"GABRIEL, I TOLD you fifty times, I am not going to Cancun with you guys!" Victoria said. Gabriel made a puppy-dog face as he leaned on the table across from her.

"Well, what are you going to do then?" he asked. "Sit around here and freeze?"

"I am going to finish my project," she said with finality. Then her face softened. Gabriel had been her saving grace the last few weeks, and life had finally started to feel a little less surreal. His feelings for her hadn't changed, but little by little, she'd let herself open up to him. He was the only thing in her life that felt stable, and she clung to that like a lifeline. She wanted to give him a chance, and also to give herself a chance at a normal friendship with someone who genuinely cared about her.

"Look Gabe, I really would love to go, but I just can't this time, okay?" Gabriel's eyes narrowed, he knew that look and that voice.

"You only call me Gabe when you want something, don't think I don't know it, I've caught on to your sneaky tricks!" he said.

Victoria rolled her eyes. She absolutely did not want to go to Mexico with Gabriel and his entourage. She wanted to spend time alone with Leto doing some more training. True to his word, he'd taught her what he knew about the blood curse, and the more she'd come to understand it and how intertwined it was with her magic, the more she realized how difficult it was to control it, far less exorcise it. But everything she learned gave her more confidence that one day, maybe, she'd have a chance.

"I'm not going. Gabriel."

Suddenly his face broke out in a wicked smile. "Sure you don't want to see me in my skivvies?" he asked. "Most girls would go to Cancun just for that, you know."

"Whatever, I've seen better," she said. Gabriel grinned and pouted like Ben Stiller in Zoolander.

"You know you want some of this blue steel," he said cockily, kissing his flexed arm. Shaking her head and embarrassed, she shot Gabriel a dismissive look.

"Stop it," she said. "I want no part of your blue ... steel." Collapsing in silent giggles, the tears leaked from her eyes and she grasped her stomach with both hands.

"Stop playing. You can't resist me and you know it."

"Resist this!" And she tossed a book at him. Watching the librarian walking over with a thunderous look on her face, Victoria hastily gathered her bag and coat, and fled. She heard Gabriel running behind her as he caught up with her on the top of the library steps. Victoria squealed as he lifted her into the air and like a lunatic raced down the rest of the stairs with her in his arms.

"Put me down!"

"You deserve punishment for leaving me back there with that demented librarian!" he said, spinning her around until she begged for mercy.

"Fine, fine, but put me down first." Gabriel deposited her into an ungainly heap on the snowy grass and collapsed next to her breathless. When she had recovered her breath, she started edging away, trying to make her escape.

"Oh no you don't," he said, his eyes mischievous, grabbing on to her arm as he started tickling her. "Say you'll go!"

"Stop it, Gabriel. I can't go ... stop!" She laughed uncontrollably as she felt for a handful of snow and stuck it down his neck. She bit her lips, her eyes alight as he sat back with a shocked look on his face. As she tried to scramble away, she felt him grab her leg and pull her back. She scrambled harder, giggling like a maniac. A few students sitting on a nearby bench watched the scene unfold.

Unprepared for the weight of him as he threw himself on top of her, the breath whooshed out of her in a surprised gurgle.

"Gerooff me!" she said, futilely trying to wiggle her way out from under him, the snow pressing wetly into the back of her neck. Gabriel shook his head and made a face, crossing his eyes and blowing out his cheeks, making her laugh again at his over-the-top silliness. As he stared into her flushed face, Victoria felt him start to move forward. Inches from her lips, he stopped as she stiffened, her eyes darting to the right.

Victoria froze as a dim shadow blocked the hazy light trying to pierce the overcast sky. Her eyes were wide, her laughter wedged in her throat. Gabriel turned to see who the distraction was, obviously annoyed that the moment had been interrupted. His dark eyes narrowed, registering who it was and then dismissed him as no one of importance as he continued to walk past with silent footsteps. But the moment had passed and Victoria rolled out quickly from under him, muttering something about getting to class and dusting the snow off her coat as she walked briskly in the opposite direction.

"What about Cancun?" he yelled.

She turned around, made a rude gesture with her fingers, and kept walking. She didn't miss Gabriel's cocky smile.

Victoria clutched her bag to her chest in complete shock. She hadn't seen Christian in weeks, and seeing him had been like a jolt to her system. Her heart was pounding as she remembered the freezing rage in his eyes as he'd walked by. He had barely slowed, but the minute his frigid silver eyes had met hers, it felt like time had stopped, the weight of his anger anchoring the two of them in an unmoving space. The unhidden pain in his eyes had floored her. Even though she'd ended it between them, she had never wanted to hurt him.

