The academy didn't cut corners when it came to sound-proofing, so I only noticed the music when I stepped out of the elevator on Lizzie's floor. I considered turning back, but curiosity got the better of me.
I slowly approached the room, suppressing my presence. The music became louder, and at its highest point I opened the door and snuck in.
I inched along the walls, observing the party. The living room was clad in mist and darkness with spots of colorful light dashing around. I could see about two dozen people, most dancing around the DJ's temporary booth and some gathered by a table that smelled like pepperoni pizza and booze.
My hairs stood up only moments before the impact.
"Ava! Hi Ava!"
J jumped out from my blind spot, squeezing me in a tight hug. I was so frightened that my protective aura blew up, surrounding me in sparkles, but thankfully all was hidden by the light show.
"J, what the heck are you doing?" I took a couple steps back after untangling myself from his arms. He smelled like alcohol and his expensive looking red shirt was mostly unbuttoned.
"I'm being amazing and holding the best party ever!" He shouted the last part, making many people cheer in response.
"It's Wednesday."
"Yeah, the best day!" He grinned at me, then vanished.
I stood dumbfounded for a couple seconds before he reappeared with a red cup in his hand.
"How did you do that?" I shouted over the loud music in shock. Vampires weren't supposed to teleport.
He offered me the cup. I took it but only stared as the liquid changed colors in the lights. Alcohol affects magic bearers the most, so I tried to stay away from it. And now was not the time to start.
"How did you teleport?" I insisted. I watched as he slowly shuffled the thoughts around his head.
"It's Lizzie's gift. Her blood." He finally said, focusing fully on his words, like a philosopher pondering about the meaning of life.
I didn't know vampires could take others' powers. Can every one of them do this? Or was it only J? Or only warlocks? Was it temporary? I had so many questions.
I must've spent too much time thinking, because J turned to greet the new guests by the door. I quickly passed the weird smelling alcohol to a gyrating girl and tried to put my barrier up, but people kept touching me, disturbing my concentration.
I looked around, trying to find the exit, but the darkness and smoke assaulted my senses. The whole room felt different without my protective aura.
I felt the panic creep up on my back as I staggered through the crowd. Sweaty bodies kept bumping into me, pushing me deeper into the mess. With every quick breath I inhaled more and more of the noxious smoke. My eyes started to water, and through the blur the room felt much smaller all of the sudden. My heart was pumping at an incredible speed and at this point my aura sparks were so frequent they were easily noticeable. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't and this made me panic even more.
Then someone grabbed me by the wrist, and gently pulled me in a direction. My legs nearly buckled.
"Ava? Are you okay?" asked a worried voice.
I wanted to point out how people normally don't shake and hyperventilate when they're okay, but I was busy juggling between controlling my power and breathing semi-manually.
"I'll take you outside, hold on to me."
I caught one side of his suit in a faint grip. He gathered my legs and left the room with superhuman speed. Before my mind could figure out if touching his body should be countered with more shaking and confusion, my back made contact with the cold, stone pavement.
"Are you feeling better?"
I was, but only slightly. I gathered the cold that began to creep up in me to quench the sparkles that - in my half-conscious state - resembled Christmas lights wrapped tightly around me.
I then nodded and found my savior's face in the onset of darkness.
"Dam?" I said, more meekly than I liked. In defiance, I tried to push myself into a sitting position, but my arm felt like a wet noodle.
"Everything is okay, Ava. Take it slow." He whispered reassuringly, trying to keep as much distance he could to keep any magic from spreading, but he still hovered semi-close. I looked down from his worrisome face to find my right hand still firmly grasping his white suit, crumpling it beyond ironable.
I concentrated on each finger, giving five military-like orders in my head. They slowly obeyed and released the poor fabric.
Damian stepped back as I gathered many years' worth of training and began to rebuild my shattered aural shielding. It was like assembling an all-white jigsaw puzzle. Similar pieces in the air, all around me, waiting to be put in place. I started with the bases, the sole of my feet and the top of my head. Then I put a small part together between my nose and my bellybutton. On my hands, I formed two mittens and connected them to the piece in front.
My back was always the hardest part. When I first started I had to stare at it in a mirror for hours, before I could picture it in my mind. Now I flexed my muscles just hard enough that my shoulder blades dug into the stone. I gathered magic between them, barely feeling the pain through my concentration. I exhaled as I connected the mittens on the back, forming a warped ring shape around my body.
Extending this ring up and down was the easiest part, like when you see the outline of the missing puzzle piece between the ones already in place.
I opened my eyes, unable to tell how much time has passed. Damian still stood a couple feet away, carefully observing me.
"Are you… okay, Ava?" he asked with only a hint of uncertainty.
"Yeah, I just had to reset my shields." I said, and would've shrugged if I weren't still flat on the floor like a sad pancake.
Damian decided that I was no longer a dangerous magical phenomenon and helped me sit up.
"You really scared me." he scolded me gently, and the way he said it reminded me of Mary-Anne so much that I shivered.
"Are you sure you're okay? Should I get you some water?"
"I've been through worse." I got up, before he could go anywhere, and stretched.
"You had a panic attack before?" he asked, his body still tensed in case he had to catch me again.
"What? No. But I'll be fine." His eyes told me he didn't believe me, so I quickly changed the subject. "What's this big party anyways?" I gestured towards the door with my nose.
"It's J's deathday." He said. "You know, the day his heart finally stops beating." He added, when my eyes probably lacked the sparkle of understanding.
"Weird." I answered. I'll have to ask Mary-Anne about this. Vampire biology was never my forte. Neither was any other type of biology to be honest, but we'll gloss over that one for now.
"I can explain it if you want, but we should go somewhere less…traversable." He glanced around in the dark corridor. I nodded and went for the door. He stopped me.
"I don't think that's a good idea after what happened." He smiled. "We rented out a couple of rooms for the …weary guests after the party. They should still be empty for a couple hours."
The lack of loud music and people was inviting. Plus not having to listen to sis over-explain this would've been a welcome change.
I followed Damian further down the corridor and into a room. It was very much like my own, except in pastel pink.
I scowled.
"Not a fan of the decor, I take it?" Damian teased, and I scowled even more.
"Please have a seat, m'lady." He gestured towards the living room, and I sat down on one of the sofas, convincing myself that the more I sit on, the less I have to stare at.
"Why are you suddenly British?" I asked just to fill the silence, wobbling in place as my legs were getting restless.
"I lived in England for eight years as a part of my 'prince training'. I had a really frightening etiquette teacher." Came the answer from the kitchen.
"That's okay, but if you ask me if I fancy a cup o' tea with some biscuits, I'll laugh."
Damian suddenly appeared from the kitchenette with a bowl of cookies and a fancy pink teapot. We stared at each other for a couple moments before he wiggled his eyebrows, and I bursted out laughing.