Night Class

September 9th, 2019

Monday 6:30pm

Rain patters against the tin roof of the small shack from outside. There’s no way it’s daylight now, considering we’ve been here for nearly five hours. Ehren had convinced me to get some sleep and, reluctantly, I complied. Now, I’m fiddling with the frays on my dirt-smeared jeans, counting down the number of things I’m going to do when I get out of here- if I get out of here.

1. Take a well-deserved shower.

2. Give Natalia a piece of my mind for not warning me about vampire hunters possibly infiltrating the school grounds.

3. Fill out a will leaving everything I own to Jackie.

4. Face my fears and kiss Kieran.

Okay, maybe number four shouldn’t happen at all, but I wish it could. Sitting here in the dark for so long, I’ve had more than enough time to finally process what happened to me. My dad and little sister passed away, I was sent to some vampire school to heal one of my only living relatives who happens to be a Queen of vampires, my first kiss was stolen by the school’s playboy, Kieran forced a kiss on me and invaded my privacy in the process, and Ehren and I shared a very special (or could’ve been special) moment right before getting attacked by vampire hunters. Yeah, it’s been a hectic month.

I’m not sure anymore where Ehren is in the room, but I’m sure it’s not too far away. The shack is only so big, or so I think it is at least.

“Ehren?” I test out. “You still here?”

“Yeah, still here.” His voice comes from somewhere towards my right, probably next to the door to keep watch. “You alright?”

I nod, despite not knowing whether he can see me or not. “Yeah.” A deep breath in before asking him, “What’s your favorite color?”

The silence between us is deafening before he finally asks, “What?”

“What’s your favorite color?” I asked him once more.

“Why?”

“Because I’m bored, and we could use this time to get to know one another a lot better. That’s why.”

Silence. Shuffling. I can now feel his shoulder pressing against my own, letting me know he’s decided to sit next to me on the hay covered floor now rather than wherever he was before.

“Brown.”

“Brown?”

“Brown.”

I think it over for a moment before saying, “Brown is an odd choice. Not many people would go for the color, thinking it seems boring.”

“Well, sometimes boring is what’s best for someone.”

He’s not wrong. I could definitely go for some boring here lately.

“Yours?” He asks while nudging me gently.

My shoulders shrug themselves. “I don’t really have a favorite if I’m being completely honest. But-” Thoughts begin swirling around my mind, attempting to pick out a color, any color that stands out. My mind fixates on the moment Ehren, and I had shared before the attack, the way his eyes were shining brightly as they peered into mine. “If I had to single out a particular color for the purpose of choosing a favorite, I’d have to say blue.”

“Pretty basic, don’t you think?” Ehren snorts now. “Any particular shade that tickles your fancy?”

“Bright blue,” I answer automatically. “The kind of blue that reminds you of the shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea. A blue that seems electric, as if the color is alive and attempting to drown you just so you can’t leave to discover other colors. A consuming blue with just that right amount of green to show off how unique it truly is.”

It’s quiet for a moment and I find myself blushing now at just how sappy that must’ve sounded. I feel even more embarrassed though that all I could think about when I said it was Ehren’s eyes. The orbs constantly captivate me and even though they are similar to Kieran’s, the two couldn’t be more different.

“That was quite deep for someone who doesn’t really have a favorite.”

“What can I say, I thrive to become a writer one day.” My fingers drum against the wooden floor now. “What about music- What type of music are you into?”

“Don’t laugh,” he warns.

“Never.”

He takes a minute before saying quietly, “Classical.”

Now I can only think of us when we were dancing in the dining hall during the announcement of Natalia’s disease. Ehren had seemed tense the entire time, but he was also fixated on other things that didn’t involve listening to music.

“Nothing to laugh at,” I admit to him. “I just so happen to appreciate classical music as well.”

He snorts once more. “Doubtful. I’m sure your iPod is full of teenaged angst.”

