Chapter 1

"Austin! Austin! What the hell are you doing to me? let go of me!!!" The girl was screaming as she kicked and thrashed in her restraints but even her efforts were futile against the boy's strong grip. She tried to punch him but he just grabbed hold of her hands instead. His face had hardened into a scowl, a look of complete anger on his handsome features. The boy’s gaze bored into her, looking as though he were ready to devour her with those angry hazel eyes. But his glare soon morphed into something else, that of utter terror. 

"I swear if you don't stop this right now I'll-" but the rest of her words were lost as the boy suddenly collapsed against her chest. The girl screamed again, trying to break free but the only thing that came out was an incoherent mumble as she felt herself fall forward too. 

"What... what...?" 

The boy had passed out. She looked down at him in horror and confusion, not knowing how to react or reactivate him. 

"Hey! wake up! Wake up you jerk!!" She yelled frantically while shaking him roughly, but nothing happened. No change. 

"You asshole, how can you become unconscious after hurting me-" She paused mid sentence when she heard footsteps walking down the corridor towards them. She froze immediately, realising she was about to be caught. It was the janitor, he would see her... oh god the janitor would see her... 

With a swift motion she picked up the sleeping boy by his shoulders, cradling him against her body with one arm, making sure that he didn't bump his head against her breasts.  

"Come on you dumbass wake up! Wake up! You're heavy... you're so fucking heavy…"  she muttered under her breath, cursing him for being so damn tall and muscular, which made it harder to carry him. 

And now the door had opened. Oh no he's going to see us she thought, her mind racing frantically. She hid behind the wall in front of the doorway as best as she could, still clutching the boy in her arms. He didn't seem to be waking up at all, his breathing was shallow and erratic. 

Her fear quickly worsened as the light from the corridor flooded in and she could clearly make out who was entering. Mr Higgs... the guy who used to have four cats at home...  A flashlight flickered on, casting shadows on the wall as the janitor began shining it around, scanning the room. 

"ngh.. ah..." the boy mumbled under his breath.

She closed Austin's mouth whispering, "Don't you wake now…" and praying that Mr Higgs wouldn't hear her, "Oh my God, what if he sees me?! No, no, don't panic… please, please, don't panic, calm down, you can do this... come on...!"  She chanted silently, hoping that Mr. Higgs wouldn't notice her there. 

Then the light turned off and she breathed again, her heart finally slowing down. She took a deep shuddering breath as the man walked past them, heading back to wherever he had been originally headed. 

She waited until she was certain Mr Higgs left before turning her attention back to Austin. She looked at his face, her fingers still gripping onto his clothes, and found it impossible not to stare at him. He had beautiful brown hair, wavy and thick like cotton candy. His features were sharp yet feminine at the same time - his long lashes and full lips, his high cheekbones. 

Argh! She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Don't think like that… she reprimanded herself, pushing her dirty blonde hair behind her ears as she leaned close to inspect him further. His skin was paler than hers - more delicate looking. She noticed a faint scar on his forehead and another over the bridge of his nose. What's this red stain then? She couldn't help but notice it was the colour of blood, but then her hand wandered to her neck. There was more blood there, almost dried, but she knew enough biology to recognize it from a broken artery. 

Austin groaned, snapping her out of her trance. "Huh?" He murmured softly, still half asleep. When his eyes fluttered open, he saw his saviour sitting next to him, her face a few inches away. He blinked, then realised where he was and scrambled to sit up properly.  

"W-Where am I?!" He demanded, glancing around, taking in their surroundings. 

"We're in school, dumbass," she replied sarcastically, crossing her arms across her chest. "What'd you think we were?" 

Austin frowned and stared at her dumbfoundedly. 

She added, "Look what you did to me!" and showed him the bite mark on her neck while asking, "Are you on drugs or what? Biting another person like an animal!?" she continued indignantly. 

Austin rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly, "I'm really sorry. It's my fault," he muttered awkwardly, staring down at the floor. He really didn't know what had possessed him to attack her. "I'm really sorry." he apologised again and again like it would make any difference whatsoever, because the whole reason he was apologising in the first place had been that he couldn't think of a way to stop himself from doing such a thing. 

She let out a sigh and said, "Get lost!" 

When she tried to leave, he held her hand and asked, "Where are you going?" 

"To wash off the blood, obviously," she replied with a roll of her eyes. 

