Lela stood high up on the skyscraper ledge, terror written all over her face. Wind screamed in her ear, and thunder roared as the storm overhead raged. The cold air bit her skin, and she shivered as a gust of wind tore through.

With an ear splitting shriek, Lela's foot spilled over the edge, and her leg scraped the smooth sill of a window as she began to fall, skirt billowing out around her. She closed her eyes, and as her arm shot up in reflex to grab the ledge, but instead, something warm wrapped around her wrist. Looking up, she saw blood red eyes, long white fangs, and the face of her rescuer.

He pulled her up easily, standing her on the edge of the cliff. Her bare feet met the cool smooth face of the steel, and she felt her eyes widen. The man's eyes were so red; he was tall and slender but well muscled. His long black hair fell in his eyes, which were gleaming at her in the strangest way now. Almost like he was…hungry?

He slowly raised her thin wrist to his mouth, like he was going to kiss it. Without warning, his fangs plunged deep into the underside of her wrist, and blood flowed out. He lapped it up greedily, as Lela let out a scream of agony. She began to fall limp, but his long arm snaked around her waist, holding her up, as he drained her blood with small noises of pleasure, on and on and on…

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With a shudder, Lela shot up in her bed, red black and blond streaked hair in disarray and panting for breath. The moonlight shined in from the window on her wall to the left. Slowly, her heart calmed, and she looked around with her pale gray eyes, half expecting the blood drinking man to be standing in the shadow of her closet door, garnet colored eyes aglow. But all was quiet.

She lay back down, pulling the covers around her as she curled into a ball on her side. Her bed was smallish, but it was her last night here in her own home. Tomorrow she left for boarding school, in Kannin. And she couldn't wait; her stepfather was paying (she hated him) and she wouldn't have to talk to the women she called mother or the pig her mother married. She could graduate in four years, and be on her way.

Lela knew the only reason her mother's husband was paying was because he wanted her out of the house. And thankfully he had paid for her whole tuition for the next four years, so she didn't have to come home for holidays or anything. And a trust fund was set up with a sufficient amount of money; therefore she wouldn't have to call the house for anything. It was the perfect scenario.

Lela sighed deeply. She had relaxed while the thoughts floated through her head, and now, comfortable and sleepy, she lowered her eyelids, and drifted into a dream less sleep.

The nest morning, her alarm went off at four, before the sun was even up. Lela pulled her hair up into a long, messy ponytail, threw on some shorts and a tee shirt, knee high striped socks, and her converse, lined her eyes with eyeliner, and she was ready to go. With a last thought, she shoved her ipod into her pocket.

The house was silent still, but it was an awake silence; Lela lugged her large suitcase and carryon bag down the long, winding stairs (the rest of her luggage was already shipped) and out onto the lawn. The large white house was lit up from the inside, and the car waiting out front. With a sigh, Lela set her bags on the wet grass, and crawled into the backseat of the car. She pulled out her ipod out, and closed her eyes as the beat drowned out the sound of doors opening and closing, and drifted back into sleep.

Hours later, Lela was boarded on the plane, and flying to Kinnan. The first class compartment wasn't crowded, and with a glass of water and a window seat, Lela was content. She watched the mountains go by, until the terrain became more and more urban. Houses, then towns, then cities came into sight. With a sigh, Lela pulled one headphone out and stretched. In just a few hours, she'd be at her school.

Once the plane was landed, and the car had set off, Lela was free to get lost in her thoughts. She wondered what the kids would be like. A small part of her hoped they would be down to earth and nice. The majority of her knew they would be stuck up and rich. Not that she cared what people thought about her, it was just nice to have friends sometimes. Lela had no friends at her old school. People laughed at her clothes, commented on her makeup, just in general didn't like her. Once it got out that she had the occasional vodka, rumors spread, and before you knew it, she was the one girl freak show. But that was why she didn't mind what people thought anymore. Or care; people weren't worth trusting anyways. A scowl unconsciously crossed her pale face. Ugh.

