3. DENIALISM

When my eyelashes fluttered open, my eyes lazily taking in my surroundings, I realized that something was oddly different today. I wasn't sure what it was, but I just knew that, then and there, something was misplaced, odd. Something wasn't in its correct place, in its correct niche.

I hopped off of my bed and looked out my window with groggy eyes, happy to see a fresh blanket of snow around the entirety of the ground—a blank sheet of pure, lily-white alabaster. I could even see a bit of snow having accumulated overnight on my window pane. Carefully, I opened the window just slightly and gingerly pressed a finger against the soft snow. It wasn't crunchy yet; it was fresh, just fallen, probably a few hours ago.

Along with the cover of snow, the rain from yesterday had frozen around, leaving remnants of icicles across trees and houses, sharp and ready to impale upon someone's sporadic death. I smiled at the rather macabre, pessimistic thought. I suppose the average human would think of the icicles as a cold beauty instead of some horribly sharp object ready to kill. But at the immediate I saw them, that was what I thought.

Toris was already inexistence in the house, having left for work earlier than usual. That's what I found out when I walked downstairs, finding my breakfast sitting on the table, still slightly warm. I scarfed down my food as quick and possible and made myself get ready for the day to come. Naturally, it did not take long, as the only thing I had to do was brush my teeth, comb my hair, put on clothes, and gather my belongings. My mother-figure always took two hours or more to get ready for the simplest occasions. I refuse to be anything like him.

Part of my quickness in getting ready today, however, involved a certain congenial vampire by the name of Eduard Grullon. I was anxious to see him, eager almost, and that very fact sent me in another amalgam of confusion. I barely knew him, yet I wanted to see him. He was hostile to me on the first day, yet I wanted to talk to him. He was a vampire, yet I found myself being attracted to such a bloodthirsty creature. Though, I suppose I am a bloodthirsty creature, too, killing for the sole reason of entertainment, laughing at the torture and spilt blood of others. If that is not being bloodthirsty, then I don't know what is.

Walking to school was a huge pain. The fact that trudging along the snow wasn't as difficult for me, as I would surely be used to it by now, having lived in the subarctic Russia for so long. But, unfortunately, the streets were flooded in melted snow, and when a car happened to rush by, I would get soaked with water from head to toe. That was definitely how I wanted to spend my mornings, being soaked in freezing temperatures in only a gothic lolita dress, a matching parka, snow boots, and my ribbon. My favorite ribbon, as a matter of fact.

My pace was a bit too frantic, though, and I could only blame Eduard Grullon for this. If maybe I hadn't met him in his everlasting spectacular beauty, I would not be so eager as to see his perfection. But no. He just had to show up and be all amazing in front of me, in front of everyone, with that dazzling white smile, and those alluring blue orbs, and those voluptuous and salacious lips. I tried to rid any thoughts of the vampire from my mind by thinking of the other people in my life, which lead to me thinking of Mark and Lizzy. They were the friendliest people to me, a weird change from my Russian peers, whom of which expressed their fear of me openly and flaccidly through feigned afflictions and screams. Though Mark was annoying at times, I did find him to be a somewhat good friend, helping me when I really need it and being friendly with me (and really, only me, as I have perceived from his bad talk of other people). Lizzy, of course, could easily be labeled as my best friend, as I can talk to her easily and we share quite a few hobbies with each other. The one we both like the most is, of course, stalking.

After a few more minutes of walking, I finally saw the school, just a few feet away. My pace began to quicken exceptionally, and I could have very well out-walked a cheetah by the swiftness of my steps. However, it was at that moment when I heard a large screech to my right, stopping me dead in my tracks. Almost literally, too. Almost.

