Hailey's pov;
After searching the entire campus for Austin, I settled on a bench in the courtyard of the school library with my backpack, phone and two bottles of water."Did you like the picture of us?" Dean asked, sitting next to me."I don't know because I didn't want to look at them.""What do you do after school?""Why do I have to tell you?""Because I'm taking you to a nearby cafe."I smiled and asked, "Do I appear to have nothing to do apart from you?" I paused and asked, "Would you mind leaving?""I made this reservation last Monday," he said standing in front of me. "It cannot be postponed.""Then go alone. Why do you ask me?""I reserved two members." "Why don't you take that little dog with you?" I said leaning back. "You two seem to be more compatible than we are.""We're not what you think," he said sitting next to me. "We're just friends.""Friends rolling around naked in bed?" I asked, moving closer to him."I made a mistake. I was drunk and not in my-""We broke up, Dean." I shushed him. "We didn't even date to break up with you officially. Let's just say, I'm done with you. I don't like seeing your face so get the hell out of my sight and roll over with whoever you want."He stood up and asked, "Are you sure you won't come with me?""Fuck off!" I said as I kicked him in the knee. He wiped away from me.My phone started ringing. my mother called. "Yeah, mom?" I said picking up the phone."Dad and I are going to a party tonight, so don't wait for us. I transferred the money to your account, so order takeout and go to bed early.""What about Charlie?" I asked my mother."He's staying with his friends tonight. You're the only one in the house, so close the windows and doors before you go to bed.""When will you come?""I have to go. Take care, sweetheart." And then she hung up.Taking a deep breath of my surroundings, I sighed. Looking at the scene in front of me, a ball appeared out of nowhere and almost hit my face but I caught it with one hand and waited to see who would appear. When a girl ran up to me and asked for the ball back. "What year are you in?" I inquired."Second year, senior.""Aren't you going to apologise for almost hitting me?" I asked and pointed to the ball."Sorry, senior.""What game are you playing?" I asked standing up."Football.""Are you the one who kicked it in this direction?"She shook her head and said, "No, it was Lily. I came to get it for her.""Who is that?""The leader of our team.""What is your position in the game?""I'll bring footballs to them.""How long have you been playing?""About an hour?""Haven't they changed you yet?"She shook her head again as a 'no'."Come with me.""Senior…"When we got to the playground, I asked the girl, "Who is Lily?" As she pointed to a tall girl next to them, I walked up to her and asked, "Why haven't you switched her yet?""Senior…""I asked you a question.""She takes care of the stands and the players…""Did she tell you that she liked the job you gave her or did she come forward to do that work by herself?""No, senior. I told her she had to.""Why is that?"She didn't respond, so I continued, "Switch and play." Perhaps the game will become more interesting. Nobody knows.""Yes, Senior.""Everyone, listen up! Don't do things if you're told to," I told the members. Even if it's a senior who gives the order, tell them you don't want to do those. Understand?""Yes, senior!" They all shouted back in unison."Now get back to playing."As I was leaving, the girl walked up to me and said, "Thank you, senior."I gave her a friendly smile and said, "Go back to them.""My name is Sophie. First-year business faculty.""Okay" I patted her on the head. "Go to them now before they kick you out of the game."She smiled at me and ran back to her teammates.I grabbed my backpack as I tried to go home, my class teacher, Mr Gray, stopped me on my way to the entrance."Hailey, I need a favour from you. Can you keep them on my desk? I have to go right now." And handed me a pile of files and headed for the entrance without waiting for my answer.I sighed and carried the files to the main building where the teacher's office was located. As I was climbing the stairs, students were running down the stairs and some were chasing each other.When I got to the second floor, it was empty and quiet, like I was the only one there. One more floor to go. It would have been better if I was a teacher, I would have taken the elevator. I don't understand why students can't access the elevator except in emergencies? I groaned with every step I took to the third floor.I finally reached the third floor. My breathing felt louder when the floor was too quite. Did everyone leave already? While I was passed the class, everything was empty. As I was walking, I heard a noise