Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak.

I was already down the street when I realized that I was wearing my army costume. I had not planned on wearing that in public! Whoops. I continued on anyways. I wanted to find something to give Evra for Christmas.

As I peeked in through the store windows, I realized, I have no idea what Evra might want.

"Well hello, Sargent." Someone said behind me while I was staring through a window. I turned to see a girl about my age.

"Hi." I waved slightly, trying to be friendly. I really hope she didn't start making fun of me or anything.

"I like the outfit." She said.

"Oh," I glanced at my clothes. "yeah, it's a costume." I laughed.

"It's cool!" She laughed too. "I sometimes wear my Halloween costume when it was months ago."

"My name's Lily." I said as I extended my hand. "Lily...Crepsley." She shook my hand.

"I'm Dara. Nice to meet you." She smiled. "I've actually seen you and that other guy you're always with, the one with the mask on."

"Oh that's Evra!" I said. "He's my brother...Evra Crepsley."

"You two hang out in the square alot don't you?" She asked. "I live nearby and I've seen you two a few times from my window."

"Yeah. I'm actually shopping for a Christmas present for him." I told her.

"We can shop together." She said. "I'm looking for some gloves to replace the ones I lost."

We headed into the store I had been looking into.

We looked around the store for a while. Dara had a hilarious and or snarky comment for just about everything we saw, it seemed. I couldn't help but laugh.

"See anything your brother might like?" She asked as we headed down an isle of electronics.

"I don't really know what to get him." I sighed.

"Okay..." Sighed. "Anything he has been into recently? Books or movies?"

"T.V." I said. "Just... everything about T.V."

"How about a T.V. guide?" She joked.

"Actually..." I thought.

"I was kidding!" She cried. We continued looking around.

I grabbed a CD player from one of the shelves. "What about this?"

She seemed to do a double take. "A CD player?" She smiled, then realized that I was serious. "Why not an iPod?"

"A Whaaa...?" I asked dumbly.

She dragged me over to a corner where I could see small flat rectangular objects. They all had the word 'iPod' printed on the plastic underneath them.

"So, what?" I asked as I inspected the curious little devices. "These play CD's?"

"No... well yeah, sort of." She said. "You convert the songs from a CD on to the iPod and it makes it easier to carry around your music."

"How is it different from carrying around this?" I said holding up the CD player.

"It holds over five hundred songs." She said flatly. I felt my jaw drop.

"Five hundred?" I asked. "How long have these things been around?"

"I don't know. Five or ten years..." She trailed off as she looked at one of the iPods.

How have I never heard of these? They seemed so useful.

"How do they work?" I asked.

"Well you hook them up to your computer using a cable it comes with. And you can either download music from the internet or you can copy it from a CD."

There was the problem. We didn't have a computer at the hotel, or even at the cirque. And I doubt Evra would know much about the internet.

"I think I'll jmust stick with the CD player. It's cheaper anyways." I said as we headed toward the other end of the store.

"Makes sense." She said. "Now, to find my gloves."

We never found the gloves she was looking for. I suggested that we check another store, but Dara said she should be heading home. I glanced out the window. The sun was almost gone.

"I always love this time." Dara said as she followed my gaze. "It's like the city goes to sleep and another one wakes up."

With those words, I couldn't help but think of Mr. Crepsley. Were we the only vampires in this city? I stole a quick glance at Dara.

"Come on I'll walk you home." I offered. I didn't want my new friend to run into a vampire. I've seen a few creatures of the night besides vampires. In the back of my mind, I felt myself starting to think of the wolfman again.

"You sure?" Dara asked. I nodded. "Okay then."

We walked through the deep snow through the darkening streets. It wasn't long before we reached her house.

"Here we are." She announced as she walked up a few steps.

"Really? That didn't take long." I said

"I told you I lived nearby." She reminded me. "So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing, but don't you have school?" I asked.

"Not til the new year." She said.

That's right... they're out for the holidays. I thought. "Then I guess I'm free. Want me to help you look for those gloves?"

"That, and I was hoping to go see a movie with my dad. You want to come?" She asked.

"Uhh... Sure." I said. "I haven't been to a movie in a long time." Since before I was even a half-vampire.

"So I'll see you tomorrow then." Dara said. I nodded and she turned to go inside. "Later."

I started walking back to our hotel. I just hope this doesn't end like it did with Sam.

"Come on Lily!" Evra called. "It's almost time for your daaaaate!" He said in an annoying sing-song voice.

"It's not a date you creeper." I growled and threw a pillow at him, knocking him off his perch on the back of the couch. He landed with a dull thud on the carpet. "We're just going to the movies. Besides, her dad is going too."

