Chapter 3:

New chapter for you, guys, because you're amazing!

& Nexie, I AM from England :P The Morganville Vampires books made it over here only a couple of months after it was released in the States: we're not backwards, you know! Given that you got our amazing Harry Potter series pretty soon after it was published here (the first before I was even born :P)

I don't own anything!

Claire's POV:

I need to go and see Oliver. No matter how little I want to do it, I know I don't have an option not to. I lost my memories in Common Grounds and Common Grounds is the only place where they could be found. Perhaps I banged my head and then a vampire bit me... I don't know. But Oliver is the only one who could possibly hold the key to unlocking these puzzle pieces for me - or at least partially doing that so I can complete it.

But when do I go? It's nighttime now, so I can't go now. I have school tomorrow... Unless I skip physics - it's not like I exactly have to attend the lessons to get my grade and above. I'm sure I could go then, have an extended lunch in which to ask Oliver, and then get back in time for chemistry lab.

"Michael, don't tell either of them about this," I remind him as he presses the button to release the secret room door.

"What do you take me for, Claire?" he asks, rolling his eyes. "I think, what with Shane's dad being back, they have enough to deal with without you chucking into the mix the fact that a vampire bit you and you don't remember."

"Jeez, Michael, no need to be quite so snappy," I say, calling on the retaliation training Eve has been giving me.

"Eve's been training you," he notes with a laugh, anger forgotten. Then he gets serious again. "Look, Claire, be careful. Evidently there's something out there that you don't know and you need to find out before you actually become dinner, rather than just a snack."

I nod before walking down the stairs and across to my room. Michael slips downstairs to be with Eve but as I begin to walk into my room, I sense that someone is in there, waiting for me.

It could be the vampire.

Oh god, I could die right now and none of them would know. My boyfriend would come and find my dead body, drained of blood, and have lost me. Michael would regret shouting at me whilst Eve would punish herself for borrowing my bag of stakes last week to finish her 'pretty pattern of stakes' in her room.

I back out of the room and into the hallway, where I stumble over the long umbrella that just hangs around there because nobody knows where to put it. With the pointy bit pointing towards the intruder/unknown person in my room, I creep back in, pushing the door open. Instantly, I turn the light on and get the shock of my life when I see... Shane. It's only Shane. My boyfriend, sitting on my bed with a puzzled look on his face.

"Shane, this is Morganville, you don't sneak into a room without turning the light on," I say, breathing heavily. His brow arches slightly as he notes my hastily chosen weapon, so I set it down on the floor with a soft 'thud'. I blush slightly before making sure with a surreptitious look in the mirror that the bite is entirely covered.

"Who were you expecting?" he asks, his voice slightly hardened.

"I wasn't expecting anyone," I say easily, moving over to sit by him on the bed. He takes one of my hands and begins to play with my fingers, concentrating on them abstractly, rather than me. "That's sort of why I had such a crude weapon in hand!"

"I was wondering why the umbrella was out, I thought perhaps it was raining in the hallway," Shane says with an easy laugh. I look up at his expression and see that it turns more serious. "Look, Claire, you know about my dad... Well he's definitely back and he's sticking around for a while. He asked me to join him but I refused... But I think he's going to go after the vampires; I know he's going to go after the vampires. So we need to stay as far away from him as possible, so that we're not caught up in it. Ok?" he explains, confusing me slightly with the speed he goes at. So his dad wants Shane to join him and kill the vampires, but Shane doesn't want to? Is that what he means?

I repeat this to Shane who nods before grabbing me up in a bear hug. I smile at this until the crushing-ness means that my neck is squidged up against his shoulder and it's screaming at me in agony. I manage to wriggle away in time to hear Eve yelling that dinner is ready, so I have a plasible excuse for why I pulled away. However, Shane's face still looks extremely hurt and doesn't react as he stands up and walks away from me without another word.

I slowly make my own way down the stairs, following the delectable scent of his aftershave, and arrive in the living room/dining room where we have dinner. The other three are already sat around the table but look up and smile at me as I enter; Eve's smile is normal but Shane's is borderline grimace and Michael's looks forced and worried. Once again, I am the cause of unrest in the Glass House household and Shane doesn't even know why - I've hurt him without him understanding.

I sit down at the table and eat a dinner of chicken and pasta. I have a feeling that it would have been delicious, if I could taste it... Yet the continual throbbing, the constant reminder of what happened, of my throat stops this from happening and, as I feel Michael's worried eyes on me, I wonder if there is more to this than I know already...

