Chapter 27 - Aaron, and Kristen's Story

Matt, for the first time in a while, was buzzing from the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had needed to let it out. Not being violent wasn't usually part of his daily routine so to land straight back into it was almost like a breath of fresh air.

Kristen stayed away from him throughout the day. He really didn't want to go near her. Threatening to kill her wasn't technically a lie but he knew that he'd only do it as a last resort. Despite the fact that she was a vampire, she was still Kristen, even dead, so he couldn't exactly look at her and feel like she was a threat.

In his classes, she kept to talking to other people. She seemed to be getting friendly to that blonde at the front but Matt didn't want to concentrate on that. He was too busy eyeing the dark haired lad which was currently boring his eyes into the back of Kristen's head, his hand slightly outstretched as if he was fighting himself on whether to talk to her or not.

By the end of the day, the boy had brought up the courage to talk to her and they were currently leaning on the wall, chatting lightly. Matt didn't catch the conversation very well but he knew that it was small talk. The boy obviously wasn't used to approaching girls but the way Kristen responded to him made him relax slightly.

Matt discovered quite quickly, through passing conversation, that the boy's name was Aaron.

He even sounded weird.

Kristen didn't seem to notice though. She was smiling gently as the boy talked, moving his hands to emphasise his speech. She nodded at things he said and when she pressed her fingers briefly into his forearm, Matt could see his eyes light up in hope.

Grunting, Matt swung his bag over his shoulder and slumped into the window sill, waiting for the bell to go. He only had one lesson left but he knew that Aaron was also in his class.

No doubt he'd slobber all over Kristen once they sat down together, Matt thought, wrinkling his nose.

If only he knew.

He caught Kristen's eye when she looked up and she stared at him briefly before blinking away and smiling back at Aaron.

She was bloody doing it on purpose!

Stupid vampire leech.

Matt rolled his eyes and entered the classroom as soon as the bell went, ignoring Kristen and Aaron pressed next to the door. Not waiting to let the other students come out, Matt barged his way through the door of flooding students. The ones half way through the door froze and some stumbled backwards in the effort to prevent themselves banging into him as he pushed through into the room, leaving some to bang into the wall in the effort to avoid him.

Smirking, he moved to the back, slumping in his usual seat, before he saw Kristen and Aaron come into the room. Instead of sitting at the front, like Matt had expected, however, Kristen narrowed her eyes and purposely shoved Aaron to sit in the seats right in front of Matt.

Matt's smirk fell as he sighed under his breath, the pleasant raspberry smell tickling his nose.

At least he knew why she smelt that way.

Kristen avoided eye contact until the last minute and then gave a victory grin as she turned her back on Matt and sat down in front of him, placing her bag on the floor. She immediately twisted to face Aaron and her face forced interest.

It was almost funny, Matt thought as his mouth sat in a firm line. He eyed them as they started talking and he could see that Aaron was getting more confident. He was leaning towards her, genuinely smiling, his eyes lighting up as he made conversation.

"...it's actually been really welcoming. Everyone is so friendly." Kristen continued as she casually leaned against the front of Matt's desk with her elbow.

Matt growled and bashed his desk roughly, causing Kristen to look up in surprise, Aaron's eyes quickly following and widening as he realised who was sat behind them. Kristen removed her elbow but narrowed her eyes as Matt gave an innocent smile and leaned backwards in his seat, pushing his feet out forwards so that his shoes kicked Kristen's chair.

He saw her roll her eyes in annoyance but that made it all the more fun. He bounced himself against her chair as she grew more and more agitated, trying to stay in conversation as she bounced from side to side. It was quite hilarious watching her and many people gave her a funny look as they began to come in to the class to take their seats.

Aaron eyed Matt wearily and Matt smirked, whistling as he bashed his foot against the plastic again.

"Quit it!" Kristen hissed as she twisted in his direction, stopping in mid-sentence to glare at an innocent looking Matt.

"Me?" He held his hands to his chest before his eyes hardened. "I haven't done anything wrong."

Kristen scoffed and pushed his feet roughly off her chair, making Matt stumble as he regained his balance. "I'm trying to talk to someone." She muttered.

"Really? Could have fooled me." Matt kicked her chair again and Kristen gave him the look of death.

Aaron looked as if he didn't really want to be sat in the middle of their argument. He avoided Matt's hating gaze as he twisted in his seat to remove it from his line of sight. "We could move, if you want?" He asked quietly as he looked around the room for spare seats.

If they were going to move then they were quickly running out of options.

Matt grinned.

"No." Kristen stared at Matt and he froze in place as her eyes went right through his head. "He's not a problem. It's all bark."

