Van

When Van went to school on Monday, no one spoke of the accident- at least, not with their mouths. Their eyes were shouting. Some with questions, others with concern, but many with hostility. Those were part of the Isaiah fan club. Mostly girls with crushes born less out of a physical attraction and more out of attraction to the power he would one day possess as her father's favorite.

Correction, she thought, ex-favorite. But surely that wasn't why everyone was angry at her? Her father made no secret at home that Isaiah was out of favor, but while much of Abe Helsing was still a mystery to her, his pride in professionalism was not.

"Guess you're enemy number one," Hailey said, sidling up to Van as she walked out of her last class.

Her flushed cheeks and messy hair meant she had just finished training, and for once, Van was jealous. It had been a very dull, hour-long lecture about the various treaties Slayers had with the supernatural world. It could have been interesting if the person teaching wasn't older than most of the treaties themselves. Still, she did her best to pay attention, jotting down every word on the off chance she would find some miraculous solution among her notes later.

"I see. Do you know why?"

Hailey flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and leveled an incredulous stare at the redhead. Dark lashes fluttered over blue eyes, and she remained silent for a few seconds as if she expected Van to say just kidding. All she received was an arched brow urging her to hurry with the explanation.

"Because their prince missed school."

"Because of his own stupidity."

Pink lips popped open in mock horror. "It would never be his fault. You prompted him to act so foolishly."

"Ridiculous," Van muttered as they walked past a trio of fan clubbers. She answered their glares with a bright smile before stomping at them, her combat boot landing on the marble floor with a satisfying thwack.

"You are a disgrace to the Holy Asylum," the ringleader snapped when she regained her composure.

"Have you told my father?"

Fake baked complexions paled, and they scurried away without another word or glare. Now, the smile on Van's face was genuine, and it only grew bigger when she saw Hailey shaking her head.

"What? I have found very few perks to being the daughter of the Supreme. Let me use them when I can."

"Do you want to come over this afternoon?

"I can't. Trixie is supposed to be giving me private lessons this afternoon, and then I'm meeting-"

Breathing became hard as her heart skittered about in her chest. Had she really been about to tell Hailey she was meeting Luca later? The other girl knew about her friendship with the shifter but not of the rescue plans.

"Van," Hailey touched Van's shoulder, "I meant what I said the other night. I want in."

She thought maybe she'd imagined her saying those words, but hearing them in the light of day didn't make her trust them anymore. Looking around for eavesdroppers, she stepped closer and lowered her voice.

"What does that even mean?"

"I know you're up to something with Luca. Probably to get his brother out. Livy too, now."

"And why haven't you reported me?"

She tilted her head. "Honestly, I didn't think you would get very far, and it was better to stay in your good graces."

"Oh, lovely. I guess it's a good thing you're wrong, then."

The vehemence in her voice surprised her. Why should she be bothered that Hailey was like the rest of them? Only concerned about what Van's position in the Asylum could for them. Why would Hailey be any different?

"Wait, stop. That came out all wrong. I meant your good graces as a friend, not as the daughter of the Supreme. I figured when you failed, it would be nice to have a friend at your side, and if I needed to, I would step in to keep you out of real trouble. Can we have this conversation in the car? It's freaking freezing out here."

Van eyed the sleek, metal deathtrap. Riding to school this morning had been almost unbearable. Most of the snow was gone. What little remained was gray sludge on the roadsides or strips of white in shadows. But the school was too far to walk to even on a pleasant day. Today was not a pleasant day.

"I guess," she grumbled, "but only because I don't want to wait for our driver to get here."

"Sure, sure," Hailey teased, cranking up the heat and easing them out of the parking lot.

Her usual flamboyant driving style was contained. She came to stops slowly, and obeyed the speed limits exactly. Only the drumming of her hot pink nails against her steering wheel betrayed the effort it took for her to behave. Van almost loved her for it.

