"What do you think Noah wanted?" I ask, leaning over the table.

The diner's initial rush of Devenford Prep students is clearing out and the diner is almost empty. I suppose it's that time of the day right between lunch and dinner where people are too busy doing other things to eat. Either way, Brett and I are one of the few here and are seated in a booth tucked away in the far corner.

He sets his coffee down. "Look, I don't know. Maybe it was just a sort of pack mentality thing. You're a vampire, he's a vampire. Maybe he just got a little excited."

I shake my head. "I'm still not used to this whole vampire thing. I mean, me, a vampire. Crazy, right?"

He sighs. "I'm going to have to be your babysitter for the next few weeks, I'm guessing. You sound like a crazy vampire dude didn't just attack you."

I smile. "Maybe you need to lighten up a little, Brett. This whole brooding werewolf thing. Not working. Let it go. I'm a vampire, for god's sake, I can't be killed that easily."

He raises his eyebrows. "I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you," he says. "Staking, decapitating. They're both incredibly easy ways to kill. And the some of the only ways to kill a vampire."

I cock my head slightly. "So that whole 'vampires live forever' legend is true?" He nods stiffly. "So I can live forever?" I ask. He nods again. I bury my face in my hands. "Oh, my god."

Brett awkwardly rests a hand on my shoulder. "It can't be that bad," he says.

I raise my eyebrows at him. "Yeah? And what about werewolves? Can they live forever?"

He straightens up. "Well, no, but our ageing process slows down by a lot. Satomi is around a hundred years old."

"A hundred years old? But she barely looks over fifty."

He nods. "Exactly."

"But does that mean that I'm going to be sixteen forever?" I question with a frown. "So that when you're, say, fifty, you'll look about thirty but I'll still look sixteen?"

"I guess so," he says with a shrug.

I widen my eyes. "So every guy I date will technically be a pedophile?"

He furrows his eyebrows. "Um, no," he says. "Or at least I don't think so." He looks like he's thinking hard. "Well, look, you'll be older than them on the threshold of chronology, just not in your physical state."

"So I'm going to turn out as a cougar?"

He groans. "What? No. I don't know, alright?"

"Oh, god," I grumble. "As if my love life wasn't already bad enough."

"Okay, so now I don't have to just be your babysitter, I have to be your therapist. Great."

"I already have a therapist. Asshole." I fold my arms over my chest.

He furrows his eyebrows. "What for? If it's not too sensitive to talk about that is," he adds quickly.

I sigh and rest my chin on my hand. "Dead parents. The usual."

His expression softens. "I heard about that. Sorry."

I let out a breath that whistles through my gritted teeth. "How?" It was customary that someone somehow would find out about my parents' death and from there the whole freaking school would find out. I wasn't too excited about donning the whole orphan label.

He looks down, his eyelashes fanning over his green eyes. "I'm sorry. People started talking about it and I heard it from a friend."

"Please. Don't say sorry. I don't want to be that helpless little orphan girl to you." I stare at him pointedly. "So you knew before I told you yesterday in the bathroom?"

He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "Yeah," he says. "If anything happens, don't listen to it. You know teenagers, they're all like demons in short skirts and varsity jackets."

I raise my eyebrows with a sigh. "I can handle it."

And, to be honest, I think I could. The worst of it is over. My grief has morphed into a dull ache and I'm already starting to feel like my old self again. Sure, it would bug me for a little bit, but I've been through the worst of it already.

"You know what we should do?" he says. "Something fun. Something that isn't about vampires or werewolves."

"Fun? Did Brett Talbot just say fun?"

He grins. "Come on, Lenore. Just ask any of the girls in our year. They'll tell you just how fun I can be."

"Brett," I warn.

He raises his brows and smiles innocently. "Movie?"

"Sure. Anything but sad movies."

"Deal," he says. "Come on."

I beam to myself as I hurry after Brett. Since he's so tall, his strides are long and fast which makes it hard to keep up. I follow him to his car and climb into the passenger's side. The sun has already set and the sky is a dark blue blanket that smothers the roads in darkness.

We come to a stop light and when Brett looks over at me, he flinches. "Lenore," he says quietly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I say. "Why?"

And that's when I feel the sharp sting of something sharp on the inside of my lip. I run my finger over the skin under my eyes and my suspicions are confirmed. The small raised lines extend across my cheeks.

