Opposites

Author's note:: Okay, hey guys. Thanks for reading, first off, second off, there is probably some grammatical mistakes in this story, but not many. I haven't had time to proofread the whole thing yet... but will get right on it as soon as I can. It isn't finished yet, and I don't plan on finishing it, but I do plan on re-writing it. So, you can read this to get a... feel for the new version. Enjoy!!

Home Coming
Chapter One

My breathing became quick and strained as the plane landed, that was always the scariest part of flying. Everything seemed to be a blur, my ears popped and babies cried… horrible. Finally it stopped and the passengers were dismissed; I stumbled slowly behind a couple who where holding everyone up with constant kissing and cuddling. Public displays of affection should be banned, for obvious reasons. As I stepped outside of the plane, I instantly inhaled a large gulp of air. Inside the oversized jet the air was heavy, and muggy, like when you get out of a steaming shower and it is hard to breathe.
Mom and Dad were waiting for me in the lobby, their faces cruel and scowling, they obviously weren’t too happy with me at the time. I smiled apologetically at them and leaped forward, encircling them both in a hug. Dad’s calm and slightly wrinkled face became instantly happy, and he kissed my forehead as he took my luggage into his hand.
“Welcome home, hon.” His voice was smooth and wise, like I had always remembered. No matter how old I got I would always remember Dad; he always knew what to do and was my hero. Eyes scanning over Mom’s motionless figure, I noticed she still had a stern gaze to her eyes and mouth… she and Dad were almost total opposites. She was strict, and generally unemotional, while Dad was happy and caring. Sometimes it baffled me how two totally different people could get along, none-the-less fall in love. Maybe I spoiled it for her, maybe when I was born their whole relationship spiraled down. Whatever the reason, even if it was my fault, I didn’t care; as long as I still had my father.
“Hello Dad, Mom.” I grinned eagerly as I said my first words to my father in four years, and merely nodded my head at my mother. Nothing really made her happy, except work, so she just nodded back then crossed her arms over her chest. Sighing, I followed Dad to the exit of the airport and to the red Honda Civic. He popped the trunk, shoved my bags and other things inside, and sat in the driver’s seat ready to start home. Familiarizing myself with the car again, I hopped in the back seat and kicked off my shoes.
Yawning in exhaustion, I peered out the window, head leaning against the cool glass, and watched as other cars and patches of forest zoomed by as we drove home. Vermont was filled with beautiful scenery, and almost everywhere you looked was a bundle of trees and shrubs. Everything was green where I lived and it made it slightly tranquil to look at. Most of the buildings were small, and the tallest one was only three stories high. Also, most of the houses were only one story; just a few were two. Birds sang their songs of glee perched up on wobbly tree branches while deer scuttled through the woods trying to be undetected.
Our house came into view about thirty minutes into the drive, and I smiled. It had seemed like I was gone for forever, and hadn’t seen this house in ages. Pushing the door open enthusiastically, I jumped out of the car and skipped euphorically to the aged oak entry. Aromas of home enticed me as I slowly stepped through the house; it seemed so different and unfamiliar like I had opened the wrong door and was in a stranger’s house. Curious, I wandered over to where my room used to be, where the walls were painted a refreshing aqua blue, where the carpet was the conventional light tan, where photos and posters lined the walls, where magazines and books were sprawled about, where my bed was lined with matching polka dotted blankets and sheets, where I had grown up. But now it was all gone, everything… gone. The room was now a bland off white color, Mom had probably chosen, with no decorations what so ever and two wooden desks lined the walls.
Drained of all my energy, I flopped down onto one of the desk chairs; it was a pale, stiff blue and spun around. Pale and stiff… like my skin. My fingers grazed the surface of my arm and I winced: how would I tell them and would they even believe me? Hopefully they would, and we could live like a normal, happy family. But I could never be normal… not with this burden of a curse. I exhaled loudly and just as I finished, Mom crept into the room. A sickeningly fake smile was plastered on her vicious face and she grasped my shoulder… I guessed it was supposed to be an “affectionate gesture”. She let go and started talking.
“Adeline, darling, I am utterly sorry about your room, but we have moved it to the attic. I needed this room for a work space and since we suspected you would be gone the full six years, your father and I decided it would be best to use this room to the fullest extent.” Her voice was shallow, and flat. Mother always called my by my full name –Adeline- while most people called me by my nickname –Adie.
“Oh, well that’s okay I guess. I mean… I guess I understand. Are all my things up there already?” This time I was the one with a counterfeit smile, trying to resist screaming at her. My mother and I didn’t get along… what so ever. We had always faked getting along in public, but both of us and Dad knew the truth.
“Good, I am glad you understand. Oh yes, and about your paraphernalia, well we threw away all those useless photographs and posters and sold your old bed spread. Like I said, we had absolutely no clue you would rebel against the school and have to come home early. Truthfully, you are lucky we even gave you the attic.” Mouth gaping open, I felt anger boiling up inside of me. How could she of done that? And I did not “rebel against the school”. Before I totally blew up at her, I composed myself and nodded. Lips curling up into a satisfied smile, Mom took my arm and dragged me to the hallway closet so I could at least have some blanket to sleep with. After rummaging through piles upon piles of quilts and pillows, I finally chose a set: aqua colored satin blanket, and a soft pale green feather pillow.
Trudging up the attic stairs, I thought about everything that had happened that past year and the real reason I had missing so much school. Mom and Dad had sent me to a boarding school when I was twelve and expected me to stay there until I graduated six years later. Apparently they thought it would be better for me there. The boarding school was in northern Minnesota, and many strange things happened there. But I never thought something like that would happen to me.

