The Deadly Beginning!

by allycullen2182

This site will say that my story is only 1 chapter long, but it is really 6...i didn't have time to fix it...chapter by chapter! But i hope u like it! Review please!

THE DEADLY BEGINNING

THE DEADLY BEGINNING

Book #1 in the vampire series

By: Allison Mackie 

Preface

Hey, ya'll…what's up? Ok, so if you know me, then you know that I am so far from normal. You would also know that my name is Natalie Crystal Brian. Nevertheless, if you do not know me, you may call me your average teen…haha! You would be so wrong if you even considered thinking that!

So here is a little about me…My friends call me Crystal or sometimes Crys. People only call me Natalie when they are mad at me. I have three BEST friends…Alicia Fisher, Isabelle Rivers, and Max Hope. Many people would say that Isabelle, Izzy, is the crazy one…wrong again! I am very crazy, out of the ordinary, and completely INSANE! I have known Alicia since 1st grade! She and Izzy are like my sisters; Max is more like a brother to me! I am 16, almost 17, if I make it that long! I am not rich, but since I like to drive fast, I own a Blue Ferrari; we will get back to that later though! Back to the whole not rich thing, it mainly depends on whom you ask. If you ask me if I am rich, I would say "nope." However, if you ask Izzy, Licia, or Max they would say "yes!"

I have dirty blonde hair, of course! I am tall, but not too tall. A lot of what I wear is Hollister or Abercrombie and Fitch. I will wear other brands like American Eagle, Aeropostle, Roxy, exc. I am a shopoholic, seriously if you and I go shopping; I won't ever want to stop! I will probably end up buying all of your clothes too…that's what I do with Licia and Izzy, if they let me.

You will find out more about me in the pages of this book.

If I could, I would start this book with me and some friends hanging out and chilling at the mall or the beach by my house…but that is not where it all started. Therefore, I guess I will have to start from the beginning, my 16th birthday.

Chapter 1 - Party!

"Crystal! Over here." Alicia waved me over to the table where some of my friends sat. Max, Izzy, and my newer friend Jessica Martin, were all sitting at the table.

I started towards the table. On my way, Max met me to walk me over. "Hey Maxxy! How was your day so far?" I asked smiling at him.

"Ugh…same ole', same ole' and you?" He replied smiling back at me!

"Yep…totally understand hun! Boring as usual!" I laughed and he laughed with me. Now, two months ago if I had called Max "hun" he would have gone ballistic and taken it the wrong way. However, not anymore, I call everybody hun, so he is used to it by now.

We reached the table and I sat down in my usual seat between Alicia and Izzy. Max went around the table and took his usual seat in front of me, and next to Jessica.

"Hey Crystal!" Alicia and Izzy said at the same time. They glared at each other. This too was normal, Alicia and Izzy were not the best of friends, but they usually put up with each other when I was around.

"Hey guys!" I replied looking at Jess, she was being unusually quiet. "Hey Jess, are you ok?"

Jessica, who was looking at her tray, looked into my eyes, which were probably full of doubt; I hate to see people sad. She definitely looked sad. Her voice cracked when she spoke, "No Crystal. I feel terrible."

"Awe hun…what hurts? Do you think you will be able to make it through lunch?"

"Everything…especially my head and stomach…and yes, I think so."

"Do you think that maybe you should go home? I mean…you look pretty sick." Alicia had joined our conversation. She seemed worried about her friend.

"Licia is right Jess." I said wondering if everyone could hear the worry in my voice as much as I could.

"No, I can't go home." She said urgently.

"Why not?" Alicia said.

"I don't want to ruin Crystal's birthday…just forget about it you guys…really I'm fine!"

I most definitely was not buying her lie. I hated to see people down and this was not what I wanted to happen…especially on my birthday. "If you think something as silly as that will ruin my birthday you got it all wrong. Seeing you sick and looking almost hurt that-"

She cut me off, "really Crys, I am fine! I am sure its just hunger! I will feel

better if I eat! Promise!"

"Ok…eat then"

"I am!" She picked up an apple off her lunch tray and took a bite. "See better already!"

"Haha, good to know!" I turned to look at Izzy, "You're still coming over tonight, right?"

"Of course! I promised didn't I?" She replied with a smile.

I smiled back and looked at Alicia, "and how about you Licia?"

"Mm-hm!" She was eating so I did not expect a big response.

"Yay, it's a party!" I looked forward at Max. "And you?"

"Duh…there is NO WAY that I am leaving you alone with them, the giggle girls. You never know what they will do to you!"

"What are you so worried about? Don't you trust them?" I giggled.

"Of course I don't trust them!" He smiled then continued, "Just kidding! But I am worried about…hmm…let me think…maybe the fact that they talk you into becoming more of a girl." He took my hand from across the table. "I don't want you to become a preppy, snobby girl that only thinks of herself. I do not want that to happen to any of you. I would have to find new friends!"

"Haha! Like that's going to happen. I despise those types if girls. And you know that too."

"You never know!" He smiled again and let go of my hand.

"Hm…come to think of it. My sister just took me shopping and bought me a new nail kit and some hair ties. I have been looking for someone to practice on. We can totally use Max!" Alicia smirked at her comment and everyone started to laugh.

I was still laughing when I turned to look at Jessica. She was laughing too, but I still was not buying her act. I could tell from her eyes that she was still sad about something. "Jess, this morning you told me that you were coming. Do you think that you can still make it? It is ok if you cannot. We will understand!"

Jess looked at me again, "of course I will be there, and I want to see Max with make-up and a skirt! That will be awesome! Don't you think?"

I smiled and so did she. "Your right! And I think I have the perfect skirt too. My new Hollister skirt would work perfect with the new make-up that I got!"

"Ugh…this is what I get for having girls as friends. But ya'll are better than no friends, like those losers." He pointed to the group of sisters and brothers that didn't talk to anyone except each other. The Youngbloods. Kevin Youngblood was a sophomore; just like my friends and I. Alyson Youngblood was a sophomore. Alyson and Kevin were closer to each other than to the others in their family. Michael Youngblood was the oldest guy. He was a senior, like his other sister, Sharon Youngblood. The weirdest part about them was that they were completely beautiful and could have ANY girl or guy in the school and they choose to talk to them selves. Weird.

"Yeah…I don't understand them…no body does."

We all got up to throw away our trays and go to class. I had English next, along with Alicia, Max, and Kevin Youngblood. He sat next to me, and never said anything, and neither did I.

English went by faster than usual. Then I was on my way to gym. Alicia ran ahead of me instead of waiting to walk with me. I let it slide and walked alone to the gymnasium.

As I walked into the locker room everybody screamed, "Happy birthday Crystal!"

"Thank you very much!" I replied and managed to smile.

I walked over to Izzy and Alicia; they were standing in front of my locker. As I got closer, Alicia moved to the left and Izzy moved to the right and behind where they had stood were five huge multi-colored balloons. "Thank you!" I said as they closed in on me from both sides, into a hug!

"Your welcome" they both replied! Once they let go, we had to get dressed to go play wall-ball. I usually love to play wall-ball but not when the guys wanted to play pegs. Pegs is when you can throw the ball at somebody to hit them that way you both have to run to the wall. The guys throw too hard. Oh well…I figured that I could deal with it for one day.

After gym, we met up with Max and his older brother, Chris Hope. Chris drove all 4 of us to and from school most days. He is 18, and a senior, so I needed a car to take his job over when he leaves for college next year.

"Hey guys!" Alicia, Izzy, and I said climbing into Chris' 2007 Black Escalade.

Max and Chris exchanged a glance then laughed and joined us in the car.

The ride to my house wasn't very long. It seemed even shorter when I was with my friends.

Once we got to my house I asked Chris if he wanted to come in. "No, I am meeting some friends at the beach in like 15 minutes. But thanks for the offer! Maybe next time."

"Yeah…maybe next time! Have fun at the beach. We will have to have fun without you!" I climbed out of his car to join my friends at the door.

I could swear I heard Chris laughing as he backed out of the driveway. I rolled my eyes and walked to open the door.

Once I had the door open, everyone went inside. My house was big; the living room was just inside the door. It was huge too. There was a big 45'' flat screen TV on the wall surrounded by photos of me, my parents, other family, and friends. There were two sofas facing towards the TV. Then in the far corner was a Piano and a drum set, sitting next to my red electric guitar. On the other side were the stairs that led up to the hallway. In the hallway were the guest bedroom, my parent's bedroom, and mine at the far end. Also upstairs was the major bathroom. We had a bathroom downstairs too, and one in each my

parent's room and mine.

"I swear your house gets bigger by the second!" Alicia said looking around. She had been there many times before, but we were always having it redone or getting new furniture, so it was never the same.

"Yeah Licia, and that is just the den!" I said shutting the door behind me.

Alicia, Izzy, Max, and I laughed. "Do you want to go upstairs?" I offered, trying to be nice.

Everyone looked at each other and said "ok."

"Ya'll are so easy! But before we go up...do you want a drink?"

"Ok." they all said again.

I laughed as I walked into the kitchen to grab some drinks. Everyone followed me. I opened the refrigerator and handed Izzy a coke. Then Alicia, than Max. And I grabbed a Mellow yellow for me.

"Any snacks?"

"That depends what are you making?" Alicia piped in.

"Anything, I am in the mood to cook. So take advantage of it!"

"Ok…I will have some of these." She grabbed the homemade cookies off the counter and set them on the table.

"I made those last night!"

"They look amazing! You are too good of a cook!"

"Thanks Licia! I love to cook! Its only one of my hobbies." I looked up to see that Alicia was the only one to make her self at home. Max and Izzy were still standing by the fridge with their drinks in their hands. "Come here you guys, I made cookies. Don't you want some?"

"Um…ok." Max said coming to sit down next to me at the table.

"I will try one. Thanks!" Izzy said taking the only available seat, across from me.

We sat for a while talking about how good the cookies were and how I should have made more.

I stood up to go get the batch of M&M brownies that I had also made the night before.

I put the plate of brownies next to the plate of almost-gone cookies.

"Haha…more sweets?" Max said taking a brownie off the top of the pile.

"Yes, I told ya'll I was in a cooking mood…I also made some Thin Mints, but they are gone. My parents enjoyed them! Haha…and the chocolate covered peanut butter balls."

