TWENTY-NINE | ANTITHESIS

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys?" Darine makes a face at the two Azures when the finally join us for lunch. We're sitting in the usual spot outside, and, despite the still-there-chill in my bones, I've been doing my best to make normal conversation.

"Had a long night." Yuri mutters gruffly, taking his spot across from her. I'm chugging my coffee instead of meeting Darine's curious gaze as she glances between me and Blue. She knows we were going to the dance together. As a thing. Sort-of-thing?

"Is everything okay?" She asks slowly, her thing eyebrows knitting together, eyes narrowing slowly as she senses the tension.

"Peachy." Again, Yuri answers. Blue just mechanically dig into his lunch, a plain hamburger, french fries, an apple, and a box of fruit juice. I notice he's not even looking at Darine - or Yuri for that matter. Now my worry has lessened a bit, thinking maybe my earlier assessment was wrong, but then...

"We're dealing with some family stuff, Darine, don't take it personal." Blue mutters, glancing at the two after a second. I catch a little silvery-reflective-light in his irises before he returns is eyes to his food.

"Oh, uh, okay." Darine frowns and starts picking at her food again. By now, I've finished my coffee and my packed-lunch. The odd tension between me and Blue keeps getting thicker. I decide I can't take it any more and excuse myself from my friends, giving some bull-shit-excuse about talking to the councilor. No one calls me out on the lie.

- - -


Despite the coffee, I feel that sneaking exhaustion crumbling my will to get through the rest of the school day. Ms. Jin, as always, is relentless in her teaching and Ms. Jones, although relatively pleased with last night's performance, decides to lecture us on mediocrity. The point is, by the time I get to PE, I'm in no mood to deal with Blue.

The only silver-lining is knowing Yuri'll be there to break that tension. And that's why my temporary up-lifted mood crashes right through the floor when I get out of the girl's locker room and see Blue. Alone.

"Yuri's got some stuff to do for the ack, he got pulled out early." Is the only explanation Blue gives me before gesturing with his head to the back door to the gym. I hesitantly follow after him, jogging a little to keep up as his strides grow a little wider. Once outside, we're running. Not human running either. Blue seems to be throwing caution to the wind today.

We bound down the path, past the usual trail and deeper into the woods. I'm not even sure he knows where he's going as the trees around us begin to blur. There's only the rapid pace we keep and the huffing of our breaths as the winter flies past us. The perpetual cold in me doesn't let up as my muscle begin to warm. I know they're warm because of the ease of my movements and how long we run, but I don't *feel* it.

Finally, we crash through the trees, and I find we've managed to leave the school ground behind, and are now all the way on the edges of Kiwina. On a cliff, overlooking the ocean. The salty sea air is like a slap to my face, bringing on an assault of memories to the surface.

"Blue," I find my mouth working against my will.

"Red," Blue mutters, clasping his knees - breathing hard and staring purposefully at the forest floor. And still - there's nothing there. No hint of emotion. No familiar scent of parchment and pine. No *him*.

"Stop blocking me." It comes out more like an order, a growl of words that're almost inaudible. Blue closes his eyes, shaking his head, a mirthy smirk on his lips.

"I thought that's what you wanted." His words twist the already painful knife in my chest. I fight to keep my voice clear of my reaction.

"Not anymore - not for a while now." The admission somehow feels like a profession of my real emotions on the subject. And yet. He still doesn't look at me.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I just need a little space to think right now?" He shakes his head at the ocean, running a hand through his thick, black hair. "I'm in a bad place right now, Red, and I don't need you in my head."

"Okay. Fair enough," He has a point. "But you haven't even looked at me since the dance." Saying it aloud makes me feel like a toddler that didn't get their way. Spoiled. Rotten.

"There," He meets my gaze, eyes steely-silver, and arctic-cold. I flinch back, wincing despite myself. "And *that*'s why I haven't looked at you." He looks away, shaking his head and pacing again. Just like he had last night outside the infirmary. "I can't do this right now." He finally stops, muttering the words quietly, almost to himself as he glares at the ground. Before I can ask what the hell he's talking about, he turns and runs back the way we came. I groan aloud, trying not to verbalize my frustration beyond that - and follow him back to campus.

- - -

My phone buzzes when I get home. Mom sends me my schedule, something she and Luna Sandra apparently worked out. I note the start of my shift for weekdays starts an hour after school for the next three weeks. No weekends. I smile to myself, wondering what kind of hours Mom's going to be working before changing into some more comfortable clothes. And by comfortable, I mean I throw on a jacket and scarf in a feeble attempt to warm up a little more.

