My breathing increased in speed, anticipating and fearing what would happen next. Of course, I already knew, but there was the small chance that he would draw away, because I had not taken a shower in three days. "Don't think like an idiot", I thought to myself as he drew closer. "It's not the smell of you at all that draws him near. It's only what pulses beneath my skin." My breathing got heavier as he pressed his chest against my back, murmuring into my ear.

"I won't hurt you once we are together." He kissed the line of my jaw, a small smile playing across his lips. His arms tightened around my waist, and I was crushed against him. The image in the mirror I looked into showed a horribly beautiful man, hugging me softly but firmly to him. Yet, the distance between us was like an ocean. He smiled while my thoughts went on, revealing all of his teeth. Including the two sharp incisors that were to sink deep into my ivory skin. I shuddered, terrified by the thought. His lips moved down to my throat as he murmured, "Don't be scared. You wanted this all along, am I right?" I swallowed hard, then nodded my head the tiniest bit. We stood there, silent, for minutes on end. "I'm growing rather impatient," he said, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. All I could do was nod. "May I finish?" He asked me, looking into the mirror at my reflection. I shook my head.

"Not yet," I managed to breath out. "Give me….fifteen minutes." He looked at me skeptically. "I want to enjoy my last moments of living." His eyes bore into mine, and I stared back, for it was all I could do to keep from fidgeting. At last, he spoke.

"Very well. You promise me though," he grabbed my wrists too tightly, watching them as they turned white. "No escaping." He looked up into my face as I stood there, frozen. One perfect eyebrow raised when I said nothing. Then, he laughed. "Of course you will not. I would catch you. You would not get very far." Then, letting go of my wrists and wrapping his long, muscular arms around my waist, he brought his lips to mine, not being gentle at all. I knew it was no use to struggle against his strength. Instead, I stood there, arms hanging awkwardly at my sides as he tried to kiss me. He became fiercer, while I stood there, helpless against his iron grip. In one fluid motion, he had managed to knock us on the ground, catching my head before it hit the marble floor, yet somehow still seeming to keep his lips locked to mine. I gasped for breath. He laughed and let go of me, allowing me my fifteen minutes.

"Do what you want with your time, Jessica. There will not be much left to yourself." He laughed again. It was a throaty laugh that echoed throughout me, as if I was a hollowed out trunk of a tree. I nodded my head to him, and tried to formally walk out of the foyer. Of course, I was shaking all over, so I nearly scrambled out of the room. Swinging open the door to the restroom, I searched around for my purse to find it was still hooked on my shoulder. My hands shook as I opened the zipper. Fumbling through the pockets, I found my cell-phone. I dialed his number quickly, waiting for it to go to voicemail. The beep alerted me it was time to tell him goodbye.

"I….just want to say I'm sorry. This didn't turn out well at all. I love you so much, but please, please don't come looking for me after. Lucius, he found me. I don't want you to get hurt because of my own idiotic decisions. Just…make sure your family knows, and that my mom and dad know that I, well, died. Let them think I'm gone forever. You have to promise me you won't come looking. I love you. I wish it were you. I'll miss you forever. I love you."

I pressed end to stop my voicemail and send it through. The tears in my eyes threatened to spill over as I unlocked the bathroom door with my purse in hand. I walked back into the foyer, back straight as I faced him. He was at her side in an instant. The speed was something she would have to get used to. His cold hands gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Are you ready now?" His velvet smooth voice rang through my ears, and I could no longer hold back the tears. He looked in the mirror adjacent to them, then his hand flew up and caught the tears. Then he spun her around, making her dizzy and a little nauseous. He stared at her again.

I tried to answer with no waver in my voice. "Yes." I succeded. He smiled. "Good", he replied, clearly pleased with my answer. He took my right hand and pulled me over to the plush chair that was against the wall. He sat down, then patted his lap as if to beckon me. I did as I was told. My legs swung across the edge of the chair as he positioned me so that he could get the best angle to my neck as possible. His lips grazed over where the blood pulsed most. He swiped his tongue to soften it, then took a deep breath. I closed my eyes tightly, wishing it was Damen who was here with me. He sank into my flesh as my eyes opened in agony, trying to get a scream out. All that I managed to say was "I love you" one last time.