OoOoOo

I push open the door to Common Grounds and take a deep breath of apprehension before stepping inside. The place is bustling, as usual, and I walk past a vampire I have never seen before at the counter on my way back. On my way... To see Oliver...

Michael's POV: (the night before)

I cannot believe that this is happening to Claire. It's just that it's happened to Claire! Eve and Shane... Well I'd understand it slightly more if it were them but not Claire. She doesn't get into scrapes with vampires or cause trouble or anything! That's why I got so angry with her; it was disbelief that this could happen to her. That she could get herself bitten by a vampire and not remember. I have to say, I think that Brandon is linked to this. He threatened her when she first came to town and he always follows through on his threats - I couldn't bare it if she was killed and I didn't do anything to save her.

That's why I'm doing this. I'm doing this with Amelie, making a deal or something, to find out if she can protect Claire from Brandon or something. I can't do anything because I'm locked into this house... But if anything else happens, I'm considering making the turn into a vampire. It would be pretty horrific, but at least I would be able to protect the ones that I love from danger much more than now. All I can do now is protect them at night when they're in the house - anything more is impossible.

I sneak upstairs into the secret room and wait for Amelie. I rang her earlier from here, so that the others didn't hear, and she agreed to meet with me here. She knows that I cannot attack her or do anything, if not for not truly being around, for Sam. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him - we may not be entirely close, but he's still my Grandpa. Because of my dad, I never really got to know him: I went round for Sunday dinner to his flat every two weeks until I was 16, but then we had an argument about something stupid so I stopped going. Now, I haven't seen him in 2 years given I'm not going to invite a vampire, even my Grandpa, into the house. Not after I let Oliver in... He may be my Grandpa, but I didn't trust any vampire after I 'died'. The only difference between Amelie and any other vampire is that she can get in anyway, so at least she's not being invited.

I slip up the stairs, feeling apprehensive for what I'm going to do. Never before have I felt so powerful but so humane either. I know I am not human anymore: I'm a ghost. Even if my heart beats and warm blood pumps through my veins, I am not truly living. I am exactly what a vampire is: immortal... But with so many more constraints about me and my situation.

I sit down on the sofa and wait for Amelie to turn up: it's 1:58am and she said 2am so she will be here soon.

"Michael," Amelie's cool voice comes from the corner, startling me. I jump up to face her, as I doubt sitting would keep her happy, and she appears to be cool and detached as normal.

"Thank you for coming," I say with a level tone, sitting in one of the chairs in front of the sofa where she sits. "It's about Claire."

"What possibly could be so important, Michael, that you deem it prudent to involve me?" she sighs, evidentally not wanting to be here.

"Someone bit her," I say softly, watching as her head shoots up in confusion, this emotion evident in her eyes. For a moment she is animated, but this light slowly fades back to her cold self.

"This is Morganville, Michael, I cannot explain why... You have my deepest apologies and, rest assured, they shall feel my wrath," she begins, shrugging slightly before turning onto my side. She evidentally remembers the informal protection she has offered the others.

"That's the thing: she can't remember," I say and her eyes betray her confusion again. "Apparently, the last thing she remembers is walking into Common Grounds yesterday afternoon then she woke up this morning with a splitting headache and fang marks in her neck."

"I shall put someone on the case most imminently," Amelie says, appearing slightly concerned. She probably has an agenda which Claire is part of and her death would screw up her plans. "Claire is... I have a feeling she will be vitally important in the very near future, if certain things pan out as I assume them to."

"You mean, you know what's going to happen and you've planned something to use Claire?" I translate, my voice hard and cold - like her.

She smiles a rare smile, pointed and rather menacing... Underneath.

"C'est le vérité, (1) Michael," she says in French, confusing me. "You shall understand shortly, I assure you. Your own future is tied very closely to hers, along with your grandfather's and my own. Yes, you shall know soon. But enjoy your night: after all, you don't have any other time," she continues, her voice soft and innocent. However, I know it's an act - she is ruthless and violent and will destroy anything and everything that is in her way.

With that, she walks to the shadows in the corner and disappears into the darkness, leaving me here. She has plans for Claire and me... But what? I ponder this thought for many an hour until daybreak approaches and I prepare for my impending death...

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(1) It's the truth

Vicky xx