"Ok, he was supposed to be here an hour ago. This is stupid."
Poor Nikki, she had been waiting to start a group project for the past hour and a half, but her partner failed to even show up. Not even so much as a phone call.
Nikki was a normal teenager. She had on a heavy sweatshirt with black and grey stripes on it, with some skinny leg blue jeans and brown and grey-checkered shoes adorned her feet. She had sleek brown hair that went just past her shoulders and a smile that could light up the room.
It was almost eight o clock!
"This is what I get for being partners with the new kid."
It's not that he was mean or anything. Heck, she had no idea what he was like; the kid never talked! It was the first week of High school and here she was, a junior and figured she'd be nice to this poor freshman and help him out. She went out of her way to sit next to him and introduce herself and all she got out of him was a grunt and a shoulder shrug!
Some hospitality!
Anyways, she brushed it off, but still, he never looked at her and never spoke to her, or anyone for that matter! What was his problem? In the end, she decided that he was just very shy. He never talked, but it's not like he was rolling his eyes and shooting glares at her. About two weeks into the semester, her Geography teacher decided to initiate the first group project of the year. Of, course; she was paired up with "the kid". She told him when and where to meet her so they could start it, but he didn't show up. Why was she surprised?
What a jerk!
Nikki sighed and glanced at the clock again; eight thirty. She should probably get going. As she was packing up, she felt like maybe she could wait a few more minutes, just incase he showed up. Besides, the bus wouldn't be coming for fifteen more minutes. Junior year and still no car; dang.
Nikki sat back down in the already warm chair and got comfortable. Pulling out her I-pod, Nikki laid back and closed her eyes. The walls of the Library were beginning to burn her eyes. Libraries are an offensive sight to anyone who loves to be outside. Slowly, she began to feel the pressures of the day fade away and soon she was dozing off.
…………………………….
Nikki jolted as she woke up with a start; she had a falling dream. Those suck.
Quickly looking around, she remembered where she was. Looking out the near by window she cursed; the sun had to have been gone for at least an hour now and clouds were coming from the north. The clock now read 10:50. To top it all of, her cell phone had died during her quick nap. Now sufficiently pissed off, Nikki grabbed her stuff, shoved it into her backpack and grabbed her long board as she left the Library.
Going outside, a quick shiver went down her spine. It was still warm from the beautiful summer's day it had been earlier. However, not that the sun had set, a cool breeze went through, reminding anyone still out that Autumn was on it's way. Setting down her long board, she set off for home.
Now, normally walking home at night might not be a big deal for some people, but she lived in Washington; there are trees everywhere! So when it gets dark, it gets dark! Street lamps do nothing. Half the time tree branches cover them. Her house was five miles away and she was getting tired fast.
"Ok." She mumbled and skid to a halt. "Lets think. Five miles . . . I could just tough it out." She looked behind herself; she'd already gone almost two of the miles, but those clouds were getting closer . . .
Another breeze whipped through and caused her to shiver again. Nikki stomped her foot, she wanted to get home now. But getting home sooner meant cutting through the cemetery. He neighborhood was one block after that. One longer breeze confirmed her plans.
To the cemetery!
…………………………….
Ten minutes later, the cemetery came into view, with the help of the streetlights. Getting off of her board she went the rest of the way on foot. Probably isn't very respectful to go through a cemetery on a skateboard.
Late at night, people tend to be at home, safe and sound. In a cemetery late at night, everything is eerily silent. The wind blows through the tree and you can hear them sway, but no one is out walking this late. Her parents would kill her!
"Ok . . ." She said to no one in particular. "Home is just through here. I've been here before. It's no big-"
WHAM!
"UGH!"
Nikki fell down onto the ground. Getting up she growled.
"Hey!" When she got a good look at who she bumped into. It was that kid. Picking himself up, he glared something fierce at her, until her realized who it was. Regret and surprised crossed his face as he quickly got up and extended a hand to her for help up. Taken aback, she took his hand and brushed her sleeves clean of dirt. Nikki mumbled a "Thanks" while he shrugged his shoulders. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before he coughed.
