one uglier look from him before he turned to face his buddies and said, "You dirty little whore, you are going to pay for this." Jessica POV
The students in the gym were gossiping about me. I could feel their gaze on me, scrutinizing me. I hadn't moved from where James had been. created a scene and stormed away shortly before I attempted to settle myself while standing motionless, but instead I kept hearing fragments of discussions from whispering pupils.
"I heard that sub-lecturer was looking for her during that rainstorm the other day." "I've always wondered how she got such high grades..."
"Who knew Jess was such a jerk..."
"Have you heard about what she did at the frat party? What an attention whore she is."
I could hear every word they spoke with my vampire hearing, and even though they were just words, every single statement hurt me. Lowering my sight to the ground, I immediately moved away toward my dorm. Whatever Felix had intended to discuss with me in the library could wait. No way was I going in there to be gossiped about. I attempted to calm myself down as my breath caught in my throat. I strolled slowly around the corner, then broke into a sprint once I was clear of the gym and library. My mind was racing from what the other students had said to me, forcing me to run faster.
I needed to get away from all of this nonsense.
I was surprised to hear footsteps thundering along the asphalt behind me. Then, out of nowhere, someone grabbed me from behind and threw me backward to the ground. I smacked into the grass and slid a few feet before coming to a complete halt.
Crying, I climbed onto my knees to see Pierre towering over me, his dark brown hair brushed back in a damp appearance reminiscent of Marlon Brando or James Dean in the 1950s.
Pierre was furious and shouted at me, "Have you lost your freaking mind?" I looked up at him, perplexed.
He yelled at me, shaking his head "You cannot dash across the university grounds at vampire speed in broad daylight! Jess, what were you thinking?!?"
I gazed up at him with teary eyes, and Ophelia's words uncomfortably resonated in my head- Pierre was spying on me. Whatever I said to him would be immediately tied to Felix.
Pierre' gaze softened as tears streamed down my cheeks. He sighed exasperatedly and crouched next to me, asking, "Why are you crying?"
I rose to my feet and shuffled away from him. "It doesn't matter," I responded, my voice shaking.
"When a lady tells me it doesn't matter, it truly does," Pierre replied, arching his sarcastic brow.
Pierre' attitude irritated me, and I said angrily, "Look, it's none of your damn concern, Pierre."
"That's not very pleasant," Pierre replied distantly, "and it kind of hurts my feelings."
I didn't say anything. Instead, I brushed the grass off my knees and resumed heading towards my dorm with what little dignity I still had. This was turning into the second worst day of my life (the first being the day I was converted into a vampire), so I went back to my dorm room, changed into my pajamas, and hid under my comforter till the day passed.
"Are you going to tell me what put you in such a good mood?" Pierre inquired following me. "No," I stated clearly.
Then I'll have to speculate and suppose it had something to do with the young man you were conversing with outside the gym," Pierre replied.
"How do you know that?" I questioned, coming to a halt in front of Pierre.
"Well, I kind of witnessed it from the rooftop across from the gym..." Pierre shuffled nervously.
"Oh, you were spying on me," I said.
"No, no... we were watching over you... for your protection-" Pierre shook his head.
"We?" I said.
"Yes, Hugo and me... and eleven other guards," Pierre grumbled.
I pictured the interaction between James and myself as a performance in my brain. There I was, center stage, with James's pals watching us from the stalls and Pierre and the other vampires gazing from their rooftop balcony box. I cringed inwardly. There was no way I could make amends by changing my name and looks. Perhaps I should go into town and visit a hairdresser to get my hair color altered. I could even get a new hairstyle or a tattoo.
Pierre's fingers brushed across my face.
"Earth to Jess, what are you up to?" Pierre inquired.
"Nothing," I said nonchalantly, "just a minor mental breakdown."
"Come on, Jess, it wasn't that horrible," Pierre said with a smile, "most of these folks don't even matter. You are a vampire, not a human, thus it makes no difference what a few human gossips think of you. You won't have to see them again for a few weeks."
Pierre' effort was appreciated, even though it did not make me feel any better. "I suppose you're correct, but I'm not thrilled with Hugo and you following me about with a royal guard's entourage," I remarked.
"Don't be concerned. The extra guards are only present because of Ophelia, and once the Queen departs, so will the guards. Then it's just you, me, Hugo, and Felix—though Hugo will most likely end up guarding Felix. So, it's just you and me now," Pierre stated joyfully.
This news did not make me happy. Ophelia was the one vampire I truly trusted, and she was about to leave to return to the vampire castle I had never even been to. I guess I loved Ophelia because she was similar to me in many ways- a lady stuck by circumstance and doing her best to get through it.
"Just you and me," I said to Pierre as I glanced up at him.
Pierre laughed "Yes, you and I. I know I'm not a female, but I prefer to think of myself as a modern metrosexual man who is in touch with his feminine side. So, if you need someone to confide in, I'm your man." "Really?" I asked, doubtful.
"I can see you're not persuaded," said Pierre.
"Absolutely not, "I said.
"Watch," Pierre murmured as he straightened up."
He withdrew a little black electronic gadget from his jacket pocket. "This right here is a GPS locator that every vampire needs to wear so that Hugo and Felix can follow us whenever they want to," he explained, flashing it in front of me.
The GPS was then thrown into a huge flower bed some distance away from us by Pierre. He then took my hand in his and stated, "No one can follow us while we go eat ice cream."
"You're bringing me out for ice cream—do vampires eat ice cream?"" I responded.
"Ice cream has no nutritional benefit for us, but it tastes freaking fantastic," Pierre explained as he led me along the path. The ice cream shop was located in the heart of town. It was a popular choice among college students who wanted to cheer themselves up after a difficult exam or essay by indulging in a wide variety of ice cream. This was my favorite place during my first year, but I stopped coming here after I went up a full-dress size during my first exam period.
