Rude Beginnings: Part 5

In fact, he became pensive and his eyes glazed over with hidden meaning. When Jess came back up for air, he stirred his fingers in the water and broached the topic.

“What is your take on the whole Romeo Juliet thing?”

Such eloquent words, he thought. Jess stared at him when she came up for air out of the water, a little confused at his question.

“What do you mean?”

She questioned, and then shrugged slightly.

“You mean that most people are sad that they didn’t get the ending they assumed it would be, because they both died?”

She did not think this was what he meant.

“Yes and no. Do you believe in fate, destiny, love at first sight, and star-crossed lovers?”

Felix peered over at her in curiosity. He had not asked someone this question in a while and he forgot how conversing with humans…er…once humans, could be like talking to his own kind…and how so different. It was confusing and endearing…but also something else that he could not quite put his finger on. She blinked.

“What an odd question to ask someone you just met.”

She mumbled, and then was silent for a moment as she thought about it.

“Love at first sight? No. Star-crossed lovers? Yes. Destiny? Isn’t that the same as fate?”

She asked, looking at him.

“But sure, I guess.”

She shrugged. Felix smiled and shakes his head.

“No. Fate and Destiny is not the same thing. They are entirely different. Fate is something unavoidable that befalls you. Destiny, however, is the power that determines the course of certain events. So, Destiny rules Fate and Fate is determined by Destiny.”

He stared at the sparkling sun shining over the horizon for a moment.

“I ask, because my people believe in both Destiny and Fate. But love will destroy you if you let it happen.”

Jess considered this for a moment before responding.

“Ah. Okay. I guess that makes sense.”

She murmured, even though it still confused her a bit but she was not going to ask any more about it and risk sounding like a complete idiot. She nodded slowly, looking at the water.

“Interesting.”

Felix felt silence fill in the void of speech. It did not feel uncomfortable to him, but peaceful and serene. Two things he had not had in a long, long time. Jess looked at the ocean, playing with the salty water in her hand. She enjoyed the breeze blowing lightly through her hair and the waves lapping at her legs, all silent but the whispering waters. Felix felt the first tickling signs of hunger and moaned slightly lowly. He placed a hand to his mouth to cover it up. He turned towards the shore and called over his shoulder.

“Let’s get something to eat. I’m beginning to starve.”

His smile slipped off his lips as the pain grew. I am so stupid, he thought. He should have known that this much time away from humans was stupid and reckless…but he enjoyed being a rebel, and someday it will come at a high price that he will not be able to pay. Jess raised an eyebrow when she heard his stomach growl loudly, looking over at him. Surely, he knew she did not normally eat human food. It was not exactly tasty. Well, that was technically a lie, since she could eat human food without it being disgusting. It was just bland had no flavor whatsoever. But she shrugged and walked to the shore and out of the water.

“Yeah, okay. Where?”

“What place would be jammed full of humans with teen angst?”

Felix asked this question in all seriousness. He needed to be in contact with humans in order to feed with the most sustaining energy, but she did not need to know that that is how he feed off of the emotional energy of humans. He drained them of their intense feelings, leaving them nothing but hollowed, empty shells for a period of time. It was not permanent. So what, he thought, so they would feel a bit emotionless for a day or two. It was not a big deal. Jess thought a moment, thinking at first he was only joking, but then seeing the seriousness on his face.

“Uhm… The pizza place?”

She suggested. Usually there were teens there, and where there were teens, that is usually where angst is. They were so emotional, she thought. Annoyed by this fact, she looked at him and wondered why he wanted to know this.

“Then let us feed…er…Eat.” He led her to the place.

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Rude Beginnings: Part 4

“Where should we be off to, my Diamond?”

His shadow accosted hers and touched her shadow fondly…a little too fondly, if you catch my drift. Jess smiled slightly, thinking about where they could go.

“Uhm… We could go swimming. If you do that.”

She added, glancing at him. She reminded herself to ask him later why he called her that, since she was still wondering about that for some reason. But she decided she liked his real smile, seeing it before it had been covered by his usual smirk. His face mirrored a mock insulted look.

“I will readily inform you that I can indeed swim…without my wings present, if that is what you are alluding to. Do you see any wings? I don’t.”

Felix realized that he might have sounded a little bit a-holish then, so he quickly amended it.

“Do you swim? You don’t appear to get out much and not because of your skin coloring either. What I mean is you don’t appear very social.”

Becoming irritated with himself, realizing that he himself lacks the manners common amongst humans, he decided to stop speaking for a moment…

“What I mean is you should be better suited than I to blend in with mere mortals…so why aren’t you?”

Jess frowned when he said this. Of course she was not extremely social, since it was a general fact that humans have short-tempers, a general lack of patience, and did not like her much because of her attitude. But she was not going to say why she was called an outcast, so she simply said matter-of-factly.

“I don’t socialize much because most people are stupid and annoying. Why don’t you socialize?”

Felix took off his shirt, revealing tight muscles but no drool worthy six pack abs before answering lightly.

