Chapter 11: Meet the Family

The day had finally come. I stood in the bathroom and checked myself one more time. I had to look perfect. First impressions are very important. Meagan came in and grabbed her perfume.

"Nervous huh?" she asked with a smile.

"How could you tell?" I asked. She rolled her eyes.

"It's quite simple. You've been in here for 3 hours and you have four shirts outside the door covered in sweat." Wow, she could read me like a book.

"Thanks. So how do I look now?" I asked. She turned to face me. She looked me up and down.

"I think…" she said and grabbed some hair gel and put some in my hair. "I think that if your hair is casually messed up, it shows off individuality." I looked into the mirror and smiled.

"Wow, I do look good. Thanks Meagan." I said and hugged her.

"No prob. Anything for my bestie's brother." she said with a smile. "Now get out here. And have fun." she said with a wink. I grabbed my coat and went downstairs. I saw Riley's car outside and headed out the door. Once I was in the car, we drove off.

"Are you excited?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said and blushed. He looked over at me and smiled.

"You do realize that when you blush, I can tell that you're lying. Nice hair by the way." I blushed even harder. I'd have to thank Meagan later.

"Okay, I'm nervous as hell. But, it's crucial to our relationship that I do this." I said and sat up straight. He laughed and turned a corner.

"Don't worry, they'll love you. They'll see that you are what makes me happy." He said as he held my hand. I really hope so.

We arrived at this amazing house. I couldn't believe that they lived here. The house was surrounded by trees. I'm assuming that they lived far away from people because of what they were. If I was a vampire, I would want my privacy too. I undid my seat belt and waited for Riley to open the door. I got out and we walked towards the stairs.

"This place is amazing. And it's so spacey." I said as we entered the house. Riley took my coat and hung it up.

"Yeah well, we like our privacy. Besides, being out here gives us more freedom." He said. I looked around the living room. They had so much art. I would never have thought that vampires would've lived like this.

"I still can't believe vampires live in a place like this." I said as I looked at a painting.

"Let me guess. You envisioned a dark, creepy, abandoned castle. And when you walked inside, my family was going to be like bats, hanging from the ceiling?" he asked with a smirk.

"Something like that. But take out the 'hanginglike bats from the ceiling' part though." I said with a sly smile.

"Oh, the human has jokes huh?" he asked playfully.

"You know it." I said and we had a good laugh. He then grabbed my hand and led me upstairs.

"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"To the kitchen. My family took the liberty and stuck with the human tradition of cooking for the guest." he said. We arrived at the kitchen where I saw Mrs. Stavros; a man with black hair that I was assuming was the father, Arabella, and Adonis. And might I just say, Adonis didn't look too pleased.

"Okay, so it's time that you are properly introduced. Zane, this is my mother Elena." Riley said and pointed to his mother.

"Hi, it's nice to see you outside of the hospital." She said and hugged me.

"Thanks, it nice to see you too." I said. I then caught an interesting scent. "What's that breath-taking smell?"

"It's Pot au teu." She said. I was impressed. That was one of my favorite French dishes.

"Merci." I said thanking her in French. She was shocked by my knowledge of the French language.

"Votre accueil." She said welcoming me.

"That's my dad, Lysander." the man walked over to me and shook my hand.

"It's nice to meet you." he said. "This is actually the first time we've used the kitchen." he said with a chuckle. This guy may look intimidating, but he seems extremely nice.

"Hey, Zane." Arabella said as she waved a chef's knife at me.

"Hi. Arabella." I said.

"Oh, please. We're practically a family now. Call me A.J." she said and hugged me. She was nice too. I looked over at Adonis. A.J. looked at him too.

"Babe, come say hi." she said.

"Hi." he said smugly. I could tell that he didn't like me. A.J. just rolled her eyes.

"Pay no attention to him. Nobody else does." she said. I smiled at that. That seemed to make him really mad. So mad, that he broke the wooden chair he was leaning on.

"Oh, yeah. Ignore me. Don't you guys get it! The whole family could be embroiled if this so called relationship goes south." He said and crossed his arms.

"Nothing's going to happen." a voice said from out of the blue. I looked around Adonis to see Langston and Chloe working on a trapeze act outside in the trees. Langston back flipped out of the tree and landed on the balcony. Chloe then followed.

"Whew, that was a workout." Chloe said and took her hair out of its ponytail. "Hey, Zane. If you didn't already know, I'm Chloe and this is Langston." I waved to the both of them. Langston came over and shook my hand also. He then leaned in and sniffed me.

"Wow, you do smell pleasant." he said. Riley gave him an anxious glance. "Don't worry, we were out hunting. So we're good. Oh, and Adonis, nothing is going to happen. I've seen it." Adonis rolled his eyes. Elena walked over to him.

"That was one of my best dining room chairs!" she shouted. Adonis looked down in defeat.

"Sorry ma." he said as he began to clean it up. Elena put her hand on her forehead.

"Uh, kids. Sometimes I could just…" she said and made a gesture as if she was strangling someone. "But, I love them all. Just like I love you Zane. Welcome to the family." I felt so honored.

