Blood Kisses

Prologue

As I lay on the damp ground, my hair tastled, my dress torn and the white of my shoes coated in muck; I was yet again thankful I couldn’t breathe, because right now, if I were human, my pulse would be racing rapidly and Joshua’s warm fingers carrasing my cold prickly skin, would feel the increasing hammering of my heartbeat through my neck as his love touched my soul. Of course, there was no pulse, no heartbeat nor a soul inside me. We were in the depths of the forest, in little old Devon. Where no one would believe vampires, ghosts, ware wolves, witches and souls doomed with exorcism-would all be living amongst the less populated than you’d think; humans. Joshua was humming something in my ear, his voice was rough and far from in tune, but my classification of perfect, like I was his. It’d been raining and Josh and I had run hand in hand for countless minutes looking for shelter. In the end we found an opening into the hollow of a cave, only small enough for one person, but the outside covered with the leafy green of the summer months. We curled up half in the cave, half out, the side of our silhouettes leaned against a tree. His palms soothed mine as we talked in to the night. Eventually Joshua could fight the struggle to stay awake with me no longer and drifted into a restless sleep. It’d only been four days since I’d revealed my vampire secret to him, ran away from my mother’s twisted ways, and vowed to stay with Lucy, the friend who never let me down. A camping trip was organised, to which Josh and I had escaped from. And it was then, that I watched him dream. Gripping as his imagination was, I had to tare myself away, as the dream turned to a nightmare, I the monster in his story, strong and powerful as I struck him over and over fangs to his neck. I cringed as my mouth lolled over the hollow of his throat, almost like I’d kiss him there. Instead my razor sharp teeth plunged into his flesh and in a sequence of minutes; my love fell to his death from the cliff near which I bit him. Joshua’s body shock in fear against me as the dream reached this point. I watched it, perhaps even clearer than what he saw, and understood the trauma which disturbed his sleep. It was with that last accusation that I moved away from the boy and took to finding my way home. My mother had made the biggest of mistakes, but it was her I wished to talk to. As I walked swiftly through the forest, I found myself trudging in circles. For a vampire, I had no sense of navigation. I was hopelessly lost. To make matters worse, a full moon was then uncovered from behind the clouds. I ran as fast as I could, away from where I thought Josh might be, if our paths were to cross when the moon was at its peak... Then we did cross. Slamming into me, circles under his eyes and an accelerating heartbeat where he’d ran to find me. The moment he crossed a vampire’s path, not mine, not Anya’s, but a vampire’s; was the moment the moon juggled both our fates in its hands.


Chapter One,
So his arrival was the cause of everything. Who knew that one puny human could cause so much talk, so much mess for the lives of the villagers; especially in mine. It was any other day; the day the boy first showed. A family friend- Toby; was fixing my mamma’s truck and I was seated on the hood indulging in the sun as we chatted. Toby and I had been close for as long as I could remember, he was three years older than I, but we’d played together almost every day when we were littlens’. He was the first to find out my vampire secret, he noticed a change in me when I hit seven, or so he says. I don’t quite remember much before that myself. So anyway, it was Halloween the year of my eighth birthday and when we met up to go trick or treating he seemed real spooked. Being an eight year old girl, I got real scared when he confronted me, claiming me to be some lying freak. He shook my arms and shouted at me over and over, demanding to know why I suddenly changed, when I didn’t even know. All I remembered was how good he smelt that day, and although I was only eight, I wanted to kiss him. As he began to really scare me; instead of a pathetic little girl’s scream, when I opened my mouth a pair of fangs reflected in Toby’s eyes as they widened in fear. Then it was he who ran away screaming. He ran straight into my ma, she sat him down and let him in on the secret, took the lad a long while, being eleven an all, but he came around eventually and even started to find it cool that I was his supernatural ‘baby blood girl’. As we grew up both of us changed, me mostly; I became very insecure around humans, and always worried that someday someone would find a loophole and discover what I was. Toby and I spent less and less time together, we’d stop for a chat if we passed in the hall way when I first started high school, but being a good few years older, when he graduated, I only saw him when he wanted ‘chick’ advice, or he mowed our lawn or did some handy jobs round the house for some cash on the side.

So it was one of the few days I saw Toby and it started out really well. He freed his whole day to fix this one problem with the truck, told his pals that he was rebuilding the whole thing. He was a filthy liar, but only I ever seemed to see through him. So we spent the morning watching The Jeremy Kyle show, which was a good laugh really, then I made him lunch, although he insisted he wait until he got home seeing as I didn’t eat. Later he helped me with some coursework as we lay in the garden with lemonade until it got to the point where I couldn’t find any more resemblances of eavesdropping in much ado and twelfth night, at which time Toby started to work on the truck, and the juicy gossip started flowing.
“So I was talking to your mum yesterday,” he began as he worked.
“What about?”
“You, mostly,”
“What about me?”
“It doesn’t matter,”
“Tell me,” I perused.
“She’s worried about you,”
“What! Why?”
“She thinks you need... a man, in your life. You know as well as I do that she has no intention of dating or she and my dad would be hitched, but she’s worried she’s not.. Enough. For you,” he said the last part slowly and with purpose. I was shocked, struggling for words.
“Why hasn’t she spoken to me about it?”
“What’s she supposed to say bumble bee? Are you happy with the fact your father did a bunk because I’m a vampire, and you don’t seem to be interested in boys and I’m worried you may be totally put off the male gender because of my bad experience?” My mouth dropped open.
“That’s what I thought Anya,”
“Is that really what she thinks?” I exclaimed.
“Oh yes, it shocked her that you even allowed ME within a ten mile radius of you,” he chuckled “Silly woman, nothings going to change between us right? We can only get better,”
“Things can only get worse before they get better Toby,” I pointed out.
“You know, that phrase is highly over rated, soppy and untrue.”
“Not always,” I argued
“Maybe, but in our case it’s not true, well I’d hope so anyway,” he smiled again then got back to work. We spoke little from then on. I was too busy thinking about my mother’s rash implements to answer his dull questions in full. I mainly gave him a series of ‘Mm Hmms’ and ‘Good’s’ He seemed to be taking forever on the truck and I began to wonder if he’d hit a brick wall. He’d been swearing an awful lot and our chat eventually condensed down to hardly any talking at all other than his infuriated tone whenever I laughed at his curses, disrespecting his ‘injuries’ which were of course, a cut finger and blister or two.
“Do you actually know what you’re doing?” I finally sighed. It was now two, though still relatively bright. Toby was in sweats and paint smothered t-shirt, though he still looked cute. Not boyfriend HOT with two T’s cute, just adorable big brother cute. He rubbed his palm across his forehead, a line of black smudging across it.
“Umm, No,” he admitted, grinning shyly.
“Aha, why don’t you take a break, we got a while,” I insisted patting the space next to me, urging him to sit. He tossed oil stained cloth to his left then took post beside me.
“I’d give you a cuddle right now an, but I’m a little dirty,” he said taking my hand instead.
“Not to mention you smell,”
“I thought you got used to that?” he asked, curiosity furrowing in his brows.
“I got used to the scent of ALL humans, Period. You know I only feed at a... specific time,” I cringed, as did he. “But that wasn’t what I was referring to,” I wriggled my nose and stared upon the sweat stains of his shirt. “You honestly reek,” I squealed.
“Do Not!”He protested, jabbing my side.
“Do too,” I teased. Toby raised his eyebrows and I pulled myself on to my feet, backing away from Toby’s place by the truck.
“Really?” he asked mischievously.
“Oh yes,” I challenged. “B.O,”
“Oh you’ve done it now,” he laughed then sprang from the spot where he now stood and sprinted after me. I was too quick for him though, and his frail heart and lungs could not keep pace, he lolled casually behind. He may lift the heaviest bench in the gym, but he would never beat effortless little me. Toby collapsed on to the grass, laughing through breaths and lay there panting a while, rubbing his side where he had a stitch.
“That was fun,” I said as I sat beside him, fiddling with a daisy.
“For you,” he muttered.
“You know it,” I grinned.
“It’s so unfair!” he groaned
“Why’s that?”
“Well, you’re the girl, I mean,”
“Oi, sexist pig!” I punched his arm and he cringed in pain. I hadn’t meant to hurt him. At all. All I’d done was prod him lightly with my fist and he’d flinched in agony. He was right. It was Unfair.
“These huge biceps are no match against one of your tiny little flicks. Where is the justice?” he cried.
“Rather you than me,”
“I’ll say,” he agreed. “It’s hard having a vampire for a girlfriend,” he smiled lightly and cupped his hand around my cheek.
“Girlfriend? Toby, I...”
“Yeah...Well I’ve been thinking, and well, what’d you say?”
“I...” then a car honked and interrupted us. Both Toby and I responded by turning and sighing. Mine a sigh of relief, Toby’s of annoyance.
“Can I help you?” I asked automatically.
I laughed. “It happens,”


