A/N: Sorry this one took so long to get to you! It was sitting around. I just got real lazy recently and I didn't feel like going over this and sending it to my amazing beta, Rebarbative. This is the last chapter of the old stuff, guys! Thanks go out to Murlough's Enemy and Dawn12346 for reviewing! A few of you guys asked about Steve and here is the thing: The entire story started in my head with that scene, but with the plot I have come up with... well, there really isn't a place for me to put him in? I know you all want to see him again... I just don't see it happening any time soon. Sorry ( If I make a sequel though he will definitely play a bigger role.)

Disclaimer: Me no own Darren Shan D: WHY CAN'T I OWN HIM!? (R – BECAUSE DARREN SHAN OWNS DARREN SHAN –THAT'S WHY (; )

Chapter 5

I woke up the next morning and got dressed, throwing on makeup and my locket. I headed down stairs and poured myself a bowl of cereal and a glass of blood. It was so weird to think of it as blood now. I kept wanting to call it

"Good morning sweetie. Did you sleep ok? You said you were tiered last night," asked Mom in a worried tone.

"Yes mom, I slept fine. Not even tired anymore," I replied. "So six more days right dad?"

"Yes, actually!" my dad said, surprised that I was keeping track.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Nothing it's just I don't think I've ever seen you so excited over anything before that's all!"

"Is it a bad thing that I am excited?"

"No, just surprising!"

"OK, well even so yesterday you said a weak right? So a week is seven days. And one day less is six. So six days."

"I suppose so."

"Anyway, I'm off for school! Bye Mom, bye Dad!"

I left the house and headed off, scuffing my shoes on the sidewalk. It was chilly outside, but I had remembered my jacket this time. I kept thinking about how my trip would be. Dad had yet to tell me much, even six days from the trip. This council thing is bound to be exciting though!

When I arrived at school, the parking lot was buzzing. I smiled at people I've met but don't really know. Waving back to people I've never seen before. My popularity since the incident has gone up drastically. I guess that's just what happens whether we like it or not. Something dramatic happens and then you're suddenly a lot more popular then you were the day before. You know more people. People look at you for what to wear how to act. A normal person might like that sort of attention, but I've never been normal. I just find it annoying. If they didn't like me before, why would they like me now? I guess that's just how high school works.

I walked into the school, put my stuff away in my locker, and went to find either Charlie or Annabelle, whoever I passed first. I found Charlie, Jimmy, Alec, and Will in the cafeteria. Juliet and Annabelle were probably in the library; I would go there next.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

"Oh look who it is!" Alec started.

"Our favorite fugitive has arrived!" Will finished.

"Ha, ha, ha, that's very funny guys!"

"Actually, it is. Sorry, Saph," Jimmy shrugged

"Hurmph" was Charlie's only reply.

"OK, well we got to go!" Will said, breaking the awkward silence. "Alec and I have make up tests to take!"

They left the cafeteria and the awkward tension, that had left momentarily, was back. "Charlie, please explain to me what's wrong. What did I do?" I didn't understand what exactly she was upset about; It just didn't make any sense!

"It isn't fair! I was the only vampire in this school, and now that your one, I'm not special. I'm not unique anymore."

That's it? That's the issue? Only Charlie. "Charlie?"

"What?"

"Me being a vampire or not, you are plentyunique. Trust me. If there were more than one Charlie Cullen, we would all be in trouble."

"Shut up." Despite her tone, she was smirking.

"So, are we friends again?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we are friends again." She smiled, and I smiled just as big back.

"YAY!" We hugged and laughed. "I missed talking to you! I hate when we fight." And it was true. Charlie is one of my best friends. Living without her for the past few days was miserable.

"Yeah, me too, it sucks."

"Oh no." I was going away soon. I wouldn't be able to reach her at all.

"What?"

"I'm leaving with my dad on a trip. We won't be able to contact each other."

"What? That sucks!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Don't go then!"

I wished I could stay, but staying behind was not an option this late in the game. I had no choice. If I backed out, I would disappoint my dad. "I can't. I have to go –it's this big vampire gathering thing that happens only every twelve years."

"Ugh this sucks! Well, I guess I can still hang out with everybody else."

"Yeah, see it will be fine. Plus, I won't be gone forever. I'll probably be back before you can miss me."

"Yeah, you better be." We smiled at each other and laughed.

"Well I am glad that stupid fight is over!" Jimmy cut in.

"You ruined the moment, Jimmy," Charlie said, receiving a chortle in reply.

The bell rang and we all shuffled off to our homerooms.

"Hey Juliet," I smiled at my friend who was sitting in her desk, reading a book.

"Hey! Oh, look, I just got this book from the school library this morning!" she announced, confirming my guess at where she was earlier. "Annabelle was there too, she didn't find anything though."

Score is: Saph two, other (unknown) competitor zilch.

"Cool! When you're done with it, tell me if it's any good!"

"Sure, will do!"

So I slept and doodled through the first half of the day, until lunch.

When lunch time came, I sat and chatted with Charlie as she picked around with her salad. She always seems to do that, pick around with her food.

"I can't believe I'll be gone in like a week!"

"Oh yeah that cool trip with your Dad right?" Alec questioned, knowing he was right.

"Duh, dumbass," Will replied, throwing a mock punch at his brother's head. I'm going to miss them all so much while I'm gone.

The time had finally come. I had said all of my goodbyes, and now I was leaving. This was the start of an unknown and exciting journey. Until this point, I had been happy, excited, and naïve, believing nothing could go wrong. The only reason I was even allowed to do this was because someone had come after me. I realized that this was not going to be the fun, easy-going trip I once thought it would be –it would be hard, and almost terrifying. I had no idea what I was going to face in the next few… weeks, months, days? I was leaving my safe-haven life of Forks behind. I was about to enter the world of vampires and danger. It was suddenly hard to think very clear.

My father and I were wearing similar looking travel clothes and we were both shoeless. My dad gave me a list of what I could pack. Of course, I added my own stuff. His list lacked many of the essentials. I packed my make-up some clothes and toiletries, and my black pair of converse. My IPod, with my portable battery-charged charger for it, and then my cell –even though it would be useless to me –all found its way into my bag. Luckily, with all of this my bag it was still manageable, and my dad didn't seem to notice I had packed more than planned.

My feet were killing me. They were sore from stepping on rocks and bare ground. Dad said that there was worse to come. I concluded that vampires must be masochists.

As we traveled farther away from Forks, we started travelling at night. My dad taught me more about vampires too. About laws and powers and about how he knows nothing about what I can do.

"I never told you, we never tested to see what you could do. You seem to age at a human pace. We will learn more at the mountain. There we can begin to test what you can do." I nodded. "We have a long trip ahead, and in that time I will teach you as much as I can about vampires, about us."

The nights were long, full of walking and learning. Dad said normally I would have learnt this all over time and trained before I would have even been blooded (turned into a half vampire). He's given me so much information, all in this small space of time. My feet were covered in cuts, but have begun to callous. Dad and I were making pretty decent and steady progress. I'm sure having me around slows him though. I try my best to keep up with his pace and his knowledge. It felt almost impossible, but I knew I didn't have much of a choice. This was my life. I needed to get used to it. Looking back at my initial immaturity, I grew angry with myself. I didn't realize until moments before I left that this wasn't all fun and games. This is real, dangerous, my life. I need to be ready. It's almost like a sugar high. I was on it since that day in gym up until my crash before I left. And boy, have I crashed.

A/N: Thanks for reading guys! Don't forget to review! Please? They make me happy! And you get bat broth!