I have a short fuse.

Ever since I was six, I've been known for having very little patience. I'd throw tantrums and break stuff over small things, like if whoever is in front of me in line at a restaurant doesn't order fast enough. I even knocked some girl out for poking me to get my attention when I was ten, but it happened inside my tree house, so only she and I knew.

I should be grateful though, half the things I did - at least, half the things I remember I did - when I blew up should have sent me to Juvenile Hall. It was nothing extreme - to my memory's extent, at least - just some unnecessary beatings and threats.

Sunday.

The dying grass of the town's graveyard is a constant annoyance as it continuously pricks my skin. Perhaps the monster's presence is causing them to be extra brittle. I stare at the setting sun, wearing the same get-up I was wearing when I'd sneaked into the mansion. But this time, I'm wearing heavy guy-liner, clip-on sliver ear rings, a fake lip piercing and a fake nose piercing so that my darling would have even less of a chance of recognizing me.

Any moment now, the beast will awaken from its nocturnal slumber and accompany me to his, my, mate's house for the secret meeting in her room. I really don't know how I managed to get them to trust me, but I guess it comes naturally with gratefulness. Let's just hope I don't lose this as fast as I got it.

Just a few minutes pass, and it's dark. The coffin creaks loudly as. . . He pushes the lid out of the way. He stretches his arms out and cracks his back. "Good evening. How are you tonight?"

I almost snort at him. Does he really expect me to honor him with a greeting? He deserves no such thing from me.

"Like Raven said; the cops will be looking for your car, so I drove mine here." I say. He nods slowly, clearly taking offense for me not returning his greeting, and moves the broken stone piece into place over the hole that his resting place resides in.

We rush over to my car that was parked sloppily on the curb outside of the cemetery. The tires screech insanely loud when I stomp on the gas. It only takes us a few minutes to get to Raven's street. I swiftly and quietly park the car on the street across from the house. We circle around to the back of the house, cautiously. As planned, the back door is opened and we enter. We see Raven hanging off the side of the railing of the staircase. She motions for us to follow her to her room. I close and lock her bedroom door behind us.

"Remember, my parents come back at ten and my brother is in his room with his friend, so keep quiet." Raven whispers.

I glance at my watch; 8:40. I take a seat on the foot of her bed and they sit beside each other on the other end behind me. I hear them share a wet kiss, for a sickeningly long time. "Have you heard anything new?" Sterling asks after they finally break away from each other. "No." She replies after a sigh.

"How about you?" His asks, obviously to me.

I take a few seconds to think back to the two news reports I saw yesterday and the countless way-too-loud gossip conversations between nosy mothers. ". . . I heard on channel 5 news that they're letting Jameson walk because they couldn't find any big evidence that he did it. But they also say that they have evidence that you did it because they found some bloody clothes in your drawers. On channel 3 news, they're saying you have a bounty of fifteen hundred on your head. And like we expected, the cops are looking for the Mercedes. And I hear talk around town that you had "accomplices," that there's no way you could have done it on your own. Even worse, they're saying that you have supernatural powers. And the last thing is, they found your secret room."

The room goes silent. "I don't understand!" Monster boy says with a sigh, "How could there be evidence against me? I wasn't even at home when it happened, I was with Raven, Matt and Becky the entire time!" He groans dramatically. "This is just a complete disaster!" He falls backward on the bed and throws his hands over his face.

"Someone is trying to frame you." I say as if it was simple, "This has gotten way too out of hand for it to just be an inconvenient mix-up."

"But who would want to frame me of murder?"

". . . I don't know. You been stepping on anybody's toes lately?"

There is a pause.

"Do you think it could be. . .?" Raven trails off.

". . . You really think it could be. . . those two? I mean, I know they both have huge grudges against me, but they wouldn't stoop to cold-blooded murder just to get back at me. . . At least, I don't think they would."

Hmph, they must think I don't know who they're talking about. I then say, "I really wouldn't be surprised if Jagger and Luna did do it, if they're even half as crazy as they seem."

'You sure are one to talk.' I think to myself with a smirk.

The room stays quiet after I speak, they seem rather surprised that I know they're talking about the fucked-up twins. "How do you. . .?" I hear Raven start.

". . . How do you know Alexander anyway?"

I stiffen, and I can tell that Sterling did the same. I can't believe it; he didn't give her a fake story about us two, and I'd been so preoccupied with making sure that she didn't recognize me that I didn't come up with one myself. I didn't even come up with a fake name.

After some time, I open my mouth, "My cousin actually knows him. Me, not so much. My cousin is actually back in Romania, so he called me - since I live in the next town over - to come over and help out."

"What's your name?"

I clear my throat like there's something in it to stall for time. Man, she's really pressing for answers. My dearest is a practical one. "My name," I say through the noises I'm making, "My name is, um - ahem! I-It's, uh, it's Vladimir."

Raven holds out her hand to me. "Well, Vladimir, I'd like to officially thank you for your helping us out like this." My heart warns up when I take her hand into mine. I pull her soft hand to my lips and place a gentle kiss on it.

"I'm happy to help."

A blush ignites on her face and she rubs her kissed hand up and down her side with a giggle. I notice Sterling glare at me from the corner of my eye, which only succeeds in making me smile triumphantly.

Just then, we hear a knock at the door. "Mom and Dad are home." A voice - most likely, her brother - says. All three of us rush over to the window. Sure enough, a blue mini van is pulled into the driveway and Raven's parents standing at the end of the driveway. They have confused looks on their faces and are pointing at my car as they talk to each other. Then her mother makes a really shocked face and says something to her father, and then they both suddenly run toward the house.

"No!" Raven yells, "They came home early! Guys, you have to get out of here!"

The monster immediately opens the window and jumps through, but I don't move. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

"They're already in the house." I reply simply.

"So?! Just hurry up and fly away so they don't see you!"

". . . I can't fly." I say.

"Raven!" A loud, angry man's voice yells as the door gets pounded on. "Open this door right now!"

She just stares disbelievingly at me. "Just open it." I say, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." She frowns as if she thinks that whatever I'm thinking of will surely fail, but she goes for the door anyway.

