The Looking Glass

My eyes felt as though they'd been sewn shut as I came to. Sunlight was just barely leaking into the room, and added to my blue curtains, everything was cast an ocean-like color. My mouth was pasty and dry, and I could feel that I'd had a rough time sleeping with how raw my throat was. Brushing my ratty dark blond hair out of my eyes, I sat up in bed and looked at my door, which had been locked. Odd that I'd recognize it from across the room, and that it would be locked. With how ancient the house was, it had a separate knob to lock it, so I shook it off and scooted out of bed. I was lying on top of my covers, still fully clothed.

Must have been one crazy day at school yesterday, or something, I mused silently. Pulling the chain to the ceiling light, I walked lethargically to the vanity and blinked widely.

My heart-shaped face was covered in grime. I had leaves in my hair and my green eyes were like raccoon eyes with how runny my makeup was. My clothes, which was just an old school hoodie and jeans, were also covered in dirt and leaves. I had no idea what to think. When did I ever go outside? I ran a sum of yesterday through my mind quickly. I went to school, it was mundane. Made no friends, liked the teachers all right. Came home, then... Went to bed?

I looked down at my hands and they were also covered in dirt. My nails had dirt so deep in them it was as if I'd been clawing the ground. A sharp noise sounded in my ears and I felt a digging pain in the back of my skull. A flash of a scene spurted behind my closed eyes and I held my head, trying to make sense of it through the ringing sound. It was an image of the darkest woods I'd ever seen, my jeans and converse on the legs under my vision. It was me, on a forest floor, hands dug deep into the damp ground.

As I tried to dissect what the flashback could mean, without actually remembering it happening, my headache worsened and I decided it wasn't worth pondering over, especially when I was as grimy as this and school would be starting in no time.

Grabbing a towel, I went to the bathroom and shucked the clothes. Even my shoes were covered in dirt, caked in dry mud.

What could have happened? Did I sleepwalk? That would be the most plausible. Maybe the move was just too much for me and I went sleepwalking. At least I didn't hurt myself, like jump off a cliff or something. Hopefully it was just a one-time thing, though. It was freaky to think I'd been sleepwalking, but if it was a regular thing? I tried not to think about it as I turned the squeaky faucets and stepped gratefully into the steamy water.

--

I stepped out of the claw-foot tub onto the spongy bath mat, grabbing the towel off the hook to dry off. I took a rather quick shower, trying not to think too hard about the happenings of my sleepwalking. The more I wondered, the worse my headache got. When my hair wasn't dripping, I wrapped the towel around myself and walked out of the steam-filled bathroom. Making my way as quietly as possible down the hall, I went downstairs and into the master bathroom. With how old the house was, there was basically a creak to any floorboard or stair step. I was grateful Mom wasn't particularly a light sleeper. I remember her sending a text about job hunting yesterday, and since I couldn't remember celebrating her new-found job, I assumed there wasn't one, and tried my best not to wake her. She was in a fragile mental state, and even though it was just the first day of trying to find a job, I knew she'd feel pretty down, as if she'd been looking for weeks with no luck.

The medicine cabinet was difficult to open, thanks to rusty hinges, but it finally gave way. I grabbed the bottle of Excedrin desperately and threw two pills in my mouth, using the faucet and my cupped hands to wash them down with. Then there was just the matter of waiting for them to kick in.

I left the bathroom and as I slowly shut the door, I turned around and ran right into mom. "Jeez!" I yell-whispered, clutching my chest. The only light in the hall was coming from the kitchen behind her, making her just a dark silhouette, barely visible in the hall. "I thought you were still asleep. What're you doing up so early?"

"I got a job!" she said excitedly and I smiled, hoping she couldn't see the relief in it with the poor light. I was so happy she had something to focus her thoughts on. "I start this morning." we hugged in excitement.

"Where at?" I asked when we parted. She hesitated. "Please don't tell me it's at that creepy gas station we stopped at." my eyes were wide, trying to see her expression, see if it told the answer.

"No, no, it's not there.. It's at the hospital. I know, I'm not really qualified to be a nurse or anything, I'm just a receptionist for now. But if I stay there long enough, they'd put me through a sort of med school-training thing and I could be a nurse if I wanted to. You, know, like, years down the road."