This would be the first friend I made since leaving home, that was a girl and who was close to my age. I didn't want to think of it as a replacement for Stephanie, but in reality, that was kind of what it was.

"Juat act normal." Evra said as he pulled himself off the floor. "Tell her some jokes."

"Then what?" I asked as I pulled on my jacket.

"Give her a kiiiissssss!" Evra said in that sing-song voice as he made kissy faces at me. I grabbed another pillow from the couch and pegged him in the face with it.

"Now look at that!" I taunted. "It you were not making all those kissy faces and making fun of me, you would have seen that pillow!"

He jumped up and threw something at me. I blocked it with my arm and it landed on the floor. It was a pillow. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!" I warned and leapt at him with the pillow held above my head like a weapon.

Our fight had lasted only a minute or two when Mr. Crepsley walked past us. "Oh, Mr. Crepsley, can I fix you something to eat?" I asked before Evra bashed me over the head with his pillow.

Mr. Crepsley kept walking toward the door as though he hadn't heard me. "Mr. Crepsley?" I said again.

"What? Oh." He turned an looked at me as though he just noticed we were there. "No, I must be going." He turned and shut the door behind him.

"I think something's wrong..." I said to Evra as I continued to stare at the door.

"Really? Ya think?" Evra said sarcastically. I threw my pillow like a frisbee into his chest as I stood up.

"I'm sort of worried about him." I said.

"Don't worry, if there's anything wrond he can take care of himself." Evra said. "I mean, he is a vampire."

"True. Anyways, I have to go now or I'll be late." I said as I zipped my coat up. I grabbed a pillow off the floor so I could put it back on the bed.

"Don't worry about me, you two have fun." Evra said. "You two loooooove bir-"

He was cut off by my throwing the pillow in his face. "Later." I called as I slipped out the door. I heard a thump on the door behind me as thje pillow collided with it. "You missed." I called through the door, and darted down the hallway to the stairs.

After we found her pair of gloves, we went to go see the movie. "My dad bailed." She told me, :Said he felt sick."

"Okay." I said. "What are we going to watch?"

"There's supposed to be a movie about zombies out I think." She said as we rounded a corner and found ourselves at the theater. I could see the poster for the zombie movie she was talking about.

I was bored throughout most of the movie. I didn't enjoy the fake blood and gore, it wasn't very convincing. Dara on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it. She kept laughing whenever someone was killed.

She sort of reminded me of Stephanie that way. But it was a good thing.

After the movie I walked her home again. It had gotten dark, and we had to pass through some dark alleys.

"We're here." I announced this time. She walked up the steps to her house and turned to look at me.

"Would you like to come in? I've got some pretty cool video games we could play." She said.

"Could I take a rain check? Tomorrow maybe?" I asked. "I should be headed home to Evra and my dad."

"Okay." She said and stepped inside. "You should bring Evra. I'll be gone tomorrow but you guys can come over the next day."

"Okay, I think you two woud get along great." I promised. "See you later." I called over my shoulder before she closed to door.

I imediatly sprinted as fast as I could with my vampire speed back to the hotel, so I could tell Evra that I had made another friend.

I opened the door to our room and slipped inside. "Evra!" I called. I found him sitting in front of the T.V. "Evra, guess what?" I asked excitedly.

"Lily, I think you should see this..." He said. I could tell something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked. He pointed to the T.V. and turned up the volume.

A reporter on the news was talking. "...and it seems as though someone has been draining the victims of all their blood. Here we are live at the abandoned building where seven bodies were found, dead from blood loss. Can you tell us anything else, Sean?"

Another guy appeared with a building in the background. "The identities of the victims have not been released. It seems strange, but this almost seems like it would be the work of a vampire!"

I stopped listening to the report after that. Suddenly my thoughts were filled with thoughts of Mr. Crepsley, and how strange he's been acting lately.

Evra seemed to be reading my mind. "He's gone as soon as he wakes up..." He said. "And doesn't return til the sun's almost up. He never tells us where he's been."

"I know, Evra, but..." I ran my hand through my hair. "It can't be him. He's not like that."

"We don't know that." Evra said quietly.

I groaned softly. "The news reporter even said vampire!" I sighed. "Where is Mr. Crepsley now?" I asked glancing at his room.

"He left a few hours before you got back." Evra explained.

"So he might be out there rigth now." We looked out the window to the dark ciry around us.

"We need to follow him." I said to the window. It didn't answer but Evra did.

