On awkward and unwieldy legs, Bethalie was ushered across the space, which was so stone silent she could hear Elder Wyck's boots squeaking on the tile floor, and over to the lunch line. With Zandy showing her the ins and outs of the system, the process of getting to the cash register was fairly painless, though the sight of Elder Wyck coming through the line nearly gave a couple of poor, unsuspecting lunch ladies a coronary episode.

Bethalie meant to pay with the money that Florie had given her, but realized that her bag was still in her locker, but Elder Wyck quickly stepped in and handed over a card from his wallet, which the lunch lady proceeded to drop three times before finally managing to swipe it and then dropped it again before handing it back to him. Clearly, having the man looming there and smiling patiently down at her completely threw the woman for a loop.

Once the trays had been paid for, Bethalie followed Elder Wyck to an empty table by the glass wall facing the school house. Zandy, sitting down with them, dove into her burger and fries with a vengeance, a ginormous grin etched onto her pretty face. She was evidently having a ball being the center of attention and reveling in the fact that everyone was staring at them with wide, disbelieving eyes and open mouths. Bethalie, however, did not so much enjoy the sudden spotlight and was more than relieved when the deafening silence in the room began to lift and everyone started talking again, even though the decibel level was much more subdued than it might have been otherwise.

Elder Wyck hadn't gotten a lunch tray for himself, which made sense after the show he'd put on for her, but he seemed to enjoy watching her nibble on her steamed broccoli and her peaches and cottage cheese. It wasn't terribly comfortable having such a handsome man with such penetrating, oddly clear eyes paying so much attention to her, but he seemed to be trying very hard to be nice to her, so she fought to push that discomfort away. Again, she didn't want to offend him, for varied reasons.

While she and Zandy ate, and everyone in the lunchroom watched them eat, Elder Wyck chatted with Zandy about the goings on in Wyckhaven, including the upcoming Hallows Eve Ball, which was apparently the biggest party of the entire year. Bethalie tried to listen to them as Zandy went on about what costume she wanted to wear—she meant to dress up as a zombie nurse—but her attention was abruptly caught by the sight of a ruggedly beautiful young man with sandy hair and golden-green eyes entering the room.

Gabriel Isabell.

That was still the most...fetching...name she'd ever heard. Yes. Fetching.

Seeing Gabriel Isabell caused Bethalie's heart to leap up into her throat, her muscles to go all tight, and her skin to go all prickly. And almost as soon as he'd stepped through the glass door, his gaze just...found her. His intriguingly colored eyes locked with hers and even from across the large space, it took the air right out of her lungs.

She didn't see how it was possible, but he seemed even better looking than he had a few hours ago. The man was absolutely, flat out gorgeous!

Gabriel held her gaze for a long minute, his perfectly chiseled face registering that same look of interest he'd shown earlier, which stunned and confused her afresh. But, then she watched his gaze slide over to Elder Wyck, sitting beside her. That odd look of interest quickly gave way to a look of astonished disbelief, which at that point, was no surprise.

She watched as Gabriel Isabell blinked several times and then glanced away from Elder Wyck, continuing on his way across the cafeteria. As he went, Bethalie tried not to watch him, tried not to feel her stomach squeezing, but she couldn't quite help it. How could she not watch him when he walked like that. No. Walk wasn't exactly right. Gabriel Isabell sauntered. He moved as if he knew where he was going, but was in no real hurry to get there, as if he had no worry over mundane things such as time or tardiness. That kind of blatant attitude should have come off as little...well, douchey...but, somehow it didn't. It made him seem rather self-confident and incredibly appealing.

Of course, she did remind herself that Zandy did not care for Gabriel Isabell and Zandy would know who to avoid. But, even so, she couldn't take her eyes off him. He was just too...painfully beautiful. As she watched him, with her mouth hanging open, no less, she was surprised to see the young man walk over to the trash bin in the corner, grab the black garbage bag, tie the top into a knot, and lift it from the can. Garbage in hand, he took hold of the large cart already filled with dirty dishes sitting next to the can and pulled it along behind him as he disappeared through the swinging doors that led into the kitchen.

Tearing her gaze away from the kitchen door and turning back to her broccoli, Bethalie caught sight of Zandy, who had been watching Gabriel Isabell as well, and the distasteful expression on her face clearly stated that she did not like what she saw. Seeing as how Zandy had outright warned her away, she shouldn't have liked what she saw, either, but she couldn't help herself. What girl with a working set of eyeballs wouldn't like the sight of him?

Trying very hard to turn her focus back to Elder Wyck, who had turned to talking about Zandy's ailing grandmother, Bethalie tried to concentrate and look interested, but she just couldn't keep her gaze from wandering back to the swinging door and her mind from wandering back to the sandy haired, ruggedly handsome specimen who'd walked through it. That specimen seemed far more interesting to think about than Zandy's sick granny.