“I do not usually socialize with humans. When I do, it is mostly for entertainment and they are a good food source, but you know that. I mostly interact with my own kind and since we lack manners, it is a miracle how, generally, most of them find me more charming than arrogant. A real oxymoron, if you wish.”

He shrugged his shoulders and flexed them.

“Hmm. Your kind must have different opinions of you then.”

Jess mumbled, glancing at the water and ignoring when he said that she would know that humans are a good food source. She did not want to get into that argument, where she would explain she hardly feeds off humans and usually only drinks animal blood. But there was no use in mentioning that, since she doubted he really cared anyway. Felix nodded and let the water lap his toes.

“Aye. They do. They also don’t care much for me anyway. If I cannot be used as a tool, I am worthless. And the worthless charming fool seems to be my title back home, which is why I left it.”

He had not meant to say so much so soon about himself, so he wadded further into the water and dived in gracefully. Jess frowned, hearing this. Well, that sounded much different than the idea she had of his past in her head.

“Oh. I didn’t know that…”

She mumbled, as she walked a little out into the waves before swimming a bit in it. Her clothes were quickly drenched and were clingy, but oh well, she did not really care. Felix whipped his wet hair out of his eyes.

“What? Expecting some dark brooding tale? Aye…There is one…I don’t like talking about it though. I was told by a mortal once that that version garners more sympathy and is less cruel and dark. So I went with it. Why are you here at this school anyway?”

He floated on his back looking up at the sky lazily. Jess wanted to hear more about his past, but did not press the topic. Instead, she shrugged and tried not to show what she was thinking. She hated talking about her past, because she was forced to go into basically vampire school, except apparently it was an assassin academy her parents had tossed her in, so many years ago she lost count. But that was where…an issue occurred; she was kicked out and sent here.

“No reason.”

She mumbled, and swam underwater, so he could not ask her more about it. Felix, deep into one of his thoughtful moods, thought nothing of Jess’s evasion of his question.

Rude Beginnings: Part 3

“Okay.”

She sighed softly.

“Can I ask you something?”

Not waiting for a response, she inquired.

“You seem to think you’re dangerous. Why’s that?”

Yeah, he himself was seemingly dangerous, but why did he think he was? Who was he, really, anyway? Seemingly endless questions rang through her head. Felix cupped her face in his hand in a heartbeat so to say. His inhumane speed should seem disturbing and it was to most. But it was not to a diamond and its many facets and seemingly not to Jess. But Felix could feel her fear and he did not need to hear an erratic human heartbeat to know it. He pondered her question a moment, flexing his wings behind him looking like they came from an E. A. Poe story. His black bottomless eyes held no trace of color or held any answers. They were mirrors reflecting her reflection in a distorted way.

“You see what I can do. What more proof do you need? How many more answers do you seek? Answers can be just as dangerous if not more than questions, my Diamond.”

Jess debated this a silent moment, glancing back at his black wings before searching his face again. Yes, it admittedly did frighten her a bit, but she could deal with freaky things. But dealing with things, in her way, meant fighting or deleting them from her life. But something was strange—she found herself not wanting to do these things, the simple things she had grown accustomed to over the years. She knew he was fast, but she was too; she also knew that he could be scary, but then again, she could be pretty scary at times, too. Which was what pushed people away usually.

“I know.”

She sighed, her voice a breath of a whisper when she spoke. Felix’s lips were a whisper away from hers, when his breath caressed the cheek which he held surprisingly tender enough.

“You know nothing and everything. I am nothing and everything. This is why you are dangerous. This is why I am dangerous. This is why we are dangerous, my Diamond.”

A flicker of an eye lash and he stood an arm’s reach away from her and his warm hand gone from her cheek.

“You know nothing of me, yet you still linger. Why is that?”

He asked her a question of his own making, observing her as a prey would watch its quarry. Jess thought a moment before she responded.

“I…don’t know.”

She finally said, and it was true. She was confused as to why she wanted to stay with him. Why she wasn’t afraid of him anymore, even though she should be. Even though, she was probably completely oblivious to so many things about him, too many to count most likely, and why she was not leaving like she would usually do at this point. He made her confused. He was unlike anyone she had ever met before. He smirked, bringing lightness back into the situation.

“I’m that irresistible huh?”

His wings folded onto his back and with a foreign word, disappeared from view altogether after a light shimmer is seen in the air. His presence radiated warmth, but not as much as before and the darkness of his shadow on the ground fluctuated. It seemed to move of its own accord, mocking her every move. Felix offered her his arm, like in olden days gone past which gives one an inkling about how old he truly was or where about the true answer lies. Jess raised an eyebrow at his question, smirking slightly.

“Yes. Yes, you are.”

She replied jokingly, as she looked at his arm a moment before taking his arm, which she was a little surprised about. She wondered if he was older than she thought, maybe even older than her, but who knew? Were they going somewhere, she thought. His face revealed a true smile, before it was hidden beneath his common smirk as he walked her along the beach. His mind fought with him to be extremely rude with her, but for some reason, he did not want to be an a-hole right at this moment.