“Yeah, to me it’d seem. So you mind if I drive in and park up so you can put me back on route?” he restarted his engine. “Please?” he added again.
“Sure thing, drive on in,” I hoped on the roof of the truck and Toby sat beside me, swinging one arm around my shoulders. The guy parked then slid out of the car. He removed his sunglasses to reveal the most gorgeous teal green eyes then shot me a cocky grin. Toby stiffened.
“How can we help?” he asked sounding far too protective. The boy raised his eyebrows.
“Protective brother you’ve got there,” the boy said “So. I’m meant to be moving in somewhere round here, and well my mum and sister got settled in yesterday, but I had some unfinished business to do... so well, now the thing is, I can’t find the house and my mum’s mobile is switched off.”
“Pst,” Toby murmured in my ear “Guy can’t even read a map,”
“My mum took the map, women and navigation. Nightmare.” He ran his fingers through his hair then cleared his throat. A smile twitching in the corner of his lips “Well, I guess I can’t talk,” he said, flushing.
“Well where you looking for, um, sorry I didn’t catch a name?” I said politely.
“I’m Joshua. How about you guys?”
“I’m Anya Martinae, my mother owns a few holiday homes down here, and this... is Toby,” I gestured to my ‘boyfriend?’
“Nice,”
“So where you headed mate?” Toby asked.
“Win view cottage?” he sounded unsure.
“Oh,” I exclaimed. “You are moving in with Evangeline Long? Are you her great grandson?”
“Yeah that’s me, the freaks grandson,”
“She’s not... that bad. She’s a good friend of the locals round here, and that’s important.” I said smiling. WOW! Evangeline’s grandson.
“Yeah, so you know how to get me there?” he laughed.
“Yeah we know the place, just follow me in you’re... Mercedes?” Toby said and UN wrapped his arms from around my neck. I grabbed his arm and shook my head.
“You know what that woman’s like;” I hissed “She may be nice but the stuff she comes out with!”
“I’ll be fine, and I’ll be back,” he promised tapping my nose. “So you ready urm, Josh?”
“Sure, thanks,” Josh began to climb back into his car.
“Wait,” I almost shouted. “You know anything about cars?” He halted his back turned. He turned slowly towards me and a massive grin plastered his face.
“Just about everything,” he shrugged. “What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know about that,” Toby muttered pursing his lips. “I can manage An,”
“Didn’t you say like twenty minutes ago that you were just about ready to give up?”
“Yeah looks like you threw the towel in,” Josh teased having noticed the oil cloth on the grass.
“True, but how do you know you can trust him?” he said as though Josh wasn’t present.
“Oh and I know whether or not you’re going to drive me off a cliff,” Josh snorted.
“There are no cliffs round here,” Toby snapped.
“You know what I meant,” Josh glared.
“Okay point taken. Why don’t you come back later and give me a hand. It’s only this truck here. We’ll be around tonight,”
“Actually,” I began.
“No,” Toby silenced me. “We’ll be around,” he repeated. Then both boys left.
A short while later Toby returned to me busy in the ‘kitchen’. A warm pair of arms enclosed around my waist though didn’t make me jump. Toby groaned into my hair and said my name.
“Thought you didn’t eat?” he whispered,
“Doesn’t mean I don’t cook,” I said simply.
“But who’s going to eat it?” he laughed.
“You, I’d hope. If you trust a vampire’s culinary skills,”
“Of course,” he said, spinning me round to face him.
“What you making?” he asked peeking over my shoulder. “Blood soup?” he teased.
“Not funny,”
“I know baby, so what is it?”
“Just you favourite,”
“Mexican?” he raised his eyebrows then licked his lips. “Yummy, not as yummy as you of course,”
“Shouldn’t it be the other way round?” I said.
“Yeah, right, like you’d have the guts to bite anyone, you have the heart of an angel Anya, that’s one of the things I love about you,”
“Love?”
“So what’s the occasion?”
“No reason, just haven’t seen you in a while. Though I’d lost you there partner,” I said bumping hips with him as I returned to rearranging the food.
“Is that a yes?” he whispered.
“To what?” I heard him laugh behind me and I was sure if I had a heart it’d of stopped just then. “Oh, that,” I dropped a knife in the sink and tried to control my expression for when I feared I’d have to turn round and face him.
“Yes, that. So?”
“Well, Toby, you’re family. Not a, a lover. Family,”
“Isn’t that one of the main reasons we could be lovers? We’ve been together all our lives, there’s no secrecy, and we can look past the attraction stuff and see what’s real in each other. Our parents love seeing us together. I make you happy. What could possibly go wrong?”
“I could hurt you,”
“You couldn’t hurt a fly,”
“I could hurt your soul,”
“I could bruise yours,”
“I have no soul,”
“Bull Shit!” Toby banged his fist on the bench beside me and whirled my body to face him. “Now tell me why, really why?”
I sighed. “I just don’t think it’d be... right.”
“I won’t wait for you,”
“I know,”
“There are other girls,” he began; his voice rough and obviously hurt. I blinked at him twice then unleashed vampire girl.
“Why you... God you are an ass whole sometimes Toby! You know that?” I demanded. He was taken-a-back by the volume of my voice and I saw terror strike in his green eyes. “Is that why you asked me for help in the dating department, and flaunted around half naked boasting about how it was this body that scored you some chicks last weekend! To make me jealous? You know I’m pretty darn glad
I didn’t nearly change my mind and say yes to you then, because I’m pretty sure all you wanted was to seduce a teenage vampire to see if the shag’s any better! I’d hate to watch your dreams because they’d make me sick to the core!” I spat at his feet, and then charged in to the hallway. He followed like the puppy dog he was.
“Well SORRY little Miss, I won’t lose my virginity until I’m 187 because I’ll still look hot and I know it! It’s not my fault you’ve been messing with my head the past four years, what is this? Some other sick delusional manipulative vampire skill of yours! I don’t see why any guy will ever want to come near you for any other reason than sex, especially when you ‘flaunt’ yourself like that! The poor Josh lad urlier looked like he was going to faint! I mean look at that dress! White boob tube so short you could’ve stepped out of the seventies. Oh wait, that’s your mother! At least my dad doesn’t dress me like a hooker!”
“My mum doesn’t dress me like a hooker!” I screeched
“Oh yeah, I meant prostitute. Except your too darn protective of your perfect silhouette, people would pay you to put more clothes on and therefore not tempt them!”
“I’d like you to leave now,” I whispered. The words had stung and cut me deep. I knew I should be crying. That’s what humans did when they felt like this, right? But I couldn’t, so I told Toby how he hurt me by saying nothing. Showing nothing, and as he stepped outside I saw that he actually was crying. He turned once to look back at me, his eyes puffy and red, and then walked away. Shoulders slumped and regret hanging on his head.

When three knocks echoed around the house, i almost yelped. I should’ve heard josh’s heavy footsteps pelting against the stones of the driveway. Vampires had superb hearing but to be honest, I was far too distraught to really listen. I jumped to my feet and attempted to smooth out my hair. I gave up after two quick runs through with my fingers. Who cares anyway? The lad was only fixing my truck. Three more loud knocks on the door sent me whizzing in to the hall, and I swung open the door to reveal a changed and much happier looking Josh. The happiness was swept from his face when he set eyes on me.
“Whoa,” he said whistling. “You and your brother have a fight when he got back?”
“He’s not my brother,”
“Then who...”
“He WANTED to be my boyfriend,”
“Oops,”
“0Oops?”
“I think I might’ve said something,”
“Like what?”
“You being pretty,” he shrugged
“Pretty? You’re exact words?”
“Um, No, more like exceptionally hot,” he blushed.
“Ah, well he’s gone now, let’s not fret,”
“Looks like you are,” Josh reached out a hand and began to trace the circles under my eyes. He snapped his hand away as his finger tip brushed against my skin.
“OUCH! I think you gave me frost bite! You are freezing woman! And it’s eighty outside, are you okay? Are you ill? My mum’s a doctor...”
“No, I’m perfectly fine thank you, but your mum’s a doctor, that’s great! What’s her name?”
“Yes she’s a doctor and her name is Melinda, are you sure your okay?” he didn’t look convinced.
”Fit as a fiddle, what about your dad?” Josh looked down as I asked about his dad and scuffed his feet on the carpet.
“Gone,” he finally said. “Left the three of us with virtually nothing, my mum’s got some... issues in the money department; my sister’s epileptic so Evangeline’s the only one we could turn to. Guess I’m the man now.” He slightly smiled at that last part. “Where are your folks?” he looked around him “They don’t seem to be around, either that or you look A LOT younger than you are,”
“Mum works late most days, especially this time of year, and dad... He’s gone also. Like yours,”
“Another woman?”
“No, it wasn’t anything like that. It was just a little complicated. I had no choice to stay with father, though I doubt I would have anyway. You wouldn’t understand that part though, and don’t try to.”
“Okay,” he eyed me suspiciously again. “You really do look like someone’s just died,”
“Why don’t you try cheer me up then,” I suggested “How’d you get lost?”
“That’s really not an interesting story, I just didn’t listen to my mum’s instructions yesterday,” he admitted. “I can take a crack at a few jokes?”
“Go for it,”
“Okay, so what did the papaya say to the watermelon?”
“What?”
“I think your pear-fect!” He grinned, “Tadaa!”
“Yeah that’s not funny,” His smile turned into a hard line.
“Why not?”
“Well firstly if it’s ‘pear’ for perfect, the papaya should be saying it to a pear not a watermelon, and second it sounds too much like the one about the cat going ‘purrrrr-fect’ Try another one,”
“Okay... How about two moose’s on the free way, one goes to the other, ‘you know what?’ the second says ‘what?’ and the first says ‘I’m horny for you!’ You get it?”
“Yeah I get it, but sorry it’s not remotely funny, I mean. Why were they on the free way?”
“Well they had to be somewhere,” Josh insisted frowning. Then I did laugh.
“Your face is so serious!” I giggled.
“So my jokes suck, but my facial expressions make you feel better?” I nodded. “Well I’m offended, I didn’t think my face was that horrific,” I laughed again and led Josh into the lounge.
“Let me try another Joke, one has to make you laugh, Um, what about Why did Tiger look in the toilet?”
“I don’t know,”
“Oh come on! It’s pretty simple!”
“Nope, beats me,”
“Well obviously he was looking for Pooh,” I shrugged and Josh sighed. “Okay let me try one more, or two, or maybe I should keep going...”
“Two’s good,”
“Okay, so number one. Hmm. Why should bowling alleys be quiet?” I shrugged and he groaned in defeat. “To hear a pin drop,” I blinked at him. “Okay last one... now this is from James and the Giant peach; you read it as a little girl?”
“Nope,”
“Okay, so why don’t skeletons play music in church?”
“Is it something about not having organs?”
“Oh Damn! You heard it?”
“No, it’s just a really bad joke!”
“Humph” Josh mumbled. “Maybe I should just sing you the duck song,”
“What?”
“The duck song!” Josh’s eyes lit up. “You’ve not lived until you’ve heard the duck song!”
“That’s what my last boyfriend said about the matrix,”
“The matrix! Yeah, he was right, anyway, can I please waddle to your computer so you live?”
“Waddle?”
“Yes. Or would you like to die?” I didn’t answer his question and instead gestured to the next room, where my laptop sat on the dining room table. He logged on and went straight to YouTube.
“So this is the duck song, brace yourself,” he warned pushing the laptop towards me. The song consisted of mainly ‘then he waddled away’ and something about a duck wanting grapes or apples from a lemonade stand. Despite the cheesy, continuous, annoying lyrics, the corny ending on top of my foul mood; it did make me laugh until my stomach was in stitches!
“Okay I agree, I’ve been dead until now,” I’d said. Though half of that ultimatum he would never fully understand. Josh prodded my shoulder.
“So little faith in a stranger!” he rolled his eyes and tutted as she shut the computer down.
“I know, despicable behaviour on my behalf,” I slapped my own wrist then began to laugh again. Somehow I ended up lying on the dining room carpet, laughing, apparently at the ceiling. Josh stood over me and just stared a while.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your fun, but what’s a guy got to do to get a coke round here? Seduce a zombie?” he joked winking at me. I sat up and smoothed down my hair, correcting him with ‘vampire’ in my mind.
“Umm, I’m not sure we’ve got coke, but I’ll find you something, follow me,”
“Thanks, I could really use something chilled right now. An ice tea would be jinn se qua” he kissed the tips of his fingers for dramatic effect.
“You speak French?” I asked leading him through the lounge to the kitchen.
“Na, I just tend to pick up a few phrases. Me aunty was a language teacher back in Australia,”
“That’s where you’re from? I assumed you were just from another part of England?”
“Well I am technically. My family moved around a lot, we hadn’t been in Australia long. So I didn’t pick up an accent,” he explained. “So you speak any languages?”
“Fluent French, Russian, Greek and a little Japanese,” I shrugged, I actually spoke fluently in most languages, and it was an easy thing to pick up when you’re a vampire of superb intellect. Let alone my mother’s fascination in language also.
“WHOA!” Josh exclaimed. “And I struggle with French and German,” We were in the kitchen now, and he and I were leant against the food counter.
“Well my mother originally comes from France, so that’s why I’m especially good at that. I hate to speak it in general, though my mother prefers the language.”
“Oh, well that’s... interesting, SO where’s this coke? If I’m about to does a good hour or so hard labour in that boiling sun; without pay, I hope to get a drink,”
“Oh, Christ! Sorry, umm we have lemonade is that good?”
“Sure, are you having any?” I cringed. Eiw!
“No, I had a cup of tea before you came,” I lied. “So... I can pay you if you’d like?”I bit my lip. Mum wouldn’t be too keen on this; pay the lad and she’d find out a human had been in our house which was frowned upon here. Josh laughed and sipped the can of Sprite.
“I was joking; don’t worry about a thing,”
“I have to pay you somehow?” He raised his eyebrows then thought for a moment.
“Well...” he began.
“Yes? Anything you want?”
“I wouldn’t offer that to a boy if I were you,” he said observing my body. I frowned. He chuckled at my expression then set the can down. “Na, that’s not my style. I’m smoother,”
“Oh yes, Smooth. Definitely,”
“Shut up!”
“Shutting,”
“Well... Starting a new school’s always hard, so I guess you could just do me a favour?”
“Sure,”
“Just... spread the word round school that I’m a good guy. Meeting new people isn’t my forte and I always seem to get off to a bad start. “
“That can be arranged,” I said nodding. “Though I disagree with that last part; you’ve made a good impression on me the last twenty minutes. I’m pretty sure everyone will love you. You seem like a people person. God, I bet my friend Lucy would just swoon over you,” I knew the words were true as I said them and found myself giggling once again.
“Love?” he finally said, surprised. He almost mimicked my exact tone when Toby had declared his love for me only an hour earlier. I simply nodded. “You been cooking?” he asked having noticed the vegetables on the counter.
“Yeah, never turns out too well though. Guess I need... practice. Food is not MY forte. Are you hungry?”
“Not really.” He shrugged then laughed. “A woman that can’t cook, my god,”
“Hey!” I objected. “Men of this generation! Back to the old ways, stereotyping women! I got told it was wrong for me to be of a superior strength earlier annual. This is not my day,” I rolled my eyes and realised I’d been digging into the ‘food preparation’ slab with a knife. Every thought of Toby seemed to just anger me.
“Well no offence, but you are small,”
“Boys,” I murmured.
“So was all this for your... friend?” he changed the subject, though not enough. Sadly.
“Initially, yes,” I answered bluntly. As blunt as the knife I still clutched even.
“Whathappened?”
“It’s…’ I paused. Did I tell him or not? “Complicated,”
“I Understand,” he picked up his lemonade again and slurped.
“Shall we go?” I said. He looked puzzled.
“Go where?”
“My room or something,”
“Oh,” his eyes widened and he grinned, relaxing his shoulders and setting his drink down once again. “Sure,” I led him upstairs, down the hall to the last room on the right, and then stood aside so he could enter before me. He whistled as he entered.
“Nice room,” he dragged the compliment out then looked at my bed with eager eyes. “Can I?” he grinned like a little boy.
“Sure,” I laughed. Josh sprinted at my bed then dog piled onto the sheets. Spreading out like an angel on the piles of white.
“This is awesome! You have a princess bed, with like drapes and everything,” he tugged at the features as he spoke of them, and then sat up. I walked slowly over to the bed and sat beside him.
“Yeah, mum’s choice,” I told him. “Doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the room,”
“Not really,” he observed. “But contrast is good sometimes. Opposites attract,”
“You me at six,” I muttered.
“Huh?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing, just have a song in my head.”
“Oh yeah, what music do you like?” he asked intently.
“Just go in my closet,” I laughed.
“Your closet?”
“Yeah, come on,” I stood up and he followed me into my ‘open’ wardrobe.
“Holy Shit!” he said as soon as he stepped inside.
“What?”
“Not meaning to be stereotypical of course, but Holy shit, girls like my sister do really have loads of shoes!”
“Yeah, but look on the back wall,”
“Are they... signed tickets?”
“Only from the best, well my classification of best,”
“Wow that’s a lot of autographs.” We stood awhile staring at the CD cover posters and I began to wonder what kind of music he enjoyed.
“Well... Good taste,” he approved.
“Thanks,” I said exiting the closet.
“Coldplay, New found glory, Feeder, good taste. Good taste. Oh and my sister’s a massive paramore fan. I’m sure she’d kill for one of their autographs,” he laughed. “Bet you got these on eBay,” he winked at me skimming the posters again. “Who else do you like, that’s not on your wall of signed fame?”
“Well, only the people I haven’t met you mean?”
“Yeah,”
“I like some electro pop?”
“Eiw. What like La Roux, and mika and stuff?” Josh frowned.
“Yeah, and a couple really weird bands; like metric and the knife. They’re not so bad,”
“Okay, I will condemn myself to listen, just for you...But any decent music?”
“Well I like Florence and the machine and a band called A fine frenzy. I also like, Jack Johnson, Newton Faulkner, and Bob Marley; that kind of thing. I like a lot of acoustic guitar stuff. Ok Go and Kasabian are great. As are Sea Wolf. Not to mention any band that’s EVER featured Joan Jett, and Oh, Motion City are GODS! You have to check them out,”
“Motion city Soundtrack?” his eyes widened and a smile spread across his face. “They’re just about one the best darn bands of today. That no one ever seems to appreciate, know or understand! Yet here you are!” he was bewildered. As was I. Who knew motion city?
“Blimey, a boy who knows Motion City Soundtrack,” I teased.
“Likewise, except the boy part of course. Anyway you know of their greatness how?”
“Toby’s studying media at the university. A lot of bands recommendation’s get tossed around between students,” I cringed. CD’s weren’t the only things being dealt around uni. One of the other reason’s mine and Toby’s time had been cut short lately, and another why he needed quick cash.
“Oh that’s cool,” he said nodding.
“I guess. Toby isn’t really too fond of them though; which I will NEVER understand. What about you?” I asked interested.
“How can you not love the motion?” Josh muttered
“Agreed, so...”
“Right, well my dad’s in the music business. He writes up playlists for movie soundtracks and stuff. Motion city were specifically asked to be added in to a certain playlist so my dad thought that if they were that good, I might be interested in them. Turns out he was right. “
“Who else do you like then?”
“The rolling stones are one of my favourites, I like Kaiser chiefs, Bullet for my valentine, muse, Guns N Roses, Aerosmith though only some of their stuff, shamefully; Kings Of Leon, Breakfast in America, 30 seconds to mars, Metallica, Pendilum, cause you got to have a little bit of heavy metal. Oh and I used to really love Katy Perry, though I only seemed to download videos not the songs,” I laughed effortlessly at the seriousness of his face.
“Funny that,” I accused.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Now he grinned. Hugely, like how I’d always imagined the cat from Alice and Wonderland. The conversation continued to flow for what seemed like hours and I was glad mum was working late. Usually by now, I’d of started to become lonely. Being lonely was dangerous, it allowed us vampires to fantasise about blood, the adrenaline pumping through a human’s veins, the blood that flooded the cheeks and lips of Josh’s...

