The Ziley Chronicles: Blue Moon

Amighty pain to love it is, and 'tis a pain that pain to miss; but of all the pains, the greatest pain is to love, but love in vain.

Abraham Cowley

Chapter 1: Birthday

Okay, so I was positive that I was totally dreaming. I was running through our forest like a bat out of hell. I'm not even sure what I was looking for. But I kept running. I burst through some bushes and just stood there. It was bright and sunny across the forest. I began walking forward. I stopped when I saw a man at the end of the forest. I squinted my eyes so that I could see who it was, but I couldn't make it out. I raised my hand and waved. The man did the same gesture. I was so confused, normally my dreams are different. As I got closer, I discovered that the man was my grandfather. I cracked an even bigger smile because I knew that this was a dream. My grandfather has been dead for 3 years now. But it was nice to see him again, dream or no dream. I suddenly felt like I was being watched. So I turned around to see Riley standing in the bushes. He smiled his amazing smile and began to walk forward. Was he out of his sparkling mind?

"Riley stop! Are you insane?" I yelled. But he just kept walking forward. I tried to come up with an explanation for why my boyfriend was sparkling like a classy diamond ring. Oh Gramps, it's nothing to be afraid of. My boyfriend is just a 110 year old vampire. His skin shines in the sunlight. No big deal. Yeah, like that would go over well. I couldn't help but smile when he approached me. I grabbed his hand and walked towards Gramps. Once we were standing in front of Gramps, I began the introduction.

"Okay Gramps, I would like you to meet my boy…friend…" my voice trailed off. I noticed something odd about my grandfather. He mimicked every move I made. I slowly raised my hand to touch his, but something shocked me. I was touching a cold glass mirror. Oh my god, the person I was looking at wasn't Gramps, it was me! I was old, wrinkled, and old! My dream had just hit the nightmare stage. I began to hyperventilate. I saw that Riley had a reflection. He was standing beside my aged body. I turned to look at him. He smiled and grabbed my hand. The two people in the mirror did the same. Riley kissed my hand and said those 3 hateful words.

"Happy Birthday Zane." he said.

I awoke in cold sweat. I was so glad that the nightmare was over. It was tortuous. I sat up and hugged my knees. I really hoped that wasn't how I was actually going to look. Knock, Knock, Knock! I heard on my door.

"Hey, birthday boy!" my mom and sister said as they entered my room. I rolled my eyes at the whole 'birthday boy' thing. I really didn't like being celebrated. It was just another day after all.

"Guys, I told you that I didn't want presents." I moaned. They came over and sat on my bed.

"Well, get over it. You only turn 18 once. I remember my 18th birthday as if it were yesterday." Zoey said as she put her hand up to her chest and made a sniffling sound.

"Don't we all." I said. She just rolled her eyes. Our mom smiled and handed me my presents.

"Here, your dad said that you should have this. It's one of those SLR cameras. He knows how much you like photography." she said. I was in awe. I always wanted a camera like this.

"Thanks mom." I said.

"No, don't thank me. It was your father's idea. I bought this." she said handing me a packet of paper.

"What's this?" I asked confused.

"Well, you'll need that for your printer, copier, and scanner." she said as she gestured towards the big box on my desk.

"Aww, thank you mom." I said as I hugged her.

"I got you something too." she said and handed me a lock.

"Okay?" I said.

"Well, since I'm in college now, I figured that you'd want a lock on your door. It shows signs of maturity. Besides if I ever come back, I won't be able to go in your room as much." she said proudly. She wasn't fooling anyone.

"You already made another key didn't you?" I asked with my eyebrow raised. She looked shocked.

"Why I'd never do that!" she said dramatically. But I already knew the truth. She then leaned down and hugged me. "I just can't believe my little brother is becoming a man."

"I know it's so sad. It's his senior year of high school. You got old fast." my mom said. I whipped my head around at that comment.

"That's not true. I haven't aged that much." I said quickly. She then leaned in to look at my face. Then she gasped in horror.

