"Where have you been?!" Elly demanded angrily of Max at school the next day. The three of us were standing in the hall. The guys had already left to class, leaving us behind. Elly was pissed off at Max for leaving last night without asking their parents.

"I snuck out to spend the night over at Ava's new house!" he told her.

"Why?! Do you realize how furious mom and dad were this morning?!" Elly nearly yelled. Max shook his head in annoyance.

"No. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go to class. I'll deal with mom and dad later." he said, and then left. Elly turned on me, fuming. Oh great, now I had to hear it.

"I can't believe you! You should have called! Alec is going to get a piece of my mind too! I can't believe this!" she repeated herself. I stared at her in astonishment. Wow.

"PMSing much?" I asked innocently. She furiously glared at me. I offered a smile. As we headed to our classes, I sighed, thinking about the incident from yesterday.

Max and I were sworn to secrecy, and not even Elly could know. But then again, if I told her, I'm sure she would blurt it out in surprise and happiness. Alec was hot enough as it is, so him being a vampire would only -I nearly tripped over my own feet.

Did I just think Alec was hot? Oh God. I mentally slapped myself. Whatever imaginary spell he had over Elly was not going to work on me.

It was still hard to believe I knew a family of vampires. They didn't scare me one bit. It was the psychotic nightwalker that scared the hell out of me. And knowing now that I couldn't leave the house at nighttime annoyed me.

Nightwalkers and daywalkers. The psychotic vampires of the night and the reasonable, brilliant ones of the day. That…was annoying as well. They were too smart for their own good.

The school day went by normally, with Lukas and Alec teasing Max at lunchtime -though not as badly anymore considering he had blackmail- and Lukas flirting with random girls.

It was when last period came around that things suddenly became complicated. Elly sat next to me, and she looked slightly angry. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Other than the Max incident? Oh a lot of shit." she snorted. I raised an eyebrow.

"Liiiiike?" I motioned for her to continue.

"Well first, Alec cancelled our date to go to the movies. But he's letting me come over to the house, so… I guess I can't really be angry…but anyways! Second, Sienna Murphy is getting on my nerves!" she hissed.

I was slightly annoyed at the thought of Elly coming over and having to hear about her gush about Alec the whole time, but when she mentioned Sienna, my annoyance with Elly vanished and went to Sienna.

"What did she do?!" I demanded.

"She's threatening me!"

"About?"

Elly huffed and ran a hand through her pretty hair. "About Alec! She thinks she's so much better than me and that I don't deserve him!"

Well technically, you don't… I thought. She had no clue what Alec was. But I quickly wiped away that crude thought and laid a hand on her arm. "Just punch her in the face." I told her seriously. She let out a shaky laugh.

"Ohhh, no! That's not my spot. Your spot is in violence. You can do it." she smiled.

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks. Let me do your dirty work." I said sarcastically. She grinned.

"Thanks!"

I glared at her. "I never said I agreed!"

Elly gave me her puppy-dog face. I faltered. Damn. "Fine." I muttered. She squealed and hugged me. Class started.

"You invited her to the house?! Are you insane?" I demanded of Alec as we climbed into the car after school. Alec simply smirked at me.

"Jealous?" he asked. I snorted.

"You wish."

"Not really." he retaliated.

"I swear, if you so much as think of drinking her blood, I'll cut off your balls!" I hissed. The guys in the car went silent and stared at me.

"Ouch…" Lukas winced dramatically. I smiled at him.

"Oh, it's okay. It would only be Alec's. And then I'd give them in a jar to Elly as a keepsake of her precious vampire." I joked.

Alec stared at me incredulously. I blinked innocently at him. "You're deranged." he stated, and looked away from me.

I only took that as a compliment.

Before I knew it, it was Friday. The day that Elly was going to come over for dinner instead of a movie date. Max was going to stay with a friend instead of coming over with her.

After school, Elly hopped in the car with us. Want to know how she fit?

I was forced to lean against Brent as she sat on Alec's lap. What was worse is Alec kept playfully pinching her in inappropriate places… I think… And she kept giggling like a maniac.

Brent and I shared a look that clearly said, "Save me", because she was getting awfully annoying around Alec. It was like I didn't even know her anymore. Alec and I would definitely be talking about this later. I wanted my best friend back.

When we arrived back at the Darquecaster house, Elly was introduced properly to Claude, who had had the day off today thanks to Becca. Elly even flirted with Claude! It was unbelievable.

I was in the kitchen when the others were watching TV. I had refused to sit in there around Elly and Alec, so instead, I chose to clean dishes for dinner time. I was only halfway finished when Lukas walked in.

"Oh man. Their flirting makes me sick. Alec is totally playing her, I can just tell." Lukas muttered, walking to lean against the counter beside me. I glared at him.

"I warned him. If he hurts her…" I trailed off, scrubbing the plate a little more ferociously.

"Jeez, chill out. Don't break the porcelain." he said, rolling up his sleeves. "Want help?"

"No." I answered curtly. "I still haven't forgiven you for that one day."