“Hey, is this your mum?” Josh pulled me out of my hungry daze and was holding the photo frame that stood not so long ago on my bedside table. Josh was prodding a finger at a long dark haired woman, with fair skin, (well not compared to mine,) a heart shaped face with structured features, cherry lips, and a beautiful smile across her innocent face, as she cradled a baby in her arms.
“No, that’s her,” I said instinctively, referring to the pixie styled blond who had an even fairer complexion, a rounder face and colourless lips. This blond had her arms around the dark haired woman as she held hands with her child- in the other woman’s arms, and laughed at the photographer. I pointed at her and Josh squinted at the picture in hand.
“Oh,” he set the picture down on the floor then turned to face me; crossing his legs as he did so. “She looks a lot like you,” He commented.
“Yeah, people often say that. She was my mum’s best friend in high school, they were practically...” I trailed off. Thoughts had continuously crossed my head whenever I looked at the image of that woman, a woman I knew my mother devoted a life to, who would have promised to look after a child for if she were to die for some reason. A woman whose face too much resembled mine, her eyes to similar a colour, too close a match for mine own. If my eyes did not shine exceptionally more bright, my skin look like snow against her olive tone, my teeth sprout fangs where hers did not, I would too believe that woman could be my mother.
“What?” Josh asked placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Nothing, she was just a close friend of my mothers, died shortly after that image was taken,”
“Ah, so the blond one’s your mother?”
“Yes,” I smiled “She’s off her lid. Crazy I’m telling you,”
“Like you then?” he grinned. “Lying on the floor having a laughing fit,” he reminded me when a puzzled expression flashed my face.
“Yeah, I guess I am like her then, she’s also much organised. Like me. Has a lot of will power, and she’s good hearted. I guess I’m more like her than I thought,” I frowned. How could I ever doubt this was where I belonged? “Silly, Anya,” I murmured.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Josh said.
“Of what?” I was lost.
“Your good heart,” he laughed and placed a hand above my breast to feel my heart beat. Of course, it took me a moment to realise he’d hear nothing. I grabbed his hand and snatched it away.
“That’s weird,” his eyebrows ruffled on his forehead. “I couldn’t feel anything, not a pulse, nothing. Are you sure we got to YouTube on time?” he grinned and the mood was suddenly light once more.
“Yeah I think you just about saved me, besides; you didn’t mention something everyone else does,”
“What?”
“Well normally I’m accused of being freezing and giving people frost bite,”
“Oh well yeah, you were cold, but I’m cold too.”
“You are?”
“I feel it, give us your hand,” I held out a clammy palm and he took it, placing it over his heart. I could feel the ‘DUH DUM’ noise ring in my ears and tingle against my fingertips. I licked my lips then pulled my hand away before it was too late. Even without the moon making life difficult, it was never a good idea to risk even a feeling or desire.
“You’re not cold,” I said. “You felt a little warm to me,”
“Oh, well I feel freezing,” he actually shivered and colour faded from his face.
“It’s like 30 degrees outside, how are you cold? You sure you aren’t ill?”
“No, I’m not ill. This has been happening a lot lately; especially just before a full moon. Spooky! I get cold shivers and lumps in my throat. You know when the next moon is?” Something got caught in my throat as I realised how off guard I’d been. What if it was tonight, or tomorrow? I’d have to pack, get ready to leave. Surely mum would tell me? Though I hadn’t seen her for day...
“Anya? You okay?”
“Oh yeah I’m fine, what’s the date?”
“18th June,” Josh said.
“Yes well the last full moon was on the 29th” I closed my eyes. I would remember that date for the rest of my life. After all, it was the day an innocent citizen was killed; from loss of blood.
“So the next should be in a few days?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, 26th July, a few days,” my voice was low and rough and I didn’t know if Josh heard me until he spoke again.
“Well that explains me feeling like this. I mum reckons it’s something to do with me inheriting my grandmother’s gifts. Though her ‘gifts’ are bullshit, though I guess it could superstition related seeing as it happens around every full moon. I mean that’s just weird,” he was babbling so I only caught few words, I was also very distant now, running the night of the last full moon over and over in my head. The demon I became that night of the full moon would remember everything about the kill, how good it felt, tasted, why it chose this victim, how it attacked- everything. Where, I, Anya only remembered the withering pain and pleading eyes that the boy sought as I finished him. What made it worse was whenever I went near his family, I had to cope with the fact that their dreams would be filled with misery and fear, and that I knew I’d have to watch them.
“Anya, what do you think?” Josh said anxiously. God knows how long I’d been spaced out for. I tried to acquire myself and controlled my voice easily. It was an easy skill for my kind, to manipulate and lie to people.
“I think you’re grandmother is very gifted, she’s helped many people round here. Saved lives with her visions and she’s never wrong. I’ve seen her myself and she’s a good friend, tax payer, psychic and I’m sure she’ll be a good grandmother too,” I stood up just as the doorbell rang.
“Did she have a vision of the doorbell ringing at this time? Otherwise that’s freaky.”
“No,” I pursed my lips. “I wonder who that is,” Josh shrugged. I wandered down the spiral staircase as the impatient visitor continued to hammer his fists on my door and ring the buzzer. I swung open the door to reveal a very drunk, very rough looking Toby.
“What are you doing here?” I growled. He smiled and took a swig of his beer, throwing the bottle into the drive behind him, where it smashed, and spluttering green flakes of glass everywhere. “And isn’t three o’clock a little early to get wasted?”
“Is everything okay down there?” Josh called from my room. Toby’s ears prickled up to the sound of another male’s voice. He glared at me and brushed past, storming up the stairs to kick ten shits out of whoever was in his girl’s room. He kicked open the door- unnecessarily, and charged inside. Josh was sitting on the floor innocently shuffling through pile of CDs and nodded at Toby’s ghastly entrance.
“Oh,” Toby sounded relieved. “It’s only map boy,”
“Thanks,” Josh grumbled.
“Now Anya, if you’d just step outside,” Josh dropped a CD and rose to his feet.
“I don’t think so mate,”
“Why’s that pretty boy?” Toby slurred, tripping over his own feet. Josh snickered at the ridiculous question, though I defended Toby not him.
“Don’t go making accusations Josh, I’ve seen him in much worse states, and I can take care of myself” I hissed.
“But he’s completed hammered!” Josh argued. “And angry by the looks of it, you had a fight earlier right? Look at his eyes annual, what if he’s on dope or something?”
“I don’t do drugs kid,” he lied, snarling at Josh who had now made his way over to stand beside me.
“Look I’ll only be gone a second, Toby and I just need to sort some things out, and if his drunkenness doesn’t deliver a good enough apology, then more fool him,”
“You’re not going anywhere with him,” said one,
“Come on baby,” Said the other,
“Don’t tell me what to do!” I screamed, and both shut up. “Now come on Toby, let’s sort this out. Quickly” I followed my best friend outside and shut the door behind me, placing my hands firmly on my hips before I turned to face Toby.
“Now then, what do you want?”
“Well...” he swayed on his feet. “I just wanted to say sorry baby, I didn’t mean any of that stuff I said. I love you Anya. I love you!”
“Bull Shit!”
“Did you just seriously swear at me?”
“Yes Toby. Bull Shit! You are drunk and delirious, and probably don’t even understand the definition of love. Because you and I certainly aren’t partners of IT! Now come out with a better apology, or leave!”
“Anya don’t say that. You know I’m sorry, and you know I know the meaning of love, and you know that meaning, for me, is defined as you!”
“Oh cut the crap, what are you on this time Toby? Crack, Weed, E? It’s nothing worse is it? Tell me you’re not in deep shit?”
“I’m not on anything like that,” he said quietly.
“Oh something more natural then, like mushrooms?” I yelled stomping my foot like a four year old.
“I didn’t say that Anya. Look I’m sorting myself out, for you. For US!”
“I repeat, BULL! Do you even care about me?”
“Of course, I love you,”
“You’re a liar Toby. I stand by what I said; all you want is to get a vampire in to bed. Now I love you, but until you start being honest, I’d like you to get lost and don’t come back,”
“You don’t mean that,” Toby whispered, stepping towards me, arms outstretched. I turned my back on him but he caught my wrist, and for some strange reason, I let him turn me around. What happened after that was all very quick and remained as a blur in my memory. Toby had leaned in to kiss me just as Josh burst through the door, throwing a punch directly at Toby. Toby dodged it and swerved left smashing in to the wall where he hit his head. He rubbed the sore there then roared...
“Out-side twerp, NOW!”
“Gladly, I’ll race ya” Josh winked at Toby then catered down the stairs and out in to the street. It should’ve been an even fight. Had I not tried to stop it. Toby favoured in being good with pain; experience from me, and sheer size, where Josh favoured in pure skill and Toby’s drunkenness. However I couldn’t let them fight, so I got in the middle of the two lions of the discovery channel, and stopped them making a show for the neighbours, then out did them both.
I stepped in-between their circling bodies, palms out stretched and resting on each of their chests. Toby gulped knowing what was to come, where Josh struggled against my firm hold yelling ‘Let me at him’ over and over. Then I thrust- Outwards; with just enough strength to hurl both of them several feet into the air in opposite directions. They both slammed down on to the pavement screaming like little girls, and responded in different ways. Josh rolled on the floor groaning and massaging his back side- literally. Where Toby attempted to yell abuse at me about how inappropriate it was for me to do what I did.
“I think... you...cracked,” he struggled through pants. “A...Rib!” his tongue lolled out of his mouth and his eyes began to close. I rushed over and elbowed his broken rib in the correct place that it snapped back. It wasn’t fixing but it would stop the pain.
“Better?”I whispered.
“Tons. It’s so cool you can do that for me!” he grinned.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I mumbled moving towards Josh. “You’ll need a doctor to fix that properly, and I’m not driving you,” I called over my shoulder.
“Jeesh, what the hell just happened?” Josh demanded stunned as I inspected his wounds.
“I kicked your ass that’s what,” I said, and he flinched as I turned his wrist left to right, as though I were shimmering something in light. “I think this is broken,”
“Why’d you get in between us?” Josh shrieked. “I tried to help you! He was going to kiss you! He could’ve hurt you!” the words rolled of his tongue before he could stop himself, and I knew Toby would then feel a kick in the gut.
“Like he could,” I grinned. “And I’d of let him kiss me,” I added. I turned to look back at Toby who was now standing with his arms crossed looking rather smug.
“But... But he’s a drunk, stuck up; adolescent prick and you’re defending him!”
“Shut up you full of yourself git!” I yelled at him, and his eyes widened in horror then dropped in sadness.
“I thought you liked me?” he pleaded
“Like you said, you don’t make good first impressions!”
“I thought this would be different,” he whispered. I heard footsteps and all of a sudden Toby was towering over Josh and me.
“Yeah! Well maybe your perception of people changes when you try to hit their boyfriend and hit on them on the same day!” he cried lunging at Josh. I held out my hand and he halted rearranging his features, his bottom lip quivering as he attempted to stay calm.
“I didn’t try to it on her,” Josh said simply. And he hadn’t. He’d just been friendly and cautious.
“You bloody pathetic liar! I saw it in your eyes the moment they stared upon her! You wanted her, you aimed to get her. I bet you don’t even know anything about trucks...” he squealed and I cut him off.
“I said enough!” I screamed. “Now you,” I said, directing my voice at Joshua. “I’d like you to go to a hospital and get cleaned up, tell them you fell or something. Then never come within a ten mile radius of me again. Or I will personally kick your ass. For the second time!”
“Ten miles? Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
“Just leave!” I shouted, moving beside Toby and taking his hand. “You certainly won’t be getting my good word around school now,”
“Yeah, goes without saying Bitch!” He spat at my feet then stormed off to his car, ensuring he ran over all our shrubs before he drove away.

