I'm so sorry that it took a few extra days! I was surprisingly busy after doing almost nothing at all for a long time! Here's the begining to the newest version of To Love a Vampire. I'm working on a coverart and when it's up, I'll link it. Please forgive my extreme absence!


Secluded in the final class of the day, Sky stared outside through the wide glass of the classroom. Study hall- is there even a point? Sky wondered, glancing at the clock before looking down at her desk where her hand was moving almost on its own, doodling a familiar face. She smiled, then set the pen down, folding her arms on her desk before laying her head down, staring once more outside.

Outside was a bright day- the sun was shining almost blindingly, the trees shaking with the force of the wind. Sky's blood red lips lifted up in amusement as a bird tried to navigate though the wind, only to cling to the nearest wire. She pushed her snow-white hair away from her face as kids around her started shuffling around, putting their belongings into backpacks and purses. Starting to do the same, she turned to grab her bag just as a spitball flew at her, landing just below her eye.

As students who had saw started to laugh, the teacher gave them a dirty look. "What's so funny?" He demanded, standing up as Sky brushed the spit-wad off her face. Everyone went quiet under the glare of the male teacher. Finally, the bell rang and the students dashed out, leaving Sky alone with the teacher.

"Are you alright?" She looked up.

"I'm okay, Mr. Duglass." The albino smiled at him slightly as she stuffed what was going home with her into her backpack- no homework as it was already all finished.

"You shouldn't let them pick on you." He folded his arms. He wasn't the only teachers in the school that would have turned a blind eye to any violence that came from her. All the ones that knew her and actually took time out of their days to talk to her were tired and frustrated with the students that would not leave her alone. What had she ever done to them, after all?

"I don't need any jocks trying to throw punches at me- among other things." Sky laughed a little and slung her bag over her shoulder and turned to go. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Duglass." The teacher sighed, but gave her a nod.

"Have a nice day, Sky." The girl went to her locker, disposed of her homework and books and pushed past the large crowd of student blocking her way out of the building. A few girls giggled as they saw her- none of them fond of the albino who wore thick eyeliner and red lipstick that made it look like she had just got done drinking blood. Sky sneered at them, and they screeched, diving into the protective hold of their jock boyfriends who glared darkly at her.

"Get the hell outta here, Freak!" One snapped. Sky rolled her eyes.

"Where do you think I'm going, Meat Head?" A vain popped in his neck and he reached out to grab her, but she slid between a group of band kids and dove out the door, her backpack held safely away from any cruel hands. Sinclair High school was a horrible place with horrible school colors and a uniform- the skirts were purple and the tops were a too deep shade of brown that made the colors clash horribly- who had even thought that purple and brown worked together anyway?

Sky walked home alone, like every day for almost the past four years. She hesitated in her steps briefly as she thought about visiting the graveyard.

"I haven't seen them in a while…" She muttered, turning towards the city's graveyard. The wind picked and pushed at her in her uniform, causing the teen to shiver and wrap her thin arms around herself. She hurried, hoping to visit the graves of the people most important to her and getting home before becoming sick. Glancing ahead of herself, she saw an old woman crossing the street, ignorant of the car speeding around the corner.

"Look out!" Sky screamed, dashing forward as the breaks of the car screeched. Sky managed to pull the woman out of the way before the car could hit her. Honking and yelling profane things, the driver sped away.

"How horrible!" Sky snarled, trying to catch the license number.

"Oh, thank you, Child." The old woman smiled, looking unbothered by the fact that she had almost been hit by a car.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" Sky looked at the woman worriedly, ignoring the car that honked behind them.

"Fine, fine. Yourself?" Sky helped the elderly woman to her feet, moving to grab her backpack from the sidewalk.

"I'm okay." She called, picking up her property. Turning around, the teen was startled to find the old woman right behind her.

"Are you sure?" The woman reached up and tapped Sky's face a few times. "You seem rather sad." Sky moved her head away from the woman's hand.

"I'm fine." She stepped back, hitching her pack over her shoulder once more. "Please watch out for cars, ma'am." The albino turned around and started to walk away with vigor. This woman gave her the chills and she wanted very much to run screaming from her. However, Sky could hear the woman following her. Attempting to cut through the park, she picked up her pace.

