-Chapter 1-

It was another bright and sunny morning. I sighed sadly,my eyes still full of tears. The only reason I was up so early was because I had just awoken from another horrific nightmare. It was all so vivid, another horrible memory of my horrible childhood. I closed my eyes as a tear fell down my cheek. A horrible past...turned to such a sweet and normal present. Only time will tell of my future. One thing is for certain, my own kind accepts me...where as my "guardians" kind had not. I belonged with the vampires of Cross Academy, not with the bullying,uncaring humans of Kindred High. I cryed silently as I thought of my past hurt and my present friends. My vampire friends love and care for me. Especially-I shook my head while blushing.nows not the time to be thinking of him...or is it? I sighed. Ever since my first day here one certain vampire has show me alot of attention. And i do mean ALOT of attention. A certain cute, light blond haired, light green eyed vampire. I blushed feircely at the thought of him. If it wasn't for him I would honestly think about running off. Ishook my head . No i'd never do that, not to any of them. And certainly never to HIM. I sighed. My sister so kindly refused to share a room with me...regardless of her knowing that i hate staying in a room by myself. i wonder if Kaname-sama would let- I blushed. Maybe i should just try to go to sleep..No..thats basically impossible now, after that dream...maybe i should go downstairs...walk around the dorms or to clear my head. I got out of bed slowly and walked out my door. Then i made my way down tha grand staircase and into the big common area. I sat down on the fluffy sofa next to the stairs with a sigh. I closed my eyes.So early in the morning...I havent been awake at this time since i lived with my my life was a living hell...abuse every day..always getting blamed for things i didnt do..so many punches...never able to defend myself for fear of giving away my secret...THE secret. The secret that humans should never know...That vampires exist. I sighed sadly.

"well your up bright and early, huh?" a familiar voice said from behind me.I opened my eyes and gasped.

"Sorry, Ayane. Did I frighten you?" he asked as he sat beside me. god why does he have to be so cute...

"Hello Takuma-kun" I said while blushing. A very worried Takuma Ichijo looked at me with such concern.

"Is something wrong,Ayane? you seem a bit troubled."

I looked at the floor as tears started to fall as i said," no just...nightmares again. same old routine." I suddenly felt him hugging me.

He sighed and asked, " Do you want to talk about it, Ayane?" I closed my eyes and sighed in content. I loved being held by this beautiful vampire. And so often, oh so often do I wish that we was more than just friends. I was lovestruck. For the first time in my entire life. I felt as if he lets me go he'll disappear. or maybe it was because i thought that if he let me go I would break to pieces.

"I think I'll be ok, Takuma-kun," I said trying to reassure him. He didn't buy it.

"Your past has hurt you. You need to talk about it, or do something that will get it off your mind at least,"he said. I blushed feircely and giggled at my sudden silly thought. Takuma blinked in confusion."did I say something funny?" he asked. I smiled up at him and shook my head.

"no i just had a funny thought," I declared. He sat there a minute then I watched a huge grin spread across his face. He was smiling at me. For me. Takuma Ichijo was actually sitting here smiling for the ,orphaned Ayane Soulstarr. I cryed at the thought of my orphaned childhood.

*flashback*

"BUT I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE I PROMISE!" a very upset 7 yr old Ayane yelled.

"YES YOU DID! YOU LITTLE MONSTER! YOU DO EVERYTHING WRONG! YOU'LL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING! YOU AND YOUR STUPID SISTER WILL ALWAYS BE WORTHLESS TRASH!" yelled a very angry guardian mom.

Our guardians hate us, and they don't know our secret. They just think we're freaks of nature that grow too fast...She hit me. Not a spanking, a punch. A violent punch meant to cause harm.

I Cryed in pain,"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! PLEASE STOP PLEASE! "

She smirked in amusement. That monster of a woman who had so much nerve as to call me a monster."Yes you did Ayane. And until you admit it you're not allowed to go to bed." She crossed her arms and stood glaring at me." Lamps don't break themselves"

I cryed louder than before. My twin sister heard me crying and woke up. " HEY STOP PICKIN' ON AYANE!"

