Peridot glanced over at me. "You can stop freaking out now. You're safe."
"I can't ever know I'm safe now!" I shouted. "There are people out there who are hunting for my blood!"
"Lapis, you know I won't let that happen," Peridot mumbled.
"But what if it does?" I looked at her.
"It won't." She growled at me.
I closed my mouth and stared at her. "Am I bugging you?"
"You're overthinking this." Peridot propped up her knee and rested her elbow on it. "First of all, there are seven and a half billion people that live in this world, and vampires have all of those options. What's the chance that you would end up being their choice?" She smiled reassuringly.
"I was that vampire's choice earlier."
Peridot groaned and fell back onto her bed. "Come on, Lapis..." she sighed. "You're killing me!"
"Sorry." Peridot sat up and looked at me.
"As long as you watch who you're sitting next to, you'll be fine." I looked over at Peridot again and clenched my fist. My eyes shut as I looked away. There was an awkward silence that was broken by Peridot's roar of laughter. "Lapis!" She exclaimed mid-laughter. "That's not what I meant!"
I looked back at her. "D-don't laugh at me!" I twirled my hair, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry." She sighed. "I'm just trying to help."
We were silent. I glanced at her green eyes. "...would you be able to save me?" I asked.
"Save you?" Peridot repeated it. "I've told you—"
"I mean...would you be able to save me if a vampire bit me?"
Peridot stopped. She thought about it. "...if it only took some of your blood, the only thing that we'd need to save you is a blood transfusion...but vampires are venomous..."
"V-venomous?"
"...the only thing that would be able to save you from the venom is another vampire. They would have to drink your blood until it had no venom left in it. Then you'd need that blood transfusion." Peridot rubbed her chin with her thumb.
"...d-does the venom kill you?" I reached towards her and gripped her arm.
"If you're weak, yes, it will kill you. If you're not weak, it will paralyze you, and as long as you're not being killed while you're paralyzed, you have two or three days before you're suddenly a vampire." She looked at me.
"So they can turn me into one of them?!"
"Yes, they can."
"...would it hurt?"
"...yeah..."
Neither of us spoke for the second time. Peridot simply stared at me.
"...what if you got bitten by a vampire?" I finally asked.
"If another vampire didn't get the venom out, I would die." Peridot sighed.
"Die?!"
"We werewolves can't survive the venom if it stays. For vampires, it stings, for humans, it transforms, but for werewolves, it kills."
She pulled my hand off of her arm and gripped it.
"...have you ever been bitten?" I asked her in a quiet voice.
Peridot stared into space for a moment, then shut her eyes. Something told me that I had set her off somehow. I laid my head on her shoulder.
"I..." She bit her lip.
"...you don't have to tell me..." I said.
"No, no...it's okay," Peridot responded. She sighed. "It was back when I was a kid. I was probably around ten or eleven years old. I was walking through the city, and I lost track of Mom." I looked up at Peridot, feeling the suspense of the story. "Someone told me that they could help me find her, so, being the dumb kid I was, I followed them. They brought me into an alley, and before I could escape..." She cringed. I could almost hear the sound of her in my head. How her screams must have been heard by everyone in the city. I shivered. "Then Mom came. She killed the vampire and ran me back home as fast as she could. When we got home, she had to make a choice." Peridot tried to force herself to calm down, but her body wasn't giving in. "She either had to try as hard as she could to save me with human tools, and risk my irreversible transformation or death, or..." Her green eyes flashed a glance at me. "She would have to give up her powers to save me."
"...and..." I covered my mouth. I apparently really wanted to know the end of this story.
Peridot smiled in response. "She gave up her powers. She had to turn me into what she was. A werewolf."
"So being turned into a werewolf can prevent it?"
"It was a dangerous decision to make, due to the fact that vampire venom is potent to werewolf blood, but yes, it can prevent the spread. We werewolves also have this nice ability to heal a lot faster than a normal human would, so it flushed out the venom and healed the bite wound."
"Is it possible to be born as a werewolf?"
"Yes."
"And you weren't?"
She looked over at me, marveling at my interest. "If a werewolf and a werewolf breed, there's a one hundred percent chance you'll get a werewolf. If a human and a human breed, there's a one hundred percent chance you'll get a human. If a werewolf and a human breed, there's a fifty-fifty chance that you'll get either a werewolf or a human," she explained.
"So you were born as a human."
"Yes. My parents left it up to me to decide whether I wanted to become a werewolf, but when that day came, everyone knew that it was our only option. Mom couldn't live knowing I was dead, nevertheless a vampire." Peridot stuck her tongue out in disgust.
I snickered. "What did you think of being a werewolf?"
"Well, I didn't get a great first impression. I've heard that transforming into a vampire means you're paralyzed and in pain until you're done transforming, but for werewolves, it's different. I was shaking non-stop. I always felt cold since my body temperature was steadily rising. I always felt so unstable, and sometimes, I would get these pain spasms. A few days later, I was fine. I felt warm. I found how fast I was, and it was great. Mom told me to promise never to tell anyone, so I didn't. Now, I'm beginning to realize that you humans live carefree lives. You don't know about us, you don't have to worry about vampires. We have to protect you." Peridot sighed. "Being human could be so nice...but this is my duty. I won't be able to protect you if I'm not a werewolf."