A large truck was veering towards my direction, completely out of control. I wanted so much to move, for the adrenaline to kick into my body, but for some reason none of that happened. Rather, it was the opposite. I didn't move. I couldn't move, no matter how hard I tried. The only thing I could do was stare stupidly at the moving car, about to crash into me in slow, prolonged movements, like I was watching a three-dimensional movie slowed down to only a frame per second. I could see every detail clearly. I could recount every detail clearly. I could also recount that I was slightly scared of the impact of the car. While I could stand being poked by a million knives, I was quite queasy about having a car crash into me. A rabid car, especially, out of control, out of place, out of everything…

From the corner of my eye, I could see Eduard Grullon loitering around twenty feet away from me, staring at me with horror-filled eyes. His fear was easy to see, easy to feel. I knew it reflected my own.

Just before I anticipated the pain of being crushed by a car, I felt a different sort of impact against my body from a direction that seemed too illogical to be from a car. The impact was still hard, painful, and my head landed against the cold, snowy pavement—landed hard. I felt like blacking out, but a part of me was still partly conscious, still having a weak hold on reality.

Someone was beside me, that much I knew. Who that person was, I know not, but I knew that person was a man from his body shape. He moved his hands in front of me, and then they suddenly pushed against the car, making a large dent into it—an inhumanely behemoth dent, right there, in the side of the car, in the shape of an enormous hand.

His hands began to move again, faster this time, something my eyes couldn't keep up with. I was suddenly being moved around much like I was some sort of porcelain doll, with careful care of my fragility. Only one part of me hurt right now, and it was pulsating mildly somewhere in my cerebral region.

Then—a scream. It wasn't from me, though. It was from a girl. The voice, I noticed, was from Lizzy. This was followed by a chorus of numerous other screams, each one followed by another one, until it was an amalgam of terror. But, even through all this stentorian ruckus, I could hear a soft whisper in my ear. Eduard Grullon's voice, low and husky and worried.

"Bel?" he asked in slight panic, slightly nudging my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," I said, though my voice seemed to disapprove of my words. It was weak and hoarse. But, it only took a second of silence before I noticed he was holding me against his body, his grasp resembling that of a metal crusher.

"Don't get killed," he scolded me like a panicked mother, petulant and worried at the same time. He then tightened his grip around me, afraid to let go in case another danger impaled itself on me. "Your head. I know it hurts."

"Obviously," I said weakly yet with an equally crude, sarcastic effect, my eyes rolling on its own.

"Oh, what am I to do with you, Bel?" His gentle and suave voice was practically mocking me, his lips tightened but quaking with restrained laughter. I could only stare at him in disbelief; I thought I was the only one who found entertainment in near-death experiences. Lo and behold, my assumptions were proved wrong, and not just by anyone, but a vampire.

I leered at him carefully, noting the inhumanity of his superhuman speed to reach me in time, and making sure I knew it was obvious he was indeed not normal. "I am not dumb. You were at the other side of the parking lot," I said, my eyes narrowing even further. "Now you're here, and it only took you a few seconds. That is impossible for a normal…" I trailed off abruptly when I saw him smirk at me—something of satisfaction yet at the same time of worry.

"I suppose I am not exactly normal, per se," he said to me quietly, amusedly, much to my spite. I scowled at him; he was playing head games with me, and his intent was too obvious not to notice.

It was at that moment, when I stood up, slightly dazed from having hit my head and possibly fracturing my skull, that Eduard craned his head towards mine. The closeness of our faces were surreal, intoxicating. He stared at me briefly, knocking our foreheads together in a heated moment of short passion, and quickly unwrapped his arms from my quivering waist. His bemused expression reverted to that of genuine concern, and I found myself catching my own breathe. Did he actually care about someone like me, someone who's blatantly rude and crude to the entirety of the world…?

Before I could further fathom my question, a plethora of bodies jounced upon us in a cold dog pile. Everything was chaotic, with people hugging me, stentorian shouts, expletives ejaculated in the utmost choleric manner. It was all too much, and my dizzy head started to grow wearier by the minute.