My guardian looked at her harshly and yelled," IF YOU DON'T GO BACK TO SLEEP YOU'LL BE IN JUST AS MUCH TROUBLE! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! YOUR "Precious" SISTER IS THE ONE AT FAULT HERE AND SHE WILL ADMIT IT BEFORE SHE MOVES FROM THAT SPOT"

Ai glared at her. She hated it when I got picked on. But she was a vampire the same as me, which means we can't defend ourselves. I screamed out in fear and sadness and aggravation. "BUT I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" I yelled at my guardian.

SHe looked at me indifferently and said," oh really? Well...Ayane i'd have to say that I DON'T CARE YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU WILL NOT MOVE FROM THIS SPOT FOR ANY REASON UNTIL YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WAS IN THE WRONG! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? PEE YOURSELF FOR ALL I CARE! IT'LL JUST MAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT WORSE!"

I cryed again. "yes ma'am...I'm sorry i broke your lamp.i was stupid and knocked it off please don't hit me anymore."

She smirked then slapped me. Watching the tears well up in my eyes, she showed a look of enjoyment and said,"no more books for a week understand?"

I nodded with my eyes full of tears.

She slapped me again and yelled," I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

I cryed and said,"yes ma'am"

She took my books from me and stomped off quite satisfied. I crawled in the bed with Ai and we hugged each other tight. "I wish to be free of that horrid woman oneday," she said to me in a whisper.

"me too, Ai, me too" I whispered back.

*end of flashback*

Takuma hugged me tighter.

"it'll be alright, Ayane, I promise to keep you safe," he said. I sobbed loudly in his arms. He held me close to his chest, stroking my hair and saying kind words to comfort me. My sobbing slowed as I took in his scent. A scent so unique it was hard to describe with words. A scent that was a mix of rose tea and dusty books. A scent that i'm not ashamed to admit, i loved.

" Takuma-kun," i sighed contently.

He smiled at me and said,"are you better, Ayane?"I smiled sweetly at him and blushed.

"yes," I replied. He put his hand on my cheek and smiled cutely at me."Ayane," he said. I blushed harder as I looked in his light green eyes. The same eyes that drew me to him and held me captive. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Ayane. Would you care to go read manga with me in my room?"he asked politely. I blushed and giggled causeing him to grin.

" Ummmm we might wake up Shiki. Maybe my room would be better suited for quiet manga reading,"i stated. He grinned widely at me then got up, pulling me up as he did.

I stumbled a bit, but he caught me with a sweet smile and said," We'll read your manga so I don't have to go bother Shiki to get mine."

I giggled before saying,"Agreed". We stood there for about three minutes, staring into each others eyes before Takuma did the most random thing. He picked me up and bolted up the stairs with me in his arms, straight into my dorm. Closing the door with his foot he walked over to my bed and set me down gently before running to my dresser, grabbing a random manga ,running back to the bed and sitting beside me. I giggled at his cheerful attitude through the whole thing.

Grinning widely he asked,"do I amuse you?"

I giggled again and said,"yes you do. its cute when you do that." Realizing what I had just said, I covered my mouth with my hand, blushing from embarrassment. He showed a look of shock for a minute before grinning again. He scooted closer to me and hugged me tightly, sighing in content. I smiled and blushed before pulling away from him slightly.I gazed into his beautiful eyes for a minute before kissing his cheek. He smiled at me before pulling me into his lap.

I blushed fiecely then asked,"wh-what are you doing?" He grinned and opened the book. Then I caught on. He was giving me a better veiw of the book.

"Making sure you can see the book, Aya-chan," he said. I giggled, because I don't think he realized what he just called me. We sat there reading manga for hours until I fell asleep where I was.