There was no one around her, which was a little creepy. Normally there would be a lot of kids around with their parents. But now- nothing. The wind had driven everyone indoors. Such a harsh wind had never been felt in Sinclair New York- barely even in the state but just enough that it could be considered as one of their numerous towns. Just as Sky moved behind a set of trees, she felt a hand clam over her shoulder.

She screamed and whipped around, swinging her arm around. The fist was caught and twisted quickly, making Sky fall to her knees with a cry.

"That was rather rude." It was a woman in her thirties, at most, in the same style of dress that the old woman had been wearing. "And here I was only trying to help you."

"Let go!" The teen cried, struggling. The woman obliged, letting Sky fall flat on her face. "Who are you?" She asked with a groan, moving her arm forward to rub the shoulder.

"My name is Angie." The tone she used was almost haughty. "And I've come to help you." Sky resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the brunette woman.

"Yeah? Help me how?" Sky snorted.

"You and I both know that you're not happy with the way your life is now." Angie sounded amused. "Your father beats you, you're picked on constantly- what are you worth here?" She cooed, her venomous voice coated with pity and sugar. Sky frowned, throwing her shoulders back in an act of strength. Inside, she was shaking. How did this woman know this? What did she want with her?

"Come with me." Angie continued quickly, ignoring Sky's look of alarm. "Pack a bag and come with me. I can take you somewhere better then here." Her voice took on a persuasive note. "A place where you don't have to fear your father, where you're unknown by your peers- a fresh start to a dirty life. You can be someone finally- someone important. Isn't that what you want?" Angie could see the longing in the albino's eyes. The desire to have what she was offering. Eagerly, she continued.

"The place I will take you is full of wonder- much more advanced then Earth, yet primitive all in one. A place where someone like me can fit in perfectly."

"'Someone like you'?" Sky asked, frowning. Angie smiled and offered Sky her hand to help her up. Hesitantly, it was taken, only for the teen to yelp and fall back as the hand became scaly. Angie laughed a little.

"A shape shifter, I guess it would be put here. I was not born with this ability, however." As if being forced into a bad memory, the scale covered hand reached up to claw at its owners face. Sky managed to stand as Angie gave her a forced smile.

"If there are people like you…" Sky closed her eyes. "I'd… like to learn more." Now the smile was real.

"Then meet me at this address in one hour." The brunette eyed her as she handed the albino a card. "I'd change out of that… school getup if I were you." Sky glanced down at herself and blushed, her pale cheeks meeting the color of her lips. The school uniform was hideous, how anyone was able to turn it into something that looked even decent was an unknown factor in Sky's life.

"Right…" Sky examined the card briefly then looked up. "Where-" Where is this? She had wanted to ask, however the only thing that could be seen of the older woman was her back as she disappeared into the trees. "Well, that was… odd." Once more her eyes were drawn to the card with blood red script before it was placed into her pocket. All thoughts of visiting the graveyard were forgotten as she all but ran back to the house, something she had never done before. Even with her mother, Sky had always taken the long way back because even if that was where she lived, it had never been a home.

Never would it be.

Closing her eyes, she revisited what the woman had shown her and already it was hazy. It had just been a trick- a glove that Sky hadn't noticed until a moment after she grabbed it.

Opening her eyes, she frowned. But what if it wasn't fake? What if, for once, she wasn't being lied to? That made her pause in her hastened steps to look down, ignoring the weird looks from the one or two people that had come out of their homes for some reason or the other.

If that… if that was real… It was almost impossible to think the words. Then why would she chose me? Sky couldn't fathom that she had anything to offer to this woman, so why would she present her with a fantastic gift? The gift to be special and fit in somewhere?

"Impossible." Sky shook her head, but continued her jogging pace. It had to be a dream, like the one she had of the man a few days ago.

The remembrance of the dream caused a smile to light her face. It had seemed so real- the black haired man's warm and gentle embrace reminded her so much of Eric's… But it hadn't been Eric.

