Hey. This is a kinda boring chapter, but it's kind of needed. You can't have action all the time ;) I need to stop updating in the early morning hours... X.x
Thank you for the reviews, they make me want to write :) (Have I already said that? o.o)

- Belle

I was soaked to the skin before my mind decided to function again.

C'mon… it prodded me. Get up, come on.

I'm trying! I thought desperately as I hauled myself to my feet, shaking.

They're going to come out for break soon. My mind reminded me.

In the rain? I thought, and glanced over at the covered tunnel. Oh… never mind.

I willed my seemingly lead legs to carry me forward. Their weight felt like too much for my muscles. I dragged myself onward toward the bridge. I wasn't going to let myself be found outside when the vampires came outside.

My neck ached and I touched the spot where Aido bit me, and I reddened, in spite of myself. A thought crossed my mind as to how I was going to keep this from Akane.

The rain started to come down harder. I made my way across the bridge slowly, holding on to the railing the whole way, keeping myself upright.

It's almost like anemia… My mind wondered.

I'm not anemic. I nearly growled. I can't be. This is going to happen again.

What?

I'm going to have to keep giving him… I struggled to say the word "blood".

What on Earth for?

He said it's the only thing I can give him so he'll stay away from me. I thought firmly. So I'm going to keep offering my blood to him, and maybe one day he'll stop asking for it…

That's insane! The saner part of my mind raged. He'll develop a taste for it!

That's a chance I'm going to have to take… I thought.

My mind stopped raging, leaving my brain in silence.

Mental pictures flashed through my head of Aido. His eyes when they got dangerous… I shivered. I was never going to forget what they looked like. For some reason, though, I didn't feel as terrified as I should have.

And think, all this bought you was 48 hours. It's not worth it.

But it is…

I stopped trying to think things over. I made my way across the rest of the bridge and the Sun Dorm came into view. Akane was going to kill me for being so late.

… and for being soaking wet.

Not helping. I thought, looking down at my soaking wet uniform.

I rubbed my neck again. It didn't hurt anymore, but I still felt hollow. Somehow, it felt like I'd committed a moral or ethical sin, and the fact that it was done for selfish reason made me feel even more horrible.

I opened the door to the Sun Dorm, looking behind me once, though I'm not sure for what.

"Where have you BEEN?" Akane practically shouted when I entered the dorm a few minutes later.

"Um… around." I said, scratching the back of my head. "My meeting with the Headmaster took longer than I had expected."

Akane glared. "I'll say. Bathtub. NOW."

When she had shoved me in the bathroom I heard some rustling around outside. I ran the bath full of hot water. Akane soon stuck her hand in the door crack.

"Here, I got you some pyjamas." She said. "Take off your uniform quickly and I'll take it to be washed."

"Okay." I mumbled, fumbling with the buttons on my coat.

"… What happened today?" She asked, quieter and gentler now.

"I got… held up." I said, slightly muffled by the shirt I was pulling over my head.

"Oh no," Akane said. "You don't mean…"

"Yeah." I said, letting my skirt drop to the floor. "Aido decided to sell me out when I tried to sneak past the Night Class without them seeing me."

Akane sighed heavily. "Why does he bother you so much?"

I looked in the mirror at my body, putting my arms around myself. My right hand slipped up to touch the two little round marks on my neck. "… I don't know…" I said softly.

Akane inhaled. "Well, go ahead and have your bath. I'll be out here if you need anything. Just yell."

"Okay." I said, stepping slowly into the water.

The water was only lukewarm, but it felt searing hot to my cold skin. The warmth of the water painfully seeped into me, slowly bringing my body back to a normal temperature. I finally relaxed, letting my muscles stop clenching for a few moments as I tried to return to reality.

You know, the more you try and convince yourself this is the right thing to do, the more you're going to lose sleep.

I don't care.

For once, you should just think about yourself. Self-preservation. Aido's using you.

I know. The despair that engulfed me was dark and heavy. The other side of my mind faded out as suddenly more rivers of tears put salt in the bath water.

Rei's face flashed through my mind. Akane's too. Then suddenly, Aido with his bloodlust-clouded eyes burned into my conscience. I nearly gasped when I saw Kaname Kuran's face. It merged with Aido's, and Kaname's eyes became murderous as he turned his glare to me.

"NO!" I yelled.

Akane was quickly pounding on the door. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

I rubbed my eyes and sunk a little lower into the bathwater. "No. Sorry."

I could hear the scepticism in her silence.

"Really. I'm fine."

"If you're sure…" She said, and I heard her footsteps padding away on the carpet that was outside the bathroom.

I finished my bath soon after that, and I put the PJ's Akane had left for me on. I looked again at the two marks on my neck, and decided that makeup would cover them for the time being. I padded on some foundation powder, and towel dried and brushed my hair, letting its length fall around my shoulders, effectively hiding the marks from view. I nodded at my appearance in the mirror before opening the mirror into what was our bathroom cabinet. I looked from some painkillers to some other medications and decided against it. The marks didn't even hurt anyway, and the odds were 2:1 that the medicine would cause me to be up all night rather than drowsy anyway.

I plodded to my room where I found Akane on her bed reading.

"I'm going to go to sleep." I said.

"Me too." She said, and surveyed me lightly. "Are you okay?"

I managed a half-smile. "Yeah."

She turned out the light, so I could barely see her outline. "Good. I hope you don't get a cold from being out in the cold and wet."

"It wouldn't surprise me." I smiled in the darkness, getting into bed.

Now you and I both know that's the last thing you need…

I still don't know what Rei looks like X.X' How bad is that?