The more reviews I get, the more I update! REMEMBER THAT! I liked this chapter, a lot.

Mina: ME TOO! Ehehheehhehehe

Me *rolls eyes* idiot. I don't own Vladimir Tod, just Mina and the cake! YUMMY!

Mina: OR EVANESCENCE! You don't own them either!

Me: Oh yea! I don't own the band or song either, and MAJOR foreshadowing with that too ;)

ENJOY! AND REVIEW!

37 Red Velvet

We have been back in school for a week now. The stares from the male population have, if anything increased over the week. It bothered me because I only cared about Vlad. And the more guys who stared, the less Vlad would look at them and therefore me as well.

So when I got the mumbled invitation to come to his house for dinner I was shocked. He explained that Nelly wanted him to invite me over, but I felt he did also. And what made it all the better, is there would be no Henry.

I had made the deal that I would only go if I could bake the desert. He agreed, as I knew he would because he loves my baking, and I was to go over at seven for lasagna.

Now, at five 'til seven, I'm walking up to Vlad's house. I wore my favorite jeans and a black button up shirt, which I kept unbuttoned, over my red tank top that matched the red of my newly changed hair. I held a container of the cake I made earlier as I knocked on the door.

Vlad answered the door and I saw he was wearing the Vampires Suck tee shirt that I loved so much. I felt my eyes haze over as I saw him in the dim light from inside the house. He smiled at me and pulled me inside, my breath latched and my heart jumped. Nelly was fussing over the food in the kitchen and Vlad sat me down right next to him on the table. The hand he took to lead me inside he didn't release until a while after sitting down. Yet, sadly, I had to part from his hold.

"I'm going to put this in the kitchen." I told him as I stood to put my cake inside with Nelly. I checked to make sure there was no way for Vlad to hear us as he set the table when I spoke to Nelly. "Nelly, I put blood in the cake."

"What?" Nelly asked in slight shock. "Why would you do that?"

"It's Vlad's favorite cake. I wanted to make it special and edible for me too."

"Okay…" She said skeptically. "Whatever you say, Mina, dear." I thanked her and went back out to sit with Vlad. I saw him watching me intently across the table as I circled around to sit by him. I gripped his shoulders gentle and softly whispered to his ear.

"I know you'll like the desert I made." He turned toward me as I sat down.

"What is it?" He asked, I smiled.

"Your favorite, don't worry." He smiled and I felt content with just staring at him for the rest of the night. I was very glad Henry didn't come. Speaking of my cousin. "Hey Vlad, why wasn't Henry invited?"

"You want him here?" He asked and I wasn't sure what his tone meant.

"No, no. And I didn't mean it like that. It's just… well it is rare that you invite me over without him too."

"I just wanted to be with only you tonight." I blushed deep red but caught myself as he started to stare at the table.

"I'm sorry. I know you're hungry, I shouldn't have done that."

"You're fine. I shouldn't have said that, I knew you'd blush. It was my fault." He looked down at the table and I reached out a touched his hand. I felt him jump slightly at my touch, like how I used to when we first met and I still sometimes do.

"It doesn't bother me. You can make me blush whenever you want. You've been doing it for two years now." His eyes met mine and I felt just about ready to lose all control. We both jumped when Nelly walked in and both are hands flew away from each other. I blushed a furious red but it was forgotten when I smelled the food. Lasagna was the best food to hide blood in, one of them at least. And even though Vlad thought she made it for me to be comfortable around Vlad while he ate, she did it so Vlad wouldn't know that I was eating the same as he was.

I gulped down my food as slowly as I could. I was still a newborn vampire after all and blood in front of me was very irritable.

"So, Mina don't you have anything to say to Vlad?" Nelly asked as she stabbed her fork into her lasagna. I froze as I chugged water to give me time to think. When I placed the cup down and swallowed I saw Vlad was watching me with extreme curiosity.

