Eva's POV

Today had been the crappiest day in my whole life. The whole time at school, Clara had been avoiding me and I was sure that she was spreading some kind of gossip about me because every time I passed her and her friends, they would look at me and giggle.

It didn't help that I was also scolded in front of the whole class for zoning out again. And then I was given detention for an hour.

Everything seemed to be crashing down on me again.

So you couldn't blame me for being pretty eager to get back to my apartment and probably cry myself asleep or something. I was already kind of crying.

I know, I'm such a baby right?

I locked myself in the apartment and headed straight to the kitchen to look for some food. Food always helped me. Especially chocolate.

I brought my snacks over to where my laptop was and sat down. I wondered what to do. Watch anime? Scream Queens? Or just play games?

I definitely wasn't in the mood for homework.

In the end, I went to Facebook and played Candy Crush while eating a bar of chocolate and drinking a cup of cold milk.

It was around 6 o'clock when there was a knock on the door.

I went over and opened it. It was Clara.

"Eva, baby," she immediately hugged me. "I'm so sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you were that bored or whatever. Come on, let's get some coffee."

"Um, I don't drink coffee," I was about to say, but she was already pulling me out. "Wait- let me get my keys and my phone." I hurried to grab those things and then followed my 'friend' out.

"Starbucks?" she suggested.

I wrinkled my nose. "Expensive and not even that good."

"Fine," she huffed. "Black Canyon?"

"Um, I've never really tried there," I said slowly.

"Then let's go," she beamed at me. "It's actually a better choice since we can just walk it there. I feel like I should really get some exercise, but there's no way I'm going to the gym or do those sports. I honestly don't know how you do it, Eva." She looked me over. "Small, slender, a bit muscled."

"Muscled?" I didn't really like the idea of that.

"Do you want to go shopping?" she changed the subject. "I think I need a new shirt."

"Um," I felt my pockets for money. I only had two hundred baht. Not enough. "I can't."

"Huh, fine," she pouted. She looked at her phone which was ringing. "Oh, it's Darell." She grinned. "Hi baby, yes? I'm with Eva- no I can't just ditch her, don't be silly." she laughed.

I felt that listening to the conversation might do me more harm than good so I looked around.

Black Canyon was just up ahead, but we had to cross the main road to get to it. That was not something I was looking forward to.

We waited along with other people until the Pedestrian Crossing Signal became green. I honestly didn't know what to call it. It just seemed the most professional thing to call it.

"Come on Eva," Clara had hung up and she was fast-walking to the other end of the street. I quickened my pace to keep up with her.

We went inside the restaurant and placed our orders then looked around for an empty table. We ended up sitting at those long, stool tables where we were surrounded by some mothers and some workers.

"Not a nice place to sit," Clara grimaced.

"Shush," I didn't want her to be heard incase the people understood English.

"So how was your day?" she asked, smiling.

I kept a friendly smile on my face. Don't give away anything. But why would she ask that?

"Pretty good," I nodded.

"I heard about your detention," she said sympathetically.

"You were there," I couldn't help but point out.

She shrugged helplessly. "I wasn't paying attention, I guess."

I wasn't sure what to say to that. I looked away, trying not to show the hurt and confusion on my face. She definitely hated me or strongly disliked me. Why?

A waiter came, mumbling something in Thai, while he handed us our cups.

I took a sip from mine. It was actually good. Not too fancy and not too plain. It was the best chocolate drink I had. But that wasn't saying much since I only started drinking chocolate last week.

"Argh," Clara said after she glared at the mothers who were laughing loudly. "Let's get out of here. It's too noisy."

I followed her. "Where are we going?"

"To the mall," she said as if I was stupid. "I need to buy shirts. I thought I told you that."

Well, you didn't really say that I was going to come along, I thought.

Clara took around two hours to buy the two shirts she 'needed' and it wasn't until 8 when she finally decided to go back.

"That was the most toughest choice I had to make," she sighed as we headed back to my apartment. Her family lived a few blocks away from me, but in the same direction so we didn't need to separate or take different paths.

"I'm glad you found the shirts you liked," I told her even if I didn't mean it.

"Now," Ignoring my comment, she looked intently at her phone screen. She was scrolling through something. "I have to get you a boyfriend-"

"What?" I looked at her in surprise. "Since when? I'm perfectly fine being single."

"No, seriously," she insisted. "It's not healthy to be single at this age."

I rolled my eyes and let it drop. I wasn't going to accept any of the boys she suggested. Her idea of perfect boyfriend material included doing the 'it', smoking, and having a cool motorbike. Oh, and also being rich.