"Stay right there, Bel, and don't move an inch. You hear me?" I couldn't comprehend whose voice that was as my thought process was beginning to fog up, but from the bone-crushing hug, I assumed the person to be Lizzy.

"Hey, where did that bastardous Sadik go? That coward!" Another yell, from the opposite direction. Then, a hasty scuffle of various feet, all at once, against the crunchy white snow, in a discordant rhythm that messed with my mind.

I wanted to get up, stand up, push against everyone, just to prove that I was still capable of living, even if my head was slightly dizzy and pained. But, a cold hand on my shoulder forced me to stay down on the ground, sprawled out on the freezing snow. From a corner of my eye, I could see a small patch of blood red seeping deep into the white blanket. I knew it was mine.

"Please stay here, Bel. Do not put strain on yourself right now." His voice was grave, dark. It almost sent me the chills.

Almost.

"You're a vampire, Eduard," I deadpanned, and he just stared at me with large, incredulous eyes. "Admit it, you bloodthirsty creature. Admit that you're a vampire, or so help me…"

His expression grew troubled as he softly groped my forehead. I could feel that his fingers were shivering, but I knew for certain they were not from the current temperatures. "Please, Bel. You hit your head. You are hallucinating. Vampires… do not exist."

"Don't lie." I looked him clear in the eyes as the never-ending chaos resumed in the background. "How will you be able to explain this? You used super speed to run and save me. You… Eduard… You're a vampire. You even said so yourself. You are not normal."

His face was construed with frustration, and I found slight satisfaction within that. The fact that he refused to admit his true nature, however, frustrated myself beyond belief. It wasn't like I would be telling anyone any time soon, anyway. Though, I suppose we haven't exactly known each other long enough to even have a grain of trust within each other, even despite out numerous common grounds.

Eduard stared at me, silently entreating me, saying that he wanted to put our conversation on hold for a while. I wouldn't do that, though. I was positive I was the right one here, and I wanted him to stop denying his true existence. I wanted him to admit to me that he craved for the blood of others, just as much as I did. So, I grabbed onto the argument closely, carefully, as if it was my very own little baby. Eduard wanted an abortion, apparently.

"Please, Bel," he said exasperatedly, a suspicious constant from his preceding amused and carefree tone. "There are just some things that are better left unsaid."

"Then show me," I demanded, my shoulder aching from his iron grip. It tightened from the harshness and authority of my remark, and he just continued to stare at me with half-lidded, pleading eyes. "Show me that you are a vampire, and I will leave matters to rest."

"I told you, I am most certainly not a vampire." He began biting his lips, his clutch on me shaking a little bit. I knew he was trying to restrain himself from killing me any time soon. It would be a shame, anyway, after saving my life and all, just to kill me a few seconds later. (Though, I suppose fresh blood when the victim is actually alive is better as opposed to musty, dead blood.)

I didn't say anything to him after that, though. Just remained sprawled against the snow, his hand still idly laying atop my shoulder, his eyes piercing my soul. His face was construed with corrupted anger, feigned by the smile he plastered on his face. So fake, so unreal.

Funny. Just like him.

He sighed at me when he realized I was giving him the silent treatment, and he removed his hand from my shoulder slowly but surely. "Alright, I will explain everything later. Please, Bel… remain seated there for now and do not bring up this topic anymore…"

"Alright," I half-mocked, nodding my head. Deep inside, I was having a euphoric party for a mission accomplished. I'm not sure exactly why, but the slightly enigmatic matters of Eduard's vampirism and his constant refusal of it intrigued me so. Sometimes I wondered if the other citizens were aware of the Grullons overall entities of being vampires. They seemed to know everything else about them, anyway, from the etymology of their names down to how many hairs they had on their heads.

I looked up all of a sudden when I felt the cold escape me. Eduard was no longer sitting next to me, and a rush of paramedics were immediately crowding around me as if I was one huge feast. They were talking too fast for me to comprehend anything, but I could have sworn I made out the words "concussion" and "hospital". That, of course, lead me to assume that I would be going to the hospital and get doctors to check on whether or not the validity of my concussion is true.