"Oh, yes, Vlad I have a choir concert coming up. I wanted to know if you would like to come." I smiled sweetly; Nelly gave me a look of disapproval. Vlad seemed shocked, normally I beg him not to go to my concerts. I don't know what made me want to invite him this time. But when he saw my smile he seemed like he had no choice but to smile back. He turned to Nelly who just finished disapproving of my change in subjects.

"Nelly, can I go?" Nelly seemed about ready to continue the conversation she wished to start but changed her mind.

"You can, when is it Mina?"

"Uh, next Friday. It is a musical theme. I'm very excited about it." Vlad smiled as he picked up his cup. As he brought it to his lips I saw his eyes turn to me. As he thought I was watching the blood, I didn't care about the blood, I was watching his lips. If he wanted to kiss me so much, why won't he?

I felt a foot tap my leg and I turned to Nelly. Nelly gave me a stern look and turned to my plate. I smiled innocently and continued to eat; Vlad finished his cup and spoke again.

"What songs are you singing?"

"Well…" I wasn't ready for the question. Then I remembered there was a very good reason for Vlad to come. It could help me tell him that I am a vampire now. "See this concert is starting earlier because it is longer than the others this year. We all got to pick our own songs and who we sang with. The whole thing was made by us and I think it's going to be great. Some people were picked for solos, but we still have to pick the song."

"What about you?"

"I was picked." I avoided the question he was thinking of asking.

"What song did you pick?"

"That's a surprise." I leaned on the table and grinned, Vlad smiled. "You will like it, I promise."

"Do I know the song? Or at least heard of the musical? You listen to a lot of them, so I probably have right?"

"Yes, you know the song. And actually you are very familiar with the musical. But I know you can relate to the song, we both can. And," I smiled and flashed my eyes between my hands and his eyes. "There's a message I hope you'll get."

"Well, I'll take your plates." Nelly took them and started out of the room. Vlad was about to ask me what it was, but I just winked. He gave up before starting, he knew I wouldn't talk. Nelly came out with two slices of cake and set them before us. "I'm not hungry enough for desert, so sorry Mina."

"Oh, no worries." I knew she said that only to make up for avoiding the blood filled cake.

Vlad smiled widely. "You made Red Velvet!" I smiled back and stuck my fork in the soft cake. I was about to lift it to my mouth but I waited for Vlad's first taste. His eyes went wide, he nearly dropped the fork and he stared at me in horror. I ate the bite on my fork easily as the blood and cake mixed.

"I knew you'd like it." Vlad still stared it horror and me eating the cake made it worse.

"You put blood in your cake!" He screamed, I flinched, I wasn't used to him yelling, but I didn't show it. "What possessed you to do that?"

"You told me that you wouldn't mind if I put blood in my cooking." He remembered that day, months ago, when we were joking about Mrs. Lovett and her meat pies. The same day I gave him to right to kiss me whenever he wanted to. I knew he remembered that little tidbit as well when his face was one percent pinker than normal.

"Yeah! I was joking!" I shrugged and he turned back at the cake before him. "It's…" He lifted another forkful toward him. "It's not your blood." He stated. He seemed relieved.

"Nope, silly I'd be dead if I put all my blood in a cake." I took another bite.

"What about your slice?" He asked slowly, not sure if he wanted the answer.

"Blood free, I kept a normal slice for me. The rest of the cake is exactly like what you are eating." He was about to ask the basic question so I answered anyway. "Nelly gave me the blood."

"How'd you get it in here without tablets?" He poked around the cake and saw no tablets, I grinned. My eyes were taunting and my grin grew wider as he sighed. "You won't tell me will you?" And he started to eat the cake again. I watched him as he ate and I continued to eat myself. "It is really good." He said in a fast voice, I giggled.

"Sir, it's too good, at least." I said in a sing-song voice like Mrs. Lovett. Vlad laughed and started to cough on his cake. I laughed too and handed him a napkin.

We finished and Nelly took our plates after telling Vlad she is putting the cake in the refrigerator. Vlad took my hand again and started to lead me up the stairs.

"We'll be upstairs Nelly!" Vlad called to her.

