Part one

Jeremy was nodding off in his seat. A hard feat to do considering that his best friend Ralph was driving the van. But Jeremy was used to the guys way of handling a car. He almost instinctively stopped a box before it fell down on his head. He smiled thinking about Darla who would be waiting for them at her place. The moment he'd heard of the exchange programme he'd taken the opportunity to inscribe. There was no way he would miss his chance to actually spend three months at the same college Darla was at. Ralph had just decided to follow him. Best friends and all. Not to mention that almost every woman on campus in New York had already slapped him in the face or been warned off about him.

Jeremy knew Ralph wasn't all that bad. He just didn't know how to behave properly. His eyes still closed he pulled a small can out of the bag standing next to him. He pretended not to notice how Ralph quickly looked away as he drank the pigs blood. Even two years hadn't given him enough time to get used to having a vampire for a best friend. He placed the can in the holder in front of him, wiping a last drop of blood from his lips with his tongue. Ralph swallowed deeply.

The young vampire reset his sunglasses and pulled his coat further over himself. The sunlight really didn't agree with him, even if it didn't kill him. Suddenly the car shocked as Ralph narrowly avoided hitting something . Jeremy looked back at a welcome board that had been near flattened to the ground. He could barely make out a name.

"Sunnydale."

"Don't fret on it Count Capello. You'll be with Darla in no time."

"Ralph!" Jeremy sighed. Wouldn't Ralph ever get tired of that nickname? It had been funny the first ten times, but it had easily degraded into the tiresome.

Darla, she'd been in the dreams he'd had before turning into a vampire. The weird dreams. She was probably the first girl he'd ever really loved and she was going to marry him. They'd have kids and then he'd turn her so they could share centuries instead of just a few meager decades.
"That better not be my neck you're thinking of, pal."
Jeremy turned to his best friend, smiling teasingly before turning away again.

****

Xander had just left Anya's place when he almost stumbled over the body. Even after all he'd seen, the sight was still unsettling. Cold shivers coursed through him. He kneeled down next to the body. It belonged to a young woman of about his own age. The signs were obvious, a vampire attack.

He kept muttering oh my God while stepping away from the body. What if she'd been turned, he was to young to end up as vampire food. It was then that someone left the building in front of him. He was about to say something, tell the man what had happened, but the guy started screaming. "Murderer." Xander backed of, turned around and ran off.

to be continued