I. Love. You. Guys. So. Much. *Bishie face* Since I made my comeback I've been getting so many reviews and messages saying things like "I love your work." and "You're my favourite FF writer." I'm so inspired *punches air* This also means that you might be seeing some original stuff by me. *Dramatically points at my two favourite OCs* It's your time to shine, fools!

Steve: Are you high...?

SL: Yes, on luuuurve C:

Steve: Okay...well, S.L. Gibbs does not own The Saga of Darren Shan or any of it's characters.


So all the other chapters have begun with puke. I think that joke is getting kind of old so we'll skip to the part where I'm tied to a tree. Steve must have knocked me out again and left me here.

I try to wriggle free but I'm bound too tightly. Damn that Steve! I sigh and relax. Darren will probably find me eventually. And I guess now would be a good time to think. After all, I have a lot to think about.

It's been a few weeks now since I joined the Cirque and became a half-vampire. I can't remember exactly how many. But even with Steve harassing me and my constant vomiting, I'd rather be here than back at home with them.

Which 'them' am I referring to, you ask? Why, by 'them' I mean my parents. Or rather, my mom and her husband. I never called him dad before and I don't want to start now.

My real dad I don't remember much about. He died when I was still a baby. A heart attack. Mom was grief-stricken. She struggled to look after me by herself and I probably would have ended up in care. But then he showed up.

He was good-looking and rich – perfect, right? Mom married him straight away. At first they were so in love – they did everything together and seemed so happy. But then he turned nasty. He cheated on her a lot. And there was nothing she could do about it because whenever she tried to talk to him, he'd hit her. He hit me too. But not as much as her. All I could do was watch from the other room, my eyes wide with horror.

Around that time was also when the bullying started. I was never wildly popular in school, but we lived in a small town where news travelled fast. The other kids at school found out about my less than great home-life. At first it was just verbal abuse, ("Who's your dad sleeping with today, Sammy?", "Is your mom out of the asylum yet?") but there was one particular instance where- no, I won't go into that. It's still hard for me to think about. Sometimes I wake up at night and think I'm still there, behind the school, their laughing voices all around me, screaming my lungs out.

Just then, I hear a sharp, slap-noise that jolts me out of my thoughts. I look up and see Darren, just having slapped Steve in the face.

"I told you to stop doing this to him!"

Steve shrugs. He looks a little surprised at his friend's violent outburst but he's grinning. So is Darren, although he's trying not to.

Darren rushes over and unties me, then he gives me a big hug.

"Men don't hug," Steve says drily.

Darren scoffs at him, then releases me only to give Steve an even bigger hug.

"No, only manly men do," He mutters.


I didn't know I was this good at writing depressing things o.o I mean, I don't think this chapter is amazing compared to any of my others but people who read my stuff have probably noticed that one of my flaws is that my paragraphs are never long enough. But with this one the words just seemed to flow easier. Look at dat four-line paragraph right thur. Look at it.

Anyway, I'm going to repeat what I said earlier: I love you guys. Thankyou so much for your kind words *flails arms*