"Who's at the door?" Dad steps beside me, his unexpected presence making me jump about a foot in the air.

  This can't be real! The day was already weird enough having Dad make me breakfast, and now there are vampires at the door? I frantically glance at Dad and then back to Stefan and Elena. Are we in danger? Panic clouds my mind, no matter how hard I try and think of what to do all I can come up with is run. I notice Dad looking at me strange and I force myself to focus.

  "Um, theses are just some people I know from school." I finally manage.

  Just yesterday I would have introduced them as friends without hesitation, now I am having a hard time admitting I even know them.

  "Hi" Dad smiles wide at them and gives a small little wave. Elena and Stefan smile back, even if it is obviously uncomfortable for them.

  "Nice to meet you Mr. Morelli" Stefan still able to be the gentleman even in a time like this.

  My mind is spinning. They are not acting like I would expect them to at all! In so many movies vampires are soulless monsters that care of nothing but their next kill. Then there's Stefan who is politely introducing himself to me dad?

  "Well, why don't you two-" Dad moves out of the door way and starts to invite them in.

  "No!" I shout out before he can continue.

  Dad glances over at me confused but doesn't finish his words. He stays silent as he pushes his lips in a tight line and looks to be deep in thought.

"If your not going to invite them in, maybe you want to go out with your friends?" Dad isn't scolding necessarily, but he is making it very clear to me that I am acting extremely rude.

  I bite my lip and try to focus on my breathing, hoping that something will occur to me to make this situation reasonable.

  "No worries" Elena looks at me as to say she understands. "We were going to leave in just a sec anyways" She turns to my dad and smiles again.

  "Well, whatever works for you kids. Either way, I have to be on my way so if you would excuse-" He steps toward the door and a spike of panic runs through me.

  Without pause I reach up and grasp his arm as tight as I can to keep him with me. He looks at me again, concern written all over his face. For a brief moment I revel in how it feels for him to care, but all too soon I am brought back to the situation at hand.

  "What's wrong honey?" His voice is like honey and when he reaches up to caress my face it takes all my strength not to claps into him. "You don't feel warm" he brushes the hair out of my face so that he can look directly into my eyes. "Are you sure you are feeling all right?"

  I don't know what to say, what can I say? I think I am going crazy. I nod my head simply, not trusting myself to try and speak.

  "Well take it easy, ok kiddo?"

  He moves forward again, and I let him slip out of my grasp without a fight. What do I do? I can't tell him who they are, what they are. Who would believe that? I watch in horror as he steps out of the door way and out into the unprotected world. All I can hear is my heart beat in my ears as he continues to walk. I don't take my eyes off of him as Elena and Stefan step to the side giving him a wide walkway. When he steps off the porch I let out a breath of relief.

  "We are your friends Reza" Elena is gentle with her words, watching me carefully. As if I were the one who is dangerous!

  "How can I believe that?" My voice is stronger than I expect, deep down I am a shivering mess.

  "We would never hurt you" Stefan takes a small step closer, pleading with his eyes once again. "Please just let us talk" I shake my head at the two of them. This is all too much.

  "I need you guys to leave" My body is tense, every muscle trying to conceal how afraid I am. Elena glances at Stefan but he just looks down, looking almost disappointed.

  "If you have any question, we might be able to help you understand" His voice is calm and even but his eyes seem to reflect the feelings that our storming inside me.

  "Understand? You guys are dead!" The more I talk the louder my voice becomes.

  "Hey guys?" Leo's cautious voice comes from somewhere out of sight. Oh, no!

  "Leo?" I call out to him, panic rising in me more.

"Reza we aren't here to hurt anyone" Elena says quietly so only I can hear.

  Although something in me believes her, there is another part that urges me to run out and protect Leo.

  "Is everything ok?" Leo walks rapidly toward us, as fast as he can without breaking into a run. He peers at the three of us, unsure how to take in the scene before him.

  "Everything is fine Leo" Stefan looks at me as he speaks, as if telling me not to say anything to imply different.

