Shadow's Edge

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She didn't know what to think of that 'great couple' comment but she let it go there were too many other things on her mind at the time. As David left she remained silent until Nathanial asked her if she was alright. "Not really. I think there's been another one." She shivered again and took a few deep breaths. "He might have been a student but he could have been anyone."



Her eyes lowered a moment. "I felt tired all of a sudden." She lifted her eyes to meet his. "It was just like the dream with the priest."
 
Nathanial's eyes grew worried and he shook his head. "You definitely can not stay alone...not if you're just going to fall asleep anywhere." He laughed, helping her to her feet. "Why don't you go and relax?" He pointed to the couch and motioned for her to sit down. "I'll go grab you some tea..." He moved to the small kitchenette, getting out a plate and a cup. "want anything to eat?"
 
Jessamine smiled slightly standing with his help. "I don't know if it will just happen anywhere. So far it's only been when I'm around another person." She paused a moment before she added; "Then again that could mean anywhere couldn't it?" Said thankful for his help. Her eyes went to the couch and she nodded before taking a seat.



"I should be alright, I packed a sandwich and a few other snacks in my pack. I knew I wouldn't be home for a while." She said remembering her uncle's words. Taking her pack from her shoulders she rummaged in her messenger bag a bit. There wasn't a whole lot in there but enough to get her buy. "Thank you, I'd love some tea." She said at the mention of tea. There were two things she cannot go without; Tea & Coffee.
 
Nathanial nodded before realizing that she could not see him. "Very well, then...I only have chamomile tea and Orange Blossom...what would you care for?" He asked, setting a Chamomile pack in his own mug. He peered around the corner, smiling at her. "Hey, if you're so tense and worried, why don't you just stay here? It won't be a problem. I can clean up David's room real quick and you could take mine." As soon as the tea kettle began to whistle, he picked it up fro the stove.
 
"Orange Blossom." She said then added. "I will pay you back for all of this. I'm not a mooch." There was a small smile on her face when she said it. "I think it might be best to stay yes but I can take David's room, it shouldn't be that messy and I don't want to inconvenience you any more than I have. I just have to make a call first."



She took out her phone and called her aunt. After the first three rings her uncle picked up. She told him she was going to stay at a friend's place and that they shouldn't worry about her. He responded by yelling at her, telling her how he'd driven all the way there early after hearing what had happened just to be left waiting for a half an hour. She apologized before she hung up the phone. He had been loud, she hoped Nathanial didn't hear. Putting on her best calm expression she tried to relax just a bit.
 
Nathanial had begun to bring her the tea when he saw that she was on the phone. He paused, alarmed when he heard the yelling on the other end. His expression softened and he inwardly sighed as she hung up and he could tell she was tense. "Don't worry about paying me back. I'm not that type of person..." he stepped forward, handing her the tea. He set his own tea beside his chair before heading back to the kitchenette.

After a few minutes, he returned with two sandwiches as well as cream and sugar and some small tea cookies. "I don't know what you like so I brought a mix of everything..." he set it all down on the table before sitting in his chair.
 
Instead of telling him she would do it anyway she just nodded her head. "Thank you." She said taking a seat back on the couch after picking up a chocolate looking tea cookie. Her tea sat waiting for her to grasp it but she wasn't entirely in the mood right then. Slipping her phone into her bag she took a bite of her cookie and smiled. It was better than she thought it would be. Her gaze drifted to the tea and wondered if it would taste better if she dipped it.



Silence fell between them. She didn't know what to say, didn't even know where to start. She'd had the dream and she told him about it; but what were they to do? "What do you think the common thread is?" She said after the silence became unbearable. "I mean, I don't think it is all random. It can't be right? Why do you think we are the only ones who seem to see it too? I think I might now why I do but it's only a guess…and you'll probably think I'm crazy for it anyway."
 
Nathanial sat in the silence. He ate a small sandwich before sipping his tea. He didn't quite know how to talk to her after hearing the yelling through the phone. So, the silence insued and he cleared his throat as she spoke. "I'm willing to listen to any theories..."

