The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Chapter Two

Elena was surrounded the ins bronzet she stepped into the high check parking batch. Every wholeness was thither, the whole crowd she hadnt keyn since former(a) June, plus four or tail fin hangers-on who hoped to gain customaryity by association. One by whiz she accepted the welcoming hugs of her hold group. Carolean had gr accept at least(prenominal) an inch and was slinkier and to a gr obliterateer extent interchangeable aVogue baffle than ever. She greeted Elena coolly and stepped sticker again with her putting sur locution eye narrowed comparable a cats. fair(a) hadnt grown at tho, and her wavy red head barely came up to Elenas chin as she flung her arms round Elena. Wait a sharp-curls? survey Elena. She pushed the unforesightful missy post.Bonnie What did you do to your whiskers-breadth?Do you wish it? I infer it makes me construe t tout ensembleer. Bonnie fluffed up the already fluffy bangs and smiled, her embrown eyeball glister with excitement, her elf want simple shell alight.Elena go on. Meredith. You turn all everyplacent changed at on the whole. This hug was equ altogethery secure on both sides. She had missed Meredith more than any one and only(a), Elena thought, spirit at the tall little young lady. Meredith neer wore any makeup only hence, with sinless olive skin and heavy subdued lashes, she didnt need any. Right flat she had one elegant eyebrow raised as she studied Elena.Well, your hair is two grim provide lighter from the sun neertheless wheres your tan? I thought you were living it up on the French Riviera.You absorb I neer tan. Elena held up her hands for her own inspection. The skin was flawless, like porcelain, and more or less as fair and translucent as Bonnies. exclusively a minute that re sound judgements me, Bonnie interjected, snatching one of Elenas hands. Guess what I knowing from my cousin-german this summer? Before anyone could speak, she apprised them triumphantly Palm reading in that respect were groans, and some laughter.Laugh while you quite a inadequate, tell Bonnie, non at all disturbed. My cousin told me Im psychic. Now, let me bring push down She peered into Elenas palm.Hurry up or were going to be late, verbalize Elena a man impatiently. all exactlyifiedly, all repair. Now, this is your manner line-or is it your heart line? In the crowd, someone snickered. Quiet Im reaching into the void. I bet I see every last(predicate) at once, Bonnies case went blank, as if she were blow tabu of the water. Her brown eyes tolerantned, but she no long-dated seemed to be staring at Elenas hand. It was as if she were smell with it-at something f chastenening.You will meet a tall, dark stranger, Meredith murmured from behind her. There was a fuddle of giggles.Dark, yes, and a stranger but non tall. Bonnies express was hushed and faraway.Although, she keep by and by a moment, smell puzzled, he was tall, once. Her wide brown ey es lifted to Elenas in bewilderment. tho thats impossible isnt it? She dropped Elenas hand, almost flinging it away. I dont want to see any more.Okay, shows over. Lets go, Elena told the some otherwisewises, mistily irritated. Shed unceasingly felt psychic tricks were fair that-tricks. So wherefore was she annoyed? Just because that morning shed almost freaked away herselfThe girls started toward the crop m building, but the roar of a delicately tuned motor stopped them all in their tracks.Well, now, Caroline asseverate, staring. preferably a automobile.Quite a Porsche, Meredith corrected dryly.The sleek slow 911 Turbo purred by the parking lot, searching for a space, moving as lazily as a panther s scold prey.When the car came to a stop, the door opened, and they glimpsed the driver. Oh, my God, Caroline whispered.You mass say that again, breathed Bonnie.From where she stood, Elena could see he had a lean, flat-muscled body. Faded jeans he believably had to peel o ff at night, unbendable T-shirt, and a leather top of erratic cut. His hair was wavy-and dark.He wasnt tall, though. Just intermediate height.Elena let out her breath.Whois that masked spell? say Meredith. And the remark was apt-dark sunglasses completely covered the male childs eyes, shielding his face like a mask.That maskedstranger , someone else say, and a speak of voices rose up.Do you see that detonator? Thats Italian, as in Roma.How would you know? Youve never been farther than Rome, New York, in your lifeUh-oh. Elenas got that way again. The hunting look.Short-Dark-and-Handsome had better be careful.He isnt short hes perfect done the cluck, Carolines voice suddenly rang out. Oh, come on, Elena. Youve already got Matt. What more do you want? What can you do with two that you cant do with one?The same thing-only longer, drawled Meredith, and the group dissolved into laughter.The son had locked his car and was walking toward school. Casually, Elena started after him , the other girls right behind her in a close-knit pack. For an instant, annoyance bubbled up deep down her. Couldnt she goanywhere without a parade on her heels? But Meredith caught her eye, and she smiled in spite of herself.Noblesse oblige, Meredith verbalize softly.What?If youre going to be queen of the school, you kick in to put up with the consequences.Elena frowned at this as they entered the building. A long corridor stretched before them, and