Chapter Five - Image

Dmitry

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, eyeing the fading purple on my jaw. Flashbacks from my past bombarded my thoughts. Fists. Lots of angry fists hitting my skin: my face, my ribs, my stomach...Always treated like a peasant, wherever we went.

I closed my eyes and replayed today's events in my head. He actually hit me. I had no idea he would get that angry and aggressive. It kind of terrified me.

I suddenly heard a knock at my door and I cursed under my breath. After this afternoon's fiasco I said 'goodbye' and 'thank you' to Star before running off until no one could see me. I sped home, getting back to the house in mere seconds. My bruise was fading fast, but because of the short duration that is getting home, it was still very noticeable.

Nikita walked in and I cringed. My right hand came up to meet my jaw and I slightly winced at my efforts to try and hide my bruise.

"Hi, pup, I warmed up some blood for you, kind of like soup. I even made your favourite for dessert, rabbit blood jello cubes," he said sweetly and I smiled.

"Thank you, Nikki, I'll be there in a second." My words came out a little too rushed for my liking. Nikki frowned then moved closer. My older brother knew me better than anyone. He can read me like a book.

"Why are you holding your face like that?" I felt myself starting to sweat.

"I'm just massaging my jaw. I think I slept funny, it feels stiff..." I trailed off when he got closer. He clearly didn't believe me so he gently took my hand and lowered it. His eyebrows furrowed as he cupped my face gingerly. The soft pad of his thumb carressed the purple flesh before his icy eyes met mine.

"Who did this?" He whispered darkly then leaned closer and sniffed me. "I can smell wolf on you."

"Nikki, it's fine, okay? I know you're just being an overprotective brother, but don't worry, bubba, everything's fine. It was just a dumb werewolf who can't keep his anger in check."

"Was it the same werewolf who gave you shit yesterday?" Nikita rarely swears. He's pissed.

"Yes, but I promise it's fine. He's not bullying me or anything, we're just not getting along is all." He clenched his jaw then closed his eyes before taking in a deep breath. He was trying to control his anger.

"I don't like it when people touch you. After what happened-"

"Bubba, it's okay. The principal is going to punish him tomorrow. The school has a no violence policy. I'm okay..." He took one last deep breath before his hand dropped and he nodded weakly.

"Okay, but if he lays another finger on you, I'll kill him. Stay away from the wolves, pup. They're dangerous."

...

Of all the years I've been going to school, not once have I ever wound up in a situation like this. I never got into trouble or fights, so this is a new experience for me. Looking back on the last two days, I can't actually believe I've made an enemy, thrown water on said enemy and had my face punched by my new enemy. It's been eventful to say the least, but I am going against my original plan of flying under the radar.

I'd be lying if I say I'm not a little freaked out by what happened yesterday. I saw a side to Kennedy that I had a feeling was there, but underestimated. Yes, our two species hate each other, but physical violence is a big no-no. Our rivalry is more of a battle of words than a battle of fists. As soon as his knuckles made contact with my face, shit got more serious.

When I walked into the school building at such an early time, the only students that could be seen were the ones who had club or sports team obligations. I didn't miss the eyes on me as I made my way to the principal's office. I'm sure the humans were confused as to how my bruise magically disappeared.

I turned a corner and audibly sighed with relief when I realised that I was the first one there. It would've been so awkward if Kennedy was already there just sitting and waiting. I chose a seat on the far left, the chair furthest from the office's door. Leaning back into the seat, I closed my eyes. This little meeting with the principal meant I had to wake up earlier than usual in order to be on time. I didn't have the energy to speed to school like the Flash, so I opted for a leisurely — read as stressful — walk.

A few minutes had passed when I suddenly heard footsteps in the hallway. My eyes opened and found Kennedy. He chose the seat furthest from me. How considerate of him. An awkward silence descended upon us. Our eyes looked everywhere but at each other. An impatient sigh came from him and I watched as he checked his wrist watch, presumably to see if it was time for our meeting yet. And as if the Principal had read our minds, his door swung open.

"Inside, now." We scurried inside and sat down in the two seats that were in front of his desk. I hated sitting so close to Kennedy. Ronan then plopped down on his chair, pulling himself forward so that he could lean his elbows on the desk.

"Let's cut the bullshit shall we? Vampire and werewolf. I think that's a good start to the story." I could tell by his scent that he was a wolf. At least we could be completely honest about the situation and not beat around the bush. The room, however, stayed silent.

"Okay, you guys loved to shit-talk each other just yesterday and now you're all silent. So let's keep this simple. Our kinds hate each other, whoopty doo, we all know that. The vamps and the wolves diss each other on a daily basis. Personally I think the whole rivalry thing is stupid, I mean we're all supernaturals, surely we should stick together?"

"Vampires have given us little reason to trust them, sir." I scoffed at Kennedy's words

"Oh for god sakes, Kennedy, like we're any better! Ah, whatever, I'm not going to sit here and try to erase your prejudices against one another, let's just cut to the chase. You two clearly piss each other off very much. So here's an idea, stay the fuck away from one another! Dmitry, I've done a background check and I know that you've never been caught up in situations like this in the past. And Kennedy, I can see you've got a temper, but physical violence is prohibited at this school, especially between vamps and wolves. We don't want to start a war. If there's going to be tension between us, let's keep it verbal, okay? You need to keep your anger in check-"

"But, sir, he provoked me! He dumped water on my head and trash-talked me-"

"Oh stop trying to play the innocent card, Kennedy. You're the one who bumped me and the one who splashed me with your car. You started all of this! I just wanted to come here and finish my education while staying clear from drama!" I couldn't help it, it felt like my words had minds of their own.

