The first time I ever laid eyes on a vampire, I couldn't believe it. It's not possible, I told myself, but it was. It is possible. Vampires do exist, and Klaus was right all along.
The first time a vampire laid eyes on me, I knew it was too late. Too late to make good on my promise. Too late to save the boy I love. Too late to save myself.
He didn't look like any vampire I'd ever imagined; Woody Logan . I thought he'd be a little more Dracula-esque, but he was actually a rather dashing young British man with baby blue eyes and blonde hair. Despite his innocent outward appearance, there was evil behind those eyes. I watched them turn red, saw the black veins snake across his face before he sunk his fangs into my neck and started to feed.
It didn't hurt, but it should have. All I felt was relief. It was strange…I'd always been scared of death, but then, as it stared me straight in the face all I felt was calm. This is as it should be, I thought, Everything dies.
But then I remembered; he doesn't. I knew what I had to do. Soon, I knew, I'd be dead, but there was something I had to do first.
6 months ago
I met Klaus Swedlund half-way through Senior Year of high school. It was very unusual to see a new student so far into the school year, especially the last year of high school, but no one cared to know why he'd switched schools. The kids all thought he was weird, and since he didn't give a damn what they thought of him, they thought he was even weirder. I myself was one of those people. Unfortunately, as Klaus's lab partner in AP Chemistry, we were required to spend time with one another. I couldn't escape him.
"Hey there, Partner," Klaus had said when he first walked into Mr. Morgan's classroom and slid into the empty seat next to me at the lab table.
I took my eyes off my Chemistry notebook and raised an eyebrow at him questionably. "What?"
Klaus, with his ice blue eyes and raven hair, had stuck out his hand and repeated, "I said, 'Hey there, Partner'." I reluctantly returned his hand shake, and he smiled as he offered up his name, "Klaus Swedlund."
"Rodialyn West," I'd returned.
"Ha, so you don't remember then," Klaus said with a smirk.
"Remember…?" I prompted while shaking my head back and forth.
"Well, I stood behind you in the sixth grade play," Klaus pointed out, "You were the princess, and I was Russian soldier number three."
I remembered the play, but…not him. I told him the truth, "Don't remember that."
"Of course not,"Klaus stated sarcastically, "A Princess never remembers the little people."
I rolled my eyes at his comment and returned to my notes. "Oh, excuse me while I cry for you."
That was my very first impression of Klaus; sarcastic, rude and pushy. After Chemistry lab that first day, I had tried to talk Mr. Morgan into assigning us different partners, but he'd refused. He agreed that Klaus and I lacked…well, chemistry, but he thought we were capable of working through that. On my way out the door, I had overheard Klaus complaining about being assigned to me! "About this Rodialyn West thing," Klaus had said, talking to Mr. Morgan like they were old friends, "Ric, she's a complete anal-compulsive control freak. How do you expect me to work with that?" I couldn't believe it. How could I be the harder one to work with? He's the one who didn't even read the directions or labels before mixing together possibly combustible materials. He was going to kill us before the end of the year, but apparently, Mr. Morgan had faith things would work out for the better.
A week later, Klaus and I had our first lab report to write up. I'd suggested we split up the work so we could do it ourselves, but Klaus pretty much admitted he wouldn't do his part unless we wrote the lab report together. I complained, but eventually agreed to meet after school. I thought we'd meet in the library and get started there, but Klaus, who never does the first thing you expect him to, had other plans.
I somehow found myself in the passenger seat of his '69 Chevy Camaro, heading into town. "Where are we going?" I'd asked him.
"Oh, nowhere in particular," Klaus replied before returning his eyes to the road. He talked about our lab report topic while I wrote down his points on paper. He probably drove in a circle on the same suburban block three times before I asked him what the Hell he thought he was doing. "Sheesh, what's your rush? We're here, in a beat up old Chevy, got a road ahead of us and absolutely nothing but opportunities…"
"Uh, no," I told him with a shake of my head, "We don't. I have fifteen minutes until I need to be back at school for cheerleading practice. I told you that before, Klaus. And after practice, I have a meeting with the Yearbook Committee. Then, I have to go home and do all the homework for my other classes. I don't just have all day to drive around with you."
"All right, all right," Damon groaned, "Calm down, Partner. We've got plenty of time. I'll drop you back off at school." After we arrived at the school and I hopped out of his car, he'd unrolled the window and called out, "So I'll pick you up at midnight then?"
I whipped back around and leaned into the window, hissing, "What are you talking about? Why would I do that?" I'd hoped no one heard him say that because then they might have thought I was actually friends with him…
"So we can finish our report," Klaus answered in an obvious tone, like I was idiot for not agreeing with his brilliant plan.
"Uh, yeah, I don't think so…"
"Well, I'll be outside to pick you up at midnight," Klaus had said, "If you're not there, then I guess we'll get an F on this report. That's cool with me." He drove away before I could argue.
That night when midnight rolled around, I was still in my bed debating whether or not Klaus was serious about meeting up when I heard his Chevy Camaro roaring up the road. How he even knew where I lived, I had no idea. I think at the time I'd convinced myself that I only got dressed and ran out there to keep my parents from waking up, but in reality, I was curious about Klaus Swedlund. He wasn't like other boys in Rheymey Falls. He didn't care what people thought about him, or what the cool thing to do was. He was simply himself. I kind of envied him for that.