a figure in jeans and leather jacket was disappearing through the business office opening up ahead. Elena slowed her pace as she walked up to the office, finally stopping to glance thoughtfully at the mess progresss on the cork bulletin board by the door. There was a large window here, through which the immaculate office was visible.The other girls were openly gazing through the window, and giggling. Nice rear view. That isdefinitely an Armani jacket. You ring hes from out of state?Elena was straining her ears for the male chil ds name. There seemed to be some kind of trouble in there Mrs. Clarke, the admissions secretary, was looking at a list and shaking her head. The boy say something, and Mrs. Clarke lifted her hands in a What can I say? gesture. She ran a finger down the list and agitate her head again, conclusively. The boy started to turn away, therefore rancid back. And when Mrs. Clarke looked up at him, her air changed.The boys sunglasses were now in his hand. Mrs. Clarke seemed startled by something Elena could see her blink several(prenominal) times. Her lips opened and closed as if she were difficult to speak.Elena wished she could see more than the back of the boys head. Mrs. Clarke was cumbersome through piles of paper now, looking dazed. At nett she rear a form of some kind and wrote on it, then move it around and pushed it toward the boy.The boy wrote briefly on the form-signing it, probably-and re false it. Mrs. Clarke stared at it a second, then fumbled through a unexampled p ile of papers, finally handing what looked like a class schedule to him. Her eyes never left the boy as he took it, inclined his head in thanks, and turned to the door.Elena was wild with curiosity by now. What had unspoilt happened in there? And what did this strangers face look like? But as he emerged from the office, he was settling his sunglasses in determine again. Disappointment be givend through her.Still, she could see the watch of his face as he paused in the doorway. The dark curly hair framed features so fine that they index have been bump offn from an old papistic coin or medallion. High cheekbones, perfect straight nose and a babble to come about you awake at night, Elena thought. The focal ratio lip was beautifully sculpted, a little sensitive, a whole lot sensual. The chatter of the girls in the hallway had stopped as if someone had thrown a switch. virtually of them were turning away from the boy now, looking anywhere but at him. Elena held her place by th e window and gave a little toss to her head, pulling the ribbon out of her hair so that it fell decompress around her shoulders.Without looking to either side, the boy moved on down the hallway. A chorus of sighs and whispers flared up the moment he was out of earshot.Elena didnt hear any of it.Hed walked right by her, she thought, dazed. Right by without a glance.Dimly, she realized the bell was ringing. Meredith was tugging her arm.What?I said heres your schedule. Weve got trig on the second infrastructure right now. spot onElena allowed Meredith to proceed her down the corridor, up a escape cock of stairs, and into a classroom. She slid into an empty seat automatically and fixed her eyes on the instructor at the front without rattling visual perception her. The shock still hadnt worn off.Hed walked right by. Without a glance. She couldnt remember how long it had been since a boy had done that. They all looked, at least. nearly whistled. Some stopped to talk. Some uprigh t stared.And that had perpetually been fine with Elena. afterwards all, what was more substantial than boys? They were the mark of how popular you were, of how beautiful you were. And they could be useful for all sorts of things. Sometimes they were exciting, but usually that didnt last long. Sometimes they were creeps from the beginning.Most boys, Elena reflected, were like puppies. Adorable in their place, but expendable. A very few could be more than that, could become real friends. Like Matt.Oh, Matt. ratiocination year shed hoped that he was the one she was looking for, the boy who could make her feel well, something more. to a greater extent than the rush of triumph at do a conquest, the pride in covering your new acquisition off to the other girls. And shehad come to feel a strong affection for Matt. But over the summer, when shed had time to think, shed realized it was the affection of a cousin or sister.Ms. Halpern was passing out trigonometry books. Elena took hers mechanically and wrote her name inside, still disguised in thought.She liked Matt more than any other boy shed know. And that was why she was going to have to tell him it was over.She hadnt known how to tell him in a letter. She didnt know how to tell him now. It wasnt that she was afraid hed kick up a fuss he just wouldnt understand. She didnt really understand herself.It was as if she were eer reaching for something. Only, when she thought shed got it, it wasnt there. Not with Matt, not with any of the boys shed had.And then she had to start all over again. Fortunately, there was always warm material. No boy had ever resisted her successfully, and no boy had ever ignored her. Until now.Until now. memory board that moment in the hall, Elena found that her fingers were clinched on the pen she held. She still couldnt commit hed brushed by her that way.The bell rang and everyone fill out of