While she sat and stared at the closed kitchen door like some sort of fool, she let her mind consider the possibility of just...what...Gabriel Isabell might be. It was a strange thing to be pondering, but under the circumstances, it bore thought. Was she not sitting at a table with a three hundred year old Vampire? So, perhaps Mr. Isabell was a Vampire like Elder Wyck, who was almost as stunningly handsome. Almost. But, Elder Wyck had told her that only Witches attended Wyckhaven High.

Well, if Gabriel Isabell was a Witch, then she was going to be ticked off. Apparently, she was a Witch, too, so why did he get to be all rugged and...brooding...and perfect when she'd wound up all red headed and freckled and flat?

With her mind whirling, she gave up all hope of trying to eat her steamed broccoli, excused herself from the table, and took her tray over to the second garbage bin and cart sitting on the opposite side of the cafeteria, walking on stiff legs because every eye in the room was on her.

"I'll do that for you."

Bethalie gasped and took a quick step backward, a start going through her. Gabriel Isabell was standing right in front of her! Right in between herself and the garbage bin!  She'd blinked and he was just...there, when he hadn't been a split second before!

"Sorry. I didn't meant to scare you," he said, his golden brows pulling together.

"That's okay. You d-didn't," she fibbed, feeling the blood rushing up into her cheeks and setting her face to throbbing.

Taking the tray from her, he dumped the contents into the bin and placed it onto the cart before fixing her with those honey hued eyes that seemed to throb with intensity. "I didn't get to introduce myself earlier. I'm Gabe Isabell," he said, holding his hand out to her.

A chill swept over Bethalie's skin as he spoke his name. Gabe Isabell...  

She didn't even hesitate before taking the hand offered to her...and a sharp, stinging line of electricity shot up her arm, raced through her body, and exploded in her belly, making her breath catch and her legs go weak.

The hand gripping hers was the exact opposite of Elder Wyck's. It was warm, almost hot, and though she could feel the strength in the long fingers, his skin was rough and calloused, speaking of a lifetime of hard work. She somehow just knew that nothing had ever been handed to Gabriel Isabell. And that felt a shame somehow. It seemed that someone so incredibly handsome shouldn't have to toil hard enough to have such work-worn hands.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" he urged, keeping hold of her hand. She couldn't help but notice that he had taken a couple of steps closer to her and was breathing in long, deep breaths.

"I'm...Bethalie Owens," she croaked out, wishing her name sounded a little more on par with his.

How unromantic sounding was Bethalie Owens compared to Gabriel Isabell?

Gabe's unruly brows lifted and his golden-green eyes widened. "Bethalie," he repeated slowly, as if he could taste every letter as they fell off his tongue. And he appeared to enjoy the flavor of those letters. "Bethalie. That's a very pretty name."

"Thank you," she returned a bit breathlessly.

"Its very nice to meet you, Bethalie Owens." The sound of his deep, slightly gravelly voice and the intense, soul searching look in his eyes made it seem that he actually meant he was glad to be meeting her.

Feeling a bit baffled that this very well-looking man was shaking her hand in full view of the entire Senior Student body, and appeared to be unfazed by that fact, she had to wonder if Gabe Isabell was so self-confident that he was above and beyond caring what his peers thought of him.

"Its nice to meet you, Gabe Isabell," she forced herself to reply, hating that her voice sounded so thin and uncertain, but liking the way his name felt as it left her mouth. Like something sweet and sinful that she'd only just tasted for the first time.

"Bethalie, its time to go! The bell is about to ring and Elder Wyck is waiting for you!" Zandy's ice cold voice called out a second before she swooped in and grabbed hold of Bethalie's arm.

The girl tossed her tray, garbage and all, onto the cart, gave Gabe a scathing glare, and stomped away, dragging Bethalie along and tearing her hand from his as they went. As she was being bodily hauled across the cafeteria, Bethalie glanced over her shoulder, finding Gabriel Isabell still standing by the cart, giving Zandy a scathing glare of his own. His square jaw was held tight, his hands were clenched at his sides, and a dark fire seemed to be sparking in his eyes, making them gleam dully.

If she didn't know better, she'd think that Gabriel Isabell did not enjoy Zandy's continued intrusions.

"What was that? Is he bothering you?" Zandy whispered, shooting a nasty look back at the offending young man. "The fiend! I should tell Elder Wyck!"

Fiend? He certainly didn't look like a fiend. But, surely Zandy wouldn't dislike someone so much just because. There had to be a reason. A very bad reason, most likely. And the last thing she needed was any kind of trouble, so she would just have to go with Zandy Babbitt's opinion on the issue.  

For now...

As the bell rang, dismissing lunch, they met Elder Wyck back at the table and he again offered Bethalie his arm, leading the way out of the cafeteria and easily managing to avoid the rush back to the Senior Corridor because no one wanted to shove past him. It was kind of comical, actually, having the entire senior class walking slowly along behind them across the breezeway and into the building. It was sort of like a line of cars doing 45mph down the interstate because there was a State Trooper at the front of the pack and no one wanted to pass him up.