He crossed his legs to sit indian style as he continued to drink his tea.
 
His lack of communication sort of worried her and she wondered if it had to do with the events of the day or something else. Instead of asking she let it go and figured he would tell her if he wanted to. "Alright." She said leaning back against the couch to think of something.



"As I mentioned before there has to be a connection. For me…" She paused wondering if she should really be telling him anything. "…for me I see things, not all the time and not always I my sleep but I see things that no one else can. To be honest I've never met someone else who could see like I can." She said slipping her shoes off her feet.



She was shocked she hadn't done it before since it seemed natural for her to take them off at the door. Must have been because she fell asleep before. Once they were off she pulled her legs up toward her chest and hugged her legs. The tea was halfway done but she wasn't sure if she could finish it quite yet.



"It could be the others could see as well, or at least have something they can do that makes them different than everyone else." She said thinking it all sounded…to extreme. There was no basis for this just what she felt.
 
"That would explain everything..." Nathanial said, sounding like he had discovered the secrets of the universe. He took another drink of his tea.

His gaze drifted and he seemed distracted by something until he blinked. "I...I seem to heal faster than others...if that makes sense?"
 
"Rapid healing might count for it. I don't think everyone could have the same gift otherwise it would be easier to deal with I should think." She paused and smiled. "Yeah it makes sense." She said taking a drink of her own tea. It was getting cold, she would have to finish it soon if she wanted to enjoy it.



"The others must have had something too, something they couldn't tell anyone about." Her eyes wondered toward David's room for a moment before letting it go back to Nathanial. "Tell me about the rumors. Earlier when you mentioned people would be leaving you said something about rumors or legends about the school. Could this be part of it?"
 
Nathanial frowned in concentration. He took another sip of his tea and stretched. "The rumors are that every twenty years there is a large string of murders. These murders take place only among the top students. They are the exceptional ones. Whether it be sports, academics, or the arts." He shuddered, swallowing his tea quickly.

He set the empty tea on the coffee table before him and looked at Jessamine. "They say its the ghost of the founder that haunts the school. He was said to have drunk the blood of the top students, exchanging a vial of their blood for tuition. He believed that by drinking their blood he would gain the same excellence in academia they had." He shrugged, eyes wandering as he rubbed at his sore shoulder. "Those are only stories."
 
"Yeah, probably just stories." She wasn't sure if that was true or not. There was an honors program so it could possibly have something to do with it. That or someone just wanted to make up something to make things sound more interesting. "It could be a ghost, or it could be something else entirely. I don't know for sure."



She hugged her legs tighter. "I hate not knowing but I can't think of anything to do to gather more information that doesn't end with either of us getting hurt in the process." The fact it knew they were there, that it hadn't come after them yet spoke volumes to her. She couldn't be sure what it was but she had a feeling it had something to do with whatever it was they had special about them.



"I'm not looking forward to tomorrow." She said remembering the dream. "I don't know what I'll do if that dream of mine turns out to be right. Do I say something? Should I remain quite?" She rested her head on her knees trying to think.
 
Nathanial yawned, his tea having calmed him to a point of sleepiness. "We will be fine. Ill research it more tomorrow..." he rubbed at his shoulder, rotating it slightly before looking at her. "Ill go set up my room for you." He stood, moving towards his room to set up his bed for her. He cleaned up the laundry and shoved it in his basket before cleaning up his student desk.

Nathanial's fingers lightly traced the picture frame on his desk and he sighed. The picture showed a happy smiling family despite him being in a wheelchair. He moved the picture frame to a shelf so that it would be out of Jessamine's way should she need it. Then, he walked out to the living room. "Hey. Its all set up..."
 
"Yeah, I'll do what I can too." She said standing from the couch taking one last drink of her tea. She looked up from her tea glass and smiled. "Thanks." The glass was empty and she wanted to put it away for him. "Where does this go exactly? The least I can do is help you clean up." She said gathering a few other things.