"Wow…you sure did go all out!" Izzy said between bites.

"Yeah…I couldn't sleep."

"Oh…that makes since, all that sugar going through your system!"

"Haha…very funny."

"Yes it was!"

I stood up from the table again and started walking back to the den. "What do ya'll wanna do?"

"I say we do makeovers!" Alicia said joining me at the door.

"Let's start with Max!" Izzy said standing.

All three of us looked at Max. He backed away from us, then said, "as fun as that sounds, I would rather go last…or NEVER!"

"Haha! Max, stay…I won't let them touch you. I will keep you safe from the evil people." I walked away from Izzy and Licia to go stand my Max. When I was standing sill next to him, he entwined his fingers through mine so that we were holding hands. I didn't pull away from him or anything. I just stood there.

"Ok Max, what would you like to do?" Izzy asked from her position next to Alicia.

"I think I am good right where I am!" He replied and I could she him smile.

"Of course you are."

"What…?"

"Awe come on Max…we all know that you like Crystal."

Max squeezed my hand a little harder then finally said, "How do you know that?"

"It's obvious."

"Is it really?"

"Yes…"

Max let his grip loosen, but didn't let go of my hand.

"I feel awkward" Alicia said.

"Me too." I replied walking towards her with Max at my side. "Let's go up to my room!"

"K, lets go."

We all walked to my room. When we got inside Max, let go of my hand and gasped. I guess he thought this room was big too.

My room had a huge, king-sized bed with a purple comforter. Then there was a TV on the wall facing the bed. In the corner were two doors, one to my walk-in closet, the other led to my bathroom. I had two dressers, one held my older electronics, the other held my pajamas and bathing suits.

"Ok girlies, let's go to the bathroom and put on our makeup!" I said walking over to the two doors in the corner.

"Alright, let's go." Izzy said and started to follow me.

Alicia did not say anything but followed any way.

I opened the door on the right and walked in. As you might have guessed, that room was big too. There were two sinks, one huge mirror, and a shower, a closet in the corner, a tub and a toilet. As I was walking to the bathroom closet, I heard the doorbell ring. I sprinted out the door, into the hall and down the stairs before any body could stop me.

I opened the door and saw Jess standing there. "Hey Jess! Glad you could come." I flashed a huge smile.

"Yeah, wouldn't miss it for anything." She smiled back, but still looked

troubled.

"Is everything ok hun?" I looked into her eyes.

"Um…yeah, where is everybody?"

"Oh, upstairs." She had not sounded very convincing, but I went along with it anyway, I figured that if she needed to tell me something, she probably would.

"Ok."

"We were doing our make-up!" I smiled and took her arm to lead her upstairs.

"Oh, sounds like fun." She laughed quietly on our way up the winding stairs.

Once we got in my room, everyone greeted Jess very friendly! She seemed to like that. Alicia and Izzy had come out of the bathroom in my absence, and were now sitting on the bed by Max.

"Ok…now that everyone is here, shall we do our make-up?" I laughed and looked at Alicia and Izzy, who were still sitting on the purple bed.

"Haha…yeah…let's do that!" Alicia said standing up from the bed with Izzy at her side.

We all walked back into the bathroom-except Max, he stayed on the bed, watching TV. I walked over to the closet and pulled out two make-up kits. I brought them back by the two sinks and set one by the first sink and the other by the second. I stayed standing by the second sink.

I pointed to the far sink and said, "Jess and Iz, you two can use that sink and that kit…is that ok?"

"Yeah that's fine!" Jess smiled at Izzy and walked over to it. Izzy looked at me and joined Jessica by the sink.

"Licia, you and I will use this one."

"Cool!" She walked over and stood next to me.

It was very quiet while we put on mascara, eyeliner, foundation, blush, powder and eye shadow. The only thing that could be heard was someone occasionally looking through the bags or moaning about not liking a certain color on them. Jessica complained the most; she was not ugly but not as pretty as Alicia was. Jessica had straight blonde hair, she also was not the skinniest person, but not fat either. She was more of a medium sized person, and kind of annoying at times, but we get used to her babbling. We even sometimes heard Max laugh at the TV, although the TV was not loud enough to hear. I was starting to get very angry with myself-the eyeliner was not working properly. I broke the silence to say, "You know…Licia…you really don't necessarily need to wear make-up, you are beautiful without it!"

"Thank you." She sounded very pleased.

"Haha…no problem, its true." I looked back down at the sink and I could almost feel her smiling again.

Alicia was beautiful; she had shoulder length brown hair, layered. She had

almost delicate features. Most people who wear glasses are considered "nerds", but Alicia was still pretty even though she had glasses.

After a while, I heard the soft purr of a car pull in the driveway. "Yay, my parents are home!" I ran out the door and grabbed Max off the bed and ran down the stairs with Max right behind me. All my friends were right behind us. We were downstairs before they came to the door.

When my mom came inside I said, "Welcome home!"

"Hey, sweet heart." My mom came over to hug me. "Oh darn." She whispered into my ear.

"What is it?" I pushed away from her hug to look her in the eyes.

"Oh nothing I just left my purse in the car."

"Oh…I will go get it!" I was out the still open door before she could respond.

The second I walked outside, I saw my dad standing by the most beautiful car I had ever seen. A brand new, blue Ferrari.

"Ahhhh!" I screamed and ran to the perfect little car.

My dad grabbed me when I got close enough and pulled me into his arms. "Happy birthday baby girl!"

"Thank you daddy! I-is it mine?"

"Yes…all for you!"

"Woohoo!" I turned around to go get my friends, but they were already standing there.

"Surprise." They all shouted at once.

"I am surprised. I love you guys!"

"We love you too Crys." Izzy came over and hugged me.

"Yes we do." Alicia came over to join our hug.

I looked up at Max and Jess and gestured them over. "Come here!"

They both shrugged and joined the group hug.

When we broke free Max asked, "So are you really surprised?"

"Yes I am! I wanted a Ferrari, you knew that!" I was still smiling. "Do you wanna go for a ride?"

"Ok, let's go." Alicia replied opening the passenger door. "SHOT GUN!" She called already in the car with her seat belt on.

Max, Izzy, and Jess climbed in the back.

Once everybody was in and had there seatbelts on, we drove away. I loved the feel of my new car. It was like heaven on Earth! I NEVER wanted to get out, but I knew I had to.

When we got back to the house, over an hour later, I realized that Jess had not said anything the whole ride. As we were all walking back into the house, I grabbed Jess by the arm and asked "Hey Jess, I know that I should probably stay out of it, but do you want to talk?"

"Actually yes, I do!" She was looking at the ground avoiding my gaze.

I stood there waiting for her to respond. She started out slowly, "Well…see…remember when I wasn't feeling good at lunch?"

"Yes."

"Well…it's because…um…" She trailed off still looking at her feet. I waited again.

"Its ok Jess, I'm here for you." I said eventually.

"I'm pregnant" She looked up at me, with a very sad face.

Chapter 2 – The Truth

I stared at Jessica, trying to figure out her expression. "From your expression, I can't tell if that is a good or bad thing."

"It's a bad thing, I am in high school. But I can't do anything now." She finally looked up at me, "I just don't want a sluty reputation."

"Oh ok." I was feeling sorry for her, "Is there anything that I can do to help? Anything at all?"

"Not really, but if I need somebody to talk to, can I come to you? And will you help me get through the next nine months?"

"Yes, yes of course!" I smiled at her, she looked relieved, so I continued, "You are always welcome here! I love you just as much as I love everybody in my house right now! You are like a sister to me."

She smiled then said, "Thank you SO much, I feel better now."

I smiled back at her, "Do you wanna go inside now?"

"Actually I need to get home, see you later Crystal!" She started to walk down the driveway, so I started walking to the door.

"Bye hun."

"Wait, Crys…could you not mention this to anybody please?"

"Oh…of course. Your secret is safe with me." I smiled once more then walked inside.

When I got inside everybody was sitting on the sofas, along with my parents. I joined my guests in the living room and was very pleased to find out that no one was going to ask where I was, or where Jess was.

Nobody stayed around much longer, they all had to get home for dinner, except Alicia, she stayed over night.

"I love Fridays." I told Alicia as I was fixing up my bed.

"Me too. They rock." We both laughed then she said, "Can I help please?"

"You don't have to."

"I know…but I want to."

"You are way too nice." I laughed and she came over to help me put new sheets on the bed.

"Haha…yeah…unlike that curly, brown hair girl you hang out with."

"Don't be so mean to Izzy, she never did anything to you…did she?"

"No, I guess not."

"Ok then, at least try to be nice."

"Ok." She climbed onto the large bed.

I climbed onto the other side of the bed, grabbed my TV remote and pressed, "Power."

"What do you want to watch?" I sat up and looked at my best friend.

She sat up too. "Hm…I don't know, how about…you know what, never mind…whatever you put on is fine with me."

"Ok Licia." I turned on the pilot episode of Greek.

Nothing exciting happened; all we did was laugh at the show.

After a while, we got into a giggle fit and my mom yelled, "GOODNIGHT GIRLS." She was downstairs.

"Goodnight." We both said then started laughing again, more quietly this time though.

I woke up at 8am to the sound of my cell phone ringing.

I stood up and walked over to the dresser, where I kept my cell phone. I answered, still tired, "Hello?"

"Hey chicky, what's poppin?" I heard a voice say.

"Ugh…" I grumbled, "What are you doing up at 8:00 Izzy?"

"I am always up early…chores." I could almost see her grimace as she spoke the word.

"Oh yeah…I forgot that your parents fired your maid." I laughed.

Alicia moaned and rolled over in her sleep. "Uh-oh" I whispered and walked quietly to the door.

"What is it?" Izzy sounded confused.

Once I had the door shut behind me I answered, "Alicia started to wake up but I got out before she did."

"Oh…well she needs to wake up anyway!"

"Yeah…she sleeps too much!"

We both laughed.

"So…are your parents at work?" Izzy asked with a conversational tone in her voice.

"Yeah…they leave at like 6." I laughed then added, "Crazy people."

"Haha…yeah! Can I come over? I am very bored."

"Um…sure…I don't think Licia will be waking anytime soon. Come on over!" I laughed again.