"Isn't this your apartment?" she stopped.

"Oh yeah," I stopped as well. "Bye."

"Yeah, bye," her attention was back on her phone as she walked away.

I watched her a for a few more moments then turned around to go inside when I crashed into someone.

At first I thought it was the boy I had seen before.

"Eva," it was a boy, but he didn't sound like the other one. "Eva." He repeated and hugged me tightly.

I was too confused to pull away. "That's me," I chuckled awkwardly.

When he stepped back, I was hit with another familiar feeling. He looked so familiar. His dark, curly hair was messy in the way that I found really attractive. His brown eyes- it was like he had stepped out of my 'perfect boyfriend' image.

"You're actually here," and his voice wasn't too deep or too high, but it was slightly in the lower side.

"Yes, I'm here," I smiled nervously. The way he was looking at me was making me slightly awkward. It was like he did know me. "Um, who are you again?"

He blinked and a look of pain crossed his face. For a second, I was scared that he was going to break down or something, but he smiled and said, "I'm Raphael Santiago. Um, your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" I yelped. "Last time I checked, I was single."

"Okay, okay," he bit his lip. "I'm not really your boyfriend, I was joking." He gave a strained smile.

"Mhm, not funny," I told him. Who was he? Why was he acting so weird? "If it helps, I do find you attractive." Okay, maybe that wasn't a smart move, letting strangers know that I found them attractive. But he looked so sad, it was haunting. And really attractive at the same time.

He visibly brightened up and he gave a grin.

I let out a startled cry when I saw that his canine teeth were longer than his other teeth. It almost looked like he had fangs.

"Oh, sorry," he quickly closed his mouth. "Um, I took a surgery to make it look like that." He explained hastily.

"Oh," I nodded slowly. He was actually weird. Was he a bit cray cray? "So how come you know me?"

"Um," he looked stumped. "I'm your friend. You know, before you lost your memories…"

I stared at him. I had no way of telling if he was saying the truth, but something told me that he was. It would explain how I had this sense that I should be knowing him.

But I didn't want to be with him- as attractive as he was. I didn't want to see anyone from my past. I thought I had told Mr. Kadir that. How did they find me?

"Well, I don't know if you're telling the truth," I told him quickly and hurried inside the building. I hoped that he wouldn't follow me.

"No, Eva," he was following me. "Please, don't leave me."

He sounded so sad that I actually slowed down. What was I thinking? It couldn't hurt to have one more friend right? As long as he didn't tell anyone else. But what if he was a total stranger? What if he was a murderer or a-

"Please leave me alone," I told him as I went inside the elevator.

"I can't, I'm sorry," he sounded genuinely sorry. He slipped inside the elevator before it closed, leaving the two of us alone.

I knew I should be scared. I should call for help. But something about the boy told me that I was safe with him.

"I've been looking for you for so long," he stared at me as if he couldn't quite believe that I was real. "I can't leave you like this. You don't know how I felt…" he faltered.

"So are you saying that you're my boyfriend or just my friend?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Cause you say that you're just my friend, but you're acting like you-" I broke off.

Like you love me.

He hesitated. "I am your boyfriend," he admitted. "look, I can explain everything. Just stay and listen. Don't leave, please?"

I watched him, suspicious. But I was curious. I wanted to know what happened before the accident. "Fine," I said. "But in my apartment."

He nodded, obviously relieved, and followed me to the apartment.

"So how old are you?" I asked.

"Um, 18," the answer came slowly.

"Really? You look younger than that." I remarked as I sat down on the couch. "So, spill." I adjusted myself so I would face Raphael who was sitting on the other end, looking nervous.

"You might think I'm crazy or something," he began hesitantly. "but just listen to everything, okay?"

I nodded, curious and impatient.

"Demons exist. They're here and they like to eat humans. That's why there are Shadowhunters. So they can stop the demons. Shadowhunters are Nephilim, half Angel and half human. You're a Shadowhunter," he added.

I nodded slowly, trying not to show that I was having trouble believing him already. He is crazy, I thought with a sinking feeling.

"When demons and humans -um- reproduce, they create warlocks-"

"You mean those mythical creatures that can do magic?" I interrupted.

He nodded. "Well, they're not really mythical."

Great, he is crazy, I sighed.

"There's also faeries, werewolves, and vampires." he paused. "I'm a vampire."

"Of course you are," I didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. "you have the 'fangs'."

"They are real," he told me. "Okay, you clearly don't believe me. That's reasonable. So what do you want me to do to prove that this is all true?"

I thought about that. "Show me your vampire abilities."

