Red Moons

This town needs a bit of a wake-up call, don`t you think?
~ Damon Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries

"…though the sun should poke out by midafternoon. In other news, the body found in the woods last night has been identified as high school senior Kyle Marcson. The cause of death is unknown, though forensic experts speculate the death was accidental. Classes will still be held at New Dover High today, though a memorial service will be conducted today at 1:00 in the cafeteria. Community members are welcome to attend. In other news…"

Luke shut the TV off and looked to Nathaniel, his uncle. "You know it wasn't me," he said slowly, quietly.

The man stormed out of the room, offering no reassurances. Luke gulped, a million things he'd be able to say to defend himself running through his head. He was careful. He never hunted on people. The few times he'd slipped, he'd been smart enough to get out of the area.

If the council thought he was responsible, he was doomed.

His uncle reentered the room, a phone pressed to his ear. "I know," he murmured, rubbing his temples. "God dammit, you think I don't realize that? Just tell me what happened, and tell me what you told them."

Luke was forced to wait as his uncle paced the length of the living room. He dug his nails into his palms so hard that he began to draw blood. The nervousness he felt in his stomach was rising, becoming so intense that he could feel-

Ice-cold hands wrapped around his neck quickly brought him back to reality. "If I end up having to defend you in front of the council, it's going to be hard if the slightest bit of guilt puts you in this state," Nathaniel said venomously. "Now put your fangs away."

"I'm not guilty!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about." They both knew it wasn't true. "You're lucky it was Dawn who did the autopsy. She snapped the boy's neck, made some story about how he'd probably gotten drunk and fallen, and then an animal got ahold of the body."

"But you know it wasn't me."

"Just get to school."

Bad luck seemed to follow Percy wherever he went.

It was his first day at a new school. Whatever. It wasn't like he'd been the new kid a thousand other times. Whenever a first day was particularly rough, Percy always took comfort in the fact that they'd probably end up moving in a few weeks anyway.

Something always happened – a freak accident, a minor crime – and Percy always somehow seemed to be in the middle of it.

Things went missing, only to be found in Percy's locker. Someone egged the principal's car, and empty egg cartons somehow found their way into Percy's backpack. Once he'd walked by the cheerleaders while they were practicing the pyramid, right as the base gave out and a girl broke seven different bones.

No one ever directly blamed Percy, but the malicious looks and turned backs made it clear enough that he'd never be accepted. Eventually, his mom would also give up hope and they'd pack up and move, hoping the next town would be the one they stayed at.

New Dover was the third town this year. Percy had gone to sleep feeling hopeful that this would be it, the place he finally fit in.

He woke up to the sound of his mom making breakfast over the muffled voice of a newscaster. He could only pick out a few indistinct words.

"…body found in the woods last…senior…forensic experts speculate…"

Percy was completely dressed and down the stairs before the news segment was over. His mom looked at him, worry lines forming on her forehead. "Honey, I'm sure it's nothing," she said, reaching over to shut the TV off. "They think he tripped and snapped his neck. Just an accident."

"I didn't do it!" Percy blurted out, then wished he could put the words back in his mouth. They made him sound so…guilty.

"Of course you didn't," his mom said, turning her back and continuing breakfast. Percy saw something blue peek out the edge of the skillet.

"But someone dies and then the new kid shows up, Mom! Do you realize how bad that looks?" Percy protested. "Mom, this happens everywhere we move."

"Honey…"

One look from Percy was enough to make her trail off midsentence. Nervously, she looked at the clock. "Maybe I should drive you to school. We wouldn't want you to be late on your first day."

Translation: You're acting out and I don't know how to deal with you.

New Dover High wasn't the worst school Percy had ever seen, but it was far from the best. The main portion of the building was brick, though several additions had been added with no regard for cohesiveness. Pasted on the main entrance were signs about how the building was under surveillance and weapons of any kind weren't allowed.

Public schools sure knew how to send a welcoming message. At least there weren't any metal detectors and clear lockers.