"I'll come with you." And he did follow behind her into the bathroom and watched as she stripped off her shirt to wash off the blood on her neck and shoulder. Since it dried halfway it was hard to get rid of but she could manage it eventually. "Will this leave a scar? I hope not." 

After washing it off, she asked for Austin's shirt and he handed it over without asking why though he still felt guilty for what he'd done. 

After changing, she asked him, "What are you doing here by the way?" 

He told her that he came to get some things back from his dorm room and asked her back, "What about you?" 

She gave a stare and said, "Why should I tell you my business?" she peeked through the door and said to him, "I think Mr Higgs left already. You entered with your student ID, right? If you hurry up you can get to where you need to be before anyone sees you." 

"Why are you hiding from him?" 

"Because this is a boy's dorm and I'm not supposed to be here. Do you get it now?" 

"Then why are you here?" 

"Because... uhm... I just needed something and..." She looked at him pointedly, as if trying to read his mind, he figured, then she sighed and said, "Okay look, just forget that you saw me tonight, okay?" 

When she left the bathroom, Austin called out  after her, "Hailey! Wait! I'm coming with you!" She turned around once he reached her and said, "You need the access card to get past security." 

"It's alright. I'll jump over the fence like how I came inside." and ran away from him. 

Once she disappeared, he pulled up his sleeve and made his way across campus to his room. Austin returned to his room and dropped onto the bed. His mind was racing a mile a minute as he struggled to make sense of everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes. What did I just do? Why did I bite her out of all  people? Austin shook his head. He needed a few hours to process everything before he could think about anything else. 

After another couple seconds, he forced himself to get up from the bed. He made a call to his father first. That would help with the confusion, because there wasn’t a single person around who was going to give him any answers at all.

After his father answered, he explained the whole situation. "How was the taste?" his dad asked when he finished talking. "Did you like it?" He sounded nervous. 

"It tasted good actually."

His dad chuckled. "So, I guess we should talk about the next step then." He paused for a second. "The first thing we need is to find her." He asked her whereabouts since Austin hid the fact that Hailey is his classmate. 

"Why?" Austin asked, confused. 

"Because she's the only one who can satisfy your hunger and make you stronger at the same time." 

"Stronger? What does that mean?" He was starting to feel a little dizzy. The blood rushed to his head and he clutched his head, trying to relieve some of the pressure. Then he heard his dad say something to someone on the other end of the line. 

"Austin?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm here." 

The world was still swirling a little.  

"Where are you anyway?" His dad sighed into the phone.  

"At the dorm." 

He paused for a moment before saying, "Listen, son…"  He trailed off uncertainty, as if unsure whether or not he should continue  speaking.  "Austin, this might sound a little weird to tell you right now, but the last time you tried biting someone… It didn't go well. I just don't want anything-'' 

His head started hurting even worse and he stopped mid sentence. "We'll talk more about this tomorrow, father." 

"Austin, I'm not sure-" 

"Bye, dad." and hung up on his father. 

The room started to spin again and he grabbed onto the edge of the desk as his vision blurred once again. He leaned against the desk for support until his eyes focused on the floor and he managed to make his way back over to the bed. With the door shut tight behind him, he leaned over until he was kneeling on the carpeted floor and closed his eyes. He let himself slide down until his head touched the carpet and lay there, waiting for whatever strange force was inside him to go away.   

When the buzzing finally faded from his ears, Austin opened his eyes. It was a lot darker in the room, probably because of the thick curtains covering most windows. He stood up slowly so he wouldn' stumble. It wasn't until he turned on a light near his bed and noticed the mess he'd made that he really started thinking. 

And when he looked into the mirror, he couldn't believe it. The bruises on his forehead and arms were gone. There weren't even any red lines where they'd been. He looked almost completely healed. Austin ran a hand through his longish brown hair and stared at his reflection. "What? How?" Was that possible? He couldn't remember ever being able to heal that easily from an injury. Austin thought, looking closer at his face. No scars on his forehead and on nose either. He looked completely healed. Austin shook his head in amazement. But the only explanation he could come up with seemed unlikely, and too complicated for his limited experience. Still, it felt impossible. If he didn't know better, he'd have sworn that he could've cured it. Maybe it was the blood. He remembered the blood he'd taken from Hailey earlier. Is it because it was hailey's blood?