A.N Hmm. One cookie goes to ScarletBlack! Everyone lurves him! (Well, obviously not. Everyone else guessed Mr Crepsley and Darren. –pouts- Though there was one Vancha… interesting…) Well, you can keep guessing who the other vampire was! XD

----

Fifteen: Klavier

----

Damn that Annie!

When I get my hands on her I'm going to KILL her!

…Oh, screw it. I couldn't be bothered. She didn't mean any harm.

And plus, it was my birthday. My eighteenth, to be precise. I have to act like an adult, now.

Or so my mother would have once said.

We'd been in Stuttgart for about a week now – I had a sneaking feeling it was because there might have been a Rammstein concert, but I later found out that they weren't touring at the time. Nothing interesting had happened. Perri, Annie and I had just wandered around the large German town, getting to know the layout for who knows what reason.

And then it happened.

I was in the middle of a particularly good dream – yes, one of those dreams, and no, I won't tell you who it involved, that's just a bit too embarrassing – when something very heavy landed on my stomach. My special dream was thrown out the window, gone until the next night, and I was winded so badly that I thought I would never be able to breath again.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"That heavy something on top of me screeched. As I lay there, winded, the thing that happened to be Perri rolled over so that she was sitting on her butt and began to bounce up and down on my stomach. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Steeeeeve, happy birthday to you!" She sang to the beat of her bounce.

Annie appeared out of nowhere next, her hair still messy from sleep. She jumped from foot to foot, clapping joyfully.

"Hip hip -" She began.

"HOORAY!" They cried together.

"Hip hip -"

"HOORAY!"

"HIP – HIP!"

"HOOORAAAAAAY!"

"For he's a jolly good fellooow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good FEEELLOOOOOOW! AAAAN-"

"SHUT UP IN THERE!" A muffled, though loud voice said from the next room, banging on the wall. Perri quickly bounced off my stomach and skipped to the wall, knocking on it.

"Sorry about that, just wishing our friend happy birthday!"

"Yeah, well, wish 'im 'appy birthday quieter, will ya?!"

"Sorry!"

"SHURRUP!"

There was quiet, except for me spluttering as I tried to get my breath back. Every single bone in my ribcage felt like it was broken. Distantly, I heard Perri turn back around and beam at Annie and me.

"The neighbour's such a nice fellow. I think we should get him a box of chocolates," she said happily. Annie clapped.

"That's a great idea! Milk, white, or dark?"

"He'll probably think they're poisoned," I groaned, before rolling over – and landing straight on the ground with a loud THUMP. While I stared up at the ceiling, winded once more, my head pounding with pain, Perri and Annie broke up into hysterics – only to be quieted by the neighbour banging on the wall again.

Annie squinted at the wall in what looked like a tired glare, one hand on her hip, the other scratching her head.

"Right, that's it, you're getting Turkish Delight for that!" She stage-whispered. Perri started giggling, trying to stop them by holding onto her nose, but that didn't work. She ended up snorting. In her fit, she fell back onto her bed, and lay there, as if in a daze.

By the time I was able to breathe properly and stand up – a good seven minutes later – both Annie and Perri were sitting on their respective beds, smiling up at me tiredly. I glared at them, shuffling to the window and tweaking apart the blinds.

The world was dark and cold.

I glanced at my watch.

It was 2:58. In the morning.

I glared at them.

"Why did you wake me up at three in the morning – and if you say 'To sing you happy birthday!' I'm going to hurt you," I growled. Perri beamed so brightly that it seemed as if the sun had risen in our hotel room. Damn those two girls and their sunniness.

"That's just part of the reason," she said, beginning to bounce up and down on her bed.

"And the other half…?" I asked warily. This time it was Annie's turn to beam.

"It's your birthday, baka! We've got a long day planned for you!" She cried, and began bouncing too. I groaned.

"Did you two get into the sugar last night or something? And what the hell is a baka?" I asked. They looked at each other blankly for a second – then collapsed into giggling fits like the pair of teenyboppers they were.

I just groaned once more, grabbed some clothes I found on the floor (I think they belonged to me…) and walked off to the shower.

Introducing Annie to Perri was probably not the most intelligent thing I had ever done in my life – and let me tell you, I have done heaps of un-intelligent stuff during my years. As soon as they met, they seemed to have clicked, like they were some kind of halved shell that fit together perfectly. Yes, they were so similar it wasn't funny. It was annoying.

