I am mega sorry because I broke my update every day streak again. Man I need to stop being lazy. Since I have no homework I am able to luckily update today. Everybody say yay. If I get a snow day tomorrow I will try to put up two chapters to make up for the day skip. Enjoy the new chapter.

VV

Chapter Nine: Cold Ones

"Where are you supposed to be?" He asked me as he brought the car to a stop. I blinked stupidly at the question as if he was asking me how many times I've been to the bathroom today. After a short period of silence he glanced at me expectantly. His eyes glowed in the dim glow of the street light he had parked under and I quickly looked away, avoiding his hypnotizing gaze.

"Um…I was supposed to meet Dani and Jeannette at the restaurant across from the dress shop." I explained. My voice was weak and shy which surprised me. I cleared my throat then glanced back at him again as he got the car moving again. For a guy who just got his permit he had the driving skills of a race car driver. "Are you okay…because you were sorta having an anxiety attack." I said hesitantly.

"I'm fine." He sighed while closing his eyes for a few seconds before focusing on the road again. It didn't take long for us to reach the restaurant. Dani's mother was sitting in her Volvo while Dani and Jeannette stood outside the car. The doors of the Ferrari slid up and both Freddie and I stepped out.

"Sam!" Dani said as soon as she saw me. She rushed over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders. Jeannette stood behind her with a concerned expression on her face. "Where have you been?"

"We were just about ready to call the cops and report you missing." Jeannette inserted. I don't know if she was just joking or if she was actually serious; I was going with the latter. I removed Dani's hands from my shoulders and smiled sheepishly.

"See what had happened was…" I began but Freddie quickly cut me off just making Dani and Jeannette aware of his existence.

"She was with me. We crashed into each other and we just started talking. My sincerest apologies for the worry we put you through." He said in that charming and persuading tone that sounded very similar to Carly's sweet, innocent one. These Shay's must be really good liars because even I believed Freddie and I actually know what happened. The innocent smile on his perfect face added to the effect.

"No…no it's fine. We understand that those things happen, right Jean?" Dani laughed awkwardly as she glanced at Jeannette shoving the shy girl in the spotlight. Jeannette instantly became flustered and her cheeks flushed as she pushed up her glasses and avoided looking in Freddie's face.

"Y-Yea, it happens. We were just…" She trailed off as if she had lost her train of thought. I mentally chuckled at the two of them Freddie seemed to have this weird effect on people that made them instantly nervous and confused…I should know.

"We were just leaving." Dani laughed loudly. Freddie's smile widened and I nearly started to stare but my ego and dignity stopped me. Jeannette elbowed Dani in the ribs and Dani stopped laughing and gave her a glare. "So Sam…" She began but Freddie cut off someone for the second time tonight.

"I'll take her home. She was just telling me about how hungry she was so I decided to buy her dinner to make up for how long I kept her. I hope you don't mind." He said sweetly while craning his neck to the side. Dani and Jeannette shook their heads frantically while backing up back to Dani's mother's Volvo.

"It's cool! We'll talk later Sam." Jeannette said with a sheepish grin as she opened the door to the back seat. I nodded with a slight smile.

"By the way, nice ride Fredward." Dani laughed again. I shot her a look and she quickly slipped into her car. Freddie chuckled lightly as they drove away and I let out an exasperated sigh. They were really embarrassing at times; that was one of those times.

"Well, I did promise to get you fed." Freddie sighed as he gestured towards the restaurant. I cracked a sarcastic smile before rolling my eyes as I walked into the restaurant. He awkwardly cleared his through before quickly following me.

We got seated quickly and our waitress was a girl that looked to be out two years older than us. She smiled at Freddie and I narrowed my eyes at her. I wouldn't admit I was jealous…there was no way I was jealous. I was simply being…protective. Freddie paid the waitress no mind and smiled at me; I pursed my lips in response.

"Well aren't you going to order anything Sam?" He questioned. I glanced down at the menu and decided on getting a simple ham sandwich. I wasn't that hungry but if I had the opportunity to eat ham I was going to take it. Ham was and forever will be my best friend.

"I'll just get a ham sandwich." I said with fake sweetness as I glared at the waitress. She kept her back to me and continued to smile at Freddie. I was just about ready to pull her hair at this point.

"What about you? Can I get you anything?" She asked him as sweetly as she could. It nearly sounded like she was giggling. That annoyed me more than Travis and Ethan did put together. I rolled my eyes because I felt as though there was more to that question then food.

