Author's Note: Well, I'm sorry you stumbled into this fanfiction, because it's nothing special. Still, I wanted to get back into writing, and a vampire story seemed to be the perfect way to do it. You won't see a lot of action in this first chapter, but I assure you, it'll get better.

ONE WARNING: At one point in the chapter, it may seem something... rated M is going to happen, but don't worry about it. Just keep reading.

Please read and review!


Chapter One

Almost

Kella Simms' head bobbed absently to the music flooding her ears. Sister Deirdre was speaking to the class, something about Pascal's Triangle, but none of it was getting through to Kella. She barely made the time to look at her Advanced Algebra teacher with how her eyes kept drifting to that little digital clock on top of the school's television, which glowed sadistically at her. She still had two hours before school was let out.

At least it's gorgeous outside. The windows of St. Kiara Catholic High School were small, but this one was just large enough to see the crabapple and cherry trees in full blossom, ones that, no doubt, her mother had helped plant when she was a kid. Sister Deirdre had hinted at it a few times, but Kella had never really been listening.

"Numbers... add up... expand... until line seven." Sister Deirdre continued her boring little lecture. Meaningless, considering Kella had no ambition to succeed in school. She already had her life planned out- find a husband with a master's degree in law and she was all set. Kella wrinkled her nose. As long as he wasn't one of those lawyers that had to chase ambulances to make money. That was just pathetic.

"Listening... earphones? Kella!"

Kella's violet eyes widened, but only with the slightest hint of shock. They drifted back to Sister Deirdre, who was frowning across the classroom. With one swift tug, Kella pulled the earbuds out. So much for Armchair Cynics during Advanced Algebra. If Father Markson knew half of the shit Kella listened to during class, he would probably try to exorcise her.

"Bless it," muttered Sister Deirdre, "do you ever pay attention, Kella?"

"You almost swore," Kella mentioned lazily, raising a pale brown eyebrow competitively.

Sister Deirdre's scowl only grew, and she marched across the classroom with her hands on her hips. "Just because I'm your aunt doesn't give you the right to mouth off to me in class, you little brat. You're lucky I don't send you to Father Markson right now."

As Deirdre's scowl took up more mass on the earth, so did Kella's smile. "You're a terrible nun, you know that?"

And Deirdre's features relaxed, exposing to the world the contour of her cheeks, marred by laugh lines and frown lines. It amazed Kella how different those two could be from each other, and how similar at the same time. Deirdre sighed and turned around. "I know," she admitted, "but I couldn't get a boyfriend, so what other option is there?"

Some of Kella's classmates snickered. Having a huge family, many of the nuns at the school were related to Kella. It was just how her family worked; if you couldn't get a husband, you became a nun. At least, that was how it worked on her mother's side. On her father's side, if you couldn't get a wife, you bought a house in Virginia, a shotgun and a six pack of beer and called it a day. Maybe it was her uncles and aunts on her father's side that caused Kella's mother to send her to Catholic school. She was well on her way to the beer, anyway. Once she got money from her grandma, money she assured her that she would be using on books.

Kella scoffed. Yeah, right.

"There's always prostitution," a boy called out, one from near the front of the class. This one was yet another of the students that had a tendency to speak out of terms. His light hair was a massive contrast to his tanned skin, and Kella could see the small indent in his lip where he must have taken a piercing out every day in order to show up for school.

Plus he's got a nice ass, Kella's mind wandered momentarily.

The entire class laughed again, and once more, Sister Deirdre's face became a map of hell with all of its wrinkles. For a sixty-one year old woman, she sure let herself go once she married God. Suddenly, Kella felt very sorry for God. He must have a lot of women like that, she thought to herself, and began to thumb through all of the nuns at that school in her mind.

"Porter Wood! To Father Markson, now!" Sister Deirdre screamed. Slowly, the boy, Porter, turned to Kella and smiled. He nodded and stood up, moving to the back of the room where the door was.

On his way out, Kella could feel the brush of fingers on her shoulder, and she smiled lightly to herself. Kella had received this invitation before, from many different guys. It was the same gesture used by everyone at that school, just subtle enough that the nuns didn't notice. One boy, however, who did notice, wolf-whistled. Sister Deirdre seemed to have returned her attention to Pascal's Triangle on the board.

