"We've actually been doing patrols for the past year or so," Drew said. "We haven't figured out who might have turned Yellow and Silver yet, but we assume it's the same one."

"And we don't know how many others he has been turning without our knowledge," Herriot added optimistically. Sarcasm mode activated.

Quaint, little Pallet Town was being slowly overrun by bloodsucking zombies, and the populace had no clue. It chilled me that I'd had just as little of a clue a week ago.

A year prior, Yellow had been bitten by an unknown vampire in the north of town and left to fend for herself. Red had been the first one to find her that night, purely by chance. Good thing, too—apparently vampires didn't have an instinctive sense of morality, so there was always a potential for major damage with the new ones.

"Yellow was weird, though," Dawn said, and the girl in question looked almost offended. "I mean, even at the start, she wasn't…you know."

"She took to our lifestyle easily," Paul clarified.

Yellow nodded. "I…I didn't want to hurt anyone," she said.

"I still don't get what you mean," I said. "You're vampires. I mean, you have to hurt people."

"It is more complicated than that." Herriot looked around the darkness of the neighborhood. "Some are able to feed without harm. Others must resort to animals for sustenance to avoid killing humans."

"And you guys?"

They all looked at one another with a look I wished I understood. Drew was the one to speak up. "We do what we need to so that we're not killing innocents."

Gary snorted. "Goat-sucker."

"At least we don't leave unconscious people lying around when we're done!"

"That was one time! You're clearly resen—"

Herriot cleared his throat, and the whole street was suddenly as silent as a tomb. "Children of the night, what music they make," he said drily. "Gary, return her home."

The walk home was quiet. I didn't really know what to say. I felt drained. And yes, I see the humor in my choice of words. At the front step, Gary held me back.

"Never walk alone with anyone but one of us," he said, commanding. "And don't even think about going out at night alone." He looked at me, taking me in, drinking me in, before he brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear and took my chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Leaf," he murmured.

He was leaning in, and my eyes fluttered closed on instinct, my lips parting slightly. Hope swelled in my chest like a balloon, almost closing off my throat in anticipation. But then his kiss found my forehead instead, and he pulled back to see my expression, which was hopefully less disappointed than I felt. The balloon deflated.

He grinned, like he knew exactly what was going through my mind. "I'll see you later," he said.

I shut the door.

It was a week later when Gary dragged me to the infamous Club for the first time. Rossignol. The name was burned into my mind. I was met with four familiar faces in Room 212. Dawn still didn't meet my eyes. Paul hovered by her. I'd never seen the two interact in school before. Some kind of secret boyfriend? I ignored them.

Since that night, Herriot had come up with a solution that assuaged any fears I might spill the beans, though it wasn't exactly accepted on the nod.

"No way in hell," Gary said as soon as the teacher had laid out his suggestion. "We're not going to sit around and use Leaf as...as bait."

"And what other options do we have?" Paul demanded. "A year and a half of patrols, and nothing."

"Zilch," Drew agreed.

The rules were set. I would walk, unaccompanied, wherever I wanted about town at night, but one or two members of Rossignol would follow me. In the event I was approached by an unknown vampire, my escorts would ambush him while he was distracted. There would be a rotating sequence of escorts, starting with Drew. Seemed simple enough. You know, if I didn't think too much about the whole "vampire bait" thing and the very real threat of being mortally wounded.

In any case, I didn't feel like I had much of a say in the matter, so I'd just have to trust these guys.

—

"You're quiet tonight," my mother said over dinner. I started out of my thoughts. "Something on your mind?"

I hummed noncommittally. "I guess there's a test tomorrow in Calculus," I said to my pork chop.

"Better get some sleep then." She poured herself another glass of water.

Oh, if only she knew.

She always went to bed at ten o'clock on the dot, which was convenient for me. I slipped into my coat and trainers and made my way silently to the front door. My heart thrummed loudly in my chest. I stepped out onto the stoop and took in a lungful of crisp night air.

A figure materialized in front of me, stopping the breath in my throat.

"Don't do that," I whispered.

Drew shrugged. "Sorry," he said, not sorry at all. "You ready?"