My face holds one of offense as I turn in his direction now, sitting on my knees as my hands rest on my thighs. “It does not. My most played composer happens to be Debussy actually. Second most played would have to go to Beethoven.”

“Really?” Ehren sounds skeptical now.

“Yeah, really.” I let out a small laugh at his sounds of disbelief. “One of my favorites by him is Für Elise. For Debussy it would have to be Clair De Lune. I could sit and listen to that piece all day and never grow tired of it.”

“I never would’ve guessed that about you.” His words caused another blush to spread across my face. “It’s honestly refreshing to know that there are others out there who appreciate the old composers still. My favorite also happens to be Clair De Lune. My mother would hum the melody to me every night as she tucked me in, at least, I think she did. Their one of the few memories I have of her and sometimes I often wonder if they were even real.”

Hearing him talk about his mother now causes a pang in my chest, remembering Romans’ words of caution about the sensitive subject. He must be really opening up if he’s willing to mention her at all. A part of me wants to comfort him, let him know that he can open up to me about her, but it feels as though that’s not exactly my place.

“Sometimes-” I suck in a breath now, realizing that what I’m about to say out loud is something I’ve never voiced before. “I get a faint scent of roses, but it’s not happened in nearly two years. My mother would spend every free minute she had in her garden, trimming roses or splicing certain plants to make the most beautiful creations. When she died-” My chest grows heavier with each word. “I couldn’t even stand seeing the color red anymore. It took seven months until I could finally look at a single rose. I can’t help but replay the last time I seen her in the garden. Her blonde curls were thrown up without a care and dirt smeared across her face, but she didn’t bother wiping it away because that’s the type of woman she was. She didn’t care about anyone’s opinions about her. She would always be in her nursing uniform because it’s all she ever did. It was the week before she passed, and I had wanted to help her trim the bushes. She finally taught me how to use the cutters, but still wouldn’t let me cut the roses.”

Ehren’s fingers gently drum against my knee now. “My mom was the reason I got into classical music. I wanted to learn how to play Claire De Lune on the piano, but I eventually discovered a love for nearly all instruments. Now, I find myself stuck between the piano and the cello.”

My eyes widen now. “It was you! You were the one playing that day in the mystery room!”

“You-” He sounds confused now. “What?”

I can’t help but laugh now. “Romans had told me we couldn’t go in the room, but I wanted to see who was playing so badly. You are by far the most amazing cello player I’ve ever heard.”

“W-Whatever,” he stutters out, clearly flustered at being complimented.

My face lights up now and I can feel my heart beating faster at the thought of having made Ehren blush even the slightest. “It’s true. You were even better than Bach. I swear it.”

“Okay, okay.” His hands rest on my shoulders, leaning back towards the wall until my back rest against it. “I get your point, but please don’t let others know that I practice. It’s something I like to keep to myself.”

“Why though?”

A moment of silence before he releases a shaky breath. “Because I play for my mom. I don’t like the idea of people hearing something she would’ve loved to hear, but can’t.”

“Oh...” My chest tightens now, realizing I must’ve stepped over a line. “I’m sorry that I listened in-”

“No.” He cuts me off and I feel his hand brush mine. “I don’t care that you heard it. Actually, I don’t think I would mind playing for you. I feel like Mom would’ve liked you a lot. Dad said she was outspoken and constantly advocated for half-bloods and humans.” He’s quiet now. “What about your mom? You think she would’ve bene accepting of vampires?”

“Well, she accepted my dad pretty easily,” I laughed out. “I believe she would’ve loved this place. Her belief was that every breathing thing was made to breathe equally with everything else. I can remember when she found out the Jackie, a friend of mine back in LA, was being bullied for being half Asian. She marched straight up to the school and demanded a meeting with the principal. Jackie was a bit embarrassed, but I think she appreciated being stood up for. Mom was always a pro-equality person.”

“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Ehren asks as he leans into me more. “Remembering them and realizing you’ll never make new memories.”

