Ficool

Chapter 10 - chapter 10

Jessica muttered, "No- this can't be happening."

'I'm sorry,' he murmured sympathetically, 'this must be a tremendous shock for you.'

"You bit me, you total bastard, you complete and total crazy vampire bastard!" Jessica screamed at her reflection because she couldn't think of anything else to scream at.

'Jess, you're perplexed and terrified. I'd like you to relax.'

' please relax?!' Was he insane? He had bit me and forced me into a bad marriage, and now he expected me to be calm. What did he believe would happen? We were just going to sit down and have a mature conversation about it.' Jessica pondered.

"I'm not going to stop! What the hell have you done to me?!"

'Please, Jess, I can sense your rage and fear-'

"Wait," Jessica remarked, pointing to her teeth, "can you see these? What the heck are these?" 'Jess-'

"I'm not sure who you think you are abducting young girls and turning them into vampires for, but you messed with the wrong lady friend last night!" Jessica was enraged.

'Look, Mia, I know you're upset, but trust me when I say you're the only girl I've ever taken and the only girl I've ever chose to take.'

"Is that intended to cheer me up?! You sound like a crazy stalker now! Exactly what sort man picks up women in a cemetery?" Jessica exploded.

'Those are things I will indeed be able to answer later," he said.

"There would be no later; I will never see you again!"

'Because we're married, that's going to be difficult.' "Then I'd like a divorce."

'Vampires don't divorce. Look, Mia, you're just scared.' He said.

Jessica pretended to be brave, but he was right: she was horrified, anxious, and scared. Hearing his disembodied voice in her head was both terrifying and comforting. Jessica despised having a mental breakdown, but hearing his calm voice calling her name made her skin itch.

Jessica had never been interested in boys in college. College was a moment of sexual awakening and self-discovery for many ladies, but it had always been about getting her degree for her. Jessica had no time for dating or males because she was either studying or working in a bar to help pay off some of her student debt.

Jessica had never desired to step foot in the opposite sex's weird, strange, and undiscovered zone. Jessica, on the other hand, has this guy in her head and all she can think about is his voice and those beautiful brown eyes flashing amber in the moonlight.

'I'm delighted you appreciate my eyes,' he added cheerfully.

"I wasn't thinking about you," Jessica whispered, feeling the blood surge into her face.

'I wish I could be there to console you, but you were so distressed last night that I thought you needed some time to adjust to your new circumstances.' He said.

Jessica shrugged her shoulders and said, "You aren't real," Jessica stated emphatically, "you're just a personal reflection of my worry."

'Jess, I'm inside your head. I know you don't think so.'

"OK, enough of you," Jessica said as she walked back into her room and grabbed her MP3 player, "I have to quit speaking to my mental breakdown and go to college."

'Wait, Jess, you can't go to class unless you feed.'

"I've already eaten—a big stick of nasty garlic bread—don't even think of kissing me!" Jessica murmured this while taking uneven breaths. She flipped through her MP3 Albums until she picked her heaviest rock anthem and hit play. Heavy metal blasted through her ear buds, drowning out all other noise. Jessica couldn't hear him if he was speaking.

The dryness in her throat had also vanished, and when Jessica looked in the mirror, she noticed that her fangs had vanished and her teeth were now attractive and normal. Jessica exhaled contentedly and continued her preparations for college.

Jessica exited her dorm room, her music still playing. The roaring vocals of her favorite rock band had quiet the man within her thoughts. Jessica exited her dorm hall and walked out into the November sunshine, listening to the angry decibels.

Jessica was wearing enormous black sunglasses to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun on the first of November. After sleeping in a dark room, looking at sunlight was like attempting to look at a 100 watt lamp. Her eyes stung, unable to deal with the dreary November brightness.

On campus, Halloween was generally quite spectacular. It was a long-standing ritual to teepee rival halls and desecrate sculptures of long-forgotten college teachers with shaving foam and traffic cones. If students were detected vandalizing college property, the college would always threaten them with expulsion, but this never deterred anyone. In fact, most frat houses saw it as a challenge. Jessica made her way across campus to her early morning session. When Jessica entered the building, she noticed that her black sun glasses were not out of place. The entire college department was packed with hungover students and teachers wearing dark sunglasses.