"K…is there in a sec."

I heard the dial tone and snapped my jewel covered, pink Razor shut.

After about 30 minutes, Izzy finally showed up.

"Knock, knock." I heard from outside the door.

"Come in." I called from the kitchen.

Izzy walked in and was standing behind me. "Hey! What took- are you out of breath? Oh no…did you run here?" Shock crossed my face. Izzy lived 3 miles from my house and she was not supposed to run the whole distance.

"Give…me…a…sec." That was all she could say, she was breathing very heavily.

I turned back to the eggs that I had just started to make. They were

mainly for Alicia and Izzy, I do not like eggs.

"Um…why are you making eggs?" Izzy had found her breath and sounded very confused.

"Well hun…it's 8:45 in the morning, you like eggs, Licia likes eggs, and I still feel like cooking…so I made some." I stopped stirring the scrambled eggs and turned to look at Izzy.

"Oh ok, then thanks!"

"No prob." I laughed.

"You don't like eggs, so what are you gonna have for breakfast?"

I looked at her and smiled, and then I walked over to the line of cabinets and pulled out a box of cinnamon pop tarts. "I got it covered!" We both laughed as I got out three paper plates.

I put a package of pop tarts in the toaster and turned back around to look at Izzy, "so...whatcha wanna do?"

"I don't know…lets just talk." As soon as she finished talking her cell rang, "Hold that thought." She whipped out her cell phone and answered, "Hey Jess!"

I turned off the stove, the eggs were done. I could hear Izzy in the background, "Yes…oh my gosh…really?" There was a silence; I figured that Jessica was talking. "I am so happy for you." Izzy smiled then whispered, "Does Crystal know?" She only thought that I couldn't hear her. I grabbed my pop tarts out of the toaster and put them on a plate.

I walked over to the table and sat down.

"Alright, see you later." After she hung up, Izzy put her phone in her pocket. Then she walked over to the counter where I had put the eggs on a plate. She took one of the plates and scooped some eggs onto it. Then she came and sat across from me at the table. She listened to make sure Alicia was still sleeping. Finally, she said, "So you knew that Jess was pregnant and you didn't tell me?"

"She told me not to." I finished my first pop tart.

"Oh…she told me to tell people if I want to. But the weirdest part is that the father is…" She paused to take a bite of her eggs, "Cole Fisher."

I felt my jaw drop, I tried to close it but it would not work. "OH MY GOSH." I nearly shouted, then said, "You mean Alicia's brother?"

"Yeah! He is so cute! Don't you think?"

"No…that's Alicia's brother. How…wait never mind…I don't want to know."

"Wow! Where do the good looks come from?"

"I know. Their whole family is beautiful!"

"Yeah, you are so right! Should we wake Alicia now?"

"No need." Alicia said walking into the kitchen, yawning.

"Good Morning sleepyhead!" I laughed at her. She had bed head but still looked amazing. I could not help but think to my self, how does she do it?

"Morning!"

"Morning Licia!" Izzy said, her tone was nice.

12

"Good Morning Izzy. What were ya'll saying about my brother? What did he do this time?" She laughed.

"Oh nothing." Izzy said before I could even open my mouth.

"Come on. I will find out soon enough. I will just ask my brother when I see him."

"I don't know Licia…I think he will want to tell you." I said apologetically.

"Oh ok, well I have to leave soon anyway."

"Awe, Licia, why?"

"My brother just called me, he is on his way to come get me and we are going to go to Boca for the rest of the weekend." She sounded happy and she smiled.

"Oh ok! Sounds like fun, but since your brother isn't here yet, have some eggs first."

"Ok thanks!" She grabbed a plate of eggs and came to join us at the table.

We all sat and finished our breakfast, and then we heard a horn honk.

"That's my brother." Alicia stood up and put her plate in the sink. "I would wash it but I got to go."

"That's ok, I got it!" I stood up and hugged Alicia goodbye.

"Bye." She ran out the door.

I went to the sink and Izzy came to my side and said, "I will clean up for you."

"Really that's ok." But, she had already taken the plate from my hands and butted me out of the way.

"Well gosh." I smiled and brought the skillet and spatula over to her.

When Izzy finished with the dishes I tried to get a conversation started, "I need a new phone, would you like to come shopping with me?"

"Sure, when do you want to go?"

"I don't know, maybe in a few minutes?"

"Ok. Can we go to my house on the way? I left my wallet."

"I'll buy you something if you need it."

"I can't let you do that."

"Sure you can!"

"No…really…"

"Alright…we can stop by your house!"

"Ok…how about you go get dressed and I will watch TV and wait for you!"

"K…I will be back in a second!"

As I was walking up the steps, I heard Izzy sit on the couch then the TV turn on.

When I got to my room, I crossed to my closet door. I opened the door and turned on the closet light. I was suddenly overwhelmed with shopping bags. They were all over the floor, some from American Eagle, Hollister, Aero, and many others. I laughed at myself for not cleaning it up sooner.

"Hmm…what to wear, what to wear?" Then I saw my favorite skirt, it was white with the word "Hollister" written across the back. I took it off the hanger and put it on. "Perfect!" I whispered looking at a blue Aero shirt.

Once I was dressed, I went back downstairs. Izzy was standing at the door to the living room, "Well don't you look cute!" she smiled and over looked me.

"Thanks! I love this outfit!" I smiled and walked as if I was on a catwalk to the living room.

"That is why we are best friends!" Izzy laughed and followed my steps. I turned to the TV and turned it off then walked to the door.

Izzy opened the door and walked outside. I was right behind her; we walked down the sidewalk and to my new car. I unlocked it, Izzy got in the passenger side, and I got in the drivers seat. When we were both in and buckled Izzy said, "I love your car! It is awesome!"

"Yeah…me too! My parents and friends are the coolest!" I smiled and looked at her briefly and then I turned my eyes back to the road.

"Yeah! They had the cool idea for us all to pitch in and get this car. I personally wanted to get you the blue Porsche…but u wouldn't have liked it."

"Yeah…no I like the Ferrari, it's more my style. Thanks again." I smiled but did not look at her.

After about 5 minutes, we arrived at Izzy's house. "Wait here I will be right back."

"Ok, I will be here." I reached down to the radio to turn it up. I love music and my favorite song, No Air by Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown, had just come on. I started singing along and when the song was over, Izzy still had not come back. I waited for a few more minutes and just as I was starting to worry, my cell rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Sorry Crys, I have to stay home…can you go without me?" Izzy's voice came from the other side of the line.

"Ok hun! See you later." I hung up and backed out of the driveway. I was alone to go shopping, very dangerous. I did not have anyone to tell me that I needed to stop. I would have to restrain myself from stores like Hollister and Abercrombie. I could have called Max, but decided against it. Once I got to the mall, I parked and went inside to the Apple store to look at their iPhone.

"Hello My name is Alyson, How may I-." A sales rep. came up behind me and when I turned around, she stopped mid-sentence. Alyson Youngblood worked at Apple.

"Hey Alyson! I was thinking of buying an iPhone!" I smiled, trying to be polite.

"Oh ok…well we now have them in pink." She pointed to the glass counter holding a pink iPhone.

"Wow! That is so cool." I walked closer to the glass case.

14

"It is pretty cool! I love mine!"

"You have one?" I probably sounded confused but I really did not care.

"Yep…just got it yesterday!"

"Oh that's cool! I need a new phone and I thought I would come look at these iPhones!"

"Well we just put the pink ones up for sale this morning!"

"Wow! Just my luck!" I laughed then said, "I'll take it!'

"Ok…I will ring it up." I followed her over to the counter.

After I paid, I said goodbye to Alyson and walked back to the main section of the mall. Right next door to Apple was Abercrombie and Fitch, I could smell their perfume already, but I could not so shopping, so I walked the other direction. I had never been out the back door of the mall, but I knew where it was. It was a much longer walk but it was easier than trying to go past all my favorite stores.

When I finally reached the back door, I saw a flight of stairs instead of the parking lot crowed with cars. I took the stairs up to see where they led. At the end of the long, winding staircase was another door. I opened the door and found myself in a large, open area.

I was on the roof of the mall.

Chapter 3 – Learning new things

I had never been on the roof of a mall before. Actually, I didn't think it had one. Silly me! I walked out a little further and shut the door behind me. Once I could see over the edge, I realized how…beautiful Jacksonville really was. I had always thought of it as a beat up, small town in Florida. Wow, I was very wrong.

I stood up there for a very long time just taking it all in. I kept getting closer and closer to the edge of the roof. But I did not remember taking any steps. The rail along the edge was almost sucking me in and I was letting it.

I did not live in Jacksonville; I lived in a smaller town near there, called Amelia Island. Jacksonville had the malls; Amelia is much too small for a mall.

Jacksonville was not small at all actually; it has like 10 or 15 malls. Yet Amelia has none. That does not bother me though; the closest mall to my house was only about 30 minutes away.

I stayed on the roof, just thinking for about an hour before I realized how late it was getting. I felt amazing when I was up there! It was strange but very cool. I wanted to stay up there forever, but I knew that I could not do that. I wrapped my hands around the rail that I was leaning on and started to turn around when somebody said, "Hello!"

I screamed then felt myself falling and suddenly everything went black.

I started to dip back into consciousness. I was about to open my eyes when I heard voices that I did not recognize.

"Did I kill her? I didn't mean to." A soft voice said. I could hear the sound of footsteps, it sounded like someone pacing.

"No, she isn't dead. But she will probably be in pain for a while." Another voice that I did not recognize replied. That is what made me think and I started to feel the stinging, it was horrid, like someone sticking pins in every part of my body. I sat up immediately and opened my eyes. All of a sudden, I was looking directly into the eyes of Kevin Youngblood.

I gasped; he had caught me off guard. I was not sure how long I had been asleep, but I figured it was a long time. I tried to speak but all I could choke out was, "Ouch."

"Are you ok?" Kevin's voice was soft and pure, like an angle.

"No, it hurts, make the stinging stop."

"It will stop on its own probably soon." The other voice was now behind me.

"Michael, how long?"

"I don't know, it could be days, or hours, it is impossible to tell." Michael said.

"Ugh…what is happening? I demand answers." I tried to sound serious but couldn't I hurt too much.

