Darkness consumed him. Cold shivers ran through his body as the lack of sound started to eat at his ears. A feeling of emptiness was clawing at him like a relentless animal that preyed to quench its thirst with his blood.

Grayson gasped for breath as he felt himself jump back to reality. He was sitting up in bed, his body drenched with sweat. A deep sigh of relief left his lips when he realised it was over. Wiping his eyes of sleep, he warily pulled the cover from his body.

The hardwood floor of his bedroom was cold on the pads of his feet as they touched the ground. Reminding him of the dream that could only be described as a nightmare. Grayson loved dreaming, but that was not something he wanted to experience again.

The suns rays peaked through the curtains, letting only a small amount of light into the room. Even though Daywalkers weren't affected by the sun, they still felt more comfortable in the dark. Most of the time, very little sun was allowed in the fortress that was his house.

Grayson got to the fridge and immediately went for the blood bag that he kept at the back of it.

As he drank from the bag, he was constantly reminded why he'd rather drink from the vein. The bagged stuff wasn't bad, but it always seemed a bit stale compared to what he could have if he went for something a little more body temperature.

His mouth watered at the thought, but he knew that his urges would have to wait until a little later. Maybe Ethan was willing to join him on a hunt tonight. His best friend was usually always willing to go on one of their outings.

Ever since Grayson turned Ethan almost a century ago, they had been inseparable. They did practically everything together. Ethan even lived with him, but spent most of the daytime in his room, tapping away on his Playstation.

Often times Grayson had tried getting him to take a nap once and a while. They didn't need sleep, but they were stronger and more alert when they did. Of course, Ethan went against his friend's wishes and stayed awake most nights.

Sometimes it sounded like he was scared to go to sleep.

If the darkness that haunted his sleep was anything like the nightmare Grayson had last night, he didn't blame him for being afraid. That dream made him think twice about ever sleeping again. The way his body felt cold as ice when surrounded by the feeling that he came so close to once: Death.

There were many things people thought about Vampires, but one of the biggest lies humans ever told was that they were dead and soulless creatures. In reality, Vampires aren't dead at all. Almost everything in their bodies and the way they work are the same, besides that fact that they couldn't procreate.

While most other creatures were able to, for reasons unexplained, Vamps were never known to make babies. Of course they used this as an advantage to never having to use any type of protection, but sometimes the thought of never having children upset Grayson. Before he turned he always thought about who he would marry and what his children would be like.

Now he would never know.

Grayson's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Ethan yelling for him from upstairs. Since Ethan was locked in his room all day, sometimes he had to ask his housemate for help and get certain things for him. This time all he wanted was to borrow one of Grayson's DVDs, but usually he was asked to grab things of more importance.

Once he retrieved I Am Legend from his favorite movie pile, he walked it up to Ethan's room. Ethan, of course, was playing a video game. He was obsessed with video games. Today the game of choice was Skyrim. In this you could become both a Vampire and a Werewolf, but neither were true to how they were in the real world.

Still, Ethan loved it. Which Grayson understood. It was only fiction after all, so there wasn't really anything he could complain about.

"You really gotta start making sure you have everything before the day begins," Grayson told his best friend. He didn't know if he heard him completely, though, since he was glued to the screen. "What if it was something important, and I wasn't here?"

Ethan paused the game, "Why wouldn't you be here?"

"Um, because I'm not chained to the house," he replied, matter of factly.

His friend squinted at him, unamused with his statement, "Fair enough." Ethan gratefully took the DVD and continued with his game.

"How is this even fun?" Grayson questioned him, trying to grasp the point of video games anyways. When he was growing up he didn't have any of the technology that started popping up almost a century ago.

His biggest source of entertainment as a kid were the stories his parents used to tell him as a kid and whatever him and his friends could think to do in the woods near their houses. Life was so much different back then, and even after all these years, he still wasn't used to the constant changes the world had been going through.

That didn't mean he didn't enjoy these changes, though.

Technology was mankinds most life changing invention and continues to improve in ways he never thought possible.

