Black roses (Vampire Human Romance) {Intermediate}

[OneSmartChicken]

"You started pretty young," he commented, staring at the clouds. He was wearing an absent smile, like he'd forgotten to stop smiling or something.

He thought about the smoking, watching Gabriel again as he slouched; the school's rough wall was comfortably solid. Some parts of the wall were particularly smooth, like they'd been sanded down, and showed signs of fresh paint. He reached out to rub one such patch; it was a hand-span in diameter. The blood they'd covered up had stayed in that spot for a week before anyone noticed it. Some jerk had written something there. He turned to read it, tracing the letters with his fingers.

"'Perfect bliss grows only in the heart made tranquil,'" he read softly, wondering why it sounded so familiar, then he laughed. "That's great. I'll have to tell Arah that they're quoting he teacher too, now." He thumped his fist against the words, then turned to smile at Gabriel.

"It's a Hindu proverb," he explained. "Arah's originally from India. Apparently she had a teacher who was obsessed with stuff like this. She always gives him credit for the proverbs she quotes." He grinned at him, noting how he was holding his arms. After a moment, he shifted a bit closer, facing him.

* * *

"Yeah, I guess I am," she murmured, not taking her eyes off the girl; it was almost unnerving, except for that soft little all-knowing smile she had one. "But, I doubt these peons could teach me anything even remotely useful. In fact, I could teach them a thing or two. Except math. i suck at math." She grinned, and suddenly everything about her seemed brighter and more relaxed. She glanced away, at a flickering light--cheap freaking school--then she looked at her out of the corner of her eyes.

"I'm Arahni Smith--Arah's fine though. Wanna skip together?" She crinkled her nose and the corners of her eyes in a surprisingly cute smile--a smile that she'd practiced until it looked completely relaxed and completely real. It gave the impression of innocence, somehow, without making her seem naive. She'd shown her creator that expression once, by accident, and he'd told her to practice it, saying it could save her life some day. He'd turned out to be right. Back when they hanged people, she'd been accused of murder with evidence that almost couldn't be denied. She'd smiled that smile--adding some tears for good measure--at the judge and he'd ruled her innocent. True enough, she couldn't be killed by a hanging, but there were vampire hunters in that town, hunters that were watching her closely. Even they'd excepted her humanity after that trial--for the most part--and she'd skipped town before they could catch on.

[Minimetoo]

Christopher bit hard onto his tongue and looked at the ground. He frowned at his tattered shoes and spoke. "You're not mad? You kind of karate chopped my arm there." He beat away his smile, still frowning at his shoes. Chris picked at the zipper of his jacket and zipped it up until it was just a few inches below his neck.

[twilightchick4444]

Carter was mad. She was spitting angry. So what came out of her mouth surprisedher. She shook her head and said, "I'm just curious." She was stunned at the lie, or was it a lie? Did she really just want to know, or did she think that it could help her uncover the mystery of Chrisopher. It bugged her even more that she couldn't answer the questions. "Did I even hurt you?" she asked, annoyed with herself.

[Minimetoo]

Christopher flashed her a small smile and shook his head. "Not even a bit, I.. Um.. Work out?" he said it like a question, he didn't blame himself, it was the best excuse he came up with. Christopher moved his hair out of his face and gazed at her curiously. "I don't get hurt very easily." he said plainly.

[twilightchick4444]

Carter nodded. "I see that." she muttered. "Why did you bring me out here?" she asked. A few possibilities were running through her head, none good. She wanted the truth. When Carter Woodfer wants something, she stops at nothing. She wasn't even the least bit scared now because she had a full set of lungs that go off like a blowhorn. Someone would hear it, if she would be able to scream. She stared at Chris curiously with her big eyes, waiting.

[Idiocy]

Lexi laughed softly, "Ha, I suck at math, too. Well, I suck at everything, but especially math." She smiled, nodding a bit, "And I'm Alexandria, but I prefer Lexi. Nice to meet ya'. And, yeah, uh, sure. I wasn't planning on doind anything special or anything, just hang around school, maybe leave and skip the rest of the day." She shrugged, she was planning on staying out as late as she could, her father worked late shifts, so he went to work at about eleven. Lexi was trying to avoid him as best she could, but he got home about the same time she woke up for school. She felt her stomach through her coat pocket and winced slightly, there where bruises from this morning. She ignored them, "So, what do you want to do?" She yawned slightly and covered her mouth with her hand.