"What do you want to know?" Kevin asked his voice still calm.

"First of all, where am I?"

"Um…you are at my house."

"Ok…and why am I here?"

"You fell off the roof of the mall." I stared at him in horror. It all came back to me. I remembered falling and it got very dark, I must have been four stories up, how did I survive?

"I will leave you alone." Michael said and swiftly left the room without another sound.

"Why am I still alive?"

"Yeah…that's where I come in, I kinda…saved you."

"How and why?"

"I saved you because I was the reason you fell."

"You were the voice that said 'hello'?"

"Yeah…that was me."

"The stinging is starting to go away."

"Good!" He smiled and he was beautiful. I stared at his beautiful features, a perfect face, like nothing I had ever seen before. It was amazing!

"Wait…if you were on the roof with me, how did you save me?"

"How am I supposed to answer that?" I heard Kevin say but his lips never moved.

"Did you say something?"

"No." He looked at me in confusion.

"I could have sworn that you said something."

"What is she talking about?" His voice came again, but his lips never moved.

"See you just said 'what is she talking about', I am confused."

"I didn't say that out loud-oh no…the painful process is over, tell me something Natalie-"

"Crystal." I corrected him.

"Ok...Crystal, how do you feel?"

"I don't know, I feel like I need to run and I am very thirsty."

"Uh-oh." He looked down at his hands.

"What?"

"I have to tell you something, and you can ask questions when I am completely done, but please don't interrupt me." He looked up at me.

"Ok! I am listening."

"Well…my family is well…different"-he was struggling for words-"what I mean is...we aren't exactly normal." I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, his hand was covering my mouth. "You promised." He gave me a stern look then removed his hand from my mouth.

"This is the hardest part to say." He paused searching for words I guessed. "I will have to start from the beginning." I nodded so that he knew I was still listening. "When my great-great-grandfather, Nomad, was 13, he was a witch hunter. Now witch hunters didn't only search witches, they looked for other things like…vampires and werewolves. So, Nomad was out searching with his dad, Paul, when they came across a group of vampires. The vampires came after them, they had gotten too close. Paul made it out safely, but one of them had bitten Nomad. Paul thought his son was lost forever. A few days later, Nomad woke up and was craving…blood, the vampire that bit him explained everything" he paused, "I won't go into detail." He paused again then continued, "Then he told Nomad to fend for himself. Nomad met a woman vampire, Claire. After a few years, Claire and Nomad got married and had children. Their children were vampires also. Their children grew up and had kids of their own; they turned out as vampires also, and so on. My parents are both vampires and so am I along with my siblings. Most vampires are born vampires. Some become vampires by being bit. Ok, I am done, you may ask questions."

"Hang on…let me take all of that in." I breathed deeply. "Ok, what does that have to do with me?"

"Well when you were falling I felt bad, so I jumped and landed before you. I caught you, but you were already dieing from shock. So I kind of…bit you."

"So you are telling me that I am a…vampire?" I couldn't help but make a face as I said the word.

"Yes, that is what the stinging was, it must have been painful. Lucky me, I was born one."

"Is this some kind of joke? Did I die and go to hell?"

"No and no."

I couldn't breathe, my lungs stopped working and I was suddenly very cold. I looked into the eyes of the vampire sitting on the edge of the bed that I was laying on. He looked back at me. He seemed to be somewhere else, thinking probably.

My head started to spin and I still could not breathe.

"Crystal? Are you ok?" His voice seemed far away.

"Yeah, I am great! It's not everyday that a girl gets to hear she is a vampire. How cool!" The sarcasm in my voice was overwhelming.

Kevin let out a chuckle. "You're right; there is no reason for you to be angry with me." He smiled as I scowled. "This chick is crazy!" I heard the words, but there was no movement of his mouth.

"You think I'm crazy?" I scowled at him.

"Did I say that out loud?" Again, no lip movement.

"Yes you did."

He started actually talking again, "Wow it's like you can- Nah."

"What?"

"Well…some of us have special powers and I think you can read my mind."

"You're crazy." I looked at him in confusion. "I have been one of you for probably 20 minutes and I already have special powers?"

"Well…yeah."

"Do you have any powers?"

"Um…yes…"

"Are you going to tell me what they are?"

"If you want me to I will." He smiled.

"You are stubborn."

"I've heard that before."

I glared at him and waited for him to tell me what him what his powers were.

"I have the ability to get what I want, when I want it."

"So do I." He was confusing me.

"No…not objects…I can make people do things whether they want to or not."

"That's odd."

"Yes it is."

"Do you know why you have that power?"

"I have no idea. I have been studying it for years, and have come up with no results."

All I could say was "Oh."

We sat in silence for a while. Sometimes Kevin would tell himself not to think. It aggregated me that he did not want me to know what was on his mind.

I blocked out him talking to himself and took in my surroundings.

I was on a large bed in the very center of the room. Kevin had moved from the foot of the bed to a nearby chair.

The walls were a strange blue color. A cross between sky blue and navy blue. The color reminded me of Kevin's eyes. The most beautiful shade of blue I had ever seen.

I looked over at Kevin, he had his eyes closed and I was curious. I tuned back into his thoughts. He was…singing. Weird…I did not recognize the song but it sounded nice.

I decided to break the silence, "What are you singing?"

"Oh nothing, I made it up. It calms me, but it has no name." He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Well that's why I didn't recognize it!" I smiled.

He chuckled, "Yes that would be why!"

We both laughed for a while then when we calmed down he said, "Sing for me."

"What? Why?" I was very confused.

"Sing, you look like you would sing pretty well…and I want to hear you."

Actually, I had been by many people that I had a pretty voice. "Um…ok…what do you want me to sing?"

"I don't know, how about something that you sing well!" He laughed and I rolled my eyes.

I thought for a second then said "Ok." I stood up so that I was not sitting on it anymore. Kevin opened his mouth to speak but I said, "I sing better when I stand." He nodded and I breathed in deeply and started to sing, still not nervous, I felt very comfortable around Kevin.

"Have you ever loved somebody so much it made you cry?

Have you ever needed something so bad you can't sleep at night?

Have you ever tried to find the words but they do not come out right?

Have you ever? Have you ever?"

I stopped singing and looked at Kevin. His jaw had dropped during my song. I tilted my head in confusion and stared at him. Finally, he said, "I knew that your voice was going to stun me."

"That's not my fault; you are the one that wanted to hear me sing." I was sure that I said it ruder than necessary but I wanted to get my point across.

"No, I know, and I don't regret that at all…it's just, uh…why did you have to pick that song?"

"Because you told me to sing a song that I could sing."

"Ok…It's just that I can answer all of those questions."

I was very surprised that he told me this. Also happy that he trusted me with this information. "I can only answer the second two; I have never actually been in love before."

"Oh…I have…and still am…but moving on, since you are a vampire, you will meet someone…uh…new."

"I'm not sure that I understand what you are saying to me."

"Ok…well, as of right now you are about two hours old. When you are about two, you will walk outside one morning and see everything completely new. Including your surroundings and even people. I cannot really describe it, but you will take one look at your 'soul mate' and fall in love. It is possible that this person will love you back, but it is also possible that they already do."

"Oh wow…is that what happened to you?" Kevin nodded his head so I continued, "Did the girl you fell in love with not love you back or something?"

"Well not exactly, she just doesn't know she loves me yet."

"Cool…is she a vampire too?"

"Yep!"

I nodded my head and pondered this new information. It was hard to understand this new concept, but I kept up with Kevin's angel-like voice!

"I have another question."

"Oh?" He looked at me and I almost got lost in his eyes, I had to shake my head to get rid of his gaze before I could speak again.

"Well…what am I supposed to do about this craving for blood?"

"That's complicated, so I will explain the basics. If I gave you blood now, you would go crazy and nobody would be able to stop you from doing things that I am sure you do not want to do. Nobody would be able to come anywhere near you, so we use a different strategy." He glided over to a cabinet in the corner, and opened the door. He took out a small bottle and I could not see what it was. He put the small bottle in his right hand and walked over to me, he was standing there in one swift movement. I did not even see him move from his position by the cabinets. I figured that this was another thing that I could do, I just did not know about it yet. "Cherries!" He smiled and opened the small jar of cherries. "I would much rather you crave these for a few days, than blood." He handed me the jar and the lid. "When you are stronger, I will take you hunting."

I ate a few cherries and then put the lid back on. "You know, this is way different than I thought. Like all the stories I read, are they true?"

"Nope…mostly rumors."

"No coffins?"

"No coffins!" He agreed and smiled a smug little smile.

"Are we allowed to go in the sunlight?"

"Yes, I go in the sunlight everyday at school. How do you thing I caught you, we were in the sun then! That's a silly question!"

"Sorry, I wasn't sure."

"It's ok, I was kidding!"

"I have a few more questions."

"I knew you would!" He smiled and I guessed he was trying to be funny because he was laughing at himself in his head.

"What am I supposed to tell people?"

"That depends; do you want to tell anyone?"

"Yeah, I have to tell Izzy or she will just guess it on her own."

"What about your other friends?"

"Well…Alicia could know too. Only them because I love them and they are my best friends. I would never be able to keep something this big from them, no matter how hard I tried!"

"Yeah, I understand that…um…I guess just tell them what I told you. If they truly love you, they will support you. They will still love you the same and maybe they will even understand!" He flashed me his perfect set of teeth…including his fangs. This picture scared me a little bit.

I shivered and asked another question, "Do I look different?"

"I think you looked beautiful to begin with, but becoming a vampire tends to make a person look…better, I didn't think it would be possible for you to be any prettier." He took out a small mirror and handed it to me. I blushed before I looked at my self. I looked at Kevin, still blushing.

After a few seconds, I looked down at my self in the mirror. I was stunned by my appearance. For once in my life, I looked beautiful! I smiled and realized I had dimples, but as I was closing my mouth, I saw my own set of…fangs.

After I had come back from scaring myself, I looked up at my eyes. Wow, they were a strange blue color, like Kevin's. Many questions started to go through my head, I wondered where to start and what questions should be saved for another day.

"Wow." I finally choked out a word.

"That's a problem, you are gonna break some necks, you were stunning before you became of us."

I blushed again and Kevin smiled.

