Bloodlust
Chapter 1.
It started on Thursday, July 18th, 2014.
My life is boring. I have a sister- Tori- Who is 8, a cat named Ivory, a dad who works to much, and a stay-at-home mother who decided at an early point in my life that school is bad and to not put me in one. That made my life very boring. When everyone is getting up to go to school and hang out with their friends, I'm still asleep. When people are getting back from school, I'm still asleep, sometimes. I would probably be nocturnal if it wasn't for my mom always waking me up at 4pm, if I wasn't already awake. My daily life consisted of: Watching TV shows- my favorite being Buffy the Vampire Slayer- reading books- my favorite is The Morganville Vampires series- and talking to my friends on Skype. I also take Piano lessons every Tuesday from 2:30-3:00pm, then walk across the street to the coffee shop to get a coffee- Medium White Chocolate Raspberry Mocha- before going to the Library where I volunteer every week, mostly just stocking new movies, restocking old books, helping people find things and working the childrens reading programs. And I have Co-op every Thursday, which just so happens to be today.
So, my day starts by my alarm clock/Ipod dock waking me up in a sweaty panic at 8:20, because I need almost no time to get ready and it only takes about an hour to get there, and we need to be there by 9:30. Though it starts at 10:00, my mother always likes to get there really early. I always sleep deeply, so I almost never dream, so I have to set my alarm to play the song "May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight" by Pierce the veil, and it always scares me to wake up to it, but I love being scared. So my day then starts by me getting up, putting my clothes on- which I laid out the night before- grabbing my stuff, eating an apple and then leaving with my family to go to co-op. I don't need that much stuff: just a pillow- to sleep in the car, cause I get pretty much no sleep the night before Co-op- a blanket- because it's very cold in the car- my bag and the book The Morganville Vampires, Bitter Blood, by Rachel Caine.
We're out the door by 8:35, when I get in the back seat of the van, I slam my face down on the pillow- after setting my stuff down, buckling myself with half of the seat belt and wrapping myself in a blanket like a burrito- and instantly fall asleep. Which is weird, considering that it usually takes me about 10 minutes to fall asleep, and even then it was usually so light that I was still vaguely aware of my surroundings in the outside world. This time I fell in a deep enough sleep to dream. It was almost like something was pulling me down, making me sleep.
I dreamt I was at co-op. It was so vivid, it felt utterly real. I was walking into co-op- when I bumped into a man. I couldn't see his face, but I had this feeling, like he was so amazingly beautiful and sweat. Like I knew him. Like I'd always known him. Like hadn't lived a life without him in it. And then I felt this wave of utter warmth and my mouth curved at the edges- in both my dream and in real life.
He was just opening his mouth to talk when I my step mother- Maybelline Lenia- yelled "Jasmine, we're about ten minutes away! You should wake up now, honey!" and startled me awake. Why she yelled that loud, I don't know, considering it was a van small enough I could hear a pin drop.
She may be my step mom, but she's the only mom I've ever known. My birth mother died giving birth, and my dad met Maybelline right after- he met her at the hospital, because she was the nurse who helped my mother during labor. He said it was love at first sight, which thank god was after my birth mom passed away- because you usually don't pay attention to other people when your wife is giving birth. It's been fourteen years since then, and I usually forget that Maybell isn't my real mom, because she is the best, kindest, most caring one I'll ever have. And she's a strong, confident woman- that's how she got my dad to let her keep her last name, and give Tori and I it, which I'm totally fine with cause I love the name Lenia
"Okay, okay. I'm up." She always woke me up ten minutes before we were there, always at the same intersection, so I could put on my make up- Under eye concealer, regular concealer, powder, blush, eye shadow, liquid eyeliner (for cat-eye), mascara, regular eyeliner and dark, dark red lipstick. I'm usually awake about a minute before she yells for me, like there's some type of alarm in my head that goes of at the exact same spot every week, but this time, I didn't. I slept until she woke me. Which was very weird. I also had this feeling, like something was going to happen, something strange and unexpected. Though, my standard's of strange-and-unexpected are pretty high, since I'm a very strange person myself, so something would have to be very, very strange to make it on my radar.