Before I could even test out my hypothesis, I heard the sirens of a police car, and my head immediately turned to the side to see Toris running up to me, flailing his arms wildly in the air. His expression bore something that was distinctly childish, eyes red and cheeks puffed up, tear stains everywhere. It reminded me of my older sister. Definitely not my older brother, though; he was as cold as the Russian blizzards during the most frigid times of winter. He was as emotionless as a coniferous tree buried in reddened snow. And for that, I respected him. I did not like showing emotions, either, especially something as embarrassing as crying and sadness.

"Oh, Bel!" he ejaculated melodramatically, his arms wrapping around my waist on the immediate he was only a foot away from where I was sitting. "Bel. Bel!" The panic and worry in his shaky voice was almost too much. Everyone quieted down after hearing his despondent tone.

"I am fine," I said plainly, slowly. "A vampire saved me. Eduard Grullon. The… vampire."

Toris just looked at me, asking without actually saying anything if I was indeed crazy. His shivering, ungloved hands lingered towards my forehead, an action that deemed to show his foggy state of worry for me. "Bel… you hit your head pretty hard, huh?"

"Not really…" I mumbled softly, my eyes diverting in every single direction possible in a subconscious search for the aforementioned vampire, whom of which undoubtedly saved my life using his supernatural powers. That, I promised myself, was the whole truth and nothing but it, even if he did deny it. Even if it didn't seem plausible sometimes as he was in one of the sunniest places on earth. The fact of the matter is, Eduard Grullon is a vampire, and I am going to hold on to that until he finally confesses that to me.

And, possibly… maybe… confess something else…

Toris may be right; I think I really may have hit my head a little too hard.

I sighed and stared off into space, my eyes flickering towards the scene before me. I was now able to make out Eduard Grullon, off in the distance, with the rest of his siblings. They were staring at him with incredulous eyes, their expressions an amalgam of approval and disappointment. Eduard remained calm, refined, his hands casually stuffed inside his pants pockets. His face, however, was a compromising show of regret.

The only question was, regret for what?

Of course, Toris shoved me into the ambulance car before I could even fathom another thought. I was strapped down, and Toris was beside me the entire time, holding my hand in an iron clutch, whispering things that would make the entire experience all the more relaxing. It didn't, however. As a matter of fact, it only proved to make even myself worry, as the fact that someone was worrying for my wellbeing and attempting to calm me down made it so that I thought my injuries may have been a little bit too serious. And, I suppose that my little "Eduard is a vampire" comment may have thrown Toris for a loop, making him think that the head injury I succumbed had affected my overall intellectuality and sanity. But… I digress.

They hurried me off into the emergency room with quickened paces. Then, the doctors and nurses started to work on me in the immediate I was laid down onto the coma. The natural hospital smell wafted into my nostrils, making me feel a lot sicker than I originally was. Hospitals brought back both good and bad memories, just like the snow… Both white, both tranquil, both horrible.

I stayed on the bed for a while longer, my eyes fixated on the ceiling in a sort of feeling of trepidation, until that moment was ruined by the sound of the opening of the door. I looked in the direction of the sound and stared at the stretcher. On top was a dark-skinned boy, whom of which I realized was Sadik Adnan from my physical education class. His face was bloodied and bandaged, and his expression was dulled from fear.

When he was put down on the coma next to mine, he stared at me, his eyes widening and his mouth forming the universal symbol of surprise: a giant "o" shape. "Are… you okay… little girl?"

"No," I sneered unhappily, the poison seething from my mouth full of choleric spite. The anger I directed towards him was moreover from the fact that he called me a "little girl" than anything else.

I glared at him, an awkward silence looming over us. A nearby nurse walked up to the Turkish student and removed the bandages hastily wrapped around his head, revealing several reddened cuts all over his head and forehead. The macabre sight intrigued me, but all the same, I kept up my angered disposition. He continued to stare at me with the same surprise on his face, albeit his eyes were more pleading, more worried.