"No thank you; I'm fine." He said as he continued to stare at me. He leaned back in his chair as he focused on me as if he were trying to read me. I shifted in my seat and the waitress pouted as she glanced at me. I smirked lightly.

"Okay…" She trailed off before quickly striding away from our table. It didn't take long for my food to come and I was tempted to scarf the food down quickly but the way Freddie kept staring at me had me eating the sandwich with a fork and knife which made no sense in my mind.

"So why aren't you eating?" I asked before popping a piece of the sandwich into my mouth. He shrugged as he kept his eyes locked on me. This whole staring thing got on my nerves now, but in the back of my mind I was glad that he was paying attention to me.

"I'm on a special diet." He explained. I chuckled at this statement. He sounded like a girl in my opinion. He cocked an eyebrow at me and I quickly swallowed so that I could get back to my questioning. There were still a lot of questions that needed answers.

"So, you need to give me some answers because I'm sick of this seek and find you got me doing." I said before taking a sip of my sprite. He sighed before nodding. Maybe I was actually going to get somewhere this time.

"Um…ok. Yes, no, to get to the other side, SpongeBob, 1.77254…" I began. My expression fell as my agitation returned. Was he trying to get on my bad side or did he just want to die really soon because this was annoying me.

"I'm not that good in math so you can just shut up." I snapped, cutting him off completely. He shrugged and slumped in his seat with a smug, crooked smile on his face. I wanted to make him regret ever toying with me. He was just a really stupid, really hot dork. Where did he get off?

"Yea, you don't exactly seem like the model student type." He said as he played with a fork on his side of the table I rolled my eyes and decided to take a more straight forward approach with my questioning if I planned on getting anywhere.

"How'd you know where I was?" I sighed leaning back in my own seat and leaving my ham sandwich forgotten. His eyes darted to the floor and that's when I knew I was actually striking a nerve. I tilted my head with interest as I stared at him expectantly.

"I didn't." he muttered. I narrowed my eyes at him before standing up without a word and picking up my jacket. He glanced at me and raised his hands in protest. "No, don't leave…" He said in a low tone. I pursed my lips and took a seat again.

"Did you follow me?" I asked jumping straight to conclusions. He lowered his gaze in a guilty manner and I laughed dryly at the now obvious answer. He glanced up at me with his Topaz eyes that held guilt and amusement.

"It's just that…I don't know…" he sighed shaking his head. He leaned across the table closer to me. "I don't understand why but I feel very protective of you." He said in a low tone. I gave him a strange look; was he serious?

"So you followed me around like a stalker? I don't need a bodyguard; I can handle myself." I informed him pointing a finger at him. He glanced at my finger before leaning back into his chair and looking me in the eye once again. My agitation seemed to wither away at that point.

"I was keeping a distance just in case you needed me…and when I heard what those low lives were thinking I just couldn't stand in the shadows anymore." He confessed with a shrug. I stared at him in shock and confusion. I took note of the pure sincerity and concern in his tone for later recognition.

"Wait…did you just say you heard what they were thinking?" I questioned. It came out as a chuckle due to the fact that, that sounded simply insane. "Are you saying that you can read minds?"

"I can read every mind in this room." He said hesitantly. He pointed to a man sitting with a group of people and I looked in that general direction. "Sex….money…" he said pointing to another man who was sitting at the bar. "Sex…" he said pointing to the girl who was our waitress. I grit my teeth. "Money…cat…" He said pointing from a business woman to an old man. Hi gaze then fell on me and he pointed at me. "And with you…nothing. It's like your mind has a fire wall that I can't get past. It's very frustrating."

"What? Is there something wrong with me?" I asked with a shrug. He laughed openly and shook his head at me. I was confused as to what was so funny. This was probably the reason why he always stared at me; he was trying to read my mind. That was one piece of the puzzle that seemed to become easier to place but there was still things that remained unclear to me.

"I tell you that I can read minds and you think there's something wrong with you?" His confusion made that more of a question than a statement. My cheeks flushed and I narrowed my eyes into a glare. I hated the fact that I now blushed unwillingly. He smiled in a bittersweet way at me and I scrutinized the sad look.

"What's wrong?" I asked although normally I wouldn't care. He seemed like a walking form of emotions and problems. I wasn't saying he was emo…he was just never that bright or excited; more drawn in and cautious.

