**_A vampire-hating human suddenly becomes best friends with a vampire. What could happen!

** “Yeah right, like that’s ever going to happen!” My friend Marget laughed, her hand slapping her knee. I grumbled at her, my eyes closing from the embarrassment. I had just described to her my favorite author, speaking lovingly about how one day I’d meet him. She continued to chuckle at her own words, I averted my eyes to hers. Glancing up to notice the group of girls passing by us. “You know, you’re being too loud right now.” Between chuckles, she mumbled her words, apologizing for not being able to catching her breath long enough. “It’s just too funny,” she finally spoke, “He goes by an alias dummy! it would take a miracle for you to-“ “Excuse me,” a charmed man spoke, his eyes glistening with charisma. My friend and I both turned to each other, we locked eyes and looked back at the handsome man. “Can you show me where this class is?” He pointed to a piece of paper in his hands. My friend spoke first, a simple “Sure thing,” and then looked to me after glancing over the paper. “Looks like you two have the same class, lucky-lucky.” I adjusted my glasses and blinked hard at the paper. “Uh, yes!” I gathered my things and cleared my throat. Before long, I found myself walking side by side with a sparkling personality of a man. His appearance guided too many eyes our way, making me feel more and more like a zoo animal just for the pleasure of eyes. “So,” I spoke to ease the feeling of being watched, “You’re new here?” He smiled brightly, burning a hole through my glasses. “How did you know?” He asked as we turned a corner. “Well, you needed help finding a class right?” “Ah, yes I did, didn’t I?” He seemed to gloom at my remark, stopping in the halls. The bustling was starting to fade as it neared class time. I cleared my throat. “Not only that, though,” I turned to face him, “I think I’d remember if I saw that bright of a smile.” I smiled, myself. His ears perked up, like a little puppy dog. His smile grew strong, but an uneasy eerie feeling erupted when I noticed he’d bitten his lip enough to bleed. I then quickly turned back around. Maybe I just fueled the ego of someone I shouldn’t have. __ _ We made it to his class despite the feeling remaining present. _ _When I heard the bell ringing, just in time for me to make it to my own class, he suddenly stopped me by the hand and spoke, “Thank you for taking me to my class, I hope to see you around.” __ _ I hope I do, too. Time passed pretty quickly. _ _ We’d become such good friends I considered him my best friend. _ _ _For as long as I could remember though, the uneasy feeling remained. My body felt weak. I would be fine until we were near each other someplace, then the feeling would return in an instant. You know what they say, when someone is bad for you… your body feels it first. So I tried to push him away…. Despite my feelings. I avoided him. “I told you to stop!” I tried shoving his hand away, but it only resulted in his grip tightening. “Why do you hate me?” He brought my hand to his lips, an unexpected expression grew from ear to ear; a frown. I sighed. “…Sorry, you’re right, I’m overreacting. Please let go of my hand, I don’t feel good.” He loosened his grip enough for me to snatch it back. “Are you running a fever?” He asked, placing the back of his hand against my forehead. I sighed again, my eye brows furrowing beneath his hand. “I don’t know, I…” he moved his hand away, listening intently. I suddenly became nervous. His piercing eyes gave me chills. He suddenly spoke, “You don’t know?” His eyes captivated mez “Huh? Oh yeah, I don’t know if I have a fever.” “….Not that,” he glanced around us, and leaned closer to me, the strands of his hair curled slightly when it touched my face. He was so close. I suddenly realized, why I felt so uneasy. A thinly-stringed necklace hung around his neck, and dangled just below my nose. Garlic. I quickly covered my nose, whipping my head back to distance myself. My vision warped momentarily when I breathed in. “Why do you…” He gripped my wrist. “Now I know,” he ripped the cord of his necklace and tossed it to the ground. “We’ve been such close friends, but you really never realized?” “R-realized what? That I’m—“ “A vampire.” The word echoed in my head. I need to tell him he’s crazy. I need to push him away right now, and tell him I don’t know what he’s talking about. My head was clearing from the garlic, but now my head spun for a different reason. “You don’t know what you’re talking about—!” Suddenly and abruptly, he… hugged me? “I’ve been trying to deter you from me this entire time,” he spoke, his words sounding serious. “Even though you were dizzy, and uneasy… and uncomfortable, you still stuck by my side this entire time. Why?” My heart suddenly fluttered. “I don’t…” “Don’t say you don’t know, give me an honest answer,” he pulled apart the hug to look me in the eyes, searching them to find the truth. I can’t tell him the truth, what if he doesn’t see me the same way? What if he doesn’t like that I’m a vampire… “You’re my best friend… and—“ “Just friends?” He asks, without letting me finish my sentence. His eyes looked hurt, but most importantly I could feel the warmth of him grow all around me. He pulled me in, and… kissed me. “I think we’re more than that now.” “W-what..” His eyes glanced at the stringed necklace he’d tossed aside. “I hate vampires,” My heart sank momentarily, until he pulled me closer to him, nuzzling his head against the top of mine. “But you can be an exception.” Suddenly in that moment I realized, I really did have feelings for my best friend.