After he left I took to bandaging Toby’s wounds, which I mostly did in silence. I tried to not to breathe as I dabbed the sores clean, he eventually cleared off to the bathroom in order to treat them himself and relieve my discomfort. He stopped at the kitchen door and looked back at me, and waited. What did he expect, for me to thank him? He left without a single word after that. The texts he sent me later were unread, piling up my inbox. I only hoped he wouldn’t send something ridiculous, like a present, next.

When mum came home that night, and of course smelt the blood; I saw her eyes bulge then burn, as she ran frantically from the kitchen where the smell synched strongest.
“Really should’ve used more bleach,” I mumbled to myself. By now, I’d gotten used to the tempting though disgusting when you couldn’t have it, fragrance.
“What the hell happened here Anya?” My ma immediately demanded. “I expected better of you than this, you promised me you’d try this time, really try!” she launched into an ‘I am very disappointed in you’ speech, of c course, jumping to the immediate conclusion. Though, the sick tickles in my stomach, gave me reasons to believe why she’d think I’d killed in our own home.” You should contain your thirst,” she raged on “the full moon is just...”
“Days away,” I finished for her nodding.
“Exactly, so couldn’t you just wait... the moon I’ll make an exception, but an ordinary day? How will I cover this up? What’ve you done with the body?” She was now, furious, worried, stressed, any bad emotion; she was feeling it. I started to laugh at the seriousness of her expression. Although the matter, had it been true, was rather quite serious, and I would surely receive a club in the ear within the next thirty seconds. A cushion came hurtling towards me.
“Ow,” I groaned.
“Would you like to tell me what’s so funny?” she fumed.
“I haven’t killed anyone, concentrate on the scent mum, “She frowned and wriggled her nose. Her shoulders suddenly became un-tensed and relaxed, her jaw loosened, her wrists un-clenched, and her eyes no longer pierced me as she studied my face. “Ah,” she sighed.
“A familiar scent, is it?” I said smugly.
“Toby,”
“Mm hmm,” I flicked through the television channels until the news was on screen, then turned the volume to nearly mute. It still seemed loud. My mother’s booming demands earlier would’ve sounded almost a whisper to anyone else.
“Sorry for my lack of faith Anya, it’s just... I know how it is to regret a kill... and when you didn’t seem bothered just then, I was scared. Scared you’d lost your humanity,”
“How could I lose my humanity? I’ve never been human. I was bitten as a baby right? I know nothing of a human lifestyle. I’ve never had a soul. I’ve never wanted anything more than the meat of one’s bones. I feel bad when I kill someone yes, I know what it’s like to be soulless and by killing, I have killed a person’s soul too. But I know it’s only my nature. I am a monster and that’s all I’ll ever be.”
“You have a soul Anya, and it will touch any human animal or plant to which you blow life in to,”
“Here we go again, the soul discussion, you’re not just dead, you’re m &s dead, blah blah, there’s really no use mother, I feel nothing. I’ll always feel nothing. I’ll always be nothing other than a thirsty creature that feeds on the torture of all humans but two; Toby and Lucy.”
“Anya...”
“No,” I said sternly.
“So what fray was here then?” she asked taking a seat beside me and kicking off her heels.
“Nymph,” I said, ready to lie. “Accident,” was the word of my failed attempt. Mum put her hands squarely on my shoulders then turned me to face her. Her glittering (literally) pearly turquoise eyes started into mine so deep you’d think she were studying my un beating heart then breathed a silk ...
“Anya, darling, all will be well in the land of wonderland, the land of love, forgiveness, sorrow and sorry, but only if you tell me, only if you tell me...” So I did tell her.
I told her absolutely everything. No details misplaced, bare cheeks an’ all. I tried to ignore the colours of her face, as they changed at certain parts, the moments where she didn’t breathe and the ones where she suddenly turned stiff or tried to hide her disappointment. I especially tried to block out the smile that flooded her face when Toby asked me to be his girlfriend, and the irritation I saw when I told of our interruption; Courteous of Josh.
When I was done, I became very unsure why I’d told her to begin with. I didn’t want all those reactions stuck in my mind. Then she looked at me with those eyes, and I remembered. My mother was one of many adult vampires who had gifts beyond the wildest thought, dream or imagination- A gift of the gods. Her gods not mine. She had the ability to look into one’s eye, direct, and tell a solid lie, and every word would sound that of truth. If that is what she desired them to think. If she wanted them to doubt it a little, they would, if she wanted the syndrome to wear off, so it would. Quite an amazing gift, though it wasn’t nice to lie to people was it? She’d told me she’d rarely used her gift on me, only once or twice, though a lot when I was very young and struggling with my life style. She used to tell me I didn’t need blood. I didn’t need to kill. She’d told me that I’d know when she’d lied to me, as I’d feel empty, and drowsy, which was exactly how I felt now. I was Alice in the wonderland she just mentioned, growing and shrinking, the cat with the widest grin, the mad hatter laughing his nauseating sound, and the queen giggling as she ordered ‘off with his head’ or in my case ‘then bring the blood from the corpse,”. I was in a dream world. A fascinating fairytale where I could have everything I wanted. To some extent, I hated it. There were not pots of gold here, but of blood and chopped off heads, and bones and dirt welded into ones skin. Those thoughts sent me crashing to the surface, away from the peaceful waterfall where I’d been floating moments before, and into the roughest sea instead.
“That’s not fair ma,” I moaned, punching straight through the cushion she’d thrown before.
“You are replacing that pillow,” mum complained. “What’s unfair exactly?” she asked smiling.
“That you can manipulate me in to thinking ‘its okay’ when it NEVER is!”
“But,” she frowned. “I’m your mother; you’re supposed to want to tell me everything!”
“Not when I’m scared of your reaction,” I defended.
“Really?” she sounded upset. “I don’t want you to be afraid buttercup, Never ever. Now come on, better start arranging some antidotes for the moon rituals,”
“Joy,” I muttered.
“It’s not that bad,”
“It is when Aunty Helena is shoving perfumes under your nose going ‘does this make you thirsty?’ Why do I even call her aunty? She’s not your sister!” mum chuckled at my un-enthusiasm.
“Well...” mum held back a smile, “we could always go hunting?”
“Where,” I grinned.
“Hmm, what sounds good? Boar, lion, cheetah, umm, Toby?”
“Ha-ha, how about elephants? I could enjoy a trip to Africa,”
“Well someone’s hungry,” mum laughed.
“Well have you seen yourself?” I raised an eyebrow and she lifted a finger.
“Hold that thought,” Then she was gone. Whizzed up the stairs so quick a chill washed over me, though the second it began to effect my skin, she had returned. It’d taken a whole of four seconds.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said. “Circles under my eyes, rough skin, loss of colour in the pupils, damn, maybe we do need some elephants, “the lady agreed.
“Like I said,Africa,”


