I felt the sharp pain in my neck, my eyes shot open and I gasped loudly, recalling images of fangs and blood red eyes, truly terrified that I had let myself blackout-not knowing where I was or what had happened in the time I was out. My whole neck and right shoulder felt like one giant bruise. Reaching up to touch the spot that caused me the most pain-terrified of what I would find-I felt another hand there, applying gentle pressure to the wound. I opened my eyes-with effort-and followed the length of the arm it was connected to, meeting the deepest set of burgundy eyes. Instantly I relaxed-the familiar scent of roses filling my head, knowing there was nothing more to be afraid of, not now at least. I've always felt safe with Kaname, ever since that very first moment I saw him.

Looking around the room, I realized we were in the school's infirmary. Kaname was pressing some gauze against the wound on my neck, trying to stop the blood flow. There was the smallest crease in his brow, marring his handsome face. He looked angry, something I wasn't used to seeing. Actually, I don't think I've ever once seen Kaname angry. I couldn't help but think back to our last confrontation-about how I had snapped at him, assuming he was prying into my life. He didn't deserve that from me. I wondered if I had hurt his feelings and I couldn't help but feel guilty for it. Maybe he was mad at me...

I decided to test the waters, needing to know, wanting to hear him speak. "Kaname..." I said his name slowly, always enjoying the way it rolled off of my tongue. "did you know? About...about Zero?" I asked carefully. I was probably the only one that didn't know. There was no way the Headmaster didn't know. My voice sounded weird when I spoke. My throat was strangely dry, like I was so very thirsty. And I was so tired. I felt like I hadn't slept in so long. I knew it was from all the blood I had lost. It hurt to talk, like I had swollen tonsils. I knew that wasn't it, though. I tried to clear it, with no luck.

"The bleeding has almost stopped." Kaname removed the gauze from my neck and stood, throwing it away in the small trashcan next to my bed. I noticed my white uniform shirt was in there too, it wasn't very white anymore though, soaked in crimson. I looked down at my body-concerned I was naked in front of him-relived to see I still had on my under shirt. The neckline was soaked with blood.

"Kaname?"

Kaname went over to the sink to wash his hands-ignoring my question completely. I wondered if my blood was that repulsive to him, that he needed to wash it away in such a hurry. "The wound is deep though..." he mused. It sounded like he was talking more to himself than too me. His took his time at the sink, making sure he washed all the blood away completely from his skin, scrubbing roughly. There he goes again, avoiding my questions completely. Keeping me in the dark when it suits him best. They all do that. Kaname, the Headmaster, and apparently Zero does it too. He should have told me...someone should have told me.

Then I wondered how I even got here. Last I remembered I was in the stairwell with Zero. I must have passed out from blood loss or shock, or both. Did Kaname bring me here...or did Zero? I shivered, remembering our confrontation-Zero's and mine. If Kaname brought me that means he must have seen what happened. He must have run into Zero, right? What happened between them?

I found I didn't want to ask. I was even more afraid of knowing what happened to Zero then what had just happened to me.

Kaname sat back down on the bed beside me after drying his hands completely on some paper towels and placed a bandage over the wound on my neck as carefully as he could, trying not to cause me any unnecessary pain. His fingers lingered there for a few moments, gently tracing the underside of the plaster. Finally, he looked at me. "Yuuki, why are you crying?"

But I hadn't realized that I was.

I reached up to wipe my tears, ashamed that I let him see me crying. I wanted to act brave and strong. I didn't want to cry. Not now, and not in front of him. I would save that for when I was alone in my room or later in the shower. I wanted to talk about this. I wanted answers. I was tired of being lied too and kept in the dark by everyone around me. I didn't want to be pampered and coddled and scooted farther and farther into the dark. Someone was going to tell me what the hell was going on.

"Does it hurt?"

Of course it hurt. I don't think I've ever felt such pain. "No." I whispered, shaking my head, choosing to lie to him. How could he think it didn't hurt? He was looking right at it. He had cleaned up all of the blood.

"Are you afraid of vampires now?" he asked carefully, lightly brushing my bangs out of my eyes.

I've always been afraid of vampires. My first encounter with one was truly horrifying, my first memory. And every night since then they have haunted my dreams as distorted demons, fangs and claws extended, eyes blazing an unholy crimson, intent on taking my life. But I couldn't tell him that. It wouldn't make him worry anymore than he already was. Not after this, and I didn't want to hurt him. After all, Kaname was a vampire. I didn't want him to think he needed to be weary around me. So I just shook my head, a silent no, for I didn't trust my voice, and Kaname had a magical way of seeing straight through me that I didn't understand.

"Do you want me to take you home?" his eyes were flooded with concern and he sounded so sincere. How could I ever hope to leave my feelings for him behind? Why did I ever even want to in the first place?

I shook my head. "I'm too dizzy to move." I confessed warily. He opened his mouth to say something else but I quickly spoke up first. "Just please..." I shyly reached out and took his hand in mine. "could you...stay here with me, just for a while? I...I don't want to be alone." the thought of passing back out and waking up somewhere completely different-with no idea what happened in-between-frightened me. I'd feel better if he was here, watching over me.

