"LIAM AND NIALL ARE GOING to be meeting us outside at around eight o'clock, so that gives us all plenty of time to get ready for tonight." Marielle said as she pulled her light hair back into a low pony tail before sliding her black wig over the top. She fixed it into place, making sure that there were no strands of hair hanging loosely around her neck before twirling around and posing for Sophie and I. We both laughed and shook our heads at her stupidity. It was unusual for us to see Marielle acting so out of character - she was usually so serious about everything.

"I still can't believe that this is our last year at Tong High. Our last Halloween Disco too." Sophie sighed as she played with the hem of her red dress. She quietly chuckled to herself before she looked up and met my eyes.

It was weird when you thought about it being our last school year. When we had finished primary school, it had been rather emotional for everyone as it was the first time something quite big and important in our lives had ended, so leaving high school would be just as emotional for us. Marielle had even suggested having an end of the year party to celebrate our great times throughout high school.

"Yeah." Marielle said before she started working on her face paint, slapping a sickly green sponge across her cheeks. "I suppose it's gonna be fun in a way. The seniors always have a great last year, don't they?" she asked as she finished colouring her skin green.

"Yeah, it's gonna be a hell of a time." Sophie agreed before she slipped her red Devil horned hair band onto her head, which matched her flaming hair. She had spent ages curling it into tight bound spirals, using an estimated whole can of hairspray to keep it in place. Her short black cape came just below her backside and the knee high boots she wore, made her look even taller than she actually was.

"Laura, would you stop hesitating and start on your bloody make-up." Marielle instructed, pointing to the table in front of me which was covered in different kinds of makeup and Halloween face paints. I rolled my eyes at her before I picked up the pale liquid foundation Sophie had brought over. I squirted some onto my finger tips and started to rub it onto my face and down my neck, making my complexion turn to a ghostly paleness. I wasn't going to use the white face paint - that made me look ridiculous.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophie standing and watching me with slightly narrowed eyes. Before I could say or do anything, she walked over to me and grabbed the bottle of foundation from my grasp and threw it aside, picking up the expensive looking eye shadow lying on the table.

"Sit." she instructed and I obeyed, sitting cross legged on the bed, with the eye shadow brush suddenly hovering right in front of my eyes. "Well, close them, you sausage!" Sophie snapped at me and I did so, before I felt her coating my eye lids in a dark grey colour, adding a liquid eyeliner streak across the roots of my lashes.

I hated wearing so much makeup, as all it did was ruin your skin and damage it's natural look. I had clear skin, and I was going to keep it that way for as long as I possibly could.

"Not too much, Soph." I protested as I felt her adding even more eye shadow to my lids. It almost felt as if the make-up were weighing them down.

"Shush." she snapped before I felt her brushing mascara over my lashes, lengthening them as much as she could. "You should have bought falsies." she said as she continued to work on my eye makeup. I let out a sigh in defeat, knowing that once she had started working with make-up, there was no way she would stop until it was one hundred percent complete and utterly perfect.

"Where is Zayn meeting us, Laura?" Marielle asked as she sorted the front of her witch costume. I looked down at my clasped hands, the fake nails glittering under the bedroom light.

"He sent me a message on Facebook saying that he'd probably meet us there." I said as I continued to look down at my nails. "But he's got to finish something before he comes over." I answered and Sophie frowned.

"Why? What's he doing?" she questioned and I shrugged in response. I hadn't bothered to ask him why he was going to be late, not wanting to sound like a nosy person and intrude on his private life. Like he had once said to me, everyone had their secrets.

"I have no idea, but he mentioned that it was rather important so I don't know how long he'll be. He's meeting us at the school, I know that for sure." I said and Marielle nodded in reply.

"I wonder what he's going as." she said as she started to draw warts onto her skin. I watched her closely as she perfected her eyes, adding mascara and eyeliner to finish off her face paint. "Done." she said as she dropped the make-up back onto the table in front of her, checking her reflection in the mirror once again for any faults.

"Looks good." Sophie said before she pulled her dress down a little. "I still think Zayn should go as a vampire. Dracula to be precise."

I rolled my eyes at her idea and she snapped at me for opening my eyes while she was working on the eyeliner.

"Do you know yet, Laura?" Marielle asked me and I shook my head and shrugged. To be honest, I was sure that whatever Zayn showed up in, he would still look amazing, even if he were to wear a long pink wig. I smiled to myself at the thought before I answered my friend.

"No idea." I said and I heard Sophie scoff. "What?" I asked.

"I'm surprised that he hasn't told you. Doesn't he tell you everything?" she asked and I shrugged in response. Zayn didn't have to tell me everything about what he was doing. Did he? We weren't even official, so there was no real need to know what he was doing every second of the day.

"I don't need to know everything about him, guys." I said just as Sophie pulled away and ordered me to open my eyes. She gasped as she looked at me, a wide grin on her face.

"You look amazing, Laura." Sophie said as she dropped the brush down on the table and stood back to get a better look at me.

"I bet Zayn goes dressed up as nothing." Marielle said all of a sudden as she applied bright red lipstick to finish off her witchy look. She made a face at herself in the mirror before she turned to look at us both. "You know, he probably doesn't want to ruin his 'sexiness'." she said and I rolled my eyes.

"I still say Dracula is the one. I mean, he could easily pull of a vampire, you know." Sophie said.

