Lets talk this over,
It's not like we're dead.
Was it something I did?
Was it something you said?
Don't leave me hanging…
In a city so dead.
Held up so high
On such a breakable thread.

"Steve, please!" Cried Rose as the door to her friend's chamber slammed shut in her face. She banged her fragile fist several times against the wood just inches from her face but no sound was heard from the other side. Rose rested her forehead against the wooden barrier separating her from her best friend and let a solitary tear run silently down her cheek and drop off her chin onto the stone floor with a small splash that would have been undetectable to human ears but to Rose, it echoed around the vast and empty chamber. With the tip of her finger, she prevented another from rolling down her face. It was apparent Steve did not want to talk to her, to be near her even, so Rose wandered lost and alone back along the corridor in the direction she had come from. Why was he upset with her? Rose couldn't think of anything except the argument they had shared the other night. She had been upset about the Vampaneze's brutality concerning their feeding habits and Steve had tried to defend their ways. Eventually they had agreed to disagree and Rose had assumed everything was back to normal. But thinking back, Rose realized that although she had gone back to acting as normal, her friend had seemed colder and distant. She had not noticed his increasingly short replies to her questions. He hardly ever opened up to her any more. It was almost as though he was acting the same way he had when she had first not known his secret. Steve was more reserved lately but Rose had no idea why. Eventually she had corned him about it and another fight ensued. She accused him of keeping more secrets but Steve had just laughed.

"You know everything now Rose," he had said, "You just don't like the truth."

Rose paused where she was in the dimly lit stone dungeons. The truth? The truth was that she was a Vampaneze and so was Steve. Yes, it was true she was finding it more difficult to adjust to her second life than he had but she supposed she just needed time. Blood was probably an acquired taste. Resuming her venture down the cold corridor, Rose reconsidered her actions. Perhaps she shouldn't have chased him to his room, maybe then he would have been more inclined to talk and she wouldn't be so lost. Rose felt truely lost. Not just regarding to her geographical whereabouts (although that was in question too) but she felt alone and isolated in this new world where her only friend now wouldn't even look at her. She was the only one with a trace of human nature left in this undead underground city ruled by the fearsome Mr Tiny and inhabited by the merciless and cruel Vampaneze and she felt afraid. Steve was her life line. The boy she trusted most in the world. He had been her only friend while she was human and after his death she had followed him into this twisted second life where he left her unexpectedly. Rose suddenly felt foolish for depending on one person so entirely when it was so easy for him to shun her just like everyone else did. Lost in her thoughts, Rose had not noted the direction she had been walking in and suddenly found herself amongst a vast aray of coffins, most of which she assumed were occupied. She sat down on the nearest one's lid and buried her head in her arms. Perhaps when the sleeping Vampaneze woke up, they would be kind enough to share directions with her.

You were everything, everything,
that I wanted.
We were meant to be, supposed to be,
But we lost it.
All the memories so close to me
Just fade away…
All this time you were pretending…
So much for my happy ending.

Back in his room, Steve threw himself into his coffin and slammed the lid shut with such force that the hinges snapped. Unconcerned with the fact that he was technically trapped in his resting place, the young Vampaneze squeezed his eyes shut and tried to prevent his tears. Crying was, in his opinion, a sign of weakness and he definatly considered himself not to be weak. Suddenly Rose's tear-streaked face appeared in the darkness on the backs of his eyelids and his eyes flew open to get rid of the image. He did not want to think about Rose as it was too painful. He felt a mix of emotions when he thought of her. A small part of him felt horribly guilty for turning her into a Vampaneze when she clearly hated being one. He had thought at the time that he was saving her from an unnecessary death but now he saw that his intentions may have been more selfish. He had wanted her to stay with him forever. However the rest of him was largely angry with the girl. Why did she have such a big problem about killing humans? It was their nature. They had to kill and drink their blood in order to survive. There was no alternative to the sweet elixier that ran through ugly human veins.

Steve used his new superhuman strength to push away the coffin's lid that confined him to the wooden box. It flew across the room and landed with a satisfying smash on the stone floor by the door. Steve enjoyed the groaning noise it made as it fell in half. He liked to destroy things, it was fun and it took his mind off other depressing matters. The Vampaneze lept up and jumped over to the broken lid. He landed lightly next to it in one swift move before raising his fist and punching a secong hole through it in a powerful move. The wood splintered beneath his palm and crunched as it snapped. The noise reminded Steve of the night he and Rose fought. He had smashed up a wardrobe then in anger. He remembered Rose's fearful expression as he tore it to pieces in a fit of rage. The fear in her eyes had made him stop. He did not want to give her another reason to believe he was a monster. Steve punched another hole in the lid as he thought that word. Moster. Thats what she had called him and that single word had been enough to send him into a rage. He felt horrible knowing that was how she saw him – a monster.

