Behind These Refuge Walls

A man in his early twenties stood tall before us, probably a head taller than myself. His body build favored strong muscles and imposing posture. His biggest ace, I figured, were his wide shoulders and the way he held his posture as if seizing us. The simple grey t-shirt was matched with a pair of dark jeans. His plain black Adidas sneakers gave one a clear indication that time had taken its toll on them. Either that, or their owner simply had a weird habit of shoving them up everyone's asses.

A silver glint caught my eye. By his neck hung a set of black, metallic, dog tags. No matter how hard I squinted my eyes, I couldn't read the writing.

His short dark hair looked disheveled, but surrounded his head like a messy halo and despite the steeliness of his dark eyes, he looked tired. He took long, decisive strides to the center of the room, where he faced Vallin stonily. His legs slightly parted, he kept his spine straight and I felt the urge to poke those chest muscles rippling beneath the shirt.

"Stone! Back already?" James stood up from his seat, whereas I slowly moved deeper in mine in the attempt to hide. I don't know where this impulse came from, because I rarely (if ever) tried to hide from something and Janice noticed. She offered me a light smile, but she didn't stand up to greet the newcomer.

The attributed nickname 'Stone' was new to me when it came to Cain. Somehow, though, it seemed fitting (him with his firm jawline and hard features that made you think he was setting everything around us on fire). Disgustingly so, the man had no emotion.

James went up to him and I watched him (in my opinion) make a fool of himself. He awkwardly shook his Stone's hand, the latter watching him blankly, almost bored. His attention was soon turned to Vallin, whom he acknowledged with a curt nod. Vallin smiled warmly at him (it seemed like he did this with everyone).

"Were the memos received with courtesy?" Vallin asked.

"More or less," Stone replied curtly. Only once had I heard his voice before, but damned to the depths with whoever didn't shake to the bone from that deep tone. His voice sent shivers throughout the room. Or at least, to me.

Vallin nodded and locked eyes with me. "Good, good. You see, Charlotte, I forgot to mention that Massey isn't the only school for supernaturals in the state."

And that, my friend, turned all the unwanted attention to my sulking form. A pair of dark green eyes inspected me with no more emotion than a...stone, yet I felt as if he wanted to tear me apart with that dominant gaze. The look on his face turned from boredom, to blankness, then to a scowl. He flickered his gaze to Janice, who shifted suddenly in her seat, much unlike my frozen self.

"Found yourself a nice pet?" he asked and even though his voice didn't leak anger, the humiliating and ironic tone could have made anyone feel floored. Janice was no exception. I, myself, felt incredibly insulted.

"Will you lay off, Cain?" That sole look on his face was enough to let me think I had found his Achilles heel. He loathed the name Cain and so far, Janice seemed to be the only one using it. All the times she had mentioned him in our conversations, he had always been Cain, not Stone. I think Stone fitted the asshole perfectly.

He crossed his toned arms over his chest and damn it if the posture didn't look good on him. The mocking glint in his eyes made me want to hit him.

"Stone." Vallin's warning tone caught us all from our tensed positions (well, all except for Stone, who seemed in a constant tension, like a string ready to snap). That seriously that crossed the headmaster's face made Stone stop talking, but it didn't wash the mockery away from his eyes, averted especially towards Janice and I (especially to the latter).

Vallin motioned for me to stand and so I did, without questioning the fact that I was practically taking his orders. I completely looked away from the glare I was receiving from Stone. It wasn't even a glare, more like a disgusted look you threw to a handicapped rabbit.

"Stone, I trust you haven't met Charlotte." Vallin glanced shortly at me and smiled. "Or Charlie, as I hear you like being called...?"

I half shrugged, my hands finding their way in the front pockets of my ripped jeans. I was too tensed to actually move around much and too nervous to talk. I couldn't believe how defensive this jerk was making me. I stole a discrete glance to take in his height and felt my ego deflate. There was no way I could take someone of his size.

"Maybe you'd like to kick her out before you hand her our account numbers, too." Man, did I want to hit him. Just one right hook felt too tempting at the moment. Then for the first time, he addressed me. "You look too comfortable here, kid."

From what I gathered, this guy didn't usually talk too much (if at all), but when he did, he made sure to make you feel like the shittiest scumbag to have ever existed. Interesting approach.

