I jumped in my car making sure not to peal out the way I did earlier this afternoon. Stopping at a light on the corner of 9th and 22nd I saw a sign for the blood drive. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest with excitement. I was actually going to do this. I pulled into the parking lot of the elementary school and scanned the scene. The drive was obviously being held in the gym so I decided to walk in.

I made my way through the entrance and into the gymnasium. A few people had already arrived and were filling out waiver forms. I saw Mrs. Edlin full of smiles when I walked in.

"HI Edward" She belted.

"Hello Mrs. Edlin, its E.J. remember" I replied giving her a big smile. She is such a great kindergarten teacher. She always makes me feel special.

"Oh yes of course you just look so much like your brother". She shook her head slightly embarrassed of the mistake. Little did she know my name was Edward but for obvious reasons the general public didn't know that.

"Are you here to donate" she asked.

"That was the plan but Carlisle said I wasn't allowed since were going on a long hike in the morning. He promised I could come down to the hospital and donate next week though." I was becoming more of a natural with fabricating the truth. However I was a terrible liar when it came to my family.

"Oh I see, well glad to hear you're donating anyway. Are you here with someone?"

"No I was just driving by and thought you might need a hand" I stated.

"Well perfect we could use someone to man the juice station".

I stuck around an hour while I carefully watched the entire process while they extracted blood from the donors. I handed out juice and cookies and gave a kind smile. They were carefully storing the blood in small blue coolers behind a screen. Fortunately for me there was an exit door right next to the curtain. I said my goodbyes and waited for a good time when everyone seemed busy.

I was already in my car and could hear my heart racing by the time I realized what I had done. The cooler was in the trunk and my car was in drive. I turned right and headed straight for the park. It seemed like a good spot where I wouldn't bump into anyone. I sat on a picnic table in the pitch black with a bag of blood in my hands. I wasn't craving the taste of the blood, I was craving the idea of how it would make me feel. I punctured a hole in the clear bag with my teeth and took one long drag. It tasted amazing! I sucked the bag till it was empty, ripped it open and licked the entire lining. I immediately grabbed another bag and repeated the process until my cooler was empty. My stomach felt like it was going to explode right there on the picnic table. I laid back, my feet dangling off the edge and took one long deep breath.

In a half of a second I jumped to my feet, did a back flip off the table and took off in the fastest sprint of my life. The soccer field flew by me like I was in a 3D movie I leaped into the air and cleared the duck pond with ease. I landed smooth and instantly headed back to my car. Nessie didn't know what she had missed.

I drove around aimlessly testing my cars limits. I did multiple things I had been warned not to do that could draw attention to the family. I bellowed with laughter as I drove my car across the country club putting greens. Before I headed for the exit I snatched a souvenir from the ninth hole. I decided to head towards Madison's party, I was in such a perfect mood I wanted to share it with someone. Madison lived about ¾ of a mile from our house and I hoped the noise was not loud enough for Carlisle or Esme to grow suspicious. As I pulled onto Madison's street I grew excited as I saw all the cars lined up on the long dirt driveway.

My heart was beating calm and steady now, I could feel the rhythm as I made my way toward the back yard where the majority of noise was coming from. The party was lively with drunk teens, flip cup tournaments and good music. How easy it would be for a vampire to prey on this crowd. My mind began to wonder at the thought of what it would be like to actually taste fresh human blood directly from the fountain itself. Would it be warm? Would it taste different? I wouldn't hurt anyone here, I knew them they were my friends but a good fantasy never harms anyone. I made my way through the sliding glass door and into the living room. I was people watching and that was all I felt like doing.

"Hey E.J. what's up"? Mitch asked as I entered.

"Nothing" I replied, not giving him the time of day. I wasn't interested in conversation I was interested in exploring my new high.

I found a small corner in the living room that wasn't being occupied and gathered myself there. I leaned back against the cool brick and closed my eyes. I inhaled a deep breath and let the sweet scent fill my lungs. The scent was irresistible and my craving grew stronger. Again I allowed myself to imagine the blood rushing down my throat. The immediate rush my entire body felt. I shivered remembering the initial buzz from my fresh bag of blood. I felt free, like this was how I was supposed to feel all along. I didn't care about my curfew or being grounded or my family's reputation on the line. All I cared about at that moment fulfilling my own needs.

I opened my eyes and decided to explore other areas of the party. The basement had turned into a dance floor, with the lights out and a flashing light illuminating faces one by one. As I began to walk down the stairs my jacket was grabbed by a new girl I hadn't recognized. She guided me to the dance floor and we quickly made our way toward the back of the crowd. With the lights out, it was like we were all alone. Our bodies began to move simultaneously to the music and we soon fell into rhythm with each other.

Whoever this stranger was she smelled amazing. I inhaled a deep breath taking in her scent. For the first time I could distinctively smell the difference between my schoolmates. The song suddenly slowed.

"Cops, everyone shut up" someone yelled.