The cold mid February air stung my cheeks as I continued to move forward with an aimless wander around the dormitory, with nothing but a thin cotton sweater and damp jeans to protect my limbs. Suddenly, I heard something, and spun.... Rustling sounded from the bushes and I had halted: Who would be out so late at night? An eerily dark figure slipped out of the bushes and smiled deviously. He was tall, pale and strangely beautiful. Before I knew it, he was standing next to me, smelling my neck. I was paralyzed in many different things: fear, confusion, and surprise. Seething pain ran through my body as he leaned over me and something sliced into my flesh, like a million needles stabbing me to death. I had no clue what was going on and it all had happened so fast… most of it was a blur. Blood trickled down my throat and the strange man stepped back from me; the next thing I knew, I was collapsed on the ground, aching all over.
That next morning I had woken up in an old cabin in the woods. I could hear the heart beat of a bird outside the building, and I could smell the morning dew drops scattered about on the grass. The strange man was there, sitting at a table he was obviously waiting for my awakening, he smiled and started talking to me.
“Good morning. You may have noticed some things… different about yourself. I am here to explain it.” His voice was eloquent and pleasing to listen to, he didn’t stutter and every word came out flawlessly from his perfectly formed lips. He told a fantastic tale of mythological beasts and how they roamed among the human race, his words hanging dryly in the air. How could I believe all this? Finally, he came to the conclusion of his story: Last night that pain I felt was his fangs piercing my skin, changing me in to what he was, the undead… a vampire.
My skin would be hard and almost impenetrable, my appearance would be practically flawless and very pale, and my senses would be amazingly sharp. He was right about that, I did look totally different, but I also felt a strange sensation. The need for something… only I couldn’t put my finger on that necessity. This man informed me that I must drink blood, and told me that that was the feeling I was having: the need for blood. But, I didn’t have to feed on humans; vampires had evolved over the years and could now survive off of animal blood. Only a few vampires still feasted on humans. Also, vampires were mortal enemies with werewolves, and it was best to never come into contact with one. But if I still did meet one I was supposed to exterminate it and burn the corpse. My fangs only protruded when I was feeding or needed to feed, and as I became an older vampire I had to feed less and less often. Since I was a newly changed vampire at the time, I would need to feed regularly, and Jordan –this mystery guy’s name- told me he would come and pick me up in the mornings before school started and we would go hunting those days. That was the reason I had missed so much school and got kicked out leading to being sent home early, that was the reason I had to sleep in the attic. The filthy, putrid attic.

Snapping back into reality, I finished making my temporary bed and scavenged up some old magazines from boxes in the hallway closet. Time to personalize my attic bedroom. I cut and pasted and cut some more and pasted some more until the walls of the room were covered in colorful papers with magazine clippings collages. Satisfied with my work, I flopped onto the mattress, a loud and annoying squeak reverberating through the emptiness.
Dinner had been eaten, and I headed over to the bathroom for my long awaited shower. Bright yellow walls surrounded the porcelain tub and I felt relieved to finally see some color. Quickly I turned on the water –steaming hot as usual-, undressed, and slowly stepped in. I winced in pain; the scorching water hit the rear of my neck and trickled slowly down my skin. After viciously washing my hair out with shampoo and conditioner, I dried myself off, put on my pajamas, brushed all the tangles out of my stubborn hair, and went to bed at precisely eleven o’clock.


First Meeting
Chapter Two


I woke up to the smells of a muggy attic and groggily got out of bed and ready for school. My closet only had a few items in it: three shirts, four pairs of pants, two jackets, and three pairs of shoes. Since there wasn’t much of a selection, I grabbed an aqua polo shirt and my brown jacket paired with plain straight legged blue jeans; I would definitely need to go shopping sometime. After I got dressed, I brushed through my knotted hair, and then skipped over to the small window. Peering through the dirty glass, I could see all the beautiful surrounding forest, and small woodland creatures scurrying about. I laughed, breaking the silence of the upstairs room, and started down the stairs.
For breakfast Dad had made pancakes and home made orange juice, he smiled at me, wrinkles visible on his forehead. That was one thing about Dad, even when he was younger his forehead still wrinkled with every smile; like no matter what age he was he always had some sort of knowledge hidden behind his curled up lips.
“Adie, guess what!” Dad’s voice was enthusiastic as he plopped two pancakes on a plate and handed it to me.
“What?” I asked after taking a bite. He grinned at me and dangled car keys in front of my face; the light hit them and danced around the room. Speechless and stunned, I stared at him wide eyed in disbelief.
“A few weeks prior to your home coming, I bought you a car. I figured you’d need it to drive to scho-.” Before he could finish, I cut him off with a squeal and a bear hug. Dad merely laughed and tossed the metallic keys to me. Eagerly, I scurried out to the driveway, warm air greeting me on the porch; and sighed as I gazed upon the brand new silver Ford Focus. Sleek and shiny, the sunlight bounced of off the surface and blinded me, warming my pale face at the same time. Not wanting to be late for school, I slipped behind the wheel, and a tingle traveled down my spine, not missing a single vertebrate. I felt so… in charge behind the wheel and empowered. After gawking at all the little nooks and crannies and toying with the radio station, I put the car in drive and sped to school.

