Midnight

The next morning I wake up feeling tired and irritable but I know it was worth staying up and teasing Gerard. I get dressed extra carefully today, choosing black skinny jeans and a purple swing vest, I opt for some black ballet flats instead of my regular Converse trainers and am soon ready to go. From this day forward I have decided that my wardrobe shall be lady-like and not homeless-woman-like. I grab breakfast and am soon on my way to school.

When I get out of my car I immediately look over to where Gerard and co park their vehicles. The cars are there but the occupants are not. I sigh in relief. I'm not ready to face Gerard this early in the morning, not after last nights shenanigans. I enter school with my head bowed and avoid looking at people, since last nights major bust-up kids have been calling me Mike Tyson, but not to my face otherwise I would just punch them out.

As soon a I reach my locker I am ambushed by Chase, "Stella! How are you baby?" he asks me with a squeal.

After yesterday, I have decided Chase and I are am friends so I give him a genuine smile and pat him on the shoulder, "I'm good, man. I just wanted to say thanks for yesterday. I totally appreciate you coming to our aid. It was awesome of you to try to take on five lunatics with a baseball bat. Seriously, I didn't know you were such a badass."

He glows with pleasure. "Ahh, it was nothing. We're friends after all and I'd do anything for my friends." I am so touched by his comments I pull him into a hug.

"Aww, am I interrupting your little love-fest?" sneers someone beside me.

I spin around and am surprised to find Mikey Sullen leaning against a locker with his arms folded and a disgusted look on his face. My smile turns to a glare. "What's up, douchebag?" I smirk. I cannot believe my luck, Mikey is first on my hit list and here he is standing right before me. What a coincidence. He gives me a foul look, I return it. I'm going to enjoy making him mad.

He takes a long breath and stands up straight, I see he is really tall and skinny but I can sense he doesn't let that hold him back. "Gerard was right, you do have a filthy little mouth on you. He's going to have to teach you some manners."

"Up yours," I reply and Chase laughs, Mikey gives him a nasty look and he quietens down quickly.

"I really don't know what he sees in you, Stella," he says cruelly. "I'll admit, you're a pretty girl, but Gerard has had some of the most beautiful women I've ever seen come into his life."

"Had them for what?" I snap, now royally pissed. "Dinner?"

Mikey glances at Chase sharply but I don't care, being reminded of Gerard's past always seems to strike a nerve with me. "Does it irritate you that there have been others more worthy of his time before you?" he asks, noticing my discomfort of the subject.

"Why would it bother me?" I ask him. "I don't care who he's been with."

Mikey laughs quietly. "Of course you don't. You know what your problem is Stella? You're just too stubborn and stupid to see what is plainly obvious to everybody else."

"And what's that?" I challenge angrily.

"That you are in love with my brother." He replies with a smug smile that makes me want to deck him one. "And who can blame you? He's everything a simple girl like you can ever dream of having in your pathetic little life. You would be doing everyone a huge favor if you just gave in and let him have his fun, well, until someone worthwhile comes along."

"You want to know what your problem is Mikey?" I ask him sweetly, as Chase watches us with growing apprehension.

"What?" He asks in a bored tone.

"You're an arrogant motherfucker, yeah, I said motherfucker," I repeat when he gives me an evil look, "with a stick shoved so far up your ass, I'm shocked you're able to walk." Chase throws back his head and laughs aloud, passing students give him a wide berth.

Mikey takes one step closer to me but I hold my ground. "I'll be watching your every move, Stella," he whispers dangerously.

"Join the freakin club," I reply sarcastically. "Seriously dude, there's a whole queue of nutters doing that."

"You didn't let me finish," he continues silkily. "I'll be watching you Stella, and when you step out of line, I'll come down on you so hard you won't know what's hit you." Without another word he walks away and doesn't look back.

Chase and I glance at each other nervously, "What was he talking about Stella? Why was he threatening you?" he asks me timidly.

