Here's chapter three. Sorry it took so long to update with this. I'm currently on an internship to Disney World and have been without a computer until now. I hope to have chapters posted more often now that I'm settled in. Once again, please let me know what you think. I really appreciate reviews no matter how small or harsh.

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THE fact that Caim actually existed didn't sink in until Azarel was lying in bed late that night. Her headache had taken the rest of the day to go away and in that time it all felt like she was dreaming. She had been in a daze and wasn't really paying attention to anything except the pain throbbing in her skull. She vaguely remembered Megami staying with her, talking to her to try to keep her mind off the pain. That didn't do much good. Her friend left sometime after the sky grew dark. She remembered her parents talking in hushed voices, worriedly. Azarel didn't know why. It was just a headache, yet they seemed so concerned. Maybe because it was like the weeks right after the accident? Every time she tried to remember anything of her past she would get terrible headaches like the one she just got over. But that had ended a year after the accident. It couldn't be starting all over again, could it? Besides, she wasn't even trying to remember anything when it happened. All she did was meet Caim. Of course, that in itself was enough to make her head throb painfully. All that information about things she believed didn't exist, especially seeing Caim himself? Well, she felt the headache coming back just thinking about it again. She sighed and snuggled deeper under the covers. Caim had been just as good looking as he was in her dreams. She couldn't believe he was real. Were her dreams somehow prophetic? It was crazy that she had been having dreams about an actual person whom she had never met until that afternoon. And he was a vampire, just as her dreams depicted. She'd have to keep that fact from her parents. People would think she was even more insane if she started spouting off about vampires being real. Life in an insane asylum didn't sound very appealing.

Azarel groaned and turned over, dragging the quilt up to her neck. She couldn't sleep. It was worse than a normal night for her. Her thoughts were running too madly through her head and she couldn't calm her mind. A creepy thought crossed her mind then. What if Caim was outside watching her right now? She shuddered. From fear or excitement? She wasn't sure which. Maybe it was both. Quickly she cleared her mind of that thought. He would certainly have more respect for her privacy than that, right? Realizing she didn't actually know him very well at all, she grumbled and threw the covers off of her. She jumped out of bed and stalked to the window. Her eyes scanned the yard and then the trees of the forest that she could see from her room. No one was out there as far as she could tell. She shrugged and wandered back over to her bed. She was just being paranoid. Flopping back into bed, she pulled the covers back up to her chin and closed her eyes willing sleep to take her. Thankfully, in a few minutes it did and she never saw the red head sitting on a tree branch just outside her window. “She really is perceptive...” he murmured to himself before smirking and jumping from the tree. He wandered casually into the forest before picking up speed. His feet flew over the forest floor, barely touching the ground, until he was at the other end of the populated areas of Friday Harbor, on the opposite side of the island from where Azarel lived. What would have been a fifteen minute drive took him less than two and he arrived at his home without running out of breath. Sometimes it was nice bing a vampire. Not needing to breathe was really handy.

Caim walked up the steps into the two story gray stone house he and his subordinates currently occupied. When he first got the mission to protect this community from the Blackfire clan, he had insisted he go alone, but after losing that argument with his superiors, he was forced to take two others with him. After working with his partners Val and Joshua for three years, he got used to them and actually considered them friends now. He pushed open the heavy wooden front door and stepped into the large entryway. The room was spacious with dark wooden floors. Straight ahead was a staircase to the second floor, and next to that was the entryway to the living room. Noticing his subordinates weren't sitting in their usual seats in the living room, he spoke their names in a conversational tone, knowing they'd still hear.

“Val. Josh. Can I have a word?” Almost as soon as he spoke, two young men were standing before him. A human would never have seen them enter, but Caim knew they had come from upstairs.

“Anything wrong, boss?” one of them spoke with a heavy British accent. He was the shortest out of the three of them with an average build and short, wavy sandy colored hair and baby blue eyes. He looked rather young, around fifteen or sixteen, though he was in fact the oldest of the three vampires. He wore a pair of khakis and a hunter green long sleeve shirt that made his pale face and bright eyes stand out.

“Not really, Josh. It's about the Brooks girl.”

“The weird one that suddenly befriended the new girl, who somehow knows what we are, after three years of not speaking to any of the student body?” This time Val spoke up. He sounded a bit annoyed as he spoke of Azarel and Megami and he narrowed his deep violet eyes at Caim. He was the tallest of the three and also the most lanky. It looked like his limbs would snap off at the slightest touch and his mid back length black hair was pulled into a lose ponytail. His hair was very straight with the exception of his bangs that fell messily into his eyes and framed his pale face. He wore a baggy black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. The clothes almost looked too big for his thin frame. Caim nodded at Val.

