When I wake up, I roll over and stretch. I look around for Jamie, but don't see him. Then I notice the door to the kitchen is closed. I get up and put my jeans on, then go into the kitchen. I have to close my eyes for a moment or two to adjust to the bright light. I hear a clatter and Jamie and someone else whispering, then a drawer slams shut. I open my eyes to see Jamie and Chris looking at me with secretive smiles. "I don't think I want to know. Hi Chris. How are ya? Did you bring Jay's car back in one piece?"

"In that order, no you probably don't, Hey, fine, and yes I did. We were just about to go out and get some dinner. Would you like us to bring you back something?"

“How about you take me home, then go out to dinner?"

"You still mad at Jay?"

"Not really, but if I'm not going to be home by 10 I’m supposed to leave a message on the answering machine telling where I am, and that I’m still alive."

"It's quarter 'til already. Even if we seriously broke the speed limit, you wouldn't be home on time. Besides, and I'm going to kick myself later for mentioning this, but don't you want to find out what Jamie wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah, I do, but with what time it is, I have to call, or I won’t hear the end of it for days. I'll be back in a minute." I go across the hall, into the bedroom, and call my house to say that I’ll be late, but I don't know how late. As I'm looking for my shoes and socks, which seem to have disappeared under the bed, I hear Jamie and Chris arguing, and I stop and listen. I don't notice it immediately, but they sound strange, and before I can figure out why, what I’m hearing distracts me.

"Jay, we can just dump her off at her house. You can just make up some bullshit and say that's what you wanted to talk about, and everyone goes home happy. Unless... You didn't, did you?"

"I told you I wouldn't. I'm going to, though, and I'm telling her before I do, and I'm not thralling her unless I have to."

"Why would you do such an amazingly stupid thing? All it will take is one word to the wrong person and we're dead. And it wouldn't even have to be a word to one of us. She might accidentally say something around one of them who knows about us, and you know who those usually are. And that would be the end of it, whether it is the board or someone who just happens to be in the right place at the right time to overhear her saying something she shouldn't."

"I am sure that she wouldn't do something like that. Ask me why she is mad at me." Jamie says.

"Why is she mad at you?"

"I wouldn't sleep with her. Now ask..."

"Why wouldn't you sleep with her?" Chris interrupts.

“She's a virgin.”

"Really? Are you sure? Because I didn't think she was. Did you know?”

“Well, I am as sure as I can be without having physically examined her. And no, I didn't know, not until she told me. I never even got the slightest hint, which in itself should have made me think, since I have known her since she was 10. But she's human. At least as far as I know. And I would know, right?" Jamie asks.

"You should, yes. But you should have known she was a virgin too. Normally I would just go to the board and explain, and let them figure out what's going on, but if you insist on telling her, I can't do that. Of course, if you would wait..." Chris trails off.

The moment of silence before Jamie answers is all it takes for me to realize why they sound different. It's because I'm not hearing them, not with my ears, anyway. It's like everything they are saying is just something that I'm thinking, but these definitely aren't my thoughts.

"It's not like I'm going to drain her. I can just tell her, decide what I am going to do based on how she reacts, and if you insist, then we can go to the board."

"And if she's just human, then the board will have to, at the very least, thrall her. And you know that no one would bother with thralling for this. And you would be in deep trouble too. The board won't care if you're certain she won't tell. You can tell her, or we can tell the board about her, and let them decide if or when to tell her." Chris says forcefully.

Something distracts me, and I look down and realize I've found my socks. I put them and my shoes on, and while I do, everything I just heard is racing through my mind. Part of my mind says it might not be true, but I instantly dismiss that. I know it is. I get up, and walk across the hall and go into the kitchen. "If I get a say in the matter, I'd much rather have Jamie tell me, and not just because it means I'll find out now. From what I just heard, I don't like the sound of this board, whatever it is." Jamie and Chris both stare at me like I've just sprouted another head on my shoulders and begun speaking in tongues. “What are you talking about, Hel?” Jamie says after a moment.

“What the two of you were talking about.”

“We didn’t say anything.”

“Yes you did. I heard you, sorta.” I insist.

"What exactly did you hear?" Chris asks.

"Short version, Jamie wants to tell me something, and you don't want him to, for some reason. And Jamie told you why I was mad at him, which I don't exactly appreciate, since it's none of your business. And you are worried about me telling whatever this secret is, which I wouldn't, not if it would get Jamie in trouble or hurt. Oh, and you mentioned thralling a few times, what is that?"

Chris says angrily, to Jamie, "I thought you hadn't yet."

"I haven't. I don't know how she heard us." Jamie says in an insistent tone.

"You know, guys, if you don't want people hearing you, you should whisper." I say. Both guys ignore me, and Chris says, "You must have done something for her to suddenly be hearing us."