The moment the lock is undone, Mr. Madison forces the door open and nearly pulls it off it's hinges in the process. He sees me and is holding me up to the ceiling by my shirt in a second. Raven makes a grab for his arm, but she's no match for her father's strength. I look Mr. Madison directly in his eyes, and say, "Hello, I am Vladimir." His eyes go wide and he lowers me, but only a little bit. Then I continue with, "I'm an old companion of Alexander's. When I heard about what was happening here, I thought I'd come see for myself just exactly what was going on."

He hesitates, but puts me down anyway. "Well," he starts, not really knowing how to respond, "Uh, sorry about. . . that. So, what have you found out since you've been here?" He questions suspiciously.

"Enough to know if it was or wasn't him." I reply.

He gives me a nasty look, then asks, "Have you found out where he's hiding. . .?" He continues to press for answers.

"Possibly."

"Okay." His jaw tightens like his patience is wearing thin. "Well, what are you doing here?"

I take a moment to think about this, then I say, "Raven, here, is Alexander's girlfriend, yes? Yes, I believe so. That in mind, I figured that she had to know something, so I came over here to question her. Unfortunately, though, it seems I've overstayed my welcome. I should leave." I try to walk out, but Raven's dad steps in front of the door to block my path.

"No, no! I really insist that you stay and tell us what you found!"

Humph, I never knew Mr, Madison could be so persistent Then again, I would be just like this if my daughter was dating an accused murderer and some guy that seems to know a lot about the situation was trying to leave without giving any details.

"No sir. I really need to leave, now."

"I think you should-"

"Sir, I carry a knife. Back the hell off." . . . Is what I want to say. But knowing the possible outcomes of it, I don't. Instead I say, "Sir, the longer I stay here, the more time Alexander has to go somewhere else."

The gaze he's holding on me intensifies, but he eventually nods and steps out of my way. I speed-walk out of the room and down the stairs, receiving strange looks from the two little kids peeking out the door to Billy's room.

I hop into my car and speed off down the road as soon as I pull out and slow down when I turn the corner. Then I stop the car and wait. A few seconds later, Sterling opens the passenger side door and takes a seat. "What happened after I left?" He asks.

"Well, Raven's dad mistook me for you at first. Then I had to come up with a few lies on the spot. And after that, I had to sleaze my way into getting him to let me leave. Overall, it was nothing I couldn't handle." I smirk gloatingly at him and he smiles back.

"I see you're starting to become comfortable with me." He says as he pats my back. My eyes widen a bit and I try o force my smirk away as fast as possible.

"Well, you're not that much of a douche, I'll give you that." I respond

He just chuckles and hangs his head out the window. We sit quietly as I drive leisurely through the streets. "You know," He starts to speak after a while, "The night's still young, you're officially committed to helping me out, and I owe you big time for biting you without your consent. . . How about we do something?"

I ease the car to a stop.

"Like what?" I say cautiously.

"Well, you're still turning - as slow as it may be. How about I teach you how to change into a bat? Sounds like fun, right?" A warm smile appears on his face.

I think about this. The ability to change into a flying creature does sound useful. Although, I'm not sure I'm ready to start "vampire-ing" just yet. Honestly, I only got bitten two nights ago! Then again, this ability could potentially help me in getting Sterling out of the picture faster. . . Well, he doesn't have to be completely out of the- No! No, he does! What the hell am I thinking?

I look him right in the eye and say, "No thanks. Maybe some other night."

". . . Oh. Okay, that's cool I guess. . ."He turns his head away awkwardly which elects a smile from me. Expecting him to say nothing else, I turn back to the road. But then he suddenly says, "You know, you're gonna have to tell me who you really are at some point. And after that, you'll tell me why you were in my home in the first place. . ."

We stay silent for the remainder of the ride back to the graveyard.

Monday.

It's been three days since I'd helped that. . . freak move to a safer location. I still don't remember what I did after I left the cemetery. I still don't remember how I got my car back to my house before the cops could get back to Bensin Hill. I still don't remember where the other car came from.

This selective memory problem is. . . really getting out of hand, and it's really starting to scare me. I could be forgetting important information that could affect my life - Raven's life. Lately, I've been finding myself walking in a random building in town and not remembering how I got there; snapping back to reality when whatever I was holding falls and shatters on the floor; and swerving around on the road when I realize I'm driving. If this behavior gets to the point where I don't realize I'm driving through an elementary school until I crash into the jungle gym, I'm seriously going to need to start considering talking to a Therapist.

I'm now sitting on the floor in Phys. Ed. Our teacher is going over the guidelines for the upcoming fitness tests - as if we'd forget how it goes after doing it every year since fourth grade. Matt had made sure to sit way on the other side of the crowd, just like he's been doing ever since he 'no longer needed a puppet master.' Believe it or not, I was a lot more. . . 'stable' when Matt was my friend. I know I'm naturally crazy, but everybody needs a real friend.

Honestly. . . He's the second most valuable thing in the world for me - the first, obviously, being Raven.

I love Matt like the brother I never had. . . Never will have. Curse my mother and her old age. I know losing his friendship is my own damn fault. I was a selfish "friend" - if you could've called me that - and I took complete control of his mind and his emotions.

Sometimes I look back at the day out friendship officially ended and think, "I don't deserve him anyway."

It went like this;

We were leaving from a Saturday morning practice when he said, "Hey, uh. . . I got something to talk to you about."

I'd looked at him with a slightly angered expression on my face - it was only a few days after I'd embarrassed myself in front of the whole entire town in an attempt to reveal that monster's secret, and I still felt the scorn. "What?" I spat out.

He'd visibly flinched at the venom in my voice. "It's just. . . I just think that maybe I should get a ride home from practice with someone else from now on."

I'd given him an icy-cold glare. I grinded my teeth and forced out the next words, "Sure. Why not?"

"A-And maybe even. . . Okay, screw it. Let me just get it over with. Trevor, I don't want to hang out with you anymore."