So I put on my shoes and make-up and arrive right when I finish getting my shoes tied. I suddenly feel anxious, like a thousand little butterflies are just fluttering around in my stomach. It made me feel kinda sick. I don't know why I feel like this, but I feel like it has something to do with that weird dream I had.
So usually, on a normal day, I stay and "help" my mother carry her things into the building- which was a church, called "Prince of Peace Lutheran church", not because we were a religious group, but because church's are the pretty much the only public buildings that accept Homeschoolers/Unschoolers for cheap- which really wasn't that much stuff- just the laptop that she uses every week, their lunch ("their" being my mom and my little sister, Tori); and a bag filled with unknown content's- which she really didn't need help with, because the lunch box only held a vegetarian tofurkey sandwich, a pizza flavored Hot Pocket in Tupperware and some forks and napkins, the laptop was small and in a case that she could easily wrap around her neck, and the other bag was very small, so she could easily carry it all by herself- but this week, I was just off, leaving my eight-year-old little sister, who is very shy and usually just clings to Maybell the whole time, to help my mother carry in her things, which she does gladly.
And it's not because I'm mean and don't want to help her or anything, it's just that I want to see my friends- and I think my mom knows she doesn't need any help, she just wants me to stay with her a little longer, for some reason.
So I grab the lunch box and my book bag- which was muddy green and had a bunch of pins for TV shows and bands i liked (Sleeping With Sirens, Panic! at the Disco, My Chemical Romance, Black Veil brides, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Doctor Who and Smallville)- and go inside. When I get in, i can't find anyone. I look back at the parking lot and realize that my car is only one of three, which means that none of my friends are here yet. I set my family lunch box down in the cafeteria and head to the bathroom. When in the bathroom, I get out my iPhone and check the time. 9:35 a.m. Great. We left so early that we're here 25 minutes before co-op starts on the first day of the semester. So i decided to take my time, since no one is here yet.
By the time I used the facilities and touched up my make-up, i heard people outside. It sounded like about half the people were here. I looked at my iPhone again, it said 9:50a.m. So I walked out of the bathroom and looked around for any of my friends- Epona Long, Anna Kiss, Bree Coznion, Kayla Ferguson and Morgana "Morgue" Faye.
They still weren't here.
I got on my iPhone and started texting Morgue to see when she was going to get here. "Hey, Morgue. I'm booooooooorrrrreeddd. When you gettin yo humongous ass ov"- I was cut off by a shadow that fell over head. When i looked up, i saw the man of my dreams. Literally.
He looked exactly like the man I dreamt about earlier- short black Emo hair that covered his right eye and almost his left, deep brown eyes you could get lost in, pale skin, long piano-player hands, about 1 1/2 inches taller than me, placing his chin right at the bottom of my nose, and had this sweet expression on his face that made me just melt. I probably looked like a total dork when he said "Hey, I'm Mason Ericson. I'm new." If i had butterflies in my stomach before, i think they somehow morphed into squirrel's.
He waited for me to answer, but I was so shocked and flustered that him, a gorgeous Emo geek, would talk to me. I smiled. It took me a long second to get my thoughts together so I could say, "Umm, I-I'm Jasmine Lenia." I say staring down at the floor. OMG. That was the first time I stumbled on my words since I was seven and trying to sing "what a wonderful world" at the UGO- Unschoolers Gathering of Ohio- talent show.
I decided to sneak a peak at his beautiful face, and from the look he had, I think nervousness and embarrassment amused him. "So, what classes are there here?" I The question surprised me, and I froze when I noticed something.
I was distracted by the utter beauty of his face. He had freckles. And dimples. Which was amazingly hot.
I snapped out if it, just before it was long enough to be considered creepy, and said "Umm, how old are you?" Cause he looked around 15, and i wondered if my mom would somehow think that he was to old for me. I got nervous and looked away. I also wondered if i looked okay.
I had medium, layered black hair with red highlights, a My Chemical Romance tee-shirt, dark black skinny jeans, and black Converse with purple and black checkered laces. I felt very, very anxious, but one look at him, and i was feeling a little better.
He was wearing dark blue Converse and a Sleeping with Sirens tee-shirt, which is my favorite band. He also had skinny jeans on, too, and snake bite piercing's- two piercing's on you're bottom lip, kind of looking like snake fangs from a far. Snake bites were one of three piercing's i thought looked good on people, the first being ear piercing's, the second being nose piercing's- though not on the septum- and the third being lip piercing's. And, he was carrying a black book bag that looked a lot like mine, even most of the pins were for the same TV shows and books.