"What is it?" Zoey and I asked in unison.

"I think I see some wrinkles!" she said. I flew out of bed so I could look in the mirror. I checked my face and saw no signs of wrinkles at all. I sighed and rubbed my hand through my hair. Zoey and mom got up to leave.

"Oh sorry, false alarm." she said and they both giggled when they left.

"Real funny." I mumbled. I got dressed and went downstairs to eat. I felt so old. Riley was never going to age and yet here I am becoming an old man every second of everyday! I kissed mom and Zoey goodbye and went outside. I got in my truck and took off for school. I turned the radio on to see if there was any good music playing, but there wasn't. There was a news report though.

"There has been another hiker missing on the trail. This brings this to 4 hikers presumed dead. The rangers are…" I cut the radio off. I really didn't feel like hearing that right now. I pulled into the parking lot and got out. I immediately saw Connor and Imogen standing by K.C.'s truck.

"Hey Zane!" she called out. I waved at them as I got closer.

"So, it's the big day huh?" Marisol asked. My eyes were instantly wide. Did they know about my birthday?

"What?" I asked simply.

"Oh the Verona essay?" K.C. said. I let out a breath of relief.

"Right." I said.

"Yeah, the movie was better." Connor said. We all shared a good laugh. I took out my camera and heard Imogen gasp.

"Oh my god! Is that the new Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR Camera with 18-55mm IS Lens?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is. My dad wants pictures from my senior year in Toronto. Besides, I want to show all my friends back home, what I've been up too." I said. They all gathered around. Imogen tried to hide.

"Oh come on babe, you look fine." Connor said.

"Yeah, but see I like to be behind the camera not in front of it." she said.

"Don't worry; I'm here so no one will focus on you." K.C. chuckled.

"That's so mean. But you'll Photoshop the picture right? You know Photoshop's the equivalent to plastic surgery." Marisol said and smiled. I took the picture and showed them.

"Cool! Thank god you're on the newspaper too. You take some really awesome pictures." Imogen said. I looked up and noticed that they were all looking at something. I looked over and saw Riley coming out of a new truck. Him and his cars.

"Ooh your boyfriend's here." Marisol said.

"See you later." K.C. said as he and the gang left. I waved bye to them and watched as Riley made his way over to me. I felt as giddy as a school-girl but I contained it.

"You just can't decide on a vehicle can you?" I asked.

"But it's the new 2012 Kia Sorento." he said. He looked just like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Yeah I suppose it is kind of cool." I said.

"I hear a congrats is in order." he said as he hugged me. Man did he smell good.

"Please don't." I said.

"Happy birth-"

"Shh! Don say the 'B' word. Not everyone needs to know. Besides, it's nothing to be celebrated anyway." I said.

"Oh yes it is. You being here is something to celebrate." he said. I just rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah but my aging isn't something I'd like to shout out to the world." Riley looked at me and laughed. "I don't see anything funny."

"I do. You're worried about something stupid. Being 18 isn't the end of the world." he said.

"But to me it is. And we both know that it makes me a year older than you." I said.

"Oh please. You're not even close to being my age. I'm 110." he said as he pulled me closer.

"Hmm, then that makes you a 'Manther'. Picking up poor young boys. I should get an adult." I said while playing with the pull string on his jacket.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." he said as he leaned down to kiss me. We started to forget where we were, so he pulled back. "Let's get to class." We started for the building, when all of a sudden he stopped. "But before we do, there's someone that wants to talk to you." I looked back to see Owen running towards us. I noticed that he seemed to be getting buff.

"Well, hey there Mr. Bodybuilder. I hope you know that steroids can cause problems." I said with a smile.

"Oh ha, ha. You're so funny. But to answer your questions, this body is coming naturally. I think it's a growth spurt." he said.

"Yeah, maybe." I said.

"Well maybe we should hang out more. Then you'd know what was going on." he said.

"I just might take you up on that offer." I said.

"But um, I wanted to let you know that I've got a car that I'm working on." he said.

