His name is Damon.

Vampire.

Wednesday morning I got up right before nine and got ready, Rose no longer in my mind. I called Damon at ten and when he answered the phone I proposed the idea of him picking me up. "Hey, I know what we should do today. You should come pick me up and take me country cruising or to cool places. Please!"

After he pretended to protest, he hung up, agreeing to come get me. I waited for him and when he pulled up, I met him outside, plopping in his car. "Hey!" I smiled big, excited for the day. He grinned back at me and I melted inside. Being around him makes me really nervous most times, but I pretend it doesn't. "So where are you taking me first?"

He grinned again, put the car in reverse and replied, "It's a surprise."

The road curved around the never-ending forest when we started to slow and pull off onto the side of the road. "What are we doing?" I asked, taking my seatbelt off.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Wait and see."

I walked beside him, a step or two back, going deeper into the woods. "So," Damon began. "You do believe in the whole vampire witches legends, right?" He turned back and glanced at me. Damn, his eyes are gorgeous.

"Uhm," I thought, looking down. "From what I've heard (which hasn't been all that much) I mean, I guess so maybe." I shrugged. "I really down know."

A couple feet further and I could see something in the distance. I squinted, trying to decipher what the gray block I see is. "What is that?"

We stopped in front of what appeared to be the remains of a building. There were concrete slabs, pieces of wood, and bricks. Damon explained, "This is...well, was, Fell's Church. This is where they burnt the vampires and their witches."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "They burnt them there?! In a church?"

Damon patted one of the slabs. "Yep. Burnt them alive." He widened his eyes.

I reached for my phone and crap! "Damn it I left my phone in your car! I wanna take pictures!"

He reached into his pocket and tossed me his keys. I thanked him and started speed-walking back to the car. I do this all the time! I keep my phone between my legs so then when I get out I either forget it laying there on the seat, or it falls out onto the ground. My eyes darted up and down to make sure I didn't trip over any branches. I was looking down watching my foot rise up over a branch. When I was securely out of the danger-may-trip-and-fall-zone, I lifted my head up and stopped short, suddenly unable to breathe.

A brown headed guy stood in front of me, slightly hunched with his arms bent out from his body, his hands bent in a claw frame. He was wearing a brown faux leather jacket with a dark green shirt and a messenger bag crossed over his body. His eyes were blood-red and black veins trickled all around his eyes and down his cheeks. I was frozen in horror as he bared sharp fangs. Noise brought me out of my marble statue pose and I whipped my head around to see Damon break a guy's neck by the slabs. My eyes were wide with fear and my mouth open but I couldn't force a scream. It all felt like slow motion. I felt two hands on me: one wrapped around my chin and the other one on the top of my head. But at the same time I saw Damon disappear and in an instance the hands were off me. I spun back around and Damon had the guy thrown against a tree, a hand tight around his throat. My stomach sunk as I realized I think the guy was about to break my neck.