He didn't move. Slowly, he opened his mouth, but nothing happened.

I frowned and squinted at his teeth, but there wasn't anything unusual about them except for his long canine teeth which could easily have been done by a surgery. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"It's hard to control fangs," he defended himself. Suddenly two sharp things popped out of his mouth.

I leaned closer to get a better look and I saw that they were fangs. "This could be some kind of illusion or trick." I said.

He closed his mouth with some difficulty and his 'fangs' disappeared. "Fine," he sighed. "Do you have anything you'd like me to break? Something that people usually can't break?"

"Um," I looked around. "I like all the things I have right now."

"Of course," he got up. "Climbing walls."

"Yes, climbing walls," I frowned as he walked over to a bare part of the wall. He put his hands on it then started going up as if he was rock climbing except without the rocks and footholds.

"Your hands must be sticky or something," I refused to believe it.

"If you say so," he jumped down and landed lightly in front of me. Our eyes locked for a moment longer than necessary and I looked away, feeling uncomfortable.

"Anything else you can do?" I asked.

"I can jump out of the window and be back here in a five seconds," he suggested.

I thought about the fact that we were six floors up. "Um no," I said quickly. "You'll get yourself killed."

"I'm trying to prove to you that I'm a vampire." he reminded me. "I don't get killed by these kind of things."

"Fine," I went over and opened the window. It was just around big enough for Raphael to fit through. "Don't break anything then."

He grinned at me, flashing his unusually long canine teeth which he called his fangs, and jumped out.

I couldn't help a cry as he disappeared. There was no shouting or a sound of a body hitting the ground. It was like he had vanished into thin air.

I waited for a few tense moments. If he really was dead… people would suspect I had pushed him out or-

"I'm back," he appeared behind me. I yelped and nearly fell through the window, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Sorry," he looked amused.

"Okay, fine," now it was getting obvious. He must really be a vampire. But I couldn't help test him one more time. It just seemed too unbelievable. Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries… Warlocks… Demons. It all seemed far fetched.

"I just want to really make sure. Stab yourself in the arm or anywhere." I told him.

"Really?" Raphael smiled and went over to the kitchen. He came back bringing my favorite chopping knife. I was about to ask him to choose another one when he suddenly stabbed himself in the stomach.

I gasped and stared at him in horror. "Are you serious? You didn't warn me or anything?" It wasn't as bad as I had expected. It kinda looked like in the movies except that it was real and right in front of me. "Wait, take off your shirt. I need to make sure the wound is real."

"You're quite skeptical," Raphael winced as he took off his shirt. "and you don't seem to care if I get hurt."

"You're a vampire, deal with it," I said as I inspected his wound. The knife really had impaled him. Blood was staining the blade. "What's a Shadowhunter again?"

"Half Angel, half human. You guys deal with the demons and you make sure that us, Downworlders, don't break the Laws." he sounded slightly strained.

"What's so special about us?" I asked, tweaking the knife.

Raphael audibly sucked in his breath sharply. "Can you not do that?" I looked up to see him glaring at me.

I couldn't help a smile. "Okay, sorry." then without warning, I took out the knife. He didn't make a sound, much to my admiration.

"Shadowhunters have Angel blood in them. You guys are the only ones who can hold Holy weapons and put Runes on yourselves." he explained as he touched his wound gently.

"Holy weapons?" I asked absent mindedly as I watched his wound close up and heal.

"Seraphs. They're the only weapons which can hurt demons." Raphael touched his stomach where the wound used to be.

"That was fast," I remarked and looked at my knife. "Ew, I'm not washing that."

"Fine, I will," he huffed, taking the blade and going back to the kitchen.

I smiled and followed him. "What did you say we put on our skins?"

"Runes," Raphael said as he turned on the tap. "they're symbols that you guys draw on yourselves. Runes enhance your abilities, heal you, protect you. They do all sorts of stuff."

I frowned. "Wait, what did you call vampires, werewolves, and those other creatures?"

"Downworlders," Raphael looked at me hopefully. "Do you remember something?"

"No," I thought about the other boy I had bumped into. He had asked if I was a Downworlder. I suddenly remembered the tattoos on his skin. They were symbols. "Can Runes make you invisible?" I asked. "What happens if you use them? Do they ever run out of energy? Do they always stay there on the skin?"

"Yeah, when they run out of energy they don't disappear so Shadowhunters have to put on new ones on new places. Their skin becomes quite decorative..." Raphael said.

"But can they make you invisible?" I demanded.

"Yes," he sounded curious. "Why? Did you meet some Shadowhunters? Invisible Runes might not work on everyone."

