• Chapter 1

    I awoke groggy and dazed. It was one of those days again. My eyes were glued together and my body was stiff. Why did it have to be a school day? I could skip, no one would notice, but then again it was my first day at that stupid mortal school. The principal would notice if the new girl didn’t show up.
    I heaved a sigh. My tongue traced my front teeth hungrily; I stopped at the overly pointed canines. On the tip of one of them there was a little bit of blood left from my last victim, again hungrily I tried to lick away what I could. The faded feeling of my throat being on fire increased with the taste of blood.
    I was thirsty.
    My body craved the sweet fluid now. Fresh venom flowed in my mouth and the heat burned on hotter and hotter. I needed to stock up for today. As much as I could, I didn’t want to accidentally feed on one of the students at school. Then it would become a feeding frenzy and I didn’t want that on my first day. The sensation was driving me crazy, I need breakfast.
    Quickly, I sat up and got dressed without waking the sleeping Violet. As I was silently creeping out the door a voice stopped me.
    “And where do you think your going?”
    I turned slowly to face my twin sister, who had an annoyed look on her face. She was sitting up out of her bed with messed up hair and black silk pajamas, fangs sticking out over her closed lips. Violet crossed her arms at my silence.
    “School,” I answered coolly.
    Shock replaced her expression. It was a sunny day out today. Even though we could go out in the sun for a little while, Violet didn’t like to at all.
    “Why? It’s so . . . sunny out there.”
    “You know we can go out in the sunshine right?”
    “Yes, I’m well aware, but only no more than two hours. Otherwise we’ll. . . .”
    “Burn. Yes I know, sister. But that’s more than enough time to get to school,” I pointed out. She always saw the bad benefits of the sun, but there was so much it could offer within the two hours we had.
    Violet rolled her eyes at my comment. “So why do you go out?”
    I didn’t answer her; the burning was getting too unbearable and so was she. So, I stormed out the room leaving her to sleep, I even slammed the door so she could be in total darkness. I flitted down the stairs to fetch my breakfast.
    Entering the kitchen, the intoxicating aroma of blood filled my nose. My eyes widened and I raced to the fridge. I didn’t want to begin a frenzy in the kitchen. Letting ourselves go to our instincts would feel good, we would feel free, but we could lose control easily. Clutching my chest I yanked the door open and eagerly grabbed one of the bottles that contained the red sweet fluid. Happily I gulped down my food.
    “Holding back on feeding I see,” a sweet voice carried from behind me.
    I turned wiping the excess blood that dribbled down my chin with the back of my hand.
    “Sorry mother, but I haven’t. I don’t want to be caught biting someone in the middle of school.”
    The beautiful blonde haired woman stepped into the light where I could see her—as if my excellent eye sight couldn’t spot her in the darkness. Lynette smiled.
    “I understand,” she nodded. Her expression changed to a serious one. “You aren’t a regular vampire. And like you said; it would be quite awful if you were caught feeding.”
    I gave her a reassuring smile and but the bottle back in place. I felt full, a little bit sloshy even; the burning sensation was dulled enough for me to not notice, but not gone. Hopefully no one would suspect that the new girl was apart of the supernatural world. The only ways someone could find out is; 1) I tell them 2) they see my fangs 3) they see me feed. So I should just avoid those possibilities and today would be a breeze.
    “I have to go now, please excuse me mother.”
    Lynette smiled at me, “Have a nice day darling.”
    Grabbing my book bag and keys, I slid into my boots and headed outside; where my silver Mercedes Benz was waiting for me to drive it through the streets of New York City.
    We vampires loved to drive fast and in style. Sliding into the vehicle and revving up the engine I headed to school. I left the top down; it felt good having the cold winter wind blow through my long mahogany hair. To vampires nothing seemed too cold or too hot.
    Like I knew the city on the back of my hand, I maneuvered my way through the streets until I reached the gates of my private high school. I was enrolled as a sophomore, which means I only have to put up with this charade for two years. I liked the sound of that; two more years and I would be free. My lips stretched in a grin at the thought. We never stayed in one city for more than a year, thus making me repeat sophomore year and occasionally senior, never graduating. It gets annoying to study the same thing over and over again.
    The big black iron gates opened after a few moments. I followed the signs to where students were meant to park. Apparently I was the first one in, and my theory was proven when I discovered that there were no cars in the student parking lot. Might as well beat the crowd, now’s my chance to quickly escape to the office to get my schedule.
    I killed the engine and swiftly got out of the car. I headed for the white bricked building; that was now my school. As I entered through the glass doors, I located the office.
    Walking cautiously into the little room, my sense of smell was over powered by the aroma of roses and lilacs. I observed my surroundings; all around me were various shades of roses and lilacs all neatly arranged in vases. The walls were a maroon red and the floor was a dark maple. In front of me was an oak desk, where a thin Spanish woman with dark hair and eyes sat.