"Why is it happening?" I ask.

He purses his lips. "Maybe I should take you home."

I'm disappointed, sure, but it's better than being transformed into a freaking blood sucking corpse in a theatre full of people. "I think you should," I say quietly and sink back into my seat.

By the time we get to my aunt's house, I'm back to normal. I feel a little queasy, but I'm unsure whether it's because of how shaken I am or whether something's actually wrong with me. My aunt doesn't suspect anything and seems pretty dismissive after I tell her I was out with Wesley.

My aunt calls me down for dinner sometime later but I tell her I don't feel like any. She persists until I tell her I might stay home from school tomorrow. My stomach is aching and cramping but it's different from the usual once a month pains.

I barely have enough energy to do anything other than lie in bed and watch movies. I sigh. I could be at the movies with Brett-fucking-Talbot right now. For the first time, I fully realise how much this whole vampire thing could really affect me.

For one, I'd have only a few more years before people start questioning me about why I've stopped ageing. How will I get a job if I'm stuck as a sixteen year old for the rest of my life? Will I have to change my identity? And then, finally, my mind wanders over to the problem of the sun. I haven't been burned yet, but how much time until my luck runs out?

After sulking in my misfortune for a half an hour, I come to the conclusion that I might just have to spend the rest of my life as a holed up recluse.

And then because the situation seems so fucking pathetic, I end up crying. I cry for my parents and I cry for myself, I cry for the pain and hunger I'm experiencing at the moment, I cry for how I'll never be able to live a normal life and I cry for that goddamned night when everything went to hell.

By the time I fall into unconsciousness, my eyes are raw and my throat is screaming out for water. I don't dare go down to my aunt, though. That'd be admitting that I'm defeated by the weight of the world.

I slip into a heavy, dreamless sleep with the effects of vampirism still weighing heavy on my mind.

It feels like I've only had ten minutes of sleep by the time my alarm blares out. The hunger pains haven't subsided but I still don't feel like eating anything, either. I get ready for school and head downstairs.

"Lenore," June calls as I try to slip out the door undetected. I mutter a swear word under my breath and stop mid stride.

"Yes?" I start backtracking slowly into the dining room.

She looks concerned. "Are you okay? You seem...different. On edge."

"No," I say shaking my head. "No, not at all."

She sighs. "Does this have something to do with the boy from last night? You're not doing anything unsafe, are you?"

I tilt my head slightly. I never thought my aunt had seen Brett. I press my lips into a thin line. "I finally have someone who doesn't see me as that weak girl with the dead parents, and you think something is wrong?"

She looks taken aback. "No, no," she refuses. "I just want to make sure that he's not taking advantage of you."

I clench my jaw. "I think I can look after myself," I retort. I make a beeline for the front door and then stop in my tracks. I take a deep breath before speaking. "And June? You're not mom. Stop trying so hard."

I slam the door behind me. I'm surprised by my own brashness and aggression. I feel guilty as I turn on the car. June just wasn't made for having children. She never wanted them, anyway. She lived for her work and her own success. I should be grateful that she even stepped up to take me in.

My anger and resent is evident through my reckless driving. I'm exceeding the limit by a large margin, but I'm too angry to keep my mind on it.

I don't know why I'm filled with so much angst, but I have no control over it. By the time I get to school, I'm a ticking time bomb. I'm at my locker when Brett approaches me.

"Hey," he says leaning against the locker next to me. "How are you holding up from last night?"

I slam my locker shut and he flinches. "I'm doing just great," I say through gritted teeth. "Apart from my stomach feeling like it's folding in on itself."

Brett looks thoughtfully at me. "You haven't completed the transition. You need to feed on a human."

I widen my eyes at him. "B-But...What happens if I don't?"

"You'll continue to be aggressive and the pain will get too much to bear. And then..." He drags a thumb across his throat.

I know it's too much when I enter my first class. I take my seat, my breathing heavy. I can hear the heartbeats of the students around me thrumming under their skin. I can feel the warmth of their flesh and smell their blood. My senses are heightened and I feel my pupils dilating. I try to keep my breathing steady and I grip my desk until my knuckles go white.