Matt fumed as she turned to face the front, shuffling closer to Aaron, as she smiled and started whispering to him. He watched as Aaron leaned in too and started whispering back, much to Matt's annoyance. He pressed his foot further into Kristen's chair but she completely ignored it and carried on talking to Aaron.

Taking another approach, now that the teacher had come in, Matt started growling low under his breath, just low enough for her to hear it. He saw her freeze but she carried on whispering regardless. Matt could see Aaron enjoying the attention, leaning closer to her face. His smell wasn't as bad as the other lads but it was still not pleasant. It smelt like wet sand.

Matt growled slightly louder and nudged Kristen's elbow, which was bent back just escaping the protection of the chair. Her arm jerked and he heard her take in an irritated breath, yet she refused to look at him. Aaron completely ignored Matt and Kristen's obvious irritation and kept talking under his breath.

It wasn't until he put his hand over Kristen's, did Matt actually stop. He froze and stared at the connection, wondering why Kristen wasn't moving his hand away. In fact, she was smiling further, giggling with Aaron as if they were best friends.

Was she really trying to annoy him or was she honestly having a good time with this nobody?

Matt curled his fingers into a fist and began rubbing the side of his hand against the desk, scratching his pencil across the paper underneath it. Kristen could clearly hear him but she was acting as if he didn't exist.

Surely she couldn't hide her real emotions so easily?

Obviously she could.

Matt sighed and dropped his pencil, dropping his hands in his lap. He was bored now. She was no fun. She was just sat there, playing with Aaron's fingers, not even registering his existence, giggling under her breath as if she was tying to hold it in.

Suddenly he just wanted to go home.

A depression began to take hold. He tried to pull it back but it draped over him like a familiar blanket, smothering him. His shoulders slumped and he pulled his feet back, no longer wanting to be surrounded by people. Kristen must have noticed because her head twitched slightly in his direction.

He didn't care though. He just wanted to go to Aimee's room. He just wanted to lock himself away again.

What was the point of him even living anymore?

He was just kidding himself.

He gripped the desk tightly and it moulded his fingers into the surface with a crunch. He thought that he was special but he was obviously wrong. Vampire or not, she had been the only one who had accepted him for who he truly was. Now she was all over another boy as if it was that easy to forget him, just like everyone else.

Aaron noticed the change in Kristen's quietened behaviour and glanced up at Matt, but Matt, too lazy to move, just glared at him and Aaron quickly looked away again.

Finally, he'd had enough. He pushed all of his stuff into his bag, ignoring the paper on the desk without looking at it, ignoring the glances from surrounding students, ignoring the temptation to look at Kristen, and stormed down the stairs with his bag on his shoulder. He stepped infront of a frozen teacher and quickly mumbled about feeling unwell before practically running out of the door, not giving the teacher enough time to respond.

Exiting into the cool air made Matt's lungs expand in relaxation. He pulled his jacket over his head and quickly began to speed home, not bothering about watching out for passersby. Once there, he locked the door and went straight up to Aimee's room, practically coating himself in her innocent childhood. He buried his head into a nearby teddy and breathed in deeply.

It still even smelt like her.

He moved to the wardrobe and opened it, looking at the little outfits which still hung on the hangers, her tiny leggings folded up on the top of the draws below her dresses. Matt grabbed a pale blue dress and pulled it off the hanger, causing it to splinter, much to Matt's frustration. He dragged the dress to his nose and closed his eyes, taking in a breath. He could almost convince himself that she was there.

He could feel her again. She was frowning and folding her arms, looking as if she was about to scold him for something. He knew why. He was stupid. He'd finally had what he'd always wanted. It was almost a normal life. He had his temper slightly more under control and he had a girl who was mad for him, or so he thought.

Now he was back to square one, with no family and no one to talk to.

It was actually quite lonely, now that he realised.

A soft moan escaped his mouth as he deflated. This was how his life was always going to pan out, he realised.

He was forever going to be alone and, for the first time in a long time, he really didn't want to be.

He felt a presence and looked up quickly.

There, in the corner of the room, stood a slender figure, dark hair waving across her shoulders and down her back.

Matt gripped the dress in his fingers and it crumpled slightly. He immediately dropped it onto his lap to prevent further damage. "Get out." He snarled.

Kristen nudged her head in the direction of the door. "I'll wait outside." She murmured.

Matt glared down at the dress on his lap whilst Kristen left the room quietly. After a moment he slowly stood up and hung the dress back up in the wardrobe. Gazing one last time, he gently closed the doors before moving towards the bedroom door and closing it behind him. Kristen stood at the top of the stairs, her arms folded, a sympathetic look on her face. Matt got all the more annoyed at her expression.