    The smell of her blood was average, like any other human would smell. Not enough to make me kill her. I waited in the room, standing there staring at her. Until she finally looked up at me; the woman looked astonished at my presence.
    “May I help you?” she chided.
    I stood tall and gracefully walked forward.
    “Yes, I’m Charlotte Bennington.”
    “Oh, yes, Miss Bennington. We’ve been expecting you. I’m sure you would like your schedule.”
    I nodded silently.
    “Well, just let me get that for you. Oh, by the way I’m Ms. Noel.”
    I appreciated her kindness, but I’ve seen so many of her kind fake it. It was getting easy to detect the fakers from the ones who really meant it. The receptionist disappeared into another room and quickly reappeared with a handful of papers. She walked to me and handed me my schedule.
    “Thank you,” I said
    The woman beamed me a smile and returned to her desk. As I was leaving, a rough voice called out from behind me.
    “Hello, Charlotte,” I turned to face a man with greased down black hair and a matching mustache. A smile decorated his tan face. He was about six feet and wore a gray suit which draped over his thin figure. “I’m the principal of this fine school, if there is anything you need just find me or Ms. Noel and we’ll be happy to assist you.”
    “Okay, thank you,” I agreed and left the room, glad to be rid of those two overly friendly adults. I sat on a bench outside the office in the hallway. There were a few students entering the school now; all of them stared at me. I ignored their wondering gazes.
    My eyes skimmed the numbers and names on my schedule. I had it all memorized before seven o’clock. My first class was math in room 150 with Mr. Brown. Classes start in twenty minutes, so I had time to explore, but I can’t do that. I’d rather be early to class than late.
    I made my way through the hallways; team colors, trophies, and awards and such hung on the walls; a school that is all about teamwork. Lovely. Clutching my strap to my bag, I wandered. Secretly I was scared, like I have been every single time I’ve enrolled. Never knowing if someone could figure out my secret, the past times someone rarely has gotten close. Even with an assumption we vanish.
    Finding my way to the math room was easy. I took a deep breath and entered. It was empty all except for a balding man sitting at his desk reading a novel. His beady eyes were covered with thick glasses. He was wearing a dress shirt and red tie, with brown pants. Like the receptionist and principal, his blood held no particular smell.
    “Excuse me?” I called.
    Mr. Brown looked up and was just as astonished as the receptionist. Was it because I entered like a ghost? Or was it my stunning beauty? Most likely both.
    “I’m Charlotte. Charlotte Bennington,” I introduced.
    The math teacher shook his head violently.
    “Ah yes, Miss Bennington. Welcome to New York,” Mr. Brown greeted. “And welcome to my math class. You’ll be sitting right here,” he gestured to a seat that was placed in the second row and three seats to the right. So I was right in front and right in the middle. He must want to keep an eye on the new student. It should be like that for the rest of the day; being the center of attention.
    The math room had three windows on the west wall, dead plants arranged on the window sill, and arithmetic posters glued to all over the white bricked walls. About twelve double seated desks placed in front of Mr. Brown’s desk.
    Taking the seat that was assigned to me and waited patiently for the bell to ring. Mr. Brown returned to his book and students started filing in. Like the hallway they all looked at me with curious gazes. It caught my attention that some boys were staring at me with goo-goo eyes. Ugh, men, they all were alike; when they see a beautiful girl their tongues fall on the floor and they can’t stop staring at her. I was the attraction in this case. I always was.
    My gaze was never directed towards them only at the board. My classmates were buzzing with conversation. A shrill short bell rang. The day has begun. Act human. I reminded myself.
    “All right class has begun. Class has begun,” Mr. Brown tried to settle down the talking.
    They all eventually stopped. All of a sudden, shoes hitting the tile floor sounded in the hallway, loud and fast, along with panting, the humans could probably here the footsteps. My ears strained to pick up more, but the sounds kept getting louder and louder. The person was heading this way, and then a tall figure entered through the door. A weird feeling hit me like a wrecking ball, a feeling I’ve never had experienced before, I lost focus.
    “Sorry I’m late Mr. Brown; the traffic was terrible on my way here.”
    A boy held the door frame for support; he must have been running the whole way to class. He had dark blonde hair and brown eyes, handsome some girls would say. But the feeling that he caused
    Air came short and shallow, my cold heart felt heavy in my chest. My stomach twisted in painful knots and the room started to spin. What the hell is happening to me? I shot him a glance that could have scared a grown man; hate reflected in my eyes, for I hated him for making me uncomfortable.
    The boy saw my glare and staggered back a few steps. He then glanced worriedly at the seat that was supposedly his; it was right next to me. Oh, perfect. On my first day I was about to do something to freak out one of my classmates.
