Bitten – Episode 34

Chapter 34

 

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As it turned out, Sebastian wasn’t lying when he said there were ugly vampires. Ugly is a mean word, but it was hard to find a kind word to describe the less attractive vampires entering the ballroom. It was nice to know not all vampires were the perfect creatures that some people

 

 

portrayed them as. Though, to my older self, they were just like Dracula. But Vincent had mentioned there were those vampires too…

 

Sighing, I slumped onto the banister I was waiting by. Before I could enter the ballroom, all the other guests had to arrive first. This, apparently, was so I wouldn’t attract too much attention to myself. It wasn’t working though. Every few seconds a guest from down below would glance up at me and whisper something to their date or friends. Whether they new I was human or not, I didn’t know. They could’ve just been commenting on my dress, or hair, or that I was alone. Whatever it was, it was making me uncomfortable, but I couldn’t move from the place. Solomon and Sebastian were standing at the front door, welcoming guests and keeping an eye on me.

 

Sebastian was looking incredibly easy on the eyes in a black tux. His hair was combed back and spiked stylishly. It made me wonder if Fiona was the one behind his new hairdo. He was definitely going to be the center of attention tonight. That meant I wasn’t going to be it, fortunately.

 

So far Ashton hadn’t shown his face. A part of me was wishing maybe he’d just ditch the ball and forget about me. Or maybe he’d suddenly got some weird vampire disease and died. Either way was okay with me. As long as he didn’t show up and ruin the night. I was already nervous enough as it was. Adding him to the equation made me feel like throwing up.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Fiona!” I gasped, my hand shooting up to my heart. “Geez! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

 

She giggled, batting her long eyelashes at me. “Oops.”

 

I shook my head at her. “Shouldn’t you be in the ballroom?”

 

“I can’t come visit you?” she pouted, crossing her arms. “I thought you’d be lonely up here by yourself.”

 

“Well yeah… but isn’t it bad for your image, or whatever?”

 

She laughed quietly. “I don’t think we have to worry about images tonight.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I said you’ll see,” she told me with a mischievous smile.

 

Confused, I slowly returned my attention to the vampires continuously pouring into the building. There were a lot of women in flamboyant, gaudy, poofy dresses. Not laughing at them took most of my self-discipline. Were they expecting Sebastian to fall for them while wearing that? It seemed crazy to me.

 

“There’s a lot of hopeful girls,” Fiona commented after a moment. “I almost feel bad for them…”

 

I nudged her in the side. “Just because you captured Sebastian’s heart…”

 

“I’m kidding,” she laughed. “They wouldn’t have a chance anyway.”

 

I flinched at her harsh words. “And her true personality emerges!”

 

She patted me on the shoulder. “I’m joking again. There was a time I was only an admirer of Sebastian. Just like you were only an admirer of Vincent.”

 

“Er, I wouldn’t say admirer… Truthfully, I’m not sure why I like him.”

 

“What?”

 

“He’s mean. He’s arrogant. He’s a jerk… There’s nothing really to like about him,” I said thoughtfully, furrowing my eyebrows. “Now that I’m thinking about it, what do I like about him?”

 

Fiona stared at me like I was crazy. “You don’t know why you like him?”

 

“He doesn’t have a lot of good qualities,” I pointed out.

 

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“But Emily!”

 

“Yes?”

 

Gesturing wildly with her hands, she tried to form a coherent response but failed. “You can’t just date someone without liking them!” she finally burst, wide-eyed. “That’s horrible!”

 

I smirked. “Just joking, Fiona.”

 

It took a moment for my words to register. When they did, she narrowed her eyes at me. “Good one.”

 

“I know,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders in an off-handed way.

 

“Now I’m curious about it now. Why do you like Vivi? He is an arrogant jerk most of the time.”

 

I cupped the back of my neck, trying to keep my embarrassment under control. “Er, well… He stayed up with me during all those thunderstorms. I guess that’s what got me to start liking him. Oh, and he’s cute when he’s jealous. He does have his nice moments too. I… I don’t feel like talking about it,” I muttered, dropping my gaze to the floor.