Sky made it back to the hell she lived in and stepped through the door carefully after glancing through the door to see her drunkard of a father passed out on the couch. She snorted quietly, seeing him hugging an almost empty bottle to his chest like it was his lover. Since her father was too much of an ass to any women he'd ever met, she didn't doubt that to him, the alcohol he consumed on a daily basis was as close to a lover as he'd get. With a cruel sneer, she tiptoed around him as silently as she could manage.

The second she was in her room she stripped of the horrid school clothes and sat down on the bed, examining her arms and legs in the pale yellow light. There were scattered scars, but the thin white lines were barely noticeable in her own pale skin.

"I need to get out more." She mused. "I look like the walking dead." Once more she dragged herself up after a look to the clock. Sky had just under a half hour to get to the destination. A part of her was screaming for her to stay put- a life of normalcy was better then going to where she could be killed, but was quickly crushed by the other that had the promise of true freedom and was keeping it in a vice-like grip.

Sky opened her closet and tugged out a large duffel bag from the bottom, placing it with a gentle ease on her bed. The lonely girl then went and plucked a red shirt from the nearest hanger and shoved her arms through, reaching inside the duffel bag to put a pair of too-large pants on. After being dressed fully- outfit including a black trench coat and a spiked collar- she threw the few items of value she could into the duffel bag, including a jewelry box and her journal before zipping the large thing up. Another glance at the clock- fifteen minutes.

With a swear, she started out of her room, barely able to dodge the wine bottle that was thrown at her head by an irate man.

"The hell you think you're goin'?" The snarled, standing up as he eyed the duffel bag. "Put that shit back in your closet, Bitch!"

"Go to hell you ass hat!" She screamed, dashing forward, hoping desperately to reach the door before he could get to her. With surprising agility for a man more then just drunk, he reached the door and slammed her against the wall by her neck. Gasping, she dropped the bag in favor of clawing at her neck, trying to breath.

"What did you just say to me?" He drew back his fist and cracked her across the face, letting her slump down. Sky reached up as blood slid down her face, touching the swelling cheek with a sob. "Get in your room and drop that shit!" The man made a movement to kick her, but she swung her fist around, hitting him in the worst spot at the right time. As he writhed in front of her, she saw a flash of silver in her mind, heard an almost gentle prodding to show him the same torment he had given her since she could remember.

Sky picked up her bag and ran, afraid of herself.

Plucking the card from her pocket, she looked at the address again, trying to remember where the street was. Taking a chance, she got her bike from the shed and peddled as fast as she could, trench coat placed carefully away from the tires.

By the time she found the place, she was ten minutes late. Out of breathe and careless, she ditched her bike in front of the building. From the look, it was an old warehouse with a door left ajar. She dashed inside.

"Angie?" She called, cautiously walking inside. Now she wasn't sure about this whole thing. She looked around inside; it was a lab. With a cringe at the harsh smells, she walked forward to look at things inside. On a table next to a strange machine, there were pictures of many people- children and adults- who looked slightly familiar to the black eyed girl. Sliding one image aside, she found a folder and flipped it open. On top was a picture of a woman with one red eye and silver hair. Frowning, she closed the folder again and looked at the name.

Jenova. That one single word sent shivers down her spine in an odd recognition. Where had she heard the name before? She knew she had heard it, but had no idea how.

"You're late." Angie slammed her hand down on the folder that Sky was looking out, making the younger woman jump.

"I-I'm sorry. I had a-"

"Run in with your father?" Angie tipped Sky's head to the side to examine the bruise on her face. "Hang on." Turning around, Angie walks to another table with vials of a green liquid and comes back, handing it to her.

"What is this?"

"A potion. Just drink it." Sky snorted.

"Right, right…" She pulled the cork and started to drink, almost spitting it back up. "Ew! It tastes like fish! I hate fish!"

"Just drink." Angie rolled her eyes with a chuckle. The teen obeyed, making faces. Slowly the bruise disappeared from her face, as it did, the tingling feeling stopped, making Sky touch her face in confusion. "It's gone." The girl blinked, stunned.

"Gone?" Sky dashed to the nearest shiny device, which happened to be a broken mirror. Looking ahead, at least thirty Sky's looked back at her, no trace of the bruise that she knew her father had left on either cheek. "It's gone…"

"That's what potions do." Angie shrugged and took a seat on one of the barstools in front of the many vials, motioning for the younger woman to do the same. Almost eagerly, she was obeyed.