After I ate that awesome meal, I sat on Riley's lap as I listened to his family's history. I must say, it was very interesting. I watched as Elena told the tale of her life.

"Okay, I was born in 1872 in Russia. I met Lysander in Greece while on a college study abroad trip. We fell in love and got married. A few years later I had Riley. Within a few years, the Pneumonia epidemic was unleashed. All three of us became very ill. I tried so hard to find a cure. I did everything I could to save them. One night while I was out, I was bitten by a vampire. When I awoke, he explained to me what I was and what I could do. I asked him why me? The man said that he could see the good in me and that he was doing me a favor. I then went home and changed my husband first and then my son. I enjoy medical research and my physical age is 26." she finished. Wow, so much detail and knowledge. Lysander then took the stage.

"Well she pretty much summed it up. But um, I was born in 1872 also. But I was born in Greece. My father was a preacher. I mostly helped hunt with my uncles and things. I went to college and found the love of my life. And the rest was pretty much explained by my wife. I didn't have much of a past to share so. But I appreciate you for listening." He said as he sat down. Langston was next in line to speak.

"Okay, so I was born in or around 1901. I can't really remember the rest. But I remember that I could have premonitions when I was a kid. It was scary knowing what was gonna happen before it did. It got so bad, that when I was 18, I admitted myself to an institution. I felt that I was going crazy. Um, this old lady, very pretty, like us, bite me. She said something about giving me a second chance. So I ran from the institution and meet up with Chloe. We found out where the Stavros family lived and joined them and the rest is history." he said. Poor thing, getting bit at age 18.

"Okay, my turn." Arabella began. "Alright, from what I can remember I was a very active young thing. I loved sports. I was 20 when I was changed. I was sky-diving and the plane crashed. Luckily I jumped from the plane in time. But it was too high up and my parachute got tangled so I fell about 50 ft. I landed in some trees and that's when Adonis found me. In the beginning, I couldn't stand this animal diet. It was totally cramping my style. But eventually I warmed up to it for my handsome Greek God." she said hugging Adonis at the waist. His mean demeanor turned into a happy one.

"Yeah, I don't want to get into my history with you. Sorry." he said with a smirk. Elena and A.J. gave him a cold stare. A.J. let him go and walked away. "Babe, come on." he said as he went after her.

"Chloe is there anything you'd like to add?" Elena asked. Chloe sadly shook her head no. "That's okay dear. You can tell your story when you're ready. Chloe's kind of new to this lifestyle. So forgive her if she acts differently."

"Don't worry, Chloe. I act weird all the time. It's no big deal." I reassured her. She smiled and looked at the ground. I'm sure if she could blush, she would have.

"Okay, guys I'm gonna show Zane the rest of the house." Riley said helping me up.

"It was nice meeting you. Oh, and we're gonna be some pretty awesome friends in the future." Langston said. I liked him already. I followed Riley upstairs and saw the wall of diplomas.

"Wow, there are so many diplomas." I said.

"Yeah, well we move around a lot so… But it's easier when we start out younger. The younger we are the longer we can stay in one place." Riley said as he led me to his room. When I walked in, I was in complete awe. He had so many books and music. I was finally in a place where I could stay forever. But I noticed something was missing from the equation.

"Um, where's the bed?" I asked him.

"Yeah, we don't sleep." he said. Okay…

"Like ever?"

"Nope, never." he said. I rubbed the back of my head.

"Okay. Um, let's see the music collection." I said as I walked over to his shelf.

"Yeah, Debussy is a classic." he said.

"So is Claire Del Lune." I said as I turned it on. The music filled the room. I closed my eyes and envisioned being at the concert. I opened them to find Riley in front of me. He grabbed my hand and twirled me. I scrunched my up face and let laughter pass through my lips.

"What?" he asked.

"Dancing isn't my thing." I said.

"Well, I could make you dance." he said testing me.

"Yeah, like I'm afraid of you." I said.

"Now see, you really should think before you speak." he said and threw me on his back and jumped out of his window. We landed on a tree. "Hang on tight, my little flying squirrel." he said as he climbed further up the tree. He stopped on a branch.

"Why'd we stop?" I asked.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

"Then keep your eyes shut." I couldn't do that and miss this. No way. He jumped from the tree we were on to a tree that was way too far for a human to reach. The wind blew through my hair as we sailed through the air. He landed on the tree and began to climb up. When we reached a certain branch, he let me go. I sat on a branch and looked out at Toronto. It was such a beautiful sight.

"This feels so illusory. Like it shouldn't be real." I said.

"Well, in my life, it is." he said as he climbed up further. I followed him. When we reached the top, it was an even more beautiful sight. He stood by me as we watched the sun set.

A/N: Okay I know kind of a corny ending, but it was late. So I hope you liked some of the back stories. Chloe's and Adonis' will come later. But for now read and review. And Meagan, do your thing girl read and review but message me the mistakes I've made. Thanks everybody. XOXO ShadowBeauty.