 

She laughed again. “That’s all I get?”

 

“You should return to the ballroom.”

 

“Aw, come on! Don’t ruin my fun!”

 

I shooed her with my hands. “Seriously. I don’t want to get in trouble if Solomon looks up here and sees you.”

 

“Oops!” she cried, her eyes flickering to the door where Solomon was standing. “I forgot he was there! You’re right, I should probably go!”

 

“I’ll see you soon!” I called after her as she disappeared through the door directly behind me. “Hopefully,” I added under my breath after a second. It felt like these vampires would never stop coming in.

 

Suddenly there was a tension in the room. I froze, my eyes snapping to the front door, where Sebastian was standing on guard, drawn to his full height.

 

 

Solomon was still retained a casual stance, but his face was completely serious. Heading through the door was a familiar silver-haired man.

 

Smoky grey eyes met my wide blue ones. In a flash Ashton was standing in front of me, his arm wrapping around my waist as I tumbled backward in shock, twisting my heel and almost falling over. Seconds later, Sebastian was by my side, holding onto my arm tightly. Since when were vampires so fast? None I knew ever moved that fast around me, aside from Sebastian now.

 

“Hello, Emily,” Ashton greeted me with a handsome smile, completely ignoring Sebastian. “You look lovely tonight!”

 

“As do you,” I returned confidently, swallowing my fears. I wouldn’t let him gain the upper advantage. “I didn’t expect you to show up.”

 

His eyes flashed with amusement. “Did you now?”

 

“Yeah. Since you’re here though, I hope you enjoy your night.”

 

“Oh, I’ll definitely enjoy the night,” he responded, grinning wickedly. “Save a dance for me.”

 

I forced a polite smile. “Of course.”

 

“Good. See you around then,” he said, retracting his arm from around my waist. “Sebastian, enjoy your last night as King.”

 

He narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t get too over your head. I won’t be renouncing the throne, Ashton.”

 

Ashton waved him off. “We’ll see about that. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have pretty ladies to chat up.” After giving me a wink, he disappeared from view.

 

“Good job, Em,” Sebastian complimented, releasing my arm.

 

Wincing, I rubbed it. A bruise would definitely be forming there soon. “Good job with what?”

 

 

“Not showing your fear. You don’t want him to know he’s affected you. I hate to say it, but if he does request your hand to dance, please accept it.”

 

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“Fine,” I agreed reluctantly. “I want to dance anyway, so I guess that’ll be my only chance.”

 

Sebastian smiled at me. “I’ll dance with you.”

 

“Can you?”

 

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

 

I gave him a quick hug, squeezing him tightly. “I love you, Sebastian.”

 

“I love you too,” he responded, a laugh rumbling through his chest, “but if you keep hugging me, you’ll give our guests the wrong idea.”

 

Quickly releasing him, I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Am I going to be allowed in soon?”

 

He nodded. “There are only a few more guests arriving. It shouldn’t be longer than ten minutes. Please be patient.”

 

Thankfully, his words had been correct. The guests trailing in started to come to a halt, which meant Sebastian and Solomon could leave the entrance hall, which meant I could too. After getting the okay, I hurried down the stairs that led to the main level and joined the two men. They guided me to the back entrance of the ballroom so I wouldn’t have to enter through the main one. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door a sliver and slid in, closing it quietly behind me.

 

Blaring music met my ears. I didn’t recognize the song, but it was some upbeat pop song. I know I shouldn’t have been surprised at this point, but I hadn’t been expecting vampires to listen to normal music. A little bit of

 

 

anxiety fell over me as I came out from behind the tables were a few vampires were sitting, drinking what I hoped was red wine.

 

No one spared me a second glance as I moved closer to the dance floor, eyes peeled for a familiar face. Going to any of the Rutherfords would just attract unnecessary attention, so my eyes were set for Joel or Samuel. It was awkward being here without knowing anyone. Raking my eyes over the crowd, they caught sight of Vincent. I did a double take. That was Vincent?