I was frozen after he said it. We'd been best friends since grade school, and I'd never seen any warning signs that he'd break our friendship before then.

"Why?" I said accusingly, "Because of what everybody's been saying about me?! Saying that I've been out of my mind?!"

"No Trevor, it's not like tha-"

"I'm not out of my mind, I'm not some mental patient! I'm perfectly fine! Don't you fucking give in to those stupid rumors!"

"You know what Trevor? You are crazy, okay?"

My blood had run cold when he said that. You see, he'd promised me he'd never call me that word, or any form of that word, before this time - crazy - and it nearly stunned me with how sudden he'd said it.

He continued, "I mean, just look at that shrine you built for Raven! You had a real, dead-"

"Shut up!" I'd yelled while placing my hands over his mouth,"Do you want everyone to know?! Remember, you swore on your life that you wouldn't tell anybody!"

"I'm not telling anyone, I'm talking to you! And if someone else hears it, that's just too bad!'

"Listen Matt-"

"No, you listen! I'm done taking orders from you! I'm done being your lackey! And I'm done with dealing with your shit! 'Cause in reality, Trevor, we haven't been real friends since fifth grade. Ever since then, it's just been Batman and Robin's understudy."

I was seeing red at that point. Everything he'd said after that was just an indistinguishable echo, but one thing had managed to break through, ". . . you stalker freak! Raven doesn't even like you!"

I don't remember exactly what happened right after that. But I do remember being pulled off of Matt and smiling triumphantly at his bruised, bloody face and hearing someone yelling to call an ambulance. That satisfaction I felt when I saw that emergency car pull away had lingered, but only for that day.

The very last thing I remember about that day was thinking to myself that if Matt ever told anyone about my shrine, I'd be sure to do more than just beat him up.

I'd kill him.

And it worries me to this day about the possibility of our friendship being restored in the future, because I still think that way.

"Trevor!"

I jump at the piercing yell in my ear. My gym teacher's kneeling down to my eye level and glaring at me. Looking past him, I see everyone in my gym class standing up and laughing at me.

. . . Laughing at me.

I suppress the urge to go on a rampage. My gym teacher finally loses his last bit of patience and yanks me up by my shoulder. He walks - drags - me over to the closed bleachers and slams me against them. "You can stay right here since you don't wanna participate!" He shrieks. He's just lucky I don't talk to police, or he'd have been locked-up for three years by now.

I glare at my peers as they do laps around the gym. My focus is mostly on Matt, I must confess. Every time he comes around the bend near me, he eyes me like I'm going to try something.

After school, I try to offer him a ride for the tenth time in the last month.

"I. . ." He starts to speak, "You know I don't-"

"I'm not so bad anymore." I say, cutting him off. By the look on his face, I can tell he's not convinced. "My memory problem has been getting better," I lied.

"No it hasn't, Trevor. People like you don't get better, only worse. Look dude, you have a very serious problem and if you really want to be friends again, I suggest you get the help you need. Otherwise, you can forget it."

I can feel my eyes burn up and become itchy with forming tears. I let out a shaky breath and try to hold my emotions back. "I know," I start with a whine, "It's just hard for me to. . ." I sigh, "I don't understand! Why can't you just forgive me? You know I can't control it, it just happens." My voice cracks. "I mean, I do try to, but it doesn't work."

"Trevor."

"Please Matt, you're like the brother I always wanted!"

"Is that really what you think, or is this just another impulse to lie just so you can get what you want?" He doesn't give me a chance to reply and brushes past me. I watch him walk clear across the parking lot to an old, slightly rusted car. Becky, Raven's bitch friend, waits by it. He gives her a long kiss as soon as he approaches.

I gasp. A thought comes to my mind; It's not me, it's her! She's pressuring him to stay away from me because she doesn't like me and wants him all for herself! That. . . That little witch! That fucking bitch! She can't just control my friend - my brother - like this!

I will have her head. . . But it will have to wait. . .

Tuesday.

I skipped school today. I spent the whole day sitting across the street at some new ice cream place that I didn't even bother entering. I noticed about 30 minutes in that my skin was actually smoking, smoking! I know that I'm slowly turning into a vampire, but damn! I moved under a tree after that.

Finally, I hear the bell ring from across the street. I hop into my red Kia Optima and park in the school parking lot. I wait sitting under a tree for Matt to come out of the double-doors, but not by himself. That girl - Becky - clings to his arm, blushing. This almost stops me from going over him, almost. I step in front of them, blocking their path. "I need to talk to you." I say to Matt, sternly.

He pales noticeable. The bottom of his jaw tightens as if he was intimidated by my presence. "T-Trevor. . ." He doesn't finish what he was about to say.

"Please Matt. I don't have anyone else to talk to about this." My voice is almost pleading

He glances down at Becky and she gives him a concerned look. Matt eventually sighs and unwraps his arms from around her. "Wait inside the car," He whispers to her, "I'll be right back." Becky is hesitant, but she does what she's told.

I take Matt firmly by his wrist and pull him over to the tree I was previously under. "You're not going to believe this." I begin.

"What, d'you find proof that Raven's boyfriend is a real vampire?" He says sarcastically.

"First of all; that's true and I knew it from the start, second of all; that's not it."

"Then what is it? Are you a vampire?" Yet, another bout of sarcasm coming from his disrespectful mouth!

I take a deep breath to hold back my anger. Matt notices my quickly worsening attitude and takes a nervous step back. "I mean, what is it?"

My anger subsiding, I say, "Yes Matt, I'm a vampire. Well, in the process of becoming a vampire."

Moments pass by in silence.

"Wait," Matt starts, "That's really what you wanted to tell me?" I nod. "Trevor, you. . ." He sighs. "I'll tell you what I've told you before: you need help."

Before I can stop myself, I have him pinned on the tree with my nails digging painfully into his shoulders. He digs at my wrists and kicks at my legs, but I'm too strong for him. One of my hands move to his neck and I can't seem to stop it. It tightens up around his long, scrawny throat. His face is starting to turn pale blue. I use all of my willpower to try to stop my body, but I can't. . .