"I don't know?" I lie. "He must be insane like the rest of his family." That seems to appease Chase, the bell rings and we go our separate ways. After my nasty conversation with Mikey I realize Jacobus was right, the Sullen's are dangerous creatures and they need to be stopped. I walk forward, now confidant I am doing the right thing and more determined then ever to get rid of them.

*

The day passes by quickly and soon it is time for Biology. I fix my hair a little and prepare to behave all seductively and stuff. I'm certain last night must have softened Gerard up considerably, at least I hope so. I didn't stay up half the night acting like a porn star for nothing.

When I get to class I see the target of my phony affection is already seated and looking marvellous dressed traditionally all in black. His skin is as pale as ever and his hair is so appealingly sexy I just want to run my hands through it. He doesn't look up as I make my way to our table, nor does he glance my way as I take a seat. I wonder why he is acting so cool towards me.

I grow tired of the silence. "Hey," I say as nicely as I can.

Finally, he looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. "You're speaking to me?" he asks dubiously.

"Why wouldn't I?" I ask him, confused.

"After I had your friend thrown out, I assumed you would be upset with me." he replies and watches my face closely for my reaction.

I gulp and my mind races for an appropriate answer. "Well," I say slowly. "It was all my fault really, wasn't it? I shouldn't have called him here in the first place. I was just inviting trouble."

"You can't be blamed for reacting the way you did, Stella. Any human would have done the same thing," he says smoothly, but I notice his eyes are narrowed.

"Believe me, I regret calling that guy. He turned out to be a real maniac, didn't he? It's a good thing you got rid of him," I smile approvingly at Gerard, who's face remains impassive. I wonder what he is thinking.

We are disturbed by our teacher who begins handing out papers for today's lesson. Pretty soon the entire class is busy working. I put my head down and do the same, well except for the fact that I can't seem to stop yawning every few minutes, which is a part of my master plan. Obviously Gerard notices. "Didn't get much sleep last night?" he asks me in an even tone.

"No," I reply, and start to play my little game with him.

"Why's that?" he asks me whilst flipping through his textbook.

"I had some....interesting dreams last night," I reply delicately and pretend to look embarrassed.

"What sort of dreams?" he asks me casually, and writes something down in his book.

"Oh, I can't say," I tell him and flutter my eyelashes.

"Why not?" he wants to know, still acting as if he doesn't care.

"They were too....," I allow my voice to trail off suggestively and look at my lap.

"They were too, what?" he asks me, and gives me an incredibly intense look. I open my mouth as if to speak but quickly snap it shut again. It proves too much for Gerard. "Stella, you can tell me anything."

"But you'll think I'm some sort of freak," I say, with eyes wide open.

"No I wouldn't," he insists, and I can tell he is getting impatient.

"Okay. Don't laugh, but last night I dreamt of...you," I say looking at his lips, it's safer then looking into his eyes, trust me.

"Really?" he replies, looking intrigued. "And what was I doing in your dream?"

I rub my cheek. "Well, actually, it was more of what you were doing to me in my dream that's the problem."

He raises his eyebrow in amusement. "And what was that?"

I pretend to get embarrassed again and twirl a lock of my hair around my finger. "You were doing...stuff," I tell him and giggle. Man, I'm good.

"What sort of stuff?" he asks. He has stopped what he was doing and is now only paying attention to me. That is exactly what I want.

"Well, things that a boyfriend and girlfriend do to one another. That sort of stuff."

"You're going to have to be more specific then that," he says, with a hint of a smirk on his angelic face.

"If you insist." I say innocently."We were alone together in the forest and you were telling me how much you loved me but I wouldn't say it back, that made you very upset. So, to make up for it, I kissed you, but that just wasn't enough for you. You pulled me down to the ground and lay on top of me, kissing me hard on my lips." I pause to gauge his reaction. His face is annoyingly inscrutable, I want to see him respond. I lower my voice dramatically and lean in closer to him, he mirrors my actions. "Then I looked you in your eyes and demanded that you make love to me. You ripped off my dress and threw it aside so I was totally naked and did the same to your clothes." I stop talking for a second and look away. I have to, he is staring at me so attentively my legs are going weak.

