August

When we initially arrived, I had high hopes for New York, but the city has exceeded my expectations. Having said that, ever since we broke up, life has been a complete disaster, and I really wish Clay were here.

I never knew how much I would miss him.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we check-in. As we will be in this place for the entirety of the month of August, I can't wait to let loose and have some fun. Both Logan and Brie are currently in the room that is directly adjacent to mine. As soon as I step foot inside my room and lay eyes on the king-sized bed, I can't help but feel a little uneasy. I am already settled when someone knocks on the door. Brie enters as soon as I open it.

"You okay?" She asks.

I simply turn and move in the direction of the window while gazing out at the vast city in front of me. I'm unsure about my feelings.

"I'm such a fool, Brie." I turn to face her, pushing back the scalding tears that want to flow, saying, "I'm such a colossal idiot, I fucked up because I'm so stubborn and now I've lost him."

She walks towards me and puts her hands on my shoulders.

"You didn't lose him, trust me. Clay's just as stubborn and hard-headed. You saw what he did in London, that isn't your fault. But just wait, he will be here begging on his knees for you. Clay loves you and it's been proven over and over again that nothing in this world can come between you two," She hugs me tight and I sigh. I hope she's right.

The days go by quite quickly, and I realise that I require some time to spend by myself. On Wednesday morning, I hear the sound of rain pattering against the glass as I open my eyes. I get up and order myself some breakfast. A startling knock at the door interrupts my meal just as I'm finishing up. After opening it, I am surprised to discover Logan already standing there. I open the door for him, and he walks over to the chair on the other side of the room.

"I brought you this," He hands me a blood bag and I thank him.

"How are you holding up?" He looks at me with concern in his eyes.

"I'm okay, I guess. I feel like I just need some time to myself. So you don't mind if I skip out on the movies tonight do you?" I ask him. Hoping he understands where I'm coming from.

"Of course, but remember if you need me at any moment I'm just a phone call away." He gets up and walks toward me as his arms embrace me.

"Thanks Logan,"

As soon as he's out of sight, I go ahead and sit back down on my bed. I start the day by eating junk food and ending it by watching cheesy romantic movies on television. As the evening draws closer, the rain becomes steadily heavier, and my mind can't help but wander back to the days when I was in high school. I hastily get dressed and dash out of the hotel, walking out into the storm and allowing it to purge all of the feelings that have been plaguing me. I break into a sprint as I cross the street and continue down the trail. As the rain falls on my face, I experience a level of tranquillity that I have not previously encountered in New York.

As I proceed further along the route, I can't seem to shake the sense that I'm being watched by another person. I take a deep breath to calm myself down and then turn around to head back to the hotel. At first, I had high hopes that Clay was the one following me, but I soon realised that I would have been able to detect him. Whoever or whatever this was, it gave me the chills, like if someone had been watching me from the shadows. After having reached the street, I turn around one more time and notice a brilliant red light in the distance. That is not possible. We are the only ones who have survived. I immediately race across the street and make my way back to the hotel, where I end up running into Logan and Brie on the way in.

"Ray, you're soaked." Brie says.

"I'm fine, I just need to shower and lay down for a bit," I don't wait for the elevator, instead dash up the stairs. My heart races as I walk into my room and lock the door behind me. More than anything right now, I need Clay.

At long last, I've wrapped up my shower and am ready for bed. I nod off briefly but wake up to find that it is now four in the morning. As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, I ruminate on a variety of topics. It makes me laugh to think of how bizarre it was that despite the fact that I did not know Clay at all, I yet felt something for him. I cautioned myself against developing feelings of attachment, but in the end, it happened nonetheless. The memories of him and I make me feel like I'm on a rollercoaster all the time.

Even after everything that had happened, he flew off to London, and I am incredibly jealous that he did not take me with him. I don't want to be missing him in this way, but I am. I'm in New York, and he's in London at the moment. As I come to terms with the fact that it isn't right, that he isn't here with me, I find that I am starting to break down and cry. No matter what the circumstances were, I should not have been so careless as to abandon him in London; rather, I should have done everything in my power to bring him back with me. I sit up momentarily to wipe away the last tear before falling back to sleep.

The first week goes by in a flash; during this time, we go to a lot of stores and even walk around Central Park. Even though the days were lovely, as soon as night fell I felt more lonely than I had in a long time. Brie and Logan felt the desire to party even while they were away on vacation, so they made plans to do so later tonight. I fixate intently on my reflection in the mirror and secretly wish that Clay were there behind me. The idea of his hands covering me together with his touch, his kisses, and his scent causes me to become weak in the knees. I give myself a light shake to get the concepts out of my head. In the final moments before we leave, Brie comes into my room and hands me a shot. It is imperative, according to her, that we begin the evening with alcoholic beverages.

