• "It really is about time you got here, Rayne. I was beginning to worry," Luna puts her hands on her leather clad hips and taps her stiletto boot on the wet parking lot while flipping her flame red hair out of her face. I look at her as I smooth down my sapphire blue dress and pull my wavy black hair into a messy ponytail then unlock the car doors. "Thank you, my dear sister!" Luna jumps into the passenger side and stares at me. "Where's John?" she tilts her head to the side. I slide into the car and start the engine without speaking. She looks down at her hands then takes a deep breath. "That had to have been the most horrible party I have ever been to!" she turns to face me, expecting to get a reaction of some sort then turning to face forward when I give her nothing. "You have to agree, Rayne." she speaks softly, slowly, not wanting to remind me of the events that happened just a few moments before but knowing there's no avoiding it.
    "Yes, it was," I look straight forward, staring out the windshield, speaking softly, so softly Luna has to lean towards me. I try to fight the memories that are appearing before my eyes, but they're too strong, too clear, too loud to be ignored. I can faintly hear Luna calling my name, asking me if I'm okay, but I don't listen, don't respond. I just sit there and let the images and voices overwhelm me.
    ***
    "Hey there, beautiful," I turn to see John standing behind me in a tight-fitting black tux with a dark green tie.
    "John, hi," I smile admiringly at him. "I was hoping you would show up," I look him over slowly, my gaze traveling from his brilliant green eyes all the way down to his black dress shoes. He smiles when I finally reach his eyes again.
    "I wouldn't miss this for the world," he takes my hand then kisses the top of it softly, making me blush ever so slightly, but just enough to make him smile and pull me in for a sweet, soft kiss. After a few seconds he pulls away then leads me to a bench where he tells me to sit. "So, why are they throwing this random party in an abandoned building?" he speaks slowly, looking around at the large crowd of people, as he sits beside me and pulls me closer.
    "Privacy I guess," I search the crowd for Luna but give up quickly, thinking she's with her group of friends.
    "Baby girl, I need to tell you something," John turns to me abruptly and places his hands on my shoulders. I look at him and wait for him to speak. "Rayne, I-" before he can finish he's quickly cut off by a piercing scream. I jump to my feet and scan the room, looking for the girl responsible only to hear a louder, closer scream. "Stay here!" John pushes me onto the bench and quickly kisses me then runs toward the direction the scream came from. I watch as the people quickly disperse, grabbing whoever they came with and running for an exit.
    "Rayne!" I turn to the sound of my name being called, then gasp as Luna throws her arms around me. "We have to get out of here! Now!" she pulls on my arm but I refuse to move.
    "I'm not leaving without John. You go wait for me by the car," I push her in the direction of the nearest exit. "Go!" I point to the door when she turns and starts to speak. Once she disappears into the dark I turn around and head in the same direction John did.
    "Rayne? Rayne!" John grabs me from behind. "Leave, leave now. Don't look back, please.Get Luna, get in your car, and leave. Now, Rayne," he puts his hands over my eyes and leads me outside.
    "But, John, I can't leave you." I turn to look at him then gasp and step backwards. "What happened to you?" I cover my mouth as I look him over, his tux now ripped, green tie missing along with his shoes, his always perfect hair now dishelved, and his eyes that always sparkled with excitement now dull and lifeless.
    "No time to explain, just leave before you get hurt, please," he pushes me towards the direction of my car then vanishes back inside the building. I stumble toward my car, trying not to trip over my heels. When I see Luna I straighten up, try to look normal, try to hide the terror of what I just saw.
    ***
    I shake my head and blink as I look at Luna, who is staring at me with a frightened look in her eyes.
    "Are you okay, Rayne?" she puts her hand on my knee and softly speaks. "Where's John? Is he okay?" she looks at me anxiously.
    "I don't know, but I intend to find out, even if it kills me," I place my hands on the wheel, rev the engine, then speed off into the night.
    ***
    I put the car in park and turn off the engine then unbuckle my seat belt. "We need to get a few things then go back to that building," I look at Luna as she slips out of the car.
    "What do you plan on doing? What can you do, Rayne?" she puts her hands on her hips, close to tears, disturbed by the story I told her in the car. "You know how strong John is. If something can make him scared like that then it can surely kill you." I get out of the car and slowly walk to the house, pulling my keys out of my purse. Without saying a word I unlock the door and walk to my room, flipping on lights as I go. When I open my door I stop and gasp.
    "John?!" I run to my window and grab his sleeve, spinning him around to face me. I gasp again and drop his arm. "What happened?"
    "I was attacked by a guy. He said his name was Luke. He was at least 6 feet tall with short, light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and he was a little built. He took me down easily. He was wearing jeans and black converse with a red shirt. I can't remember why he said he was there that night but he said he was sorry for what he did to me... He bit me," John puts his hand to his neck and rubs it a little.
    "He bit you?" I stare at him in shock then look at his neck when he moves his hand. "I don't see anything," I look at him, confused.
    "Seriously?" he walks over to my mirror and tilts his head to look at his neck. He squints his eyes and leans closer to the mirror, rubbing at his neck. "How is that possible? He bit me and made me bleed." he looks at me in confusion. I walk over to him and look into his eyes, noticing something was wrong.
    "What happened to your eyes? They're so dark now," I put my hand on his cheek and frown. He starts to speak but is interrupted by Luna, who bursts into the room.
    "Rayne, there's-" she stops when she sees John. "John!" Luna runs over to him and hugs him tight. She steps back then looks at me. "There's somebody here asking for you. She said her name is Peyton."
