14I shivered as his teeth grazed the side of my neck. I knew that I should have been afraid. I should have left the warehouse, screaming for my life when he gave me the chance. Even so, the involuntary shudder was not born out of fear. Rather, it was pleasure.
…Perhaps I should start at the beginning.
The school was buzzing with the arrival of the new kid. And when I say buzzing, I mean that in a very literal sense. The entire student body was busy passing rumour after rumour back and forth, like basketballs, as they moved in and out of their classrooms.
I found the whole spectacle to be quite amusing.
"Dana? Danaaaaaaa?" My best friend, Corina's, hand waved in front of my face. "Dana? You still with us?" she asked.
I laughed. "Just watching the show, Cor. Kids these days can be so amusing.."
"They're excited, Dane, let them have their fun."
"Well, they're not going to get too far in life, so I suppose that I better let them enjoy it while they can…" My scorn for the rest of the school's population was not unfounded. I had been in many of the same classes as all of them, and I found myself challenged intellectually by only one or two people out of thirty.
Just then, I was hit by a sudden chill in the air, which was odd, for December weather. I put it to the back of my mind and hauled myself off the stairs Corina and I had been sitting on during our free period.
I offered my hand to Corina, and pulled her up. "Come on. We should probably start moving before they're all let out of their cage – classrooms.'
Corina's laugh was drowned out by the bell signalling the move from fifth to last period.
We moved slowly to English, which fortunately was only a block away from where we were sitting. Ignoring the tedious 'new kid' rumours flying around the already half-full classroom, we took our seats. Five minutes later, our teacher walked into the room.
"Okay, kids, listen up. As I know that you all know, there is a new student starting today. And, luckily for us, he'll be joining our English class." At this, the blonde hair and nail file type girls looked thoroughly excited. This news was possibly the most exciting they had received in the past week, save for the negative results of their pregnancy tests.
I whispered this to Corina, who had a hard time stifling her laughter.
"Is there something funny, Miss Bell?"
Corina nearly choked on her laughter as she shook her head. "No, Mr Ainsley," she managed to choke out.
"Good. Ahh. Right on time, Mr Donehue." Mr Ainsley spoke to a party we couldn't see. "I can see that this is the start of a very good relationship," he said, positively beaming.
"I'm looking forward to it," was the unseen reply.
Corina turned to me and rolled her eyes. "This guy sounds lame already," she whispered to me. I nodded in agreement.
I was glad it was Friday, and I could get away from it all soon enough.
I was so caught up in my celebrations of Friday that I almost didn't notice the silence that fell over the room, accompanied by the same type of chills I had felt earlier that day. I turned around to see what could possibly have managed to quieten the Blonde Brigade, but when I saw him¸ I understood the silence. It hadn't been fear, or shock that had managed to cease conversation, rather, it was awe. Awe of the gorgeous boy who stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the doorframe as if he had been here his entire life, and this was not his first day. His pale blonde, almost silvery white, hair was short and spiked at the back, the only exception the long fringe that flopped down on one side of his face, partially covering his left eye. His eyes were a colour I had never seen before. They were a striking violet, fading to a dark blue towards the edges of his irises. He was lean, and stood with an air of confidence about him. He smiled at us, flashing his porcelain-white teeth briefly before pushing himself off the doorframe and walking casually into the classroom.
"Mr Donehue, you can take one of the seats behind Miss Bell and Miss Sullivan," Mr Ainsley informed him, gesturing towards the only empty seats in the room.
'Mr Donehue' nodded, and walked down the narrow aisle between the tables to his seat, winking at me as he walked past. Having recovered from my temporary lack of willpower, I scowled at him.
"Jerk," I muttered under my breath, as I heard him choose the seat directly behind me. Next to me, however, Corina giggled. I turned to scowl at her as well.
"Shut up, Cor," I said, annoyed, though I couldn't quite place why. I thought I heard a snort from behind me. This so called 'Mr. Donehue' better hope I was imagining it.
Of course, that only made Corina laugh harder.
Mr Ainsley glared at us, and then smirked. It's never good when teachers smirk. Never.
"Mr Murphy," he started, addressing the boy sitting in front of us.
Crap. I knew where this was going. He was going to ask Chad to show the new kid around. Chad, who was one of my closest guy friends, and who hung around with me all the time. He would be looking after the new kid who I already didn't much like. (The incident before doesn't count. Anyone would have been shocked by such arrogance.)
"Mr Murphy, being the excellent student and human being that you are, would you mind taking young Mr Donehue under your wing, showing him around, letting him hang around with your group until he can find his own way?" Mr Ainsley asked, with an air of innocence that could have fooled anyone but me.
