Prologue

If you were given the chance to become immortal and live forever, would you take it? Most, if given the chance, would take it. Although, a few very wise people, would not. In my tale, I am sorry to say I am not one of those few. I was not always what people call a vampire. Ha! That's what people call me. I do not call myself that, a cherished well-known word of a ghost story. I call myself a horrible, immortal, blood-sucking, monster! A monster that I do not want to be.

Transylvania

I guess part of the blame goes to my parents. They were so utterly stupid to move to Transylvania. Oh whom am I kidding? My parents only moved here to show me that it was not haunted. That was a completely wasted effort, moving here only convinced me more that Transylvania was haunted. Funny, bad luck follows me.

We had to take a private airplane here because nobody moves to Transylvania. In fact, the only people there are the ones unfortunate enough to have been born there. The pilot announced that we were inside the borders of Transylvania. Suddenly, all the lights flickered. As we entered Transylvania, I saw a dark era around.

There was absolutely no doubt now that Transylvania was haunted. I tried to tell my parents this, but they just waved me away. I continued to stare out the window. The landing was bumpy and the power went out again. The pilot came back with a flashlight. As we unloaded, the pilot flashed a smile in my direction. I noticed how sharp his canine teeth were.

************

At my new house everything was still in boxes. The only things unpacked were our beds. I went to sleep dreading the next day. I was already registered for high school, which was doomed to be a disaster.

The next day my mother gawked at me when I came downstairs.

"You look so… so… gothic," she spluttered.

"Mom" I said, annoyed, "we're in gothic central. I don't see anything wrong with my outfit." I was wearing a black rock tee shirt, jeans, and a red fishnet glove. In fact, my outfits were the start of my troubles. They got him to notice me.

"Go change," she demanded.

"Go change," I mimicked. When I went upstairs I didn't change. I just grabbed a sweater and yanked it over my outfit. Then I trudged back downstairs.

"Happy now?"

"Much better" she approved. At the bus stop I shoved off the sweater. When I got on the bus I was forced to sit next to a gothic looking boy. I could see that underneath all his "gothicness", he was quite good looking. He thought I didn't notice, but he was staring at me in wonder the whole bus ride. When I got off the bus I was pleased to see we weren't the only two gothic looking people. Everybody else looked as gothic as we did.

The school seemed normal enough. There were posters for dances, clubs, and charity events. Classes were a blur. I didn't get lost, the school was very small. On the bus the same boy plopped down next to me.

"Hey"

"Hey" I said back, lamely. I was so startled by his voice. It was so smooth, like liquid mercury.

"So… I know you're new and all, but do you want to go to the dance with me? For some odd reason I want to know more about you." Was he seriously asking me out? It's only my first day of school. I don't even know his name! On the other hand, he is good looking. So what if I don't know his name? I'll ask him.

"Uh, sure, one thing?" My uncertainness made it a question.

"Depends on what that is." He answered. I could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"What IS your name?!" He laughed at me.

"Of course," he replied, "my name is Tristan."

We didn't talk the rest of the bus ride. Just like the morning, he stared at me the whole way. I still can't believe he asked me to the dance. The dance is on Friday, it's Monday, oh no. There is no time and to top it off it's a costume party.

"One last question, what are you going as?"

"Vampire." He chuckled and got off the bus. What was up with that? I need to find a vampire costume. Why did he say it was odd that he wanted to know more about me? Why did he laugh when he said he was going to dress as a vampire? Why is his name so old fashion? Why is this boy so odd? Why did I say yes?

The next day was very odd, Tristan walked me to class, what I hadn't noticed yesterday is that he is in every single one of my classes. He even held my hand on the way to math. When we were on the bus, he talked to me the whole way home. When he got off he told me he would pick me up for the dance at eight on Friday. I only had until then to get a costume! I decided to go to Party City later.

At the store I picked a costume with a long, black, silk skirt and a corseted top. The skirt had a red sash and the top had a white v-neck shirt to put under it. I looked fantastic in it! I couldn't wait for the dance! Of course the costume was expensive, fifty dollars.

Before I knew it, it was Friday. My first period teacher was urging everyone to go to the dance, for it was also a fundraiser. Only a few people showed a genuine interest for it, and about half agreed to go. The rest of the day followed suit. Tristan asked me repeatedly if I still wanted to go and if I still wanted to go with him. I kept telling him yes, it really got annoying.

When I got home I flew up the stairs to start getting ready. After my shower I blow-dried my long ratty blond hair, it almost looked silky. I curled it and made it into an intricate bun. I let one curl hang down. Next, I put on my false eyelashes dabbed on some eyeliner. I did it extra thick for this occasion. As I was putting on my red lip-gloss, I realized that I had forgotten to buy fangs. There was absolutely no time it was already seven-fifty. He would be here in ten minutes. I pulled on my costume. The finishing touch was my six-inch red heels.

Ding-dong, he was here! I raced down the steps to answer the door. I stood there, shocked. He looked hot! A black loose shirt with a very old fashion v-neck; it showed most of his chest. Plain black pants, and super sharp fangs. He held up a box and I took it. I opened it and there were a pair of fangs.

