Author's Note:

Yes, this is a new story. I stared it awhile ago, and thought I'd give it a try, and don't worry, I wont neglect my other stories. :)

This is taking place in Toronto, Ontario. None of these places are real from what I'm aware of, because I've only been there once.

Enjoy. :P

CHAPTER ONE

Melinda

"Shut up!" I barked at Jake Cosen. He was totally pissing me off.

"Oooo, you gonna hit me?" he taunted, giving me his amused smirk. "Let's see if I'll actually feel it."

"Don't you tempt me!" I growled, clenching my fists at my side. I was not in the mood to be bothered by him.

"Here, I'll willingly let you." He turned his face so I had a clear shot of his cheek. I wound my fist back, and I was about to shoot it forward when someone grabbed hold of it, spinning me around.

"You don't have to stoop down to his level Melinda," Chrystal Lee told me, but glared over my head at Jake. "Come on." Not letting go of my hand she dragged me from the cafeteria.

"Let me know if you wanna go for Round 2!" Jake called after us.

"I could have served that guy lunch if you had let me," I complained, once we were clear.

"Not in your condition you're not," she sighed. "Goodness Melinda. You need to take it easy and calm down. You're not yourself." Easy for you to say, I thought defiantly to myself, folding my arms. How could I take it easy? I lost my best friend to those....monsters, AND I've got the biggest headache in the history of recorded headaches. Not to mention my nose was been running like a faucet. Then stupid Jake has to go and pull his usual crap and pick on me about having a friend who was an even more freak then he was before. Goodness, did he have to act so immature? And to make it worse, no one minded. They just laughed their performed robotic laughs and went along with him. Yeah, I'll have to say the last month has been extremely crappy, so I deserve to be a little pissed every once in a while.

I just wish the year didn't have to start the way it did. I missed talking about stupid stuff with my phone pal. I missed loitering at the mall and getting in trouble by mall cops with my partner in crime. I missed staying up all night playing Halo with my Co-Master Chief. Most of all, I missed my Gonzo. Curse September 4th. Curse that day with the most dangerous hex you could find. I should have known that things would get worse, even though I tried my best to find the silver-lining.

That morning I woke up to find the sky dark, and the ground wet. The trees were shaking in a strong breeze, refusing to be overpowered, and my dog was whining under my bed. No matter how small, Cherry hated it when it rained. I rolled my eyes and went straight into the bathroom, to make an estimate on how long I'd be working. I ran my fingers through my black hair, to find it wasn't that difficult. Straightening it would be out of the question, since my hair would become a giant frizz ball by the time I got to school, so I just pulled it back in a sloppy ponytail. Next I walked back to my room, and picked up my cell phone, using speed dial 1.

Yeah, that's right, my BFF is #1. I call him way more then I call any family members. And yes, my best friend is a boy. We've been best friends since we were in grade 2. I was drawing in my Muppet coloring book, when he came over and asked if he could color with me. I replied with a 'no', because I was selfish, and wanted to keep it for myself. The next day I forgot my book at home, but he had one of his own. I felt bad, but I went over and asked if I could color with him. He smiled and said 'yes'. BAM! Instant friends. That's also how he got his nickname Gonzo. So much better than George.

"Hetho?" Came a stuffy answer.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked, completely surprised at how bad he sounded.

"I'm sick," he replied, barely sniffing. "I'm so congested. I can't even bweathe through my nose."

"Come on!" I whined. "You can't expect me to start school without you!"

"You can manage one day," he groaned.

"Not the first day," I complained, dropping on my bed. "Come on, you have to come."

"I don think going out in this weather will help impwove my sickness," he mumbled, taking a breath to cough. "Ow, headache."

"Gonzo," I pouted, rolling over onto my stomach. "The day will get better. Trust me. We'll be able to stuff our faces with the cafeteria mystery meat drowned in horseradish, shine the reflection of the sun on Mr. Glisterin's head when he's turned around, vandalize a locker! Come on!"

"I don know Lin." He called me Lin, since he thought Mel was too common of a nickname.

"Please!" I begged. "I'll do all the driving!"

"You're gonna walk here and drive my car?" he asked, sounding unconvinced.

"Hell yeah," I chirped. "A little rain never hurt anybody. Besides, I'd do anything to drive your Cadillac"

"Well..."

"PLEASE!"

"Fine," he sighed, giving in. I heard him sneeze, sniff, and cough afterward. "If I'm not better by lunch I'm leaving."

"Fine," I agreed. "I'll drive you home, and I'll skip the rest of the afternoon, lounging at your house. Where one of us goes, the other follows. See ya in a little bit."

"Okay," he sniffed, hanging up.