"It's hard, huh?" I perk up at the whisper. It's not coming from near me, I know that. Someone knows I can hear them. Someone who knows what I am. Noah. His voice does sound familiar now. I lift my head and scan the audience. "All that blood running just under the skin. One second and all your pain can go away." I can feel my fangs coming out. "All it takes is tapping into that artery in the neck and that warm blood gushes into your mouth." He's teasing me. He knows I need it. "Take a bite, Lenore. See what we were made for."

This is it. I can't take it anymore. I'm going to kill someone if I stay in that classroom any longer. I bolt out of there, pressing my lips shut to stop the fangs from showing. Tears are streaming down my cheeks. The teacher calls my name after me but I don't look back.

I run through the halls. I need to get out of this fucking school. I can't stay here. I can't control it any longer. I'm not looking in front of me and run straight into someone.

"Going somewhere?" Noah hisses. His breath reeks of blood. I make a move to get away but he grips my arm with the strength of someone who isn't human.

"Let me go," I growl, thrashing around.

"Whoa," he says. "Easy there. I just want to help."

I stop trying to worm out of his grip and narrow my eyes at him. "What do you want?"

"I know you're craving blood," he says quietly. He lets out a laugh laced with lunacy. "See, I know how that feels." He tilts his head to the side slightly. "It's not natural to resist what you are by nature. We're vampires, Lenore. We were made to feed on humans."

"I don't want to feed on anyone," I say.

"You're lying," Noah says. "I know what you're feeling. You say you don't want to, but you want to more than anything. Let me show you something."

"No," I say, planting my feet firmly where I'm standing.

"Lenore, I'm like you. All I want to do is help," he says.

I purse my lips. "Show me what you want. It's not going to change anything."

He raises his eyebrows, rocking back on his heels. He's triumphant. "Well come along, then."

I follow him down through the halls. "Where are we going?" I ask. I should feel more scared, but I'm not. He doesn't answer. He can't mean harm, can he? I only found out I was a vampire four days ago and that time hasn't been enough for me to cause him something to seek vengeance.

He stops outside the boy's locker room. He gestures for me to go in. I hesitate. "Why are we here?"

"I just want to talk about what you're going through," he reasons.

"But why here?" I fold my arms over my chest defiantly. "We could've talked back there."

He chuckles, low and hostile. "You're making this a lot harder than it needs to be."

My teeth are set. "Tell me why I have to go in there."

His lips curve into a smile. "Do you really want to know?" I nod and he continues. "It's so your little wolf friend doesn't come and ruin everything."

He shoulders me inside the open door and slams it shut behind him. He stands in front of the door, blocking me from getting out. He's not that broad or muscular. Maybe I can get through him.

I try a different angle. "Thank you for helping me," I say gingerly.

He breaks out into a smile. "You're starting to understand. You need to trust your own."

"I wouldn't call that the best advice," I say. I run at him, my palms outfaced. My fingers barely brush his body when he shoves me out of the way. I fly across the room and slam back into the hard metal of a locker. I groan.

"That wasn't very smart," he snipes.

"Yeah, no shit," I mutter under my breath. "Why are you doing this?" I ask through gritted teeth. The words come out through a groan.

"I want to help you survive," he says. "You're not going to survive if you run with the wolves."

I push myself up again, every muscle in my body screaming for me to stop. "Brett's helping me."

"He's helping you? Right," Noah says. "I'm guessing he hasn't told you how werewolves hunt our kind down, how their bite can kill us."

"He wouldn't do that," I say. I suddenly feel light headed and waver on the spot.

Noah must've noticed. He approaches slowly. "You need to feed," he says. "Compulsion, super strength, healing, immortality - they're all yours if you feed."

"I don't want blood," I declare. "Stop it."

He studies me carefully. "I can show you." He pauses before calling out, "It's time to come out." A shadow detaches from behind where the showers are. It's a small girl - probably a freshman. She's dressed in her school uniform, her skirt going down past her knees. She has a frail, bony body and has thick glasses framing her eyes. It's the eeriness of the vulnerability of the girl which strikes me the most.

But then there is an overwhelming hunger, a craving so deep that it seems to reach the marrow of my bones. I can hear her heartbeat pulsating beneath her skin and I can smell the warm blood coursing through her veins. I turn my face away. I can feel my fangs extending and my eyes turning black.