Don't do it Chad, it's a trap! I thought to myself, wishing that I had telepathic powers.
Chad nodded. "No worries, Mr A, I'd be happy to."
Damn Chad, and his friendly personality.
"Excellent." Mr Ainsley smirked at me. I resisted the urge to get up and smack that smirk off his stupid face.
"Now, people. I know that it's last period, and I know that it's Friday, so I'm going to let you guys take it easy today. I'm sure that neither you, nor I, can be motivated to do much at this point in time, so I want you all to just take out your texts, and read silently to yourselves until the bell rings. Okay?"
The class muttered its agreement, happy to be having absolutely nothing to do. We all knew that none of us would actually read the book. I had an excuse – I was already done, as were Corina and Chad. The majority of the rest of the class were simply lazy.
"Mr Ainsley?" came the voice from the arrogant Mr Donehue. "What text are we studying?"
"Oh, that's right, Mr Donehue. For the remainder of this term, we will be focusing on Romulus, My Father. I'll get a copy to you next Monday, but for now…" Mr Ainsley's eyes lit up as they landed on me. "Miss Sullivan, you've finished reading the text, haven't you?" Duh. I had finished it within the first week, and he damn well knew it too.
I nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Would you mind lending your copy to Mr Donehue?"
I bit back my catty reply, and instead forced a smile. "Of course not, Mr Ainsley, I'd be happy to." I pulled my copy out of my bag, and turned around in my seat to give the book to this Mr Donehue.
He smiled at me. "Thanks."
I turned around without response, and rolled my eyes.
Within a few minutes, Mr Ainsley had, as we had all known that he would, made an excuse to get out of the classroom. As soon as he had left, we all broke into our own little conversations.
In between my conversations with Chad and Corina, I overheard the conversations behind me. I wasn't eavesdropping; it's just that it was hard not to hear when people were being so damned obvious.
"So, uh, what's your name?" Bianca Ashby, leader of the Blonde Brigade asked Donehue, in between what I believed that she believed were "flirtatious giggles."
"Uh, Ben. Ben Donehue," he answered. His voice was deep, and kind of…musical. Not that I was noticing these things.
"Oh," she giggled again. "That's a really cool name."
No it's not.
"Thanks," he replied unsurely.
Against my better judgement, I was almost feeling sorry for the guy. I mean, Bianca Ashby was flirting with him. Could there be anything worse?
..I did say almost.
"So, uh, Ben…There's this big Halloween party tonight. Do you think that maybe you'd want to check it out? It goes off every year, it's always the best party. People talk about it for months after."
I resisted the urge to laugh. Bianca Ashby's Halloween party never "goes off". The only people that ever go are the rest of her stupid Brigade. The rest of them always go to Chad's party. Chad throws one HELL of a Halloween party. He's had them ever since year seven, and every year Bianca insists on throwing one too. You'd think that eventually, she'd give up, but no.
"Yeah, that'd be pretty cool, I love Halloween," Ben replied. There sounded like there was a smile in his voice.
"Awesome!" Bianca exclaimed happily. "It's at Chad's place."
Wait, what?!
"He'll be able to give you directions, right Chad?"
At the mention of his name, Chad had turned around. "Yeah, sure," he said. "No worries. It'll be an insane night Ben, you don't want to miss it."
Yeah, but what about those of us who want him to miss it?
I rolled my eyes and started drawing mindlessly on a loose sheet of paper. I had a tendency to draw vampires when I got bored. You know the type, scary, fangs, gigantic bat-wings? Yeah. The wings were the coolest.
"Nice," I heard from behind me. I turned around to find no other than Ben Donohue, looking over my shoulder. "But you know, vampires don't have spikes coming out of their legs. Or incredibly small eyes. And their teeth rarely ever have blood on them. Unless they've just eaten," he added mysteriously, sending chills down my spine with the dangerous look in his eyes. He laughed as I shuddered.
I was saved by the bell.
Both Corina and Chad left the room quickly, calling goodbyes over their shoulders as they hurried to catch their buses.
I grabbed my bag off the floor, and left in the same manner they had, though due to the fact that I walked home, I did not have the same urgency they did. I just wanted to get away from Ben.
I jumped when a hand grabbed my shoulder.
When I turned around, I found Ben grinning down at me, holding my copy of Romulus, My Father. I snatched it out of his hands without so much as a thankyou, and resumed my walk, trying to get lost in amongst the crowd of loud teenagers making their ways home.
Unfortunately, my plan did not work.