"I thought you might need a pair," he said with a grin.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"You're so absentminded, I had a feeling you might need them. Anyway, a date never comes unprepared," I frowned at the absentminded remark, but I had a secret pleasure when he called himself my date. Well he didn't actually say that, but he implied it.

"Are you ready to leave?" I asked absentmindedly. He agreed to leave. Outside you would never believe what was waiting for us, a stretch limo! He escorted me inside the limo and told the chauffer to go. I just stared at him in question.

"What?" he finally asked, exasperated.

"Well," I started, "we're in a limo, you bought me a pair of fangs, and you're treating a costume dance like…prom!"

"Like I said, a date never comes unprepared," he said simply. I just gawked. He sighed as if wishing I could understand the ways of the rich and charming. The limo ride was so smooth I didn't realize we had left my house. The limo was also abnormally fast we were at the school in literally two minutes. It should have taken at least fifteen. I stepped out of the limo and my heel caught onto my dress. I started to fall but his strong arms caught me by the small of my back, suddenly he swooped me up.

"You have a microscopic chance of falling if I'm carrying you," he explained, catching my questioning eyes. I rolled my eyes. Surprisingly he carried me all the way to the door of the school. Even then he held me there for a second, just staring at me. He finally let me down, although he left his arm around my shoulders. As we walked to the gym, he let his hand slip down to my hip, I didn't argue. When we walked in everybody turned to stare. A girl I recognized from my math, English, and science classes came up to me and asked to talk to me privately. I barely knew her, but she looked nice enough and we could possibly become friends. I was not in the position to pass up friends. Also, Tristan might think I'm n unsocial person that is no fun to be around. I grudgingly followed her out. In the bathroom she said

"You're going with him? Oh my god, when did he ask you?"

"I don't think that's any of your business, considering I don't know your name." I replied. She was obviously looking for juicy gossip.

"Oh, my name's Veronica, now can you tell me?" she was so nosy. Maybe we wouldn't be friends, I hate nosy people.

"Fine, he asked me on Monday, why is it such a big deal?"

"Because," she said as if I was dumb, "he's the hottest guy in school everyone wants to date him! He doesn't pay any attention to anyone, but that makes us like him more!"

"Look, I didn't know anything about him when I said yes. I said yes because he is super hot!" She looked at me with disapproving eyes. She obviously expected gossip a little juicier, definitely. She kept staring so I figured it was time to leave. When I opened the door Tristan was standing there. We walked back to the dance floor together. A slow song was playing. He tugged me closer and swirled me around to the tempo of the music.

************

When we reached my house, Tristan walked me to the door.

He seemed kind of tense. I could have sworn I say a glint of crimson behind the blackness of his eyes. He took my hand as if intending to keep me there forever. It was clear he wasn't going to say anything.

"What, no goodnights kiss?" I asked disappointed.

"No," he sighed, "not tonight. I'll explain tomorrow when I pick you up for school. Until then, be patient." I sullenly agreed.

I opened my door and practically floated upstairs. I took another shower to wash of the makeup and hairspray. I towel dried my hair and put on my pajama's. Ring ring! I hurried to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Tristan, is Mina there?"

"This is she, hi Tristan"

"Hi Mina, I have a request for you tomorrow."

"What is it?" I asked nervously.

"What do you say we dump all this gothic stuff and wear normal colors?"

"Won't everyone stare at us, Tristan?"

"So? I strive to be different."

"Okay Tristan"

"Bye, I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow morning." He hung up. I decided to go to bed, so tomorrow would come quicker. That didn't work. He said to be patient, I'm not good at that, and tomorrow didn't come fast. When I admitted that I couldn't sleep, I got up and typed random words. Typing always seems to calm me down. I did that until about two in the morning.

I woke up to my alarm at six in the morning at my desk. On the screen were one hundred pages worth of random letters. I went down to the kitchen and poured a bowl of cereal. I ate slowly; my mind was in a distant place. When I looked back at the clock it said it was 6:30. I went upstairs and picked out a pink shirt, light blue jeans, and ballet flats. I brushed my teeth, dabbed on lip-gloss, and put on mascara. I got my schoolbooks together and put them in my bag. The doorbell rang and I went downstairs.

"Hi" he said and grinned. It almost made me faint, his smile was so perfect.

"You look very nice in pink," he approved, I grinned. Waiting for us was a dark blue Porsche. On the inside, the seats were made out of black leather.

"Ready for school?" he asked. I smiled and got in. I buckled my seatbelt and held it tightly against my body. He chuckled and pressed on the gas pedal. I watched the scenery zoom by. We were at school in less than two minutes. Tristan walked me to class and everyone stared at our bright, non-gothic, colors. To tell the truth, I honestly didn't care. We smiled at each other, this was our inside joke. People whispered behind our backs, teasing us. Again, I couldn't have cared less.

"Hey," he whispered, "what time do your parents get home?"

"Not until late," I whispered back.

"I'll take you to my place after school," I nodded in agreement.