the motions.” Jessy glanced away for a second.
“Maybe it was just the shock of your first time,” she said.
“Jessy, can I tell you something?” I asked. Jessy glanced at me and I knew she’d been planning to make a joke until she saw my face.
“You can tell me anything, Aster,” she said. “That’s what best friends are for.”
“You know how I’ve dated every boy in our grade” I asked. Jessy nodded; a pained expression on her face. “Well I did it because I was trying to make myself feel something. When we were in year nine I heard the older girls talking about being with their boyfriends and how the boys made them feel. But I’ve never felt that with a guy, not even once.”
I almost told Jessy about my dream but stopped. There was no need to make her think I was completely crazy. Jessy was silent for several minutes and I didn’t think she was going to answer me.
“Why do you think that is?” she asked. Her voice sounded strange and I glanced at her.
“I have no idea,” I said, honestly. We were sitting on the lounge and Jessy turned her body to face me.
“Maybe I can help,” she said as she slowly moved closer until there was no space between us. Her hand crept over my legs and along my arm toward my face.
“Jessy,” I whispered as she leaned closer. “What are you doing?” Jessy held her fingers to my lips and then slowly, painfully slowly, she moved closer until her lips were inches from mine. She paused and I knew she was giving me time to back away but I stayed where I was. Jessy’s lips touched mine so gently that I wondered if they were there. I wasn’t surprised that I felt nothing but then suddenly my stomach dropped and my nerve endings exploded. I had never experienced anything like this while kissing a guy. I cupped Jessy’s face and gently pulled her closer. I don’t know how long the kiss lasted but eventually Jessy pulled away.
“I just thought you should consider that,” she said jumping to her feet. Before I could say anything, she’d left the room. I heard the front door slam and slumped back against the lounge. Now I was twice as confused and I had no idea what to do.
The next day the implications of Jessy’s kiss hit me. I’d heard the words gay and homosexual before and of course I knew what they meant. However, before Jessy’s’ kiss it had never occurred to me that I could be gay. This is what my dream was about, the dream that I’d been having for two years. Suddenly things made sense. Things like Jessy objecting to every single guy I dated made sense and the way I would catch her looking at me sometimes, when she thought I couldn’t see. Had Jessy secretly been in love with me all this time?
It was nine o’clock but I knew that she’d be awake. I threw on the first clothes my hands touched and slipped my feet into shoes before racing downstairs with my phone in hand. It only took five minutes to walk to Jessy’s house and when she opened the door I felt my heart skip a beat.
“Aster?” she said. “What are you doing here?” I looked her up and down. She was still in her pyjamas, her blond hair falling into her blue eyes.
“Why did you kiss me yesterday?” I asked, my eyes meeting hers. Jessy leant against the door.
“I was sick of hiding it and it was becoming too hard for me to watch you keep getting involved with different guys because you didn’t realise you were gay.” she said.
“You knew I was gay?” I asked.
“I knew that I loved you when we were thirteen,” Jessy said. “I knew that you felt the same way, subconsciously, but how could I tell you when you were dating every guy in school?” I walked over to the seat that Jessy’s parents kept by the front door and sat down. Jessy followed me and we sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Well, I’m not sure if I am gay,” I said. “But I do know that the only time I’ve felt what those older girls were talking about was when I kissed you.”
“I don’t want you to feel pressured into anything,” Jessy said.
“I don’t,” I said and before Jessy could protest further, I leaned over and kissed her. Jessy slowly relaxed into the kiss as I slipped my arms around her shoulders. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen but I knew that all we could do was take it one day at a time.
Lucy Wilson
What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche
One Year Earlier
Cassandra realised almost immediately but she had chosen not to inform her best friend, Lucy Wilson, that two guys had been following them for almost six blocks. She knew they were vampires, she could tell by their footsteps. The vampires probably thought that they were stalking two humans but they were very wrong. As Cassandra heard the footsteps behind them speed up, she knew it was time to show them how wrong they were.
“Lucy, we’re about to be attacked by two men,” she muttered to her friend. “I want you to stay behind me.” Lucy turned to look at her friend but she didn’t have time to say anything before the guys were on them.
