5- Solaris

I feel my stomach grumble as I open my locker, my frown deepening as I realize my secret chocolate bar stash is drastically reduced. I mean, there's only about thirty left but it's enough. Still, I focus my thoughts on the future soup that belongs to me and reach out for them, managing to take out five before the locker door is suddenly slammed.

I stare, my heart suddenly racing before I let my eyes go back to my bars. Thankfully, I was able to take some of it out before they got smashed. I breathe in and out, trying to calm myself as I turn to my assailants, keeping my voice low, "You wretched, cruel, filled-with-hate—"

The rest of the words don't leave my lips as I find myself staring at Elias. He's standing in front of me and I realize then how pretty his eyes are. A natural cerulean blue, you know? And I forgive him. Because he's not filled with hate. He's fed me before. "Why are you sucking up to the teacher, freak?"

I blink. My brain of course, tries to break down his words. Sucking up? A disgust look comes to my face at the insinuation of me sucking anything that isn't food but I don't get to let out any words as I'm suddenly pinned to the lockers. A sudden pain racks up my back as I wince, my eyes opening to find another male grabbing my collars and holding me down. I also realize there that the entire hallway is looking now.

"You fucking freak," He's speaking so loud which is dumb, I'm right in front of him. "You were so fucking weird when you just stayed silent now you're talking like they're your best friends or something! You're a fucking disgrace for a human you piece of shit."

"Can you yell softer?" I ask, calmly. "You're spitting a lot and you— Well, you have a smelling breath, you know." I say this nicely, of course, I understand this sort of things because I've fallen prey to a lot of onion rings in my food but he only gets angrier as he throws me to the floor.

I groan when my shoulder smashes with the ground, another bout of pain flowing through me. Shit, too much is happening in one day, I don't like this. I don't like this at all. I stare up, my eyes widening as I watch Elias open my locker and stare at my chocolate bars. "These flavours..." He's looking at me and it is filled with a lot of distrust. "They only exist within high class vampires as gifts for their pets. How do you have this?"

"Does it matter?" Another person says as they suddenly yank out the one in his hand, a wide grin on their face as they yell, "Everyone should get one!" He suddenly yanks out the rest I have and starts throwing it around.

The hallway throws itself into chaos as they hurriedly rush over my chocolate, screaming. The whole world is loud, it's upsetting but I don't lose focus of the one that started it. Quietly, I rise up from the floor. No one notices as I dust my clothes and slowly, begin to walk towards him.

When I'm in front of him, he looks at me, a smug smile on his face. "What is it, you fucking bi—?"

I grab his hair and in one move, smash it hard against the locker. The whole hall grows silent but I don't care. My eyes stay on him as I hear bones crunch up and blood spills from his face. I bring it up again as I look at him, saying quietly, "Ask for them politely."

He's bleeding, staring at me with fear and hate as he snaps, blood spilling out of his nose and mouth. "Fuck y—!"

I slam his face on the locker again. This happens for a while as the only thing echoing through the hall is me pounding his head on the lockers. When I'm about to do so again, his voice suddenly bursts out in a wail. "I'M SORRY! CAN I TAKE YOUR CHOCOLATE?!"

I pause now, looking at him. His face is battered but an eye is still working. "Yes, I like to share food sometimes. It's my only love, you know." Then taking my hand out of his hair, I pick my bag up and walk out the hall.

Their eyes follow me but eventually, I lose them as I walk into our art room. The moment I'm in, Corvus Praetorian, my teacher is on me. He's gripping me hard as he turns me to face him. Unlike the other teachers, he's wearing dark shades and his hand is about to shatter my bones as he demands, "Why are you bleeding?"

Hmm? I look down at my hand, noticing the blood on my hand and my sweater then I look at him. "It's not mine." Then I look at his hands. "It hurts."

Instantly, his hands are off me and he's taking a step back. He's terrifying tall, just like him. Thinking of HIM makes my stomach hurt. He's the reason all of this is happening and there's too much noise in my life now. I walk past Corvus and head to one of the canvases then picking one, lay it on the floor and slowly take off my clothes.

The sweater comes off first, then the shirt and I'm left in my tank top. I pull out my scrunchie from my wrist and wrap my hair in a rough bun before looking at me, "Can you get me paint?"

As if that snaps him out of his thoughts, he's nodding and returning back with yellow, green, blue, white and brown. I mutter a small thank you as I dip my fingers into the painting and turns back to the canvas, smudging them around it.

It's nonsense at first, it always is at the beginning but the more I mix more colours and smudges, the more it makes sense. Does it sound odd that it is my way of arranging my world into a more organized form? The smell of paint is addictive and the stickiness is pleasing to my skin in a way. Everything happens in a hurry, chaos, but when I realize I have filled every bit of space on the canvas, I pause.

My chest is rising and falling as I stare at the completed artwork, Corvus appears beside me, crouching quietly as he stares at it, "Do you— Do you recall where you've seen this, Sol?"

I tilt my head. The painting is almost blurry but bright and vibrant. It looks like a forest filled with trees, but it's prettier. Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground and somehow, it is familiar. I can smell apples, and oranges, but they don't make me hungry. Instead, I feel... Pleased.

Blinking, I try to understand where that emotion is coming from. Pleased? I've never felt that way before. Still, I say in a voice that held no emotions. "No."

"It is an orchard but— Well, in this time, they don't exist anymore." He says, looking at me. I know what it means. I've drawn something again that I shouldn't have been able to draw. Something past my age and year. It is what drew him towards me. I painted things of the world before the revolution.

Things that I shouldn't know, and somehow did. The school of course, doesn't know. Only Corvus does, but I don't mind it because he lets me come here whenever I want and doesn't talk to me while expecting any sort of response.

"Can I get chocolates?" I ask, turning to him. I see the genuine surprise on his face even though I can't see his eyes because I never ask for them. He always gives them to me as a reward of my paintings. "They got taken from me so I have none left."

"Who did?"

"The entire school." I say, "And some boy, I don't know. I think he's going to die because he will lose a lot of blood and the watchguards are probably going to get pissed at all the blood on the floor but he isn't polite so I suppose he deserves it. I hope he knows I'm not sad though, just need him to respect food better—"

I don't say the rest of the words as he suddenly leans close to my neck. I pause, wondering why he's smelling me before he moves away, asking in a voice I've never heard him use before as they come out in a low growl with his fangs coming out. "Why do you smell different?"

I stare at him. "Why are you smelling me?"

Again, I manage to surprise him as he stares and in a flash, the predatory aura disappears then he rises from the floor, smiling down at him. "Chocolate, you said? I'll get them. Why don't you go wash up?" And before I reply, he's gone.

He's never shown his fangs to me, and neither does he ask invasive questions. Today is just not my day, is it?