"You, uh, didn't show." Nikki stated. The kid looked at her funny then slapped himself in the face. He'd forgotten. Nikki winced. "I knew it!"
He looked apologetic and muttered things under her breath that she couldn't here.
"Huh?"
He looked at her, like he had been caught and shook his head as if to say, "Never mind". She then asked the inevitable question. Fumbling with her words for a moment, then, frustrated, spat out, "What's your name?"
He looked at her, then quietly said "Joseph Jonas McFadden." Oh my goodness, it speaks.
"Oh." Was all she could say.
He nodded his head. "Yeah . . ."
"Hmm . . . that's a mouth full."
"It's Jojo . . . for short."
"Oh."
" . . ."
"So, your, what, 15?"
"16."
"Cool."
This was uncomfortable. Nikki sighed; it was getting later. "Look, I've gotta get home. We'll figure out what do to with the project tomorrow. Here's my number." She wrote down the number on a piece of scratch paper and handed it over to him. He took it and looked at it like it was a foreign language. With a weak wave 'goodbye' she turned back to the path through the graveyard and shuddered. He looked up just in time to see the shudder and quickly thought.
"H-hey." This got her attention. "You . . . you going home by yourself?"
He sounded nervous.
"Yeah?"
"You want me to . . . you know, escort you?" Nikki smiled slightly. This underclassman was asking to escort her home? Did guys even do that anymore?
"Yeah, ok." He scratched the back of his arm.
"Cool." He gestured down the path.
"Let's go." They both turned to go down the path and the uncomfortable silence settled I again. He broke the silence this time. "So, you live close by?"
"Yeah, about a block past this graveyard."
"Cool."
"And you? Where do you live?"
"Um." Jojo stopped and look around for a second, getting his bearings. "I live . . . um . . . that way. About 2 miles past the 7 eleven."
"Nice. Those are nice houses."
"Yep." Jojo then cleared his throat and looked in pain.
"You ok?"
"No, no. I'm just thirsty is all." He straightened up and cleared his throat again. They continued on their way. They got half way through when he couldn't stop clearing his throat and casting her wary glances. She wanted to out right ask him 'what's wrong!', but he had already said he was ok, so, what could ya do?
"You know it's a full moon tonight?" "Hm?" Nikki was trying to make conversation until they got out of the graveyard and home was in view. "Yeah, but you couldn't tell with all of these clouds out tonight." They both looked at the sky to stare at the clouds, when Jojo make a dry swallowing noise. Nikki couldn't take it anymore. She dropped to one knee and opened her backpack. Jojo, now wearing a distressed look on his face, looked at her like she was weird.
"What are you doing."
"Your thirsty right?"
Jojo nodded his head dumbly. "Yeah, but-"
"I'm searching for my water bottle. You need it, ok? . . . AHA!" She pulled out the bottle but dropped it like it burned her. Inhaling through her teeth, she clenched her hand in pain.
"What?" Jojo asked, confused. "I sliced my finger open with my binder. These are so much worse than a paper cut!" She did the only thing she could think of and put it into her mouth. She was about to apologize, when she caught sight of Jojo's face. He was sweating and staring at her finger. She took her finger out of her mouth, but that was a bad idea. Jojo's hand itched and jerked in her direction, but he held it to his side. Nikki was getting weirded out. Screw being polite.
"Jojo . . . what's really wrong with you?"
He was panting now and he looked to be in pain. His stomach grumbled, which really bothered her. He sat down on the ground; feet still planted firmly on the ground and put his head against his arms, which were balanced on his knees. "I'm just tired. You should go without me."
"What?! I'm not leaving you out here! You need help." She went for her cell phone, only to remember that it died. Cursing under her breath, she tried to think of another solution.
Jojo's breathing began to get ragged. "Just go." He said, more firmly this time.
"No, just . . . just give me a second. I'll think of something."
"Look." The volume in his voice made her jump. "I know what's wrong, this isn't something new. Just go."
Now offended, she turned to go, but jumped when his hand lashed out and grabbed her ankle. "WTF?"
"Wait." He gasped, looking to be in terrible shape now. Nikki squatted down and looked him in the eyes. His pupils were dilated. "Stay; it'll pass." He promised. His face looked so serious now, Nikki was getting nervous now.