“Evening, ladies,” one of them said. Cassandra stiffened but didn’t turn around. She reached out to grab Lucy’s arm and squeezed it warning her not to turn.
“We’re awful hungry,” the other vampire said. “Do you think you could help us out with that?” Cassandra finally turned. She allowed Lucy to turn too but kept her close as she addressed the two guys.
“Do you know who I am?” she hissed. One of the guys shook his head but the other’s eyes widened.
“That’s Cassandra Riley,” he whispered to his friend.
“The Cassandra Riley?” the first one replied.
“That’s right, boys,” Cassandra said, allowing her fangs to slip down. “So how about you just back away and we’ll pretend this never happened.”
“No way,” the second guy said. “You might be off limits but she’s human.” He pointed to Lucy.
“She belongs to me,” Cassandra growled.
“I’m right here you know?” Lucy interjected.
“No one cares, you stupid human,” the first guy hissed. “Can’t you see the vampires are talking?” This information stunned Lucy into silence and at the same time it looked as if she might faint from shock
“You know what,” the second guy said. “I’m sick of talking. It’s time to eat.” Cassandra wasn’t sure what happened next, it was all a blur but suddenly the guys were running at her. She managed to knock one down but the other grabbed Lucy. Cassandra watched in horror as he bit into her best friend’s neck. With a vicious growl she pulled him off Lucy and lifted her to the safety of her arms. Cassandra ran, she realised that she should have run the moment she heard them following but it was too late now. Lucy had been bitten. The damage was done.
2011
Freddie Dare left the pub and began the fifteen minute walk home but he had no idea he was being stalked by a sixteen year old girl in dark clothes and a pony tail. Lucy Wilson stayed close to Freddie as he turned off the main road. He paused and Lucy saw her chance, she leapt forward without making a sound. Freddie saw her at the last minute but it was too late. Before he could make a sound, he fell to the ground. Lucy cracked his head against the ground, hard enough that he’d wake up with a killer headache but not enough to kill him. She slipped his wallet out of his pocket and into her own before biting his neck. Checking to make sure that no one was around she carried Freddie across the road and laid him on the grass. Before sprinting away Lucy checked herself to ensure that she had no blood on her clothes. Twenty minutes later she walked into a pub across town.
“How much, Lucy?” the bartender enquired. Lucy shrugged.
“I haven’t counted it but at least five hundred in cash,” she said. “Must have been pay day.” He whistled as he pulled a glass out from under the table.
“The usual?” he asked. Lucy nodded as she headed into the bathroom. She emerged ten minutes later with her hair down, wearing grey pants and a blue t-shirt. She sat at the bar and slung a bag down beside her. Phoenix, the bartender, handed her a glass of red wine.
“I reckon with my cut,
I’ll have almost cleared my debt to Conor,” Lucy said. Conor Simpson had lent Lucy’s father money but he had disappeared before he finished repaying his debt. Six months earlier Conor had sent someone to track down Shaun Wilson’s only child, Lucy, to repay his debt.
“So this is a celebration then?” Phoenix asked. Lucy nodded as she drained her glass of wine. She pulled a fifty out of her pocket.
“I’ll have another,” she said. “Pour yourself one too.” Phoenix smiled as he turned to pour the drinks. He had just turned around when he saw the money snatched from Lucy’s hand. A guy in his twenties sat down next to Lucy and leered at her.
“What’s a sixteen year old girl doing in a pub?” he asked.
“None of your business,” Lucy muttered. “Give me my fifty back.” The guy twirled the money is his hands.
“Do the police know you’re serving minors?” he asked Phoenix.
“If you know what’s good for you, dude, you’ll give her money back,” Phoenix said.
“You’re not in a position to tell me what to do,” the guy said. Phoenix shook his head sadly.
“Lucy, if you’re going to trash him, do it outside,” he said. “It cost me five hundred dollars for the repairs last time.” The guy laughed at Phoenix’s words.
“Her trash me?” he said. “Yeah, right. There’s a better chance of sheep flying.” Lucy could tell he wanted to say more but he stopped suddenly and looked at his hand in surprise.
“Are you