One spring I went to my first, it was one of the best nights of my life, and although I didn’t know it then, it was one of the few I had left. At the end of the set was one of my favorite songs. When the line “you’re dressed to kill” rushed over the venue, I glanced over for some reason. Through the horde of jumping fans I saw her. In the corner stood a girl who fit the idiom completely, she stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowd of skinny jeans and graphic tees. She just stood there. Her face had a cruel beauty to it. She was skin and bones and wore a black dress with red tights. Although, before I noticed any of this, all I saw were her golden eyes shining peering into my soul, making my blood run cold. They glowed like stars in the dark room and had a color and depth that a contact could not even dream of creating or even trying to mimic.
By this time, she had noticed me staring and she started to walk towards me. My heart skipped a beat. “What could she want with me, especially in this room filed with extremely better looking guys than myself?”, I thought.
Yet still, she walked up to me and said, “Hi. I’m Julianne, but people just call me Juli”.
“Hi”, my voice quavered, “I’m Alex”
By know of course, “Jasey Rae” was over. We walked over outside, talked, and exchanged phone numbers, all the while her eyes shining brighter in the dim moon light. Even if we never talked again knew I’d never forget her. Although, it turned out we would meet again very soon.


A few weeks passed. We talked via text message, but assumed that we’d slowly fall apart soon. That is why it was such a surprise, one Monday morning, to see her walk into my first period class, her eyes shining brighter than ever. I got up. We smiled, said, “Hi”, and shared a short embrace. Even as short as it was, I could feel the stares shooting at arrows in my direction. Even my best friends would stab me in the back to at least know who this new beautiful girl was.
She had every class with me, which was peculiar. I was glad she was there with me, but I could hear the rumors flying. On Juli’s second day there, I found a note stuffed in my locker. It read:

I need to talk to you. Meet me in the parking lot after the bell rings.
Sincerely,
Juli

The day rushed by, I could not wait till that afternoon

I walked into the parking lot, thinking of what I could say to her. It turned out I would not have to.
She walked up, kissed me, and said, “Sorry. I know I have only known you for a short time, but you are all I can think about.
I was stunned. “So you want me to be your boyfriend?”
“Yes, I guess that’s what I am trying to say”, she replied.
At that moment her eyes turned a twinge of green. Then, as quickly as they had changed green they changed to a fierce, fiery orange. That was the day it all began.
In the weeks that followed I came to love Juli as much as she loved me. Although, some of the things she did sent shivers down my spine. Like the times she would stare at me with an eerie trance-like look. Also, the times turned that horrid orange that scared me to death.
Juli’s eyes changed regularly with her mood. When the yellow was interrupted with specks of green she was happy or thinking loving, cheerful thoughts. When they were bight gold, that I had seen that first day, she was content and peaceful. Although, the fiery orange I feared I had not figured out. We could just be talking, her eyes would change, and she would fall silent. It was so strange.
She hardly talked about her family or her past. I could tell there were a few skeletons in her closet. She repeatedly asked me if I trusted her, just her asking this made me question if I did, but I always said I did. After six months of being together her eyes always seemed to be that shade of orange. I was frightened by this, and even though did not know it then, I had every right to be.

On one fatefully night we were driving home from a Halloween party. It was pitch black and there was no moon in the sky. Everything seemed normal. Then I realized my brakes weren’t working. I tried to hide my panic.
I have not done to well because she asked me, “What is wrong?”
“My brakes are not working”, I told her.
“Are you sure”, she replied.
I tried once again. There was no cease in the car’s movement down the road. “Yes”, I said.
“Good”, she replied as she turned towards me. Her eyes were blood red, shinning like a demon’s in the dark. She lunged forward, grabbing the wheel and jerking the car off the road. There was a flash of us hitting a tree before I passed out.
When I woke up I was covered in my own blood. I had cuts all over my arms and one large cut on my forehead, but the pain was nothing compared to the fear rushing through my system. I looked over. I thought to myself, “Where was Juli? Why had she done this?” Why were her eyes that color?”. Suddenly she appeared, her eyes shinning the same blood red.
She mouthed, “I’m sorry”, then lunged forward grasping my hair and shirt in her hands. I tried to escape but her strong arms kept me planted firmly in my seat. I could feel her warm breath on my neck and before I even suspected what she was doing she plunged her teeth into my vein. The pain was excruciating. The two dagger-like teeth drained blood like two straws. My whole body felt the way your hand feels when you leave a rubber band on your wrist for a long time as the blood rushed from my body. They seemed so prominent now. How had I not noticed them before?
Now a new pain flooded my body. It stung like fire in veins. I heard myself scream as I slipped away. A bright light appeared, I thought it was heaven at first, but it wasn’t welcoming, just cold. Meanwhile my spirit slipped away from my body. I was a ghost.

This is what death was like, life just falling away into the light. I joined the rest of them; the ghosts like me floating in the abyss of death. Later I learned that those were the ones that around me were those who either had business to finish or just were not ready to leave. It was so cold there. I had never dreamed death would be this way.
The first time I saw sunlight I found myself at my funeral. Everyone was wearing black and was crying. I heard people talking about a car crash, while the priest said a prayer over me before I was buried. I saw my whole family. My mother was crying the hardest while my dad was trying to comfort her, but he was just as sad as she was. I felt bad for all of them.
I glanced over. There stood Juli in the corner. She was staring right at me. I walked up to her. I knew she could see me. She looked different. Her eyes were as green as the grass beneath her feet and the rough edges of her face had been chiseled away. I figured out that, because of what I was, I could see the real her, the girl before the venom. She nudged some one standing beside her I had not noticed before. He looked up. His eyes were that fiery orange. I looked closer. He was me, only turned by the venom!
Of course! It was the great cover up. Get a body about my size cover it with my blood. The police would assume it was me in that mangled car. Juli had always been very smart.
The new me smiled, as if he knew I had figured it out. With this one smile I saw my body just as I had left it-minus the blood and cuts. I did not blame Juli for what happened. I understood she loved me with all her heart. I knew it wasn’t her choice to be what she was.
With that one thought a light appeared. It was brighter that the light of death or even Juli’s eyes that first night. Unlike the light of death, it was warm and welcoming. I stepped forward. In that instant I was where I was supposed to be. I was home.