Olivia wasn't a big sweaty mess by the end of the day, so she didn't bother showering

Olivia wasn't a big sweaty mess by the end of the day, so she didn't bother showering. Sure, she was bit sweaty, but nothing a bit of deodorant couldn't fix. She changed quickly from her gym strip to her previous attire then threw her hair up into a high ponytail She gathered her things then left the change room, still busy with chattering girls. Several of them gave her dirty looks on her way out, still disturbed by the fact that she was who Nikita chose over Sierra. But she ignored them, too happy to really care. Her excitement to see Nikita again really shouldn't have been as strong as it was, but every moment with him was... incredible. Again, not in a romantic way.

The exit to the change room ended her up in the hallway, so she turned the corner and found the gym doors. She walked in, checking to make sure no one was there, and closed the door behind her. Only one set of lights were on, since the gym wasn't going to be occupied by any sports team that night, but she could see his silhouette perfectly in the darkness.

"Nick!" she called out, and found herself smiling as she ran towards him.

Nikita heard his name called, and he turned to see Olivia running towards him. He smiled, his bright teeth reflecting the dim light surrounding them as he opened his arms.

Without thinking, Olivia ran into them. It was amazing how close they'd grown… in what? A day? Not even, actually. She just felt so safe around him, like she knew no harm would ever come to her as long as he was around. He… he was becoming her best friend. Or rather, more appropriately, her only real friend.

Nikita held her for only a moment before releasing her. And Olivia didn't really object. He was so cold! Goosebumps rose on her arms as she pulled away, and she shivered.

"Where were you, Antarctica?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Nikita chuckled. "No... but... there is a reason for why I'm so cold."

"Is there really?"

"And it's the same reason why I didn't want to eat lunch today, and why I laughed when you asked if I was hungry. It will also explain why I was reading that book this morning, and why the chemistry project is no surprise to me and also why I'm so fluent in French. Not to mention why I'm fluent in Latin, Italian and old English vocabulary. And, it will explain last night much more clearly."

He was brining up that last night thing again, and what could possibly explain all those odd things…? What was going on? Olivia frowned, then grabbed his wrist. She dragged him to the bleachers and sat him down, and then she sat next to him.

"Explain." She ordered, facing him with her elbows resting on her knees and her chin cupped in her hands.

Nikita took a deep breath and looked her directly in the eye. With a serious voice, he said it. Plain and simple, "I'm a vampire."

Olivia laughed. She was gasping for air as she laughed and her eyes got watery. That was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard.

Nikita frowned, but waited patiently for her to finish.

"Wow, you're hilarious." she finally said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious, Olivia."

"Sure you are." She mocked him with a smile.

"Would you like proof?"

"And how are you going to prove it? You gonna suck my blood? Huh?" she laughed again.

Nikita sighed. "Don't get scared, okay? I won't hurt you, I promise." he closed his eyes. Olivia realized immediately that he really wasn't kidding, and she started getting a bit frightened.

"Why would you—" She didn't get the chance to finish, because suddenly, she was flying through the air.

Her eyes widened, and she saw Nikita was still in front of her, his hand gripped around her throat. The wind whipped by her and he shoved her into the far wall, on the other side of the gym from where the bleachers had been, her head hitting it painfully. Of course, he did this all gently. His version of gentle, at least. There wouldn't be any damage, he would never do anything to harm her, ever. His hand loosened slightly around her neck so she could breathe, but he didn't let her go. He was pinning her against the wall, holding her high enough so her feet couldn't touch the ground. He pulled her up so she was face to face with him.

"Do you believe me now, Olivia?" he said it in a flat, sharp tone. It was menacing, but nowhere near as frightening as it could be. He was being nice to her. There was venom in his voice as he spat the words, but he said them so calmly, so smoothly. They were barely a whisper, so quiet only Olivia could hear. She grimaced, feeling an ache in her head and hearing ringing in her ears.

"Ugh… I think you gave me whiplash…." She mumbled.

Nikita chuckled, letting her drop. But her feet didn't hit the ground, and she looked up to see he'd caught her in his arms.

"How'd you….?"

"As a vampire, I have immense speed and strength." He explained. "Close your eyes."

She did as she was told, shutting her eyes.

"Open." When she opened them, after not even two seconds of having them closed, she saw that they were already at the bleachers. Carefully, he set her down.

"I'll explain it all, as long as you don't interrupt." He raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. Olivia nodded.

"Good." He took a deep breath, and then started. He wasn't going to hold back any secrets; she was going to get the whole, ugly truth. His voice came out a bit rushed. "I am four hundred and seventy four years old, as far as a bloodsucker. As far as a human, I'm eighteen. My story to how I became this way… is… complicated. I can tell you more about that later. I don't eat, because eating your type of food is like eating cardboard. Not particularly appetizing, but it is possible to keep up our facade." Nikita saw her confused face, and answered her unspoken question.

"My kind roams this earth on a day to day basis. Sometimes hiding, but mostly we pretend that we're human. There are two types: vegetarian and monster. Well, that's how I categorize it. Vegetarians feed on animal blood while monsters… well, you get it. Don't worry, I'm a vegetarian so I can assure you I will never cause you or anyone in this school, or even state, any harm. But the strange thing is…. Wait, I'll get to that later.

