something terribly not right about the boy. I glanced around the rest of the classroom. Other than the stares of a few adoring girls, not one else seemed on edge. I looked back at him and he was still looking at me, but when he spoke he addressed the class.

"I'm Roman."

"Weird name." some jock muttered from across the room. A murmur of giggles broke out, but still, the boy did not look away from me. Were any of the humans going to notice his gaze? I silently cursed the humans inability to see anything past their own noses. The teacher directed the boy called Roman to a seat thankfully a good ways away from me. The next 30 minutes were torture, my senses on full alert as I stared holes into the back of his head. The wolf in me paced mercilessly, occassionally snorting in impatience, while I remained motionless on the outside. I risked a glance at the vague outline of the deer I had started drawing. Concentration eluded me as the minutes crept by, my body rigid in my seat. After what had felt like decades, the bell signalled, and before anyone was able to even register what was happening, I was out of the door.

The hallways sped by in a blur as I made my way to Cicily's locker, my hair whipping behind me as I struggled to remain at believable human speed. As it came into view I noticed a rattled looking Adrian was already there. By the time I reched him, Benjamin and Thomas were already there as well. The four of us turned as Cicly approached, her eyes flashing dangerously as her hair fluttered around her.

"Vampires!" she hissed.