"You'd do the world a good if you'd stop talking," was Janice's almost instant reply.

James positioned himself beside me and Vallin and flung an arm over my shoulders, intensifying the awkwardness of it all. "It's like this all the time," he assured. "Don't worry, you get used to it."

Vallin's laugh broke everyone from their reveries. Stone especially decided to shut up and ignore us, kids.

"Don't worry, Charlotte, things may seem a little tense now, but I'm sure everyone will warm up to you. After all, you're your grandfather's granddaughter." I wished he'd just lay off the grandpa thing. Vallin turned to Stone again, who never once dropped his superior expression. "Guess whose granddaughter she is. Charles. Charles Sanders."

Although he said nothing, I knew that the name rang a bell in Stone's dark (I'll bet it's dark!) mind. Before I could excuse myself and actually take the silent moment as an opportunity to go home, the doors flew open again and three more people walked in. Despite the fact that this was a huge room, I felt like there were just too many people here. Stone caught my stare and gave me a mocking glare, glad that I felt out of place. He then looked away, bored already, and lounged on the couch. His body continued to ooze tension.

A woman, followed by two men, stalked to the spot where Stone had stood only seconds ago. She was tall and a lot wider in her shoulders than I could have ever been. She had the conformation of a wrestler, broad and while intimidating to others, disgusting to me. She had thin lips, but rosy, scrutinizing eyes, high cheekbones and really short black hair (though it didn't seem to be as black as mine, I noted). Her right ear was pierced and I could distinguish some sort of tattoo on her forearm. Her skin was of a darker co lour, like the one you'd see on the Native Americans.

The man to her right was lean, but nicely built and an obvious jewel. He had pale skin that contrasted heavily with his dark blond hair and hazel eyes. He looked around not with the same hateful stare Stone wore, but with a loyal scrutiny, protective of his surroundings and humble before Vallin. I would check out a guy like him any day, but at that particular moment I had to refrain myself from doing so. After all, the atmosphere around me wasn't particularly rosy.

To the woman's left was another buff man, but unlike the other guys, there was something perverted about him. He was smiling crookedly, his eyes alight with curiosity. He had his hands tucked in the front pockets of his jeans and lazily looked at his companions. His ruffled brown hair looked as if it had been combed in a hurry. The front of his Metallica t-shirt was stained with what I assumed to be car oil.

"All done, chief," he reported. "Would've fixed your bike, too, but this bitch here likes to bark too much." He pointed at the woman.

"Put a sock on it!" said bitch barked. Both of them had small tattoos on their necks - paw prints. I put the pieces together and hoped to God I wasn't wrong. Werewolves.

Janice shot me an apologetic look from her seat. She looked like she was trying not to breathe and I actually found it quite amusing. James leaned in and whispered "These guys aren't really friendly. So don't mind them."

It wasn't long until all gazes landed on me.

"What's that?"

Of course, it was to be expected for The Bitch to address to me as an 'it'. God forbid I was a she! Vallin sighed, rubbing his temples in what looked very much like annoyance to me. The rest of the people in the room didn't seem to notice. He opened his mouth to say something, but the she-wolf cut him off.

She snapped her fingers in my direction, in a 'waiter, come here!' sort of way. "Hey, you! You hear me? Who. The fuck. Are. You? Get lost."

I blocked. I hadn't been spoken to like that since preschool, when I had been bullied by a retarded older kid who later on left home with a black eye. But this...oh, my friend, I was appalled by such demeanor! The werewolf behind her abashedly began checking me out while chuckling. The smug smirk on the woman's face didn't disappear. As if she had some sort of right around me. As far as I could tell, Vallin and Stone were the only one in charge and out of the two, Vallin seemed to be the only one listening.

"Gillian, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine." I don't know how this man kept his temper like that. He seemed amazingly calm by everything and when he spoke, it was as if he hadn't even noticed the tension. "This is Charlie Sanders."

And before I could thank Vallin for not giving her my full name (bitch would probably make fun of the entire name), she laughed.

"What, you're a man inside of a girl's body? Wha--"

"Well I'd say you're not one to talk," I replied smoothly, my voice dangerously low. I could take her. Just the two of us, I could take her down and wouldn't blink. I'd taken down bigger fish. What was one bitch to me?

