So, you're in love a vampire.

"AITHEIANAEA!!! WE'RE LEAVING. COME DOWN AND GIVE ME A HAND!!" shouted Fillipa, Aitheianaea's stepmother.
"Coming..." replied Aitheianaea,"It's not like I'm busy or anything, I mean, it's only my college application." she added, in an undertone.
She went downstairs to help her mother with the suitcases, lined up like soldiers going into battle.
"Watch out for the one on the left!! I'll get it! It's too heavy for you to lift." shouted Steven, her dad, from the kitchen.
"OK, dad, but hurry up or you'll miss your meeting thing... what was it for again?"
"Business, honey. Your mother is going to the spa on a road a bit further up."
"She's not my mother...." Aitheianaea muttered under her breath, lugging a suitcase out to the awaiting car and swinging it into the trunk.

"STE!! Come on!! Hurry with that suitcase! We've only got two hours to get there!!" Fillipa shouted from the drivers' seat of the car.
"Coming!! Honey, there's extra money, phone numbers and keys and stuff in the top drawer of my desk. We'll be back in two weeks."
As Aitheianaea nodded, Stephen mouthed 'Love you' over his shoulder, hurrying out of the house with the last suitcase. He almost threw it into the trunk, slammed it shut and hurried around the car to the passenger seat and, buckling up, he waved out of the window while Fillipa resolutely ignored her stepdaughter.

Aitheianaea stood awkwardly at the door and waved at the disappearing car.

The car vanished round the corner, and she went inside, quietly closing the black painted door, shivering with the cold and cringing at the slightly ominous creaking that it emitted.

She got to the seventh stair before the phone started to ring.
"Oh, Good Goddess Above, it can't be them already! They've only just left!!" She thought, almost angrily.
"Brrng! Brrng! Brrng!" The phone insisted.
"Hello? Oh, hi, Roxzann.... No, it was 7 and 1.... Yes, I'm positive!!"
"Serious? You'd better not be lying to me!! So, anyway, have the 'rents gone yet?" Roxzann asked, all in one breath.
"Yeah, they left about 20 seconds before you rang! You wanna meet up later? I'm going to go shopping for some more ingredients for the circle tonight."
"Yeah, sure. Make a list and I'll meet you up on Rosewater Hill at about 6, OK?"
"Yeah, OK. See you there... Bye."

She hung up the phone and grabbed a pen and paper.
She went up to her room and took down her poster of the Murderdolls. Behind it was an area of panelling that didn't quite match the rest of the room. She dug her nails into the groove and pulled two of the panels across the wall, revealing a pot, two pewter dishes, an athame, and some herbs and flowers.
She pulled out the open box of herbs and flowers.
"I could have sworn I closed that... oh well, I can't have. OK, so I need some lavender, peach blossom, snap dragons, shredded lilies, more rosewater, some oils and incenses... and I'll buy that book." She carried on this vein of thought for about 10 minutes until,"There, I think that's it. I'll have to check later, but right now, I've got to go and get some groceries."
She took her handbag off the back of the chair, checking its' contents, checked her hair as she passed her mirror, and grabbed her coat off the back of the door before opening it and almost skipping down the stairs.

Outside, she felt good. Alone, but good. It was cold and dark, but she was happy. But then, there was a niggling doubt at the back of her mind. Why was the box open? Did she lock the front door? Who opened the box?
Her mind kept showing her the image of the open box, and she tried to remember. Did she leave the box open one night after the circle? Or had someone been in her room? Someone that knew about the panels.
Deep in thought, she barely registered that she had rounded a corner, and that a man was headed her way, also thinking of other things. Seconds later, they collided, the impact jolting the thoughts from their minds.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was walking!" Aitheianaea apologised, sincerely, looking up at the man she had walked into. He was tall, around 6', and his thick jacket gave the appearance of broader shoulders than he actually had. He had pale skin and oddly, startlingly deep green eyes.
"No problem. As long as I didn't hurt you." He smiled, moving his arm to maintain a good grip on his books. It was then that Aitheianaea realised that he was a student, in his late teens and very studious. Probably in the same year as she was, perhaps the one above.
"Oh, no, I'm fine." Aitheianaea assured, shaking her head and tucking her flyaway brown hair behind her ear. "My name's Aitheianaea Leyhman-Whynter, just in case you want to sue me for wreckless walking." She laughed, partly at her ridiculous sounding name.
"Hm... Leyhman of Leyhman and Frobisher Law Firm?" He asked, first laughing with her. "I'm hoping to intern there in the summer. I'm part way through the letter to apply."
"Well, give me your name, and I'll put in a good word." She grinned, glancing at the Town Hall clock.
"Darren Makenzie. And I'd really appreciate that, but I don't want to be late for my next lecture again, so I'm gonna have to scoot." He smiled, nodding by way of a farewell and hurrying along the pavement, glancing back at her as she continued on her way to the store.
She whispered a belated goodbye before watching him walk along the street, then continuing on her quest to buy food.

*******End of Chapter One*******