Ohai guys, sorry it's been so long. I've been in the process of moving houses, which resulted in me not having the internet for a week; also to top that off, I was ill. How fantastic? Haha. I'm back now, with this extra long chapter!

Enjoy, and review :D

Four.

Zac was worried. I could tell as soon as he began speaking to me. There I sat, opposite from him lounging on the couch. I was trying my best to sound indifferent, but from what I could tell, it wasn't working.

'Just finish having your fun and leave the damn class already!' He exploded.

'You cannot tell me what to do Isaac. The school doesn't belong to you; I have every right to go'.

'Not if you plan on eating my best friend!'.

I rolled my eyes 'You make it sound like I'm a monster. I'm not going to kill him' I spoke quietly but strongly.

'You better not, just stay away from him Nina' Zac whined and stalked off into his room. I sighed and got up, feeling the weight of the phone in my pocket. I was bored; extremely and excruciatingly bored out of my brain. When I ran out of the class earlier, I came straight home. I wanted to hunt, needed to kill, but my body bought me here instead.

Maybe I could lure my kill right to me... Hmm. No Just leave him now and wait.

But there was one thing I could do...

'You're an animal!' Maxine choked and put down her drink with enough force to break the glass. I didn't know how many drinks id gotten through, but a lot was my guess. My sight was only beginning to go grey at the edges, and I could hear a continuous buzz at the back of my head. I laughed and held out my glass to be refilled. Joel, Maxine's boyfriend, came straight over and filled it with whisky.

'Take it easy you two. I don't wanna be responsible for you both' He announced with a grin.

'I'm being a lightweight tonight, unlike Neens here' Maxine replied, toying with a piece of her short red hair.

I'd known Maxine and Joel for around 30 years, they'd become great friends of mine. My only friends really, I didn't socialise well.

The bar was pretty quiet, with not many vamps as usual. Joel had managed to fish out some half decent whisky from the basement that Leo had hidden, which made everything more fun. But it took a lot to get me drunk, because I was only just starting to feel the effects.

'So then sugar, what have you been up to lately? I've heard you've fount a human pet' Maxine's Australian accent sounded amused.

'Not really' I spoke after a few moments, not exactly sure of what to say.

She cocked a burgundy brow and swirled on the stool to face me. 'You should understand by now that I won't judge you on whether you decide to have a human partner. But I do advise you to be careful, because you don't want to bet getting involved in something you'll regret'.

I gulped down the rest of my drink and shoved away the glass, perfectly emotionless when I replied. 'Don't worry; I'm old enough to know what I'm doing. But the thing is, I'm not sure yet of what I am going to do. So just step out of business, alright Max?'.

With a frown on my face I made my way out of the bar, I knew I shouldn't have said that to Maxine, but I just couldn't help it. I was so aggravated and confused. I stood at the side of the road; the sun was going down and few cars drove past. I could feel tears threatening to spill, and a horrible feeling at the back of my throat. But I pushed them away violently. There was no way I would cry. I was better than that.

I jerked away when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

'Are you okay Nina?' Joel had come up beside me. I turned my head to see his face full of concern; his blue eyes crinkled at the edges, and his blonde hair blowing in the wind.

'No I'm not, and it's not something you and Max need to stress about. It's my problem that I plan on fixing on my own'.

He nodded and made his way back to the door, turning back to me before he entered. 'It's about time you let someone in Nina, because no-one deserves to be alone in their life, no matter what they've done.

I spent the next three days at home in my room. Isaac didn't bother to ask what was going on, and I only left to hunt or to take a shower. I'd called and asked the school to send Xander a message that I was ill and couldn't come in to practice for the performance. I was being pathetic, weak and immature. But I couldn't muscle up the strength to do anything about it. I was wallowing in my brain.

At around 5pm on Friday, I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I groaned and got out of bed, nearly crawling over to the door. I unlocked it; it opened before I had the chance to move. I was taken aback and knocked out of the way, only to see a tall, curvy figure grinning at me.

'Hi, I'm here to get you ready!' Marilyn chimed and skipped into the room, dragging in two suitcases.

'Excuse me, what for?' I grumbled, running a hand across my face before standing.

'The masquerade' She said and rolled her eyes, opening the curtains to the balcony. 'And I wont take no for an answer missy, there is no way you're cancelling on my friend'.

