The Beautiful Monster

"What all did he say to you?" Blair asked, leaning closer.

Melina wondered why Blair was so interested. She didn't seem to like Tyler all that much. All Melina could think was that Blair was going to use Melina's words as gossip, which didn't settle well with Melina.

She had been the new kid before. It wasn't fun, especially when people started gossiping about things that weren't even their business.

"Not much. We just talked about the school," she said, keeping her answer vague. She didn't want Blair to pry that much. It wasn't her business. It wasn't anyone's business.

Blair eyed Melina closely for a few seconds, studying her face.

"I would just be careful around him. You don't know him," she replied as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Melina nodded as she looked down at the cover of her spell book. She didn't understand why Blair was being so cold toward Tyler. Did she try to flirt with him, and he turned her down? Blair could be a little jealous at times.

"I wasn't trying to get close to him or anything. I was just trying to be nice," she said. Maybe she was trying to be friendly too, but she was going to try to be cautious from now on.

"I know. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you," Blair replied, smiling sweetly.

Melina narrowed her eyes slightly.

"You think Tyler is going to do something bad to me?" she asked, not understanding where Blair was getting these random thoughts from.

Tyler didn't seem threatening in the slightest. Sure, he was muscular and a vampire, but he didn't do anything to make her feel wary. She was just nervous because he was cute.

"I mean, I hope not. I just can't stop thinking about that poor girl that got attacked," Blair replied as she clicked her tongue, shaking her head.

"That could've been me," Melina said quietly.

"What?" Blair questioned.

Melina shrugged as she leaned back in her seat.

"I had to take the long way to the cafeteria. If I had taken the short way, I would've been in the cafeteria at the time of the attack," she said.

It was chilling to think of the situation that way, but that was what could've played out. She was grateful that it didn't, but she also felt bad for the other girl.

Blair's eyes grew big.

"Oh, wow. That would've been terrible," she said.

Melina nodded.

"You haven't heard anything about that night?" she asked.

Blair shook her head.

"No one is saying anything. People have even tried to eavesdrop on the school official meetings, but they keep warding the room so that no one can hear inside," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

Melina frowned, wishing that something could be known. It could probably put everyone at ease. Right now, people were looking over their shoulders all the time, making sure that they weren't about to get nearly slaughtered on school grounds. What a crazy situation.

"Hopefully, nothing weird happens again. School isn't supposed to be like this," Melina said as she rested her hands on the table, tapping her fingertips against the wooden surface. It was hard to focus on her studies when she was worried about some crazy attacker on the loose.

"The only thing weird that has happened is Tyler showing up," Blair replied, staring at Melina evenly.

"We get new students all the time," Melina pointed out. Axven was a known school. People tried to enroll all the time, which made the process of getting in so difficult and selective.

Axven only took the best and brightest. Tyler had earned his way into here, and he was a transfer. His old school didn't work out for some reason.

"Not after the start of the semester. They usually make them wait until the next semester because it's hard for them to catch up," Blair argued.

"He must be really smart then," Melina said, a hint of a smile crossing her lips. She bet that he was smart and great at his physical classes.

"Oh, no! You are not crushing on some weirdo," Blair snapped at Melina, startling her out of her dreamy thoughts.

"He just doesn't seem weird to me!" Melina said defensively. He was one of the few people who were actually nice to her. She didn't want to ignore him and never talk to him again just because of a rumor going around. Most of the rumors going around were fake anyway.

"I think you're just blinded because he's not ugly," Blair replied, her tone still sounding sharp. "I know it's nice having someone talk to you, but it's not worth you getting murdered over."

Melina flinched slightly at Blair's words, feeling them strike her hard. That was a low blow. Blair knew how hard it was for her to make friends. She didn't have to say something so low just to make her point.

"Yeah, thanks," Melina muttered as she gathered her things. She wanted to leave.

Blair sighed and stood up with Melina, moving to block her path.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm just worried about you. You could've been killed the other night! Now, some stranger is all over you? I just want you to be careful," she said softly.

Melina felt herself deflate slightly. She supposed that Blair had a point. Things were tense lately. Extra caution had to be taken.

"I know. It was just nice having a good conversation with someone," Melina admitted. Maybe that sounded pathetic, but she thought that she had clicked well with Tyler.

It felt so easy, so natural. What if he was making up things or being nice to her for a reason? She hoped that wasn't the case, but nothing was as it seemed here.

"Have a conversation with me!" Blair laughed as she looped her arm with Melina's, tugging her close. "We can go grab a snack and some tea."

I I

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