I stepped onto the pavement and shuddered involuntarily. "As I'll ever be."

"It won't be too bad," he said. "I'll be here the whole time. Odds are nothing's going to happen." Even if the odds were a million to one, I still couldn't shake the pit of dread in my stomach. "You can talk aloud to yourself," Drew added. "I'll be close enough to hear you."

That was somewhat reassuring, although the idea of walking around and talking to myself like a madman didn't sit well with me. I tried to keep his words in mind as I started down Grove Street, heading toward the center of town. I looked over my shoulder. He was gone.

My initial apprehension slowly subsided as I walked aimlessly around. The main thoroughfare of the town was deserted, although the shop windows were still lit up. For whom, I didn't know, but it gave me something to look at. For someone who'd spent her whole life in Pallet Town, I didn't really frequent the main street shops. This was the only street done in flat cobblestone, a holdover from the town's earliest days.

A bit of granite had broken off from above the shoe shop Deiters, and it kept me company as I kicked it down the sidewalk in front of me. Deiters detritus. Had a nice ring to it.

My wandering thoughts eventually, as they always did, came back to Gary. It was some kind of personal Godwin's Law, I guess.

Gary Oak, undisputed king of mixed signals. The fact he'd been keeping this all from me, his supposed best friend, should have been enough for me to cut ties with him. Sure, he may have been an otherwise loyal and caring friend, and sure, I may have had a major thing for him, but that just made it feel worse. It felt surreal. How could my world change so much but he stay the same—that cocky, teasing character I'd known nearly all my life?

I heard a rattling from a bin down one of the alleyways and pulled up short. That was the second time tonight. I'd never thought we had a pest problem here—maybe in Pewter—but the rat from the other night and the suspiciously racoon-sounding noises around here were convincing me otherwise. For my first walkabout, however, this wasn't proving to be too bad.

I resumed my train of thought. Gary. Rossignol. Vampires. Dawn.

Dawn had been studiously avoiding me at school, leaving me alone with Isobel at lunch. Not that I didn't like the girl, it's just…she was a little intense sometimes. Dawn was the one who could always keep up with her. Dawn, the one who'd lied to me so effortlessly, too. I admit, I hadn't exactly been trying to flag her down anytime recently either, so maybe our lack of communication wasn't entirely her fault.

Regardless, I'd been learning a lot about our mutual friend these past several days. It seemed that if Dawn wasn't going to be sitting with us, Isobel would make up for her and then some. But unlike the Emma O'Malley types, who understood the insult "motormouth" as a challenge, Isobel expected me to participate in the conversations, too. Although I'd resisted at first, magically, she eased me open, and I found myself airing my buried grievances and skirting dangerously close to the worst one of all. That wasn't exactly something you could tell just anyone, as much as I wanted to go on and on about the biggest betrayal of my life. I found lunches were becoming a sort of bitchfest cum therapy session, for both of us.

Music echoed between the buildings on the side street I turned down. Pallet Town had three bars, and they were all here. Ahead of me, a couple staggered out of one doorway. The girl was dressed in jeans and a dark jacket over which her deep auburn hair spilled. The first thought of no way was jostled out of the way when she turned her head to the sky in a laugh.

Speak of the devil.

Isobel stumbled into the stranger and gripped his arm. I approached slowly. He was probably early twenties, easy on the eyes but nothing out of the ordinary. He fished in his jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lighter.

"Hey, Isobel," I said once I'd gotten close. My voice bounced around the street. She looked at me and swayed a little.

"Leaf!" she cried. "Fancy meeting you here. I was just on my way home." To whose home, I wanted to ask, but I held my tongue. This was well-earned comedic relief.

"Are you a History major, too?" the guy asked, smoke issuing from his mouth. His voice was lower than I'd expected from his boyish features.

"Uh…" I looked to Isobel, who simply smiled blankly. "Look," I said quietly, "I don't know what she told you, but we're, uh…we're high schoolers." I didn't know how drunk he was, but it clearly wasn't very, because as soon as those words hit him, his expression dropped. "I've got my student ID on me, so I really wouldn't suggest—"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, putting a step between himself and Isobel. "I got it."