'Isaac!' I shouted.

'I'm not saying sorry, just do what she says!' He shouted back over rumbles of laughter.

I couldn't grasp the fact that Zac was fine with letting a human in the house. I was furious when I realised Marilyn, Xander, and god knows who else had been before.

'Right, go hop in the shower, I need a clean canvas if I'm gonna work with ya' Marilyn smiled and began emptying the suitcases.

I tried to take as long as possible in the shower, but after twenty minutes, Marilyn was already pestering to get me out.

I could just kill her. I giggled. But if I did, there would be no way in hell that Isaac would forgive me.

At 7:30, my hair and makeup was complete. Marilyn had insisted that it had to be straightened, which made it look long and silky; she'd also made sure I was wearing nice light makeup, even though I stubbornly protested.

'How about this one?' She held up a small white dress that looked like it belonged in a lingerie store.

'Are you kidding?' I cocked an eyebrow. She pouted and picked up a few others.

I ended up choosing a long sleeved black lace dress with a high neckline, it ended halfway down my thighs, accentuating my deathly pale legs. Marilyn was wearing a pink corset dress, just long enough so she wouldn't look like a hooker; it made her look like a piece of bubblegum.

'What do you think?' She asked me, twirling a full circle and anxiously toying with her extremely long peroxide pink hair.

'It's great' I lied. I didn't know whether to be happy or not about the masquerade. Whether it went great, or if it was a disaster, I knew I would get a tasty young snack.

'Oh yeah! Before I forget, I got these for us' She handed me a delicate black mask that covered around my eyes, it was plain but very pretty. I nodded my thanks and exited the hell room; Isaac was standing in the kitchen, talking to someone who had his back facing me.

'It looks like a nuclear bomb has been dropped in there, it'll take ages to tidy it' I nearly growled.

Noticing my arrival, they both turned to me. Zac was wearing a deep blue shirt and dark jeans, whereas Xander, looked fantastic; he looked taller – if that was even possible – in an all black tuxedo, his hair was also straightened and fell into one of his jewel green eyes. He didn't smile like I thought when he acknowledged me, but his lips dropped open slightly.

'Hello' I managed a greeting. Now he smiled, like a million light bulbs as he came over to me, stopping barely a foot away. The ridiculously high heels Marilyn had forced on me only barely made me reach his shoulder.

'You look stunning'.

'Right that's it, off we go!' Marilyn bounced through the door then, thankfully taking the attention away from the awkwardness.

'Are you feeling better now then Nina?' Xander politely asked when we climbed into Zac's jeep.

'I was never ill'.

My response triggered a dirty look from Zac through the mirror, it also made Xander fidget and stare out of the window.

'Oh it looks great!' Marilyn swooned when we arrived, she eagerly climbed out of the car and we followed.

The auditorium was crowded with hundreds of students and professors, bright luminous lights scattered the ceiling like stars, in the middle on the large room, was the dance floor, with smoke machines that made it gloomy , like distant galaxies.

'I'm gonna go and get us some drinks' I smiled mischievously. If I was going to survive the night I'd need to have alcohol.

'I'll come with' Isaac stated.

With a frown I slithered through the dancing bodies, some dancing suggestively, some not really attempting to dance at all. A group of guys were at the stand, laughing whilst their eyes raked the place nervously. They were like little school children.

'Hello boys' I locked eyes with each of the four, instantly gripping them into compulsion.

'Nina lets just get the drinks and go' Zac grumbled into my ear.

Ignoring him I carried on 'Could you do me a favour?' I leaned over the table and lowered my voice. 'Liven up this stupid excuse for a party with alcohol, whisky, and vodka, whatever. I want you to put it in the drinks, anything you want, stronger the better' I smiled as they complied, nodding their heads like porcelain dogs. I turned around; Isaac wore a face of fury and disgust.

'Oh come on, you should be grateful, let yourself go a bit'.

'This is a bad idea, what you're doing is childish'.

'Really? The why did you not stop me?' My eyes were slits as I barged past him, going back the way I came through the bodies, I almost didn't hear it when Zac murmured.

'Because I was hoping you'd grow up and stop yourself'.

Review responses:

Laura: Thank you for your reviews and your help! I hope that the story is less confusing for you now, haha :D And I agree, I like the idea of Nina and Xander together... we'll see how it goes

Untill next time...