ShadowRose18: ever found something when you were looking for something else? Well, while looking for lined paper for an essay that was due the next day, I found my old notebook that I took with me on holidays. Procrastinating on that urgent essay, I flipped through it and found this!

I told Twilight-Fangirl-Saf the few ideas that were in there, she told me to write this one first, so here it is!

Couple of things: it's set in another world, that's why it says that "I first met her…" and also, it's in Tancred's point of view.

Anyway, hope you enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Tancred, Emma, Charlie, Olivia, Lysander or Lauren or any other COTRK characters. They belong to Jenny Nimmo. Lucas, Caitlyn, Candy and Joe belong to Kevin Brooks.

Chapter 1 - The Devil and the Angel

Pirates, mermaids, fairies, elves, storm troopers, Jedi, mummies, werewolves and even a television partied in the bar, celebrating the 20th birthday of the soon-to-be-actress, Olivia Vertigo. Wearing all black, a black cape and fake vampire teeth, I was supposed to be a vampire, but my best friend, Lysander, who was dressed as a pirate and even had the annoying parrot as a bonus, said I looked like a Goth with buck teeth. But when I questioned how my spiked blonde hair fit into that description, he just shrugged and walked off to talk to his "mermaid" girlfriend, Lauren. I rolled my eyes.

Pounced upon by the "star" of the show, Olivia, I almost swallowed my false teeth in surprise. Completely covered in red, a black pitchfork, black tail and horns, the birthday girl looked like she'd literally just come from hell. Her boyfriend, Charlie Bone, who was a friend of mine, was dressed as a mummy, with bandages badly wrapped over his t-shirt and jeans. It was obvious that Olivia didn't dress him; otherwise the poor kid would be on the floor suffocating. I hoped she wouldn't get time to.

Standing by her side, Charlie took in my outfit with amusement.

'Tanc…Why'd you pick to be a vampire when you have blonde hair?' Charlie asked me.

'Well, I found the teeth and the cape a little while ago, and I didn't have anything better,' I replied, shrugging.

'What do you think of my outfit?' Olivia asked, striking a pose.

'Don't take me to hell,' I replied seriously and we all laughed.

'So, where's your angel counterpart?' I asked, teasingly.

'Over there,' Olivia replied, surprising me with an answer, and pointed to a couch and table in the corner where a young girl with blonde hair was sitting, dressed in all white and with angel wings behind her. The table and couch were empty and she was sitting alone, reading a book.

Olivia was dragged away by one of her dramatic friends and Charlie followed. Alone, I ventured over to the strange girl. As I approached she picked up the glass, which looked like it was filled with apple juice, and drank, her eyes remaining on the book pages. She put her glass down and continued reading.

I stood beside her, but she completely ignored me. Slightly annoyed, I stood there, waiting to see how long it would take her to notice I was there. After about a minute, she realised that there was someone standing beside her. Turning her head slowly, she jumped a little when she saw a tall vampire (or Goth with buck teeth) standing beside her.

'S-Sorry,' she murmured, closing her book and biting her lip in embarrassment.

'Why are you reading at a party?' I asked her; her strange behaviour was puzzling.

'Well, I know Olivia…and Charlie, but I don't really know anyone else. I tried talking to some people…but then they went dancing and stuff. I found a book on the floor and I didn't have anything better to do, so I started…reading…' she trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

'That's your excuse for reading?' I asked, disbelievingly, my eyebrows raised.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

'What are you reading anyway?' I asked her.

'Lucas by Kevin Brooks,' she answered, showing me the front cover.

'I've read that,' I said, seeing one of my favourite books (and one of the few that I had read) on the table.

'I'm almost finished. Caitlyn is running after Lucas now. It's absolutely captivating,' she said, smiling.

'Yeah, I like it better than Candy,' I said, thinking of another book by the same author.

'Candy?' she asked. I nodded.

'It's another book by Kevin Brooks. It's about a guy called Joe who falls in love with a girl called Candy,' I answered. She shifted over to let me sit beside her.

'Like how Caitlyn falls in love with Lucas?' she asked, smiling, as I sat down. I nodded, grinning.

'Nice vampire teeth,' she said, taking in my costume.

'Nice wings,' I returned, smiling.

'Thanks,' she said, blushing slightly. It was only then when I really noticed how she looked. She was dressed in knee-length white dress, with the white straps covered by a white cardigan, while the elastic straps of her wings were over that. I couldn't see her shoes, but I assumed they were white. She even had a white flower in her pale blonde hair. But her eyes were what captivated me. They were a beautiful green, much like the jewel, peridot. I couldn't stop staring at her.

'Um…' she shifted uncomfortably in my gaze.

'Sorry,' I mumbled, lowering my gaze and she managed a shy smile.

'So…um, how do you know Olivia?' she asked, keeping her eyes lowered.

'I'm a friend of Charlie's. We met at uni,' I said, smiling, thinking of the good times.

She smiled. 'And what about you?' I asked her. She looked up at me in surprise.

'I... Olivia and I were best friends in high school. She goes to a different uni to me now, but we're still friends,' she said, smiling, obviously thinking of her high school years.

'Really? You two aren't very much alike,' I said, thinking of Olivia's extravagant, confident nature and this girl's shy, quiet one.

She chuckled. 'Yeah, that's what everyone says, but I calm Olivia down and she helps me with my confidence,' she said, smiling at me.

'I see…Anyway, I'll leave you to read your book,' I said, smiling and standing up.

'Ah, okay, thanks,' she said, smiling.

I walked over to where Lysander was sitting at the bar. He watched me approach.

'Who's the little angel you were talking to?' he asked casually, taking a sip of his beer.

I chuckled. 'One of Olivia's friends,' I said, looking over the room to where she was, already absorbed in her book.

'Hey Tancred!' a voice said brightly from behind me. I turned around to see Lauren, beautifully dressed like a mermaid.

'Hi Lauren,' I said, grinning at her.

'Nice costume,' she said, spying my vampire teeth. I laughed.

'Yours isn't too bad either,' I said, glancing at her costume.

'Thanks,' she said smiling, and sat down next to Lysander.

'Hey,' he said, taking her hand in his.

'Will you buy this lone maiden a drink?' Lauren asked, her face inches from his.

I looked away, slightly embarrassed. Lysander and Lauren were great together, but it didn't mean I had to see it.

My eyes casually scanned the crowd before me. Olivia and Charlie were talking to a tall brunette who was dressed as an elf, while a large crowd was packed tightly on the dance floor. My eyebrows knitted together a bit after I had scanned the whole bar area. Where was that girl? I couldn't see anyone in white with white angel wings. Then I spotted a speck of white in a mass of black. I squinted to see it properly.

Then I finally understood. That mass of black was a bunch of half-drunk guys and that speck of white was my mysterious girl. Worse, those half-drunk guys were trying to do something wrong to her.

ShadowRose18: okay, this was meant to be a oneshot, but it's becoming way too long, so I'm dividing it into chapters and here's the first one.

I'll be posting the second chapter soon.