"I am surprised that I can blush, I thought my heart was supposed to stop or something."

"No, not until your 30."

"So when I turn 30, I stop ageing?"

"Exactly, you are catching on!"

I rolled my eyes and we sat in silence, I mean complete silence, Kevin was not thinking anything…nothing.

I was starting to think that I should probably go home soon, when I remembered my car.

"My car is still at the mall."

"No, when I brought you here, Mike found your keys in your back pocket and went to the mall to get it for you. Is that ok?"

"Yeah totally, I am just glad it's not still sitting in the mall parking lot!"

"I may have damned you for life, but I would never leave a blue Ferrari in a mall parking lot!"

"I'm sure you didn't damn me for life, I actually kinda like this whole thing! It is pretty cool to be different in my own secret way!"

We both laughed and I walked towards the door.

"Are you leaving?" Kevin almost sounded like he did not want me to leave.

"Well yes, I need to talk to Izzy and Alicia."

"Well can't you do that later? It is like 3am."

"Yeah I guess that I could wait, but what am I supposed to do?"

"Well Alyson called your parents and said that you were staying the night here. None of us were sure how long you would be out, so we thought that was a good idea." He looked like he was thinking. "You can stay in here, if you want to."

"Where will you sleep?"

"I don't know the couch or the floor. I will find a place."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I will sleep on the floor; it will be like a sleep over! Fun!" He laughed so I smiled and he flashed me his smug smile that I liked so much.

I laid down on the large bed while Kevin made a pallet of blankets on the floor next to the bed.

I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately.

The bed was soft and comfortable; it made me feel like I was at home.

I dreamed of telling Izzy and Alicia everything, and how they would take it. According to the dream, Alicia did not like it so much and Izzy guessed on her own. That did not surprise me at all though. Izzy was always watching movies and reading books on vampires. I used to think she was weird because of it. Now I see why she was so fascinated by the whole concept of vampires. They were very interesting creatures.

I started to wake up in the morning but did not open my eyes. I laid there hoping that it was all a dream.

When I finally did open my eyes, I realized that it was not a dream…I was still in Kevin Youngblood's room.

Chapter 4 - Izzy's guess

The rest of the weekend went by very fast. Kevin finally let me go home around 4pm on Sunday. I never had the chance to call Izzy. Alicia was still in Boca so I could not call her.

When I got back to school on Monday, I was going to sit with the people I usually sat with, but Kevin invited me to sit with his and his family. During lunch, we sat and talked. During my classes, all week people introduced themselves to me; it was as if I was suddenly popular. A girl named Kristen Cloud had blonde hair and was very nice, although she looked more like her name should be Ashley. Kristen had a twin sister named Jennifer, but people called her "Milk". I was afraid to ask why.

During first period everyday, Chuck (another kid that I just met) stole Kristin's pencil. I personally thought they liked each other, but they did not want anyone to know it.

Another girl in my first period was cooler, her name was Emily Wilkins, and she did not seem as preppy and stuck up as most of the other girls that I met.

In second period a group of guys came up and talked to me, but the only kid that I seem to remember is Cole Williams, he was the most conceited person that I have ever met. I figured that he would seem less conceited once I get to know him better.

A girl in my third period named Isabella Jade Sky told me that I could call her Jade. She was very short and skinny, but seemed cool!

Fourth period was the worst. A group of four girls came up to me and started a very long conversation about planting flowers. The tallest girl of the bunch, Robin Childs, seemed to know the most about the boring topic. Lissa Guyfield, Karen Pensake, and Amelia Watsonville were the other three girls in the group. All of them were somewhat annoying at first, but I got use to it.

Then came lunch and I sat with Kevin and his family, they were actually cool. Alyson, Sharon, Michael, Kevin and I were all getting closer.

During fifth period on Friday, nobody introduced himself or herself to me, so that gave me time to talk to Izzy. We talked and decided that I take her home after school and explain everything. I apologized for not talking to her so much anymore and told her that once I told her what I need to tell her, that it would all seem clearer.

I had band sixth period. I already knew everybody in that class. But, I was bored so I started talking to Robert, the saxophone player that sat next to me. We were talking about a book that I had just read called "The Cry of the Icemark," it was a very dry topic but it made band seem to go by faster.

When the final bell rang, I met Izzy at my car. I was just happy to be out of band.

I climbed into the driver's seat without a word to Izzy and she got in the passenger seat. The second that we were out on the road she started talking, I should have expected this. "What the hell is wrong with you? You haven't sat with us in a week…" As my friend went on telling me all the things that I did not do that week, I felt the tears coming. This was going to be harder than I thought.

After a while, there was a silence. Except for Izzy saying how much she hated me in her head.

"It's like you aren't even really here any more." Izzy had started to talk again. "Like um…like a vampire, in all the books that I had read." I had started to cry again, my dream was going to come true, Izzy was guessing. I heard a gasp followed by, "YOU'RE A VAMPIRE AREN'T YOU?"

"Shhhh…" I hushed her.

"Oh my gosh!" she stared at me. "That is so cool!"

"Yeah!" I was happy that Izzy was not creeped out.

"TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

"Wait till we get to my house and I will tell you all that you want to know…ok?"

"OK!" I could see her smiling the whole rest of the way to my house. I sped up so that I could tell her sooner. The sooner the better I thought.

Kevin was already in my room when we got there, that is how it had been for the past week. I walked into my room and set my black and pink Tommy Hilfiger book bag in the corner by the door.

"She guessed correctly…but not about you, I have to tell her everything." I told Kevin.

He laughed then smiled and moved from my bed to the couch by the wall.

"This isn't funny; you are going to have to help me." I patted the space next to me on the bed so that Izzy knew to come sit beside me.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes then continued, "but so that we don't have to go through this again, do you want to get Alicia here too?"

"Um…yeah, that's probably a good idea."

I called Alicia and told her that I needed to tell her something. She said she would be right over and she sounded anxious.

Once Alicia got there and we were all in my room, I decided I would go ahead and tell them.

Alicia and Izzy were seated on the bed, facing the couch that Kevin and I were now sitting on.

Before I started, I told Alicia not to worry, and I told them both not to say anything until I was finished. They both nodded and pretended to zip their mouths and throw away the key.

We all laughed then I again decided that I should go ahead and get this over with.

I took a deep breath and began at the beginning, when I was at the mall. I told them everything, and Kevin through in small details that I had forgotten or missed. Occasionally I would hear a gasp or two. The whole time I was telling the story, both Izzy and Alicia seemed interested and that loosened me a little. I tried very hard to concentrate on not listening to their thoughts. I was so worried that they would think I was a freak and not talk to me anymore.

Once I was finished, nobody said anything.

"Uh…I am done." I finally said.

"Is there anyway to reverse the curse?" Alicia asked.

"Why would she want to reverse it?" Izzy asked standing up from the bed.

"Because it is kinda weird and scary," Alicia looked and me and added, "no offence."

I could once again feel the tears swelling up inside my eyes. I did not want to show it so I blinked to keep them back.

"Alicia, you are kinda weird and scary." Izzy was sticking up for me.

Izzy and Alicia started yelling at each other and I stopped listening. I curled up into a ball, next to Kevin, on the couch and let the tears flow. The tears came quietly, but Kevin knew they were there. He pulled me into his arms and let me cry on his shoulder. He eventually pulled me into his lap and I do not know how long I laid there, but suddenly Izzy and Alicia were at my side. Alicia was apologizing like crazy and Izzy was saying how cool this whole thing was. The tears eventually slowed then came to a stop. I was still sitting on Kevin's lap and he seemed to be enjoying it.

After a long time of talking, we finally concluded that Alicia would be by my side 100 and Izzy desperately wanted to become a vampire. I told Izzy that I would turn her into one, when I get older and stronger. Kevin did not like that idea too much, but he kept his feelings to himself, although I could hear him.

I eventually stood up and took Izzy home. Alicia took herself home, the same way she got there, running.

When I got back, Kevin was still I my room. The first thing he said to me when I got into the room was, "did I ever tell you that I can keep things away too?"

"No, is that part of your special 'powers'?" I hand quoted the last word.

"Yeah…I guess I forgot to tell you." He said that to me, but he was thinking, "How do I ask her if I can stay over?" Kevin thinking that made me feel weird.

"Yeah, I guess so!" I smiled because he obviously forgot my powers.

"Mm-hm, well I better get going." He headed for the door.

I said, "Wait!"

He whispered, "Yes," under his breath, but I heard him. I tried to keep myself from laughing. He turned to look at me clearly hiding a smile of his own.

"Please stay, I get so lonely when I am well…alone." I giggled.

"If you insist." He smiled a crooked half smile and cam over to me. He grabbed me by the waist and led me over to my bed. He set me down and scooted me over so that I was sitting in the center. Kevin sat in front of me and said, "Your parents are having too much fun at the party, they won't be coming home until like 6am."

"That's good to know! If they get within 5 miles of me I will be able to hear them."

"Your right, I completely forgot that you can hear people's thoughts."

"Yep…I know." I smiled and he looked embarrassed. "Awe…come on, it's ok! So…I have another question." I changed the topic.

"Of course," He laughed, "Ok…go ahead!"

"You said that when I turn thirty I won't age anymore, does that mean age as in numbers or age like looks?"

"It's more of numbers, your looks won't change at all, you will only get taller. Then when you turn thirty that is it…you will be able to hold your breath for the rest of your life, because your heart will stop."

"Hmm…Ok…that was my only question."

"Ok, shall I sing you to sleep?" Kevin smiled.

"No, I don't want to sleep." I returned a smile to him.

"Ok then, what do u want to do? He was being careful not to think.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

He did not answer right away, he was only thinking to himself, "No Kevin, you can' tell her, STOP THINKING NOW!"

"What can't you tell me?" I was slightly confused.

"Never mind, I should have known that you would be listening to me yell at myself."

"Of course, it is me. Haha! Please tell me, I will not tell anyone. I don't do that kind of think hun…please!"

He smiled then looked down at his hands. "I don't know, it's just…" He faded away and took my hands into his. "Ok, I will tell you, but no matter what we have to stay friends."

I nodded so that he knew I agreed to his conditions.

"Remember when I told you that you would meet your true love when you turn two?"

"Yes," I agreed.

