Falling for my vampire enemy

The first thing I noticed about the Ravenwood Academy was that everyone was staring at me. The second thing I noticed was that almost everyone had fangs. I tightened my grip around the strap of my bag and kept walking. The academy towered around me like something out of this world. Dark stone walls stretched up towards the cloudy sky, immense windows shimmering in the morning light and blackened iron gates circling the grounds. Students filtered through the courtyard in smart uniforms, chatting and laughing, none of them seeming at all aware this wasn't the most normal of places. It was one of the few academies where humans and vampires studied together. And apparently, being one of the few human students here would earn me my entertainment for the day. "That's her" "She's human" "Why would a human come here?" I could hear the hushed whispers but refused to look around. I had had enough of being treated like something to be fascinated over. I wasn't going to give these people the pleasure of seeing me flustered. I continued walking towards the main building. That was when the sudden hush fell over the crowd. Students started to part as if some unseen force was making them. I frowned and looked towards the oncoming group of vampires. One of them seemed to command the group as they approached us. Tall and muscular, dressed in the academy uniform like it was tailored to perfection. His black hair fell slightly over his forehead, framing a sharply angled face, with a strong jaw, straight nose and naturally curved lips that made up a smirk too confident for his own good. But his eyes held the attention of every student in the courtyard. Dark, intense and beautifully unearthly, his gaze swept over the courtyard before lowering the pair of them onto me. I didn't know who he was, but apparently, everyone else did. "That's Chase Salvatore" "The Vampire Prince" I nearly groaned. Of course. Another vampire to look up to. I turned away from the sight of him and kept walking. I was nearly at the front doors when I suddenly felt his gaze on me. I glanced back over my shoulder and locked eyes with Chase. For a moment, we just looked at each other in silence. Something strange flickered behind his gaze, something not quite disappointment. More like curiosity. Like he was finding something he wasn't particularly pleased about, but that didn't change the fact he was finding it interesting. I turned away first. I didn't care who he was, I had a class to find. That is, until I took three steps forward and three girls just happened to walk in front of me. Beauty radiated from the middle one, her dark hair perfectly styled, expensive uniform and poised stance as she looked me up and down like I was dirt on the sole of her shoe. "You must be the new human" I said nothing. She smiled. “I’m Victoria Hale.” I knew the name. Even if I'd never been to Ravenwood before, I'd heard enough about the Hale family to know they were big names. Victoria stepped closer. "You're in my way" I glanced over my shoulder, taking in the vast courtyard that was around us. "There's plenty of room" Her smiled faded from her face, the two girls at her sides laughing at the same time. Victoria's eyes narrowed. "You don't understand how things work around here" "I understand perfectly" I adjusted my bag. “I just don’t care.” A few of the students nearby went silent. Victoria stared at me like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She smiled again, but this time, it was anything but a friendly expression. "You'll learn" She lifted the glass in her hand and before I could do anything, cold liquid ran down my face and stained the front of my uniform. The courtyard instantly erupted into laughter, and for a moment, I couldn't move past the shock of it all. Liquid dripped down my face, the sticky mess running through my hair before finally reaching my clothes. My cheeks burned with humiliation as Victoria lowered the now empty glass in her hand. Oops Her friends laughed louder. I slowly dabbed at the mess on my face, my hands clenching into fists. I could hear the hushed whispers around me, but no one seemed willing to come to my aid. No one seemed willing to tell Victoria off, or even look the least bit sorry. Of course they didn't. She was Victoria Hale, after all, and everyone knew what happened to the people who crossed her. I looked straight at her eyes. "You think that's funny? 'Very'" She stepped closer to me and my muscles tensed. "What are you going to do about it human?" Before I had the chance to answer, a calm voice spoke from behind Victoria. "That's enough" The courtyard instantly went silent, the laughter dying as if it'd never been there. Victoria tensed as she looked at the figure standing behind her. I followed her gaze. Chase stood a few feet away, his expression no longer amused. His eyes were fixed on Victoria. "Chase" Victoria said, her voice now a whisper. He said nothing in return, his eyes moving from Victoria to me. "Are you hurt?" he asked "I'm fine" His eyebrows raised slightly in response. “You don’t look fine.”I said I'm fine" He stepped closer to me, the crowd all going silent. I could feel every pair of eyes on us as Chase extended his hand to me. "Come with me" I stared at his hand before looking up at his face. "No" A few of the students gasped in shock. Chase's expression changed, not to anger, but more like interest. "You refuse?" "Yes" I walked past him and his hand slowly lowered to his side. I thought that was the end of it. I was wrong. "Wait" I turned around. I looked at Victoria. Then back at Chase. Something dangerous flickered behind his eyes. "She's my prey" The courtyard went completely silent. My stomach twisted in unease. Prey? I stared at him, then let out a laugh. It wasn't funny in the slightest. "Excuse me?" Chase took one slow step towards me. “I said you’re my prey.” I reached under my jacket and pulled out the small knife I always had with me. Before anyone could stop me, I strode forward and pressed the blade against his throat. The entire courtyard gasped in shock, one person whispering my name as I did so. Chase didn't move an inch, not even in response. His eyes dropped down to the knife before slowly looking back up at me. He knew. I could see it in his expression. He knew the knife wouldn't do anything to harm him. He was a vampire, and I was just a human. But I didn't care. I pushed the knife closer to his skin. “I’m nobody’s prey.” For the first time, something genuinely surprised crossed over Chase's face. Not fear, but more like admiration. He could've taken the knife from me in an instant, could've stopped me before I had even done it. But he didn't. He just stared at me, almost like he couldn't understand why I wasn't afraid. I lowered the knife and pushed it back underneath my jacket. Then I picked up my bag. "I have a class" I walked away, and no one tried to stop me. I didn't look back, I didn't see the way Chase continued to watch me. I didn't see the faint smile that played at his lips, and I definitely didn't know that by the time I disappeared into the academy doors, the Vampire Prince had already decided he wanted to know everything about me. My name. My secrets. And why the human girl who should've been terrified of him had looked right into his eyes and called herself nobody's prey.