Chapter 99 - Vampires Game Night

Music Recommendation: To build a home- The cinematic Orchestra

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Julie didn't directly go to meet her friends. And instead, she visited one of the nearest restrooms. Pulling the sleeves back, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. 

There was a bruise near the corner of her lips, but it didn't look as bad as she thought it would be. And it was because of the Corvin, who had touched her skin. Taking a peek at her blouse, it looked like she was wearing a designer blouse and was ready to walk the ramp. 

Turning the faucet of the tap, Julie leaned forward. Gathering the water in both her hands, she continuously splashed it over her face. She placed her hands on both sides of the sink to support her body while drops of water slid down from her face and fell into the sink that was in front of her. 

"Everything is okay," whispered Julie to herself. 

Things could have turned worse, but she had escaped that fate, and she was thankful for it. Her hands gripped the edge of the sink, and she wondered what to do if one of the vampires would try to compel her. Maybe smack the person's face before the vampire had any opportunity? Questioned Julie to herself. 

Pulling herself, she looked back at her reflection, and she exhaled. 

Julie touched the corner of her lips with her fingers, and she flinched, where the bruise felt tender. 

Somewhere, Julie was in awe of herself, on how she had distracted the three boys. She ran the scene in her mind on repeat, feeling she had turned lucky. One of her hands on the tap suddenly broke the top, and water from the tap showered like a fountain with force. 

Julie tried to fix the tap, but the force of the water was too much, and in the end, she was drenched from the top of her head until halfway below her lower body. 

One of the girls who entered the restroom screeched when the water sprinkled on her before the girl stepped out.

On hearing the screech, Caleb, who was outside, entered and asked, "What did you do to the faucet?!" standing at the door and watching Julie step away from the sink. 

"It just got loose," replied Julie, her mood turning grumpy. 

She had hoped there would be no need to change her clothes until night, but now she couldn't stay like this. 

"I thought I was having a bad day, but you have it worse than me," commented Caleb, while Julie wrung the sleeves of the jacket that she wore. 

"Tell me about it," replied Julie. "Do you think you can go and check where Roman is right now?" she asked Caleb. 

"I can do that. But before that let me walk you to the Dormitorium so that I don't get beaten up by one more person today," smiled Caleb, trying to make jokes, but Julie only stared at him. "Looks like couples do pick up qualities from each other," he muttered before they stepped out of the girl's restroom. 

On their way, some of the students took a quick look at Julie, wondering if someone had poured a bucket of water on her as a prank. At the same time, some didn't bother, as they were busy enjoying their day. 

Julie kept a cautious look around her, trying to make sure she didn't meet Roman or any of his friends on their way back to her dorm. More than the Porcupine and his lackeys, right now, she was worried about Roman's reaction. 

Unable to keep her thoughts to herself, Julie asked the boy accompanying her, "Why is the match being hyped?"

Caleb's eyes that were looking ahead of them, slowly moved to the corner to see Julie. He pursed his lips, not knowing how to explain to her. He said, 

"You saw those two tall relatives of them?" Julie nodded her head. "They are very competitive, and don't like to be let down. They are very prideful and won't take a no for an answer. If someone steps over the line, that person will end up spending time in isolation. Roman getting into a fight seems like an obvious thing, but we are only prolonging the time. One at a time."

Julie nodded her head, "I understand."

"Yeah, so that's that," responded Caleb, and they finally reached the girl's Dormitorium. "I will stay here, or I can come stand in front of your dorm, if you want to?" He gave her a skeptical look. Even though Julie had not openly reacted to what happened in the Blue Block, he wondered if she was trying to hide her emotions. She hadn't cried, shedding not a single drop of water from her eyes. 

Julie was touched by Caleb's gesture. Having him around felt like having a younger brother. 

"I will be fine. It's just the girl's Dormitorium and there are still some of them in there," said Julie and when the wind blew where they stood, she shivered. "If you come to see Melanie, can you let her know I am asking for her?"

Caleb gave her a nod and then watched Julie enter the girl's Dormitorium. 