from the class I had just passed. Should I have a look? Just a quick little peek. I took a step back looked into the classroom through the window. There is nothing there. I sighed and continued walking. I heard another noise. Let's just hurry up. I walked faster to the teacher's room and opened the room with the key given by Mr Gray.Entering the teacher's office, I looked for Mr Gray's desk, I placed a bundle of files on it and left the office. As i locked the door, I heard something fall and break on the floor making more noise. After locking it, I started running like crazy and slipped on the floor and hit my head on the wall, causing me to pass out on the third floor.When I woke up, it was already dark. Damn! what time is it I tried on the phone but it was already dead.Entering the teacher's office, I looked for Mr. Gray's desk, I placed a bundle of files on it and left the office. As I locked the door I heard something fall and break on the floor making more noise. After locking it, I started running like crazy and slipped on the floor and hit my head on the wall, causing me to pass out on the third floor.When I woke up, it was already dark. Damn! what time is it I tried to turn on the phone but it was already dead.I can't believe I have to jump the fence again. I sighed and got up from the floor. It was scarier than before because it was dark everywhere. I held the railing and descended the stairs, looking ahead. Every scary story about the main school building came to my mind as I walked. I tried to push them away, but as I tried to avoid the first, another opened.I heard something fall to the floor again. Not again. What is wrong with this main building? Why do things fall on the floor? Didn't they keep it exactly where it should be? Why are they so careless?I stopped when I heard shouting from the first floor, where I was about to go. What was that scream? Is that true or just my imagination? It must be my imagination! Who would be here now? Mr Higgs does not allow people into the school after curfew.I reached the first floor after looking from every angle to make sure it was just my imagination. There was no one like I expected. I smiled at my stupidity and decided to go to the front door.As I tried to walk to the front door, someone dragged me back, covering my mouth to silence me. As it was dark, I could not make out who he was. As I was being dragged back, I saw a man near the front door biting the girl's neck. What the hell is this?!The man who's covering my mouth took his hands away from my mouth and whispered, "Shut up if you don't want to get caught."I checked and saw it was, "Austin?"He shut me down whispering, "He's sensitive to the environment." And looked at the man in front of us.When I turned to look at him, he was still biting the girl's neck. "What is he doing?""Drink blood. Ofcourse!" he replied looking at him.Drink blood? Austin did the same to me last night. Did he drank my blood? Is that why i fainted a lot since last night?I looked at him and asked, "Who are you?""Shhh." He shut me up again saying, "Let's talk later."I grabbed his collar and said, "Answer me."He sighed and came closer whispering, “Ghost, Spectre, Apparition, The Undead, Remnants of Evil things. You have many names for us. The most popular of these are Vampires."Hailey's pov;Upon hearing Austin's claim that he was a vampire, I took a sick leave from school and remained at home. When questioned by my parents about my absence, I reported feeling unwell. My younger brother, Charlie, disregarded the situation and proceeded to attend school as usual. In the meantime, I conducted extensive research on vampires. After poring over numerous sources, one commonality emerged - vampires are not real. It became apparent that the internet cannot always be relied upon for factual information.When I opened the window after a nap, the bright light hurt my eyes. I quickly locked the windows and closed it with the curtain. Damn! I showered and covered myself with clothes to avoid exposing my skin to the sun and remembered that I was going to school and left home. In college, I sought out Austin on campus. When I came to look for him in the classroom, everyone gave me strange looks. I ignored them and continued looking for Austin. Where the hell is he? I le