"What do you want?" He grumbled as he leaned against the wall, copying her stance.

She straightened herself up and stepped towards him but his glare made her pause. "I came to explain, remember?"

"I'm not in the mood. Go away." He ran his fingers through his hair before folding his arms again. Kristen stepped forwards again and this time she didn't stop until she was stood in front of him. Her head cocked to the side and Matt frowned. "That's not goint away." He growled.

"I'm not leaving." She said.

"Why are you so stubborn?!"

"Why are you?!" She growled and Matt rolled his eyes at her.

"It's my house. Get out. How did you even get in here?"

Kristen suddenly looked sheepish. "A locked door wouldn't stop me, Matt. You'd have to close the windows too. Even then, I'd find a way."

"You dont know when to quit, do you?" Matt murmured and sighed, relaxing his arms slightly so that they hung to his side. "Fine. Go downstairs."

Kristen nodded and slowly went down the stairs, hesitating to make sure that Matt was following before continuing to move into the livingroom. Matt reluctantly followed. He had a headache. He didn't need this right now. He didn't want to have to deal with Kristen but she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

When he entered, she was sat on the sofa, her legs folded. Instead of sitting beside her, Matt stood a metre away and folded his arms again, staring at her. "Go on. Talk if you're going to talk."

"Sit down."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm trying not to strangle you."

"Oh."

Kristen fiddled with her fingers but shuffled over regardless so that Matt could sit down if he wanted to. Matt ignored the movement and raised his eyebrows, waiting. He just wanted to be left alone. Was it really that difficult to understand?

"I was young when I was turned." She began quietly, bowing her head so that Matt couldn't watch her face. Matt rolled his eyes but stayed quiet and let her carry on."My mum had a new boyfriend and I didn't like him. He was weird and sketchy. I didn't know what was wrong with him but I knew that he wasn't a good guy. He used to come over each night and hang out with my mum.

"He never treated me badly. He was actually a nice guy to be around. I just didn't like him that much. I couldn't help it. I knew he was different.

"One night, my mum was out with her friends and I was inside, looking after my younger brother. He was about ten years of age so he wasn't that young but my mum still didn't want to leave him in the house on his own. I was annoyed because I'd made plans with my friends to go out for a movie and at the last minute I'd had to cancel to look after him. I wasn't very close to him and we argued a lot but he was my brother so I knew why it was better to stay at home when my mum was away.

"He came round about an hour after she'd left, wondering where she had gone. I'd opened the door and immediately said that she wasn't in and that she was out with her friends but would be back later. He still decided to push his way in though to wait for her. I was used to him visiting so I didn't really bat an eyelid. I just let him come in and sit in the livingroom.

"My brother had wandered off somewhere but I'd been too distracted by the door to notice. When I let him in, I heard my brother crying. I'd left the cooker on as I was making pasta for dinner and, by the sounds of it, he'd knocked it over. I went to rush to help him, because he'd probably burnt himself pretty badly, but my mum's boyfriend grabbed me by the waist.

"I screamed automatically and shouted for help. My brother had gone quiet so I didn't know if he was okay or not. I didn't know if he could hear me. No one else was in and I knew that my neighbours were currently on holiday so I was completely on my own."

Kristen went quiet for a minute and Matt realised that he'd moved closer to her as she'd been talking. He slowly sat down on the edge of the sofa but Kristen didn't bat an eyelid. She was lost in her own world, just like he had been when he'd told her about his own family. He could almost see what was about to happen. Kristen obviously could too because she physically flinched.

"He covered my mouth and I felt pain in my shoulder. I didn't realise what it was until my top started to soak up my blood. I thought he had a knife but his other hand was clutching my waist to keep me still so there was no way that he could have cut me. It was only when things started to go dark that I realised that he'd bitten me and practically ripped my neck open.

"I opened my eyes after what felt like a few minutes and realised that I was no longer in the house. I was in some kind of basement. I started screaming but he was still there with me. He just watched in amusement as I tried to hit him. I was more concerned about my brother than myself. He hadn't come with me so I wasn't sure what had happened.

"After what felt like forever, I calmed down and stared at him. I was so drained. I didn't know what had happened or what he had done. He came over to me and told me that he was going to make me powerful. I really didn't care. I just wanted to get out of there.

"He left the room and came back with what looked like a little kid. It was as if something took over my body. I lurched at the body and ripped the neck open, drinking the body dry. I didn't realise it was my brother until my eyes cleared and I saw what I had done. He hadn't even screamed or anything."