"Bel," he said seriously, and I found myself softening my hard expression a little bit. "I didn't really mean to. I was… drunk." Of course, that was always the excuse for everything. "But I'm glad that you're not that badly hurt. How'd you get out of the way, anyhow?"

"Eduard Grullon saved me."

His face scrunched up in confusion. "Who the fuck is that?"

"The vampire kid?" I may have looked at him with disbelief, but I suppose not everyone in the entire world should know about Eduard's existence. "Blonde hair, blue eyes, glasses, speaks in an antique and Estonian accent."

"Oh, yes! Eduard Grullon," he said, his face brightening up substantially from his sudden epiphany. "He is actually pretty gothic."

"No, I mean he is a blood-sucking, sparkle-under-the-sun vampire," I tried to convince him, but all he did in reply to my statement was look at me as if I was insane. I don't blame him too much, though. A girl who just hit her head and constantly claimed that a fellow peer of hers is indeed a vampire, I would give that girl a ludicrous expression too as well as a slap in the face. Well, if she didn't have proper and logical justification, anyway. I'm one of the girls who actually has proper reasoning to back up my statement. The only fact that doesn't line up exactly is, I will repeat for the millionth time, the fact that a vampire like him would live in one of the sunniest places on earth. And yes, even though it is snowing, the sun is still out; just hiding behind a few clouds, but still visibly there.

"You… must have hit your head a bit too hard, Bel," he said carefully, slowly, quietly. I pursed my lips; as I thought, he already assumed I was a crazed maniac, just like the rest of the idiotic people around me. "Well, anyway, is he okay? He must've gotten hurt too, from saving your life and all."

"I really don't care," I said nonchalantly, which immediately caused him to shrug and let the subject drop, his head falling back onto the pillow. I mirrored his action and stared at the alabaster ceiling again. Everything felt so tranquil and empty.

Empty…

The nurses replaced me onto another stretcher and walked me out of the emergency room whilst using placid words to "calm" me down. The walked me all the way to the examination room to get x-rays of my cranium, which I knew was slightly fractured at most. However, after the x-ray, that told me that nothing was wrong with my head, and everything seemed like it was working properly, much to their amazement. The only thing that really bothered me was my foggy and dizzy head, but from everything that had happened today, who wouldn't have had a minor headache? Especially considering Sadik (he was in the same examination room as I was) returned to his pestering of our former conversation topic, the one where I could never exactly win as he continued to assume that I was to belong to an insane asylum after my deductions of Eduard being a vampire. I tried ignoring him to the best of my abilities, and I ended up forcefully closing my eyes, droning out all excess sounds around me. Until, that was, I heard an ebullient voice gush out right next to me; the voice, I knew, sounded so familiar…

"Bel looks so peaceful when she is sleeping! How adorable!"

I shot out of the spot I was lying on and stared at the source of the voice. It was one of Eduard's siblings. More specifically, it was Emma Grullon, the tanned girl with curly brown hair and bubbly green eyes. She stared at me, smiling with the utmost and genuine happiness, until her ear was pulled down by the other girl—the angry-looking one. Rosella Fale.

"Shut up, bastard," the beautiful but intimidating young girl scorned softly, her teeth gritting in contempt. The tanned girl smiled sheepishly at Rosella, but complied with the petulant girl's harsh statement obediently.

I was about to just ignore them entirely, all at once, but the moment I heard that all-too-familiar musical voice of Eduard's, I remained still, paralyzed, on the spot, moved by the smoothness of his voice much to my dismay. "Please stop your bickering, Emma, Rosella. You awakened Bel because of your little lover's spat." He smiled—or rather, smirked—in satisfaction. The girls in question both blushed a deep red and flitted out of the room in a split second, leaving Eduard to be alone in the same room as I was.