"Well, my very own history book," Grayson rolled his eyes at what his friend just described him as, "This is more than just a way for me to experience a little bit of Daywalkerism-"

"That's not a word," Grayson said dryly, but Ethan ignored him.

"It's also a way for me to slay dragons, go on quests, and become the chosen one!" The excitement in his voice made Grayson smile, even though he still didn't get what was so fun about sitting in front of a screen all day. He would rather spend his days doing something more meaningful.

Getting up, Grayson left for his own bedroom. The drapes were pulled apart, letting all the light of the day flow through the room, surrounding him with warmth. This was always the perfect time of day to take out the canvas.

Just the right amount of light would pore into the room, giving just the right glow.

The painting was only half finished. There was still a lot of work left to be done until he could hang another one of his masterpieces on the wall.

Grayson grabbed one of the brushes from the glass that held an assortment of them and dabbed it in some paint and then glided it along the canvas. Small, precise strokes were placed strategically to work with the piece perfectly.

A few more strokes of the brush were made before a sudden noise brought the last stroke to fall upon the wrong place, placing a black line where there wasn't supposed to be one. The distressing noise grew louder, putting Grayson on high alert.

The noise that interrupted his painting was a scream. Multiple screams. Ethan's screams.

Grayson dropped his brush and ran to his friend's room right away. Once he got there, he found Ethan spazzing on the ground of his room. It looked as if he was having a seizure, but Vampires didn't get seizures.

Quickly he got on the ground next to his friend and grabbed his hands, trying to hold him in place. Once he got a hold on them, he kept them from flailing around like just a moment ago. Ethan's eyes burned red as his Vampire form was breaking through. The area around his eyes darkened giving his face a demonic look, and the veins under his eyes boiled.

As his friend shook in his arms, Grayson didn't know what else he could possibly do but keep him as still as possible. It was harder to fight against him since Ethan was a lot stronger than him, even in his strange state.

After a little while Ethan's shaking form started to calm. The sight of him slowly gaining control of his own body again made Grayson sigh in relief, but he refused to let go just in case it happened again.

Ethan lay calmly in his arms, almost like he was sleeping. Grayson guessed whatever just happened really took it out of him. That terrifying display went on for more than five minutes. Ethan yelling in pain while seizing was probably the scariest thing Grayson had ever had to witness. For a moment he thought he would lose his best friend.

Slowly he could see Ethan's fangs retract and turn back to normal. His face also went back into its human form, the camouflage playing its role again.

"Grayson," his voice was weak and barely audible, "what's happening to me?"

"Nothing," Grayson lied, of course. He had no idea what was just going on. "Nothing I've ever seen before."

"But you've been around a long time," he groaned.

"Apparently not long enough." Grayson admitted. He wrapped Ethan's arm around his neck to give him more support so they could stand together. "Come on."

Grayson lifted Ethan onto the couch and layed him down. He was too weak to object, and it was obvious he was beyond tired. For the first time in a long time, Ethan slept.

While he was sleeping, Grayson went into the kitchen and grabbed a rag and ran it under the faucet. Quickly he returned to his friend who seemed to be burning up even more. It was almost as if he were sick, but that was impossible. Vampires didn't get sick.

He dabbed the cloth over his friend's forehead, wiping away the sweat that kept building up. After sitting with him for almost an hour, still nothing seemed to improve. Ethan still looked like he was going through some kind of illness.

Whatever was happening to him, it was far from over.

Tatum woke up to an interesting surprise. The soft skinned arm of the Vampire was wrapped around his torso, tightly enough to where he couldn't unwrap himself without waking her. He decided against trying to escape. The way she held onto him for dear life felt almost reassuring.

It had been a long time since he had felt so calm.

Thinking back on what happened last night, Tatum couldn't even remember how they had gotten to this point. Him sleeping with her in bed wasn't even remotely an option when they met not even a full twenty four hours ago.

Never before had Tatum ever been so irresponsible, especially so easily trusting of someone who wasn't his kind. Lycans were naturally distrusting, after all. Apparently this girl had the opposite effect, which was weird to say the least.

A small yawn came from behind him. He doubted he'd ever heard anything so adorable before. For a second, the grip on his stomach tightened, but then her arm was suddenly gone. She now sat criss cross on the bed looking at her hand questionably.

