Two Hearts: The Hunt [Slowly Editing]

Chapter Thirty-Four

A/N- S/o to Sparknotes for helping me out with this chapter lol. School doesn't start till Monday and I'm already researching literature. Blah.

Yeah, so, the beginning is crap but the writing gets better around the middle, I think. Now I'm off to finish writing my other story so that I can k.o.

Enjoyy!

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Caleb's POV

"Hey!" called Joseph, his hand firmly intertwined with Clarissa's. "Is that really who I think it is?"

I closed my car door just as Cat slid out of her seat from the truck.

"No, Joseph," David replied with a teasing smile, purposefully making his voice loud enough for my more-than-capable ears to hear. "I think it's their ghosts!"

"Very funny, guys." I rolled my eyes as we edged nearer. Seeing my teammates sitting on the steps in their usual morning spot by the Mill Creek High's school parking lot was more than a welcoming a sight, especially after all of the abnormality I had been surrounded by in these past few days-basically ever since I found out Cat was a vampire.

They laughed at my comment. I wanted to bask in their oblivious normality forever, if I could.

"Looking radiant as always, Catalina." Corey winked. I swallowed the tiny bit of jealousy that had risen up inside me at just his small compliment.

Cat smiled brightly, unlike the Sun that dangled overhead, which was being outcompeted by heavy clouds. "Thank you."

"Where have you two been?" Jared asked incredulously. "It's been, like, a whole week."

"Yeah-you haven't been to practice or answered any of our texts," Joseph frowned. "What gives?"

Cat and I shared a fleeting glance. We had been fully expecting this when we agreed to go to school this morning. Me, because I was obligated to; and Cat, because she claimed that she would get bored without me around. I liked it when she gave me subtle compliments like that, even if she wasn't aware that she was doing it.

"We got really sick," Cat explained. "Caleb got it first and he passed it onto me."

Cat completed ignored the way I shot her an inconspicuous, narrow-eyed glare. We had established that the story would be that she had given me the virus, not the other way around. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I didn't care. She tended to bring out my immaturity.

"Ew." Clarissa scrunched up her freckled nose, the actions instantly reminding me of the vampire beside me with her snobby ways. "That bites. Was it a virus?"

"Yes," I spoke up. "It was highly contagious. I was in bed the entire week and my parents wouldn't let me use the phone because they claimed I needed a lot of rest."

"Oh," David nodded, his eyes bouncing between Cat and I. "So you two are still together, huh?"

"Too many make outs?" Jared added teasingly.

"Uh," I swallowed, prepping for another lie. Well, maybe it wasn't a lie. I wasn't particularly sure what Cat and I were at the moment. We locked eyes communicatively, and she nodded subtly. "Yeah. Yeah, we're still together."

But was she being honest or did she just nod to confirm a lie?

"And we do not make out that much," Cat defended, making herself look convincingly embarrassed.

"Hey," I spoke up, suddenly noticing something I had previously overlooked. I glanced around me. "Where's Nathan?"

On cue, as if his entrance had been scripted in a play, Nathan came out through the double doors that led to the inside of school. His eyes were a bit hollowed and his golden blonde hair was a bit messier than it typically was but the grin on his face gave no hint of any sort of stress.