 

By some weird coincidence, at that exact moment he chose to look over to where I was standing. I gaped at him, unable to pull my gaze away. There was no word strong enough to describe how he looked. He was beyond drop-dead gorgeous. Like Sebastian, he’d had his hair gelled back, showing more of his perfectly structured face. He was wearing the same suit as Sebastian, except with a sapphire blue tie that matched both his eyes and my dress. After a few more moments of admiring him, a grin finally crossed my face. He grinned back after a moment too, doing an overdramatic rake of my body with his eyes.

 

“Not bad,” he mouthed.

 

“Same to you,” I mouthed back.

 

Rolling his eyes, he turned his back to me as a beautiful brunette vampire tapped on his shoulder. He seemed to be surrounded by all the good-looking vampires- men and women alike. It never occurred to me he might be popular among them. I’d just assumed no one liked him after the blame he took for Sebastian, but I guess I was wrong about that.

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Taken by surprise, I whipped around and came face-to-face with someone I didn’t know. Standing before me was a tall, male vampire with long, black hair that was tied up into a ponytail. I stared at him, my chest tightening up. “Um, yes?”

 

“Would you like to dance?” he questioned, smiling handsomely at me.

 

 

Now I was even more thrown off guard. He wanted to dance? With me? Did he not know I was a human? Was I even allowed to dance with the guests? No one had told me what to do if someone asked me to dance…

 

“She’d love to,” a different voice answered for me. Joel popped out from behind the black-haired vampire, grinning. “She’s just a little shy. Emily, this is Jack.”

 

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Jack held out his hand. “Shall we, then?”

 

I sent a panicked look to Joel. How was I supposed to dance with this vampire? I didn’t know the song that was playing! It had changed from the pop one to some waltz one that it looked like everyone knew the dance to. “I don’t know the song,” I told Jack honestly when Joel said nothing to help me.

 

“Don’t worry, I can guide you,” he promised.

 

“There you go!” Joel said, clapping me on my shoulder. “Have some fun. Turning down folks would be impolite, don’t you think? Especially a human turning down someone of a higher class…?”

 

Jack shifted uncomfortably. “Class doesn’t matter…”

 

Frowning, I understood what Joel meant. Basically he was saying I couldn’t say no to anyone in case I offended them. Holding a sigh, I placed my pale hand into Jack’s much tanner one.

 

And so started my night of dancing with vampires. Surprisingly, I was a popular guest to dance with. I guess everyone wanted a chance to dance with the human. Well, not everyone. There were a few vampires who shot me dirty looks from along the wall- mostly female. It kind of boosted my ego a tiny bit. Even if they were just dancing with me to say they danced with a human, it was nice to not have to be a wallflower.

 

 

After about two hours, my feet were killing me. Somehow I managed to escape the dance floor without being asked to dance again. I hurried to the refreshment tables, filling up a glass with what looked like fruit punch. A small sip told me my guess was correct. No one came near me as I drank my punch. I clenched it tightly, knowing it was my only defense against more vampires asking me to dance with them. Before I started again, I wanted to rest my feet.

 

On my way to one of the fancy Victorian couches that lined the walls, my gaze landed on Sebastian, who was dancing with a vampire who appeared even younger than me. Outwardly, that is. Her expression caused me to grin. Completely smitten. It was actually kind of cute… Aside from the fact knowing she was dancing with him because she was interested in marrying him.

 

Fiona was dancing with Jack a few yards behind them, her flowing jade dress trailing the floor. It impressed me Jack was able to avoid stepping on it. Somehow I’d managed to avoid stepping on my partners’ feet, but it was difficult. I couldn’t imagine trying to evade feet and a dress. Jack had gained a few points of respect from me.

 

A little jealously ran through me when I noticed Vincent. A pretty blonde vampire in a short red dress was with him. He didn’t seem like he was having fun, but I was still envious. I wanted to dance with him too. However, he hadn’t even so much as glanced at me since our contact earlier. Not even a little peep, or smirk, or acknowledgment. Scowling a little bit, I clenched my now empty glass tighter in my hand. Some boyfriend he was.