Chapter Two,

Mum and I decided to pass on Africa in the end. The journey was too much hassle, neither of us was willing to deal with the sun this week, and I was really fancying some beasty furry chases rather than that god awful elephant tusk! In the end we rented a cabin in Toronto- Canada; 5,652 km away from treacherous England. I’d never felt so alive this hunting trip, (It was more like a two day vacation!). The cabin was real sweet. There was a dark alder wood coating the floor, velvet red curtains to match the flower patterned gold and burgundy wallpaper, and a massive patio door that stretched across the width of the back wall, and overlooked the glistening lake. There were spot lights brightening the room to entwine the natural beauty of the Canadian style with the modern. A black phone even sat on a little table in the corner of the room, so that I almost felt like I was starring in an episode of Twin peaks.

We’d run most of the way here so my hair was a little frazzled, but I didn’t mind. Truth be told, dinner was going to be messy. I began to fold my hair with a brush anyway. My hair was that strange, though quite pretty colour that couldn’t decide whether it was blonde, brown or red. I swear there are twenty different tones running through it. It looks a bit like Cristina Ricchi’s just before she turned Brunette. However my locks are really long, travelling just past my breast; and no it’s not a vampire thing, and I actually had to wait years like any other girl for it to grow. It’s kind of wavy, with little knots and ringlets. Anyway, so I was combing my Blondie-brownie-red-curly hair; when there was a knock at the door. I pulled myself from the princess dresser in the cabin bedroom and twisted the key a few times in the lock before it swung open. A man stood there with a black cloak hauled around him and an axe in one hand. He looked like the grim reaper and a low growl was erupting from his chest. I should be scared. I’d told myself. Any normal girl would be scared. I wasn’t. A feeble little human was probably playing dress up. I’d thought. Or an employee playing a joke, I’d considered. Even if the bloke was a psycho I’d be able to defend myself in three seconds flat. I could snap his neck with my little finger, and his juicy pulse would disappear. Then I’d have to change him, throw him in a ditch or the river somewhere, or... Then he untied his cloak and his face was revealed. There was no pulse. Only grey skin, a face covered in scars, vibrant green eyes and a snarling mouth.
“Is... Grace Martinae here?” he spat.
“No, she’s...” Heck! I told myself. Where was she?
“I’ll be back in three days. Tell her to count the knocks, and count the debts.”
“I umm,” Before I could get the word’s out, the stranger, the vampire, had gone, leaving only a cold sting behind. I made my way back to the mirror though this time when I looked into it, my face was more chalky than before, my eyes a little less blue. I must have just sat there. Staring at myself because when mum finally came in, it was dark. She placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Anything the matter, love?”
“Mum we have to leave,” I swung round on the dresser stool to face her so she stood over me like a giant.
“Why?” she asked simply.
“I...”
“Don’t lie to me; I’ll make you tell the truth. Again” she reminded me.
“A man... A vampire, he... turned up at the door and asked for you,” I spluttered.
“What else did he say?” she asked calmly, she didn’t look at all worried. That bugged me.
“He asked for you... he was very aggressive about it too.”
“What did he look like?” she interrupted.
“He was exceptionally tall, slits for eyes; they were a phenomenal green- that’s how I guessed see. He had dark hair, a crooked smile, and a... scar travelling down his jaw line.”
“Ahh, carry on.”
” Once I said you weren’t here, he said he’d come back in three days.”
“Did he say anything about debts?” her face contained its placid carving. But her tone had been shaken up somewhat after my description. I nodded.
“Before I could ask who he was, he...”
“Vanished?” I nodded again. “He does that,” she sighed.
“Who is he?” I whispered. “I’ve not been that scared for a while,”
“He’s a,” she hesitated. “Friend... of the vampire who changed me,” she turned away from me.
“That Lorenzo guy?”
“Yes, there were three of them. Clarke and Gabe- the Cubante brothers; Gabe you just met. Lorenzo was in charge of the two when he found me.”
“Mum...what does he want?”
“Don’t fret honeybee, that’s a story for another time. I’m not ready to tell you yet. Nor are you to listen. Besides, we’ll be gone in three days and he’ll never find us in England, and I don’t want you to be listening to me rant about my past when you could be charging at some moose’s,” she smiled.
“Like I’ll be able to focus on the hunt now,” I muttered. Mum laughed a little then offered a hand to pull me up.
“Once you’re out there your instincts will take over and you’ll have nothing else on your mind,”
“What about when I’m done?”
“Then you have other things to think about,”
“Like what?” I frowned.
“Like school,” she laughed.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “I got away to forget about that! Way to dampen the mood even more mum!” She grinned like an angelic little girl at me then turned to leave.
“We better get feasting then,” she said turning to wink at me. When I stood in front of the stool and didn’t move she shimmied over and slapped my bum. “Come on Annie bear, smile then let’s get the heck out of this indoor forest”
“I like the cabin,” I objected.
“Anya...”
“Okay Okay,” I said brushing past her. “Race ya?”

We headed east of the cabin, the farthest forest away. This would allow us to retain our new blood thirstiness, having drunk six animals a piece, before coming in contact with the smell of humans. Having drunk only one tiny innocent fox that thought already had my mouth watering.
“I can’t pick up any decent scents mum,” I moaned.
“Nor can I, want to head a few miles further north this time?”
“Are we pitching it too close?”
“No I’m sure we’ll be fine, I trust you,”
“You’ve had more practice than me,” I frowned. “You can’t kill and bring me the blood anymore mum, I’ve got to do it myself, it’s just...I’ve slipped too many times. I don’t want to kill anymore. Even if those boys were just accidents,” My stomach churned. I suddenly wanted to settle with just the one fox.
“Anya if the opportunity rises and a human stands before you, in the split second before you bite them, consider their job, their family, their future. And use your own will power to let them have those things, and not to take them away.”
“I don’t want to take them away,”
“Then remind yourself that,”
“You think I’ll be okay?”
“I’m positive... but as your doubting yourself we’ll only head a little closer, just until we find something a little more decent than fox, nothing drastic, okay?”
“Thanks,”

We did find something decent in the end, some things awfully decent; Mouth-watering bears and wolves. You’d think it’d be hard to kill something so cute. The wolf with it’s fluffy grey coat and puppy dog eyes, little red tongue panting, and it’s squeal as you launch yourself at it and lunge at it’s tissue with your nails and fangs. Or the bear you imagine with a honey pot, its coal coloured fur shaking, ears prickling and the roar from its throat as you tackle it, snap its neck then eagerly plunge your mouth to it. But in all honesty, you just don’t think about it. You’re in your happy place, your favourite food is surrounding you in that restaurant buffet, and you can just eat and eat and eat if you have the table reserved. It just tastes so good. You want more and more and more and more, and then... you have to remember your humanity. Remember that you’re not a blood thirsty monster and you don’t want to be. It’s my facial expression when I remember that when my mum laughs. That hunting trip she definitely laughed.
“You okay there love?” she asked catching a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth with her tongue. “What’d you get?”
“Bear this time... kind of feel bad, they’re already endangered,”
“They just attack humans anyway, that’s why vampires used to kill them in the first place,”
“Bullshit mum, it’s because they taste so sickly sweet and god damn delicious,” I laughed and a hiccup elapsed my lips. I laughed again, a bubbling sound that echoed through the woodland. “Where’d you go?” I asked her remembering I’d done this hunt alone.
“There was a bear of my own calling my name,” she smiled.
“Hmm,” I studied her a moment. “You know I don’t understand how you manage to stay so clean?”
“You’re a child, you’ve no table manners,” she said.
“Thanks,” I snorted.
“One more for the road?” she suggested
“Sure,” I grinned. “What do you fancy?”
“We can cross over to the states... or Alaska? But it’d be a bit pointless?”
“I don’t think we should bother hunting anywhere else,”
“Alright then we’ll stay put...what about after? Are we going home or staying?”
“I would’ve said stay so that we could go for a swim and stuff, but I think we should go home, for your sake,”
“You don’t need to worry about me, he won’t be able to get anywhere near us,”
“He was standing two feet away from me,”
“He wouldn’t have gotten in,”
“What’d you mean?”
“Well you know in books it was told that a vampire had to be invited in to someone’s home?”
“Yeah,”
“Well that concept is kind of backwards. They can get in to your homes, but they can’t go in a place that isn’t yours,”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” I said wiping my mouth on my sleeve having realised there was a sticky blackcurrant like stain around my mouth, and that mum should be laughing.
“I know... it’s very complicated. More so for males than females,”
“I’m even more lost,”
“It’s about the tie between lust and blood. It’s very complex, when you reach the age I’ll have to explain,”
“Who explained to you?”
“No one, I found out the hard way,”
“Which was...”
“Another story,” she closed the topic. “So why don’t we take out another wolf or two then head home, we could be home by three o’clock tomorrow morning?”
“Sounds good to me,” I lied.