"You're only saying that because you watch all of those weird TV shows." Marielle said and Sophie just shook her head.

"No, no, no! I mean it, he has all of the abilities and such." Sophie said as she pulled her dress down once again. "I mean, he's good looking, his eyes are dark and dangerous but hypnotic and beautiful at the same time . . ." she trailed off, her gaze travelling to the ceiling.

"Soph, lots of people have those things, and it doesn't make them look like a vampire, does it?" I said as I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. I had to admit, Sophie was good at makeup. I looked paler than usual due to the pale foundation, my eyes were coated with dark make-up such as eyeshadow and eyeliner to make my eyes stand out. Sophie had also brushed a faded red across my lips to give them more colour. I actually looked OK painted up as a creature of the night. I rolled my eyes as I looked over at my costume which was hanging on the back of the door. I made my way over to it and started to undress. 

"What other things then? I don't recall a time where I've seen him sprout wings and take off into the night as a bat." Marielle said sarcastically and I laughed.

Sophie scowled at Marielle. "He's really fast and strong. You remember when Laura and him were partners in P.E? Do you remember how fast he moved to get that shot that nearly went out and how hard he managed to hit it over the net? Vampires are strong and fast."

"So are athletes." I argued and Sophie rolled her eyes before she let out a defeated sigh.

"Well, how about this: He's extremely mysterious and withdrawn, isn't he? Some vampire are like that, so I say he'd make a perfect one for this disco." Sophie said, not bothering to give up on the subject.

"Soph, the only thing that really makes him seem vampiric is his temperature." Marielle said. "He's always freezing."

"How do you know that?" I asked, suspicion rising as I heard her words. I knew that Zayn's touch was rather cold but only because both of us had been rather intimate not so long ago, his hands holding my body close to his and his lips moving against my own.

"Remember at Kate's party? I shook his hand and it was fucking freezing." she said with a shiver. I gave her a small nod remembering that one night many weeks ago. It all seemed so long ago now that that particular night had happened.

"Well, there you go." Sophie said with a grin. I let out a small sigh at her persistence and pulled the vampire gown down over my head until it covered my body. I smoothed out the soft material so that there were no creases or bumps in it before I pulled the long cobwebbed sleeves down my arms, all the way to my wrists.

"Laura, I am so jealous of how amazing you look in that costume." Marielle said before she frowned. "Come here so I can tie the corset at the back."

I rolled my eyes before I slowly picked up the corset, walking over to Marielle with a grin on my face. I handed it to her as she instructed me to turn around and lift my arms up, which I did. She wrapped the corset around my middle and tightened it so much that I could hardly breathe.

"No!" I gasped as she began to lace the ribbon through the back, into place.

"Laura, it's a corset. They're supposed to be pulled tightly, you idiot." she said as she continued to tug at the ribbon, tightening it as much as she could.

"Jesus, woman." I gasped as she finally finished tightening it around me. I slowly turned and looked in the mirror, shocked at how much thinner I looked. My curves could actually be seen while wearing the corset.

"Have you ever heard of food?" Sophie asked as she looked at me. "You're so fucking scrawny!"

"It's this horrid creation that's choking me." I said gesturing to the corset around me.

"Even though, you still look amazing, Laura!" Sophie said, ginning. "Are you leaving your hair up like that?" she asked, referring to the high, neat bun I have perfected minutes before the girls had arrived. I nodded, strict about keeping my hair up.

"OK then." Marielle said as she looked at Sophie and I, and then herself in the mirror. "I think we're nearly ready to go."

"Not yet!" Sophie gasped before she ran towards the door and down the stairs before I could stop her. In times like this, I was glad that my parents liked Sophie, as a friend running through the house was usually considered disrespectful.

Not a minute later, and Sophie came back with something small in her hand. She opened her palm and held out the mould-able vampire fangs to me. They had been sitting in a bowl of boiling water for the last half hour, preparing the plastic to mould easily. I rolled my eyes as I took them from Sophie and headed over to the mirror, moulding the plastic across my teeth, making sure that the pointed canines were in the correct place before doing so. I waited for a few seconds before testing the plastic, and smiling when I realized it had hardened again. I pulled the fangs out of my mouth and smiled at the girls.

"I think we're ready to go then." I said and they cheered before we all raced towards door, picking up our money from the bedside table before we left the room, pulling the door shut behind us. We made our way down the stairs and into the living room where my parents were sitting watching the television.

"Mum, Dad, we're off now." I said and both of them turned around and gasped when they saw us. 

"Laura that costume is a bit tight, don't you think?" My mum asked, chuckling. she knew I didn't like such tight clothing, so it was obvious why she found the costume amusing.

"Yeah, it is, but it's only for a few house, so I'll be fine." I said, grinning. My dad chuckled before he looked over at Marielle and Sophie.

"You all look great, girls." he said before he waved us off, grinning like the proud father he was. All three of us waved goodbye and headed for the front door. Just before we left the house, Marielle gasped and turned to look at me, her eyes wide.

"Laura! You forgot the collar and the fake blood!" she said, looking me up and down. I rolled my eyes at her. She had been lucky enough to have me dress up in such a fancy costume in the first place, so surely I was allowed to give the collar and fake blood a miss.

