Chapter 2.

Bloody Birthday Cake

That night was much more fun than I could have ever imagined, Claude especially liked when I hid behind him, but ducking into bushes and acting like I was a totally different person was amusing, I think Trevor may have completed my birthday in a way that I would have never known. But it was depressing when he found out where I was and I had nowhere to hide, and Claude was all the way over on the other side of the park flirting with my cousins.

"Hey Skye, where have you been all night?" Trevor asked with that sly grin across his face. "I've been looking for you."

"Oh you know, everyone wants to meet the birthday girl."

"So you're turning sixteen right?"

"Yep, sweet sixteen." I was thinking of so many excuses to try to get away from hi but all I could think of at the moment was that I had to use the restroom. "I-."

"Let's ditch this place." Trevor took my hand in his and grinned. "I know a really great spot where we can get together."

"Get together as in …?"

"I'll tell you later." I looked back and saw Claude making his way across the park, hopefully to try and find me, I hope that bat boy had super smell! Quickly I raised my hand in the air to wave him over when Trevor grasped my hand and pulled it down, I looked into his eyes. "This is supposed to be private." His tone sounded amused in some strange way.

"But Raven-."

"She can wait." Trevor continued to drag me deeper into the darkness of the park, I tried to spy Claude somewhere but found that his head of white hair had disappeared. "Here we are."

"The monkey bars?" It was a tangled castle of bars where children would often climb up to the top or flip themselves upside down.

"Yeah …" He pulled me between the bars and we were at the bottom in the middle of them where all the bars seemed to bend in a dome shape around us. "It's kind of cramped in here I hope you don't mind." I pursed my lips and looked at Trevor who's face was suddenly within breath-tasting distance.

"Well then maybe you could leave, cause I want to stay."

"So do I." He leaned closer to me as I leaned away, my back hitting the ground skimming the bar that was now blocking Trevor's face from mine, he grabbed said bar and ducked his head under it, his legs trapping my hips between them.

"Um … I find this position very uncomfortable."

"I like it, you look really hot like this." So he means to say that I look really hot as his rape victim? "You're shaking, are you cold?"

"No." I said shakily, it sounded and must've looked allot like I was cold but truthfully I was just shaking in my boots because I wasn't looking forward to loosing my innocence until after I was married!

"I can warm you up …" Trevor leaned his face closer to mine I looked away and shut my eyes when his smooth lips caressed my cheek causing a bright red to fly across my face. "I think maybe it's already working …" He cooed in my ear.

"I have to use the bathroom." I squeaked and started to shuffle when his legs squeezed my hips tightly trapping me there as I stared in fright inside of his lustful blue eyes. "T-Trevor … I have to go-!" He pushed his face forward trying to shut my mouth when I placed my hand over his own soccer-saliva-filled-lips. "Stop that!"

"Come on … you know you really want this, or do I have to out-do that stupid Claude friend of yours?"

"No! I don't like him!"

"Then why do you always look at him like you do?"

"Why does everyone say that? I don't like him! And I certainly don't like you!" I pushed Trevor off me as his head slammed into a monkey bar, I hoped he was bleeding! I thought and stormed away through the cold, sitting myself beneath a picnic table and holding my knees against my chest.

"Hey there, what are you doing all depressed under a table on your sixteenth birthday?" Claude asked with a grin, slipping under the table with me and smiling then accidentally hitting his head, I laughed.

"You're weird …"

"And you aren't?"

"I make weird look good." He looked me up and down while winking.

"I can't disagree." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against him he was really warm. "So is this where you've been for the past half-hour?"

"No, Trevor had me pinned under the monkey bars."

"He what?" Claude snarled motioning to stand when I gripped his jacket and pulled him back down. "The next time I see that little bitch I'll kill him!"

"Well aren't you intelligent?" I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Obscenities only make you sound stupid Claude."

"Oh so saying fudge muffins isn't?"

"I am not cursing." He took my chin in his fingers and looked into my eyes as I laughed, then noticed how close we were and reached out for the ground when Claude pressed his lips against mine my back falling into the snow, his hands travelling down my sides and stopping at my hips.