Kaname smiled and gently squeezed my hand. I've always thought his smile was so beautiful, something he only ever seemed to show to me. "I'll always be with you, my dear Yuuki." he promised. I knew he meant it. Kaname had always been there when I needed him the most, without fail. He brought my hand up to his lips and gently kissed the back of my knuckles. I watched in silent awe as the half formed scars there began to heal and fade away, almost as if they were never even there to begin with. It wasn't fair. I leaned forward and rested my face against his chest and began to cry-tears soaking into the fabric of his pristine white vest-no longer caring to hold back my tears any longer. He was too wonderful. Too perfect. And I hated the world so much for it. I didn't know where vampires came from or why they were so different from humans, why they existed. But it broke my heart to think that we really could never be together. I wanted to ask him if he could do that to my hand, then couldn't he also heal my neck-take away this pulsing ache? To take away the horrid feeling of those fangs from my neck, Zero's fangs-I still couldn't believe it-that Zero was a vampire-even though all the evidence was there. But I couldn't bring myself to ask him. It just seemed so selfish of me, to be asking for more. He does so much for me already. So I just cried instead. I was probably being childish, in his eyes, maybe, or maybe I was being rational. I had been though so much in such a small amount of time, finding out my childhood friend was a vampire was too much to take in. Maybe this is how any normal person would react in this situation. Either way it felt really good to just cry.

We didn't get to stay like that for very long, in each others arms-my head on his chest, Kaname gently stroking my hair-though I wish it would have lasted forever. The Headmaster soon came in, looking for Kaname to pacify the stirring Night Class. Apparently the smell of my blood had disrupted their studies-agitating them, causing some sort of commotion. I'm sure that was it. They were all probably just bored, and nosy-wanting to know what had happened. Anyway, after a lingering look in my eyes and wiping at my tear stained cheeks, Kaname agreed and departed without another word-pressing a small, gentle kiss to my forehead-leaving me alone with my father. The Headmaster shut the door behind Kaname, as if he expected eavesdroppers to be lurking the hallway. By the look on his face I knew that he wanted to be here for me-to comfort and support me, to tell me that everything was going to be alright, to take all the hurt away if he could-but that he would rather be anywhere else than here, than having to explain the inevitable.

"Yuuki I'm-"

"You lied to me." I accusingly blurted out, through my tears, choking on the lump that formed in my throat the second the Headmaster entered the room. It wasn't a very tactful way to begin the conversation, but I wasn't feeling on the rational side at the present moment.

"I didn't lie to you, Yuuki, about anything. I just didn't tell you the whole truth." he sighed heavily, moving to sit on the bed beside me. He eyed the bandage on my neck, worry lines creasing his forehead. It must have looked really bad, even with Kaname's caring ministrations. I didn't really want him there, on the bed, in the room, or anywhere near me. "When Zero came to live with us I had told you that his family was killed by a vampire, that was true."

"But?" I pressed, knowing that there was more to the story.

"But Zero he...well he was left alive, obviously."

"Obviously. You aren't making any sense here, Headmaster! Either tell me the whole truth or go away. But don't keep feeding me your crap. I don't want to hear it." I looked down at my body. I was saturated in blood. It was drying into a rusty brown color and beginning to flake away from the skin in-between my breasts. The once pristine white dress shirt was now saturated in crimson red blood, sitting in the wastebasket along with the used gauze. There was a bloody trail running down my undershirt, a red ring around it's neckline. The blood stains even showed up on my black skirt. The room even smelled like blood. So did my skin. The smell hung heavy in the air, like a fog. It made me sick.

"It was a pureblooded vampire that attacked and murdered Zero's family. And she was the one that turned Zero into a vampire. Purebloods have that certain ability..." he was hesitating, seeming uncomfortable with telling me all of this. I honestly didn't really want to hear it. I already knew how it worked anyway. How purebloods could turn humans into vampires. I mean, I didn't know how it worked exactly, just that they could do it. I heard the Headmasters and Kaname talking about it once, when I was a lot younger. Back then I head sneaked out of my bedroom and downstairs to stand within hearing rang of the Headmaster's home office, eavesdropping on them. I had woke up late and heard Kaname's voice and wanted to see him, his visits were so rare back then. But I had gotten more than I bargained for, hearing all of these strange things about vampires that I didn't really understand-back then, at least. Over the years I had time to sort of figure it all out for myself. Then I had just wanted to see Kaname. I had always just wanted to see Kaname, to catch a glimpse of him. But that night I ended up learning that he wasn't just any ordinary vampire. But a pureblooded vampire. Apparently, the same kind of vampire that was responsible for the murder of Zero's entire family. "And to tell you the truth..." he sighed again. "I wasn't even sure if he was going to turn. There weren't any other witnesses there that night. Who knows what really went on." it sounded like he was talking to himself now. "Zero himself didn't want to talk about that moment and I wasn't going to press him. But I was almost sure..." he shook his head, apparently not wanting to continue.

"Why didn't Zero tell me? He didn't have to hide it from me! I would have understood, with the Night Class and everything." somehow I saw this situation turning out differently-never even occurring-if I had only been made aware of what Zero truly was. "It could have been different, this might not have even happened if either of you had just-"

"He probably just didn't want you to worry, Yuuki." he stood up, apparently having enough of my arguing. "Now come on. It's time to go home. If Zero wants to talk about it then you can take it up with him later."

The Headmaster ended up having to carry me back to my room at our private residence. I had lost too much blood and was too dizzy to walk back to my room on my own, let alone stand up. Though I still had so many questions for him, I wasn't allowed to ask them. The Headmaster made it very clear that he wouldn't be answering them. I began to think to myself as my father walked-listening to the calming clack of his gentle footsteps against the pavement-that I was defiantly not the only one who was hurting right now. At least I felt that I wasn't. Zero and I had spent four years under the same roof together. I had to know him a little, right? If there was one thing I knew for sure it was that Zero hated vampires, more than anything. He told me so, constantly. And now he was one of them.

I was defiantly being selfish.

I removed my cell phone from my pocket and scrolled through the list of contacts until I found Zero's name.

I'm not mad, Zero. I promise I'm not. Please don't be upset either.

I hit send, hoping he would read it.