~~~~~~~~~Alyse's POV~~~~~~~~~

It had been days since then, and Leo would always spend his lunchtime with us. It was obvious that Diana and Dylan hated the idea of him leaving them for us, but he didn't regret it one bit.

I sat in class, scribbling a few doodles on the first page of my notebook. I've never been one to sketch, that's more of my sister's thing, but I was bored as heck.

Varian walked over, sitting beside me. "Hey, guess what?"

I looked up, tilting my head in question. He leaned over, his voice a bit hushed. "I heard there's gonna be a brand new sub teacher today."

"Really?"

"Apparently it's his first day."

I hope all goes well for him, tons of students try to take advantage of new teachers, it makes me kind of mad. I mean, just let them do their job!

We chatted for a few more minutes when all of a sudden the air went cold. And I mean, freezing cold.

I was forced to hug myself as I shivered at the feeling, looking around for any reason of the sudden change in temperature. To my surprise though, no one seemed faced my the change, not even Varian. He just looked at me, confused at my change in behavior.

What was this..?

In the blink of an eye, pitch black vines covered the walls, loud footsteps heard from the hallway. I think I was the only one who saw and heard this because everyone else acted the same as always.

Then the class turned to the door as it opened, someone stepping inside. I slightly gripped my arms, feeling myself grow even more nervous.

I couldn't see them, they were just a silhouette of shadows, and that was frightening, but they resembled a man, a tall man.

What made me grow pale was when it turned to face me, the only thing I could see was a wide smile, fangs with a black substance oozing from them, along with what I heard after.

"Hello, loves~"

That voice..

The tone, the accent, the words..

I knew who this was..!

A gasp escape my lips as I felt something move onto my shoulders, hearing the familiar hiss before something stabbed into my neck, forcing me to scream.

...

I took a sharp breath as my eyes shot open, gripping my neck as I sat up. I was back in my room, back on my bed..

It was only two in the morning, and I had school tomorrow, but the thought he of seeing that monster again..

Grabbing my phone, I searched for a familiar number. Whenever I went through something like this, I needed to talk to someone at the moment, just to feel safe.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited..

...

"Hi, it's Aiden. I'm probably busy at the moment, but I'll try to call back as soon as I can."

Alright, Aiden's not available..

Hopefully Sage is..?

...

...

...

"Hey, Sage here! Sorry for not answering, I'm either busy, don't like you, or just lazy. Nah, I'm kidding! ... maybe."

I fell back on my bed, I couldn't bother Iv or Noah, they both had work early in the morning.

Who else can I talk to..?

My thoughts went to my friends from school, could I tell them..? What would they think of me, about all that's happened to my family..?

I looked down at my phone, seeing another familiar name. Yeah, I could call him..

Biting my lip, I hesitated to press the call button, but I did. Part of my hoped he wouldn't answer, but I trusted him, a lot.

It rang for a few seconds, before a tired voice spoke. "Hello?"

"H-hey Varian..!"

"Hey Alyse, interesting time to call."

I let out an awkward chuckle, pushing most of my hair behind me. "I-is it..?"

"Why are you awake at this hour? It's two in the morning."

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I have an experiment due tomorrow, I'm almost done with it."

"Oh, okay.."

"And you?"

I slightly bit my lip, nervously fiddling my hair. "I-I couldn't sleep.."

"How come?"

"It's.. a really long story.."

"We've got four hours until sunrise, I'm all ears."

I giggled a bit, then thought for a moment. " ... do you mind if we talk through FaceTime..? It would be easier to explain.."

"I might as well look like an alien though, so don't be frightened."

We both laughed, and I pressed the FaceCall button before placing my phone afar so he could see me. He was sitting at a desk filled with a few papers and vials, his hair messy and his eyes a bit tired.

Laughing a bit at the sight, he puffed his cheeks. "Hey, don't laugh at me!"

"I'm sorry, you look adorable!"

"I-I do not!" He crossed his arms, his cheeks a bit pink, which I couldn't help but giggle at.

He chuckles as well, then looked at me. "So, what's keeping you awake?"

Fiddling with my fingers, I looked away from the camera. "W-well.. For you to understand, I have to go back years.." I looked back at him, and I think he could see how nervous I was. "Y-you won't judge me about anything, right..?"

A warm smile grew on his face, shaking his head. "Of course not.."

"... okay, well.."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did it.

I told him everything.

About how my parents passed away, about the whole situation with Ryan, and Ashley, how I was kidnapped, and nearly killed many times already, not as much as my siblings though. Along with their lovers being the Cipher twins and not making things much easier.

He stared at me, shock obvious on his face as he tried to process it all. "W... Whoa, I- ... I'm sorry, I really don't know how to respond.."

"It's okay, it just feels weird to tell someone about it.."

"You've really been through all that..?"

I nodded, and he passed a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. "Damn, now I feel like a brat for complaining about a broken ankle.."

He chuckled, and I couldn't help but join in. "Thanks for listening to me through.."

"Of course, Al, we're friends, aren't we..?"

"Yeah.." A smile grew on my face at that, he was always so sweet.

He smiled back before a yawn escaped his lips. "Anyways, I'd love to chat some more, but we should both get a little more rest.."

"Agreed.. I'll see you at school..?"

"Yeah, sleep well, Alyse.."

"Goodnight, V.." And with that, I hung up, falling back onto my bed with a sigh. I trusted Varian, he was a really good friend, and I'm really happy to have met him.

However, my smile soon faded away as the memories from the nightmare came back..

What did it mean..?

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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