"Here's to us!" I say as I gulp down the vodka, thinking of how it would taste coming off Clay's lips, I slightly blush, hoping Brie doesn't notice.

"Are you okay with going out tonight?" She inquiries.

"I'm good. Tonight I'm going to have the best fucking time of my life." I let out a forced smile.

I'm trailing after Brie and Logan as they walk down the street because I can't seem to shake the thought that I need to stop thinking about Clay and I. Will we ever be able to find a way to get past this? When I least expect it, I bump into a complete stranger, which jolts me out of my thoughts abruptly.

"I'm so sorry" I muster out.

He looks at me with shock and confusion covering his face. I get a sturdy look around his surroundings and see something strange as if particles are scattering all around him.

"You can see me?" He stammers.

"Um yeah, am I not supposed to?" I question him with a hint of sarcasm.

"Raven, who are you talking to?" Brie asks loudly.

I look at her and then turn back to face the guy, but he's gone.

Where did he go?

"Ummm, nobody," I say quickly, I think I'm going crazy.

******Meanwhile Elsewhere******

"My queen, Erik just called, he found her. The one you have been looking for. She made it easy by coming here."

As her subordinate approaches, the woman in black turns.

"How about the boy?" Inquisitively, she asks him.

"Not with her, but I'm sure he'll join soon, I'm nearly confident he will," The speaker said.

"Find him!" She bellows. "Without him, she won't comply with my demands." She says, gritting her teeth.

"Indeed, my Queen."

******Back to Raven******

I was able to get the three of us into the club using magic. I'm at the bar waiting for our drinks when I notice the earlier acquaintance. I swiftly turn toward Brie and Logan after grabbing our glasses.

I tell Brie, who turns to face the guy and all of his buddies, "That's the second time tonight I've seen that guy."

As she snatches her drink, she remarks, "That's bizarre." Then I start to experience that feeling.

"Raven? Do you feel that?" Logan asks.

I say, glancing at the guy, "Yeah, we aren't the only ones of our sort in here," And he stares right back. He raises his drink in what appears to be a cheer. I turn to face Logan and caution them both against making any stupid decisions, especially Logan.

I try to shake the idea that there are others here like us while losing myself in the music, when a tap on my shoulder causes me to stop. I turn to face the earlier guy. He's cute, okay, he's Cover Boy pretty, and his emerald eyes gleam in the dim light. His smile could light up the city after dark. But he looks so familiar.

"I'm Erik," He says "Why don't you and your friends come join us?"

I look over at Brie and Logan, Thank god the guy is facing me, Logan's eyes blaze red, signalling to me that he is ready for anything, and I nod

"Sure," We follow him to where he and his friends are seated.

"I assumed that Cladwell was where the rest of us remained." Logan mutters to me.

"Same," I whisper back, "Keep your guard up," I tell him and Brie quietly.

"I never got your name," Erik turns to me.

"That's because I never gave it to you, I'm Raven, this is Brie and Logan" I respond.

I look over at the boy sitting with shaggy black hair and amber eyes, who appears to notice something he desires since his eyes are bright and he has a grin on his face as he looks at me.

"Cool. This is Nate, Nia, Santana, Valarie and Brooks." Erik introduces his friends to us.

Nate? My eyes narrow in his direction. Why does he keep looking at me as if I'm something he wants to play with?

Everything about this situation feels odd. I get up and walk out of the room while simultaneously pulling my phone out of my pocket. It takes him till the third ring before he answers the phone.

"Raven?" Clay's voice can be heard in the receiver.

"Clay," I hesitate, not knowing what to say; I had it in my thoughts, but once I heard his voice, I went utterly blank.

"I am very sorry, I have missed you so much," He says softly, and it causes my heart to flutter.

I'm so sad that I could cry. I, too, am suffering from his absence. I keep to myself for what seems like an unending period of time with him.

"Raven, can you hear me? Are you still there?" He asks.

I finally managed to get the words out, "Yes, I'm sorry, Listen, Clay, you need to get to New York, there are more of us here."

"What are you talking about? Have you been drinking?" He questions with a chuckle.

"I drank one drink, but that isn't the point; the point is that there are other vamps here, which is what I'm referring to when I say that we aren't alone."

I can hear him shuffling around,

"I'm getting on the next flight to New York, I'll see you in a few hours," I can hear him rummaging through his closet.

