VAMPGIRL! HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I HOPE YOU HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER! AND YOU'RE NOW FIFTEEN! EVERYBODY CONGRATULATE HER!

This is just a story I wrote for her. I hope she likes it. By the way, Jeanette IS VampGirl97! Just so you know….

Author Babble: Does anybody else find the cover for Oceans of Blood hilarious? :D Dead L E and her brothers know very well that I do. I know he's sick and all and that I shouldn't laugh…. but the artist made his face look funny, not pitiful! Please tell me I'm not the only one! :D

Anyway, ON with our story.

"Where is he?" Jeanette muttered to herself. It was well past midnight (she could tell by the position of the luminous moon), yet he was nowhere to be seen. Letting out a sigh, she trudged back into her tent. She lay herself down on the cold ground, curling into a ball to keep warm. She listened to the steady beat of her heart, and with a final flutter of her eyelids, she fell into a deep slumber.

"You," someone was chanting, shaking the girl's shoulder to wake her up. Jeanette let out a muffled yawn.

"Steve!" she cried, recognizing him by his scarlet red eyes glowering in the dim moonlight.

"Yes, it's me. They're after me. I need to hide," he whispered urgently.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Who's after you?"

"Them." She was irritated by his vagueness, but wouldn't let that show.

"Them who? Them could be anyone. It could be the police, the air force…." She trailed off when she noticed the anxious creases on his forehead.

"The vampires. They're after me." Jeanette ushered him into the tent and zipped the door shut. Steve relaxed as the warmness radiated over him. He had been in the walking, almost battling against the harsh wind for the entire day.

"Would you like some bread and cheese?" she offered. Steve nodded his head enthusiastically. He devoured the sandwiches she had made him hungrily, refusing to stop eating until he was stuffed.

Jeanette smiled at his lack of manners when he ate, but she knew what it felt like to finally have food in front of you after hours of starvation. When he had finished his food, he began explaining his critical situation to her.

"But I don't get it. Why are you scared of three vampires? You're a vampaneze. I bet you could beat them easily." She giggled, but halted abruptly when the seriousness of the matter dawned over her.

He shook his head miserably. "No, you don't understand. Three vampire leaders… followed by a hundred others." Her eyes widened.

"A hundred? Isn't that almost the entire vampire clan?" she mused.

Once again, he shook his head. "The vampire clan has thousands of members. The hundred they have now is about a tenth of the original size."

Jeanette handed him a blanket, in return to which he smiled gratefully.

"But I don't get it. You have the entire vampaneze clan with you, right?" she inquired.

His expressions changed momentarily once the words had left her lips. His smile vanished into the air. He spoke grimly and slowly, "I don't."

"But-" Jeanette started, startled.

"Not anymore," he cut in, hanging his head low. "I…. I'm now a traitor."

"Traitor? Like Kurda?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I'm offended. How dare you compare me to a blonde scum with less power than a mouse?" he cried indignantly. She gulped, fearing she had upset him. He winked at her playfully.

"I thought I'd made you mad," she giggled.

"No, not at all. I guess I am sort of like him now…" he said weakly.

Jeanette scooted closer to him, and cooed consolingly, "No, you're not like him. Not at all." He managed a weak grin, then changed the subject.

"Do you remember how we met?" Jeanette shuddered at the memory.

"You were about to kill me," she reminded, half-laughing. Steve smirked, brushing a strand of his silver hair away from his face.

Flashback

Panic flooded the halls. Teachers were yelling, children were crying, the principal was praying to the heavens for safety. Everyone cared only about themselves, trampling younglings to get out of the building fast enough.

Jeanette was the only one that stayed behind to look for one person that meant most for her – her five-year-old brother. She looked around every door frantically, at the verge of breaking down on the floor, crying.

The sound of a muffled sob came from the computer room. Jeanette rushed into it, calling her brother's name repeatedly.

"Mike!" she screamed, her voice quavering. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Mike!"

Another muffled sob. She found him in a fetal position, huddled into the corner of the room. She ran to scoop him up into her arms. The boy, sensing his sister's familiar perfume, leaped into her. Jeanette couldn't move. The shock had numbed her legs. She stood there, rooted in the ground, holding her brother around her tightly.

Someone snarled behind her. She whirled around, her knees buckling.

It was Steve. But it wasn't Steve.

"Jeanette," he hissed. She nodded, petrified. "The girl from biology."

His skin was purple, his eyes scarlet. She tried to remember everything he had spoon-fed me about vampires.

"You're a…" she murmured. "A…."

Steve chuckled. "A what? Cat got your tongue?"

"Vampaneze," she finished. He nodded grimly.

"Goodbye, Jeanette," he said. He raised his hand up in the air, above her, and brought it down. But just when his hand was two inches away from her skin, he stopped, and pulled it away. Jeanette eyed him wearily. She opened her mouth to talk, but before she could ask any questions, he was long gone.

"I was petrified," she admitted. "I thought you were going to finish me off. And my brother, too."

"I was about to, but I wouldn't." The wind slammed against the tent.

"Why not? Why didn't you kill me?" she asked.

He grunted, "I don't know."

"Speak up, I don't have super hearing abilities." She was rewarded by a small smile tugging on his lips.

"I don't know, I… I was about to, but something made me pull my hand away. Maybe I knew you were going to help me escape the vampires in the future." As he winked at me, I could feel my cheeks burning hot. Was I blushing?

"We better get to sleep. I need to go at the crack of dawn tomorrow." Jeanette couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"Crack of dawn? Couldn't you stay a bit..." she protested, before tuning out when she realized Steve was already fast asleep.

"How does he do that without his coffin?" she pondered. She put her head on her pillow, and slowly drifted away into her dream world.

"Steve! RUN" she yelled. She did not dare look back. The vast majority of all the vampires were chasing Steve, and she was helpless.

She tried to struggle free, but then realized her hands and feet were tied to a metal pole behind her.

"Jeanette! I can't leave you like this," cried Steve, gasping for air. He was running non-stop for over twenty minutes now, and he knew that he couldn't go any longer.

"No! You have to! They're coming after you!" she screamed back in response.

"I don't care about myself," he murmured, coming close to her. Suddenly, the vampires vanished into thin air.

His lips neared hers, parting slightly.

"I love you, Jeanette."

"Jeanette! JEANETTE!" She flew up upon hearing her name.

Steve heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank god you woke up. You know you were sleep talking? Saying 'I love you' and all that." He snorted loudly while her cheeks flushed a bright red color.

"I was thinking about my family, that's all." Her eyes shot a look at the outside sky. The sun was coming up gradually, only the top half of it on display.

"You have to leave, don't you?" she frowned.

"You can come with me, you know," he offered. Jeanette's eyes widened at the offer.

"Are you serious? I can?" she cried, adrenalized now. The graveness of the situation flooded into her. "But I can't. I-"

"I understand," he cut in. "Thank you for your help. You're special, you know that?"

And before she could respond, his lips came crashing onto hers.

"Steve, I-" But Steve was gone now. Her eyes were fixated on him as he disappeared, as he became just a permanent memory in her heart.