I'd watched him from a distance for four years. He was an incomplete vampire, who refused to drink human blood. This left his eyes a bright blue color. Not that any of that mattered to me. He was so handsome and kind, and my age. I wanted nothing more than to be friends with him, but I'd never had the courage to say more than a few words to him. From my balcony in my bedroom in Ferid's mansion, I watched him walking up the front steps to meet Ferid.
In this underground city, everything was dark. Dark colors, gloomy humans, and no sunlight. I much preferred Nagoya, where my father lives. But he was away on business, so I got sent here, to this boring city. The only thing that made my day seem brighter was seeing him. I chewed on my lip. Why couldn't he notice me?
"Mika!" Ferid sang his name.
"Mika," I said softly. Even his name made me smile.
As he reached the top stair, his head raised and his eyes met mine for a single second. Stumbling back into my room, I slammed the balcony door shut. Leaning against it, my hand went to my chest. My heart raced. Did he hear me? Or was it just a coincidence? Maybe he wasn't even looking at me. A small laugh escaped my lips. He definitely looked at me.
"And then you ran away like a chicken," I chastised myself. My mind started turning. Do I look okay? Should I change? In the bathroom, I jerked my maroon hair out of the messy ponytail and brushed it out. Chewing on my lip, I started to braid it around like a crown, twisting a hair tie to hold it together in the back.
My stomach growled. It had been a while since I ate human food. Being half human and half vampire could be exhausting. Blood wasn't enough. Human food wasn't enough. It drove me nuts. If I go through the west hallway to the basically unused kitchen, I should be able to avoid Ferid and Mika. I am not mentally prepared to see him.
The light in the kitchen flickered as I flipped the switch. This being my first time in here since I'd come back, I searched through everything. There wasn't a cooking utensil missing. And, the fridge was stocked with fresh ingredients, all things that I liked to eat. Ferid could be eccentric, but he did always take really good care of me when I stayed here.
Licking my lips, I pulled out the ingredients to make pancakes. Breakfast food is my ultimate weakness. It didn't take long to mix all the stuff together and warm up the pan. Only making enough for three pancakes, I set the fluffy stack on a plate. Before I drowned them in syrup, I found some fresh strawberries. They were hard to come by so I couldn't resist. Cutting them too fast, the blade sliced my palm. "Ouch."
"Are you alright?" Mika's voice came from behind me. The light above me shadowed as he leaned over me from behind. His eyes watched the blood slide down my hand. As my mind reeled for any words, Mika took my wrist and brought my hand up to his mouth, licking away the blood.
My face flushed, burning with heat. The cut was deep, but it wouldn't take more than a few minutes to heal. I'm sure he could hear my heart pounding in my chest, since he'd pulled me back against his body. Ferid had mentioned that Mika hadn't drank human blood in the four years that he'd been turned. It must be hard.
"Why does your blood taste so good?" Mika mumbled under his breath before licking up the fresh blood oozing out. His tongue felt warm on my skin, making me blush again.
"Because I'm half human," I said, swallowing down my fears. His eyes widened in fear, so I quickly added, "But it won't turn you, I promise."
"How do you know?" Mika asked, disgust in his voice. There was no way to tell if it was at me or himself.
I turned my head away. "I just do. My blood taste like human blood, but it won't turn anyone because of my vampire genes." The memories of those days plagued my nightmares. All the testing. All the experimenting. Worst of all, I'd learned that both of the races, human or vampire, were cruel. There was no escaping this messed up world.
"Bad memories?" Mika asked, pulling away. He ran his hand through his blond hair. When I didn't answer, he smiled softly. "Karina, I'm sorry. I'm not usually like this."
He knows my name! That made me blush. "It's okay. It must be hard holding for almost four years." Gees, that makes me sound like a stalker. "I-I mean…" I couldn't find any coherent words with him standing so close to me. "Um... you can… have more, if you want. I-I don't mind." To make up for my unconvincing words, I smiled. I really didn't mind if it meant spending more time with him.
Mika stared at me for a moment. His thirst showed in his blue eyes. "I'm sorry," he muttered before pulling me close to him, sinking his fangs into my neck.
No one has ever bit me before. It's no wonder humans struggle so much. It hurts! Biting my lip, I grabbed onto his shirt. My heart beat a little faster. He smells good… My cheeks grew hot as I realized how close we were. If only…
An idea popped into my head. He kind of needs me! If I let him drink my blood, we can be together more often. It's perfect! No one has to know he's doing it. I smiled, fighting the urge to touch his beautiful blond hair.
Mika pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Thank you." Awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his neck. "I interrupted your lunch."
I shrugged. "It's okay. It's still warm" I sat down on the floor with the plate of pancakes, and to my surprise, Mika sat beside me. "I'd offer you some pancakes, but I'm just really selfish," I joked out of nervousness. He looked so sad all the time, and made my heart hurt.
A smile grew on his face. "I don't think that's true. Most anyone would have been appalled at the idea of me drinking their blood, human or vampire."
I stuffed a big bite of pancake in my mouth to keep from saying something stupid. Every time I glanced at him, he was staring at me, puzzled. Swallowing my mouthful, I asked, "Mika?"
He blinked. "Have we met before?"
"Recently or…"
"When I was younger," He clarified.
With a nod of my head, I swirled around the last pancake piece in the syrup. "The first year you were brought here. We were both eight at the time." I paused at his confused stare. "Believe it or not, I'm actually only sixteen. I mean, I'll be this way forever. From all the research, they think I won't age past this, since I'm done growing." With a smile, I continued the story. "That other boy, um…"
"Yu," Mika said. Hurt was laced in his voice, and… longing?
I nodded again. "Yeah, I met him first. He tried to kill me."
Mika's eyes grew wide. "That was you?"
Laughing, the memory replayed in my mind. At least Mika remembers it. Yu hadn't wasted any time trying to kill me when he learned that I was half vampire. "My hair was way shorter and messy."
"I should have recognized all the freckles." Mika smiled. The longer we sat tighter, the more he relaxed.
I shook my head. "I hate them. Seriously, I am the only vampire with freckles. "Embarrassment coursed through me. That was the one thing I wished I could change. No other vampires had them. I think it had to do with their transformation.
His head fell to the side and he laughed.
What's so funny? I wish I knew so I could do it again. Mika's laugh was so attractive. Pushing down the growing feelings, I stared at him. It surprised me when he traced his fingers down my cheek. He's touching me!
"I like them," Mika said, leaning in closer. "They're like a little map of your face." Just when I thought I might explode, Mika sat back like nothing happened. "Why did Yu try to hurt you? I don't think he ever told me."
The way he asked showed that he cared about this boy. Vampires don't tend to care for anyone else, unless they're eccentric or have been around for a very long time. But even then, they don't make emotional connections because of all their humanity leaving them. Mika cared for Yu, seemingly more than his own life. Maybe this story will make Mika happy. So, I decided to tell him about that strange day when Yu attacked me.