Jessica made her way through the crowd to the department's modest seminar rooms at the back. Jessica had a sense that few people would show up for today's session. In general, there was a reduction in university attendance following any campus activities that featured the use of a large amount of alcohol.

When Jessica arrived to the lecture room, she spotted a white piece of paper from the school's administration taped to the door.

'Dear kids,

Your regular seminar instructor has called in ill. However, a substitute tutor has been assigned to your session today. He'll be five minutes late since he's driving from out of town to college. -admin'

See, even the lecturers skipped class.

Jessica entered the classroom by opening the door. Because the classroom was empty, she got first selection of the desks. Jessica walked to the far side of the room and chose a desk near the warmth. Jessica sat down and began unpacking her books when many other students entered.

"Did you happen to see the guy in reception?" One of the females exclaimed. "Oh my God, I hope he's the substitute tutor." Another female responded.

The door flung open once more, and a man Jessica had never seen before entered. The females' eyes widened as they stopped conversing "What is his name? He is stunning "Jessica overheard a murmur. He was rather attractive. He had dark chocolate eyes and scruffy brown sandy hair that swept across his face. His outfit was simple and basic, consisting of black denim pants and a white t-shirt. He moved across the classroom and sat at the desk next to Jessica, much to her astonishment.

"Is this is postwar policy?" He inquired of Jessica.

"Yes," Jessica said, puzzled as to who this man was.

"Wonderful, I'm a new transfer student. Pierre is my name." He extended his hand.

"My name is Jessica," Jessica said pleasantly as she took his hand in hers.

Pierre flipped Jessica's hand to his mouth and gently brushed his lips over her knuckles in a kiss.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jess," Pierre said, returning her hand.

Jessica took her hand and pushed it beneath the desk, unsure what to do or say. Jessica could feel the jealous gaze of half a dozen girls cutting into her as the entire classroom became silent.

"We ought to have lunch together," Pierre said, drumming his fingers on the desk. "Sure," Jessica answered hesitantly.

"Hey," he began abruptly, rolling up his t-shirt sleeve, "how do you like my tattoo?"

Pierre leaned down to show Jessica his extraordinarily toned arm, which was wrapped in a sleeve of black tattoos. The other girls continued to stare, drooling from the corners of their mouths. Jessica sat nervously in her chair, wishing she could just shrink away from it all.

"The tattoo is beautiful. Was it painful?" Jessica inquired at random, attempting to be friendly.

"No pain, no gain," Pierre murmured as he combed his fingers through his hair.

"I'm not sure I'd ever get a tattoo. I'm afraid of needles "Jessica explained. "Well, I could always come and hold your hand if you ever wanted a tattoo," Pierre murmured softly.

The classroom door burst open at that moment, and the entire class leaped. Jessica overheard Pierre sigh irritably and murmur, "He's such a baby."

Jessica's lungs stopped working when the substitute tutor entered.

He was the one.

It was the Dark Prince, and he was staring directly at Jessica and Pierre in her classroom. Dark Prince wore a stylish suit with a black tie. He marched to the front of the classroom, shook off his fitted jacket, and began writing on the board. Jessica stared at him in strange shock, unable to believe soon. We'll go over the reading you were given to accomplish today. If you have not completed the reading, please raise your hands," he urged.

Several hands hesitantly lifted into the air.

"If you raised your hand, please leave the class, and for future reference, stop wasting your parents' money and complete the darn reading," he stated curtly.

Felix waited a few seconds while the students who had not completed the reading packed their belongings and walked out of the classroom in shame. The rest of them remained glued to their chairs, as if they were back in high school, under the heel of a tyrant instructor.

Felix prowled around the classroom before abruptly stopping and pointing at a student. As Felix grilled him, the student sat up anxiously in his chair.

"Tell me which scholar played a significant role in shaping the policies indicated in paragraph five," Felix asked.

The student froze and started flipping through the pages of his article. Felix sighed and went on to the next student.

"What postwar developments is the scholar describing on page 10?"

Felix went on to the next student when the second student flailed. Numbly Jessica sat at her desk, observing the intellectual bloodbath. Felix's venomous questions were killing these students. It was the polar opposite of the sweet voice Jessica had heard in her head the night before and this morning. Jessica was surprised that Felix could be so harsh.

