Prologue

I struggle to concentrate on the conversation as Aimee and Alex describe their honeymoon to us in much more detail than any of us want, but they're so enthusiastic about it that none of us have the heart to stop them. I still can't quite believe that they're married. We are only eighteen, after all. I raise a hand to my forehead and press my palm against it.

"Are you ok?" Aimee demands immediately, looking worried.

"I'm fine." I say, smiling. And I am. I'm just struggling to keep up with the flow of the conversation, but that's nothing to be worried about. It's a regular symptom, apparently. It's a little irritating but not as irritating as everyone tiptoeing around me like I'm made of glass.

"Are you sure?" Aimee asks, leaning forward. Everyone is watching me closely now, like they think I might collapse or something.

"Positive."

Alex launches into a description of a beach that he and Aimee visited and the attention is shifted back to him, thank goodness. It's been like this ever since the car crash, with everyone walking on egg shells around me. I got pretty banged up in the crash and am now suffering from retrograde amnesia. I don't remember the crash or the months leading up to it. Thankfully, I've got a handful of close friends who have filled me in on what I've forgotten, but they're still treating me like I'm made of glass. I shouldn't complain, really, it's good of them to care. I'm grateful, I really am, I'm just a little frustrated, what with losing eleven months of memories and all.

I realise a few seconds late that everyone has fallen silent and are all staring at something that I can't see. I follow their gazes and turn around to find that the subject of their fixation is a boy around our age. He's very pale with dark hair. He's wearing a linen shirt that's open a little way down his chest and I can see a tattoo that spans across his chest. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up above his elbows and he's got a tattoo on his left arm as well. He's walking towards us, his gaze fixed on the floor. I turn back around and my friends, all four of them, are still staring fixatedly at the boy. Aimee's eyes flicker worriedly to me and then back to the boy. I frown.

"Do you know him?" I ask as I turn back around. The boy has stopped in his tracks, perhaps he sensed our stares, and is now staring right back us. I give him a small smile before turning my back on him.

"Stop staring!" I hiss at them and slowly they cease staring and turn back to the table.

"Do you guys know that boy?" I ask again and they all hastily shake their heads. "Then why are you all staring?" All of them hesitate. Alex is the first one to speak.

"He's a vampire." He says quietly.

"A vampire!" I repeat excitedly. I've never seen an actual vampire before, which is why I'm ridiculously excited. I glance back to see that the boy is now walking in the opposite direction, away from us. He turns back and catches my eye. Even from this distance I can see that he's beautiful. Really beautiful in an understated kind of way. Beautiful doesn't mean harmless though. I'm sure that he has the power to obliterate every single person in the vicinity in mere moments. It's morbidly fascinating.

"Stop staring at him." Mark mutters, pulling at me.

"I was just looking." I protest in defence. "I'm curious."

"About what?"

"Vampires! They're impossible yet here they are. I just think it's interesting is all."

"Keep away from the vamps, babe. Your daddy will have a heart attack if you come home a fangbanger."

"A fangbanger?" I repeat incredulously, laughing. "I said that they were interesting, not that I wanted to start sleeping with them. Not that there's anything wrong with that but as of right now I have no interest in being with a vampire."

"Good." Marks mutters. "Let's keep it that way."

I turn back to find that the vampire has disappeared. That's a shame, I would have liked to have seen him up close, him being my first vampire and all.