It doesn't work. So, I resort to making tea. After the tea Mom gave me last night, I'd felt a few degrees better, though it did nothing for the nightmares. I clean out the thermos that held my coffee and prepare the tea to go. Just to make sure it's potent enough, I add extra tea leaves to the strainer and maybe one-too-many sugar cubes.

Who cares? I take an experimental sip before sealing it up. Maybe it's the cinnamon from the cubes? But after just that little sip, I can feel my internal temperature rise a bit.

"That's the ticket," I sigh to myself and carry my precious cargo out to my car, my work apron already ties and ready to go over my clothes. I drive over to Lia's, surprised when I note there are actually some patrons inside.

"Why are you wearing that?" Mom makes a face when she sees my scarf and jacket.

"I was cold," I reply, shuffling over to her and setting my thermos by the opposite register. She's actually got a line of people waiting to check out. Azure Pack members if I'm not mistaken. I can smell the scent of pine all over them - but not all Wolven. I try not to gawk at the seemingly relaxed nature of these non-Wolven Pack members. "I can help the next customer in line," I call to the line of maybe ten?

"Thank you, deary," An older woman behind the customer Mom's helping hobbles over to my counter and begins unloading things from a wire shopping basket, bringing half the line with her. I smile at the woman, nothing the slight curve of her upper back, stark white hair, and the wrinkles of her face. Human. My nose confirms my suspicions when she finishes her task and comes closer to the register to pay.

"It's my pleasure," I tell her honestly, because really, it is. Since this is the only real job I've ever had, I'm not used to interacting with humans, let alone humans who know of the existence of Wolven. It's interesting, the prospect of me getting to study these Pack members while also getting paid.

I scan her items: a few fresh vegetables, some sort of spherical plastic device with a hole in the top, a couple cans of tuna, and one package of tofu. After scanning each item, just the way Luna Sandy taught me that first day, I place them in plastic bags and wait for the woman to collect the exact change for her groceries. She squints at the coins in her hand, setting them on the counter, then removing one, then adding another, her wispy white eyebrows knitted together anxiously.

"Would you like some help?" I ask after a moment, seeing her struggle to count the coins. She looks up at me, still frowning, then giving me a sheepish smile.

"Would you?" She holds her opened palm out to me and I nod, picking through the change to find the coins needed. "I'm getting old," The woman sighs, giving me a self-deprecating smile. "Thank you, dear," She takes her bags and gives me a wave.

"Have a good night," I call to her, feeling a little sad to see her go. She seemed like such a nice lady. Nothing like my own grandmother.

"That's Grandma Sophie," My next customer, a young man, maybe ten years older than me, nods to the exiting woman. He's tall, but not as tall as Blue or Yuri. He's got sandy brown hair that shimmers a bit under the halogen lights. He smells like pine and over-ripe strawberries. I feel my lips press into a thin line, drawing parallels to the kind of way he smells. Behind the fruit smell, I get a whiff of iron.

"You're a vampire." My tone betrays my discomfort as he unloads the stuff from his basket.

"Hm? Yep." He cocks his head to the side, studying me for a second. "And you're the hybrid-princess everyone's been gossiping about."

"P-princess?" I sputter, my eyes widening a his casual tossing out there my status. I scan his items: some sort of suntan lotion, a gallon of bleach, heavy duty trash bags, and a package of raw beef. I bag them and wait for him to pay.

"Mhm. Hale's kid. He's the leader of the Coven, so," He shrugs. "That makes you royalty around here." I bark out a surprised laugh. "Not to mention," He leans in, his dark eyes flashing crimson. "You've got pure blood on both side of the aisle."

"*Mikyle*," Mom growls from her counter, eyes laser-focused on the vampire before me. He cringes, like a kid getting scolded.

"Sorry, Lady Marissa!" He tosses over his shoulder. Mom scowls at him, but returns to her customer. "You should think about stopping by to meet the others, by the way." He tells me coolly. "I can smell the change on you." His tone's a little more subdued, eyes back to their unusual darkness.

"I'm good, thanks." I shake my head, feeling my skin crawl at just the idea of being around other bloodsuckers. He pulls a black card from his back pocket and passes t to me. I swipe the thing, tapping at the register until the transaction goes through and pass him the receipt.

"Have the shakes started yet?" His question surprises me. "Been having any nightmares lately?" I stare, transfixed at him as he leans in again, a darker look flashing across his face. "How 'bout the cold? Just can't seem to get warm these days, can you?"

"*Mica*, enough!" Mom all but yells at the guy. He barely moves at her words, studying me for another second before his expression goes back to that cheerful, relaxed look. He pulls the paper from my fingers and takes his bags from the counter.

"I'll catch you later, princess." He murmurs to me, his eyes flashing bright red again before turning to Mom. "Bye, Lady M!" Mom just scowls in response, watching the man until he leaves the store.