"No, nothing. I was just as careful as you ever are. Much more so, in fact, because I actually give a damn." Jamie says, exasperated.

"You know, if you tell me what you're trying to figure out, I might be able to help." I say.

"We're trying to figure out why you can hear us now, but you never did before." Jamie says, then closes his mouth, but I can still hear him talking. "You haven't heard us before, right?"

I shake my head, then say "I haven't heard you talk without moving your mouth, no. Since when do you do ventriloquism?"

"Are you sure? Maybe you heard him say something and no-one else seemed to?" Chris asks.

"Um, I'm not sure. Oh yeah! This one time we were leaving this club, and this totally freaky looking guy was acting really weird, following us, and hiding behind stuff whenever one of us would turn around. I was getting freaked, and started dragging Jamie back towards the crowd of people outside the club. Then all of a sudden, Jamie screamed at the guy to go away, or Jay would tear him into tiny little pieces and throw the pieces into a fire. I was…just… astounded, cos Jay sounded so mean. I was almost scared of him, but I looked around and no one else had even looked, let alone acted like they had heard. I asked Jamie why he had said that, but he acted like he had no clue what I meant. Although now that I think about it, he kinda startled when I first asked, and then he denied having said anything. I thought maybe I was hearing things, or... I don't know, I just rationalized it and forgot it."

"Really? I only just kind of startled? Because when you asked me why I had said that, I almost flipped out. I spent the rest of the evening trying to see if you would hear me again. With some of the stuff I said, it's a good thing you didn't." Jamie says.

"Well, that explains that."

"Explains what?"

"The whole rest of that night, I kept hearing a kind of, feedback in my head. Like when the stereo is super loud, and on for a really long time, and then when you turn it off, you can still hear the song. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my ears. I even went to the doctor about it. He said it was just temporary tinnitus, probably caused by the volume of music at the club, and to try and avoid anything really loud. I didn't tell him that the club had been rather quiet."

"So she heard you before, but just the once." Chris says.

"Actually, a lot of times lately when I'm over here, I get that feedback in my head thing. And occasionally when I'm out somewhere, but not very much. Except when I'm with Jamie. Then it happens a lot."

"Since when?" Chris asks.

"Since around the beginning of this summer I've been hearing it a lot especially during the day at work, but I'd been hearing it a little bit since my birthday." I say, then, at Chris's blank look, "October 12th." I've been standing just inside the doorway while we've been talking, and I finally go sit down on one of the kitchen stools.

"Anything different happen on your birthday? " Jamie asks.

"You didn't come to my party for the first time since we’ve been friends." I say, mock angrily. "Other than that, um, not really. Except I remember that it was a full moon that night." "Well, there's what I was doing." Jamie interrupts.

"Yeah, you and everyone else." Chris says.

"If you guys don't want to listen to me, then just say so."

"Sorry, sorry. We're listening. Continue." Jamie says contritely.

"Good, you had better be listening." I tease, then continue. "I remember it was a full moon, because I couldn't sleep. I was so excited about the presents I had gotten, and I just wanted to go out and do something, anything."

"What did you get?" Jamie asks.

"I got a tarot deck and an Ouija board as presents. I picked them out myself, but they were still presents. Other than that I just got normal stuff. Books, CD's, makeup, some clothes, and jewelry. But I was very excited about the Tarot deck and Ouija board, since it was a really nice deck, not one of those silly cheap ones you can get at the mall. And the board was a good one too, real wood, not cardboard like the one Patty has. So, I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to go out and do something, so finally I grabbed the Tarot cards, and walked up to the park near my house. Jamie, you know the one I mean. I remember, the moon was so bright, I could see perfectly, didn't even need a flashlight, which was good, because I hadn't brought one. I played on the playground equipment, swings and slide and stuff, like I usually do when I walk up there because I can't sleep. When I got bored, I started messing around with my Tarot cards, asking silly things. When that got boring, I went home, and fell asleep pretty quickly. Had a weird dream that night too."

"What was it about?" Jamie asks.

"Nothing. Not actually worth having mentioned. Just a silly dream.”

“Oh, come on, tell me. I promise I won't tease you, no matter how naughty it was." Jamie insists.

"No. It's not important, it's just very extremely none of your business."

"You really should tell me. It might be something important. I mean, if it was so strange that you still remember it, it was important."

"No, Jay, it wasn't important. At least not the way you mean. It had nothing to do with this. It was just my mind showing me things I hadn't realized I was thinking about." I say flatly.

"It sounds like it may very well have something to do with you hearing me all of a sudden.” Jamie says patronizingly.

"I don’t think so. Look, I'm not telling you the dream. Now we can spend all night arguing, or you can forget it and leave me alone about it. Which is it gonna be?"