"I need to inform you about a few things about the place you're going to." She motioned at the vials. "You will come across these everywhere you go. They are potions, elixirs, ethers… and there varying forms of each." Twenty minutes later, Sky's head was spinning as she tried to remember which vial contained which. Why are there so many?! She mentally screamed.

"Why-"

"Shh!" Angie's gaze flicked to the door. Sky quietly followed the gaze. Seconds later, she could hear sirens.

"Shit! I left my bike outside!" Angie glared at her. "There's a room down the hall. Go in there." They both got off the stools like they were on fire. Angie threw the duffel bag at Sky and went to the door, awaiting the police. The albino was in the room, clinging to the bag. She'd tried to run away before; she didn't want to remember what happened when her father found her. Sky could hear sounds, though no words were defined and it seemed like her breathing was getting louder every second. Could they hear her? She held her breath. After what seemed like forever, Angie opened the door.

"Come on- we need to hurry now." Nodding dumbly, Sky followed her out; clinging to the bag like it was her source of life. Angie took her arm with harsh force.

"Hey!"

"Sit down." The brunette pushed the albino into a chair that resembled a dentist chair and snatched the bag, tossing it to the ground. As Sky was about to stand up, Angie whirled around and blew a powder into the younger's face. Eyes widening, Sky tried coughing it out, but with every breath, more and more of it got into her lungs and system. It wasn't long before she was out cold, still breathing in the harsh powder. Angie sneered and went to a drawer and opened it, examining the multiple things inside before picking up a syringe and another vial, marked Earth's Squire. The needle was stuck into Sky's heart, and even in her forced slumber, Sky jerked with the needle's impact, making a strangled gasp.

As she worked, Angie muttered things about what she was doing, as if Sky could hear. In response, Sky dreamed.

This will make you stronger, this will unleash a beast…

Sky groaned in her sleep as her body started to change, her already abnormal canine teeth sharpening slowly, as if possessed by whatever was being pushed into her body. Hours later, Angie left the girl alone to sleep. Tomorrow would be another long day for the shape shifter, though she truly cared little about the girl she was forcing a life changing event on. As she was sliding into sleep, Sky was waking up.

"Where…?" She yawned and forced herself out of the chair, almost falling over. Her legs shook like a newborn calf's as she reached down, grasping the duffel bag again. Taking a step, a few empty bottles of whatever Angie had been injecting into her systems scattered, rolling loudly away. Not even cringing, Sky made her way to where the potions and other various objects were at, grabbed one of them and downed it. Immediately, she felt better. Quickly, she placed every potion, elixir and ether into the duffel bag and opened up a drawer. There were more vials like what was on the ground.

Sky shied away from those and glanced around, rubbing her eyes. There was a closet nearby that looked like it might have something of interest. Not being one to sit idly when she was in trouble, she walked to it and opened it. She was surprised at the lack of security, but then again, there was little doubt that Angie thought she would sleep the whole night.

Inside were two odd shaped swords. At first, she wasn't going to take one. Never bring a knife to a gun fight, after all, but there was a loud rattle from outside and she snatched the first one up and turned, walking swiftly away from the door.

This way, child.

Sky looked around. There was no one there.

"Hello?" She asked quietly.

This way. In response, somewhere on the machine, a glow started. Sky hesitantly stepped closer.

Bad idea! Bad idea! Look what happened the last time I did something without thinking! But she didn't stop.

That's right… now into the middle of the portal…

"Portal?" Sky questioned, moving into the center with an almost hypnotized obedience.

This is a forced portal… holding two life streams together.

"What are life streams?" Sky clung to the bag and the weapon.

How planets survive, child. Earth and Gaia have been connected before. However, Earth is unsafe for you right now. You need to escape this woman. The machine started to whirr loudly, light pooling beneath Sky's feet. As it was preparing, Angie came running out in sleep wear.

"Stop this instant! Get out of-" It was cut off by a scream as she stomped on one of the glass vials, sending shards into the bottom of her foot. Getting to her knees, Angie tried to get to the portal. "Foolish girl! Get out of there!"

It was too late, as she spoke the last words there was a bright flash- green and black colors swirling.