Divine Vices (30 page)

The
entire New Haven High’s parking lot did a double take as the Impala rolled up.
The words exchanged between my fellow classmates may have been discrete, but
their wide-eyed stares directed at Jack and me like we had just wrestled with a
lion and lived to tell the tale were about as subtle as a one-ton TNT bomb
going off.

“I
can’t believe she actually came to school,” whispered one of the girls passing
by the car.

“I
know. I would have taken the whole rest of the week off if I was her. Not like
the school could argue with it,” said her friend. “I heard that the guy tried
to shoot her in the face.”

“Looks
like the rumor mill hasn’t slowed down any,” remarked Jack, unlocking his glove
box. “And it’s just as mistaken as ever.”

“What
is that?” I asked, watching him pull out a slipjoint pocketknife and ankle
sheath from the compartment when the coast was clear.

“I
want you to carry this with you,” he said, motioning for me to give him my
foot.

He
pushed my pant leg up enough so that he could strap the holder around my ankle.

“Is
this really necessary?” I asked.

“Better
safe than sorry.”

“I’m
not sure if you’re aware of this, but this COMPLETELY goes against the Student
Policy Handbook,” I commented.

“Yeah,
well, we still have no idea who this lunatic is, so I’d feel better if you at
least had some sort of protection. It could be another student for all we
know.”

Normally,
I would shy far away from carrying a concealed weapon, especially on school
grounds, but as I looked at the others in the parking lot, paranoia overtook my
rational mind. Jack rolled my pant leg back down and I climbed out of the car.

“Cassie!”

I
was immediately ensnared in a bear hug the instant I turned around to greet the
voice.

“I’m
happy to see you too, Gwen.” And it was true. Never had I before been so glad
to be nailed by her exuberance.

“God,
after everything last night, I couldn’t sleep a wink. Now I’m bouncing off the
walls. I’ve already had three lattes this morning,” she said, squeezing me
tighter.

“I
don’t mean to be indecent here, but have you heard anything yet about
Veronica?”

She
kept me in her embrace. “What about her?”

“She
was... she was found this morning.”

“Are
you serious?! God, I hate this! The network suddenly goes down and now I feel
like I’m trapped in the Stone Age. If they don’t get it up and running again
soon, I’m gonna have to train a bird to become my new message carrier.”

“I
doubt it’ll get that serious,” I said, trying to free my suffocated frame from
her hold.

When
she finally loosened her grip on me, Gwen looked over at Jack contemplatively
as he climbed out of the car as well. “I honestly can’t believe that I’m
actually doing this, but given the circumstances and all...” Gwen came up to
Jack and gave him a hug as well. “Thank you, for protecting my homegirl.”

Jack
barely managed to wrap his arms around her as he stood stupefied by her
gesture. “No problem.”

“God,
you smell good,” she said, taking a deep inhale of his shirt.

“Okay,
I think you’ve scared him enough,” I laughed, pulling her away.

“I
know what can make me feel better,” he said, lightly putting his arms around
me.

“Awww...”
cracked Gwen. “That’s so adorably nauseating.”

“Nice
trick, Copperfield! You made your girlfriend disappear,” called out Clint Racer.

The
three of us turned to see the linebacker looking at Ian as he passed by
steadfastly.

“Why
don’t you try picking a fight with someone who shares your I.Q. next time?
There’s a daycare down the street with prime specimen,” cracked Ian as he
crossed paths with Clint.

Racer
didn’t take too kindly to the remark. “Looks like we got ourselves a real
smart-ass here.”

“I
guess I’d rather be a smart-ass than a dumb-ass,” Ian countered.

“You
callin’ me dumb?” Clint grabbed him and gave him a good shove.

“Well,
I was trying not to say to it,” said Ian, smirking. “You know, cordiality and
all.”

Clint’s
crew started to laugh.

Ian
turned and walked away, but he was suddenly whipped around, and Clint’s fist
throttled right into his left cheekbone. Ian stumbled back and caught himself
on the side of a car hood.

“Still
think you’re so funny?” barked Clint, rubbing the outside of his hand tenderly.

Ian
straightened himself up, his cheek bright red.

“What
the hell is Ian doing?” I muttered desperately, heading over to them.

“Cassie,
seriously, stay out of it,” cautioned Gwen.

Jack
took hold of me and brought me back. “Let me take care of this.”

Ian
let out a chuckle as he thumbed the bruise. “I think my mom can hit harder than
that.”

Clint
grabbed his book bag beside his car and took out his thick history textbook,
gripping it firmly as he approached Ian again.

“Well,
at least you’ve found a use for that thing,” Ian chuckled. “We know it would
have gone to waste otherwise.”

Jack
ran over, but it was too late. Clint gripped the book and full out hammered Ian
in the side of the face with it, knocking him into the car and then to the
ground.

“Ian!”
I bellowed, racing past Clint as Jack grabbed hold of Racer.