Once Porter had left, Kella raised her hand.

Sister Deirdre, like she had some kind of a radar for these things, flipped around. "Yes, Kella?"

"May I use the washroom," she asked as politely as possible, flashing her aunt a big, toothy grin. Sister Deirdre sighed as she put her hand on her habit. At St. Kiara Catholic High, it was required to let a student use the washroom during at least one period of the day, but how would the nuns even know that they had ditched that way before? They wouldn't, so everyone left whenever he or she wanted to.

Finally, Sister Deirdre gave in, closing her eyes and waving Kella off. Kella smiled once more and, gracefully as she could, left the classroom. She knew all eyes were on her, and she was used to it; it wasn't very often at St. Kiara that you got a girl that would defy every single rule possible in hopes of expulsion.

She was almost hoping that someone would find her and Porter. Almost.

The hallway was dead, save for one blond head, leaning against the dirt colored lockers of the school. His brown eyes flickered over to her, some twelve feet away, and he pushed himself off of the lockers. Right across from their classroom was their destination: the men's washroom.

Kella stood where she was for a moment more, watching the uncovered camera of the school with her peripherals. As it moved away from her area, she walked steadily into the bathroom as to not cause any alarm. There was the click of the lock on the bathroom door, and the lights were all off. Kella's eyes had to take a few moments to adjust to the darkness, but she wasn't given quite the right amount of time.

In seconds, two hands were on her respective arms, pushing her back harshly against the tile wall. Porter's mouth was on her own, kissing her like he was suffocating and she was oxygen. Kella stifled a small moan- he was good, but there was one thing that she had learned about the boys of St. Kiara:

Don't ever let them think that they're giving you what you want.

But of course, she kissed him back. Though they could take their time, they didn't. There was still almost an hour left of Advanced Algebra. Sometimes, Kella hated the block schedule, other times, like today, it worked to her advantage.

Porter's hands traveled from her arms down to her wrists, and with his touch bringing a trail of fire. It wasn't like she didn't do this before- she did- but never with him. He's good, Kella thought, braindead from pleasure. His hands left her for a moment to stumble as he pulled off his tie, and his shirt along with it. While Kella got as far as loosening her own tie, she was disturbed as he gripped her wrists and held them high above her head, his kisses trailing down to her neck now.

He seemed to be completely and utterly focused on her, as well, like she was the last girl he would ever screw. They almost didn't react when the door to the bathroom opened.

Almost.

"My Lord!" Sister Barbara's voice shrieked. That woman could be heard over a train horn. At first, Kella wasn't worried, but it was hard to ignore that Father Markson was standing right next to her, an extremely worried expression on his face.

"Put your shirt on, boy," he growled to Porter. His attention was then brought back to Kella. The butterflies in her stomach were more like fireworks now, crashing and exploding. This was the third time she had been caught that month. "Kella Simms. I can't say I'm surprised. Come with me, we have a lot to talk about." He glanced sharply at Sister Barbara. "Deal with him once he's dressed."

Father Markson moved forward, out of the bathroom, without even waiting for Kella. Kella smoothed down her light brown hair awkwardly as she followed him out. A few other students that were in the hallway stared at her, at her still ruffled hair, her loose tie and her untucked shirt. Some smiled wryly. It was no matter- Kella wore them as badges of honor.

"I don't suppose I have to ask you what you and Mr. Wood were doing in there," he asked.

Kella shrugged. "I could ask why Sister Barbara was on her way to the men's bathroom with you, but-"

And just like that, Father Markson flipped around. "We heard a thump and other noises in there during a meeting, and we thought someone had gotten hurt. Although, both of us should have known better, with your record." He turned back around and continued through the hallway. Lingering students moved out of the way. Father Markson had a way of parting a crowd like the red sea. Without looking back at her and just lowly enough that she could hear, he said, "Next time, you may want to try a different bathroom."

And Kella scoffed.

The secretaries bade them both "hello" upon their arrival. She was already on a first name basis with Claudia and Dianne that she didn't even have to sign in anymore. "Will one of you retrieve Kella's things from her classroom? You know where it is," said Father Markson to the two of them.