Julie walked through the corridor, noticing some of the girls looking at her with a curious expression, wondering what happened. Coming to the end of the corridor, she pulled out the key from her jeans pocket and unlocked the door. Stepping inside, she pushed the door to close and leaned her head against it. She had made it to her dorm without being caught. 

She started to change her clothes, removing her blouse and then pulling down her jeans before throwing them in the hampher. She then picked up fresh and dry clothes from the closet and wore them. Taking the blow dryer, she started to dry her wet hair. At the same time, she noticed a letter waiting for her near the window. 

Placing her dryer down, she went to pick up the letter and opened it, that read— 

'By the time you read this, it might already be late. Maximus and I are taking his uncle Castiel and Donovan around the campus. I might not be able to make it to the horror house. I will tell the pipsqueak to stay near you until I can get back to you. The football match starts at seven, but we will be gathering at the locker room an hour before the game. 

Take a seat on the left side of the bleachers. I would like to see you there.'

Julie smiled at Roman's words, wondering if he had an inkling that she would return to her room for something. When she was re-reading it, she heard someone knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" inquired Julie, and she heard her friend's voice. 

"It is me, Mel. Will you be wearing the costumes along with the other girls?"

Julie folded the letter and placed it in her drawer. She then went to the door and opened it. On seeing Julie's face, a deep frown appeared on Melanie's face, and her eyes widened in shock. 

"What happened to your face?! Did you have a fall?" questioned Melanie. 

"I will explain about it later, but how good are you when it comes to make up?" Julie asked Mel. "I need your help in covering it up. Please."

Melanie turned worried, but instead of questioning further, she nodded her head, "I can do that. I am not an expert, but I will do my best. Let's go to my room."

Once they stepped inside Melanie's room, Julie sat down on the chair, and Melanie helped her apply makeup on her face while not making it cakey. "Are you okay?" asked Melanie, noticing Julie spaced out. 

Julie's eyes moved to look at Melanie, and she nodded, "I am good." She put on her brave face because that was what she had decided to do, without letting other people worry for her or fight because of her. 

She wondered how to take her revenge on Porcupine and his two minions for trying to humiliate her. She knew he wouldn't back down, and before he would strike, she had to do something about it. But how, questioned Julie to herself. There should be something that she could use against the Porcupine and his lackeys. 

"There, all done. I have covered most of it, so it's very subtle but there's a little swelling," informed Melanie. 

Julie took a look at herself in the mirror and saw how the bruise on her face had disappeared behind the foundation, and she said, "This is good enough for me. At least I won't have people staring at me."

"Did something happen while you went to meet Ms. Piper?" Melanie's words were slow and careful. 

If she told Melanie that Ms. Piper had never called her, she was sure Melanie would pounce on Reese for lying to her and colluding with the wrong people, when someone might have compelled Reese to lie to her. 

"I got into a fight," replied Julie, which was somewhere true. Thanks to the Corvin, she didn't have to visit the infirmary to check if she had cracked bones in her hands. She had never punched anyone before, and punching a vampire had never been on her bucket list.

But then dating a vampire was not in it either. It was time to upgrade and change things around her. 

"Was that Eleanor there again? She must really hate that Roman is with you—"

"No, it was someone else," corrected Julie, already feeling horrible for lying and not wanting to lie to Melanie. 

"Fine I won't ask you about it, but you let me know if you need help. I will pull out my shoe," stated Melanie, and Julie laughed. "Do you want to stay in the dorm, or visit the horror house? I will come with you."

"You're a sweet friend, Mel. I think I will skip it and go directly to see the football match in the evening. But you don't have to stay with me, go have fun outside," Julie encouraged her. 

Melanie placed the makeup brush to the side and sat down next to Julie. She then put her hand around Julie's arm and said, "And leave you here all alone when others are having fun? And I think I am good here. While on my way here, I saw Simon and he's outside the other Dormitorium. I don't think I want to run across him when I am alone. He gives me the creeps," and saying this, she shivered. 

"Then let me go and let Caleb know that I will be in the dorm," said Julie, and she stood up from the bed and stepped out of Melanie's dorm. 

Coming out of the Dormitorium, Julie saw Caleb standing outside with his hands crossed against his chest. 