"I did see a Shadowhunter,' I said excitedly. "He looked younger than me, but he was a Shadowhunter. He thought I was a Downworlder."

It was all making sense. And I had a feeling that it was all correct. Shadowhunters, Downworlders, demons….

"He must have been from the Bangkok Institute," Raphael muttered. "that's how I knew you were here."

"He was talking about me?" I asked.

"Sort off," Raphael went back to the living room to put on his shirt.

"Institute?" I thought back to what he said. "What's that?"

"Institutes are everywhere. A Shadowhunter family lives in each one of them. They protect the city their Institute is in." Raphael paused. "I'm not sure if that makes sense. I'm a bad teacher."

"You're doing fine," I told him. "So the Bangkok Institute takes care of Bangkok?"

"Yeah," Raphael said. Then he added. "You used to live in the New York Institute. The family who lives there is the Lightwoods."

"The Lightwoods?" I repeated. I felt a sudden longing to go back and talk to them about this crazy world we lived in.

"Your brother is also there," Raphael said. "Jace Herondale."

"Jace Herondale," I nodded slowly. Then a thought struck to me. So apparently I hadn't been told anything about my past. What if my parents were actually still alive? What if I actually wasn't in a car accident?

I suddenly couldn't breathe. It was all too surreal. Too true to be good.

"What about my parents?" I asked softly.

A look of sympathy flickered across his face, but he quickly covered it. "They're dead. Your father was killed when your mother was pregnant. She was also killed."

"Then…" My hopes had been immediately dashed. I tried not to let it show on my face how much it affected me. "How did I lose my memories?"

"A new Law had been made," Raphael looked strange. "Shadowhunters weren't allowed to date Downworlders. But we still continued to see each other. They found out in the end and Kadir took away your Runes and your memories of us. You're not allowed to have any contact of the Shadowhunter world and everyone in it."

"So we're breaking the Laws again just by talking to each other?" I stared at him in amazement. I had basically lost most of my life because of this boy. I wasn't sure if that meant I should stay with him or stay away from him.

"You don't know how hard it was for me to watch you leave," Raphael's voice wavered. "When you saw me, it was like you were a stranger."

"I saw you before?" I frowned.

"Yeah," Raphael bit his lip.

"Okay," I held up a hand. This was getting a bit too much. "You came here because you heard rumors about me from that Shadowhunter boy and because you're apparently my boyfriend. Then you explain to me about the Shadowhunter stuff and yeah. I get that. I also get the fact that I had been punished for breaking the Laws and this is how I ended up… So why did you come? We're not allowed to be together. I'm not allowed to visit my friends or anyone else who isn't human… but why did you come? What do you want?"

"To see you again," Raphael said desperately. "It's unbearable living without you."

"But you know that we can't stay together," I told him, stepping away. "What will happen to us if they find out again?"

He looked miserable. "I don't know," he whispered. "but they won't find out. I- I left my clan. They think I'm dead."

"Dead?" I stared at him, horrified. "Why?"

"They kept on badgering me, asking if I was okay. I just wanted to be left alone." He bit his lip. "I pretended I was dead for around more than half a year."

"Don't you have any family or friends," I faltered.

"I'm a vampire," he smiled bitterly. "All my family is dead. My other friends don't understand me. They only fall in love with Downworlders. They've never fallen in love with a Shadowhunter or a human."

"So you're basically alone?" I gave a sad smile. "Alone in this whole world?"

"I only have you," he looked at me with pleading eyes. "Please don't leave me… again."

The last word hit me. This must be how he felt when I left him. Except before, my memories had been erased. This time, I knew who he was. What had happened. I had a choice…

"I must have loved you a lot to risk my life," I said slowly. "Knowing myself, I also must have made a promise to you."

He gave a pained smile. "You promised to never forget me."

I clenched my jaw. I had actually promised that? Something that I had no control over?

"I guess I broke that promise," I looked at the ground, feeling ashamed. Stupid. I was so stupid. "I suppose I'll have to redeem myself, huh?"

His eyes lit up. "You'll let me stay?"

"Yeah," I flushed. "but we have to take things slow, okay? I need to get to know you all over again."

"Sure, of course," he agreed. Then he added, somewhat remorsefully. "I broke my promise to you as well."

"What was that?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I told you that I would watch over you, but I couldn't… I didn't even know where you were," he was obviously beating himself up.

"It's fine," I told him. "You found me at the end and helped me. I think that's good enough. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be thinking I was alone in the world."

"I'm so sorry if you felt like that," Raphael sounded horrified at that.

"It's fine," I repeated, giving him a small smile. "You're here now."