I returned to Gemstone Academy Sunday morning after New Years. No, I wasn't happy about being back, it was school after all. However, I actually did miss my roommates, and Dario. I really wanted to see Dario again and I wasn't sure why. Lazarus' warning didn't faze me at all. Probably because I thought it was total bullshit. I mean, Dario dangerous? I didn't believe that for a second.
The first day back was spent catching up with my roommates. I'm not gonna lie, I was also keeping a lookout for Dario, but I never spotted him, which wasn't surprising. He never seemed to be around when I wanted him to be. Zoey, Blair, and Lilia kept asking me questions about my stay at Lazarus' castle. Lilia thought the Ruby necklace he gave me for Christmas was exquisite. I agreed, I haven't taken it off since he gave it to me. My roommates all thought something happened between Lazarus and I that I wasn't telling them. However, I did notice how relieved Blair was after I insisted that nothing happened between us and that we were still just friends.
Now I was on my way to Etiquette class Monday afternoon by myself. Blair and Lilia should already be there because I was running late after lunch and I told them to go on ahead without me. I didn't think it would be fair if all of us had to face Professor Natasha Lordsbee's wrath thanks to me.
I was almost there when I saw a group of people freaking out in the hallway. I spotted Blair and Zoey over there too. Why was Zoey not at her class? Oh wait, dumb question. It was Zoey. I quickly went over to where they were to see what was going on.
"Where's Lilia?" I asked Zoey.
Zoey pointed a little ways away to where a girl with ghostly features was lying on the floor. Professor Charlene stood over top of her. "Not again," She said. I noticed Elridge coming down the hallway towards Professor Charlene.
"Is that...Lilia?" I asked in a whisper.
Blair nodded.
Holy shit.
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At dinner Blair, Zoey, and I went to our room because we weren't hungry. We were too freaked out by what happened to Lilia. How could this happen to poor sweet Lilia? What did she do to deserve this?
"What happened?" I asked Zoey and Blair. I haven't had the chance to ask Blair if they saw what happened yet because Professor Natasha Lordsbee blabbed the whole class period and didn't give us a chance to talk. I tried to talk to Blair once, but Professor Natasha Lordsbee noticed and slammed her ruler down on our table scaring the shit out of us.
"We don't know," Zoey said. "We didn't see what happened."
"Lilia got ahead of me because she was worried about being late for class," Blair said. "When I turned the corner to Etiquette class, I ran into Zoey and we found her passed out on the ground."
"Yeah, I asked if anyone else in the area saw what happened and they all said no," Zoey said. "They did say they heard her scream, though."
"This is ridiculous!" Blair shouted. "What the hell is going on at this stupid school anyway?!"
"That's what I've been wondering," I said. "This can't be a sickness or anything, can it?"
"No, I doubt it," Zoey said. "If it were, then the doctor would at least have a diagnosis by now. Wouldn't he?"
"You would think," I said.
"I wonder if the Headmaster will tell us anything," Blair said.
"No, if he was going to say anything to us he would've by now," Zoey said.
"And I don't think even he knows what's going on," I said.
"The Assistant Headmaster then!" Blair said frantically. "He always seems to be around when someone passes out!"
Dario always seemed to be around too. And he seemed to be close to Elridge. I wonder if he knew anything new.
"Hey, I may know someone we can ask about this," I said. "But we will have to sneak out after curfew."
"Why?" Blair asked.
"Because I can never seem to find him until after dark."
"Well, that seems creepy."
"Do you want to know what happened to Lilia, or not?" I snapped at her.
"Fine! But if we get caught, I blame you!"
"Woohoo! This is gonna be so much fun!" Zoey said.
Blair groaned. "You're so stupid."
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That night at about 11 Blair, Zoey, and I snuck out of our room. Like the last couple of times I snuck out, it was completely silent in the hallways. There wasn't a soul in sight.
"Where are we going?" Blair asked.
"The library," I said.
"Gross, why?" Zoey asked.
"Because that's where I first met Dario."
"Dario? That guy you said was really attractive?"
"That's the one."
"Why would he know what happened to Lilia?" Blair asked.
"He might not know," I said. "But he seems to be close to Elridge, so maybe Elridge told him something."
"We are doing this and we don't even know if this guy knows anything??"
"Well it's better than nothing."
"Yeah, loosen up Blair," Zoey said. "This is exciting."
"I don't see anything exciting about sneaking around at night."
We were finally standing outside of the library. This is the first time I've ever seen the door closed. Odd. I pulled on the door and it didn't open.
"It's locked," I said.
"What did you expect?" Blair asked crossing her arms. I could tell she was getting even more impatient.
"It's usually not locked," I said confused. Maybe the librarian finally figured out that people, me, were sneaking into the library at night.
"So, where to now?" Zoey asked.
"Do you know where the Assistant Headmaster's office is?" I asked her.
"Yeah, it's down the teacher's hallway, where we aren't allowed to go, especially at night."
"Technically we aren't supposed to be anywhere at night, except our rooms," Blair pointed out.
"We are heading in that direction anyway," I said ignoring Blair.
Blair groaned, but she followed Zoey and me down to the entrance hall anyway. It was still creepy at night. The shadows reminded me of ghosts. We stopped once we go to the entrance to the teacher's hallway.
"We aren't really going to go down there, are we?" Blair asked nervously.
"I've always wanted to go down there," Zoey said. "I want to know if it's fancier than the school side of the hallway."
"No. It looks the same. I went down there once," I said.
Blair and Zoey both looked at me shocked. I ignored them and started walking down the hallway. I noticed I had the same feeling I always did when I got to this hallway. That feeling of longing and mystery. The feeling of something whispering to me, calling to me.
"It's fucking creepy down here," Zoey said.
"Why would that guy of yours be down here?" Blair asked looking over her shoulder, as if she was afraid someone was following her.
"I've found him down here before."
"All I can say is this boy better be worth it. He better be as pretty as you say, and he better know something."
"Trust me, he is. And as for knowing something, I hope so too."
We heard voices before we turned the corner. I saw Dario before he saw us.
"Dario!" I called out.
Dario looked up at us in surprise. "What are you doing down here?"
"Looking for you."
"Well you should get out of here," Dario said flinching. I noticed his eyes were shining bright purple. Dario started shaking and covered his face with his hands.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Blair asked him taking a step back.
Dario fell to his knees and I ran over to him. "Please go," He begged.
"No, what's wrong?"
Dario didn't say anything. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him. I saw fangs for a split second before they pierced my neck.
I let out a yelp of surprise. What the hell was happening? I heard Zoey and Blair scream. I felt myself getting dizzy, was Dario drinking my blood?
Oh my God. I couldn't believe it, there's no way it could possibly be true.
Dario was a vampire.