Julie walked up to where he was. Caleb looked at her and said, "Now I know why you wanted your friend." He noticed the makeup that had been put on her face.

"I will be in the dorm and later will directly go to the bleachers with Melanie to watch the game. You don't have to worry about me and enjoy the day," said Julie, not wanting him to babysit her. 

"You sure?" Caleb asked in doubt, and Julie gave a nod. 

"Hm. Thank you for tagging along with me, it is very much appreciated," she let him know. "Mel will be staying with me and we would like to rest a bit before heading out in the evening."

"Alright, if you say so. Keep an eye to not get caught, and don't believe even your friends," he gave her a tip, "I mean not because they are bad, but just like that." 

"Yeah," replied Julie, knowing he was talking about the compulsion without revealing it openly to her. She watched Caleb walk away from the Dormitorium. When she was about to head back into the Dormitorium, her eyes met Simon's, who stood with a girl. He had his arm around the girl's waist, where the girl stood snug next to him. 

"Not enjoying the Fall Annual celebration?" Simon asked her, with a smile on her lips, while his eyes curiously looked at her. 

"I did, but thought we would rest a bit. How about yourself?" Julie returned the question to him. She stood in a way where her left cheek was hidden from his eyes. 

"I am. More than I expected to," the smile turned into a grin, and Simon said, "Did you meet Rome today?"

Julie nodded her head, "I did in the morning… and at noon."

"I see. Make sure you rest well. We will need all the energy from our cute juniors to cheer us on in the match," said Simon. Julie smiled before saying, 

"All the best for today's game." 

Saying this, Julie made her way inside the girl's Dormitorium and then to Mel's room. 

The hours were quick to pass, and in that time, Julie's mind kept going back to something else, not just about the boys who had tried to humiliate and hurt her. It was about what the Corvin had told her. 

Leaving Veteris was not an option that she had placed in her cards, and she wondered if the creature was worried about the Elders? Or was it the vampires in general? If she hid her true identity, no one would ever find out, and she would be able to leave Veteris in peace, thought Julie in her mind. 

When students started to head towards the football field, Julie left the Dormitorium with Melanie. They headed towards the field. In front of the bleachers, the cheer team had already begun to show their routine to everyone. Julie kept an eye around before realizing that Porcupine and his friends were going to be busy for this evening's match. 

They met Conner and Reese. Julie's eyes fell on the girl, who smiled at her. 

"Where did you both go? I thought we were going to visit the horror hour together," Conner spoke loudly over the loud music and the crowd, who were making their way towards the bleachers. 

Julie's eyes shifted to look at him, and she said, "We wanted to get some rest before the match starts. So that we can cheer for the players."

"I feel bad that you guys didn't come along with us—"

"Then you should have waited for us instead of going alone," muttered Melanie, where Conner didn't catch everything that his best friend said, but Reese did, and she looked at Melanie. "Anyways, let's go and sit otherwise we might end up sitting in not so good seats."

"Do you think there are free seats on the left side of the bleachers?" asked Julie, remembering what Roman had written. 

"Students are still coming in, so we should get them," said Conner, and while they made their way, they met up with their lunch friend. "Dennis! So good to see you here, where have you been?" 

Julie saw Dennis push the glasses up his nose, a polite smile appeared on his lips. He said, "I have been helping one of my teachers in sorting out some files. The storage room had turned into a mess. But I am done arranging it now."

"I thought all teachers were on break time," said Julie, and Dennis' eyes shifted to look at her. 

"Unfortunately some are still working over the clock," Dennis replied to her. 

His eyes fell on her lips, and Julie wondered if the makeup had worn out. He said, "You like makeup."

She let out an internal sigh of relief that he hadn't noticed the bruise and only commented on the makeup. 

"Makeup is mostly girls' best friend," Reese came to Julie's aid, and she looked at Julie and said, "And suits her, doesn't it? She looks like a doll."

"She does," said Dennis.

Julie cleared her throat and then said, "Shall we go to the seats?"

"Yes, it's getting late. Let's hurry so that we get good seats," agreed Conner, and they all walked to the left side of the bleachers. They sat in the order of Reese in the far corner, then next Conner, Melanie, Julie and then Dennis. Students continuously walked in, filling up the empty seats and picking up the best seat so that they could see the match clearly. 