The werewolf behind her broke down into laughter, yelling something like 'oh, buurn!'. The other guy was chuckling lightly and shook his head. I noticed he had been watching me for quite a while now and he didn't look at me threateningly, like Gillian, or rudely, like the other mutt.

James snickered beside me and I saw Janice do a little dance in her spot. Something told me Gillian wasn't liked. Oh, Gee, I wonder why?! She took what she thought to be a menacing step towards me, but before she could snap, Vallin stepped up. Pity, I was actually ready to lunge at her.

"Gillian, that's enough!" And for once, I heard the old man raise his voice. She grimaced in my direction, but said nothing else.

"I got shit to take care of." With that, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and stalked out of the room. "See ya, boss."

There was a pressing moment of silence and yet again, I considered my options for a discrete escape.

"Don't mind her, CJ, she just hates newcomers," Janice explained.

Vallin sighed. "It's been a while since they were forced to communicate with newcomers." I nodded at his subtle way of telling me that right now, I was viewed as some sort of traitor of humanity and wasn't worthy of their trust.

"It's fine," I finally spoke up, giving Jan some sort of comfort by regaining my usual voice. "No one's forced to chat with me."

"Oh, sweetheart, but I think it would be a sin not to." I turned my head to look at the werewolf, who had hurriedly taken two long strides to stand in front of me. I didn't realize he was kissing my hand until I saw him smile crookedly at me. "Name's Wolfe. Liam Wolfe."

I quirked my eyebrow, barely containing my laughter at his attempts to flirt. The tension seemed to dissipate, the only brooding atmosphere coming from Stone's side, who was watching everything with an emotionless expression. James slapped away Liam's hand, telling him to stop trying to seduce me (As if!). Wolfe looked offended.

"Boy, this lady needs a real man." Delivered with a sly grin and mischievous sparkle in his gaze. I rolled my eyes.

"If you see one, let me know." Liam's face fell, clearly not expecting an answer from me, but he recovered quickly and dove in for more flirting. That was until the pale skinned male decided to step in and laugh - a light laugh, the kind that smoothed your ears.

"Down, boy, she might have a boyfriend already." He patted Liam's back with an apologetic look.

Vallin laughed. "Charlotte, these are two more of my excellent team. Liam, as you might have noticed, is a werewolf. Though he tries to keep it hidden." He shot the aforementioned a smile.

I internally smirked at Wolfe. "Sorry, but I think your name blew your cover." That caused his face to fall yet again and I was rewarded with several laughs from around the room (Stone excluded; he seemed to grow more annoyed by the situation as minutes passed).

Apparently Wolfe's name was a touchy subject, as Vallin put it.

The still unknown man finally took a step in and extended a pale hand. I took it without hesitation and was slightly taken aback by his lack of heat. Expecting him to shake my hand, I gripped his own. He chuckled lightly, before pressing his lips to the back of my hand. I felt myself blush violently and cursed at my stupidity. It wasn't until he spoke that I actually saw the fangs. I noticed Stone looking at me, amused by my foolishness.

"Michael Coleman," he said, a light smile grazing his lips. There was nothing dishonest on his face, as far as I could tell. "I'm a..." He hesitated. "A vampire. Hence the cold." He motioned to our still clasped hands.

A knot was being carefully tied in my stomach at the thought of whatever stuff this guy did. "Lucky you. You don't have to bear the august heat."

Surprised, Michael laughed and looked at Vallin, releasing my hand. "Where did you find this one?"

I felt like an object, but didn't intervene. I simply shifted from one foot to another as Janice proudly announced that I was her good buddy. I didn't know that her and I had reached such level of friendship, but whatever made her happy was okay. Of course, Liam grinned wolfishly at me, telling me just how shocked he was that Stratford actually had 'such jewels'. A never ending flirt, he seemed. A bit too pushy for my taste.

The air around us moved, the atmosphere switched as Stone stood up from his previous spot, his tall figure appearing to engulf us with dark energy. I found myself searching through my thoughts for whatever Janice had told me about him. A demon.

"Well, Charlie, if you'd like to stay a little longer," Vallin offered, "I could introduce you to the rest of my team. Ivan is a Russian earth demon who would doubtlessly enjoy your presence. Same would go for Nikoli Vertis, our overachieving fairy." James burst into laughter and I assumed it was because of the mentioning of Nikoli.