"We'll need walkie talkies..." He sighed, like he'd been expecting me to say that. "Or cell phones."

The next day I went straight to a store and bought cell phones and binoculars. Evra and I then spent the morning thinking of plans we could use to follow Mr. Crepsley. Then we had to wait all day for the sun to go down. Mr. Crepsley left as soon as it was dark as usual. This time, Evra and I left five minutes after he did. I used my sharpened sense of smell to follow his scent, which was not hard to do. Not many people could disrupt the trail someone leaves on rooftops!

"You see him?" I asked Evra over the cell phone. He was a few blocks over on another rooftop.

"Clear as day." He replied.

I peered over the blacony at Mr. Crepsley standing a few blocks away on a rooftop of his own, staring into the street below. Suddenly his image shifted to a shadow and he disappeared.

"Did you see-" I started.

"No it was too fast." He said.

"Damn!" I cursed into the reciever. "Neither did I."

We tried following Mr. Crepsley again for a few nights, until we were able to keep up with him.

I went over to Dara's house as promised and played video games with her. It was so nice to just relax in front of a TV sometimes. I had to lie and tell her Evra was sick. Really I just wanted to let him sleep.

For the next few days after that, we just stalked Mr. Crepsley. We noticed that he had two patterns that he follows. He'll either stand at the rooftops and watch the people below, or he'll walk the streets. As if he's looking for someone. Maybe his next victim.

Finally one night Mr. Crepsley started to follow someone. He followed a short fat man for a few blocks to a warehouse. The man went inside the warehouse but Mr. Crepsley stayed outside. He sat down after a while. Waiting.

"How long do you think this will be?" Evra asked over the cell phone.

"I don't know." I said. "I think he's waiting for him to come back out. Could take hours."

"Ugh." Evra sighed.

"I come sit with you while we wait." I said as I quietly made my way over to him. We sat there for a while.

"What do you suppose that place is anyway?" Evra asked.

"I think it's a slaughter house of some sort. I can smell cows and pigs blood." I said.

I moved closer to the edge of the building we were on to get a better look at Mr. Crepsley.

"No moves yet?" Evra asked.

"...no." I sighed. "This is starting to become irritating. Wait! The fat guy just came back out."

I watched as he turned and started walking down the other side of the street from where we were. On our side of the street, I saw Mr. Crepsley turn and follow the man, walking straight toward us.

"Shi-!" I breathed. I turned and grabbed Evra. "Go go go go!"

"What is it?" He asked as he turned to run.

"He's coming right toward us!" I hissed. I turned to see how close he was. "There's no time."

I pulled Evra behind a giant metal air conditioner. "Stay down and hold perfectly still." I said firmly. "Don't even breathe." I warned.

We sat perfectly still and listened. I heard Mr. Crepsley walk a few feet. There was a whooshing noise as he leapt to the rooftop we were on. He landed ten feet from where we were hiding.

He continued walking. Moving only my eyes, I glanced at him as he passed. My heart stopped. He had to have seen us. We were right in his sights. Yet he continued walking.

We didn't move from where we sat until I could no longer hear his footsteps from nearly a mile away.

I lay on my back gasping for breath. "Please excuse me..." I gasped between breaths. "..while I restart my heart."

"I thought I was going to die." Evra said

I caught my breath after a few minutes. "Something's wrong. Mr. Crepsley would have easily noticed us. He's too focused on that man."

"Come on we need to find him!" I jumped up, getting my second wind. "I think he's going to kill that man!" I grabbed Evra's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"All right! All right!" He said.

I caught Mr. Crepsley's scent again and eventually caught up with him. He was still following the man.

The man turned and entered a building that looked like an apartment complex. Mr. Crepsley walked to the door of the bulding and stopped.

"Once he goes inside, we move in." I said.

"But, Lily..." Evra said.

"I won't let him kill that man." I stated. "Get ready to go. Ready?"

"Set." He sighed.

I watched Mr. Creplsey for a sign of movement, he leaned forward slightly."

"G-" I started but stopped short when instead of entering the building, Mr. Crepsley turned and walked away.

Evra walked into my back. "What? Are we going?"

"He's walking away." I said.

Soon, he disappeared around a corner and was gone.

"It's obvious that this guy is his target." I said.

"So why did he just leave?" Evra sighed.

"It doesn't make any sense." I growled at the place where Mr. Crepsley disappeared.

A.N.: Sorry for taking so long. Been rushed lately and it doesn't look like it is going to slow down anytime soon. No worries, school is almost out. Anyone that cares, I just had my wisdom teeth pulled this morning. I can feel my stitches xD