The song ended, and they lingered there in quiet closeness for a while. A brisk breeze swept over them and they both shivered, parting at last. Meredith reached out and took his hand in hers. “How about I walk you home?”

Vlad smiled. “I’d like that.”

Never mind the fact that it was the polite thing for him to walk her home, or that they’d have to pass her house to get to Vlad’s. Meredith’s dad had a prime dislike of Vlad going on, so whenever possible, she kept her dad out of the mix. Besides, it would mean more time together.

They moved down the street, hand in hand, slinking past Meredith’s house. The walk was blissfully Eddie-free. Only too soon they came to stand on Nelly’s front porch. Vlad exchanged shy smiles with Meredith, the way they always did right before they kissed. Vlad could feel the moment coming, his entire body warming with sweet anticipation. Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She tasted like sugar, spice, and everything nice, with a side of strawberry lip balm. When he pulled away at last, she slipped her arms around him, hugging him close. Vlad nuzzled her neck, marveling at how sweet she smelled. So sweet, he could almost taste it…

“ Vladimir!” Nelly’s voice, high-pitched and fearful, rang out into the night. She was standing in the open doorway, her eyes wide, an afghan wrapped around her shoulders.

With a horrific shock, Vlad realized that his mouth was open, his fangs elongated, poised over the delicious-looking blue vein in Meredith’s neck. He snapped his mouth shut and stepped back.

He’d almost bitten her. He’d almost fed from Meredith. And if Nelly hadn’t intervened… he could have killed her-would have killed her. Vlad shuddered at the thought. Suddenly the cold air dropped another twenty degrees.

He’d almost killed her. He’d gotten too close.

Nelly’s voice dropped to a frightened whisper. “You should go home now, Meredith.”

Meredith looked from Nelly to Vlad and back, shaking her head, completely oblivious to what had almost transpired. “It’s not what it looks like, Nelly. We were just hugging, not making out or anything.”

Nelly spoke again, her voice firm. “Still, it’s getting late. I’m sure your parents will be worried.”

Meredith blinked, and then glanced at Vlad. As she passed him and headed down the steps, she said, “See you tomorrow, Vlad.”

But Vlad couldn’t reply. He was still horrified over what he’d almost done.

As Vlad slipped by Nelly and into the warm comfort of the house, he shook his head. “Anything you’re going to say can’t even measure up to how I’m feeling right now, Nelly. So please… don’t say anything. I need to be alone.”

To her credit, she didn’t speak.

Vlad ran up the steps to his room. He closed the door, not bothering to turn on the lights. And when he lay on his bed, he opened his mouth and lightly touched his fangs with the tip of his finger. He was a monster-Joss had been right about that. And if he’d had just a few more seconds, he might have become a killer too tonight. He might have murdered the girl who meant more to him than anything in this world. He might have stolen her away from himself, all because he couldn’t control his growing hunger.

He bit down hard, slicing his finger deep. Immediately, it began to heal, but not before a large drop of blood managed to escape. As it coursed down his finger, Vlad swallowed hard. A single tear rolled down his cheek, matching pace with his blood.

With a shuddering cry, Vlad realized that that was all the future held for him. Blood and tears.

VLAD SLIPPED HIS JACKET ON, cursing the chill of the mid-November air, and flung his backpack over his shoulder, wincing as the corner of his health book caught him in the small of the back. He threw a glance at the clock, even though he didn’t need to look at it to know that he was running very, very late. Lesson #456 of high school life: Never, ever trust an alarm clock. Even after you’ve checked it to make sure the alarm was set for the right time. Twice. Especially when your best friend won’t be there because of an early dentist appointment.

He bolted out the door and across the street, whipping past houses, until finally he could see the school looming up ahead. Relaxing some, still he cursed under his breath at the absence of students outside-a sure sign that there were less than five minutes before the detention slips started flying. He hurried up to the building, determined not to miss the first bell. He hadn’t had a tardy yet this year, and didn’t plan on getting one now.

To his right, he heard a small whimper, which drew his attention. Bill and Tom were hulking over a small thin boy dressed in black from head to toe. Vlad instantly recognized him as Sprat-one of the goth kids he’d seen hanging out on the front steps of the school at night while he was up in the belfry. He paused, knowing that there was likely nothing he could do to stop their assault. If he intervened he’d not only be late to class, but he’d also likely walk away from his heroism with several bruises. The smart, safe thing to do would be to count his blessings that they’d found someone else to pick on and walk away.

But he didn’t pause for long.

He slinked along the school wall and slowly, quietly slipped his backpack from his shoulder. Flitting through the forefront of his mind was every instance Bill and Tom had ever picked on him, every horrible moment he’d ever witnessed them put one of his classmates through. It filled him with anger and a hunger for justice. As he arched his arm back, he called out, “Hey, Klingon!”

Tom looked back just as Vlad flung the bag forward, catching Tom in the face. Tom stumbled backward, cursing loudly and cupping his eye with both hands. Bill leaped toward Vlad, but he ducked away and brought his bag down on Bill’s back. Bill screeched. As Bill hit the ground face-first, Vlad positioned himself between Sprat and the bullies, fully expecting them to come out swinging. Tom bent to help Bill up off the ground, blood slowly oozing from the fresh cut above his eye. To Vlad’s immense surprise, they bolted away. Vlad smiled. Score one for the little people. He hadn’t suffered so much as a scratch.

He looked back at the small goth boy and offered a hand to help him stand. “You okay, Sprat?”

“Yeah, I guess.” He brushed dirt from his black pants, glancing toward where Tom and Bill had run. “ Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m getting really sick of those two. They’ve been giving me the same treatment for years.” Vlad shook his head and flung his backpack over his shoulder again. For some reason, this time it felt lighter. He turned and hurried back out the alley, knowing he was going to catch hell for being tardy, as the first bell had rung just about the time he was whacking Bill’s back with his book bag.

Sprat called out, “Hey, how’d you know my name?”

But Vlad kept walking. After all, he wasn’t about to mention the fact that he’d been sharing Sprat’s company a few nights a week for several years now, from about four stories overhead, up in the belfry-something that would probably freak him out at least a little, and would definitely raise too many questions about Vlad’s nighttime activities.

He rushed through the front doors and down the hall until he finally came to first period, where he slowly opened the door and tried to slip inside unnoticed. But so much for the idea that vampires had any kind of skill at stealth-Mr. Cartel looked up as Vlad opened the door and smiled. “Ah, perfect! It looks like Mr. Tod has volunteered to offer an explanation on the function of g-g-g-gonads. Thank you, Mr. Tod.”

Vlad rolled his eyes and moved to the front of the class. It was going to be a very, very long day.