Midnight Rhapsody

Summary: Talented composer, Neena Liszt, traveled around the world to get inspiration for her musical works. All that seemed to change however when the cruise she was on turns into a full blown titanic and she ends up being stranded on an island. But nothing was as bad as having a vampire-in-training take an interest on you...

A/N: Rewrote the whole stupid thing just for the heck of it. It just sounds worse and worse every time I reread it. So sorry to all readers who dedicated their precious time for my story. I will understand if you are irritated at this point and will most likely want to complain to me about it but no flames.... please?

WARNING: this fic contains ugly language so prepare yourself and don't complain that I didn't warn you.

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Chapter One: Ship Wreck

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"I hate ships!"

Neena felt more waves of nausea as the ship she was riding gave another sway. She clapped her hands over her mouth to prevent from spilling the contents of this morning's breakfast. Maybe if she tried leaning on the wall the sickness would ease up a little...

The ship lurched again and she slammed herself to the wall and slid down sorely to the floor. Grabbing onto the pole, the sick woman steadied herself and looked at the reflection in front of her. God was she a mess. Was it just the glass or did she look green? Her black short-cut hair, making her look almost like a boy, was tangled on one side and smooth on the other. Unsuccessfully she attempted to untangle it. Neena sighed heavily.

"God, I knew I should've ridden a plane." She mumbled to herself, shooting glares at passerbys who looked at her sympathetically. "This is worse than the time I had to ride a helicopter with my uncle to Scotland. And he's half insane!"

Plastering herself like cement to the wall, the just-turned-twenty-year-old inched her way through the hallway searching for her room. If anyone's ever planning on going on a cruise, never, NEVER get a room with a splendid view of the sea just outside. As much as Neena liked beaches and oceans, she had a sense of remorse towards ships, boats, yachts, and cruises now. The purpose of getting on this cruise was to get inspiration for her music; not puking your guts out like there's no tomorrow.

Then there's her PMS problem. Thus making her feel even more bitchier than usual and snapping at everyone around her.

So far the only sights she'd see worth seeing were the sink, the toilet, the bed, the toilet, the ground, the toilet...

Janet, one of her best friends ever since high school suggested this since she's gone on it and believed this would do good for inspiring people. Neena intended to throw her into the ocean once she was back safely on firm land.

"'You would appreciate the wonders of the sea and sunsets,'" She mimicked her friend's voice in a purposely high pitched tone. "'I'm sure you'll absolutely love it!' Right. The only thing I've appreciated so far is how my cruddy apartment seems like the emperor's palace compared to this place. My God how did that girl survive this? I think I'm going to die..."

The ongoing repetition of how much time she had left circled around her head like stars. Only five more days and twenty-two hours. Five more days and twenty-two hours. Five days and twenty-two hours. Five days, twenty-two hours...

Finding the number to her quarter, she fumbled with the key to get inside. She swiped her black locks away from her dark, mud-brown eyes and tried to get a better look at where the doorknob was. She had to step back a bit and focus her vision. Was it normal to see two, three doorknobs?

While she was struggling to get in, a happy, drunken couple bumped into her roughly along their way. Scowling, Neena flipped a particularly rude gesture at them. Great, now she's being pushed around with drunk, lovesick idiots who didn't know any better.

What really got on her nerve was the fact that couples that were younger than her were prancing around, not having a care of the world; when there's people like her who hasn't gone out on a decent date. Ever! And seeing the toilet seat as the first thing you look at the minute you turn twenty doesn't help either.

Word of advice: having a small celebration of your twentieth birthday with wine on a cruise ship that teeters a lot is not a good thing peoples. Especially when you're really bad with alcohol.

Neena wasn't bad looking. And she had a great personality!

Well...unless she was in a real shitty mood. Then people who know her would advise you to stay out of her way; otherwise you might just be able to see your family members for the last time in the E. R. - get the picture?

But then, there was also the fact that she was a fairly popular music composer. For background music in movies. (And she got a picture autograph from Mel Gibson with him hugging her; that's a plus!) She was also given the gift of playing the cello. She even worked half-time at restaurants performing for people while they ate. Surely some nice, cute guy would admire her talents.

Please.