"Oh becoming a mechanic already huh?" I asked.

"Yep, you should come see it when it's finished." he said.

"I hope it's fast. It would be more fun that way."

"Oh it's alright." he said. We looked at each other and then busted out laughing. When we were done he held out a box. Oh boy. "Um your mom told my dad that today was your birthday." I frowned. I didn't really want everyone to know about this.

"Oh okay." I said as I took the box. I opened it and it had some wind chimes in it. I was completely caught off guard. They were stunning. "Thanks."

"No problem. It keeps monsters away. I heard that when it chimes, it lets you know that spirits are around." he said. It was perfect.

"This is a great gift. Thanks a lot." I said. He shrugged his shoulders and gave me quick hug.

"See you later." he said and left. Once Riley and I entered the building we went to my locker. Riley leaned up against the other lockers and stared at me.

"What?" I asked with a smile.

"Oh nothing. I was just trying to figure out why Owen Milligan got to give you a present and I didn't." he said faking looking hurt. I saw right through him.

"Well dear, it's because I can't give anything to you that you don't already have." I said as I put some books in my locker. I grabbed my English book and closed my locker door.

"Look Zane, I have everything that I could ever want when your close to me. Just hearing you breath, sustains me." he said. I felt so loved. I began to blush. "And I defiantly love that." I felt my cheeks getting hotter.

"Now see, that's all I ever wanted." I said. We turned the corner and saw Langston running up towards us.

"Hey Zane, happy birthday!" he practically yelled as he gave me a hug.

"Langston!" I snapped.

"Oops." he said bashfully and backed up.

"You damn right 'oops'." I said. He just smiled at me and handed me another box. "Oh not you too."
"Yep, me too. Besides I've already seen your reaction and it's awesome. This is what you're gonna wear to our house tonight." he said.

"Oh Langston, I'm not sure…" I suddenly felt calm and relaxed. "Okay fine I'll go." Langston was very happy. When he walked back over to Chloe, my mood changed. "Chloe! That's not fair!" I said. She knew how I felt about her mood control.

"I'm sorry. But hey, happy…" her voice trailed off as I gave her a sinister look. "Birthday!" she said real fast and ran down the hall. I'd get her later.

"See this is all your fault." I said to Riley.

"Aww, you shouldn't believe vampires. But you can believe me." he said as we walked to class.

In class, we watched the movie Verona. Since after all that was what our essay was on. I watched as the guy was about to hang himself. I had to turn my head. I was too sad for me to watch.

"Hey now, the worst is over." Riley said. I turned back around and watched the rest of the movie. As I sat there, I began to think about tonight.

"Ugh! I hate when the attention is all on me, especially birthdays." I whispered to him.

"Well, there are worst occasions. I mean just look at that guy on the movie. He killed himself because of his true love. Kind of like Romeo when you think about it. But I do kind of jealous of him though." he said.

"Well of course. That guy's boyfriend was a major catch. If you like that whole Greek God sort of thing." I said with pursed lips. I heard Riley chuckle.

"No it's not that. You look just fine. I'm talking about suicide." he said. I was immediately alert. Why was he talking about something like this?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well, it's impossible for our kind to kill ourselves. But with humans gunshots, battery, or poison can kill you. There's a ton of options." he said.

"What makes you say that?" I asked with a frown.

"I hate to have to say this but, I actually considered it once." he said as he looked at the scar on my wrist. It made me think of the issues we had to go through before.

"Because of Alex?" He nodded his head yes.

"I thought that I wasn't gonna be able to save you. So I had to think of a backup plan." he said.

"So, how was that plan supposed to play out?" I asked.

"I, um, I was gonna go to France and try to get the Guardians angry; in hopes of them killing me."

The rest of the day went by smoothly. I had went home and put on my outfit. Something that Riley had said was bugging me. So once he came to pick me up, I asked my question.

"Who are the Guardians?" I asked as we got in the car. Zoey had decided to come with us to my birthday party. She had grown close to all of the Stavros girls. So she just had to be there.