I had to admit though. I had never seen Perri this… happy? Was that the word? Yeah, there were times in the past where she had been happy, but this was the first time she had actually been happy happy. If it was because of Annie, or the fact that she was getting closer to whatever it was she was looking for, I had no idea.

It was the same for Annie, too. I had this feeling that she didn't exactly have an enjoyable life for the last few years.

Maybe that's why they clicked so well. They both had bad experiences, and yet both pushed them away with their own strength of character and determination to be happy. Or to be hyper.

Ye gads, I'm going all philosophical and using big words.

Oh no. Even worse. I'm using Star Wars words.

Someone kill me. Please.

----

Some thirty minutes later, the three of us walked into a bakery just as it opened. The young baker who had unlocked the door blinked at us in surprise as we bundled in, but he must have recognised Perri, because he smiled cheerfully, albeit tiredly, and wished me happy birthday. I'm not quite sure how he knew. I guess the girls told him.

We didn't have to order anything – Perri must have pre-ordered everything, because a few minutes later, I was handed a large calico bag. I peered inside to find it was filled with all sorts of baked goodies – all of them warm and freshly made.

I found my eyes boggling at the amount of food packed into the bag.

"You're very lucky, ve don't normally put so much into them, but Miss Perri persuaded us," the young baker said in badly accented English. I grinned and thanked him.

Annie bounced up to the counter, grinning up at the young German.

"Can I persuade you to make us three cups of hot chocolate, please?" She asked as sweetly as she could, batting her eyelashes. The baker pouted, then grinned.

"Ve don't usually make hot chocolate, but you are too… vat is the vord? Cute?" He pulled a face, "to say no to."

Soon we were walking out into the cold world holding Styrofoam cups of hot chocolate.

"Don't forget the other thing, Christoph!" Perri called just before leaving the bakery. The baker, Christoph, grinned and waved.

"Ve von't, Miss Perri!" He called back.

Perri took us to a nearby park, where we sat on the frosty grass, eating our feast of delicious pastries and warm hot chocolate. It took us a while to eat it all – probably an hour or so. We lay there for a while, patting our stuffed stomachs, until Perri picked us up and dragged us off once more.

We climbed to the top of a flat-rooved industrial building, where we watched the sunrise. Stuttgart, under the crepuscular light, looked quite beautiful. Everything was turned into all those pretty pastel colours of orange, purple, red and yellow. I had never seen anything like it before.

Well, I had seen dawn before – but they were usually when I was out hunting, when I didn't have time to stop and watch and marvel at the beauty.

God, I must sound like a right old fag. It's the women. Damn them.

We stayed there for a while, switching between sitting in a peaceful silence to talking about nothing at all. Then Perri checked her watch and dragged us off once more – this time to the movies.

We did what we had done last time we went to the cinemas –stayed there till someone kicked us out. It took them two and a half movies this time. I guess German cinema security is better than Irish security.

Then Annie and Perri literally dragged me to the shops, or 'shopping centre' as Perri put it. It was actually more fun than I thought it would have been. Perri bought me a new coat and scarf, while Annie bought me a stress ball in the shape of a soccer ball. It's really good, actually. Whenever I get stressed, I just squeeze the little thing for as long as it took me to calm down.

Then we began running riot throughout the mall, until we got kicked out by the security. Again. Luckily, Perri's short enough to pass for a teenager – otherwise she probably would have been charged for something.

I was brave enough to say that to her. It wasn't exactly a smart idea – my arm is now numb, and probably will be for the next few hours. Her punches aren't fun at all.

We dropped our stuff off at the hotel at around three. Perri disappeared to do something, leaving Annie and myself alone. It wasn't for long, though – Annie grabbed my arm and dragged me off down the street, to the local soccer field, where all her newly made German friends were waiting. To my utter embarrassment, they all knew it was my birthday, and everyone there wished me well.

We played a game of soccer – Annie, a German kid, and myself against all seven of the others. We beat them, twelve to two. Haha. We were halfway through another game – this time five a side, with Annie on the other team, though we were still drawing three all – when a car beeped at us. I turned in time to see Perri step out of the car holding a huge white cardboard box. I knew what it was instantly, and suddenly wished that the ground would swallow me up whole.

Everyone else knew what it was too. Four of the kids, including Annie, grabbed my arms and dragged me towards the nearby table and chairs, where Perri was placing the box. As soon as we got there, she grinned up at me, then pulled the top of the box off with a flourish.

Inside, the candles already lit, was the largest chocolate cake I had ever seen. My jaw dropped.