“The very same.” Caim said, but before he could continue Val cut in again.

“I don't trust that new girl.” he said, folding his arms over his chest. “What was her name? Meg something? She seems suspicious to me.”

“I don't know,” Joshua quickly started. “I think she's all right.” Val turned and glared at him.

“Were you not in the cafeteria the first day she arrived?” Val argued, his voice still edgy. “She walked in with the coldest look I've ever seen on anyone. It almost sent chills down my spine.” Val thought back to the day Megami walked into the cafeteria and suppressed a shudder. “Granted I'm only ninety eight, but I thought I was strong enough to not be intimidated by anyone, until that girl showed up. And did you not notice how none of the humans picked up on her aura? They should have been avoiding her at all costs, not gaping at her like she was some kind of supermodel. Then she noticed that Brooks kid and suddenly she was the kindest looking person on the planet. No one can change moods like that so fast.”

“I think you're reading into this too much Val.” Caim said to his friend calmly before the violet eyed vampire could continue ranting.

“Then how did she know what we were?” Val growled. “She just randomly showed up here last night asking you to go meet the Brooks girl and you agreed without much argument. Aren't you the least bit suspicious of how she knows so much about our kind?” Caim sighed in defeat.

“Yes Val. I am curious as to how she knows of the existence of vampires and other creatures of the night, but she's not my biggest concern as of now. Our job here is more important than trying...”

“That's right.” Val cut Caim off. “Our job is the most important thing. What if she's someone that was sent by the Blackfires? Some sort of secret weapon?”

“I really don't think so.” Joshua chimed in. “I mean, her aura may have been intimidating, but I didn't sense anything remotely connected to the Blackfires from her. Whoever or whatever she is, she is the least of our worries as of now.” Caim nodded in agreement and Val sighed.

“Fine, fine.” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Don't complain to me when she turns out to be an enemy. I may be the youngest here, but in this case, I think I'm right about Mega-whats-her-face.”

Caim and Joshua just chuckled and continued onto what they were supposed to be discussing. “In any case,” Caim began. “Azarel Brooks apparently has been having dreams of me, even though she had never seen or heard of me before today. She knew my name and that I was a vampire. Either of you find that as strange as I do?” Joshua and Val both nodded.

“Is she prophetic?” Joshua asked. Caim shook his head.

“I'm not sure. It's possible, though I'd doubt it considering there have only been three humans in history who were actually prophetic. It's too rare.”

“Is she a sorcerer maybe?” Val suggested after a few moment of silence. Caim scoffed and he and Joshua looked at Val skeptically.

“Don't joke around.” Caim said. “We'd know. Besides, what would a sorcerer be doing here?”

“It's definitely something else.” Joshua added quickly before Val could argue. “But maybe we shouldn't rule it out just yet.” Caim looked at Joshua and raised his eyebrows. Joshua continued. “Well, I mean, let's just not forget that possibility, though it's difficult to actually believe it. As you said, we'd have sensed it two years ago when we came here.” Caim nodded.

“All right then.” he said. “But it's got to be something else. Something we're missing. Let's keep an eye on her. It shouldn't be too hard to hang around her and still not be noticed by the rest of the student body. She's just as inconspicuous to everyone as we are, though she doesn't have control over that like we do.”

“That Megami girl could be a problem though. People definitely notice her.” Caim and Joshua looked over at Val. He was right about Megami in that respect.

“That's minor.” Joshua replied. “They'll be looking at her. Besides, we're the ones with the ability to not be noticed unless we want to be. We'll remain in the background while Megami is in the spotlight.”

The three vampires grew quiet in thought. The plan would work in the end they decided and without a word they all knew they agreed. They would befriend Azarel, but only to watch over her. She was special somehow and the Blackfires may try to use her because of it. No matter what, they would not allow the Blackfire clan to harm Azarel Brooks.

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Azarel woke up Monday morning and breathed in deeply. The sun pooled into her room and she sat up in bed to look out the window. Wait, if the sun was already that far in the sky, that meant it was late in the morning. Her eyes flew to her clock, which read eleven twenty four. The teen almost screamed as she jumped out of bed, flinging her pajama top off and onto her floor. She grabbed some jeans and a brown t-shirt, the nearest clothing she could reach, and throwing the clothes on she raced down the stairs to find her parents sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea. “Why didn't someone wake me up!” She cried as she saw them. Sara smiled lightly and William chuckled.