    “Yes Mr. Blackwood, how nice of you to join us,” the boy blushed, that drove me crazy inside, for some reason it seemed so . . . adorable to me. Thank God Lynette and George taught me if this ever happened, to remain calm, but how did they know this was going to happen? “Now take your seat.”
    Seeing the empty seat next to me, Mr. Brown remembered that I was the new student. Most likely, like any other class, he would make me stand up and introduce myself. He did.
    “Class, we have a new student. Care to come to the front and introduce yourself Miss Bennington?”
    “Of course,” anything to get a breath of fresh air.
    I stood out of my chair and approached the front. As I rose, the Blackwood kid sat. Thank goodness for great timing.
    “Hello, I’m Charlotte Bennington. I was originally from San Francisco, California,” The last place we settled before we came here, a place of sun; the perfect spot for a family of vampires. “It’s a pleasure to be here,” I smiled.
    “Thank you. You may sit down.”
    I did as I was told, but I had to go back to the human that made me feel funny inside. And I would have to sit next to him for the rest of the hour. This day was not off to a good start. Slowly, I placed myself as far away from him as the desks spaces would allow, which wasn’t very far without it looking abnormal. My head started to throb terribly and stomach doing flips.
    Never before had I felt this way, I didn’t like it. Not one little bit. After this terrible day, my mind told me that if I wanted answers I would have to ask Lynette and George.
    Mr. Brown started a lecture on algebra; I’ve heard this speech over fifty times. Besides I couldn’t concentrate on that, what I only could concentrate on who was next to me. Who the hell was he? He must be some sort of creature, one that held a certain interest to me, a very powerful hold.
    “Hi I’m Aaron,” the boy introduced himself. I looked at him. “Aaron Blackwood.”
    “H—hello. Charlotte.”
    Aaron offered his hand. Should I take it? I had to act human, so taking it would be the most human thing to do. Placing my hand in his, he shook them up and down lightly.
    “Nice to meet you,” I said.
    “Ditto.”
    Aaron’s hand felt warm, it felt nice. But I could also see a strange image; one of a man and woman, the male handsome and perfect, the female the same. A lovely couple, but what startled me was that the man looked like Aaron and the other like me. Could this be the future? My head shook violently to get the thought out of my mind.
    I tried so hard to really listen to what Mr. Brown was saying, but Aaron was not only mouthwatering delicious but now that I study him out from the corner on my eye he looked rather dashing. Perfect face, square jaw, straight nose, soft brown eyes, and perfect lips — for a human anyway and his physique was also inhumanly perfect as well.
    As I looked around aimlessly, my attention was directed to a few girls who were staring at Aaron Blackwood and me. Jealousy ragged in their eyes. Were they jealous that I was sitting next to Aaron? He did look handsome for a mortal, but why be jealous of me? Sure I was gorgeous, but only to human eyes. It gave me a silent pleasure that I had one more thing that the girls could be jealous about. Yet all human girls hold jealousy somewhere deep down, and like men, they all were alike as well. No one was different to me, except the way Aaron held my interest. He was the exception.
    If I wanted to learn more about him, I couldn’t do anything drastic to him. As I was deep in thought a voice brought me back.
    “Charlotte? Charlotte!” Mr. Brown tried to get me out of my trance.
    A few giggled at my stupidity.
    “Oh, sorry. The answer is fifty-three.”
    The class was stunned to silence as I answered quickly and without hesitation. Humans think they know everything, but their not the ones who have lived for almost a century.
    For the rest of the hour I was biting down on my lower lip and trying to ignore the way my stomach twisted in knots, and how my chest felt like it was being pummeled with rocks. It was hard to breathe. But within the pain I found myself unable to retreat my gaze away from Aaron.
    I was about to give into the pain—to just run without a pass— when the bell rang; saved by the bell I guess. I practically ran out of the room, the first one out before anyone could gather their books. They all stared at my retreating figure with confused expressions on their faces.
    My feet carried me until I was outside my next class. Placing my hands on my knees I panted and took in as many lung filling breaths of fresh air as I could. All the pain left my body suddenly as quickly as it appeared.
    “Who the hell is Aaron Blackwood? I never stumbled upon someone who made me feel this way in all my life,” I gasped to myself.
    One last final breath and I walked into second period. Students were all in their seats, I surveyed the room for Aaron. I saw no sign of his blonde hair or brown eyes. What a relief, no Aaron means: no suffering. But I would have to deal with sitting next to him for the rest of the year. Beautiful. I thought sourly.

    Until the lunch bell rang I realized that I had made it through the morning. Only two more classes and lunch and I’m free! I had to tell Lynette and George about Aaron, but not Violet. Definitely not her.
    In every class the teacher made me stand up and introduce myself to everyone. I found out that a girl named Gwen had two morning classes with me, she seemed nice enough. Gwen had short light brown hair and thin blue glasses that framed her big sky blue eyes, and she was incredibly thin. She even invited me to sit and have lunch with her, I agreed; I wouldn’t have a problem sitting with her. But I doubt that they would have anything on the menu for me; blood. Then again I had a whole buffet in front of me everyday.
