The next morning had finally arrived.

Adam dug up the bloody clothes he'd hidden the night before and went to toss them in the laundry basket in hopes no one would question it. He got changed and went down stairs to get some breakfast.

He expected maybe a balloon or two and a few presents. What he didn't expect was dozens of balloons, streamers and confetti to be thrown at him whilst his family screamed "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The colours were all so bright, Adam couldn't help but squint as his eyes watered slightly.

"So..." Sally started "What do you think?"

"I didn't expect you to go to so much effort..." Adam answered awkwardly, drying his eyes with his sleeve, pretending like he was tired so no one would notice.

"Well you don't celebrate your sweet-sixteenth birthday every day now do you?" His mother said rather unironically. But Adam could tell she was trying to cheer his miserable looking self up.

"We've been making pancakes since SIX!" George added, joining the 'cheer up Adam' movement that seemed to be happening. He was clearly down but no one could figure out why. In honesty, he'd been worried that George had ratted him out amongst many other things. But to Adam's surprise, George's nutritiously big mouth didn't mention the 'nose bleed' incident from the night before.

Adam finished his plate, shoved it in the sink and went to grab his bag. For some reason he was desperate to get to the school. Probably to get away from his family's carefree and happy attitude. He walked speedily down the driveway, but completely failed to notice his mother chasing after him for the second time that week.

"What?" He close to yelled as he turned awfully fast to face his mother.

Sally was taken aback by the mood Adam was in, but she gave him what she rushed out for. "Cookery." She said firmly as she forcibly handed him a bag full of ingredients.

"Thank you! I definitely didn't forget that on purpose." Adam replied, sarcastically of course.

"Okay grumpy, and why were you in such a rush to get out of the house? And do you feel ill? You look terribly pale." Sally continued, reaching a hand out to feel Adam's forehead. However, Adam stopped her.

"Ha, very funny. Bring me my stuff so you can question me, right?"

"Adam! Do not talk to me with that attitude and I'm serious. Are you okay? You seem different." Sally pleaded with her son, but to no avail.

"I'm fine." Adam said, or rather stated. The words he spoke lacked emotion. And with that, Adam turned on his heal and walked hastily to the bus stop. Sally turned around to go back inside guiltily. Adam clearly wasn't fine, but he didn't want to talk about it. To her at least. Everything about him was muddled up. When had Adam ever gotten up and left for school at seven?! Never. Well, except for today.

———

Instead of just catching the school bus, Adam had caught a public bus to the school. He'd decided to go so early, so he'd the first one there. Why? He didn't quite know yet.

Before he knew it he found himself at the door of the school's living quarters, rattling the doorknob. He couldn't be any wiser as to why he'd decided to be early, and had hoped to discover why when he arrived. But the only thing his subconscious apparently wanted to do was repeatedly try to enter someone's home? Stupid reason to get up so early. Yet he still felt an urge to force his way in there.

Eventually Adam's patience ran out, and he started rattling the doorknob again. There was a snap, and like he anticipated, the door opened and Adam found himself in the same old creepy dining room he'd stumbled across the day before. Although the room was very interesting, something was pulling him in the direction of the rickety staircase. The one he'd gone down the day before. After taking a quick look around the room, Adam gave into the pull and headed down the stairs. They were long and uneven, but Adam got down just fine.

He found himself in the wine cellar that had that amazing smell emanating from each bottle, but this time it was stronger. Giving into curiosity yet again, Adam went to one of the bottles. It was dated 1643 with a name underneath. Further along the shelf was a bottle dated 1312, and another with the date 1954. Adam assumed the contents in these bottles were merely wine, but his gut, or maybe even stomach, told him otherwise. That they were filled with something better.

He eventually stopped snooping and rushed back to the staircase, but managed to bump into a pillar. He thought nothing of it and started walking down the stairs again. He caught a glimpse of the pillar as he did. Adam seemed to have opened some sort of compartment. Being the by now obviously curious person he was, Adam went back to see what was so important that someone would hide it in a pillar out of all places.

It was another bottle. Although there was a bloody handkerchief tied to the bottle's neck, making it different to the rest, and much weirder. But the thing that peaked Adam's interest most of all was the name on the bottle. A very famous name in fact. Lady Jane Grey. The smell coming from it was wonderful, yet it didn't smell anything like the wine his mother would drink from time to time.

Adam uncorked the bottle, and poured some of its contents into a champagne glass that he'd found haphazardly tossed aside in the cellar. He wanted to prove himself wrong. That the bottles' content was indeed wine. That he was just imagining things. But blood-red liquid poured out into the glass. Adam was so stunned that he did stop pouring until he felt moisture building up on his hands, dripping down his arm and onto the floor.

Shocked and in disbelief, Adam put the cork back on the bottle and placed it very carefully in the pillar, and delicately put the champagne glass back where he'd found it, hoping it wouldn't be found. The smell was reminding him of what happened the night before. Something he didn't want to be reminded of.

Was it blood?!

He sped down the stairs, desperate to get away from the whole situation. In doing so, he subconsciously licked the blood off his hand as he ran. He didn't really notice it since he was still quite shocked, but the substance was quite delicious. He'd come to remember that.

———

As per usual, the Count had gotten out of his coffin, had breakfast and was on his way to see Miss McCauley. He'd done the paperwork she'd asked for. Admittedly she'd wanted it in a week ago, but she had it now didn't she?

"Alright Renfield." The Count announced dramatically as he got up from his throne. "How do I look?"

"Ravishing Master." Renfield replied as he put up some more cobwebs in every dusty crevice he could find.

"Good." The Count said shortly as he flitted to the door.

He turned the handle, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't.

"Ingrid!" The Count yelled, causing the building to tremor a little. Surely Ingrid had something to do with it. There was no one else the Count would suspect.