"M-my home, is just one block away, once we get out of the graveyard, so-"
"No." She nodded her head, talking to herself now. "No. He says no . . . ok."
She sat down and got comfortable, once he released her ankle. She now felt scared. Something was off; this kid was scaring her now. She looked over to see him talking to himself quietly. He looked remorseful, like he had done something wrong. He then looked at her, and then looked at her finger, which was not bleeding anymore, but it was stained from the previous blood.
"Jojo-" He cut her off. "I should apologize."
Nikki looked at him, giving him her full attention. He laughed a bit under his breath.
"You must think I'm so weird." He seemed so nervous!
"I promise you, I'm not always like this. Actually, I'm quite normal. It's just-" He stumbled on his words and coughed. "I'm a good guy, I've just got a "condition." Nikki looked at him skeptically.
"Not like a rash, right? 'Cause if you do, I don't wanna-"
"No! Not like that. I just . . . I need to . . . eat, regularly. Or else, I become a bit of a monster, ya know?" He forced a laugh, so did Nikki. "I still can't believe your letting me take you home."
He made it sound like a date.
"I just thought, you'd . . . never look at me."
Nikki blushed as he talked, was this necessary? This didn't even sound like him, granted he'd only been talking a few minutes previous.
"I'm such a punk for putting you in this position."
"No, you couldn't help it."
"Still." He turned slightly to face her. "Thanks for being nice to me." He swallowed again, still thirsty. He'd have to "satisfy" his thirst and soon. He scooted closer to her, seeming nervous.
"Y-your very . . . sweet." He took her hand in his, " . . . And pretty."
Nikki looked at him, very nervous and blushing. Not embarrassed, but flattered really. He looked at her with a hunger in his eyes. Licking his lips, he leaned in for a kiss. This poor boy; must be his first kiss. She slowly leaned in as well. It was a nervous quick kiss. A peck, really.
Nikki began to pull away, but Jojo wasn't finished yet. He put his hand behind her head, keeping her there, and nervously tried to keep the kiss going. Confused, she tried to pull away again, but then he surprised her. He lightly bit her lower lip and she inhaled sharply. This set him off. He got more adventurous and tried to deepen the kiss, but she was too scared to comply. To help things move along, he lightly caressed her hip, on the hipbone, and she opened her mouth slightly to gasp. This was all it took. He placed both of his hands on her face and "went for it". She pulled away in surprise, but he followed, thus, she fell onto her back and with his added weight, he fell onto her. Almost, except he placed a hand behind her, supporting his weight so he wouldn't be completely on top of her. The kiss went of for a few more second and she was loving it. However, after a few more seconds, she began to feel dizzy. She was tired and light headed; was this what happened when you kissed? She was so comfortable that she closed her eyes and fell asleep for a minute.
Her hands dropped from their position behind his head and she laid there on the cement ground as he continued to explore her mouth then her neck. He seemed to like her neck a whole lot! As the dizziness increased, she closed her opened her eyes to see everything was hazy. He stopped kissing her for a second and turned his attention to her hand. He kissed her injured finger. No not kiss, he was sucking on it. He reopened the cut and it was bleeding again. She yanked her hand away and tired to talk, but she was so tired!
Panting, Jojo looked at her for a second, like she took away his candy. He was about to lean in again, but he stopped. This was so out of his element! This wasn't him! He looked confused and then disgusted with himself. "No . . . no! NO!" He got up from leaning over her and put space between them. Getting up, he paced and talked to himself again. Nikki's head began to clear and she was able to realize that something had happened here. That was not normal.
Still panting, she sat up. This was freaky. "What . . . happened?" Jojo looked ashamed. "It was me." He turned to her. "I'm . . . so sorry! I didn't meant to . . . I didn't realize . . ." He just couldn't spit it out. Nikki got up and looked down the path; she was going to make a run for it. With out another thought, she bolted down the path. Looking behind her, she checked to see where he was. Surprisingly, Jojo wasn't there! She slowed down and looked back in front of her. However, she quickly stopped as she almost collided with Jojo, who was now in front of her! Jojo acted fast and grabbed a hold of her upper arms to steady her.