The only people that valued her skills were men who were at least fifty years old. Now, it's not like she's a real picky person and an ageist. But people, let's get this straight. They're men old enough to be her own dad. Isn't that saying something here or is she the only one who thinks that?(no offence to anyone) Would it kill, to have a guy in the same age level like you? Anyways, so her luck with men never really did go well. Still single, God dammit!

Turning the knob, she finally managed to open the door to her room. Slamming the door shut behind her, she staggered towards the bed and gasped with relief as she sunk into the quilts and pillows face down.

Neena breathed in the luxurious scent of fresh laundry. This was the only good thing about the ship. The beds were first-rate. Maybe she could host a website about the top ten most comfortable beds...

She sighed, feeling herself drift up into a cloudy fog of nothingness when-

BOOM.

The half asleep girl jerked up from her slumber, annoyed at the fact that there was a racket going on. She almost slid off the bed in surprise when her room suddenly tipped sharply to one side. Eyes wide and awake, she listened with alert ears at what was happening outside.

Soon after the huge noise, there was a wailing sound signaling an emergency situation. The captain of the cruise spoke urgently though the intercom.

"PASSENGERS PLEASE REMAIN CALM. WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. CREW MEMBERS ARE PASSING OUT SPARE LIFE JACKETS FOR THOSE THAT HAVE THEM UNAVAILABLE IN THEIR ROOM CLOSETS. GO TO YOUR NEAREST EMERGENCY USE BOATS LOCATED ON THE SECOND FLOOR..."

Talk about informative. What, was he reading out of some worst-case-scenario manual?

The voice was drowned out by the commotion everybody was causing. It wasn't until when Neena opened her door that she noticed there were flames coming from the back of the ship.

"Holy SHIT!"

Racing to her closet a sick feeling of fear formed a knot in her stomach as she searched frantically for the life jacket. Okay, so WHERE was the stupid life jacket again? What if she didn't have a life jacket in her closet? What if some weird guy stole it from me while she was sleeping?! Oh wait, there it was...

Discovering it hanging against the far side of the wardrobe, she ripped it off its hinges and forced it on. She hastily fumbled with the clips and belts. Why did hands always have trouble doing the easiest things in times like this?! Ack! Her finger's stuck in a knot. Untie, untie quickly! When she managed to free her index finger, she resumed tying back the life jacket.

After tying the last knot, she grabbed her shoulder bag from the table stand. She checked the contents inside to make sure she didn't leave out anything important. Nothing seemed to be missing...

Neena rushed back outside and followed the screaming people to the front of the cruise where there were emergency boats prepared. Soon more people began to run along with her, and seconds later the hallway was decked with passengers shoving their way to the front with their belongings.

"Move it! I'm the president of the US! I get to get off first!"

"You're not the president! Unless the president's a drag queen..."

"Billy! Where's Billy?! I will not get off this ship until I find my poor Billy!"

"Ma'am, forget about the goat and let's go!"

As she hastily made her way, she saw a small boy sitting at in the corner of the hallway crying for his mom. For a fleeting moment Neena stopped in her tracks. Though she wasn't exactly good with kids, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy towards the little boy. Not wanting to leave him stranded, she dashed towards him and grabbed his small hand; hauling him up to his feet. His eyes were puffy from tears and his upper lip was shiny with dribble from his red nose.

"Come on, let's go!" She shouted at him, jerking his little arm; indicating that she wanted him to run. He didn't wail anymore and tried to keep up with the older girl's footsteps.

She pushed her way through the crowd, trying hard not to let go of the boy's small, lithe hands. Not to mention, slimy from tears and snot. The sirens were still blaring and everyone was either screaming or shoving each other. They were too busy to notice a huge, dark cloud rumbling towards them.

Neena saw it at first and stared at it with awe. A tiny droplet of water landed on her cheek. Soon after, more and more droplets started to fall, getting heavier each time. Waves were also starting to crash against the ship. She felt herself being moved automatically by the people around her. But as the crowd got thicker the more squeezed and more less she began to move around.

"Shit. Out of all the luck, they decide to have the fucking storm now." A voice was heard right behind her. Out of reflex, she turned around to look at the speaker.

It was strange. Or HE was strange.

For a split second, she swore his eyes glowed red, but within the blink of an eye, they returned their normal, almost-black brown eyes.

He was scowling at the sky, and suddenly caught Neena staring. Both stood rigid and didn't do anything. Then he smirked and, before she could say anything, disappeared into the crowd.

