Alex
I watched him from across the grassy field. Ary. His dark hair blew gently in the wind and I could smell his rich mint-chocolate scent, his smell, mixed with the healthy blood pounding in his sweet veins. He was smiling and spinning around and he fell over and laughed. I crouched lower in the long grass. I stood up slowly and walked up to him. He smiled at me and white teeth flashed against dark skin. I looked at our paint-splattered black Converse and smiled.
I grabbed his shoulders and held him closer. I craned my head around his neck as my canines lengthened. I opened my mouth and sank my fangs into him. I knew he couldn't feel anything because my fangs have a numbing liquid coating them and yet I still felt him stiffen and take a small intake of breath. I gulped and drank greedily. Delicious red exploded in my mouth and my whole body went tingly. I wonder how he felt. His breath started to slow down and I finally pulled away and wiped my bloody mouth on my wrist. He was barely conscious in my arms. His face was calm, despite what I just did. His eyelashes, that made black crescents on his cheeks when they were closed, fluttered for a moment. I kissed his forehead and took off running, his body hanging lightly in my arms.
I laid him down. He stirred and opened his eyes slowly. Moss green eyes stared at me for a sec before refocusing. Well, actually, only one eye. The other one was obscured by his long dark hair in the front. I smiled at him and helped him sit up. Ary rubbed his head and looked around. Our secret old hideout was mainly composed of old blankets and scrap pieces of wood nailed together and a big air mattress in the middle. All of our artwork and documents were hanging on the walls in sheet protectors. When we were kids we made sure that it would be big enough for us when we grew up. So we fit just fine, except the bed. It was a bit small but we survived with it. We built it by the tree where I met him.
Ary was sitting on the bed at the moment and was holding his head in between his hands. I patted and rubbed his back. His blood was pounding through my veins and I felt awake. On the other hand, Ary was cold, pale and tired. I had an empathy link with him after I have drunk his blood after a while so I could tell he was tired despite what he tells me.
Ary and I had made an agreement - well, he did, actually- that whenever I got too thirsty, then he had made it his duty to be there and feed me. I didn't like it but he insisted.
I shifted my attention back to Ary. He was trying to stand up but I put my hand on his shoulder and made sure he sat down.
"Ary, if you feed me, then you have to take the time to recuperate. I can't live this way if you don't. Please." I looked away and sat down next to him.
"Alex, I only want to help you. You don't have to help me back." He smiled and laid down.
“Whatever, dude. You are way too self-sacrificing.”
I grabbed the extra blanket that was folded on the end of the bed and laid it on top of Ary, who shivered and pulled it closer. I hated seeing him this way. He was usually strong and hyper and really sweet.
I sat down and looked at my watch. It was two in the afternoon. We still had hours left before we had to go home. Ary was asleep and his breathing was deep and slow.
I am half vampire. My parents died when I was two, so I stay with my Aunt Martha and Uncle Joe. I still have to drink blood but not as much as full vampires. I can use vampire powers, like erasing their memories of the bite (and using my powers brings on bloodlust). I sighed and stroked Ary's hair. He was my best friend and was always thinking of others before himself. Sometime between me meeting him and me almost biting his cat, I had told him I was a vampire. He thought it was cool.
Every time I had tried to erase his memories in the past, he had always remembered them. I tucked the blanket firmly around him and laid back, my hands stretching out above my head. The sun cast shadows into (the majority) of the room and I smiled a little. I knew my green eyes had become tinted red around the edges, but not enough to be terribly noticeable. The cool autumn air filled my lungs as I breathed deeply and closed my eyes to fall asleep.
I woke when Ary stirred beside me. I checked my watch. It had been two hours since I had fallen asleep and we needed to get back now. I looked over to Ary, who was now rubbing his eyes.
I stood up and stretched, several of my bones popping. I helped him up and we unlatched the trapdoor that allowed us to leave of the hide out. I hopped down first and landed nimbly on my feet. I turned just as Ary landed on me. He always did that. I laughed and we got up and brushed ourselves off. We fell in step with each other as we walked back through the thin woods. His house was barely visible in the distance. I sighed. We almost never got to hang out. He was a grade higher than me and he had all his junior buddies surrounding him, so we never got to talk. We both knew we were best friends, even more than that. There was a deep feeling of belonging with him that resounded in my chest.
I was home schooled (it wasn’t my fault the, uh, super safe smoke bomb went off early!) after an, um, accident in 2nd grade, so I didn’t know many people, except Ary. Ary was the light in the darkness of my lonely world. My cousin Marissa went to regular school and was one of those way-too-happy/perky kinds of girls. I was one of those kinds of girls who thought about the end of the world, my-type boys with swooshy hair, and dresses in a lot of black and dark clothes. We crunched over the dry leaves in Ary’s driveway; his mom came out and offered us a glass of water. I took a small sip and handed the glass to Ary. He downed it and handed it back to his mom.