I can't stop!

I feel someone tugging at my arm and turn my head slightly to see Becky trying her very best to move my arm. Another unconscious movement has her laid out on the grass with a red mark on her cheek. She then scrambles up and runs off. I turn my attention back to Matt. His eyes are red and puffy and they're rolling to the back of his head now. The sight of it makes me feel sick. . . and so, so satisfied. . .

I outwardly gasp at the cruelty in my own thought. My grip on his neck loosens and Matt falls into a heap on the ground - unconscious, but alive and breathing. I stare down at his still body, mortified, yet. . . so proud of myself. It's like a painful euphoria.

I shake my head so I can focus properly. I pick Matt up bridal style and lay him in the back seat of my car. My car swerves onto the road just as I see Becky return to the parking lot with two security guards.

My heart is beating at the same speed as my car, from both dismay and excitement. I'd just nearly choked my best friend to death. To death! Not only that, but I actually feel halfway good about it! I actually. . . I actually feel halfway great about it. . .

Hours pass by before Matt starts coughing as he wakes up. I'd parked my car in the wooded area beyond the graveyard, and changed into my disguise. He takes in huge gasps of air for a while. The moment Matt stops his gasping, he notices me and pushes himself up against the passenger-side door. "W-Who are you?!" He asks with a quiver.

"It's me, Trevor." I say. It only seems to make him panic more. "Don't worry," I continue, "We're at the cemetery. I'm going to show you something."

I exit my (once again) black car and go to open Matt's door. He just stares fearfully at me while he cowers over to the driver's side. This would be adorable, if he were a kid. I grab him by his foot and drag him out of the car. He pleads and begs for me to let him go as sharp rocks and dry twigs scrape against his tender skin. My grip looses when we arrive at the hole that Sterling is sleeping in. "Look." I say to Matt. He hesitantly sits up with his eyes locked on me. "Look!" I say with authority. He flinches, then slowly looks down into the shallow pit.

"O-Oh god!" He chokes out, "I-Is somebody in there?!"

"Yes," I reply, "Sterling is in there. We're going to be going to Raven's house today. If she asks what you're doing with us, I'm an old friend of yours and you've known me as a vampire for five years."

"What?! Trevor, what are you talking about?!"

"Oh yeah, don't call me Trevor while they're around, call me Vladimir."

Before Matt can ask another confused question, the lid to the coffin creaks open. Matt's entire body freezes up as he gazes at the rising figure in the fresh darkness. The moonlight catches Sterling's face, which, upon noticing Matt, contorts in one of confusion. "Matt?! Why are. . .?" That's when he notices me. "Do you. . . Do you two know each other?" He says to me.

"Yes." I say back, "We've known each other since we were little. I thought that I'd ask for a little assistance with my assistance, since he lives in this town as well."

"Does he know. . .?"

"Yes, we've both known about vampires for a few years now."

"Good. But does he know you. . .?"

"I only told him that I'm turning, I didn't tell him how it happened."

The monster nods and looks away. ". . . I'm sure you know that I'm being accused of murder." The question is obviously being directed at Matt.

"W-Well, yeah 'cause. . . you know." Matt trails off.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I didn't do it." Sterling gives him a friendly smile, but it doesn't seem to calm Matt down.

"So if you didn't do it." Matt starts after a long moment of silence, sounding very suspicious, "Who did?"

"We don't know, " I answer, "That's what we're here for; to figure it out." I notice that, for some reason, my voice carries a slight tone of panic.

I wonder why that is. . .

"We should go now." I say after a painful moment of silence. "Raven will be waiting for us, and I've got some infor-"

"Actually, there's been a slight change of plans." Sterling cuts me off. "Raven texted me earlier, and we're going to be doing something slightly different than what we originally planned." He seems to be holding back some form of irritation at this point. "She's spontaneously decided that we needed a party night. So instead of discussing the situation, we're going to go to the abandoned factory just outside of town and have a mini party."

"All the shit that's going on, and we're gonna have a party of three?!" I nearly yell, "Well, four now."

"No, a party of seven, now. It's going to be me, Raven, you, Matt (apparently), Becky and two girls that Raven met in the next town over."

I sigh dramatically. Fucking great. Raven, my darling, I love you, but you really need to learn how to collaborate before you just make a decision. . . Or at least make smarter decisions. "Alright, let's get this over with." I snatch Matt up by his arm and drag him all the way back to the car. Sterling sits in the front with m e while Matt glues himself down to the backseat.

The ride to Raven's house is quiet - for the most part - and tense. The entire time, I can feel Matt's suspicious, fearful glare burning through the back of my skull. It doesn't take long for us to arrive at our destination. I'm smart enough to park my car across the street and five houses down this time, just to be sure her parents don't see Sterling in my front seat if they look out the window.

I walk up to the door of the house and give three loud knocks. Raven's mother answers the door. She gasps and takes a half-step back, then she relaxes. I'm guessing she had mistaken me for Alexa- I mean, that monster. "Oh," She breaths, "You're that boy that was here the other night." He demeanor makes it clear that she still doesn't completely trust me.

"I need to have a word with Raven again." I say.

She blinks four times quickly, as if what I just said completely baffled her, then she clears her throat and says, "W-Why would you want to see her again?"

"More information has come up about Alexander that. . . complicates the information that she has given me. Don't worry, it's just a few questions, I don't even need to come inside for them, just send her to the door." She doesn't say anything back to me. We stand there in awkward silence for a few moments, our eyes drifting away from each other. "It's just a few questions, it won't take long. . ."

She finally sighs and steps back into the house. I hear her call for Raven, and then I hear two pairs of quick footsteps approaching the door. Just as I hear Mrs. Madison question why Becky is following Raven to the door, I feel my dark beauty pulling on my arm.

We run over to my car, but then Raven says, "Hold on a sec!" And rushes over to a car that's been parked in front of mine since I got here, then quickly returns.

I barely manage to peel off the curb before I see Mr. Madison run out to the middle of the street with his face full of anger.