"And then?" he asks in a low voice.

"Can't you just use your imagination?" I ask him, just to frustrate him.

"No. Tell me everything," He orders.

"Fine," I sigh. "Then you started kissing me, you know, on my neck, my shoulders, basically your lips travelled everywhere." I blush and it's for real this time. I really wish he would stop looking at me. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, wondering when the temperature in the classroom went up. He is watching me expectantly. "Then we, you know, did it." I finish rather lamely.

"Did what?" he asks, even though he knows what the answer is.

"Made love," I reply and look away.

"Did you enjoy it?"

The question catches me off guard but I don't hesitate to answer him. "Yes." I say and meet his gaze firmly. "But it was just a dream." I tell him matter-of-factly.

"Dreams can come true, Stella," he replies and reaches over to caress my hand. "I certainly wouldn't mind making that particular dream of yours come true, you know that." When his skin touches mine my heart begins to race and goosebumps explode all over my body. He smirks at my body's reaction.

"I know how you feel about me, Gerard, but I'm also aware of how the rest of your family feels about me," I tell him sadly.

"What do you mean?" he asks curiously.

I proceed to tell him about Mikey's and my conversation in the hallway, putting extra emphasis on him threatening me. I look at him with my eyes widened in terror. "He wouldn't really hurt me, would he Gerard?" I ask him in a frightened voice.

Gerard shakes his head angrily. "No, he would never dare to do that. Don't worry, I'll talk to him."

"I don't want to cause any problems between you two," I say, wrinkling my brow in concern.

"Stella, I will not tolerate anyone threatening your life, no matter who they might be." he tells me, looking very dangerous. I suppress the urge to shiver, making this guy mad seems to be a major mistake.

"I feel safe around you," I assure him, which is just a bare-faced lie.

"I would never hurt you, or let anything happen to you. No matter the circumstances," he tells me, with a look on his face that I've never seen before and can't quite read. I turn away, confused at his words.

A silence falls between us. I think of my plan and how it seems to be going well, I mean, he's basically just told me he will kick anyone's ass for me no matter who they are and it's only been one day of Operation Seduce Gerard Sullen (the official name for my mission). I've already landed Mikey in hot water, if only I could inform Jacobus of my progress.

"What are you thinking?" he asks me suddenly, cutting into my thoughts.

I shake my head. "I can't get that dream out of my head," I say in frustration.

He gives me an irresistible smile. "I can make your dream a reality."

"What? Without even taking me out on a date first?" I joke. "What kind of girl do you take me for?"

"Okay then, how about I take you out on Saturday." It wasn't a question, more like a statement.

"Okay," I smile, thinking I'm much better at this seducing stuff then I give myself credit for.

He smiles again at me. I observe his behavior from the corner of my eye, it's almost as if he is feeling victorious about something. I figure it must be because I'm finally agreeing to go out with him and let it go. When the bell rings I get up to leave, before I walk out the door, he grabs my arm, once again my heart races and he smirks. "I'll see you in the evening, Stella," he says.

"Huh?" I reply dumbly.

"You don't mind if I come over to your house later, do you?" he asks me in a slightly mocking tone.

"N..no, of course not," I stutter. It strikes me as odd that he would ask for my permission to come round my house when he usually just comes and goes as he pleases. My razor sharp instincts are telling me something is up but I don't know what it is. Also, the thought of being alone with Gerard makes me nervous, especially taking into account that the next phase of my plan is called: Operation Make Out With Vampire A lot.

"Good, I'll see you around five," he says as he walks out the door. I look after him with growing confusion. Now he's telling me what time he's going to show up? His sudden change in behavior is confusing me. Maybe he's being considerate of my feelings? Or maybe he's decided he needs to show me some respect? I don't know, it's so hard to understand him sometimes.

I walk off in the opposite direction and try to focus. I don't have time to dwell on my concerns as I have to prepare for his visit tonight, and what a night it's going to be, I tell myself as I think of what I have in store for him.