I groaned, my hand emerging from under the blanket to slap my alarm clock off my night stand. I hit it on my third try and my room fell silent again.
I hadn't slept a wink.
I knew I had had an entire series of nightmares last night but I couldn't recall any of it. Except that Lucian Black had been in them. Which was what probably made them nightmares in the first place.
I scoffed to myself under my blankets. I didn't even know what Lucian looked like. Just that he had really black hair and a cruel smile. I never really looked at all his other features. To be entirely honest, I had a sick feeling that I'd pee my pants if I did ever muster up the courage to look him in the eye.
My alarm beeped again like a desperate baby bird on my carpet, and I groaned sitting up in my bed to observe the morning light shedding into my room. With a groan I threw my pillow down on the stupid alarm to muffle it and waited till my body was ready to face another day.
☠☜◊✙◊☞☠
Peril High was high on something. I didn't know what. And after all the nightmares yesterday evening, I didn't even want to ask.
Trudging my way to my locker first thing in the morning was like trudging through mud.
As I sleepily dialed in my locker number, a squeal pierced my eardrums so hard I couldn't even ignore it if I wanted to.
'It is going to be so am-a-zing!' Trinity sang and clapped her manicured hands together like a seal.
The cheerleader opened the locker next to mine and fixed her make up in the mirror she'd stuck there as Ashley, her always faithful sidekick, waited for her patiently.
'Friday is going to be so good. I just can't wait to show off that new dress daddy bought me from France,' Ashley sighed dreamily, clutching onto her books as if it were a lover.
I winced as Trinity made that lip puckering noise at her mirror to check her gloss, 'I just hope Jack and Chase can get a good place for the bash'.
At the sound of Jack Isle's name I cringed inwardly and tried to hide myself by stuffing my entire head in my locker. It didn't help to block out Ashley's voice though.
'I thought we'd hold it at Chase's house again, like last year'
'Holy gee Ash, I swear you're so blank sometimes. Don't you remember that incident from last year? The one involving the police? We are so not welcome in that neighborhood anymore'.
Last years bash had been a total disaster. Or an epic disaster like the jocks liked to call it. I didn't have the right to judge, I hadn't even been invited.
Apparently Chase's family is pretty loaded and there was some pool party bash at his house last year. The boys had gotten drunk and had decided to bash in all the mailboxes on their street. Including egging a few and basically destroying property. And apparently there was a lot of nudity involved.
It had even been in the newspaper, Chase's dad hadn't been too happy about that. He had to repay all damage and apologize to everyone or causing a disturbance.
Nevertheless, everyone thought it was "cool".
As I started to close my locker, I was reminded of the Grand Grimoire in my bag, its weight was definitely on the heavy side.
I'd decided to return the weird book to Miss. Richardson today and apologize for taking the book without getting it stamped under my name.
As the first bell rang I slung my bag over my shoulder and shut my locker, I'd bring it back after Calculus.
☠☜◊✙◊☞☠
Mariah wasn't chewing gum today. Her hair was also newly dyed, even the roots were red. I doodled on my notebook and watched Collins go on and on about something that had to do with logarithms.
As usual I had my panic attack when Lucian Black entered the room, his hands in his pockets, one measly notebook tucked under his right arm against his side.
His whole look suggested that he hated being here. Really hated it.
As usual I held my breath when he walked past me, pretending I didn't exist.
As usual he stepped on my books and was so creepy I felt my bones turn cold.
Unusually, he sat behind me today.
Collins' math class had become a battle. I could feel his eyes on me. The expression "boring a hole in one's back" had never been more real. His gaze was ice cold. So cold I felt like my neck couldn't move. And I could feel it. I could feel it when he moved his eyes. I knew where he was looking. Was I going insane? Paranoid? Maybe he wasn't even looking at me. When there was only about a minute more to go I peeked over my shoulder.
Worst idea of my life.
Lucian's eyes were a pale blue. So pale that it stood out ghostly from his eye sockets. So pale it chilled me straight to the bone. There wasn't even time to think. I felt like a deer caught in headlights.
For some reason I could also see his lips. As if his eyes weren't enough to scare me. He had pretty lips for a guy, Cupid's bow, a cruel smirk. It would've made all panties drop, it only made me want to wet mine.
When the bell rang I jumped like I was tasered and rushed from the room so fast my head was spinning.
I was bringing back that book. Right now. Something was really really wrong.
☠☜◊✙◊☞☠
'Oh dear it's okay,' Miss. Richardson smiled and took the book from me. Moving her reading glasses up her nose as she looked at the cover, 'I don't recall having one of these in the library'.
I smiled, 'Well, we do have a lot of books'.
'Yes, yes we do,' the librarian mused before pushing it back towards me, 'I had no idea you could read Hebrew Elizabeth'.
'Hebrew?' I frowned and reopened the book. I nearly shrieked.
Everything in the book was in a weird lettering. Nothing like the words I'd read yesterday. Definitely not English.
Like a lunatic I flipped pages till I came to the part about souls, the one I had chanted yesterday. But all there was were squiggles. Squiggles of Hebrew, squiggles that I could not read.
But then, how was I able to read it yesterday?
'Are you alright Elizabeth?' Miss. Richardson asked, frowning.
'Uhm... I uh...' I struggled for words, 'No, nothing. Nothing's wrong,' I gave her a shaky smile.