"It's just that…" he began hesitantly. He looked up at me and locked his topaz eyes on my blue ones. His eyes seemed to hold everything he was feeling, but he still seemed impossible to understand. I wasn't a girl to be so affected just by one little stare down but there was something about Freddie that just wasn't normal. "I don't think I can stay away from you anymore." He breathed.

My heart seemed to skip a beat at those words and I searched his expression for any hint that he might be kidding but his expression seemed permanently fixed in a serious and sincere look. I tried to tear my gaze away from his face but found it nearly impossible. My cheeks heat up in a blush and I held back a smile.

"Then don't stay away Freddo." I sighed smirking lightly. He smiled softly at me.

"Okay I think I'm warm now…" I muttered. He had turned on the heat in the car as we sped away from Bates at a good 100 miles per hour and I was beginning to get over heated. I reached for the heater knob at the same time as him and our hands brushed. My eyes widened at how freezing cold his hand was. It wasn't a normal cold either. He quickly drew back his hand and I left the heat the way it was. By the way his hand felt, he needed it.

"Sorry…" He muttered as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. You'd think that with such a tight grip that he would get white knuckles but his knuckles were already white so what did it matter. Standard rules did not apply to him.

I could hear sirens in the distance and I recognized my father's Police Charger sitting in the front of a docking area that was near Auburn Lake. My eyes widened as I realized that something had happened.

"Wait, that's my dad's car." I said. Freddie immediately pulled up into the docking area. An ambulance was there as well which meant that this wasn't just a normal breaking and entering. I swallowed.

"That's my father's car…what is he doing here?" Freddie questioned as I spotted the familiar jet black Benz that the Shay family got dropped off in on a regular basis. As soon as we stepped out the car Dr. Shay was coming from inside the docking house that was on the edge of the lake shore.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Freddie asked. Spencer looked up at him and shook his head before running a hand through his hair.

"Another…animal attack. It was most likely by the same animal that caused a death last week. Um Sam your father is inside. The man who got killed was actually a friend of his; you might want to go be with him." Spencer said grimly. I glanced at him and then Freddie who just nodded as if to tell me to go ahead and I entered the docking house. My father was standing near an area where the docking house connected to the dock itself and I placed a hand on his back. He turned and glanced at me, his expression was heart wrenching.

"Hey Dan…" I said cautiously. He didn't respond he just wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I was never good with these types of things so I awkwardly wrapped my arms around him in a hug.

"Sam…promise me that you'll be careful. These attacks are getting closer towards town." He said as he stroked my blonde hair. I nodded knowing that Dan needed some reassurance. He let out a sad sigh and reached into his pocket before handing me a can of spray. I looked at the can and gave Dan an incredulous look.

"Pepper spray?" I questioned. He smiled at me weakly and I was happy for the effort. I smiled back as I shoved the can into my pocket.

"Keep it just in case. It would make me feel better." He said. I nodded again and gave him another hug. Losing a friend, especially under these circumstances wasn't the funniest thing in the world so I believe this was a time for me to actually act like a daughter and not that kid who eats his ham and steals his credit cards.

"I found my discovery card…" he began. My eyes widened.

"Hehe…really…"

When I had gotten home that night I hadn't left Dan in the living room with his couch cushions as his company. I actually attempted to make him dinner just to make him feel better but I nearly burnt the house down so he said he could handle it. We just watched television for a few hours before I said I was tired. I wasn't really but I had something to do.

I ran straight to my room and cracked open the book I had just obtained today. The first thing that popped out to me was the term Cold Ones, which were the supposedly enemy clan to the Kora tribe. I typed Cold One into Google and a bunch of things popped up. I clicked on one that said beliefs around the world and it began to give descriptions of what these creatures were.

They took on the form of humans…blood…eternal life…pale complexion…cold hard skin…color changing eyes…incredible speed and strength.

All of these things seemed familiar. I stared at my computer screen in complete shock and I could believe what I was reading. This was all the description of one thing; vampires…but it sounded like it was describing…Freddie.

"Oh my God…" I muttered under my breath while shaking my head. Everything became clear at that moment but I couldn't make the feeling of shock go away. This was simply impossible; vampires only existed in scary stories…not real life…right?

The puzzle was finally complete then, because I understood now.

Thank you very much for reading and now I am going to leave it at that so you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for the next chapter. I hope this was a good chapter, although it was much shorter than the last one but I was trying to leave a good cliff hanger. Now do what ya gotta do and Pweez review (It encourages me to update)

V i D a V e N d E t T a . . .