A little rain my butt. It was coming down even harder by the time I left. I wish I had a car. My parents refused to buy me one, and I couldn't buy one myself since I was still unemployed. I had my G1 though, thanks to Gonzo helping me pay for it. I know I wasn't suppose to be driving without a licensed driver in the car, but who cares? I've been driving since I was 13. My uncle let me drive his truck around an abandoned parking lot. I haven't gotten caught yet, I just hope my luck didn't run out today.

When I got to Gonzo's my pants were soaked. At least the umbrella helped to keep my upper half dry. I knocked on the door, and waited patiently. It was not even ten second when Gonzo opened the door.

"Holy...!" I couldn't even finish my sentence. He looked like complete, and utter crap.

"Told yeah," he groaned holding out his car keys. His eyes had huge bags under them, his face looked paler then usual, his chocolate brown hair was was neglected and sticking out in every direction, and he looked really thin, even though he was quite built.

"You look worse than on the phone," I commented, taking his keys. I was beginning to feel guilty about making him go to school.

"You can see me through the phone?" he barely cocked his eyebrow me.

"Yes, because I've got that kind of ability," I smiled, hoping it would make him feel better.

"Can you cure stuffy noses?" he chuckled, leading me to his car.

"Sorry," I sighed sympathetically. "Only runny ones."

"Very funny."

I absolutely loved his car! It was a beautiful '74 Eldorado, in a shiny shade of blue. It was also a convertible, but sadly we were forced to leave the top up. I started up the car, and swooned at the sound of the engine. I didn't know a lot about cars, but I knew I loved this one. The radio started up, with Rascal Flatts harmonizing through. Another thing we had in common; we loved country music. Non-Vampyre country music that is. Rascal Flatts was one of those few famous bands who happened to not be Vampyres.

"You ready?" I grinned, putting the car into reverse.

"Nope," he smiled weakly back. "But I guess I can't have T. P. Malcolm go through a day without me there to say something stupid."

"You don't talk stupid," I protested, backing out of the driveway as carefully as I could.

"If you say so," he sighed, closing his eyes. He really did look like crap.

When we got to school, little did we know we'd have a surprise waiting for us. Trust me, it wasn't a good one. I climbed out of the car first with my umbrella, and met him on his side, so he could walk under it with me. We only walked a few paces when I saw him. He stood leaning against an SUV, only about 10 feet in front of us. His form looked at home in the darkness, and his Mark shone a brilliant blue against his pale skin. I froze, and stared at him. Why is that thing here?, I thought.

"What is it Lin?" He followed my gaze, and that's when he spoke those sacred words, causing both of us to jump at the silky authority in his voice.

"George Jameson! Night has chosen thee; thy death shall be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!" One of his hands left his pocket, and he pointed a long slim finger at Gonzo. I'll admit I felt relieved it wasn't me being Marked, but my panic returned when Gonzo crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain, and landing in a fetal position.

"Gonzo!" I dropped down beside him, throwing away the umbrella, and my hair became instantly soaked. I didn't really notice though, since I was trying to comfort Gonzo while he had his head buried under his arms. A minute went by and neither of us said anything. He didn't move, and I couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you okay?" I asked barely above a whisper.

"You hate me," was his muffled reply.

"Huh?" I asked, totally confused.

"You hate me," he repeated, this time turning his head to look up at me. His eyes were red, as if he was crying, but the most noticeable thing was the outline of a crescent moon on his forehead.

"You hate them," he said, staring up at me with pure sadness. "You hate Vampyres. And now I'm one of them. So you must hate me."

"No," I said shaking my head. "I'd never hate you." It was true I hated Vampyres. I didn't like them at all. They were always beating humans out at something. Most of the celebrities and famous figures were Vampyres. I'd never imagined Gonzo being Marked. Even so, he was still the little kid who I wouldn't share my coloring book with. He was still my Gonzo.

"I'd never hate you," I repeated. "You're still my best friend. No stupid Mark will change that." I actually wasn't quite sure of my own words. Would I really let my hatred get in the middle of the best friendship I've ever had? Especially when he didn't do it by choice. I hoped I wouldn't.

"Are you sure?" he asked sitting up. We were so drenched that the rain didn't bother us anymore, especially after what just happened.

"Yes," I smiled sincerely. "We're still best friends, and will continue to be long after we're both dead."

"You'll be long dead by the time I die now," he replied, trying to make it sound a little funny.

"Then we better do a lot of crazy stuff to last a few life times," I nodded. "Come on, we'd better call your parents. You'll have to go to that school right away huh?"

"Yeah," he sighed "Let's get out of the rain." I helped him to his feet, and we made our way across the rest of the parking lot.

So here I was, best friendless, suffering from a bad cold, and pissed off.

"You should go home," Chrystal suggested. "I could give you a ride home."

