Author's Note: The writing gets better, I promise. I started this when I was … fifteen-ish, but I grew a lot through the process. One day I'll get around to editing the whole thing and bringing the earlier chapters up to the par of the latter chapters.

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The waiter calmly poured blood, AB negative, into Jamnis's wine glass.

Neptune's, a seafood restaurant and bar, was used to serving vampires. They had an entire night staff specially trained for the task. There are certain things you have to learn not to do when you serve a vampire.

Under the table, Jamnis touched his knee to mine and gave me a pointed look. I rolled my eyes at him and slid my jacket off. He moved his knee away. We were both dressed casually, but he had brought his black leather jacket with him. "If I have to take my jacket off," I said as the waiter started to leave, "you can't wear your sunglasses."

He calmly removed them and laid them down on the table. His eyes were bright so I could see that he was amused. "Dana," he said, "you realize this is the first time we've been alone?"

I stiffened. The only friend I had really made since moving to Rosen and starting at the University was Sirel Grange. She had introduced me to Jamnis last year, but the two of us weren't really close. We had astronomy together every Tuesday and Friday night. But other than that, and at dinner when Jamnis could pull himself away from the other vampiric students, we didn't see each other. Nervously, I combed my brown hair behind my ears.

The two men at the table next to us were arguing. Their angry voices carried over to us, and I saw Jamnis twitch. He hates listening to people argue. "Um," I flailed for something to say, "so, how do you think you did on the test yesterday?"

"I believe I got the highest grade," Jamnis said. I rolled my eyes. He is so overconfident. One of these days that is going to come back to haunt him, and then he'll regret it. "It was very easy. Did you find it difficult?"

I blushed. "No," I said, truthfully. I am good at my schoolwork, but I don't like being complimented on it. Academics have always come easy to me, at least on paper. When a teacher calls on me I usually get it wrong, but tests are another story. I can't think quickly enough when someone calls on me randomly. It's really annoying.

"We have a field study next week," he continued, sipping his ... I had to call it a drink ... "Professor Carter is going to make us go out even if it snows." Yeh, so what's your point? I thought. Jamnis smiled. I cocked an eyebrow. Was there a purpose to that statement?

"He's old and senile," I said, imagining our extremely elderly teacher, who routinely forgot my name, "and he needs to retire."

Jamnis chuckled. He reached across the table and gripped my hand in his. I blushed. What was with him? First he invites me out for no obvious reason, and then on the way over he made it painfully clear that this was not a date, said it right out loud that this was not a date, and adds that I will not, under any circumstances, be allowed to pay for anything... oh gosh I hate him so much!

His eyes flickered and went dark. Confused, I started to say something, but he jumped up and said, "Don't look over your shoulder, Dana." He started to pull me over to the other side of the restaurant, very forcefully, and I heard someone scream. Naturally, I turned to look over my shoulder.

One of the men who had been arguing a few moments before was running away. The other stood in front of his table. He was looking down at this stomach, a shocked expression on his face. My eyes traveled down his overweight frame and I felt myself go limp when I saw what he was looking at, what everyone was screaming about.

There was a huge gash across his stomach. His shirt was split. There was blood everywhere, all over the floor, all over his legs, and he was still bleeding.

Jamnis jerked me against him and stumbled backwards into the wall. I couldn't look away from the man. Jamnis was breathing hard, his hands were rubbing my arms. The man looked up from his stomach and began to turn his head towards us.

Our eyes locked.

His mouth opened in an 'o' of horror and pain. The light went out of his eyes, and he crumpled. He was dead before he hit the floor.

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