    Following the crowd to the cafeteria, my stomach was stabbed with unwanted pain. Snapping my head to the right I saw Aaron, he was smiling at me.
    “Hey Charlotte. How was your morning?” He asked.
    A shock ran down my spine when he said my name. But what was he doing? Making friends with a vampire that could kill him instantly? Yet he didn’t know that. I braced myself and stopped breathing again.
    “Fine.”
    “So,” Aaron was trying to make conversation. I smiled a little. “What’s your next class?” He finally asked. He sounded hopeful.
    Why is it that all the boys always try to hit on me? But for Aaron I would make an exception, if his very presence didn’t intoxicate my mind. Just because to them we’re absolutely beautiful they think that they can get us to go out with them. My mind flashed back to a time I said yes to someone who was interested. Our first date didn’t go so well; he didn’t get to enjoy dinner like I did.
    “Um, gym with Mrs. Cooks”
    Aaron’s smile widened. I had a feeling he had that class next to.
    “I have gym with Mrs. Cooks too.” For some reason that gave me slight pleasure. “I could walk you to class if you—,” Aaron began to offer, but then a girl just a little bit shorter than me, with red curly hair came out of nowhere and clung to Aaron’s left arm. As if I wasn’t there, but she placed herself right in the middle of us, so irritating.
    “Hey, honey bunches!” she said in a high voice. Definitely irritating. “So do you want to—,” the girl finally noticed me and narrowed her green eyes. “Who are you?”
    My lips were half way over my teeth, but I stopped myself. She wasn’t very plain; shoulder length curly red hair, green eyes, faded freckles spread across her cheeks and nose, perfect face and model like body. A goddess to human eyes, no wonder Aaron chose her.
    “Charlotte Bennington. I’m new,” I introduced myself—not like I would want to get to know that annoying girl.
    “Obviously,” she muttered under her breath, then smiled an extremely fake smile, “I’m Shelly Cooper aka Aaron’s girlfriend.”
    She meant that to be a warning, she saw the way I eyed him. Shelly didn’t want any competition.
    “Nice to meet you.”
    Shelly rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her boyfriend.
    “Okay, I’m going to go sit down. Bye, bye Aaron,” she stretched up on her tiptoes to give him a peck on the cheek.
    We were now in the cafeteria, with all eyes on us, knowing what they all were thinking; what is Aaron doing with the new girl? But he ignored the staring crowd, but I couldn’t help but notice every single one of them.
    I forgot that I was holding my breath. If I was human I might have been turning blue in the face or red.
    “You want to, uh, come sit with me and my friends?” Aaron asked, his face was turning slightly red. Why did he have to blush now? That only made things worse.
    But I couldn’t risk sitting with him yet.
    “Sorry, but no. I was offered by a friend. Maybe some other time,” I apologized then smiled.
    Aaron gave a quick nod, smiled and walked to his table of friends to the right. I silently walked to where Gwen was waving her arms eagerly to get my attention. She patted an open space next to her and I sat.
    “How do you know Aaron Blackwood Charlotte?” Gwen asked as soon as I was seated.
    I only stared down at the table; embarrassed.
    “Well, we sit next to each other in math and apparently we have gym together as well,” I answered coolly.
    Gwen looked a little disappointed at my lame answer and started to chat with the three other girls at the table. Still, I stared down at the table with hands hidden underneath. After a while I got bored and Aaron’s presence was standing out the most out of the room of teenagers.
    “Excuse me girls,” I said politely, took my bag and headed out towards the exit into a little garden section covered in white fluff. Gwen and the others just stared blankly at me.
    As I pushed the heavy glass door open, cold air rushed and whipped me in the face. I had to close my eyes for the moment just to appreciate the feeling of fresh air. The square garden was surrounded by dead flowers and shrubs, a fountain with an angel on top pouring frozen water into bottom of the fountain. Two benches on either side of the statue were covered in fallen snow. Choosing a bench I made myself comfortable and silently sat until white clumps started to fall. I watched as they fell on my hair and clothing. The bell wouldn’t ring for another twenty minutes so I could enjoy the peacefulness of the snow.
    The glass door behind me creaked open, I spun around defensively. It was only Aaron. Wait it was only Aaron, oh no. The pain came flooding back, this time filling every muscle and bone in my body.
    “Crap,” I groaned too silent for him to hear.
    “Hey, hey. Easy, it’s just me,” Aaron reassured and held up his hands innocently.
    “Sorry, you startled me.”
    “Well then I’m sorry,” Aaron apologized.
    I smiled a little.
    “I was just appreciating the snow,” I gestured to the falling snowflakes.