"The blood is really sticky and hard to wash off. As for the collar, it's just too warm and uncomfortable." I lied before I opened the door and skipped out before she could say anything in retaliation. I laughed as she pulled the door open and marched out after me, Sophie not far behind. I double checked that I had everything with me, the money in one hand and the fangs in the other. I hadn't bothered to bring my phone, knowing that I would probably lose it after dancing for so long.

"Boo!" a voice yelled from beside me and I screamed when I turned around and bumped into a mummy that was standing behind me, his arms raised in the air in attempt to scare me. I laughed and pulled the mask down, revealing Niall's slightly flushed face.

"Hey, Niall." I said and he grinned at me before he gave me a brief hug, before turning to the rest of the girls and doing the same. I grinned at his costume, being a rather old looking Halloween outfit from a few years ago with a few patches here and there where the seams had come undone. Niall didn't' see the point of buying new costumes every year - he said it was only a waste of money. It kind of was when you thought about it that way, but at the same time, it was our last year, and we were going out with a bang.

"Where's Liam?" I asked, noticing the absence of my spoon frightened friend. Not a second later, I felt arms wrap around me and pull me back, making me jump. I looked over my shoulder and immediately recognized his familiar cologne.

"Yo." Was all Liam said before he let me go and pulled away, making his way over to the other guys. I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at his lack of speech. If he were still mad at me or maybe even jealous like the girls had thought, he didn't have to ignore me the way that he was. It made me feel as if I were a criminal of some sort, that I had done something terribly wrong.

I happened to notice that he had painted his face up like a skull and his hair was sticking up in different directions. His body was covered in black clothing apart from the front of his hoodie which had the design of a skeleton's torso patterned onto it.

"We better get going then." Sophie said as she looked over Niall's shoulder at the large black car sitting, waiting at the curb. I looked over and smiled at Karen as she peered over the half open car window at the five of us, grinning back. I wondered if Liam had said anything about what was bothering him to his mother?

All five of us walked over to the car and jumped inside, gathering our costumes up to make sure that nothing got caught in the car door. Liam sat in the front with his mum as the rest of us sat in the back seats, Sophie perching on Niall's lap as there were only three back seats.

"I knew I should have taken the boot." he said, chuckling as Karen started the car and pulled away from my house, chatting to Marielle about how things were going at school. I looked to my right, through the window and over at Zayn's house. My eyes darted to every window of the house, trying to catch a glimpse of movement from within. For a split second, I could swear that I saw a hand draw a curtain closed and I frowned. What wasn't Zayn telling me? There must have been a reason that he was going to show up later than us.

The drive to the school was short and awkward. With Liam's mum in the car, we couldn't afford to say any of the silly things we normally did, knowing that Karen didn't really approve of such silly behavior, so for most of the journey, we spoke about school and the Halloween Disco itself. Marielle and I happened to remind Niall of the time when he had fallen a few years ago, making him turn a bright shade of pink at the memory.

Soon, enough, we reached the school car park, and the loud booming music could be heard from within the car. Liam started to bob his head along to a Black Eyed Peas track that could be heard before he told his mother goodbye and jumped out of the car. The rest of thanked Karen for the lift and jumped out of the car onto the concrete below us.

Just before I could shut the car door, I head Karen call my name and I looked back around at her, confusion and curiosity building as to why she had called me back. I had a feeling it was about her son, knowing that she loved Liam so dearly. She had often asked me if there was anything upsetting Liam when he wasn't around, so my guess was as good as they got.

"Yes?" I asked, looked into her eyes. She seemed to be almost worried, maybe even frightened for some reason and I frowned as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Have you noticed anything wrong with Liam lately?" she asked me. "He's been a little quiet lately, and he won't speak to me if I ask him what's wrong."

I let out an aggravated sigh. I had been right, then. What I couldn't understand was why. Why was he acting so silly about the whole situation with Zayn and I? We weren't even a couple, and it had been an innocent peck on the cheek, nothing more nothing less.

"I honestly have no idea, Karen." I said with a small shrug, instantly feeling guilty for lying to her. She was like a second mother to me, and it hurt to tell her something untrue. I did know what was wrong with her son, but I just didn't want to admit it, at least not out loud. I couldn't believe that my best friend had a crush on me. He couldn't have one.

"OK." Karen said, nodding slowly, flashing me a small grin. "Thank you, Laura. If you do find out, could you let me know what's been bothering him, please?"

I nodded and smiled back before I turned and skipped over towards my friends who were all waiting for me at the front doors, their money in their hands as we waited to buy our tickets. Just before we were about to move to the first space in the queue, I felt Liam lean forward, so he was leaning over my shoulder, his mouth by my ear. I could feel his breath even before he started speaking.

"What did my mum say to you?" he asked me. I turned and looked up at him, smiling shyly up at him.

"She said to let everyone know that she wanted us all to have a good time. And also to keep you out of trouble." I said, trying to lighten the mood slightly. Liam chuckled quietly and I felt a happy jolt spread through my being, knowing that I had been able to make him laugh.

"Seniors?" asked the teacher who was handing out the tickets as Niall and Sophie reached the desk first out of the five of us. I watched as Niall, Sophie and Marielle paid for their tickets before they skipped through the fake cobweb covered doors to the school canteen, where the disco was usually held.

