12. you make my heart skip a beat
Beca Mitchell, that's me. I'm a vampire, you know, a bloodsucking, sun shy, coldblooded, dead and really athletic vampire. I'm one of the few people in this university that follows the night course, this basically means my classes are at night instead of day and my lessons are mostly one on one since I'm like one out 5 following this program. My teachers are different from the normal teachers as well, they're normal humans, they just choose to teach to trade a few days of teaching for nights of teaching. I have a sun allergy, that's what I tell everyone who asks, not many ask though. Because they never see me, I sleep when they're awake and I'm awake when they're asleep. it gets lonely, but my daily walks, sorry, nightly walks are good enough for now.
I headed to the shower a few minutes ago, before I have to go to class. Then this redhead jumps in on me and I try to cover my body they best I possibly can, not the goodies, nope, I'm proud of those. I just don't need her to see all the scars and tattoos on my body, I have been dead for a while and I've gotten in a fair amount of trouble. I have to say that it was mostly not my fault, shit happens at night that won't happen in brought daylight… I don't feel like explaining anything to this stranger. So I politely listen to her and does as she asks, when she tells me to join her singing group I say "I can't"
She looks at me with a confused expression "why not"
"I'm not capable to join an activity in the day because that's when I sleep, my classes are at night, I'm allergic to the sun. in fact, I have to be in class in thirty minutes so if you'll excuse me" I grab my stuff and make my way back to my single dorm, they thought it be better to make sure I don't have a roommate so we won't wake each other with our different schedules. I'm happy with it. Walking to class I remember the first time I got shot, I was wearing my headphones at the time so I didn't notice it until I got home. I know it sounds really silly but I was wearing my favourite coat and it was soaked with blood, from that day forward I stopped listening to music as loud as before so I could still be aware of my surroundings. Classes pass and I find myself back in my room before the sun rises, this leaves me enough time to go for a run. Maybe even the gym, there is this 24 hour gym off campus and that has literary saved my life multiple times, really! If I hadn't been able to work out I would've grown weaker by the day and then maybe I wouldn't have been able to fight off the many attacks I've had while wondering the dark streets off campus.
So I do as I said I would and have a nice workout, for too long though. When I'm about to walk out the door I see that the sun is rising, shit, this is bad. I decide to make a break for it, as I run through the streets I feel my exposed skin burn slowly. Too late I realise this is not gonna work, turning back is not an option right now and it'll take me at least 10 more minutes to get back to my room, in which I will get severe burns on both my neck and hands. So I do the first thing that comes to mind and get in an alley, no sun in here. A wave of relieve washes over my body and I sit down, catching my breath as I contemplate on what to do next. The only reasonable thing would be to wait for the sun to go down but that would also be the most uncomfortable thing to do, since I wouldn't be able to sleep. Maybe I can run the last bit when there are clouds shielding me from the sun, I check the weather but of course, it's gonna be a lovely sunny day. I guess I could call my father… but I really rather sit here all day than go to him for help, I don't think he'd even help me. The poor man didn't know what to do when he found out his daughter was a vampire, not only his only child but also his wife. So he ran, who wouldn't, still, it wasn't a very nice thing to do. To leave Beca and her mom behind, well, shit happens, nothing to do about it now.
Without me noticing somebody approached me,
"Hi!" oh my god, it's that redhead again, as if this day couldn't get any worse. Now this over happy human shows up out of nowhere and expects me to be social and bubbly like her, well newsflash, I haven't slept in 28 hours and it's taking a toll on me. I'm Beca Mitchell and I like my sleep. Instead of saying this out loud I go with "hey"
"are you alright? What are you doing here"
"I'm waiting for the sun to disappear, so I can go home" I sound sadder than I actually am but I can't help it, this situation is pretty shitty. The redhead looks like she's deep in thought when all of the sudden she sprints off without a warning, weird. I get up and put up my hood, put my hands in my pockets and attempt walking out on the street with my head down. I can handle it, it's hot though and I know I'll regret this later. Then it feels less hot on my head and I raise it and see an umbrella hovering above me, Red is holding it with a big smile on her face, her smile is infectious. I smile too, not smirk like normally but real smile "thanks Red" and we walk back together in silence.