Hailey's pov; "What's up with this clothing? Are you a member of a cult or something?" Riley made fun of me. I didn't pay attention to her since I was preoccupied with my burger and Austin, who was sitting quietly in a corner eating. No one called me annoying before… in person. Why does he think I'm annoying? I simply had a few inquiries out of curiosity. Is it wrong to raise questions against him or something?Riley placed her hand on my shoulder and said, "I asked you a question." "And I disregarded it." I grinned at her and bit into the meal while looking at Austin.She asked again, "Have you finished the assignment for Mr. Grey?" "Already handed in to his office.""Why didn't you notify me in advance before sending it? Why did you submit it without me?""You know that I don't like talking while eating, don't you?" I set the burger down on the table and informed her of this. "So why do you still do it? Who exactly is the most annoying person here, I wonder?""Are you sure you d
Hailey's pov;My head felt heavy when I woke up. As I looked around the place, I saw Austin, who's standing beside me with a glass of water. As soon as I noticed him standing in front of me, I moved back quickly and hit the wall. I checked my neck, there was no bleeding. I looked around the room for a mirror, and when I did, I stepped before it to look for bite marks on my neck. Upon discovering that there wasn't one, I exhaled with relief.Austin, "Stop behaving strangely and take this." and set the water glass on the desk. I picked up the glass and drank the water while surveying my surroundings. It appeared to be a dorm. "You're in my room," he said as he sat down on the chair."Why did you bring me here?" I asked. "Because I'm not going to be your personal driver to take you home," he replied."So why did you bring me here? Why not just leave me there? Someone would have helped."He made his bed without saying anything."I'll get going then.""It's beyond midnight," he remarked
Hailey's POV;I had a late night, a late wake-up, a late departure from home, a late arrival at college, and now I'm running late to my class. Such a day! As I was rushing to my lesson, the first bell rang, sh*t! I have to get there before the third bell or I'll get held up once more. I unexpectedly ran into someone in the corridor. Saying "I'm sorry." Without even turning to look at them, I apologised and hurried to my class. Thank goodness, the third bell didn't ring when I entered the classroom. I was mocked by Riley, who said, "I thought you wouldn't make it." When I sat beside her. Since I was racing to get my breath, I was unable to react to her."I bet you didn't look at the notice board," she said. "Am I correct?" "This weekend, we're going to Big Bend National Park," she remarked. "Let's have some fun--" she halted and questioned, "Hey, are you listening to me? What exactly are you looking for?" I looked up at her and said, "I think I lost my necklace somewhere." And went t
Hailey's pov;When I returned from college, Charlie handed me the keys and stated, "I'm staying at Jason's place tonight." And dashed out the door without waiting for my response. After he departed, I shut the door and walked straight to my room because I had just eaten dinner with Alex. I wondered why Alex was approaching me. Is it only because he found my jewellery and wants a tour in exchange? No, the way he's acting towards me plainly indicates that he's hitting on me. But why, of all the girls in his department, me?Alex doesn't appear to be a red flag, but after learning that there are a lot of vampires on campus, I became wary of people I don't know. After getting to know Alex a little more, I doubt he'll fall into that category. If I question Austin about ways to separate vampires and humans, he'll start complaining about his laws. So, how am I going to discover Alex's true identity? Should I just ask him outright? While I was thinking about how to find out if Alex is a vam
Hailey's pov;Charlie burst into my room while I was researching vampires on the internet. I instantly closed the tab and stared at him. He put the keys on my study desk and stated, "I'm staying over at Ben's place." And went away without even waiting for my response, as is customary. I grumbled and began researching vampires on the internet. 'Austin remarked that my blood had healing properties. Was he telling the truth or was he stopping me from approaching Jason? Like I do that willingly.' I scoffed and thought, 'If he wasn't lying then why hadn't I realised I had healing skills in my blood all these years? Austin's scars vanished the next morning. Is it something to do with my blood or something else?''Does my blood actually have healing powers?' I wondered as I examined my hand. 'I'm torn between being delighted that my blood has healing abilities and terrified that I live in a world where vampires exist, making me prey.'When I looked up the healing powers of blood on the inte