Liam and I paid for our tickets and entered the room, the loud music booming through the entire school. I looked around the decorated school hall, from the monster decorations that were hanging from the ceiling and the woolen spider webs spread across the expanse of every window in the room. On the ground, were large black and orange balloons, covered in scrawled handwriting which read 'Happy Halloween'. Over at the kitchen, which was usually full of long lines at lunch, sat five long tables covered in Halloween themed snacks. The hall looked good, just like it did every year.

The music DJ on the stage was playing the most recent, well known songs for us and I laughed when I saw Marielle groan when Rihanna started to blast through the speakers.

"Let's go then." Liam said beside me before he took my hand and led me through the crowd with our other friends. I looked at all of the costume choices for this year, my eyes finding a Sweeney Todd and Grim Reaper in the far corner chatting. Many witches, vampires and ghouls were dancing along to the music, or trying to scare each other from time to time.

"Let's dance for a while. They usually just play a lot of music before they start the crappy party games." Niall said with a small shrug and we nodded in agreement. Niall grabbed Liam's arm and pulled him away into the crowd, leaving May, Sophie and I to do our own thing.

"Well, I for one am not dancing to Rihanna. I hate this song." May complained and I rolled my eyes before I grabbed Sophie's hand and pulled her away from Marielle. We both started dancing like idiots, pulling moves like the hand jive and the Macarena before Marielle gave in and joined us, laughing as she did.

Even through the dim lights, I could clearly make out the populars standing at the other end of the room, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes before I continued to dance, my eyes scanning over their chosen outfits for the night. Megan and Hayley had gone for the short - way too short - witch look while the boys such as Nathan and Steve had thrown on a dark hoodie with different patterns on the front. I rolled my eyes at their lack of enthusiasm, but then again, they never cared for Halloween parties. They liked parties where smoking and drinking were allowed.

"Laura, six o'clock." I heard Marielle yell at me over the loud music. I frowned at her before I followed her gaze over my shoulder and saw a familiar face. I had to stop my jaw from dropping open as I watched Zayn's eyes dart around the room, taking in the dancing bodies of the students at Tong High. I quickly turned around and set the vampire fangs into place, fitting them over my gums. I hissed at Sophie who laughed and rolled her eyes at me before she looked behind me, no doubt at Zayn.

All of a sudden, his eyes met mine and I felt the butterflies gradually build in my stomach. I tried to ignore the feeling as Zayn grinned and started to make his way over to me - he almost seemed to glide through the crowd, gracefully and slowly. Only when he got closer, did I realize that he had had a haircut - his hair was cut a little shorter and the blond streak at the front of his styled do was gone. My eyes scanned his long torso, taking in the white shirt covering his body and the smart black trousers that clung to his legs. Smeared over the white shirt, were red stains, obviously meant to be blood, and a long cloak was tied around his neck, falling down and nearly dragging along the floor. It didn't take a genius to know that he was also dressed up as a vampire.

Sophie was right - he did make a good Dracula.

Zayn came to a stop in front of me, his dark eyes scanning my outfit and he grinned even wider. I smiled back at him, making sure to flash the fangs at him and he chuckled quietly.

"You've had a hair cut." I said and he nodded before he ran a hand through his shorter, raven coloured hair.

"Indeed I have. You've had a severe make-over." he said, nodding at me and I slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I got help with that." I said, turning to gesture at Marielle and Sophie but I frowned when I noticed that they weren't behind me anymore. My eyes scanned the room, searching for my two friends and I glared at them as I saw them dancing with Liam and Niall at the other end of the hall. They'd done that on purpose, I knew that had. "May and Sophie helped." I said as I turned back around to look up at Zayn again.

"Well, you look incredible." Zayn said, complimenting me and I felt colour rise in my cheek. For the first time, I was glad I was wearing makeup to cover the blush. Before I could say or do anything else, Zayn held his hand out to me. I smiled at him before I placed my hand in his, my body being pulled towards Zayn's. I gasped when I felt his chest touch mine and his cold hand pressed against the small of my back, just beneath the tightly secured corset.

For a few moments we simply swayed from side to side to the beat of the music, our eyes locked on each others'. Even in the darkness of the room, I could see his eyes perfectly; the warm chocolate brown with small flecks of gold in them. I hadn't noticed how beautiful his eyes were until now, but you could tell that they held something more; as if they were holding so many secrets that had been untold.

"Where were you?" I asked quietly. Zayn pulled away a little so that he could look down at me.

"I had a few messages to see to. Nothing as important as I'd originally thought, but I really had to get it over and done with." he answered with a small shrug and I nodded, believing him. He wouldn't lie to me, would he?

We danced for a few more songs, chatting about what usually went on at the school's Halloween Discos. I even managed to make Zayn laugh while doing so. I looked over Zayn's shoulder and caught sight of Liam standing in the corner by himself, tapping his foot away to the music with his head hung low. I frowned.

I hated seeing Liam in such a saddened state - he was so important to me, and seeing him hurting, made me hurt. I carefully let go of Zayn's hand and pulled away, an awkward smile on my face. Zayn's expression was confused but I gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'm just going to check on everyone." I said to him before I turned and started to push my way through the crowd, Zayn's touch still lingering on my skin. I pushed through a couple of juniors who were messing around with the balloons until I came to a stop in front of Liam. He looked up at me when he heard me approach and he gave me a small grin before he looked over his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, frowning when he didn't answer straight away like he normally did. He nodded slowly.