"Vlad, I know how to get around your house." I laughed, he flushed as was about to let go of my hand, I held his tighter. "But I don't mind." He continued to take me past the library and into his room. I collapsed on his bed and pulled the pillow close to me.

"Mina you just had dinner with a vampire. You saw me drink blood, and eat blood lasagna. And you baked me a blood red velvet cake! How doesn't none of this bother you?"

"It just doesn't!" I sat up as he started his interview. I chuckled, interview with a vampire by another vampire, funny.

"Mina Henry has been watching me drink blood since we were eight and he is still freaked out about it. Nelly too! Really Mina, you have to be at least a little grossed out by this. Any normal human would be!"

"Well, I'm not a normal human Vlad!" I shouted, he took a step back. I never yelled at Vlad ever, he never saw that coming. But I was tired of his complaining.

"What do you mean?"

"I love vampires, Vlad! My whole life Joss kept telling me 'vampires this… vampires that!' when all I wanted to do was learn about them. When I saw vampire's eyes I honestly would go all hypnotic like in a black and white horror movie! It's pathetic! I adored them, I wanted them, I needed them. I never told Joss because he would freak out! Then that creepy old guy gave me this necklace! He quoted Dracula, Vlad, that isn't a coincidence! And neither is the fact that a man, almost exactly like the last one, gave me this ring only after learning my name. Can't you see it all Vlad? This isn't just chance!"

He stayed silent as he stood in the center of his room. I stood and went up to him, my body acting on its own as if I were begging him for something.

"Then I met you. And you opened the door to a world of vampires where I'm not as crazy as I think I am. You care for me when my own cousin hated me for my love. You understood my need, because you felt the same. The day I met you I knew I would never want to leave you. And it has only gotten stronger the past two years. And my blood! That is a huge key point. You want my blood, more than anyone else in Bathory right? Then take it! God damn it Vlad, can't you see I want you to! I would give you every drop of blood I have if it was for you.

"I choose you over my own family! And I would choose you over the entire human race! I am giving you all of me, and you have had all of me since the second that you looked me in the eyes. If I could give you all eternity I would! I'm not normal Vlad; normal girls don't even understand a fraction of what is going on with me. And please, don't blame yourself. I was beyond normal way before I met you. My life was changed the second that old man reached out a grabbed my hand."

Vlad refused to look at me. He turned his head away from me and kept his eyes at the floor. Finally he mumbled in a soft whisper.

"I don't need you to care so much, it's hard."

"Vlad, look me in the eyes and tell me you don't need me." I cupped his face and forced him to look at me. His eyes started to burn with a fire I have grown to love as he searched my eyes for something. He slowly reached up and held my hands to his face for a long moment before pulled him down between us.

"That's harder." I felt my heart flutter faster at his words but I kept it down.

"Vlad…" I looked from our hands to his eyes. "I have something I want to tell you. Two things actually."

"Anything, Mina." He whispered, I felt just about to explode. I wanted nothing more than to tell him everything, show him everything. I wanted to tell him I am a vampire. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. And show him how much I loved him if that was at all possible without eternity.

I held my mouth open, unsure if I could do it. I ducked my head on his chest. "I'm sorry I can't." He hugged me, thinking I needed the comfort. Any comfort from him was welcome. "I just can't, not now."

"It's okay. Whenever you want to tell me, go ahead." He rubbed my back, unintentionally caused me to shiver.

"Thank you, Vlad." I kissed his cheek gently and pulled away. With my back turned to him I fixed my shirt and brushed my bangs away. I decided to see what he was listening to and picked up a few of his CDs. I saw Evanescence and since I like them I put it in his CD player. I played My Immortal, one of my favorites.

I started toward Vlad's bed so I could lie down. I felt someone tackle me to the bed. I laughed and turned to Vlad.

"What are you doing?" I asked when I finished laughing.

"I don't know, you seemed to need it." He laughed with me. I looked up at Vlad over me; god was the song right about a resonating light. He watched me for a long time, and I just couldn't find it in me to look away. "Sing, please."