"Eduard, man, you're not too badly messed up, are you?" Sadik. I forgot about him. Damn.

Eduard nodded his head, flashing the second most suave smile I've ever seen in my entire life. "I am a vampire, after all," he said in a joking tone, and I widened my eyes. He just winked at me, laughing.

Sadik looked confused for a short second, then he looked at me and started to laugh as well. "Ah, yes! Eduard is a vampire indeed! Is Bel a vampire, too?"

I sent Eduard a death glare of doom. He smiled tentatively at me, trying to reassure me with a simple nod of the head and a short wink. The latter only made matters worse, and my rancor-filled glare intensified fervently.

"Bel is not a vampire yet." He directed his statement towards Sadik, but he kept his playful gaze at me, his teeth dazzlingly white and perfect. "She will be once I bite her." Eduard made a faux intent to pounce on me and bite my neck, and all the while, the Turkish guy who almost killed me was laughing at Eduard's good-natured self.

"No public displays of affection," Sadik said, grinning from ear to ear. I choked on the immediate he stated that, and Eduard just smiled nastily, very much amused with himself.

"Wh't 's th's 'bout pu'lic di'play' o' affe'tion?" The owner of the voice (with a very weird and peculiar accent) was the doctor who just walked in, and I stared at him with the widest eyes ever deemed possible. He was young, he was blonde… and he was the scariest and most intimidating man I've ever seen in the entirety of the sixteen years I've been alive. His skin was a creamy white, and he though his hard face looked frigid and emotionless, he was glowing flamboyantly with vitality and life—even despite the dark, black bangs under his eyes. It took me a while to realize who exactly this handsome doctor was, but when it hit me, I realized that it was Eduard Grullon's famed, homosexual father.

"L'dy Lor'naitis," he mumbled softly, his voice a deep undertone of earthly basses. "H'w are ya feelin'?"

"Fine," I said abruptly with the shortest breathe I could imagine. My mind was boggled with wondering and questions concerning Dr. Grullon. What kind of accent did he have? Why did it seem to hard to understand, yet at the same time so plainly easy if you don't think about it? Who exactly was his "wife" figure, and what did he look like? It was a huge mystery, the Grullon family head; but, moreover, the Grullon family in general, who I knew were all pretty much vampires trying to live the ordinary life. This made a lot more sense now, seeing as just earlier today, Eduard's siblings were pretty angry with him after using his superhuman speed to save me from the crushing force of Sadik's car.

Dr. Grullon stared (or… glared) at me awkwardly and checked the x-rays on the light board next to me. He nodded contently, and he stared (glared) at me again. "Yo'r head lo'ks fine. T'at 's good."

"I suppose so," I said wearily, nerved by the dark looks he was giving me. I wasn't sure if it was because he held some sort of enmity for me, or if his face was usually like that.

The latter was correct on my behalf, of course, as genuinely approved by Eduard's sudden chime of, "Do not be scared, Bel. My father does not bite. He is always looking like that."

I wasn't too reassured when I suddenly found Dr. Grullon's giant and intimidating gloved hand creeping towards my head with the grieving intense of crushing my skull into bite-sized pieces. However, instead of that, he gently brushed his cold fingers against the top of my head, sweeping it swiftly, and looked (glared) at me with scary concern, obviously noting the fact that I winced and was shivering the entire time. "Do's it hu't, dear?"

"Not exactly," I mumbled, staring at Eduard, whom of which was currently trying to stifle a chuckle. When he realized I was glaring at him again, Eduard gave me that tantalizing cheeky grin that made my chest grumble with soft flutters and annoying pangs of frustration, both at the exact same time.

"Tor's 's in the waitin' room," Dr. Grullon said in a matter-of-factly way, and I began imagining a fretful Toris bouncing all around the entirety of the room, scaring the sick children away and begging the nurses to make sure that I was perfectly safe and functional. "Actu'lly, mos' of the st'dents 're in the waitin' room too."

