I awoke the next morning to find Jack sleeping beside me. He looked so peaceful, so perfect. I smiled to myself thinking about last night and how amazing he really is. As if my thoughts wakened him, his eyes flew open.

"Were you awake for long?" he asks softly.

"No, I was just admiring your beauty"

Oh crap! Why did I just say that! How embarrasing. I just called him beautiful. He didn't seem fazed though as he leaned in to kiss me.

"When did you sneak back into my room?" I ask

"At 4AM this morning when I couldn't sleep" he smiles.

Suddenly the door opens and my Dad is standing in the doorway with his eyes buldging out of his head.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" he shouts

"Dad, I can explain" I say jumping up out of bed as fast as I could.

"Put some clothes on first" he says motioning to me. I look down. I'm only wearing singlet and undies. I quickly put on a pair of shorts.

"Look Dad I can explain everything. Nothing happened ok?"

"Do you really expect me to believe that? I didn't come down in the last shower of rain Melanie" he states glaring at Jack.

"Look sir, it was all my fault. I couldn't sleep this morning so I came over to talk to Melanie about a few things. I swear on my life that nothing happened" Jack tells my angry father.

"Right, so if Melanie is in labour nine months from now you'll still say nothing happened?" he spits

"DAD! NOTHING HAPPENED! I THINK I WOULD KNOW IF I'M A VIRGIN OR NOT"

There I said it. Now the whole friggin neighbourhood probably knows the most embarrassing thing about me. Oh god, this is awful. Why did I even say that?

Dad looks embarrassed.

"Oh" he manages to mumble looking down at the floor.

"I'd better get going" Jack says making his exit through the door this time. I wonder what dad would do if he knew Jack climbs in through my window. He'd probably put bars on it or make me trade rooms with him.

"Are you happy now?" I ask dad, hands on my hips.

"Yes, actually I am. Don't be embarrassed Mel, it's perfectly normal not to be sexually active at this age" he says, his cheeks turning pink. He must be embarrassed too, "I'll leave you now" he shuts the door on his way out.

I fall back onto my bed groaning. Jack will probably never speak to me again. I just should have kept my fat mouth shut! Stupid, stupid mouth!

I get up to look at my window. Jack is in his room smiling at me. I notice he has a paper plane in his hand. He launches it, it flies into my window and lands on the floor at my feet. I pick it up and read:

Melanie,

I am terribly sorry about the distress I caused you this morning. I hope you will be able to forgive me – I pronise to make it up to you. Meet me at the end of our street this afternoon at two pm

- Jack

P.S. Bring your bike.

I look up to his window but he's gone. I sigh to myself. So maybe he didn't mind my confession about my non-existent sex life. I wonder what his plans are for this afternoon and more importantly will dad let me out of the house after this morning's little scene. Maybe he'll lock my down in the basement until I'm thirty. I change into a pair of old jeans and another one of my band shirts.

"Hey dad?" I say as I enter the kitchen. He's leaning on the bench reading the newspaper.

"Hmpf" he grunts

"Can I go to Sade's this afternoon?" I ask crossing my fingers behind my back.

"If you have to. I'll drive you though. What was her address again?" asks, his eyes still not leaving the paper.

"Not far from here actually so I was wondering it I could just ride my bike. The exercise will do me good" I say trying to sound convincing. I hope he didn't see through my lie.

"Why? You're skinny enough. Have you eaten anything lately?" he asks concerned

"Yes, dad I eat! I don't have an eating disorder!" my dad was so embarrasssing at times!

"I never said that! You can go to Sade's on one condition, you have to be home by seven. I'm making a roast for dinner"

"Fine. Thanks dad" I say hugging him. Could he even cook though? I head back upstairs to catch up on some history homework before I meet Jack.

Just before two I made my way down to the garage to get out my bike. I remember when I was ten, back when Jack and I used to be friends. Back before he ditched me for popularity. Well not exactly ditched. He was more than happy to hang out with me. It was his new popular friends that made me feel unwelcome. By the time I was twelve we completely stopped talking to each other. That was around the same time that Carly and I starting ignoring each other aswell.

I wipe down my bike and ride down to the end of our street. Jack was already there, waiting patiently.

"I was worried you wouldn't come" he confesses.

"You had nothing to worry about" I smile. He smiles back at me.

"Let's go"

'I follow Jack in a maze of different streets. Eventually we reach a clearing.