"Sing what?" I asked in a soft voice. I honestly hate it when he seduces me into idiocy. He grinned and I melted. His laugh also caused me to melt once again.

"The song, Mina." Then I remembered My Immortal was playing. I felt so stupid I blushed a mad shade of red. Good thing he wasn't hungry since we just ate. "Sing it please?" I blushed again and nodded. I waited for the music to que me to start.

"I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone. And thought you're still with me, I've been alone all along." He smiled wider as my voice sang slowly. "When you'd cry, I'd wipe away all of your tears. When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears. And I held your hand through all of these years. But you still have…" I met his eyes and tried to brush his bangs away to no avail. "All of me."

I caringly tried to move his hair again. It will never listen to me. It never did and never will but I always felt like trying.

The door opened and Vikas stood smiling. I blushed when I realized Vlad still had me pinned from when he attacked me. Vlad just smiled and crawled off me; I sat up and turned from him to Vikas and back. I saw a faint, unexplainable red in his cheeks. When he saw me looking the red disappeared. He looked down and back to Vikas.

"Well I just came to tell you love birds that Otis and I are here." I blushed an even darker red and stiffened.

"We aren't love birds!" Vlad and I snap at the same time.

"Right, well come on you two." Vikas didn't believe us. I stood and weaved my way through his room. I turned when I reached Vikas and Vlad was watching me as he stood to fallow. I turned back and shuffled past Vikas as I blushed.

When I went down stairs with Vlad and Vikas following I saw Otis in the main room in the large reclining chair I normally sat in with Nelly behind him. I read it in Nelly mind that she honestly liked Otis. And I found the same in Otis's head before he got pissed that I got in his thoughts without asking. They were extremely cute together, and other than the law I see no reason for them not to be together.

"Hey Otis." I smiled at him and fell on the couch across from him.

"Hello Mina, how have you been doing?"

"I'm quite fine, thank you. How are you?" He answered the same as I did, not really thinking. Vlad walked in after Vikas. Vikas leaned on the wall by the hallway into the kitchen. Vlad slumped down next to me with his arm on the back of the couch. I shivered and I say Vikas grin and Otis smile.

"Don't lose yourself, Lubov." Vikas chuckled in my head. I whipped my head toward him and glared to kill. He chuckled again; Vlad looked at him confused but ignored it.

"I'm going to get something to drink." Otis stood before Nelly could ask him not to. I stood too.

"I'm thirsty too." I started to follow and stopped when Vlad called Otis's name. We both turned to him and with slight worry he glanced between us. He sighed and muttered a soft 'nothing' and relaxed. Otis and I went in the kitchen and shared a cup of blood.

"I wonder…" I cup Otis off before he finished.

"You came to get blood and I came with you, Otis. Think." Otis nodded.

"Yes, I forgot he still worries. Mina, have you given any thought to when and how you are going to tell him?"

"I almost did tonight. But I guess it is harder than I thought it was."

"Mina…"

"I know! Don't think I won't tell him, I will! I invited him to my choir concert, maybe later that night I could tell him. Just don't worry about it Otis. He will freak out when I tell him, you're bound to know when I do."

"You have a point, Mina. I will leave it alone." Otis hugged me tight and I smiled.

"Thanks Otis. I have a question." I pulled away from the hug and looked up at him. He nodded for me to continue. "When I was your student did you ever think you'd end up teaching me how to be a vampire?"

"That, Mina, I did know." I pulled completely out of his grasp in confusion.

"What?" I nearly shrieked.

"I knew Vladimir was a vampire. And how you acted with him, how passionate you were in your essay. Everything matched Mina and you know that. I felt that somehow you'd be changed, I just didn't know I would still be here."

"You're his uncle. If you thought he would bite me you wouldn't have helped him?"

"I would have. But then I thought his father was still alive and would assist with you. When I met you as my student and saw your closeness to Vlad, I figured it was a match Tomas was proud of."

"If he was here, do you think he would have liked me?" I asked softly.