Steve wiped away a sneaky tear with the back of his hand. He hadn't noticed it leave his eye. How could she think him a monster after the lengths he went to to protect her? He had spent the majority of his second life taking care of her and she still thought of him as a monster regardless. He slumped beside the splintered wood and rested his chin on his knees. Rose was the most beautiful girl he had encountered and she was his friend. He wanted her to think of him as her protector or someone she could depend on but the truth was she was afraid of him and what he had become. The truth was he was a Vampenze but Rose despised him for this. He laughed bitterly as he remembered the months he had spent agonising over whether to tell her and if so, how. Now the girl he loved knew everything about him, even his deepest, darkest secrets but feared him as a result. His biggest fear had become a reality. Rose thought he was a monster. Steve allowed the hot tears to clense his cheeks this time as he made a silent promise to himself. His last act as her friend would still be to protect her from everything she was afraid of. Even if it meant himself.

You've got your dumb friends,
I know what they say…
They tell you I'm difficult,
But so are they
But they don't know me…
Do they even know you
All the things you hide from me…
All the sh*t that you do

Rose glanced up from her position on top of the largest coffin. The Vampaneze still hadn't awoke from their slumber and it was nearly dusk. She began to feel angry as she thought of them all, lazily resting in their comfy coffins. They were probably having a wonderful lay in in their silk lined beds whilst she was awake and alone. She cursed the horrible race of Vampaneze. They were the reason Steve was behaving in the way he was. Mr Tiny, their unelected leader, had brainwashed him into thinking he would one day become the master of their race. She wept as she thought of her poor friend deluded into believing he had any control of this lot. They were savages with purple skin and red eyes who killed their victims in inhuman ways to feast on their blood. She blamed them for brainwashing her friend into thinking this was a normal way to behave. Before he had met them, Steve had been a loyal although somewhat odd friend but she had loved him nonetheless. The Vampaneze scared Rose but she often found the strength to confront them when she was angry and so the fact that one was lying peacefully beneath her did not worry her much. She had often heard them whispering to Steve in the early hours of the mornings when they has thought she had gone to rest. They spread rumours about her behind her back, calling her "half-human" and "difficult." Usually Steve set them straight and defended her but sometimes he remained silent and thoughtful. It was these times that worried Rose. Her worst fear was that he would become like them and unrecognizable as the boy she had grown up with. She hoped that the Vampaneze's whispers had not persuaded Steve.

She shifted uncomfortably on the lid as she thought of all of the opportunities the Vampaneze had had to spread lies about her. She swore aloud as she pictured Mr Tiny dictating who Steve should and should not be friends with. The old Steve would have punched or threatened anyone who was mean about her before but in this new life, the large coven of Vampaneze seemed to rule and lead Steve's life, but more worringly, he let them.

Rose had found it hard to trust Steve after he kept the fact that he was a Vampaneze secret from her. He had left her to grieve for weeks after faking his death to run away with the coven and it was only after he heard that her life was nearly at an end, that had he run back to her side and that was mainly due to his guilt at having caused her illness. The girl sighed as she thought of several more possibilities for Steve's recent strange behaviour, all of them linked to some unknown new secret of his. What if he was planning to run away again? To leave her? Rose shuddered at the idea of being left underground with this deadly bunch of Vampaneze alone.

The creak of a coffin lid slowly opening behind her interrupted Rose's thoughts of despair and she looked over her shoulder to see an old Vampaneze man squinting at her through sleep filled eyes. She jumped off of the coffin to face him and grinned awkwardly. Another yawn from the other side of the room alerted Rose to the fact that it was probably time for the Vampaneze to wake up. She backed into a corner and waited for them.

You were everything, everything,
That I wanted.
We were meant to be, supposed to be,
But we lost it.
All the memories so close to me
Just fade away…
All this time you were pretending…
So much for my happy ending.

Steve sat up a little straighter when he heard the many footsteps approach his door. He held his breath, daring them to enter just so he could fight them to leave when he heard them walk straight past his door. His breath came out in a rush as he realized the Vampaneze were not looking for him. In fact they were probably just up from their nap intent on going out hunting. Sparing his own stomach a thought, Steve acknowledged his hunger but thought it best not to join them whilst feeling so upset. When on a hunt, Vampaneze never let their emotions guide them, only their hunger. If he went out for dinner feeling like he did now, it was likely the newspapers would report a massacre tomorrow. He ignored his stomach's growl until the hunger pangs went away. Steve wondered where Rose had gone after she followed him down to his room. He did not know whether she knew her way back and at the time, he had not cared. However now that there were hungry Vampaneze on the loose, he began to fret for her safety. When hungry, he Vampaneze are known to attack and his particular coven were not known for their solidarity. He hoped she had not bumped into them.

Thinking about his friend once again triggered an alarming rush of emotions. This time however he did not feel hatred or cry, instead he felt a sense of longing. Rose had been his only real friend in this life and in the one before. He knew he was often rash and could be a bad influence but he recognized he needed to at least make an effort to change to win his only friend back. For a small while anyway.