"It appears that we truly irritated him," Pierre said to Jessica in hushed tones.

"Please excuse me?" Jessica said.

"Jess! Pierre!" Felix smashed his fist against the white board. "Do you have anything you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" He screamed at us.

Pierre and Jessica both nodded, but Felix was unsatisfied. In fact, he was enraged. "Okay Miss Madison, if you feel that you do not need to listen to my class since you are much cleverer than the rest of us, then you will find these questions easy to answer," he remarked, removing a huge text book from his bag and standing at the front of the class.

"Now, Jess, enlighten us on the Neoliberal policies of the late 1970s," Felix urged.

Stumbling "But it is not on our established reading list," Jessica responded.

"Come on, Jess, you're a smart girl. I am confident that your new lover will be able to assist you." Felix murmured this while staring at Pierre.

"Sure, I can tell you all about the late neoliberal economic policies," Pierre responded protectively, wrapping his arm around Jessica's shoulder.

"Stop talking, Pierre! And move your hand off Jess," Felix shouted.

"Sorry Jess, looks like you're on your own," Pierre said as his arm dropped from her shoulder.

Jessica slumped deeper into her seat, wishing she could just vanish, but Felix wasn't done with her yet. He began asking questions in front of the entire class to which Jessica had no knowledge of the answer. Everyone looked on with a sad sympathetic expression as Felix tore Jessica apart. Jessica felt little once Felix had finished with her.

"Now I want you to provide a quick overview of how you could have answered those questions correctly," Felix stated to the class.

Everyone took out their note books and started jotting. Jessica sat numbly at her desk, staring at the years of doodled graffiti. This was a nightmare, a horrific dream from which Jessica would awaken at any moment. Jessica was overcome with emotion and felt as if she was about to cry.

'Jess?' Felix unexpectedly said gently from within Jessica's head.

Jessica raised her head and fixed her gaze on him. Jessica's eyes were now blurred with tears, and she pleaded with him mentally, "Please stop this."

Felix's face softened as he noticed Jessica's tears, and Jessica heard him murmur a curse under his breath.

"Everyone but Jess and Pierre must leave immediately! Go complete the reading, and pray that your seminar tutor is better the next wee so you don't have to answer to me!" He cursed the other students. The other students left Jessica, Felix, and Pierre alone in less than five seconds.

"Well played Romeo, you truly successfully made her cry," Jacques said after the final student had left.

Felix moved so quickly across the room that Jessica almost fell out of her chair. He knelt beside Jessica and said softly, "I'm sorry, Jess." It was never my desire to upset you."

Jessica patted her eyes with the sleeves of her sweatshirt, hoping to catch the tears before they caused her mascara run. Jessica refused to cry in front of Felix or anybody else. Felix moved out to touch Jessica, but she swiftly resisted.

Felix's eyes flashed with pain, and he backed away from Jessica, murmuring, "Shit- I really messed this up."

"Come here," Pierre whispered quietly as he opened his arms to embrace Jessica. "Come here," Pierre whispered quietly as he opened his arms to embrace Jessica.

Felix immediately turned on Pierre.

"I swear to God, Pierre, I'll rip your fucking arms out of their sockets if you touch her again!" Felix screamed.

"And now you see why they call him the Dark Prince," Pierre rolled his eyes, smiling at Jessica. "Felix isn't all that horrible. His bark is worse than his bite; he just has temper issues."

"This can't be happening; it's not real," Jessica mumbled.

Felix looked at Jessica and stated, "I messed up, but this," he continued, pointing to Jessica and himself, "isn't going away. So you should get used to it."

"Felix, remember that little conversation we had about being nice in the car?" Jacques chastised.

"I'm trying to be nice; she's being difficult! We're mates, Jess, and we're meant to be. We could move on with our lives if you could accept that." Felix yelled angrily at Jessica.

Pierre sighed "Felix, you're making things worse for yourself, Jess isn't like the other girls in court. She will not throw herself at you because of who you are."

Jessica finally had enough. Jessica stood up and took her bag, stating, "Listen, Felix, I have no idea who or what you are, but I can tell you right now that there is no way in fresh hell that I will ever be your mate. You are an arrogant pig-headed bully, and I will never longer be scared by you! Please do me a huge favor and never bother me again!"

