Chapter 1: The Music

The Minnesota air blasted my arms, even through my black hoodie. Through my grey sock hat, I felt the chill sweep into my chin-length brunette hair. Involuntarily I shuddered as I left the Mall of America far behind.

I clambered on the bus, weighted with my heavy Hot Topic bags. I had just spent two weeks worth of pay from McDonalds on vampire t-shirts, black nail polish, and a new set of wristbands. My best friend, Raven, skulked up the stairs behind me similarly loaded. Faintly I could hear the guitar of Avenged Sevenfold wailing from her ear buds. We knocked past an old lady who protectively clutched her purse and gave us 'the glare' and averted our eyes from a couple who looked ready to rip off each others' clothes there publicly- nope. Strike that. The girl was tugging off her shirt now.

Finally we found the back of the bus, empty of passengers, and sat down. Without bothering to ask, I reached across Raven and grabbed her right ear bud, stubbornly sticking it in my ear. Her green eyes looked at me, amusement in their black-lined depths. I smiled apologetically, my own black tinted lips curving upwards. She brushed back her black hair (her namesake) and looked straight out of the window, mouthing the lyrics. My head, in turn, focused on the front of the bus where passengers were still boarding.

A Chinese man, dressed in a suit, texted on his blackberry. A mother, frazzled looking, clung to her five-year-old son who goggled at the couple still making out. The mother flushed and pushed him along; making sure their seat faced the opposite direction when she finally made him calm down. My eyes looked back at the people still coming like waves into the bus. Our solitude in the back wouldn't last long, I was sure. Then, as soon as the noise became unbearable, the people stopped. I watched the front seat warily, wondering if it was hiding another person…. Then, I saw him.

He boarded the bus with a grace long since pushed out of this world. The dazzling blue eyes, like sapphires, glowed as he surveyed the bus. His black hoodie sported a Korn logo, complete with what looked like the bands' signatures in silver. My eyes traveled down of their own accord, looking at his lightly ripped jeans, not designer though. Just worn. An ear bud poked out from underneath his shoulder-length black hair. Those same sapphires I had first noticed passed over me and Raven and I saw acknowledgement within them. Simply from one Goth to another. He passed the couple, showing no sign of recognition at the sounds they were making, even though they were no were near appropriate for a public place. He passed the Chinese man… then the tired mother, and stopped a few seats away. Now closer to him I saw he was tall and lean. Not quite muscular, but something in the way his arms moved hinted at a hidden power.

"Raven," I hissed, elbowing the Goth out of her metal-induced stupor, "Raven!"

"What Annabel? If you want to change the song you can just change it! Don't stab me to death!" she protested moodily.

"Look over there!" I nudged my head in the guy's general direction, hoping she'd get it. She didn't.

"What? The love birds over there, sucking face? I wonder how long they've been going without oxygen… can't be good for their health, can it?" she muttered to herself, turning the music down with a black nailed thumb.

"No! The guy! Listening to music. Goth!" I couldn't help but stare at him again, my breath catching. He was smiling faintly, lost in his music.

Raven's head turned, her eyes searching greedily. Even though she was in love with a girl named Alyce (pronounced Alice like in Alice Cooper) that was her next door neighbor, she still enjoyed looking at guys…. Funny guy vampires mostly, "Well, he looks cool, but you know me. More for the goofiness. He's still cute," she added diplomatically.

"I wonder what he's listening to…" I said to no one in particular.

Raven grabbed my face and turned it back to her. "Oh, hell no! You can't seriously get like this today Annabel! We were having fun! And now you'll get all depressed 'cause he doesn't know you and you'll look for him everywhere and get moody when you don't see him and then-"

I cut her off quickly. She was growing louder and louder, talking faster all the time. "Shhh, Raven! Don't worry! I'll be fine… more than fine actually. I won't fall for him! Seriously. He's just cute," Raven eyed me skeptically. I blushed a little, and looked down quickly. "okay, he's hot… really hot," I tried to infuse my voice with exasperation, but all that came out sounded like an embarrassed teen. Not like a normal nineteen year-old Goth. In a final attempt to show her how annoyed I was becoming, I smacked her arm. She smiled a little. What was I thinking? Violence was her element! She quickly jabbed me back in my ribs. I squeaked involuntarily. She laughed, her hair swinging back with her head. My cheeks grew red again as my hazel eyes flicked to Goth Guy. He stared at us, not looking repentant at all when he saw me staring at him. Quickly, I ducked my head behind the seat and stifled a giggle. Raven finally figured out why I hunched over so quickly and she looked at him.

I waited and waited, but her head never moved. Eventually, I peeked up. She was still watching him… and he her. "Raven!" I hissed at her, my eyes wide. "Raven, stop doing that!" she didn't appear to hear me. I grabbed the top of her arm and pulled downward, throwing all of my weight into it.

"Huh? What?" my best friend blinked, a blank expression on her face. Then it quickly changed to chagrin. "What'd you do that for?"

I looked back up at Goth Guy. He had resumed his previous position… with one exception. He had sunglasses on now. The black shades prevented me from seeing his eyes, whether they were closed or not. Beside me, I felt Raven try to straighten up to see what fascinated me so much. I planted a hand firmly on her back and shoved her back down, following quickly.

"You were staring at him!" I whispered. "It was creepy,"

"I wasn't staring at him! I looked at him for a second before you pulled me down. I hit my head damn it!"

I leaned back from her, my eyes wide. "A second!" I snorted, "Yeah right! Try three of four minutes!"

She backed away. "No way. You're just jealous I had the guts to look back at him!"

"Is there a problem?" I heard a velvet voice behind my head, sending my nerves over the edge.