“We called the school dear.” Sara said. “You were so sick last night that when you didn't wake up at your usual time we let you sleep and told the school you were staying home.”

“Just relax Azarel.” William added, noticing Azarel was breathing heavily from all the running around. The girl sighed and wandered over to the kitchen table and flopped into a chair. She folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them. Now that she was relaxing, the headache was coming back. She grumbled, annoyed.

“Thanks, I guess.” Azarel mumbled.

“Would you like anything to eat?” Sara asked.

“No, I'm not hungry.” Azarel replied. She yawned and stood and trudged back to the stairs. “I'll be in my room.” She didn't wait for an answer as she wandered up the stairs and flopped on her window seat when she reached her room. Why did she have such a splitting headache? She had one yesterday too didn't she? That was when memories of the previous afternoon flooded back to her. How could she have forgotten. Caim was real. He had spoken to her. Her heart sped up as she thought of him and everything he and Megami had told her. It was almost like a cliché horror novel. Evil vampires versus good vampires. She almost laughed. What had Caim called the vampire clan his was fighting? The Blackfire clan? Yes, that was it. Azarel wondered what had caused one clan to honor human life and the other to not care about it. They were all vampires weren't they? How is it that many had different views than the others? She suddenly wished Caim or Megami were there. She had so many questions she wanted to ask them.

Azarel jumped slightly as the doorbell rang. She raised her eyebrows, wondering who it was. She heard her fathers deep voice, though she couldn't hear anything being said and then the front door shut and the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs reached her ears. The footsteps stopped outside her door and a light knock soon followed. “C...Come in...?” Azarel said, still curious as to who it would be, especially since they were at her door. Everyone she knew should have been at school right now. The door opened slowly and Caim peeked into the room. “C...Caim!” Azarel cried, startled, and she nearly fell off the window seat. She jumped off and wobbled on her feet a bit before straightening. “Um, what are you doing here?” Caim smirked and entered the room.

“I heard the headache you got yesterday afternoon took all night to go away. I thought I'd drop in and see how you were feeling.”

Azarel thought a moment and realized her headache was gone now, replaced by a rapidly accelerating heart beat. Caim obviously heard it because he chuckled lightly. That was when Azarel noticed one of his hands was behind his back. He saw her eyes glance at his arm and he smiled, producing a bouquet of different colored roses, some dyed blue, like her hair. Her eyes widened. “What...?”

“These are for you. A get well present.” Caim smiled, handing her the flowers. Azarel took them slowly, still in shock.

“I...Uh...Thank you.” A blush rose to her cheeks and she quickly turned away from him and laid the roses on her desk. She didn't turn back to him right away, trying to calm herself. Why was she freaking out? Sure she had never liked a guy like this before, and no guy had ever been nice enough to check up on her, but that didn't mean she had to go and lose her mind with embarrassment. That was not like her. At all.

She turned around and faced him again, much calmer, only to find that just looking at his face made butterflies flutter around in her stomach. She felt like punching her gut, but that would have just made her look weirder than she already was, so she refrained. “How did you know where I lived?” She suddenly realized she had never told him anything about her home. Caim shrugged.

“I'm a vampire, remember? I could smell you.”

“Oh.” was all she could say. She knew he was a vampire, but, it just sounded so weird. He could smell her. That was the strangest thing anyone had ever said to her. She laughed a little. “So, shouldn't you be at school?” She asked.

“Yes, but it's too sunny so I took a sick day.” Caim smiled and winked. Azarel laughed lightly.

“So will you actually burn up in the sun?' Caim laughed loudly.

“No, that's just a myth. I just hate it mainly, though if any human saw me in the sun they might freak out. I tend to glow a bit in the sunlight. Kind of like a soft white lamp.” Azarel's eyebrows raised at this.

“Weird...”

“Exactly.”

Azarel laughed. “So, you really only came here to check up on me then?”

Caim nodded. “Pretty much...Though, I had a feeling you'd have a lot of questions for me.” Azarel stared at him. Caim smirked. “Okay, so I read your mind and heard that you had a lot of questions. What would you like to know and I'll see if I can tell you?” Azarel sat on her window seat and thought for a few moments. Which question to begin with? She decided to start more personal.