"I do not think anyone is even at school today. They are all here, even the entire staff. Well, with the obvious exception of Mr. Edelstein," Eduard said, smiling softly. "Your friend… I believe her name is Elizabeta Héderváry, or 'Lizzy,' is not here either."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Lizzy was always there for me, worrying about me, and even though we have only known each other for roughly a few weeks, I was almost certain we were the best of friends. I had seen her earlier today, but even then, she wasn't here. The fact that it hurt me a lot more than it should have worried me; was I becoming a sentimental monster?

Eduard shrugged at me, as if he could read my very thoughts. I sneered at him and rolled my eyes in dismay.

"You are a v'ry f'rtunate l'ttle g'rl." Again with the little girl comment. When Dr. Grullon said it to me, however, I felt as if he was like the second (or technically, gender-wise, third) father I never had.

"If it wasn't for this vampire, then I—" My lips began to quiver when I saw Dr. Grullon's light, aquamarine eyes brightened up, ominously glowing with danger. His face darkened to match the gruesome mood of his eyes, and Eduard was by his side immediately, flushing an embarrassing shade of light pink. "—would not be alive…"

"Ah. 's that so?" The intimidating aura he originally emitted was even more intimidating and a lot more bloodthirsty and scary. It even made someone as refined and calm as Eduard shiver, unnerved by everything that was happening right now.

"Bel is tired as all," Eduard tried to reason, but his attempt deemed to be useless. His father just stared at Eduard with a disappointed tint in his eyes. But, it also seemed like he was somewhat happy, which, I thought, didn't make sense at all…

Dr. Grullon sighed. "Ed'ard… boy… 'nly th's once. A'right?"

Eduard nodded, the corners of his lips slightly turning upwards. I quirked an eyebrow in confusion at Dr. Grullon's ambiguous statement to Eduard, but I decided to shrug it off. It probably wasn't too significant anyway; maybe just a foreshadowing of his punishment, or something of the like.

"May I have the liberty to speak to you for a few minutes, Bel?" Eduard asked sweetly, nicely, flashing his signature glittery smile.

"I think your father wants to speak to you first," I hissed angrily, but Dr. Grullon betrayed me ("Actu'lly, I 'm off t' see my w'fe r'ght now t' eat d'nner.").

"Please, Bel," Eduard entreated softly, his smile tugging at my… heart, as much as I don't want to admit it. Dr. Grullon and the strangely taciturn Sadik took this as their cue and excused themselves from the examination room simultaneously, officially leaving me and Eduard alone. In a room. With no one else. (Luckily, it was not in the dark, though something like that could have been easily changed if the mood differed from the current atmosphere.)

When the door closed, Eduard immediately began to stare at me again, scrutinizing me with the upmost interested manner, which reminded me so much of the time when we first glanced at each other on the first day of school for me here.

"What do you want?" I said in a snarky manner, which only made him smirk contentedly. "Will you be showing me?"

"Oh, I think it is rather a bit too early for that." He winked. I blushed. Did he realize the unnecessary innuendo in his words when accompanied by my question. "My father has given me the seal of approval, which does not happen too often, but I am glad it is with you. Alas, I will not be able to explain or show you right now."

"Then why do you want to talk…?" I looked at him in disbelief when he grabbed a hold of both of my hands in his, his eyes piercing through my own which forced me to focus on him and only him. He did the same, and the fervent heat of the closeness and intimacy of our stares brought upon a heated glow to my cheeks. His face was also equally rubicund.

"Bel… will you please go on a date with me?" He added as an addition, "I will pay for everything, and we may go anywhere you wish. Amusement park, movie theatres, a candle-lit dinner…" He grinned at the latter. I choked.