"You're not fooling anyone, Payne. " I said before I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards me. I led us out, onto the student filled floor and started to do the hand jive, smiling up at Liam as I did. He still looked upset and I frowned up at him. I slowly wrapped my arms around him, wondering if it were the right thing to do and I started to sway back and forth to the music.

"I'm sorry." I said into his chest and I felt him pull away slightly to look at me. Now, he looked confused.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" he asked before he gave into the hug and wrapped his own arms around me, holding me close to him.

"The whole thing with Zayn." I answered, knowing I was heading into a touchy situation with him. "I know, Liam." I finished, referring to his feelings about me. Niall hadn't said anything about not telling Liam, so this was me letting him know that I had found out.

Slowly, I felt Liam shrug against me but then he froze and stood back. This time, when he pulled away he looked slightly worried, maybe even scared and I frowned up at him once again. 

"How do you know?" he asked, bewilderment in his tone.

I smiled sheepishly at him and he scowled before he bit his lip and looked over at the crowd as if he were looking for someone.

"I'm going to kill Niall." he said and I chuckled before I took his hands in mine, gently rubbing my thumbs over his knuckles. We danced through four more songs, laughing at nothing in particular. We spoke about things like the Biology test a few weeks ago and Kate's party, just anything to keep our conversation going for as long as we could.

That's when a thought hit me; was Kate even here? I hadn't seen her hanging around with the populars, so where could she be if not here? But that's when I reminded myself that it was a Halloween party - people were dressed up in costumes, so if she were here, I probably wouldn't recognize her.

"So, what exactly is going on between you and Zayn?" Liam asked all of a sudden.

I looked up at him and bit my lip. Whatever I said would probably hurt him, so how was I supposed to say anything right? I did like Zayn and he liked me back, but I thought of Liam as an older brother. I'd never had any romantic feelings towards him - at least none that I'd noticed so how was I supposed to tell that to him nicely? 

"I don't actually know." I admitted, remembering the conversation I had had with the girls about wanting to make Zayn and I's relationship official or not.

"Surely you must have some sort of idea?" Liam asked. "For example, are you two . . . dating?" his voice seemed to become quieter than before and I looked down guiltily as I tried desperately to think of a reply that wouldn't leave him feeling worse than he already did.

"Not that I know of. We . . . both like each other in that kind of way but nothing's been confirmed or anything." I said with a small shrug, hoping to God that he would just drop the subject and start talking about something else. Anything else.

"But do you want to date him?" Liam asked, looking at me again, his eyes almost narrowed as he waited for me to answer.

"Liam, please don't do this." I begged, shaking my head and looking down. He knew that asking these sort of questions was making me uncomfortable, so why was he persistent on asking them anyways?

"Don't do what? Ask questions about you and Zayn?" he said, frowning. I looked back up at him and I nodded in reply. All Liam done was raise an eyebrow.

"I just feel like you're cornering me." I admitted.

"Laura," Liam said quietly, almost a whisper, before he gently rested his chin on top of my head. I could feel his heart beating against my chest and I was suddenly at ease. It was only me and my friend there, with each other. "I just want to know what's going on between the two of you so that I can find out if I still have a chance."

I froze at his words. He was secretly hoping that Zayn and I weren't a thing so that he could try and make me fall for him, that's what he was basically saying. I didn't know what to do, how could I know what to do? I pretty much had two guys chasing after me, something that has never happened to me before. I was stuck, unsure of what to say or do next. I took a deep breath as I thought for a moment.

"Liam-" I started but I was cut off.

"Mind if I cut in?" Zayn asked from behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see the Bradford lad smiling at Liam. It was a genuine smile, but Liam didn't return it. He bit his lip and slowly nodded before he let go of me, looking away and turning to leave. I wanted to call after him, but I knew that I would probably have made things worse that way, so I decided against it. I watched as Liam disappeared into the mass of dancing bodies, out of sight.

Before I could do anything, Zayn's arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back, up against him. I gasped at the sudden contact and I froze when I felt Zayn's lips against my ear, his cool breath sending shivers down my spine. I couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by his sudden actions, fear coursing through me.

"Come dance with me?" he asked quietly and I shivered once again. I slowly turned to look up into his eyes, the dark orbs pinning me in place.

"I-I can't dance." I stammered before I turned and looked through the crowd for any sign of my friends. I caught sight of Sophie's red hair near the snack tables and I slowly started to walk towards her. I was stopped however, when Zayn pulled me back towards him, his arms encircling my waist and pulling me closer to him.

"Don't be silly, Laura." Zayn chuckled as he pulled me further into the room, near the middle of the floor. One of Zayn's hands held mine while the other rested on my back, holding me firmly in place, up against his front.

"Zayn." I protested as he started to move us around the room to the next song. I couldn't help but smile as Zayn attempted to lead me around in an almost ballroom styled dance, whizzing through all the students who were watching us curiously. I laughed when we accidentally bumped into a small student who had dressed up like Frankenstein. 

After about five more minutes of prancing around like a pair of five year olds, Zayn and I retreated to a quiet corner, slightly hidden from the lights of the disco. We were slowly rocking back and forth to the upbeat song, completely out of time with the beat.

"So are you enjoying the party?" I asked as I laced my fingers together around the back of Zayn's neck. I could feel the material of the long cape he wore against the side of my hands and I stroked the soft material a few times before my fingers started to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Very much." he answered, his eyes travelling down to my mouth.