The wizard entered the caves of azerforth!

SAM’s POV

For some reason, the breeze of the night suddenly became cold. For the past few days, it has been unbearably hot, even when the sun has set; perhaps, tonight is a bit different.

I started my car as I just received a text from my bestfriend. He said he needed a hand for his project. I have been asking him about why he needed a hand, when he almost always wanted his way in things.

Maybe that’s what I love about him. He knows his way around things, he does not need anyone to tell him what to do. He is independent, and dependable.

I quickly drove to his place, still not knowing what the project is all about since he refused to tell me. He, too, loves surprises.

As I arrived, I watched how only the window to his room is open. I almost felt bad with the thought of him staying up late that he already needed someone else for help.

“You’re late,” it’s his playful smirk that I want to erase from his face that welcomed me at the front door. “The food’s cold.” He turned his broad back on me, inviting me inside.

He doesn’t seem stressed at all. He is all comfy in his pajamas. He is ready for sleep!

Eating with him with comfortable silence, I glanced at my food and back at him multiple times, searching for what I am called for.

“Sam,” he called. I hummed in response. “You can go ahead upstairs, I’ll put away the dishes.” He calmly said.

For the record, this is not the first time he does this. He usually invites me to his home to eat, and talk our lives away. But tonight, it feels different. I noticed that he cooked tonight’s meal, evident in the pans he used and the ingredients that were messily placed around the counter.

“Wait, you cooked?” I asked in disbelief, also teasingly.

“Couldn’t believe?”

“Well, I thought it was delivery food.” I smiled, trying to catch his facial expression, which I caught him smiling.

Damn.

Did he just cook?

“Figured we eat too much delivery food. Might as well use my cooking skills, no?”

I watched how he deftly washed the dishes, arranged them in the dryer, and cleaned everything up.

Isn’t he just…amazing? A man who cooks, a man who does the dishes, a man who treats me just right, the way I want.

As soon as we met in his room upstairs, he brought chips in his arms.

“Okay, sammie. I lied. We are not working on any project tonight.”

I furrowed my eyebrows at that, scanning his outfit and his overall vibe. Right, there is no sense of urgency at all.

“I know you were stressed last week due to your finals. Now, we’re gonna have a movie night to chill!”

He fondly smiled at me. Oh, how I love his smile. I watched how he puffed up the pillow in his bed, signalling me to sit. How he set up the projector and the movie we were watching.

“Ace, are you serious?” I watched him in disbelief. This is the second time tonight. My heart was pounding hard in my chest.

He pouted his lips, nodding. He looks like he is focused on the movie selection. Look, he doesn’t even dare to ask me what I want to watch. He has everything under control. He plans things well.

Once the movie started, he sat beside me, smiling. I secretly watched how the light from the screen hit his face, his perfect honey skin.

Shit.

I felt my heart pounding again.

No.

He is my best friend for years now, and… why is he suddenly…?

Wait, no. He has been like this. Did I just fail to notice all along?

I had to leave early that night. I couldn’t look at his face, realizing why I am suddenly feeling such a thing. I can’t look at him, knowing how badly I wanted to kiss him that very moment.

I remember how he darted me with a worried look as I left right after the movie ended.

It has been weeks that this incident happened, and I never felt so lonely. There is this void that no ither friends can fill in. I have rejected his calls, and have shut doors when he would come to my home.

