The day went by quickly and Noah soon found himself in the school's cafeteria with Ethan opposite him.
"You sure you don't want anything?" Ethan curiously asked as he sat down with a tray of food stacked a little too generously with fries, a burger, and a carton of juice.
Noah glanced at the tray, then shook his head, before lifting the flask, "I'm good, I've got this."
"What's that?" Ethan curiously asked as he saw Noah take a sip.
"Smoothie," Noah answered before stretching the flask forward, "want some?"
He only did this because he knew the answer Ethan would give.
"Nah," Ethan shook his head, "I'd rather not drink whatever mumbo jumbo you decided to blend together."
Noah snorted softly, though there was a small smile on his face, and pulled the flask back, taking another small sip, "suit yourself."
Antoinette was right, not once had he felt hunger during the entire day, so it was obvious enough that the smoothie was working.
The two continued eating in silence, with Ethan quickly wolfing down his food with a satisfied expression when a peculiar scent suddenly filled Noah's senses.
It scent was a bit earthy and at the same time, similar to wet fur, it was almost repulsive and Noah's instincts were immediately on high alert, almost as if he was about to face predator.
But before he could turn around, something blocked his vision completely as a familiar voice whispered in his ear, "guess who."
Noah froze.
The scent intensified the moment whoever it was leaned closer.
They were close enough that he could feel warm breath brush against his ear when they spoke.
His instincts screamed at him to bare his fangs but he stopped himself at the last second.
That voice.
"…Raine," he said flatly.
A soft laugh followed, and whatever was blocking his vision finally moved away. Noah turned just in time to see Raine slide into the seat beside him, her tray already in hand as if she'd always planned to sit there.
"You're no fun," she said, resting her chin in her palm, "you used to at least pretend to be surprised."
"Welcome back," Ethan said with a smile.
Raine was both their childhood friend, having attended the same school since they were seven or so.
She was a girl with tanned skin, short black hair and blue eyes that always seemed to have some kind of glint in them.
Raine had on same uniform Noah and Ethan were wearing, but modified to match her tastes....which was just for it to fit her tomboyish persona.
"Miss me?" Raine asked lightly, grabbing a fry from Ethan's tray without asking.
"Hey—!" Ethan protested. "Get your own."
"I did," she replied, nudging her tray closer. "Yours just looked better."
Noah's eyes never left her, as his instincts seemed to be ringing alarm bells in warning of a danger and that danger was... Raine?
"You're staring," Raine commented as her eyes locked with his, "did you finally fall for me?"
Yeah... There was one more thing about Raine that wasn't a secret anymore ever since it was discovered.
She was actively trying to get Noah to date her.
Raine had basically made it known to everyone and their daughters that Noah was hers to pursue, hence the reason girls were avoiding him, even though he was relatively handsome.
But her plans had been cut short when her family had to move overseas for a reason unknown to anyone, a year ago.
They had kept in contact, but none knew whether she would return or not, well, until this 'surprise' transfer back to the school.
Noah wanted to be happy that she was back, but his instincts weren't letting him as he had more than confirmed that she wasn't human.
But what was she?
A vampire? No, that didn't seem right, or maybe a—
"…You okay?" she suddenly asked, interrupting his thoughts, "you look tense."
"I'm fine," he said quickly, lifting the flask again and taking a sip, "just a long day."
"Mmm," Raine hummed, unconvinced, "funny, you used to relax the moment you saw me."
Ethan gagged loudly, "please don't say it like that while I'm eating."
Raine snorted, "Jealous."
"In your dreams."
She laughed, then leaned closer to Noah, lowering her voice just enough that Ethan wouldn't hear.
"You smell different," she whispered.
Noah's hand tightened around the flask as his eyes locked with Raine's. They seemed to be having some sort of a stare down before Ethan suddenly interrupted.
"Get a room will you, you're ruining my appetite."
"Just admit you're jealous," Raine said as she moved back and chuckled, "don't worry, I'm sure we'll find someone out there for you."
Ethan rolled his eyes and shoved the last of his fries into his mouth. "Please. I'm perfectly happy not being whatever this is."
Raine just chuckled as they continued eating in silence, with Ethan occasionally asking questions about her experience overseas and how the transfer of curriculum was possible from there to their school.
Time passed and the trio were done with their food, and Raine stood up, picking up her tray.
"I've got practice after school," she said casually, turning to Noah. "Walk with me?"
"I—" Noah started.
"Please say no," Ethan cut in, "spare me the PDA and knowledge of your date."
Raine ignored him, her eyes still fixed on Noah as she waited for his reply.
Noah hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. Sure."
After all, he also had a couple of questions that needed answers.
Her grin widened, showing that she was satisfied.
"Good," she said. "There's something I want to ask you."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving the duo with their lunch.
"Is everything okay between you two?" Ethan suddenly asked with a small frown on his face.
"Yeah, why?" Noah asked, turning to his friend.
"I just felt like the air between you two was a bit tense," Ethan said before pausing, "wait, could it be because you've gotten yourself a girlfriend while she was away?"
Right...there was also that, how was he going to introduce Antoinette to Raine.
With a sigh, he stood up and muttered, "one headache at a time."
He sling his bag over his shoulders, leaving a confused Ethan behind as he walked towards the direction Raine headed.
"He didn't really get a girlfriend right?" Ethan muttered to himself as Nox left, before standing up, heading for more food.