Jamie doesn't answer me, and all of a sudden I feel him trying to get in my mind. It feels a little like listening to them did, but not really. It feels like when you can’t quite remember something, but you almost can, and you know that it’s right there, if you could only remember. Except it's much more intense, and it's someone else trying to remember your memory. It's Jamie trying to remember my memory. I get mad, then I get defensive. When Jamie realizes that I know what he's trying to do, I feel him pressing harder. At first it was just a light touch, like he wasn't trying hard at all, but now he’s really trying hard. It hurts, and I instinctively push his mind away. I hear him suck in a breath, then he's gone from my mind, and I don't even know what I did, just that it made him stop. When I look at him, he's holding on to the countertop so tightly I expect it to crack any second. "What happened?" Chris exclaims.

"I forgot that pissing her off has always been a bad idea. This time she figured out how to get back at me. I'll say this much. Hel's a quick learner."

"What the fuck was that?! You were in my head! I just wanted to make you stop, though. I didn't exactly mean to do, well, whatever it is that I did."

"What you did was block me, very forcefully. I don't think you need to ever worry about anyone eavesdropping on your mind..." Jamie starts.

"How did you know what he was doing?” Chris interrupts.

I reply, getting more upset with every second that passes, "I just knew. I could feel someone who wasn't me inside my head, and I reacted. This is all getting way too weird. Would someone fill me in? What the hell just happened? I know what Jay was doing, but how were you doing it? How did I do whatever the fuck I did? What the hell is going on?!"

"Has anyone ever tried to read your mind before?" Chris continues, as though I hadn't said anything.

"How the hell should I know? I don't even know what's going on, let alone how I did whatever. Will one of the two of you please tell me what in the fuck is going on?" I scream at the top of my lungs.

"We can't tell you what's going on, at least not right now." Chris says calmly.

"Damn it, tell me!" I scream, and slam my hand down on the countertop for emphasis. "OW!" It hurts, and the pain cuts through the haze of anger I am feeling. I feel myself calm down, really more like deflate, and I say "I seem to be hearing that an awful lot today."

Jamie laughs, knowing me well enough to realize I won't be exploding again any time soon, and says, "Well then it must be true and everyone who said it is a wise and knowledgeable person."

"I take it Jamie said it, too?" Chris asks jokingly.

"Yeah. So when are you going to tell me?" I ask resignedly.

"I don't know. Maybe we should just take you home. That way we can have some time to figure out what we're going to do." Chris answers.

"I don't like that idea. I can't stand suspense. I can't think of anything so awful that I'd suddenly despise you. Well, yes I can, but having known Jamie for as long as I have, I seriously doubt that you guts are crazed ax murderers planning to make me your next victim. Although that would explain you living out here in the middle of nowhere, Jamie.” I giggle at the thought of Jamie being a crazed anything.

"Yeah, I suppose it would, however, we're not ax murderers. But the secret does have something to do with why I live out here, so you’re right about that." Jamie answers, smiling to let me know he understands what's so funny.

"Yeah, I guess she is." Chris laughs.

"Why is that not encouraging?" I say wryly.

"Because your mind is going, Maybe they're chainsaw murderers. But we aren't. " Jamie says. Then in an aside to Chris, "Maybe we should take her home. Remember Jena?"

"I thought you said she wouldn't react like that." Chris mentions pointedly.

"She won't, but since you seem to think she will, then you'll like the idea of us being in a car. I figured you'd say it would make it a lot easier."

"I'm not so sure I want to get in a car with you. Either of you.” I say.

"What about hating suspense?" Jamie inquires.

"I'll live with the suspense. I just really don't want to be here all of the sudden." I say firmly.

"Why not?" Jamie queries.

"I dunno. A little voice in my head is telling me to get away from you. Which is odd, because it's you. But this is one of those little voices that it isn't a good idea to ignore."

"She's known you long enough to have realized what you are, subconsciously anyway. We need to be around when her conscious mind accepts it. There's no telling what could happen otherwise. We have to tell her." Chris says to Jamie. Jamie agrees.

"I guess the only way I'm going to get out of here is to go with you guys. Come on. Let's go."

We go out and get in the car and Chris offers to drive. Jamie and I sit in the back seat. We pull out of the driveway, and onto the road. Jamie turns to me and says, very seriously, "I can either tell you or show you. Which will it be?"

"I don't know, Jay. Um, tell me I guess. "

"All right. Come here." He turns sideways on the seat, facing me. I turn around and scoot across so that I'm between his legs with my back against his chest. He wraps his arms around me, and I lean back and turn my head to look up at him.

"Well?" I ask.

"Are you still mad about this afternoon?" he queries.

"No, I have a whole bunch of other stuff to be mad about now." I joke, then, at his stricken look, I say, “I'm just teasing. You know me better than that."

"Yeah, I do. I'm just kinda distracted right now. What do you think of the supernatural?" he asks, trying to be casual.

"Supernatural? Like what, X-Files stuff, ghosts and vampires?"

