"Hey, Roxi wait up"
Walking down the halls of my nearly empty high school, I groaned when a voice behind me called.
I closed my eyes and tried to remind myself that it wasn't Patrick’s fault that I’d had a horrible day and just wanted to go home.
It wouldn't be very nice of me, if I turned around and took my anger and frustration over, yet another, failed Biology exam out on him.
So instead, I took a deep breath, positioned the brightest and most fake smile I could on my face and turned to face him.
"Hi Pat" I smiled "What can I do for you?"
Pat came to a stop at my side and gave me that long, sexy smile that I was, unfortunately, getting used to.
Crap! I knew what was about to happen.
"So" he started "I’ve got no plans this weekend and I was hoping that you'd Finally...." he put emphasis on the word "have dinner with me."
"Um...." I tried to answer but instead trailed off. What could I say? I'd been making excuses for weeks, but he kept being so persistent.
"There's this place down town that has the best carbonara.." he continued, supposedly not even noticing that I had been about to answer.

He rambled on about how his cousin thought this place was great, but I was barely listening. Slowly, his voice drowned out until all I heard was my own thoughts.
What would it take for him to take a hint? It seemed like I was always having this conversation with him lately.
Then again, I’d been having this conversation with guys in general for a while now, too.
They kept asking. I kept saying no.
I sighed.
Maybe it was my looks that drew them in.
I had long brown hair, with just the right amount of wave in it, and big, brown eyes. My skin was a pale olive and was almost always clear. I had the kind of body supermodels envied.
Oh, the glory of being a vampire. I could eat anything I wanted and not get fat.
No. I sighed, shaking my head.
There was no glory in what I was. I mean, it’s not like I loathed what I was. I just didn’t see it as the great gift that some vampires did. I would never have chosen this. It always had a way of causing more problems in my life than I could handle.
I was only vaguely aware of Pats description of some Italian restaurant in the city as I pondered my love life.
I hadn’t had a serious boyfriend in the two years since I’d become a vampire and I didn’t have the urge to have one, either.
I’d be graduating in a few months and who knew where I’d be after that. I had no plans to go to collage, so chances were I’d end up a full time Death Walker.
What good would it be having a high school boyfriend who didn’t know my secret, and who i would never be able to tell.
What would I say to him?
“Sorry, honey. I have to fly to Atlanta so I can track down and kill a rogue vampire hell bent on destroying the world. So I won’t make the movie”
Not likely, I snorted.

“Roxi. Roxi!”
Hearing my voice being called impatiently broke through my haze and made me realise that even though I had been daydreaming, I was, still in fact in a conversation.
Blinking, I brought my focus back to Pat.
“Sorry. What?” I bit my lip. I’d totally missed everything he had been saying.
“Will you go to dinner with me? You need to eat, you know.”
I just stared at him and hid my smile. I seriously hoped, he’d missed that giggle that had escaped my lips.
I actually didn’t need to eat. Vampires can survive without food. That didn’t mean that I still didn’t enjoy it though. I couldn’t exactly tell him that so instead I just nodded slowly.
“Yeah, I guess I do.” I was looking down, trying to avoid his eyes that were seemingly trying to persuade me to agree.
“Tell you what. I’ll think about it and let you know.”
I had no intentions of agreeing but I figured I could come up with a better excuse when I wasn’t surprised and caught off guard.
“Okay. Awesome.” His smile beamed. “I’ll call you later with the details.”
He spun around and jogged off in the direction he had just come form, before I’d had the chance to tell him that I hadn’t exactly said yes.
So I stood there.
Continuing to stare at the back of his blue polo shirt as he disappeared around the corner.
I was speechless. Again.
What was it with some guys? They just couldn’t fathom the idea that not every girl was interested in them.
Although if I had to be perfectly honest, most girls I knew did have a thing for Pat. Even the ones with boyfriends. My best friend Erin thought I was nuts for turning him down, time and time again. I kept telling her that I wasn’t interested in wasting my time with a guy who spent his time either drunk or high. And whose biggest issue in life is wether he needs to spend more time working on his biceps. Of course this wasn’t the main reason, not that I was ever going to tell her what was.

