Chapter 19: Chapter 19

“Stop following me. Both of you!” I snapped at both Tyrelle and Al as they continued to follow me like lost children as I headed for the cafeteria to get myself some lunch. “You guys have already put me in a lot of trouble as it is. The least that you guys can do is leave me alone.” I glared at them and pointed to the empty tray that I was holding in a threatening way.

Al crossed his arms and leered at Tyrelle. “You heard her, mutt. Scram!”

Tyrelle barred his fangs at Al. “Don’t pick a fight with me, hybrid, when you’re obviously the one to blame here.”

“The thing earlier wasn’t my fault,” Al grumbled. “It’s just detention anyway. What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big deal?” I paused in my tracks so that I could turn to them. My brows arched together in anger. “The deal is that I have made a lot of effort to keep my record clean. It has always been spotless ever since until the two of you showed up!”

We arrived in the cafeteria and were already in line when I noticed that Al and Tyrelle still kept pushing at each other to go first. I guess that Al did something to piss Tyrelle off because he began to growl at him.

I slammed the tray that I was holding onto Tyrelle’s face that left a satisfying sound. “Quit barring your fangs in public, Tyrelle. People could see you, and we might get into trouble again!”

Tyrelle snatched the dish from my grasp and bowed. "Please accept my apologies, Gabriella. It will never happen again. Please allow me to sit with you." When he raised his eyes, Tyrelle drew his focus to the folks behind him and Al, who was keeping a careful watch on us.

I get what he was implying. Several members of his pack are spying on Tyrelle and me. I grudgingly nodded with a grumble. Tyrelle smiled gratefully at me and picked another clean ray from the rack, handing it to me as we both stood in line. Al was dissatisfied with the arrangement and continued to bother Tyrelle while they waited in line at the rear. I stopped paying attention to them even as I collected my lunch and made my way to my typical seat.

Julie here wasn’t yet, and with Tyrelle and Al sitting with me at the moment, I felt like the table was getting crowded, which I am not used to.

“Gabriella, why did you only get an apple? Don’t you like the food here?” Tyrelle’s gaze at my empty tray that only has milk and an apple.

“Ugh. You can’t exactly blame gabby poo. The food here sucks. Everything tastes so bland.” Al made a face as he pushed his tray of food away from him in disgust. “Dude, you’re family owns this school, right? Fire the cooks and hire a new one!” Al told him as he ate a banana from his plate.

“It is?” Tyrelle questioned him while looking at me for confirmation.

I shrugged. “Thursday menus have the most appetizing dishes, but they taste the worst.”

He must not have believed me because he took a bite of his pasta and immediately grabbed a napkin to spit the food out. “This tastes like clay.” He says. “I should-”

“What are these creatures doing here?” I heard a faint whisper and looked up to see that Julie was looking at both Tyrelle and Al fearfully. “Gabriella,” It was the first time that she used my name and one that she spoke with urgency. “Come here right this instant.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Julie, is there something wrong?”

Julie gulped as she continued to stare at both Al and Tyrelle. “There is. You shouldn’t make friends with these two.” She said.

At that moment, Al got up from his seat with a scoff. He was clearly pissed off at Julie for her words. “Look here, you little witch. Who are you to tell my woman what to do? It’s none of your business who she-”

I didn’t know what Julie did, but it seems like she threw some sort of sand at Al that made him scream and clutch his eyes. He reached out and managed to push Julie back, which made her end up on the floor.

Tyrelle immediately sprung and grabbed Al’s collar before he could lunge at Julie in a heated rage. I also got off of my seat and pulled Al’s hoodie down when I noticed his eyes turned red and his fangs were showing up.

“Nothing to see here. He just got salt in his eyes.” Tyrelle announced when we were starting to attract quite a few crowds in the area. Then, I saw him gritting his teeth before he dragged Al out of the cafeteria.

“I’m so sorry, Julie.” I offered a hand to Julie and pulled her back to her feet. I felt guilty at how things ended up and how Julie almost got hurt because of Al—granted that I have no idea what she threw at the hybrid to make him that angry.

But just before I was about to leave and follow the other two, Julie grabbed my arm. “Stay away from them. Nothing good will come if you meddle with their species.”

At that moment, I paused. Could Julie know something about Al and Tyrelle? Does she know that they aren’t entirely human? “Do you…” I trailed off, wondering what I should ask since I could be wrong. But Julie just nodded her head at me as if she was already giving me the answer I needed.

“I warn you again. Don’t go near those two anymore.” Came her warning voice once again.