"I never found anything strange about you before I found out about this," I said. "You blended in perfectly."
Peridot nodded and pulled me off of the bed.
"It's part of a plan," she said. "I have to keep the secret."
We walked outside onto the sand. The sun had just touched the horizon and was glistening off of the ocean water.
"You really had me fooled." I smiled.
"I know." Peridot sighed. "Now that you know, you can't trust the world anymore."
She was right. I knew that.
I stared at the ground. The world I once knew now had a new door open. So many things were out there, and I had never known before.
"So..." I began, "How do you even know what's real anymore?"
"To be honest," Peridot replied. "I don't trust what I see. There's always something more."
"...a human...that may not be human..." I looked at her, fear creeping into my system.
"...welcome to the world that nobody sees." Peridot sighed. "Everything is a mystery once you see it."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
I laid my head on her chest. I couldn't stand right anymore, so I was depending on her to help me with that. I felt her bury her nose in my hair.
"I-I don't like this..." I sniffled.
"...are you okay with knowing I'm a werewolf?" Peridot's tone sounded very worried. It seemed like this would be one of those things where she would have to kill me if I wanted to forget.
"Of course I'm okay with that." I turned my head and laid the side of my face on her chest. "I'm just scared about the vampires..."
"Lapis...I'm going to protect you, I promise. You don't need to worry." Peridot smiled the sweetest smile I had ever seen.
"Really?"
"Of course." She picked me up and carried me back inside. I looked up at her. She looked back down at me. "I've told you my life story. How about yours?" I stared at her. "I don't mean to invade your privacy, but...I'm just curious."
I sighed. "Mine isn't nearly as interesting as yours. I was born, I lived, hurray." I glared at the wall.
"But you only live with your dad. Where's your mom?"
I clutched my stomach. "...sh-she...I had to move out of her house."
"Why?"
"She had unhealthy habits. If I stayed there, she would've hurt me."
"...was she a drunk?" I nodded. Peridot placed me on her bed. "I'm sorry." She sat next to me and ran her fingers through my hair. "You're really scared, aren't you?" I nodded again and hid my head with my arms. "Yeah. I'm sorry."
"It's fine." I sighed.
"It will take some getting used to, I know," Peridot said. "Knowing you, I think you'll be just fine."
I looked at her and smiled. "You do?"
"I do." She began to fidget with her hands. "You can come over and talk whenever you want. I'm your best werewolf friend, aren't I?" She smiled nervously.
"Who else would be my best werewolf friend?" Peridot immediately perked up and hugged me a little too tightly. "Peri!" I cried.
She loosened her grip. "Peri?" She said the name to herself.
"Yeah...I-I thought it would be a cute nickname." I twirled my hair out of anxiety. "Is it okay with you?"
"It's great," she replied. I suddenly found myself yawning. "Bedtime for the human?" Peridot asked playfully.
"And the werewolf," I added.
"I don't need to sleep as much as you do."
"I'm not sleeping until you're sleeping."
"Alright. You've convinced me. Bedtime for the human and the werewolf." Peridot let me lay down on her bed and borrow one of her pillows. She tucked me in. "For the human..." She jumped onto the bed, and it shook at the impact of her landing. "For the werewolf," she murmured as she rolled next to me.
"Talk about overdramatic." I rolled my eyes playfully.
"I'm warm enough. You're the one who needs a little extra heat," Peridot replied.
"Doesn't mean you have to break your bed." I smirked a little.
"True." Peridot tried to make it seem like my opinion on her way of getting in bed really mattered. I didn't care. In all honesty, I thought it was funny.
"I'm not closing my eyes until you close your eyes," I said, poking her nose.
"Okay, okay."
Peridot laid her head on her pillow and closed her eyes. Soon after, I did the same.
I found myself dreaming. It was dark. There were so many bright ghosts. Then, Peridot walked up to me. She was a wolf. I looked at her as she sat down in front of me and whined. I sat down next to her and pet her. She smiled and laid her head on her shoulder. I giggled.
"I love you, Peridot," I said to her.
She barked in response. Everything went dark again as the dream faded away.
I woke up. Peridot had one arm wrapped around me. She was staring out the window at the sunrise.
"Good morning," she said. "You're up early for a weekend."
"How long have you been awake?" I asked her.
"Since you said my name." She glanced at me.
I paused.
I said that out loud?
"...when did I say that?"
"In the middle of the night. I was sleeping, and then I heard you say 'Peridot,' so I woke up."
I sighed. She didn't hear the full sentence.
"Wait a second, how long exactly were you up?!"
"Probably six hours."
"Six hours?!"
"I don't mind. I don't need much sleep anyway."
"Peridot!"
"I was awake, and that meant I was staying awake. So I guarded you."
"I don't need to be guarded."
"I thought that would be what you wanted."
"I'll be fine."
Peridot took her arm off of me. "You finally realize that." She chuckled.
I nodded and hugged her. She pat my head.
"Good morning," she said. "Again."
"Good morning."