***
The school hallways were crowded with students and familiar faces studied me with ignorant glances. If I could, I would have been blushing then, with all eyes on me, I was never a good one in front of big hordes of people. Rachel, a tall brunette with a perky attitude, approached me and smiled weakly, like she was afraid to be speaking to me. I was an outcast, apparently. Her cerulean eyes darted from side to side, probably checking to make sure no one saw her fraternizing with such a reject, and then she sighed.
“Hello Adie, I uhh… haven’t seen you in forever. H-how have you been?” This stung, it seemed as though it pained her to be talking to me. But if she was really that annoyed by me, then why did she ever acknowledge me? She could have just scurried past pretending like she didn’t notice me like everyone else. I shrugged and examined her, I was now almost as tall as her, when four years ago I considered her a giant, also her face had thinned out a little bit but her eyes were as bright and sparkly as always.
“I had heard all the rumors that you were coming back, but I dismissed most of them. A lot were just nonsense junk about you getting caught doing drugs in the janitor’s closet and skipping school on a regular basis,” Rachel snorted, and continued blabbing on, she seemed more comfortable now that she had started a sort of… conversation, “So, what is the real reason you came back?”
I bit my lip, hoping she wouldn’t notice my nervousness, and shrugged again, “Well, one fourth of the rumors are true. I missed too many days of school, but I didn’t skip them, I just… didn’t go. Unless you count that as skipping… then I guess one half of the rumors are true.” I chuckled and Rachel smiled. It was nice talking to one of my… friends. Back at that horrible boarding school I didn’t really make friends, and after my transformation, I didn’t really have time for human friends.
“Hey, what is your schedule? I have science with Mr. Tanner first period.” Quickly, I scanned my schedule which the principal had handed me, and I discovered I has science with her.
“I have science too, same teacher.” Rachel grinned, grabbed my wrist, and led the way to science class. Internally, I smiled and was thankful at least one person wasn’t totally shunning me. Maybe there was hope for my sorry self after all… unless she gets… suspicious, that’s never a good thing.
Together, we arrived to the classroom about three minutes early and Mr. Tanner talked with me about what I had been learning at my old school and talking me through the lesson for today and this week. The whole time he talked in his monotone prison guard voice, I just nodded at the appropriate times when I was really off lost somewhere in my mind. When the bell finally rang for the lectures to begin, he made me introduce myself. Although, I tried to tell him I had gone to this school district before and most everyone knew me, he still insisted.
“Uhmm, hi, I am Adeline… but you can call me Adie. I uhh, just moved back here after four years at a boarding school, and that is really all.” Mr. Tanner smiled approvingly and I shuffled to the open seat next to Rachel. The middles-aged man with a graying comb over began teaching something about cells, but I just dazed off to somewhere else.
Students wriggled uncomfortably in their seats, and a few of them stared at me openly; the rest were smart enough to only slip in surreptitious glances every few minutes. Rachel scribbled drawings and random leafs of paper, she always loved to draw, but every single one she drew, she crumbled up into a ball and tossed into the trashcan. This puzzled me; a lot of her little doodles were very good.
“Hey, Rach, why do you keep throwing those away? They are really good.” She looked at me, horrified, like I had gone insane. Cocking my head to the side, I waited for her response; how could she think they were that bad?
“Are you kidding me? Those were hideous! I can do much better. Oh Adie, you are so out of it.” Rachel rolled her eyes, and giggled, then turned back to her sketches. Sighing from extreme boredom, I decided to tune into the chitchat of a few girls behind me. Vampires do have excellent senses, but the good thing is that they can tune some out. Like I can tune out my excellent hearing sometimes if I don’t want to listen to something; it is quite a nifty trick. The two girls I was eavesdropping on were named Harper and Layne; both of them were hyper blondes always dishing out the gossip.
“Ooh, Harper!! I can not believe it! That guy is just so freaking cute! I mean come on, who doesn’t like that tall, brown hair, and blue eyes combo? I mean seriously!” Layne squealed in a hushed voice at Harper; they were both grinning like idiots at each other. This talk of this guy interested me, and I made sure I didn’t miss any detail. Even if I was technically a member of the walking dead, I was still interested in boys.
“Oh my god Layne, I know! But it sucks that he like just moved here like a month ago!” At this, I froze. So this mystery guy was new too? I smirked then tuned back into the headache-worthy high pitch conversation, “He is like really quiet too, like shy and stuff. That is like a totally turn off, like seriously.”
Could these two bottle blondes say ‘like’ any more? Geez. Their voices were getting on my nerves, and the whole valley girl thing got really monotonous after a while, so I decided to tune back out and go back to aimless thinking. Before I knew it, the familiar sound of the school bell vibrated from the loud speakers and off the walls; all the students got up and rushed to their next class. Scanning my schedule again, I noticed that next I had art with Mrs. Gregory, and I headed in the direction. Art was definitely not one of my strong points, but it was better then cooking classes, photography, or some sport.
