CHAPTER 28

Nate sat in the driver's seat of his truck and pressed his phone against his ear, waiting for whoever was on the other side of the phone to pick up. He had a few minutes to spare before first period, he decided to ring Nia. Her voice came through almost immediately, "Hello stranger."

Nate found himself smiling. "I didn't think you'd be up this early. 

She chuckled, and Nate's smile grew into a grin. Oh! What a beautiful laugh she had! "It's almost eight am. young Nate, who is still asleep?" 

"Don't call me that," he protested and she laughed, knowing being called that got to his nerves.

"Okay, chill out, I'll stop," she promised, but they both knew she didn't mean a word.

"Anyway, I need to get to class. What are you doing later today?"

"I'm not sure. why?"

"Umm, I was thinking you could come over, and we could hang out," he said into the phone, holding his breath as he waited for her reply.

"I was at your place just yesterday Nate," She commented with another laugh. "And we both know we'll not be hanging out." She laughed, " it's the other thing you want."

"Who's to say I don't want both?" He inquired as he reached for his backpack on the co-driver's seat. 

"You expect me to believe that?" She teased. "Anyway, as much as I'd like to come over, I can't today. How's tomorrow?"

He opened his door and stepped out before giving his reply, "That's totally okay. I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow to hang out."

"You're an idiot! You know that?" She remarked. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He commented as he walked towards the main entrance. "I'll call you later, I have class in like two minutes."

"Go get 'em tiger!" 

He smiled and hang up before walking up the steps at the entrace with the other students.

Just before he got to his locker, two students behind him got into a scuffle, both of them raising their voices at each other. The smaller of the two pushed the other who almost lost his footing but steadied himself with the lockers behind him. Nate was forced to turn and watch the whole thing unfold as students rushed to the scene.

"You're dead meat!" He bellowed and threw his backpack to a random student in the crowd. Filled with rage, he swung his fist in one swift motion. The other student had little to no time to react, the punch connected with a smack, landing on his jaw. He jolted back a few steps, disoriented by the punch, he blinked rapidly, trying to find his balance. Before he could, the larger student moved in quickly, his fists landing two extra punches. He then picked him up by the collar and shoved him in the crowd. 

The kid fell into Nate's arms, his face bloody from the punches. Nate's eyes quickly darkened and his fangs grew longer. He quickly looked down to avoid anyones eyes, trying hard to maintain control and blocking out the strong craving that surfaced within him. He took a quick deep breath and set the kid down before swiftly turning and pushing through crowd, weaving his way out of the chaotic scene. Once out through the back, he took quick strides to get as far away from them as possible. 

"Nate," a voice called and a hand held him back. It was Benson. "What's going on over there?" he asked and catch Nate's eyes. Once he did, he quickly let go and took a small step back, "Nate, your eyes."

"It's nothing," Nate growled looking down and quickly walked away. 

Benson stood in confusion for a second, trying to process what he had just seen. He didn't know whether to go after his friend or go find out what was happening on the other side of the hallway. Before he could make up his mind, a teacher had arrived at the scene and stopped whatever was happening and Nate had disappeared. 

Nate rushed to the boys' washroom and locked himself inside one of the stalls, taking deep breaths. He closed his eyes for a while, willing the craving to subside. He felt his fangs retract and his eyes felt lighter, he slowly opened them and exhaled deeply before opening the stall. He walked to the large mirror stretching from one end of the wall to the next, he looked at his reflection for a moment, studying his eyes, as if to confirm that they had gone back to normal. Once satisfied, he headed for the door, just as he was reaching for the handle, the door swung open. Benson walked it. 

"Nate," he drawled looking into his eyes, trying to find what he had earlier seen. There was nothing. "What happened to your eyes? A minute ago they-"

Nate quickly cut in, "They noting, Benny. Just a trick of the light or something, I'm fine," he told him, trying to sound as nonchalant he could.

Unconvinced, Benson frowned. "I don't know man. They were...I don't know, different." He noted. "You okay man?"

Nate feigned a smile, trying to hide his unease. "Yeah Benny, I'm sure. I just had a rough morning." He replied and stepped aside as another student walked in. "I need to get to class." 

Nate stepped around his friend and walked out and into the hallway, his mind still racing from the incident. He managed to distract himself from thinking about how badly the whole incident could have gone if he hadn't controlled himself and walked away. He occupied his mind with the thoughts of his time to come with Nia, and once in a while, he found himself smiling. 

Immediately after his last class later in the day, he got into his truck and drove to Farian's place where he told him everything that had happened earlier in the day. 

"And you just walked away from the whole incident?" Farian asked.

"You sound shocked," Nate commented.

"Because I am," he admitted, standing from his chair and walked to his wine table and poured them both some scotch. "You are a vampire Nate, the sight and smell of blood should make you want to suck the person dry. You managing to control yourself is quite fascinating." He went on and handed him a glass. 

Nate took a small sip and squinted his eyes at the burning sensation on his throat. "I have something to tell you," he said softly and shifted his gaze from his cup to Farian on the other side of the desk.

"What is it?"

"First you have to promise not to be angry," Nate demanded. 

Farian straightened his back on his chair and looked at the teenager, studying his face, trying to guess what was on his mind. "What is it Nate?" He repeated.

The boy took another sip, squinted his eyes and exhaled deeply before speaking. "It's about Nia, we've been hanging out and..."

"And what Nate?"

"She has been helping me with my cravings," he replied, and leaned back on the chair, waiting for Farian's reaction. 

"What do you mean she has been helping you with your cravings?"

"My cravings for blood. She...she umm, she lets me have small amounts of her blood whenever we hang out."

Nate noted that the man in front of him wasn't shocked in the slightest, but then again, you could never tell with him. He had mastered the art of maintaining a calm and composed face, regardless of the situation and his feelings inside. Nate believed that his calm expression was one of the things that made him so dangerous. One second he would be looking at you with a blank face and before you knew it, he would be ripping your throat out. 

He sighed and gently rested his glass on the desk before leaning forward. "And who came up with this idea? You or her?" 

Nate seemed confused for a second, but managed to answer, "It's not important. All that matters is that it's working. If it wasn't for me and her doing this I wouldn't have been able to control myself today."

"I really hope you know what you are doing. It's a very dangerous game you two are playing. You're treading on thin ice, Nate. One slip, one moment of losing control, and she loses her life. Human blood-"

Nate cut in, "I know, but I won't let that happen. I would never hurt her, I care about her." He insisted.

"You think you caring about her is enough to keep her safe?" He paused and stood, picking his glass and walking to the wine table. "The line between control and chaos is thin, especially for a new vampire like yourself. Once you cross that line, you will have opened Pandora's box, and there is no telling what will come out." 

"I'll be very cautious Farian, I promise." 

"See that you are," Farian replied, his voice calm as always.

Nate stood and walked to where Farian was, "Thank you for understanding," he said softly as he gave back his empty glass. 

Farian gave a slow, deliberate nod without any clear sign of approval or disapproval. Nate took that as a cue, turning his back to him and leaving the room.