I lowered my gaze. “It’s kind of late for that, to be honest,” I admitted. “I am already in deep shit. I’m sorry for dragging you into this, Julie. Have a nice lunch.” I left her there as I exited the café in search of Al and Tyrelle. As I walked out, I began to glance around, but there was no trace of them.

I got worried because Al seemed pretty ticked off earlier, and I doubt that Tyrelle would be able to apprehend him.

Where the hell did the two of them head to?

“I wonder what those two guys are fighting about?”

“Beats me. It’s better not to get ourselves involved with them.”

I heard the conversation of two incoming jocks heading to the cafeteria. I headed towards them and blocked their path immediately. “Excuse me, I’m sorry, but where did you see those two fighting guys?”

The two of them gave me a seemingly confused look before they exchanged glances. One of them finally turned to me and answered. “In the court yard. But I don’t think that you should-”

“Thanks!” I told them before heading for the nearest exit that would bring me to the courtyard. As soon as I got out, I still hadn’t seen the two and figured they must have moved farther away than I thought. But when I heard something loud being slammed behind one of the bleachers, I ran towards it just as I saw Tyrelle thrown in front of me. He rolled and immediately got back on his feet before glaring at Al, who was stalking carefully towards him.

“Stop..getting in my way, you filthy mutt!” As I turned to Al, who just spoke, I could see that his eyes were still in a crazy shade of red.

“I don’t care whether you go on a rampage or not. Just don’t do that here. There are still humans! And not when you aren’t in control of yourself.”

The side of Tyrelle’s head was already bleeding. He wiped them away as he got to his feet. But he hadn’t fully gotten up until Al grabbed him by his neck and lifted him in the air. As Tyrelle’s face began to turn pale, that’s when I decided to intervene. “Stop that. Hey!” I must have been out of my mind because I began to run towards them - two supernatural creatures in the middle of a fight.

“G-Gabriella?” Tyrelle choked, and I saw his eyes moving in my direction.

I grabbed Al’s hand that was holding onto Tyrelle’s neck. “Let him go, Al.”

I saw Al wincing and twitched his eyes, but his gaze never left Tyrelle. “G-Get out of here, Gabriella.” It was the first time he addressed me with my proper name that I could definitely confirm that there was something wrong with him.

“Al!” I screamed and tried to pry his fingers off of Tyrelle’s neck.

I felt Al’s shaking upon my touch before closing his eyes and harshly pushed me away. “Get away!” His fangs sharpened, and he forcefully gritted his teeth. “GET AWAY!” He yelled once more.

I was baffled. Usually, Al would be the one to be so clingy and won’t leave me alone, but this time, he was the one who was making me stay away.

“Water.” Tyrelle managed to choke out. “His...eyes.” Tyrelle was having difficulty forming out the words, but I could somehow get what he was trying to say. Al has been more temperamental ever since Julie threw some sort of powder that got caught in his eyes.

We have to wash it away somehow.

I ran towards the nearest water fountain. I grabbed my handkerchief and began to soak it in water. Then I began to head back towards the two. I noticed that Tyrelle’s complexion wasn’t doing so well that I quickened my pace.

I used my handkerchief and threw it over his eyes. His lips began to quiver as I gently applied pressure to the cloth so it would soak his eyes. The quivering of his slowly began to subside, and he finally dropped Tyrelle to the ground. Tyrelle coughed and slumped on the floor. Al did, too, as he sat on the ground while I continued to apply compression over his eyes.

His breathing was starting to calm down, and that’s when I knew that it was working. “Thanks.” He says and places his hand over mine. “I can take it from here, darling. Go and check on the mutt.” He panted.

I would have told him off for calling me names, but right now, I felt kind of relieved because it only proves that he was back to his old self once again.

I went over to Tyrelle’s side and poked his shoulder. “Are you alive?” I asked.

Tyrelle sat up and rubbed his neck painfully. “My throat is a little bruised, but I will heal fast.”

“What happened? What was in the powder, anyway?”

“Wolf’s bane,” Tyrelle answered me. “Something that could hurt a werewolf.” He looked at Al at that point. “If that powder got into a normal wolf’s eyes, they would go blind within a minute if the powder isn’t removed. But for him, his vampire blood managed to slow down the process while his wolf went on a rampage.”

“Fucking bitch, that witch.” Al grimaced and rubbed the handkerchief over his eyes. When he removed them, his eyes were still red, but it was more subtle now.

“Are you doing alright? Can you still see?” I asked.

Al chuckled. “Is my Gabie poo worried about me?” He squinted as he glanced over at Tyrelle and I as soon as he heard my voice. A frown formed on his face immediately, and he pointed an accusing finger at us. “Hey, mutt. Now that I am sure that you are alive. Get the hell away from my woman!”