We ran north a few more miles towards town and I was afraid I’d be pushing it. But no butter-wouldn’t-melt scent whipped over me as I expected. “We’re not as close as you think, your paranoia is changing your distinction of distance,” Mum said.
“Really?” I asked.
“Barely moved,” she assured me. “Now let’s get a bite of the beautiful beasts before they scatter”
We prowled the forest a while before I heard the heavy ‘duh-dum’ of around three bear’s heartbeats. The sleuths were by stream behind the trees to the right of us. I could hear them gnawing their food and licking their paws innocently already. Mum looked at me and nodded, encouraging me to follow her. I stepped out on to the river bank and the bear made a humph sound before it turned to face us. When it did a big grin spread across its messy face and it stood up on its hind legs to bark a triumphant laugh. Then its face snapped as if to say ‘Now back to business’ and it hurled towards us, creating an easier job for mum and me. There was nothing easier than facing a component who didn’t think you would fight back. Mum and I looked up at the bear just before it struck, then ran around the back of it’s silhouette just as it’s paws slashed thin air, the air where mum and I should’ve been stood and cut. The bear stopped, confused and snarled then looked frantically around him. As he turned mum and I looked at one another before we lunged at his stomach. As I injected my fangs in to his flesh mum climbed up him to snap his neck. The bear collapsed on to his back releasing a slow, agonised cry which echoed through the woods before it died as he did. Mum grinned at me as she picked herself up from the grass beside his body then joined me at the rear of the animal. I gave her one simple nod, and then we began to indulge in the final catch of our hunt.

Chapter 3

,
I felt massively refreshed after the hunting trip; it seemed the perfect time to get away. But I couldn’t stay away from the problems at home forever. I’d been dreading my return before we’d even arrived in Canada, School would start, Toby would be waiting and the full moon was eight days away. I didn’t want to kill any more humans. I didn’t want to be locked up with the rest of the vampires in a stuffy lodge going out of my mind for being deprived of what I needed. I guess there were a lot of things I didn’t want or like.
As soon as mum and I walked in to our large empty home, three loud rings escaped our telephone. I laughed and raced to answer it; mum followed and swung herself up so to sit on the kitchen counter.
“Hello,” I breathed
“Anya! It’s you! Your here! I have so much to tell you...”
“Here we go,” I braced myself.
“I hate it when you go out of town for these hunting trips! You miss so much! Why didn’t you ring me as soon as you got in?” she demanded.
“Well you beat me to the punch,” I laughed.
“Oh, Oh my god Anya there’s a new guy in town, and he is H-A-W-T! He’s been beat up pretty bad already though, poor kid, I swear the blokes in this town can’t keep their fists in Judie!” I bit my lip. I was hoping to forget about Josh. “My mum was giving him stitches when I went to see her for some cash, so I went on in and saw him like S-W-O-O-N! My god, and Blair - her aunt’s been put in a mental hospital! Like whoosh, off the rails, and she was so nice! She got put in there for trying to sleep in a Morison’s shopping trolley!” she raged on, babbling now. Mum matched my plain expression. This was the comfort of home, my nuts gossiping friend (Lucy Loon) to whom any news was fatal. “Oh,” she paused. “And you missed two major break ups!”
“Really who?” I asked propping the phone between my shoulder and ear before kicking off my sandals.
“Well first, Jack and Emma that was the most drastic! I heard Jack CRIED! I mean seriously brawled his blue eyes out. She’s blaming the whole thing on Keera and Rihanne. Rihanne was apparently seeing Jack on the side and liked Keera that bit too much before that! But I’ve seen him with both of them, I think Keera get’s on his nerves and well Rihanne... is blatantly smitten but he just likes to mess with her head you know? SO anyway Emma broke up with him, which is ridiculous considering how much slack she gave Keera because of their friendship before I mean, GOD!”
“What actually happened then?” I said finally getting my say.
“They had a massive show down at Louisiana Park, Jack made one sarcastic comment and it was over, quite sad really,”
“Well that’s...” I struggled for words, I actually was majorly surprised. They’d been together since they were about ten years old!
“Twelve,” Lucy corrected.
“Did I say that out loud?” I frowned.
“Na, I was just thinking that and figured you’d be thinking the same,”
“Oh, So twelve? That’s four years; this year would be their fifth! That’s...”
“Unexpected?”
“Totally,” I agreed.
“Yeah well the second one, no one saw coming!”
“Go on then, spill the beans,” I gave mum a wave to let her know I was going to my room then headed for the stairs.
“Well it’s Toby and...”
“Toby who?” I wondered aloud as I halted at the foot of the stairs, a lump building in my throat.
“Your Toby,” she laughed down the receiver at me.
“I wasn’t aware he was dating anyone,” I muttered.
“Well he’s not now,” she laughed again. “But yeah, that’s the thing, no one did! It was all secret, four months and they told no one! Toby ended for another girl, no one knows who it is though, but apparently they’ got back together anyway, but rumours, I reckon it’s ended for good,”
“What was her name?” I spat tightening my jaw.
“Her name was Trisha Parker, the two T’s,”
“I don’t know her,”
“I think they go to college together,” Lucy said.
“Oh,”
“So anyway, the new kid Josh kept on poking his nose in claiming that YOU were the girl, I mean YOU, is he off his teapot? The two of you would have travelled that road a long time ago, and how would he...”
“It is me,” I sighed.
“Know, I mean have you even met yet, it’s all so, wait... did you just say it’s you?” she squeaked. I blinked un-necessarily.
“Anya, you okay? You’re not breathing?”
“I don’t need to Lu,”
“Oh right, I forget sometimes. So it’s you?” she asked eager but trying to sound casual.
“It’s a long complicated story, that’s what,”
“Le mange? Let’s say twenty minutes?”
“Sounds good,”
“Okay see you in a few,”
“Will do,” I tried to sound enthused but drastically failed coming out with a whisper. Lucy wasn’t fused.
“An...”
“Yes?”
“Luc de loop!” she sang.
“Annie can kan!” I laughed.
“Cheer up, I’ve missed you,”
“You too,” I said, and then the line went dead.

Twenty five minutes later I found myself sitting alone in Le Mange cafe, a scolding hot chocolate perched between my icy palms, topped with walnuts, whipped cream and sprinkles. Lucy was late, as usual. I had a window seat and could see everything both ends of the street. No lanky yet slender tanned legs were travelling towards me. I dialled her mobile number, allowing it to ring a good thirteen chimes before I axed off the call. I waited another ten minutes by which time the hot drink was Luke warm, then decided to leave.
I pulled myself away from the tiny table and tossed some change down before I shout out the door. I vaguely heard a waitress yell ‘Thanks,”
I started to run down the sidewalk, I had to remind myself to slow down, I was going such a slow pace I felt like I were walking. People still stared in amazement as I raced past. I was heading south, the shortest route to Lucy’s house. Luckily Lucy didn’t live the beach end of Exmouth so there was more of a chance that I would cross her than if she were chasing me.
I could only imagine her now, power walking down the street. She wouldn’t be running that’s for sure, certainly not in stilettos. In the end, I did in fact pass her on the street. I skidded to a stop at the sight of her long black hair. She was sitting on the floor by a grate looking as though she wanted to both laugh and cry. She looked up as though she sensed my presence. It was like she could smell me!
“Anya! Oh my,” Lucy was currently sitting beside a drain, a drain to which her shoe was stuck in. The contents of her bag were spilled on to the pavement and her crystal white dress was speckled with dirt. A lad was attempting to remove the shoe without snapping the heel. I could only imagine Lucy now posed as a damsel in distress. “Someone save my shoe!”
I walked around the two of them to stand behind the boy and face her. His body turned rigid.
“What are we going to do with you?” I teased grinning like a pooping baby.
“My shoe got stuck,”
“I can see that,” I giggled.
“I was late,” she added running a hand through her bush of hair.
“Figures,” I laughed again.
“Anyway this is...” I began to extend a hand as though to offer it but snatched it back at the sound of his voce.
“She knows who I am,” Josh said turning to face me. The familiar green eyes bedazzled me. His mouth was set in a hard line.
“Oh so you DO know each other?” Lucy chimed grinning from one to the other. We both must have shot her the same look as the smile soon washed from her face and was replaced with one that was very intimidated. She looked frightened; maybe I’d released too much vampire. “Part of the story?” she whispered. I nodded. Before she could respond a popping sound rose from the grate and her ankle was free. Lucy practically jumped on Joshua in delight.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cried pecking him on the cheek.
“Sure,” he laughed brushing the hair from his eyes.
“We’re getting a hot chocolate in a bit,” she informed him. “Do you want...” she began to ask cautiously. I shot her another look to imply a DO IT AND DIE sentence. “Or...”
“No, no,” said Josh too quickly. “I won’t interrupt your girly afternoon,” he said casually offering Lucy a hand up.
“Oh dear,” she sighed melodramatically, really like a damsel in distress. “Look at my dress,” the agony in her voice was rather hilarious and I had to cough away my laughter. She smoothed down the ivy green dress made of silk- that clung to her body perfectly a good six times before she sighed an “Oh well,”
“It’s not... that bad?” I lied.
“It is!” She groaned. I shouldn’t have said anything. “I’ll have to go home!”
“Oh no missus, I would like to spend some time with you, and I can’t be out late this week,” I trailed off.
“What why?” I just looked at her. “Oh right,”
“Well you’re in town,” said Josh shrugging. “Why don’t you buy something? Girls blow cash all the time right?” he suggested. Lucy liked that idea. She liked it a lot. I saw her little face light up as he spoke the magic words. Lucy grabbed my hand and began to drag me towards Top Shop; she sneaked a look behind her where Josh stood hands in her pockets before calling a giddy “Thanks a bunch,”

