My crappy mocha and I take a seat across from the plastic garden, bad music filling the air. I want to text Adriana, but if she asks what I’m doing, I’ll have to lie—and I’m not sure I have the nerve. So I pull out my homework and waste time failing at biology instead. The world as you know it, as we all know it, could be coming to an end. If I’m the planet’s last hope for survival, then everyone is well and truly fucked, because I can’t even remember what a Golgi body is supposed to do.

“Hello, August.” The familiar voice, smooth as maple syrup, comes out of absolutely nowhere, and I jolt so hard I almost knock over my untouched mocha. Jude is sitting in the chair across from me, having arrived so stealthily I didn’t notice. He’s even hotter than I remembered. “I’m glad you got in touch.”

“Don’t do that!” I splutter, my heart pounding my rib cage hard enough to leave dents. “You can’t just … sneak up on humans like that! It’s not cool, okay?”

“I wasn’t sneaking.” Jude gives me a blameless look. “You were so wrapped up in whatever you were doing, you weren’t paying attention. What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I shoot back. “Homework. It doesn’t matter.”

“Do you want some help?” He reaches for the worksheet, and I snatch it off the table. Arching one of his eyebrows, he remarks, “I’ve been around for a long time. I bet I know the answers to all those questions.”

“I don’t care. I’m not letting a vampire help me cheat on my science homework.” My glasses slip down my nose as my face gets hot again. I would absolutely let a vampire help me cheat on my science homework—I would let anybody help me cheat on my science homework—but these are not the right conditions. “That’s not even … Why are we talking about this? Stop being all … flirtatious and whatever!” That impish grin spreads across his face again, and I scowl. “Why do you keep smiling like that?”

“It’s hard not to.” He folds his long fingers together on the table. “You’re just very cute sometimes.”

I glare at him, confused by my spin-cycling emotions. Of course the first hot guy to ever tell me I’m cute would also happen to be an undead monster. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t appreciate mind games. So let’s just … stick to business.”

Jude’s smile fades. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“And just in case you get any ideas,” I hiss under my breath, “I still have my crucifix, and I drank some holy water earlier. If you eat me, you’ll have a really nasty surprise.”