"Both of you have done things to piss off the other. To be honest I don't even understand how this little enemy relationship began and how it escallated so quickly in just two days. But I'll let you boys off with a warning. However, you keep causing shit, you will be punished and I won't be so relaxed with this in the future. So here's what you're going to do, you two are going to stay far away from each other. That's it! Is that difficult? I think not. You hate each other so surely you'd like to avoid each other, hm?"

"Yes, sir," we muttered in unison.

"Great, now get the hell out of my office. It's too early to deal with this petty bullshit." I stood up at his words and hurried out of the room.

He wants us to stay away? Cool, why not start now. I did mentally roll my eyes when I remembered we're in the same classes except for one period of the day, but I know I need to get back on track. I'm not going to give him the time of day again, for real this time. I can't afford to get severely punished and risk destroying my chances at getting an education. My drive to finish school is far stronger than my hatred for Kennedy.

...

When I entered the cafeteria at lunch time, it was no surprise that the whole school's eyes were on me. We had had a pretty big crowd when the punching incident went down and word travels fast amongst teenagers in high school. Now I'm known as the guy who got punched by the AMAZING Kennedy Keller, but among the supernatural, I'm known as the vampire who got punched by a werewolf. Now that is massive news.

I tried my best to just look ahead as I walked till I reached an empty table. I couldn't stand the stares and whispers. My whole life I've absolutely hated having attention on me. In that moment I wanted to snap my fingers and simply disappear.

I gave the room a once-over then sighed loudly before taking out my book. Books have always been an escape for me. I can read for hours, just getting lost in the well written stories. I could still feel heavy gazes on me, but for the most part, people went back to eating and chatting. 'Thank God,' I thought.

My novel was reaching a really climactic point, completely sucking me in until the sounds of the cafeteria doors opening loudly interrupted my reading. I gazed up. The douchebag was there.

Like with me, he had hundreds of eyes fixed on him. His usual confident demeanour was overcome by a sheepishness that people were clearly not used to seeing on him. Yesterday he had blown up and shown the whole school a side of him that he probably never wanted anyone to see. I smirked at that.

Mr Perfect's got a dark side.

Kennedy's eyes scanned the room carefully until they landed on me. He began walking over, causing people to whisper and watch intently. 'Ah fuck, what now?!' He sauntered over and I groaned before placing my bookmark in my book and closing it.

"What is it, Keller-"

"Shut the fuck and play along or you're dead," he whispered, threatening me.

"Listen up everyone!" He yelled out, successfully grabbing the attention of practically the entire school.

"I'm sure most of you are aware of what happened yesterday. Dmitry and I just had a little disagreement so you can stop with the gossip, alright? In fact I just wanted to say to you, DEMI, that I am so incredibly sorry and I really hope you can forgive me. Let's start fresh, what do you say?" I was completely speechless. I clenched my jaw in irritation then stood up.

"I know what you're doing," I whispered darkly and he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah? And what is that?"

"Don't play dumb. You care so much about what these people think of you that you're staging a fucking apology? And what did I say about calling me 'Demi'?" I seethed and he smirked.

"Around here I'm king, alright? So just say you forgive me and we can move on-"

"Fuck you, I don't forgive you! You're an angry asshole-"

"Shhhh! Shut the fuck up!" He hissed while blocking my mouth when my words came out in a yell. I grabbed his hand and ripped it off my face.

"Don't touch me! The last thing I want is to get infected with your douchebag disease!" He looked livid, I could see him clenching his fists tightly. He was trying to keep his anger in check.

"I'm going to kill you. You're ruining everything," he muttered darkly.

"Leave me the fuck alone, Kennedy. If you really want to maintain your perfect little image here, then stay away from me. I am not responsible for how people perceive you!" I grabbed my book and shoved it in my bag before swiftly walking out of the room.

Fuck all of this! I'm going home.

I know it's bad to skip school, but I desperately needed time away from him. I needed time to myself.

...

During one of my nightly patrols, I came across a small waterfall. It was one of my first nights on the job so I got a little lost. I ended up wandering out of our territory and into neutral ground. The waterfall was on land that wasn't owned by anyone so I adopted it as a place of my own to unwind and just be alone. I love being alone.

So that's where I went when I ditched school. I'd be lying if I say I don't feel guilty for leaving. I worked hard for that scholarship, but I reminded myself that it's just this one time.

I sat on a rock and watched the water cascade down the rock face into the crystal-clear pool below. It's so calm and serene. The sound of the water puts me at ease. I brought my knees up to my chest and got lost in my thoughts. I felt my mind wandering to the other night.

The wolf in the woods.

I haven't told a soul about it, not even Nikki. The last thing I want is for a war to start between us and the wolves. It's a secret I need to keep to myself.

The memory replayed in my head of the wolf. They moved in a calculated way and with purpose, as though he wanted to see me. But why? Why did the wolf approach me so calmly? Why did they approach me at all? And why did they sniff me? It just doesn't make sense. Perhaps it wasn't a werewolf but just a wolf. But then why did it not fucking maul me to death?

There's too many questions. But at least I know one thing: I fucking hate wolves so much.

Especially Kennedy fucking Keller.