Once they made it to the Senior Corridor, though, one boy got up the nerve to slink past Elder Wyck and then, after seeing that their classmate hadn't been chewed out or struck down for his blatant disrespect, everyone else decided to follow suit.

"This is my locker," Bethalie said as they approached number 139, feeling a measure of relief roll through her.

"Well, then its time for me to take my leave," Elder Wyck stated, smiling kindly down at her. "It was a pleasure to spend time with you, Bethalie."

"It was nice meeting you, Elder Wyck," Bethalie said, trying to smile back at the man.

It was very nice of him to take time out of his day to welcome her and then to stay with her to make sure that she was taken care of. Besides, did she really want to offend a Vampire? She only had so many scarves in her closet and Florie only had so much garlic in the fridge.  And truly, he did strike her as someone...a girl wouldn't mind having on her side.

"Please, do call me Ezekiel," Elder Wyck said to her, reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a small silver card, handing it to her. It was printed with neatly embossed black letters that read ELDER EZEKIEL WYCK and contained an address and a single phone number. "This is my personal number. Feel free to call me if you have need of anything, be it a simple question or a problem that you need solved. I'm at your service, day or night, no matter the hour."

"Thank you," she responded weakly, his clear eyes and handsome, shimmering face overwhelming her. She rather wished he'd hurry up and leave. She felt she needed a little space to breathe and yet, she felt a tad guilty for needing that space.

"I'll be checking in on you to make sure you're well and happy, if that will suit you, Bethalie." It was said in an amicable tone, but Bethalie had a feeling that it didn't exactly matter if it suited her or not. "And Zandy, I'm leaving Bethalie in your charge. Look after her in any way you can and I'll consider it a personal favor."

Zandy's mouth fell open as the thrill of doing a personal favor for Elder Wyck washed over her. All she could do was nod stiffly. Words seemed to have failed her. Bethalie, however, was not quite as thrilled. She didn't exactly need people to be forced to hang out with her. She'd rather be alone than have captive friends.

"Have a good afternoon, girls. Do mind your studies." With a smile and a quick little bow, Elder Wyck disappeared down the brightly painted hallway, every head turning to watch him go. And then those same heads all turned to look at Bethalie.

Feeling awkward and embarrassed, she quickly stepped up to her locker, working the lock with unsteady fingers before banging on it the way Gabe Isabell had done. As she jerked the door open, she found herself almost wishing she could crawl into the small space and shut the door behind her.

"Oh my god! Bethalie! I can't believe this!" Zandy erupted, her powers of speech suddenly restored. She grabbed Bethalie's arm and jumped up and down, fairly vibrating with glee. "This had never happened before! Like never ever! I mean, he gave you his personal number! And he asked you to call him Ezekiel!"

Bethalie, extricating herself from Zandy's grip, reached for her messenger bag, draping it across herself before sliding the business card into it. "You can stop talking in exclamation points," she said, feeling eyes boring into her back. "He's just being nice."

"He is so not just being nice, Bethalie! Elder Wyck is nice to all of us. And he always comes here to welcome the new students, but he never leaves the office to give them a personal tour! And he never touches anyone! Never! And he carried you up to the Meditation Room! Could it be more obvious that Elder Wyck likes you!" Zandy beamed, her cheeks flushed and her eyes so large they almost swallowed her face.

Bethalie didn't replay to Zandy. She didn't want to give the girl's words any sort of life. In fact, she wanted to forget all about the past couple of hours because the more Zandy told her, the more unsteady she began to feel. "Let's get to class. I don't want to be late."

Zandy seemed truly stunned that she didn't find Elder Wyck's attentions all that exciting, but it didn't dampen her own enthusiasm and she continued to vibrate all the way into fourth period class.

The rest of the school day turned out to be fairly...strange...for her. Strange and very, very long. Apparently, having Elder Wyck personally ministering to her was, indeed, a very big deal and word spread like wild fire through Wyckhaven High. In between classes, not only were the kids in the Senior Corridor staring at her, but kids from the other classes actually came over to the hallway just to...stare at her. 

Having a horde of people following behind her as she went from class to class, gaping and gawking and whispering and pointing, but also keeping at a safe distance, was beyond mortifying. But, having her teachers all making a fuss over her was far worse. She had no desire to be labeled as a teacher's pet on her first day, but she didn't know how to stop it. She couldn't very well tell a teacher to go away and stop hovering around her desk and tisking over her, could she? That would be disrespectful and likely wind up getting her labeled as a mouthy little trouble maker.  And she had already been kicked out of one school. If she got kicked out of this one, what would she do then?

On the flip side, Zandy didn't mind all the staring and pointing. The girl was having great fun smiling and waving at the groups of kids and rejoicing in the attention of the doting teachers, who were doting on her by-proxy. She was actually being quite smug about it, which annoyed Bethalie, but if Zandy was forced to befriend her, at least she could enjoy the apparent perks that came with her captivity.