 

“Tired, pretty miss?”

 

My attention snapped from Vincent to the person who’d spoken. Ashton was towering over me, a polite smile on his face. I forced one back. “Just a little. Never thought I’d be so popular.”

 

 

“Neither did I. If only they knew the truth about you. Then you’d be really popular.”

 

“You won’t tell anyone though,” I responded confidently.

 

He tilted his head to the side. “Why’s that?”

 

“You want all my blood to yourself, right?”

 

Laughing, he nodded his head. “You’re pretty smart. Put down your glass, we’re dancing now.”

 

Swallowing nervously, I placed my glass on the square coffee table that was placed next to the couch, and stood up. Taking my hand into his, he led me back to the dance floor where, to my luck, a slow song had just started. His grey eyes lit up in amusement as he placed his hands on my waist. I kept my face straight as I loosely wrapped my arms around his neck, keeping a roomy gap between our bodies.

 

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“Is this how you dance with all the guys?” he questioned, rolling his eyes.

 

Using no effort at all, he forcibly closed the space between us.

 

“I don’t like being near people I don’t like,” I retorted, attempting to take a step back.

 

He held me tightly, keeping me still. “Well you’re I guess you’re going to have to pretend you like me for the next four minutes… Or rather, for the next few years.”

 

“More like minutes,” I said firmly, narrowing my eyes. “We’re only dancing for one song.”

 

“Whatever you say,” he replied, smirking.

 

For the first full minute we were silent, challenging each other with our eyes. I ended up stepping on his feet a couple times, causing him to snicker

 

 

at me. His grasp on my waist kept getting tighter and tighter, like he was waiting for me to say something about it. Refusing to do so, I returned his actions by purposely stepping on his feet, trying to trip him.

 

“I’m not going to trip,” he finally told me, slackening his grip on my hips.

 

There was definitely going to be a bruise on them in the morning. “I wasn’t trying to make you trip.”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“So have you decided?” he inquired, gazing at me inquisitively.

 

I frowned. “Decided what?”

 

“What you’re going to do tonight,” he clarified. “You know, come with me or ruin the Rutherfords’ lives.”

 

“I’m not going with you,” I informed him, hardening my gaze, “and you won’t be ruining anyone’s life.”

 

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

 

“If you don’t want to get hurt, I say you just walk away now while you still can, Ashton.”

 

“I should be saying that to you. If you don’t want to be hurt, and you don’t want your little vampire friends to be hurt, you should just come with me quietly. Of course to get your blood it might hurt a little, but nothing compared to what could happen.”

 

I straightened my back. “The only person getting hurt is you.”

 

“Keep saying that. Do you have any idea of what the Rutherfords are planning to do? Don’t you think they might just offer you up to save themselves?”

 

“No, I don’t.”

 

 

Clearly amused, he gave me an appraising look. “You’re merely a human. Surely they don’t care about you that much.”

 

“You’re wrong about that,” I told him firmly.

 

“That’s right,” he said suddenly, blinking. “You actually are in a relationship with Vincent, aren’t you?”

 

My heart skipped a beat. “How do you know that?” No one besides the Rutherfords knew. I didn’t even know any other vampires aside from them! If you excluded Joel, Samuel, and Vincent’s cousin, Phillip, we ran into that one time at Walmart.

 

“It seems the rumor is true. Do you love him?” he asked, grinning smugly. “It’s funny how history repeats itself. Didn’t Sebastian and Fiona teach you anything?”

 

“Who told you?” I repeated more forcefully.

 

He shook his head. “No one. I just know things. But I guess I know who to go after if you won’t comply then.”

 

“Leave Vincent alone,” I warned in a dangerous voice.

 

The song ended, but we kept dancing, ignoring the stares we were getting. Once again Ashton tightened his hold on my waist. “You’re cute when you’re threatening, Emily.”

 

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“I’m serious.”

 

He moved his head closer to mine, whispering in my ear. “And what do you think a weak human like you can do against a mythical creature like me? Hmm?” To demonstrate his strength, he gave my hips a rough squeeze that made me flinch. “I could easily break your bones.”