"What?" I asked as he continued to stare. 

He shrugged. "Just admiring your fangs." he grinned down at me, brushing a few strands of hair out of my face. "Why didn't you wear your hair down?"

"I prefer it up. It doesn't get in my face that way, you see." I answered and he nodded slowly before I felt his fingertips start to play with the silk ribbon holding my corset in place.

"Doesn't this thing hurt?" he asked, tugging the material a few times, gesturing to the said piece of the costume.

I nodded. "Like a bitch. Sophie and May forced me to wear it though." I said and he chuckled as he looked down at the tight corset. "But it came with the costume so without it, the outfit looks unfinished."

"You'll be relieved to get it off then?" he asked, his brows raised. I nodded slowly before I cleared my throat. I looked over Zayn's shoulder and thankfully, no one was staring at us. Marielle and Liam were sitting at the snack table chatting. Niall and Sophie were somewhere in the crowd dancing. The populars were still standing in the faraway corner watching the crowd with narrowed eyes. Apparently they were all too cool to join in with the dancing.

I looked back up at Zayn, and he was already smiling at me, nodding his head to the beat of the song that was playing. Just when I thought he was about to speak, the next song started to play and Zayn looked directly at me and started to sing along to the well known Pitbull track.

"Tonight, I want all of you tonight,
Give me everything tonight,
For all we know we might not get tomorrow,
Let's do it tonight."

I couldn't help but blush as I felt him direct the words straight at me and a small, shy smile spread across my face as he leaned forward and captured my lips with his own. The kiss wasn't long, and it wasn't rough either. It was gentle and chaste. However, it was slightly difficult with plastic fangs in my mouth.

However, when Zayn's lips left mine, he didn't pull away - he continued to kiss his affection across my cheek, to my jaw and finally down my throat to my shoulder, his lips leaving a burning trail across my skin. I had never been kissed in such a way, but I kind of liked it. Fair enough, it was slightly awkward with being in the middle of a disco with tons of students in the room, but then I remembered that we were in a shadowy corner where the disco lights couldn't quite reach.

I gripped the back of Zayn's shirt tightly in my hands as his kisses became rougher and wetter, showering my skin and raising goose bumps along my shoulder. I tugged him back gently by his collar and bit my lip as he grinned down at me.

"Too much?" he asked, his perfectly white teeth on show.

I chuckled quietly, slightly flustered. "A little." 

"You OK?" he asked me, tucking my hair behind my ear before cupping my cheeks with his large, cool hands. I nodded and smiled up at him.

"I just didn't want the big, bad vampire to bite me." I joked and for a second, I swore that I saw his eyes darken all of a sudden. I bit my lip carefully, trying not to let the plastic fangs from falling out of my mouth and onto the floor.

"Well," Zayn laughed, looking down at the ground. When he looked back up, his eyes were back to their normal chocolatey brown, and there was a grin on his lips. "I would very much like to bite you." he finished and I shuddered at his words, my memory suddenly rattling back to Sophie's thoughts from earlier. Zayn was grinning down at me, and I couldn't help but notice the two pointed teeth protruding from underneath his top lip. Fangs.

"Did you buy the plastic ones too?" I asked randomly and Zayn frowned. "The fangs."

"Oh." he said. "Yeah, those are the best." he said, smiling widely to let me see the sharp canines. I grinned at him when seeing the plastic fangs, though I couldn't see the rest of the plastic covering his other teeth, like you could with mine. Maybe it was a different make?

 Zayn leaned back a little, his eyes scanning me from head to toe, his bottom lip taken between his teeth as he scanned me. I couldn't help but blush as he continued to observe me with dark eyes.

"You know . . . you make a pretty good little vampire." he commented, grinning at me again. I smiled back at him, my eyes still on the fangs the he was showing to me. It was ridiculous how real they looked, but it quite possibly could have been the dim light that made it seem so.

I unwound my arms from around Zayn's neck and took a small step back, feeling slightly dizzy all of a sudden.

"You OK?" he asked me, placing a hand on my shoulder in caution. I nodded before I carefully brushed his hand off of me.

"I'll be back soon, I'm going to go and get a drink." I said before I turned and started to make my way through the mass of dancing bodies towards the snack tables. I saw in the far corner Liam and Marielle chatting with Niall and Sophie who were locked at the elbow and spinning around in circles like a pair of clowns. I grinned at my friends silly behavior before I made my way up the stairs to the tables.

I looked at all the Halloween decorated fairy cakes, cups of Tizer which bubbled a faded colour of red, most likely supposed to represent blood. I picked up a glass and gulped it down, the fizzy liquid burning my throat slightly. I scrunched up the plastic cup and threw it into the bin before I quickly snatched a chocolate finger from the plate in front of me.

"Oi, Mitchell!" I heard a voice say from behind me and I rolled my eyes before I turned and faced Megan and Hayley who were glaring at me. "We need to talk."

"Yay." I said with no enthusiasm at all before I started to nibble on the end of the finger. "What do you want?"

"Well, first of all: what the fuck is your problem, Laura?" Hayley asked me, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning on one leg with her hips stuck out to one side. I tried to conceal my giggles at her stupidity. She really did act so immaturely for her age.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly confused as to what she was referring to, but as soon as she started speaking again, I knew instantly.