Thanks to the redhead I'm still alive, she even walks me to my dorm despite all the weird looks we're getting. Even though we didn't talk much I learned a few things about the redhead, her name is Chloe but I'm gonna stick with Red, I like that better. Red is 20 years old and is now a senior, with a major in music history. I also got her number, and with that I think I made a friend… I'm not quite sure, never had too many friends, ya know, with the whole being a vampire thing. Oh shit, how am I supposed to be friends with a human, she lives in the day and I do at night, she needs to eat, sleep and most importantly breath and I… I don't. should I tell her? She'll freak out, that's for sure. Who wouldn't, after finding out one of their friends is a dead person that drinks blood to survive, has no heartbeat, can't feel pain and can't die unless being stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake. Yeah, I don't know either man. Who the hell came up with that, well, in this case it's true. That's not the only bullshit thing anyone can read about vampires that is actually true, I don't like garlic for starters and silver makes me weak. I don't sleep in a coffin, my eyes are gold and they glow in the dark, it looks really weird, anyone who sees it either stares or thinks they're crazy for seeing what they are seeing. It probably looks really weird, I haven't seen myself often, my reflection in mirrors leaves sometimes, it just doesn't show. And then when I try again 5 minutes later I can see myself but ya know, whatever.
I go to my desk and open a secret hidden fridge, there are 7 bottles of blood in there, I open one and take a sip. I don't often go out and suck the blood out of a person, I usually go to the hospital, I got a friend there who hooks me up and I'm really good at going long without feeding so I don't need a lot.
The following nights the redhead is on my mind a lot, I even dreamt about her once which is really weird since I often can't remember my dreams, I even doubted that I have them but this is proof that I do. It wasn't a sexy dream, I swear! God, even the thought of that would make my cheeks go red, if I still had the ability to blush, but I don't, so thank the lord for that. on one particular night I make my way to the library, it seems like the perfect time to work on that paper that is due next week. I have 2 cups of coffee in my hands and a bag with my laptop, it's a weird habit I picked up last year. I don't think one cup of coffee is enough caffeine for my body to even react the smallest bit, so I always get 2. Everyone always thinks I got my friend a cup but since it's the middle of the night and I don't have many friends nor people that see me, I receive no comments about it whatsoever. As I'm wondering around looking for the perfect place to sit I spot a familiar face, well, not face, I spot a familiar hair colour. Red, it must be Chloe, she's the only ginger I've ever seen at Barden and although that doesn't say much I'm pretty sure it's her. I make my way over without making a sound, that's a thing "we" do, we're really good at hiding and sneaking around. I take a seat next to Red and see that she's asleep, her books still opened underneath her. She looks cute and I find myself staring at her beautiful face, a face that I've only seen smiling, this is different though. She looks so at peace right now, I don't want to disturb her but it would be really creepy if I just sat here and kept looking so I gently wake her up. She slowly opens her eyes and groans, she looks around confused and her eyes flash with recognition when she meets mine.
"hey sleepyhead, what you doing here so late" I keep my voice down, we're still in the library after all
"I was just studying, why are you already awake" she takes out her phone and sees a few texts, all are asking where she is "It's only like 8 ish- oh my god, it's 3!" she looks at me with a worried expression "Bree must be so worried, oh no wait, she had a date tonight" I listen to her talk as it is like music to my ears and I put one of the coffees in front of her "so that's why I left to study, there's no way I can go back to that place tonight" Red thankfully takes a sip of her drink "did you know I was here or do you always just randomly bring 2 coffees, were you meeting someone here and I fucked it up. Well, shit, I'm sorry"
"no worries Red, I just drink a lot of coffee, as for the sleeping, you can crash at mine" I offer, accepting that my paper will have to wait, no idea who this Bree is but I'm sure I hear about her later "that might be more comfortable than this table in the middle of the library, come one. I know you can't refuse my offer" I grab my bag and quickly finish my coffee while I wait for Red to grab her stuff, then I take her hand and lead her to my dorm. Once we're inside I throw her a big shirt and some shorts. 5 minutes later she's laying on my bed, I can see her falling asleep, she seems to be fighting it. So I ask her why, then she mumbles "I want you to cuddle with me" and I gladly do so. I run my hands through her hair and massage her scalp with my fingertips, the other girl relaxes immediately and falls asleep short after. I keep playing with her hair for a while and I can't help but fall asleep myself.
