I didn't go to school the rest of the week. I, painfully, ignored each call and each text from Steve…until Friday. He sent me a text saying that he missed me and that he loved me and felt betrayed that I left without saying goodbye.

"Don't do it." a voice said from behind me. I jumped up, pulling a dagger out of the sheath in my boot to see a depressed looking Darren. I put it back and sighed. "Here's here." I muttered. Mr. Crepsley was suddenly in the room. It freaked Darren out a little. I frowned. "Why not?" I asked, holding up my phone. He sighed.

"He's trying to track your phone signal to see if you really left." he said, looking at Mr. Crepsley. I knew why he was here and sighed, morphing into some girl I fed off of in Ireland. "I'm gonna go get some cheetos, want anything?" I asked, shrugging on my jacket. "Wine, please." Mr. Crepsley said. I groaned and looked into my wallet for a license that said I was above 21. When I found one, I morphed into the girl and left.

I had just gotten to the wine section when a voice said, "Hey, can you buy me a bottle? My idiot mom thinks I'm old enough to buy her one." I turned and my heart stopped. It was Steve. I shrugged. "Sure." I said. He grinned and picked up one. I looked around a little longer and smiled when I saw one that Mr. Crepsley would get a kick out of. Vampire wine. I grabbed it and went to the counter, Steve trailing behind me. He put the bottle on the counter and stared at the bottle that I put on the counter. He looked at me.

"You like vampires?" he asked. I laughed. "I guess, but I got this cause it's my dad's favorite." I lied. He laughed and picked up the grocery bags as I paid for them using cash, naturally. The woman smiled. "Can I see your ID?" she asked. I smiled and pulled it out. She frowned. I looked at it and flushed. "Oops, sorry, that's my brother's." I lied. I quickly pulled out the right one and showed her. She smiled and I walked off to the side where Steve was waiting. He held out my bag. I smiled and reached for the other one. He looked astounded.

"How'd you know I switched 'em?" he asked me curiously. I shrugged. "I know my wines. I said. Then I walked away, vampire wine and cheetos in my hand.

I was careful to make sure Steve wasn't following me and I quickly ran into the old theatre's cellar where Mr. Crepsley was waiting. I tossed him the wine. He caught it and rolled his eyes when he saw the name. I sighed and sat down on the floor.

"I saw Steve." I muttered. He paused and then shrugged. "Do not worry, we will soon be leaving. As a matter of fact, we should be leaving next Sunday." He mused. I winced. I knew we had to leave and I was eager to get back on the road but…I was gonna miss Steve. I sighed and munched on my cheetos, deep in thought.

Four days later…

I woke up to the feeling of an earthquake. I groaned. "Five more minutes!" I complained. I heard a sigh. Mr. Crepsley opened my coffin and pulled me out. "We must hurry, Vanessa. Darren's death must happen tonight." He said impatiently. I frowned and got out he handed me my cape and flitted to the entrance of the theatre. I sighed and followed. It was chilly out and there was a full moon. I started howling until Mr. Crepsley smacked the back of my head, sending my face first onto the weeds. I got up and spit mud out of my mouth and wiped it off my face. I glared at him. "I was only having a little fun." I muttered, flipping on my hood just as he did. He shook his head and off we went to Darren's house.

We scaled the side of his house and jumped in through the window, then I quickly rolled under the bed and Mr. Crepsley hid in the closet. I could hear Darren with his family down stairs. I could hear his uneven heartbeat. I heard his goodbyes. I sighed. A few minutes later, he came into the room and sat on the bed. I groaned and pulled myself out from under it as Mr. Crepsley came out of the closet. Then I got stuck. "Chizz." I muttered, trying to get out. I glowered. "My butt's stuck. Daren, get off the bed." I growled. He complied and I pulled myself out and stood up. He tossed me a bag. I raised an eyebrow.

"Personal stuff…please don't look." He said. I nodded. I watched as Larten 'killed' him. Then we quickly jumped out and ran.

Sunday night…

I quickly ripped our rag-tag coffins apart and burned them as Crepsley threw all of his things in his bag, and my stuff in mine. When I finished, he tossed me my bag and we ran to the cemetery. I flitted first to where they kept the shovels and took one to Mr. Crepsley so he could dig it up.

