Authors Note!: Kay, so... this is a little story I made up for the Night World lovers like me! There's going to be original characters in here, I give you my garaunteee! And I'll spice it up a little. If you have a Night World character that you made up, I'll put him in here, if the character fits! If the character's in a story, you can send me the story and I'll give you credit for it! I love giving credit! And you guys can suggest, love, or hate anything you want in this first chapter, I'll take whatever you give me. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!(:
Chapter One.
I narrowed my eyes as I talked to the predator. "You may have hypnotized my whole family and drank their blood, but you don't have that effect on me."
The bloodsucker smiled slightly, baring two pointed fangs that seemed to glisten in the sparse light of my kitchen.
"I understand that you would like to drink my blood, but I'm afraid it won't be that easy." I made a slow, cautious step to my right. He didn't move, just smiled slightly at me still. "Because I happen to be..." I sucked in a deep breath. "a witch!" I cried as I scooped the vampire up into my arms and tickled him.
"Hey, go easy on him, Jessie! Do you know how long it took to get those fangs in?" my mom, Louise, said reproachfully as she walked into my kitchen, carrying a plastic cauldron full of candy. Louise wasn't really the type of person that loved to go all out for holidays, and I respected that. She was tall and thin, with strait blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was a dancer back in the day, like I am now.
"Awh, relax, mom!" I said ruffling the little vampire's hair. He smacked at my hand and laughed.
"Twenty bucks on the vampire," my step dad, Frank called lazily as he walked into the kitchen. Frank was wearing his normal attire, jeans and a T-shirt. He had a lot of hair for a thirty-three year old, but he kept his black locks cropped short.
I pursed my lips. "I don't know, Hugh can't be that strong. I am a witch, you know." I smiled as little Hugh squirmed restlessly in my arms.
"Hughie's three and could take you, Jess." Frank looked serious. "You're a twig, kid. Do you eat?"
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry I have a figure to watch out for, Frank. I work all of the food off."
"Figure to watch," Frank muttered under his breath.
Hughie grabbed a lock of my long dark brown hair, in waves tonight, and tugged.
I looked down at the little tyrant. He had dark blue eyes that seemed to know what you were thinking and were almost depthless. His black hair was longer than most two year olds, but it suited his little round face. Hughie tugged once more, growing impatient.
"All right, all right," I said with a laugh. "You can be so bossy sometimes, mister!"
"Vampire!" Hughie exclaimed, though it sounded more like "Vampiyo!"
"Okay, mean little vampire, down you go. Try not to eat too much candy, mom will kill you."
"Rawr!" Hughie exclaimed as he ran out of the room. I watched as he ran out with a small smile on my face.
"That boy sure is something," I said to myself. He was too cute for his own good.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Hughie's the only man you need in your life," Frank said looking after Hughie also.
I acted like I didn't hear that comment, that was a fathers dream. Not having the hormones kick in until you're out of the house. "Well, I'm gonna go get ready," I said walking out of the kitchen and through the living room to my room. My house was small, but I liked it. It had class.
I walked into my room and tried to get through all of the clutter. Unlike my mother, I was not organized. Clothes were thrown all over my bed, along with shopping bags and a couple of laundry baskets with clean clothes. I slid on my witches costume. It looked like a black tutu, but there were neon green ribbons zigzagging down the top to make it look like a sort of corset. The ends of the tutu part were the same color of neon green as well.
I walked into the bathroom to do my hair and makeup. Smoky eyes- a must- were actually easier for me to do because I practiced doing my makeup all the time. I bought green extensions to put in my hair as well. I took a long look at myself in the mirror before starting. I looked nothing like Hugh, though my mom says the resemblance is shocking considering we have different fathers.
My real dad is long gone, but I don't really care. All he and my mom would do is fight when they were together, and all he would do is drink when he was alone. I grew up watching it. I do get a glimpse of him every time I look in a mirror though. The dark brown hair, the brown eyes, the sharp angled cheekbones. That was all from him.
I did my makeup and placed my extensions carefully in to make it look like the tips of my long waves were neon green. I checked myself over in the mirror once more, Frank was right, I was a twig. It was in a good way though. I wasn't scary-skinny, and I definitely didn't have an eating disorder.