Chapter One

I re-adjusted the backpack that was slung over my right shoulder so that it wouldn't slip. The sidewalk was slick, and even with my running shoes (that were fit to hold on to the ground for a short period of time to give you a spring when you ran) wouldn't hold on. The red Stanford sweatshirt I had on wasn't much protection against the hard wind that rocketed through the air. I hadn't even worn my sweats, but instead, a pair of green capris. "I'm such an idiot", I muttered. The first day of school and I have already made a joke of myself. I smoothed down my hair that had frizzed up in the rain. It was a good thing I hadn't worn mascara. "At least it's not winter."

The walk to school was treacherous in the winter. The snow would stick to whatever touched it so that you couldn't brush it off. Then, it would melt indoors, leaving you sopping wet. I moaned at the thought of yet another winter walking to school. Why couldn't mom and dad just pay for the bus? It would be a ton better than walking into school known as "Wet Red Jessie." The nickname had confused me for a while, but I understood it now. The wet and the Jessie were easy to understand. She was wet, and her friends called her Jess and Jessie. The red threw me off, but I now understood. It was just not that obvious because I had flaming red hair (sarcasm central).

My mind whirled around these thoughts as I ran across the street, catching myself twice before face planting into the cement. A black BMW honked at me, yelling out the window because I hadn't waited for a "go" sign. I didn't spare him a glance. As I reached the sidewalk, I saw Kat getting out of her mother's jaguar. I waited in place for her as she ran towards me, her feet slipping out from under her every once and a while.

"Jess! It's been so long! Like, what, a couple weeks?" Kat threw her arms around me, bubbling over how she and her new boyfriend, Mitch, had met at a school party that I was invited to, but didn't attend. "He is soo cute! And he has this bleach blonde hair and blue eyes. Yes I know. Hitler club, right? But he is soo not like Hitler. He's just the sweetest guy ever! I need you to meet him! Oh! And guess what the best part is? He's coming to Jefferson High! OH, wait. That's so not the best part. The best part is that he's my neighbor!" Kat babbled on and on, but all I was thinking about was how wet we were getting when she asked "Hello? Earth to Jess? Are you even listening?" She waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped back to reality.

"Yah. Hi. Mitch sounds amazing." I tried to sound enthusiastic. Kat didn't fall for it. She stared at me, her eyes disapproving. I changed the subject. "It's pouring out here, let's go inside." Walking inside, Jess thought about Kat. She usually had a boyfriend every other week. The longest she had gone out with a guy was two months. Record breaker!

Kat's mood immediately perked up when they walked to their new lockers in the hallway. "Okay. What's your first class?"

I looked down at my schedule. "AP History." I rolled my eyes.

Kat started bouncing up and down like a little girl "Oh my gosh! Mitch and I have that too! That way you can meet him!" I stood there, confused for a moment. But then I remembered that I hadn't been listening to Kat babble about her summer. She had probably said he was coming to Jefferson High then.

I played it safe by saying, "Cool! I'd love to meet him." Kat eyed me curiously, wondering where my enthusiasm had come from. Instead, she nodded her head vigorously.

"You HAVE to promise me something though", Kat turned around and made me pinky-swear by all that was on the line of my life.

"I swear, Kat. Just tell me."

"You cannot take him away from me. Girls loyalty code!" I stared at Kat, then laughed so hard I almost puked.

I managed to sputter out between giggles "You thought I would take Mitch?"

Kat glared at me and said "He's more than just your average hottie. He's only the hottest sixteen year-old to live." With that she stalked away, leaving me to my fits of laughter.

I was still giggling when I walked through the door into History. Kat had taken a seat in the back of the room. A boy was sitting next to her, just like the one she had described when they were outside. Apparently, she had still saved a spot for me on her right. I walked back there, knowing she was not paying any attention to me. The bell rang then, and Kat threw back her head of long blonde hair, whipping me in the face. I spit out her hair noisily, making her jump.

