Footsteps on the pavement seemed to echo as she walked down the street. Raindrops splattered noisily about, adding to the gloom of the day. Dark clouds gathered and loomed overhead. She could not remember the last time she had felt the warmth of the sun on her face. A haze of grief had been following her the past few days, an unrelenting, gripping feeling of confusion and fear. Her long, slender shadow stretched out on the concrete, black and cold. Hate boiled within her at the sight of her dark form. “I will not join you,” she harshly muttered under her breath.
Rain pattered on her umbrella and the drops rolled smoothly off from all sides.

She glanced about at the deserted streets. The always-crowded city now looked like a desolate wasteland. A cool wind made her teeth chatter. One hand tightly gripped the old wooden handle of the umbrella, but the other pulled the red wool scarf closer to her neck. At last she climbed the steps to her house. It was a modest two-story home, nothing spectacular. The green shutters banged against the windows as the growing storm raged. She frantically searched through her big red bag for her keys. Her mom had always told her she carried everything but the kitchen sink in her purse, but Kaily liked to be prepared. It was times like this that she regretted carrying around a black hole. Her fingers found the key and fumbled it into the lock. With a click, the door unlocked and she pushed it open.
“Mom, I’m home,” her voice reverberated through the silent house with no reply. With a sigh, she set down her things on the dining table and mopped up her muddy footprints. A pink slip of paper on the stainless steel fridge caught her eye. She recognized the handwriting immediately. Her mother’s loopy pen was scratched across the sticky note.


Kaily- you will have to make dinner.
I have to work late tonight. One of


my clients insists I finish the plan by tomorrow.
Ron will take me home. Don’t wait up.



-Mom

Kaily sighed yet again as she put up the mop and looked in the fridge absentmindedly. “How many times has mom worked late this week? Three? Four? I guess life as an interior designer is harder than in think. Or maybe she isn’t out for work at all. It’s probably Ron again. He has her wrapped around his fat, greedy finger. Well, he isn’t exactly fat. More like…. Plump? No, not really plump either. I guess he isn’t that bad. Sort of attractive in an old man kind of way. Not really Mom’s type. What is her type anyway? Dad. That’s her type. Handsome, distinguished, loving, perfect. Dad. Why did we have to lose you, Dad? Why? Because it made you stronger, Kaily. That’s why. Now suck it up you little wimp and make some dinner.” Kaily snapped out of her inner conversation and decided on spaghetti. “Easy enough,” this time she spoke out loud. While she waited for the water to boil, she jogged upstairs and changed from her soggy jeans to her favorite pair of pajamas and finished making dinner.

With her warm plate, she walked over to the big brown sofa and curled up with the remote control. With a mouthful of noodles, she flipped throough the channels on the flatscreen plasma. With a grunt of dissatisfaction, she settled on The News. “Breaking news….concerning a local highschool by the name of Rockwood High…..” Kaily gasped as images from her school flashed across the screen. Familiar faces of teachers, students, and faculty …familiar hallways and…. “Me?” Kaily’s eyes widened as her own face appeared. Her dark red hair hung in loose curls around her pretty face. Sparkling green eyes stared at the camera as she held a binder in front of her face, hiding and pushing through the crowd. “Oh no,” Kaily said as the events of the day came back to her in a flood. The news reporter stood in the hallway, struggling to be heard among the noisy students. “Concerned students cause an uproar that even the staff of Rockwood High cannot control. The source of this excitement is the kidnapping of a local resident and student. Sources say that Steven Sherman never returned from fourth period. Suspects include all of the staff and students. Police do not think it was an outside job due to details that have not been released. The students and their parents are in uproar for their own safety. Rightfully so, I think. We will inform you of any further developments. If you have any information that could benefit the case, email us at 123eyesonmetv.com. That’s it for tonight. I’m Cassandra Carlisle with Channel 5 News. Join us next time. Goodnight.” Kaily turned the TV off and sat in silence. She shuddered at the thought of her earlier encounter. His eyes searched her heart and filled her with fear. Never before had she met anyone like him.




A shrill alarm tore Kaily from her dreams. She sleepily reached over and knocked the alarm clock from her desk. Reluctantly, she rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. She flipped the light on and gazed into the mirror, halp asleep. She giggled at her appearance. Her hair seemed to have a life of its own, stretching and groping in all directions. “Here goes nothing!” she laughed as she plugged in the curling iron and turned on the radio. She sang along to the lyrics of her favorite song as she got ready for school. “Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere. Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit. He took the midnight train going anywhere…” Kaily curled her long hair and put on her makeup. “Gotta love the classics like Journey,” Kaily muttered to herself as the song came to an end. She slipped into a pair of khaki shorts and a purple tank top. Then she pulled on her brown cowboy boots and donned a blue jean jacket. “That’s as good as it gets,” she convinced herself and grabbed her cell phone and purse then headed down the iron staircase.
“Morning Mom,” she said when she saw her mother at the counter sipping coffee. Her mom had a slender, but curvy frame, certainly not the figure of the average woman in her late thirties. Her hair was blonde, but in the right lighting, hints of her natural red shone through. This morning, her hair was cropped short, straightened to highlight her bone structure. Like her daughter, her green eyes defined her slightly wrinkled face. Manicured nails completed the successful businesswoman look. Kaily loved her mother more than anyone else, but hated her for being such a workaholic. Work had always been her priority; Kaily knew nothing else. Her income had always supplied all of their needs since the mysterious death of Kaily’s father. Kaily had tried to find out more about his death, but her questions were always avoided. She even googled it. No one seemed to know anything about him. The only fact was that his body was found in a ditch, no marks on it whatsoever. Kaily had searched and searched for information concerning her father. She had gone to libraries, archives, and federal bureaus, all in vain. Eventually, she just gave up and accepted the fact that he was gone. But she never lost her curiousity. She decided to go into journalism.
“Morning Kaily,” came a delayed reply. Marcy’s head was buried in the morning’s newspaper. “Hon, have you heard about what has happened at your school? Imagine a small town in Rhode Island making the national news! Wow, is a shame it took a tragedy to get us some attention.” Marcy rambled on, but Kaily tuned it out and popped some waffles in the toaster. “Did you hear me Kaily?”
“No ma’am, what did you say?”
“Be careful today,”
“I will, Mom, don’t worry. Will I see you tonight?”
“No, Ron and I have a date. Don’t wait for me.”
“That’s what you told me last night,” Kaily muttered.
“What was that, Hon?”
“Bye Mom,” Kaily said as she wrapped the waffles in a paper towel and threw it into her purse.
“Bye,” came her mom’s reply.

