Fabian Theodotos Ratti stood partly hidden behind his locker door. A clump of greasy dark hair concealed his left eye, sunken into his unearthly pale, shiny skin, and out of his right, he stared at his French teacher, Beth Blenwyth, who stood at the other end of the hall chatting with another student. He watched her lips moving, reading her words as she clarified the pronunciation of 'susmentionné'; he mouthed along, sounding it out in his head, in her voice. He closed his eyes in ecstasy, imagining what the skin of her throat would feel like as she said the word, over and over, inches from his ear. He clenched his hand tightly around the locker door, crumpling the metal edge.
He opened his eyes to the stare of his locker neighbor, a girl with ample dental hardware creeping out of her mouth and a thick braid of hair bursting with frizzed strands. He vaguely remembered her name to be Muriel or Misty or Michelle. He cast his eyes to ground.
"Freak," she lisped, then slammed her own locker door and walked off to her next class.
Fabian surreptitiously pulled on the locker door like it was a sheet of thinly woven silk until it uncrumpled and would close. He closed and locked it quietly. He gazed upon Miss Blenwyth once again. She stood alone as the hallway emptied. There eyes met. She cocked her head. Fabian sucked in a fortifying breath, smoothed out the wrinkles in the front of his t-shirt, stretching the fabric over his marblesque abs. He strode towards her.
"Fabian!" she said brightly. His deadened heart mustered an irregular beat at the sound of her addressing him. He approached her, bowed, then gently took her hand in his. "Oh," she said, recoiling slightly. He kissed her hand with his cold lips.
"Je ne supporte pas cela plus longtemps. Je dois exprimer mon amour fervent.Vous êtes une déesse. S'il vous plaît permettez-moi de vous adorez ... pour toujours," he said.
"Um, well, uh, thanks," she said, pulling her hand out of his and rubbing it in on her pant leg. "You know you have such an excellent accent, and quite a command of the language. I really don't know why you don't participate more in the class instead of just...lurking...in the back, uh--"
"I lived in France from 1687 to 1706."
"Uh, well...okay. I'm not sure what to do with that information--"
"Mademoiselle, what I mean by that is that...I'm immortal. I've waited too long for you. Permit me the joy of joining me in this lonely sojourn. Let us be married, and live and love until the end of time. I won't settle for less."
Beth stood with jaw agape. She stumbled back and leaned against the lockers for support.
"You're just a kid," she said, her voice cracking. "I mean, you've got to be joking. There's no such thing as--"
Fabian frowned, letting his incisors extend to his bottom lip.
"Ohhh," said Beth. "I guess you do exist."
"Yes. I have lived lifetimes. I have acquired staggering wealth, but I've always lacked a partner to share my life with. Would you...complete me?"
"Ugh...." sighed Beth, rolling her eyes. "Look, I understand how much um, courage it must have taken to tell me all...this, and I appreciate how your crush must feel to you, but to tell you the truth, all I want to do is teach French to kids, then retire and maybe go on a couple of cruises. I can't imagine living to the end of time, watching everybody I even knew dying. Watching their grandchildren dying! I mean, even with all the money in the world, who would want that?"
"I-I--" stammered Fabian.
"Look, kid, it's okay. You'll find somebody someday. Hang in there. Now you better run off to your next class."
The bell rang and Beth re-entered her classroom, closing the door behind her. Fabian stood alone, shocked and feeling small. He leaned into the lockers, pressing his face against the vents, breathing shallowly.
"Do you have a hall pass?" asked Michelle/Muriel/Misty as she tapped Fabian on the shoulder.
Fabian whipped around, and sunk his teeth expertly into her neck. He deposited his venom, then retracted, suddenly ashamed, turned, and ran down the hall.
"Oh thanks!" screamed Michelle/Muriel/Misty. "You had to make me immortal at my most awkward stage of life! I'll never forget this! Freak!"
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