Returning into the parlor brought back bittersweet memories of celebrating the completion of monster essays with a banana split sundae and comforting myself after a dreadful exam with a chocolate fudge sundae. When Pierre and I came into the parlor, the young waitress behind the counter recognized him right away and straightened up before hurrying over to our table. "Would you like your usual?" she inquired, smiling familiarly at Pierre.
"I would certainly," Pierre replied nicely. " Thank you so much, Red."
When the young server asked for my order, I told her I wanted a small bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. The waitress took our order and then left.
"You can eat whatever you want- vampires don't gain weight," Pierre explained as he leaned back in his seat. "I don't feel like eating much," I said, "and I'm more interested in how you became so acquainted with the workers of this business."
"I have a sweet tooth, or sweet fang," Jacques said, "and this is the nicest ice cream shop in the county, even outshines Ms Mary's ice cream business in Porto Cypress."
"I've never heard of that store or that town," I admitted, which was not unexpected given my lack of local knowledge.
"No Human in the world has ever heard of that town. Porto Cypress, if not the vampire city, is a vampire city. I t's the biggest vampire city in the America," Pierre exclaimed.
"Is there a vampire city?" I inquired.
"Yes, and you'll notice it once you've become used to living like a vampire. The Vampire Court, your new residence, is just three miles southeast of the city "explained Pierre.
Red, the waitress, popped out of nowhere with a huge plastic bib for Pierre. After saying "thank you" to the young waitress, he swung the bib over his neck. A short while later, the Red reappeared with a small bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream for Pierre before disappearing for ten seconds and reappearing with what can only be described as a bucket of ice cream. Red grunted as she threw the ice cream onto the table and walked away from us.
Eight different varieties of ice cream, coated with whip cream, chocolate sauce, and marshmallows," Jacques murmured as he gazed down at it. " Heaven is sprinkles and almonds".
I was shocked and said, "How frequently do you come here?"
Pierre remarked, dipping his spoon into the ice cream container, "Twice a week." "And that's the usual fare you serve?" I said.
Stop criticizing me; I warned you that I had a sweet fang." Pierre snapped, changing the subject, "How are things doing with the Dark Prince?"
I answered, taking a piece of my ice cream, "Just peachy."
Then why do I feel like you're lying to me?" Pierre asked after pausing.
I shook my head and ate another scoop of ice cream. I had no intention of opening up to Pierre so that he might relay all I had said to Felix. This gave me the motivation I needed to build a wall of stone and distanced civilization between us. I so casually dismissed each inquiry from Pierre as he continued to press me about the nature of my feelings for Felix. I said to Pierre, "We hardly know one other; therefore, it is difficult to say how l feel about someone who is a virtual stranger."
"But Jess, he is your mate, therefore there must be some spark between you," Pierre remarked. Maybe," I retorted.
As someone entered the shop, the bell over the door to the ice cream parlor chimed. Pierre quickly stood back up, and I looked to see who had just arrived. Ophelia approached us while gently gliding across the store floor and grinning. She greeted each of us separately, saying, "Hello Jess. Hello Pierre."
So, Pierre stood up on ceremonial till she slid into the chair next to me and started talking. "I was out for a walk with my guards when I spotted you in the window, and I thought to myself I could not possible walk through without saying hello."
Pierre asked Ophelia if she would like to order some ice cream from the menu even though he didn't appear to be impressed by the way she looked. "Thank you, but I never acquired a taste for human food," Ophelia shook her head in response.
There was a stillness on the table. In contrast to Pierre, who had abruptly turned off and distant, Ophelia was sitting next to me upright and ready. I scrambled for a response right away and said, "Pierre was describing the city of Porto Cypress to me. It was the largest in the America, he claimed."
Ophelia's smile became even wider, and the brightness of it nearly made me blind "I am very excited for us to be able to go shopping together in Porto Cypress since it is a great city. The city itself is magnificent, and the malls there are fantastic, " She spoke.
"I am really excited to go," I said.
Ophelia said, "Pierre could always take you." No way," Pierre said, "Felix would kill me."
"Only if he knew," Henrietta said with a grin.
"That's because Felix is a telepath, thus he would. Jess hasn't acquired the abilities to keep him out of her brain," said Pierre. I was now intrigued, so I replied to both of them, "Wait, I can keep Felix out of my head?"
"There are techniques to erect mental barriers to prevent telepaths from poking around in our heads," Henrietta said with a nod. I answered, "I want to learn how I can shut him out."
With a dismissive hand gesture, Pierre said, "No way, you and Felix need that connection-"
"So that he can watch me?" I lost it.
Ophelia agreed and nodded "Jess requires some solitude. She can't have Felix interrupting her thoughts whenever he feels like it, Ophelia stated as she turned to face me, so I can teach you how to keep him out
"Ophelia," said Pierre.
"I will teach Jess how to block Felix out of her thoughts, and you Pierre are not going to breathe a word about to Felix or Hugo," Ophelia added, giving Pierre a menacing glance.
Pierre resentfully retorted, "I wouldn't have any way. Ophelia teased and said, "Of course you wouldn't," before telling me to meet her at the café the following day so she could show me how to stop thinking about Felix.
"Okay," I replied.
"I'll see you both tomorrow," Ophelia replied as she got up from her seat.
Pierre' facial muscles had tightened to the point where it appeared as though he was actually biting his tongue. Pierre and I were left alone in the parlor after Ophelia offered one last wave. As soon as she was gone, I commented, "You don't seem to like Ophelia."
"So, you spotted that," Pierre snapped as he flung his sundae spoon onto the table.
"We need to get you home before it gets dark," he added as he jumped up from the table.