"Yeah sure," I shrugged. "Let's go then." The two of us walked out of the school, not bothering to go to the office first. We were crossing the parking lot to her Volkswagen, when a powerful voice enveloped the air around me, sending chilling thrill up my spine at the sound of my name.

"Melinda Bree! Night has chosen thee; thy death shall be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!" I turned toward the voice, utter horror on my face. It was him. The same one. I was sure of it. And he was leaning against the same SUV. The day of Gonzo's Marking came back to me. The way he fell and shouted in pain made me scared. Was it really going to hurt that bad? Oh yes. I barely took it all in when I sent crumpling to the ground. Pain shot through my forehead, and was sent through my limbs. I was in so much shock I couldn't even scream. My whole world turned black.

"Melinda! Oh, Melinda!" Chrystal was down by my side, as I struggled to see. It was so hard to do, since the sun was now ten times as brighter then I remembered.

"Dammit," I cursed, slowly sitting up. "Not me. Why me?"

"Are you okay?" Chrystal asked, her eyes weren't scared, just flat out worried.

"No," I snapped. "I just became a shitty leech."

"We should get you home," she panicked. "You have to go to that school; the one for vampyres. I'll drive you home. Come one." Before I could even protest, Chrystal had me on my feet, and practically dragging me to her car.

"You have to give me daily updates," I said, shoving Gonzo's CD's around the edges of his bulging suit case. "So email me every day before you go to bed."

"I know," he replied nasally, laying on his bed, a towel over his eyes.

"And you can't forget about me," I warned, even trying to shove some of his movies in it.

"I know."

"Also-"

"Lin, it's okay," he sighed exhaustedly, sitting up, and wincing at the light. "I'll just be outside the city. I'm not going over the ocean."

"We could still fall out of touch," I snapped, slapping his case shut, the zipper no where close to meeting.

"We'll be fine," he replied, opening the drawer to his night table. "And here's why we wont fall out of touch." He pulled out a large picture frame designed to hold several pictures. All of them were of us, and a bunch of the fun times we had.

"This'll be a constant reminder that you exist," Gonzo smiled. "No matter how hard I try, I wont forget about you. Even though sometimes I wish I could."

"Don't make me make that headache of yours worse," I threatened, plopping myself on his suitcase. "I think we need more weight. Where's that fat dog of yours?"

"She's not fat," he said, looking hurt. "You're so mean."

"No, I just tell keep it real," I grinned innocently. "Hey Jen! Come here girl!" I shouted out the door, hoping the St. Bernard was nearby and heard me. My calls were answered by the thudding of giant paws up the stairs, and the giant body that barreled into the room.

"Come here girl," I giggled, patting on the empty space next to me on his suitcase. Jen obediently jumped up and laid her full body weight on it, giving me a sloppy kiss in the process.

"Alright, zip us up," I ordered Gonzo.

"I thought you were packing for me," he complained, putting the towel over his face again. "I'm sick.

"Quit being a sissy and come zip this thing shut," I snapped playfully, ready to kick him in he butt. "Don't be lazy." He groaned again before finally getting up. He fumbled with the zipper, and with great effort, he finally got it all the way around the suit case.

"Your father's ready to go," his mother called from downstairs.

"Coming!" He shouted back, causing himself to go off into a coughing fit.

"They're going to brainwash you," I warned giving him a firm look.

"No they aren't," he sighed, blowing his nose.

"Yes they will, and when they do, you'll just keep saying that you're fine, when in actuality you're not."

"It's not a movie," he chuckled lightly, nudging me and Jen off of his bag. "You going back to school?"

"Pfft, how can I show up there without my wingman?" I scoffed.

"You still need your education," Gonzo reminded, picking up the suitcase.

"When have I ever cared about that?" I shrugged.

"Lin," he sighed, giving me the 'don't be stupid' glare. "Promise me something."

"And that would be?" I asked, my eyes wide with innocence.

"Stay in school, and don't do anything stupid," he said, patting my head.

"EW!" I screamed slapping his hand away. "You just blew your nose and didn't wash your hands! You want me to get sick or something? Then I will have to skip school."

"You'll be fine," he laughed, grabbing me in a big bear hug. I laughed, and hug back, but then his grip loosened.

"This really is goodbye," he thought looking depressed.

"Just because your turning into a Vamp doesn't mean its goodbye," I said, lifting an eyebrow. "You get to come home for Christmas right? And isn't there that monthly visit thing? I'll just tag along with your 'rents. Maybe we can even arrange to see a Midnight movie or something."

"Yeah, sounds good," he nodded, sniffing. "Uh, I gotta go before I blow my head off."

"Alright, out the door you sick bug," I laughed shoving him out the into the hallway with Jen behind us.