[sakari09]

Once again we took off for the locker room and made great time getting there. It turns out that Mrs. Zales little bitch speech only cost us five minutes of our precious time. Using my past knowledge of freshman year gym, I went for the boys’ lockers and charmed the lock and grabbed that clothes fell out and handed them to Kira.
“Why do I have to carry them? They stink Kari!” She scoffed.
I took out a can of Axe body spray and covered them in the smell-good-stuff, “Here you go. Happy now?”
We left in a hurry and went back to the bathroom with no signs of teachers. I heard her gulp and increase her pace as we neared the door. I waved my hand and the sign disappeared.
Taking the clothes from her I sighed, “Go on to class. I think I’m going home with Will after he rights himself.”
She nodded (and you won’t believe it), bowed and left without another word. I must’ve really worked my magic on her because she was terrified of me now. I kinda’ felt bad for the chick.
I turned and went into the bathroom. Noticing the one stall door that was locked, I assumed Will was currently occupying it and knocked, “Hey! You owe me big time buster! I just scored you some awesome clothes and the biggest scandal in the whole entire school.” I waited for a response but got none, “Fine be that way. I didn’t want your stinking thanks.”
“I shouldn’t be bothering you like this. I’m sorry.” He apologized.
By this time I was just about tired of being apologized to so I said back, “Don’t mention it; you’re never a bother Will.” After all he had really nice abs…wait. What?!
I heard him sigh as I wiped those last thoughts from my brain, “if you say so, then I guess it must be true. Love can’t lie right?”
I groaned, “Not that crap again Will. I can lie whenever and wherever I want! I think you spent a little too long in that house by yourself…”
“Would you like to come and visit today?” he asked softly, “I don’t bite…you’ve never visited me since the day you broke in, remember?”
I thought back to that day and nodded even though he couldn’t see me, “Yeah. I guess I could. After all, it’s healthy to ditch school once in a while right?”
He opened the door (fully dressed this time) and smiled, “Then I can finally give you the grand tour. But I think I should’ve had it cleaned. Our butler died 80 years ago…”
I was astounded at how long that house had gathered dust and who knew what else over all that time. We slipped out the window and into the parking lot behind the school to leave. No body would see us back there because no one cared about the parking lot. That was one of the reasons why the pavement was cracked and needed to be weeded in some spots.
“I should’ve let you take my car…” Will thought out loud, “…then we wouldn’t have to walk like this.”
“Don’t kill yourself over it. You don’t live that far.” I laughed to myself. Who was I kidding? He lived out beside Gran, and me way out in the countryside and that was a hell of a long walk from here.
He stopped walking, almost causing me to trip over him, “I know a quicker way. Get on my back.”
My jaw dropped, “what the hell do I look like to you? Some big two-year old?”
He frowned and threw me onto his back without another word and off we went a-running out of town. I reminded myself to murder him whenever he turned his back because, after all, vampires don’t sleep. I missed the silhouette of the person who was starting to climb out of the window after we did.
…

If anyone out there ever gets asked to ride on a vampire’s back, take my advice and decline. Myself never being one for plane rides or roller coasters, I hated the way Will ran. It took us less than five minutes to get back to where he lives—way out in the country and in the middle of the woods.
Before I even knew that the house existed, I had been running from a couple of girls, that had once been my next door neighbors, until their house burnt down. They always made fun of my looks because I had white hair ever since I could remember and it was what they went for every time.
I remember trying to hide from them in the woods in a tall oak tree when I saw it, a 2-story, black mansion with a tall iron fence. It had appeal as shelter so I slipped through the fence and went around to the back. What I found back there was more stunning that what was in the front; there was a rose garden and small creek running out of the woods with a little bridge to cross over to the other side.
I would’ve stood there for hours on end, but unfortunately the bitches’ voices rang loud and clear through the front gate, so I hightailed it right up the camouflaged ladder going up the side of the house. The window was unlocked so I helped myself inside and that’s when I found out that someone actually lived there—Will did. He looked exactly the same as he does now, except for the blue streak (I helped him add that not too long ago).
The first words he said to me were, “You can stay here with me if you want.” And that brings us full circle.
Will let me down off of his back when we arrived at the front gate. It looked like it was in better shape than all those years ago; someone had sanded the rust off of them.
He unlocked the gate and front door and led me inside, “I tried to clean up a little bit more, but doing a whole house is harder than it looks believe me.”
I did a full 360° turn around the foyer. It was huge…I remembered that much from the last time, but I’ll admit…it did look a little more cleaner. The staircase was in the middle of the room, on the left was the living room filled with antique furniture and coffee tables, and on the right was the door leading to the kitchen and dining room.
“Why a grand tour? I’ve already seen the house once before.” I looked back at Will, who seemed a little uncomfortable, “What’s wrong?”
He sighed, “At least you didn’t run away like everyone else did.”
I groaned, “Stop being all emo! I’m here now so you should be happy!” I smiled, “Where’s your room? I don’t remember you ever showing me it.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs. We went around a corner and into the room on my left.
“Are you happy now?” He asked grumpily.
I looked around the dark room. The walls were painted dark gray with black carpet; didn’t surprise me there. There was a large window seat facing the back yard and the creek running through it. But what really got me was that there wasn’t a coffin to be found; in its place was a wooden bed with matching dark covers.
“It suits you all too well Will.” I muttered going over to a bookshelf, “You read manga?”
He started rubbing his shoulder absentmindedly; “Yeah…it’s a break from all that crap that they give us from school. I don’t know how many times I’ve read Romeo and Juliet but if I have to read it one more time I’m gonna explode.”
I laughed getting the mental picture of him reciting old Shakespearian language, “How old are you again?” When I turned to see what he would say, I found him staring out the window from the window seat.
“I wish that I didn’t have to lie about everything; I wish that I could go back and die like I was supposed to, then I wouldn’t have to lie to everyone I care about…including you.” He began, not taking his eyes away from the window, “I think that if I tell you what you want to know, you run away screaming like the last one.”
I was stunned by what he was saying, “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not as squeamish as you might think Will. I’ve seen things that are scarier than you.” I explained, “Take the dust bunnies under my bed for example.”
“There aren’t any dust bunnies under your bed…” He began slowly but I cut him off.
“How do you know? Can’t you hear their little shuffles as they move around under there?” I shivered knowing that they’d be waiting for me when I got home that night.
“Do you want me to tell you or not?” He groaned and rubbed his eyes.
I went and sat on his bed and leaned forward like I was going to listen intently. He seemed to except that and began.
“I was born in Sicily in 1616 in a travel inn. My parents were vampire aristocrats that were on a trip to see my mother’s parents to announce my coming. They were a modest couple that didn’t believe in invading another aristocrat’s house when on the road, so they stayed in an inn. In the middle of the night, my mother went into labor and I was born.” He didn’t meet my gaze yet, and it was starting to worry me.
“The rich of both families thought the act of my parents to let me be brought into this world in a common inn was ridiculous. They were the kind of people who had servants feed them during every meal. After returning from my grandparent’s home, my parents were raided on the roadside at twilight by a pack of bandits; they lost their sense of peace more than anything.”
I interrupted, “I’m sorry.”