"Onto the school thing. I've repeated high school six times, and this would be my seventh. Chemistry is easy the second time around, and then the third it becomes second nature. The fourth, fifth and sixth time, it gets boring and then even annoying.

"I was born in Italy, approximately a thousand or so years after the fall of Rome, in 1533. Growing up, I learned Latin and early Italian. After my… change, I moved to London for a while, the fog being good for no sun, which I needed. There I learned good, old-fashioned English. After that, I moved to Paris, France. Where, as you can already guess, I learned French. I have learned several other languages. Including Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, Korean… the works. I'm just not fluent in any of them, yet. " Nikita paused, taking in her expression. Her almond-shaped green eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging down in a dumb expression. He laughed and reached up. Placing his index finger below her chin, he pushed it up.
"You can relax." He promised her.

"But… but… you're a vampire?!" her voice broke, her surprise taking an obvious effect.

"Yes."

"So that's why you're so cold?"

"Yes."

"What happens when you go out in the sun? Do you die? Can you turn into a bat? Do you sleep in a coffin?" she stammered, stumbling over each question with the next one.

Nikita reached and squished both her cheeks together. "Shut up, I'll answer all your questions later." He smiled, to let her know he wasn't being mean.
"Continuing on. Last night."

Olivia straightened up, instantly alert. Finally, the real explanation!

"I hadn't fed for a month. I guess I was testing myself, to see how long I could actually last without it. But I was weak and vulnerable, and out of my mind with thirst. I didn't even have the energy to stand. Until I heard you walking down the street. I froze, and freaked. I could feel the wind picking up, so I stopped breathing." he shrugged and looked at her, giving her the permission to speak.

"You stopped… breathing?" Olivia couldn't believe she was hearing all of this. And she couldn't believe that she believed it, too.

"Breathing isn't necessary for us, and I tried to prevent myself from finding your scent. I knew it wouldn't help, but I took every precaution I could. But, your scent never came. It was odd. Curiosity had always gotten the best of me, and so I found some small amount of energy and went to investigate. I thought maybe I'd imagined the sound of your arrival, but you were there. I got closer, trying to find your scent, but there never was one. So I spoke to you and--"

"Wait, so you were smelling me?" Olivia interrupted. She was breathless, this was all too much… It was like a dream.

Nikita nodded. "Yes, but now, what did I say about interrupting?"

"Sorry."

"Thank you. Continuing on, I was very frustrated and so I smelled you. I tried to make it discrete, although I kind of suck at that, don't I?" he asked rhetorically. "Anyhow, you dropped your bus pass and ID card after you'd run off. Of course I didn't want to take the chance of being so thirsty around you again, so I took off and fed quickly. A couple deer, just so I wasn't parched. It didn't fill me up, but it got rid of my need just fine.

"Then, with the help of a phone book, I found your house in under an hour. Yes, I lied about being new here, and I lied about living on your street."
Olivia nodded, Nikita continued. He was surprised she wasn't screaming and running away, yet.

"This morning, in the library, I was looking for a book on vampires. I found it, and I searched viciously for something about no scent. I found that, too, in the section of complications. You see, your blood, to me, at least, is like water. Odorless. I can't smell it. To any other vampire, it smells just like any other blood… or better. So, I'm here to protect you. You aren't something, or someone, rather, that comes along everyday. You are something special, considered as something precious in my demonic little world.

"If you'd rather me not, I'll stay well out of your sight and mind, but I won't leave you. I'm going to protect you and fight off anything that tries to harm you. No matter what. Nothing will ever hurt you. I promise." He said it all in a final tone. He wasn't budging. She was all he had now. As a friend, and even family. He wasn't in need of a lover… since he'd never had any great interest in lust or romance. It was one life experience he could live without. Not to mention the only person he'd ever really, truly cared for... well, it was complicated.

Olivia took a deep breath and stared him right in the eyes. "Okay, I believe you." came her shaky voice. He was more unbelievably than she ever would have guessed.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Yes."

Nikita grinned and pulled her off the bleachers. He hugged her securely in his arms, then set her down gently. Her legs wobbled. "Feeling a bit faint?" he asked.

She nodded. "A bit too much info… but I'm glad you told me… I was starting to question why were you so incredible."

Nikita laughed. "You want me to carry you?" he asked, holding out his arms.

Before Olivia could even agree or disagree, she closed her eyes and started to fall. Nikita caught her with ease, scooping her up into his arms and then left the school. He walked slow (for him) back to his place, while anyone watching stared in disbelief. Sierra saw him carrying Olivia and scowled. Nikita had to stifle his laughter. Olivia was fully conscious, but she was mentally drained. She was still slowly processing everything he'd told her, but she wasn't afraid. She trusted him, more than she'd ever trusted anyone in her life.

"I do have some questions though…" she mumbled, opening her eyes slightly.

"Don't worry, Liv. You can ask me whatever you want when we get back to your house. We've got all the time in the world." Nick answered cheerfully. It felt good to have someone to talk to, someone with a heart.

"By the way…"

"Yes?"

She winced. Her head still hurt. "I never thanked you for the whiplash." Came her reply, thick with sarcasm.

Nikita chuckled. He rolled up the sleeve of his dark blue dress shirt and let her head rest on his icy cold arm. "Better?"

"Much." She smiled, feeling the cold as it eased the pain in her neck and head.