 

“Let go of me.”

 

He stayed silent, gazing at me thoughtfully.

 

“Let go,” I reiterated, striving to liberate myself from his grasp.

 

“I think it’s time to go,” he declared quietly, swiftly sliding his left arm around my waist and grabbing my hand with his right hand. “Don’t make a scene.”

 

My breath caught in my throat. He wasn’t going to try anything in front of all these vampires, was he? No way, he wasn’t that stupid…

 

“Move,” he growled.

 

I refused to budge, so he started dragging me toward the back exit. As soon as I opened my mouth to gain attention to us, I heard Sebastian’s voice.

 

“Can I have your attention please? Ashton, you too.”

 

Ashton froze, his sharp eyes snapping to the front of the room, where all the Rutherfords and Joel were standing. All of them were glaring at Ashton, except Joel, who grinned at me and waved. I grimaced. At least he knew how to lighten the mood.

 

“Guess we’re staying for a few more moments,” he declared, letting me go. “Don’t stray too far, girl.”

 

“Emily, come up here,” Sebastian ordered.

 

I glanced at Ashton, who narrowed his eyes. With all the attention from everyone on the ballroom on me, I hurried away from him, toward Sebastian. When I reached him, he seized my hand and squeezed it. Puzzled, I allowed him to steer me to his left side.

 

“Everyone, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, this is Emily, our human guest.”

 

There was a quiet murmur through the crowd watching us.

 

“She’s a good dancer!” someone in the crowd shouted. He sounded suspiciously like Jack.

 

 

Sebastian chuckled. “That’s good to hear, but I’m not up here to talk about her. I just thought it’d be rude not to introduce her while I have your attention. It’s better to let you all know what’s going on here at the manor instead of leaving you in the dark.”

 

I knew that was a lie. He only called me up seeing as Ashton was about to drag me out of the ballroom. Even so, I was grateful. He finally let go of my hand and I shuffled over to stand next to Vincent, who was radiating anger, his eyes focused on Ashton.

 

“I have something to tell you all,” Sebastian started in a solemn voice. “Please stay quiet and listen all the way through.”

 

I glanced at him. What was he talking about? Was this the surprise Fiona was talking about? Why did he sound so serious?

 

After taking a deep breath, he began. “Awhile back, I’m sure some of you remember, others might not have heard about it, but there was the whole incident with my brother, Vincent, and sister, Fiona. For those who don’t know, Fiona is not related to us by blood.”

 

For the most part, there was a collective gasp throughout the room. It seemed only maybe thirty guests knew of the secret. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. Why was he revealing the secret? Was it because Ashton had threatened to do it? Were they snipping the problem in the bud? It didn’t make sense though. Wouldn’t this ruin their reputation and kick Sebastian out from the throne?

 

“For those of you who do know about the accident, it was never Vincent. I was the one who changed her.”

 

Now those who didn’t gasp before did. I’d never seen so many wide-eyes in my life. A very intimidating vampire dressed in a completely black suit moved forward, his face set into a very scary expression. “Mr. Rutherford-”

 

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“Er… thank you,” Sebastian said after a moment, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

 

The round of applause lasted for a good two minutes before it slowly dwindled down. Music started playing again, but no one started dancing. It seemed everyone was now chatting about what just happened. I turned to Sebastian, grinning widely. “Good job!” I told him, throwing myself into his arms.

 

He chuckled, giving me a quick squeeze. “Would it be cheesy if I told you I could do that because of you?”

 

“Because of me?” I repeated, furrowing my eyebrows. “What?”

 

“You’re the one who made me realize I should do what I want,” he informed me, his eyes smoldering into mine. “Thank you, Emily.”

 

Taken aback by his words and adoring look, I felt my cheeks flush. “I-It’s no p-problem…”

 

Fiona laughed lightly. “Look! She’s so flustered! Like a girl being asked out by her crush!”

 

I scowled at her, slapping my hands to my cheeks in an attempt to cool them down. “Shut up, Fiona.”

