A/N:Once again, apologies on the lateness. Schoolwork, you know. The educational system screws up everything, and mono doesn't help either. But, better late and good that soon and rushed.

Code-C

I hated waiting for Damien. My bus always arrived late in the parking lot so I was always a little late for my first class and couldn't see Damien unless we passed in the halls. He wasn't there, but he usually wasn't in the morning. Still, I was anxious to see him. I couldn't concentrate in Chemistry and ended up spilling hydrochloric acid all over my hand. Chorus was usually a lot of fun, but I kept looking at the clock, restless and worried. I had to see him soon, or I'd lose my mind from waiting. I loved to sing, even the overly-religious songs my choir director chose, but today I couldn't stand it.

"Hey Eb, you OK?" asked Hana quietly. I shook my head.

"I'm worried about someone," I said. "My…friend, Damien." I wanted to call him my boyfriend for an instant, but he wasn't. Not yet. Maybe that could come later.

"Damien McLeod?" asked Hana. "He's in my first block. Talks about you a lot, I might add."

"Was he there today?" I asked earnestly. Hana shook her head.

"Out sick. He wasn't looking so hot yesterday, though he's always pale and all that," she replied. I sighed. This was not what I wanted to hear. Then again, why was I so worried? Eternal life, eternal youth, never get sick, never die, preternatural powers…was there a downside I was missing? Yes, if I were given the choice, I think I would choose to live forever, especially with Damien. Maybe my dream was right, and Damien did love me. I knew I had feelings for him, there was no doubt about that, but I wasn't sure if he reciprocated. I liked to think so, though. We were kindred spirits, he and I. Who knew what we could do together? I smiled darkly as I thought about it. I just wished I could be there with him when he turned, if my dream was accurate. Besides, the dream said that he would be taken in a Code-C during school. We weren't scheduled to have a drill yet, so I guessed--

"Attention! Attention! This is a Code-C drill; repeat, this is a Code-C drill! Attention!"

So much for that one, I guess.

Everyone quickly scrambled to snap off the lights, block the windows, and hide in a far corner of the room. I stretched out on the floor behind the piano, resting my head on my folded arms. I heard a scratching sound coming from behind me for a while, but I put it down to someone scratching on the dry-erase board and ignored it. They'd get hissed at to stop sooner or later. I decided to catch some sleep while I had the opportunity. I didn't really fall asleep, since the drill didn't last long enough, but I rested my eyes at least. When the Code-C ended and we all got up, I stretched out again, rolling my head around and cracking my neck. Someone turned the lights back on all at once, blinding me briefly. Consequently, I did not know what was going on when I heard the first scream.

My eyes snapped open and I looked around. "What's wrong, what happened, what!" I said very fast. Hana grabbed my arm and pointed behind me, her face stark white. I turned to face the board, and my blood ran cold. A shiver ran through me as I saw, etched deeply into the white board, were the words:

'Ebony…I'm coming.'

I did what any sane person would do in my position. I fainted.

When I woke up, I was lying in the nurses' office with a cool rag on my forehead. I felt shaky and scared, but I found that I liked it a little. It was as I had told Damien: I love being scared. Still, this was pushing it. How did I know if I could really trust Dracula? Was he really who he said he was in my dream? I was so confused; I didn't know what to do. So I did the only thing I really could do. I got a pass, grabbed my backpack, and went back to class. I hadn't been out long, but the bell was about to ring for the end of second block, so I just headed to third. Damien would have been waiting for me if he had been there. I wished he was so I could tell him about the board in Chorus. But that would have to wait until later; or maybe I could call him during lunch.

I basically slept through most of History, until someone next to me woke me up just before my teacher looked directly at me. I wasn't on drugs, but I didn't want to go through the stupid hassle of drug testing and possible counseling that comes with being caught sleeping in class, so I tried to look like I was remotely interested. It was difficult, as I hate History with a passion. Ancient Rome and Greece are pretty cool, but that's about it and that's not what we were studying. I was nearly asleep again when the intercom blared:

"Attention! Attention! This is a Code-C! There is an intruder in the building! This is not a drill; repeat, this is not a drill! Attention!"

Oh goody. I didn't know whether I should hope that the 'intruder' was Dracula or just a cop running a check on the school, so I didn't hope for anything and just crouched down on the floor against the filing cabinets in the back of the room where I sat. The room didn't have windows, as it was right in the middle of the building, so it was pitch dark when the lights were turned off. Just to freak a couple people out, I started whistling "Jeepers Creepers" until the teacher hissed at me to be quiet. I grinned and rolled my eyes but didn't respond. She didn't know who had been whistling anyway; there was no reason to let her know. Of course, I got the damned song stuck in my head, but that's the price you pay for a little fun. It didn't really bother me that much anyway, except that I only knew the chorus line of the song. Oh well.

I leaned my head back against the filing cabinets and closed my eyes, not from fatigue but so I could imagine. When in a boring situation like this, I liked to play out movies or stories in my mind's eye to keep myself entertained. Currently I was viewing "Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'" (gee, I wonder why). Somehow, though, Jonathan Harker ended up looking like Damien, Mina looked like me, and Dracula…well, he didn't look like Gary Oldman. Still, it was interesting. I was so rapt in my daydreams that I jumped when I heard the door rattle. Many girls were whimpering, scared. I stretched out my neck as far as I could to see out the small window in the door. I wondered how Dracula, if it was him, could be walking around in the daylight, and then I remembered that he could control the tempest. I had thought it was unusually overcast that morning. I couldn't see anything in the window but a silhouette. The school was public, so Dracula could enter without an invitation, but I wondered about the room specifically.

"Come in, my Dark Prince," I whispered. I didn't know if he could hear me, or if I could invite him in, but the silhouette moved and the door opened slowly with no hand on the knob. The shadowy figure of one Dracula glided into the room. I stared in wonder at him. He was beautiful, like the Dark Angel I had imagined Damien to be when I first met him. His wrinkled, shrunken exterior was now robust and strong. His hair was full and glossy black, his eyes piercing ice-white, his skin smooth and pale, his smile…enchanting. I found myself smiling back at him without realizing it. He extended his hand to me, just to me, and I rose willingly. There was no mind control here, no hypnosis. I wanted this, and he knew it.

"Ebony, what are you doing?" hissed a girl behind me.

"It's OK," I said wonderingly. "I understand now." Slowly I walked to Dracula, taking his hand when I was within reach. I could hear Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever?" singing in my head, and somehow I knew that Dracula was doing it. I gave a small laugh. "Is that a query or an offer?" I asked.

Dracula laughed gently. "That, my love, is entirely for you to decide."

"I don't want to die," I said, informatively not fearfully. Dracula spun me around and caught me up against him. I laughed gaily and Dracula smiled at me, lovingly tilting my chin up.

"Then you never will," he promised. He pushed my heavy hair off my neck, baring my throat. I felt my pulse quicken in anticipation. I nodded, tilting my head ever so slightly to the side, inviting his Immortal Kiss. He willingly indulged me, and slid his fangs into my soft flesh.

Never had I felt such a whirlwind of sensations before. My heart pounded and my blood raced, my body was alive with electricity. I moaned softly, putting my arms around him, inciting him to put his around me. I was shaking with excitement, reeling, swooning. He stopped finally, even though I asked him not to. I realized that we were no longer in my classroom, but floating high above the school. My head fell back without Dracula's hand to support it. He passed his hand over my face, and everything went dark.