She frowned but nodded, 'Would you mind bringing it back for me dear? I have a lot of papers to do today'.
I nodded in response and hurried to the Mythology section.
I wanted to get rid of it. I wanted so hard to get rid of it that I kneeled in front of the place I'd found it the day before and started to shove it roughly back into its place.
'Rushing?' the silky voice made me back up against the wall, immediately the cold chilled my bones.
How could I not have noticed him?
Lucian stood in front of me, blocking my only escape out the Mythology section. He was tall. He was much older than a high school student. I could see it now. Part of me wondered why I wasn't already peeing my pants.
'G-Go away,' I stuttered, silently praising myself that I could still pronounce the words correctly.
Lucian lifted a brow at my words before his face ployed into a cruel smirk, 'Go away?' He came closer, 'Go away? Who do you think you are'.
His words were so venomously hissed that I let out a whimper, my eyes were starting to water. My heart had never pounded so hard before.
He seemed to calculate something as he stood over me, staring down until he crouched down so his face was at the same height as mine.
My heart nearly got caught in my throat.
'Are you Elizabeth de Baptiste?'
My surname was French and yet he spoke it with such precision, without a single trace of accent, that it seemed impossible that he was a full-blooded American.
I swallowed, trying to force my heart back down my throat.
Lucian growled, a guttural sound that made me want to whimper again, 'Answer'.
I was about to say yes when something flopped out of my stupid mouth instead, 'Why the hell should I?'
He seemed taken aback by this. I was even more surprised than he was. So surprised I covered my mouth with both hands.
This was so not the time for my mouth to get all sassy on me. He was going to kill me. I knew it in my bones. I knew he was going to do something horrible to me.
Maybe I could scream. Scream. Catch him off guard and run. But part of me knew that he'd never let me go that easy.
'Because,' his voice caught me off guard again and I backed up farther against the wall, 'you made a wish'.
The closer he came the harder I pressed myself against the wall, 'A w-wish?'
Lucian nodded. His face just inches from mine. I could distinguish his skin from my point of view. But it was flawless, there weren't even pores. So flawless it scared me. So flawless I felt like I was going to get sucked into the same nothingness that seemed to consume him.
Without looking away from me he slid the Grand Grimoire off its shelf again and brushed a finger over the papers. It stopped on one and he slid a finger in between elegantly, opening the book for me.
My breath choked when I saw it was the exact page I'd been on yesterday evening.
A chuckle rolled from Lucian's cruel lips and I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I was going to die. He was going to murder me in a library. Over a damned book.
'Finding love,' he sneered nastily, even though his face stayed expressionless, 'what you do to gain that human's attention'.
His voice indicated that he was disgusted but Lucians face was so blank I wanted to bawl.
'Now, it is time to collect my father's payment,' he whispered, his words were like poison and he leaned in closer.
I was so confused. Was he crazy? Did he read the book? How the hell did he know where I was? Can he read Hebrew?
I watched as death came nearer, and his lips touched mine.
It lasted a millisecond before I couldn't feel him anymore. Was I dreaming?
Opening my eyes I saw that Lucian was still there, one meter away from me now with a horrid expression on his face.
The Grimoire was tucked under his arm.
'Who are you?' he growled ferociously but before I even had the time to respond he turned on his heels and was gone.
☠☜◊✙◊☞☠
I was so shaken I stayed the rest of the day in the nurse's room. Charlotte and Grace visited me, sneaking me cupcakes from the cafeteria.
'Have you guys seen... Lucian Black?' I swallowed, saying his name was like swallowing tar.
Grace quirks an eyebrow, 'Lucian Black? As in Mr. Maybach? As in Mr. Million Dollar Harvey?'
Charlotte rolled her eyes and shook her head at me, 'Haven't seen him'.
'His darling motorcycle's been missing since lunch. He's gone,' Grace confirmed, stuffing my cupcake into her mouth, 'Why the sudden interest in Black?'
I sighed and shrugged. There was no way I could tell them I did some creepy voodoo doll shit to get Jack Isle to like me. And that I had a suspicion Lucian Black was going to murder me.
'What's wrong?' Charlotte asked, rubbing my arm amiably, 'You know we're here for you'.
Looking up at my two best friends' faces I knew I should keep my mouth shut. Lucian and his murderous intentions... I'd report him to the principal for harassment.
With that thought in mind I shook my head at my friends and shrugged, 'Nothing. He just always disappears after Calculus class'.
At this, both Charlotte and Grace frowned and Charlotte broke the silence, 'Talking about class, Lucian seems to only have one'.
'Doesn't he have the whole curriculum? Just like the rest of us?' Grace murmured before her face grew dark, 'That despicable turd. Rich people have it all,' she sniffed, leaning back into her chair. Her long athletic legs stretched out before her.
'I doubt it,' Charlotte rested her head on her hand, 'No one's really seen him in a class except for Calculus'.
'Oh!' Grace's sudden outburst had us all turn to her, 'I remember Coach saying something about how Black got a doctor's note, claiming he has some weird disease that makes it impossible for him to do sports'.
All three of us mulled over this in silence.
'He sure doesn't look like he has some kind of disease,' Charlotte muttered, 'In fact, with all that bike riding I'd have thought he was extremely athletic'.
When my friends left I felt like I had discovered even more things about Lucian Black. Things that made me feel much more uneasy than I had before.