"Yeah. Like that. What do you think of them?" Jamie repeats.

"I don't know. I think there are a lot of exaggerated stories, but there must have been something for the stories to be based on. Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah, that's it exactly. What do you think supernatural people are like?"

"I guess there are a few who get all the attention, and the rest are just normal people with normal lives, trying to stay out of trouble. That is, if they were real." I add in a last grab at my preconceived notion of reality.

"Can you say denial much?" Jamie teases.

"Denial is a good thing. It has kept a lot of people sane in insane situations."

"True. One last question. Do you think you know anyone supernatural?"

"This morning I would have given an unqualified no. Now, quite possibly, yes. But I'm really kinda hoping this is a joke. If it is, it's an amazing one, and you actually have me believing you. If you tell me now, I'll still forgive you."

"You know it's not a joke. You know I wouldn't have taken a joke this far."

"I know. But I had to ask."

Jamie holds me tightly, like he's holding on for his life, looks at me apprehensively, and says, "I am a vampire. I drink blood and it is very hard to kill me, even if I want to die. I don't sleep in a coffin, and sunlight has no effect on me, other then to give me a tan. I have no problems with garlic or crosses, and I can't make someone a vampire just by biting them." Jamie looks down at me anxiously. "Well? Are you going to say something? Flip out? Slap me? Something? Anything?"

"I'm certainly not going to flip out. I don't entirely believe you. Why would I flip out?"

"When you say you don't entirely believe me, about how much do you believe me?" Jamie asks.

"Oh, somewhere between about halfway and almost. Why?"

"Do you want me to prove it to you?"

"That depends. What do you have in mind?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes. What are you going to do?" I ask warily.

"Lean your head against my shoulder and I'll show you."

"I don't think so."

"I thought you said you trusted me.” Jamie says.

"There are limits to trust. Letting a guy who claims to be a vampire at your neck is one of them. Can I see your fangs?"

"How did you know I have fangs?" Jamie asks, sounding surprised.

"I felt them earlier. In the kitchen. Remember? Of course at the time I had no idea what they were."

"I thought I moved away quickly enough that you wouldn't."

"You almost did. I didn't really feel them. I just felt wrongness and then you were gone. I hadn't even thought about it again until just now. So let's see." I insist.

Jamie opens his mouth and smiles, so that his teeth are visible. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly different about any of them, but as I'm watching, his top canine teeth extend to about an inch long, and visibly become sharper. It happens in about a second, and when I look at him, his whole face looks different. At first I can't figure out what it is, but then I realize that his eyes, normally a gorgeous ice blue, are almost silver, and he just generally looks very predatory. I reach up and touch one of his fangs with my index finger, and Jamie playfully closes his mouth around it. He lets go a second later, and gives me a teasing grin as his fangs retract.

"Well?" he asks.

"Well what?"

"Do you believe me more?"

"More, but not quite completely. What else can you do? Um, without getting too near my neck."

"I show you my fangs, and you still don't believe me?" Jamie exclaims.

"Well, lots of people have fake fangs implanted by their dentists." I say meekly.

"Fake fangs that retract into their jaw?"

"Well, no, but I'm sure it can be done. Your fangs just are not proof in and of themselves. Sorry."

"Well, I can do plenty, but you'll have to trust me."

"Now why does that sound ominous? I already told you I do. And it’s kinda obvious since I'm still here and not trying to hide under the seat or jump out of the car. But as I said, there are limits to trust, so stay away from my neck for now, ok?”

“All right. Can I bite you somewhere else?"

"Maybe later if you behave." I say in a flirty tone, then continue, "Seriously, where?"

"Funny. Your hand."

"Ok, but why?"

"Just go with me on this."

He takes hold of my hand and turns it palm up. He looks straight into my eyes as his fangs emerge, and then quickly, but gently bites the fleshy part of my palm beneath my thumb. His fangs break the skin, but it doesn't really hurt, it's like a pinprick. It bleeds so fast that in a moment there are no longer two small holes, but one long smear. Jamie licks the blood off, then bites his tongue and lets a drop of blood fall on the two holes. It soaks in quickly, and as it does, the bite marks disappear. "Cool. That must go over great at parties." I joke.

"You know perfectly well that I don' t do that sort of thing at parties." Jamie says seriously. "Yeah, but it's so fun to tease you. You can be so solemn some times. Half the time I don't even know if you got the joke and are pretending to be serious, or if you really are that serious. It can get very strange."

"We never did find out why you started to really hear us tonight. If' it's been 10 months since you first heard anything said mentally, and your mental perception hasn't changed in the past few months, it's very odd it would suddenly develop tonight." Chris suddenly says to me

"That's right. We didn't, did we? What could have caused it?" I ask.

"Well, if Jamie had bitten you, or if he had given you any of his blood."