"Well, when you are born a vampire that doesn't happen until you are fifteen." He paused to take a deep breath. "I also told you that the girl for me, doesn't know that we are supposed to be together yet." He paused again. "That girl goes to our school." He started talking a lot slower. "That girl is…you." He swallowed hard then looked up at me.

I was flattered because over the past week, I had grown to like Kevin a lot. "That's very um…interesting." Kevin looked disappointed so I continued, "It's not that I don't like you, I do. I just don't know what to say."

"You can say that you will be my girlfriend." He smiled and seemed eager.

"Yes, I guess I could say that." I was starting to get an edge so I dragged him along.

He took my hands once again then said, "Crystal will you be my girlfriend?"

I blushed then finally said, "Yes I will be your girlfriend, but only if you really want me." I smiled.

"I will always want you…forever."

I blushed again and Kevin moved his hands from mine and held my face so that I could not look from his eyes, He held a gaze that made me forget everything I ever wanted to say. Kevin held me about 6 inches away from his face then said, "If I wasn't so shy, I would kiss you right now."

"Why are you shy? There is nothing to be scared of!" I smiled and flashed my perfect white teeth at him.

"Because you are just too perfect."

"That's very sweet, but there's st-" Kevin cut me off by pressing his soft, gentle lips to mine for about 10 seconds then he parted then slowly and pulling away, gasping for breath. I took in one deep breath and was back to normal. I could not help but smile and it would not go away.

The only thing Kevin was thinking was "wow." He was boring now so I blocked him out.

We sat in silence for a while until Kevin got up, lifted me and set me under the covers. "You should probably sleep," he said.

"Maybe, but where will you sleep?" I yawned.

"I will sleep on the couch." He smiled.

I groaned and pushed out my lower lip.

"What?" he asked.

I lifted my arm from under the covers and patted the space next to me. "This will be much more comfortable."

"Are you sure?"

I scooted over and sat up. I gestured with my index finger for him to come.

He crouched then pounced onto the bed in front of me. A low growl emerged from my throat and he growled back, opening his mouth to show me his shiny fangs. I snapped my teeth open and shut, still growling. Kevin playfully pushed me back onto the pillow and kissed me lightly on the neck. I liked the feisty Kevin! He was cute too! He apparently did not want to overwhelm himself, because he rolled off me, pulling his pillow to a position that he liked. I liked laying next to him. It somehow felt right. I was still smiling! After a few minutes, I remembered that I was still in my jeans and a t-shirt.

I stood from the bed and Kevin looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

"I need to change into my pajamas."

"Oh." Kevin nodded.

I walked over to the closet, opened the door and stepped inside. I closed the door behind me. I leaned against the door before looking through my pajamas. I could not find my Victoria secret pant set, so I settled for my soft pink shorts and a plain white t-shirt to match.

When I got back to the main section of my room, Kevin was standing by my dresser looking at the pictures of me and some of my other friends and family. I realized that he had changed. "Whoa…when did you change?"

He turned to face me. "Just now, I can run very fast, so can you. Did you figure that out yet?" He smirked.

"Well…I have had the need for speed." I smiled then walked over to my bed.

Kevin laughed then said, "Can you sleep now?"

"Probably." I smiled again and crawled under the covers. Kevin was instantly beside me with his very muscular arms around me. I felt his body beside me and he was inhaling the scent of my hair.

"I love the way you smell." He breathed in my ear.

"Thank you!" I was hypnotized by his hold but I did not care. I was falling for Kevin Youngblood and there was nothing anybody could do about it!

Chapter 5 – Adapting

The next two months went by easily. Kevin stayed over almost every night except when he went hunting. I begged him to take me but he would say that I was still too young and he would take me at the start of summer break!

I was now two full months old. My birthday was in April, it was now June. School was about to end and we would go on summer break for three months.

About a month before school ended there was a new kid, his name was Chris. Kevin, Izzy, Alicia, Max, and I befriended Chris. Kevin sensed that Chris liked me, so Kevin would not let him forget that we were boyfriend and girlfriend! I was completely flattered. Chris was so not my type though; I liked him only as a friend…nothing else.

I came to find out that the group of guys in my second period were actually cool. Cole was not as conceited anymore, now that I got to know him. If fact he seemed more interested in me than his friends. Cole always thought that my eyes are "dreamy" but he never really told me he was afraid Kevin would beat him up. All of Cole's friends wished they sat closer to me, because they thought I was interesting. Cole sat in front of me for the remainder of the year.

Kevin missed at least one day a month, to go hunting, and when he was gone all the guys seemed to talk to me a lot more, even the saxophone player in my sixth period, Robert. It had grown into my own personal inside joke, whenever a guy would talk to me when Kevin was away, I would laugh quietly to myself.

Izzy never stopped begging me to change her, but I kept putting it off. Alicia tried her hardest to not be scared of Kevin or me, and soon enough, Izzy. When I had told Alicia and Izzy about me being a vampire, I forgot to mention that I could read minds. I told Izzy, but never found the time to tell Alicia in the past months. Izzy tried to communicate with me in class; it was funny so I usually listened to her thoughts. After a while, I realized that I could see pictures in other people's minds too.

Jessica told most of the school about her and Alicia's brother, Cole Fisher. Alicia was under a lot of pressure because her brother was not the same anymore, he was changing and she did not like it at all. Izzy and I tried to convince her that it could be for the better, but she would not listen. That just goes to show how stubborn Alicia is, but I still love her like a sister.

Jessica started to get home schooled because she was starting to gain weight and you could see the baby bump a little. She almost dropped out of school completely, but everyone convinced her to just get home schooled. No one has seen her since May, except Cole Fisher. Everyone misses her dearly, even some of the teachers.

Everyday in first period, Kristin Cloud and Chuck flirted with each other, in one way or another. Chuck would steal Kristin's pencil and notebook, then not want to give them back. Another girl, Haley, told me that Kristin liked Chuck, but I already knew that from Kristin's thoughts. Chuck was always thinking about Kristin too. I just wondered when they were going to confess their feelings to each other. I hope it is soon, because they would look so cute together.

Max held in his disappointment when I was around. He was always kicking himself on the inside for not asking me out first. It was depressing me a lot, but Kevin would lightly kiss me and tell me everything is going to be ok. I would feel better after that. I knew that I was going to fall in love with Kevin before I was two. I was in deep enough to know that. He would say that he loves me and even though I could not answer the same quite yet he understood and still loved me! Sometimes I would think that Kevin is too good for me, but then I would remember that he loves me and I could hear him thinking about me through classes, it was flattering.

I was getting better grades in school, so my parents approved of Kevin. He would come over and help me with homework for a little while, then when it was time for him to leave, he would lightly kiss me on the cheek and leave out the front door. Then shortly after Kevin left, I would go take my shower and go to bed. When I got to my room, Kevin would already be sprawled out on my bed. I was getting used to this and liked it a lot!

Michael and Sharon Youngblood were graduating in one week. Kevin, Alyson, and I still had two years to go. We would be juniors next year and I was happy about that. Kevin and I were not going to graduation because he was taking me shopping, then we were going to hang out at Starbucks and maybe climb a tree or two.

I had become a lot more adventurous since being a vampire. I was skating, climbing trees, and running a lot! Kevin was a very fast runner, but since I was a "newborn", I had more energy so he had to struggle to keep up with me. I had amazing speed, you could not see me, I blended in with the trees.

The last day of school was getting very close. I was making many plans fro summer, but I knew that most of my summer would go to five people, Kevin, Alyson, Alicia, Izzy, and Max. Alyson was going with Kevin and me on our first hunting trip! She seemed very excited.

On the last day of school, everybody seemed hyped up for summer. It felt like everyone in the whole school wanted me to sign their yearbook. I ran out of cool things to say so I settled for "Crystal loves you! Have a rocking summer! " I love smiley faces, so I wanted to share them with everyone! Everybody wrote nice things in my yearbook too. Some people left their numbers for me to call, even Cole. Cole leaving his number was not as weird as it could have been. He could have put it in there before he ever said one word to me, but no he had talked to me before! Therefore, that was a good thing.

Lucky for me, Kevin was at school on the last day. It was only a half day and everybody was happy on the outside but sad on the inside. Nobody wanted to leave his or her friends for the whole summer. Most people were going away, like my parents. I was supposed to go to Minnesota with them but I could not stand to be away from Kevin for three whole weeks. Therefore, I am going to be "kidnapped" by "Alyson" and stay are her house for the weeks that my parents are gone. My parents like Alyson enough to trust her, but it was really Kevin that I was staying with, not Alyson. His parents knew and they like the fact of us being together.

After school, I met Kevin by my car and when I opened the door a little puppy flew into my arms.

"What's this?" I asked, I was surprised but happy.

"Your end-of-the-year present!" Kevin smiled.

"Awe!" I set the dog back on the set and shut the door. I ran over to Kevin and hugged him very tightly. When I let him go, I pulled his face to mine to kiss him. I would have kept him there longer but I wanted to get home. I pushed him away and instantly we were in the car.

Kevin held my new puppy in his hands on the way to my house.

"So you like the dog?" Kevin finally asked.

"Yes I love dogs! You know that…but what should we name it?" I smiled but kept my eyes on the road.

"I don't know, it's your dog."

"You mean our dog! This can be the first thing that we own together." I smiled wider.

Kevin knew that if he tried to argue, he would lose. "Um…ok, then what do you want to name it? Whatever you want is fine with me baby!"

"Awe Kevin! How about um…fluffy?"

"That's a little girlie, good thing it's a girl! Sure babe, whatever!"

"Are you sure? We could name it something cooler like-"

He cut me off, "no, I like the name fluffy. So does the dog…so Crystal, meet Fluffy!" He held the dug up to my face and it licked me on the cheek, then Kevin set it back on his lap. I smiled and pulled into the driveway.

Before the engine was even off, Kevin was at my door, opening it for me. I let him get me out, not that I needed help. Then before he could do anything else, I threw my arms around his shoulders and asked, "So, where were we before me had to leave?"

"I think we were right about here." His lips met mine again and this time he was not quite as gentle as he usually was. He was more rough or urgent, I liked the edge. I was too busy thinking about our longest kiss ever that I did not realize he had picked me up and started towards my house without breaking the kiss. Suddenly we were in my house, it was cooler in here and I recognized the scent of the kitchen, it usually smelled the same.