As minutes moved ahead, where everyone was filled with excitement with loud chatter and noise discussing what would happen today, Julie noticed the Elders enter in her view. Like others, they had come to watch the match.

They wore suits, their stature tall and pride clearly written on their faces. The volume at the bleachers slightly lowered as the students turned to look at the four Elders walking at the front of the bleachers along with the headmistress, Mr. Borrell and Mr. Evans. 

They then took their seats at the front, which had already been reserved for them. 

"How long is this game?" questioned Luciano, looking at the front and the clear field. 

"It is ninety minutes," answered Mr. Borrell. 

"Instead of watching this lowly game made for the humans, there should have been close hand combat," harrumphed Luciano. 

"We can have one after this one. Do you think you will be able to arrange it, Eloise?" Donovan turned to look at Dante, who sat one seat away from him. 

"It will take time as it's just for the night creatures," replied Dante, "The human students wouldn't survive it and it would raise eyebrows."

"I wouldn't agree to that," responded Donovan, who had a smile on his face as he waited for the game to start. "Surely, there will be at least one human who will come close to the vampire's strength. Then we turn that person into us. He or she would be an asset." 

Castiel shook his head, "I think I would go with Dante. It's too much risk to turn and kill in bulk. Especially with these days, the technology was it?"

Donovan huffed, "The humans might have moved ahead with  technology, but we are still ahead of them in many things. It's only a matter of time before we surpass them in these little details, where most of our kind already have. There is something that has been bothering me." 

The three staff members turned to look at Donovan, wondering what he wanted to tell. 

The Elder then said, "Why is the game called Football, when it is supposed to be Soccer?"

The counsellor chuckled and then replied, "Mr. Hatice got confused when it came to naming the game and everyone just happened to stick with it. Would you like us to change it, Mr. Donovan?" 

Donovan waved his hand, "I don't care about it," dismissing the conversation. 

[Music Recommendation: My songs know what you did in the dark- Fall out boy]

Finally, the trumpet was blown, letting every spectator in and around the field know that the game was soon going to start. From the right side, players belonging to the Raven's team entered, making their way towards the centre of the field. The students screamed and shouted, hyping the already pumped up atmosphere. Then from the left side, entered the Hawks, and the students screamed louder. 

Conner said, "Many have been betting on who might win today's match." 

Julie caught sight of Roman in his red uniform, leading his team to walk towards the centre of the field where the opposite team players stood in their blue uniform. 

The referee stood with his whistle and held a coin, ready to flip it. The two team captains stood in front of each other, Roman and Griffin, looking each other in the eye. 

"Are you ready to lose today, Moltenore?" Griffin taunted with a smile. 

"Are you hoping because you know you will lose," one corner of Roman's lips curled, and he saw the sliver of anger that crossed in Griffin's eyes. 

"Today I am going to show where a half vampire like yourself stands, while learning who is superior to you," glared Griffin. 

"I cannot wait for it," remarked Roman in a nonchalant tone. 

The referee blew the whistle to get everyone's attention and asked Griffins' team, "Head or tails?"

"Heads," smiled Griffin before adding, "Because they will be the ones who will need to hide their tails." The referee flipped the coin, and when he caught the coin, he moved the top hand to show heads. The Ravens picked to go with the kickoff, and Roman's team picked the pitch field.

Soon the match started on the referee's whistle, and the ball passed from one person to another or stopped. Julie, who sat in the bleachers, watched Roman playing with the other players. When she had found out that this match was going to be serious, they weren't kidding about it, as this particular day's game had been designed for the vampires only. By the looks of it, it was obvious that the players were constantly getting injured from the get-go of the game. Bumping and falling on the ground, which the referee couldn't hold against the player, as it mostly looked unintentional.

It took almost fifteen minutes before the Ravens scored a goal against the Hawks. 

"You know what they say about birds who are early, Azazel. The first bird always wins," commented Luciano after seeing one of Griffin's team members score the goal.

"You must have missed something in it, Luciano, that early birds are also the first ones to die," remarked Donovan, which made Luciano narrow his eyes. 

