Summary: Everything was spinning blurry all around me. All I could see was Jinni’s terrified face and the sweet red wine pooling into the collection bag. Temptation erupted within me, and I licked my lips.

Chapter One

Spasm

I couldn’t help it. Honestly.

Jinni O’Day walked toward me, plastic vampire fangs sticking out from under her dark lips and a black cape billowing behind her. As she got closer, I tightened my lungs to suppress a laugh.

“Brian, what’s wrong?” Anna’s cautious green eyes searched me with concern. I waved my hand casually.

“It’s nothing.”

She remained stiff, her eyes still glued to me. Anna was one of my best friends, and me being a guy, we were often accused of being lovers. Which we were nothing of the sort. I viewed Anna as more of a little sister than anything else. Even though she was six months older than me.

After three suspicious seconds she relaxed, letting her harsh gaze rest on the girl coming toward us.

Anna let out a small huffy laugh. “The freaks that roam this school…” She shook her head and grinned, looking away from Jinni O’Day.

I took another glance at Jinni and fierce laughter burst from me. I couldn’t help it. Honestly.

Jinni strode on by, her heavy leather boots thumping softly on the tile. Before she slipped out of sight, her deep blue eyes locked on my face for a brief moment. I stared back at her, admiring the way the pigtails on the top of her head resembled deadly spiders. It must have taken a ton of hairspray, gel, magic potion-- whatever the hell Jinni used to make her hair form into those sharp shapes.

It’s always strange when two people happen to glance at each other at the exact same second. It’s almost like fate, destiny, and all that other fantasy crap girls like to believe in.

I call it coincidence. And creepy coincidence, at that.

“Are you okay? Did she taint you with her poisonous stare?” Anna said playfully, poking me in the arm. I chuckled along with her, but I wasn’t laughing because Jinni looked like a freak. I was laughing at the way she and all her other little Goth friends worshipped vampires.

Think of a vampire. Picture it in your head. Now, what do you see? Most likely you’re thinking of a stereotypical, blood-sucking, seductive recluse that dwells and seethes in the darkness. Right?

Wrong.

Hey, when I think of a human I don’t necessarily picture all of them as ugly, potato-chip-munching, bearded lards that watch NASCAR all day and own a hundred pit bulls. Not all humans are like that. Neither are us vampires. We have quite a bit of variation, too.

And yes, you read correctly. I’m a vampire. Scary, huh?

Anna tugged on my arm, steering me away from my locker. “C’mon! Let’s go.”

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not your typical vampire. In fact, I probably go against everything you’ve ever believed about vampires.

As we passed a shiny window on our way to the student parking lot, I caught a quick glimpse of myself: Beach blonde hair that swept my shoulders. Sharp chin. Olive green eyes. A warm, peach skin complexion. I had nothing to complain about. Except of course, the looming vampire nature that was hidden somewhere inside of me.

Anna climbed up into her dark green jeep and revved the engine. I snapped on my seatbelt and glared at her.

“What?” she asked defensively.

I tapped my fingers on my seatbelt. She picked up on my hint.

“God, sometimes when I’m driving with you I feel like I’m with my dad…” she grumbled. Ordinarily, a comment like that would be damming to any guy’s ego. But coming from Anna, I was pleased. After all, I was very over-protective of her.

“Check your mirrors, don’t talk on your cell phone, and make sure to brush your teeth before you go to bed tonight.” I smiled sarcastically. Her icy expression melted and she laughed along with me, backing out of the parking lot.

Now don’t get the wrong idea-- Anna and I usually never skip. We were obedient students. We were just suffering from a terrible bout of senioritis. And we were tired of the crappy food in the cafeteria. So we were just going out to grab a quick lunch.

In fact, I was pretty involved with the school. I was centre forward on the varsity soccer team. I was vice president of the Student Government Association. I got decent grades and all the teachers and my peers adored me. Life was sweet.

