Next Generation Dhampirs

First Date

I woke with a start, realizing it was just a dream. That's when tears started to stream down my face.

I curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth, repeating to myself, "It was just a dream," as if somehow that would take away the pain.

It didn't.

I sat there, helpless, for what felt like hours. Nothing seemed to help, so I just tried to let it take its course. Whatever James had them put in that drink kept the darkness away last night, but it was like building a dam, and now it was all flooding through, overwhelming me with feelings I wasn't ready for.

8 o'clock rolled around and there was a knock on my door.

"Jessica? It's Adrian and Declan," came a voice from outside my door. I had completely forgotten about them!

"Guys, I'm not feeling too well. Can we do another day?" I called back.

Instead of answering, the door opened. I heard Adrian protest, but Declan walked into my room and found me a mess tangled up in sheets.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Nothing," I said, trying to put myself together, "I just... Had a bad dream, is all."

"It was the darkness, wasn't it?"

"How did you-"

"We get it worse than regular spirit users. I won't lie to you, it's gonna suck for a while. Then things get easier. You just... you can't let it get to you." Declan's voice softened and he sat at the edge of my bed. "You know that I'm always here for you. Anytime you feel that darkness, I'm just a call away."

He pulled me close to him and wrapped me in a warm embrace. Just like that, I was in tears again.

Declan didn't try to make me talk, instead we sat there like that and he stroked my hair trying to calm me. It worked after a while, but I still wasn't feeling up for training. Rather than leave me here alone, they ordered room service and decided to watch a movie with me.

At 1 o'clock on the dot James knocked on the door.

"Crap! I forgot we were supposed to go to the movies!" I jumped up and ran to my room to put on a pair of jeans and a shirt.

Declan, in the meantime, decided to let James in. "She's getting ready," I heard him say.

My hair was still in a messy bun, but I didn't really mind that. I searched through my bags for my glasses and put them on hastily when I found them. I have to wear glasses whenever my eyes started hurting, and from all the crying, my eyes weren't doing me any favors.

My t-shirt and jeans were fine, but movie theaters were always cold, especially at night, so I threw on a hoodie and ran out into the living room area.

"Hey," I grinned when I saw him. He was carrying a bouquet of white, red rimmed carnations.

"Hey," he held the flowers out to me, "These are for you. I heard they were your favorite."

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and I accepted them from him. "They are. Thanks."

I set them down on the table in an ornate vase that had been empty since I arrived. "Ready to go?" I asked once I decided there wasn't much I could do for the flowers right now.

"Oh, yeah. I have your ticket right here." He fished in his pockets until he extracted a small slip of paper.

I grinned and took it from him to see what we were watching. "Finding Dory?" I giggled.