The sound of the referee blowing the whistle was heard, and Julie anxiously held both her hands. Her eyes followed Roman without looking away from him. The game continued, and the Hawks were the next one to score a goal.

Right now, Simon got hold of the ball and was about to kick it forward when one of the players from the opposing team kicked Simon's heel and got him to stumble on the ground. Mateo quickly got the ball passed to him, and he passed the ball later to one of his team players. But before it could reach the person, Roman came in between and, with his foot, took it away.

Roman dragged the ball with his feet, taking it to the goal point. Griffin tried to follow Roman closely, trying to take the ball back. Raven's team captain moved closer and used his elbow to hit Roman's chest, near where his heart was. 

But that didn't stop Roman from taking the ball to the goal point, defending himself. When Griffin tried to hit one more time with his hand, ready to throw Roman on the ground like Simon, Roman turned and changed the direction, which momentarily confused Griffin. 

Maneuvering the ball, Roman finally scored another goal. The crowd erupted in cheers as the Hawks team was in the lead now. 

The score on the board changed, and Griffin looked angry before he started to smile. Looking at Roman, he smirked and asked, "I forgot to ask you, how is your girlfriend doing? Heard she got into trouble this evening." 

Roman's eyes narrowed, and for a brief moment, his eyes looked through the crowd before it fell on Julie, who was standing with her friends.

"Poor girl must have been very scared. Pity that you are still the same useless person as you have been before, even when it came to saving your brother," taunted Griffin.

Roman's hands turned into fists, and he took a step forward to hit Griffin. But before he could do that, Simon came between them to stop him. "Not now, Rome," said Simon, pushing Roman backwards so that he wouldn't be disqualified from the match because of his behaviour. 

Griffin didn't stop there and continued to speak, "I can understand why you couldn't help Tristan. It was because he was your half brother. I heard someone who was close to him tell that he never wanted you around him."

It took a second before the glare in Roman's eyes diminished a little, and he responded with, "If you are trying to make up stuff, you should make it believable. Let me tell you the truth." He pushed Simon to the side and walked to where Griffin stood, "The truth is you couldn't digest the fact that we were the Lord's sons. That Tristan was the Lord's son, and you were nothing in front of him. You were always someone no one wanted around and still are."

This time it was Griffin who glared at Roman. 

The referee blew his whistle and questioned, "Everything good in here Moltenore and Griffin?"

"Fantastic," replied Roman, and went back to take his position on the field. 

When the game reached half-time, the players went to the bench to drink blood from the bottles. Roman took hold of the water bottle before pouring it on his head and face. 

His eyes fell on Julie, who looked back at him with a smile on her face. Roman's thoughts went to what Griffin said on the field. 

"Rome, Kirkby and Carter are injured," informed Simon, and Roman tore his eyes away from Julie and looked at his team players. 

"Do you think you will still be able to play?" questioned Roman, his eyes turned hollow in simmering anger. 

"Yes, captain!"

Roman didn't want to put the newbies in the game when they didn't know how dirty the senior players played. Some of them were bleeding and bruised. Both the team's players had not spared each other, and it was probably only the captains and handful ones who weren't majorly injured. 

Bringing his hand up, he placed his hand on the side of his head and stretched his neck before letting it go. 

The next half of the game commenced, and the Hawks scored another goal, leading two points from Raven's team. When Roman got hold of the ball, Griffin tried to injure Roman in the worst possible way by heading straight at Roman and digging his nails into Roman's sides.

Both the team captains collided, and Roman winced as they fell, feeling the sides of his ribs dug by Griffin's sharp nails. The game among the vampires was such that there was no actual foul unless a fight broke out in the middle or the referee caught a foul play. 

Ravens scored another goal in the next few minutes, and then one more, where both team scores were equal.

With only five more minutes left for the game to finish, both the teams tried hard to score a goal, using every dirty trick from their secret book. 

"Should I play sacrifice and get one of them out of the game?" Simon asked in a low voice to Roman. 

"Cover me," said Roman, turning his head to look at Simon. 

"I am listening," replied Simon, humming a song.