Mostly I even forgot I was a vampire. There weren’t any pointy fangs in my mouth and I didn’t hiss at the daylight. My everyday life was relatively normal. Sometimes a very rare whiff of ripe blood would linger in my nostrils and enlighten my senses, but it barely effected me. It was just a brief and pleasant sensation that quickly evaporated from my mind.

Still, I was drawn like a buzzing magnet to the Curia Blood Mobile. It was a RV-looking vehicle that traveled around the city, collecting precious blood from those willing to donate it. I worked as a volunteer, poking the donators with the needles myself and relishing the peaceful feeling that came over me.

Today, after lunch, I would resume my work at the blood drive, which was to take place right at Jefferson High, my educational home. My mouth twitched into a devious smile.

Anna glanced at me. “What’s up with you?”

I shrugged. “Just happy it’s Friday.”

“Yeah. It’s been a long week.” She sighed, brushing her fluffy chestnut-brown hair away from her face. Anna was beautiful, smart, charming, and real. She’s the kind of girl that wouldn’t mind hanging out on your couch, watching The Price is Right and snacking on Life cereal. It didn’t take much to make her happy, and when you did, her bright smile was well worth it.

Despite all these wonderful things about Anna, I still wasn’t romantically attracted to her. Call me weird, or gay, or whatever, but I just didn’t see her that way. Maybe it was because I’d known her since we were babies, and we’d grown up like squabbling and loving siblings. She always felt the same way about me, so no awkward conflict was between us.

“I heard in the front office that they’re changing schedules on Monday,” she said indifferently, halting at a red light in a busy intersection.

“Really? Why?” I hated change.

“There are a ton of students this year, so they needed to hire more teachers. Now they’re evening out the classes so they won’t be too crowded.”

“Great. For once they’re doing something smart.” I frowned. I wasn’t a very big fan of my school and its way of thinking. Hence why I was part of Student Government. Perhaps I could help turn things around.

Anna grinned at me. “Maybe I’ll get moved into one of your classes.”

I smiled politely back. “Maybe.”

The sun shimmered in the cloudless sky. It was a flawless September afternoon. I stared out of the window at all the leafy palm trees lining the road, swaying in the breeze. Usually here in Florida it was blistering hot at this time of the year, but today was a rarity. The temperature was a comfortable seventy-five degrees with light wind combing through. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the seat.

The car was quiet, except for the gentle hum of the engine. I started to fade into the depths of sleep…

Beeeeeeeeeeep!

My eyes shot open. Anna gave me an evil smile, her fingers drumming on the center of the steering wheel.

“That’s your complimentary wakeup call,” she said.

I punched her in the arm. “That wasn’t cool, dude.”

“I’ll tell you what isn’t cool. Getting drool all over the upholstery, Fido. Do you know how long it took me to clean that?”

“Okay. You win.” I was half-amused and half-pissed at the moment. Only Anna could draw that kind of combination from me.

“What do you feel like eating?” she asked, scanning the line of fast food restaurants on the left. “I’m thinking burritos.”

“You read my mind,” I replied. With that, we swung into Taco Bell.

“Did you fill out the questionnaire and consent form?” I asked, snapping on blue rubber gloves. The teenage boy laying on the bench gulped and nodded, beads of sweat glistening on his face. I could already tell this wasn’t going to be a conga in the park.

I had been volunteering with Curia Hospital’s blood drive for four years now, learning how to draw blood from donators. At first I shadowed the professionals, watching them closely as they collected the blood. In a matter of months I became a pro myself, all the medical terminology stored in my brain and the necessary steps programmed into my hands. Science and medicine always intrigued me, but deep down I knew why I truly was drawn to this volunteering. I’m a vampire. This is blood. You can figure out the rest.

The boy winced at the sight of the bore needle I held in my hand. I decided I’d try and make things a little easier for him.

“It’s a simple process. Almost painless and completely safe. Plus, you’re doing a great thing, donating your blood to someone who needs it.” I said this conversationally while I prepared the collection bag.

“Almost painless?” He cringed. “So there is pain involved?”

