Sometimes people do daft things, sometimes they do stupid things and, very rarely, they go one better and do idiotic things. I’d gone two better, I wasn’t even sure if there was a word for that. Going to see Hayé tonight after she saw me at the party, after I knew she had worked it out. I needed to talk things through though….. Well if you call it talking. I hadn’t meant to act like that around her it had just happened. Something always happens around her, it’s a miracle I’ve been able to keep my secret this long!

I managed to carry her through the under-ground tunnels. Luckily no-one was home. What was I saying no-one was ever home. I might as well live here by myself! A couple of bats soared in the rafters; they weren’t ones I recognised as my parent’s spies so I ignored them. When I finally reached my room Hayé was frozen, from my skin no doubt, though her lack of clothes warm clothing was probably a factor. She was still unconscious but complaining in her sleep, tossing and turning: as if she was having a nightmare. I laid her gently on the bed and found a few blankets at the back on my wardrobe; I didn’t want to risk waking her by lifting her up again and putting the duvet over her. I could still see goose pimples on her arms. I shut the window and light the fire. The chimney crumbles a little from lack of use. When I was satisfied some time later that she would be warm enough I finally turn my thoughts to other things. Her parents are away for the weekend so I don’t have to worry about them but my parents could arrive at any second, I’ll just have to deal with them when they come, if they come. I pull a candelabra’s candle holder down and a passage way opens up. I leave it open and walk down into the darkness. Inside the tunnel widens and reveals a small room on a raised platform is a coffin. Simple brown wood but modern looking inside is pillows and black satin. I lie down but leave the lid open. I roll over and try to get sleep but sleep won’t come. I hear her heartbeat thumping evenly; the dreams must have stopped now. I’m glad she’s not having nightmares but the noise is excruciating. I begin to imagine seriously sick stuff that is only worthy of a horror movie.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “Seth help me get some drinks wont you?” Cassie said, shouting above the noise of the party.
“Sure Cassie. I’ll be in the kitchen if Hayé comes back before me,” I say to my friends.
We walk through to the kitchen. It’s empty apart from us, and quieter. Cassie gets a few bottles of beer and hands them to me.
“Sure you don’t a drink?” she askes me for the hundredth time. I politely decline but the truth is I do want a drink just not what she’s offering. I’m really thirst tonight. She searches for the bottle opener and uses it to open some of the bottles. She gets to a bottle and it won’t open. She’s twisting and pulling and I get the feeling something bad is about to happen. I let her struggle and imagine what I really would like to drink.
“Dang it. Seth go find a plaster will you?” I turn; drawn in by the smell. “Seth what’s going on?” I ignore her and stare at her badly cut finger. I look into her eyes and she almost screams but before she gathers enough breath she’s starring in front of her, seeing nothing. I take a step forward I can only imagine what I look like now, fangs, and red eyes; in short a monster but I don’t think of that as lean towards her neck and open my mouth. I hold her by the shoulders adjusting her position then gently I lean forward and drink. I keep my eyes open but I look straight ahead seeing about as much as Cassie is.
“Seth get off her. I said leave her alone!” I startle out of my bloodlust trance and see Hayé with a look of horror on her face. As I step back it quickly turns to disgust then fear. She is looking at my mouth, I lick my lips and rub my lips with the back of my hand but I can’t help myself licking my hand clean.
“What did you do to her?!” I look at Hayé who’s terrified but being strong for her friend.
I don’t know what to do. “I’ll fix it,” I say as surely as I can and examine the bloody gash on Cassie’s neck.
“Fix it!? That’s all Cassie is to you? An It?” Hayé’s enraged, I can tell even though I’m too scared to look at her, I don’t want to see the hatred and disgust in her eyes. I scrape the inside of my knuckles along my teeth and place my palm to Cassie’s neck.
“No Hayé! I didn’t mean it like that.” She comes closer; I keep my head down and concentrate on healing Cassie. I force myself to look up. She isn’t angry, more curious, intrigued. “What are you doing?” She comes closer still.
