The next day, the atmosphere at Blackville High was thick with unease, though the students carried on as usual. Conversations seemed hushed, the air heavy with unspoken words. The courtyard felt smaller, the shadows longer. Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that something was lurking just beneath the surface. Something he wasn't seeing yet.
He walked into the school grounds with Selene by his side, (yeah ,that's right they've been getting closer lately) the two of them speaking in low tones, but the moment they reached the entrance of the main building, his attention was pulled elsewhere.
"You're being watched," Selene said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes flicked across the courtyard, stopping at a group of students gathered by the bulletin board.
Adrian followed her gaze but saw nothing unusual. Just a group of teens laughing, talking, going about their day. Still, the way Selene's lips tightened told him there was more to it.
"By who?" Adrian asked, keeping his voice neutral, though he felt the first thread of unease pull at his gut.
Selene shook her head, her eyes never leaving the students. "I don't know. But I can feel it. We need to be careful."
They moved quickly, heading towards the building. Adrian could almost feel eyes on his back as they entered the hallway. His mind raced. Who was watching him, and why? The answer seemed to hover just out of reach, like a word he knew but couldn't quite recall.
Inside, he separated from Selene to attend his first class. As he walked through the crowded hallway, he caught snippets of conversations that made his skin crawl. Whispers, quick glances, and hurried steps behind him. None of it felt normal, none of it felt safe.
---
General POV
Later, as the bell rang and students flooded out into the courtyard for lunch, Adrian sat alone near the fountain. He couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed since he returned to Blackville. The weight of it was suffocating.
He was startled when a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey, Adrian."
He looked up to see a guy standing before him, a guarded look in his eyes. Adrian recognized the guy—someone he'd seen around school, "Marcus" he's always kept to himself. He wasn't exactly unfriendly, but there was a quiet distance to him that Adrian couldn't place.
"Got a minute?" Marcus asked, sliding onto the stone bench beside him.
Adrian nodded, folding his arms. He was curious, but also cautious. He'd learned quickly not to trust anyone in Blackville.
"So," Marcus began, his eyes darting around, as if to make sure no one was listening, "I see you're hanging out with Selene a lot lately."
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you?"
Marcus looked around again, lowering his voice. "Just… be careful. You don't know what you're getting into. Not all of us are what we seem here."
Adrian narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Marcus hesitated, then glanced down at his hands. "I'm just trying to warn you. The vampires here… they don't play by the same rules we do." He met Adrian's gaze, his tone growing serious. "And Selene? She's not like anyone you've ever met."
Before Adrian could respond, a loud voice interrupted them.
"There you are, Adrian!"
Adrian turned to see Him approaching, his golden eyes gleaming, his smile too polished to be genuine, yeah you guessed right "Marcus" , Marcus stiffened beside him, a clear wave of hostility passing between them.
"Lucian," Adrian said curtly, standing up. "What do you want?"
Lucian's gaze flickered briefly to Marcus, and for a moment, Adrian could feel the tension crackling in the air. "Just came to check on my… friend," Lucian said with a barely concealed smirk, his eyes drifting back to Adrian. "I thought we had more to talk about. Don't tell me you've already forgotten."
Adrian tensed, but before he could speak, Lucian turned his attention back to Marcus. His smile widened. "Well, well… Marcus. I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you'd be off somewhere… keeping your distance from the action."
Marcus's expression darkened. He stood up quickly, stepping between Lucian and Adrian. "You don't belong here, Lucian."
The words hung in the air, and for a moment, everything went still. Then, Lucian laughed—softly, almost mockingly.
"I think you'll find, Marcus, that I'm exactly where I need to be."
---
General POV
The tension between Marcus and Lucian was palpable, and Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that he was caught between two opposing forces, neither of which he fully understood.
As the conversation faded, he watched Lucian walk away with his usual air of confidence, but it was clear there was more beneath the surface. Adrian had seen enough in Blackville to know that the politics of the supernatural world were more complicated than he could ever have imagined.
---
As the school day came to a close, Selene met Adrian outside the gates again, her face unreadable.
"What happened?" she asked softly.
Adrian hesitated, glancing back towards the school. "I think things just got a whole lot more complicated."
Selene didn't respond right away. Instead, she studied his face, sensing the weight of the situation settling in.
> "You're not wrong," she finally said, her voice low. "The storm's only just begun."
Adrian didn't know whether he was ready for the storm ahead, but he knew one thing for sure: his life was no longer his own.
---
General POV
Later that night, Adrian lay awake in the dark, the weight of everything pressing down on him. The tension with Lucian. The cryptic warnings from Marcus. And Selene, who seemed to be hiding something from him, something deeper than the vampire world she had only begun to reveal.
Outside, the wind howled through the trees, carrying with it the scent of rain. Somewhere in the distance, the storm was gathering, and Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that when it finally broke, nothing in Blackville would ever be the same.