On my way to second period, I checked through the crowds for people I knew, and listened for people who were talking about me. Most of it was just talk about rumors of why I came back, and a few people were talking about a new guy; the same guy Layne and Harper were awing over in science I guessed. No one mentioned his name or anything about him except that he was new, and his appearance; most of the girls were also awing over him. So focused on what I was doing, I didn’t realize there were actually people around me and not just their thoughts, and I bumped into a guy.
“Oh gosh, I am so sorry! I- I wasn’t watching where I was going, I will never-.“ he cut me off with a small, almost inaudible laugh. Once again, if I could, I would be blushing crimson red at that moment. As I met his eyes, I internally gasped; he was beautiful. With eyes a deep, content blue and hair a gorgeous caramel brown, this boy could have easily been some sort of male model. Except his nose; it was a little funny shaped, but no human is naturally perfect.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s no big deal.” Even his voice was wonderful, it was even and there was no sign of anger or frustration at all. Back in tune with my hearing, I over heard a group of girls in shock that I was talking to this new guy. Personally, I was in shock too; so this was him.
“Well, it kind of is,” I smiled at him sweetly, “But I am glad you didn’t totally blow up at me. I’m Adeline, but you can call me Adie.”
“I’m Trevin Jack, but you can call me Trevin.” He smiled back at me, and I sighed: Trevin; what a beautiful name. He skimmed over my schedule which I hadn’t even noticed, and then grinned, “Hey, I have art next too. Would you like to walk with me?”
Shyly, I nodded my head and half smiled; although I put on a good act, I was still shy and slightly self conscious on the inside. I stepped forward until I was even with him, and we started walking. All eyes were on us, so I waited until he was one step ahead of me too make it less noticeable. He was very cute, but not worth the accusing stares.
After what seemed to be miles of suffering the glares of jealous girls, we had finally made it to art class. The teacher’s name was Mrs. K, she was a slightly frazzled yet organized woman with wavy hair with was constantly in a bun. From the moment I met her, I had known I would like the woman: she didn’t go into some lecture about course studies, and smiled often, but she still made me introduce myself. My voice was flat as I recited my introduction, the same one I had used earlier in science, and then took a seat next to Trevin.
Trevin had told me that Mrs. K was a very… deep person and she seemed to be like a walking book full of those quotes to live by. Giggling in the middle of one of her speeches about painting styles, she came over to our table and crossed her arms.
“The man upstairs gave us two ears, two eyes, and one mouth. Your mind has no preconceived knowledge of the Earth around you, so you have to take advantage of your ears and eyes to learn, not use your one mouth to waste time talking and giggling. Save that for lunch.” Mrs. K winked then started walking back to the front of the classroom.
Painting from previous students, and photographs adorned the walls giving the bland cream color some kick. Apparently, a lot of people liked Mrs. K as their teacher; she had thank you cards pasted in picture frames also hanging on the wall. It seemed as though anything and everything she could get to balance on the walls, she did; almost every inch of painted plaster was covered.
Turning my attention back to the lesson or what was left of it, I discovered the teacher was about to pass out our year long assignment topics. We had to paint, sculpt, draw, record conversations about, find a way it affected everyday life, find a deeper meaning to, and anything else we could about this one object. Ironically, she had given me a heart. Whether it be a beating heart, or one of those hearts from middle school confessing your love for someone else, it didn’t matter; all that mattered was that I did it the way I thought I should. Trevin had gotten grass; how boring.
A few minutes before the bell officially rang, Mrs. K released us to go to our next class or do whatever really; Trevin had math and I had English next. We parted to our different classes, and the rest of the day was really a monotonous blur. English passed by in a flash, with a discussion about Shakespeare, then math with boring problems in the book, gym with a few stretches then laps around the track then lunch, history with taking notes on some topic I paid no attention to, and finally free period where we could go home or hang out around the school.
My choice was to go to the library and pick out a few books to read. Not many people were there, and it reeked of… books: old books, new books, damaged books, and a few magazines. Most of the students there were girls, and they were all huddled over by the romance genre giggling over some book. I slid past their group of bodies and scanned the shelves for something promising. A black and red book caught my eye; I cradled it in my hands as I read the back. Some girl who I had never seen before, but I heard someone whisper her name: Jenna; approached me with a weird look on her face.
“Are you like seriously,” oh great, another valley girl, “going to read that? Isn’t it about vampires?” Jenna spat the word out in disgust, watching me like I was a parasite.
“Oh. It’s about vampires? I didn’t know that,” I tried to scowl as cruel as she did, but I could only bring myself to a weak frown. Vampires, it was about vampires; how could I just sit there and insult myself? Jenna laughed a high pitched annoying sound which reminded me of Layne and Harper from that morning.
“I was just asking, like seriously. But like yeah, I guess if you like life sized mosquitoes like that, then I guess it might be good.” She just shrugged and walked off, swinging her purse around as she huddled back together with her friends.
Ouch, that stung; what a rude insult. So, I guess I’m a mosquito now? Brushing off her comment like it was nothing, I checked out the book anyways and decided to read it just to spite her.

