Die Young, Stay Pretty (Short Stack)

Four - Bat Country

'Lita, wake up.' I awoke to the sound of Andy's voice in my ear. Instead of getting up, I picked up the pillow and threw it – badly – in the direction his voice had come from. Even with my eyes clamped shut, tightly, I knew I'd missed him, and probably by a fair bit. 'Piss off, Andy. Too early.' I grumbled into my elbow. 'Nope. You're re-entering society today; no sleep-ins!' He sounded far too excited for seven o'clock in the morning. I could tell he was smiling. 'Piss off.' I repeated. It was silent for a moment. I actually thought he'd listened. Until he ripped the sheets off.

I shrieked at the sudden rush of cold air and opened my eyes. As I'd suspected, my blonde friend had a wide grin on his face. 'Good morning.' He said, cheerfully. Instead of replying, I growled at him. He turned for a second and I flung my other pillow at him. It hit the target, this time, and caused his hair to stick up at odd angles. 'Hey!' He shouted, whirling around to face me. 'That's what happens when I get waken up at an ungodly hour so I can "re-enter" society; I mess up hair and hate the attacker.' I replied, shrugging.

I stood up and headed over to my wardrobe. 'I thought it was Shaun you hated.' Andy remarked in a faux thoughtful tone. I rolled my eyes. 'Who's to say I can't hate you both? Maybe I only like Bradie now.' I said with a smirk. 'No! The world's ending!' He shouted, overdramatically. We both laughed. 'You didn't seem to hate me last night.' He commented after a few moments of laughter. He and Bradie had taken me to the beach last night as a celebration of my last night without human contact. I'd officially been a vampire for six months. 'That's because you didn't wake me up at an ungodly hour last night.' Andy didn't seem to have a reply for that.

I picked out an All Time Low t-shirt, a pair of blue skinny jeans and my combat boots before turning to face Andy again. 'Do you mind leaving while a get changed?' I said pointedly. A sly grin crossed his face. 'You sure you don't want me to stay and watch?' He teased. 'Out.' I reinforced, pointing a finger to the door. He sighed, faking disappointment, and left the room. Once he was gone, I rolled my eyes and got changed. Out of the boys, Andy was probably my closest friend. Bradie and I were fairly close, too, but it wasn't the same as my friendship with Andy. It was safe to say that Shaun and I still hated each other.

I was a little unsure about coming back into contact with humans. I worried about hurting, or worse, killing someone. Andy and Bradie had reassured me several times that now that I had reached the six month mark, I would be completely in control. I was still nervous, all the same. I also wondered what would happen if I ran into Mel. New York was a big place, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities. I hadn't spoken to her since the night I became a vampire. She'd tried to text, call, email and Skype me nearly every day, but I hadn't answered. It was too risky. I couldn't see her. If she even recognised me, one day she'd realise I wasn't getting any older. It was too dangerous. I just had to hope that if she saw me, she wouldn't recognise me.

I slid a black hoodie on over my top and, shaking the thoughts off, headed downstairs. I had a quick glass of blood, not even bothering to sit down while drinking it, and headed into the lounge room. 'You excited, Lita?' Andy asked as he stood up from the couch. 'Yeah. I just hope I don't run into anyone I know.' I admitted. He nodded as we began to walk towards the city centre. We lived right on the edge of New York, probably the best place for a clan of vampires, so the walk would be long. For the most part, we walked in silence.

As we got closer and closer to the heart of the city, I saw more humans. Shaun had been right, as much as I hated to admit it. So far, I hadn't had the urge to attack anyone. This lasted even when we arrived in Times Square. I was completely okay, to my relief. Andy and I wore our hoods up, which caused people to stare.