Now focused on fixing his broken friendship with Rose, Steve stood up and surveyed the damage he had done to his room. The coffin's lid was beyond repair but apart from that, he had done minimal damage to the chamber. Pleased with his change of personality, Steve left through the door, intent on reclaiming everything that he wanted.

It's nice to know that you were there,
Thanks for acting like you cared
And making me feel like I was the only one.
It's nice to know we had it all.
Thanks for watching as I fall,
And letting me know we were done.

The group of Vampaneze moved swiftly down the corridors as one, never pausing or changing direction once. Rose was impressed with their ability to find their way around the labyrinth of halls without a map but reasoned they had been here centuries longer than she had and so had had plenty of time to learn their route. Rose felt perfectly at ease with the savages surrounding her. When they had all woken up, they had looked at her expectantly and so she had explained her dialema. She had scolded the few that laughed and yelled at the one who refused, but the rest had been eager to give her directions and even acompany her to the main chamber. Rose had followed them with relief and gratitude as they flitted along the maze of corridors.

Along her journey, Rose didn't miss Steve once and she began to realize she could live as a Vampaneze without him. What a great friend, she thought sarcastically, for all he knows I could be in danger right now. She cursed Steve for only ever treating her like a small child who needed constant watching. She was doing just fine without him. She supposed he never really cared about her at all. He probably only felt responsible for her because he was the one that created her. He probably only took care of her out of guilt. Rose frowned as thought back to all the times where Steve comforted her when she was upset or scared and reconsidered her last line of thought. No, it was only recently that he had acted in a strange way but that didn't change the fact that he was still behaving in a rude manner towards her. Perhaps afer she got to know the rest of the Vampaneze coven better, she could ask them.

Suddenly the group turned a final corner and arrived in a well lit stone chamber with intricate wall decorations and an ornate floor. Rose studied the detaild candelabras before her eyes met those of Mr Tiny's. His eyes were cold and grey, unlike the red eyes of the Vampaneze that surrounded her. Rose did not flinch under his gaze but met his eyes with equal disdain. She hated that small fat man for capturing Steve's fascination with Vampaneze and taking him away from her. Mr Tiny was partially obscured by the group of Vampaneze but a simple click of his fingers parted them like the red sea. As the hungry group moved away, another taller, thinner figure was revealed. Steve was standing by Mr Tiny's side, his hands his the pockets of his dark jeans, staring at the group with narrowed eyes. Rose avoided his gaze and stared at her feet. She had planned to confront him but her anger seemed to melt away as she looked into his dark crimson eyes. Maybe if I keep my eyes lowered I'll still be able to yell at him she wondered but as she risked a look up and saw him making his way towards her, she felt her anger disappear for good.

You were everything, everything,
That I wanted…
We were meant to be, supposed to be,
But we lost it.
All of our memories so close to me
Just fade away…
All this time you were pretending…
So much for my happy ending.

Steve met her gaze across the room and tried to hold it but to his dismay Rose looked down again. Although he didn't blame her, Steve wished she would at least try to accept him the way he was. In the hope that she would at least acknowledge him, he made his way through the parted crowd to talk to her. To his delight, as he approached, Rose glanced up and met his eyes again. This time her gaze was softer and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. Steve felt as though the breath had been knocked out of him. She was beautiful. Her eyes glowed red through her fringe and her lips were full and just as pink as her rosy cheeks.

"Rose?" began Steve but he was interrupted by Mr Tiny.

"Come, all of you, it is time to hunt." He broke off and smiled toothily at the group. Steve glanced at Rose who was staring at the floor, her previously pink cheeks were turning red. It was obvious she was still not comfortable with the concept of hunting. The majority of their group began to move off and soon only three figures remained in the large chamber: Mr Tiny, Steve and Rose. Mr Tiny's brow furrowed as he stared between Steve and Rose. Rose did not meet his gaze and as the tension became too much, she began to move away too.

"Wait," said Steve as he went to stand by Rose's side, "We'll go together." Under Mr Tiny's watchful eye, he took her hand and led her from the room. As soon as they were out of view, Steve paused and turned to look at Rose.

"Come on, lets go somewhere fun. I'm not hungry." Rose smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you," she whispered. Steve blushed, a rare moment for him. If he was going to tell Rose, he decided now was probably he best time. He took a deep breath and continued.

"You're every thing I want Rose, we're meant to be," he broke off, unsure whether she felt the same way but to his relief the girl opposite him smiled. Rose opened her mouth as if to reply but changed her mind after a few moments. Instead she settled for a light kiss. Steve, caught off guard, managed to catch her before she pulled away and deepened the kiss. At last they pulled apart and Steve smiled. He was not a monster and this was the perfect ending to their fight. A happy ending.