"A gift," Noah says. "Take a bite."

I turn my head slightly, side-eyeing him. "No," I say.

He lets out a joyless laugh. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" He places his fingers over the girl's neck and pushes it back, exposing a vein protruding from the skin. I barely have time to register what's happening when Noah latches his fangs onto her neck.

When he lifts his head again, his lips and teeth are coated with the thick, crimson blood of the girl. Two puncture wounds dot her neck and blood oozes out of them. I feel a savage, wild desire to drink her blood. It takes every cell in my body to keep me planted where I am.

But it's still not enough.

I feel my legs moving almost unconsciously towards the girl, my eyes fixed on her neck and her neck only. The mad want courses through my body, drawing me closer and closer to the innocent girl.

I'm standing right in front of her now, my fangs yearning to bury themselves in her neck. My lips part and I open my jaw wide to clamp down on her neck. The blood is so close I can almost taste it. And that's when I get yanked away with such force that I stumble to the floor.

"Get out of here, Lenore," Brett says. His eyes are gold and he has fangs where his teeth are supposed to be.

I don't move as Brett slams Noah against one wall of lockers. Noah winces as Brett's fist comes flying towards his face. "You stay away from her," Brett says through clenched teeth, jabbing his finger at Noah.

Noah just laughs, blood oozing from his nostrils. "Punch me again, wolf, and next time you won't be so lucky." He wipes his nose with the back of his hand.

Brett kneels down beside me. "Are you okay?" he asks. I nod and he puts a hand under my upper arm to stand me up.

"I need to get out of here," I tell him. I look back at the girl with her bloody neck and her shirt collared with red. Something stands out to me which didn't strike me as unusual before. She doesn't seem worried at all. She seems relaxed - oblivious, even. She has a small smile on her face and the way she looks around is like a halfwit with her eyes glazed over.

Brett ushers me out of the room before I have a chance to study her further. I run a hand through my hair once we're in the hallway and pace around. "Why me? Why is he doing this to me? Why do I matter to him?"

Brett ponders about this for a while. "He probably needs someone to do his dirty work for him and since you're one of the only vampires in Beacon County, he probably elected you himself."

The thing Noah said before he brought out the girl runs through my mind again. I'm guessing he hasn't told you how werewolves hunt down our kind down. "Are you going to bite me?" I blurt out.

Brett looks at me funnily. "No. Why would I do that?"

"Noah said werewolves hated vampires," I say quietly.

He holds my hands in his. "I just want to help you," he says. "You're my friend."

Ouch. Friendzoned already. That has to be breaking some kind of record. I gnaw on the inside of my bottom lip. "I might go home," I say. "I just need some rest."

"Are you sure you're okay to go?" he asks. I nod slowly and start down the hall. Brett yells a goodbye but I don't turn around.

Once I get home, I make a point of apologising to June for this morning. "It's that time of month for me and well, you know, I turn into a raging bitch when there's Satan's waterfall coming out of my vagina."

She smiles slightly. "I'm sorry I haven't been there as much as I should have," she says quietly.

"I guess we've both been pretty terrible to each other lately," I say with a chuckle. "Well, I'm glad we got that behind us, right?"

She nods. "I've got an early shift tonight. You can cook dinner for yourself?" An early shift for my aunt is around eight o'clock.

"Sure," I say, knowing I'll just order pizza or something. I've tried cooking multiple times before and it was absolutely not my forte at all.

My mom always used to persist on how important it was to learn to cook and used to shove all these Filipino recipes in my face. I never attempted any of them and never inherited any of the cooking skill. I smile at the memory.

By the time June's shift rolls around, I'm bored as hell. I decide to ring Wesley. He picks up after two rings. "Hello," I say.

Wesley sighs melodramatically over the phone. "You can't just leave me alone to go bang Brett and then call me when you're bored."

"I'm sorry," I say remorsefully. "I've been a crap friend recently."

"I know right," he says. He laughs. "But it's Brett - six foot two of pure sex god. You're forgiven."

"Oh, thank god," I say. "I wouldn't want to deal with the wrath of Wesley Maddox." I let out a laugh along with Wesley. "Anyway, would you like to come over? I'm bored as hell."