"They're this really powerful coven in France. They're kind of like the Royal Family of the vampire world." he said. Once we were at the house, we walked in and he showed me a painting of what the Guardians looked like.

"Wow, they look so royal." I said with a smirk.

"Yeah. That's Marco, Spinner, and Jimmy. They're the rulers of the Guardians. Like the three kings." Riley chuckled. I noticed that there was a woman behind the men.

"Who's she?" I asked.

"Oh, that's Anya. She was with the Guardians for a while, but moved on and started her own coven." he said. "She's a great friend of mine. The absolute best." he said. I started to wonder if I should feel threatened by this 'Anya' girl. I quickly shook the thoughts out of my mind.

"She looks nice." I said.

"Yea she is." he said.

"Why'd she leave?"

"It was because of the lack of interest in human lives. The Guardians care more about themselves and the laws more than the humans they kill. So Anya left." Riley said simply.

"Wait, there are vampire rules now? Wow there's more to you guys than I thought." I said.

"You have no idea. And yes, we do have laws. But there's one we have to follow that's really enforced."

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"We can't tell anyone about ourselves or kill where people can see us. Basically like a large crowd of people. If we killed someone in a big crowd or are seen in the sunlight, we would be killed." he said. I started to feel nauseous.

"Wow, okay. Please don't ever say that again. The thought of someone killing you is just plain wrong."

"Don't worry; you are the only one that can kill me. I'm not afraid of anything else." he said.

"I doubt that." I said.

"Oh Jay? I'm not too worried about him. Whenever he decides to come after me, Langston will see it. And we'll deal with it then." he said.

"If you change me I could help too. I could keep you safe. Protect you even." I said hopeful. He came over to me and held me close. I looked into his golden eyes as he spoke.

"Zane, you already do that. By you being here, you're what's keeping me alive. If you can say that. I'm the one that protects you. I can protect you from anything…" his voice trailed off. "Except our siblings." I turned around to see Zoey and Langston coming up the stairs.

"Come guys! It's time." Zoey said as she pulled us downstairs. When we reached the bottom, I saw that everyone else was dressed up too. The house was decorated in the colors that I liked. They even had a cake.

"You guys went all out." I said.

"Of course. You only turn 18 once." Zoey said. I guess she was right. I was showered with presents. A.J. got me a new navigation system for my truck. Riley made me a mixed tape with all of our favorite songs on it. Even some he composed himself. Langston bought me some new sneakers. And knowing Langston they were designer.

"Oh my god Riley, you're dating an older man. That is so hot." A.J. said while fanning herself. Riley just stared at her. "What?" she asked.

Adonis even went out of his way to get me an official Stavros Crest band like the ones he, Langston, and Riley wore. I could still tell that he didn't like me. Maybe if I gave him some time, he'd warm up to me. Chloe decided to give me a miniature statue of the London Eye. Zoey gave me a t-shirt with our family portrait on it. Langston came over and sat the camera down.

"Family shot!" he yelled. We all got in front of the camera and smiled.

"Thanks guys. This means so much to me." I said.

"But wait, we have one more present." Langston said. "Here, it's from Elena and Lysander." I took the box and looked at them.

"It's our way of saying thanks for turning Riley around. And we thought that you might wanna see your dad sometime." Elena said. I smiled and tried to open the box. All of a sudden I heard a snap. I looked up to see the chandler coming down. I moved out of the just in time, but when it hit the ground shards of glass came flying out of it. One shard even cut my arm. As I stared at the blood oozing out of the cut, I saw Chloe running towards me. Riley pushed me back and I bounced of the party table which had even more glass on it. I watched as A.J. and Elena held Chloe back. I even managed to look at Riley and his face was hard again. But this time with pain. I had a strange feeling that we would be talking about this tonight.

A/N: Whew! First chapter to the sequel of First Blush. I hope you like it. Meagan do your thing girl! I changed a few things so that it wouldn't be like New Moon. Read and Review. XOXO ShadowBeauty.