"No and no. At least, he'd better not have. Jamie?" I ask.

"No! Absolutely not. You know me better than that!" Jamie replies vehemently.

"Alrite, just checking. What else?"

"I don't know. If you had somehow gotten some of his DNA inside you, like if he gave you a bone marrow transplant or something." Chris sighs dejectedly.

Suddenly I think of something, and ask, "If you had given me any of your blood, how would you have?" I look up at Jamie as I ask, but Chris answers. "When you give someone blood, it's because you are trying to change them into a vampire, so you open one of your veins and one of theirs and do it that way."

Suddenly Jamie looks down at me and says, “You can also give someone blood orally. It just takes longer to get into their system, and if you're tying to change them, it's a bad way to do it, because it isn't very strong. It would definitely wake up any powers they had though." He gives me a comprehending look, then I hear his voice in my head, quietly saying "I guess you should have spit instead of swallowing. But I'm glad you didn't.”

"Would someone mind filling me in? I thought you said you hadn't given her any blood." Chris says.

"Is he just slow, or did you not tell him?” I ask Jamie.

“I didn't tell him. I figured it wasn't any of his business." he replies.

“You figured right. Such a good boy, especially since I would have told my best friend in half a heartbeat. You know what I just realized?"

“What?" Jamie asks amusedly.

"Since Patty moved away, you are my closest friend. How sad is that?"

"I don't know. I kind of like it. Anyway Chris, no, I didn't give her any blood. We figured out what happened, and it's not really any of your business. So Hel, are you really all right with this?"

"Yeah, I think I am. In fact..."

"What?" Jamie asks.

"I'm beginning to get curious." I say.

Jamie laughs, and asks, "About what?"

"Well, how often do you drink blood?"

"A few times a week. Sometimes a little more often."

"How often do you need to?"

"I'd actually be hungry after a few days, but if I had to, I could go for a long time, maybe 6 months on only animal blood. But I usually have human blood once every couple weeks. And it doesn't have to be a lot. A quart or so is more than enough."

"Why did it matter that I'm a virgin?"

"You know how in all the old stories, vampires always go after virgins? It's kinda complicated, but the short version is that vampires drink blood because it's the only way to get the spirit of the person. And when you have sex with someone, your spirit mingles with theirs, so the spirits of virgins are clearer, purer. And so vampires can sense when someone is virgin, like animals being able to sense if water is clean and safe to drink." Jamie explains.

"So you wouldn’t sleep with me because you wanted me to taste good? How dare you automatically assume that I'm going to let you bite me." I say in a very quiet, dangerous tone of voice.

"I wasn't assuming anything. If you had flipped out when I told you, I would have had to make you forget. And guess what the best way to do that is?"

"Still! If you were considering having to make me forget, you shouldn't have cared what I would taste like!" I exclaim.

"You're right, and I didn't. The only thing that mattered about you being a virgin was that I hadn't known, which is very odd. That was why I was startled for a moment when you told me, but the reason I stopped was because I wanted you to know the truth about me before we went any further."

"No fair. How can I stay mad at you when you say something that sweet?"

"You can't. That was the idea. So do you completely believe me now?" he asks quizzically.

"As completely as I've ever believed anyone." I reply.

"Good enough for now. Disregarding the fact that you're mad at me, what are your feelings on the drinking of blood?"

"As in you drinking mine? I'm not sure. Maybe you bad better make other dinner plans."

"What are you worried about? Maybe I can help you come to better terms with it." Jamie says helpfully.

"It's nothing in particular. Just general reluctance. It's like, it's not that I don't trust you, I'm just wondering if you're you. Do you know what I mean?"

"I do, exactly. I had the same reaction, but worse. I wouldn't even get within arm's reach of anyone when I first found out. I thought if I was two feet away, I was safe. I was wrong, but it made me feel better." he laughs.

"What made you change your mind?" I ask.

"A girl named Katherine. I found out because of her. I caught her feeding one day, and when I didn't instantly flip out or go running to tell everyone, she decided to tell me what was going on instead of just thralling me or killing me." Jamie answers.

"What is this thralling you keep mentioning?"

"Oh. It's when a vampire links minds with someone to make them forget something, or to change their memory. It's really hard to do, and most vampires just kill instead because it doesn't always work right. Either the memory comes back after a little while, or it erases all of the person's memories. Anyway, when she told me, I was perfectly fine with everything except that I wouldn't get near anyone. Katie finally came to me and said since I was so afraid, she would show me that there was nothing to be afraid of. She acted very sweet, and when I was relaxed, she bit me. I didn't realize until too late that she was draining me. Then she opened the main veins in my arms and hers and gave me my blood back, and I changed."

"Didn't you have a choice?" I ask sympathetically.

"Yeah. I could have died. I didn't like that choice very much."

"I can see why. I'm sorry she did it that way, but I'm glad she did it."