“How old are you and where are you from?” Caim smiled and sat next to her on the window seat.

“Starting personal are we?” he chuckled. “Well then, I was born in New Jersey in 1870 and was turned into a vampire seventeen years later. You do the math.” he winked and Azarel couldn't help but smile. Caim smiled back and continued. “I moved to Australia for about forty or so years, then moved to Chicago, where the Silverwind clan resides. I lived there for ten years and moved here two years ago with some others from my clan.”

“So...” Azarel began. “You're one hundred and thirty four years old. And the fact that you lived in Australia for that long explains the slight accent.”

“Which is really what you were getting at when you asked where I was from.”

Azarel laughed. “Yeah.” They sat in silence for a while, while Azarel thought of her next question. “Can I ask how you were turned?” She glanced at Caim cautiously and noticed his expression was serious now.

“No, sorry. That's a bit too personal.” he said and Azarel nodded. Though he responded as if nothing was wrong, she could tell he was straining to be casual when he spoke. However he was turned, it must have been a bad experience. They were both silent for a long time. Caim seemed to be lost in thought and Azarel couldn't think of anything to say so she decided to just ask another question and hope he would snap out of his reverie.

“So what brought you here?” Little did Azarel know that that question was the one thing that would not have cheered Caim up. Caim frowned for a moment and then shrugged.

“Can't really tell you that one either. It's for your own safety as a human.” Azarel looked to the floor and nodded. She guessed he came here because of something other than wanting to live someplace new. Now she was more curious than ever, but she didn't push the subject or think about it any more. Who knew if he could read what she was thinking. She didn't exactly know how much she was able to block from him. It seemed to be completely random so she'd have to watch her thoughts.

“Sorry, I seem to ask bad questions.”

“No worries. It's not your fault, love.” Azarel almost passed out. Did he just call her love? Thankfully, before she could think anything stupid a fast knock came from the door followed by her father telling her Caim should leave and let her rest. Azarel waited until his footsteps were gone before she stood and smiled at Caim.

“Well, thanks for stopping by.” she said, trying her best not to think about what he called her. “I'll try to come up with better questions next time.”

Caim chuckled and walked to her door. “Until next time.” he nodded at her and exited the room, shutting her door behind him. Azarel stared at the door for a few seconds before sighing and flopping onto her bed. It was late in the afternoon now and she was exhausted for some reason. Sleep took her as she thought of Caim calling her love. She slept for only a few minutes before she was woken up by something that sounded like it came from outside. She groaned a glanced at her window to see her red headed vampire friend grinning while sitting on a tree branch near the window. She almost yelped out loud but muffled it in her hands as she jumped out of bed and opened her window. Caim jumped in and sat on her window seat. “Your dad may have kicked me out, but I'm far too stubborn not to do what I want to.” he winked at Azarel and she scoffed.

“If my parents hear you in here they'll never let me speak to any boy again.” Azarel said, glaring.

“Oh, so you don't want me here then?” Caim asked, pouting slightly and getting ready to exit the window.

“No!” Azarel said, a little too quickly than she would have liked to admit. “I mean, I don't mind you here. I can barrage you with more questions.” She tried to cover up, but Caim knew the real reason she wanted him to stay was because she enjoyed his company. He chuckled and sat back down on the window seat. Humans were so amusing these days.

“So what questions will you be barraging me with?” Caim asked, smirking.

“Well, how exactly do you know Megami?”

This question caught Caim by surprise. He didn't hear her thinking about this one. That was one question he didn't know.

“I don't actually know her.” he said, looking at her thoughtfully. “She came to my door the night before last and somehow knew me and asked me to meet you, telling me all about your dreams of me.” Caim smiled as Azarel looked to the ground a blushed lightly. She was kind of cute when she did that. He mentally slapped himself for thinking such a thing about a human and continued. “I'm not quite sure how she knew what I was or where to find me. I was hoping to ask her that myself, but she didn't show up at the school today.” That made Azarel look up.

“She didn't?” Caim shook his head and Azarel looked back at the beige carpet.

“I was actually hoping to find her here when I came earlier, but obviously I'm a much better friend than she is.” Azarel laughed and grinned. He called her a friend. They had only just met yet he called her a friend. She didn't think anything was strange about that and that might have been the biggest mistake she could have made.