"Whistle," said Roman and walked to the front. Simon wondered who was going to fall, though he had a few guesses. Knowing he had to cover the referee's vision from witnessing whatever was going to go down in the next few seconds or minutes. 

The whistle was blown, and the players started to chase the ball. Blocking one of the players and stealing the ball, Roman kicked the ball in the direction of the goalpost. As expected, Mateo appeared in the front, ready to snatch it from him, but right when the ball could be taken away, Simon moved in the proper position, and Roman used his elbow to hit right into Mateo's stomach. It produced a shock in the vampire's body.

Simon was quick to go straight at Mateo as if he was going to save the ball, colliding with each other while camouflaging the hit. 

Roman raised his leg and kicked the ball to pass through the goalkeeper, and the ball touched the net. The crowd once more erupted in screams and shouts. 

"That was a foul!" Griffin shouted in anger, turning to look at the referee. 

"Simon fell on Jackson when he was trying to get the ball back," said the referee and Griffin turned angry. 

"It was Moltenore who hit my team member! He needs to be disqualified!" said Griffin, and the other players came to gather around the referee. 

"Nothing seen can be held-"

Griffin stomped his way towards the referee and was ready to grab his collar. But the referee stepped back and said, "Get back on the game, Griffin. You still have two and a half minutes. Go against the word and I will hand you a red card."

Mateo coughed, feeling the blood in his mouth because Roman had not been gentle in using his elbow to him. The mohawk boy glared at Roman while holding one side of his body. 

Mateo and Griffin came to stand next to each other, and Griffin said to Mateo in a low voice, "I will take Moltenore down, and you take the ball to the goal."

The game started again, the Ravens trying to score a goal to even the points, and the Hawks trying to keep themselves in the lead. One of the Hawk's players took the ball, passing it to another person in the Hawk's team before it was passed to Roman. 

Roman played with the ball without letting anyone take it, turning back and forth and scissoring his way. 

Griffin came to stop Roman, ready to take the Hawks captain down. He went straight at Roman and the ball, hitting Roman's leg first and then his stomach before he fell as if Roman had pushed him. Roman fell on the ground too.

The referee blew his whistle, and Griffin saw the man pointing at Roman and then pointing at the bench before saying, "Foul." 

But at the same time, Roman spat a mouthful of blood from his mouth, and the referee realized it was the other way around. "Griffin, foul."

"What the fuck?!" exclaimed Griffin. 

"Foul conduct caught. Red," declared the referee. 

Roman stood up from where he was sitting on the ground, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 

"The fuck, I didn't even touch him like that," said Griffin, looking at Roman and then at the referee. "Nobody throws up blood like that!" 

Roman stared at Griffin and then said, "It must be because my body is weaker than yours. You know, half vampire." 

Griffin was about to get into a fight, but the referee blew the whistle one more time for him to leave. He glared at Roman in rage before leaving the field, and a subtle smile appeared on Roman's lips. The blood he had thrown up wasn't because of Griffins' hit, but because Roman had been drawing blood in his mouth while knowing Griffin was going to attack him. 

Not all vampires had good hearing abilities, not even the referee, but Roman had been blessed with it since he had been turned. 

When the game finally ended, the referee declared the Hawk's team to be the winner of the match, and soon the crowd cheered and applauded the team. The vampires players were then asked to congratulate each other with the team members before the loser team left the field . The winning team stayed back, hooting and making noises of their victory.

The team players congratulated each other before leaving the centre of the field. 

The elders stood up from their seats and Elder Luciano had a sour expression on his face as if he had swallowed something bitter. Donovan watched Roman with a pleased expression on his face. The other Elders took the game to be something fun for the vampire students, holding calm expressions on their faces. 

"Are you alright?" asked Simon to Roman, as he had seen Roman being hit by Griffin. 

"Never better," replied Roman with a half grin. 

They walked towards where the Elders stood as they hadn't left the bleachers. Roman brought his hand forward, running it through his hair, before his eyes, for a fleeting moment looked at where Julie stood, who had a smile on her lips. 

Donovan, who stood there talking with the other Elders, noticed the flicker in Roman's eyes. It had happened during the half-time of the game too.. The Elder's eyes subtly moved to the corner, noticing a group of students standing at the bleachers.