Her bag lay forgotten on the couch as she went to the kitchen area. It wasn't much but it was better than she would have thought. She'd never lived in a door but from what she could tell this was a good one. When they were finished she picked up her bag and went to his room. She took off her blouse and set it on top of her bag. Since she could remember she'd always made a point to wear something underneath her blouses, or some of her button down shirts. Mainly it was because it kept her warmer in the colder months but also in case she needed to get out of her blouse or shirt for whatever reason.



For a moment she hesitated. Should she remove her pants too or should she leave them on? She didn't want to dirty up his bed but yet she didn't want to make herself completely at home either. Letting out a long breath she opted to go without her pants. It made her feel a little guilty but she thought it was going to be alright.
 
Nathanial finished cleaning up, glad of her help. Then, he moved towards David's room. He cleared off his friend's bed and looked with disgust at the sheets full of crumbs. "I can't believe you eat in bed..." he muttered darkly, glad that he had taken this bed instead of Jessamine.

Sheets...he needed sheets. It was also in that moment, with his shirt off that he remembered he needed to grab clothes for the next morning. With a large sigh he moved to his door, rapping on it before opening it. "Hey I forgot..." he paused, sentence cut off when he noticed Jessamine half dressed. He covered his eyes quickly and turned his back on her. His whole body was infused in a blush and he stuttered. "S-sorry."
 
Jessamine turned toward the voice a bright red shade spreading across her cheeks when he walked in. She quickly grabbed the blanket on his bed and covered herself. "O-Oh, it's alright." She muttered her eyes down glad to have the protective barrier of a blanket across her. "I'm sorry." She said feeling that obligation to apologize. So it wasn't a good idea to take off her pants…she should have known better.



She looked up to tell him it was alright now when she realized he didn't have a shirt on. Her blush deepened and she averted her gaze. Taking a deep breath she muttered something along the lines of her being covered but she'd made it just audible enough for him to hear. Man was she embarrassed.
 
Nathanial started chuckling, feeling like a moron. "Sorry. I forgot girls are different." He turned around when he heard her say she was covered. "Uh. I was just coming to get clothes and new sheets..." he moved to his closet, opening it up and grabbing some new jeans and several shirts from the dresser. He pulled on a shirt, hiding the scars on his back and he backed away.

"I'm really sorry about that..." he bumped the shelf above the desk as he went to leave. He slammed the door shut and beat a hasty retreat, not noticing the picture had fallen to the carpet.
 
Jessamine couldn't help but chuckle too. She was going to say something witty but kept her mouth shut because she wasn't sure if it would be witty at all. "It's alright. I'll see you in the morning." She said after she watched him grab everything then leave quickly. Her eyes were drawn to the thing that had fallen when he left. She walked toward it and picked it up. A picture. They looked so happy and was that Nathanial in the wheelchair?



She slowly stood and gently placed the picture back where she thought she'd seen it fall from. She thought it was important to him. Once again her gaze drifted toward the stand where her bag currently leaned against. It must have been there but he'd moved it for her, at least she liked to think so. Something so precious should be protected.



Taking out the pin in her hair she set it carefully on the stand and slipped into bed. Resting her head on his pillow she let out a long breathe and felt the weight of the day press down on her. Though she'd been wide awake before, she was very tired now. She just hoped she didn't dream.



The shadow moved from place to place loving the darkness that spread across the city. This was its time. Moving from place to place it stalked its next victim. It would be the last one the creature fed on for a few days. This one would keep it sated for a while.
 
Nathanial was quick to change the sheets on David's bed. As he slipped into the bed, he heard his phone buzz and then fall off the nightstand. A groan escaped him as he bent down and picked it up. A message flashed across the screen and he frowned. School was listed as cancelled for the rest of the week due to the two girls 'murders'.

That's what they were calling it...

Nathanial sighed, knowing it was for the best. It would allow those not living on campus to disappear and mourn for a while. He rolled over, forcing his eyes shut. He was glad he had left the door open a crack, it felt weird without David in the other room with the video games blaring. He sighed, eventually drifting off to sleep.
 
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