The thoughts of that strange man were abruptly cut off when thunder boomed and lightning flashed. Huge winds began rolling over the cruise and formed massive waves from the sea water.

They were being plagued by a hurricane.

The guy wasn't joking. Whoever he was.

Another earsplitting BOOM was heard. Only this time, it was in the middle section of the ship. The fire didn't seem to notice the rain starting to pour down on it. Black smoke billowed out in columns. It was like a scene from some Hollywood suspense movie. Crew members desperately tried to put out the fire with extinguishers.

Though it did keep the fire from spreading any further, but since the flames were burning from (what appears to be) the inside. No one could do anything about that.

Some desperate people jumped off board which (in Neena's opinion) was a scary and stupid idea.

The twenty-year-old started getting agitated. What kind of a fucking cruise IS this?

"If I ever, EVER get out of this alive, " She vowed, "I'm going to make your life a living hell Janet."

Water suddenly hit her, catching them all off guard. When the wave subsided, a couple of people on the edge were unfortunate enough to get washed overboard. She received a mouthful of salty water and coughed violently. Lucky for her she was packed in the middle of the crowd. For once she was thankful of the quantity of the passengers on the ship.

Wait.

How the hell could water reach up to this level? They must be about five stories high from the water! This is a cruise ship after all. Then realization hit her right in the gut.

The ship was sinking.

The small boy hugging onto her leg began crying. Briefly she knelt down and pulled out a long handkerchief from her shoulder bag. Hopefully her grandmother in heaven would appreciate the fact that her kerchief was coming in use for once. She tied a knot on his wrist and then tied the other end to her wrist. This should keep them from separating if they ever go overboard.

Neena picked him up and held him to her tightly. His sobs were muffled into her shoulder.

"Shh...it'll be all right kid..." She tried to console him. Looking around her, she prayed that it would be.

Then another wave of sea water crashed onto them.

Everyone that was screaming ended up being smothered by the incoming water. Neena held her breath at the last minute and hugged the boy securely. She felt herself lift and be carried away by the mass of dark salty water off the deck. Away from the bodies that were holding her safely on board.

The only thing she could feel was cold water.

Water was everywhere. She couldn't tell which direction was up or down. Her eyes, throat, and lungs were burning. She needed to surface quickly or both of them would drown without a doubt.

Kicking her legs frantically, she guided herself up with the help of her life jacket. When she broke through the surface, she gasped out for air. Although she managed to get some air, she found herself ducking underwater again. Huge waves were rolling over and on, allowing her to gasp out a breath for a second then covering her with its dark wetness.

It was as if the surface was no better than under water. When she surfaced again she quickly scanned the area, searching for the ship. Spotting it Neena and the boy watched it with fearful eyes as it burned and sink into the dark, cold water.

The water reflected its flames licking the half sunk ship. The people's screams were drowned out by the sound of the storm. But what happened next was totally unexpected. And it gave Neena a horrifying scene that would be etched in her mind forever.

The ship had detonated into one finale explosion. It must have been from the firework cargo they had stocked at the front ship. Fireworks had spurted out into different directions, creating beautiful and terrible illuminations in the dark and rainy night air. Some unfortunate people were too close and were included in the explosion.

Pieces of the ship began floating towards them. Hastily Neena grabbed a wooden board and held onto it. She made the struggling kid grab it too. As they clutched to it, she watched what remained of the ship sink with a sick feeling inside her.

Soon the cruise disappeared into the dark hills of sea water. The boy coughed out some water and wheezed a little. He held onto her neck like it was a lifeline (probably is in this case).

Gingerly she tried to keep the boy's head above the water since he didn't have a life jacket. She checked out of impulse if their wrists were still tied together firmly.

Finding no other problem(other than the fact that they were half drowning), she made sure to keep hold of the board. She made a prayer to the Lord Almighty for both their safety.

*~*~*~*

Was she in a dream?

The first thing that came into her ears when she became conscious was the soothing sound of the waves washing over a beach. Numbly she pictured herself at a beach side mansion, sunbathing in a veranda. It was actually kind of nice and warm too.

"Ooh, I'd like a sprite with a little lime please." She murmured to her imaginary handsome waiter.

Groggily Neena opened her eyes, which were instantly blinded by the brightness of the sunlight and white sand in front of her face. 'This has to be a dream.' The last thing she envisioned herself was to be beached on an tropical island of some sort. The sand did feel real though. And so did the feeling of something crawl all over her ass...