I nod. “It is sometimes, but we just have to be thankful for the ones we do have. It doesn’t bode well to dwell on ghosts. If we do, then we’ll pass up the memories we could be making with the living.”

“Pretty wise words,” he says with a playful undertone.

Quietly, I breathe out, “I’m a struggling wannabe author. I better have a few wise words hidden underneath all this teenaged angst.”

The silence once again grows between us. His hand is so close to mine that I can almost feel his smooth skin. The itch to just reach out and interlock our fingers again is almost overwhelming. Deciding to change the subject, I searched for something to talk about that would be less heavy.

“I never got to officially thank you for defending me against Emmy in the cafeteria,” I finally admit out loud. “I was going to, but a lot of different things came up and it seemed weird after that to bring it up. It took some talking with Peyton to realize you were just being a good friend and not some jerk, so, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He pauses before saying, “But, I shouldn’t have handled things the way I did. I should’ve been calmer and not so quick with my temper. Normally, I’m pretty level-headed.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed you’ve been a lot quicker to get angry lately. You were so calm when we first met. What changed?”

He stays silent for the longest time, making me feel as though I made a slight mistake in asking. Finally, he says, “It’s not really something I would feel comfortable talking with you about. It’s personal.”

“Oh.” I reach out and tap his hand gently, taking the opportunity to hold his hand again. “That’s okay. I understand. Trust me, there are things I don’t feel comfortable talking about out loud either.”

My hand stays there, resting on his in an innocent way, but I know the real motive behind it. A small part of me, a very small part, has somehow started to find Ehren attractive. It’s not the same way I find his brother attractive either. With Kieran, it’s mainly his looks, but with Ehren- There’s something about him, something that almost pulls me into him even when I want to pull away. His captivating eyes, even the smell of him right now; mints. It’s as if the guy has bathed in spearmint gum for the last ten years and now permanently smells that way. A part of me briefly worries about his scent because of Peyton, but if Ehren had that kind of gift surely, he would’ve used it by now.

“Speaking of personal.” I flip our hands so that I’m able to trace patterns into his open palm, something I would do with Melanie when we would watch cartoons together. “Would you mind if I asked what your gift is?”

The hand I’m holding shakes a bit, a tremor in it now after my question. “Are you sure you want to know?” His voice is just as shaky.

Something about hearing his tone and feeling the jolt in his hands causes my heart to pick up. Do I really want to know now after that response? No, but I’m curious. Almost too curious for it to be considered healthy.

“Is it something bad?”

His hand now encloses mine, holding it like he’s trying to keep me from disappearing. “It’s not something that I’m proud to consider a gift. Everyone in this academy only tolerates me because of my gift. Even the Queen and the rest of the council tend to stay on my good side, annoyingly, only because of my gift.”

“So...” I trial off before simply saying, “It’s bad then.”

A dark chuckle escapes his lips before he says, “Yeah, pretty much.”

I think it over for a moment. Either it’s something dangerous or it’s something really cool. Knowing Ehren though, it’s probably something really amazing that he only hates because it involves himself. But if it is something dangerous, then I’ll at least know to keep on his good side as well.

“I still want to know,” I finally admit to him.

He sighs out a breath of defeat from beside me before releasing my hand. “Let me get some light going first.”

I can hear something clicking multiple times just as little momentary flickers of orange spark in front of me. Slowly, candlelight begins to illuminate the small shack. Ehren holds a lantern in his hand as he pockets a silver flip-lighter with the other. Gently, he places the only available light source onto the ground between us. He’s on his knees now with his hands resting on his thighs so I follow his lead.

I can’t help but glance between him and the lantern though. “We had a light the entire time and you had me sitting in the dark?”

His brown bangs fall into his eyes a bit as they narrow on me. “I didn’t think we needed it. I could see just fine.”

“What-” I shut my lips tightly, knowing better than starting an argument right now. He’s finally opening up to me and we’ve been getting along so well. “Alright. Let’s see your gift.”