Café de l'amour
Chapter Three

The first day back at school had been a Friday, so I got a whole weekend off before having to return. Two days all to myself, two days with nothing to do; I could have started my art project or worked on math homework. Trevin and I had exchanged numbers, so I could have called him, but it might have seemed awkward if I did: we had just met the previous day and only talked in the hallways and art class. Desperate to do something, I decided I would get dressed and just go for a walk in the woods for a little while. Woods had always calmed me down, ever since I was a little girl, and I had hoped it would do the same that boring Saturday.
My clothes were still scarce, that was another thing I could do today: shopping, but I managed with a blue silk camisole, jeans, and a black jacket. Frizzy and damp from the previous night’s shower, my hair was almost impossible to style so I just gathered it up into a messy ponytail and headed downstairs. Mom was sipping her black coffee daintily while reading over the daily newspaper and I nodded at her as I exited the doorway; she would have to inform Dad of my whereabouts when he finally awoke.
As I strolled to the forest’s edge, I thought about my family, and how… dysfunctional it was. Dad and I were the only two in the group who really got along, minus Jeremy… my older brother. Jeremy had been sent away to the boarding school with me, but he didn’t have to come home. Although he also was a vampire like me, he fed less and was present for the minimum amount of days. He had always been so protective over me, and was Mom’s favorite. Neither Jeremy nor I minded though, we both knew Dad liked me the best. Our parents were very unethical sometimes, with choosing favorites and spoiling that chosen child. No one in the family really cared though, or mad a scene about it; that was just normal for our family.
Coming back to reality, I realized I was quite a ways into the forest and was getting wet from dew droplets sliding off of slick leaves. Sock wet and hair even frizzier, I took a seat on a tree stump. It made my jeans get slightly wet too, but not as wet as I would have been trekking through the trees and bushes. Now I had time to think, except I had nothing I needed to think about. All of a sudden, my cell phone started beeping and I realized someone was calling me. Picking it up, I didn’t recognize the caller I.D. but it did seem a tad bit familiar.
“Hey, good morning Adeline,” Trevin, it was Trevin, calling me. Stunned, it took me a while to form coherent thoughts, and finally stuck a sentence together for a good reply.
“Oh, hey Trevin, so why’d you call?” I asked him, really actually curious about his reasoning. This morning his voice sounded slightly stiffer and a little rough, like he had just woken up. I tried to picture what he hair may look like and his smile. Hair was probably tousled about and messy, but his smiled was probably as gorgeous as ever.
“No reason I guess, I just had nothing to do so I decided to call you. Are you doing anything today? I don’t really have anything to do at all today, so why not ask you?” My keen hearing could almost detect the grin in his voice as I tried to think of anything that might prohibit me from going.
“Nope, I have nothing as well. Where would you like to go? There is a little café somewhere around town that we could go to; the breakfast there is really good.” Laughing mentally, I reminded myself that mostly couples went there, but he didn’t seem like the type of guy to care about that sort of thing. Trevin Jack was more of a free soul, always making jokes whenever possible, and I liked it.
“Sure, let’s go there. Should I come pick you up or…?” His voice was uncertain, like he was afraid of offending me if I didn’t own a car or so I guessed. Laughing into the receiver, I told him he could come pick me up, but not to worry and that I did have a car. A beep sounded as I hung up and I shoved the phone back into my pocket.
Now I had about ten minutes left to wait for him, so I chose to use that time to make my way back home. Roots and tree branches annoyed me, but I never once tripped over one or was hit by one; another perk of being a vampire. You were absolutely perfect in walking and you were prepared for every contour of the land.
A black, sleek, BMW M3 pulled up in front of my driveway and in the driver’s seat was Trevin. Who knew he drove such a nice car? Waiting to see his warming face again, I practically leaped to the passenger door and hopped in anxiously. Once inside, a warm smile greeted me, a smile which belonged to Trevin.
“Good morning Mrs.… uh, I never got your last name,” He blushed, and I felt slightly jealous that he could, he was still human, with a long prosperous life ahead of him. Meekly smiling back, I explained to him I had never told him my surname.
“Adeline Rebecca Connor is my full name, just in case you were wondering,” I winked at him, no longer timid of my classmates’ intent looks, and giggled, wishing my cheeks could turn scarlet like his.
“Okay then, good morning Mrs. Connor. How are you doing today? I hope you enjoy our little day together at this café you suggested.” Trevin grinned at me, put the car in drive, and sped off down the road towards the café. He ruffled his hair to get it out of his face, and secretly I smiled, it was just as amazing messy as it was neat. Last night he must have slept well because his face was refreshed and almost looked better then yesterday. Then again, I didn’t get a good look at him what with everyone else gawking at us.
“I am doing perfectly well, Mr. Jack. Oh yes, and I am pretty sure I will enjoy it, very much so.” Together we talked on like that, until he finally swerved into a parking space in front of Café de l'amour, and I secretly hoped he either didn’t speak French, or didn’t care that the name meant ‘coffee of love’ in English. We sat down in a booth that was basking in sunlight, and when I pressed the tips of my cold fingers to the top of it, a warm shiver slipped through me.