People were standing in tight huddles, speaking in whispered tones. Occasionally, Percy caught bits and pieces of conversations. At least no one was staring at him. He wasn't sure if he preferred being invisible to the center of attention.

In front of one of the lockers, a memorial had been constructed. A cheap desk had been propped up, and on it a lone candle burned. People had started writing goodbye messages and attaching them to the table and locker, surrounding a giant picture of a boy's face. He had a lopsided smile and dark brown hair that brushed his blue eyes. He looked so…alive.

Percy didn't realize he'd come to a stop until someone roughly brushed past him. "Watch it," he hissed, narrowing his eyes, which were rimmed with a fine ring of red.

Percy felt his face go red. "Sorry," he murmured, staring at the floor. He should have asked his mom if he could stay home another day.

That was when he realized he was still being watched. Slowly, he tore his gaze from the floor, up until he made eye contact with the boy. Those eyes were unnerving, like they were trying to see right through him. "You're new here," he said flatly.

"Yeah, uhh, I mean…" Percy found it hard to think. "I am."

"Look, this is my town. Do not think you can go around pulling shit and blaming it on me. Because I will not hesitate to-"

"Luke!" a blonde girl wearing a tight black top and matching skirt called out. "Come over here!"

The boy, Luke, gave Percy one last glare. "Watch it, kid."

As soon as Luke was gone, Percy let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. In all the different schools he'd attended, he'd never been so quick to make enemies.

That was when he realized he was still standing in front of the memorial, people were looking at him, and he had no idea where he was supposed to go. Percy wasn't the type to cry but frustrated tears pooled in his eyes.

In his peripheral vision, Percy saw someone approach him from the left. For a second, he thought it was the guy again, back to finish his threat.

"Don't mind Luke. He's been a jerk ever since he moved here," a girl's voice said.

Percy gulped. "How long ago was that?"

"Four years," she said tonelessly, then took a step to stand next to him. "It's gaudy, isn't it? Kyle would hate this. He'd laugh at it and go on about how that damn candle is probably going to burn the entire school down."

"Did you…know him?"

"He was my boyfriend."

"Oh…I, uhh…" Percy stammered.

"You don't need to say anything. He was kind of a jerk, honestly." Percy suspected she was trying to convince herself more than him. "I'm Bianca. Now look, you might want to quit standing there or people might start talking. Come on."

Percy awkwardly fell in step with her as she plowed through people in the hallway. Well, plowed wasn't exactly the right word. People seemed prone to avoiding Bianca. Whether it was because of her relation to the dead kid or just her natural personality (she did seem kind of prickly), they had no problem walking through the hallway.

"What did you mean, people might start talking?" Percy asked.

"Are you from around here?"

"No."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?"

Bianca pretended not to hear him. "What's your first class?"

"Um, English?" Bianca shot him a look. "English. My first class is English," he tried to say with more authority. "With Mr. Briggs."

Bianca quickly turned right and headed up a flight of stairs. Percy had to run to catch up with her. "What did you mean before when you said people might start talking? Come on, you can't just bring stuff up and then drop it."

"Are you always this whiney?" Bianca said. However, she did slow down. "New Dover's got a long history. A history full of…magic."

"Like rabbits coming out of hats and stuff?"

"No, like spells and ghost," Bianca said, her voice dropping low. Percy stared at her with wide eyes. "And there are stories of creatures that come out of the night and…" The girl burst out laughing. "Really? You're too gullible. But did you see your face? I really had you going there."

Percy frowned. "I don't know…when we lived in San Francisco we had a neighbor who did voodoo. She said she killed her ex-husband."

"You can't believe everything you hear." Bianca's voice suddenly took a serious tone.

"I know, but…" Percy trailed off.

"Or you know. You might end up believing in the stories."

"The stories?"

"Yeah. The legends of the vampires."

A/N: Lame start. I'm sorry. I promise it'll get better. Like when you find out about the witches and ghost whisperers. So ya know, review and I'll be inspired to tell you all about it. ;)