“Man,
take it easy!” said Jack, motioning for Clint’s friends to get him to back off.

I
fell down beside Ian, caressing his chin as I examined the cut on his cheek.
“Are you okay? What were you thinking?”

“I’m
fine,” he mumbled.

“You’re
clearly not.”

He
pushed my hand away. “Hey, do us both a favor and stop acting like you actually
give a shit!”

I
fell back. “Ian...?”

He
climbed to his feet edgily and staggered out of the lot.

“Ian?!”
I cried out.

Jack
put his arms around me and gently pulled me up off the pavement as Ian
disappeared into the woodlands. “It’s okay. Just give him some space.”

“Yeah,
let him work it off,” said Gwen, coming to my side. “What the hell’s gotten
into him anyway? Is he drunk?”

I
brushed both their hands off me and pushed past them. “I’m sorry...”

When
I arrived in Biology, Ian wasn’t there. It wasn’t until just before the tardy
bell sounded that he slinked in, parking a seat at the opposite side of the
classroom from me. Then he vanished the moment we were dismissed sixty minutes
later. The instant Coach Whitmore saw his face when he came into gym fourth
hour, Ian was sent to the nurse’s office. I didn’t see him again for the
remainder of the day.

I
sprang up like a jack-in-the-box from my seat at the end of Study Hall and
thought to run for dear life to my locker, wanting nothing more than to escape
from this torture. Unfortunately, I knew the cops who had been assigned to tail
me throughout the day would be far from pleased by my escape attempt. Even as I
dialed in my combination, it dawned on me that I didn’t have anywhere else to
really go.

“See
you still haven’t been able to lose the security detail,” said Gwen, swinging
her book bag over her shoulder as she came to my side.

I
peered down the hall, and sure enough, the two officers were standing guard not
fifteen feet away. “I feel like I have three shadows. Can’t get a moment’s
peace. They even wait right outside the bathroom for me.”

“You
wanna get your mind off things and help with Homecoming decorations? I’d
suggest going someplace a bit more enjoyable, but I’m tied into this.”

“I
get it,” I said, collecting my things and closing my locker. “Sure, why not?”

“You
want another hand?” asked Jack, appearing behind me not a second later.

“We
can use all the help we can get,” said Gwen.

“Unless
you want to get out here,” said Jack, turning to me.

“Nah,
this is okay. I could use the distraction,” I confirmed.

We
started walking towards the gym when the officers pulled me aside.

“It
would be best for you to come with us,” said one of them.

“Is
everything all right?” I asked.

“We
just think that taking you home would be the safer bet here,” replied the other
as they surveyed the inside of the crowded gym.

“She’ll
be with me, okay? She’s in good hands,” assured Jack, staring them down.

The
both huffed and turned to me. “What time will you be done here?”

“Six,”
replied Gwen.

“We’ll
be back at a quarter to. Come meet us out front,” they said firmly.

“Will
do,” I said.

Succumbing
to every last one of Gwen’s orders seemed to be enough to keep me preoccupied
for a while as I ran around the gym with everyone else in a desperate attempt
to please her and her Homecoming vision. Jack’s presence gave me the security I
both wanted and needed, but as more and more Victorian décor was propped up for
display, the harder it became to suppress my thoughts of Ian. My conscious
didn’t present itself as the elephant in the room. It was an entire circus! All
the commotion and lack of breathing space in the gym suddenly made me feel
claustrophobic.

“Damn,
we’re almost out of paint here,” said Chloe.

“Yeah,
and we could use some more brushes, too. The bristles on these are starting to
fall out. They’re getting stuck to the banners,” addressed Trish.

Gwen
deflated, trying best to keep her cool. “Okay, fine. I’ll go to the art room.
Just try not to burn the place down while I’m gone.”

“I
can go!” I declared.

“You
sure?” asked Gwen.

“Yep.”
I darted out of the gym before she could stop me. I needed to be alone!

By
the time I reached the secondary cafeteria, my eyes burned with restrained
tears. All the muscles in my stomach and back spasmed as I tried desperately to
choke down the storm brewing inside me until I knew for certain that I was
alone. When voices echoed across the vacant space from adjoining hallways, I
raced up to the east wing corridor and collapsed the moment I slammed the art
room door shut behind me.

Barely
managing to muster enough strength to lift myself off the ground, I went into
the supply area tucked away in the back of the empty room and hugged my knees
the moment I hit the floor again as I folded them to my chest. I mercilessly
began to snob until there was nothing left in me.

The
doorknob to the art room clicked and the heavy wooden door creaked as it was
pried open. I had already entered a state of acute hyperventilation from my
hysteria, so trying to quiet myself by regulating my double breathing wasn’t an
option. I simply held my breath.

“Cassie?”

It
was Jack.

When
his footsteps entered deeper into the room, I fiercely wiped the tears off my
cheeks and the smudges of mascara pooling under my eyelashes.

“Cassie?”

