Friendship

I fume through campus, so angry that my face is probably red, and I expect steam is blowing from my ears. I luckily manage to make it through my dorm without encountering anyone, and eventually reach the safety of my dorm room. I slam the door shut behind me and lean my back against the door as if I could shut out the world.

Across the room from me, Anna is staring into a pink trimmed mirror that has polaroid pictures of us taped to the sides of it, there are also a few stalker-like polaroid pictures of Luca walking through campus taped there. I'm tempted to cross the room and tear them off right now.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Anna says into the mirror, she's wearing a suit which looks extremely out of place amongst her décor of mostly pink and yellow, "But I think you've misunderstood my point." She's speaking in a low professional-like voice. "no, no, no." She shakes her head displeased with something, then clears her throat, "I'm sorry to interrupt!" She says again, this time with more gumption.

"Practicing for debate?" I ask her. She turns toward me smiling, and at the sight of her I feel my anger subsiding. There is a sense of safety I feel in this room, a safety that I feel when I'm around my friend who I trust with my life.

"Yes." She sags her shoulders as if it's exhausting talking to her reflection. "Would you actually mind practicing with me for a bit? I'm supposed to argue why religion shouldn't be a part of government... whatever that means?"

I blink at her, and try to imagine her having a civil debate about a topic like that.

~She needs lots of practice.~

"erm," I make my way to my bed, "I'm actually pretty exhausted today-" I start, but stop when Anna gasps with so much theatrics that I think there may be a person standing behind me with a gun. "What?" I ask, "What is it?"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR NECK?" She asks, and she's suddenly standing right in front me, mouth agape in horror, her vampire teeth fully exposed.

"Nothing." I shake my head and move past her to sit on my bed.

"TIA!" she follows me, and puts her hands on her hips. "how dare you lie to me! tell me what happened, RIGHT! NOW!"

I chuckle cause she's acting like a mom, and it's uncommon for her.

She throws herself onto my bed and we both bounce on the mattress before she lowers her voice and asks, "did someone bite you?" this question is different from when Luca and Travis asked, she's not asking if vampires forced themselves on me, she's asking if I agreed to be fed off of. "Do you have a boyfriend you aren't telling me about?"

I push her off the bed when she asks this question, and she falls on her butt and squeals. "What is it?" she says, "Tell me now!"

I sigh and look away from her, I know she wont rest until I tell her, "It's not a bite mark." I pause, "Some mean kids decided that I need to be punished for their terrible lives."

Anna silences as this, "They bullied you?" She stands.

"Something like that."

Anna snarls, "Who the hell was it?"

I shake my head, "It doesn't matter, it's over now."

"No it's not!" Anna crosses her arms, "It's not over until they're punished for what they did! Wait until your dad hears! He'll expel them for sure!"

"No!" I put up my hands, "My dad can't find out!"

"But Tia-"

"If dad finds out..." I shake my head, "He'll take me out of school too. I'll have to go to a school for mortals, somewhere else..."

Anna bites her lip and looks at me with big eyes like she's pitying me.

"Stop looking at me like that." I tell her. "I told you, it's done now."

~And if Luca really did something... they apparently won't bother me again.~

I shake that thought from my head.

Anna sits on my bed again, and takes my hand in hers. "At least tell me what happened."

I sigh again, because the idea of reliving the events sounds terrible. But I tell her anyway. I tell her how they dragged me through campus, how they locked me in a room. I tell her it was Luca's groupies but I don't tell her why they beat me up. I don't tell her that Luca ever spoke to me. I tell her that I ran into some kids from the ping pong club and that they cleaned me up after... But I don't tell her that Luca was one of them, or that he apparently fixed the problem some how.

Anna looks sickened by the events of the story, and when I finish she's gripping my hand tight between hers. "Oh Tia." she leans her head on my shoulder and I think she might be crying. "I'm so sorry... If I had stayed with you on the bench... then maybe they wouldn't have-"

"This is not your fault." I tell her, "Just as much as it's not mine."

"Well," She sniffles, and it confirms that she's crying, "At least those people from your ping pong club helped. I'm glad that you have other friends that can help you now."

"Yeah..." I say, "About that.... I quit the club today too."

"You did?" She looks up at me. "But I thought you were having fun there?"

I shake my head, "I wasn't."