"Bry, are you leaving me here?" Isobel wheedled. "All alone…"

He gave me a look, stuck his hands in his pockets, and headed back into the bar. Not so much as a thanks. Isobel crossed her arms over her chest.

"I can't believe he would just leave me here," she said.

I looked up and down the street. "Hey, why don't we go for a little walk?" I asked. "Just to sober you up a little."

"'M fine," she slurred. "'Snot a big deal. I know where my house is."

"I'm sure you do." I took her by the elbow and began walking her back up the way I'd come. There was no way I was going to let her careen around alone this late. I'd almost certainly have blood on my hands if I did.

She continued to protest as I walked her in the direction of Booth Park, by the school, where Gary had given me that first explanation of everything. Slowly, she quieted down as we went deeper into the park. I released her onto a bench and took a seat beside her. Her hair looked orange under the lamppost as it fell forward to cover her face.

"You won't tell anyone you saw me tonight, right?" she asked slowly from behind her hands. "I told my parents I wouldn't do that anymore now that we're here."

I didn't really know what to say. I guess I wasn't surprised that this attractive, charming girl had a hidden vice. Despite how much we'd been opening up to each other, we'd both clearly been keeping secrets. She looked out into the darkness, her hands falling onto her lap in fists.

"It got really bad back home." Her voice was becoming louder. "Every night, I… I… They had to put me in therapy, and I really tried. I swear, I really did. I didn't want to go back to that!" she wailed.

I put an arm around her heaving shoulders. Again, a little intense. I still didn't really know what to do with this new information. I surveyed the park, although I didn't think anything would happen. I'd convinced myself as a kid that monsters didn't attack sad people—which meant I'd pretend-sniffle when my imagination was acting up more than usual—but I wasn't sure if real monsters operated on the same principle. In any case, Drew was supposed to be watching out for anything.

"Thanks for hearing me out, Leaf," she said with a watery smile. "People assume I have it all under control, but…" The waterworks threatened to start anew.

"It's okay." I patted her shoulder. "Nobody's perfect."

I noticed then how cold I'd gotten. Isobel's jacket looked even thinner than mine.

"You cold?" I asked. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Not really. It must be the alcohol still," she said and sniffed. "You?"

I nodded and stood, bouncing from one foot to the other. She pushed herself off the bench. When I offered to walk her home, she waved me off. I still felt uncomfortable leaving her alone, but she insisted the walk was short.

"It really was convenient that we came here," she said. Her make-up streaked her cheeks with grey. In a very continental gesture, she pecked me on the cheek. Even against my frost-nipped face, her lips felt cold. Before I thought to ask her again if she really was warm enough, she'd disappeared beyond the lamppost's halo of dull yellow light. I began in the opposite direction, heading back toward the school and its surrounding neighborhood.

I checked my watch again. It was nearly two in the morning, and the chill had seeped into my bones at this point.

"You think we can call it quits now?" I said to the school bike racks. "I've got a Calc quiz tomorrow. Need to get some sleep."

"Gary was right," Drew said, materializing beside me again and nearly giving me a heart attack. "For once, anyway. You do think too much about school."

"Well, forgive me, I'm not some immortal being who doesn't have to worry about grades or university or a job or—"

"I get the picture," he said, waving me off. "It's probably late enough. We'll check in with the others."

I guess I should have expected it when he loosed his tie again and blindfolded me for the relatively short trip to that creaky old house. It was somewhere south of the main thoroughfare of the town, I was pretty sure, but I didn't dare try to lift the blindfold to confirm. It wasn't an area I frequented.

On the way, I couldn't help but ask. "Aren't you wondering who that was?"

"No, it was pretty obvious," he said. "Seems like an odd choice of friend."

"Were you eavesdropping?"

He snorted. "Not like I could help it. She was loud."

"That's insensitive of you," I accused. "She's clearly in a bad place."

"Well, if you hadn't been with her, she probably would've been in a worse place now," he said. The implication made me shudder.

We arrived, and Drew left me in the foyer as before.

"Did anything happen? Is Leaf okay?" Gary's disembodied voice was interrogating him as soon as he stepped into the meeting room. I trained my eyes on the wallpaper and my ears on them.