I started to lose air, so it was me that broke the kiss. He set me down and I wobbled a bit. All of a sudden, Kevin was behind me, hands around my waist and he smelled my hair. I started to walk forward, slowly at first, and then I broke free of Kevin's grip and ran up the stairs. Kevin chased me, but by the time he got to my room I was already on the bed. My hands were behind my head, which was now lying on a pillow. I did not hear Kevin move from the doorway, but suddenly he was next to me, kissing my neck.

"Wow, feisty! I like it!" I said turning to face him and kiss him again. It was just a small peck then I turned away. I sat up instantly remembering the dog. I looked over to the far corner of my room, in the normally empty corner, there now sat a cage with my small dog in it. I smiled and did not bother to ask Kevin how he put it there remembering his speed.

"You really don't realize how much I love you! Sometimes it hurts to know that you don't love me back yet." Kevin was smiling, but his eyes were sad.

Just seeing him like that it made me see that I do love him so I said, "I love you Kevin!"

"Really?" He asked, excitedly.

"Yes." I blushed and smiled still looking at Kevin.

"I love you too." He pulled me into his arms and I let him hug me, then when he tried to pull away, I brought him back to hug him more. Having him close felt good.

"May I do something?" He asked.

"Sure…go ahead." He got out of my hold and stood up from the bed. I groaned and frowned, "Anything but that…come back."

"I will be back in a second." He smiled looking pleased.

I pushed out my lower lip and managed to say, "Ok." Kevin disappeared out my window in less than a second. I decided to get dressed while he was gone. I stepped into my closet and changed in less than fifteen seconds. W

When I got back out into my room, Kevin was standing there with a long skinny box in his hands. I started to walk back over to my bed, but Kevin was already beside me. He handed me the small box and said, "For you my love." He had a huge, thoughtful smile across his face.

"What's this?" I was flattered but very confused.

"For you my love." He repeated.

Two presents in one day?"

"Just open it already." He was losing his patience.

"Right." I opened the box and inside was the prettiest, diamond bracelet that I had ever seen. It had small silver hearts linked together with diamonds in the middle of each heart. "Oh my gosh! It's…beautiful!" I managed to choke out.

"A beautiful girl deserves a beautiful bracelet." He put his hands on either side of my waist and pulled me closer.

"Thank you!" I closed the box and set it on my dresser. " I don't want anything to happen to it while I sleep." I told Kevin.

"Yeah, I understand." He smiled then picked me up and instantly I was on my bed, under the covers. "Sleep well my princess." He laid next to me and I fell asleep almost immediately.

I had corny dreams that night. I was running through a meadow to meet Kevin in one. In another one, Kevin proposed to me, but then woke up. I did not get to see or hear my answer.

When I opened my eyes, Kevin was sound asleep next to me and my alarm clock was singing. I forgot to turn it off. I could not move out of Kevin's hold and I did not want to wake him, but I had to turn off the clock.

All I could think about was the alarm clock, I was starting to get frustrated because it was 6:00AM and I should still have been sleeping. I could feel my anger pulsing and suddenly my alarm clock blew up. Pieces went flying, and then there was silence. I did not know I could do that! I thought to myself. I started to laugh…it was funny to see an alarm clock blow up for no reason. I bit my lip to keep from laughing and waking Kevin up. I could not sleep so I just laid there in Kevin's arms, extremely glad that he was there.

Eventually I got bored, so I looked at what Kevin was dreaming about. He was thinking about all eternity with me, it was so sweet. I smiled and closed my eyes to keep watching. His dream was so perfect, it was like a movie. I kept watching, he dreamt of kissing me and holding hands with me, it was very sweet and mushy. I never would have guessed that Kevin would dream of me, it was adorable! Kevin was even more perfect than I thought.

I shifted myself very carefully, to look at Kevin. His face was beautiful! His perfect brown hair was slightly messy from sleeping. He had taken the covers off while he slept and his short-sleeved shirt showed off his perfect muscles. He had blue, plaid pants on that matched his blue and white shirt. I smiled softly and curled up on his chest.

We laid there for about an hour and I never fell back to sleep. It was almost eight and I was about to wake Kevin up when he whispered, "Good morning!"

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" I replied.

"Yes, but I had a weird dream."

"Hm…tell me about it!"

"I could have sworn that you blew up a clock with your mind." He looked over at the dresser where all the pieces were lying.

"Yeah...about that." I bit my lip.

"Oh my goodness! You developed all your brainpowers early! I didn't get mine until I was 10."

"So you mean I can do that with anything?"

"NO! Well, you can…but you will need training first. You could get hurt or even die." His voice was raising and he had stood up very quickly and was now standing by my closet.

"Well you don't have to yell at me." I had developed a pouty face, because I did not like it when Kevin was mad at me, it made me want to cry in a corner, away from the world.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know what I would do if you died. I would probably have to kill myself." Kevin was by me in an instant, pulling me to my feet. He held me tightly in a hug and rocked me gently back and forth, until finally he asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah a little, are you?" I mumbled into his shoulder.

"Yep, lets go downstairs and eat then we can talk about what we are going to do this summer!"

"OK, let's go." I did not feel like running so when Kevin started to run I locked fingers with him and held him back. I started walking slowly. I heard Kevin groan, but I just smiled and kept walking.

We were in the kitchen in less that 15 seconds but Kevin still was not happy about moving so slowly. I sat in a seat and said, "So, what is for breakfast?"

"Um…I don't know. What would you like?" He looked confused, but willing to get me whatever I wanted.

"Ha. Just kidding!" I jumped up and went to the fridge. "What would you like?"

"Anything is fine with me."

"Ok, liver and pig tongue, got it!" I smiled and Kevin looked disgusted. "Just kidding babe!"

"You better be kidding. I just went hunting and I couldn't eat meat even if I wanted to right now."

"I know, I know." I sighed, "Because you will let your senses get the better of you and get out of control and kill everyone in sight." I had heard Kevin say that so many times that I memorized it by now.

I pulled out two packages of pop tarts because it was quick and I wanted to get out of my house as soon as possible. I handed Kevin a package, he did not like his cooked, and I decided that I was not going to cook mine either. I grabbed Kevin's free hand and led him out the door to my car. I made sure to lock the door, so that my parents did not get mad if they came home before us. Kevin preferred my house to his. He said that his mom is always redecorating and his brother and sisters are always bickering.

We both got into the car and put our seatbelts on. When we were done, I drove away. I went fast, too. I was not sure where I was going, I just wanted to get out of there.

"Where are we going?" Kevin asked when we were a few minutes down the road.

"Not sure, anywhere but here." I replied.

Kevin knew not to argue with me so he just nodded his head and said "ok."

Chapter 6 – Reunions

I saw Amelia Island pass by me, then Jacksonville. As we were going through Jacksonville, I figured out where we were going to go.

"We are going to Athens!" I announced.

"Georgia?" Kevin asked.

"No Greece." I said sarcastically, "Of course we are going to Athens Georgia. I want to tour the university…again" I smiled.

"Um…ok. But why?" he sounded confused.

"Do I need an explanation for everything?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Well no but you usually have one anyway."

"Not this time hun."

Kevin did not say anything else. He knew that I was not going to say anything more about it and he did not want to argue with me.

Getting to Athens from the Island usually takes six to eight hours. However, we got there in less than for, which seemed to amuse Kevin very much. He laughed when we passed the "Welcome to Athens" sign.

I figured we would go get a hotel room, and then go to the school the next day.

The whole way there, Kevin was thinking about when the best time would be to ask me why we really came here. I decided to tell him once we were settled in the hotel room.

I was very fussy about where I slept, so we had to stay at a nice hotel, in the presidential suite. The room was beautiful! The walls were a golden color with a black outer lining. The king-sized bed was centered in the room with a small bedside table to the left of it. The comforter was a cream color with golden flowers that matched the walls. Kevin and I both whispered "wow" at the same time, the second that we opened the door.

Kevin turned to face me and pushed the hair away from my face. He lifted my chin so that I could only see into his eyes, nowhere else. "This room is almost as beautiful as you." I blushed but before I could respond, he lifted my chin more and his lips met mine. He kissed me softly, briefly, and then pulled away.

"You want to know why we are really here." I said, it was not a question, I was simply telling him what he was thinking.

He sighed, "Yes, is that so bad?"

"No I guess not."

"Ok then." He walked over to the bed and sat down.

I went and sat beside him. "When I was twelve, I met this girl. Her name was Tricia, she lived in my neighborhood and we had a lot in common. We became really good friends." I paused, swallowed, and then continued. "When I was 14, she moved in with her dad in Jacksonville. After about 6 months of living with her dad, she was moved to Athens. I have only talked to her a couple of times since she moved, but I have not seen her. She was my best friend and I miss her. She lives somewhere near here, but I am not sure exactly where."

Kevin looked at his feet. "Um…would her last name happen to be Smith?"

"Yeah. It is. How did you know?"

"I know her. She didn't actually move here because of her dad."

"What do you mean Kevin?"

"Um…this is kinda hard to say, but uh…" he was searching for words, "Two years ago, your friend was attacked by a vampire named Charlie. He did not kill her; he only bit her a few times. Therefore, Tricia became one of us. She could not control herself and did not have anyone to help her. Tricia went home and killed her dad, along with her brother and her dads' girlfriend. She didn't realized what she had done until the next day, but by the it was too late. She was a newborn, but she came to her senses and found Charlie. She was going to kill Charlie for doing this to her, but when she found him, she could not do it. Charlie was fifteen at the time, very young for a vampire. Tricia and Charlie became friends and ran here. They live here together as friends, nothing more. Together they fight off the bad, or evil, vampires. By 'evil' I mean the kind of vampires that kill innocent humans for their blood." Kevin shrugged, "Since we don't do that, we can go see them if you still want to."

I could not speak. How weird, Tricia was a vampire too? When I finally could speak again, I said, "Yes, of course I want to still see her. Again, I have not seen her in over 2 years."

"Ok, but maybe you should call her first."

"Yeah, your right." I was eager. I pulled out my cell phone and scrolled down the address book until I came to 'Tricia S.' I hit the call button.

