I'd just gotten out the shower when my phone buzzed. I looked on the screen and saw that Katie sent me a text: You remember Eric Man right?

My ex? Of course I remember him. Complete, total asshole. I texted back.

Well Tanisha White doesn't seem to think so. They're dating! She replied.

Ew! Why would he ever wanna date that? She's gross…

He says that he's always had a crush on her, but personally, I think he's doing it to get over you.

Haha, how so? Itexted back.

She looks JUST LIKE YOU! The only difference is that you're pretty and she's drop dead ugly. She replied.

We do NOT look alike. I'm not disgustingly skinny and plus my hair is real, not a weave. I joked.

Well still, if you were on crack, starved yourself, and slaughtered a horse for your hair, you two would be twins. You'd be the prettier one of course

Um, thanks? But you know what Katie? We're gonna go to hell if we keep being so mean to people… I replied laughing softly.

A wise chick once told me, if being real means being the meanest bitch in the school, I'm as mean as they get. She replied quoting me.

LMFAO! Thanks for quoting me. I replied.

But seriously, that doesn't bother you?

I don't give two fucks about Eric anymore. I mean it's one thing to tell all his buddies that he dumped me is already messed up, but to go around school and grab a doppelganger to replace me is just…weird. Not to mention obsessive. I replied quickly.

Haha, soo true Nevs. I miss ya girl! she replied back.

I miss you too chica. We'll talk soon okay and I'll be home in no time. Good behavior here is gonna be too easy. I text with a smile on my face.

Sounds good! Peace out chica!

Byeeeeee! I texted back, ending the conversation.

I tossed my phone back on my bed and headed for my dresser and pulled out some cotton shorts and a tank top to slip on. I looked in the mirror to do something about my almost black hair. It looked like a bird's nest was resting on top of my head, so I yanked my brush through my wavy curls and scrunched it with some mousse. I had a little bit of homework so I decided to do it outside. I grabbed my English binder, cell phone, and key chain and headed out the door. I found a spot under a shady tree and sat down, plugged my iTouch in and started writing a thesis for my censorship paper. I'd been sitting there for about ten minutes when I heard someone approach me. Hopeful, I turned around and found an extremely cute guy behind me. He was tall, had chocolate brown hair and eyes to match. He was that jerk from the picture, the one that Willow told me was trouble.

"Hey. I'm Trad Wilson. I heard that you were new, so I thought I'd introduce myself." He said innocently.

"That's nice." I giggled, "I'm Nevaeh."

"It's nice to meet you Nevaeh. I see that you're busy, so I'll make this quick. There's a party tomorrow night and I just wanted to give you an invite." He said, smiling sweetly. I don't understand why Willow said he was a jerk, so far he was acting like a total sweetheart.

"That's sweet. Thanks." I replied, smiling up at him.

"No problem, so you'll be there?" he asked, a hint of excitement sparkled in his eyes.

"Sure. I'll go." I said.

"Okay then. I'll see you around." He smiled as he turned to leave.

"Bye." I said sweetly and went back to typing my thesis.

About thirty minutes later, I got bored and had nearly finished writing my paper so I decided to head back to the dorm, but I took the long way on the nature trail instead. It was getting dark and the sun had finally disappeared, leaving the sky 3 different shades of purples and blues. The reason that I paid so much attention to the color was because they reminded me of Aiden's eye color; beautiful, majestic, rare, and unique. Although I was caught up in my own thoughts, I was still aware of my surroundings.

I thought I heard somebody's footsteps following close behind me so I turned around, but nobody was there. I kept walking but picked up the pace, noticing how there was nobody on the trail, which made me even more paranoid. There were trees on either side of the barely lit dirt path. It'd been a few minutes since I'd heard the footsteps, but I heard something else this time; a leaf crunch behind me. My breath hitched and my heart pounded as I heard someone else's breathing behind me and the heat emanating from their body. Heart racing, chest heaving, and eyes watering, I slowly turned around and was face to face with a pair of crimson red eyes.

I didn't even have time to scream before they advanced on me, and caused me to fall backwards. I let out a steel-cutting shriek as the pair of eyes lowered down to my level. There face was dimly lit but all I could make out was a extremely pale face behind the red glow of their eyes. My fingernails dug into the damp dirt as I tried to back away from the advancing stranger.

With a disgusting and menacing growl, whatever was terrorizing me raised it's head high in the air, revealing a pair of razor sharp…fangs! I shut my eyes tight hoping that when I opened them, I'd be asleep in my dorm. I was so wrong. Realization hit me as the thing, in a lighting quick movement, swung their head back down to my face. Luckily for me, just before their canines hit my throat, something flew across my chest taking the creature on top of me out and sent me flying backwards. There was a series of lightning fast movements, menacing growls, and the sound of tearing flesh in the air. Finally snapping out of my fascinated stupor, I took off down the nature trail like a bat out of hell only pausing only to get a glance at my rescuer's face only to see a pair of shining plum-colored eyes.

