I had forgotten Shannon was coming over until the doorbell rang a half hour after I got home. I ran downstairs to see who was there and quickly let Shannon in when I remembered that she had said she was coming over.

"Where have you been?" she demanded once she was safely inside.

"I had another class added to my schedule," I told her. She glared at me, but relented. "What did you want to talk about?" I asked her as we moved to the living room to sit down and talk more comfortably.

"The pills. Only Journeymaids are supposed to know any of this," she warned before she continued. "They aren't vitamins," she started. I nodded. I figured that if she was making such a big deal about them. "And we were all doomed the moment we took the first one. They contain vampire blood. The vampires don't tell us the full process on how we change from humans to vampires, but I found out that it has to do with the pills. They're what eventually turn us from human to vampire. Usually Apprentices get one pill, then it's upped to two for second year and so on. I don't know why they jumped you up to four pills. I do know that it's going to affect you if you haven't started feeling it already. There's a lot that we still don't know about them. We do know that if you go without them for more than a couple days before you make the change then you will die. That's what makes kids reject the change, not the absence of full vampires. Whatever you do, do not skip even a day of taking them, and do not let them drop you back down. If it had just been one day while you were healing that would be one thing, but it's been a couple of days now. Dropping you back down now could make you reject the change." She warned.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked her. It sounded like the vampires didn't want the students to know any of this.

"I found some old texts in the basement during a 'research project'," she made the finger quotes. "I've been researching this for awhile. I didn't trust the pills and didn't believe that they were vitamins. I don't think they realize how much I know. They definitely don't want you or the rest of the kids to know either,"

"You said the jump up would affect me?" I asked, scared of that particular point.

"You're probably still healing so it's not surprising you haven't noticed yet. It can be a lot of things, but common things that were noted before they found the proper dosages were chills, fever, weakness, fatigue, dizziness, etc. I don't know how long it will last, but be prepared," she warned. The clock chimed from the mantle. "I should go. They're getting antsy about kids being out late, even if curfew hasn't hit yet. Don't tell anyone what we were talking about tonight," she ordered before she swept from the room and my house. I locked the door behind her, hoping she wouldn't get in trouble.

I was feeling tired, so I made sure to finish the rest of my homework as fast as I could so I could get to bed.

The rest of the week flew by. My extra classes were giving me less time in the evenings, though I wouldn't give up the time I was getting to spend with Katie and Abi. Shannon was right and I was feeling like I had the flu by the next morning. I tried to hide it as best I could, especially around the shifters, but I knew my dad and brother were worried when they saw me. I stumbled through my classes, but none of my teachers seemed concerned. They gave me extra credit on my assignments and told me to make sure I got enough sleep. The pills stayed at four every morning.

Finally classes ended on Friday and I was grateful when Eric came to pick me up so I could go home for the weekend. He forcibly took my bag from me and wrapped an arm around me as he walked me to his car. I let him, leaning against him, so exhausted that even walking was difficult. I knew I was running a fever, but I couldn't get warm. He opened the car door for me and settled me inside. He got in the driver's side before he turned to me, glaring. "What's wrong? You've been sick all week. We never get sick," he growled.

"Don't tell dad?" I asked him softly. He thought about it, still growling.

"You're going to tell me regardless," he snarled at me. "But I won't tell him unless it's necessary, so spill,"

"I don't want him to worry. He can't fix it anyway," I started, but I explained the pills to him, telling him everything I knew. I could trust him. He had protected me my entire life, even lying to dad to keep me out of trouble.

"What are you going to tell dad?" he asked. I looked over at him and smiled, grateful he was going to help me.

"That the classes are very challenging and I'm tired from all of the studying I'm doing," I told him. "I can fake being ok for a couple of days," I promised him. He sighed.

"Fine, but I'll be keeping an eye on you,"

"I wouldn't expect anything less,"

"Close your eyes until we get home, you look like shit." He said the words trying to sound harsh, but I heard the love behind the words. I closed my eyes anyway and leaned back in the seat, getting comfortable. I felt as awful as he was saying I looked. He drove us home slowly, buying me time to rest for a little while before I had to pretend again.