Hailey's pov;At the library, while looking for a book for an assignment, I noticed Sophie placing books on the shelf from where I was standing, via a gap between the books and the rack. So many questions arose in my mind after seeing her. I couldn't even face her vampire boyfriend, so how could I possibly save her from him? I've never felt so feeble. What if she's also a vampire? Why hadn't I considered this before? I shook my head to clear my mind. After Austin stepped in, I began to doubt that everyone was a vampire. Her vampire boyfriend approached her and spoke with her while I was staring at her. They looked happy. Someone touched my shoulder as I was looking at them. "I didn't do anything. I was simply looking for a book." As I turned to face them, I said. It's Austin. "What are you doing here?" I inquired, sighing. "It's not your house, it's a library, and you're not supposed to question me." "How about you?" he asked, looking at Jason and Sophie. "What exactly are you doing
Hailey's pov; On Saturday morning, As i was waiting for Alex in the cafe, I ordered myself an iced Americano and sipped it while looking out onto the street. The sky was dark and heavy with clouds, and a chill hung in the air. A few drops of rain had already begun to fall, leaving tiny glistening trails on the pavement. I nervously watched as more started to come down, feeling anxious about my fear of stormy rain. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of Alex. Or should I head back home quickly after cancelling the plans with Alex. Suddenly, I saw Alex through the raindrops on the window. My heart skipped a beat as he walked into the cafe, his hair slicked back and his clothes drenched from the rain."Hey," he said, flashing me a charming smile."Hey," I replied, feeling my cheeks flush with excitement."Sorry I'm late. The rain caught me off guard," he said, shaking the excess water off his coat and taking a seat in front of me."It's okay. Um, are we still going to look at hou
Hailey's pov:I drove away from the house as soon as I saw those images from the old diary. I dialled Mr Perez's number, and he answered, "Yeah?" "I'd like to see you. Where are you? Are you at your place? Please send me the address.""It's 3 am.""What's the big deal? I need to see you straight away. Please send me the address.""Is something wrong?" I hung up with him and dialled Jane's number to get his address from her. I went immediately to Mr Perez's house after having the address from her. I knocked on his door and stood in front of it, expecting him to open it. I walked in when the door opened. "Did you fight with your parents?" he inquired. I handed him the diary and asked him to open it. He was clearly astonished to see those photographs. "What is our relationship?" I questioned as I approached him."We're friends.""Do friends kiss like this?" I inquired, pulling up the kissing image. "Hailey… I'm sorry I didn't mean…" "Why didn't you come back to me, Alex? What took
Hailey's pov:When i came to the company, I saw Mr Perez talking with my employees. I ignored him and walked to my cabin. While i was working, Jane, my personal assistant, came in and informed me, "Mr Perez is here to talk with you about the production, mam. Shall I let him in?"When I nodded, Mr Perez walked in with a big smile on his face. After he sat down, I asked while looking at my laptop, "Jane told me you have something to talk about the production. What is it?" "Since we're going to take the scenes today, I thought you might be interested to join us…"I cut him off saying, "I'm sorry about that, Mr Perez. I have other work to look at.""Alright." When he was about to leave, I asked, "Send me the clips once the scenes are done, Mr Perez." He gave me a nod and walked out of my cabin. Shit! Why do I feel like I was rude to him? I really want to be there and look at the production process but I don't want to see him. Why is it so hard to ignore someone? I have never ignored s
Alex's pov:After getting the residential address from Hailey's personal assistant, I took Hailey to her house. When I knocked on the door, the door was opened by Mrs Walton. When I walked in holding Hailey, Mrs Walton asked, "Do I know you? You look familiar to me.""I'm Alexander Perez, I'm working with Ms Walton for an advertisement." When she showed me the room, I made her lay on the bed and walked out of the room. When I tried to leave the house, Mr Walton walked in asking, "What are you doing here?" Mrs Walton, "He's working with Hailey. I think she got a little drunk so he came to drop her."Mr Walton, "He's not working with Hailey." And turned to me asking, "What are you doing here? How did you find her?" I sighed and said, "We met at a success party which was held in Dallas. Hailey's the one who asked me to do an advertisement for her new product. If you don't believe me, you can ask her personal assistant."He made a call to Hailey's personal assistant and talked to her.