I didn't care that this place was in the middle of nowhere and that we'd be staying here for a lot longer than I expected us to. I was just plain happy for her. She had goals, again. I couldn't have asked for more.

"I won't be able to drive you to school today, though, since I'm going to start getting ready soon and won't leave for a while. Is it all right if you take the bus?"

Yes, I started to say, but what came out was, "No!" we both paused, stunned. I more than her, since she didn't know that I'd meant to say the opposite. I swallowed, clearing my throat.

"Oh, honey, were they mean to you?" she reached out and I grabbed her hand in both of mine.

"No, they were great, mom, I don't know why I said that." I laughed nervously. "I'll be fine taking the bus, don't worry. You have a great day at work." I said the last part mischievously as if we shared a secret. She relaxed and I could almost see her nod in the dark. She turned back to the kitchen and I went upstairs to get ready.

I wasn't much of a make-up fanatic, but I decided to hell with it. Why shouldn't I? I didn't have anyone to impress, but for some reason, I felt like I needed it. I decided on a airy skirt that went to my knees and a cardigan, with a camisole beneath. I wore ankle-height wedge boots, and felt like more of a girl than I had in a long time. I looked in the vanity mirror above my dresser, holding back tears. I remembered why it'd been a while since I'd dressed up. The last time I had was at Dad's funeral.

I changed into a pair of jeans, feeling less like I was going to cry. I decided against the makeup, and went back to the mirror to put my hair up. It was still wet, though, so I fluffed it out. It was more wavy than curly, but if I kept messing with it while it dried, it'd be curlier. As I leaned over to fluff the right side, I saw what looked like to majorly irritated zits on my neck. "Perfect." I said sarcastically and got close to the mirror to pop them.

But they weren't zits. "What the..." I moved my hair out of the way so I could get better lighting. They were red marks, a dot, and a short tail, like two claws had punctured, then scratched. Barely big enough to be compared to the size of a pencil eraser. Running my fingers over them, they got more and more sore with irritation. This had to be the weirdest morning I'd ever had to wake up to, I thought.

I exchanged the cardigan ensemble for a brown turtleneck, grabbed my bag and rushed outside to catch the bus.

Once I reached the end of my driveway, I thanked my mom in my head for picking out such comfortable shoes. Were I wearing my other heels, I'd be hating myself right about now.

As I waited, I looked around myself in awe. Just like when I was looking out the car window on the way to our new home, I was amazed by how many trees there could be in one area. It was just past dawn, and since the trees were so thick everywhere around me, I couldn't see any sunlight actually hitting the trees themselves, nor could I see any sunlight bleeding through to the road or anything. I barely got to form a thought on the oddness of that, before I heard the bus approaching. My hair was mostly dry by then, and I combed it lightly to make sure there wasn't any frizzy spots. I couldn't remember much about how the kids acted on the bus. Most of my memory of the previous day felt as though I'd went through it with earbuds in my ears, and my eyes down the whole time. I probably did do that, and it was so much like my old school, it didn't stand out in my memory or something.

As the bus's brakes protested loudly while stopping in front of me, though, I realized today probably wouldn't be different. I wouldn't go seeking friends or attention. Nor would I ignore anyone blatantly. I just wasn't ready to be my old self again, the outgoing perky girl that everyone was friends with. Part of me wondered if that 'me' had disappeared along with Dad.

I swallowed as the doors opened, and climbed aboard. My heart fluttered nervously as I raised my eyes to the seats. Everyone was staring at me as if I had a huge sign on my forehead. I suppose I did; I was the new girl. I would have laughed if I weren't so intimidated by it all. I walked down the aisle as the bus driver pulled out, inconsiderate to the fact that I hadn't even found a seat. As I neared on with only one student, they either put their stuff there and looked away, or stared at me so menacingly that I averted my eyes. No way would I sit with someone who looked like they might punch me for it.

I was at the back of the bus and there wasn't one single open seat. To the right, there was a girl sitting alone in the seat and I cleared my throat nervously. "I'm sorry.. Do you mind if I sit here?" I might as well ask, hoping she wouldn't punch me like the rest might have. She turned her flawless ivory face to me and smiled a full smile of pearly whites. Her ink black hair framed her face so beautifully, I just stood there for a second longer than necessary. Her dark chocolate eyes softened along with the smile, and she motioned for me to sit. I plopped down in immense relief, still looking at her.