"Jessie! Michael's here!" my mom called into my room. She probably thought that I was still changing.
"Okay!" I called back. "I'll be right out!" I pulled on a pair of black tights and a pair of black point shoes from an old recital and ran out to the front door.
And there was Michael waiting for me. "Hey," he said with a nod. "You look good."
"Thanks," I said looking over what Michael was supposed to be. He was wearing white pants, a white shirt with a white jacket over. The white shoes he had on must have been his dad's. No way on earth would Michael have bought those. Michael has been my best friend since kindergarten. We did absolutely everything together. So, by some mystical best friend bond, we could always tell when something was wrong. Michael was also the most handsome boy I had ever met. He had golden blonde hair and golden eyes to match. He was in great shape, I'm pretty sure last time I counted he had at least an eight-pack. His skin was tan, despite it being October. "Yeah, you look good, too," I said and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
He understood why. "I'm a Pimp. My cane and fur coat and sunglasses are in the car."
I laughed. "How creative."
Michael smiled. "Always am." He held out an arm. "You ready?"
I hooked my arm with his. "Yeah, lets go." As we walked out of the house, I called goodbye to my family. I only heard a faint "rawr" from Hugh in reply.
Michael Stradford's car was a white jeep, very fitting for a sports jock like him. I climbed in and put my seatbelt on. Although I was seventeen, I didn't have a car, I never really needed one. My mom was home enough for me to use hers if there was ever an emergency. Most of the time Michael drove me around, because wherever I went, so did he. He even came to some of my dance practices to prove it. Michael got in behind the wheel and started the car. Immediately the music started playing. Kill Hannah. I hummed along with the song.
"We're gonna be a little late," Michael said staring at his clock. It was 7:16 pm. "Johnny's gonna be mad." Michael smiled. He was probably looking forward to the fight. No, probably not. Michael never fought. He was too gentle.
"Why would he be mad?" I asked. I was pretty sure we weren't the only ones going to be fashionably late to Johnny Nichol's Halloween party.
"Cause if you're late, he won't get to spend as much time with you."
I rolled my eyes. I thought Johnny had gotten over me. I guess not. The thing was, I never really dated. Sure, guys asked me out, but not the guy. The guy that I have been waiting for ever since kindergarten. I sighed. Apparently Michael didn't get the hints. I spotted something in the cup holder just than. I gasped. "That's where my glitter went!" I picked up the small case and opened it. "I was looking all over for this!"
Michael smiled. "I was gonna give it to you, but I sort of forgot."
I smiled. Michael was pretty forgetful. I pulled down the visor in the front seat and flipped the mirror open to put some glitter on.
The brown eyes of my father were staring back at me. I put the glitter down and closed the mirror. I hadn't thought about my father in a while now, not since Frank came along a few years ago and brightened our lives immensely. Especially with Hughie. They both helped.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked, looking over at me with a look of concern. See? I told you the whole best friend bond thing was creepy.
"Nothing," I said shaking my head. "I've just been thinking about my dad a lot lately."
Michael's hands tightened on the steering wheel. I'm sure he was thinking of the same memories that came flooding into my mind at that instant. Late night calls from me to Michael, crying. Me running away to Michael's when things got too out of hand. Michael checking me over, a habit at the time, for any new bruises, asking where my dad hit me. We were stopped at a stop sign now. Michael took a deep breath. "That alcoholic son of a-"
"Michael!"
Michael turned to face me. "Don't think about him, Jess. He doesn't deserve an ounce of your thoughts. He's gone now and he won't bother you ever again." I knew if Michael had the chance, he would kill my dad. No matter how caring or gentle Michael was, he always loathed my father with a hate that was even surprising to me. Michael was always with me, so most of the time he was there to protect me. He had taken countless hits from my dad for me, and I would be forever grateful.
"I know, Michael-"
"Do you?" Michael asked, taking his hands off of the wheel. "Jessica Parks, Do you realize how hard I've tried to get you to forget him?" He took my hands in his and stared into my eyes, his golden ones scorching.
"I can't forget him," I whispered. "He's everywhere. My nightmares, my scars, my mirror." I shook my head, trying to fight back tears. "I see him in the mirror, Michael. In my eyes. He's mocking me."