“So, what do you want to get? I have never been here before, but I take it you have. I mean, you did recommend it.” Waitresses and waiters scurried about form table to table furiously writing down orders, and I finally decided to get the cocoanut donut. I had over heard another customer raving about how delicious it was. One more fact about vampires, we weren’t really supposed to eat normal food, but it wasn’t impossible. If I just never ate, that would make me look suspicious of something and that is never good.
“Good choice, I shall get the same,” A waitress with curly red hair skipped over to our table and took our orders; it seemed as though she was new on the job because she was so eager to please… and I over heard a fellow employee talking about her under her breath, “So, Adeline, why did you move here, or should I ask why did you come back and where you had gone in the first place? If you would rather not, I won’t force you to answer by the way.”
The waitress, who I had over heard was named Lily, strutted back towards our table holding our orders, she smiled gently while setting them down in front of us, “Oh, well four years back when I was twelve, my parents decided it would be best if they sent me to boarding school. Not because I was some delinquent or a discipline problem, more like my mom didn’t want me in the house. You see, Mom and I practically hate each other, yes it is…. Odd and unlike normal families but we are not a normal family. Anyway, I was sent with my older brother Jeremy who was fourteen at the time, he is eighteen now and is going to graduate form the boarding school and go to college, but he stayed, I did not. The reason is… well… I hope this doesn’t make me sound like a horrible person, but I missed too many days. I guess I… skipped, but for a good reason.”
Oh just great; I had said too much and now he would be begging to know.
“Why did you skip so many days?” He had a quizzical look on his amazing face, and for a second I might have guessed he was a vampire by his looks, except for the fact he wasn’t deathly pale and actually could blush.
“I… I don’t think I can tell you. Nothing illegal though. I’m not that rebellious.” Rolling my eyes, I laughed and took a bite out of my donut; Trevin merely shrugged.
“Okay, I trust you; you seem trustworthy.” I nodded and picked at my donut a little more, and then I took a deep breath and sighed. Something in my mind almost forced me to blurt out something utterly stupid, and a very suspicious thing to say.
“I like you; you smell responsible.” Oh no, oh no, oh no! What had I just done? Now he would interrogate me and discover my secret! Trying to make it seem less suspicious, I slapped my forehead and mumbled, “Woops, uh… why did I say that? That makes no since. Uh, excuse my… stupidity.”
“Oh, well I thought it was kind of funny actually, don’t freak out. You tend to do that often, freak out, like… you over react sometimes, well actually quite frequently.” Laughing, Trevin finished off his donut and checked the time on his cell phone. The time was nine thirty five a.m. and both Trevin and I were done eating so I suspected we would leave, but as I stood up, he asked me to sit back down.
“I just wanted to talk for a bit more; I have nothing else to do all day so why not waste my time here talking with you?” He grinned, and started pulling some money out of his wallet to pay the bill; I was about to pay for myself but before I could hand my money over, the waitress had already left, “First, what’s your family like?”
Smiling, I thought of what all I would tell him, and how I would explain my mother, “Well, I have an older brother named Jeremy and my mom and dad. Dad and I get along well, I was always his favorite; Mom is another story. Her favorite was always Jeremy. Jeremy and I always got along great, although he was a bit over protective sometimes, I knew he just didn’t want me to get in trouble or hurt. When we were at the boarding school, I guess you could say we bonded even more; he lives a few miles away and we do a lot of stuff together. Most of my uh… friends always wonder how we were so close while most of them hated their brothers.” I giggled while trying to conceal my anxiety, yes Jeremy and I did a lot of ‘stuff’ together, but it wasn’t regular stuff. It was hunting. Trevin just nodded and pondered another question.
“Well, I can’t think right now, so you can question me instead; I’d be happy to answer.” He half smiled and I inhaled, the smells of coffee and fresh donuts lingering in the air.
“Okay then, why did you move to Vermont, and where did you come from?” I inquired, I had already know how long ago he arrived, thanks to Harper and Layne
“First off, I came from Washington, and we came here because well… not a good reason,” Trevin smirked, but I could hear his heartbeat speeding up; he was nervous.
“What? It’s probably not as bad as skipping school.” We both chuckled and he sighed.
“My mother kind of got… caught up in the law over there. She was a suspect of... murder,” his voice was as low as a whisper now, “So we ran away; two weeks after we came here we got a letter in the mail. We had thought we were caught, but it just stated that they caught the real murderer and she was innocent.”
Now I could see why he was so concerned about people knowing it, it wasn’t like his mother was charged with murder, but it wasn’t the best thing for first impressions. Although, I thought that it seemed as though he wasn’t telling me the whole story. Nodding simply, I smiled at him reassuringly.
“Hey, Adeline, do you want to go somewhere else; maybe a park or something?” The sun was directly overhead –noon- so I nodded. Noon was the best time to be outside, the sunlight a warm embrace like an old friend.
“There aren’t many parks here, and the ones that are in the area are crowded with little kids, but the woods are always open, and most of the time free of people. And you don’t have to worry about getting lost, I always take walks through there and I have basically memorized the trails.” Lips curling up into a friendly smile, Trevin nodded and we stood up, leaving the café after sitting in the warm space for the whole morning.