    My company laughed. A confused and hurt expression appeared on my face.
    “Sorry again, it is beautiful. But aren’t you cold?” Aaron pointed to my ripped jeans and Hilfiger sweatshirt.
    I looked over my outfit; it would seem foolish to be wearing this in the snow and in five degree weather, but only to a human.
    “Kind of,” I lied.
    I was good at lying. The sad thing is, is that I’ve done it so many times that now I’m an expert.
    “You want to come in then?”
    I ignored his question. I wanted to know why he was out here. The good thing about this was that there was so much fresh air out here and the amount of space between us means I could breathe, but not as much. I would survive for now, until come gym time.
    “Why are you out here?” I finally asked.
    Aaron shrugged, “I don’t know. I saw you leave and I . . . never mind. So do you want to come in or not because I believe that the bell will ring pretty soon and I’ll tell you now that the key in Mrs. Cooks' class is to get there early.”
    “Thanks for the advice and yes I guess I can go in now,” I crossed my arms across my chest; to try and fake that I was cold when I was really warm.
    Trudging through the snow I held my breath for when I was next to Aaron. He smiled a smile that knocked the breath out of me, even as a vampire. Aaron hurried to open the door for me like a gentleman would. I returned his kindness with a brief smile.
    I was looking down when we entered the cafeteria. I raised my head. Everyone was staring at us again, if I had blood flowing I would have blushed a bright red. But Aaron stood tall and just then the bell rang. He led the way downstairs and to the locker rooms. We separated when we had to go change, but I was stopped by a short and stout woman. She couldn’t be the gym teacher, she wasn’t fit.
    “Hello, you must be Charlotte.”
    “Yes I am.”
    “Welcome, I’m Mrs. Cooks,” she greeted.
    How could she be teaching gym? Well never judge a book by its cover as Lynette always said.
    “You don’t have to change today, you can just watch. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have fond you a uniform.”
    “Okay.”
    I took my bag and headed towards the big wooden gym doors. I sat myself on the bleachers and watched as the other students did their warm-ups and played four different bad mitten games. The one person I watched the most was Aaron. He was a natural at the sport, always helping his team win. To me he was the one who was doing all the work.
    Aaron and his team were playing on the court closest to me. It wasn’t until Aaron winked at me that I realized that I may have given him the wrong impression. Even more, I looked down embarrassingly. I peeked through my lashes to see that he smiled and returned to his game. I was in too deep and this was only my first day and to boost my score on the disaster level, he had a girlfriend. One that obviously didn’t like me.
    Mrs. Cooks blew her whistle signaling that gym was over. I rushed out and headed for my last class of the day. It was Honors English; an easy subject. And hopefully it was a class without the distracting Aaron.

    The final bell rang and I hurried to my car. As I dug out my keys I stopped on the sidewalk. Aaron was standing by my car or by his car; a black 2009 Ford truck. Quickly, I got to the driver’s side until Aaron noticed me.
    “Well hello again,” he said. “How was your day?”
    “Fine, thank you.”
    “Uh, well bye,” he stammered after my plain answer.
    I nodded and slid in. Starting the engine I pulled out and headed towards home; where I would be safe from Aaron’s distractions. But I had to hunt, I didn’t have time to go home and get one of those bottles. This was urgent. Driving aimlessly until it was dark, I parked in a bar parking lot. This I always hated to do, but I never liked to hunt the innocent.
    Killing the engine I sat in the darkness in my car. Then I grabbed the plastic bag in the back seat. It was filled with clothes that I use to attract my victims; with looks that immortality gives us and sexy clothes you can have any person you want.
    Changing quickly in the back seat I emerged from the car in a short mini skirt, net leggings, a short hemmed white shirt, with more cleavage that I could have hoped for, and leather boots.
    I sighed and entered. All the grubby men stopped talking and drinking to look at me. A few whistled others just stared. Walking to the bar I sat and ordered myself a glass of water. The bartender stared at me with disbelief, probably the first time she has ever had a costumer order something non-alcoholic. I replied that I wasn’t in the mood for alcohol. She seemed to buy it; I looked older than I appeared.
    I waited for my drink patiently when a slightly hefty man, in his late thirties maybe, came up and took a stool next to me. He was wearing a golfing shirt and baggy pants. He had no fashion sense. I could smell the alcohol fumes rolling off him.
    “Hello beautiful,” he said in a smooth voice.
    I didn’t answer.
    “Mind if I buy you a drink?” he asked.
    Just then the bartender came and handed me my water. I took a swig and looked at the man. He would do to satisfy my thirst, but it wouldn’t taste that good. I batted my lashes and put on my sweet voice, all just part of the charade.
    “Why don’t you come with me?” I taunted.
    He smiled wickedly showing tobacco stained teeth. Gross. He probably thought I was a hooker, he had no idea what was coming for him.