On the icing was a picture of a soccer ball in white and black frosting, and in the centre, in flowing white letters, was 'Happy Birthday Steve.'

"One, two, three," I vaguely heard Perri say…

And for the second time that day, I was being sung Happy Birthday. Never mind the fact that most of them sang in German, I still understood what they were saying.

I found my throat catching.

I smiled.

And then I did something I hadn't done since I was a little baby in need of a nappy change.

I cried.

I've spent too much time around those girls.

----

Perri took us out to dinner that night, to an expensive German restaurant. While Perri was busy arguing with the head waiter ('We booked in! Three people!' 'I am sorry, Fraulein, I can't see your name here,') Annie turned to me.

"Hey, Steve, I never got to give you my present…" She said softly. I blinked.

"You didn't have to get me a present. After all, look what you and Perri did for me today – a little embarrassing, I admit, but it was the best birthday I've ever had. Oh, and you got me that stress ball. I love that stress ball," I don't know why I was rambling, but I was. I couldn't stop myself.

Annie looked around almost shyly, as if checking if anyone was watching. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box, the type that usually contained jewellery.

"I know that these vampaneze we fight aren't weak against holy items and crucifixes and stuff, but I'm a Buffy fan, so I don't care what you say," she said quickly, and held out the box in her open palm, looking down. Slowly, I took it out of her hand and opened it up.

It was a thin silver cross, on a silver chain.

I stared. I could tell it was fairly expensive.

"Annie…" I said softly, my throat catching once more. She was blushing bright red now. "I… thankyou."

She ducked her head even further, hiding behind her dark hair. I mentally kicked myself. There was something other than thankyou I was meant to say. I didn't know what though. Hey, I was never any good with girls before, why would I be now? They should've taught us guys how to deal with girls at school, but nooo, they never did, did they?

I never got the chance to figure out whatever it was I was meant to say, because Perri finally figured out her problem with the maitréde, and away to eat dinner we went. When Perri and Annie went to the toilet together (now there was something I would've liked to understand), I slipped the necklace on. When she came back later, she smiled up at me shyly and went back to her dinner.

----

Several hours later, we were standing on a quiet street, a large industrial building on the opposite side. There was a large crowd of people walking in and out, or standing outside and smoking, while a large neon sign above the large doorway flashed the word 'Zwitter'. I blinked.

"Where are we, Perri?" I asked. She grinned.

"At a nightclub. What did you think?" She asked back. I pulled a face.

"But –"

"No buts! You're eighteen, so you deserve to finally go to a bloody nightclub." She paused, standing up onto her tiptoes and peering at me closely. I backed up slightly. She frowned. "You have some grey hairs, did you know that?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Even though I'm legally allowed in there, how the heck are we going to get Annie in there? She doesn't even look eighteen!" I scowled.

"Are you sure about that?" Annie piped up. I turned around to glare at her, but she only smiled back. I had to admit – she did look older than she was, especially with her dark makeup and the extra low-cut top she had borrowed from Perri. Very low cut. Did I mention it was low?

Oh lord.

Annie turned now, looking up at the sign with a quizzical look on her face.

"What does 'zwitter' mean?" She asked. Perri grinned.

"I'd heard it meant 'hermaphrodite'." She said cheerfully. Annie blinked, obviously not understanding the term. I blanched.

"Why the hell are you taking us to a place like this?!" I nearly screeched. Perri laughed, looking up to the sky.

"Because I've heard my ex-boyfriend hangs out in there." She said lightly.

"Your ex-boyfriend?!" Annie asked.

"We're going in there just to see your ex…?" I asked blankly. Perri giggled.

"He's so cute! I miss him, actually. I bought him a pair of boxers once, but I don't think he liked them much…" She mused, lost in the past. Annie and I stared at her. Our silence brought her out of her dazed state, because she seemed to jolt, then grinned broadly. "Oh, I'm not that shallow! I brought you guys here for another reason!" She winked at Annie, who ducked her head and blushed.

I looked from one to the other, confused.

"What was the other reason?" I asked. Perri grinned, and winked at me.

"That, my young padawan, is just something you're going to have to find out."

And then she was gone, crossing the road and entering the throng of people who were trying to enter the club. With a sigh, I followed, closely dogged by Annie.

We were able to slip passed the bouncers with no problem – and then we were inside.

Outside, the club seemed like any other dilapidated warehouse that lined the street, except for the minor issue of the hundred or so people lined up outside trying to get in. Inside, however, it was like another world all together.