"Need any help?" I offered. He shook his head. I shrugged and walked around the nearby graves, reading the names, imagining what their lives were like. Then I heard Darren and Mr. Crepsley talking. I walked towards the grave and helped Darren out of the whole. I nodded my head towards a nearby gravestone. "I put your bag over there." I said.

He nodded and asked Mr. Crepsley if he needed help. Mr. Crepsley sighed. "No, you would only slow me down, walk around or something." He muttered. Darren nodded and we walked around. I was telling Darren about some myths when I suddenly felt an emptiness to my left…where Darren had been. I looked behind me and was rooted to the spot.

Darren was pinned to the ground by Steve…who was pointing a stake at his heart. He didn't seem to pay any attention to me until Mr. Crepsley called out for me and Darren. Steve froze in terror. "its okay, we're over here. Darren got a little tired and sat down." I called. He nodded and walked along the graves as I had.

I looked over and saw Darren staring at Steve as he cut a cross into his hand. He got up and started to walk away, pausing when he was in front of me. He looked down at me and stared into my eyes. Then he held my hand and pulled me along behind him. I looked back at Darren and smiled, letting him know I'd be okay.

We walked in silence through the trees until we came to a small clearing. He let go of my hand and went to sit on the stump that sat in the middle. He stared at me, long and hard. He reached behind the stumped and pulled out a bottle and looked at it. "It was you, wasn't it?" he said quietly. "Yes." I replied. He looked at me. "I want answers." He said boldly. I smiled sadly and walked towards him. "Okay, just let me help your hand." I said quietly, sitting at his feet. He hesitated and I could tell he was thinking about whether or not to kick me. Then he gave me his hand and I licked it, letting my vampire saliva heal the cut. It left a shiny pink scar. I looked at him. "What do you want to know?" I asked.

"How do you shape shift?"? He asked. I shrugged. "Same way Truska grows a beard, I just do. Even if I weren't a vampire, I'd still be able to morph." I said. He nodded. "How old are you?" he asked me. I smiled. "15." I said. He frowned. "Vampires only age one tenth the aging rate of humans." He stated. I nodded. "I know, but I'm different. Mr. Crepsley says I should stop aging this year…most likely." I said. He nodded, taking it in, then he paused. "Wait, you're a full vampire?" he asked. I nodded. He frowned. "Then how can you walk around in the day?" he asked. I shrugged. "I asked Mr. Tall about it, he believes it has something to do with the fact that I was born at sunrise." I said. He nodded.

Silence.

I sighed and slowly slid off the ring he gave me and held it out to him. He looked confused, then sad. "Are you breaking up with me?" he asked quietly. I sniffed, trying to hold back tears. "It's not fair for me to hold on to you when I have to leave…to never let you move on." I said quietly. He closed my hand around the ring. "I don't want to move on." He said quietly, easing off the stump. I hesitated. Then nodded and slid it back on, smiling to myself. I looked up at him and noticed how close we were. We were both breathing hard.

His eyes were pleading. I was rooted. He pulled off my cape and pulled me onto his lap and kissed me.

I didn't hold back. I kissed him back, letting his tongue explore every inch of my mouth. I felt my teeth sharpening into to fangs. Steve pulled back, confused. "I thought vampires didn't actually have fangs." He said, breathless. I smiled. "Well then, I guess it's just one of my perks." I giggled he rolled his eyes and our kissing continued. I ran my tongue across his upper lip. He moaned and pulled me closer.

Then he started kissing along my neck…

I awoke early morning, having felt vibrations. I looked at the still sleeping Steve and flushed. Then I spotted something shiny and picked it up. I looked at it. 4 am. I saw I had a missed text. It was from Darren. It was a location. I sighed and quickly made myself presentable to everyone else besides Steve. I hesitated. I woke up Steve. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"You're still here." He murmured. Then he noticed my clothing. He sighed. "Not for long." He muttered, getting up. He pulled on his boxers and his pants and looked at me. I looked at him. "I have to leave." I said quietly. He looked kind of angry. "Yeah, I know." He said sourly. I picked up my cloak and gave it to him. "I want you to have this." I said. He nodded. I turned and started walking away slowly. He grabbed my arm and yanked me toward s him, giving me a huge hug. Then, he did something unexpected. He cried. I cried too. Then I kissed him. "Steve, I love you now, and I will for the rest of my life." I whispered. He nodded. "I know, I love you too." He said.

I smiled sadly, pulled away from him, and flitted off into the distance.