    "I don't know anybody named Peyton, do you?" I look at John and Luna. They both shake their heads and I walk to the kitchen where a young girl with straight blonde hair down to her hips and grey eyes is setting. She has on a dark purple mini dress with matching strap heels. She stands when we enter the room then gasps when she looks at John.
    "I'm too late," she softly whispers. "I was hoping Luke wouldn't confront you." her voice is soft and sweet.
    "What do you mean confront me? He bit me!" John steps toward Peyton and she glares at him.
    "Yelling isn't necessary," she holds up her hand and her eyes get darker. John tries to speak but he can't open his mouth. "Are you going to yell again?" she tilts her head and smiles. John shakes his head and Peyton drops her hand to her side.
    "What are you?" I ask as John stares at her.
    "I'm an immortal." Peyton smiles and pushes her hair behind her ear. Luna looks her over and crosses her arms.
    "So you expect us to believe you're a vampire?" Luna puts her hands on her hips and raises one eyebrow.
    "Did I say vampire? No, I believe I said immortal. Immortals are not vampires, they do not drink blood or burn in sunlight. Nor do they have cold skin. Although real vampires are not really like that that's how humanity sees them because of legends and stories passed down from generation to generation," Peyton smiles at Luna, causing her to shift uncomfortably. "Now, as for you, you have some things you need to learn," she turns her attention back to John and he stiffens. "You may need to sit down, all of you actually."
    ***
    "Wait, so you mean to tell me I'm a vampire and the guy that bit me was one and he's after you?" John stares at Peyton in disbelief.
    "Yes," Peyton looks at him calmly.
    "But, he didn't look like a vampire. He looked normal," John starts to panic as he paces back and forth in the kitchen.
    "All vampires look normal. Did you expect them to look any different than us?" Peyton laughs and John glares at her. I look at my hands in my lap, in complete shock, as Luna watches John. We hear a loud noise at the front door then duck for cover as the door goes flying into the kitchen. Peyton jumps up and stands in front of Luna. John grabs my arm and pulls me close behind him as a boy walks into the kitchen. "Luke," Peyton looks at him and he growls softly. "Looks like you found me and managed to convert a human all in one day."
    "I have been looking for you for three years. You are one sneaky girl, Payton," Luke grins and advances toward her but stops when he sees John.
    "You did this to me!" John charges Luke and slings him across the room where he crashes through a wall. John walks over to him and looks down at him. "I know I'm stronger than you because I'm newer. I'm faster than you, I'm better," John picks Luke up by his shirt and slams him against a wall. Luke huffs and struggles to get free. I start toward him but Peyton stops me.
    "Let me go, I'm not here for you, I'm here for Peyton. She's mine now let me have her," Luke growls at John then looks at Peyton.
    "I am not yours! I never have been and I never will be!" Peyton yells at Luke and starts to walk towards him but stops. "You're just jealous because I picked Stefan, your own brother, over you. You have always been jealous of him, that's why you killed him. You hated him and I hate you."
    "No, Peyton, I love you. He didn't deserve you. I can give you everything you've ever wanted," Luke struggles to break free of John's grip but soon gives up.
    "The only thing I have ever wanted is Stefan, but you took him away from me," Peyton looks at John. "Do what you have to." John smiles and lets go of Luke and laughs as he hits the floor.
    "Peyton, please. If you give me a chance I know you will love me like I love you," Luke pulls himself up on his knees and looks at Peyton, pleading. Peyton turns away and Luke hangs his head. John grabs the collar of his shirt and drags him outside. I flinch when I hear Luke yell out in pain. Luna covers her ears and sits on floor while Peyton looks at both of us.
    "I'm sorry you got drug into this. You all seem like good people. Luke has been obsessed with me for as long as I can remember. It made him snap when I fell for Stefan and not him, so Luke killed him thinking I would go to him. Instead I ran, but he came after me," Peyton looks at the ground and I put my arm around her shoulders.
    "I'm so sorry that happened to you, Peyton." I speak softly then look up when I hear John and Luke yell. Everything goes quiet then we hear footsteps approaching the house. A shadow appears in the doorway and we all hold our breath to see who it is. I look in confusion as a boy who looks excatly like Luke but with black hair and blue eyes walks into the kitchen wearing black skinny jeans with a white tee . Peyton gasps and runs to the boy, hugging him tightly.
    "Stefan! You're alive!" she looks at him, almost crying. Stefan laughs and smiles. Luna stands and walks over to us.
    "Luke threatened to kill you if I didn't leave. When I found out he was looking for you I started looking for him. I walked up just in time as this boy finished him off," Stefan turns to look at John as he walks into the kitchen. I run to him and hug him as he picks me up off of the ground. "I have missed you, Peyton," Stefan smiles at Peyton and kisses her softly.
    "Rayne, Luna, John, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I'm just sorry it had to be under these circumstances," Peyton hugs all of us then holds Stefan's hand.
    "Maybe we'll meet again someday," I smile at her and she smiles back.
    "Well, I guess we should be on our way. We'll take care of Luke," Stefan leads Peyton out of the door. We watch as he picks up Luke and they all disappear into the darkness. John takes both of my hands in his then looks into my eyes.
    "About that thing I had to tell you at the party... Well here it is. Rayne, I love you," John smiles slightly when I gasp.
    "John, I love you too!" I hug him tightly and he lifts me into the air, spinning me around. Luna clears her throat then looks at me then at John. John softly puts me down and we both look at Luna.
    "What are we going to do about John?" she looks back at him.
    "We'll figure something out," I smile at John as he pulls me closer. "First, we have to clean up the house." John laughs and hugs me again then he starts to pick up pieces of the wall. Luna and I watch as he piles them up on the ground outside. "Everything's going to be just fine," I smile at Luna and we both go to help John as the sun starts to faintly shine through the trees.