"Skye …" Claude groaned once he came up for breath, I didn't know why he was a vampire! Once he dove his lips back against mine I was already panting for breath my chest heaving heavily, now his fingers were playing with my buttons on my coat, that's where I drew the line and pushed against him, he only kissed harder slipping his icy fingers under my coat and to the bottom of my shirt feeling the skin around my hips and my stomach. "Your skin is smooth." He chuckled coming back up for breath which was when I placed my hand over his mouth catching my breath slowly.

"C-Claude!" I shouted to him angrily. "I can't believe you! I don't like you!" He removed the hand from my mouth and kissed my knuckles. "Stop it! I will only date a person if I have feelings for them!"

"So are you telling me that you felt nothing when we kissed?" I paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I- I'm not sure … But I'm pretty sure that if I would have felt something that I would have realized it!" He frowned pulling away and I slipped from under the table, dashing to one of the trees and grabbing it, anger splitting through my body as tears welled in my eyes. I couldn't believe him, he wasn't any better than Jagger or Trevor was he? As I ran I started to slow down eventually stopping and standing in the icy cold with hot tears in my eyes, now feeling the overwhelming coldness of my words towards Claude.

"Some-one's sad!" I head someone call in sing-song, looking up it was Loki sitting there on one of the small spring horses with a red-faced Teak beside him trying to avoid my gaze. "So what happened you can tell me anything!"

"N-nothing …." I whispered and placed a finger beneath my eye wiping away the tears. "Today is my sixteenth birthday and well … I already had two guys try and kiss me."

"Really now? Do tell." I saw Teak look up to stare at me.

"I'd rather not relive my experience." I grumbled and turned away from them stalking through the snow and back to my party where Raven had to suddenly leave early. What a terrible way to spend your birthday.

[The day after Christmas]

Once I had opened all of my presents and received things that were odd or lovely I had spent the rest of my Christmas with my family, the next day however I went o go hunt down everyone to give them all their presents, my first stop was Becky's house, then I also gave her Matt's wristband, I decided to give the rest of the presents to Claude and his gang after dark and then also ask Alexander and Raven where exactly Claude was staying.

That night I knocked upon Alexander's front door with a smile plastered to my face, once Jameson opened the door I held out a wrapped present for him. "For me miss Skye?" I nodded and he took it unwrapping it I had bought him a tie with smiling faces on it.

"To brighten your day all the time!" He laughed and nodded.

"Thank you, may I get Miss Raven and Alexander?"

"If you want … But I could get them for you."

"Then I shall." He grinned and walked up the stairs as I waited in the parlor with a huge grin still never fading, in my pink and black striped purse was the other presents, I couldn't wait to see the look on Claude's face when he saw the jacket that he wanted!

"Skye! What are you doing here?" Raven said in delight with that large smile on her face, she hugged me and held out a black-wrapped present for me as I handed her, her present. Ripping through my present I jumped up in delight, it was a large pink sweatshirt with three chibi bats on the front!

"I love it thanks!"

"I love these earrings! I'm so wearing them to your prom!"

"Here Alexander!" I had to carry his presents they were kind of bigger than my bag, he arched his brow at my present then opened it to see his canvases and paints.

"Thank you, I was running out of paint too."

"Do you know where Claude is? I still have to give him and his friends their presents." Raven and Alexander's delighted expressions dropped from their faces almost instantly and they looked at each other as if on queue.

"Um … Claude found the vials last night." I nodded, what was that a bad thing? So Claude was now a pure-blood vampire, oh goodness the world is going to end because of some seductive vampire, like there wasn't already a thousand of those out there?

"So?"

"Well … Besides how he's a pure-blood now … he's going back to Romania." I felt my heart clench in my chest and on instinct I tried to grab the pain my hand placing itself over my heart. "Skye … if you have to cry …"

"Cry? Why am I going to cry?" I scoffed and dropped my hand. "I guess I'll have to use all of these things then, they really are pretty cool." I said with a forced smile which I hoped was going to fool her and Alexander … everyone.

[April]

Spring break! Finally I was free to do what I wish! I strutted from the doors and out to the warm sunlight, the prom had been set-back due to how the artist was having trouble with the decorations. During the winter I had gotten a job and now I had enough money to get a room for some down time in a small town not far from here I forgot the name but it was a lovely little town.