I
slowly lifted myself off the ground and started grabbing supplies with my back
strategically turned towards him.

“I’ll
be there in a sec,” I called out. I had tried my best to say the words as
smoothly as possible, but I wound up choking out the phrase with a slight
whimper.

He
came up behind me, and when he stepped to my side, I turned away to avoid him
seeing how badly bloodshot my eyes had become.

“I
just came to see if you were okay.”

“Yeah,
why wouldn’t I be?”

Just
as I was about to head further down the supply shelves, his fingers gently took
hold of my wrist.

“Look
at me.”

Vulnerable,
gutted, and heartbroken, I turned to him in full exposure.

“I’m
sorry, about what happened back there,” he said.

“It’s
not your fault. I’m the one who’s been acting like a complete jackass,” I said,
wiping the tears that began forming again in the corners of my eyes.
“Alienating my best friend for someone I barely know, no offense, isn’t like
me.”

“I
know.”

“No,
you don’t. I can’t stand the fact that I’ve hurt someone I care about, let
alone someone I love, someone who has been there for me through the hardest
times in my whole life...”

I
turned from him, my body shuddering as every muscle contracted in agony.

Jack
came up from behind and wrapped his arms around me, whispering, “It’s okay.”

I
turned around and hugged him as well, burying my face into his chest, barely
mustering the words, “I’m sorry.”

When
I finally released my grip on him, I climbed up to the tops of my toes and gave
him a kiss on the cheek, repeating once more, “I’m sorry.”

The
kiss was closer to his lips than I had anticipated, and his right hand was
suddenly on the nape of my neck.

“It’s
okay,” he mouthed again.

Before
any sense of rationality had a chance to catch up to my actions, without
warning, I pressed my lips to his. At first, he didn’t react. I pulled away to
see him looking back at me in complete disbelief.

“I’m
so sorry,” I muttered, retracting from him and heading for the door in even
deeper befuddlement.

I
only got about three steps when his hand took hold of my wrist, spinning me
back around. Taking a long stride towards me, his left hand fell upon the small
of my back, pulling me in as close as possible before he crushed his mouth
against mine. The sensation ignited every nerve in my already shaken body,
leaving a chilling pulse of electricity coursing through all my extremities.

So
intense and unsettling, the ecstasy of it all felt sinful. His eyes burned with
coveted longing as he pulled his lips from mine, and my mouth couldn’t resist
the temptation. His fingers gently stroked over the side of my face before he
brushed the loose strands of hair behind my ear. My hands hooked onto his neck
as he kissed me again. Then I massaged my fingertips into the back of his hair
when he lifted me up onto one of the art tables. There was something different
about him, something more... visceral. Jack’s tenderness was now overpowered by
an aggressive passion.

That’s
when I felt it. Something thick, and tacky, rubbing over my thumb as I ran it
just below his cheekbone. I pulled both my lips and hand away as I opened my
eyes, taking notice to a certain gooey, crimson liquid smeared across my
fingertips.

“Are
you bleeding?” I asked, looking back up at him in complete dismay.

There
in front of me rested a badly beaten cheek underneath the most familiar pair of
pale green eyes.

“I-Ian?”
I stammered.

My
other hand immediately dropped from his neck, and I pushed him off me
forcefully.

“What
the hell is this?! Where’s Jack?” I yelped as I scrambled away, looking about
the vacant room.

All
the color drained from Ian's face.

“Oh
shit,” he groaned gravely, clawing his fingers into his scalp as he looked back
at me despairingly.

“What
the hell is going on?! How did you do that?!” I cried weakly, trying to
contemplate what had just happened. Then I remembered everything Gwen had said.
Shape-shifter. “What the hell are you?!”

Ian
still looked as if he was about to be sick. “Cassie, I can explain-”

When
he extended his hand out to me, I quickly batted it away and bolted for the
door. I pulled it open about half a foot before he pushed it shut again as he
scrambled over to me.

“Cassie,
listen-”

“Get
off me!” I cried, wrestling out of his hold. I clocked him in his already
bruised cheek, and it was enough to get him to retract.

Practically
falling my way down the steps over my trembling legs, I hit the floor of the
secondary cafeteria and raced through the corridors unremittingly as trampling
footsteps began to echo from behind. I immediately charged out the side exit at
the end of the hallway and raced into the scarce parking lot.

Then
it hit me. Gwen! I continued to run as I pried my cell phone out of my pocket,
pounding in her speed dial number.

“Gwen!”
I cried the moment she answered. “Gwen! Can you hear me?”

A
thick wave of crackling overwhelmed her voice as she replied, “Barely.”

“Where
are you?”

“Still...
gym.” The static was getting worse.

“Listen
to me! You have to get out of there!”

“What?”

“Get
out of the gym!” I shouted. “It’s Ian!”

Nothing.

“Gwen?
Gwen! Are you still there?!”

Nothing.

I
trotted down to a halt and turned back toward the school. “Shit.”