Another dream
We're walking down the beach, at night, looking up to the stars. We're holding hands and just the feeling of our skin touch makes my whole body tingle, it's a good night. You know what I am, and you accept it. You are my wife and I am yours, I look at our hands and when I look back up you're gone. You're standing a few meters ahead, showing your teeth to me. A thing only vampires do, you did this to me, you say and then you start to fade. I scream and try to take a hold on you but all I grab is air. The wind picks up and a loud male voice starts talking, I'd recognize that voice everywhere "you're worth nothing, you're a monster, you have to die to keep the others save" another voice makes its way through, this one is slightly familiar as well "you're save, I'm here Becs, I'm not gonna l let anyone hurt you" wait that's Chloe
And I wake up, I take a deep breath and my eyes find the blue ones in front of me, they're filled with concern. I smile at her "thank you"
"of course, are you alright? It sounded like you were having a nightmare"
I nod "I was, but now I'm good" these dreams are from my past but I can't tell Red the story without telling her about me being a vampire and I think she might freak out and run. So yeah, I don't really know what to do with that, I don't wanna seem like a really closed off person but how can I not? I look at Chloe and see all the fine details in her face, the smooth skin and adorable freckles. I tilt my head slightly to the right, what would she taste like? I think she's different from all the other people, nobody's blood tastes the same, maybe to humans but us vampires are capable of tasting blood like humans taste food. Wait, why am I thinking of this, I should not be having these thoughts. She is my only friend, why am I thinking of killing her?! Jesus Christ, what the fuck is wrong with me. She's saying something, come on idiot, snap out of it. Focus!
"I'm sorry, what were you saying"
"I was asking if you wanted to go out sometime"
"a date?" Chloe looks nervous and I can't help the smirk forming on my face "I'd love to go on a date with you Red"
XXXX
She took me to a 24-diner and I loved it, the food was not necessary but the company was awesome and she was really considerate with the fact that I can't go out in the sun. I didn't eat much and I do believe she notices but she didn't ask any questions, I can feel she wants to. As we walk back to campus we're silent, it's peaceful but the unasked questions hover in the air around us, it's annoying. "you can ask" I say, taking Chloe's hand and giving it a squeeze.
"if you're sure, you barely ate anything, didn't you like it"
I chuckle and am about to answer as I see a man stepping out of an alley in front of us, he's holding a gun. I quickly pull Chloe behind me and try to reason with the dude but he's not having it, he wants my money. I refuse
He shoots, the bullet hits my stomach and Chloe screams. I don't even flinch, instead I look down at the hole in my jacket "oh come on man, I love this jacket" seeing he didn't take me out as he hoped he puts his gun away, turns around and makes his way out of here. I turn to my date and see her looking at me with the biggest eyes I've ever seen, she's in shock I thinks. But she never let go of my hand "let's go back, I'll tell you everything there, okay?" she nods and I lead her back to my dorm, there I take off my clothes and try to get the bullet out, it's not working. I feel a warm hand on mine, stopping my movements and I see Chloe. My skin tingles as her fingers gently do what I've been failing to do for the past minutes, only 5 minutes later I'm sitting on the bed with Chloe by my side.
"I don't know where to start"
Chloe scoots closer and puts her head on my shoulder "what about the beginning?"
"okay, yeah, hang on. When I was 11 I was bitten by something, I thought it was an animal but after that day I started to change and I became who I am now. My parents found out shortly after and my mom still loved me but my dad couldn't get over it so he ran, my mom died shortly after that and then I was alone. I managed to finish school payed for with the money I got from multiple jobs, I lived on the streets though and at that time it was really useful I didn't have to eat. Now I should probably get to the point, so here goes nothing" I take a deep breath "I'm a vampire" I feel Chloe stiffen and she gets up quickly, putting some distance between us. I look down at my hands, I knew she'd react this way but it still hurts "that's why I can't go out in the sun, that's why I didn't eat much and that's why I didn't get hurt by the bullet earlier. I'm sorry for not telling you, I just can't stand people running out on me and I was afraid you'd do exactly that" tears make their way onto my cheeks "I'm so lonely all the time, but then I met you and you were nice to me and I couldn't help but fall for you and I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm me"
Then I feel a pair of warm arms around me and I lean in to the embrace, this feels good, this feels like home. "Ssssh, it's okay, thanks you for trusting me. I won't leave you" the redhead keeps whispering those words, hoping some of them will stick and calm me down. She's not mad, she's more exited really, because she heard that I fell for her and that's all she can think about now.
Sure, this will be a difficult relationship but I think it's worth a try and we will do our best to make the other happy