The phone rang three times then a soft voice answered "Hello?"

"Hi! Is this Tricia?" I answered back.

"Yes it sure is!" She said.

"Oh cool! Hey Tricia, its Crystal!"

"Oh my goodness! Hey girlie, how have you been? I haven't talked to you in a LONG time!"

"I know it's been much too long!"

"Yes it has."

I laughed, "Well, I called to say that my boyfriend and I are in Athens and we wanted to come and say hey!"

"Really? That would be so cool! I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Yes really! I know, I miss you like crazy!"

"Yeah, I miss you too!" I could almost see her smiling.

I smiled and then we both said, "I feel missed" and started to laugh.

When she lived on the island and we hung out, if one of us said "miss you" or "love ya" the other would say "I feel missed" or "I feel loved." It was cool to know that she remembered.

"Do you remember what we used to call each other?" Tricia asked.

"Yeah, I think I do." I said, still laughing.

"It was um…bored something." She had forgotten.

"Yeah, 'Bored Smexy Tree divers'!"

Tricia started to laugh again, "Yeah I remember now!" She said.

"Good times! We always had fun with whatever we did!" I said, remembering all the fun stuff we used to do, like climb trees or sing to our parents.

"Oh yeah. We sang to trees, climbed them…" She paused, thinking probably.

"Fell out of trees." I finished her sentence.

We both started laughing again.

After a few minutes, Tricia gave me the address to her house and the directions. She only lived two miles from the hotel that Kevin and I were staying. I told her we would be there soon, and then we hung up.

Kevin was already ready to go, but I had to refresh my make-up and make sure I was semi-pretty. When I was done, I walked out of the bathroom and started walking to the door. When Kevin saw me, he sighed as I tried to pass him. He grabbed me by my waist and kissed me. Then he pulled away so that he could look into my eyes and said, "You were beautiful before."

I blushed, "Thank you! Are you ready to go?"

"You're welcome and yes. I have been ready since you called her." He smiled his smug smile and I returned my sweet smile.

I got out of his clutch and opened the door. Kevin was right behind me. We went to the elevator and took it down to the lobby. We walked out into the parking lot and there was a crowd around where I had parked my car. I looked up at Kevin, he looked at me, and we both smiled. I took out my car keys and hit the "panic" button. Everyone started running away and screaming, and Kevin and I almost died with laughter!

When we finally stopped laughing, we walked over to my car and headed to Tricia's house.

It only took about five minutes to get to where Tricia was living. When we pulled up, she was standing outside. Her jaw dropped when she saw my new car and she immediately started waving.

I rolled down my window and said, "Hey chicky" before turning off the engine.

She was suddenly at my car door. "Hey!" Tricia said, after I parked in the long driveway. She opened the door for me and the second that I was out of the car, she had me in a bear hug. "I missed you so much!" She said, sweetly.

"I missed you too Tricia…but…I…cannot…breathe." I barely spoke the words, but I knew she heard me.

"Oh sorry." She unlocked her arms and looked up.

I grabbed her arm and walked her over to where Kevin was standing. "Tricia, this is my boyfriend, Kevin!"

"Nice to see you again, Kevin!" Tricia said politely.

"Same to you." Kevin said and smiled.

"Wait you know each other?" I asked.

"Yes babe, I already told you that." Kevin said.

"No, you just told me what she is and who she is with…" I turned to Tricia, "I am now a vampire too." I sighed.

"Really? That is cool. Now we can have vampire sleepovers!" She said smiling.

"That's a horror movie waiting to happen." I said sarcastically. "Yeah, thanks to Kevin, I am a vampire." I smiled at him and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Nice one Kevin." Tricia said jokingly.

"Haha, very funny…where is Charlie?" Kevin asked, trying to change the subject.

"Inside, he is waiting for some company!" Tricia told him, pointing to the door.

"Ok…thanks." Kevin disappeared into the small house.

"Since its only noon," Tricia said, turning to me. "I was thinking that we could go get some lunch, and then maybe I can show you where I hang out most of the time now!"

"Cool! Sounds like fun! Should we get the guys?" I asked.

"Nah…I already told Charlie. Him and Kevin need to catch up, then they are going to meet us there."

I smiled then said, "Ok." I started walking to my car, but Tricia caught my arm and turned me to face her.

"We run." She said, smiling.

"Oh, right, I knew that!" I smiled again and ran to the end of the driveway. Tricia was right behind me.

"You are faster than I thought!" She teased.

"Yeah well, what did you expect?" I laughed.

"I missed that sense of humor you have." She smiled at me. "Wanna get going?"

"Yeah sure. Let's go!" I replied.

We started out kind of slow, and I stayed slightly behind Tricia, because I did not know where we were going.

After about fifteen minutes of running, we stopped at a small restraint called, "Kabuki."

"Oh, I have heard of this place!" I said as we walked through the front doors.

"Yeah, Charlie and I run here all the time!" She smiled at me again.

"Right this way please." A short, skinny, blonde server, with a nametag that said 'Lisa', came over to Tricia and me and took us to a small table that could seat four.

We sat down at the small square table and I sat in one chair, Tricia sat across from me.

"I called and got us reservations, after I hung up with you earlier." Tricia said, after the server had gotten our drink order and left. We both ordered Coca Cola's.

"Oh, that is cool!" I have always wanted to come here, but never had the time. There is one on the island, but I have never been to it." I told her

"Yeah, I never went to the one on the island when I lived there."

I nodded and grabbed a menu. As I looked at the prices, I decided that it was…reasonable. After a few minutes of silence, Kevin's voice popped into my head, he said, "Hey baby, we are on our way, see you in a few minutes! I know that you can't respond, but I wanted to say that I love you!" His 'voice' faded away and I smiled and whispered, "I love you too!"

"What?" Tricia asked, I forgot she was still sitting there.

"Oh nothing, Kevin just said something sweet." I told her, but she looked very confused so I continued, "Oh I forgot to tell you that I can read minds."

"Oh! I have powers too. My hair, eyes, fingernails, and toenails change color with my mood." She showed me her fingernails, they were blue, meaning happy.

"That's really cool! But why are you so happy?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said sarcastically, "It could have something to do with the fact that we are at my favorite restaurant, or that my best friend came to visit me with her boyfriend. Hmm…I wonder!"

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Tricia always made me laugh, even if I wanted to cry.

After a few minutes, Kevin and a person with short brown hair, that I guessed was Charlie, entered the restaurant.

When Kevin saw us, he came over to the table. He got there and I stood up to hug him, he took me by the waist and kissed me. When he was done, he whispered, "I missed you!" into my ear.

"I missed you too, I don't like being away from you, no matter how long!" I whispered back.

Kevin let go of me so that we could sit down. Tricia had moved to the seat beside me and when I sat down, she leaned toward me and said, "Awe! You are so cute together!"

I blushed and could not help but smile. Kevin sat in the only seat available, next to me.

We ate and talked, Tricia introduced me to Charlie and Kevin kept saying he loved me. Every time he said it, I would say it back and smile. I paid for everyone's dinner, Tricia did not want me to, but I insisted.

Once I had paid, we went back to Charlie's house. Kevin and I stayed for a little while but I got tired so we said goodbye, and took the car back to the hotel. Tricia never did show me where she hangs out now.

On the way back, Kevin did not say anything or think anything at all.

When we got into the room, Kevin finally said, "Good, now we are alone."

"Yep!" Was all I could say, because Kevin was kissing me. When he finally released me, I said, "What has gotten into you tonight?"

"Your beauty! You are too much to handle and I love you!"

"I love you too, but you are never like this."

Kevin stopped kissing me and moved his hands to my waist, "If it was up to me, my lips would always be attached to yours."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"If it isn't up to you, then who is it up to?"

"Well…you."

"Oh and when did I every say that I didn't want to kiss you?"

"You didn't."

"Ok, I didn't think I did."

Kevin smiled and asked, "Does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want to?"

"Yeah! As long as you let me breathe sometime!" I laughed. Kevin laughed too.

"Will you be mine forever?" Kevin asked, he had a very serious tone now.

"Do you mean...marry you?" I asked him.

"No I mean stay with me and love me forever, and then when we get older, we can talk about marriage."

"Of course I will! I love you very much!" I smiled at him, just for reassurance.

"I love you too." Kevin said. Then I realized we were still standing in the doorway.

I walked over to the bed, remembering that I had pajamas in the car, so did Kevin. We put them in there so that we would have them if they were needed. "Be right back." I told Kevin. Without waiting for a response, I ran out the door, down the steps to my car, grabbed the clothes and ran back up. I did not stop when I got back in the room, I ran straight into the bathroom, leaving Kevin's pajamas on the bed.

I walked back into the main room less than five seconds later, and I realized Kevin had changed, too.

"Getting used to that?" Kevin asked with a smile.

"Yes, I am!" I smiled and laughed. Then I went over to the bed. I curled up into a ball and Kevin was instantly beside me. I looked at his perfect face, I was tired, but never wanted to stop looking at him.

"Sleep now my darling!" He whispered in my ear, then kissed my forehead gently.

I reached up to his lips, so that I could kiss him goodnight. "Same for you, sleep well!"

I fell asleep and it was a restless night, but I still slept enough to be good for the day. I didn't dream that night either.

When I woke up in the morning, Kevin was already awake. He was in the kitchen section of the room, making something that smelled like biscuits. "The hotel has a complementary breakfast." I told him, getting up from the bed.

"Yes I know. But this is more special!" He turned and looked at me with a HUGE smile across his face, ear to ear, and then he turned back to his cooking.

I ran over to him and put my hands around his waist. I lifted my self up on my toes to look over his shoulder and see what he was making. "Bacon and sausage?" I asked, going back to standing on my feet again.

"Yep! And biscuits!" he pointed to a small oven in the corner of the kitchen area.

"My goodness! You really do love me, don't you?" I smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Of course I do!"

"Yay! I feel loved!"

"You better!" He smiled again.

"I do. And I love you too!" I smiled, then let go of him, "I should have brought more clothes."

"Oh, that reminds me! This morning, I woke up at like 9ish and went shopping. I got a few things! Go look!" He pointed to a couple of bags in the corner. One of the bags said Hollister, the other said Abercrombie and Fitch.