[vαιuε]

Yeah, OK. Idiocy, your accepted. Sorry guys, I missed a lot, so i'm going to quit. Anyone want to take charge?

[Minimetoo]

Carter nodded. "I see that." she muttered. "Why did you bring me out here?" she asked. A few possibilities were running through her head, none good. She wanted the truth. When Carter Woodfer wants something, she stops at nothing. She wasn't even the least bit scared now because she had a full set of lungs that go off like a blowhorn. Someone would hear it, if she would be able to scream. She stared at Chris curiously with her big eyes, waiting.

Christopher rubbed his arm and looked down. "Look, Carter, please, let's just go back inside." he murmured, looking back towards the school. Going back inside might or might not make it easier to control himself, for one, the field had a nice draft going around, making him not smell Carter as strongely, but there weren't any people to stop him. Inside, she smelled strong and it was very tempting, but in corner of his mind, he would stop himself from attacking, mostly because there were so many people to witness it. Chris looked back up at her, his eyes defending his many secrets. "It's cold out anyways. It wouldn't be fair for you if you got sick because of me." he smiled slightly at her.

[OneSmartChicken]

A flash of irritation came and went in Arah's eyes when the girl said she sucked at everything. "I highly doubt that," she muttered, looking away, then turned her head to smile back at her. "Nice t'meet'cha too, Lexi. We could go to lunch--" she grinned and patted her pocket; she kept a wallet, since she found purses to be a hassel--"I'm paying. My mom just sent me my allowance, and she's sorta..." She shrugged, grinning crookedly. "Rich." She stuck out the tip of her tongue and winked, hands tucked into her back pockets as she leaned back from the waist up.

"I'm new here so...no friends," she admitted, still smiling. "So--I claim you as my first friend here!" She grinned and turned the preppy phrase into a joke. Arah was an odd vampire who, after 169 years, had picked up quite a few odd habits and quirks. One such habit was an obsession with protecting people--even if that meant killing people. People like Jack. and like Lexi. More than a few times she'd been walking through the streets and ended up following someone home. More than a few times, the offended had ended up dead. Arah didn't know the meaning of discretion or self-control. She had a very one-track mind.

[Moondancer]

"You started pretty young," he commented, staring at the clouds. He was wearing an absent smile, like he'd forgotten to stop smiling or something.

He thought about the smoking, watching Gabriel again as he slouched; the school's rough wall was comfortably solid. Some parts of the wall were particularly smooth, like they'd been sanded down, and showed signs of fresh paint. He reached out to rub one such patch; it was a hand-span in diameter. The blood they'd covered up had stayed in that spot for a week before anyone noticed it. Some jerk had written something there. He turned to read it, tracing the letters with his fingers.

"'Perfect bliss grows only in the heart made tranquil,'" he read softly, wondering why it sounded so familiar, then he laughed. "That's great. I'll have to tell Arah that they're quoting he teacher too, now." He thumped his fist against the words, then turned to smile at Gabriel.

"It's a Hindu proverb," he explained. "Arah's originally from India. Apparently she had a teacher who was obsessed with stuff like this. She always gives him credit for the proverbs she quotes." He grinned at him, noting how he was holding his arms. After a moment, he shifted a bit closer, facing him.
.

“India?” Gabriel remarked in surprise. He took another drag of the cigarette before speaking again, noticing that it was almost finished. “It’s not the sort of place I’d expect Arah to come from. She very...” he paused, trying to think of the appropriate word. “Interesting” he eventually decided on.

He took a last drag of the cigarette and threw the end on to the damp concrete, watching it smoulder for a few seconds before going out completely. He crossed the arm that’d been holding the cigarette around the other, feeling the cold more now. It didn’t bother him exactly, and it wasn’t as if it could do anything to him. He supposed it was a left over human instinct, trying to keep warm.

He glanced at Jack again and smiled when he noticed he’d moved closer when Gabriel hadn’t been looking. He felt himself blush again and looked away, brushing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes.