Niszczyciel

The next few days I spent mostly at Peter's. I felt more comfortable at Peter's for some reason and Lynda never set a curfew for me to leave so I'd normally stay until early the next morning. I could only guess that she trusted me so much because Peter and I weren't fucking, though it could also have been because I was the only other person that knew of Peter's secret, though I had still yet to see any evidence of it apart from Peter's excessive body hair. I liked Lynda, she was a very easy going woman, but she didn't take any shit from anyone and I admired her strong will.

Dad was rarely ever home since my blood gorge and when he was he would ask me strange questions like, was it only blood I was craving or was it simply an appetite for anything bloody, including flesh? He never told me why he asked the questions he did, but then again he wouldn't stick around long enough afterwards for me to even ask.

It was nearing Halloween and by now Peter and I had long gotten used to the stares and murmurs. It was the day of Homecoming and seeing as it was Halloween themed, I was determined to make Peter take me dressed as a witch and a werewolf just to scare the piss out of the other students. Peter, however, was being less than cooperative.

"And you don't think we get enough shit without provoking them?" Peter asked as we made our way down the hallway towards the exit to the parking lot. I rolled my eyes, giving him a loud, exaggerated sigh.

"That's the whole fucking point, to provoke them." I explained. "They can't prove shit and they're pissy about it, so why not give them something to talk about?" Peter shot me a look saying that he was not amused by my idea, though I thought it was brilliant.

"Yeah, and while we're at it let's just fuck right in the middle of the dance floor! That'll really give them something to talk about." He was again being a smart ass, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of winning the argument.

"Exactly." I chirped, earning myself an eye roll.

"Hold it!" I looked up as Peter thrust a hand out to stop Shelley Godfrey as she made her way out of the girl's restroom. I noticed a bit of toilet paper stuck to her shoe, which was most likely the reason Peter had stopped her. As I was closest, I stepped on the toilet paper as she pulled her foot away.

"Clear." I announced, smiling up at Shelley as I gave her a thumbs up. She smiled back, turning her head away. Shelley Godfrey was nothing like her brother, she was sweet and shy, not to mention smart as hell. It was bullshit how people seemed to treat her, even the girls that seemed to drool over Roman wouldn't cut Shelley any slack.

"So, you going to this dance?" Peter asked her, attempting small talk. Shelley smiled, giving a slight grunt as she shook her head no. "Oh, guess there's not much point in me going then, huh?" I pinched my face, giving him an annoyed frown as he was now using Shelley to get out of going to the dance.

Shelley grabbed the little electronic notepad around her neck and began furiously typing something.

"Nisa." The voice from the device said, as she motioned towards me. Peter shot her a look of disbelief,

"This cow?" He said, pointing a thumb at me. I gave a scoff, leaning closer to Shelley.

"I get the feeling he's a terrible dancer anyway." I teasingly informed her, earning myself another smile. I was sure she was well aware that there was nothing going on between Peter and I, contrary to popular belief. It was quite obvious Peter and I were just friends, people were just assholes.

As if on cue, some dickhead bumped into Peter causing him to drop his books and pushing him into me which caused me to fall against the locker. Fortunately for me, Shelley reached an arm out to steady me so I wouldn't fall to the floor.

"Wolf fucker." The kid said, giving a howl as he and his friends continued down the hall laughing.

"Thanks, Shelley." I said, regaining my composure. It took a lot not to retaliate, which Peter assured me was for the better. It was the reason I wanted to go to the dance and ruin it for every one of those stuck up pricks.

"I'm sorry." Shelley typed out, giving Peter and I a sad glance.

"No, Shelley, it's not your fault they're dick bags." I quickly informed her.

"Yeah, don't be sorry." Peter playfully flipped Shelley's hair. "You're too pretty." A big smile spread across Shelley's face at Peter's comment and she continued to smile as he stooped down to pick up his books. Her smile was infectious and I found myself smiling up at her as she watched Peter gather his books so I didn't notice Roman walk up until he was telling Peter to get his fucking hands off of his sister.

Peter gave a laugh, looking back at Shelley who also seemed to find it funny. Roman and I were the only ones not laughing, but it wasn't because I was offended, it was the feeling again. The chicken blood I had consumed was long gone and Roman being near was beginning to send those same, shivering, throat clenching feelings they'd sent before. Roman's eyes flickered to me and he licked his lips quickly before turning back to Peter.

"Is this funny to you?" Roman asked, causing the smile to fall from Peter's face. Shelley shook her head, continuing to smile at her brother as the awkward silence fell over the four of us. Finally, Roman cracked a smile, laughing at Peter's reaction. "I'm just..." Roman couldn't even finish his sentence from his laughing fit as he playfully slapped Peter's shoulder.

Neither Peter nor I were laughing along with him. It was strange, seeing Roman laugh--let along this much.