    “By the way I’m Jim.”
    I stood so did he. I led him through the entryway; once we were out we kept walking. Guiding him into an alley that was deserted; garbage cans were everywhere and steam was being let out from a ventilation system. The full moon shined brightly over head, illuminating the passage. The perfect place to do what I had to do.
    “Where are we?” Jim finally asked.
    I let go of his hand and didn’t turn around to look at his confused expression. I was about a foot away in front of him. My lips curled up in a smile, I could feel my fangs begin to grow enough so that when I turned around Jim could see them.
    I faced him, walking forward a little bit, but kept my head down. I wrapped my arms around Jim’s neck, but I held my hands together so tight that he couldn’t escape. Raising my head I introduced myself.
    “By the way I’m Charlotte,” I mocked and smiled.
    Jim saw my fangs and tried to step back but couldn’t because of my unbreakable hold. Standing on my tip toes so that I was in perfect position to bite him. To a bystander it would have looked like I was about to kiss him, but what I had in mind was something much more intense. I licked my lips and let myself go to my instincts.
    I sunk my teeth into his neck, getting past the fat and muscle to the thick, sweet, warm blood. It tasted a little sour and just a tad bit muddy, most likely because of the kind of person he was and his diet. The taste of their blood decided what kind of person they were.
    Jim started to scream but it quieted, and then ended with a gurgle. I had sucked him dry completely, he was now dead. Letting go, I licked my lips clean of anymore blood.
    “Sorry Jim,” I whispered, but with no sympathy at all.
    Slowly, heading back to my car I saw a figure sitting on the hood, with their arms crossed. They were waiting for me.
    “Eating a little late aren’t we?” the voice called. I recognized it immediately.
    “Sorry sister, I had a long and . . . stressful day.”
    Violet emerged into the light of the neon sign.
    “When you didn’t come home Lynette and George wanted me to find you. And when I found your car here I figured you were having a little snack. Never would I find you here unless it was anything but that. I’m just sad that you didn’t invite me,” Violet pouted.
    I laughed.
    “Let’s go home. I’ll give you a ride,” I offered.
    “Fine.”
    I unlocked the car and my sister flitted into the passenger seat. I ran to the driver’s side and started the engine. Violet and I stayed silent for the whole car ride home. But she did notice my outfit.
    “Do you really need to dress like that to eat?”
    “Well, I do and don’t dress like this. I only do it when I think it’s necessary.”
    “Then that must be every time,” Violet muttered.
    I scowled and stomped on the gas petal. Violet could be a real pain in the a** some times and I have to put up with it for a century or more.
    We arrived home and I parked behind Violet’s red Ferrari. Gracefully we both got out and approached the front door. Lynette opened it before we were at the steps. The same smile was spread across her face as the one she had on when I left this morning.
    “How was your first day Charlotte?”
    I stopped next to her and so did Violet. I had changed back to my regular clothes so that Lynette didn’t have to know about my late night snack.
    “Can we talk? With father as well,” I shot a murder glance at Violet who showed no emotion to it. “Alone. Which means no Violet,” I snapped at my sister.
    She narrowed her eyes and in an inhuman speed ran up the stairs.
    Lynette left to the living room with me following. George was sitting in his favorite chair reading. George looked up, his emerald green eyes — mine and Violet’s eyes— raging with curiosity, no doubt he heard my request. He put down his novel, removed his reading glasses and stood.
    “I hear that you would like to talk, yet about what my dear daughter?” George asked in a rich voice.
    Lynette went to go join her husband. She wrapped her arm around his waist and he around her shoulders. To a vampire or human Lynette and George were the perfect couple. She created George and fell in love; he was thirty two when he was turned into a vampire. Lynette twenty nine.
    George was healthy and fit when he was introduced to the vampire world, so he stayed that way. With fair mahogany colored hair and a smile that could have killed. Lynette was beautiful and petite and a honey blonde. She had sky blue eyes and was and is the kindest person you will ever meet. When George awoke he fell head over heels for her as well. Now one hundred twenty seven years later their love is still going strong.
    The interesting case for me and Violet was that George and Lynette are our biological parents. When we were born we aged rapidly, they feared that we would complete a full cycle of life within six months. But we stopped growing at age seventeen and took on our lives as full fledged vampires. So all of us had been the same age since we were introduced to the life of the supernatural.
    “Yes father. I met someone today that made me feel . . . different than I normally do. He was so nice to me and I was—,” I explained, but cut off.
    George approached me and hugged me briefly.
    “Its okay, Charlotte, you didn’t put any harm to the boy or show yourself what you really are. I’m proud of you, but do you think you can handle it?”
    “I — I don’t know, the feeling has brought upon many distractions for me,” I admitted.
    I stared bleakly at the floor. Could I handle it? I was stronger than some weakling that would run away; I would stay and face Aaron.