"Why?" Jamie asks quizzically.

"If she hadn't, I wouldn't have known you as well, maybe not at all."

"Not at all. I'd have been dead centuries before you were born."

"I definitely wouldn't have liked that. Remind me to thank her if we ever meet."

"I don't talk to her. I haven't ever forgiven her for changing me. In retrospect, I'm glad she did, but I would have preferred that she had asked first, and given me a while longer to get used to it. If you really wanted to meet her, I think Chris usually knows where she is."

"Yeah, I do. Last I heard she was in Transylvania looking for Count Dracula, which doesn't surprise me, because she was never all there mentally. I used poor judgment when I changed her, but she begged me to, and she was so pretty." Chris interjects.

" Are you a vampire, Chris?"

"It's not polite to ask, but yes, I am." Chris smiles at me, and Jamie wraps his arms around me tighter. I give him a quizzical look, but he just shakes his head. Chris laughs.

"Someone mind telling me what that was?" I ask.

"Nothing." Jamie says at the same time as Chris says, "Just Jay marking his territory."

"Oh really. So I'm your territory am I?" I tease.

Jamie sputters for a minute and gives Chris a "Thanks A Fucking Million' Look, then says awkwardly, "It wasn't really marking my territory. More like dibs," then before I can say anything, continues with "But just guy dibs, not vampire dibs."

"Sweetie, I was just teasing. For someone with semi-psychic powers, you can be so clueless sometimes. Even Chris was just teasing. I'm surprised you didn't get that. You can be so fun to pick on sometimes. Even if he did ask me out, I wouldn't go out with him. No offense." I say quickly.

"None taken." Chris laughs.

"Jamie, I've had a crush on you since the second time I saw you, the first time I really met you. I decided a few years back that you were just amazingly dense, or you didn't like me that way and were trying to let me know, without actually saying it and completely embarrassing both of us. And I kinda figured no-one could be that dense." I explain.

"Well, I was. That time that group of us went to the beach, and that guy, what was his name, Eric kept hitting on you, I finally noticed you were a girl, but I could never quite figure out if you liked me as a guy, or a friend. So I just kept it to myself. I figured it was safer that way. Of course, you made it rather obvious today how you felt." Jamie remarks jokingly.

"That I did, didn't I? So shortly after I stopped hitting on you, you realized I was a girl. Story of my life. But I meant what I said this afternoon. I don't want to be more than friends just now. Maybe at some later date we can be more, but not now."

"What happened between the two of you today!? You both already said there was no biting and no fucking. So what did you do?" Chris asks exasperatedly.

"Speaking of dense." Jamie and I say at the same time.

"If great minds think alike, " Jamie says.

"Then why did we have the same thought?" I finish.

"Do you two know how annoying you are?" Chris says, more a statement than a question.

"Oh, shut up and be a good chauffeur." I say, only half-joking.

"How can I be a good chauffeur when I don't know where we're going?" Chris questions.

"How can you be driving and not know where we are going?" I ask with amazement.

"Jamie said turn left out of the driveway and drive until he said stop. I am."

"Oh, yeah. You can stop anytime now. I just said that because it brought us out into the middle of nowhere. I thought it would make it easier if she flipped out, like you were so sure she would." Jamie says.

"Make it easier to what? Never mind, I can figure it out, and I don't even want to hear you say it." I quickly add.

"No. I would never hurt you. I know you. I knew you wouldn't flip out. And if you had, I would have thralled you."

"You said yourself that it thralling someone doesn't work. That it either does nothing or completely fries the person's mind. I would rather be dead than have my mind gone." I say vehemently.

"I said it does that sometimes. When the person doing it isn't careful, or doesn't give a damn. I wouldn't have let that happen. I care about you too much." Jamie finishes quietly.

"You just make it impossible to stay mad at you. No fair." I pout.

"I try. But the important thing is that I knew it would be unnecessary. I was just making an unlikely contingency plan."

"Darling." I say, sugar sweet.

"Yeah?" Jamie asks warily.

"Quit while you're ahead."

"Alright. Anyway, as I was saying, we weren't really going anywhere. Can you think of anywhere?" Jamie asks me.

"Not particularly. How about nowhere?"

"Sounds good. Why don't we drop Chris off at his car, and then we can go back to my house."

"Alright. Why did we leave, any way?" I ask curiously.

“You're going to get mad again." Jamie says wearily.

"Probably. Tell me anyway. I promise that unless it's really horrible, I'll get over it quickly. And if I don't, I'll give you a chance to explain before I go off on you. Deal?"

"Deal. We left because Chris was certain you were going to flip out, and I thought that there was the slightest possibility that you wouldn't be very understanding for a few minutes, so we decided to tell you in the car, with it's nice child safety lock rear doors." Jamie says all this in one breath then looks at me like he's excepting me to rip his head from his shoulders.