"You know what we mean." Hayley said. "You're stealing Zayn from us, and we don't like it."

"He was our friend, never your's and now you think that you can just take him all to yourself?" Megan chimed in, pointing a manicured red nail in my direction. I stared at her hand for a few moments before I scoffed and rolled my eyes at her. I rammed the rest of the chocolate finger into my mouth and pushed past the two of them.

"You're a right bitch, you know that, Laura?!" Megan called to me over the loud music and I just rolled my eyes again as I made my way towards the main floor again. However, before I could make it to the bottom, I bumped into someone who was dressed up as a black cat. I instantly recognized her perfume and I took a step back.

"Kate?" I said and she turned to look at me, her blue eyes worried. "How are you?" I asked politely.

Kate didn't reply, she only shrugged to me before she turned and skipped up the stairs towards the girls' bathrooms. I gritted my teeth together before I made the last minute decision to follow her. I carefully pushed through the crowds and entered the girls bathroom, closing the door behind me. Kate was standing looking at her reflection, panting heavily almost as if she had been running for hours on end.

"Are you OK, Kate? Please tell me what's wrong this time." I said softly as I made my way over to her. I  was careful with my actions, resting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. I was surprised when she didn't flinch away or snap at me, so I kept my hand where it was. Kate looked extremely worried all of a sudden.

"I-I can't speak to you, Laura." she mumbled before she flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. I caught a glimpse of the plaster that was still taped over her neck and I frowned. I still didn't know what had happened to her, and I wasn't going to try and ask her as I knew for a fact that she wouldn't tell me, and so I decided to find out for myself. 

I quickly moved my hand from her shoulder to the plaster on her neck, ripping the wound protection away from her neck. I gasped and took a step back when I saw the two inflamed, red gouges in her skin. Kate's head snapped around to look at me, her mouth wide open in shock. She quickly tried to cover her neck where the plaster had been, hiding the wound from my view once again, but it was no use. I'd seen it.

"Kate, what the hell happened to you?!" I practically yelled at her as she tried to snatch the plaster from my grasp. I dropped it to the ground between us and Kate looked up at me, her blue eyes narrowed slightly.

"Laura, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into." she said before she dashed from the room. 

AFTER THE SLIGHTLY STRANGE AND short conversation with Kate, I made my way from the bathroom and back into the canteen where the students had just finished playing a dance off competition. I saw Marielle and Sophie laughing like mad in the back corner and I quickly rushed over to my friends and joined in with their conversation.

"That one looks like Henry!" Marielle said pointing to a skeleton decoration hanging from the ceiling. I looked up at the decoration that they were talking about and grinned when I too noticed the similar differences between it and the sporty boy in the year below us.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sophie asked when she saw me standing behind her. I shrugged and then looked behind me at the crowd. Niall and Liam were nowhere in sight. Halfway across the room, I saw Zayn walking around, his head darting from side to side. I knew that he was looking for me, but he was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to know where Kate had dashed off to in such a hurry.

Now that I'd finally found out what was on Kate's neck, I was desperate to talk to her about it. She was worried and scared, and the least that I could do was be there for her to talk with.

"Just around." I said when I watched Zayn walk the opposite way from us, still searching through the crowd. I let out a sigh as he turned the other way and I turned back around to look at my friends. "I'm going to get some fresh air." I told them before I darted off towards the exit. I ignore the annoyed comments I got as I pushed past everyone and out the door, into the cool night air. I took a deep breath as soon as I left the packed building.

The thoughts running through my mind weren't in the slightest bit positive - completely the opposite. Kate had a serious looking injury on her neck, and I for sure wasn't an idiot. That wound looked exactly the way a vampire's bite did - two red puncture marks. I could tell that it wasn't a Halloween trick - those wounds were real.

That left me questioning everything that I knew. Vampires weren't real, they were mythical creatures. But then where the hell had Kate got bite marks so like the ones of a vampire? I couldn't help but think back to Sophie's words earlier about Zayn being a vampire and that's when I re-thought everything I'd seen over the last few weeks.

Zayn had in fact been incredibly fast and strong in P.E while were were partners for tennis.

His skin was pale and cold, like Sophie had said a vampire's was.

 His mood swings had freaked me out, along with his mysterious behavior and personality. Could everything that Sophie said have been true? If so, how the heck was it possible? Vampires were things of movies, nightmares and campfire stories, not reality. I took a deep breath and tucked my hair behind my ear as I started to walk through the school grounds, the thoughts going haywire in my mind.

"I must be crazy." I said aloud to myself, trying to give myself that little more reassurance that I needed. How stupid had I been to actually have thought about Zayn being a fictional creature? I must have been going mad.

Just when I was about to turn and leave the school parking lot, I heard a giggle from around the corner of the building. I stayed as quiet as I could, hoping not to interrupt whatever was going on around there. My guesses were set on one thing in particular as to what was going on.

"I honestly don't know what you see in her." I heard a voice say and my eyes narrowed when I recognized it as Megan's. I shifted to the side, trying to hear a little better. I had never been one to eavesdrop, but I had a feeling that she was talking about me. Who else would she be talking about after all?