“Well that was...”
“An unfashionably version of late?”
“Umm, yes good conception,” I laughed.
“Never mind that,” said Lucy slipping a yellow tank top over her head. “Spill,” she ordered.
“Well...” I put off as she tossed the yellow top in my direction as if to ask ‘hang these up for me’. “It’s...”
“A long story? Hard to explain?”
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“Isn’t everything in your life?”
“Melodramatic?”
“Sorry, I’m growing impatient,”
“For news or a nice shirt?”
“Both,”
“Well I liked the yellow one,” She rolled her eyes.
“How many long stories have I made you sit through?” she asked.
“Umm, many,”
“So I’ll suffer through one of yours! Well, I wouldn’t even be suffering, you know me eager for the Goss!”
“Fine,” I mumbled. Lucy was now shimming on a beautiful yellow dress with straps that crossed over at the back, a corset that crossed over to make a shape of two butterflies’ wings, and floated out at the sides the perfect amount. “Whoa,” I breathed.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it Luc, how much?”
“Oh god,” she said.
“What?”
“I forgot that part, look at the tag will you?” I walked over and fumbled down the back of the dress for the label.
“Sixty,” I read aloud.
“I don’t like it,” Lucy lied and stepped forward to tug the dress off.
“Yes you do,”
“No, I don’t like the price, therefore, I don’t like it,”
“Don’t be silly, I’ll put some money towards it, you can’t not get that, seriously!” I pursued.
“No. And don’t do that,” she groaned.
“Do what?”
“You know the hell what, distracting me like that, just tell me, maybe you’ll feel better after!” She took one last glance in the mirror, sighed then untied the dress so it slid from her skinny body with ease. She didn’t sling it on the floor like the others, but carefully hung it up.
“Well...Toby DID asks me out,” A lump caught in my throat as I remembered his greedy earnest hands swept over my body before our fight.
“Oh no,” Lucy dropped the coat hanger to which the dress hung and whizzed to face me. “Anya I’m so sorry, and I sat there babbling about he and...”
“It’s not your fault,” I interrupted. Her pained expression suddenly made me laugh.
“What happened next?” she urged.
“Well we got interrupted by the, umm, new kid,”
“Josh!” she screeched. I nodded and passed her a pair of pale blue, three quarter, ripped jeans which she slid on to cover her chicken styled legs.
“What were you and Toby doing?” she said suspiciously.
“Nothing,” I said casually. Her eyes pierced my reflection in the mirror. “Well that’s not what Toby had planned,” I admitted.
“Ouch,”
“Double ouch,”
“This is off the point, but I’ve never asked before, how comes I can see your reflection?”
“Umm, I am solid Lucy,”
“Yeah but vampire books say...”
“Lucy, they’re books... fiction?”
“Oh right,”
“Only vampire authors write the truth,”
“Hey...” Lucy said after evaluating that statement. “You should do that,”
“Maybe,” I agreed solemnly.
“Anyway, what did josh want?”
“Directions, but I asked a favour of him,” She raised her near invisible brows at me. “Toby was having trouble fixing my mamma’s truck,” I explained.
“Ah, I bet he hated being booted from the job,”
“Totally, he must have given him a lecture in the car from what he said when Josh came back,”
“Came back? Who?” she said confused.
“Oh, I wasn’t done,” She let two hovering fingers glide along the lines of her lips as if to zip them clothes and I exhaled unnecessarily.
“Toby and I had a fight, he made a move, I told him to back off, then some stuff was... said,”
“Uh Oh,”
“Major Uh Oh,” She gulped and wriggled out of the jeans which landed on the ‘maybe’ pile.
“What did he say to you?”
“He told me I was a frigid bitch and a wretched, lame, excuse of a vampire basically,”
“GET OUT!” she shrilled.
“That’s what I told him,”
“Please tell me you had a good comeback?”
“I told him he only wanted to screw a vampire to succumb his opinion of self centred superiority, oh, and experience.”
“Your seriously said that?” I nodded. “He’s such a loser Anya, Good for you, you deserve better, and you’ll see... you’ll end up with the surf model equivalent,”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“But wait!” she gasped. “There’s more! Who came back Toby or Josh?”
“Josh came back alright, Toby came back too,”
“Oh did them...”
“Hit it off?”
“Yeah,”
“Yes, full blown punches,”
“You’re kidding?”
“I’m not. I had to step in,”
“Ouch,”
“That’s what they said,”
“You kicked some boy butt?”
“Girl power, woo!” I said sounding far more unenthused than I’d planned.
“I feel for them,” said Lucy and I couldn’t contain the bubble of giggles that escaped from me.
“Who made the first punch?”
“Josh,”
“Well that explains a lot,” she said as she tried to decide what to buy, and put on to wear.
“You took Toby’s side?”
“Of course,” I answered agitated she even had to ask. “Why wouldn’t I?” Lucy was careful...
“Because to be honest Lu, Toby’s been treating you like shit.”
“Well yeah but...”
“Josh seems so nice as well,”
“He’s an ass whole,”
“Okay, okay,” She raised her naked arms in defence. “How bad did you hurt them?”
“Thought your mum treated them?”
“Oh right yeah, well only Josh, he had a lot of broken ribs an,” she was definitely sympathetic which annoyed me.
“I pushed,”
“Harsh?”
“No, you weren’t there,”
“Point taken,” she mumbled. “Did you get to talk to Toby after?”
“Yeah, I had to bandage him up, but he didn’t say anything, much, he was feeling... ill,”
“Anya,” Lucy accused, I cringed knowing what she was going to ask. “Was he sober?”
“Are you done I’m really tired of this store,” I dodged.
“No Anya, I’m not done. You told me if he was drinking you’d leave him to it. Now tell me, was he hammered or not?”
“Maybe,”
“Shit Anya, don’t let him do this. Don’t be his doormat. You can’t just forgive him over and over again! You defended poor Josh against that alcoholic twat? What the hell! This was the last straw, you need to think about yourself, why did Josh even hit him?”
“Lucy, it’s up to me who I forgive,” I defended. “He hit him because he was getting too close to me, kind of like I’d hit this girl he was seeing.”
“You would?”
“Yeah, I god darn would,”
“Well still... don’t you think you should apologise to Josh?”
“I don’t think so,” I snapped.
“Your pride is going to bite you in the backside some day,”
“Yeah and I’ll just bite them,” I fumed.
“Hey don’t bite MY head off,” Lucy yelled. There was a tug on the curtain.
“Only cas you know I could,” I muttered.
“Excuse me,” Said a woman with the figure that quite matched that of a Russian doll- yet with blond hair as she peered around the curtain. “Could you keep the noise down please, the other customers would appreciate it if they didn’t have to listen to your bickering, as would I,” She smiled, and with the cheesy false grin was a display of classic lipstick tooth.
“Umm... whatever,” Lucy answered buttoning the last of the blouses she’d picked out.
“Okay, I’ll leave you two ladies alone now,’ She said it as though she was a mother about to drop her kid off for their first day of school and is watching their eagerness to get away and actually live four hours of a day without her. That was creepy. She also had this crappy, tacky American accent, gloomy colourless eyes that didn’t match her face, which was without a doubt, the colour of a watsit. She finally waddled away after an exaderated sigh and weird look to leave a foul stench of cheap perfume to linger over us. Lucy and I collapsed in giggles as soon as her peachy bum was out of sight and grabbed for the others hand as we lay back on the mountain of clothes.
“Oh what a day,”
“Shame tomorrow will be so sickish,”
“Back to school,” Lucy said acknowledging entirely what I meant just by the tone of my voice.
“Back to boys,”
“Ah hell, Josh is going to be there, I totally forgot,”
“Yup,”
“You really are in a pickle; you know what form he’s in?”
“No, but I could get mum to do some of her ‘it will be okay for you to tell me’ thing on the secretary and find out, but either way I’ll see him so...”
“I repeat you are in a prickle,”
“You mean pickle?”
“Well... you could be in a prickle, if you get pricked it hurts,”
“Well, I guess love prickles,” I said, pulling her to her feet again.
“For who... Josh or Toby?” she teased in an attempt to lighten the mood, wriggling her eyebrows at me likes the freaky kids off the Cadburys advert.
“Neither silly,” I grinned. “You know I swim in the other jar,”
“Pardon?”
“You know, other side of the fence, play for the other team,” I winked at her and jabbed one of her skinny ribs. Her eyes widened in surprise (I never usually said anything like that, so she was probably debating whether I was being serious or not). Before I could say ‘I’m joking Lu’ she shouted;
“HELP! My best friend is queer!” and I knew she’d realised I was kidding.
“Shh...” I hushed her by plastering one pale hand over her mouth. I laughed suddenly. “Or blobby’s gonna get us,” I felt her lips curve into a smile beneath my palm. “Now, let’s tidy up and pay so we can get out here,”

The store was pretty empty when we came out, which was surprising for a bank holiday Monday, but It meant the line was short so we got to the cashier pretty quick.
“Hey, is it just these?” the girl said taking the massive jam packed basket she’d described as ‘just’. Lucy nodded and the girl blew, and then popped a massive pink bubble of gum.
“How you going to pay for all this crap?” I asked her.
“Oh, I’ll manage... I’ve got student discount, divorced parents and I work, so long as it isn’t over £200 I’m fine, this will last me, besides some of it’s bound to fit you, so I can flog it to you,”
“Is that so?” I laughed. Lucy pulled her sun glasses from her eyes and said ‘Oh you know it,”. I watched each item be scanned after scan and as the price soared I ended up helping Lucy decide out of the items what NOT to buy. It looked like she’d just thrown everything she’d tried on in the basket, even the stuff that didn’t fit. As we sorted through the basket Lucy said “So what you going to do about all this mess with Toby then?”
“Toby,” the cashier’s hand; enclosed around the scanner thingy major, hovered over a blouse and her eyes sparkled like diamonds. “Toby Banks?”
“Yeah, do you know Trisha?” Lucy asked playfully but giving me a weird look out of the corner of her eye.
“No, I’m a friend of his girlfriends,” She said in followed by a ‘duh’ implied sigh.
“What girlfriend? He only just broke up with Trisha like four days ago!”
“Yeah, but he’d been hooking up with my friend Natalie... you know the rumour that went round saying he ditched her for someone else,?” she grinned. “My best friend was the girl,”
“It wasn’t me,” My voice cracked with the realisation of the twat Toby really had turned out to be, and my insides lurched at the self hatred I felt for the harshness I inflicted upon Josh.
“Sorry what?” the clerk chimed her eyes gleaming and her hair growing even bigger in order to hold new gossip.
“Come on Anya, lets go somewhere else,”
“Where?”
“Any place else,” She muttered and tugged on my arm in attempt to steer me away.
“Lucy don’t be ridiculous, just pay for the stuff that’s already been scanned then we can go,”
“Fine,” Lucy tossed a hundred pound note on the counter. “Keep the change to buy yourself a new decent personality,” with that, she whirled around and began to storm out the shop.
“Wait!” The cashier yelled her terrible sweep over fringe falling over her eye. She grinned wickedly then squeezed around the desk before skipping over to us with a pen, her enormous boobs bouncing out of her top. She wrote eleven digits on Lucy’s arm then leaned in to whisper “Call me, the name’s Becks”
“No,” Lucy looked appalled. I must have looked pissed too. “All you need to know is that Toby is a lower class twat with a massive ego, small feet and you and your friend ought to stay well away from him... for your own goods,’ Then she flicked her hair and left the awe struck bitch to pull her cell from her pocket and start texting Natalie- speedy as hell.

We ended up in the shopping centre’s food court. Well the bogs there. I’d shut myself in a cubicle to think. At first Lucy stood hammering her fists to the door pleading for me to come out, but then as she grew more impatient with my lack of response, she must have wandered over to the sinks, and of course mirrors, and decided to apply some more make-up. She’d begun to hum, that’s how I knew she was prettying herself up, because as vain as it sounds, she only hummed at her own reflection. Once she’d done, she was back at the cubicle door.
“He’s a weasel faced toe rag,” she hissed from outside. “He probably screwed half the girls on the hockey team, without any booze tipped down his neck,” That made me feel worse. Lucy’s foot began to tap. The tapping grew increasingly louder until a point where it could still be heard over the hand driers.
“Look this is getting ridiculous,” she finally said. “Are you even breathing in there?”
“Of course not,” I croaked. Lucy cleared her throat.
“Right well, umm are you crying?” I took the door off the latch and it swung open to reveal my hunched forward silhouette.
“Does it look like it?” I asked her.
“Right, no. I wish I looked like that when I had my heart torn out, you look like you’ve been done up by max factor, but me noooooo, my eyes go all puffy, my cheeks blotch, my nose runs and I can...”
“Lucy!” I cut her off “Why don’t you go home, I’m going to meet my mum at her office, I’ll ride home with her,”
“Okay,” she said “Erica text to say she’s now finishing work, I’ll catch the bus with her, are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m fine... looks like you’re sorted anyways,” I tried to smile but ended up cringing at myself. Lucy threaded her hand through mine and gave it a tight squeeze.
“Call me tonight okay? We need to talk school prep,”
“Oh god, school,” I groaned.
“It’ll be fine. Everything will be fine, it always is...” Then she pecked me on the cheek and skipped from the room, full of life, full of joy... as always. Full of two things I never had.

