I finally managed to leave the party at three in the morning. The last bus was leaving in thirty-five minutes, so I knew I had to get there pronto. Cassie's Halloween party had been a huge success, if the mass of drunken teenagers was any indication. The party was still going strong, with no indication of slowing down. I sidestepped a cat and vampire making out, and ran smack into Josh. His firefighter hat hit the ground with a loud thump, as his body began to fall towards the ground. I grabbed tightly onto his jacket and held him up until he regained his balance.

"Nate!! My man!!" Josh slurred. He rested his forehead against my left shoulder. "Where ya' going buddy?"

"I have a home to go to Josh. You know the thing with four walls and a roof. Can't miss the last bus or else my parents will murder me." I managed to get Josh into a standing position. "How much did you drink?"

"I dunno. You know what I just remembered? Playschool. Best year, like, ever." He began to laugh a really messed up deep laugh, and my senses were assaulted with the distinct scent of spiced rum. I smiled as he continued to ramble on about playschool. Something along the lines of how hot our teacher had been.

"I gotta go now Josh. You gonna be okay here?"

"Dude. You worry too much. I'll be fine. But you know what? I love you man. I freakin' love you so much." Josh wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning heavily against me. "I'm gonna miss you."

I laughed lightly. "You'll see me tomorrow. Promise. I'll come get you and we can go eat pizza or something. Okay?" I managed to disentangle myself from his tight grip with little difficulty. Then I left Cassie's house and headed out towards the bus stop.

The night sky was clear and perfect. It was a bit chilly out, so I pulled my sweater tighter around my body. My costume itched and my face was starting to sweat under all of the face makeup I was wearing. Slowly I wiped it off onto my sweater just as I neared the bus shelter.

The shelter was occupied with only one other person. It was some random teenager that I didn't recognize. His green eyes studied my costume oddly as I walked closer.

"Pardon me, but what are you supposed to be?" He sounded somewhat amused.

"I am a terrifying, flesh-eating zombie. Grr!" I made a half-hearted attempt to wave arms in a threatening manner before sinking down onto the bench opposite him. "What are you supposed to be?"

He grinned at me, revealing a mouth of perfectly straight and whitened teeth. "I am a mild-mannered citizen."

"Good for you. That must be so hard to pull off."

"Not as hard as terrifying, flesh-eating zombie. My name's Michael." He extended his arm out towards me. His fingernails were perfectly manicured.

"Hello Michael. My name is Nate." The handshake was good. His hands weren't clammy and he didn't hold on for way too long. "What are you doing out this late past the witching hour?"

"Went for a walk." He shrugged rather dismissively, and lounged casually against the bench. A thick chunk of his copper hair fell in front of his eyes, but I knew that he was still watching me. Studying me. I shifted nervously on the bench and averted my gaze. This guy was starting to creep me out. I felt his eyes look away as a car drove by, blaring some horrible rap music that didn't even rhyme. "So, what kind of zombie wears a shitty brown sweater covered in face makeup?"

I scowled angrily at his question. "What kind of mild-mannered citizen wears a black trench coat, and goes on walks at three in the morning? You look, and act, more like Vlad, Prince of Darkness."

"Vlad?" Those green eyes were studying me again. "I look like a Vlad to you?"

I dropped my blue eyes-my sister called them azure, whatever that was- and began to intently study the dirty bus shelter floor. "Vlad Prince of Darkness has a nice ring to it." I absently ran my hand along the edge of the bench seat, feeling the plastic designed to look like wood slide under my palm. A sharp pain in my palm stopped my hand. "Dammit." I looked down at my hand and swore again. The metal part of the seat had sliced my palm wide open. "Great, I'm probably gonna get some sort of horrible virus." I wiped the blood on my jeans, and sighed a little. Blood stains were brutal to get out. I looked up towards Michael, and jumped about a foot in the air.

Michael's eyes had widened to the size of dinner plates at the sight of my palm. They looked like they had darkened in color, from a peaceful emerald to a dark and angry hunter green. He sat on the edge of his seat his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His eyes never left my palm. I was starting to think that he was just freaked out at the sight of blood, until he licked his lips in a hungry way. I shivered and took that as my cue to leave.

"So, I'm gonna go now." I awkwardly stood up, avoiding his gaze. I pivoted on my heel and began to quickly walk back towards Cassie's house. I would rather risk my parent's wrath, than be stuck on a bus with 'El Creepo'.

I don't know how, but Michael was suddenly at my side, his hand wrapped firmly around my arm in a vice-like grip. "Don't leave. I'm sorry if I... upset you. Please, sit back down." His voice was warm and almost syrupy sweet. I felt my legs start to head back towards the shelter. I felt lulled, but that peace was broken the second I looked into his eyes.