"Sixteen," he said, with an even larger smile. "You?" I also looked like jailbait. I was 5'5, which is taller than a lot of my friends mom's, had size D breast's, and had a face that made most people somehow think I was eighteen.
"Fourteen." I said, blushing. If I thought mom was going to be hesitant when I thought he was fifteen, I was worried to see what she thought of him being older. Well, it's not like he likes me, anyway. I'm just one of few kids that's around his age here- there was Jimmy, a kind of weird 15 year old who was insanely skinny and always had a look that made most people think that he wasn't a very pleasant person to talk too, Anthony, the bad boy of the school, always wearing a black leather jacket and had an angry expression that was even worse than Jimmy's, Miranda, the weird 13 year old that i used to hang out with when i was 11, back when she always wore pajama's, carried around some sort of stuffed animal that looked like a panda and a squirrel, and was a very happy and energetic girl, until she somehow became a depressing Goth and started constantly watching anime and became a totally different person that was always by herself , never talked to anyone and didn't have an angry expression just more gave you a feeling that you didn't really want to bother her. Then there was my friends: Anna Kiss, who was 15 and really cheery, Bree Coznixon, a 14 year old who was weird and quirky, and so not his type, Epona Long, my 14 year old friend who was awesome, but didn't really like the fact I was Punk/Goth, Kayla Ferguson, who was 13 and looked like she was 8, and Morgana "Morgue" Faye, my 16 year old best friend who he probably would have talked to had she gotten here before me, because she was his age, dressed like me and had the same taste in men/woman.
"Really? You don't look like it." He said with surprise in his eyes, though he never stopped smiling. He quickly lost the surprise and said, "So, what classes do you take?" Mason asked.
"Umm, Teen Discussion, Music and Art History. Why?"
"So I know what classes to take." He said, with the most gorgeous, seductive smile I have ever seen.
I probably would have fainted if it wasn't for the wall holding me up. I smiled as big as my mouth could go without actually opening it. I had a very creepy, ugly smile with it open, kind of like Nick Jonas, so i never smiled like that. Just as i was about to say something, Laura Wheatley, one of the Flow leaders, walked to top of the stairs and wrung a bell.
"What's that?" Mason asked.
"It means that it's time for the morning meeting." The morning meeting wasn't all that important- it was just to tell us what classes were being held today (because our co-op is more laid back then most, we don't have set classes every week, well, except for the ones I take), and to tell us what events were happening outside of Co-op- though it is mandatory.
"Oh. Maybe we should finish talking later. Know any private places where no one will bother us?" He asked.
What? He wanted to be alone with me? Why? And finish talking about what? It didn't matter, he was perfect. And i desperately wanted to be alone with him, too. So my mind instantly thought of where i eat lunch at every week: it was this beautiful place that no one really knew about. It was like a garden. It had flowers and small trees and rocks and two benches, all in this beautiful little circle behind the church. I don't know why no one ever thought of going there. I discovered it on the first day two years ago, i didn't have any friends then and everyone else already knew each other, and i felt so left out and alone that i went exploring. I wanted to be alone, so i looked for a place where no one was. I was so amazed when i found it that i decided that i wanted to keep it to myself. Selfish, i know, but the place is so beautiful, and i wanted somewhere no one knew about. And now, even though I have great friends who I love, I like having a place where I can escape to be by myself, because I often get panic attacks or become suddenly sad and just need to be alone. "Well, there is one place." I pointed beside his left shoulder, "Go to the end of that hall way, turn left and go to the last door on the right. It says that it's an office and not to go in it, but I've never seen anyone working in there before and it looks like no one ever has. There should be a curtain without a window in the back left corner. There's a hidden door behind it. I'll meet you there after the morning meeting."
He looked weirded out by my directions, but also very curious. "Are you gonna tell me what's back there?" He asked playfully.
"You'll see." I said smiling. I winked and walked away, heading toward my friends who just arrived, somehow all at the same time. We walked to the meeting while they talked to each other. If they talked to me, i didn't notice. I was too busy thinking about what just happened. As we walked in the door, i looked back. He wasn't there.