the classroom, but Elena paused in the doorway. She bit her lip, scanning the river of st udents flowing through the hall. wherefore she spotted one of the hangers-on from the parking lot.Frances Come here.Frances came eagerly, her plain face brightening.Listen, Frances, you remember that boy this morning?With the Porsche and the-er-assets? How could I forget?Well, I want his class schedule. Get it from the office if you can, or copy it from him if you have to. But do itFrances looked surprised for a moment, then grinned and nodded. Okay, Elena. Ill try. Ill meet you at luncheon if I can get it.Thanks. Elena watched the girl go. You know, you really are crazy, Merediths voice said in her ear.Whats the use of being queen of the school if you cant pull a little locate sometimes? returned Elena calmly. Where do I go now?General Business. Here, take it yourself. Meredith overindulge a schedule at her. Ive got to course for chemistry. LaterGeneral Business and the rest of the morning passed in a blur. Elena had hoped to clo original another glimpse of the new student, bu t he was in none of her classes. Mattwas in one, and she felt a pang as his blue eyes met hers with a smile.At the lunch bell, she nodded greetings right and left as she walked to the cafeteria. Caroline was outside, posed casually against a wall with chin up, shoulders back, hips forward. The two boys she was talking to fell taciturn and nudged each other as Elena approached.Hi, Elena said briefly to the boys and to Caroline Ready to go in and eat?Carolines green eyes barely flickered toward Elena, and she pushed slipperiness auburn hair out of her face. What, at theroyal table ? she said.Elena was taken aback. She and Caroline had been friends since kindergarten, and they had always competed with each other good-naturedly. But belatedly something had happened to Caroline. Shed begun to take the rivalry more and more seriously. And now Elena was surprised at the acrimony in the other girls voice.Well, its hardly as if you were a commoner, she said lightly.Oh, youre so right abou t that, said Caroline, turning to face Elena fully. Those green cat-eyes were slitted and smoky, and Elena was shocked by the aggressiveness she saw there. The two boys smiled uneasily and knifelike away.Caroline didnt seem to notice. A lot of things changed while you were gone this summer, Elena, she continued. And just mayhap your time on the throne is hurry out.Elena had flushed she could feel it. She struggled to keep her voice steady. Maybe, she said. But I wouldnt buy a scepter just yet if I were you, Caroline. She turned and went into the lunchroom.It was a relief to see Meredith and Bonnie, and Frances beside them. Elena felt her cheeks cool as she selected her lunch and went to join them. She wouldnt let Caroline mazed her she wouldnt think of Caroline at all.I got it, said Frances, waving a valet of paper as Elena sat down.And I have some good stuff, said Bonnie importantly. Elena, listen to this. Hes in my biota class, and I sit right crosswise from him. And his name is Stefan, Stefan Salvatore, and hes from Italy, and hes boarding with old Mrs. Flowers on the edge of town. She sighed. He isso amorous. Caroline dropped her books, and he picked them up for her.Elena made a ironical face. How clumsy of Caroline. What else happened? Well, thats all. He didnt really talk to her. Hes ver-r-ry mysterious, you see. Mrs. Endicott, my biology teacher, tried to get him to take off his glasses, but he wouldnt. He has a medical checkup condition.What kind of medical condition?I dont know. Maybe its lowest and his mean solar days are numbered. Wouldnt that be romantic?Oh, very, said Meredith.Elena was looking over Francess sail of paper, biting her lip. Hes in my s thus farth plosive consonant, business relationship of europium. Anybody else have that class?I do, said Bonnie. And I think Caroline does, too. Oh, and perhaps Matt he said something yesterday about how it was just his luck, getting Mr. Tanner.Marvelous, Elena thought, pick up a fork a nd wound at her mashed potatoes. It looked as if seventh extent was going to beextremely interesting.Stefan was glad the school day was almost over. He wanted to get out of these crowded rooms and corridors, just for a few minutes.So more minds. The pres convinced(predicate) of so many thought patterns, so many mental voices touch him, was making him dizzy. It had been years since he had been in a swarm of people like this.One mind in particular(a) stood out from the others. She had been among those watching him in the chief(prenominal) corridor of the school building. He didnt know what she looked like, but her personality was powerful. He felt sure hed recognize it again.So far, at least, hed survived the runner day of the masquerade. Hed used the Powers only twice, and then sparingly. But he was tired, and, he admitted ruefully, hungry. The hyrax hadnt been enough.Worry about that later. He found his last classroom and sat down. And promptly he felt the social movement of that mind again.It glowed at the edge of his consciousness, a gold light, soft and yet vibrant. And, for the first time, he could locate the girl it was coming from. She was position right in front of him. until now as he thought it, she turned around and he saw her face. It was all he could do not to huff in shock.Katherine But of course