Interrogations
Chapter Four

It seemed as though we had been driving for hours, and the whole time we were just talking and laughing with each other. I had pulled my hair out of the pony tail and shook it out; for some reason I thought he might like it better down. We had stopped talking for a bit, and to break the awkward silence I switched on his radio; Trevin just grinned at my facial expression when country music came on.
“Don’t get any ideas; we are not listening to country music, which is my sister’s fault.” Shaking my head, I giggled; country music was adorable.
“How do you not like it? The lyrics are always so cute, and just romantic. Either romantic, break up songs, or depressing, but I still like it.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he just rolled his eyes. At that moment, I felt that there was hope; hope for me, hope for him, hope for us. Serenity washed over me and I sat back, relaxing in the leather seat.
“I don’t know. It is just kind of… no offence, but feminine.” He shrugged and I playfully slapped his shoulder. Whenever I was around him… I felt like we had been best friends for forever and I felt so free around him. I acted as though I hadn’t just met him the previous day, yet years ago. Finally the song changed from a depressing country song to one of those cute ones about romance. The singer was a girl with a soft voice; just listening to the lyrics and the singing make me cheerful. Trevin pulled over by the forest’s edge and just stared at me, bouncing in my seat to the beat. By the chorus I had recognized the song and the artist: one of my favorites, and I began singing along. Slightly off beat, my voice echoed through the car and I just continued singing even if I was making myself look like an idiot.
“I was walking up the front porch steps after everything that day. Had gone all wrong and been trampled on and lost and thrown away,” I chimed before he turned off the car and the radio stopped. Knowing a good path to take, I led us both down a winding trail in the woods. Wind played with my hair while the sun beat down upon my pale skin; I slid my arms out of the jacket and tied it around my waist.
Trees hung over us and bushes threatened to poke us with their protruding branches, but we both stepped over them gracefully. All the dew had evaporated by now, but while we were in the café it must have sprinkled down a few raindrops because the underbrush was sparkling in the sunlight with water.
We came to a clearing in the –what seemed to be- perpetual forest, and I sat down on a collapsed tree; Trevin took a seat next to me. The humidity lingered in the space, and I fanned myself.
“Wow, it is so… beautiful out here,” he shook his head in disbelief while scanning our surroundings, “I am jealous that you got to grow up here. Back in Washington there were beautiful places, but they weren’t as… enjoyable. Most of the time I would have to go places by myself; no one ever wanted to go with me, or they were too busy. But right here, right now, it is quite enjoyable.”
I imagined that if I was human still, my heart would have fluttered just then, and I sighed longingly. Should I tell him, or would it be too risky? Part of me felt like I should, like I had a duty to tell him, but the other half of me told me not to, that is was too dangerous. Plus, even if it felt like we had been friends for ages, we weren’t.
“Yeah, it is beautiful out here. So, back to questioning you: What is your family like?” Trevin thought for a moment, his face soft yet mindful at the same time.
“Well, I have an older brother who is twenty three and lives in Maine, my father is dead, so it is just my mom and I living in our apartment. And, if you are wondering how we could afford a car for me when we can’t even afford a real house, the car was a present from my grandfather; he even pays all the bills on it. He has been really helpful and just wants the best even if he is practically on his death bed and residing in a nursing home.” I nodded while thinking of another question to ask, one that wasn’t as… personal.
“Okay, next question, what is your favorite color, pet, and dream job?” Grinning at him, I twisted the ends of my onyx black hair in my fingers.
“Red, probably a dog, and… lawyer,” he winked at the ‘dream job’ then laughed; I laughed along.
“Favorite music genre, book genre, and movie genre,” My questioning continued for a few hours until the sun slipped over the horizon and it was almost pitch black in the woods.

