"C'mon Jamey! It's time to get out of the office and meet a pretty lady!" my friend said, the all too familiar stench of liquor seeping from his breath. We are sitting in my all-black office after lunch. He's not working, like usual, while I'm typing my fingers off. "The day you're sober for a week is the one I'll find a girl that isn't gaga over either 1. my looks, 2. My money, or 3.Meeting you." I replied, a bit too harsh considering his large grin was diminished by an inch, "Don't worry Ziam," I quickly mustered up a grin, considering my rather dark mood today, and sent my large report that took the whole morning to write down to print. "I'll find a girl sooner or later; it just isn't my time now I guess." Apparently my fake smile and tone didn't get through to him so I sighed and, against my will and good judgment, resigned to my instinct, "Look, tomorrow night's a full moon, I'll go hunting with you and Gabrielle."
"That's great to hear!" Ziam cheerfully added before brushing back his light golden hair behind his ear and rushing out of my office. I heard him zip down the hall and into his own office while I was on my way to the elevators. I guess my message must have gotten through to him at last, 'Finishing your work now means no more of my nagging.'
Then I heard his booming laugh and the TV turn on. Like always. He never works. Well… Unless he's sober, then he's a work-a-holic. I guess I like my drunken Ziam, flaws and all.
The elevator went down the three floors of my building, the three floors the humans see anyways, and I got off of it in a blur. Normal humans aren't out at twelve o'clock at night, so we can reign freely without having to worry about being spotted and cause a riot. Silently I leapt off the ground and landed on the roof, stretching out my deep azure-almost black wings. Apparently some random human must have seen me leap off the back of the building, since the next day's headline in the newspaper was 'Sighted suicide victim's body not found'. I find it rather funny that the person didn't see me stretch out my wings at the last moment and glide near the ground.
When I was at cruising level I looked down at the city lights. This is a marvel of life, the intelligence of humans. It's been interesting to watch the cities grow. When I flew these same skies in the 17- or 1800's it was pitch dark. But now the continents are spotted with dots of light. Not many people were out back then at this hour, except for the loons… Did I just insult myself?
Now I'm flying over Europe. Many fond memories lie within Spain's boundaries. I met Gabrielle DiGiovanni there in… what might have been my 600th year as a vampire. I was looking for the black rose I search for every 100th birthday of mine when I came across a clearing in the woods. I had never seen someone like her, beautiful honey blonde long hair and hazel eyes. I was mesmerized for a second before I realized that her scent didn't really compare with a human's and her skin was glowing. Very not… Human.
Letting out a small chuckle I sped up when I neared the Atlantic Ocean. Gabrielle's and my story would infuriate Ziam, her husband and my best friend. Gabrielle was a great companion and we had many good times, but when we met Ziam and she found true love, I willingly gave up my claim over her.
I can now see Atlanta, Georgia. Ah… The east coast… That's where Gabrielle and I met Ziam Rosenthal. He could be the smartest person I know, he's been tested off the charts… If only he were sober, which he always isn't.
Gabrielle and I met him in 1812, during the war of 1812. He was a lively young kid of 16, eager to get to know Gabrielle and all of our secrets after ditching the British platoon he was assigned to. He actually chose this life of the night, just to be with Gabrielle… I feel truly happy for them, and even if they don't show their love and often fight, I know that they will have a happy eternity. He often says I need to find a cute 'lil hummy' (in his words) and have a happily ever after too, but I don't think I can condemn another person to this lifestyle.
Finally I arrived at my house, almost in a daze to find that I got here so early, so I strayed off to a clearing near a cliff close to my house. The night here was wonderful, the almost full moon warned me as it shone on the ground. The day was coming soon.
Every month during the full moon my true side comes out. That side of me is blood thirsty. Not like I'm not blood thirsty right now, but after a couple of centuries I've gotten a hold of that feeling while in this state. But at that time I lose all self control and my mind isn't in the right place.
Either way, whenever I'm like that I lock myself in my 'special room'. I despise that place. It's comfy, and its got a nice bed and a full mini-fridge. But at that time it's so irritating to stay locked inside that I tear the room to shreds.
The moon slowly went down as I gazed into the heavens. When light shone through from the horizon I awoke from my trance-like state and looked around. The sounds of people talking drifted to me from the distant forest so I high-tailed it to my house and put fluffy, my pet komodo dragon, on a leash and took him out for a walk.
All of the sudden a shocking scent drifted to my nose. Roses and peppermint. Rather odd… but the scent was driving me crazy, where could this incredibly intoxicating fragrance be coming from? Then I saw her. She was driving like a demon from hell on her shiny red and black motorcycle on a course that would take her straight to me.
Against my will I jumped on the nearest tree and gripped the trunk with all my force. I realized that the alluring scent was her own; The locals of Washington sure are odd… I thought to myself, in spite of the inner chaos that I was fighting through. Why did she have to come so close to the full moon? What god would be evil enough to send this young girl over here and let her cross paths with me?
I noticed that she could see me and had a perplexed look on her face as she put down her bike's kickstand. "Hey, What's your name?" She asked, from a bit across the clearing. My eyebrows raised and I jumped off the branch, my pet still held up by my hands. "… My name is James, Yours?" I curtly asked, looking around for a way out of this place so I wouldn't make the poor girl meet her untimely death.
Her scent was too much. I just about threw away the countless years of holding back my thirst.
She disappeared momentarily and re-appeared in front of me, the ten or so feet I had put between us were gone in the blink of an eye. She held out her hand and smiled widely, "Raylen Van Haven."
"Ehh…Yea, nice to meet you too Raylen." I quickly replied, shaking her hand as I did, and stepped back. That last move had brought my self-control down a notch. A Very bad thing indeed.
What had my birthday brought me? Just another girl to toy with my feelings apparently. I'm surprised I didn't know that from that moment on until the end of eternity I would find myself attracted to 'The little puny girl' as I called her before. Never would I have guessed that I would shortly fall for her charm, beauty, attitude, and energetic outlook on life, she was everything I was missing.