Lukas looked clueless for a moment. Then he remembered. "Oh, really? Well I take back the insult. Your body was nice." he smiled toothily at the end.

I glared at him. "That just makes it worse."

He sighed and pushed me by the hip with a gentle nudge. But with me, it shoved me halfway across the counter. "Oops, sorry." he apologized. I stared at him, my hip kind of sore now.

"Control your strength!" I ordered, handing him the soapy washcloth. He smiled at me again and started washing the dishes. I helped rinse them.

"So…" he started a conversation. "what is it like living with vampires?"

"Drastic and scary. I'm afraid that every night you're going to enter my room, rape me, and then drink my blood." I lied, keeping my face serious. Lukas's head snapped toward me and he looked perturbed.

"I would never!"

I grinned. He frowned. "Juuuust kidding!" I laughed in a sing-song voice. He smirked and flung a handful of soapy, warm water at me. I gasped dramatically. "Oh! It's on!" I threatened, and ripped the rag out of his hand. He jumped back just before I snapped it at him, missing by a couple of centimeters.

Soap and water flung across the floor. Lukas did what looked a ballerina spin to dodge another snap from the rag.

"Hold still!" I shouted, while laughing. Lukas grinned and reached forward just before I threw the rag at his face. He grabbed my wrist to keep me from hitting him with it. I grabbed the rag with my other hand and he made a grab for that one too.

So I bit his offending fingers.

His eyes widened for what seemed like less than a millisecond, and then he pushed me against the counter island so fast it nearly made the world spin in my eyesight. I released his fingers to stare up at him in surprise.

His body, despite being cold against me, sent warm tingles through my chest and to my lower abdomen. His face was a centimeter from mine, and our lips were nearly touching.

My heart was beating so fast I thought it would break out of my chest. Why was I getting so uptight about kissing a guy? I'd kissed plenty of guys before… Lukas was no different…

But wait…he was. He was a lot different. He was a fucking vampire.

"Psyche!" Lukas suddenly laughed, and he pulled back .

"Wait…what?" I asked, dizzy. He held up the soapy rag and waved it around. My jaw dropped. "Y-you totally faked me out!" I hissed, shooting forward to grab the rag. It was on.

Lukas snickered and disappeared from my sight as if he'd just teleported. I stumbled forward and caught myself on the fridge.

"What the hell…?" I breath, and looked around. A whoosh of wind threw my air around me and then he was right in front of me again, wearing a different, dry shirt and the rag was in the sink. I stared at him in awe. "Wow…"

Lukas grinned. "What's the matter? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

I snapped my mouth shut and glared at him. "No, I think I just saw a vampire showing off."

"But it worked, didn't it?"

"But now I'm mad at you. Twice in a row."

"Wait, why the first time?"

"Because you 'psyched' me out before."

Lukas raised an eyebrow at me. Then he stepped forward. I unconsciously took a step back, my back meeting with the fridge. He leaned down so that I almost had to look cross-eyed at him.

"Would you rather me do this, instead?"

My breath got caught in my throat once more, and he brushed his lips against mine. I barely felt them, but they were soft and cool. It was like a feather against me. My brain went fuzzy and my eyes fluttered shut. Lukas kissed me again, pressing his lips firmly against mine. I let out a small moan, and I was just seconds from meeting his tongue with mine, when suddenly the kitchen door burst open. Lukas shot away from me in his "teleporting" amazingness and was at the sink again.

"Are you guys done with the dishes?!" Alec demanded, stalking into the kitchen. My knees caved in and I collapsed on the floor, staring wide-eyed at nothing ahead of me. At the same time I did, Lukas turned casually.

"Nope, sorry, not yet. What's your problem, Ava?" he asked nonchalantly. I shifted my eyes to look at him in shock. Wow, he was a great actor.

"I -uh…nothing."

Alec gave me a funny look. "Well then get the hell of the floor and start setting the table." he ordered. I opened my mouth to retort, but he interrupted with a hand in the air. "Claude's orders."

I shut my mouth and stood up. "Fine." I snapped. Alec glanced at me and then Lukas one more time curiously, and left the room. I spun on Lukas. "You could have steadied me, you jerk."

Lukas smiled and waved me away. I grabbed the clean dishes and went to the dining room with a frustrated huff. I came back into the kitchen afterwards.

"I didn't know you guys could eat." I suddenly said.

Lukas grimaced. "Well, we can, but afterwards we'll have to drink human blood. The food humans eat acts as a sponge and sucks up all the blood in our stomach."

"You better not drink from Elly." I warned.

"What about you? You left that option empty." he stated, smirking when I blushed. "Oh and I'm sure you'd like it if I started with kisses."

I blushed harder. "Shut up!" I hissed.

Dinner went better than usual, even though Elly was there. She was acting somewhat normal, because this time, Claude and Brent made sure she sat across from Alec.

I sat next to Elly, and Brent was on my other side. Lukas was across from me. "So how are your grades so far, Ava?" Claude asked me, starting casual conversation.

I paused eating and grimaced, thinking of Mrs. Hammott's progress report she'd given me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Brent grin. He had climbed into my mind again.