 

“Really though,” Sebastian pressed. “I would have never said anything if it wasn’t for you. I would have taken up a wife, even though I still love Fiona.”

 

Now it was her turn to blush. “Seb!”

 

“What?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at her surprised tone.

 

“Don’t say it like that!”

 

“Like what…?”

 

“Like… Like…”

 

Vincent snorted. “It’s all good that you two can be together forever happily and all that grand shit, but what about the counsel? They’ll want your head.”

 

“I’ll be taking care of that,” Solomon spoke, entering the conversation. “Everything Sebastian said was true. You do not need a queen to rule. They won’t be able to say much. The only thing we could be in a little trouble for, is the part where Sebastian turned Fiona, but they don’t know much about that incident, so all should be okay.”

 

“So it’s like a fairy tale ending for you two,” I sighed romantically, patting Sebastian and Fiona on the shoulder. “How cute!”

 

Sebastian half-smiled. “We can’t relax quite yet. Ashton is still here, remember?”

 

My cheerful mood dropped instantly. “Oh, yeah.”

 

“I can’t locate him,” Sebastian announced, scrutinizing the chatting horde on the dance floor. “Maybe he left.”

 

“Why would he leave?”

 

“We did ruin one of his threats,” Solomon told me. “The secret about Sebastian and Fiona. That means he has one last thing against us. If I were him, I’d run away too.”

 

Frowning, I searched around the room for him. It did seem like he’d disappeared. “I highly doubt he’s gone…”

 

“Let’s just enjoy the rest of the ball then, shall we?” Sebastian suggested, looking comfortable and please with himself. “I owe you a dance, Emily.”

 

I smiled at him. “I guess it won’t harm anything. If you’re with me it’s not like Ashton can come out of nowhere and snatch me away without anyone noticing.”

 

 

He nodded. “Someone will just stay with you for the rest of the night. This way you stay safe and can still have fun.”

 

“Let’s dance then,” I responded, putting my hand out for him.

 

“Don’t worry,” he started, closing his hand over mine, “Vince, you can have her when I’m done. Don’t look so jealous.”

 

Vincent glowered at him. “I’m not jealous!”

 

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“You’ve been complaining under your breath all night,” Fiona added slyly. “Don’t lie.”

 

“He really has,” Luella sighed warily. “It scared away some of the girls wanted to dance with him.”

 

“Mom!” Vincent cried.

 

She smiled sweetly at him. “Yes?”

 

His aggressive stance faltered immediately. “Nothing,” he said after a moment, crossing his arms. “One dance. That’s it, Sebastian.”

 

“Sure,” Sebastian replied, leading me to the dance floor. “I might step on your feet, Emily.”

 

I laughed. “Same to you.”

 

Vampires parted for Sebastian and I as we moved to the center of the floor. Even though the music was still playing, no one had begun dancing again yet. All the guests were still busy gossiping about his speech. A few of the vampires nearest to us stared as Sebastian placed his large hands on my waist.

 

“We have too much attention,” I murmured.

 

He chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Just dance.”

 

 

And so I did. Luckily for Sebastian and I, another slow-paced song started playing so we didn’t have to worry about weird waltz moves. Steadily, other guests joined us on the floor, pulling their partners close to us to dance again. I relaxed then, knowing the ball would be returning to normal.

 

“So you’re not taking up a queen?” I finally spoke up, breaking the silence, and raising an eyebrow.

 

He smiled mischievously. “Well, not right away. There’s only so much trouble I want to go through at a time. That can wait until later.”

 

“Ah,” I responded, knowing full well why him taking a queen would get him in trouble. “You think Fiona is up for the task?”

 

“That’s what she told me.”

 

“That’s good. I hope everything works out well for you guys in the future.”

 

The light mood surrounding him abruptly came crashing down. It was almost like I could feel his change in demeanor. “Emily, listen. I have something I need to tell you…”

 

My chest tightened. By the sound of it, whatever he wanted to tell me, it wasn’t going to be good. “What?”

 

“About Blue Bloods… Actually, you’re only-”

 

“Sebastian.”

 

He cut himself off, turning his head to where Vincent was standing. “What?”