Tatum gave her a strange look as she just continued to examine it. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn she was confused by something. It was unclear of what, but there was some form of recognition in her eyes.

When Diana broke her trance off her arm, she looked up at Tatum with such innocent eyes, he was surprised they belonged to a Vampire. A softness danced in them as a small smile came upon her face. This also surprised him since he thought she'd be freaking out since they were strangers who shared a bed the whole night and ended up cuddling.

"I didn't have a nightmare." She was telling this to herself, but Tatum's hearing picked it up loud and clear.

Diana's eyes sparkled as a huge smile broke out upon her face. Before he knew it, she was hugging him incredibly tightly. Almost too tightly for his taste.

When she finally let go, she realized how awkward she had made it and apologized.

Tatum said, "It's okay, but what are you talking about? What nightmares?"

"Ever since I first turned I've been having nightmares. An inescapable darkness haunts my dreams every night, but you kept the darkness from coming back." The excitement in her voice made Tatum almost feel uncomfortable for some reason, or it could have just been the talk about some darkness haunting every night of her sleep.

"I thought that Vampires didn't need to sleep."

"We don't," she confirmed, "but it does help us kind of recharge."

"In these dreams," Tatum said, then wondered if he should continue once her eyes went wide from where this question was going, "what happens exactly."

She looked down at her hands as she fiddled with her fingers. "I don't like talking about it."

Tatum nodded, "Fair enough."

Suddenly, like that whole conversation didn't even happen, Diana sprung up from the bed, a smile plastered on her face. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"What do you have?"

"Let's see," she said as she looked through the fridge. "Well, we have some O, and A positive."

When she looked up and saw the look on Tatum's face she couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I'm joking. Ham and eggs?"

Tatum let out a sigh and laughed, "Sounds perfect."

For a second there was complete silence and then he heard a pan crash to the ground. Tatum hurried over to her, but couldn't explain what was happening. Her body was convulsing on the floor while her arms propelled in different directions.

"Diana?" He got no answer as she kept on shaking on the ground like she was having some kind of seizure. "What do I do? Is this some kind of Vamp, sorry um, Extortiona thing?"

The only answer he received was her changing right in front of him. Diana's beautiful face was now turning into something dark. Her eyes burned red and she screamed as her fangs started breaking through her gums. Tatum watched in horror as she continued to seize uncontrollably.

He kneeled down next to her and grabbed her arms from behind her back and pressed them against her chest. Diana's screaming subsided, but she couldn't stop herself from still shaking. Tatum did the best he could to comfort her through whatever was happening.

After another fifteen minutes of trembling, Diana's body finally started to calm down. Even though it appeared over, it obviously wasn't. Sweat covered her body, whether it was from pain or from heat, Tatum didn't know, but either way he wasn't going to abandon her anytime soon. This girl needed him to help her with whatever was happening.

Diana grabbed a hold of Tatum's hand as she breathed heavily. "Stay with me?"

"Of course."

A small smile came onto her face as she tightened her grip on his hand as a non-verbal thank you.

Tatum wrapped his arms under her weak form and picked her up off the floor. She lay limply in his arms as he carried her to the bed. After laying her down, he thought she'd freak out again when he left, so he stayed. He crawled in bed after her and held her body until she completely stopped trembling.

"This is the strangest first date I've ever been on," Tatum chuckled. Luckily Diana wasn't offended by the joke and laughed a little.

"You're the strangest person I've ever hung out with," she mumbled, barely talking loud enough to hear with whatever was going on with her.

"Hung out?" Tatum questioned her interesting choice of words for what they were doing. "How so?"

"If anyone else were here with me, I'm sure they probably would have run away by now."

"I've seen scarier."

"Have you?"

Tatum didn't even have to think about his answer before he said it. "Oh yeah."

Diana grinned and turned over to face him then kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

He just smiled as a reply and she turned back around so that her backside aligned perfectly with his front. The only problem that Tatum had with this was that now he was really in the mood for some ham and eggs, but holding her made up for it.

***

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