I laugh at the look on his face, then say, "Relax, honey. I'm not mad. It makes sense. Do you know what I just realized?"

"What?" Jamie asks, still a little cautious.

"I've been calling you honey and sweetie."

"And that's a bad thing?" he asks.

"It's not a bad thing, but the only people I use endearments when I'm talking to are people I really care about. There isn't even anyone in this lifetime that I call that. Well, except for you."

"Well, I'm so sorry that you're disappointed, but it's nice to know you care. Wait a second. What do you mean, this lifetime?"

"I mean in this lifetime. I have dreams that are really vivid and real. I looked it up in a dream book, and it said dreams that vivid are believed to be past life memories. And I think they must be, because in these dreams I'll see or do stuff, and before I had the dream, I would have had no idea what it was, and after the dream, I go to the library or something, and look it up, and I'm totally correct, like about tiny little details and stuff. That's what I mean."

"Wow." Jamie says in amazement.

"Wow? Why wow?”

"True humans don't remember their past lives, even with regression therapy. Anyone else who remembers past lives, even in regression therapy, is at least partly supernatural. Maybe only the tiniest bit, like fifty generations ago was the full blood, but they are at least partly. And the easier they remember, they more supernatural they are. If you remember in dreams, then you're at least a quarter blooded." Jamie explains.

"So what you're saying is that on of my great-grand parents wasn't human?" I ask in astonishment.

“Or one of your grandparents, or your parents. That gives you 14 different people to draw from. Actually, I've met your parents. Make that 12." Jamie jokes.

"I so agree. And I doubt it was any of the grandparents I knew, so that leaves all my greats, and my granddad on my mom's husband's side."

"If he’s your mom's husband, how are you related to his dad?" Chris asks curiously.

"I don't feel like talking about Asshole. You can explain Jamie. " I say with apathy.

"He's her biological father, but he's an asshole, so she disavows any relation to him." Jamie clarifies.

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Chris asks.

"Not for the shit he did. Can we please change the subject?" I ask vehemently.

"Of course. Sorry. I know you don't like to talk about him, but you said I could tell Chris." Jamie says soothingly.

"Yeah, I did. But I'd like to change the subject now."

"Alright. Let's talk about dinner. As in do I have to make other plans?" Jamie asks.

"You probably won't have to make any other plans, but you are going to have to wait awhile, maybe til tomorrow or another day. I'm just not quite ready yet. I'm not sure how long it'll be before I am. So if it's an issue, yes, make other plans. If you can wait..."

"Do you have any specific doubts? Or just a general reluctance?" Jamie inquires.

"Specific doubts, but I can't figure out what they are. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do. Well, are you worried that it'll hurt? Because it won't. Being bitten only hurts if you fight and the vampire tries to force you to let them drink, or if the vampire is trying to hurt you. And I most assuredly won't be tying to hurt you. As long as I'm careful to not try and force you to let me drink, it won't hurt no matter how much you fight, beyond the tiny little twinge of the skin being broken. If you're scared that I'll take too much, I won't. You have to lose two or three pints before there are any reactions that last longer than a few minutes. The average person has five or six quarts of blood. That's ten or twelve pints. I already told you I only need less than a quart at a time. I'm a good judge of how much I've drunk. Even if I wasn't, while I am drinking, I can feel your heartbeat, and as long as I stop as soon as it starts to slow, you won't lose more blood then your body can deal with losing. And I fully intend to stop long before your heartbeat starts to slow. I promise. If it's just an instinct that says to be afraid, I can't help with it, except to tell you that I would never hurt you. " Jamie tells me sincerely.

"It's none of those. Well, maybe the instinct thing. But only a little. I'm not scared, I just have this little voice that doesn't believe that you wouldn't hurt me. It's a voice that I know is wrong, but it's so loud. I'm just having trouble ignoring it." I inform him.

Jamie asks Chris, "Where are we? I thought we were going to get your car."

"I'm taking the back way. We're going to this secluded little pond. The guy who is fixing my car lives nearby, so I can leave you two alone, which I presume you want, and go get my own dinner. " he answers.

"Sounds good to me. " Jamie says. "Hel, any objections? You want another person around to chaperone?"

"No objections from me, and if I wanted another person around to chaperone, Chris would not be my first choice. No offense, Chris." I add quickly.

"None taken. I wouldn't be my first choice as a chaperone either." Chris says slyly.

"Then it's settled. You get dropped off at your car, then we go to this pond." Jamie says.

"You actually don't need to drop me off. The guy lives within easy walking distance of the clearing. And speaking of which, we're just about there," Chris says.

Something occurs to me, and I ask Jamie, "What plans did you have earlier, when Chris called?"

"Um, none." Jamie answers quickly.