His eyes begin glowing a bright blue before he lifts his hand out in between us. His palm faces up as he lets out a deep, pained breath, and something almost like liquid smoke begins leaking from it. The blackish grey tendrils begin pooling down onto the floor between us. I look into Ehren’s eyes and see nothing but pain and fear in those bright blue orbs I’m slowly becoming obsessed with. A small part of me finds the smoke interesting, but another, bigger part of me wants him to stop. That pain and fear in his eyes makes my chest feel heavy, makes my palms itch, and causes my insides to flare with white-hot anger. Anger at nothing in particular.

The sight of the smoke clouding the floor in between us reminds me briefly of the mystery door where he was playing the haunting melody on the cello. The scene showed a man using something similar on a group of people while soldiers, knights, fought against it. Could that be how Ehren sees his gift, as something that horrid? Or is that what it’s truly capable of?

Slowly, I use my index finger to attempt at feeling the pooled blackness in front of me. It looks as though it would feel like an actual cloud, a very early 2000’s gothic cloud.

“Stop!” The smoke begins vanishing beneath the floorboards as Ehren closes his palm up tightly, panting from the amount of pain he must’ve been in. “Don’t ever touch it. Promise me!”

I look between him and the slowly dissipating smoke on the floor. “Why? What is it?”

He looks torn now as he rubs his wrists. “I call it Nether. It’s a one-of-a-kind gift, no one else has ever had it, that we know of. No one that’s still alive anyways.”

“What happens when it gets touched?”

Those eyes now look haunted, brightened, but haunted. “Pain. Torment. And in one case, death.”

“You-” I take a deep breath, not wanting it to sound like an accusation. “You killed someone with- with the nether?”

Ehren nods now. “It was an accident. I was was just learning how to use it when it had happened. I was- I was young and scared of what was happening to me and someone- She tried helping me, but I...”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked him quietly.

His head shakes before he finally puts his hands back on his thighs. “No, I’m alright. It’s not something we should really talk about right now.”

“Alright.” The flickering flame in the lantern casts a pretty light on his eyes and I can’t help but stare into them. “Well, when do you think it would be safe to leave out of here?”

He sighs before leaning back against one of the walls. “Not too much longer. I’m sure they would have cleared the woods by now- The guards for the school that is. They would’ve taken care of any hunters left behind at this point. We just have to wait until they give us the okay.”

“How will they know where to find us?”

His eyes meet mine before he holds his left hand out, showing off a black leather band with a simple metal locket infused into the leather itself. “Tracker. Keeps track of our thirst levels, sleep schedule, and locations.”

So, the school keeps trackers on all the vampires, even the dhampirs. This place is starting to seem more like a cage for them rather than a school.

“Only Queen Natalia tracks us,” Ehren admits after a moment. “And it’s only us gifted students. We’re basically her own little unique collection, at her ready in case she needs us for some higher purpose. To the ungifted students, we’re Queen Natalia’s prized possessions, so they don’t bother with us much.”

“Don’t say that!” I snapped at him. “You’re more than just some possession of my aunt’s. I mean it, Ehren.” My eyes focus on him now. “Don’t say it like that.”

“What’s it matter to you anyways?” He seems to be slipping back into his old self now. “You’re one of the royals. You shouldn’t even be getting this up close and personal with me in the first place. Might tarnish your reputation.”

Heat and something else floods my chest, making me feel angry. The unfamiliar feeling makes its way down into my stomach. “You should know by now that I could care less about anything involving royalty. I’m not some pampered princess and you’re not some special tool for my aunt to use whenever she feels like it. And I’ll make sure she knows that too.”

“Why!” He stands to his feet now. “What do you gain from it? Why help me and cause yourself so much trouble? If you don’t care about royal business then stay out of it.”

I stand to my own feet now. “Why do you care about whether or not I cause trouble for myself?”

“I don’t!”

“Good!”

He lets out a dramatic chuckle before running a hand through his hair. “I don’t even know why I agreed to help you in the first place.”