"Oh, please, why don't you ask her out already?" Drew.

"Why don't you ask her out?" Gary.

"Because I'm not the one with the insta-hard on whenever I see her." Drew.

"Go suck a cow dry." Gary.

Wait.

Gary.

And he wasn't denying it.

Maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe listening in had been a terrible idea. Maybe he actually liked me holy smokes.

To my disappointment, Drew was to walk me home after the complete debriefing with the others. The meeting lasted all of five minutes; I guess Drew hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary either. Some relief, mostly impatience.

I couldn't question Gary about his feelings tonight, and despite my physical exhaustion, I didn't fall asleep for another half an hour after I'd crawled into bed. This time, however, it wasn't a gnawing anxiety that kept me up, but an absolutely giddy lightness.

—

The next night Dawn was assigned to supervise me, which brought back the anxiety in full force. I considered simply going to bed and dealing with the consequences of my truancy tomorrow, but I steeled myself and made my way downstairs in silence. She met me at the front door, just as Drew had.

"Hi," she said quietly. I almost missed it.

"Hey," I said.

She kept a careful distance between us, but she was always in sight. As the night drew on, I thought more and more about it. Guilt sank like a stone in my stomach. I couldn't keep holding this against her. Had I been in her situation, would I have jeopardized the Rossignols? With some humility, I realized I would have done the same as she. It was really just a coincidence that had brought me into this secret world. I could have gone on for many more years without a clue. Would it have made such a difference to have never known? She was my friend not because of her vampire powers, but in spite of them.

I didn't muster up the courage to reveal my thoughts to Dawn until after the walkabout, after the debriefing, and after we'd left for home. I decided to break the ice with her while I had the chance. When I pulled off the blindfold—a real one this time, not a tie—she didn't protest. I hesitated by the fence on the corner of my street.

"I…" I started. "I just wanted to apologize for how I've been acting toward you lately. It's been a lot to take in, and—"

"Oh, no, no, no," she said, raising her hands to stop me. "You shouldn't be apologizing. You had every right to be upset with me. I'm the one who should say sorry for not being honest with you."

"Oh, no, no, no," I said, mirroring her. "You had every right to keep something like that from a mere mortal like me."

We both cracked a smile. Then we laughed. For the first time in a month, we hugged. Her ear was cold against mine.

"To make up for it," she said once we'd pulled apart, "I'll answer any question you want. No topic is off limits."

I appreciated that. I appreciated every bit of honesty I could get in these strange times. We resumed walking toward my house, and while I deliberated, a certain face floated up to the front of my mind.

"What is Paul to you?" I asked. She looked a bit bemused by my question. "I mean, are you dating? Or is there some kind of special vampire…" I looked for the right word. "...bond? Between you two."

"He's my mate, I suppose," she said as though she hadn't really thought about it. "He was the one who turned me."

"How does that work?" It was my second question, but she didn't seem to mind.

"It's a sort of...imprinting thing," she explained. "The first vampire the newly turned one sees becomes his mate. Kind of like how a duckling sees its mother and immediately becomes attached."

"What does it feel like?"

She considered that one for a bit, and I almost expected her to reject my third ask. Finally, she answered, gaze far off. "It feels like he'll never leave your side."

I'd never seen such a dreamy expression on her face, even though she was far and away the romantic of my friend group. It still seemed hard to swallow that she was head-over-heels for some guy I'd never witnessed her interact with before two weeks ago. Especially stony Paul, of all guys. I'd have to ask her some other time how that meet-cute went. We'd reached my front door.

"You should get some sleep," she suggested, out of her trance.

We bid each other goodbye, and I went to unlock the door, as silently as I could. The mechanism clunked rebelliously.

"Oh, and Leaf," she said, and with my hand on the door knob, I turned one last time to look at her. "Don't talk about that around the others."

And she was gone before I could ask the next question on my mind.

I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I dreamt I was getting married in the middle school gymnasium. To whom, I didn't know. I never got to see him. Gary gave me a wave from his seat in the back row of folding chairs, and for some reason, it felt okay.

A/N: r3vi3w pl0x uwu