It takes Wesley only a few minutes to arrive at my house. "Before we do anything, you have to tell me all about what you and Brett have been doing together," he says in way of greeting. He has an armful of snacks held up. He comes inside and plonks them on the counter.

"Cool ranch Doritos," I say, studying the pile of snacks. "Good choice."

"It wouldn't be any fun without any cool ranch Doritos," he says. He falls back onto the couch and takes his shoes off, kicking his feet up onto the arm rest.

"So," he says with a mouthful of chocolate, "how's this whole Brett thing going?"

I sigh. "Friendzoned," I say.

Wesley grimaces. "Oh, darling," he says. "That really sucks. I'm sorry." He pauses. "Brett told me about Noah. He seemed really concerned."

I cock a brow. "What exactly did he say about Noah?"

Wesley shrugs. "He said he's been harassing you and stuff," he says. "I don't know. He seemed worried, though. Is everything alright?"

I nod. "Yeah, of course," I lie. "It's just Noah. It doesn't really matter."

Wesley narrows his eyes at me. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "I'm fine, trust me."

________

My skin feels as if it's on fire.

It's the middle of the night and I'm in bed. Sweat clings to every pore and crevice of my flesh. My skin is home to a nuclear bomb which assaults every sense, every part of my body. My breathing is heavy and laboured. The air feels too dense. I choke on the thickness of it, my lungs crying out for fresh air. My lips are parched and my eyes are aching. My whole body aches. My muscles feel like they're twisting beneath my skin.

I swing my legs over the side of my bed and push myself up. I need to get out of here. I haul open the door to my bedroom and pad down the stairs, my footsteps clumsy and loud. I don't care. Let my aunt wake up. I don't care. I have one purpose and one purpose only and that's getting out of this goddamned house.

I run down the hall and come to the front door. My fingers scramble to unlock the door. I push the door open and bolt out. I suck in deep breaths, wiling my lungs to expand to fill with air. The air is cool on my skin, rolling over me with a refreshing wave. I bask in the cool night air, letting it engulf me.

I pace around a little, eventually finding myself outside my front gate. My bare feet are planted in their place as I hear someone coming. My senses are heightened again. I smell the sharp stench of vodka and beneath that, the smell of blood. I feel my stomach urging me to go to whoever's there and feed.

Then I see who's coming. My next door neighbour's son is stumbling across the sidewalk, making his way to his house. He's drunk and disorientated. He sees me and pauses. He widens his eyes. "Oh, god," he slurs. He squeezes his eyes shut. "I probably shouldn't have taken so much. Your face...it's all weird." He shakes his head. "Goddamn, I shouldn't have taken that."

My fingers go over to my cheek and feel the veins branching out under my eyes. For a second all I can do is stand there, staring with my empty, black eyes. All it would take is a few steps. A few steps and all this pain will be gone.

I can't do it. I retract my steps, stumbling back. And then I'm running away, dashing away, not looking where I'm going. My feet are raw and bloody from the ground. I dash through the thickets, leaves and twigs catching on my feet. Sticks scratch at my bare legs and arms. I should stop, but I can't.

My foot gets caught on a large root from a tree and I go stumbling to the ground. I out my hands out to cushion my fall. For a second, all I can do is sit there, leaves and dirt clinging to my hair and clothes. It's only when I glance around that I realise something.

I'm in the middle of nowhere.

There are trees all around me, closing in on every side. The floor is dirt and leaves. I dig my hands into the forest floor, willing myself to calm down. My gums are aching as my fangs come out. My muscles feel like they're on fire. Tears are running down my cheeks and falling onto the floor beneath me.

And then out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of light. The beam is fragmented, broken up by the trees in the way. The person holding it comes closer. "Hello?" they ask.

The man comes into view and his flashlight plays shadows on the ground beside me. I bury my face in my hands. I don't want anyone else to see me like this. He crouches down beside me. He's clad in the uniform of a police officer. "Are you lost?" he says gently. He puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Yes," I murmur.

A cold breeze washes over me and I shiver. "It's a cold night, isn't it? I'll take you back to the station."

He finally pries my hand away from my face. My black eyes bore into his. Alarm passes through his eyes and he scrambles to get back. "Thank you, sir," I croon. His hand fumbles at his belt for his gun.

But before he has the chance to bury a bullet in my skull, I latch my teeth onto his neck.