I am such a loser.

I can’t afford to lose this friendship, especially when I know he couldn’t look at me the same way. If I was a little stronger, if only I was a little blind that night, feelings would not be this hard to control.

I realized now why that night was colder, why the wind shifted differently.

“Did you really think we were nothing more than friends?” his eyes glanced down at her lips, trembling from the cold. Her mind whirled with thoughts as she looked into his eyes. Did she think of him as more than a friend? Her heart fluttered with excitement at the very thought of it being true. They had to be. Right? He leaned down closer to her eye level.

“So?” he said. His hot breath wafting towards her lips. “So…” she shifted her feet and looked into his eyes.

“I really like hanging out with you,” he said. His voice growing more confident with each word. “And I’ve been thinking for awhile now… well…”he bit his lip. “Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

To her astonishment, he removed his beanie and gently placed it over her hair, covering her ears. He never took off his beanie for anyone. The warmth of the beanie and the unexpected gesture made her heart flutter. She looked up at him, a smile spreading across her face, feeling a special connection that words couldn't describe.

“Yes,” she whispered at last, just as her lips touched his. And while the snowflakes continued to fall silently around them, they both felt a burst of sunshine radiating within them like they had never felt before.

My freind ship with daniel has felt different recently. I think be would agree. Its not better or worse but as if we both know something that we dont want the other to know. Theres lots of things I dont want daniel to know about me, stuff iv done that was shitty to others, times iv lied to him, and how I really feel about him. I dont want him to not know because I think he will be mad or upset, but because this wasn’t supposed to happen.

Iv always imagined love as meeting someone, at s coffee shop or a party, flirtying with them, asking for their number and going on a couple of dates until 10 years later your married with 5 kids. Thats how the movies have made it seem. Me and Daniel were just two teenagers who got put in a class together and enjoyed shit talking the teacher a little too much.

I dont know what to do with my feelings for him, I dont think he does either. I think thats why it doesn’t feel bad, but just diffrent and new. I think if we explored these feelings more and thought about them we could figure out what to do next. For now we are just floating between this cloudy space.

Light touches to the hand, lingering stares, and needyness for eachothers attention that is maybe too much. Too much as in this dosent seem like a healthy amount of time to spend together. Too much as in I feel like we are running out of things to talk about that dont make us both shut up and wonder what do next. Too much as in hes all I think about, all I want. His exsistence is overwealming to my brain.

He looks at me, because aparently my silence was too noticable for him not to be concerned. I look back. We look into eachothers eyes, wondering what card to play now. He then looks back towards the show we were watching, maybe my face isnt as intriguing to him as I thought. Or maybe its because he needs to look away. Needs to look away because if he keeps looking he might get too close to me and do something that might be considered wrong.

I dont know what comes next in our relationship, I dont think I ever will. For now iv decided that we will continue to live in the is hazy space between freinds and more, no matter how clunky and akward it gets.

Rayburn

I wonder what is going on between Oswald and I these days. I have no idea what caused this—this hot, feverish air that consumes the both of us when we’re near each other. All I know is that Oswald feels it too, and he likes it.

I’m at my room at the moment, trying to grasp my thoughts as best as I can, when a knock sounds on my door.

“Ray?” The voice is a deep pitch, one that I know is making its way out of a light brown throat and a set of supple lips.

I grunt, then bite my lip. Why must I think such taboo things; that they are about my own friend makes it worse than just if it was a stranger. Slipping out of my bed, I make it towards the closed door and answer in a hoarse voice, “Yes, Oswald? What do you need?”

I can hear as Oswald shuffles, almost nervously, behind the door. My hand is on the doorknob, which is growing warmer as my body heats up with the thought of knowing that Oswald was just so close—even behind this door, he is so close.

“Fuck,” I mutter.

Oswald hears me and suddenly the knob twists underneath my hand. I hold onto it, making sure that he had no entry. “Rayburn? Are you alright? Can I come in?”

“No!” I needed to keep him out. The amount of self control I have left is at my lowest; I feel as though insanity is trying to pull the rest of my strings loose so that I may shower Oswald in the caresses of my lips. “You need to leave!”