I don't slow the car down until I turn the corner, and as soon as I do, Becky gives Matt hug accompanied by a kiss. "Matt!" She squeals, "What are you doing here?! How did you get away from Trevor?!"

Matt lets out an awkward laugh and tries to form a smile for her. "Eheh, uh, I'm not sure myself." I don't know for sure, but I'm think he might be looking in my direction as he says that.

"What do you mean by that, Becky?" Raven asks.

"Um. . . Earlier today, after school. . ."

Don't you tell her you damn bitch! I think. If Raven knows about my misbehavior, I don't know what I'll do.

"Trevor was talking to Matt," She continues, "Then he just. . . attacked him."

My hands tighten around the steering wheel.

"Trevor attacked him?" Raven asks, "What for?!"

"I-I don't know. . . Matt, why? Why did he attack you?!" Becky says in a choked voice.

"I-I. . . It's not important right now. But, uh, what did you do after that happened?"

"I called the police, of course!"

A silent gasp escapes from my mouth and my fists tighten around the steering wheel even more until my knuckles go white. Anxiety and fear starts pumping through my veins at the very thought of going to jail. It's. . . it's so strange how I did the things I've done for the past few days, and didn't even think of being arrested. But now that I know the police are looking for me, things are just starting to feel so. . . real.

"W-Why did you do that?!" Matt says in a worried, squeaky voice.

"Why wouldn't I?! He choked you until you were unconscious and stuffed you in his car! Not to mention what he did to me. . ."

". . . 'What he did to you?' What did he do?" Matt asks, genuinely curious. That's strange, I'd figured he'd seen what I did to her. . . But now that I think about it, he was probably too far gone to realize what was happening.

". . . He. . . hit me." She finally says.

"He hit you?!" Raven yells. Becky nods and pushes her thick bangs she had covering half her face off to the side to reveal a swollen black eye. "Oh my god!" Raven gasps. "He is going to pay for this!"

"No, no, it's fine. The police are already going to take care of it." Becky says.

"It's not fine!" Matt yells, "He's a six-foot tall athlete, and he hit you hard enough to bruise you! Getting arrested isn't a good enough punishment. I'll. . . . I'll kill him! I swear I'll kill him! I-" He suddenly stops. I see his eyes reflecting into the rear view mirror and realize that he must have seen my face. . . My pale, hurt, fearful face. . . He takes a deep breath and looks down, almost shamefully. "Well, " He starts, "I'll at least do something about him."

Becky gives him a kiss on his cheek. "You don't have to do anything. Trust me, the time that the police says he's going to serve, it's defiantly enough."

My blood runs cold. "What do you mean by that?" I ask, though it sounds more like a demand than a question.

She jumps slight as if this is the first time she's noticed my presence. "Well, the cops say that assaulting a person and attempted murder could get him twenty, even forty years!"

My entire body goes numb and I nearly lose control of the car. I'm visibly shaking, but nobody else in the car seems to notice. . . This is a complete disaster. The only way I'm getting out of this is living the rest of my life as 'Vladimir', I-I can't do that! I feel the tears begin to form in my eyes. And just think about what Raven is thinking of me now! 'Attempted murder?' She's never going to talk to me ever again. My life, our lives are completely over! I should just. . . just. . .

"Becky, you need to tell to cops not to arrest Trevor." Matt yells. I nearly jump out of my skin at the sudden sound of his defending voice.

"What?! But, he almost killed you!" Sterling says to him.

"I know, but. . ." Matt sighs. "Look guys, I've been really close to Trevor since we were kids. And, to be honest, I'm really the only real friend he's ever had. The thing about that is. . ." He sighs again. "Over the years, I'd noticed that there was something wrong with him. I mean, he started saying things and doing things that weren't really. . . well, normal. It wasn't until we were twelve that I realized he wasn't very. . . healthy."

. . . No. . . . No! He's telling them! He promised, he promised not tell anyone! I would say something, but. . . but what can I say? And what can I say that won't arouse suspicion? I can't. . .

"What do you mean by 'healthy?'" Raven asks.

"He's. . . He's troubled in his head. And I don't mean he's got a bunch of built-up anger inside him, I mean he's. . . unstable. H-He used to tell me constantly about how he kept finding dead birds in his bed, and this one time he found bloody clothes of his stuffed in the bottom of his hamper. He used to show me drawings of him doing really, really disturbing things to people. Once, when we were both eight, he pushed our baby sitter down the stairs and started laughing when her leg broke to the point of her bone showing!"

The car goes silent. I can practically taste the uneasiness fogging up the air.

". . . So, you're saying that Trevor is. . . crazy?" Becky eventually asks in a very shaky voice.

He sighs. "To put it bluntly, yes. And all of last school year, I was begging him to get help - mainly because he'd started to get kind of violent. I stopped hanging out with him mainly because it just got so out of hand between us and he just refused to get the help he needs. I really, truly wanted to stick around a little bit longer to encourage him to talk to a doctor some more, but like I said, it just got too out of hand."

I can feel my eyes swelling with tears of. . . Sadness? Anger? Betrayal? I can't tell which. Or maybe it's all of them? Whatever my tears are filled with, they're threatening to spills out of my eyes.

. . . How dare he? He promised me he wouldn't tell anyone, anyone. More importantly, he told me he'd never call me that word, but there he went, for the second. Damn. Time. And now everything is out in the open for that bitch Becky to see, for that fucking monster Sterling to see. And the absolute worse. . .

For Raven to see. . .

I can't believe it. . . I just can not fucking believe it! Does he not value our friendshi. . .?

I stop the car when we finally pull up to the factory. Before anyone could get out I say, "You guys go ahead, Matt and I need to be somewhere."

Everyone looks at me,confused. Then Matt's eyes widen and he goes completely pale. Sterling and the girl hesitate, then they proceed to get out of the car, Becky giving Matt a kiss before exiting.

"Remember Becky," Matt stutters out before the door closes, "Tell the cops to not arrest Trevor." She nods, then closes the door.