  What would he do if I disagreed? Leo jogs up the stairs to my front porch still looking critically at Stefan.

  "I heard yelling." Leo turns to look at me now. Obviously he heard me, I didn't mean to raise my voice and now I dragged him into this. "Is everything ok Reza?" he asks me, this time ignoring Stefan.

  "I said-" Stefan starts but Leo jumps in seamlessly.

  "I wasn't asking you" I have never heard Leo be so stern. His voice low and steady, he is ready to stand his ground.

  "I don't know" I whisper honestly.

  He studies me for a moment and I resist the urge fidget. I didn't even realize it was possible for my heart to beat faster, but as he gazes at me it does. I bite my lip, but otherwise focus on keeping completely still. Part of me doesn't want to look weak, another part is afraid if I shift even a fraction I will completely collapse.

  He nods his head, making his mind about something, and steps past Stefan and Elena. Without sign of uncertainty he steps through the door way and into my home. I feel the heat of his body as he stands next to me, bringing me silent comfort that I am not alone.

  "It's time for you to leave" His voice is unwavering, his stance bold, and his tone certain.

  Stefan looks between the two of us before sighing. Elena grabs Stefan's hand and lightly tugs him toward her.

"Come on, she just needs time." She doesn't sound defeated, just understanding.

 Smiling kindly at me, she turns and leads Stefan down the sidewalk. As they go I feel any strength I may have had leave with them. My head spins and without thought I grab onto Leo to hold steady myself. He doesn't look at me strangely or question anything, he simply puts his arm around me.

  "Do you need anything?"

  I think about this. Is there anything out there that would make everything ok? I shake my head no, there is no magic cure that is going to fix it. He leads me to the couch and guides me down next to him. I curl into his side and rest my head on his shoulder. I am proud of myself, even with everything I did not fall apart. Sure maybe I wavered a little, but I did not crumble.

  "Why didn't you call me?" Zeke whines as he pulls me tighter to him.

 Leo had sat there holding me for a few minutes before suggesting calling Zeke. I swear Zeke was rushing through my front door before I even had the time to hang up.

  "I did, obviously" I hold him equally tight, feeling safe and loved in his arms.

  "Not soon enough" He pouts.

  "What was I supposed to say? Hey you guys, I'm totally freaking out, will you wait a sec so I can call Zeke and have him come over?" Sarcasm dripping from every word.

  "Are you ok?" He asks ignoring my statement.

  Finally letting me go he looks me up and down, inspecting me for signs of anything visually wrong. I shrug, still I don't know.

  "Of course your not. Well, it was a good thing Leo was here huh." Zeke decides for me.

  "I didn't do anything" Leo shrugs looking bashful at the recognition.

  "No seriously thank you" I smile genuinely at him.

  "So did you tell him?" Zeke whispers to me and I shake my head tightly no.

  Its obvious Leo heard Zeke, his whispering only being a half fraction quieter than he normally is, but still is polite enough not to ask about what.

 "Ooooh" Zeke drags his word out, getting quieter as he does, sounding like he is deflating.

  "Would you mind giving us a second?" I feel incredibly rude asking him but I just need a moment with Zeke.

  "Sure" He shrugs not looking bothered in the slightest. "Ill just, go sit outside?" he takes a step forward but I shake my head vigorously, bringing him to a stop.

  "No, should stay indoors." I glance to Zeke for confirmation, but he only shrugs. I sigh trying not to feel annoyed with his lack of help. "Why don't you go sit in the kitchen. We have food and drinks, help yourself"

  "K" He gives an awkward smile before turning and disappearing into the kitchen.

   Zeke and I stand motionless, listening to Leo as he opens the fridge and cracks open a can of something, then becomes silent. I mentally groan, we cant talk here. Zeke is practically incapable of being quiet, and with being just in the other room Leo would hear everything. Biting my lip I jitter nervously while glancing around the room frantically trying to come up with something. Eyes locking on my dads bedroom door, I grab Zeke's hand and drag him behind me.