Kristen choked but Matt still didn't move, too focussed on the story to even move a muscle. Kristen continued regardless. "I realised afterwards that he was dead before I even touched him. He'd been burnt in several places from what I assumed was the hot water on the stove, but he was also twisted in a weird fashion. His neck had been broken.

"At first I thought he'd done it. I thought he'd killed my brother. However, apparently he'd already been like that when he'd been found. He'd slipped on the hot water when he'd been crying and had bashed his head against the counter and somehow twisted himself in such a fashion to break his neck.

"He left me to stare at my dead brother and told me that I'd have to get used to it. 'For great power there must be sacrifice,' he'd said. I didn't realise what I was until I saw what I looked like through my brother's dead eyes. I was a vampire. I had to live on blood to survive. He'd turned me into an unnatural creature, as if I'd practically begged for it.

"He soon left my mum and I never saw her again. I think he killed her but he never told me. Instead, after many weeks of refusing to believe what I was, he began to teach me how to be a vampire. He taught me how to hide, how to merge in with the public, how to attract attention and how to kill without making a sound. Within a month I was a full on killer."

Kristen looked up and stared at the wall. Matt knew that she'd be crying if she could, considering as her eyes were moist and unblinking. He watched, fascinated.

"I still hated him." She spat and carried on with her story. "I still hated him for making me what I was. After a few months, he decided to trust me and we used to go out and kill together. He'd show me all of the tricks. Eventually, I asked what I had to do if another vampire attacked. He didn't know that I was taking notes and storing them for when he was off guard. He just told me as if he wasn't even concerned.

"But I was faster than him by now. He was old so he was powerful but he had slowed down throughout the years. One night, he was distracted with a kill. He told me to find somewhere to hide the body. When he turned his back, he was completely oblivous. I stabbed him right through his back with a shark piece of wood which I'd been hiding under my arm, covered by my jacket, which I'd taken from a previous kill a few weeks beforehand. I watched the light face from his eyes before he dropped to the floor.

"I ran as far as I could away from the place. I decided to move somewhere quiet so that I could settle down and try to be a normal teenager again. I still had to feed but I tried not to as much as I could. I took people who weren't very popular, people who wouldn't have many connections so that I could keep a low profile."

"Then I met you." She whispered and looked up at Matt for the first time. He sat still and avoided her gaze, though his ears listened intently. "I knew there was something different about you. I felt normal around you. I wanted to be your friend. You were one of the first people I met when I moved here and you smelt so good." She looked away quickly and Matt knew she'd be blushing if she could. "You didn't want anything to do with me though. I tried my best to be friendly. You were hiding something but I didn't realise until I saw you follow me outside the cinema.

"You were so guarded that I watched you too, when you thought I wasn't looking. I started eating less and less, trying to catch you out somehow. I knew what you were. Somehow it just came to me one night. A large wolf was hard to miss." She chuckled gently before her face clouded again. "I didn't know what to do. I'd never met a werewolf before so I just watched you. I wanted to see how you reacted to things. I knew already that you were strong. I just didn't know how you'd react to me.

"I was going to tell you, Matt, I swear. I just got lost in it and somehow couldn't bring myself to say anything. I was going to when you told me what you were but you started to relax around me and I didn't want to ruin it. You made me feel alive and human. I haven't felt like that in so long." She sighed and fiddled with her fingers. "I'm sorry."

Matt stared, trying to take it all in. When she said that she was similar, he really had no idea. He finally could relate to someone, even if they weren't his species.

He wasn't alone.

"I understand if you still hate me. I hate me too. I hate myself for doing everything I've done. I wish that I could take it back. I wish I had a family. I wish I didn't have to kill to survive but it's my nature. Nothing else sustains my hunger. I've tried the typical animal diet. I tried it when I moved here, actually." She laughed humourlessly. "It didn't work too well. Nothing I tried worked. Only human blood keeps me going."

"Why didn't you just kill yourself?" He asked quietly.

It was the first time that he'd spoken and Kristen's eyes zapped to his, wide and surprised before she shrunk down again. "I can't bring myself to end my life. I've hardly lived. It freaked me out too much to even think about it."

"Could you do it now?"

She stared at Matt and her eyes scrunched up as if she was in pain. "Kill me if you want. You wanted to protect your people. I'm the one killing them. You should kill me. You know how to now."

Matt was quiet for a minute before he stood up.

Kristen relaxed her shoulders gently.

Matt wasn't thinking what she was thinking, though.

Her eyes shot up in shock as he jumped towards her, his hands outstretched, teeth bearing as he buried his teeth into her arm, ripping out of his skin as he did so.

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Long chapter but I hope you liked it!