Vampires Will Never Hurt You

I believe that I was dead before I met him. I can think back on my life now and watch it all lead up to that night. If you knew him then surely you knew that the world truly did revolve around him. At least my world did, and that was all that mattered. He was sharp, and beautiful, and everything that made him so much better than me. There was nothing I had ever wanted more then that boy. That boy who could drown you in his arrogance while he shattered your heart with his smile. I don't even think he could be classified as a human. The term seemed to fall flat in comparison to him. No, he was a breed of his own; dangerous, irresistable, and always catching you off guard. He was a force to be reckoned with. A force that happened to reckon with me.


The night I was awakened from the dead was the night of our high school prom. I had spent hours trying to mold my flat, white-blond hair into something elegant, only to end up leaving it down in a fit of frustration. My worries had all been so trivial when I was dead. I had gone downstairs and stood with my friends, all smiles and giggles while my mother took pictures and my father watched from the front door, his brows furrowed in an annoyed manner. My father had never been big on having boys at the house, regardless of the fact that none of the boys who stood in our living room now were my date. No, I had chosen to go stag, disappointed with the selection of boys who had invited me. Though I felt for sure my mother was a little let down, I assured her this was only my Junior prom, and that I would bring her home a nice boy to photograph next year for my Senior prom. Before I knew it, we were all piling into one of the boy's car and setting off into the dusk.


It's sad to say that I was thoroughly disappointed by my Junior prom, but that's just the way life goes sometimes. I had no control over the outdated r&b that was blasting from the speakers, or the grocery store-bought snacks that had clearly sat out for a little too long. This was fate, and I was doomed to have to suffer through a bad night because of it. Everyone else seemed blind to the perpetual hell hole they all stood in. I imagined it had something to do with the dates they were eyeing, plotting out after parties and after-after parties. I, however, had had enough of the PTA-sponsored fun almost the second I arrived. It took my an estimated 15 minutes to slip away casually, making for the gymnasium doors like my heels were on fire.
Once I was outside I took a look around, sighing in defeat as I stared across a vehicle graveyard. Everyone was apparently inside, and judging by the dull thump of the base I could hear from all the way outside, they were still enjoying themselves. I sat down unceremonially on the nearest curb and shivered in the frigid night air. "Great." I breathed to myself, clutching my knees up to my chest. The silver dress I had selected was doing nothing to fight off the cold and I watched as goosebumps rose all over my pale arms. I flopped backwards, my exposed back pressing against the sidewalk while my legs folded sideways awkwardly onto the asphault of the parking lot. I was colder than ever, but chose to ignore that while I stared up at the sky. It was a deep navy blue that was strangely calming, littered with little white-diamond stars. It would have been beautiful if I couldn't feel the base of the music now vibrating up my spine. I took deep breaths, savoring in the clean and fresh feel of the night air. I was peaceful, if anything else, and as the vibrations in my back slowly became more soothing than disturbing, I let my eyes close slowly.
I'm still not sure how long I layed there, but a noise by my left ear made my eyes snap open. They took a moment to adjust before registering that there was someone standing over me. My mouth fell into a silent "Oh." as I realized the person standing next to my body was, in fact, a boy and was, in fact, looking at me. We remained like that, looking at each other without speech for several moments before I clamped my mouth shut and sat up hastily. My head spun as the blood drained from it and my hand shot to my forehead as I straightened into my previous sitting position. I heard him chuckle from behind me.
"You alright?" he asked, his voice was casual, but I could hear the smile in it. I shook my head, watching the lines of the parking spaces slowly stop wiggling as my dizziness subsided. "I didn't mean to startle you," he continued, "I just saw you laying out here and thought you might be dead or something."
Dead or something. He had no idea how close to the truth his words were. Of course, at that time, neither did I. I turned around to look at him and was instantly suprised. He was the vision of perfection. His skin looked even paler than mine, which was saying a lot, but made him appear to be chiseled from the finest marble. His features were strong, but delicate. My eyes drank in his face, not caring that his pale green eyes were sparkling with amusement while he watched me. His hair was inky black and fell to his shoulders in shaggy layers. His shoulders. They were broad, but at the same time he struck me as lean. Either way, his white button down did nothing to hide the fact that his perfection most likely blanketed his whole body. I had been looking at him for so long that I was startled when he held out something black to me. I realized it was the black coat to his suit. I took it with a nod and slipped it on, grateful for the shelter it gave, no matter how long the sleeves were on me. He sat down on the curb next to me and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, tapping one out and holding it in his mouth he searched for his lighter. I wanted to talk to him, but nothing came to my mind as I watched him. Thankfully, he spoke again.
"What's yer' name?" he asked from the side of his mouth, having retrived his lighter and now lighting the end of his cigarette.
"Annalise." It was the first word I had spoken to him.
"Tell me Sugar, what's a girl like you doing sitting out here by herself? It's not safe... you never know what kind of characters you'll run into out here..." It took a moment for the words to sink in. I whipped my head towards him, my body getting ready to fight or run, hoping for the latter. The way he had said those words put me on edge. However, once I looked at him I could see there was laughter in his face. I scowled and picked up a rock, skipping it across the asphault.
"You never told me your name." I said snappily, still a little sore from being tricked. He just laughed again, but when he spoke I was suprised that his voice was now much closer to my ear.
"I'm Gerard."
I turned to look at him, our noses almost touching as he had leaned in. My heart began to beat madly, my blooding churning in my veins. I could see his pale eyes clearly throught the thick black lashes that surrounded them. "It's a pleasure to meet you." he whispered, his cold breath on my lips. And with that, he stood up. I was still in shock, so I took his hand without arguement when he offered it to me. I had always been tall for a girl, and even in my heels the top of my head only reached his nose. He took my shoulders and pointed me in the direction of the gym, positioning himself behind me so he could whisper in my ear once more. "Go on in Sugar. Your friends are wondering where you are." He gave me a slight push and I walked without protest, in a slight daze. Only once I had reached the gynasium doors did I look back, and by then he was gone.