"I'd like that, sir, but maybe some other time. I should be getting home."

"Please, Charlie, call me Vallin." He turned to Janice. "And Janice, do bring this lovely lady over again."

At this, Liam obviously interfered. "Yeah, Janice, you should bring her around more often." I scowled at his perverted wink, making him laugh.

James rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him. He'll hit on anything with long legs and nice rack."

"And curvy ass," Liam offered. "Don't forget the curvy ass." As to prove his point, he leaned forward to look at my lower back with a smirk. I grimaced.

I refrained myself from slapping him for looking at me like I was a piece of meat, because this was the first time I was actually meeting this people and I wasn't one to reveal myself on first meetings.

I awkwardly returned James' goodbye hug. I don't think it was actually a hug - more like him squeezing me to death. The mohawked boy then pecked Janice's cheek (I didn't fail to notice her cheeks turning red) and rushed to his dorm. I was grateful that Stone had turned his back to us and was staring through the window, completely oblivious to the noise behind him (or maybe he was paying attention and thus, tension was straining his muscles).

Michael walked up to Vallin and I.

"No grand tour?" the vampire questioned, smiling at me. I could only shrug. He shook his head. "I could show you the main building around, if you have the time."

Vallin seemed to be enthralled by the offer and I couldn't step it down - not when someone as cute as Michael was offering (God, no! What, you think I'd discriminate?). Liam didn't look so thrilled, seeing as he rolled his eyes at the vampire's actions. Janice, being Janice, beamed at us. So I politely said goodbye to everyone (and obviously received goodbyes only from Vallin, Jan and Liam) and walked out of the office in the hallway. Few students passed us by, but seeing as this was the most isolated part of the second floor, it came as no surprise.

We turned around two corners and passed some staff rooms before we actually made it in the busy part of the second floor.

"Most of the classrooms and lecture rooms are on this floor," Michael explained and I watched with fascination as he walked with more grace than a cat. He smiled when he caught me staring. "First floor has the labs, so to speak. We have a few IT labs. Goblins are usually very fond of those ones. There's one laboratory where the witches take their courses. There's another one specifically for pixies and whatnot. Every race obviously has their particular classes."

"What about vampires?"

Again, he smiled closed mouthed, most likely enjoying the fact that I was curious about his race. "Young vampires take a lot of Biology classes. Anatomy especially. There's also the Gym class where they're taught how to control their strengths. All sorts of things."

Michael's hand flew to the small of my back, keeping me from bumping into a group of angry kids. It seemed, though, that once everyone noticed the older vampire by my side, they would grow quiet and let us pass.

"Do you teach here?"

"Yes, actually. Anatomy." Why, oh why, did that sound so utterly perverted in my mind?

"So what...races are there around here?"

"Vampires, werewolves, witches, shape shifters. I take it you know about these ones. Pixies, fairies, goblins...mind you, goblins are really angry fellas. There are also the elves, who by nature have formed their very own exclusive clique. They're very proud, so don't pester them."

I laughed. "Right. I think I'll actually come to you for some lessons on how to behave around each of them."

The idea didn't seem to bother him, as a light smile made its way on his face. "I'd gladly recommend that." He paused. "You know...I would take great pleasure in having you as my Protegee, at least for a while." My insides turned at that and I stopped myself from giggling like a little girl.

"Are you even allowed to do that with someone who's not from your school?"

"Of course. Janice isn't enrolled in this school and Sylvia took her as her Protegee without a question."

I found myself grimacing to myself. "Yeah, but Janice is...special." We stopped at the top of a very wide staircase, bustling with students as they made their way to their classes. The bell rang. "I mean, she is a witch."

He looked at me seriously with a look that I failed to decipher. "And you think you're not special?" He placed his cold hand against my cheek and I found myself blushing. "You don't have to be a supernatural to earn your place here." With a light smile, he reluctantly pulled his hand away. "So, what do you think? If Vallin grants me my wish, would you agree to being a Protegee to a three hundred year old vampire?"

I should have gasped at the hearing of his age, but I didn't. It meant nothing to me, really. Surely, he looked a few years older than me (maybe six or seven), but his eyes sparkled with so much youth, that I felt old.

"Sure. But, be warned, I have no idea what to do."