The whole world became black and green as soon as Annie and I stepped inside. In the centre of the large hall was the dance floor itself, already crammed with a surging wave of people as they danced to the loud thumping music being played by the DJ. To the right, raised slightly above and sealed off by a railing, was a bar, as well as several stools positioned along the rails. To the left was a staircase, leading to the upper level, where more tables and seats, each in their own booth, were located.

Ahead of us, Perri took one look around, then made her way up the stairs. Soon, her short black, blue and silver head disappeared among the throng, leaving Annie and I alone.

A pair of blonde German girls walked past us, giving me one of those flirtatious looks that I was so unused to. I blushed, unable to tear my eyes away from them as one of them blew me a kiss. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Annie bristle. The next thing I knew, she had slipped her hand into mine and was dragging me towards the dance floor.

"Come on," she said, barely audible over the loud thumping music.

"B-but I can't dance!" I called over the music. She glanced back at me, a smile gracing her features.

"Neither can I."

Which turned out to be a lie.

As soon as we found a spot on the dance floor, the song changed to another one, this one high-pitched and bouncy. Annie laughed, grabbing my hands, and began to jive dance. With a grin and a shrug, I followed her lead, and soon we were laughing and jiving together, never mind the weird looks we were getting from everyone else around us.

The next song was somewhat slower. Annie stopped her jiving, and looked up at me thoughtfully.

"You don't know how to dance like this, do you?" She asked. I glanced around – most of the other guys had their partners' heads on their chests, all of them standing very close as they swayed slowly to the music. One or two of them even had their hands travelling down…

I blinked.

"Not really," I said quickly. Annie chewed on her lip for a second, then shrugged.

"I'll show you, then," she said. She grabbed my hands and placed them onto her hips – I barely managed to stop myself from pulling them back. Then she wrapped her own hands around my neck, so that we were very close, staring into each others eyes and swaying to the music like the rest of the room.

It was kind of uncomfortable, actually. I really didn't like it.

My awkwardness must have shown, because Annie began grinning at me.

"I'm not very good at this, am I?" I asked. She shook her head, giggling slightly.

"No, not really, you're too stiff." She cocked her head to the side slightly, still smiling. "But that's cute."

I blushed as she rested her head on my chest. My skin felt like it was burning.

"Annie?"

"Mmm?" She looked up, an eyebrow cocking in question.

"I.." I trailed off. She blinked. Smiled slowly.

And then, reaching up, she kissed me softly on the lips.

It took me by surprise. It was so soft, so light, so – quick. I dropped my hands.

Annie must have noticed my confusion, because she stepped back, looking down to hide her blush once more.

"I-I'm, sorry, I didn't –"

She turned to walk away, but I reached forward and grasped her hand. She looked back up at me, her blue-green eyes wide.

"Annie…"

Then I surprised myself. I kissed her.

This time she was taken by surprise. But she recovered quicker then I did, wrapping her hands around my neck again and pushing back into the kiss.

I could go on forever describing what it was like – it was like we were floating in a sea of nothingness, just me and her… – but then that would turn this into a soppy romance. Last time I checked, it was an angsty action adventure. I'm sorry.

We broke out of the kiss, slightly breathless, our foreheads touching. She closed her eyes, a smile on her lips.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for that…" She whispered.

"Maybe I do." I told her softly. She opened her eyes, slightly confused, but a flash of blue and silver had caught my attention – turning my head, I saw Perri up above, stepping into one of the booths with a very angry look on her face. Annie followed my gaze in time to see Perri pull her hand back to slap someone – who, unfortunately, we were unable to see, thanks to the wall of the booth.

"That better not be her ex she's beating up," Annie groaned. I sighed.

"We'd better go stop her."

By the time we got to Perri, she was busy lifting the poor hapless man from his seat.

"-your fault, Kurda! You told me that they'd be here!"

"Hey, Perri, that's not a very nice way of treating people," I said as I came up behind her. She shot me a glare over her shoulder and dropped the man, who quickly regained his balance. He was grinning, despite the fact he had a raving deranged mad woman in front of him.

"Peregrine Walters does not know the meaning of nice," the blonde said cheerfully enough as he straightened the sleeves of his coat. He sniffed slightly, then grinned at me and Annie. "Hello there. I suppose your Perri's students? You'd have to be either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid to become a student of Perri's."