Oswald lets go his grip on the door, and I sigh. “I know I can be irritating sometimes, Ray, but I didn’t even do anything wrong this time,” I let go of the door, after locking it of course, and stray back to my bed. There’s a quiet for a while, and I think he’s left, but then, breaking my peace and relief, Oswald’s voice, quiet, says, “Ray, I need to tell you something.”

I don’t even try to pretend to be asleep. I know he’s going to stay until I answer him. “Yes, Oswald?”Quiet sounds again, making me nervous. Quiet isn’t a word that one would use to characterize Oswald, but it has already happened twice. “Are you alright?”

“Rayburn Lanvard Greyhead,” his voice is shaky, “You have been my best friend over the past twelve years, and—oh man—I have only discovered my feelings these past months.”

I still. A thought pulls in my head, a thought of what I think he’s going to say; confess. No, that can’t be what’s happening—right? “Oswald?”

“Let me finish! Please,” he adds as an after note, “Rayburn, every day I spend with you is wonderful, amazing, and by every divine being out there, I am blessed to have you with me. I know you can here originally off of…troubling circumstances, and I don’t want to sound horrible when I say this. But I am so glad that fire happened; so glad that you came to live with this aunt; so glad you finally opened up to me on that day at the park. When you cried on my shoulder.

“I think that’s the day I fell for you, even though I didn’t know it myself. Didn’t even consider it. But Rayburn, you truly are wonderful. I know you can be rude, hypocritical, sarcastic, and mean, but you are so many other wonderful things. You’re sweet when you want to be, and when you are, you make everyone love you. You’re kind, you help those in need, and you are such a great artist. I know you don’t think so, but not all great artist draw the same thing; that’s what makes them different, what makes you different.”

He pauses to sniff—is he crying?—and I notice my heart rate, the pounding intensity of it. I slip out of my bed once more and stride to my door, silent, heat flowing to every vein in my body as Oswald continues.

“Ray, I just want to say, well, what I want to say through all of this is….” He trails off, eyes widening as he sees me opening the door. I stare up at him, at the glistening tears in his warm brown eyes. The way his reddish hair clings to his light brown skin as he breaths raggedly, plump lips parted. His large frame trembles as I stare deep into his eyes, and at that moment, both of our walls break; our constraints, everything.

“Oh god! I love you Rayburn Greyhead!”

The moment after he yells my name, my name, in that sentence so passionately is quick. I do the only thing one can do in this horrific situation.

Oswald

I never thought this day would happen. The day where I would confess and Rayburn would agree.

He never agrees with me on anything. Ha!

But now I have him in my arms, melted, soft. His thin, pale frame clinging to me as we lay in the bed together.

We didn’t do much, Rayburn didn’t want to, and I would never do anything serious without his consent, but he agreed to cuddling. I’m quite fine with that, I just like touching him.

I stroke the back of his neck, trying to find an easy rhythm with our breathing as he lays on top of me. It’s much harder than you would think. Rayburn’s whole face is buried in the side of my neck. His breath is warm and humid and…oh, I feel quite sleepy all of a sudden. Today has been a rush, even if it’s only been an hour.

I stop in my stroking—Rayburn makes a whine at that, making me smile—and ask, “May I kiss you?”

Rayburn stiffens, bringing his head out of the tiny burrow at the side of my neck. I whine at that and he gives a small smile before it sinks and turns into a remorseful expression. “I love you,” I nod, he’d already said it multiple times after my confession. It seems he just likes saying it, as though he can’t believe what is happening is real. “But, I don’t know. It’s not….”

He trails off, but I know what he was going to say. _Right, it’s not _right.

Before I can control myself, I pull him back onto my chest and whisper into his ear, “If I was a girl, would you kiss me?”

“W-what?” Rayburn shakes his head, trying to push from my chest. “I can’t imagine you as a female.”

I tighten my hold. I not kidding when I say that I love holding Rayburn. “Try. Would you kiss me then?”

“No!” He stops his struggling. “I can’t even think of a girl like that….” Rayburn sniffs. His arms come up to warp around my torso, hands stopping at my spine. Dispite the situation, I find myself smiling and feeling giddy at his touch. I shake my head and go back to being serious. Rayburn is hurting.