Father Markson's office was directly across from them, and Kella sat down in the seat opposite his desk that she so affectionately called her own. "That's the third time this month, Kella," he said lowly and bitterly, "I'm just surprised you keep this up. You have so many relations in this school. Half of your family works in this school. How disappointed would your mother be if she knew everything that happens with you here?"

Kella couldn't hold back a laugh. "You don't know everything that happens with me here! The boys are just the beg-" Once Father Markson's eyes reduced into slits and his hands into fists, Kella pursed her lips shut, but opened them almost immediately after. "I know, I know," she sighed, "cleanliness is next to Godliness, spare the rod, spoil the child, all that fun stuff. I'll take my two days of detention and forge my mom's signature for you again, and-"

"No, not this time," said Father Markson, "you're not getting away with it this time. I'll have you learn some morals by the end of your junior year, so help me, Kella. It's one thing to defile yourself before holy matrimony, but in a Catholic school? What were you thinking?"

Kella shrugged. "My brother had gay sex at Jesus camp."

Father Markson put his fingers on his temples and began to rub calmingly. Maybe he thinks that will stimulate hair growth, Kella thought vaguely to herself. Shine a light on that shit and you'll blind the entire school.

At that moment, the tension was broken by Claudia awkwardly walking in with Kella's backpack and placing it next to her chair.

"Your brother's already graduated," he said patiently, "and he's not the subject of this conversation. Your family's affairs shouldn't effect your own behavior if you want to be a good, moral Christian. You do believe in the almighty God, don't you?"

Kella sighed. "Yeah, I do," she said, putting her arms behind her head and leaning back in the chair, "I know I do. Jesus, too, don't worry. I just don't agree with the idea that God doesn't want us to live our lives. I mean, think about it. Adam and Eve must have been fucking up a storm, and there was no such thing as marriage back then. And what about rabbits? Look at them!"

"There are conflicting views," Father Markson said too loudly and too abruptly. Kella could hear frantic whispering from Claudia and Dianne. She was once forced to work in the secretary's office for a month, which got her to know them, and like them- over half the time, Kella didn't show up, and every single time, Claudia and Dianne filled out her work papers for her to state that she had shown up to fulfill her punishment. "The point is, we do not allow this kind of vagrancy in our school. I'm pretty sure no high school allows that on campus, Kella. And I'm tired of you taking advantage of your poor quality cameras."

"Shit yes," Kella sighed, "you'd think that with all the money our parents have to pay to send us here, you'd be able to get some quality equipment, like better cameras or computers." She frowned. "Or you could at least paint this place a different color. It looks like fucking Hogwarts up in this bi-"

"Watch your language, Ms. Simms!" Father Markson slammed his fists on his desk, and finally, Kella shut her mouth. "I'm prepared to contact your parents and have you expelled. But I'm nicer than that." He sat down, breathing heavily. "You see, we have a transfer student. He's waiting in the secretary's office. His name is Topher Orson. He recently converted to Catholicism and decided to join us here at St. Kiara's. As part of the program here, he needs to have a student of his own grade level to show him around and help him out for a month. You're going to do it."

Kella, as per usual, spoke up and lashed out. "Hey, don't I get a say in this?"

Father Markson nodded. "Of course. You get to say 'yes', because at this point, it's either help Topher or be expelled. Which do you think your parents would understand more?" he paused, "'Mom, I had sex with a boy in Catholic school, so I'm expelled', or, 'Mom, there's a new boy at school that I offered to show around for a month'?"

"Well, if you're talking about which one she'd expect more, then it's the first. But understand? Yes, the second." As much as she hated and feared Father Markson, she had to appreciate his ability to be straight-up with her. Kella refused to let her violet eyes meet his dark ones as she re-adjusted her tie. It was better to walk out of a bathroom with a shirtless boy with make-out hair and clothes than to walk out of the priest's office looking like you've been beaten. Nobody was often beaten at St. Kiara.

Of course, those nuns did get a little testy.

"Kella, I'd like you to take the rest of the day off. You can walk home, right? It's nice out. Please, go home and clear your mind and think of what you've done. Pray a little bit." Kella stood up without needing further pushing as he wrote her a pass out of the school. "Kella, your morals may conflict with ours, but if it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're going to hell."

