Chapter Seventeen

Raven became more active as the day grew closer to an end even after classes were over. He felt more energized than ever, which came in handy while Carson seemed to be only getting worse.

He took on Carson's work out of guilt but even though it was because he felt bad, he was still more than willing to do them. Being happy with this energy he didn't want it to stop, it made him feel as if he could do anything. The unusual clarity that the energy provided by Carson allowed Raven to work as hard as he wanted. Without getting tired there was no stopping him and he easily became wrapped up with prepping for the basketball game including irrelevant tasks.

Since he got so enthused with the work he hadn't given himself a chance to return to the room where Menay was. This made it so that he couldn't talk to Menay more about what was happening to Carson or even himself.

But Raven almost didn't care either, since it was only benefiting him he pushed it off further not wanting to know the truth at that moment. He knew since it was Friday he would have all the time in the world to talk to Menay about the energy he had and Carson could rest off the energy he lacked without causing any issues. Raven deceived himself having lifted the gravity of the situation so that he could continue to enjoy himself without guilt.

While he was finishing up he had finally run out of things to do before the game was about to start. Checking his list of required tasks to be done one last time he was heading to check the locker room when he heard footsteps rushing down the hall.

Knowing there shouldn't be anybody but the basketball team down in that area and they were all currently occupied in the gym. He wondered if he would actually have to deal with those rumored fans trying to get a peek into the boys locker room or possibly the one stealing items during the games.

As crazy as he thought it was to stop them he wasn't about to just let them go either. Sneaking around the corner he felt a sudden pain in his chest upon seeing who it was, narrowing his brow confused he froze.

Jewels and Carson both stood in front of the locker room door having a casual conversation as if there were nothing unusual about it. This caused Raven to remain quiet and listen in though he couldn't hear them very well from the distance he was at. Looking at her she seemed fine like nothing affected her like it did Carson and Raven realized he had worried for nothing but now both of them were blocking where he needed to go.

He became conscious of Menay's warning about consequences of feeding on his friends but he couldn't recall why or if he even listed the reasons why. Rubbing his chest lightly while he tried to recall what was said he wondered if there was a connection between the pain and them. His chest was hurting but it wasn't burning so he passed the thought off thinking it was just an unusual coincidence and that he should be okay.

Once the thought of worry left him he quickly became angered at the sight of her. Before yesterday she was his friend and crush, he would let her back there to roam down these very halls all the time just so he could see her but now he knew it was only for Carson. Seeing them together now, he should have known her intentions.

"Hmph" he let out a grunt not caring to watch them any longer.

He didn't want to waste anymore of his time thinking about them or what had happened the night before with her. Finding it pointless now he rather just avoid her. Turning to leave he noticed that he finally was starting to feel as exhausted as he should be from all the extra work he had done. Even though nothing really started to show yet in his features nor did he get to the point of dragging his feet tired, his stomach turned growling out of hunger.

"Guess I shouldn't have skipped lunch" Raven mutter to himself while he began to walk away forgetting the things he needed to do going towards the bathrooms. Where he knew he could hide till the game started knowing she couldn't get to him then.

"Raven" Carson shouted calling out to him to get his attention having caught a glimpse of the red hair before Raven got out of view.

This made Raven jump to being seen but now Carson's deep voice echoed through the hall and he couldn't just pretend not to have heard it. Raven closed his eyes for a moment letting his shoulders drop, releasing an irritated sigh he really wished Carson hadn't, if he only knew how inconvenient the situation he was causing.

He slowly looked back at them seeing Carson motioning for him to stop walking while he said something to her. Raven shook his head wondering what he could possibly need him for. At least until he made it clear that he was leaving her to him by going back into the locker room. Raven sucked on his teeth watching how easily caught he was by Carson and the irony of how Carson misunderstood, assuming Raven would want to talk to her.

Raven snorted as he wondered just what Carson could be thinking since he had yet to question what had happened last night with her. Though he seemed so willing to push them together just like always. Thinking about it more he didn't even ask about why Raven left, this bothered him some. Carson clearly saw them kiss and yet the only thing he seemed to want to talk about today about was the female version of Raven and barely even that much.

Wrapped up in his thoughts about Carson playing his games of match maker it took him a while to even realize that Carson was not with the team. This became a bit alarming having wondered just what this meant for the game tonight but since Carson was in his uniform he knew this implied that Carson still planned to play but now Raven was concerned at the condition he would be playing in if he was still so sluggish.

While Raven was thinking to himself he surprisingly forgot about Jewels leaving her to have to brush her hand in front of his face to get his attention. This made Raven jerk back a bit find the hand a bit of a surprise being so close without his notice. Though when he finally looked to her he calmed down and went back to normal just wanting to get over with this awkward talk they were about to have.

"You okay?" She asked after bringing his attention to her.

Her soft smile almost fooled Raven to believe that everything was normal. Though looking her over he could see she seemed similar to Carson, a little tired with the bags under her eyes. It was smaller details that showed that she was drained of energy but other than that she still seemed like her usual self. He was a little worried but still relieved as he noted she was still affected the same even though it was different. This information was something he needed to know. He also noticed her familiar tone seemed almost innocent even for what had happened yesterday he questioned that maybe she had forgotten what she did when intoxicated.

This gave him some relief in the thought that he could just push her away without having to explain anything. As long as she didn't remember pushing her away could be a simple task if he just expressed to Carson how he was no longer interested. Carson wouldn't take them out anywhere with her involved and Raven could just ignore the calls.

Shaking his head he brought himself out of thought he only needed to get away from her now, "Ugh, I have to go to the bathroom..." he muttered out as he went to walk past her.

Looking away he didn't want to remain eye contact with her so that she couldn't continue to speak but she reached out catching his shirt making him look back anyways.

"Can you hold on for a moment?" She pleaded knowing he probably wouldn't want to talk to her again but she had something to say and couldn't let him avoid her.

Raven huffed feeling the tug for some reason he knew leaving her sight wasn't going to be that easy now, "Need something?" he sneered jerking his shirts fabric from her grasp showing how little of an interest he had in standing around.

"We need to talk" she says slowly looking to him peering into his eyes in a semi begging manner.

"Tsk" Raven hissed looking into her big brown eyes even now they seemed so honest and innocent which bothered him even more. Gritting his teeth he let out a sigh knowing this meant she remembered all of it just like Carson.

He really didn't want to but he knew she really only caused so much trouble now because of what he was, from a normal human's perspective he wouldn't even have cared to be this mad at her now. It was just so out of character for him to be angry over a kiss and he knew he needed to calm down before it was noticed.

Combing his fingers through his hair frustrated he agreed to having a talk before the game begun, "I guess" he sighed giving into her.

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