"I wouldn't expect you to." He grinned like a Cheshire cat.

First floor was, indeed, where all sorts of labs were situated. The gym, as I gathered, was the next large building on campus. Michael promised he'd take me there on my next visit.

"And the third floor is where Vallin's conference room is. There's also a large living room sort of thing where we occasionally rest if we have to stay at the school for too long."

We walked outside on large terrace-like entry. The sun rays made me blink twice before turning to Michael in shock.

"Can you..?"

He surprised me by laughing. "Sunlight doesn't kill me. It just weakens me. Just a wee bit." I chuckled. "Ah, yes, so I didn't finish in telling you what races there are at Massey." I quirked my eyebrow. "There are, of course, the demons." He sighed. "What would we do without them? Most of them are elemental demons. Others are simply masters of manipulation and deceit."

A-ha! I felt like yelling. Instead, I leaned against the rail and listened to him.

"There are, of course, the succubus demons." He gave me a sad look. "Those will give you a hard time. They absolutely loathe newcomers, especially if they're beautiful women." He let his gaze travel to me, implying something. I smiled. "The incubus, however, will love to get your attention, so I suggest you keep away from those." From the very little information I had about such demons, I managed to realize what Michael had implied.

He looked at the cars parked outside. The Camaro bathed in the sun light and I could hear myself longing for it. There were two Mercedes S Class - one black and one silver - lounging beside it. By James' Volkswagen I spotted a Jeep and a gun silver Lexus.

"How do you afford all this?" I blurted, motioning like an idiot to the large estate.

"Charity funds. Large companies make donations to false charity causes that we use as cover. The money goes straight into our accounts and they don't even double check it, as long as it gives them good publicity. Vallin has a number of good friends in high places." The corners of his mouth turned upwards, his fangs reflecting the sun light.

"Very clever."

"Did you come here with your car?"

I looked back at Michael and mentally slapped myself for forgetting. "Oh, no, James brought me and Jan. I'll catch a bus or something."

"Charlie." His tone was close to scolding, but I also saw a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. "If, of course, you're not afraid of me stalking you later on, then I suggest you just let me drive you home."

"It's really, fine, Michael. I'll just..."

"You're arguing with a vampire here, love. I have plenty of patience."

I laughed at his sly expression and finally gave in. He led me to the black Mercedes and politely opened the passenger's door for me. I reveled in the engine's soft purr and Michael chuckled lightly as he saw this.

"You're the second person I've seen to react like this to a car."

Curiously, I eyed him. "Who was first?"

"Stone."

He must have known Stone had gotten on my nerves, because it was the only time Michael actually mentioned him. As I gave him directions to my apartment, we began talking and I actually told him about myself. I was shocked and afterwards I could be found in my kitchen, cursing at myself. I wasn't usually one to give up information like that, but the way Michael talked about the things he liked and disliked made me want to talk more. And when he asked about my parents being home, I finally spoke.

"My brother and I moved here a little while ago. My parents are back in Miami."

He looked at me surprised. "And can you handle a fourteen year old boy all by yourself?"

I chuckled. "Well, sometimes I could use some male assistance, because I have no idea what goes on through that head of his, but otherwise, we get along nicely. I mean, obviously, there's the occasionally banter about who drank the last drop of milk, but we can also play video games and not kill each other in real life. What about you? Brothers, sisters?"

His smile suddenly faded, his lips pressed into a tight line. "A younger brother," was his grim reply. "He and I don't really see eye to eye."

I nodded and changed the subject, as to not upset Michael even more. Somehow, in the ten minute drive, we actually bonded.

"I look forward to seeing you again, miss Sanders!" he exclaimed as I walked out of the car.

"Same here, Michael. And thanks for the ride." He winked at me. With a large grin, I closed the door.

"Where've you been?" Nathan called as soon as I entered the apartment. As usual, my brother was lounging on the couch, dellecting his intellect with some video games.

"Janice took me out to meet some friends of hers." I paused, running a hand through my hair. "Long day, man, long day."

"Tell me about it." He rolled his eyes. "My English teacher has an eye out for me." The Shakespeare book came into my mind and I slammed my palm against my forehead. Nathan laughed. "Exactly."

Throwing myself beside him, I gathered information about whatever game he was currently testing and quickly joined him, momentarily forgetting about anyone else.