Burning brighter, hotter, more powerful with every new touch, every movement, every new exploration, was the kiss. It consumed me with a warm fuzzy feeling I had never felt before. It was a feeling like joy, a feeling that stayed and only intensified, a feeling that is the most indescribable and most amazing feeling you could ever be gifted with.

Love. It has to be.

I've read about it in romantic novels and watched those kisses in the rain in romantic films, but I had never experienced it before. Now that it utterly brought me to life, I craved it like the sweet aroma of chocolate, like the precious hours sleep in the morning, like the refreshing taste of water after a sprint, more than anything that I have ever felt. It was setting my heart ablaze.

"Z-Zero..." I panted, breaking away in sudden realisation of what was actually happening in front of my gleaming eyes. Zero had a look of shock and disgust across his face, like he had committed something unforgivable, like it was a crime.

"I don't know why I did that-" He was holding back his own words.

My black boots hit the floor, and I backed away slowly towards the exit, not taking my eyes away from him. I guess I do have strong feelings for him at this point. The trouble was biting the bullet while having so many other problems to sort out... I didn't understand why Kaname was my personal blood bag, but one thing is certain, I won't be his puppet again.

Glass shattered beneath my feet. I crouched, picking up the photo that was smashed by my justified act, almost dropping it in awe. Zero and a girl who looked about my age were together for what looked to be school graduation; Zero had a small smile across his lips, while the girl had a large grin, like she was the happiest girl in the world. Jealousy hit me like a punch to the face.

"W-Who is she?" I asked. Zero looked sad and disturbed, like he was being flooded with a bag full of knife-stabbing memories.

"A friend. It was a long time ago. Y-Yuki is...did...she disappeared long ago." He struggled to pronounce her name. Although I sympathised deeply for him, I was relieved that they weren't 'together'. I didn't press him for more information, since the subject of that girl was obviously very touchy to him.

It's funny how a kiss can be easily forgotten with conversation. I smiled behind a curtain of hair, hoping to keep it that way for now. Before leaving the room, I thought I would ask just one more question that I have been wondering ever since I met him.

"Zero, what do you think of...Kaname Kuran?"

Zero flinched as if he was wounded in the chest with a wooden steak. It seemed to me that there were many things that brought him pain at this Academy. Just like me.

"He's a rotten, filthy, manipulative bastard" was all that escaped from his rosy lips. I opened my mouth to say something else, but I was afraid to spark his anger.

"Pushing that aside Zero I...I think you need someone to help you with all your problems. Like I could. Maybe I could help you with your blood lust, so you don't feed on innocent people and-"

"No!" He yelled, like someone had flipped a dangerous switch. I stood motionless, unable to understand why he wouldn't let me help him.

"I-If nothing is done, you'll just fall to insanity...And I don't want that to happen to you." Doesn't he want to live? Doesn't he value his life at all?

"Then so be it." His words cut deep, and I could feel myself begin to break again. Zero was the only person I was close to at this school; he made me feel alive. Girls glared at me, guys never looked at me; I only got a friendly hello or ounce of support every now and then. Kaname scares me now too, like he's a kind of tarantula that could act at any moment.

Can't Zero understand that he is really all I have left? He reminds me of myself, and he makes me feel strong, like I have something in life to look forward to.

I couldn't take this sinking feeling in my gut. I felt the worst was yet to come and that I had to do something about it. Whether he likes it or not, I'm not going to let him die or fall into a pit of madness.

I have a plan.

"Zero, I'm sorry."


Amid a soft melody of piano music filling my ears, I push my way through the large crowd of preoccupied students, feeling more invisible than ever. Thoughts overflowed in my head, images of Zero, his fangs, his eyes, and Kaname, his gentle nature that was strangely overpowering to core. What did Zero have against him? No, maybe it's best if I just try to stay out of his problems,, because I'll just add to my own.

"Valeria." I could hear Kaname's voice lingering in the air behind me.

"What?" I said, ripping out my earplugs. I was not in the mood.

"I just want to talk about what happened." He sounded desperate, his eyes glowing with concern. Ugh, why so much concern? He barely knows me.

"Fine, but hurry up. I need to get to class. And please..." I said. "Don't feed me lies."

"No." He replied. "I will be honest."

"Well?" I was deliberately letting my bitchy side out.

"The only reason I gave you my blood was due to the fact that you needed to be protected. You were weak. I could feel your weakened heart beat. You needed what I gave you."

I coughed.

"Excuse me, gave me? You forced it down my bloody throat! Without my permission and using your tainted powers, I might add!" I snapped, getting furious now.

"It was the only way." He attempted comforting me with the palm of his cool hand against my flushed cheek, but I knocked it off violently.

"Oh, so there was no way you could have simply asked me? 'Oh Valeria would it be alright if I fed you my blood?'. Obviously you do not know proper etiquette."

"No, listen to me. If you accepted my blood consciously, it would have killed you. Drinking Pureblood blood that way can be a danger. Since I have not a single drop of human blood in my lineage, it would have altered your heart rate. Force was the only way."

It does not matter what the reason. The fact is, he is hiding something from me, something big. Why else would he take such a sudden interest in my life, about whether I live or die? It doesn't matter, he had no right in hell to toy with my head, even if it was for the greater good.

I stormed off in the opposite direction, running until I could no more.


Zero was on the concrete next to the schools swimming pool, anxiously trying to choke down what looked like a packet of blood tablets and writhing in undeniable pain. His body must be rejecting them. This is it, I know what I have to do. Getting on my knees, I frantically searched the ground for something sharp.

There. A stone with a cutting edge. Perfect.

Holding it steadily against the back of my arm, I braced myself as I sliced all the way down to my wrist. Across the road, not down the river...That saying lurched in my head as tears stung my eyes and wet my lashes. I knew I would heal but still, there was always the possibility of bleeding to death. I knew the risk I would have to take today, but I guess I felt like doing something useful with my life, since suddenly I hated the idea of wasting such a precious one like my own. I guess, if you really think about it, I do have a purpose.

To protect Zero.

Zero's head lifted up as he recognised the sweet scent of luscious blood. I could see his ruby irises even from a distance, walking closer to him while biting my lip and enduring the now dull throb of pain. I was basically giving myself over to him, but not entirely. Just enough to keep him alive and free of insanity.

"Drink...My...Blood..." I choked out, now dropping into his strong arms, begging him, pleading him to do what I asked.

"I-I can't." He breathed. I held his head with both of my hands, looking into his lustful eyes with a gleam of sapphire hope in my own.

"You can." I assured him, firstly putting my wrist against his lips so he would get a taste, then tilting my head so my neck was exposed.

"If it keeps you living, it's fine."

I was nervous, but happy that he wasn't really giving in. His animal instincts took over, but he was surprisingly gentle, licking and sucking the way a lover would. As his fangs bit agonisingly deep into my skin, I cried out in pain. I could hear my steady heartbeat in a rhythmic manner to Zero's.

The sting was erased by unexpected pleasure, sending a spark of ecstasy and a flood of warmth to my heart. This was something that I was really beginning to crave, like a drug, like water and food to the hungry, even more so than the stolen kiss.

This sacrifice. And this was just the beginning.