"I think she's doing juuuuust fine." Brent told Claude innocently. I threw him a thankful smile. Claude looked between us and raised an eyebrow.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Yes." Rylan sounded from the end of the table. Elly looked at him the same time I did. He was staring down at his plate with a distasteful face -probably the most emotion I had seen on his face so far- and once again his hair was covering his face messily.

And then Elly did the one thing I had been yearning to do ever since I'd seen him. She reached over casually and pushed a lock of his hair behind his ear. He froze, and so did everyone else at the table. Elly smiled, unaware of anything out of the ordinary, as she turned back to her plate.

Rylan continued to stare at her.

I felt something stir in my chest. I bit whatever the feeling was back, and stood up. "I'm done." I stated weakly, and grabbed my plate. Without a backwards glance, I walked to the kitchen and washed my dish. Then I walked straight to my room.

I sat on my bed, staring down at my hands. Why did I feel so strange? What was that feeling that had bubbled up into my chest when Elly merely did one simple, innocent thing? It couldn't have been jealousy…for chrissake, I liked Lukas the most. He was the first vampire to ever kiss me. Besides, Rylan and I knew absolutely nothing about each other personally. With how much he lacks in speaking and conversing, it would appear we wouldn't get to know each other anytime soon.

I sighed and threw myself back onto my bed, staring up at my canopy. The red netting around my bed cast red shadows over my walls thanks to the light. Out of boredom, I traced the shadow silhouettes with my eyes, willing the time to pass away before I fell asleep.

And that…was when my door slammed open. Ah, the knocking rule had been relinquished. I tilted my head and glared at the intruder. Brent.

"Hey! Everyone's taking turns on the Wii. Want to come join us?"

"I think there was a reason she left us in the first place, Brent." A new voice said. It was Claude. He peered at me with raised eyebrows. "Although…if you want to…"

"No thanks. I'm going to go to sleep." I answered. Brent and Claude shared a confused expression. Claude shrugged and walked away. Brent stepped into my room and I continued to glare daggers his way. "Usually that means leave."

Brent rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him. "Alright, talk to me. Every time you get pissy, your mind blocks me out somehow. So tell me what's on your mind."

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"It wasn't a question."

I huffed and turned away from him. I felt my bed move, and then he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me onto my back so we could face each other. He was leaning against my bedpost.

"Go away."

Brent snorted. "I'd like to see you make me." When I didn't reply, he then added, "So speak."

I dramatically threw my hands into the air. "When Elly touched Rylan I got all jealous, butIthinkit''tthinkIevenlikehimand-"

"Okay, okay. I understand. Although I'm not a chick so I don't completely understand…"

I groaned. "You're a lot of help!" I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. He chuckled and hit me in the face with it. I grabbed a hold of it and kicked against his chest to shove him off my bed.

And of course, with his stupid, cheating vampire reflexes, he grabbed my ankle and pulled me with him. We ended up on the floor, laughing. I interrupted his laughing with a pillow in his face. Within a minute he then stopped moving…completely.

I froze for an instant, and then yanked the pillow away from him. He was dead. Oh my God! I killed Brent!

I panicked. "Brent?!" I cried out, shaking him by the shoulders.

Shit! I should have paid attention in Healthy Safety class! I wracked my brain for a quick answer. "Nine-one-one!" I gasped, standing up quickly. I moved to rush to the door. Someone grabbed my ankle.

I squealed in surprise and fell face first into the ground. The person turned me over and straddled my waist. Brent. He smirked down at me. My eye twitched. "You faked me out!" I hissed accusingly. He snickered.

"And it worked damn well, too! It seems you care about me!" He began tickling me. I squealed and giggled some more, pushing against him. My door swung open once more.

Okay, the next person to enter without knocking was going to get punched in the damn face. "Wow, really? We leave you two alone for ten minutes and this is where you end up?" Alec assumed. I looked up and blushed.

"N-no! We were -it was….we…." I began spluttering furiously Brent casually moved away from me and stood up. I sat up quickly, brushing my hair down.

Alec leaned against my doorframe and shot a glare toward Brent. Or at least, that was what I thought it looked like. But it quickly vanished to a smirk. "Lukas wants to race you on Mario Kart."

Brent laughed and nodded. "Alright." he bid me goodnight and left my room. Alec and I stared at each other for a long moment before I blushed and looked away. God, he'd just accused me of getting intimate with Brent!

"So…what were you two doing?" he asked carefully, not moving from his position against my doorframe.

"Why does it matter?" I demanded irritably, standing up. I brushed off my clothes and glared over at him. Alec's eyes darkened, much like they had before in the bathroom; when his pupils had dilated dramatically.

My heart sped up. I remembered the reason why Lukas had held him back before. Alec was going to attack me had he not.

"Go away." I ordered, though it came out weakly.

Alec's eyes became black.

"The food humans eat acts as a sponge and sucks up all the blood in our stomach." Lukas's voice fled into my mind. Alec was hungry for blood, and I was a walking morsel. I thought about screaming, but when I opened my mouth, no sound came out.