"He would have loved you." I smiled widely and blushed. I wished I could have met Tomas Tod since I saw how close he looked to his son and the gorgeous man in my dreams. Henry told me about him sometimes, and so did Nelly and recently Otis. Vlad never spoke about him.

"Come on." Otis turned me to enter the living room again and I did with him following. "Vlad I think Mina's ready to go home?" Otis asked me. I opened my mouth to object but ended up nodding.

"I'll walk you home." Vlad requested and stood. I blushed a nodded. We started out the door and waked in content silence. I enjoyed every second of it but as my house came into faint view I noticed Vlad started to slow down.

"Vlad, listen." He turned to me and smile. I caught my breath and spoke again and didn't look at him. "I'm sorry for blowing up on you back there. I just… you have to understand…" I looked back up at him. "I'm not leaving."

"I can't help it Mina. I get worried about if D'Ablo will come back. And since he knows what I think of you he'd use you to get to me."

"What do you think of me?" I asked softly. He stiffened and I could hear his heart pounding. My own heart did the same, if he was nervous does that mean he likes me?

"You are very close to me, just as or even closer than Henry even." He grumbled and stared at his shoes. My heart was stuck in my throat and I didn't speak. I smiled widely and silently sighed to myself. He started to speak in a rushed voice after I didn't' answer. "I mean I know he is my best friend and all. But you just… I don't know what you do but I just feel really close to you." He walked with his feet skimming the cement to kick the rocks and his hand digging into his hoodie.

"Same here." He looked up and blinked a few times. I wasn't sure if he was blinking because of his bangs, he could have been. "Maybe stronger…" I blushed and weaved my hands together in front of me as I walked. "But same here."

"Really?" I nodded; he shrugged it off with shocking ease. "Cool." I pouted at his passive response and he saw and laughed. I blushed and he laughed even more.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, embarrassed. He slowly stopped and smiled with an amused look.

"You don't like it when I shove things off?" He chuckled and I shook my head furiously. He laughed again. "I'm sorry, Mina." He stepped forward and tugged my hand toward my house. I melted for the thousandth time that night and smiled as he dragged me up my porch.

He didn't let go of my hand as we stood at the door. I smiled and he grinned.

"Not mad anymore?"

"Never was." I blushed and met his eyes. He leaned on the door with his hand on the eye hole. "What are you doing?"

"Henry's my drudge, and he was watching." I sighed and mouthed thank you and thanked the person who designed my house that it had no windows that you could let you see us other than the peek hole. "And he's my best friend." I laughed and he grinned again. "Look, Mina. Nelly had me invite you over because she wanted me to thank you for being so understanding about me being a vampire."

"Well… if I had a huge secret or two from you, I hope you'd just act the same way."

"I would, Mina, you know that." I smiled, reassured about telling him. Soon, not right now though. "We'll um… I think I should let you go in before Henry freaks out." I reached my hand out and he stopped from removing his hand from the eye hole.

"I don't mind." He smiled again and I felt weak. "But if you have to go, you can."

"Well, uh, Nelly will be worried that I'm not so long. She knows how long it takes to get to Henry's."

"Yeah…" I sighed, knowing he would departed without another word. Just as I was about to look back up at him he flew down and I felt his lips on my cheek. I darkened a dark red, praying the night hide it well. His lips were warm and even when he was gone I felt a tingling where he had left his kiss. "Vlad…"

He grinned and started down the porch. I stood frozen as I watched him leave. My pull toward him begging me to follow his every step.

"You can stop offering me, Mina." And he grinned as his memories went to last Halloween along with mine and he quoted me. "'You've done enough.'"

I watched his walk in his normal beat away and my heart ached to follow as he went home. When my vampric eyes could still see him through the darkness yet the distance was too much and he was gone, I turned and unlocked the door and went in. After relocking it behind me I turned around and came face to face with Henry.

REVIEW PLEASE!

Mina: *giggles unendlingly and annoyingly*

Me: See what I go through? This never ends! And also, review and tell me if you think Vlad is starting to like Mina or not. REVIEW! ;)