friendships worth investing time and emotion in were with other vampires.
Fane had no trouble befriending humans. He was a social king among societyâs rejects.
I still remembered the group of misfits that flocked to him at Denali HighâGoth kids who all looked the same. At some point Fane added grunge to his repertoire of followers, as Zeke colorfully demonstrated.
The point was, he didnât let everlasting life bum him out. He had fun and thrived. It made me flush to think that out of his hordes of adoring groupies, heâd chosen to fixate on me. It didnât matter that he couldnât suck my blood. He didnât care whether I was human or vampire. I suspected it made him happy Iâd live forever⦠in theory.
Even when I pushed Fane away, he loomed at the edges of my life like a shadowâbacking me up one minute, gone the next.
I frowned. The gone part was the current problem.
Suddenly we werenât vampire and hunter. Suddenly I knew why heâd bitten Noel at the palace. The playing field had evened out. The game changed. But where did that leave us? As teammates? A high-five, good job, see you at the next meet?
Youâre just lonely , I tried telling myself.
Loneliness was worse than being drunk.
I glanced sideways at my nearest neighbor, a young woman with blue streaks in her auburn hair. Her stockings were rippedâon purpose I was pretty sureâbeneath a tweed skirt and tank top. A snakelike Chinese dragon was tattooed over her arm.
Nobody talked to her. I should have made an effort to strike up a conversation. Instead, I stared at her tattoo and wondered how much it had bled.
I opened my textbook over the desk to prevent a finger burn if I continued to rub away at the surface.
A guy wearing a UAA Seawolves baseball cap sat down in front of me. He leaned back. Sure, why didnât he shove his neck in my face?
My eyes darted back and forth between my textbook and the few inches of skin between his shirt collar and cropped hair.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
Why did I have to walk over so early? This was turning into the longest five minutes of my life. What was I even doing at university? I didnât belong here. I wasnât on campus to make friends or date or pursue a career. I was only fooling myself.
I got up. I had to get out of there.
Inside, my heart raged, but nobody noticed the vampire in torment. After stuffing my textbook, notepaper and pen inside, I grabbed my backpack by the top loop. The moment I walked out of the classroom, I felt instantly better. Free.
My feet carried me quickly down the hall, past corkboards papered in fliers, students walking in pairs, and professors headed to teach class.
I practically ran down the stairs until I pushed through the double doors leading into an open courtyard. Students sat at picnic tables and sprawled out across the lawn while the weather still permitted. Everyone around me looked like they belonged there.
Meanwhile, I felt like a dowager at a rock concert.
I was an old soul. That was the problem. Even though I was from this century, I had trouble relating to my generation.
I took my phone out and dialed Fane. Instantly, I felt less alone with the promise of someone to talk to. Better yet, he answered after the first ring.
âIs this a mission related question or do you just miss me?â Fane asked in a devious voice.
âIâm having a problem,â I said.
âWhat is it? Whatâs going on?â Fane asked, instantly switching his tone. âWhere are you?â
âIâm on campus. I was in class, but I walked out. I couldnât sit there anymore. My classmates were starting to look like walking, talking blood sacks.â
The line went quiet. Suddenly Fane laughed.
Once heâd regained his breath, he said, âWelcome to my world.â
âThe underworld,â I said sarcastically. âWhat about you? How do you fill the void now that youâre no
Learning to Kill: Stories