"Gaah!" She jerked herself up, just in time to see a reasonable sized crab scuttle over to the water.

She scanned the place around her. "Where the hell am I?"

Something shifted beside her and she looked down to see the boy slumber peacefully in the white sand. Her shoulder bag was on the other side of her.

Neena gasped in relief and fell back into the sand. Thank God. They were both still alive.

For a minute she stared up into the bright blue sky. Besides the fact that they were shipwrecked, being stranded on a pretty island like this might not be too bad...

"....Mama....." The boy mumbled and grabbed onto her shirt. "...mama..."

She bit on her bottom lip. Poor kid. Not knowing wether his mother is alive or gone for good. Staring at him, she took the opportunity to study the small child next to her. Thin light-brown hair, small freckles sprinkled over his nose... and bright green eyes!

"Aah!!" Both shouted and sat up at the same time.

After showing signs of pure shock and surprise, the emerald eyes soon narrowed in suspicion.

"Who're you?" He asked.

Neena didn't answer him and busied herself with untying her life jacket. Kids...they all look innocent when snoozing, dreaming who-knows-what. Then they open their eyes and wake the demons they are inside. 'Could say the same thing to you to.' The voice in her head remarked.

"Who're you?" He asked a little louder.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing, kid." She said. The last knot was tied stubbornly tight. For the last sprout of her frustration she gave an inhuman-like growl and tugged at the strings as hard as she could. When she found that she was either too weak to rip them apart or the strings were too strong, she just gave up and sat there staring at the hermit crab scuttling away from her in fright.

The boy surveyed the surroundings. "Where am I? Where's my mom? I want my mom. Now!"

It was a wonder how kids could ask and demand at the same time. He looked as if he was going to cry, but held his tears in and glared at Neena.

Huffing slightly, she somehow finally managed to undo the knot and stripped herself of the white jacket. She tossed it aside and breathed in deeply.

Turning to him she said, "Look, kid--"

"My name's not 'kid' it's Joe." He told her.

Neena rolled her eyes. "Okay fine. Look 'Joe', I don't know how to say this but..." She sighed. "I really don't know where your mom is, so all we can do now is pray that she's being well kept okay? Hell, maybe she even got really lucky and found some nice people to get taken care of."

Joe stood still and silent. Neena had this feeling where she had to comfort the boy somehow. But then, she didn't know how to comfort a kid. In fact, she didn't even LIKE kids unless they were sleeping. Hm, maybe this was one of the reasons why she couldn't get any boyfriends. She studied the boy and huffed impatiently.

'Oh the hell with it,'

"Here Joe, come here," She pulled him into her arms and he grabbed onto her automatically. It was kind of sad and awkward at the same time. Joe sniffed a couple of times and tried to blink back the tears.

Neena just held him loosely but the boy held on like he was some kind of leech. After about ten minutes of this intimate experience, Neena started to have some difficulty breathing. She stopped hugging him and tried to pull the small boy off of her. It was okay in the beginning, but now it was kind of getting annoying. Finally she said, "Joe, you've gotta let go sometime you know."

He didn't respond. Just held her tighter. She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Don't tell me I have to carry you until you feel better."

This time, he responded with a vigorous nod. Neena gritted her teeth. "Fine, whatever."

She stood up as if to prove her point that he couldn't hang on forever. Joe stayed on just as before. Since she didn't use her arms to support him, he only fixed his problem by bringing his legs up clinging onto her more tightly.

Neena narrowed her eyes down at him and sighed. "If it weren't for the situation, you wouldn't be hugging me like that anymore,"

Joe didn't say anything. But he did bite her. On the shoulder.

"Ow! No biting! I'll carry you but NO BITING, alright?"

He nodded. And if Neena had paid attention to him a little more, she would've felt him giggling. Good thing she was thinking about how she was going to live life now. 'If my whole family finds out what happened to me, they'll die laughing.'

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A/N: I honestly don't know why I started a vampire fic. I mean, those things are scary! Ever heard of vampire bats? I swear, I'm never going down to Florida or California or wherever the hell they thrive. But what the heck-a-roo. It's not like vamps are real... *looks behind me to make sure there isn't a weird man with fangs grinning at me evilly*