I rolled my eyes and pretended to gag. "Thanks for the compliment," I said sarcastically.
"The good news is maybe Trevor will stop torturing you."
If Trevor became a vampire, his bite would be worse than his bark.
"Apparently she showed up at their soccer practice last night, cheering for Trevor," Becky continued.
"She did? I was afraid this would happen."
"Afraid of what?"
"Uh...," I began, stalling. "That Trevor would be popular again. After we've worked so hard to expose his inner monster."
"Without Matt by his side, no one cares what he says or does anymore."
"But who knows what..."
"We have our own lives now," Becky said proudly. "So who cares if he has one too."
I looked out the window and reflected on the rivalry Trevor and I had had since childhood. Deep down, I knew Becky was right, but I felt torn. Even though I detested Trevor and I was in love with Alexander, there was still a teeny competitive part of me that didn't want Trevor to be popular and have a girlfriend--vampire or not. Becky and I arrived late at the soccer field and spotted Matt walking down the bleachers, listening to his iPod. Becky raced over to him as if he had just disembarked off a military vessel.
I reached the slobbering pair. "Eh hem!" I said, coughing, and tapped Becky on the shoulder.
They broke apart their superglued embrace.
"Becky tells me Trevor has a girlfriend," I blurted out.
"I didn't say that," Matt said, looking strangely at Becky.
"But Becky said a girl was at practice rooting for Trevor."
"I guess. I thought you were done with him."
"I am, but gossip is gossip. Did Trevor leave with her?" I asked.
"She was with a creepy guy in a black knit hat. I think you'd like him. Pale with a lot of tattoos. When the team came out of the locker room, they had already gone."
Matt adjusted his backpack, grabbed Becky's hand, and started heading for school.
"Wait--did Trevor look different?" I interrogated.
"He wasn't wearing any tattoos," Matt said with a laugh.
"No, I mean unusually pale. Really thirsty. Redder eyes."
He thought for a moment. "He said he wasn't feeling well," he remembered. "Why all this interest in Trevor?"
The smitten couple looked at me curiously, waiting for an answer.
Suddenly the bell rang.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but you know how I like to be punctual," I lied, and took off. During my first three classes I was preoccupied with confronting Trevor, so to distract myself I daydreamed about Alexander. I wrote our names in my journal--Raven Madison x Alexander Sterling, TRUE LOVE ALWAYS--surrounded by black roses.
When the lunch bell finally rang, I skipped meeting Becky and Matt at the bleachers. Instead I combed the campus searching for Trevor.
I couldn't find my nemesis on the soccer field, the gym, or the steps where all the soccer snobs ate their filet mignon baguettes.
"Where's Trevor?" I asked a cheerleader who was tying her sneaker.