"You're really pretty." I blurted, and almost hiccuped with the shock at myself for actually saying that. She giggled and I felt as though I could listen to it forever. She was perfect, in every way possible, and she'd let me sit with her. I felt worthless in comparison, but it wasn't nearly a big enough hatred of myself to overcome the awe I felt for such a lovely girl. She turned to the window, then looked back at me after a few moments, and I could have sworn her eyes had changed colors.

My breath caught in my throat and I jerked backward in my seat so hard I hit my head on the emergency exit handle. The pain of the impact on top of the same odd pain I'd felt early this morning, alongside the odd ringing noise, had me stunned silent. I saw another flash, one of the gothic girl, smiling at me with silver eyes... and fangs. The flashback vanished almost as quickly as it'd come, but not before I'd seen the hundred or so other silver-eyed people around her, all of them surrounded by trees.

She looked at me sideways, still half-smiling. I apologized and looked forward to the front of the bus, shaking my head slightly. Not only had I sleepwalked, I'd hallucinated. I must have remembered her face from the bus after school yesterday, and the rest of the kids I'd made up from the school. Yeah, that made sense. I was dreaming, of sorts.

It was just a dream.

The bus pulled up to the school and I felt utter disappointment at how we hadn't even talked the whole ride. She seemed like such a nice girl, one I'd be lucky to call my friend. But as I turned to say something, she was already standing, looking at me kindly, waiting for me to move so she could leave. I wanted to be sad that I'd lost my chance, but I was too busy fumbling to make way. Not at all weirded out by my actions, she glided past, her black high-heeled boots making no sound along the way. Even her hair flowed gracefully in the wind. I shook my head again, at that, thinking, Great, Mare, now you've got some weird crush on a girl who hasn't even talked to you.

Rolling my eyes at myself, I was the last person off the bus. Students were bustling around, most of them purposefully ignoring me. The rest simply glanced up and gave me some sort of look. the most common one was a.. smirk, which is the only way to describe it. Some just shook their heads, as if I were dirtying up the place.

I remembered vaguely from the day before that I had gym first and I mentally smacked myself for wearing such inappropriate shoes for it. Were I in my old school, I'd have to run laps or something for such a stupid move. Hopefully this coach would be more lenient, but I wasn't getting my hopes up.

As I walked into the gymnasium, I tried to stay nonchalant as the other kids stared and whispered. A few even made jokes while staring. How could they be so heartless? I kept my eyes cast down, and did my best to keep myself from blushing out of embarrassment, but did a poor job. I found the back wall and sat there, leaned up against it. Never had I felt so alienated in my life. I didn't recall them acting this way the day before, so why now? Had I done some sort of faux pas to get myself ostracized in twenty-four hours? Oh, no, what if someone had seen me sleepwalking or something? Acting crazy in the middle of the woods, that would definitely make me point and laugh, so to speak. Even though I couldn't remember seeing anyone out in the woods, I barely remembered anything, anyway.

As I sat there, hating my life, I wished the dark-haired girl were there to make me feel better. She was the only one so far who made me feel okay, who made me feel like my head wasn't going to explode because of everything. I swallowed back my second thought, that really, I wished I had Dad here, he was the only one who'd ever used to make me feel that way.. He was always there for me, always picking me up when I'd gotten hurt, or raising me up higher when things were going great. I closed my eyes against the tears and stood, rushing out into the hall. No way would I give those awful teenagers another reason to laugh at me.

The hall was almost deserted, and the one-minute bell rung, signalling there was that long until the tardy bell. Since I had the moment of privacy, I allowed the tears to fall, holding my hand over my eyes. If I let out some of the pain now, maybe the rest of the day wouldn't be so bad. Maybe.

"Are you all right?" I jumped and turned away from the boy's voice, wiping away my pain fiercely. Here I'd thought I was alone. I wrapped my arms around myself and hoped he would go away. for all I knew, he was trying to find a way to mock me like the others.

"Mary..." a hand touched my shoulder, and I jumped, tensing up. I couldn't recall telling anyone I preferred being called Mary over Marlene, so I turned around, spinning so that his hand fell away.