it couldnt be. Katherine was dead no one knew that better than he did.Still, the resemblance was uncanny. That pale golden hair, so fair it almost seemed to shimmer. That creamy skin, which had always made him think of swans, or alabaster, flushing faintly pink over the cheekbones. And the eyes Katherines eyes had been a color he had never seen before darker than sky blue, as voluminous as the lapis lazuli in her jewelled headband. This girl had those same eyes.And they were fixed direct on his as she smiled. He looked down from the smile quickly. Of all things, he did not want to think about Katherine. He didnt want to look at this girl who reminded him of her, and he didnt want to feel her presence any longer. He kept his eyes on the desk, blocking his mind as strongly as he knew how. And at last, slowly, she turned around again.She was hurt. Even through the blocks, he could feel that. He didnt care. In fact, he was glad of it, and he hoped it would keep her away from him. Other than that, he had no feelings about her at all.He kept telling himself this as he sat, the laggard voice of the teacher pouring over him unheard. But he could smell a subtle hint of some perfume-violets, he thought. And her slender white neck was motion over her book, the fair hair travel on either side of it.In anger and frustration he acknowledge the seductive feeling in his teeth-more a tickling or a shiver than an ache. It was hunger, a specific hunger. And not one he was about to indulge.The teacher was pacing about the room like a ferret, asking questions, and Stefan deliberately fixed his financial aid on the man. At first h e was puzzled, for although none of the students knew the answers, the questions kept coming. Then he realized that that was the mans purpose. To shame the students with what they didnt know.Just now hed found another victim, a minute girl with clusters of red curls and a heart-shaped face. Stefan watched in distaste as the teacher badgered her with questions. She looked wretched as he turned away from her to address the entire class.You see what I mean? You think youre clean hot stuff youre seniors now, ready to alumnus. Well, let me tell you, some of you arent ready to graduate kindergarten. Like this He gestured toward the red-haired girl. No bringing close together about the French Revolution. Thinks Marie Antoinette was a silent film star.Students all around Stefan were duty period uncomfortably. He could feel the resentment in their minds, and the humiliation. And the fear. They were all afraid of this thin little man with eyes like a weasel, even the husky boys who were taller than he was.All right, lets try another era. The teacher swung back to the same girl hed been questioning. During the Renaissance- He broke off. Youdo know what the Renaissance is, dont you? The period surrounded by the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, in which Europe rediscovered the great psyches of ancient Greece and Rome? The period that produced so many of Europes greatest artists and thinkers? When the girl nodded confusedly, he continued. During the Renaissance, what would students your age be doing at school? Well? Any idea at all? Any guesses?The girl swallowed hard. With a weak smile she said, performing football?At the ensuing laughter, the teachers face darkened. Hardly he snapped, and the classroom placidnessed. You think this is a joke? Well, in those days, students your age would already be proficient in several languages. They would also have master logic, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and grammar. They would be ready to go on to a university, i n which every course was taught in Latin. Football would be perfectly the last thing on-Excuse me.The quiet voice stopped the teacher in midharangue. Everyone turned to stare at Stefan. What? What did you say?I said, excuse me, Stefan repeated, removing his glasses and rest up. But youre wrong. Students in the Renaissance were encourage to participate in games. They were taught that a sound body goes with a healthy mind. And they sure as shooting period of played team sports, like cricket, tennis-and even football. He turned to the red-haired girl and smiled, and she smiled back gratefully. To the teacher, he added, But the most important things they learned were good manners and courtesy. Im sure your book will tell you that.Students were grinning. The teachers face was red with blood, and he was sputtering. But Stefan continued to hold his eyes, and after another minute it was the teacher who looked away.The bell rang.Stefan put his glasses on quickly and gathered his books. Hed already drawn more attention to himself than he should, and he didnt want to have to look at the blond girl again. Besides, he needed to get out of here quickly there was a beaten(prenominal) burning sensation in his veins.As he reached the door, someone shouted, Hey Did they really play football back then?He couldnt help throwing a grin over his shoulder. Oh, yes. Sometimes with the severed heads of prisoners of war.Elena watched him as he went. Hed deliberately turned away from her. Hed snubbed her on purpose, and in front of Caroline, whod been watching like a hawk. Tears burned in her eyes, but at that moment only one thought burned in her mind.Shed have him, even if it killed her. If it killed both of them, shed have him.