Ingrid appeared in front of her father within the second, confused as to why he'd call.

"Did you leave last night and leave the door unlocked? Slayers could enter undetected you no good of a daughter!" The Count roared, pure rage building up in his chest as he accused his daughter of causing this inconvenience.

"Hey hold on, I locked the door when I came back last night. It was probably Renfield." Ingrid replied calmly. She was used to her father's tantrums by now.

Both the Dracula's heads snapped towards Renfield whilst he panicked. "I haven't left in three days Mistress Ingrid. I wouldn't! Please, no! OWWW!" The slimy maggot screamed as Ingrid twisted his ear. It was a very common way the Draculas inflicted pain on their 'butler'.

No one seemed to be the culprit, which infuriated the Count. He needed someone to blame! Ingrid had admitted to leaving but had closed the door, Renfield hadn't left in days, it wouldn't be the half-fang since she never left the premises and it was most definitely not himself. It could only mean it must've been someone else, and the Count had an good idea of who it could be.

———

The spider webs seemed to have grown since the last time Adam was here. And the dust was definitely thicker beneath his feet. He had no clue where he was in this maze of a basement, but he reached where he wanted to be with ease. He'd just had a gut-feeling that lead him to it. Or a voice. Either way, the golden mirror was quite exquisite.

———

"ERIN!" The Count called.

The half-fang took her time, but arrived at the door shortly after.

"Sorry I was just changing. You called?" Erin said slightly out if breath as she entered and closed the door behind her.

"You attended the school regularly don't you?" Ingrid started to question her as she fiddled with the unlocked door.

"Yes. I'm in the uniform." Erin pointed out as she waved her hands up and down to as if to show off the green and yellow clothes.

"Do you know an Adam Giles?" Continued the Count.

"Yes, he's in my class. We're good friends. He won't be in school today though if that's what you're asking. He had a awful nosebleed, I think. Why?"

The Count was about to say something but Ingrid cut in from the other side if the room, much to the displeasure of the Count. "It was force, but no normal human could break metal with their bare hands. And no scratches either, so nothing else seemed to be used to get in."

"What does Adam have to do with any of this, d'you think he did it? Why him?" Erin said as she held back the laughter. "You think that he could be supernatural? A vampire? Please!"

"We just want to know a little about him. Even when he'd be turning sixteen? that's all. If he's already broken in, presumably to steal blood, his birthday can't be far away." Ingrid said, trying her best to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal.

"Hold on, sixteen? Isn't that the big birthday born vampires merge with their reflections or something?" Erin said rather taken aback. They actually thought he was a vampire! They were delusional.

Ingrid and the Count shared worried and confused glances. They didn't say anything so Renfield thought it fitting that he should shed light on the situation. "The Master and Misstres Ingrid think that Adam is a Dracula." Although opening his vile mouth only got him knocked out rather brutally by the Count.

Erin couldn't believe what she had heard, and ended up spluttering "You can't be serious!!"

"We are." The Count replied almost as if he was guilty.

A thousand thoughts were rushing through Erin's mind, but the main one was about Adam's birthday. She might be a secret trainee slayer, but she had no desire to stake her friend. If she ever was to even assume Adam was a vampire, she would've never guessed that he was born with the curse! Yet apparently he was now a Dracula. Her day had certainly taken a turn.

"You wanted to know when his birthday is right?" She eventually started, cautiously placing the words together in her head, so she wouldn't stumble. The Count and Ingrid raised their heads to meet her gaze, intrigued.

"Yes, so we can prepare, so he doesn't destroy the school. If he is who we think he is that is." Ingrid said sarcastically, yet dead serious at the same time. She let on that her and her father knew something Erin didn't.

"Well better get preparing."

"What do you mean? When is it?"

"It's today."

"BATS!"

———

The pull that had been there previously had vanished. Yet Adam didn't want to leave. He just sat on the floor and rested his head on a cardboard box. Confused to why he was in the basement to begin with.

"Come closer."

Adam's head jolted up. The pull was now stronger than ever.

He slowly raised his body from the slouched position it had been on the floor. Walking towards the mirror. Adam could swear he heard whispers all around him. It was as if he was in a trance.

"Adam?!" The supposed trance broke for a second, just before Adam would have collided with the mirror.

"Erin?" He asked since his vision had grown blurry, and he couldn't make out who it was.

"What are you doing down here?" She asked, clearly concerned.

"I could ask the same for you." Adam replied, rotating the upper half if his body away from the mirror. But his feet on the other hand remained parallel to the mirror, firmly in place.

"I live here you idiot!" Erin practically yelled at him jokingly.

They shared a brief chuckle and smile for a moment, but without warning the guardian gargoyles sprung to life and grabbed Adam by the arms. Adam struggled as beat as he could worked through the shock it had given him. However, there was no hope. The golden beings chucked him into the mirror and it shattered around him, but he never landed on the other side.

"ADAM!!" Erin screamed as she ran towards the mirror, but the gargoyles moved from their position and started to circle her.

They followed her through the winding corridors of the basement until she reached the bottom of the uneven stairs. She ran up the steps as quickly as she could, but stopped outside the dining room to re-apply the stasis spray to her neck and wrists. To the sudden surprise of the Court and Ingrid, Erin burst in all flustered.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Ingrid asked with unusual panic in her voice.

"The gargoyles chucked him into the mirror!"

Hi! Sorry the updates are so slow. I keep forgetting about updating/thinking I've updated (where in reality I obviously haven't). I also keep going back and forth, making minor adjustments to the story, making writing more tedious and eventually driving me to leave the writing, only to remember a week later that I have a fic to write... Repeat cycle. So forgive me for the slowness, but just know I'm trying hard to write the best I can within my abilities and to turn the story I have in my mind into words. w

~M