I sprinted off of the dark trail as fast as I could, my mind in a thousand places. Whatever was going on back there wasn't…normal. It was far past normal. I mean fangs? Come on now. I love Twilight as much as the next girl, but there's a line between reality and imagination and there was no chance in hell that that incident was a apart of my imagination. Finally, I stumbled out of the woods and onto the sidewalk that was right in front of my dorm building.

Doubled-over, I caught my breath and let my heart restart. Still shaken, I rushed through the wooden doors of the building and down the hall to my dorm. I pulled my keys out of my satchel with utter difficulty because of how hard my hands were shaking, and let myself in. As soon as I was in, I locked the door, slammed my back against it and slid down to the floor. I sat there for a few seconds, staring at nothing in particular, until I broke out into a fit of convulsions and silent tears. I only had a few minutes to try and sort things out until I heard someone's footsteps approach.

Of course I freaked out, but when I heard the keys jingling, I let myself relax a little. I quickly hopped on my feet and acted like I'd just gotten in myself. Willow flung open the door with a wide grin plastered on her face. Obviously things had gotten pretty far with Sandino since I'd last seen her.

"Oh. My. God!" she shrieked.

"Tell me everything!" I demanded. I was still a little shaken, so my voice wasn't as enthusiastic as I intended it to be.

"Let's just say that I have plans Saturday night!" she said.

"Yay! Speaking of plans, are you going to that party tomorrow? That Trad guy invited me. He's actually pretty sweet." I said, rummaging through my backpack so she wouldn't notice my shaking hands.

"Um, yeah I'm going. Nevs, are you okay?" Willow asked.

I obviously wasn't doing a good job at hiding the fact that something had scared the hell out of me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, my voice squeaking at the end.

"So you expect me to believe that you shake like this on a regular basis?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm just cold. I was drinking a shake a minute ago. Aiden and I-"

"Oh yeah! What happened after I left?" she pressed.

This was perfect. I'd just found out Willow's weak spot. As soon as I mentioned Aiden's name, she dropped the topic about me being so shaken. I went on and on about our conversation until Willow was satisfied.

About an hour later, I'd been in the shower, finished all of the homework that was assigned, and was drop dead tired. I called my parents, Gregory, and Katie and spoke to them briefly before I finally fell asleep. I felt bad for Willow though because while I was about to catch up on some major sleep, she was still typing her English paper. I quickly slipped into unconsciousness in a matter of minutes.

xXx

It was dark, extremely dark. I was walking back on the trail that had nearly traumatized me earlier. In front of me, there was an extremely gorgeous view of a beach glowing by the setting sun. Drawn to its

beauty, I took a step towards the powder white sand. As I got closer, I noticed a human shape sitting on the sand, just inches away from the crashing waves. Although their back was towards me, I could recognize that hair color from a million miles away. I softly whispered his name, and he turned to face me, smiling in response. Eager, I took quicker steps toward the shore. I felt something catch my bare ankle mid-step and tripped catching myself with my hands just before I hit the ground. Thinking that I'd keep from hurting myself, the jagged edge of a protruding branch made a tiny cut on my neck. As a tiny droplet of blood rolled down my neck and splattered to the muddy ground, Aiden began to approach me, a fascinated look in his lavender eyes. When he caught sight of the scarlet stain on my skin, his eyes widened, then narrowed and grew dark. Focused only on my neck, he slowly leaned down to my face, and murmured in a voice as smooth as velvet, "Just one taste."

Lowering his face to my chest where the blood had rolled to, he gently ran his tongue across my skin. In a blinding quick movement his piercing eyes were back on mine, he titled his head back as two razor sharp fangs appeared in the sliver of light bleeding through the tree leaves. A fierce snarl ripped through his chest and as he zeroed in on my neck. That's when I forced my eyes open.

I was lying in my bed, gasping for air, covered in a cold sweat. Relief washed over me as I realized that it'd only been a dream. Willow stirred in her sleep as I tiptoed to the bathroom to get a glass of water. My heart was still pounding as I filled the small cup with the tap. I though to myself, what the hell was I doing on that path again after what had just happened to me? Why was Aiden there? And most importantly, why was he a vampire?

These questions ran through my mind as I quickly downed the glass of water and retied my hair in a ponytail. Mentally and physically exhausted, I made my way back to my bed and settled myself under the covers. To my frustration, although my eyes wanted to close, my mind protested as the dream and it's possible meanings ran through my mind. Needing to clear my head, I pulled my iTouch off my nightstand and hit my favorite play list. As the chorus to Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart by Alicia Keys began to play my eyes drooped close, and one thought ran through my mind; there is definitely something different about Aiden Gershum.