    “Well, I know you can. You are a strong and brilliant young woman. If you wish you may leave . . .”
    “No, I will stay and face him. I just have to get used to the pain and conflicted feelings that’s all.”
    George nodded and returned next to his wife, but with an uneasy look.
    “Thank you,” I said and headed for the stairs to go to bed. I turned. “Oh, could you not tell Violet about this?”
    They both nodded.
    Wait, how did George know it was a boy that I found with the particular feeling? I stopped and looked at my father. We looked so much alike, only I was a female version of him.
    “Father, how did you know—?”
    He smiled widely, “Oh, I have my ways.”
    George, once again, left me dumbfounded but ran up the stairs anyway. I didn’t even bother to change into my pajamas, I wasn’t tired. This would affect my day tomorrow, but didn’t care. Just sitting on my bed I thought carefully how I would take on Aaron. It had to be quick and painless.
    The idea of disappearing came up first, but that was being cowardly. Ideas and plans formed in my head but none of them seem to be efficient enough. Within hours of thinking, at two o’clock in the morning I agreed on the idea of just ignoring him completely. He would soon forget about me. Now that I had decided what my plan was, I figured I should spend my last three hours sleeping. I mean what else was I going to do? Talk to Violet? No way! Tomorrow would be different than today, tomorrow Aaron Blackwood doesn’t exist.

    Chapter 2

    Now, more than ever, I was afraid to go to school. My life was boring before Aaron came along, and I asked for a little excitement in this dull life. But what I did get was someone who twisted my stomach and made me feel awful; just to torture me more they’re in two of my classes. One of which he sits right next to me! Why did we have to move to New York? Why did I have to get enrolled in this school?
    As I got in my car, the front door slammed. I turned and saw Violet in big designer’s sunglasses and was wearing some sort of school uniform. Only she looked like a school girl hooker. Violet was parading down the driveway with a little coach purse, like one of those stuck up movie actors.
    I arched an eyebrow.
    “What are you doing?” I asked.
    She took off her sunglasses and placed them on top her honey blonde hair. The only distinction between me and Violet was our hair and our personalities.
    “What does it look like? I’m going to school with you.”
    My mouth gaped open. “Say what?”
    “Lynette said I could and I wanted to see what about school is so appealing to you,” Violet answered coolly.
    Rolling my eyes I thought about what would happen if my sister was at school. If she did go she would for surely notice Aaron and. . . . .
    My eyes widened at the though, she couldn’t go to school. Not if I wanted to keep Aaron a secret, but what I wanted to know was; why did I care if she finds out? That would be just less of a problem for my school life.
    “Can you give me a ride Charlotte?” Violet asked, getting impatient.
    “No,” I answered all too quickly
    Violet narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “And why not?”
    I had to think of something quick, lie. I was so good at it, but the problem is, is that since we are twins we share the same feelings. In a way we can tell what the other is thinking or feeling, but its very faint. My lying has improved over the years, so maybe it will be enough to fool Violet.
    “Well, I’ve already made friends at school and I kind of like to keep them. I’m afraid that if they see you then they’ll get confused and ruin everything,” I lied. That was the only passable excuse I could think of. I hope she bought it.
    Violet’s eyes narrowed even more but then she beamed a bright smile, “Sure thing little sister, I don’t want to ruin your possible friendship.”
    Possible? I thought. She headed back towards the house, but looked and felt really disappointed.
    “Then I got dressed like this for nothing,” she muttered.
    I sighed in relief. Thank God Violet can be so gullible sometimes. Glancing at the dashboard I hadn’t realized that I was behind schedule, late on the second day of school.
    Flooring on the gas and racing to make it before the first bell.
    I arrived with half the parking lot full, no traffic cops stopped me when I was way over the speed limit. Getting out of the car a 2009 black Ford truck parked next to my Mercedes Benz. Aaron. Remember to ignore him, don’t even acknowledge his existence. I reminded myself of the plan.
    Aaron stepped down out of his truck and glanced up. He saw me.
    “Good morning Charlotte,” Aaron greeted.
    My stomach twisted and the dead heart in my chest felt like two tons, yet I didn’t even as so much as look at him. Gathering up my bag and books I headed into the building to math. There I’m almost positive that Aaron would try to start up a conversation during one of Mr. Brown’s boring speeches. I’ll have to listen, if there’s something worse than finding an attractive person with a powerful hold on me, it’s listening to Mr. Brown talk.
    Nearly running, nervous, I made my way to the classroom; one fourth of the seats filled with chattering kids. The seat next to me was empty. Good, Aaron wasn’t here yet, but he would have to come and would maybe want to talk to me. The odds were high with that possibility.
    Taking my seat, I buried my head in my folded arms on the desk, waiting for this he awful day to begin.
