Exile and Thought

Again, all the characters are my friends. Yes, it is purposely Nocte with a "k". This chapter might be a little annoying I suppose, but hopefully it'll get better. I do write more fluidly.

            They all sat together. Friends who treated one another as a family almost. A girl with long reddish-brown hair and blonde highlights laughed at a joke her friend made. The friend giggled as she thought how funny she could be to other people. The boy next to her scoffed and made a comment that caused the friend to give him an irritated look. Two other of their male friends commented, and the friend turned away and whined how she was always being abused.

            Yes, good friends.

            Kaiya, the freshman with the highlights, slugged one of the boys in the shoulder. "Hey, quit it. I don't think you like it when I make fun of you, right?"

            The boy rubbing his shoulder retorted, "Yeah, but that's just you." He had short blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and a nice build. His tan skin was still there, but faded out from being away from the coast so long. Living in North Carolina didn't give him as good a tan. His name was Alex and he was a junior.

            "Ronnie, they're just being stupid," Kaiya said to her friend. "You know how they are."

            Ronnie sighed and turned back around. "Yeah. Yeah, I know... Stupids." She was a freshman, half Korean, half American. She had long dark hair, a round face, and a short, plump build. People said her light brown eyes were pretty and gentle, but she doubted it because she was very insecure. The boy next to her put his hand under her chin affectionately. "Hey, it's okay chica."

            A junior named Damian. He was very tall, long limbs and nimble hands. He was half black, half white (he preferred to be half "French" however) with very light creamy skin and sporting a thin Leonardo DiCaprio mustache. One of his strongest features were his eyes; he could hold many emotions and anyone looking at him could feel whatever he was feeling. Ronnie would have stories to tell, because for the longest time she had difficulties keeping eye contact; his dark eyes under arched black eyebrows could comfort her or make her feel guilty.

            "Eh... okay... " She said. He leaned down to peck her cheek. A small smile turned at her lips.

            Shaun and Skyler, (sophomore and freshman) who sat next to Alex, said "Eeewww!". Shaun had short blonde hair, blue eyes and a baby face. Skyler was taller, lanky and grey-eyed. His once-blonde hair was in a stage of darkening. He was actually very cute, handsome if any older woman saw him; he was only just blooming.

            "Y'all need to hush. It wasn't even on the lips this time." Damian said irritably.

            "No PDA!" Kaiya joked. (Public Displays of Affection). Ronnie giggled, while Damian gave her the evil eye.

            "So," Alex began, "Mark is probably going to be exiled from the pack."

           The look on Kaiya's face flashed from anger to sorrow, then cold tension. Everyone else fell silent. Mark had been their friend and her boyfriend, but he had betrayed them all when he traded Kaiya's life for immortality. Afterwards he was forced to the lowest rank of his pack.

            Mark and Alex were werewolves.

            Kaiya was a vampire. Her caramel eyes flashed electric blue in hot anger. "Good. He should be. He never felt shame or guilt or anything for what he did. Exile will teach him something."

            Ronnie, a pixie, reached to touch her friend's hand. "Don't hate him. He's not a... good person... but it does you worse to hate him."

            Damian, a high ranking incubus, scoffed. "It's fun to hate."

            The pixie tapped his face. "No, it's just easier. And it's not good for the soul."

            He slapped her face to get back for tapping his, but gently and carefully not to hurt her. "I'm an incubus. I don't have to worry about my soul."

            Skyler was a shape-shifter and Shaun was... just a human. They both exclaimed jokingly, "Ain't got no sooooouuuuulllll!"

            Alex jumped back into his original topic. "Anyway, yeah. We're doing a vote tonight. Who wants to come for the gathering?"

            Everyone either said "I do" "I will" "I can" or "Yes, that f***er needs to get the hell out of here".

            "Great, see you there."

 

 

            Late in the evening, it was foggy. Two figures walked together in the cloudy mist. They were both tall, one skinny and the other heavyset. A conversation started between them.

            "She's pretty dangerous you know," the skinnier one said. "You think she could love you like you want her to?"

            His brother shrugged. "Maybe. I'm sure I'll love her soon. She thought she loved Josh and Mark... maybe she did love Alex. I just hope she truly feels it for me at some point."

            The skinny one, Richie, was tan and a ladies' man. A Puerto Rican vampire like his brother Gabe, who was heavyset and stockier. Gabe had dark puppy eyes; Richie was the same except they were rounder. They were what others dubbed as 'light' vampires, who liked to be in the sun and have friendlier dispositions. An abandoned house near the woods sitting between two trees came into their view.

            "Well, we're here," Richie said. "Time to see to Mark's fate."

           

            Inside it was dim. Fifty or so candles lit up the corners of the wide room. Old wooden chairs were lined against the cracked and abused walls. In the center was one chair, and everyone knew who that one chair was for. Against one wall were all the members of Alex's pack, coldly waiting for the event to start. Near the back door stood Ronnie, Damian, Shaun, Skyler, and Kaiya. Damian held Ronnie close to his side, protectively and authoritatively.

            The door opened, and in came Richie and his brother. Gabe, or Squishy as most called him, immediately walked over to embrace Kaiya. She needed to be strong for this. If she was to break down, he needed to be there to catch her. "Hey," he said, "You'll be okay. You know that, right?"

            She smiled a little. "Yeah... I will be."