"Are you packed?" My mom asked me as I rolled my eyes pulling my trunk out to my pink Volkswagen bus and opening up the trunk throwing the luggage inside, Raven was there and opened the passenger's seat.

"Alright ready to go?"

"You aren't going Raven, for the last time."

"But I'll be leaving tomorrow for my Aunts! And I recommend that you do not go to the Coffin Club! No matter how tempting!"

"Raven …" I groaned and rolled me eyes. "Does it look like I have a fake ID on me?"

"Where is it?" She sighed, I flipped my ID card from my back pocket with a large grin. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! I already looked up the place and it looks so sweet!"

"Skye don't you dare!"

"Only if you get out of my bus." She looked into my eyes for a moment and then groaned opening the door, jumping out, and slamming it shut.

"Now promise me!"

"Oh! Crosser's!" I showed her my crossed fingers and back out of the drive-way then down the street with a pleasant grin.

-0-

The hotel was so sweet! The bell-hops were dressed like hippies and the room was decked out in the 50's making me want to say groovy over and over again. Once I was situated in my room I pulled out my sparkling pink dress with the ripped design at the bottom of the skirts, my bright pink high-top converse, and the jacket I was going to give to Claude for Christmas, it was black with fur inside, and a bat on he back in bright white. I then strutted from the room and down to the town making sure my room key, money, ID card, and cell phone were all tucked safely into the jacket pockets.

Once I got to the line I started fro the back and smiled pleasantly, the feeling of taking a risk sure felt good today, once I got to the doors -which seemed like it didn't really take long- There was a very large man standing there, very intimidating, I pulled out my ID card and waited. "Never seen anyone in pink before." He grumbled.

"Well then I guess you'll always remember me won't you?" I smiled making him chuckle then hand back my ID card taking my hand and stamping it. "Thanks." I grinned as he stared at me just a little while longer and shook his head.

I seated myself at he bar and noticed a well-built man cleaning off a bat-adorned golden goblet. "Excuse me…" I called to him hoping that he could hear me over the blaring music, he turned his gaze to me. "Can I get the special?"

"You want a Blood Vein?"

"Sure, does it have any Alcohol in it?"

"Driving home?"

"Yeah." He slapped his rag over his shoulder and walked towards the counter, I turned about taking in the dark club, there were guys and girls alike acting as if every member that walked through that door was their love-partner, in my head I hoped that no one would touch me like that tonight.

"Here you go, virgin Blood-Vein." I turned around and sipped it, the taste was very fruity, very nice and smooth. "So what's a lollipop like you doing in a field of black licorice?"

"I have a thing for interesting places, and this club is probably the most interesting place I've ever been to." I turned back to the crowd again as the masked singer belted out lines from a very well-known band, clearly they hadn't come up with any of their own music … that or they were taking requests. My gaze then shifted to the silhouette which was leaning his body against the balcony, his palms gripping the railing, the figure was posed as if he were scanning the clubbers for someone to spend the night with.

"So you've got your eye on the club owner?" I turned back to the bartender and arched one brow.

"He owns the club?"

"Yeah, I'm not surprised lots of girls always want him to … have a taste of them." I shivered and shook my head.

"No thanks, I've had two guys already try to get me into bed with them, I'm not one for romances right now …" I placed my head on the bar and poked my finger at the bat's glowing red eyes on the goblet. "What's your name any-way?" I inquired to the bartender not taking my gaze from the goblet.

"Romeo and you?"

"I'm Skye." I noticed him bobbing his head and looking up to balcony from time-to-time, that made me wonder which signal he made stood for single then I saw cough and shake his head making a zero with one hand while hitting it against his chest as if to slam the cough from himself.

"Would you like to see the rest of the club?"

"I don't plan on staying long." Though that was a stupid thing to say, whoever he was gesturing to might think I'm a quickie, I didn't intend on getting laid today thanks very much. "In fact I had better go." I pulled out his money and left it there on the bar and walking out of the Coffin Club, tomorrow I hoped that guy he was talking to would be gone.