"And why not?" asked a rougher, male's voice. I froze where I stood as I listened to Megan and Zayn chatting. What was Zayn doing out here with her? The last time I had seen him, he was looking for me in the lunch room, his eyes darting around the room quickly as he searched. I couldn't help but feel a little upset about the fact that he had chosen to follow Megan around and leave his search for me.

I bit my lip as I neared the corner of the building, my body pressed up against the wall as I listened in on their conversation. I cautiously peeked around the corner of the building to see Zayn and Megan standing in front of each other, their eyes locked and Megan's hand was placed on Zayn's left shoulder as she jutted her hips out to the side.

"Because she's nothing. Look at me and my friends, Zayn. We have everything; the money, the looks and," Megan stopped to giggle. "And the best experience in bed." she purred, leaning closer to whisper in Zayn's ear.

I felt my blood boil as I watched her flirt with Zayn, my hands balled into fists as her fingers crept down the front of his torso to his chest.

"And you don't think she has?" Zayn retorted and I felt myself blush. If I were right and they were in fact talking about me, then the conversation had just got way out of hand.

"Oh, please!" Megan laughed. "You think Laura has any experience with anything? She's a geek who eats dictionaries for breakfast, lunch and tea. You honestly think she possesses any of the things that we do? Any of the things that . . . I do?" Megan said, her smile widening when Zayn remained silent. "That's what I thought."

I watched as she raised both of her hands to his shoulders and rubbed them gently. I couldn't help but feel slightly angry that Zayn was making no attempt whatsoever to get her off of him, and I knew that if he didn't, then I would.

"You know what, Megan?" Zayn said, his tone dropping slightly, to an almost seductive level. I frowned as I watched him lace his fingers with hers', before he gently started backing her up against the wall of the school. She gigged as he did, and he gave her a warm smile.

"Yes, Zayn?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"I think . . ." Zayn said as he lowered his head to the crook of her neck. I was so desperate to run over there and slap them both, but what Zayn did next stopped me. Suddenly, Megan was being held up in the air with Zayn's hand around her throat. Zayn forcefully pushed her up against the wall before he leaned in closer to her and bared his teeth.

"Listen here, you little bitch." Zayn snarled at Megan and my eyes widened as I watched him hold her against the wall with one hand. "You're messing with my plans and I don't like it. Do you want to know what I do to people that I don't like, huh, Megan? Do you really want to know?"

Megan whimpered in reply, fear in her eyes as her red nails clawed at his hand that was holding her in place.

"I kill them." Zayn said and I shuddered as he continued to hiss at her. "I usually stick to a routine when doing so, but seeing as you've already fucked that up for me, it looks like you'll have to pay the price." he finished before he slowly lowered her to the ground, his hand still around her throat.

Before anything more could be said, Zayn pulled his hand back and lunged forward, pulling Megan's head to the side by her hair. I heard a piercing shriek fill the air as I watched Zayn bite into Megan's neck. I stood frozen where I was, my eyes wide in shock, my feet frozen to the tarmac beneath me.

I watched as Megan's fighting slowly began to stop and her attempts to push Zayn away from her were weakening. She was dying, and it was because of Zayn. I glared at the boy that I had grown to like over the past few weeks, the boy who I had shared my first kiss with, the boy who had been a liar from the start. 

Before I knew what I was doing, I dashed around the corner, my fists raised in the air as I charged towards Zayn. As much as I didn't like Megan, Hayley or their little crew, I couldn't let her die. I just couldn't watch helplessly as someone was being murdered right before my eyes. I had the power to stop it, and that was exactly what I was doing.

I clenched my fists and started to pound on Zayn's back, grabbing at his cape, his collar, anything to try and get him off of Megan. I dug my nails into his arm to try and grab his attention, my feeble attempts no use at all.

Suddenly, Zayn pulled his head away from Megan's neck and he released her. I watched as if it were in slow motion, as her body fell to the ground, a blood stain covering the front of her witch's costume. Zayn continued to stand with his back facing towards me and I slowly started to back away as I watched Megan close her eyes.

"Y-You killed her." I whispered in shock, my eyes still wide. "You fucking killed her! You monster! How could y-" I shut my mouth as soon as Zayn turned around to face me, his chocolate eyes now a dark, almost black colour. I gasped when he opened his mouth and snarled at me, his fangs on full show. There was blood dripping from his lips, down his chin and on to his white shirt which still had the faded red stains from the moment he had arrived.

A voice in the back of my head was telling me to run for my life, but another little voice was telling me there was no use - he was much faster than me. He would catch me easily. Before I could do anything, I was suddenly forced up against the wall, wincing as my back connected with the brick behind me. I whimpered when Zayn's steel like grasp held my upper arms to the wall. With another push against the wall, I felt the back of my head connect with the wall and stars obscured my vision.

I tried to struggle out of Zayn's grasp - to get away from the monster than was holding me securely in place. I whimpered when his nails bit into my skin.

The back of my head was throbbing from being bumped against the wall and I felt dizziness take over me, throughout my entire body. I felt my legs turn to jelly beneath me and before I could stop myself, I was falling - falling to the ground. Just before I could connect with the concrete, Zayn's arms wrapped themselves around me, holding me carefully.

I looked up into Zayn's dark eyes, fear coursing through me as he grinned down at me menacingly, his fangs tinted with blood.

"Sweet dreams, Princess." was the last thing I heard him say before I fell again, only this time, I fell into peaceful slumber.