            The door cracked open again.

            Everyone held their breath for the two others who entered. Alex strode in solemnly, followed by a taller boy. The boy had flat unkempt brown hair and piercing green eyes, holding an expression nearly indistinguishable from Alex's. Damian stepped forward to stare the boy right in the eye and establish a telepathic communication. For a few moments it was just like that. Though no one else but them knew it, a rush of guilt flooded the boy.

            You do know you have no way out of this. Damian wasn't angry, but straightforward.

            Yeah. I know. It's been nice knowin' you.

            Sure bro. Good luck wherever you go.

            The incubus stepped back to Ronnie's side. Mark nodded to him, and he nodded back. Mark slowly approached Kaiya (Squishy grabbed her hand and stiffened). When his face was just five inches from hers, he said softly, "I know I'm done tonight. When I leave, I will not be coming back. And I'll be happy knowing I've done you a favor."

            The vampire's eyes flashed blue for a second, then eased back to her light caramel. She looked away and nodded.

            "Alright Mark," Alex said, "sit down and we'll begin."

            The werewolf turned from the vampire and made to sit in the chair in the middle of the room. Alex, being the Alpha, motioned for everyone else to settle down.

            "I'm not even going to make a speech. All those in favor of exile, raise your hands."

            One. Two. Three, Four, Five. Six and so on. Every pack member had their hands raised (all seven), Kaiya had hers, Damian, and Squishy.

            Ten people.

            "Okay. All those in favor of keeping him."

            Ronnie, Shaun, Skyler, Richie. Damian stared at his pixie, as well as Richie. They're crazy...

            Mark gave a smirk. He stood up, hands in his pockets, prideful as always.

            Alex slightly pursed his lips. "Anything you want to say to us? Last words before you go?"

            The other werewolf looked around at everyone. He looked to the vampires glaring at him, to the sorrowful pixie and her incubus, to the pack he betrayed.

            And he shook his head.

            The Alpha wanted to say more, but decided against it when he saw his former pack mate walk towards the door and out.

 

 

            "So he's just gone? Never coming back?"

            Logan, a pretty girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, dark eyebrows and dark but strong blue eyes was a shape-shifter like Skyler. Kaiya answered her question tiredly.

            "Yep. Never to return."

            She, Logan and Ronnie all sat next to each other in Science class. It was always nonsense when the three were together.

            "Let's talk about something else. FLUFFY BUNNIES!" Ronnie jumped in. Everyone around her just stared. This was normal, but it still caused Kaiya to facepalm. Mr. Barrett looked up from his big rectangular desk and stared as well. He was a pretty easy-going teacher, so he didn't scold her. But he still didn't know whether he was used to this.

            "Ronnie... Just draw something."

            The pixie gave a little "Heeheeheeheeeee", then turned to do just as the vampire said. Erg.... I swear she's on something. Kaiya rubbed her temples. Her best friend could be so nerve-racking....

            "Kaiyaaaaa, did you draw Captain America yeeeeet?"

            And so could Logan.

            The vampire whipped her head around and she could swear her eye twitched a few times. "No... no I have not."

             "Oh... Veronica," she said to the pixie, "could you draw Captain America?"

            Ronnie spazzed out and covered her head with Damian's hoodie (she had stolen it earlier).

            More staring ensued.

            "Uuuurrrg...." Kaiya groaned.

            Minutes passed by with more boring class work. Barrett was bad with handing out worksheets and book work. She looked at the clock to check the time, then groaned for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. 30 minutes... I can't wait 30 more minutes....

             You never can, you silly goose.

             Ronnie's voice pushed into her brain. A telepathic conversation. Kaiya replied, Can you?

             Yeah.... All I do is write or draw anyway.... You should draw something. Occupy yourself so you won't be so bored.

            But I don't want to draw, I can't draw.

            Her friend shrugged and continued to her own art. The vampire leaned back and sighed. A minute went by. Two minutes. The sheer boredom (or what felt like boredom, teenagers just don't know the meaning of "bored" when there's always something to do) weighed her down. Well, guess I will...

            She reached down to her binder, pulled out a sheet of computer paper, grabbed her writing utensils bag and set it all on her desk. Withdrawing a pencil, she lightly sketched.

            See, I told you!

            She smirked. "Shut up Ronnie."

 

            The breeze felt good on his face. He closed his eyes to savor the fresh air that was rarely experienced. He thought about 'kidnapping' her and bringing her back here, but he didn't want to interfere with her schooling. For him, he didn't really need school. The only solid reason he attended was to blend in, as he was seventeen. And... he did have good company while there. Especially her. Oh, her.

            She made him whole, filled his life with imminent happiness and joy. In his world of fire and obscurity, she was the sun that breathed life into his dead flowers. Into him. Yeah, it sounds like something from any romance novel or fiction, but that's what it was. And he loved it. He loved her. She was the reason he held back from murdering anyone who angered him. That was just it; she was the calm to his storm.

            Up on that hill near the shore, he wouldn't have minded spending eternity with her. He unfolded his skeletal, ragged vein-colored wings, readying himself to fly away. Maybe they both could fly together, far and distant somewhere they could together for as long as they pleased. The thought made him smile. All he wanted was her. All he needed was her. And in due time, he would find out that she had always wanted him from the start, just as much as he did. He was like her drug.

            Damian jumped up and glided away.