“I guess I should take you home now?” A half smile stretched across his face and his eyes sparkled in the intense moonlight; I just about fainted. He ran his fingers through his hair and glided towards the parked car. The night had been amazing, and I just wished some how that it never had to end.
Nodding solemnly, I scooted into the car and slumped down in my seat. Tomorrow Jeremy was coming for a visit: a hunting visit; I never particularly liked those visits. Jeremy had also been changed by Jordan back at the boarding school, but he was changed a few months earlier then me. We had helped each other through struggles and hunting trips ever since; also we swore never to tell Mom and Dad, not until the time was right or never.

The Hunting Trip
Chapter Four

Jeremy had arrived two hours ago and I told him to go chat with Mom and Dad while I got ready. Never before had it taken me two whole hours to do my hair and get dressed, but today I stretched the time out: stalling the hunting trip. My hair was in a simple bun, and I was wearing jeans and a tee shirt; if I had worn nice clothes they might get dirty and stained with numerous different things.
“Adie, come down here now! I’m not waiting any longer!” Jeremy shouted form downstairs in the kitchen, I groaned and slumped down the stair way. There he was, standing six feet and five inches tall –practically a living giant- with curly brown hair and piercing gray eyes.
“Geez, I’m here, no need to have a cow,” I made sure Mom and Dad couldn’t hear what I was about to say next; it would sound suspicious to them; “you can save that for later.”
Patting my head, Jeremy chuckled and poked me in the shoulder. I grimaced at him, he always did that and I hated it. Mom and Dad were sitting at the table in the breakfast nook conversing over steaming cups of black coffee.
“Bye Mom, Dad,” Jeremy waved goodbye to them and started for his truck, “I will have Ade back by 7 tonight.” They just nodded and let us go. My familiar nickname Jeremy gave me a few years back make me smile; he called me Ade and only him.
A pine air freshener hung in Jeremy’s car, and the smell made me nauseous; I much rather preferred the real forest smell then a counterfeit one. Sighing from utter boredom, I grabbed his portfolio of photographs and looked over each one. Jeremy was studying to become a professional photographer and he was already pretty good; looking at his pictures always gave me something to do. One picture was of two deer grazing in a meadow, and the sunlight hit them perfectly. Part of me was jealous of his photography, but the other part of me just sort of kind of hated photography.
“Jeremy… these are amazing!” He just grinned and turned a corner leading to the thickets part of the woods where no one ever went. If humans were around while a vampire was hunting, they probably wouldn’t live past that day. During hunting, a vampire is tuned in to every single sense perfectly and basically looses all comprehension of anything except for the smell of blood. Although vampires do not intentionally feed on humans, sometimes while hunting they can still make mistakes. The noises are dreadful, with cracking bones and ear splitting screams from the defenseless animals, I hate that the most.
“We’re here,” nodding; I slipped out of the car and followed Jeremy into the mass of trees. Squirrels chattered and deer sprinted through the plants as we traveled deeper and deeper into the forest. Finally we had reached a good spot to begin hunting; if we were too close to humans we may accidentally go after them instead.
Twigs cracked under my feet as I padded behind Jeremy, and then he turned left so I turned right. We liked to hunt by ourselves in our own part of the forest. My ears detected that Jeremy’s breathing had stopped so animals couldn’t hear him, I could smell a rabbit five miles away, and I could see a deer bolting through foliage about three miles away. A hare came into view and I sprinted towards it, within a second the creature was wriggling to get free under the pressure of my foot on its furry brown tail.
“It’s too late now. Don’t even try, you won’t make it,” my voice was cruel and I cringed while thinking of what I was about to do. Shaking my head at how pathetic the thing looked squirming, I picked it up by the scruff and stared it in the eye. Fearful and confused, it just shrieked and tried to yank out of my grip. Hands slowly wrapping around the neck, I gulped; being this… thing that I was wasn’t my favorite thing to be. I hated it. Every part of me wished I was still human, still able to cry, still able to blush, still have a heart beat.
Crack!
Finally its spine snapped, and I brought it closer to my face. Staring at the limp and unconscious corpse just hanging there in my inhumanly strong hands, I wanted to die myself, sacrifice myself so this hare could live. I could feel my fangs surfacing, and I winced as I brought the animal loser to my mouth. I bit into the fleshy neck of the animal and just as I was about to feed, I heard Jeremy calling for me. Sighing in relief, I tossed the hare on the ground and hurried back over to the car.
“Adeline, are you okay? You look… horrible,” I could hear the concern in his voice, and I just nodded. He said no more the whole trip home, and neither did I. Jeremy and Jordan has always been worried about me, they said I hadn’t taken very well to the new lifestyle or the hunting aspect of it. I hadn’t, I despised it. They were worried I would be reluctant to feed and there fore wouldn’t, or at least wouldn’t feed often. I didn’t, and I was secretly glad that I took my time while hunting so I couldn’t get much in. Jeremy parked that car in front of the house and waited for me to gather my things so we could go inside and he could chat with Mom and Dad some more.
My cell phone, which I had left in Jeremy’s car while hunting, vibrated, a text… from Trevin. Hands shaking slightly, I flipped it open and read his text; it read: Hey Adeline, want to hang out again tomorrow? Smiling to myself, I answered back: yes.
“Hey, who was that? I saw you smiling.”