"When the phone rang, you were tilting my head back. What were you going to do?! " I inquire angrily, already having a pretty good idea what the answer is.

"I plead the fifth. I'm not answering on the grounds that you might hurt me when you hear the answer."

"I just might hurt you anyway. The fact that you would have done something like that really bothers me! You said I can trust you, but how can I when you almost bit me?!” I hiss furiously.

"But I didn't!" Jamie answers placatingly.

"But you were going to! If the phone hadn't rung, would you have stopped? Honestly?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure if I could have stopped, and I don't know if I'd have wanted to. But I'm also not sure I wouldn't have stopped. I'm just not sure. I wanted to bite you, so much. I wanted to feel you in my mouth, feel your skin break open under my fangs, feel your blood, your essence, in me. It's a truly amazing thing, and I want to share it with you more than anything. And, I think...part of me wanted to have to tell you what I am, who I am. You're one of my best friends, and you mean more to me than most anyone else, and lately it's really been tearing me up, having to hide such an big part of who I am from you. If I had let myself bite you, I wouldn't have been able to lie to you anymore. I'd have been forced to tell you, and that's what I wanted. So I really don't know if I would have stopped myself or not. " Jamie finishes quietly.

"Well, fuck! Every time I get mad at you, you have to go and open up, and then I have to forgive you. You're really taking all the fun out of this." I say teasingly, then continue, "But if you ever bite me without my permission, there had better the hell be seriously extenuating circumstances. Or I'll, I'll... well, I'll think of something if I ever need to."

As I say this last bit, I look around and discover that we are at the clearing, and Chris is leaning against a tree on the other side, staring up at the stars. Jamie walks over to him, and they start talking. I can't hear what they are saying tho, they seem to be keeping their voices down. I look around, and discover it is really a beautiful place. A little pond surrounded by trees, with just a dirt road leading up to it. Jamie and Chris seem to be done talking, and Jamie walks back over to me. Chris walks into the trees, and is very quickly out of sight. Jamie walks around to the driver's seat and puts the convertible top down.

Jamie and I sit on the backseat, and look up at the stars. I'm sitting with one foot on the floor, the other tucked up under me and my back against the backrest of the seat. Jamie is sitting facing me, leaning his shoulder against the backrest, and I notice him looking rather intently at my neck, and I feel my pulse speed up, partly in fear, partly excitement. I don't know which part takes precedence.

He brings his hand up and tucks my hair behind my ear, then rests his chin on my shoulder. I can feel his breath and lips against my neck, and when he opens his mouth, I can feel his fangs just barely touching my skin. The feeling sends shivers up my spine. It's not an unpleasant feeling, in fact, it feels pretty interesting, but given how hesitant I'm feeling about where this is going, I think I should move over a bit. But when I go to move away Jamie tightens his hand on my shoulder the slightest bit, so that I could still easily move away, but enough that I know he doesn't want me to.

"Do you have any idea how much I want the taste of you, and how much self control it is taking to not bite?" he asks, sounding like he's in pain.

"That's why I was gonna move. I just, I don't know if I'm ready for this. It's a big deal. I mean, 2 hours ago, I thought you were my best friend, a 20 year old human. It never occurred to me that you would be, could be, anything else. And now in this short time, I find out these huge things, that you aren't human, you're a hell of a lot older than 20, I don't even know how old, and oh yeah, you want to be a LOT more than friends. It's a lot to deal with. And I'm ok with it, I mean I will be anyway, but it's a lot to process in a really short time."

"I get that, I really do. And I don't want you to feel rushed. I'm just...finally, after all this time, you know the truth, and I feel so amazing now that you know. There's a million things I want to tell you, and a billion things I want to do, and I want to say and do all of them right now. And, I knew you would be ok with knowing the truth, but there was still a part of me that was scared of how you would react, scared you would reject me, and because you didn't, because you really can accept what and who I am, I feel like everything is possible. With how close you and I already were, now that you know what I am, you know everything about me that matters." Jamie concludes hopefully. When I don't move, he wraps his arms around me tightly, pulling me into a hug, a hug that makes me feel safe and cared for. We sit like this for a few moments, then Jamie asks, his every word exhaled against my throat, "Would you hate me forever if I bit you right now?"

"With you where you are, I'm almost afraid to say no, I wouldn't. But don't. Just...wait." I respond hesitantly.

Jamie brings his hand up and gently turns my head, so that his lips are against my chin. He raises his mouth to mine, and very softly and sweetly kisses me. He kisses me more passionately, then says tenderly, "I'm out of self-control. Say stop right now, and I'll stop. And I'll wait until whenever you say otherwise. But right now, I need a yes or no."

He turns my face away from him, and tilts my head back a little. He gently kisses my neck, then then carefully catches a bit of skin between his blunt front teeth. It feels good, and I make my choice. I take a breath, and say "Alright." so quietly it's barely more than a thought.