The car slowed, and pulled to a stop. Lela opened her eyes, and peered out the window. They were here.

The dorms were huge, elaborately carved buildings done in some old French design, and a huge tree sat off to the side of the courtyard that was bordered by the four dorm houses. Two for girls, and two for boys, or so Lela had read online. The administration building was off to the right, and an old concrete path led to it. The sky was overcast, but it didn't dampen her spirits.

Pulling on the handle, Lela opened the car door, and swung her legs out. They landed on the glistening grass, making a squishy sound. The driver had gone to the trunk and hauled out her two bags, and gotten back into the car.

With a friendly wave, he looked over his shoulder and backed up, down the long drive.

Lela grabbed the leather handles, and began walking to the administration building. She admired the view as she did; mountains and clouds ruled over most of it. There was plentiful grass and shrubs lined all the buildings. Ivey crawled up the dorm walls. It was amazing.

Once Lela made it inside the office, a blast of cool air hit her, causing goose bumps to pop out. It was COLD. The secretary looked up, glasses low on her pointed nose.

" And you are…?" definitely a snob voice. Lela made a face, and the women raised her eyebrows.

" Yea. Im Lela de Coupe. Where do I go?" with much important looking paper flipping, the women finally found Lela's dorm number.

" Your in...Hmm…lets see…. Dorm 2. Dorm One and Three are the Boys Dorms, girls are never to enter them unless otherwise specified, and classes start in two days." Her tone was bored, as If she had gone through this a hundred times. Which she had. Lela didn't bother to respond. Turning up her ipod, but still with only one headphone in, she dragged her suitcase back down the concrete path.

She saw the oh so adorable sign in front of dorm 3, and she turned; opening the old wood door while holding two bags was a slight problem, but by holding her ipod in her mouth, she managed it. Once inside, there was a common room, and stairs off to the left. Inside the common room, three girls that could have been clones stared at her. All three had short, straight blond hair, ripped mini skirts, and fitted name brand tees. Lela turned in disgust as their whispers tore through the air. Her suitcase bumped up the stairs, and when she paused to look up, the wooden stair case spiraled up and up for all six levels. It looked like a long way to go. Assuming she would just pick a room, Lela turned onto the flat that led into the first floor rooms. A quick look in confirmed that all the beds were empty, and unmade.

She dragged her stuff to the bed nearest the window, pleased to see the knarled branches of the courtyard tree curled up past her window. Excellent.

The rest of her stuff would be here in around three days airmail time. With a sigh, Lela plopped onto the bed, and she looked around.

The rooms were separated by doors that all led into this flats personal room. There were twelve rooms per flat. A mini kitchen sat, out of the way, beside the bathroom. There were three bathrooms per flat, and a shower room was on the ground floor.

The walls were plain beige, the carpets tan. A wooden dresser sat in the corner, and other than that, it was empty.

Outside, on the stairs, Lela could hear stamping feet, and loud laughter as the rooms began to fill up.

She opened her shoulder bag, and a folded piece of paper fell out. It was a picture of the entire campus. There were her dorms, the school building, with all its towers and turrets, and what looked like more dorms. But she hadn't seen them yet.

Thinking for a minute, Lela decided to go check out the entire campus. She got up, and after squeezing past the flocking girls on the steps, she walked out of her building. She looked around for the path that would lead to the school buildings. It took a moment, but then she located it, off to the side of dorm one. Now there was a group of guys outside it, laughing and talking. They stared at her as she walked by, and she met every one of their gazes until they looked away.

I wonder how many would like to talk instead of get right into the dirty stuff? She couldn't help but wonder. Ever since Mackie… she stopped her thought right there. It was dangerous territory. Something she had never talked about with anyone. It was something that had changed her view of guys forever. Stead, she looked around.

She had entered some woods, and now that it was dark, she was wishing she had her ipod to keep her mind of the…creepiness of it.