"Too scary for you?" he whispered in my ear, making the hairs on my neck stand on edge. I hadn't even heard him come up behind me.
I didn't reply as I shook of the tingles in my spine and kept walking.
"You're right to be scared of me, you know." He had managed to keep up with my furious pace, without even looking like he was trying.
I stopped to face him. "I'm not scared," I told him. And I wasn't.
He grinned at me, his teeth seeming sharper than they had originally. "Are you sure?" he asked. I managed to make you shiver and jump within a ten minute time frame. I would say that your reactions constitute fear."
"Well, you would be wrong. I'm not afraid of you."
I hadn't realised how close he was to me until he ran his hand up and down my arm. "Then maybe," he said as I felt goosebumps rise on my arms where he had touched me, "Maybe you're scared of how you feel about me."
I scoffed, ignoring how weak I felt around him. "Oh yeah? And how do you think I feel about you?"
He winked at me. "I think you like me."
I rolled my eyes. "Dream on, new kid." I resumed my walk.
He quickly matched his pace to mine, yet again. I really would like to know how he did that so easily.
"Just admit it Dana, you like me."
I stopped in my tracks. "How…How do you know my name?" I asked, a little more than freaked out. He had never been around me when anyone had said my name, and the only way I had been addressed when I had been around him was 'Miss Sullivan.'
He grinned wickedly. "That's my secret," he whispered.
It was then that I noticed that we were standing outside my house.
"See you at the party tonight Dana," he called, as I walked down my driveway to my front door. "It's gonna be a lot of fun."
I turned around, all ready with a sarcastic remark, but he was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared.
Weird.
I unlocked the door, and went up to my room to get ready for Chad's Halloween party, ignoring both the shivers up my spine, and the butterflies in my stomach.
The party was a costume party, as all great Halloween parties should be.
The only rule was that nobody was allowed to see your costume before you arrived at the party. That meant that none of the girls were allowed to get ready together. Of course, they could have if they had wanted to – there was no real way of knowing if they had, but we all respected Chad enough that we paid attention to his request.
I searched immediately for both Chad and Corina once I was inside. I was incredibly curious as to what both were wearing.
I spotted them both standing near the stereo, arguing lightly about music choice. It was early, so not many people had shown up yet.
"Hey," I greeted them as I joined their little party. "You guys look awesome."
Corina was dressed as a fairy, which suited her well. Her medium length sandy brown hair fell in waves around her shoulders, and was secured by a sparkly lavender head band. She wore a baby pink dress that was neatly ragged (if that makes sense) where it stopped, just above her knees. She wore flat black ballet shoes, and a pair of plastic fairy wings were attached to her back somehow. She looked absolutely gorgeous.
Chad, on the other hand was dressed as Batman. He and I shared a Batman obsession. His mask didn't cover his whole face, though. In fact, he only had the ears on. He was dressed all in black, his Batman T-shirt saving him being mistaken for an emo kid with bat ears. That, and the cape.
"Thanks Dane, you look pretty hot yourself," Chad said, grinning.
I was dressed as - you guessed it - a vampire. My raven black hair hung straight down, stopping just above my shoulders. My face was paler than usual, and my lips had been painted a bright red, with a significant amount of eyeliner applied to my eyes. I was dressed in a simple crimson red form fitting, but loose, dress that stopped higher on one leg than the other, neither side stopping lower than mid calf, with a pair of simple black heels and a black choker around my neck completing the outfit. I would have worn a cape if I could have found one.
"Thankyou, thankyou," I said, laughing as I bowed like I had won some kind of award.
We chatted for a while, until people started arriving, and Chad had to go and play host. Corina and I stood around, observing people. Corina was particularly interested in 'observing' a certain pirate boy, so I was soon left alone and drinking punch. Not that I minded. I danced for a while, with a merman, a ghost, a hardcore metal head, and Superman, but I soon tired myself out. None of them were very good dancers, and I think that Superman had had a bit too much to drink.
By the time I had managed to get outside, I was grateful for both the silence and the fresh air as I sat on the bench out the front.
"Nice costume."
The unexpected voice made me jump.
Ben laughed. "Third time today. That has to be some kind of record, right?"
I turned around so I could see his face. To my astonishment, he was dressed like me. (As a vampire, I mean. Not in a dress.)
His costume was amazing. His blonde hair was slicked back, all trace of his "emo fringe" gone. He was wearing suit pants and a long sleeved shirt, with the cuffs rolled up to his elbows. It looked like he even had fake fangs in. The thing that made the costume, though, was the cape. It was black on the outside, and crimson red, the same colour of my dress, on the inside, with an upturned collar. He looked very Dracula. Very…authentic.