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Perri?" The blonde asked, hands on hips. This one had a bit more style to him. He kept his blonde hair fairly long for a guy, his blue eyes bright with mischief. On his left cheek were three scars that looked vaguely familiar. Perri glowered, then sighed.

"Steve, Annie, this is Kurda Schmalt," she said, pointing to the blonde. He bowed almost theatrically, and Perri rolled her eyes. "Sadly, you just missed Gavner."

"Gavner?"

"My ex-boyfriend."

"I still don't get how you and him ever 'went out', Perri," Kurda said, almost smugly. She pulled a face at him.

"Shut up, you ugly git," she growled. Annie's eyebrows shot up.

"You're calling him an ugly git? Jeez, I don't have much to say about your taste in men, Perri," she whispered. Perri winked at her.

"You don't have such a great taste either, Annie -" at which I glowered "-but dating vampires has its upsides. You don't get pregnant, for one." She said. My jaw dropped.

"He's a vampire?!" I asked, looking from Kurda to Perri. Kurda raised his hands, grinning – sure enough, his fingertips were scarred. Beside me, Annie clenched her fists.

"A vampire, like -" She didn't get to finish her sentence, Kurda cutting her off by turning to Perri and saying,

"What, you never taught them the difference between vampires and vampaneze? Tut tut," he shook his head, and Perri pulled a face at him.

"I've told Steve, but I haven't been able to explain it all properly to Annie yet, so shush."

"Well, let's not stand around all night," Kurda said, clapping his hands together. Mutely, we all sat down, Annie next to me, and Kurda next to Perri. He turned to Perri. "So, why the social visit, Perri? Still looking for it?"

Perri shot him a dirty look.

"As a matter of fact, I am, no thanks to you. You told me that they'd be here, but so far I haven't even found a trace of them. Where the hell have your vampaneze friends gone, dammit?!" She asked, slamming her fist onto the table and making us jump.

"Wait a second," I said, frowning. "Did she say 'vampaneze friends'?"

"Yes, she did," Kurda answered, nodding solemnly. "You see, where most of my brothers like to go out trying to spear each other on their javelins – like the blockhead this dear girl beside me once went out with – I prefer quieter past times."

"He hates the idea of fighting." Perri said blankly. Kurda pouted.

"Yes, so, while the rest of the vampires want to wipe out the vampaneze all together, I'm trying for a somewhat more peaceful way of bringing our two selves together."

"He wants peace, in other words." Perri explained, seeing our blank faces. Kurda shrugged.

"Okay, let me just say I'm the only peaceful vampire you'll ever meet," he sighed, then grinned. "For the past few decades I've been working with the vampaneze as an ambassador of sorts, trying to find out ways of bringing peace to the night."

"Is that how you got that scar?" I asked, pointing to his scarred cheek. I had just remembered where I had seen it before – on all the victims of the vamps we'd hunted in the past. And on Perri's cheek.

"They wouldn't let me talk with them until I had it. Put me at their mercy, in a way," he said, nodding.

"Why are you here, then?" Annie asked. Kurda grinned further.

"Well, I'm here for personal reasons," he said, tapping his nose. Perri snorted.

"We didn't just come here for my birthday, did we, Perri?" I asked.

"How'd you guess?" She asked blandly. She jerked her head in Kurda's direction. "Wherever he is, vampaneze are."

"They're not at the Vampire Mountain!" Kurda quipped cheerfully.

"Vampire Mountain?" Annie asked, blinking.

"It's our… headquarters, of sorts," Kurda explained, then he winced. "Which reminds me, I have to get going. The Council starts in a few weeks."

"Council?!" Annie asked, exasperated.

"A meeting between all the vampires every twelve years."

"Yeesh," she huffed, sitting back into her seat and folding her arms. "Who would've thought you vampires were so complicated?"

"Well then," Kurda said, glancing at his wrist, though there was no watch for him to look at. "The night is young, and I'm feeling a little peckish. I guess I have to be going now." He went to stand up, but Perri's hand shot out and grabbed his arm to stop him. Even in the eerie green light of the club, I could see her knuckles were white. Kurda looked down at her questioningly. She just glared at him – but this was no normal glare. It seemed as if all her built up rage and anger had welled up behind her eyes and was pushing to get out, to reach out and strike the one she was glaring at. Somehow, Kurda didn't shrivel and die on the spot. I admired him for that.

"You're not going anywhere," she growled in a dangerous tone, barely audible over the music. Kurda sighed, running a hand through his hair and glancing around. Then he sat down abruptly, somewhat deflated, like a beaten man.