I started walking out the science block doors and down the stairs, towards my car, still thinking about Pat.
I’d been late to school that morning so all the spaces in the main car park were full when I’d arrived. This meant that I’d been forced to park in the tiny car park, all the way across campus, which was hardly ever used.
Its was a long enough walk that I was able to look at all the reasons girls responded well to Pat. He was good-looking; there was no doubt about that. He had the body of a footballer and his black hair always that that messy, just got outta bed look, which probably took him half an hour to style. But it wasn’t only that. Charisma. He had a bunch of it. He had a way of talking that made girls fall weak at the knees.
I frowned and bit my lip.
Well, not all girls. I saw right through him and all he pretended to be. He was fake. And that was the last type of guy I wanted to be in a relationship with. He could be really slimy sometimes and was a total flirt towards girls he knew. Even when he’d been in a relationship with Molly Brien (head cheerleader) he had always been chatting up her friends.
It didn’t make sense to me how some girls couldn’t see him for who he was.
Then again maybe they didn’t care.
Still vampire or not, I had standards. And no matter what he did or how hard he tried, Pat would never live up to them.
It was around 4pm, my conversation with Patrick meant that I was the only person on campus. Aside from a few teachers and office ladies up in the main building. The moment school was over, the students practically fell over one another trying to get home.
It was an overcast, lousy day and the sun had just disappeared behind one of those clouds that you know means a storm is coming.
Everything was suddenly very dark and eerie.
Not to mention quiet.

So quiet in fact, that although I was completely lost in my thoughts, it didn’t escape my notice when I suddenly heard 3 pairs of footsteps a few yards behind me. They appeared as I passed some trees a person could easily hide behind.
Or 3 people.
I was being followed. A shiver ran down my spine. Maybe even hunted.
This is around the time when the vampire senses kick in and instinct takes over. Without slowing down and without letting my pursuers know I was onto them, I considered my options.
I saw only 2. Fight-or-flight.
Yes, I’d had training and I knew I was a good fighter. My extra senses gave me an edge, but I still didn’t think my chances were good. One on one I know I could kick ass. This wasn’t the case now. I was out numbered and I knew it.
Flight.
It was the only reasonable option I saw. So without hesitation I took off at the fastest speed I could manage. I heard the grunts and cries of surprise as the people behind me realised I was fleeing.
I was only vaguely aware of the soft thumps of my feet as they barely made contact with the path beneath me.
I was however, aware of the cold tingly drops of rain that fell on my face and ran down my arms as I sprinted across the campus.
Being a vampire, I was naturally faster and soon the people chasing me fell behind. Maybe I could out run them? Maybe, just maybe I could make it to my car and get the hell out of here.
Then I could be safe.

I was so caught up in my thoughts of safety and freedom that as I rounded the last corner between me and the car park, I couldn’t comprehend the man standing in the shadows before I ran straight into him.
His arms locked, tight and firm, around my own. It was still dark in the shadows, so he wasn’t completely visible. However the one thing that caught, and held me, if only for a second was his eyes.
They were ice blue and bore straight into my soul. For one instant my heart stopped. They were hard and cold and as they narrowed I knew exactly who he was.
He was a hunter.
A vampire hunter.
A chill ran down my spine and all through my bones as I registered the danger. My heart raced and with all the strength I could muster, I tore myself away from him. I spun around and, realising his friends were about to catch up, threw a kick directly into his gut.
It didn’t seem to cause him much pain but he did flinch, if only for a second.
And that was all I needed.
I broke free from his hold on my wrist and bolted towards my car. Opening the door, I jammed the keys in the ignition, threw the car in reverse and hit the accelerator. I didn’t even bother to check if he had composed himself or if he was following me.
It was a silly mistake but I didn’t even notice.





I suppose when I look back at that moment now, I did have an easy escape. The hunters didn’t actually make an attempt to physically harm me, but at the time it severely felt like I had danced with death.