“Help me?” I place a hand on my chest. “I never asked you for any type of help.”

“Yeah, well, the Queen did.”

Anger starts to fill each nook and cranny of my entire body. “Well, consider this me dismissing you from your duty. I don’t want your help with anything!”

There’s a small part of me, okay, a huge part of me that feels hurt that he only saved me like he had, like has been doing, because he’s been ordered to. There probably isn’t even a single ounce of him that likes me as anything more than a burden.

“Well, that’s too bad!” His eyes begin glowing a dangerous blue. “Until the Queen gives the command, I am your personal guard. So, suck it up and deal with it, just like I have to.”

“So, that’s it, huh?” My hands begin to tremble. “I’m something you have to deal with, nothing more. I’ll be sure to remember that the next time you’re ‘saving’ my life; that it’s something you have to deal with.”

“That’s not what I meant-”

“But it’s what you said.”

He growls before getting closer towards me. “Why am I even bothering with this? Getting close to you is a waste of time. You barely even notice me, even though I’m the first one you met when you came here. You’ve been too busy trailing after my brother like a lost little puppy, then you go and kiss him-”

“Hold on there, pal!” I poke his chest roughly. “I didn’t kiss anyone! Kieran kissed me! Sorry, assaulted me, right after Peyton assaulted me first. I didn’t plan on kissing anyone from this god-awful school, thank you very much.”

“Peyton didn’t assault you,” Ehren breathes out now, frustrated. “He was giving you a test, a test I approved of so we could prove Emmy’s innocence. I knew you would get upset if anything happened to her.” His eyes begin to soften. “You’d blame yourself and I didn’t want that.”

Suddenly, I begin to slowly realize something very disturbing. Peyton had said that Knox was infatuated with me and that he wouldn’t let anything go too far. He hadn’t meant Kieran, he meant Ehren. It makes me begin to wonder about Romans and how he always said Knox and never Kieran. He and Peyton both had always said the last name, never the first.

Knox would not be pleased.

I just do as Knox commands.

There’s no wonder Knox has become so infatuated with you.

Knox would never let me go too far with you.

It’s been him this entire time. He’s been the one telling Romans to stay away from me. Thinking about the idea of Ehren being infatuated with me causes a shiver to run down my spine, but there’s also doubt in my mind. Ehren doesn’t seem like he wants anything to do with me like that, especially not after what he’s just admitted.

“You told Romans to stay away from me.” My voice is quiet, barely above a whisper. “And Peyton said you were infatuated with me.”

His eyes begin frantically scanning my face before he looks away, jaw ticking. “We should be good to leave now. I’m sure everything’s fine.”

He goes to walk away, but my hand catches his inner elbow. “Ehren-”

“Get off me!” He snaps at me, jerking his arm away from my grip. He pushes himself as far away from me as he can, just a small bit of black smoke pooling around his feet before seeping into the floorboards and disappearing. “Don’t touch me when I’m angry like this.”

“What. Will I not like you when you’re angry?” I ask him with a bite in my tone. “Grow up, Ehren. Admit that you were the one bullying Romans.”

“I didn’t bully anyone, Isabella.” His eyes are still glowing as he stares at me from across the small room, refusing to move from his spot now. “I warned him not to be alone with you. I didn’t need you getting attacked by any vampires while I was busy with other things.”

“He’s a dhampir who’s mastered control over his thirst.” I stare at him with mild annoyance. “Try again.”

Ehren looks uncomfortable now, but before he can say anything, the door starts rattling. The vampire jumps directly in front of me, his palm flat against my stomach, holding me at bay, and his back muscles tight with anticipation of an attack. My hands shakily grip his shirt as I tuck my head into his backside. This isn’t what we need right now. We need to take a breather and just apologize to each other for what was said. Talking is the only way to solve whatever this is between us, and we can’t do that with people constantly attacking us.

