Chapter 4

Jethro wasn't at school all that week. I felt guilty; maybe I was the one who caused it. Maybe I'd forced him to move away. No, I reassured myself, he's probably just ill. He had looked very pale and weak that night he'd saved me.

Friday after school, I went to the picnic area close to my dad's house. It was right on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the sea.

The sparkling waters; looked an incredibly pale blue colour. The sky didn't have one cloud in it, the first sunny day since I'd got here. It was weird for where we were, it should always be warm here, not much rain either. But strangely it was cloudy or raining most of the time. But I wasn't going to argue with Mother Nature. I just enjoyed the sun. I was wearing my black bikini top and my black jeans. I knew very well that I didn't tan at all. My skin was always pale, but it could never be as pale as Jethro's. His skin was so pale; he looked completely drained of blood, almost dead. I laid down on my stomach and stared out over the open waters. It looked so beautiful. I smiled and relaxed as I daydreamed.

"Mind if I join you?" The voice caught me off-guard. I rolled over quickly. There was a boy stood a few feet away from me. I gasped, he was equally as beautiful as Jethro, I didn't think that was possible until now. This boy had sandy coloured blonde hair and deathly pale skin. He was wearing black sunglasses, and a hoody, with the hood up and a baseball cap under the hood, he had leather gloves on. I noticed that not one part of his skin was exposed to the sun.

"Sure." I said. He walked over and sat down next to me.

The grass around us swayed in the light breeze.

"I'm Aiden." I introduced himself, holding out a gloved hand for me to shake.

"I'm Helena." I took his hand to shake it, but instead he curled his fingers around mine and pressed the back of my hand to his lips. As soon as our skin touched, it felt like a bolt of lightning was sent pulsing through my body. His lips were cold but soft. There was something about his kiss, which was just…irresistible. As his lips left my skin and he let go of my hand, I relaxed around him. We got talking about where we come from and how we ended up here. Apparently, he'd moved from Romania, to New York, to here. His parents had sent him here for school away from the big cities, hoping he would get a better education. I told him everything about my life in Washington. Except, I left out the part about Connor being a werewolf. I told him that there was someone coming after me, but I didn't tell him that that person happened to be a werewolf. I told him about the car crash and my mother and about my first few days in Crystal waters. He listened attentively all the way through, asking the odd question now and again. I don't think I'd ever talked so much in my life and he didn't get bored of my stories. I liked Aiden so much, he was like an instant best friend and he seemed to like me too. I knew there something that wasn't quite right about him, but I didn't care. He reminded me so much of Connor, the way he'd sit and listen to me rant on, without getting bored at all. The way he'd join in conversion and make the occasional joke to lighten the mood if we were on a darker subject. But he also reminded me of Jethro, he was so beautiful, yet so mysterious, he was pale and slim, but the muscles were toned and I could see them bulging slightly under his shirt. Aiden could be the answer to all my problems. He could be my Connor and my Jethro at the same time.

"It's funny." I said, "I haven't seen you at school." I looked at him; I could see my reflection in his sunglasses.

"I'm new here, as I said before." He said, his voice, just as beautiful as he was, "I'm starting school Monday."

He smiled at me; he had a great smile, and teeth like pearls. I smiled back.

"You're the first friend I've made here." He confessed, looking out over the ocean again. "I would be honoured if you'd come round for dinner." He turned back towards me, his expression hopeful.

"Now?" I asked, it was a little sudden to be asking me round; we'd only met two hours ago.

"Yes, if that's ok." He said, smiling.

"I guess so." I said a little doubtful.

He got up and held his hand out, I took it and he helped me to my feet. We walked back down to the road to his car.

It wasn't a long drive, with the island being so small; it only took us five minutes. His house was on the cliff edge as well, but you had to drive through the thick forest to get to it. It was away from any other houses or shops and there was only one road that led to it. The house was small, just big enough for a family of three. The house was white and had two storeys. There was a huge open space which was covered in soft green grass, that went from the cliff edge, right to the trees and right in the middle of this huge clearing was the small white house. Aiden parked his car by the trees and got out. He was holding my door open for me before I'd even had chance to turn back around. I ignored the fact that he'd only just got out of the car a millisecond a go. We walked up to his house together, he unlocked the door and we entered. The front door led straight into the living room, right in front of the door were the stairs. I could see a small archway at the far side of the living room that led to the kitchen. I sat down on the living room sofa, while he went into the kitchen, he came back a short while later, with a plate, he placed it on the coffee table in front of me. On it was a perfectly prepared meal, it looked delicious. He wandered off back into the kitchen and came back with two wine glasses and a bottle. He placed the two glasses on the table and filled them up with a scarlet liquid from the bottle. Red wine, I thought as I watched him pour it. He placed the bottle on the table and picked up his glass and took a sip.

"Romanee-Conti." He said, examining the liquid. "One of the best wines in the world." He smiled.

I smiled, I realised even though we were indoors now, he hadn't removed his sunglasses. But he had taken off his hoody and I could clearly see his muscles underneath his white T-shirt. He had long sandy coloured blonde hair that looked so soft and silky that I had to stop myself reaching out and stroking it.

After I'd eaten the delicious meal he'd prepared for me, Aiden and me sat talking. I was a little tipsy after three glasses of wine. Aiden put his arm around my shoulders and I leant my head of his shoulder. His flesh was freezing, there was no warmth coming off of him at all. I shivered slightly.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked him, looking up at him.

"No, sorry, are you?" He looked down, but I couldn't see his expression for his sunglasses.

"No I'm ok." I lied, snuggling closer to him. His other hand rested gently on my knee.

I glanced at my watch. It was nearly 11:00pm; I'd been here nearly six hours.

"I'd better go home." I sighed. Getting up.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" he asked, getting up too.

"That would be nice, thanks." I smiled at him, he smiled back, and his smile was just as beautiful as he was. But nothing measured up to Jethro, not even this boy who was almost as beautiful. But there was something about Jethro, something that made me feel at home around him.

I gave him directions as we drove and he kissed me on the cheek as a goodbye before I got out. His kiss sent little waves of pleasure through my body. I was every time his skin touched mine. I walked to the door with a smile on my face. I was too tired to listen to my dad's lectures and went straight to bed.