I decided to buy a CD. Something vastly different, way off my radar, something that would usually appal me. Flicking through the CD’s I found ‘Vampire Weekend’ which nearly made me laugh. My weekend as a vampire had so far been a dramatic fail. I ended up not buying a CD at all, and bought some new earphones instead. A boy about eighteen served me at the till. He was cute, tall dark and handsome as far as it goes. He had dimples, flushed cheeks, bright blue eyes and that hint of baby fat still left to his face. He was the type of guy I imagined in a suit with a blue tie, training to be a doctor or a dentist, one who regularly played golf with his daddy- not one that sold CD’s. The kind of guy my mum would’ve picked out for me. After I paid he asked for my name. I quickly checked behind me to see if there were going to be any impatient customers who’d object to our boy meets girl chit chat (there wasn’t), before answering.
“Anya, and to whom do I owe the pleasure?”
“ I’m Milo,” he said blushing. Someone snorted and a peculiar scent washed over me. It was a tangy smell, though both sweet and stench. It was like rotten potatoes and ponegrammetes both. Not like a human. A human’s were like treacle coated copper- in a mouth watering way. Then an animal’s was like... the same penny but bleached; having lost flavour. This though... was strange.
“You got a problem mate?” Said Milo; dragging me back to the present.
“No not at all, I just thought that was the name of the dude from the tweenies,” It could only have been two people that made me feel such disgust then. And both I’d separated when fighting over me. “I mean common, did your parents have no respect for your teen years?” Josh provoked the poor boy at the till.
“Josh that’s enough,” I glared.
“No, no, let him continue,” Milo smiled wickedly and his eyes suddenly turned charcoal black. He no longer looked like the clean cut mamma’s boy he did before.
“Well,” Josh was standing beside me now, his elbow leaned on the counter and a cocky grin smacked to his face.
“Before you say anything...” said Milo. “I’d like to point out that you’re the one that apparently knows the names of the tweenies, I mean what are you sixteen? You’re still a kid. Secondly, you’re on camera, so anything you start is recorded and sent to the cops”
“Sorry... Milo!” Josh made air quotes around his name as he walked out of the shop, I scurried after him, pulling him in to a corner. He raised his eyebrows at me when I shoved him against the wall and pressed myself to him. I grabbed his collar.
“Who in the heck do you think you are?” I snarled. He laughed.
“I’m Joshua Langett, I’ve been here six days and won several enemies,” He said it as though it were an achievement.
“You must have one fucked up life if you think that’s something to brag about,” I told him.
“Oh look... she swears,” My hand dropped from his neck. He was the smell. The weird smell was surrounding him.
“That was very rude,” I said stepping away.
“What? The scene in the shop or this little steamy conversation,”
“Both and this was not at all steamy,” I snapped. Josh leaned in close as though he would kiss me but instead placed his cheek to mine then whispered.
“Was too, and you loved it,” A weird feeling ran up my back as he stepped away and I felt weak at the knees as he walked away. The boy had so many sides to his personality; I didn’t actually know who I was angry with.

Chapter 4

It was 6.00am- Monday 8th June. I was lying in bed, brutally and indefinitely wide-awake. Not like most teenagers on their first day back at school. I didn’t normally sit in bed with a book at 6.00 o’clock in the morning. Okay, lie, but the reading part is true. I generally don’t sleep so I sit in bed at six in the morning almost every day, unless I’m running. Today however, I was sitting in bed and reading, for a reason. To calm my nerves. Icky! School. I shouldn’t have anything to worry about really, I have a few good friends, my grades are way above average, I am ranked socially high, run track for the school team (extra curricular gets you everywhere) Help with the school council, and tutor some of the boys soccer team. (Pwahh) But somehow, this term was going to be adequately different. The new boy, Josh, was going to be in several of my classes. Mum had taken the liberty of charming the school secretary into believing she was a long distant relation in order to get hold of his timetable. We had at least three periods together, just today. Then there was the gossip about Toby which was surely going to spread, making things up to Lucy, working with my ex friend Taine who loathed my every bone, and actually having to listen to lectures on topics I already have glued inside my head, over and over again.
On the plus side, I did have my benefits where the average teenage girl did not. I could get ready in a whole of ten minutes. Imagine watching the average teenage girl getting ready in the morning, putting on her make-up, doing hair, eating breakfast, and rushing around for her books and her keys. Now fast forward that XX8, minus the breakfast and the frantic rushing around for keys etc, and I am done. I don’t even have to wash my hair. Vampire’s hair doesn’t get greasy. (I wash it anyway of course!)
I tended to my makeup as soon as I left the cosy tent that was my bed. Yes, I was naturally insanely pretty. No need to be vain, but all vampires are, though like any girl, I see it more in other vamps, and I envy human girls for not being perfect, flaws make a person, and they make them normal. That’s all I’ve wanted from this life. Normality. So that’s why I wear make-up. It’s what every other teenager does. Plant it one until their orange, spot free, eyes enhanced, lips plumped and cheeks glittered. I tend to tone it down a bit. My skin’s so white it looks ridiculous if I wear anything like foundation as my neck and arms are still as white as paper. I wear mascara; I liked a mass of thick black-as-midnight lashes. I wear red lipstick, very vampire-ish you might say, and eyeliner sometimes. That’s as normal as it gets for me.
Luckily we have a uniform. Yes I said luckily. It means I can identify myself as the same as everyone else. There’s no judging, no pointing. The uniform is simple, Blazers, shirts or polo shirts, ties, trousers and black shoes for the boys. Girls likewise but they prefer us to wear skirts as it makes us look ‘smart’. Though their definition of skirts are dorky and long; We think this is because they want us to look hideous against the teachers’ themselves- who all have terrible dress sense and most likely make their clothes themselves, and to appear unappealing to boys so that we all stay single or lesbian therefore don’t become sexually active and the parents blame them when one of us pops a kid in biology. Of course, that doesn’t apply to me so I allow myself to wear a shorter skirt then persuade the teacher’s I’m Christian and wont engage in sex until I’m married to a fat priest. Heck, I’m not against religion, but I’m not opposed to wearing granny skirts, and it’s true, I’m not going to have sex, so why not? It’s all about show and don’t tell these days anyway.
Then was the dilemma of whether to run or get the bus. Running on the one side takes my mind off things (And doesn’t ruin my hair either), but on the other side, I have to be in a decent enough mood to gather speed and I wasn’t experiencing a particularly good ‘run to school’ jibe. So bus it was. This meant my iPod was going to be removed from my sock draw and shoved in my blazer pocket.
Standing at the bus stop with my iPod, I am debating two lists of songs. My entire iPod is divided in to two playlists. The Depressing Playlist and the Happy-GO! Playlist Normally I would play the happy-go when I was depressed to try lightening the mood, but that day I thought I’d dwell on my bad mood. What a miserable cow I was, so there, shuffle ‘Depressing’ Playlist. The first song is David Grey’s ‘This year’s love’ and then the bus rounds the corner.
I suppose getting the bus isn’t so bad. Ignore the pervy bus driver, the little twirpy boys throwing paper aeroplanes at your head, the possibility of having your iPod stood on, the gum stuck to the seats and the dusty curtains in your face, and it’s okay, an excellent time for you to think. I don’t know anyone on my bus, well I know them, but I don’t talk to them. So it’s kind of just me and the music. I ring Lucy sometimes, but she was bound to be late first day back. The only real downside to the bus is that you know in fifteen minutes time, you’ll be there. At school. If I run I can drag the journey down right until the bell rings. Take the bus you know you’re going to be there dead on eight o’clock, and you’ve got at least twenty minutes before first period. It dramatically sucks being at school early. Six hours a day is more than enough for me. I don’t even need to go. I could’ve been homeschooled, but I guess I’m the one that want s to be normal. So I shouldn’t complain.
As we entered the school gates I saw Lucy on the side walk and waved, she didn’t wave back though, it was almost as though she looked right through me, either that or she didn’t recognise me!
I took my time getting off the bus and as soon as I stepped off I saw Lucy’s shoes. The familiar little black pumps with the gold pattern around the front rim. I looked up and she smiled at me. Then she blinked and her eyes widened.
“What?” I asked confused.
“Nothing,” she gulped and shook her head.
“Have I forgotten my skirt or something?”
“Umm, No, although it’s quite short, my dad would say you were wearing a belt,”
“Then what?”
“Nothing, maybe it’s the light or something... Oh I need to tell you something about when I left last night,” She grinned.
“Yeah me too, and about the hunting trip,” I lowered my voice.
“Oh okay,” She gave me that strange shocked look again as I held the door to the locker’s open for her.
“What?” I asked annoyed now.
“It’s just...”
“Come on?”
“It’s just I’m up for a new look at the start of term and everything, but don’t you think that A.) That’s a bit drastic and B.) Pointless?”
“What is?” I frowned. Maggie passed us just then and answered for me.
“Oh My Anya, your hair...It looks great,”
“Yeah don’t get me wrong An, it looks cool, but I thought you’d never dye your hair,” Lucy continued.
“Whoa, I’d never dye my hair! The dye would come out with one wash. Why what’s going on with my hair. It looked normal this morning.”
“Really? That’s sure strange... It’s a totally different colour?”
“It is?” I was dead confused. Lucy nodded and pulled a compact from her blazer pocket.
“Here,” she said handing me the compact as she sat down on one of the locker room benches. I slowly opened the mirror and as soon as I saw myself, nearly dropped it.
“I’m friggin blond!” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, you really didn’t dye it?”
“No!”
“This morning it was normal?”
“Totally, golden brown and red,”
“What the fuck is going on then?”
“I don’t know, I’m like bloody Leyland Palmer, except it wasn’t a change overnight, it was a couple hours!”
“You think it’s a vampire thing?” she lowered her voice.
“We go through changes, but going from brunette to blond is a bit drastic! I mean how the hell is that equipped for hunting?”
“Camouflage?”
“Do you see any blond trees Lucy?”
“Umm No, except those bleached ones you get on beaches,”
“Well I don’t tend to go hunting on the beach, for obvious reasons,”
“Huh, well it’s really weird. I mean it should look ridiculous, you should have these dark eyebrows that don’t match your hair, but they’ve changed too,”
“What colour would you place it as anyway?”
“A really light strawberry blond,” she said after a moment of consideration.
“Oh god! I’m ginger!” I exclaimed.
“No not ginger, it’s just a darkish blond?” she said quickly as I ran my fingers frantically through the mass of ‘ginger’ hair.
“I hope it goes back to normal,”
“I kind of like it,” Lucy said tugging the mirror from my hand. I stared at her a moment, she smiled shyly and I sighed.
“No you don’t,”
“No, No I do!” she defended. “Maybe if it lightened up it’d be okay,”
“Why ginger! Just why?” I groaned.
“It’s not ginger,” Lucy assured me a last time.
“Maybe I should borrow someone’s hat?”
“No Anya it looks nice, see Fleur and Ella are pointing and smiling at it now,” she said waving them over. They began to get up from their bench then stopped when Josh walked in. All of a sudden they were pointing and giggling at him. The two of them rushed over and I heard them introduce themselves after all the ‘you must be the cute new boy everyone’s talking about’ charade.
“Well,” I murmured “At least the school’s attention won’t be on my hair today.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 26.03.2011

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
For My mum- Suzanne, who always had faith in me, helped me create the ideas for this book, and for loving me.