Ary’s mother was small and petite, with wavy black hair that fell to her shoulders. She was wearing faded blue jeans and a green t-shirt. Her bright blue eyes were surrounded by thick eyelashes, and she had a strong nose. Her small mouth smiled at us and urged us inside. I could smell pie.
“Well, well. What do we have here?” Mrs. Garret towed me into the kitchen.
“Hi, Mrs. Garret, can I stay over here for a little while?” I swayed nervously, fidgeting with the hem of my dark purple shirt. She smiled.
“Why, of course, Alex! You are welcome to stay as long as you like.” She smiled again. “Do you want to stay for dinner? We are having apple pie for dessert later.” She gestured to the cooling pie that was sitting on the window sill.
“Yes, thank you.” Ary’s face had brightened at the mention of pie. I paused. “Will you come get us when it is ready? We just have some stuff that needs to be done.” I smiled.
“Oh, sure! Go ahead, do whatever you want, honey.” Man, did I mention how much I loved Ary’s mom? Well, I love her a lot, like she was my own mother.
Ary and I walked back to his room, in the back of the house on the second story. I opened his door and walked in to his clean and tidy room.
Ary was sitting down on his bed with his face in his hands. I sat next to him and laid my head against his shoulder. He sighed and put his arm around me. He was being awfully silent tonight. I grabbed his other hand and just held it, rubbing small circles on the back with my thumb.
He smiled. It was a few minutes before we heard his mom yelling about dinner time. We stood up and, still holding hands, we walked down the stairs. We stopped holding hands when we walked into the kitchen but still stood close. I could smell tomato sauce and Italian seasonings. I sat down across from Ary at the table and his mom brought over two heaping plates of spaghetti.
We folded our arms for prayers and then dug in. I chewed large mouthfuls at a time. Ary ate reasonably sized bites just like his mother. I took a drink of water and glanced at the time. It was still early for me to go home. I ate my last bite and drained the rest of my glass. Ary and Mrs. Garret had hardly eaten anything. I realized they were staring at my empty plate.
Ary’s mom had barely affected her food and I glanced at the time. It had only taken me five minutes to eat it all.
“Well, would you like seconds, dear?” She broke into a smile again. I nodded and she smiled wider. “I am certainly glad you actually eat your food, unlike those bulimics and anorexics. It’s a wonder how they think it helps them to be skinny. It only makes them bony and scrawny.” She made a face.
“Can I take that as a compliment?” I smiled as she heaped more onto my empty plate. I dug in again. It was still as good as the first time. I paused and looked at Ary. He was eating but his plate had barely been touched.
“Ary.” I spoke his name quietly but his head still snapped up. I gazed into his infinite green eyes, and he sighed. He took a couple of bigger bites to show me that he was eating. I resumed my own eating and was done once again, within a few minutes.
I raised my eyebrow at Ary’s now empty plate. He grinned and got a smaller second helping. Mrs. Garret wiped her mouth and excused herself. She got up and cleared her dishes. I followed her over to the sink and rinsed off my plate and stacked it into the dishwasher. Ary got up and I was surprised at how fast he had eaten his food this time.
"Rachel?" Mrs. Garret turned at the sound of her name. "I need to leave in few minutes, so thank you for the dinner. It was delicious." I smiled and Rachel loaded the last of the dishes and got the pie down from the window. I peered out of it. The almost full moon was just peeking above the mountain. I turned away and walked over to their pantry and grabbed three paper plates. We sat down at the table and Mrs. Garret cut up the pie. The smell of apples and cinnamon wafted over to me and I inhaled deeply. We all had our pieces (Me, two pieces, Ary, one piece, Mrs. Garret, one piece.) She covered up the remainder and put it in the fridge.
I stood up and stretched. Ary was about to fall asleep at the table. I helped him up and thanked Mrs. Garret again before I headed upstairs with Ary. I kicked open his door and helped him lie down.
"Goodnight, Ary. I have to go home."
"But when are you going to need me again?" I winced at his word choice and ruffled his dark hair.
"Hopefully not for a while. Goodnight, Ary." I walked away but his hand caught my wrist before I made it very far. I looked at him, my gaze flashing to my wrist and back.
"I love you." His words startled me. I looked into his eyes and saw the truth of them there. I hugged him and kissed his cheek. He grabbed the back of my neck and crushed his lips against mine. I ignored his lip ring for a second as I wrapped my hands through hair and he pushed the small of my back, pressing me closer to him, if that was possible. Electricity made my fingers and toes tingle. We kissed for a few minutes before we stopped, breathing hard.
"So what was that for?" I looked at him once again, trying to catch my breath. He shrugged.
"Somehow, I have this feeling that I won't be seeing you for a while. I took my chance." His breathing was slowing. His eyes were staring at his empty hands that hung in his lap. I hugged him and opened his window, and turned around.