"Oh. Hey Jessie!" It seemed like Kat had gotten over her fit.

I smiled at her, grateful that she got over anger easily.

Mrs. Gamberly, the history teacher, walked into the room then, her throaty voice yelling out to the class "Welcome to the first class of AP History." Groans were heard across the room. I rolled my eyes, but had to agree with them. History was about old things that wouldn't matter unless you were a historian or a scientist or mathematician. Who would want to be that?

Mrs. Gamberly shushed the class as she spun around to the white board. "I wanted to start out with a seating chart today, so pick up your bags and get ready to move." More groans came. She pointed to the front right seat. "Katherine."

Kat looked over to me. She mouthed "crap", pecked Mitch on the cheek, and walked to the front. Mrs. Gamberly was on the 2nd row by the time Kat had made it to her desk. My classmates names were called. When Mrs. Gamberly got to the back row, my name was first. I walked slowly towards my assigned seat for the year, wondering what kind of creep I would have to sit next to. Instead, Mrs. Gamberly paused at the chair next to me, looked at her chart, and moved on.

I stared dumbfounded at the lady who was supposed to be my history teacher. She already hated me, yet she knew nothing about me. "Suck", I muttered under my breath.

Once Mrs. Gamberly had everyone seated in their new seats, she started a lecture on the Declaration of Independence. I searched my bag for my Ipod, then turned it to Green Day, pulling up her sweatshirt hood so that the cords could not be seen.

I paused "21 guns" when the hinges on the wooden door creaked open. The class stared, some gasping. I didn't bother to look up. Mrs. Gamberly sounded annoyed at the newcomer.

"Excuse me sir, we are in the middle of class." I looked up to see Mrs. Gamberly narrowing her eyes.

A male voice answered. "I know. I am sorry that I was late. There is horrible traffic out on the freeway."

The boy must have brought Mrs. Gamberly a slip, because she opened her desk and added it to the "late" tardy notes.

"Very well then, Mr. Shae. Take a seat by Ms. Hewett." I was startled when she said my last name.

"Thank you." The voice came again. I expected to hear footsteps coming towards the back of the room, but there was none. Wondering why the new guy was just standing in front, I looked up. Mrs. Gamberly went on with her lesson, but no one else was in the front of the room. I scanned the rows of seats, seeing no one. But when I looked to my right, the seat that had once been empty was now occupied by the new kid. He sat tall and straight, noticeably stressed.

Still, he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

The planes of his face were sharp, but rounded on the edges as though to make sure he wasn't too alarming. His copper golden hair glowed, even when he wasn't in the sunlight. His nose was long and curved slightly upward. His lips were thin yet full, and absolutely symmetrical from what I could see. But this was not what had made me stop breathing momentarily. Not even his impeccable body was the cause. I looked up into his eyes. They were not your average eyes. They were completely black.

No one else had seemed to notice. All they saw was his perfect face, body, jaw. I was suddenly frightened of the guy sitting next to me. I was also intoxicated. I stared at his face, knowing it was impolite, but unable to look away.

The spell was broken when Mrs. Gamberly asked me a completely random question about the founding fathers of the constitution.

"Ms. Hewett. Name three of the founding fathers of the Constitution." I had learned this, but it had been at the least three months since I had reviewed! I managed to sputter out three names, not sure at all whether they were correct or not.

"Uh..George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson." I felt like a total idiot after speaking. What kind of brilliant came up with a history answer with an "Uh" in it? I knew Mrs. Gamberly was looking at me disapprovingly, but instead of gazing back, I looked down at the history book that was sitting on the edge of the desk. I turned up the volume on my Ipod, hoping to drown out the smirks and giggles around the classroom that were aimed at my stupidity.

I was reaching for the history book when I caught a glimpse of the new guys hand. The skin was powder white, almost translucent. It stretched over the bones of his fingers smoothly. I noted that his hand was curled into a fist. No veins showed in his hands. I unconsciously compared his hand to mine, noting how uneven and dry my skin was. It looked like a rat chewed on it compared to his. I looked up at his face. He was glaring down at me, a murderous look on his face. For a split second, I thought he was a maniac serial killer, and I was next on his list.

