The Girl & The Vampire(A prequel to A Haunting Face)

Know Your Boundaries

Aviva hadn't stopped trying to convince Elyse that vampires were real, and that Vladislaus was one. Elyse had done as much as she could to both avoid and ignore Aviva, not wanting to continue a conversation that she found to be pointless. That was easier said than done, especially since they shared a dorm together, and Aviva chose to continue the conversation every chance she got, which was almost every time she saw Elyse.

Elyse had just gotten out of class and was on her way to her next class when she ran into someone. This guy had caught her eye not that long ago, or rather, she had caught his. She didn't know him. In fact, they had never even spoken to each other. Not once.

"I'm so sorry," the boy said. "Are you okay?" Examining the male, she could see his hair was dark brown, and his eyes were a deep green shade. Elyse nodded her head slightly, taking a small step back from him to put a bit of distance between them.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. Are you?" Elyse asked, glancing at him quickly as she crouched down to pick up the books that had fallen to the ground from the impact. The guy didn't answer as he helped to collect her things. Once the two were stood up straight again, he handed Elyse the rest of the things she had dropped that he managed to grab.

"I'm good," he told her, a grin on his face. The two looked at each other for a moment. There was clearly tension between them, but nobody around them seemed to notice, or rather, they just didn't care. The tension between the two wasn't romantic, or even sexual. It was actually extremely awkward. Elyse mentally sighed in relief when he finally spoke again. "I'm Jeremy, Jeremy Balkner," he said, sticking his hand out, which Elyse took. "And you," he continued, pulling her towards him. Their bodies touched, emitting a hushed gasp from her parted lips. "You're beautiful."

Elyse tried to pull away from him, but Jeremy managed to keep her in place without anyone around them noticing what was going on. "Elyse Devereaux, the girl who's caught my attention." The tone of voice he was using made her tremble in fear. She didn't like where this was going, whatever this was.

"Let go of me," she said quietly, her anger-filled gaze intense.

Jeremy chuckled. "Elyse, I'm just trying to be affectionate. Go out with me, Elyse. Get to know me," he said. By now, Elyse was struggling to break from his hold, but his grip on her arm only tightened the more she tried to get away from him.

"I've gotten to know you plenty just from this short conversation, and I'm not interested." With all her strength, Elyse pulled away from him and ran as fast as she could.

Next class forgotten, Elyse returned to her dorm. As soon as the door shut, she turned and locked it. She rested her forehead against the door, eyes closed, and tried to catch her breath. "Elyse, you okay?" The voice scared her beyond imagination, and she shrieked as she turned, her eyes wide.

Elyse sighed as she saw it was just Olivia. "Olivia. Thank god it's just you." Elyse dropped her stuff at the end of her bed and sat down, trying to calm herself. "What are you doing in here?" Elyse managed to ask through heavy breaths.

"My next class isn't for two hours," Olivia replied as she stood up from the desk chair. "Are you okay?" Olivia took a seat next to her friend. "Did something happen?"

"This guy. Jeremy Balkner, he said his name was. He hit on me." Olivia looked at Elyse confusingly.

"So, he's showing an interest in you? What's so bad about that?" Olivia asked, clasping her hands together on her lap. Elyse just shook her head.

"He grabbed me, Olivia. He wouldn't let go of me, and every time I tried to pull away, his grip got tighter." Tears started falling from Elyse's eyes. Olivia's eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around Elyse, hugging her gently.

"El, you need to go to the campus police, or the normal police. You need to report this guy." Elyse shook her head. Olivia sighed. "Elyse, if you won't do it, I will. You can't just let that guy walk freely on campus, especially since he might do it again, possibly to someone else!"

Elyse shook her head again. "Olivia, no. You know I hate being mixed up in a bunch of drama. Please, don't do or say anything about this. I'm begging you." Olivia looked over at her friend, hearing the girl's pleading tone. Olivia sighed, knowing that Elyse really did hate being involved in drama.

"Alright. I won't say or do anything. I promise you, but please be careful, El. This guy sounds dangerous."

...

The next few days, Jeremy had been bugging her, or doing his best to. Elyse managed to somewhat avoid him, or at least keep Jeremy from getting close to her. She desperately wanted to avoid repeating the previous events between the two. She was doing a pretty good job of staying away from him until one day. Jeremy cornered her in an alley, a sick grin on his stupid face. "You've been avoiding me, Elyse. Why is that?" He asked as he stalked towards her. Elyse was backed up against a wired fence, nowhere to go. She was frightened, to say the least.

"You know damn well why," she said bravely. "You need to stay the hell away from me, Jeremy."

Jeremy chuckled as he came closer to her. Elyse's heart raced as he approached her. He had her cornered, exactly where he wanted her to be. When he was barely an inch away from her, she swallowed, looking anywhere except his eyes. Jeremy could see that she was scared, and he chuckled once more. "There's no need to be afraid, Elyse," he said. Jeremy grabbed her arm and yanked her forward harshly. He connected their lips and kissed her roughly. She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip on her arm. Her eyes widened as she felt his other hand slip in between her legs, and she shrieked. She bit his lip harshly, drawing blood. Jeremy pulled away, an angry look on his face.

Elyse took that opportunity to knee him hard in the crotch. Jeremy fell to the ground, curling up into a ball. Elyse dashed out of there and returned to the safety of her dorm room.

...

The girls entered the room to Elyse curled up in the corner, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her entire body trembling. "Elyse, what's wrong?" Olivia asked, kneeling down in front of Elyse. Elyse's dark eyes shifted upward to look into Olivia's eyes. Olivia could see that Elyse had been crying. Tears fell once more as Elyse began to explain what had happened. Her voice shook as she spoke.

"It-it was Jeremy. H-he-he-he cornered me in an-in an alley. He grabbed my arm, and-and kissed me against m-my will, and grab-grabbed me down th-there," she sobbed, tears soaking her face once more. Olivia shook her head.

"Okay, no. This has to stop. We have to tell the police, El," Olivia said. "We can't let that creep get away with this." Elyse sighed. She knew that Olivia was right. Jeremy had to be stopped.

A bunch of screams from outside drew the girls' attention. They looked out of the window of their dorm to see a large group of people. They couldn't see what was going on, so they went outside to get a better look.

When they got closer, what they saw had them all in shock. Jeremy was on the ground, a pool of blood under his head. "He's dead," one of the officers who were examining the scene said. "Everyone, get back." The girls stood there, completely speechless. Elyse stared at Jeremy's body, her eyes staring into his blank ones.

This was strange, to say the least.