  Once in a room alone with Zeke I can already feel my nerves start to calm. The room is dark, and kind of chilly, yet there is still something comforting about it. Along with dad's transformation he seemed to have picked up after himself. The room is still small and cramped, but at least there are not clothes scattered all about. I let my self collapse to the bed with a loud sigh. Zeke takes only a moment to do the same.

  "What are we going to do?" my words are just above a whisper. I am not trying to be quiet, just don't have the energy for anything more at the moment.

  "Well, we cant just stay inside forever" he sounds equally lost.

  "Obviously, but how do we go back to our lives after finding out something like this?" I roll to my side so that I can look at him while we talk.

  "I don't know." He rolls to face me as well. "They haven't done anything to hurt us" He says as if that solves everything.

  "Yet" I roll my eyes.

  "No seriously. What if they are just trying to live there life?"

  I think on this for a moment. I guess that is technically possible. They did look crushed when I wouldn't talk with them. They didn't look mad, ravenous, or even at all monstrous. They didn't seem at all like how I would expect a vampire to look. Instead, they looked as I would expect anyone would when a friend suddenly stopped wanting to speak with them. A pang of guilt runs threw me as I envision Elena's eyes pleading with me.

  "Do you think they really could just live like normal?"

  I can't even tell if I sound hopeful, or doubt-full. Maybe somewhere in between? I'm having such a hard time wrapping my mind around everything, I can't even begin to try to figure out how I feel about it.

  "Well have you ever felt like they meant any harm?" He asks.

  Instantly I am brought back to how I felt sitting on the swing set the other night.

"Hey, can vampires like," I pause, trying to think of how to explain the feeling, "can they like, mess with your mind or something?"

  He thinks for a long moment before looking defeated.

"I have no idea Reza. There are so many vampire stories, who knows what's true and what's false."

  "What an expert you are" I whimper, falling onto my back once again, this is definitely hopeless.  

  "Well I am sorry" He sounds offended, and my heart hearts.

  "No I'm sorry" I turn to him again, I hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, I'm just getting frustrated.

  "You know I never believed any of this could happen. Sure, I loved the story of vampires, but I never felt like I needed to study them or anything." His spits his words out quickly, I hurt him more than I realized.

  "I know Zeke I am sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

  "No you shouldn't." He pouts, not looking at me.

  "I really am sorry" I curl up to him, and even though still tense he wraps an arm around me.

  "Lets just forget it" He still sounds edgy, but I know he is calming down.

  "So, lets just work on this together. What do we know about them? Not from movies, but from what we have actually seen." I try to remember every detail about our time together.

  "Well, they can go out in the sun, obviously" He starts out.

  "But they can't enter without being invited in, so that's something" I try to sound optimistic.

  "That seems to be the only thing I can come up with that seems to be the same. I've seen them eat garlic so that has no effect." He continues sounding more grim with every word.

  "Then there is my cross necklace. I've worn that bunches and it never seems to bother them" I add.

  "Yes, but they never touched it, so we still don't really know for sure. The fact that they moved here leads me to believe that they are not bound to where they are created" He nods his head as he considers them.

  "I honestly didn't even know that was something to think about. See, you are an expert after all" I tease, making him smile weakly down at me.

  "There is also some stories that say they can only feed on virgins. Considering they aren't starving I am going to say that not true either." He continues.

  I glance away quickly trying to think of something to move on, I do not want to stay on that point long.

  "Umm," I scan through every memory I can come up with that may be helpful. "Oh, they also cast a shadow and have a reflection!"

  I'm not sure how helpful that really is, but made me feel better to come up with something else. Instead of Zeke sharing in my excitement, he only groans in response. Sitting up he buries his head in his hands and breathes deeply.

  "This isn't helping. There are far to many things we just don't know!" He stands up suddenly, every muscle tense as his frustration builds.

  "I thought we were starting a pretty good list" I try and stay optimistic, but he shakes his head refusing to see it that way.