"Whoa, whoa. Hold on."
Nikki stood there as he held her, watching as he tried to find the right words. Finally he threw his hands into the air in defeat. "I give up! It's not like anyone would believe you anyways." Nikki looked confused as he turned away from her for a second. Everything was quiet for a few seconds until he spoke in a quiet voice.
"Nikki, I'm so sorry, but I think I should explain myself."
"What do-" Nikki gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Jojo looked at her and she could see his eyes were glowing and he smiled weakly showing of an intimidating pair of fangs. "So . . ." Nikki said nothing, she was too shocked to even move. Jojo's smile faded. "Nikki, hold on."
"No. I'm going, and your staying here. OK?!"
"Nikki!" He approached and placed a hand on the side of her face in a comforting manner. Poor Nikki was so scared that she screamed like she had never screamed before. Jojo jumped and looked scared himself. He covered her mouth and looked her square in the eye.
"Ok, were done doing that." He regained his footing and tried to think of what to say next. Nikki couldn't believe what she was seeing. Jojo was a vampire, which explained the whole bleeding finger thing, but he was still nervous! Vampires get nervous?!
"Ok, . . . ok. I get that your scared, but if I was going to hurt you, don't you think I would have done it by now?" Nikki looked at him incredulously; this was supposed to be comforting? Jojo hung his head, nothing was working. Sighing, he released her from his hold and took a step back. "Please don't run." Nikki looked at him and asked the first thing that came to mind.
"YOU'RE A VAMPIRE?!" Jojo stood there with his hands in his pockets, giving her a look that said, "where have you been for the past few minutes?"
"Yep." Nikki instantly grabbed her neck and Jojo laughed in his throat. "Don't worry! Geez! I stopped myself, your ok!"
"Stopped yourself?!"
He winced, "I said I was thirsty . . . don't worry though! I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just walking you home. Were partners, remember? I don't bite partners." It was his pitiful attempt to make her laugh. Nikki stared at him; well, at least he thought it was funny. Jojo extended a hand to her and quietly told her to relax. "Your safer with me, actually." She looked at his hand and then back at him. Jojo, with his fangs out for all of the world to see and his glowing eyes, was trying to make peace with her. Hesitantly, she took his hand and shook it.
"Better to be friends with a vampire, than enemies, right?" She tried to cracked joke and it worked. Jojo laughed with relief and was so glad she wasn't screaming anymore.
Still holding her hand, he directed her down the path and towards her home. "Shouldn't you hide your fangs? Somebody might see you." This was weird to say to a vampire, seeing as how she didn't even believe they existed a few minutes ago. Jojo stopped to grab her long board and she grabbed her backpack.
"If anyone asks, I'll just say its part of my Halloween costume." He cocked an eyebrow at her and she giggled. He was ok, for an undead guy. "C'mon, lets get you home."
……………………………………..
They arrived ten minutes later, well into a conversation of do's and don'ts of being a vampire. He stopped at her door and released her hand from his. He looked at her, his eyes stopped glowing now. "Can I see you tomorrow?" He asked hopefully. Nikki couldn't believe that a vampire was asking to see her again. This was wild!
"You mean, like a date?"
He got all nervous again and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, if your interested."
"No biting?"
"NO!" He all but shouted back. Nikki laughed at him. Then as an after thought, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Only if you want me to." Nikki blushed and laughed hysterically. "Not on the first date, freshman." Jojo laughed and then looked sorry again. "Sorry that I almost hurt you and then I scared you tonight. Some partner, huh?"
"Don't sweat it. Like you said, you stopped. Thanks by the way." He faltered as he noticed something but decided not to point it out. "Well, G'night."
"G'night." She opened her door and went inside, Jojo smiled and walked away. Nikki raced upstairs and went into her room to see him walking away. By the time she got there, he was gone. She was all excited to see a freshman tomorrow. She laughed to herself and went to a mirror to check on herself. She froze when she saw what he was staring at before. On her neck as a bright red hickie forming. She blushed like crazy then laughed like she had never laughed before. A vampire gave her a hickie! What a night!