"Oh, Jess," Michael whispered, pulling me into his arms. "You may have gotten the color of eyes from him, but they aren't his eyes. Please try to grasp that."
"I don't want to end up like him," I whispered.
"You won't." He pulled back and smiled. "As long as I'm around, I won't let you."
I smiled back.
"Now, don't think about him, lets try to have fun tonight." He smiled a winning smile and started to drive again.
Michael was right, Johnny was mad that we were late, but didn't show it as much as I expected him to. Maybe he was in too much of a party mood to be really peeved.
Michael was immediately swallowed up by a crowd of girls, as usual. I was used to it. I was even part of the act sometimes. I didn't feel like it right now. I walked to the group of people dancing in the huge basement and joined them.
I loved dancing. The music simply swept me away of all worries and I let my legs take themselves away with the beat. I closed my eyes and let myself feel the music. And than a pair of familiar arms were around me. I didn't open my eyes, but changed my stance so that I was swaying with my partner, not dancing solo anymore.
"What happened to my bait?" Michael asked me, whispering in my ear.
"I thought I would play hard to get for once," I replied with a laugh.
Michael laughed too. "Well, that works, too."
I was considered "bait". I acted like Michael's date, getting even more girls to notice him and want to talk to him. I didn't know why though. Michael told me because they were extremely jealous because someone as good looking as me was with someone as good looking as him. It didn't exactly make sense, but it worked, none the less. I turned to face Michael.
A slow song had come on now and only couples were on the dance floor. I recognized the song almost instantly. "R.E.O Speedwagon?" I asked.
"Hell, yes, R.E.O," Johnny said coming up to Michael and I. "You wanna dance?" he asked.
I threw my arms around Michael. You better not let go, I told him in my head, I hoped he understood.
His arms tightened around me. "Sorry," Michael said. "I already called every slow song with Jess tonight."
I sighed silently in relief and rested my head on Michael's shoulder. "Thanks," I breathed as Johnny walked away angrily.
"Anytime." He laughed. "You owe me."
"I owe you for so much I'm practically going to give you a lifetime of servitude for payment," I mumbled. It was true.
"Hmmm..." Michael seemed to process this. "Sounds tempting. I might just take you up on that offer."
There were no more slow dances after that, I had the feeling that Johnny had something to do with that. Like clockwork, Michael was surrounded by girls in no time. I was walking back from the drink stand when someone caught my eye. He was a boy. Very tall and lean and pale. His hair was curly and bright orange. I was sure I had never seen him before. And he looked... scared. But that look faded as he searched the room. After one quick sweep over the room, he was actually smiling. No one seemed to be paying attention to him at all. Until a girl began to make her way across the floor and towards the boy.
I had never seen this girl either. She was tall and pale, but not scary pale, she pulled it off. She had long blonde hair that was expertly curled and styled. She was dressed as a gypsy girl. With a well put together outfit and bracelets on her wrists and ankles. She smiled at the red haired boy and led him through a door in the room across from me.
The red haired boy followed without hesitation. Of course he did, she's gorgeous.
So why I started across the dance floor and through the door that they went to was beyond me. I guess intuition was leading me on, every step I took a little siren in my head would go off telling me of how dangerous this was, though I didn't know why.
The door led to a bedroom, but there was no one in it. And than I noticed the two French doors swung open wide and led to a set of stairs.
I raced up the stairs and looked around. I was now in Johnny's back yard. It was bigger than a football field, by a lot. I sighed. I had no idea where they had gone. But than I heard the boy screaming, and ran in that general direction. The siren in my head was so loud now that it was giving me a headache.
I saw the group of people forming in the dark field. There seemed to be four of them, three against one. I saw red hair and knew who that one was.
I took a deep breath and inched closer. There was hardly any cover in the backyard so I went about as close to hear them, and that's as far as I dared.
"You have the wrong person!" the red haired boy snarled.
"So let me guess, you were at a vermin high school party just for the hell of it?" a boy said. He was tall, but that's all I could tell about him. The three were silhouetted in the dark, the only thing that stood out were hair colors. Two blonde, one darker- I couldn't tell exactly how much darker, and one red. "You've got to be an idiot for thinking we would buy that trash."