He takes a deep breath, "Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," He speaks softly and hangs up the phone before I have a chance to answer. I put away my phone and take a deep breath, savouring the delightful sensation of the crisp air on this August evening. Hearing Clay's voice brought back so many memories of him that I had no idea how much I would miss him before. He is the focus of my utmost affection.

"Hey," Nate says from behind me.

"Jesus christ you scared me!" I say jumping back.

"Is everything okay? Brie and Logan said you and your boyfriend broke up, so I thought I would come and see if you were okay." He says.

What the fuck?

"Yeah, so?" I ask. I take a good look at him, if it wasn't for the fact that I love Clay, Nate would seem like a good pawn to play with.

"Well, I figured we could go out one night while you're still in New York." Erik nervously asks, it's cute that he is nervous, but like I said, I'm not into it.

"Nate, leave the poor girl alone." I hear Erik's voice coming toward us. "Sorry about Nate here, he has this thing about needing every girl's attention." I look up at Erik and still have this overwhelming feeling of familiarity. At that moment I realised he is the leader of this group. His eyes glow red as he winks. My inner voice warns me to be cautious.

I walk away from them both and as I pass them, I chuckle and shake my head. When I enter the club again, I notice that Brie is yelling at one of the girls and that Logan's eyes are glowing. Nobody nearby is paying attention, making it seem as though it frequently occurs.

"Frigidus,"

I shout and everyone in the club freezes except for them. I walk up,

"What the hell is going on?" I demand.

"This bitch thinks she's better than me," Brie spews.

"Can we all stop acting like we're in high school and just have a good time or I'm leaving," I say frustrated with how this night is turning out.

"Come on guys, one more drink and we can all go our separate ways," Erik suggests and a smile creeps up on his face.

We all nod in agreement. Logan looks at me then glares at all the people in the club.

Shit!

"Regelo,"

I utter a soft word, and very immediately the volume of the club's music and atmosphere increases. As we sat there and talked for a considerable amount of time, I could almost make out Nate being pulled in my direction by his friends. Clay will never be surpassed by anyone else. I'll say "no" to any guy.

"Raven, do you want to dance?" Nate asks me.

I shake my head as I observe the pitiful boy who listens to his companions.

"Honestly, I don't need your hands all over me. Thank you, but I don't want to dance."

"I'm sorry, I just think-" I cut him off.

"What? Listen, I already know what you are going to say and the kind of person you are, so if I had a dollar for every time I heard one of your lines, you would be here and I would be on a remote island if I had a $1 for each time I heard one of your lines. Therefore, let me put a stop to that." He is encouraged to make an effort to dispute the claims that I have made.

"No, you don't," He says with cocky confidence, his eyes brighten.

"You're going to first claim that you aren't trying to play games, expecting I'll trust whatever you say. Then you're going to compliment my appearance and say that I stand out from other girls." My lips are near to his as I stand up and approach him. "Nevertheless, I believe it is time for me to leave since whatever you believe may occur, won't." Then I turn to face Logan and Brie and let them know I'm going, they nod and follow after me.

As we walk down the street I hear my name being called. I turn to see Brooks, his ocean blue eyes twinkle in the dark.

"Hey, I'm sorry about all that, I wanted to see if you and your friends would like to come hang out at our place sometime, just for some fun, trust me, we do game nights and it's something you don't want to miss," He tells me. His voice, I've heard it before but where?

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure go for it,"

"Are you and Erik related?"

He laughs and his smile brightens up the night. Why do I feel like I know him?

"We're twins. It's funny because some say Erik looks like our dad and that I sound like our dad."

"And who do you look like?" Curiosity takes over.

He smirks and says, "My mom."

"Okay," I shake my head at this odd feeling.

I tell him thanks but no thanks at game night and look back at Brie and Logan and shrug my shoulders. I look back to see that Brooks is already gone. What is it with them disappearing so fast?

When we return to the hotel, I stop Brie before entering my room. I need to know if she feels something also.

"Did Erik and Brooks give you any weird feelings?"

"Now that I think about it, yeah they did. It's almost like I knew them but I've never met them before."

"If we both have that feeling, then something isn't right."

"Ray, it's probably our imagination working in overdrive after finding more Vamps in this world."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Goodnight."

"Night."

I walk inside my room and immediately take a seat. As I run my hand through my hair, it is impossible for me not to think about Clay. After turning on the water in the bathroom, I walk into the shower and think about how my body trembles whenever Clay is within a short distance of me. As I stand there, the thought of his hands covering the entirety of my body and his wet kisses falling on my neck causes my heart to beat. I step out of the shower and immediately put on Clay's t-shirt, despite the fact that my hair is still soaking wet. I walk out of the bathroom...

Knock knock