His eyes were almost completely black, with little white left in them. I saw a weird mixture of hunger and something dark flash in those inky depths. It was enough to break whatever hold he had on he. I shivered and yanked my arm sharply out of his grasp. "Get your hands off of me you creep," I hissed. I quickly turned away from him and speed-walked towards Cassie's house. I was trying to keep myself calm, when I heard the footsteps. I stealthily glanced over my shoulder. Michael was following me. He was about three metres away, and I could tell that he was gaining on me.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears, drowning out every sound, other than Michael's relentless footsteps. What was wrong with this guy? Could he just not handle rejection well? I stole another glance over my right shoulder. Michael was now only about a metre away. My head shot forward, and I could feel my breath hitch a little bit. I turned the corner to head down Cassie's street. Her place was only about six houses down. The lights were still on, and I knew that I could probably make it if I ran. So I ran. I could feel my legs pumping frantically, my lungs gulping air. I couldn't remember ever running this fast in my life before.

I was only about one house away, when I felt myself being tackled from behind. I crashed hard onto the ground, absorbing most of the impact with my left shoulder and wrist. I felt my wrist pop as I connected with the hard concrete. I couldn't stop the cry of pain that left my lips. Michael's hands dug painfully into my injured shoulder, eliciting another cry from my dry mouth. Michael flipped me onto my back, slamming the air rather painfully out of my lungs. I wildly struck out, and felt my fist connect rather sharply with his left eye socket. His grip loosened, so I took that opportunity to knee him in his stomach. He suddenly rolled off of me, and I managed to make it to my feet. I stumbled towards Cassie's house, only a few metres from her front lawn. The door opened, revealing someone standing in the doorway.

"HEL..." I started to shout for assistance, when suddenly, my legs disappeared from under me. I crashed hard onto the ground, once again landing on my injured left side. Michael pinned me to eh ground, digging his knee painfully into my chest. I was short of breath, and I was trapped on the cold asphalt. Michael grabbed my sore wrist and twisted it angrily. My face contorted in pain. I looked up into his face and saw that his black eyes were filled with barely contained rage. He snarled at me, pushing my head roughly to the left, to get better access to my neck. Before I could even think to retaliate, he lowered his face down to my skin, and sank suddenly sharpened teeth into my flesh.

Pain shot through my entire body. It felt like my skin was on fire. I screamed louder than I had ever screamed in my life. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I gasped for air, still screaming in utter pain. I could feel Michael's teeth tearing at my neck. My vision darkened around the edges, and the pain began to fade away. It now felt like icicles were being stabbed into my skin. I had never felt so cold. A violent shiver ran through my body.

"Hey! What the hell is going on?" I could just barely make out the shouting voice. It was Josh."Nate? Is that you? What's going on?" Lights in the nearby houses began to flicker on.

Michael lifted his head away from my neck, and stared in the general direction towards Cassie's house. Dark red blood stained his lips. My blood. I shivered again. My body felt frozen, I was having difficulty thinking straight. Michael looked down at me and gasped. His eyes turned so suddenly from black back to green that I felt a little jolt of fear run through my system. His eyes were filled with regret, sorrow, and a bit of guilt. "I'm so sorry Nate." His voice was no more than a faint whisper. He quickly stood up and stared down at my prone body. "I'll see you in a week." And with that, he turned and bolted down the street.

My limbs felt like lead. I couldn't move my arms or legs. My eyelids were starting to flutter closed, when I heard multiple loud footsteps nearing me.

"Ohmygod! Nate." Josh sank down to his knees nest to me. I saw a group of other people standing nearby, some partygoers, others were concerned neighbours. "Call an ambulance." Josh barked the orders to a nearby spectator. He grabbed my right hand tightly. 'Nate, c'mon man, don't close your eyes. Please, stay awake until the ambulance get here. Please don't close you eyes." He suddenly stopped speaking. It looked like he was choking back tears.

I heard people trying to call the ambulance, their voices frantically describing the street address. Josh was trying no to cry, whispering for me to stay awake, and to not close my eyes. "The ambulance will be here soon," he announced, "You'll be fine. Remember, we have a lunch date planned out for tomorrow. You never miss a lunch date. I'll buy you all the pizza you can eat, if you just keep your eyes open."

I looked at him. I wanted to laugh at him and tell him that real men didn't go on lunch dates. That his attempts at humour were always lame, and that he was a total loser. I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me. That he wasn't just my best friend, how he was just like an annoying twin brother, but the words wouldn't come. I could only attempt a half-hearted gurgle before feeling light-headed. I knew that I wasn't going to last long. Whatever Michael had done to me, was going to be the end of me. I tried to fight the drowsiness overtaking my body, but to no avail. My body was betraying me. I finally managed to tilt my head up towards the night sky. The stars shone down on my face, and the coldness was gone, only to be replaced by darkness.