Christian? She waited several long minutes, but there was nothing. Please Christian, I'm sorry. Please talk to me. She waited, the silence echoing across the hollow chasm between their minds. Please ...

Not now, Victoria.

His mind was cold, empty and closed. Victoria wasn't naive, she'd known that Gabriel had been about to try to kiss her. She had been about to stop him when she'd sensed Christian, and instead of pushing Gabriel off as she had intended to, her entire body had been frozen into guilty immobility, making the situation look far worse than it actually was. A part of her argued that she'd done nothing wrong anyway—she and Christian were over, and what she did with anyone else was her business. But she couldn't help the guilt she felt, knowing that she had hurt him so much that he couldn't even bear to talk to her.

She went to class but could barely concentrate, and slipped out in the last ten minutes, running toward her car. Victoria floored it to Christian's house and made it there faster then she had ever driven, skidding to a stop at the top of the driveway.

The front door was unlocked as it always was and she went right in, letting her mind open in search of him. The house was empty. She opened her awareness and detected movement in the underground garage.

As she made her way there, her cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Gabriel. She thought about ignoring it, but knew that he would keep calling her over the next hour like a stalker until she called him back. It would be easier to get rid of him if she answered. She clicked on the phone.

"Hi, Gabriel."

"Hey Tori, where are you? I waited for you after class and noticed your Mini was gone. So I swung by your place and you're not there ... where are you?" Victoria detected a slight edge in his voice but had no time to sugarcoat.

"Stalk much? Look Gabe, sorry I bailed, but I had to run an errand."

"So are you going to come to Cancun? Come on, Tori, it will be great."

"I really can't, Gabe. I would but I'm swamped right now," she said as she tried to find the door leading to the garage.

"Fine, I'll stay here too then," he said. Victoria knew that he would stay just to prove a point.

"I'm on my way up to my Aunt Holly's," she said. "Look, I have to go, talk later. See you, Gabe."

She disconnected the call before he could argue and hoped that he wouldn't do anything stupid like drive up to Holly's. Finally, she found the mahogany door to the elevator that lead down to the garage.

Christian's garage was more like an underground warehouse with huge high ceilings, fluorescent lighting, and about ten cars, several bikes, and a wicked-looking cigarette boat on a trailer, all lined up in neat rows. Christian was standing next to the '67 Shelby GT 500 that he'd told her he was restoring himself. He had on a pair of faded blue jeans, smudges of grease on his face and hands, and he'd never looked more appealing. She steeled herself as he walked toward her, his face shuttered and demeanor wary, like a goaded lion. Victoria swallowed, unexpectedly anxious. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea.

"What do you want?" he said, his voice cold. At his tone, she lifted her chin.

"You wouldn't let me explain, so I had to find you."

"Explain what? There's really nothing to say, is there?" She flinched from the emptiness in his words.

"Christian, I know what you thought you saw, but it was nothing."

"Is that what you call it? He was going to kiss you."

"No, it's not what you think," she said, and then added, "besides what does it matter? We broke up, didn't we?"

"You're right. So why are you here, Victoria?" She stared at him to see if his eyes were as unfeeling as his words were. They were worse.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come," she said, fleeing before the tears came.

Victoria drove back to her apartment, her fingers clenched in humiliation on the steering wheel. What was she thinking, going to Christian's house like that? They were over—she didn't owe him anything! The way he had looked at her, as if she were nothing, had hurt her far more than she'd ever thought possible. She screeched to a stop in front of her apartment, only just noticing the lanky frame leaning against the wall as she got out of the car.

"Did you run over here?" she asked, her heart racing at the sight of him. She steeled herself, guarding her mind ... and heart. Christian's face was pained.

"Victoria, I'm sorry. I handled that badly. I was just ... surprised by your visit, that's all."

"Look, it's nothing. I wanted to explain, but you're right, there's really nothing to say, is there? We're over."

After several agonizing moments, he spoke, his voice carefully modulated. "Yes, we are, and I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. You have every right to be with someone like you, someone ... human," he said. "Someone you can hold and love without fearing for your life. Like him." She remained silent. "You should be worrying about school and parties and dates, not whether some monster is going to rip your throat out." Victoria flinched even as he continued. "You've moved on, and that's good."