"Thanks," I said, ignoring his second comment. "I like your costume too."
Something close to anger, mixed with…happiness, maybe, flickered in his eyes.
"What if it's not a costume?" he asked, all traces of humour gone.
"Well, considering that this is a costume party, I think you'd get kicked out for your lack of costume," I said, grinning.
Despite himself, he grinned in response.
He sat down next to me. "So tell me. Why are you a vampire tonight?" He seemed to be genuinely curious.
I shrugged. "I don't know. I've always liked vampires. They always…intrigued me."
He flashed his fake teeth at me. "I'm glad to hear you say that."
I raised my eyebrow questioningly. "…Why?"
He leaned in close to me. "I'll show you," he whispered, before brushing his lips lightly against my own, scooping me without warning into his arms, and taking off at a speed that, had I not been so damn confused, I would have realised was not humanly possible.
We stopped at a warehouse that I realised as being abandoned for quite some time. He carried me inside, and placed me gently on the couch, looking at me as if he expected me to say something.
I was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
This is how my mind was working at that point in time -
New kid.
Don't like him. Didn't like him.
Walk home. Weirdness.
Party.
Outside.
Vampire.
KISS.
Running.
?
Yeah. I was confused.
"I'm sorry, Dana," he said, finally breaking the silence. "I shouldn't have…you should go. Just follow the path, it'll lead you back to your friend's party."
"You never told me how you know my name," I said, that being the only thought that came to mind.
He sighed. "Do you really want to know?" he asked, still not meeting my eyes.
I had to think about that. Did I really want to know? "Yes."
I watched him, as he got up, and walked away from me. I drew my legs up to my chest, as I waited for what I could tell was going to be a story. Maybe one that I didn't want to hear.
"I moved here, ten years ago. I was seven years old. I was different. I aged, when…no one else in my family really did. Of course, mentally, I aged faster than I did physically. My body couldn't keep up with my brain. One day, I was out, hunting, when I saw a girl run out in front of a car, to save a duck that was crossing the road. I don't know why, but my heart stopped when I thought of anything bad ever happening to her. Luckily, the car stopped in time, and she was okay. That girl was you."
I remembered that. I was seven as well, and everyone had been asking me how I was doing. All I could think about had been the duck.
"After that," he continued, "I made it my mission to find out everything about you. Your name, where you were, who you saw, everything. It sounds strange, but please," he pleaded with me "you have to understand that I was only trying to look out for you. And when…when I found out that you liked vampires, then I thought…I thought that maybe I didn't have to watch you from the shadows anymore. I thought that maybe, maybe you would…that you would want to be with me, want to feel the way that I feel about you…but I see now that I was wrong. Your speechlessness was all the proof I needed that I'm not right for you. You should go back to your party." His back was still turned to me, even as I heard his voice break.
"So…what are you saying?" I asked, trying to process everything that he had just told me.
Finally, he turned towards me. "You honesty couldn't tell, from what I just told you?"
I shook my head slowly, and he threw his hands up in desperation
"I'm saying that I love you, Dana, and I have for ten years, ever since I saw you risk your life! At first, I thought it was just excitement, at the thought of blood, but now… I've watched you from the shadows for ten years, watching to make sure that you weren't getting hurt. Watching, and feeling more jealous than I ever thought that I could as you went out with boy after boy who wasn't right for you. Dreaming, dreaming that one day, you'll put your arms around me, and tell me that you love me. And not somebody else." He turned away from me once more.
I sat there in silence as his words sunk in.
He was a vampire. Ben Donohue, the new kid, was a vampire. And he was in love with me.
Another memory made its way back into my head.
It was three years ago – I was fourteen.
Dean Paton had just broken my heart, after trying to force me to go further with him than I felt comfortable with, and had been bragging about it to his friends.
This had gotten back to me, and I had spent my entire lunchtime crying, when I heard a whimper of pain from around the corner of the brick wall I had been sitting against. It was Dean.
"If you ever say anything about Dana ever again," a voice snarled at him, "I will personally see to it that your life is not worth living, do you understand me?" The figure threatening Dean had been hidden in the shadows, but I had caught a glimpse of pale blonde hair.
Dean nodded a sad agreement as the figure punched him in the abdomen.
"I'll know if you break your promise, so I don't suggest doing anything stupid," the voice said threateningly, before disappearing.
I had forgotten about that incident. I had thought merely that I was imagining it, imagining him. Imagining the way that I felt when I heard him standing up for me. Protecting me.