Then, up ahead, she saw lights. The school building was out in a small clearing now, path leading to it from two different directions. She focused on the school. It was huge, with lots of towers, and pillars leading around the front. There were lamps on every… fourth pillar, and the ones that were didn't have them cast dark empty shadows into the outside corridors. But they were lessened by the bright full moon over head.

She looked back the way she had come, and then forward again. A few more minutes wont hurt… she argued with herself. She went on. As she walked between two pillars, her feet soundless on the stone, she heard soft voices. Never a subtle person, she walked out. Two of what had to be the most beautiful guys she had ever seen were talking. One had longish red hair, and the other was a blond. The red head was slightly taller, and he looked up when she stepped out. The blonds' head snapped up, revealing blue eyes. The red head's brown eyes darted to the blond and back to her.

" Hey there." He said in an easy voice, as he folded his arms. The blond stared at her, a smirk growing on his face.

" Hey… I guess?" she was a little weirded out, and she guessed they could tell from the look she felt on her face.

Lela stepped to the side closest to the wall, and began to walk past the blond. He put an arm out, which Lela stared at in disbelief, her face traveling to his.

" Are you serious?" she asked in shock. This was a prestigious, privately owned school. This was happening here???

" I'm just saying, maybe you should stay here for a little bit." A scent was wafting toward her. It was like rusty metal. Lela raised a hand, and brought it down on his wrist. With a yelp, he dropped it.

" I'm just saying I don't think I will." Acid dripped from her voice. The red head turned around, not watching. And suddenly, she was pushed against the wall. The smell was stronger now, and suddenly it hit her. The smell was blood. Her nose wrinkled. The blond was almost drooling now, looking down at her.

" So what's your blood type?" he asked in a sugarcoated voice. She put her hands on his well-defined chest and pushed. He didn't budge. As she looked at his face, he opened his mouth slightly, and two white fangs slid out.

Lela felt her eyes widen, and she went cold. This is just a dream. Vampires aren't real. I've had a dream like this before. Don't be scared. Don't be scared. But when she felt the blond pull her shirt aside slightly, and his fangs brush the skin between her neck and shoulder, she shrieked, and squirmed as hard as she could. Nothing happened. The blondes eyes were a dull red now, and the red head was looking around in boredom.

Lela continued try and hit him, and he pulled back for a moment. She sigh or relief turned into a gasp as he locked her wrists together into a vice like grip, pulling them to her side. His other hand held her shoulder against the wall, and his hips pinned her's, crushing her in his shadow against the rough stonewall.

Flashbacks started, and her useless struggles stopped. Her eyes dimmed and spaced off into her memories. The same rough struggle…the same feelings of helplessness and rage, horror and defeat. Lela closed her eyes.

His hair brushed her shoulder now, and suddenly she felt the fangs tracing over her skin lightly. If this is the worst then I can bear it unti-AHH! Lela's mental scream of anguish tore from her throat as she felt his fangs plunge deep into the muscle in her shoulder, and her eyes flew wide open shock and pain. Greedy sucking sounds escaped from his mouth, and a small trail of blood trickled down into her shirt.

Light-headedness sank in, and Lela sagged against the wall and, disgustingly, against the blond. The sharp pain in her shoulder was still there, but she couldn't focus on it. Her breathing felt slowed, and Lela felt like she could go to sleep. I guess this is real. What a strange thing to happen…vampires in the school? For some reason, she was giddy.

There were footsteps in the distance. Or maybe it was close by? Lela didn't know. But someone was yelling. Mercifully, the pain in her shoulder vanished. The weight was gone off of her; nothing was holding her up. Slowly, she began sliding down against the wall. The cold air was nothing more than a passing chill before something picked her up. They feel like arms. Why are they so warm? Lela snuggled into the thing. A person she assumed. Her shoulder was nothing more than a dull throb now. With an exhausted sigh, she let her eyes, which were clenched shut, relax until they were just…there. And then she faded out.