He looked rather nerd-like, in a way that his hair was disheveled and appeared bed-ridden. His glasses were most of the nerdy appearance, though. I noticed deep circles under his eyes, and a smudge of dirt on his right cheekbone, which were rather sharp cheekbones at that. He had brilliantly green eyes that shone due to contradistinction. I wondered why he had those circles. His mouth was also worried, the barely pink crescents turned down into an almost frown. He was rather beautiful.

"Do we know each other?" I asked, clearing my throat and looking away, because I'd been staring at his face for several seconds in silence. He hesitated and I looked back up at him, catching another stab of pain in my head when I did. Another flash, this one of his face close to mine, him wearing no shirt with no glasses on. There was dirt on his cheekbone, still, and he was yelling at me. I tried analyzing what he was trying to say, but the pain of the headache was too much to overcome. I blinked away the spots on my vision, unclenching my jaw with a pop.

"We do, don't we?" I asked, before he could answer. I saw him swallow and look away.

"We're going to be late for class. Your seat is right beside mine." For a second I wasn't sure if he was trying to pull something funny, but when we walked in, the tardy bell rung and by the time we were over by the class, there were two vacant spots in the middle of them. The boy took the right one and gestured for me to sit in the left spot when I just stood there. As soon as I sat down, I kept looking at him, wondering if he held the answers. He didn't automatically shun the idea of us knowing each other, even though I had no recollection of us talking yesterday. I wondered idly if he'd been the one I'd seen when I went sleepwalking. Maybe he wasn't the only one, I hoped, that he wasn't the one who'd told the whole school about my inner crazy.

When the teacher walked in, we began doing synchronized stretches. I couldn't help but keep looking over at him, trying to catch another painful glimpse of the sleepwalking escapade. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that something had happened last night. I was certain of it by the time we were headed out to the track, but I didn't ask anything about it until we were mostly out of earshot of the other students. "What happened yesterday?" I blurted, at whisper-level.

His head jerked towards me and his eyes were wide. "You... you can remember?" he stumbled in walking then regained his balance. It struck me as so weird that her'd trip like that, but I couldn't think of why at the time. I was tired of this, I wanted answers. So, instead of saying, no I want you to help me remember, I just said...

"Of course I remember." he looked dubious, so I looked around and quickly showed him the two marks on my neck. "How could I forget something like this?" he motioned for me to lower my voice, then pulled me aside and climbed the bleachers, all the way to the top.

"Listen, Mary, you have to understand. I was trying to protect you when I sent you in there. I didn't expect you to try to talk to Lylith, how could I have? And then when you ran, it became a game for her. You were her... toy." he shuddered and I followed suit. I had no freaking clue what he was talking about, and opened my mouth to confess, but he shook his head. "Let me talk. Lylith bit you. Of course, you know that. But you don't know what happens when a pure-born vampire bites someone... I'd give it three days, that's when the full moon hits. If I were you, I'd.. I don't know." he ran his hands through his hair, breathing out in a rush. "I'm just a fey, how am I supposed to know what to do in these types of situations?" he grumbled to the sky.

"Okay, stop." I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. "You're saying... that I was bit by a vampire?" I laughed two short bursts, shaking my head. "You've got to be kidding." I stood up and began walking down the stairs. He grabbed my hand and I stopped, looking back at him like, come on, dude.

He opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw my expression, he stopped and his eyes widened. "You don't remember, do you? Oh, no." he dropped my hand quickly and stepped back. "What have I done..." he ran his hands through his hair again.

"Okay, dude, you're obviously in need of some alone time, which is saying something coming from me." I stepped down the stairs as quickly as I could in the wedges I was wearing, running my hand along the rail as I did so. "And I thought I was crazy." I mumbled, looking up to squint at the sun.

"I'll prove it to you." was a whisper in my ear and I almost fell down from the jolt it gave me. I hadn't even heard him following me. Both stopped, I turned and looked up at him, my expression disbelieving.

He leaned forward and put his forehead against mine. "Close your eyes." I tensed up, starting to pull away, but he grabbed my upper arms, and it felt so familiar, I complied. "Relax... Trust me." I sighed, but did as he said, again.

And then the world exploded.