“I’m opening this up.” His voice is deep and coarse. “I’m using nether, so stay away from it. No matter what, don’t touch it. Got it?”

I nod my head as I pant out, “I got it.”

Smoke begins leaking from his palms before he unlatches the bronze lock on the door, swinging it open with a loud thwack. There’s barely any light left to shine into the shack, but anything is better than nothing.

“Woah! Woah!” A voice that sounds very much like Peyton sounds out from in front of Ehren. “Put the nether away, dude. It’s just us!”

I peek out from behind Ehren to see our friends standing outside. Vera, Rhea, Peyton, Romans, and even Giles is standing just outside of the shack. All of them look as though they had just fought for their lives. It’s been hours, surely they haven’t been fighting this entire time. The ripped clothing, blood-stains, and messy hair from each one of them, however, leads me to believe they have.

It’s nearly pitch-black outside of the shack, moonlight barely offering any form of guidance as we slowly exit it. I survey the area while still clinging to Ehren closely. My hands grip the back of his shirt still while his hands slowly start absorbing all of the nether it had spilt. There’s a look of something similar to relief and drowsiness on Rhea’s face now as her eyes meet mine.

“You’re okay!” Her arms wrap around me and I immediately return her embrace. The warmth in my chest is counterbalanced by the coldness of her touch. “I thought for sure they got you. I- I’m so sorry that I yelled at you before. I didn’t mean any of it. I was just worried about you, I promise.”

I can’t help but chuckle as tears wet my eyes, realizing now just how much I wanted to see my friends after not knowing whether or not they were okay. “I’m fine, Rhea. I’m just glad you’re okay too.”

She relaxes her grip on me and sighs out, “We couldn’t find you two anywhere. Everyone’s been worried sick.”

I’m pulled from her embrace as Ehren turns her towards him. “What do you mean no one could find us?” He lifts his arm up to show the tracker. “Where’s the Queen?”

“Mother was called away for some business at another school,” Giles finally says. “Reinridge Academy.”

Ehren’s hand releases Rhea’s wrist. “The Lycan school...” His eyes begin glowing now. “What are the odds that she gets called away by them right before we get attacked by a group of hunters.”

“That’s the thing,” Vera says as she steps forward. “I don't think lycans have anything to do with it. These weren’t your typical hunters.” She grips the arrow that nearly killed me and tosses it to Ehren. “They were ancients.”

The arrow’s long stem has a strange symbol etched into the spot directly beneath the fletching. A complete circle with a capitalized B inside of it. It looks oddly familiar, but I don't remember from where exactly. I’m assuming this is their symbol judging by the way Ehren’s hand tightens around the arrow, nearly snapping it in the process.

I finally looked around and noticed that there’s someone missing from our little group. “Where’s Kieran?”

Everyone but Ehren and I seem upset. Vera has this look on her face that makes me repeat the question, only more frantic this time. “Where is Kieran?”

Romans steps closer to us and dips his head a bit before muttering, “Kieran was taken during the fighting. We tried everything-“

Ehren immediately lifts the poor guy up and slams him against the nearest tree, his hands gripping the front of Romans jacket, trembling with clear anger. “What did you just say?”

“He’s been taken, Ehren.” Romans takes in a shaky breath. “We did everything we could, but there were too many of them.”

Vera grips Ehren’s shoulders and pulls the two boys apart. “Ehren, it’s not his fault. He’s telling the truth. We were outnumbered and by the time we had them on the run…” She looks down at the ground now. “Kieran was gone.”

Rhea steps in between Romans and Ehren. “There was nothing we could do. We had to fight them off and Kieran was unconscious.”

Vera begins sniffling out, “I only looked away for a second and they took him. I tried using my- I couldn’t get the flames to obey me. I am so sorry, Ehren.”

Ehren’s eyes glow the brightest I’ve ever seen them now. “We’re going to find him, kill the ones who took him, and then bring him back home.” He walks away from us before gritting out, “Rhea, take Isabella back to her room. Now.”