"A cemetery?" I ask in shock. He's taken me to billions of rotting corpses.

"No silly" he says dropping his bike down, "it's further ahead. This is just the quicker route"

"Oh" I follow Jack through the cemetery. I was careful not to step on anyone's grave. I hated cemeteries. They scared the shit out of me.

"Just a little bit further" he tells me

"It's ok I'm a patient person" I let him know.

"That's good to know" he says to himself.

What was that supposed to mean? Why was Jack so mysterious? I was probably like an open book to him. Before I could linger anymore on his words I could hear the sound of running water. Jack led me closer to the noise, down the rocky steps, to a soft patch of grass in front of the river. We sat together on the grass neither touching or talking.

Eventually breaking the silence he looks over to me, "can you please tell me what you're so intently thinking about before I go mad?"

"Oh sorry. I was just thinking about life" I tell him watching a family of ducks swim by.

He looks at me meaningfully and I feel as though he's looking straight into my soul, "I feel so peaceful when I'm with you" he gives a short laugh.

"That's funny as I feel the same thing about you." I smile, "Why are you interested in me?" I ask, "out of all the other girls at school who are pretty, confident, talented and yet you pick me"

"Well if you had asked me that a few weeks ago I would have told you one answer. Now, it's more than that. Now, I don't know"

I smiled at him, "what would you have said?" I asked, curious as to what he might say.

He grinned at me cheekily, "I would have said that I wanted to a chance to get into your pants and I was giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity to get into mine aswell."

I pulled away from him, "Jack!"

He laughed again and I could feel my cheeks turning bright red.

"What's wrong Melanie? Was it something I said?" he asks with a worried expression on his face.

"No, I'm just being silly" I brush it off.

"You know you can tell me anything. Besides, I'm many boys have said that to you"

I looked up at him. I knew I was going to regret saying this but here goes, "No. Only a handful of boys have ever asked me, however I think they got the hint that I would say no."

He tensed up and his dazzling blue eyes searched my face.

"Melanie, are you telling me that what you told your father was true?" he sounded shocked.

Only then did I realize that he didn't even take any notice of what I told my dad this morning. I groaned at myself mortified. I wanted to disappear in a puff of smoke. I buried my face into my knees embarrassed.

"I don't want to talk about it" I grumble.

"Melanie" Jack said calmly in his soft, velvet voice. He comes closer to me, "Melanie. You're saying that you've never done it?" I feel his warm breath on the side of my face.

I want to push him away yet pull him closer at the same time. Jack puts a hand on my arm and tried to make me open up. He succeeded. Giving in I jumped up on my feet. He did the same.

"What's it to you anyway?" I manage to choke out. There was no way in hell I was going to cry infront of Jack Perry.

"Nothing. It's none of my business anyway"

"Well, if you must know than yes I am still a virgin. Are you happy now?" I say clenching my jaw with rage.

I saw a smile emerge on Jack's face, "not just yet. I didn't mean to embarrass you" he says taking a step closer so he can caress my cheek with his soft fingers, "it's just I'm so surprised that you haven't been peer pressured into it with a face like yours"

"Is that what you say to everygirl when trying to get into her pants?" I joke before adding, "I got pressured though"

"I'm glad to know that you stand up for yourself. Although I have to ask. What stopped you? You can't possibly say that you didn't want to as you are the most passionate person I've ever met."

He was right. I had wanted to many times, "I guess I never found the right guy to sweep my off my feet"

He starts to kiss me, kissing my neck, my eyes and my mouth. I pulled of his shirt and run my hands over his torso. No alarms went off in my head telling me to stop, to get away and out of there. It felt so right, that is until he broke away.

"Did I do something wrong?" I ask confused and hurt.

"No, it's not you, it's me." I felt like a knife plunged into my heart.

"Are you kidding me. That is the lamest excuse in the history of mandkind. No bullshit. Tell me the truth" I say pushing him away from me.

"I don't ever want to hurt you Mel. You are my life and I feel as though I will only end up hurting you" he says moving towards me, placing his hands on my shoulders as if he's going to shake me any minute now.

"Who said you're ever going to hurt me. I don't think you'd be able to do that"

"You're right"

"So, it's because I'm not experienced?" I ask afraid of what the answer might be.

"No, it has nothing to do with that. It's because…" he trailed off.

"Because of what? Huh? Everytime we get close you break it off? Why?" I snap

He looks at me thoughfully before edging away slowly, "because I'm a vampire"