“Well, yeah… I mean, it’s like getting a shot. You feel a little pinch at first, but it’s nothing drastic.”

This didn’t seem to help. He seemed preoccupied with the notion of pain.

“I don’t know… I can’t… I can’t…” His eyes looked somberly at the bore needle, the life almost extinguishing from them. At that moment I knew this guy was suffering from a bout of cold feet, and an easily nauseated stomach. I set down the equipment.

“You should only do this if you’re absolutely positive you want to. If you’re not comfortable with it, don’t do it.” I was being real with him, no sugar-coating or white lies here. The boy simply nodded and gulped again, fleeing from the mobile to a nearby restroom, I guessed.

“Poor fellow,” Mrs. Sands, the nurse in charge, commented, chuckling under her breath. I shrugged and prepared for the next donor. Hopefully this person would have warm feet instead of cold.

Jinni O’Day stood outside, waiting for her turn. She twirled her silky black hair around her finger, staring down at the ground.

I opened the door. “Hey you, step up here,” I called over to her. Her eyes darted up and she scurried over to me.

“Hi…” She glanced at my nametag. “…Brian.”

I beckoned for her to lay down, brandishing the large bore needle. She saw it, her innocent blue eyes staring at it, but she didn’t even flinch. I took her left arm and rolled her sleeve up.

“First I’m going to disinfect this area,” I explained, pointing to her inner elbow, “and insert this cannula. You don’t happen to be squeamish, do you?”

She shook her head, trembling slightly as I rubbed the disinfectant on her arm. Then I gently poked the cannula into her skin. The precise moment her skin was punctured, I felt a sharp chill radiate through my body, like a gust of snow had suddenly engulfed me. I tried hard to keep myself from jumping, using Jinni’s arm for stabilization. She bit her lip and stared thoughtfully at me.

“Sorry.” I laughed it off and breathed deeply, the chills intensifying into burning vibrations, traveling like waves through me. What the hell is going on?

“Are you okay?” Jinni asked.

“Oh yeah. Yeah. I’m f-f-fine.” I’d be surprised if she actually bought that lousy cover. She didn’t.

“You should lay down,” she suggested gently.

“I’m fine,” I pressed, trying to convince her and myself that I was.

“Is something wrong here?” Mrs. Sands asked, raising a bushy eyebrow at us. I shook my head and waved her off.

As Jinni’s rich blood started flowing into the collection bag, my insides squirmed and shivered. My heart started beating so fast and rough I could feel it hammering against my ribcage. My skin felt hot and cold at the same time, goose bumps breaking out across my skin and sweat dripping down my forehead. I wondered if I was having a seizure.

“Brian, you look sick dear. Maybe you should rest.” Mrs. Sands put her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. I involuntarily jerked away. It was like a spasm. Like someone else was controlling my body with a remote…

Everything was spinning blurry all around me. All I could see was Jinni’s terrified face and the sweet red wine pooling into the collection bag. Temptation erupted within me, and I licked my lips. My teeth started to ache with growing pains. Sharp points started to protrude and poked my tongue.

Then Mrs. Sands removed the cannula and wrapped a thick purple bandage around Jinni’s inner elbow, sealing the wound.

Immediately my tingling senses turned off like a switch. Everything came back into clarity, Mrs. Sands staring at me with a disapproving look on her round face. Jinni gazing at me with large twinkling eyes.

“Yeah… I don’t think I’m feeling too well,” I admitted. My heart was pumping normally now, and my stomach settled. The little points in my teeth receded back to smooth surfaces. I was perfectly fine now.

“Take care, sweetie,” Mrs. Sands said to Jinni, handing her some cookies and a little bottle of apple juice. Then she turned back to me. “Brian, do you want to go to the clinic?”

I watched as Jinni slipped out of the mobile, as sleek and graceful as a cat. Obviously, something wasn’t right here. Either her blood was messed up, or I was messed up. Or maybe both.

“Yeah,” I said, taking a deep breath.