"But it's true!" the red haired boy exclaimed.
"Where's your costume?" the blonde gypsy girl asked. "You stuck out like a sore thumb in there."
I had unconsciously crept up closer as the conversation went on. The two blondes were in costumes. The girl as a gypsy, the boy- looking almost exactly like the girl- was dressed as a pirate. The boy, who I now realized had long midnight black hair, was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt.
"I have a costume," the red-haired boy said with a small smile on his face. And than, in a split second, I was being pulled up and dragged painfully by the arm. "How about blood thirsty vampire?" the boy asked. I winced as he dug his nails into my arm.
"Oh my God," the blonde girl hissed.
"Stupid Vermin!" the blonde boy muttered.
The other boy just stood rigid, ready to fight.
"Hello, darling," the red head whispered to me.
"Ew," I muttered and tried to wriggle free from his grasp. "Don't touch me. Let go of me!"
The boy laughed. "I'm going to have to. You're saving my life right now." He turned and looked at the three standing before him. "How about this: I might let the human live, if you let me free."
"I don't like the might part," I whispered.
"Neither do we," the boy in the black shirt said. "No deal." He was slowly inching his hand toward his belt, which I realized were holding weapons.
"Oh, God," I whispered. "You're all crazy." I was sorry I ever followed the two out here in the first place. Stupid, stupid me!
"Don't be like that," the red haired boy said. His hand went to my hair and pulled my head backward. "I tell you what, I'll make this quick."
"I said don't touch me!" I screamed and turned to kick him in the shins- hard. The wood of my point shoes connected with his shin and make him shout in pain. I stumbled backwards and out of his grip. Six hands caught me as I fell, than four disappeared.
I looked up to see the boy with hair the same color as the night sky staring ahead of him, searching for something. I moved out of his grip and stood up.
"Clane, Anne!" he called. The two blondes appeared.
"He's gone, Kace," Anne said, shooting me a look between hate and disgust.
Kace scowled. "That's a first." He sighed. "Guess we'll have to hunt him down again when he comes back out of hiding." He smiled, as if anticipating the challenge.
I shuddered. "You guys- what?- just go around killing people!?" I exclaimed, taking a step away from the three beautiful psychos.
"What?" Clane asked. "You think that thing was human!?"
"Shut up, Clane!" Anne hissed.
"What else is there? There's human and human and human..." I trailed off. There was no point talking sense into lunatics.
"That thing was a vampire. This isn't a world with just humans, little girl." The blonde boy looked like he wanted to hit me.
"I'm just as old as you, little boy. Don't call me that unless you want a stick shoved down your throat." Kace actually seemed to smile a little at that. He had a nice smile when it wasn't menacing.
Clane glared at me. "I say we kill the human and go back to headquarters."
Anne seemed to agree.
Kace didn't. "We can't just go around killing people. Like this girl said."
"She knows too much, thanks to Clane's big mouth," Anne said. "And I don't think she's the-" A stern look from Clane that seemed to carry the message "Who has the big mouth now?" in it shut Anne up about what she was just about to say. She shrugged. "There's no other choice."
"Mind control." Kace didn't really need to add on you idiot, it was as if he stamped it on Anne's head with those two words.
Clane sighed. "Fine. Give me a sec." He closed his eyes as if concentrating very hard on something. A vein on his forehead bulged.
Nothing happened. "Okay, I'm sorry I interrupted your little crazy-party," I said backing away. "I'm leaving now."
"It didn't work," Clane said, sounding annoyed and surprised at the same time.
Anne shrugged. "Looks like we have to kill her," she said sweetly, cracking her knuckles.
I opened my mouth to say something, but the sound of running footsteps shut me up.
"Jess! Jess Parks! Jess, where the hell are you!" It was Michael.
I couldn't open my mouth to sound a reply. My voice was stuck in my throat. And than I saw him.
He breathed a sigh of relief and ran up to me. I was immediately in his arms. "You scared me half to hell, Jess!" he whispered in my hair. His arms tightened around me.
"Um, sorry," I replied. I turned to look at the three that were just discussing how to kill me.