“But what about me?” I ask, trying to get Rayburn to lift his head from my chest to no avail.

He shrugs. “I want to, but I don’t,” he finally looks at at me, eyes wide, but everything below still on my chest. It’s making me warm, and my heart race. Ah, I don’t think I’ll live if Rayburn feels off about the whole thing. Better to have it settled now.

“So, you don’t love me?” I raise an eyebrow.

Rayburn startles and pushes himself up to face me fully. His chin’s set, lips forming a frown. “That’s not it! I just—I just feel that it’s too early, that’s probably it!” He shakes his head vigorously, trying to convince me—and himself too—that that was the reason.

I’m okay with it as long as he’s still here, alive, happy, and healthy.

“Alright,” I press him forehead with mine and he stills. I smile, peering into his grey eyes, “You truly are something else Rayburn Greyhead.”

He says what I expect; what he’s always been saying every since I gave him the first compliment he heard from me. “Am I?”

Rayburn’s smiling now, pale complexion flushing. “Of course you are,” I say, watching as he blinks, those long, thick eyelashes flutter, “because you’re you, and I’m me.”

_(I FUCKING LOVE THEM!!!!! Anyways, whoohoo! I actually wrote 100 writings that aren’t all shitty. Excuse my language. _

_I feel content. I must thank all of you, even through your troubles and hardships, you’re you! And you’re still you! Ummm, what else—oh yes! Thank you for putting up with my rants, stupidity, and writings. Yes, yes, it’s not something big, but really, these past two something months have been fantastic, disregarding school. So thank you! _

Thank ALL of you!)

I always imagine the day that I will finally meet her again. I am very ecstatic. I am just thinking about the day I will see her again after a while.

It was at the same place we hang out everyday after school like always, but today, something about her seems so different. The way her hair falls framing her face perfectly, the way her eyes would light up whenever I began to speak. My gaze falls to her lips and I began to fantasize what it would be like to kiss them. An unwelcome thought. I try to calm myself down and regain my composure but I still have the same urge as before. “Is everything alright?” she asks with a concerned smile. She cares about me. The same feelings I have always had for her in the back of my mind are floating to the surface, and everything falls into place. I like her. I’ve always liked her. All in a manner of seconds I’ve rediscovered the same emotions that I’ve suppressed for so long and a tiny part of me begins to wonder if maybe she likes me too. “Logan, are you ok?” She repeats herself. Without saying another word I take a step towards her, I grab her hands and squeeze them in each of mine. “Logan what are you do-“ her breath catches on the last word because i dont give her a chance to finish her sentence. Because my lips are already on hers, and her lips are right back on mine. It is the most intense and passionate kiss I have ever had. When we come up for air I stare into her arctic blue eyes processing what just happened. We both stay like this for a while, smiling ear to ear, staring into each others eyes both unable to come up with words to describe the indescribable joy we are feeling in this moment. Finally she whispers, “Logan, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.” And leans in for another kiss.

Maybe the best thing about him is that I don’t feel like I need to try around him. I don’t need to force words out of my mouth, or over analyze his reaction to what does make it out. I mean I’ll overthink things regardless, but it’s just… alright to overthink around him. Because he knows that I’m always doing it. And he doesn’t judge me for it. At least based on the number of times he’s said that, which is enough that I’m beginning to maybe believe it. Brock turns his head just enough to look in my direction from the side. We’ve been laying on his bed with our legs off the side, looking at the ceiling together for maybe the last five minutes. We like to do that when life is just being itself. It’s not a requirement to talk when we’re together. But honestly, I really like when he does. “I’m about to fall asleep,” he groans. When I roll my head over, I meet the darkness of his heavy-lidded eyes. “I know. I can already hear your snoring in my brain.” The look that he gives me says “Really…”. I stifle a snort but don’t say anything else. His beanie had fallen halfway off his head, letting some of his overgrown hair fluff out. Before I did anything Brock pulled it back down and over his face. My eyes didn’t leave him, the faded threads of his beanie above the straight bridge of his nose. Being in this room felt like home. Brock felt like being home. I never thought that we would become… everything that I needed. But I never feel more real than when I’m with him. “What are you thinking about…?” he mumbles. There’s a tired grain in his voice that just… What I’m thinking about—what I’m really thinking about… “Not much.” What am I supposed to do? This isn’t just about him being my best friend. But he is my best friend. My best friend. I can’t be in love with my best friend. What would I even do about it? Nothing. I wouldn’t make it to the trust fall. Because I need to be able to look into his dark brown eyes every day and know that we’re in this together. No matter what.