“My blood will heal her.” I take my hand away and check Cassie’s neck, its healing already. I look at Hayé then gesture to Cassie; she should help her.
“But what about your hand?” I turn the palm to face her. The gash I made is healing even quicker than Cassie’s. She looks at my hand then at me. I wonder if my eyes are still red.
“How do you do that?” S*** the questions are coming. I can’t deal with this right now.
“Look: I can’t explain,” I look at her but take a step back, “Its…. I just can’t - not here.” She’s about to come closer but I need to get out of here now. Before I do something I’ll regret; my control is gone. I go to her as fast as I can and plant a good bye kiss on her lips before instinct takes over and she completely hates me.
“Seth! Get off!” she pulls back and looks terrified. I’ve over done it.
What do I say now? “Cassie might be light headed for a while. I’m not sure….” how much I hurt her. “Look after her for a little while okay? Bye Hayé.” I leave as fast as I can.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jeeze bad dream. I sit up startled. Then I remember. It wasn’t a dream it happened. Hayé’s in my bed right now, unconscious from fear- no terror - of me. I get up and go through to her. She’s waking up now. She rolls over and looks at me a smile playing on her lips. “Seth why am I in your bed?” She can’t remember! Oh God where does this leave us. Then I asked the most obvious question ever: “You don’t remember?” I smile too only I show my teeth, then I smile more but this time I show my fangs. “Holy s***!” She startles back and pushes herself as far away from me as she can get. Its not far, my beds against a wall. “Sorry.” I say looking away, I can’t face her. I guess she must remember now.
“No! Its okay! I’ll deal just give me a second.” I look at her in amazement. Once she’s finished “dealing” she looks at me smiling again. I listen to her heart; she’s scarred but not as much as I thought. I stare into her eyes realising that’s what she’d been trying to do last night: deal. Only it wasn’t working last night but it must be now. “Wow.”
“What?” She says and I realise I just said that out loud.
“Nothing just how well your taking this. Your full of surprises.”
“Your not exactly short of them yourself!” We laugh its easy natural. I feel like everything’s going to be alright for some strange reason.
“How’s Cassie?” I ask genuinely worried.
“Completely fine.”
“I’m sorry about her – about what I am.”
“And what exactly is that?” She asks teasing but there’s meaning behind it.
“Guess.” I don’t want to say the words out loud, it’ll make them final some how.
She raises her eyebrows at me then says; “Werewolf?”
“Nope!”
“Ghost?”
“No.”
“Banshee?”
“Still no.”
“Warlock?”
“No way.”
She takes a breath, “Human.”
That surprises me and I automatically say “I wish.” I regret the words as soon as I’ve said them. They seem to actually hurt her, cause her pain. “I’m sorry.” I say again.
“No its okay. Just there was a chance this was a joke until now, you know?”
“Sorry”
“Stop apologising! We can’t choose who we are if we could I’d be an artist by now.” She comes to sit next to me.
“Yeah but we should be able to choose what we are.” That hit home, she understands now, why I hate myself so much.
“Stop it Seth.”
“Stop what?”
“The self loathing!” I wasn’t expecting that. How did she know?
“Sorry.”
“That’s your catch phrase isn’t it?” That made me mad.
“No! Hayé look I’m a vampire. A monster you should be running away in terror!” I need to learn to think before I talk.
She leans in closer and puts her arms around my neck. “Monsters can’t be loved.” Hayé says it like an undeniable fact. She’s deathly calm and looking at me in a way I’ve only seen on a few people’s faces before, and never aimed at me. “And, Seth, I love you very much.” She pulls herself up to sit on me.
I put my arms around her and feeling all raw. As if I might explode. “I love you too Hayé. I love you so much when I think why we can’t be together it hurts.” She’s kissing my neck now but looks up.
“Can’t be together? I want forever with you Seth. No less will do.”
“Its impossible unless you were like me.” I see a look of idea in her eye, like she gets when she’s painting.
She leans up to whisper in my ear; “Make me like you.” I see a look of longing in her eye. She’d face anything for me. She didn’t care what I was, for the first time in my life I felt hope.