Blood-borne

Sunrise

Jaxton looked out his window at the sunrise. One of the greatest things about being a vampire was seeing the sunrise and sunset every day. Since he didn't sleep, he usually went out to just look around town. A good thing about living in a small town was after midnight, there was hardly anyone in town. He had the chance to use his vampire abilities in town after midnight. 

The best place to watch the sunrise was on top of the water tower near the high school. He changed his clothes that he'd wear to school and grabbed his books and keys. The drive over was smooth sailing, something that Jaxton loved when he drove at nights. Parking near the back, hidden behind some bushes, he looked up at the top of the tower. It would take a couple of good jumps to get to the top, possibly some slight climbing. 

He glanced around the area to make sure that no one was around. Sniffing the air, he smelled some rotten food near the road, some stray dogs, and some wild ginger, however no humans. There was a ladder that lead upwards to the top, but it was locked behind a cage. He felt his eyes shift as he prepared to jump. He reached halfway up the tower, grabbing hold of one of the bars. He looked around above him for another gripping point. When he found another bar near the top, he jumped up. The air always felt good rushing around his face as he jumped. He was about a yard from the top, and from this point, there was a ladder that was unlocked. 

Once he reached the top, he groaned as his eyes shifted back to normal. The sunrise was about to happen, so he sat down facing it to watch. There were some trees blocking the way, but Jaxton knew that the golden rays would peak out behind the trees, giving off a beautiful cheery glow to the town. It always made Jaxton feel at peace, even when his inner vampire took over. 

The wind started to blow a little, bringing a fresh air scent to his nostrils. The clouds started moving faster with the wind as the sun finally peaked over the trees, waving at him. He sighed peacefully and closed his eyes. When he was a kid, he was always awake way before the sun had even rises helping his dad work in the field. They would always take a moment to watch the sunrise together. Doing it now, makes him feel like he's still close to his dad. 

He stayed up there another hour before he saw cars starting to pour in, heading to work. He quickly jumped down from the tower and went to his car. It was nearly time for school. His phone chimed, so he checked the text before he left. It was from Adam. Stay away from her. 

Jaxton snarled at the phone. Who did Adam think he was? His father? He had no right to tell him to stay away from someone. Jaxton looked at a stray dog at the foot of the ladder. He was munching on a wrapper from one of the fast food joints close by. Jaxton felt a tear in his chest. Quickly feeling his chest, he took a deep breath and swallowed. That felt weird. I will. 

The tear in his chest made him slightly paranoid. Knowing Adam only wanted to help him, he thought it was best to actually do what Adam suggested. Especially since that feeling went thought his chest a moment ago. When he phone chimed again to signal it was 740, meaning he had only 20 minutes to get to school and class, he revved his engine and sped off for the parking lot of school. 

It would be so much easier if he could use his abilities to speed run to his class. However, digital technology means he had to be more careful now. Back in the earlier days, when film was just taking off, there was silver in the film to develop photos and such. Silver had a certain effect on vampires. It paralyzed them. When taking a picture of a vampire with silver film, the photos became blurry. All that meant was the photographer was a terrible shot. Now, however, Jaxton had to run at, what he considered, snail pace. 

He just made it in the door when the bell rang. Mr. Rogers looked at Jaxton over his large dark rimmed glasses. "Cutting it close, Mr. James," he commented with a warning in his tone. 

"Sorry, I overslept," he muttered an excuse. He hadn't slept in over a century. Mr. Roger's nodded, pushing his glasses back up his large nose. He pointed towards a desk and Jaxton hurried over to it, slipping in as eyes strained to see the first reaction between Rose and him since yesterday. 

Rose had smiled largely at him as he neared. He automatically smiled back as he sat down. She tapped him on the shoulder as Mr. Rogers turned to the board. He inhaled deeply for the first time that day. Her scent flooded his brain, unlocking many different emotions that he didn't fully understand. He felt his eyes automatically shift and panicked inwardly for a moment. She tilted her head to the side and opened her mouth to ask a question when someone cleared their throat. 

Jaxton quickly turned around and buried his head into his math work, mind rushing at what happened. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and quickly texted Adam. Adam, my eyes shifted. I think she saw.  

Not a second later, the only response was Shit. That helped a lot. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and stewed in his anger for the rest of class. As the bell rang, he started towards Biology. "Jaxton!" He turned to see Rose running towards him. She smiled at him as they started walking together. 

"How'd you sleep last night?" She asked after a minute of walking in silence. 

He held back a laugh. "Good, but overslept. That's the reason why I was nearly late." They entered Miss Scrimtor's class together, earning several shocked glances their way. They went to their table and waited for class to start. 

Rose was fidgeting with her pen, lost in thought. Suddenly she turned to him with a puzzled look. "What happened with your eyes?" 

Jaxton, who had pulled out his Biology book, swallowed hard nervously. He had to think quickly. "Uh, what do you mean?" He was trying to buy a little bit of extra time to think of an excuse. 

She looked at him with a knowing look. "You know what I mean," she urged, leaning into him. "Your eyes turned from dark blue to a near crystal clear icy blue. Your skin went pale for a second." 

He bit his lip nervously. "I can't explain it," he decided to say. He didn't have an answer for her, so half truth was the best thing at the moment. 

Jaxton was saved by Miss Scrimtor calling them to be silent as they worked on a new lab. As she started explaining, Jaxton looked at Rose as she was taking notes. Her lips were pulled back in a slight grin. His instincts went crazy. He found himself leaning towards her and taking a deep breath. Her scent once again flooded his brain and he growled low. She turned to him with another puzzled look. 

He knew his eyes had changed. He felt the shift in his mind like a light switch. His fangs had come out and he neared her neck. The vampire in him was begging him to bite her. Taste her blood. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. There wasn't fear, but worry. He pulled back and groaned a little louder than he anticipated. Miss Scrimtor glanced at him. 

"Are you okay, Mr. James?" she asked. 

He nodded painfully. His eyes shifted back. "Just feeling a little sick," he said back to her. 

"Do you need the nurse?" 

"No, thank you," he responded, writing down the notes she'd written on the board. She went back to writing, although keeping a close eye on him for the rest of class. 

Rose looked from Miss Scrimtor to Jaxton, who was bent over his notes, ignoring everything. "Jaxton, what happened?"  

He started to pant as she got closer to him. His fangs were threatening to come back out. He didn't realize that by trying to deny this feeling, that it would cause him pain. Adam never mentioned that love hurts. "I can't tell you here," he whispered urgently, keeping an eye out for eavesdroppers. 

She sighed. "After school?"

He shook his head. It was supposed to be sunny this afternoon. He'd have to get home before he got too weak. "Not today, my dad is taking me to the city with him," he said, thinking up a lie. He shrugged as if he had no choice. 

Rose reluctantly nodded. "Okay," she wrote something on a scrap piece of paper and pushed it to him. "My number. Text me," she said. 

Jaxton's chest suddenly felt like there was an elephant on it. The inner vampire hissed with joy. He slipped the paper in his pocket and smiled at her.