I switch the gears to reverse and stomp on the gas. The tires tare through the rocky terrain of the dirt road. Matt keeps trying to ask me what's wrong, like he doesn't know. The tears that I'm holding back are clouding my vision and I almost crash a few times.

Finally, I give in and stop the car. I allow the water of my eyes to slide down my hand-covered face as I sob loudly. I can feel Matt's confused, uncomfortable stare on me. The car shakes when he climbs his way to the front passenger seat. "T-Trevor?" He says. But I don't respond - I can't respond. I don't even want to look at his traitorous face!

"Trevor, what is it?"

"Do you seriously have to ask?!" I snap. He jumps back in surprise.

"D-Did I do something wrong?" He asks.

I let out a big sob before I respond with, "You, you just told! You just told three people about my 'problems!' You just called me crazy! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about it, you promised you wouldn't call me crazy! And you really can't figure out what's wrong with me?"

His eyes go wide. "Oh, right. Uh. . . Trevor, I forgot you were there when I was talkin-"

"That doesn't make a difference! It doesn't matter if I'm around or not, you can't just, just. . . Oh god dammit! How could you?!"

He just stares back at me. We stay sitting in almost-silence for a while, which is probably better for Matt's sake at this point. I'm not sure if whatever he'll say, if he says anything, will make me pounce on him or not.

Finally, after taking a deep breath and placing a hand on my shoulder, Matt says, "I-I'm sorry Trevor, I won't tell anyone else."

"Are we. . . Are we friends again?" My voices is soft and hopeful. But I don't get a response. "Are we?!" I say again in a slightly panicked tone. I feel the beating of the veins in his hand pick up their pace, as if he's getting nervous. "W-Why aren't you answering me?!" My voice raises and causes a gain in it's panicked tone. His hand then tenses up, really bad, and his nails dig softly into my shoulder.

". . .I. . ." He tries to speak.

"Please, answer me Matt!"

He takes a deep breath again and finally answers. "I think it would be best for now, if we weren't."

. . .

I straighten up in my seat and shift the gears to 'drive' and press gently on the gas.

"Trevor?" Matt says, worriedly.

I don't respond.

My eyes stay glued to the road ahead. It doesn't take long to get to the streets of the town. The car slugs past red lights and stop signs like they're not there. A few minutes pass by when we reach Matt's house, and I park the car across from it. There is a police car parked in the driveway and all the lights are on.

"Get out." I say quietly.

"What?"

"Get out!" I snap, putting my hand up like I'm going to hit him.

He flinches violently and scrambles out of the car. Matt runs up to his front door and bangs on it spastically. His mother answers the door and in an instant, her arms are around him.

Before Matt enters his house and shuts the door, he looks at me one last time.

Wednesday

My skin is starting to burn in the sun. I would have stayed home today, but. . . okay, education is important to me, alright?! I need to attend as many days as possible before it gets deadly for me. It's bad enough that I skipped yesterday.

I take a seat in my first period class. To my delight, I see my dearest Raven has shown today. But when she notices me, her face goes stoic, or panicked - I can't tell which. All that I can tell is that she's not happy to see me. She walks past my seat quickly and sits in the back.

Is she trying to avoid me? Why would she want to avoid me?! Did I do something wrong?!

I let out a shaky breath to try to calm my nerves. Then I get a feeling, like someone's watching me. As soon as I glance up, I see seven people look away from me. They were watching me. . . Why? I look to the left and a group of five people do the same thing. Is everyone watching me? Why, why is everyone looking at me?

Why is everyone looking at me?!

It takes everything in me to not get up and yell at everybody. I ball my hands up and look down at my desk instead. Thankfully, the teacher walks in and takes most of the attention away from me. I can allow myself to relax, at least, a little bit.

All throughout class, people glance back at me and quickly turn away. I try to think about why people would just look at me, but not talk to me.

I don't understand. . .

Things only get worse as the day goes on, especially during lunch; the people I sit with practically join together on the other side of the table when I take my seat.

Then, I finally lose it.

"WHAT?!" I scream loud enough for the people at my table to hear. They all flinch away from the sound of my angered voice. I wait impatiently for one of them to answer me. ". . . Well?" I hiss.

The guy that I assigned to pose as my "new best friend" finally says, "What do you mean, T-Trevor?"

"You know what! Why has everyone been staring at me all day?!"

They all start looking at each other, none of them wanting to be the one to tell me. One of the guys that's on the soccer team - and, if it's not too rude for me to say, has horrendously mismatched ears - says with a nervous smirk, "W-Well you're a good-looking guy Trev, why wouldn't the girls look at ya?" He smiles awkwardly and gives me two 'thumbs up.'

I growl loud and menacingly. They all flinch harder than before, one of them even moves to a seat further away from me. "That's not what I mean, and you know it." I say quietly. "Now. Tell. Me."

They all stay quiet.

"If none of you tell me in the next ten seconds, I swear I'll-"

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" The mismatched-ears guy shrieks. He lets a deep breath out. "There's a rumor going around about you." He pauses.

". . . And?" I say.

"The rumor is. . . um. . ." He trails off.

"What?"

"Trevor, people are saying you're . . . crazy."

My blood runs cold. ". . . . What. . . do you mean?" I say after a time.

"Well, some people are saying that you eat animals, alive. A-And there's another one that says you cover your clothes in blood every weekend! And another one that says you take pictures of yourself doing. . . really, really fucked-up stuff. And there's and even worse one; they say you have a really fucked-up shrine thing of some girl in your closet, and you got a doll of her made with dead animals."

My body is shaking with anger at this point. There's only one thing I'm thinking;

Matt. Wells.

"But, that's just some crazy gossip junk, right Trevor?" One of them says, I can't tell which.

I shoot up out of my chair and run out of the lunchroom, out of school. People look at me fearfully as I go by, but I don't care. I just need to get out of here,

and get my hands on Matt.

I wait until it gets dark before I leave my house in my black disguise and my black-painted car - which, by the way, I think I'd prefer to keep black. I tear through the streets, considering myself lucky that I didn't get stopped by the cops.

It doesn't take long for me to get to Matt's house. I drive through the open gates to the backyard. I park my car in the light wooded area behind the garage.