"What do you wish to know, Peregrine?" He asked. She kept her hand on his arm, not once loosening her grip.

"You know exactly what I want, Kurda."

He sighed again, looking down.

"You do realise that I could break your hand, kill you and your apprentices, and leave this club unnoticed in a matter of seconds?" He asked. Perri continued to glare at his down-turned head.

"No, you couldn't do that, you're a pacifist, remember?" She growled. He looked up, wincing.

"Oh yes. Forgot that."

"Tell me. Now." She tightened her grip. He glanced down at her hand as if it were a mere annoyance. Having once been at the receiving end of one of Perri's vice grips, I knew how painful they were – it just proved how strong vampires truly were. Or how weak us humans were compared to them.

"Fine," he sighed, sitting back in his seat. She didn't let go. He looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes. "There is a vampaneze gang hiding out in an abandoned house on the edge of town."

There was silence.

"And?"

"And… they're lead by Kutriht. Marcus van Kutriht." He said the name slowly, as if it were someone we all should know. Annie and I looked at each other, equally clueless. Perri however…

She released his arm slowly, looking down and clenching her fists. For the next few seconds, she took long, deep breaths, as if trying to calm herself down. Then she stood up, still looking down, and turned to Kurda.

"Perri…?" I asked worriedly.

Then she opened her eyes.

"You bastard!" She screamed, and lashed forward with a powerful punch that even Kurda couldn't dodge. His surprised face snapped back, smashing into the back of the wall of the booth.

And then she stormed off, pushing her way through gaping bystanders, leaving the rest of us… gaping.

I looked at Kurda, blinking. He had recovered quickly, slowly massaging his jaw and watching Perri's retreating back almost… sadly.

"What was that all about?" Annie asked. Kurda looked at us slowly, as if just realising that we were there. His mouth twitched in a smile.

"She hasn't told you?"

We shook our heads. His smile spread.

"Then she will tell you when the time is right," he said, and before we could question him, he stood up abruptly. "You'd better follow her and make sure she doesn't do anything drastic." He exited the booth, and began walking away, but stopped, as if in mid thought, and glanced over his shoulder at us. "If… something happens, and you ever need me… I'll be here for the rest of the week."

And as suddenly as he entered our lives, he disappeared.

"Well… that was… odd." Annie said.

---

Overall, my eighteenth birthday was a good one. Even if it did signal the beginning of the downward spiral.

However, my birthday did end on a good note. A very good note, in fact. When we got back to the hotel room, we found it empty. There was a piece of ripped paper on the table with a message scrawled over it in Perri's thin, spidery print:

Out for a walk. Don't wait up.

-P.

And so, taking advantage of our being alone, Annie gave me my other birthday present.

My dream from the night before came true.

It was better than expected, actually.

----

A/N Sorry about the long time between updates! I hate writer's block! I hope the length of this chapter made up for it – I know the quality sure as hell didn't! I ended up having only one of the vampires though – I had originally had Gavner as well, but he was like a third wheel, and just didn't go in the story. So he ended up leaving before everyone else even arrived. XD

And if you're wondering what Annie and Steve did at the end there, well, just guess. They're teenagers, by themselves, and have liked each other for years. A little quick, I know, but oh well. I know Annie's only fourteen, but giving the fact that she was starved of love, I think she kinda mentally needs that kind of connection… Meh! Enough of that!

Just to warn you now – I'm going on another holiday in a few weeks time, this time for six weeks. . I will have computer access though, but no net. Gahhh! So I'll try and get the next chappy up before I go. Hehehe!

Itchan: YES! STEVE IS SOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN DARREN! MWUAHAHAHA! –end fangirl-

Lookit! Previews! XDXD

Next Chapter:

Sixteen: Marches and Manoeuvres

"I don't want you to follow me." And with that, Perri stepped through the door and was gone. There was a click as she locked the door.

Annie and I stared at the door. I swore briefly, then turned around to punch the doorframe several times. Seconds later, my aggression released, I slipped down and sat on the floor, shifting so that my back was against the wall.

Annie remained where she was, hugging herself slightly. Then she grabbed her jacket, her hunting knives and made for the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked from my spot on the ground. She paused, her hand on the doorknob.

"I'm going to follow her. I won't let her fight those vamps by herself."

I sighed, dropping my head. Then I stood up slowly, reaching for my own scarf and coat.

"Wait for me. I'm coming too."