Alex's pov:Back in Kansas in Hailey's meeting room, Hailey introduced the production team members along with their designations, "That's Jeremy, he's the director. Elisabeth, she's assistant director and cinematographer, Mason, Location manager. Patrick, costume designer and Cyrus from the accounting department. I picked out the best ones from each department, Mr Perez." I got up from the seat and said, "Don't want to beat around the bush, so I'll jump right into the story I made." I showed the storyboard I prepared for the brand and explained it to everyone in the meeting room and asked for their suggestions. They were more responsive than I expected. I felt relaxed after hearing about their ideas and the enthusiasm they showed for the project. After everyone left the meeting room, Hailey asked me, "Why didn't you say anything about the team? I thought you'd pick whoever you want and discard the others. Or did you take them because you're feeling that I'm forcing it on you?" "I'
Alex's pov:When I talked about the proposal from RJ industries for making an advertisement for their new product to Mr Torrez, he immediately talked with Hailey and made a deal with her in an online meeting. When Mr Torrez ended his speech with closing words to Hailey, "We're glad to work with you, Ms Walton." Hailey thanked him back and said, "Thanks for collaborating with us, Mr Torrez and Mr Perez." And ended the call with hailey. Mr Torrez said to the employees, "I'll check the list and update who will be going to Kansas for the project in the group. Now, you may disperse."After everyone left, I stayed and asked Mr Torrez, "Can I go to Kansas and take care of it in person?""Let's send someone from the production team." He said as he was looking into his laptop. I sighed and said, "Antonio, let me go to Kansas."He leaned back on the chair asking, "Why are you so persistent? Is it because you're the one who brought up this proposal?""No.""Then what's the deal? Why do you wan
~ EIGHT YEARS LATER ~Alex's pov:"Good morning, Perez!" When Ms Sanchez greeted me, I greeted her back by saying, "Good morning Ms Sanchez." "The President asked you to meet him when you're here, Sir.""Okay, I'll go ahead. Thank you for informing me." And headed to the president's cabin. When I entered the cabin, the president said, "I heard the campaign went pretty well. As expected, you gave your best even though it's not your position. Thank you for your hard work, Mr Perez." And placed a letter on the table saying, "And, I want you to do me a favour. While I was thinking about a person to send for our latest advertisement success party, you came to my mind, Mr Perez. I hope you're free this weekend to attend this party on behalf of me." He pointed to the invitation saying, "I attached the flight tickets, hotel room details and the place of the party with the invitation for your reference." "I have an important meeting to go to. Otherwise I would have gone by myself."He didn'
Hailey's pov:A week later, Since I felt bored and alone, I couldn't stay home any longer and came to college.As I walked in the hallway, everyone stared at me but I didn't give attention to any of them. In the classroom, I became invisible from my own friends and classmates. No one talked with me or asked for my help on anything. The teacher who asked me to run an errand for him everytime now forgot my name. People in the canteen treated me like trash so I walked out without eating anything. I went to Alex's classroom, but he wasn't there. His classmates said he's on leave today. When the second bell rang, I was on the way to the next class, I saw Alex walking somewhere. Didn't they say he didn't come today? I walked to him and called out his name, "Alex." He looked at my bandaged hands and asked, "Why didn't you stay home and rest until you recover?"I hugged him as soon as I realised he still cares for me. He broke the hug and said, "I have to go. Take care." I held his hand
Hailey's pov:When I woke up, I was in the hospital. When I tried to get up, my hand felt heavy to even lift it up in the air. When I took a look at it, it was bandaged well. What happened to my hand? I touched it to feel the pain and I remembered what happened. Riley?! I removed the trip's needle from the back of my hand and got out of the bed. And when i came out of the room, mom and dad were sitting on the three seater chair. Seeing me they came to me calling out my name, mom, "Hailey! What are you doing out of the bed?" I peeked through other rooms asking, "Where's Riley? What room is she in?" Mom held my hand saying, "Calm down. Calm down, Hailey. Come on, let's go to your room first."I brushed her off asking, "Where's Riley? I want to see her." And started looking inside every room I came across. "I want to see her right now."Dad, "Hailey, listen to me." When I ignored him and kept looking for Riley, she grabbed both of my shoulders and said while looking into my eyes, "She
Hailey's pov:After I arrived at the street where Riley sent the address, I messaged her that I reached and got a reply from her that she's nearby. I put my phone back in my pocket and waited for her looking either side of the street. It looked empty which scared me a little. As I was waiting for her, I saw Riley walking towards me from my right. I ran to her and gave her a hug. She returned the hug asking, "What's the emergency? Why did you ask me to come see you? What happened?"I opened the zip a little and showed her what's in that bag saying, "One million dollars like you said. Is this enough for them or do you need more?" Riley closed the bag asking, "Are you insane? How did you get this money? Did you ask your parents? Did you ask them?" I looked away from looking at her and said, "No. I didn't ask them." "I got it from… it doesn't matter who it is. Just take the money and give it to them. And, stop hiding yourself from them from now on." And gave her the money. "I can't ta