    It was minutes before the pain in my body increased, the chair beside me screeched. A binder thudded next to me, and a backpack hooked on the back of a seat. My table partner had arrived. Expecting Aaron to say something I raised my head so that my ears were over my head.
    Yet he stayed silent, curiosity raged to see why he wasn’t talking, so I peaked through my lashes. To my surprise Aaron’s gaze was directed toward the front of the room. Was he upset? I had to know, yet that would mean breaking the rule I had established for myself. Even saying hi would go against rules.
    The bell rang.
    The class fell silent waiting for Mr. Brown to start class. He wasn’t there, the class started to murmur, then the noise became a dull roar. Yet me and Aaron stayed silent, both looking away from each other.
    Minutes passed before our math teacher was running in, with papers flying everywhere, and his clothes and hair in an unkempt mess. Beads of sweat slithered their way down his forehead and upper lip, and then Mr. Brown started to apologize for being late.
    “I—I’m so sorry class. I had family m—matter to attend to,” he stammered.
    But I felt he was lying, I examined him more. Smudged lipstick on his undershirt collar, and a piece of paper flew onto his desk, the title was bolded and in huge lettering: Divorce Agreement.
    Wow, I didn’t know Mr. Brown was getting a divorce. Harsh, but how does that explain the lipstick? Cheating on his wife and that was his girlfriend’s mark? Getting into a teacher’s private life is not my style.
    Nervously Mr. Brown set down all the papers, his briefcase, and his coffee cup. Straitening his tie and smoothing out the shirt, he became to turn into our math teacher.
    “Now, if you can all turn to page fifteen, we’ll be starting chapter two,” Mr. Brown instructed.
    The class slowly got out their math books, and pencils. But of course Aaron and I already had the books placed neatly on our desks. So badly, I longed to talk to him, but maybe I should let him start with the conversation.
    In legible hand writing our assignment was scribbled onto the white board. The class got to work silently.
    Being the vampire that I am, smart and knowing practically everything, the questions were mere child’s play. Whizzing by, my homework was done with twenty minutes to spare, my pencil was placed down and I stuffed my books into the bag. Drumming my fingers against the table and placing my hand under my chin to support it from slumping to the table.
    I always hated it that I got done before anyone else, the time after that is excruciatingly boring. To feed my boredom I stared at the clock, waiting for it to strike eight-o-five. Pencils hurriedly scribbling on paper, and fingers tapping on desks; the thing that humans do to “think”.
    Heaving a sigh, I reached for my notebook and opened to the page where my fictional story last left off:

    The forest contained demons, and monsters that no mere mortal could have ever imagined. Bravely, yet stupidly, I walked slowly into the thick trees. The howls and yelps of creatures of the dark surrounded me, beads of sweat dribbled down my forehead. Doing this quest was impossible and stupid, but I was doing this for a reason: to keep my friend alive.

    That’s where my story left off. Ada, my main character, was sent on a quest to retrieve an item, just to keep her childhood friend alive. Her story was going very smoothly.
    Rapped up in my fictional writing, I hadn’t realized that Aaron was done with his assignment. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that his gaze was directed towards me and my paper. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, more towards me.
    “What are writing?” Aaron asked, leaning in even closer to see my story.
    I shrugged, “Nothing exciting. Just a story I’m writing.”
    “May I?” I turned to see Aaron with his hand extended towards the notebook.
    I took a glance at the paper, then Aaron’s outstretched hand, and back again. It wouldn’t be wrong if Aaron read it. Silently I put the paper in his hand.
    He smiled, my breath caught. Aaron started to read, eyes skimming the lines written in my handwriting.
    All I could do was watch. The strange thing was, was that my eyes never strayed from his form; gazing at his mortal perfection; sandy blond hair, soft brown eyes, and his gorgeous physique.
    Through out the time Aaron was reading, I felt a girl’s glare burn into the back of my skull. Slowly I turned, two rows behind me was Shelly Cooper and she was fuming. Her hands in balled fists, tendons sticking out, and her beautiful face scrunched up in fury. My cheek raised in a smile. For some reason, I enjoyed seeing Shelly’s fury.
    A finger lightly tapped my right shoulder. Turning back, Aaron was handing back the story.
    “Wow, that’s good.”
    “Thanks I—”
    “No, I mean really good,” he clarified.
    “Thank you Aaron,” I smiled.
    He liked my writing! Yet this was bad, I talked to him, something I wasn’t supposed to do. Ugh! This was getting so frustrating!
    I heaved a heavy, annoyed sigh. Aaron’s eyes colored with curiousness.
    “Something wrong?” Aaron asked.
    “Huh? Oh, no it’s nothing,” I reassured. Nothing? That was unlikely, it was everything. Oh, screw it! I’ll break all the rules, I don’t care. From now on, I’m doing things my way.
    The bell rang.
    Students stood and gathered their books. Aaron and I did the same, all of us heading to second hour.