It is 7:30 sharp on an October day in the year of 2014, another slowly passing month, as I might add. I arrive at my high school fifteen minutes early, marching straight into my first period. Murmuring a polite greeting to the instructor, I plop myself in my usual computer chair, automatically logging in, not even having to look at what I'm doing. This is always and always has been my morning routine since the beginning of junior year. If the sidewalks weren't so sturdy, anyone could have seen my footprints, getting deeper as the year progressed. I look through my phone, willing the minutes to pass more quickly, and when they finally do, students shuffle in. Some are alert, but most are yawning, a few with their eyes glazed over. The room echoes with the sound of sinking cushions as everyone seats themselves. I almost retch as a pungent odor seeps into the air when my acquaintance-friend takes a seat next to me. It is obvious that she had been smoking.

"Mmph," she mutters, knocking her head sideways into the keyboard and then just lying there. Her eyes are bloodshot.

"Hello to you too, Leigh." I sigh and turn back to my screen. Pot smoking may soothe others, but it's one time-passer that has never really appealed to me.

The day goes by relatively fast, and before I know it, I am walking out of the front doors, my lanyard dangling from my fingers. Dark clouds hover over the school, and everything seems to be set into a gray color scheme. The cold autumn rain melts against my skin, and I shiver as I hurriedly unlock my car, wanting to get into the warmth of the heater as soon as possible. Just as I touch the door handle, I hear a strange, smooth voice, hinted with a faint British accent.

"My young dear, you aren't going to operate that kind of thing by yourself under such terrible conditions, are you?"

My head turns in time to see a tall man in a trench coat leaning over me, his mouth pulling into a smirk.

"Holy fuck! You scared the life out of me!" I yell, raising my arm in defense. My eyes dart around wildly, but no one else in the parking lot seems to take notice, too immersed in their own activities. The man still doesn't budge.

"No need to be so startled, Miss." He tilts his head to one side, the black tresses of hair that hang out of his hat framing his face in a way that makes it look dark, yet scarily handsome at the same time. "What strong language for a young lady such as yourself." I then notice that his crimson colored eyes appear to be glowing with something…wait…crimson?!

I glance at the slippery handle in my grip for just a moment. Come on, seriously. What if this guy is a nutcase rapist? I set my mind on making a run for it, and I turn around sharply, poised to slip past him. But he is gone.

"Um…where did you go?" I say with a hushed voice, my eyes wide. After a minute of investigation, I frown and turn back to the car, feeling a prickle of annoyance. "Where the hell could he have run off so fast?" I grouch to myself, my breath forming visibly in front of me. But my hands were shaking now. I step into the car and put the key in the ignition, savoring the warm air that shoots towards me.

My car, older but well-built for its time, glides across the slick street like a mermaid. I grip its leather steering wheel until my knuckles turn white, trying to clear my head. I saw so much about the strange man in just that moment. His colorless skin practically faded in and out of the rain. I consider if I was hallucinating, but no, it's impossible. The one thing that makes me certain he was really there were his prominent eyes. There was so much in the gaze he was giving to me, something that I can't quite describe, but I know it was deep. It was like he was staring into my soul.

"He must have gotten some pretty expensive contacts to scare the living shit out of me like that," I laugh, trying to reassure myself a bit. "Some people go a little overboard when Halloween is just around the corner."

I turn on the radio just to get some noise other than the skimming of water against the windshield wipers and the loud thumping of my heart in my chest. A Perfect Circle starts to play, and my shoulders drop. I begin to relax.

That is, until something in the road appears right before my eyes. I gasp, feeling delusional; he's there again, in plain sight. The incredibly tall person stands in my path of travel, grinning like a madman. His sinfully handsome face is peeking out of that trench coat as he thrusts his hand forward, willing me to stop.

I can hear myself scream and feel myself stomp on the brake pedal, causing my car to slightly hydroplane. I fight back the fear of hitting him, and guide my car as best I can to the shoulder of the road, just barely skimming past him. As soon as the car stops rolling, I switch it off. Sinking into the seat, I curl into a shaking ball, tears rolling down my cheeks. After a few minutes, I lift my head up, daring to crack the door open. It is dark outside, but I can see his shadow. Right there, next to me. He peeks inside, his expression indifferent now.

"My apologies, Miss. You needn't go through all of that trouble. I wouldn't have been affected at all, but then again, I'm sure it would have cost you a pretty penny on your automobile."

I shoot up, feeling my temperature raise. "What do you mean, you idiot?! I could have killed you! I knew you were weird for trying to scare the fuck out of me earlier, but now I think you need professional help!" I seethe. "How could you have the nerve to stand in front of a car moving fifty five miles an hour-" I stop when I notice that he is smiling, patiently waiting for me to let off my steam. This makes me even angrier. "Oh yeah, you think this is real funny, don't you?"

"Not at all, Miss. I was just sent on an order. In fact, it happens to be the very last order of my late master before I am able to get what I have craved for…for a disgusting length of time, might I add."

I wipe away the last of my tears. "So what, you're some kind of a possessed servant for Halloween, then?"

He chuckles. "Not exactly. I am simply…" I have a feeling that he might say more, but he stops there. "Miss, you are in no state to be driving. At least let me escort you home."

I want to refuse. "Having a complete stranger in my car, taking me home? I would like to say no." But then again, I am a nervous wreck at this point. I feel myself shaking, chilled to the bone. There's no way by now that I can concentrate on getting home in this god-awful weather, and I am feeling like I can either cry some more or turn hysterical. "I'm afraid that you win this time…person that I've known for about half an hour."

I pick my feet up, slipping over the middle console into the passenger seat and reluctantly pass him the keys. As soon as our hands touch, a flash of lightning strikes directly in front of the car, making me flinch. The reflection shines into the windshield, and I can see his face flash before mine; his blood red eyes are pleasantly narrowed, and his mouth is opened slightly in a devilish smirk. Oh god, what have I gotten myself into? I slump into my seat as he slides into the drivers' side. My car purrs back to life, and we continue down the road, at a smoother motion rather than with my shaky, nervous steering. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, I shoot back up with realization.

"Hey…I don't even know your name, and you're driving my car," I say.

"You can either call me Sebastian, or call me a new name, whichever you please," he replies automatically, as if he has said it a million times. "You are not technically my master as of yet, but I am to keep this name anyway until I am bound to a new master."

What's this about a master? "Umm, okay. What about what your parents named you?"

He doesn't answer, but I catch him grinning.

"Then I will stick with Sebastian," I nod thoughtfully. "It's a bit old-fashioned, but I'm no good at choosing names anyway."

"As you wish."

"And my name is Addison, in case you were wondering…" It isn't a good idea to be giving out this sort of thing, but I have a strange feeling like I can trust him. He is taking me all the way home, after all. "Addison Daye."

"I know," he replies, smiling. "You're a Daye, yet you're a person of the night."