Jessica slid her bag over her shoulder and strolled quietly out of the classroom. Jessica went out of class with her head held high. Felix may have won that small battle, but Jessica had already won the war, and she was not about to let a huffy vampire spoil her life. Jessica slowly released all the badness after taking a long breath. Jessica could finally go on now that the worst was over.

BAM

Jessica's entire body smacked into a thick flesh wall. Jessica fell backwards, but was swiftly steadied by an unusual pair of hands. Jessica regained her equilibrium and turned to apologize to the person she had bumped into, but she came to a halt.

This man was disturbingly attractive, almost too attractive to be human. He was shorter and slimmer than Felix, but he appeared to be a formidable opponent. Jessica was reminded of someone from the military by the way he stood. His outfit was simple and functional, consisting of cargo pants and a gray t-shirt. He was keeping an eye on her, but he was also keeping an eye on the entire corridor.

In an accented voice, he continued, "Forgive your Highness, Felix assigned me to protect you."

These dreadful vampires were swarming all over the place! They were like rats. Jessica would always be a few feet away from one, regardless of where she was. "Listen, I have no want to associate with your species, so do not pursue me," Jessica stated, raising her hands. Jessica moved away from him, but she soon heard his footsteps behind her. Jessica abruptly turned to see him approaching from behind. The jerk didn't even bother to appear guilty or apologize. Instead, he just stood there and waited for Jessica to make a move.

"You're forgetting something, Miss Madison!" From across the classroom, Jessica heard Felix calling to her.

Jessica turned around, biting her tongue, to find Felix nonchalantly coming up the Corridor. Jessica approached him calmly, "Does this belong to you?" she inquired, pointing to the G.l Joe.

"Joe isn't his name. Hugo is his name, and he'll be your bodyguard in college when I'm not there to keep an eye on you " Felix said. "I thought I told you I don't want anything to do with you!" Jessica yelled angrily.

Felix ignored Jessica's statement and handed her a piece of paper, saying, "I want to see you at this time in this location." Jessica ripped the piece of paper and hurled it at his foolish chest, yelling, "Go to Hell!"

"Jess, you're making things difficult between us. Now I'm politely inviting you to meet me after college. I can make things very tough for you if you don't want me to do things nicely."

"How are you going to go about doing that? By yelling at me in class, embarrassing me in front of my peers, or perhaps just biting me again," Jessica continued, her voice lowering. "I could inform the department head that you were disruptive in my seminar, and I could inform the department head that you reeked of alcohol. I could make sure this department initiated disciplinary action against you, leaving a permanent blemish on your otherwise spotless academic record," Felix explained.

Jessica's heart sank. Crap. That would be a disaster. That would be disastrous. Anyone caught drinking alcohol under the age of 21 on campus risks being expelled, and if Jessica ever wanted to work in government, a bad record could jeopardize her job prospects. Jessica took a breather and rethought her position, which was that Felix had her by the balls.

Jessica stooped to pick up the piece of paper and stuffed it into her bag. "Fine. I'll be there, but it doesn't mean I have to listen to your foolishness "Jessica yelled angrily.

"I'm pleased we're finally seeing eye to eye, my love," Felix said triumphantly. "Do not refer to me as that—never refer to me as that." Jessica whispered, "Pet names were for folks who actually loved each other."

Felix replied softly in her mind, "I do love you Jess." "And keep out of my head," Jessica added as She walked out the door to her next lesson.

'God, I despised him!'

Jessica walked with Hugo to her next lecture. They didn't say anything since Jessica was too enraged to speak. Jessica couldn't believe Felix was extorting money from her on top of everything else. Jessica stormed into her social research lecture and sat in the back row, furious.

Jessica peered into her suitcase and noticed the messed-up paper slip he had handed her. Jessica wouldn't be in such a horrible mood if she could only irritate him. Jessica wanted Felix to be as unhappy as she was.

Jessica sat quietly, fiddling with a few strands of her hair, like she often did when she was annoyed. Then, for some reason, Jessica looked up to see Jonathan Hopper staring at her from the row next to hers.

He was one of those athletic types who was good-looking but lacked in the thinking department. Jessica yelled 'what' at him, annoyed that he was staring at her like a giant fish. Jack grinned and returned the greeting, his gaze fixed on Jessica.

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