Clouds still loomed overhead when Kaily stepped outside. “Another cheerful day ahead,” she thought sarcastically and munched on her waffles. Her little blue SUV sat in the driveway. “Why did I walk yesterday? I guess it was just another one of my bright ideas. It didn’t look like it was going to rain last time. But I wont make that mistake again!” she grumbled to herself and pulled out of the driveway. She was dreading bumping into him again. She loathed the way he stared at her. She was a good girl, a straight A student, student council president, and editor of the school paper. She didn’t mess around with people like him. She didn’t really like that punk-emo style. She wasn’t all that into guys at all, actually. Seventeen and all she cares about is her newspaper and getting into a great college. The future. That’s what keeps Kaily focused.
It was only a five minute drive to school. She preferred to walk, but after her day yesterday, she decided she would be driving to school for a while. She circled the student parking lot for a decent spot and settled for a large slip near the end of a row. She popped the trunk and grabbed her stuff from the back. The green lawns of the school were spotted with students of all colors, religions, and styles, a melting pot of learning. Kaily dodged the camera crew to reach the set of double doors to the main building. It amazed her how many kids lived in her seemingly abandoned town. The first bell rang and Kaily hurried to AP Physics. The classroom was at the end of the long hallway and smelled like old people. That was mostly due to the ancient teacher, Mr. Binks. A hint of bad cologne mixed with body odor filled her nostrils as she looked around. The room was already filled with students taking their seats. Five metal tables were spread randomly throughout the room, with similar metal chairs all around. The worst thing about Physics was the seating arrangement. Kaily walked to the back of the room to take her seat next to Brad. A bright smile lit up his freckled face, his braces catching the light of the fluorescent bulbs.
“Kaily….” He stammered.
“It’s a good thing he is smart,” she thought to herself. With forced friendliness she said, “Hi, Brad!”
“You look lovely today. More lovely than all of the elements of the periodic table!” he snorted at his joke.
“Haha,” Kaily made herself laugh. “Let’s just get started on the lesson, shall we?” she insisted.
“Oh yes, of course,” Brad finally relented.

After what seemed like an eternity, the bell rang and Kaily made for the door.
“Not so fast Miss Jenkins,” a timid tenor voice squeaked. Kaily turned to face Mr. Binks, blinking rapidly through his tiny spectacles.
“Yes sir?” she asked sweetly.
“I would like you to show our new student around. His name is. . uhh. . Blaine. Blaine um. . let me see.” Mr. Binks shuffled through the papers strewn about his desk. “Aha! Here it is. Oh I forgot I put it here so I wouldn’t lose it. Anyway, his name is Blaine. Did I say that already? Anderson. Right. Anderson. That name rings a bell. I think I knew a lad named Anderson back when I fought in the war. Maybe it was Madison. James Madison? Wait…that was a president. Was it not? Oh, don’t you mind the ramblings of an old man. I want you to show this young man around the school.” Mr. Binks gestured towards the door.

Kaily forgot to breathe when she saw him walk through the classroom doorway. His jet black hair was styled haphazardly in all directions. Most people would consider it edgy, Kaily thought it looked ridiculous and messy. He wore a pair of black skinny jeans and a black hoodie. Even through his clothes, Kaily could see the tone of his muscles. He walked with cockiness. Recognition flickered across her face, but followed immediately by horror. The eyes. The cold, black eyes peered into her soul. . . . him. . .
“Miss Jenkins?” Mr. Binks interrupted her thoughts.
“Mr. Binks, I really have so much to do this week. The deadline of the March issue is next week. I’m crazy busy. I can find you another chaperone, one who doesn’t have other commitments. I can be right back.”
“Miss Jenkins, please welcome our guest. He requested that you show him around. He tells me that you two know each other. I think it would be rude to deny him such a reasonable and friendly request. Do you need a second opinion on this Kaily? I am sure that Principal Rollins would be happy to echo her sentiments.” He smiled devilishly, his yellow teeth showing in a wide grin. Kaily could clearly see he was adamant.
“No sir, that will not be necessary,” Kaily managed as she gulped. Blaine smiled brightly and Kaily was caught off guard as his dazzling beauty.
“Thank you Miss Jenkins,” Mr. Binks dismissed her.
“Follow me,” Kaily muttered, not hiding her irritation as she stormed out the door.
------look for part 2
This is just a few pages of a whole novel im working on, so you really only get a taste of the story. Blaine is not what he appears, but you will not find that out for many chapters. And no, he is not a vampire lol