The voice in my memory sounded so familiar.
…Because it was his voice.
Ben's voice.
"It was you," I whispered. "You were protecting me. Looking after me. I always…I never thought that you were real…"
He snorted, still facing away from me. "I'm as real as I'm ever going to be. I'm different. Just like a human, apparently. Age the same, still have a heart that beats. Can go out in the sun. Apart from the fangs, the speed, the strength, and the evolved mind, and the thirst for blood, I could almost be normal. Could almost have a chance with you," he said, bitterly miserable.
Wordlessly, I got up from the couch, and made my way towards him.
I hesitated slightly, before putting my arms around his waist from behind. He froze, before turning around to face me. I didn't release my hold on him.
He shook his head, sadness in his eyes. "What are you doing, Dana?" he whispered, his arms easily able to break the hold I had on him.
"What do you think?" I whispered back.
"You don't want me." His voice was barely a whisper as he turned his face away from me.
I reached up to touch his face, and turned him back towards me. "I can be the judge of that, thankyou very much."
I moved my hand from his face to his hair, playing with it.
He stepped away from me. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, tortured. "To punish me? Punish me for stalking you, for being a monster? For wanting you, even though I shouldn't?"
I looked at him, disbelieving. "Why…why would you think that?"
He scoffed. "This is everything that I've ever wanted, Dana. For you to be here, with me, your arms around me, close to me. And here it is, right now, and you're telling me that there's no catch?"
I walked over to him, and looked him in the eye. His violet eyes were tortured, miserable. "There's no catch, Ben. I want you. I want to be here, close to you. I want your arms around me. I've wanted that ever since I saw you threaten Dean, to protect me. I always thought that you were a dream, not because you didn't seem like you were there, but because you were everything that I wanted, and could never find." I put my arms around his neck. "And I'm not going to let you go now."
His eyes lit up with the tiniest glimmer of hope. "Really?" he whispered.
Rather than continue this conversation, I proved my words with my actions. I brought my mouth up to meet his, kissing him slowly and softly, not really knowing the boundaries when it came to kissing vampires.
He moaned softly, and pulled away. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he whispered.
"Then why'd you pull away?" I asked, confused.
"Boundaries," he replied.
"Oh?" I asked.
"Well," he corrected himself, "Only one, really."
He turned away and took out his fangs.
He laughed at my confused expression. "They're fake," he explained. "Fake-ish, anyway. They can be removed. I only really use them for hunting…" he broke off. "I shouldn't have mentioned that, huh? Last thing you need reminding of is that I drink human blood."
I wrinkled my nose. "Well, it's not ideal, but we all have to eat, right? And…you don't kill them, do you?"
He laughed, and shook his head. "No. I don't kill them. But it's nice to know that you're so understanding."
He moved his head closer to mine, and I thought he was going to kiss me.
I shivered as his teeth grazed the side of my neck. I knew that I should have been afraid. I should have left the warehouse, screaming for my life when he gave me the chance. Even so, the involuntary shudder was not born out of fear. Rather, it was pleasure.
"Do I scare you?" he murmured into my neck. I could feel his smile against my skin.
I shook my head. "Not a chance, new kid."
He laughed, and brought his head back up to look at me. The eye contact didn't last very long, though, as he brought his lips down to meet mine. This kiss was neither as slow, or as soft as our first, now that there were no boundaries. He kissed me hungrily, and I kissed him back with just as much passion. He deepened the kiss with no argument from me, and if it wasn't for his strong arm crushing my body close to mine, I think I may have collapsed when his tongue entwined with my own.
"So," he said smiling, when we finally broke apart. "Still intrigued by vampires?"
I shook my head, grinning like an idiot. "Better than that, I think I'm in love with one."
He smirked. "I knew you liked me."
I rolled my eyes. "Bite me," I said cheekily.
He laughed. "Well, if you insist…"
His mouth never made its way down to my neck. It was too preoccupied with my mouth.
Author's Note - HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Anywho, there we have it, my very first attempt at a oneshot. I have to work on shortening my writing. I think it was (kind of) a success. LOL. Could have been more Halloween-ish, perhaps, but altogether i think i did okay :) One thing I did want to make very clear though, is that I did NOT steal ideas from Twilight. In fact I tried to make this as un-Twilight-ish as possible, because I don't want people thinking that's where I got my vampire ideas from. Okay? `Kay. So, don't forget to review, and what not. Leave random thoughts, if you so desire :) Love, and gorgeous blonde stalker-type vampires, Ash.
Two days late, but meh.
Better late than never :P