*Next Day

“Hey, did it work?” Tao asks me once I’ve closed my locker.

“Yes, I feel a lot more awake now, thanks.” I smile at him.

“That’s good, so will you walk with me to class today?” He asks holding out his arm. I hesitate but then slip my arm through his.

“Sure.” I smile. We walk down the hallway but before we enter the classroom I let go of his arm and walk in front of him. I try not to look at Eun-Hee and her gang but I can still see one of their legs stretched out: our daily greeting. I step over it and sit down in my seat. Tao sits next to me and I can tell he’s slightly hurt by my action so I squeeze his hand lightly and nod over to Eun-Hee. “She’d probably kill me.” I whisper. He nods and brightens slightly. As soon as lunch starts I get to my locker as soon as I can and get my lunch.

“Want to go to the tree?” Tao asks. I nod and we go to the field, “I wanted to ask, do vampires have reflections?” He asks.

“Of course, how do you think I get this done?” I point to myself.

“Good point.” He laughs.

“Anything else you want to know about vampires?” I ask.

“Do you like garlic?” He asks.

“Yes, especially garlic bread and I don’t sleep in a coffin by the way.” I add.

“I think you’d have a stiff back after that.” He says.

“Probably.” I stretch, “And I guess you don’t need to ask about if a stake to the heart kills me.” I say. He looks down guiltily, “I know we can only be killed by some metal, right?” He nods. I shift slightly and hear a rustle. I look in my pockets and find a folded piece of paper, I unfold it and it says; club 2night? –Dae-Jung. I sigh and chuck the paper again.

“Is that guy hitting on you?” Tao asks his eyebrows furrowing.

“Yes, and has been since I came here.” I roll my eyes. He doesn’t relax and looks almost jealous.

“Well he doesn’t know how you should ask someone to go out with you.” He snorts.

“And how would that be?” I ask.

“First, he should use capitals, second, he should use actual words instead of numbers, and finally, he shouldn’t be writing a note.” He says.

“You seem to know a lot about asking out.” I say.

“I know manners.” He winks. I look at my watch.

“We should get going.” I say standing up. He does the same but throws his arm around me and pulls me close. I'm don’t move away but I glance nervously at all the jealous glares directed at us especially from the girls. “Can we go a little faster?” I ask nervously.

“You’re definitely not like your kind, they love attention, and you’re almost the opposite, I like that.” Tao smiles down at me. My week is going to be full of torture, isn’t it? I think to myself when I see Eun-Hee’s enraged face.

*Two weeks later

I was right, it was torture; Eun-Hee always throwing stuff(and insults) my way. Each time she through a paper at me, I always threw it in the bin not wanting to read anything that girl writes. Not to mention that she was also flirting with Tao like crazy but thankfully he ignored her. Dae-Jung would also talk to me whenever Tao wasn’t in the room which wasn’t too often but he did try, I didn’t say yes to him partly because I didn’t like him but mostly because the girls who didn’t hate me told me that he was a big player and that I should keep my distance. Now I’m just sitting by a tree alone while Tao’s out buying his lunch.

“Hey loser.” A bunch of leaves fall onto my head, “Tell me, how long do you think Tao will stay with you now? I give it a week, maybe less.” Eun-Hee smirks. I stand up, my patience has been thinning over the past few weeks.

“And what about you Eun-Hee, how long can a guy be with you, a day?” I throw back. Smack! My cheek stings, as I look back up I see her with her hand raised again as it comes down again. I stare at the ground already feeling my eyes grow hot, calm down, take a deep breath, I tell myself.

“There’s much more to come you little–” She starts.

“Don’t you dare call her that!” A voice says filled with anger. Tao walks over to us clutching his lunch tightly, “Why do you torment her?” He asks.

“I-I just…” She stutters.

“Don’t make an excuse, you’ve been like this to her ever since she came, why?” He asks. A crowd is already beginning to form around the tree and I start to feel self-conscious. Suddenly a shout comes from it and Dae-Jung appears, oh great, I groan. He looks at me, then at Eun-Hee, and then at Tao.

“What did you do?” He asks Tao angrily.

“I only said what was needed to be said.” He replies trying to calm himself.

“He was hitting on me.” Eun-Hee says and I can see an evil look on her face for a moment.

“You liar! You’ve been hitting on Tao forever!” I say.

“Shut up!” She spits. Dae-Jung punches Tao in the stomach and then the jaw. Tao groans but kicks Dae-Jung in the chest. A fight breaks out and when it ends both boys are on the floor groaning, Dae-Jung stalks off with Eun-Hee following. I pick Tao up and take him to one of the benches.

“Any broken bones?” I ask

“No, bruised though.” He grimaces. I smell something odd and inhale deeply, it’s a strong sweet smell; blood.

“Y-you’re bleeding.” I gasp overwhelmed by the smell. My eyes grow hot and my fangs start to grow.

“Tiffany, stay calm, don’t think about it.” Tao tries to calm me down but all I can smell is the blood, and I hear the beating of his heart and feel the warmth of his breath, which almost sends me into a frenzy…almost. I jump up and run as fast as I can to my house. I lock the door behind me and rip open my fridge and drink a bag of blood as fast as I can, trying to quench my thirst.