"I… I already have plans with… with… Lizzy and Madeline!" I explained hastily, my mouth going dry. What exactly was this, for me to feel so anxious, so scared? It was only some random boy asking me out for a date; how many times had something like this occurred similarly throughout all the life, and how many times had I denied them the pleasure to take me out and instead opted for stepping on their faces with my heeled boot? This was something I was definitely not used to—to feel so uncomfortable and fidgety with a boy who was not my precious brother, to feel so different and so… magical.

"We may adjust the time to suit your needs," Eduard said, his hands still holding mine gently. It was cold, like marble. But even then, I could feel a wave of warmth run throughout our veins in ecstatic chemistry. "Please, Bel. I will explain everything."

"You promise?" I challenged childishly, and he just stared and laughed at me.

He dropped my hands onto my lap and put one of his in front of me, sticking out his pinky finger precariously. "I promise," he said, nodding his head. When I hadn't moved an inch, too shocked to really take in any of this mind-blowing information into further analysis and consideration, he used his free hand to navigate my hands towards his extended one. Swiftly, he curled my fingers—all with the exception of my pinky finger—and brought them towards his extended hand. And, when our pinky fingers meant, I found myself subconsciously wrapping my own little finger with his. He whispered another, "I promise," and I mentally said that, too.

We then unfurled our little promise fingers from each other and began looking into each other's eyes again. It felt like I was a kid again—a kid who was in love, and from the constant blushing I assumed I was. But I couldn't have been. I couldn't have been in love with someone like a vampire, especially not someone whom of which I had barely known for. Eduard Grullon was still a big mystery as far as I was concerned, and I was not exactly sure I wanted to learn anything about him. I wasn't exactly sure I wanted to know about his past, his secrets, his life, his family. However, I had promised that I would go on a date with him, and I would assume that when he said he would explain "everything" to me, that "everything" would include the list aforementioned, and possibly even beyond that, into uncharted and taboo territory.

I would have thought about standing him up on our date plan, per se, but when I said I was honest, I meant it. Keeping promises was something I held by wholeheartedly, as childish as it sounded. In all my life, I had never broken a promise, albeit all the promises I had ever made were with my older siblings. This time, it was with a non-family member that I barely knew, yet I still found that I had the ability to trust him fully, wholly, equally without a single moment of hesitation. I was just frightened by the fact that I may be getting myself into more than I bargained for. Wasn't he the one who warned me that some things were better left unsaid?

"Bel," he said smoothly, bringing me out of my reverie. He looked at me, and I looked at him, but I could see that his face was getting ever so closer to my own every passing second. Then, when his face was a little too close for comfort, he chuckled at me softly and winked, patting my head in a brotherly manner. He walked off after that, leaving me all alone in the examination room.

After a few minutes of confusion, I walked out of the room, too, feeling too dizzy and lightheaded to even think. When I stepped into the waiting room, I saw a frantic Toris rush up to me, hugging me hurriedly, and asking me all sorts of questions pertaining to my health and wellbeing. I nodded every one of them off, telling him that I was too tired to think right now. He laughed slowly but said nothing more, only picking me up and carrying me bridal style right out of the hospital.

A few minutes later, when we finally got back to our house, he gently laid me down on my bed and pecked me ever so slightly on my throbbing forehead. I groaned softly, and he sighed at me and turned off the lights to me room. Everything was so weird today. Everything felt like it had gone into a fast forward, and things just rushed by me before I could even comprehend them. All of them, surprisingly, had to do with Eduard Grullon, the most significant figure in my life right now. I, honestly, would have never thought it would be the kid whom I thought hated my guts from the first day, but in an ironic twist of fate, it apparently was. I'm not sure if I am glad for that, but one thing is for certain: I will inevitably be having a date with Eduard Grullon in the future, and he will be telling and explaining and showing me everything . Whatever that "everything" was.

Suddenly, I drifted off to sleep. I dreamt of a lot of things, but the most prominent image in my dreams was of Eduard Grullon in a visage of a bloodthirsty, murderous vampire. And, quite frankly, he wanted my blood.