 

“Time’s up,” Vincent told him.

 

“The song’s not over-”

 

“Don’t care.”

 

He sighed, letting me go. “Fine.”

 

“Wait,” I demanded, grabbing his hand. “What were you about to say?”

 

“Nothing,” he told me, shaking his head. “It’s nothing. Never mind.”

 

“Sebastian!”

 

He waved me off. “Enjoy the rest of the ball. I’ll try to dance with you again later. Vince, behave.”

 

Vincent rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

 

I glowered at him as Sebastian disappeared through the mass of slow-dancing bodies. “Vincent!”

 

“What?”

 

“He was just about to tell me something about Blue Bloods I didn’t know!”

 

He furrowed his eyebrows. “He was? We told you everything we knew.”

 

“You did?”

 

“Yes. I don’t know what Sebastian is talking about.”

 

My lips curved down into a frown. Obviously Sebastian knew something Vincent didn’t. But what was it? A nervous feeling spread through me, but I tried to keep it under control. It couldn’t be that bad… If it was really bad, he wouldn’t have kept it from me.

 

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Unless it was so bad he didn’t have a choice.

 

“Are we going to dance?” Vincent demanded impatiently.

 

“You have to put your hands on my waist,” I notified him, bringing my arms around his neck. “You should know that. I saw you dancing with all those girls.”

 

He snorted. “Like you should be one to talk. How many guys have you danced with? A thousand?”

 

“It’s not like I could say no to them!”

 

“Same with me.”

 

We glowered at each other for a few moments until I finally cracked a smile. “Whatever, we’re dancing together now and that’s all that matters.”

 

A grin spread across his face too. “I bet you’ve been waiting all night for this.”

 

“Actually, I’ve been dreading it.”

 

He gave me a sarcastic look. “Good one, stupid.”

 

“Call me Emily,” I ordered.

 

“No.”

 

“Just for tonight,” I pleaded. “Only for tonight, then you can call me whatever you want and I won’t complain.”

 

He thought about it for a moment. “Even if I called you ugly?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What about annoying?”

 

“That too.”

 

“How about blonde?”

 

I narrowed my eyes. “Yes.”

 

“What about fatty?”

 

“Vincent!”

 

He laughed- one of his rare, free laughs. “I’m kidding, Emily. If I said any of that, I’d be lying.”

 

My heart fluttered in my chest. Hearing him say my name had an amazing effect on me. “So you think I’m beautiful then?”

 

“Absolutely stunning,” he breathed.

 

For a second, I was about to snap back at him because I expected an insult. His honest response threw me completely off guard. A warm blush spread across my cheeks and his lips curved up into a smirk. “Don’t say stuff like that so suddenly!” I finally cried.

 

“Why not?”

 

“It’s not like you!”

 

He shrugged. “It’s a rare night and I have a bad feeling about what’s to come. Something bad is going to happen, I’m positive-”

 

“No,” I interjected, pressing my finger to his lips. “Don’t say that. You don’t know anything. We have to think positively. Hopefully Ashton just left. Don’t say things like that, Vincent. It makes me scared.”

 

His face softened and he gently removed my finger from his face. “Sorry, Emily.”

 

“It’s okay,” I responded, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Let’s not think about that right now. Just focus on not stepping on my feet.”

 

He rolled his eyes. “I should be saying that to you.”

 

“I won’t step on your feet…” I trailed off, a sheepish smile slipping onto my face as I felt something under my foot. “Oops.”

 

“Oops,” he mimicked smartly. Faking a hurt look, he limped a little bit. “I think you actually broke it.”

 

I resisted the urge to kick him. “Come on. Don’t be a baby.”

 

“I think I might die,” he declared dramatically, staggering forward, causing me to stumble backward into another couple dancing.

 

“Vincent!”

 

 

Snickering, he pulled me back to a space where we wouldn’t bump into anyone. “Just kidding, Emily.”

 

I sighed.

 

“But seriously, if you step on my foot again it might actually break.”

 

This time I didn’t resist smacking him. “Jerk.”