Hm, this area behind his garage, we'd had such good memories here. We used to sneak back here so our parents would think we'd been kidnapped, and we waited hours apon hours after our parents called the police before we came out. . .

But it means nothing now.

Anyway, I manage to maneuver my car between the trees after a few tries. I step out of the car and move to a place beneath the backyard porch where I can still see the front of the driveway without being seen.

Another hour passes by before a silver ford fusion pulls up and parks a few feet away from the front of the garage - Matt's car. I back further into the darkness of the porch's shadow as he gets out of his car and walks towards the house. I wait for him to walk up the steps before I silently slide myself out from underneath the porch and step up behind him, and he still doesn't notice me. . .

The moment he opens the door, I shove him through. He falls flat on his face and I take the opportunity to pin him down. His expression is surprised at first, but then it becomes one of terror very quickly. "T-Trevor?!" He shrieks.

"I could barely tolerate you telling Raven I'm 'crazy.' But I have to go through a half-day of school and threaten the fuckers I sit with at lunch to find out you told about my shrine?!"

His skin immediately loses all of its color and his eyes go dark. "U-Uh." He breaths out, trying to compose himself, "I-I didn't tell anyone, Trevor. Someone else must have found out and told."

"Not only do you tell, but you deny that you did?!" I am utterly outraged by his ignorance!

"No! Trevor, I really didn't tell!"

"You will pay for your betrayal!" I wrap my hands around his scrawny neck and lift him above my head.

But that's when I hear sirens in the distance. Dammit! I didn't give Matt a chance to disarm the security system. I waste no time carrying him out to my hidden car and concealing him in the back seat. I turn on the engine and begin a very difficult drive through the wooded area behind the garage. Matt is crying and begging for me to let him go, making promises to not tell anyone what happened. But I refuse to stop.

I eventually drive out to the other side of the wooded area and onto the next street. The tires don't make a sound when I make a sharp turn to the next street - they must be wearing away from all of the driving I've been doing for the past few days. It doesn't take as long to get to the abandoned factory as it did yesterday, likely because there isn't a certain secret being declassified as I'm driving. . .

I grab the bundles of rope that I stashed in my trunk earlier, then go for the back seat. It takes time for me to overpower Matt, but I manage to do so and grab him by his hair, then drag him kicking and screaming into the building. We struggle to get up the few old, dirty, cracked flights of stairs in the building until we reach the very last one that leads to the door that opens to the roof. I force Matt to the floor. He puts up a good fight, yet he's still no match for me. I tie him up really tight with a single bundle of rope, his mouth included. Then I pull a three-foot piece of roping away the rest of its bundle - the superhuman strength must be kicking in now. I proceed to tie it around his mouth as tight as possible.

After stealing a few seconds to admire my work, I rush up the stairs to the roof door and stomp and kick at the handle until it's completely crushed in. Then I saunter back down the stairs so to regain my energy.

I crouch down in front of Matt, smiling at his shuttering frame and the tears flooding from his eyes. My fingers run through his hair, down his throat, and over his chest. I snake my fingers under his shirt and pull it up his sweating body - I don't remove it though, oh no. I instead pull the shirt over his face to add on to his fears. I make a reach for the knife in my back pocket. . .

"Please," Matt suddenly says with a sob. 'Hmph, I must have messed up one of the knots.' I think, looking at the loose rope hanging lazily around his neck. "I-I thought we were friends!"

I chuckle lightly at his remark. "We were friends, but you 'just couldn't take it anymore.'"

"Please!" He continues pleading through his heavy crying, "I fucking promise to be your friend again! I'll be the best fucking friend there ever was! Please! Don't fucking do this!. . ."

"You must really think I'm going to kill you. No, that's way too simple, to just outright kill you." I pull his shirt down and begin to redo his gag. "I'm almost a full vampire now, so I'm going to need something to eat." I make the final knot in the back of his head tighter than before, if that's even possible. "Now, hold still."

I grab the little knife in my back pocket again while I pull his shirt back over his head. I drag the knife down one of his pecks which makes him let out a muffled, helpless shriek.

It's a clean cut, sort of. . .

Blood floods out of the open cut and the delicious stench of copper fills the area. I waste no time to lick the red nectar, savoring the surprisingly sweet taste. My tongue doesn't stop moving against his skin until the blood flowing from the wound slows to a halt. A single trail of red slips from my lips, falls to my chin, and drips onto his exposed stomach.

I pull his shirt back down to it's rightful position to see his eyes closed and his face drenched in fearful sweat. Poor Matt, he finally passed out from terror.

I give his head a pat and walk out the door, being sure to close it and prop a nearby tipped-over folding chair against the knob before I leave the building.

Thursday.

I wake up to a commotion coming from downstairs. I immediately recognize the loudest voice as my mother trying to scream through her sobs, and another voice belongs to my 'father' who's just plain yelling. I also hear rough, heavy footsteps. The sounds get louder and louder, obviously indicating that they're getting closer. A few seconds later, my door flings open and hits the wall so hard that it's sure to have left a hole. My 'father' stands in the doorway with two cops and my bawling mother behind him. The two cops are holding my mother back, and she tries to speak through her loud sobs but it all just comes out as strange mumbles and gasps.

"Trevor," 'Father says with a growl, "These officers say they have reason to believe that you have something to do with your friend Matt going missing yesterday night."

I don't say anything - mainly because my. . . eyes begin to shut and. . . pull me back into. . . sleep. . .

Somebody snaps their fingers in my face and jolt back to reality. "Uh, what?" I say tiredly as I wipe my eyes.

"Son," One of the officers say sternly, "We just need you to come in for questioning."

". . . O-Okay, just. . . ten more minutes. . ." My eyes shut again.

This time, 'Father' throws me off my bed. The other cop grabs him and pulls him away from me. I eventually find the energy to pull myself up off the floor and onto my feet. The first cop puts his hands on my shoulders and walks me out the door. Then I notice something strange. . . The sun is setting, it's. . . it's like, just barely above the horizon line. "Hey, " I say to the cop, "What time is it?"