"Look, I need you to put yourself in my shoes for a second."

Thinking of the strappy contraptions the girl favored, Van winced. "They look uncomfortable."

Her lips twitched. She rolled her eyes. "They can be."

"So why wear them?"

"Because my mother wore them, and her mother, and her mother... We're a family of high heels wearing bad asses."

"I appreciate you extending the metaphor."

"It worked. But for real. Think about how everything you've learned recently has challenged how you think and feel. You've been put in uncomfortable situations, and you've pushed back. They raised me to fear shifters. Not hate them like some other Slayers. At least my parents aren't motivated by hate. They truly think we're keeping the shifters and the world safe with our methods. Now, you come along, and suddenly, someone is telling me I'm wrong."

"And you've pushed back."

They turned into Van's neighborhood, but they both remained in the car when they came to a stop in front of the imposing mansion.

"At first, yeah, but I got to thinking about why I was pushing back. I didn't have any powerful convictions or proof that shifters were dangerous, other than that I'd been told that my entire life. I go to school with them. I hang out with them at Wanda's."

Van held her breath and allowed the girl to keep talking. It was as if Hailey knew how she felt, but was only just now discovering the words to articulate those emotions. And they were spilling from her lips like rapids over rocks. Fast and choppy, almost hard to follow.

"I told myself you just didn't understand. You couldn't see things the way I did, but then what have I actually seen? I was told I was a leader, but I've been acting like a sheep." Hailey's brows flattened and her lips thinned as she gripped the steering wheel. "I am not a damn sheep."

"Nope, not a sheep," Van said when Hailey whipped her head around as if waiting for an agreement.

It was the right response because she continued, "The only people I've ever seen hurt someone are Slayers. We take children from their families. We hunt people down because they look different or think differently. But none of it really clicked until I watched Luca jump into that icy water to rescue his enemy. He could have just grabbed you and left Isaiah behind, but he didn't even question it. Why? Why, Van? That would have been one less enemy?"

"Oh, you really want an answer?" She received an exasperated huff in response. "Okay, fine. Because Luca is too good for this world. I was nothing but a complete bitch to him from day one, and he has been patient and kind. It was one thing to think he was the kind of guy who was just nice, but I'm the daughter of the person he probably hates the most in the world. Hell, I don't even know if he hates Abe. Luca isn't like that."

Hailey slapped the steering wheel, causing a sputtering honk to sound. They both ducked down in their seats even though there wasn't anyone around. When Van caught Hailey's eye, they burst into laughter, holding their stomachs until tears streaked down their cheeks. They remained slumped long after they traded giggles for thoughtful silence.

"I want to be a person who does what's right. A good person like Luca. For someone who shares his body with an animal, he has more humanity in them than most Slayers I know. So, that's what it means when I say I want in."

"Damn, you're long winded."

"Van."

She reached over the console and gripped Hailey's hand. The action should have felt foreign. Before her mom and Walker died, she had craved physical affection, but after they were gone, it hurt to be touched because she would never again feel their touch. Now, she knew what she was missing- not just the power of receiving comfort from others, but from offering it to others too.

"Let me talk to Luca. It's not my place to bring someone else into this," she said, opening the car door and snagging her bag from the floorboard. "I'll let you know soon, but it'll need to be in person. I don't want to put anything in a text someone else can read."

"Such an expert level spy already," Hailey teased before nodding solemnly. "Just message me that you want to hang out."

"Sure. Will do."

"And, Van?"

Van bent over and peered into the driver's seat. For the first time, Hailey looked young beneath her heavy makeup, and not because of her round, baby face. She looked fragile and nervous.

"You can text me to hang out even if that's all we're gonna do. You know, like friends."

A joking response died on Van's lips. "Sure, I'd like that. You can't have too many friends, can you?"

The car roared to life as Hailey turned the key in the ignition. She bit her lip and shrugged. "I guess. But I'd settled for one really good one."