Chapter One: Rude Beginnings

Felix turned around and walked back towards her, rejoining her.

“That’s all you say back? You need to study up on your comebacks, Vamp.”

He smirked a little and brushed his shoulder against her. He was inhumanly warm, but direct contact with him resulted in the fine hairs on one’s arms to standup on end. There was something dark about him. Darker than how he appeared now in his good spirits.

“You should really consider it. It would make my life a whole lot more interesting. Everyone here is so…boring.”

He spit it out like it was a disgusting word.

“I would hate to say that of a pretty girl like you…well pretty in spite of all that pale going on.”

Jess raised an eyebrow.

“Right. Despite the paleness. And don’t call me that.”

She said, as if she had heard that before.

“You think everyone here is boring? I think I’d choose different words for the people here.”

Peculiar, rude, difficult and irritating, she thought. Well, the people she had met before were like that. But then again, she was probably all those things herself.

“Though you seem pretty interesting, don’t you?”

She smirked slightly, almost mocking him. Felix brightened up significantly.

“You noticed that huh? Guess I underestimated you in the slightest.”

He does not see the hint of mockery or if he did, he chose to ignore it. The fact is he was of a heartless variety himself and found a bit of comrade with this bloodless girl. She seemed to be missing a lot of coldness however, and he decided that not all vampires are calculating bloodsuckers. Somehow, this disappointed him and turned his pleasant mood foul as his smile dropped from his features, replaced by something terrifying…nothingness…perfectly without expression. Jess stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

“I learned over the years not to underestimate people. And by the way, I was using sarcasm. Maybe you should learn some of it.”

She noticed he appeared a bit self-centered, and she did not like that about people. He did not reply to her, but gave into his brooding mood. Darkness seemed to follow him without any of the coldness that usually follows such secret torment. In fact, the temperature around him seemed to be increasing slowly. He suddenly looked at her blankly.

“I know what sarcasm is since I’m fond of using it myself.”

“Really? I don’t see it.”

She said calmly, and smirked slightly. She debated whether to just leave now as it was getting slowly warmer here anyway. She did not like the warmth, which was understandable. Since, as a general fact, she was cold all the time. She looked at him, sensing a foul mood coming from him.

“Who expects you to feel anything?”

He snapped back at her and sent a heat wave over her with his brewing anger. He turned away from her and shut his eyes. He breathed deeply through his nose and clenched and unclenched his fists rapidly. He tried to reign in the summer inside of him and release more of the shadows that blackened his heart. She sent a death glare at his back, clenching her fists. Her nails started to dig into her skin.

“Nobody. But you don’t know anything about me, so shut up.”

She seethed at his back. He turned rapidly and clutched her slender throat in his hand. His face was two inches from hers seething with suppressed rage and darkness. His unique blue eyes turned as black as his heart as he breathed heavily in her face. His breath smelled of sunshine and sulfurs, a heady combination. He squeezed her neck lightly.

“Never tell an angry person to shut up. You’ll learn to regret it.”

Jess panicked slightly, but was getting sick of people doing this to her. So, she kicked him hard in the leg. When she fell out of his grasp, she glared at him and replied with anger seeping from her words.

“Well don’t tell me what to do. You’ll learn to regret that.”

Raven feathered wings ripped out of Felix’s back as he mumbled in a weird language, after she kicked him. When his eyes met hers, they looked murderous. He literally flew at her and he was on top of her on the ground in a matter of seconds.

“I say it as a warning, my Diamond. You need to be forewarned.”

His hands encircled her wrists as he pinned her to the ground. There was nothing erotic or romantic about it…okay…maybe a little. Her eyes widened when he did this, staring at his wings before his face. He looked absolutely frightening, and she was kind of freaked out right now, not that she would admit that out loud. She forced her voice to sound calm and steady, the complete opposite of how she felt, as she swallowed hard.

“Get off me.”

Felix helped her to her feet and shoved his hands in his pockets with a grim expression.

“Now you see how ugly I am.”

He did not look at her as he said this, but got a faraway look in his eyes before his black eyes focused on the soft curves of her face.

“You would stay away from me if you want to stay undead. Hanging around me will result in worse than a second death, my Diamond.”

The endearment seemed strange and foreign. Diamond? Jess was a diamond? It seemed right to him though. Jess blinked, watching him carefully. She was silent a moment, absentmindedly wondering why he chose the name ‘diamond’ to describe her, when she asked him a question that popped into her mind.

“Wait, so are you telling me who to hang out with or that I should go away?”

Since when did she leave danger? But, why would he be dangerous?

“I’m not telling you to do anything. The choice is always yours. I am merely stating the obvious.”

His wings flapped slightly in the breeze as he watched her process his words. He did not feel time the way most mortals did. He only saw forever, never today or the here and now. Always looking to the future. That was who he was and who he had become.