He stopped suddenly, noticing the concerned looks on mine and Peter's face. "You wanna lift home?" He seemed to ask us both, though his eyes only gave me a quick glance. It was almost as if he found me uncomfortable to look at, only I felt the exact opposite--it was nearly impossible for me to tear my eyes away from Roman. I wanted him, badly, and it was discomforting.

"Why?" Peter asked suspiciously. Roman gave a shrug, giving me another glance before focusing back on Peter.

"Whatever. Why not?" He responded before taking off down the hall. I knew about the man crush Peter had on Roman's car and though I wasn't sure if the invitation was for the both of us or just Peter, I had driven my own car to school and I couldn't just leave it in the parking lot overnight.

"Go on." I told Peter, pushing him towards Roman. "I don't even wanna think of the blue balls you'd have, missing a chance to ride in his car." Peter shot me a smile, leaning down to place a kiss on my forehead.

"You fucking rock, Little Red." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I watched him hurry down the hall after Roman. As if I hadn't already known.

"So," I looked back up at Shelley. "You got a ride?" She gave me a smile, nodding slowly. "Guess that means I'll be driving home alone today then." I sighed, giving Shelley a pat on the shoulder. "I'll see ya Monday then, Shelley." She gave me a short wave as I walked past her towards the school parking lot.

I wasn't even sure what to do with the rest of my day. The last few days I'd simply drove Peter to his place and we'd sit in his living room with his mom, sometimes getting high, but mostly just talking about how fucked up this town was and their life as Gypsies. I'd already sworn to Lynda if she and Peter decided to hit the road again, I'd pack myself up with them.

As I pulled into my driveway, I'd noticed the usual absence of my father's car. It appeared he'd be spending another late night at the Godfrey Institute slaving away towards my 'cure'. I was surprised, however, when I opened the refrigerator to find what looked like an old fashioned, glass, milk bottle filled to the rim with a dark red liquid. There was small piece of paper taped to its side with 'Nisa' written on it in my dad's writing. On the lid was the name 'Godfrey' with a downward, curved line beneath the word, the Institute's logo. I recognized it from dad's paperwork.

I needed it, we both knew I did, but it still felt wrong as I twisted the cap of and downed the bottle almost too fast. I choked, spurting blood all across the kitchen floor. The blood was too sweet, sickeningly so, if blood was even what it was. Nonetheless, it was helping, I could feel it easing the slight burning at the back of my throat. I forced the rest down, licking my lips as I'd finished the bottle.

I would go to the dance, I would dress as a witch and I would force Peter's ass to come with me. It was strange to think of the dance as I'd just finished a bottle of blood and maybe it was the blood talking, but I suddenly couldn't keep myself from thinking about that asshole at school that had shoved into Peter. It wasn't right or fair the way we were treated and I wanted some sort of payback.

Tossing the empty bottle into the trash, I hurried upstairs to my room. I'd bought my outfit just the other day, as I'd been planning on going to the dance since it had been announced. After quickly changing, I looked myself over in my bedroom mirror. It was more sexy than it was frightening, but I knew the other students would be intimidated nonetheless. Giving my pendant ribbon one last tighten around my neck to make sure it was secure, I grabbed my keys and rushed over to Peter's.

I only knocked once before letting myself into Peter's mobile home. He was laying on his sofa, drinking a beer and watching some old horror flick on the television. His eyes widened as he noticed what I was wearing, watching me walk over to the television to turn it off.

"Well hot damn, Nisa." Lynda exclaimed from her place on the lazy boy. Up until now the two had never seen me in anything but jeans, as I wasn't much the type to dress up.

"Thank you." I replied, shooting her a smile before crossing my arms to glare down at Peter. "Now get up, we are going to put these little pussies in their place." I informed him.

Peter just laughed, taking another sip of his beer as he looked me up and down before casually responding, "I already told you I'm not going." Lynda looked from Peter to me, awaiting my rebuttal.

"So you're just going to let those fuckers get away with all that shit?"

"They're just blowing smoke, Nisa." I threw my hands out to my sides, looking over to Lynda for some sort of support. She smiled, looking back to Peter.

"I think she's right." She stated, looking back down at Peter's notebook which she'd been reading before I'd busted in. At Lynda's interruption, Peter sat up a little, giving her a slight look of disbelief. "It is Halloween, why not go scare the piss out of those little punks?" I smiled in thanks as she gave me a wink, pretending to be overly interested in Peter's terrible sketches.

"Okay, fine." Peter stood up, setting his beer down on the coffee table. "Since you've turned my own mother against me." He joked, shooting Lynda a smile as he headed towards the door. "But I'm not dressing up." He stated, pointing a finger at me in warning.

"That's fine, you're hairy enough." I said through a smile, slapping Peter on the ass as he stepped outside. "Thank you." I said, turning back to Lynda.

"You take care of my boy." She informed me, giving me a smile.

"Always." I replied, giving her a wink as I hurried after Peter. Tonight was definitely going to be interesting.