  "We have no idea If a wooden stake kills them," he begins to pace in front of me, " do they turn to ash? Does holly water do anything? Can they fly? Shape shift? How does one become a vampire?"

  "Well" I bite my lip nervously, trying to think through everything he just listed. "Stefan said if I have any questions I just need to ask." I let myself trail away. He stops and contemplates this.

  "You think they would tell us the truth?"

  "Well you are the one who keeps pointing out they haven't hurt anyone" I shrug. He nods his head mulling this over carefully.

  "Think we should trust them?" He stares down at me, like I am the deciding factor on this. I bite my lip and think about all the time we spent together since school started.

  "I would like to, but I am scared" I say honestly.

  "Think we should tell Leo?"

  "No" I blurt out before I even have a chance to debate it.

  Even though he was there for me today, I am having a difficult time letting him in on everything. Besides, this isn't just about us.

  "I don't think this is something we should tell people," I continue, explaining my outburst.

  "But what if they are nasty blood suckers?"

  "We will figure it out then." I shrug, I can only deal with one problem at a time.

  "What should we tell him then?"

  "Do you think we have to tell him anything?" I ask hopeful, but know its useless when Zeke raises his eyebrow at me. "Ugh, I hate lying to people" I grumble.

  "Then lets not" He states flatly.

  "Leo?" I call stepping into the kitchen, finally ready to face him.

  He is sitting at the counter, headphones in place and his head resting on his arms. Is he sleeping?

  "Leo?" I call again moving closer to him.

  Still no response. Well, even if he is awake he most definitely can not here me. Reaching out I gently place my hand on his shoulder, trying my best not to startle him. The attempt proves to be futile.

  "Woah!" He jumps up, head whipping about taking in his surroundings. When his eyes fall upon me there is a flash of confusion before being replaced with understanding.

  "Sorry I-" He holds up his hand for me to stop and pulls the ear buds out of place. Without even attempting to keep them untangled he just shoves them into his pocket.

  "Sorry about that, figured you guys wanted you privacy so decided to just listen to music. Guess I fell asleep" He smiles sheepishly.

  "I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare ya" I manage to smile back.

  "No worries. Everything ok with you guys?"

  "Yup, nothing to worry about" Zeke says from beside me. Leo glances between us not seeming convinced.

  "You sure?" Leo questions, looking deeply into my eyes. Looking so intensely at me its as if he is trying to see what's going on in my mind.

  "Yea things are just kinda, weird" I answer lamely, unable to come up with any other way of explaining the situation without going into all the gory details.

  "Weird huh." Leo repeats, nodding his head.

  "Yea, weird" I say again. "I'm just going to stay home today. Really just don't want to have to deal with anyone, and my dad will understand."

  "What about you?" He asks Zeke.

  "I am going to stay and keep her company. You should go though, already missed most of first hour. We don't want you to get in to trouble or anything" Zeke encourages, stumbling as his nerves get the best of him.

  "Like you said, I am already late. If you want me to stay I can" Leo offers. Looking directly at me, asking me if I want him to stay.

  "No, you should go." I bite my lip afraid pushing him away like this will hurt his feelings. "I think I am just going to go back to sleep to be honest."

  This is a lie, and I hate that I just told it. Truth is I couldn't go to sleep right now if my life depended on it. I do however, need him to leave, and why would he want to stay around if I was sleeping.

  "Ok, but you call me if you need anything." He goes to leave now without any further questions.

  "Will do, promise" I give him the best smile am able to muster.

  Zeke and I sit in the window watching him walk down the street till he turns out of view, then we are set in motion. As fast as we can we run out of my house and over to his, storming threw the front door as if the devil himself was right behind us.

  Once inside we set to work collecting every possible bit of information we can on vampires. Zeke on his computer seeing what the internet has to give us, I skimming threw books that Zeke has collected. All the while vampire movies in the background. We don't know what is real and what is fiction, but we are determined to create a list of things that we need to decipher the difference.