Caim stayed talking to Azarel on her window seat until late into the evening. Azarel had forgotten all about any other questions she might have wanted to ask. She was just happy talking to Caim, telling him about herself. He made her feel good. Like she was the only girl in the world he wanted to talk to. She didn't know why she felt this way about him. It was probably just some stupid crush because of her dreams, or maybe it was his vampiric power taking hold of her? Whatever it was, she really didn't care. She was enjoying his company and that was all that mattered then. She hadn't even thought of any kind of consequences coming out of being friends with Caim. She didn't even consider reasons why he would want to befriend her. Caim was really only there to watch over her and make sure the Blackfire clan didn't discover her and try to exploit her uniqueness, but he wasn't about to tell Azarel that. He needed her to feel comfortable around him so that she didn't question why he was with her or watching her all the time, like he would be until the Blackfire threat was over in this area. From what he could read from her mind, she seemed to be forming some kind of crush on him. It made him laugh in his head. Humans today really were strange and unpredictable, especially this one. She was falling for a vampire. Crazy human girl. Didn't she realize it was probably just his looks that attracted her to him? That didn't really matter though, he decided. It was good that she was falling for him. It would make watching over her easier. He would just have to play along and pretend to like her. Just as a friend though. He wasn't exactly practiced in the ways of romance, so friendship would be easier to fake. Once this was over, he would be leaving this town and never coming back, and he would never see this girl again. So, it was best not to get too attached to the human. After all, he might end up having to kill her if the Blackfires caught her and used her against the Silverwind clan somehow.

“it's getting late.” Caim said. “I should probably let you get some sleep.” Azarel frowned at this. She was enjoying talking to him. It felt good to have friends. She should have made some sooner. She would have loved to talk to him until the sun came up, but she decided it was probably best if he left. She was getting tired.

“All right. Will you be at school tomorrow?”

“Of course. If the weather isn't too sunny.” Caim winked and opened the window. “'Night.”

Azarel waved as he jumped from her window and took off running into the forest. She sighed as she shut the window and got changed for bed. She snuggled under her covers and thought about Caim. He really was very nice. Her first impression of him back in the woods was that he was annoying. After getting to know him a little more though, she discovered he really wasn't that bad of a person. Well, technically he was a vampire, but despite that fact, he was good looking, kind, and was growing on her. Azarel shook her head roughly. Never had she had such thoughts about anyone. She always figured she'd die and old maid. Now when she thought about her future, she pictured Caim with her and it made her smile. She groaned. What was she thinking? It was just a silly schoolgirl crush. She'd get over it eventually. Right?

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Caim arrived home to find Val and Joshua were in their rooms asleep. As vampires, they still slept, though not in coffins. That was just a stupid human myth. They slept in beds, though they only needed a few hours of sleep a week. Caim himself usually slept only seven hours in a usual week, but he found his subordinates tended to double that. They were so lazy really. He needed them alert though, so he allowed them their rest.

Going up the stairs at an inhuman pace he arrived at his room at the end of the second floor hall and entered, shutting the door noiselessly behind him. His room was simple and consisted of a queen sized four poster bed, a dresser, a stereo, a bookshelf crammed with books, and a suede black couch. He lay on his bed and stretched out. He closed his eyes to rest for a moment and an image of Azarel's face appeared immediately in front of his closed eyes. His eye lids flew open and he stared with wide eyes at the white, textured ceiling. Why did she see her of all the people he knew? It was probably just because he had been talking with her all night, but he couldn't shake off the voice in the back of his mind telling him that she had a beautiful smile. He rolled his eyes and got out of bed to get a book from his shelf.

The unfortunate thing for Caim was that his current house mates were also vampires, and as such, they read his mind on a constant basis. Caim growled as he heard Val and Joshua laugh at him in their heads.

'Caim's got a crush on a human.' Val thought, knowing full well Caim would hear.

'I think it's rather cute.' Joshua thought back. The two chuckled in their heads and Caim growled loudly.

“Shut up.” Caim said, knowing they'd hear him even when he spoke at a conversational volume. “I don't fall for humans. In fact, I don't fall for anyone. I've lived alone this far and I plan to live alone for the rest of my existence. No human girl is going to change my mind. Once we're done with the mission here, I'll never see her again and that doesn't bother me in the least.” Val and Joshua didn't say or think anything more, but Caim knew they were doubting his words. He rubbed his temples, frustrated, and decided to just get some sleep before his companions drove him crazy. Just because he thought Azarel had a nice smile didn't mean he had feelings for her. Caim spent the rest of the evening trying to convince himself of that, but a small part of him wouldn't let him believe it just yet.