Like a kick to the gut, the air washed out of me. They were gone. Not a trace of them left behind. So maybe I was the one going crazy. "Oh, God," I whispered as my knees collapsed.
Michael caught me, like he had trained to catch fainting best friends before tonight. I regained my balance. No, I wasn't going crazy. I swore I wouldn't be like my father. I pushed myself out of Michael's arms. "No, no, no!" I screamed. "There were three- three people here!" I was getting angry now.
"I didn't see anyone, Jess-"
"Michael!" I was on the verge of tears. "They were going to kill a boy... and than they were going to kill me!" I shook my head when Michael tried to take me back into his arms.
"We should tell the police..." Michael was looking around, as if trying to believe me.
I sighed. "No. That wouldn't do any good." I felt dizzy. "Can you take me home?"
Michael nodded, looking anxiously at me. "Yeah, lets go." He waited until I was next to him to start walking himself.
When Michael pulled the car up to my house he took in a deep breath. "I-" he started, but I put a hand over his mouth.
"Save it, Michael. I'm sorry I freaked out back there. I must be seeing things. I've been so paranoid lately," I gave a weak laugh.
Michael moved my hand away from his lips. "I just worry about you, Jess. Really, you're all I ever worry about. And now you say that people want to kill you-"
"They didn't want to kill me," I interrupted. I reconsidered. "Well. Clane and Anne wanted to, but I don't think Kace wanted to get his hands dirty."
"They had names?" Michael asked in disbelief.
I quickly tried to cover up. "That's why it all seemed so real. They had names and characteristics and voices...." I was staring off into space. "Michael, you said you wouldn't let me end up like this."
Michael looked like he was about to lose his mind. "I- no, don't say that, Jess- you won't- I mean you aren't-"
I sighed and closed my eyes, breathing in the cologne-ish smell of Michael's car. "I know you won't, Michael. I think I just need some sleep."
"Yeah, sleep," Michael whispered. His voice sounded strained. "Sleep will help."
I laughed. "'Night, Michael, thanks for the party."
"I'm pretty sure Johnny will be mad you didn't say goodbye to him when you left." Michael sighed. "Good. That guy's a jerk."
"I thought you liked him."
"Not after I saw the way he looked at you."
I sighed. "You're so protective of me." I smiled. "Thank you." I liked it when Michael was protective of me, it made me feel loved.
"Well, you're about the only person I know that can go crazy in Oklahoma."
"Are you kidding?" I argued. "This place is so boring, every resident in Tulsa will lose their mind at some point in their life."
"Lets hope not." Michael laughed.
I opened my eyes and looked at my beautiful best friend. "Well, even if it was in my imagination, you saved my life. And that's not the first time, either. Thank you."
He smiled. "It's no problem. That lifetime of servitude still up for grabs?" he asked. "It's yours," I said with a laugh.
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I was back in the field, searching. They had to be here somewhere, they just had to be.
"Looking for something?" a strangely familiar voice asked quietly, almost caressingly.
"I think you know," I replied, trying to get my voice to sound like that.
Kace laughed. "Thought so." He sighed. "You know what this means, right?" he asked, arching one perfect eyebrow.
I stood my ground. "I don't see why."
Kace shook his head sadly. "You're human. We are... not. You cant know about us, this is the only way to keep you from exposing us, since mind control obviously doesn't work."
I took a deep breath, finally accepting the fact that these people really weren't human. "What are you?" I asked quietly.
Kace looked a little taken aback. "I'm afraid I can't tell you," he said, regaining his composure. He smiled a grim smile, that somehow made butterflies erupt in my stomach.
I felt a set of hands grab my arms to hold me in place from behind me. I didn't try to struggle, though.
And than I felt something sharp against my throat, cutting it open.
End of Chapter One! I hope you guys like it so far, trust me, there's going to be character's that you guys know and love, but I'm not sure which ones. You guys can tell me in a review. Next Chapter is coming PRONTO! I swear it! But I'm freaking tired right now, so I'm going to have to do it when I've had a few more energy drinks. REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK SO FAR. Constructive Criticism is loved by me, I could probably use it more than others.(:
F.Y.I! I may not have EVER mentioned this on here before, but reviews make my day, no lie! So your love is my boost for the day. Thanks! Peace!