The rational, sane part of her agreed with him, the reasons why they shouldn't be together were obvious—he was as much a danger to her as she was to him, and she'd nearly killed him when they'd been together last. Yet at his words, something inside Victoria cracked.

"That's just it, I haven't moved on," she cried, everything she'd been holding in suddenly exploding within her. "I haven't been able to let you go, even though God knows I have tried. And I hate you for doing this, for making me this ... weak."

"Victoria—"

"Please, don't."

Victoria.

Christian couldn't help himself. Her stunning admission crippled any resolve he'd had. He caught her shoulders and pulled her to him taking her lips in a desperate kiss. She couldn't help herself either, kissing him back with everything she'd boxed away in her heart, every single bit of emotion she'd suppressed since they day she had left his house. The kiss decimated her.

Victoria broke away, gasping. What was she doing?

"Please," she whispered, "just go."

With a searching look Christian left, and she almost collapsed against the building. She touched a finger to her burning lips. Her mind and body felt like two separate things. She couldn't even begin to process the feelings Christian's kiss had kindled. Her brain spun with dizzying intensity as forgotten emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Seeing him had been torture. Kissing him had been excruciating.

Suddenly across the street, movement caught her eye as a person stepped away from a dark car parked in the shadows. Victoria tensed, her body already preparing for attack, as the stranger's features became clearer in the light. Her stomach flipped and soured immediately.

"Oh, hi Gabe," she said, wondering just how long he had been there. Gabriel's face was cold, his normally open smile was grimly absent and his lips were a hard, flat line. He'd been there a while, she guessed.

"I thought you were going to Holly's?" he said.

"Gabe—"

"Don't Gabe me," he said. "I saw you! I saw you with him! Devereux." His eyes were twin discs of ice. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No. Not my boyfriend," she said, conscious of being cornered near the narrow doorway. She had never seen Gabriel this upset and a hollow feeling started to spread in her stomach in response to his ominous tone.

"So what is he then that you can kiss him so ... passionately?" Gabriel said. "Or do you kiss everyone like that?"

"No, he is ... was a friend ..." she said her voice shaking then trailing off at the vicious glare he sent her way. "Gabriel, I don't know what you want me to say."

"Devereux?" he hissed. "Is that why you got so weird earlier?" Victoria flushed and stared at the ground, and the silent admission of guilt seemed to make Gabriel even more incensed. "I changed everything for you. And you're with him? And you lie about it to my face!"

He was right in front of her, his face dark and menacing and for the first time since she had known him, Victoria felt afraid, as if he could really hurt her without thinking twice about it. The corrosive hatred that she usually saw directed toward Angie was now directed toward her in unbridled measure.

"Gabe, please," she said. "I'm not with anyone. I have always told you—"

"Told me what? That you're just 'not in a dating mode right now?'" His laugh was bitter. "Obviously you are, just not with me, right?"

"Come on, Gabriel, you're my friend, you know that."

"Friend? Is Devereux just your friend or is he a friend with benefits? Or does he just take what he wants? Is that what you like, Tori?" he said, as he ran his fingers down the side of her face. Victoria flinched, her heart in her throat. She didn't want to have to hurt Gabriel, after all he had just seen her kissing someone else, but if he threatened her, she would have no choice. His hands slid down her jaw and closed around her neck slowly. His eyes were full of malice and every muscle in his body was coiled as tight as a spring. He wanted to punish her; she could see it in his eyes.

"Gabriel, you're hurting me." Her hands clawed against the fingers holding her neck in an unyielding grip. "Stop it, please."

Gabriel's hand seemed to tighten of its own volition as his face darkened in response to her pleading, daring her to take matters into her own hands. Just as she was drawing upon the energy to free herself, his grip slackened, and she ripped his hand off her neck, shoving his chest with both hands. He staggered back a few feet, but what scared her most wasn't the expression on his face after she had pushed him, it was the way he looked at her, as if she were nothing, as if she no longer existed.

Gabriel backed away slowly watching her with open loathing before he abruptly turned toward his car. Without a backward glance he jumped in and sped away, the tires screeching in protest against the asphalt and leaving black tracks in their wake.

Victoria slid down the side of the wall, her body shaking from the shock of the confrontation. That was something she had never expected, not from Gabriel of all people. His cold, almost inhuman rage had scared her. The virulent look in his eyes had chilled her to the bone, leaving her with little reservation about how he felt about her. She shivered remembering the look on his face as he had walked away. Hate barely did it justice.

He despised her.