"About 8:30."

"P.M.?!"

"Yeah. . .?"

I actually slept through the day? The whole day?! I must be. . . I must be a full vampire now, I think. . . I need to get through this questioning quick, so I can talk to him.

The first cop and I go out and wait in the patrol car for the other cop to come out. My irritation grows to the point of me groaning every few seconds. "What's taking so long?!" I yell at one point and kick the empty driver's seat in front of me.

"It'll only be a little bit longer, calm down!" The cop says to me.

"Don't tell me to be calm, I am calm!" I say through clenched teeth.

Finally, the other cop comes out. Before he can even takes a seat, I say,"Why were you in there so long?"

He turns to look at me and I can see the concerned look on his face. He opens his mouth like he's going to say something, then shuts it and face forward to turn on the engine. "We'll talk at the station." He says curtly as we pull out of my driveway.

The ride to the police station is excruciatingly long. But when we get there, they quickly escort me to a small silver room with a table that has two chairs on either side of it. The officer that was driving sits in one of the chairs while the other one stands, leaning against the door. I sit in the other seat.

"Alright Trevor," The seated officer starts, "Let's being. Last night at approximately 9:15, the alarm system at you friend's house failed to be disarmed. When the responding officers got to the house, Matt's car was the only one in the driveway, the back door was wide open, and his keys were still in the knob. We spoke to a few of the boys you two play soccer with and they say that you left school early because you became upset about everyone finding out about your 'problems.' Now-"

"I don't have problems." I growl.

"Excuse me?" He says.

"I said, I don't have any problems! That's just a stupid rumor that Matt. . ."

"That Matt. . .?"

Damn! I fell right into it, and it hasn't even been five minutes! "Thaaat Maaatt came up with. . ." I finish, mentally scolding myself for speaking so suspiciously.

"Why would Matt want to start a rumor about you?"

"Let me guess; because you're more popular than him?" The other cop cuts in, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"No!" I yell defensively, "We. . . We're actually not friends anymore. . . When we were 'friends,' I wasn't particularly a good one. And. . . I think he came up with this rumor to get back at me. . . for being such a bad friend. He wants everyone to think I'm. . . crazy." I cringe at the last word.

"And is this true?"

"W-What?"

The cop that was leaning on the door slams his hand on the table and gets right in my face. "Is it true?! Are you crazy?! Are you psycho?! Are you out of your mind?!"

His words cause a massive surge of anger to pulse throughout my body and I let out a low, threatening growl. "Get the fuck out of my face you son of a bitch!"

"Or else what? You gonna ruin my reputation? Or r' you gonna get the vampire of Bensin hill to eat me?"

I open my mouth to throw another insult, but then I stop and think, 'Vampire of Bensin Hill. . . Oh yeah.' A smirk forms on my lips. "Yeah, the vampire of Bensin Hill. . . the same guy that supposedly killed Claire. . ." I take notice that the bastard cop's eyes seem to waver in its confidence. "The same guy that seems to be a really good hide-and-seek player. The same guy that people around town are starting to believe really is a vampire?"

The room falls silent as the intensity of my words rises. The cop that invokes the most anger in me backs away from my face cautiously. "Yeah," He says slowly, "That's the guy."

"Tell me then, when are you guys gonna give up on finding him? I mean, it's obvious that you don't know where he is."

He scowls at me. But then. . . his face softens and he smirks, like he's gotten me cornered somehow. He says, "You're awfully interested in this case all of the sudden. Why? Ya know somethin'? 'Cause ya' know that withholding evidence is against the law. Or r' ya willing to charged just yer murderer buddy safe?"

My fists clench tightly. "First of all; he's not my friend," I start, "Second; I'm not trying to help anyone! Third; I'm not withholding anything. I'm just playing a little game called bullshit, and you're just buying right into it, dumbfuck!"

"Well then, I guess we can just put that aside, can't we?" He yells sarcastically, "Yeah! Because you're so convincing that you know nothing about it when you brought it up out of nowhere. Really kid? Are ya' really that much of a fuckin' idiot? Listen sonny, ya got two choice; tell us what you know about Sterling along with what you know about Matthew goin' missing now; Or we can put you in cuffs now so you can spend a few nights in lock-down."

My fists clench even tighter and my teeth are grinding so hard that I think they'll start cracking soon. I'm filled with so much repressed rage right now, I think I may have reached my limit. . . And that's when everything turns red to me. My body starts to feel like it's burning with the fires of pure anger. I feel my mouth open, yet I can't hear what I'm saying. The expressions on both the officers' faces change multiple times; first shock, then confusion, then disgust, then horror. The red in my vision doesn't fade until I feel my mouth stop. Somehow, I'm out of breath and need to gasp for air.

After I regain my breath and the room goes silent for a while, the sitting cop says, "Well, that was uh. . . Okay, I think we're done with you questioning for now. We'll. . . We'll pick this up tomorrow afternoon, once everyone has calmed down."

I nod.

The drive home is silent, so I take the time to try to figure out just exactly what the fuck happened in the questioning room. I couldn't have said something that shocking, or disturbing, or confusing, or whatever. Or maybe I could have, considering what just happened.

I sigh. This wouldn't have happened if I could control my anger. Dammit, why do I always have to over-react to things like this? I'm probably going to end up in jail. . . Whatever! I'm a full vampire now, I'll just bust out! Maybe I'll dye my hair black and just be Vladimir for a while.

Yeah, perhaps. . .

The car makes a sudden stop and my face rockets into the metal gate that separates the back seat from the front. I scream in pain and can feel a bruise coming on. "What the hell did you stop for?" I yell.

"Calm down kid, you'll be fine!" The cop in the passenger seat says, "Some crazy guy just ran. . . Hey wait a minute!" He grabs at his belt. "Shit! That's the Sterling kid!"

My eyes widen. No, they can't get him! They can't! He's mine! Mine to destroy! No one will take him but me!

That's when my vision changes color again. But this time, it turns completely black. . .

I have a very short fuse. . .