Dave could hear Kimberly yelling from the kitchen. He couldn't tell if she was mad or just being her loud ass self. Dave nodded at his friend Chris. “What has she gotten herself into now?” Chris shook his head. Dave clinked his beer bottle against Chris’ in response. He looked at his beer sadly. It has been a long week. He certainly didn't need Kim’s shit right now. “But this is what we do,” he thought irritated at himself because she had him so wrapped around her freckled little finger. “Everything all right in here?” Dave’s deep voice cut through the crowded kitchen. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see what was going on.

Dave’s jaw set. Kim had definitely been crying. Her green eyes met his and more tears swelled in her eyes. He took off his Carhart flannel, walking towards Kim.

Dave wrapped the flannel around Kim’s bare freckled shoulders. “Let’s bounce, K. I'm beat anyway.” He was surprised when she leaned into his chest and agreed to go on the first try.

Dave walked Kim to his truck. He opened the door and she hopped in. He noticed she moved towards the middle. “What in the hell happened?” he wondered thinking about how Kim normally adjusted everything in his truck when she got in. He told her it drove him crazy, but secretly he enjoyed their little routine. He found himself doing it when she wasn't even with him. Right now he was really worried about her. He started to walk around to his side of the truck, but he'd never in their whole lives (and they’d been married since preschool) saw her like this.

Dave opened her door again and pulled some things from behind the seat. Kim barely even noticed. He opened the tailgate and threw in a sleeping pad and blanket. He walked back to her side and said, “Kim, come here.” She looked at his face, but the normal sparkle in her eye was gone. She scooted towards the door and wrapped her arms around his neck. He picked her up and took her to the back of the truck. She crawled from the tailgate and fixed a place for them to sit. He jumped into the back and sat next to her.

“Wanna talk about it yet?” he asked quietly. “Nope,” she said.

Dave sat back against the truck and pulled her against him. She put her legs over his and leaned into his chest. He had no idea how long they sat like this. He could people leaving the party acting like drunk idiots.

Dave finally whispered, “its time, K. Talk to me. we will figure whatever it is out. We always do.”

Kim started to speak with her voice shaking.

“Mmmy muh my my mom called. My grandfather is in jail for financial crimes. She didn't want to talk about it more on the phone.”

Now Dave understood why Kim was so upset. Her grandpa was her hero. She absolutely adored him and wanted to be a financial guru just like him.

Dave said, “It could be a mistake. Let’s head to your house to find out what is going on.”

“I don't deserve you Dave,” she said.

Normally I’d pretend to gush over her affection, but tonight was different. “Darlin’ you know you deserve the world. You are special and put on this earth to do great things with that firey red hair of yours.”

That seemed to draw attention to the fact that he had been playing with strands of her curly red hair of over an hour.

“I should stop,” he thought ignoring himself.

Kim relaxed into him more. “I thought you were over all of my antics. You have been so quiet lately.”

“I hate that douche that you are dating. You can't even see how special you…” Dave stopped himself. “Now isn't the time to get into that, Kay.”

Kay looked up and kissed Dave on the cheek.

Dave froze. She'd done this a million times, but this time he could feel the heat from her lips lingering on his cheek.

Dave instinctively moved to look her in the eyes. She was still looking up at him. It happened so fast. He didn't know if he leaned in or she leaned in, but in an instant they were kissing. After 24 years as friends something shifted and at the exact time she needed him the most.

Dave getting his wits about him said, “I am sorry. Not that it happened but the time was really…” Kim was kissing me again. Softly. She placed soft kisses all over my forehead and cheeks. In that moment, I saw my forever in a freckled, red headed woman’s green eyes.

Dave grinned to himself thinking, “I never expected it to be the devil I knew.”

Dave said, “Let’s go, Kay. And no matter what happens, I’ll be right here. Come hell or high water, woman, I’ve got you.”