Then I saw how beautiful and perfect he was. Even with a murderous look on his face, he looked like a painting of a perfect person even Van Gough couldn't draw. He was still glaring at me when I was about to ask what I had done, but the bell rang. He stalked toward the door quickly, at inhuman speed. I just sat in my seat, staring at the spot where a completely random guy who hated her had run away.

Chapter 2

The periods before lunch went by in a blur. It was only when I got to lunch was I aware of Kat hounding me. She stared at me as if I was some kind of science experiment.

"What? Did I grow a mutant pimple on my face?" I let my voice drip with sarcasm. Kat winced at my harsh tone. I sighed. "Sorry. I'm just in a crappy mood today."

Kat shook her head as she grabbed a lunch tray. "I can see." I followed her silently, picking a strawberry muffin and apple juice.

When we sat down, Kat popped the killer question. "So is Damen just like the hottest or what?" It took me a moment to realize who she was talking about. I thought about it while I chewed a piece of the muffin.

"Damen is his name?" I asked thoughtfully.

Kat gushed over it. "Yah. I know that it's your first year of school here and everything, but we've been friends for a long time, and I've lived here a long time." My memory suddenly switched over to the past. Until this summer, I had always lived with my dad. He died of cancer May 31. We had lived in New York, where the only way to survive was to be strong. Having divorced parents wasn't too bad for me. Until now. I had to live with my totally preppy mother, who owned a business in the clothing industry. She threw parties three times a week and even though I got showered with perks, I didn't get her attention.

This is fine with me.

Now I'm stuck going to Jefferson High, a charter school in Oregon. Welcome to the land of wet, green and cloudy. Every summer before dad died, I had come to visit Mom for a month. I met Kat at a carnival, waiting in line for faice-paint.

I was five.

Snapping back to the present, I asked Kat a question in return.

"Is he new here?" I took a sip of my apple juice.

"Yep. If he wasn't, I would've already snatched him up!" Kat fluttered her mascara covered eyelashes.

"Wait, I thought you were with Mitch? Do you recall saying 'he is only the hottest sixteen year-old on the planet'?" Kat was nice, but she could be really shallow.

"Well that was until I met Damen. But yah, I guess I'll stay with Mitch until Damen bites." I shuddered at her choice of words, not exactly sure why though.

"Poor Mitch," I muttered under my breath. Kat was too busy texting on her Iphone to hear me.

I looked at my friend, seeing that she was exactly the rich cheerleader kind of girl. With blonde straight long hair that never seemed to tangle and light blue eyes that looked innocent, Kat looked like the captain of the cheerleading squad. She could have been too. She had the looks and the money for it. Instead, she decided to hang out with me, the girl who doesn't get noticed. Well, that is, for the first day of school. Things would probably change later on.

Lunch went on slowly, Kat texting on her phone while sat on the wooden bench and picked at my muffin. A question came to my mind.

"Does Damen have any family?" I stared at Rose, waiting for her to pull away from her phone.

"Yah…he does. He has a foster father and mother, one sister and two brothers. But, none of them are related. Except for him and one of the brothers."

"Can you name them?" I asked, digging further.

"Oh yes!" Kat gushed out all the names. "Charlie, Aislinn, Alyssa, Jack, and Lucius. Charlie and Aislinn are the foster parents, even though Damen and Lucius are emancipated." I gaped as she went on.

"Alyssa and Jack are together, but they live with Charlie and Aislinn. No one really knows where Lucius is. Rumor is he's way hot. If only there more cute guys like the Shae's, the world would be a better place." Kat sighed dreamily.

Before I could hear more of Kat's gross fantasy, I asked "So who is Damen's blood brother? Jack or Lucian?"

"Lucian."

"Oh."

I let Kat dose off while I contemplated the new information I had. The rest of lunch I sat there, clutching my English notebook, waiting for the bell to ring.

As I walked to English, the only painting that caught my eye was one of a man holding a small boned girl, her face twisted in fear as he kissed her.