"What a relief," Kella said boredly and practically snatched the pass away from him. She was lucky to not have to go to Chemistry next period, but she'd have to chauffeur some convert around school for the next month? Part of her would rather take the expulsion. Her mother and father, however, had already made generous endowments to St. Kiara, so that simply wasn't an option. She walked slowly and carefully out of the office.

And, just then, Kella noticed a figure sitting in one of the chairs of the secretary's office, one that she hadn't noticed on her way in. He had impossibly dark hair, mussed like it was naturally that way, and eyes the color of oak wood that surveyed her, amused, as she walked out. He wasn't wearing the St. Kiara uniform, but rather a simple fitted black t-shirt and baggy blue jeans. While Kella managed to rip her gaze away from the boy that she suspected to be Topher Orson, he kept his eyes on her until she was out of the office.

The moment that Kella arrived outside of the room into the Hogwarts-like dimly lit hallways, a word rang in her mind. It wasn't quite out of her memory and she didn't recognize whose voice it was, but it seemed natural, like the voice belonged there. It said, "Tomorrow".

"I do need sleep," Kella muttered to herself, and practically ran through the hallways, which were empty now, or at least they seemed to be. When the security guard in front of the doors asked her for a pass, Kella simply dropped it and sped out of the building, into the warm, fresh air, a fantastic contrast to St. Kiara. She knew exactly where she wanted to go.

In her neighborhood in Missouri, crabapple trees and cherry trees were planted everywhere because of how beautifully they blossomed in the spring. Kella had been around them so much that she could tell the difference between both of them, though they were all beautiful. There was one cherry tree, however, that stood out amongst all of them as the largest, most full of life tree she had ever seen, and it was located in the field behind her house, the one that nobody ever went to anymore. Kella, however, seldom passed a day without visiting.

Her house was close, and so was the field behind it. Kella let out a sigh of relief when her feet slowed down and she arrived at the cherry tree. It was swaying gently in the wind, sending pink blossoms everywhere, like something out of the manga that she so often used to read when she was younger. It was there, in all of its glory, but there was something horribly wrong.

Sitting at the base of the tree was a boy... no, a teenager, with snow white hair, staring straight at her.

He could have been mistaken for an albino because of the pigments of his hair, but his eyes were a light gray and he had an obvious tan to him. His lips were rosy colored and his face almost looked like a child's, but a child's that had seen too much. He didn't seem half as surprised to see Kella at that tree as she did to see him there.

Kella had been standing there for a good minute before she finally spoke, "Hello," she said guardedly.

The boy didn't speak, however- he just nodded down once. Kella frowned; wasn't that some kind of a gangster greeting? Didn't nodding down mean that you're recognizing the other gangster as superior? Or was it inferior? Kella had no idea, but this boy didn't look like he belonged in the ghetto at all, anyway. "Who are you?" she finally said.

"Vessa," he spoke. His voice was indescribable. He seemed to speak not just from his mouth, but from the rustling of the leaves and the whistling of the wind through them. He sounded like he wasn't just sitting with the tree, but he was part of it, like he had always been part of it.

No, Kella thought, I'm just tired. Long day.

Kella didn't stick around to talk to the boy. She turned on her heel instead and darted away from it, running back to her house. She pushed open the fence and ran inside. The day had just been too weird; that Topher boy that was staring at her, and now some Snow White leaning against the tree, her tree? Kella threw her backpack on the kitchen table. Her mother wouldn't be home for another three hours. She could raid the fridge, she could hook her wii up to the big screen television, or she could call someone and have some fun right in the middle of the living room. Instead, she just rushed up to her room on the second story, and immediately to the window that overlooked her tree.

He was gone.

Kella scoffed, and shut her purple curtains over the window. "Of course."

Author's Note: Sorry the beginning's kind of slow, but I wanted you to get an up-close and... extremely personal... look at Kella and her personality before we get into the deep stuff. Yes, you've already met the vampire, we just don't know anything about him yet. ;D Don't worry, there'll be plenty of him in the next story, and Vessa, as well. Please review!