"I don't know about that," I said and jumped. I tucked and rolled, coming to a stop on my feet. Ary waved at me from his window and I waved back. I took off running, weaving in between the trees.
Okay, I think it’s time to clear some things up about vampires.
1) Vampires won’t burn to a crisp out in sunlight. At most they might get a slight sunburn and a killer headache for all of their super-sensitive eyes and stuff.
2) The only ways to kill a vampire is to slice off its head or stake it through the heart with wood (wood poisons us a bit more than humans). But either of those would kill a human too.
3) Vampires can survive off animal blood, but not for very long. It’s like tofu for vamps. They don’t have to eat human food, but why wouldn’t they when they don’t gain any weight and it passes through their bodies like when they were human. Also, vampires can, in fact, get drunk. It just takes quite a bit more alcohol.
4) And all that crap with the Twilight vamps – complete and total lies. We don’t have granite hard skin and we sure as heck don’t sparkle in the sunlight! If anything, we glow in the dark, but usually only if we’re seen through another vampire’s eyes.
5) Half-vampires like me have to sleep.
I saw the yellow lights of my house. I walked up the short steps and caught my breath.
Uncle Joe and Aunt Martha were sitting in the small living room watching a football game. I couldn't see Marissa but I could clearly hear her playing Lady GaGa’s music through the floor. I knocked on the wood of the doorway. Aunt Martha jumped and turned around.
"Oh, you're home? Have you had dinner yet?" She put down her knitting and started to get up but I stopped her.
"Yes, I have had dinner. I am going to go to bed. Goodnight." I walked up the set of stairs and opened my black and purple-swirled door. My bedroom was clean and my white walls were scribbled and drawn on with Sharpie.
I pulled out my backpack from under my bed. I kept everything important to me in it. The comforter was dark purple with big white swirls all over it, to match my door. I pulled out my homework and laid it out on my bed. I was just starting my geometry problem set when I heard tapping outside my window. I walked over and opened it all the way. My friend Amie Black was throwing small rocks at my window. I motioned for her to come on up. She crouched and launched herself onto my window sill.
Amie hopped off and shook herself out like a dog; out of habit since she’s one of the weres (a wolf, to be exact).She had long brown hair and big dark brown eyes. Her creamy skin was flawless, despite a few beauty marks. All in all, she was beautiful.
"Alex! I am so happy to see you!" She hugged me and I looked at what she was wearing. She was wearing jeans and a black-and-orange t-shirt that had a peace sign on it. I pulled her bra strap back and frapped her, an old habit of “bonding” (being violent). She winced and tried to frap me back but I held her against the wall by her shoulder. Somehow, even though she’s a wolf, I, the vamp, was still stronger.
"Why do you always do that?" She shook her head. "Anyway, are you ready to leave?"
I raised one eyebrow and she sighed.
"You didn't get the message?" Amie asked and I raised my other eyebrow. "We are having a meeting this weekend."
"How long is it exactly?" I asked as I emptied out my backpack onto my bed. I shoved jeans and shirts into it. I only put my pencils/markers and notepad back in. I ripped a page out and wrote a note to Aunt Martha and Uncle Joe telling I was going with Amie. I paused for a sec before writing one to Ary, telling him I wouldn't be back for a while. Intuition rocks, huh, Ary?
I folded them up and put them on my bed. I wrote Ary's name on his. I knew Aunt Martha would give it to him.
"I don't know for sure, but I heard it was for about a week – including the tournaments." She checked the time on her watch. I hoisted my backpack onto my back and grabbed all the money out of my drawer and shoved it into my pocket. Amie slipped out my window before I did and she stood watch as I dropped my backpack down and jump down after her.
I walked through the familiar woods with Amie following closely behind me.
“Where are they having it this year?” I walked into the terrific plume of vapor my breath created.
“Near the mermaids’ waterfall.”
I scoffed. “Why do they do it there? They know that those mermaids are sluts.”
“I think it’s because they like them.” She smiled and gave a little dance.
“Whatever. I hate ‘em. They turn all the men into drooling monkeys.” I mimicked what the boys would look like. Amie laughed and bumped my shoulder.
We kicked up into a run. The wind blew through my hair. I could barely feel the cold due to special vampiric heating systems throughout my body. My fricking awesome black hoodie billowed out around me as my backpack kept it from blowing off my back.
The night literally flew past us as we made our way to the Elders' meeting place. The Elders' are beings from each race that govern our world. The leaders from each clan: Sonja, the vampires; Nuitru, the wolves; Laruna, the merpeople; Hiyana, the faeries. The Elders' keep peace among us; they guard our laws from being bent too far. One, for example, says that we aren't allowed to tell others what we are unless we are completely certain that they are an immortal too. I have clearly broken that law by telling – and showing Ary what I am. No one knows about us except Amie, who has sworn herself to secrecy, and I think Sonja may have inkling about it, since she is the one who raised me before Aunt Martha came and took me to my current-as-can-be home.