Stargazing

With a sigh escaping her lips, she leaned back on her palms to cast her gaze skyward. The sun was smothered by a thick black blanket that was decorated with sparkly specks accompanied by a full moon. The silver sphere illuminated the earth in a milky light.

She flinched as the night creatures began their midnight lullaby. She hated insects with every fiber in her being. A soft breeze carried the distinct scent of water that was spiced with sun-baked grass. Although it was spring, the night still had a chill left over from the long winter.

She enjoyed nights like these; away from the bickering parents who could care less if she was alive. Away from the dramatic teenagers at school and the over-bearing teachers. She tried everything to drown out the noises; music, liquor, daydreaming, and so on. The annoying girls at school were always giggling at the boys. She rolled her eyes.

Yuck.

Suddenly, a soft rustling noise erupted though the crickets' songs. A gasp escaped from her throat as she felt her heart beat faster. Carefully, she stood, squinting at the trees that layered the shadows.

"Hello?" She called.

Another rustling responded.

"Show yourself!"

Silence...

"I'm warning you!" She yelled, voice shaking. "I'm armed and dangerous!" Which was total crap.

A chuckle drifted into her ears as a silhouette detached itself from the shadows. "No need to be frightened..." A dark male voice stated. As the figure approached, feature took place. Inky black hair spilled around his pale face and to his shoulders. His piercing maroon eyes shone with interest.

"Nikolai?" She whispered with surprise. "What are you doing here?" She asked. Nikolai was the new transfer student from Romania. Although he claimed that it was his first visit to America, he spoke English fluently and carried himself like royalty. All the girls begged for his attention. He was suppose to be at school, where he attended the night session that their school offered.

"I decided that history class wasn't worthy of my presence." He stated simply, gaining a smile from her. "And why are you not sleeping soundly in your bed?" He questioned.

"I'm stargazing..." She replied, casting a glance heavenward.

"I stopped admiring the stars when I realized that they never change..." This cause her to raise her eyebrows at him.

"So you think they're boring?" she asked.

"Precisely."

"But, that's why-" she stopped abruptly, feeling small fingers crawl up her spine. A scream ripped from her throat as realization struck her.

"AHHHHHHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!!" She screamed as she squirmed, twirled, and jumped up and down, trying to remove the spider.

In the back of her mind she heard laughter. She caught glimpses of Nikolai smiling. "Don't just stand there! Help me!" She ordered.

"Sorry, sorry..." With a fluid movement, he plucked the offending spider off her back and threw it on the ground before squishing it with a foot.

"Thank you." she said, breathlessly. Fatigue weighed down her arms as she looked up at him through her bangs.

"You're welcome." he replied, a trace of a smile lingering on his lips. "Now, what were you saying before?" he asked, his wine colored eyes sparkling. Now she knew why the girls at school always drooled over him.

"Huh?" Her mind went blank. "Before? Oh. Yeah." She took a second to retrace her thoughts. "I was saying that I like how the stars remain the same, because it's the only thing that I can truly rely on. They won't disappoint me..."

He smiled his famous smile, but this time it was a sympathetic one. Great. He was being sympathetic towards a girl whose name he didn't know.

"I could give you something to rely on." He said taking a step closer. Gently, Nikolai slipped a hand on her neck. His cool fingers wrapped themselves in her hair.

She swallowed, trying to keep her hormones under control But her heart beat so quickly she thought it was going to explode.

"What's that?" She asked.

"My immortal love."

She blinked. "What do you mean 'immortal'?"

"As in incapable of dying. As in... vampire."

"What?" She took a step back. Fear began to boil up within her. Her mind recalled rumors that were spoken about the mysterious Nikolai.Voices in hushed tones whispered words of " alien... inhuman... abnormal..."

What was it that told her that he was speaking the truth? The longing in his maroon depths? The bluntness of his words? Or was it the desire to believe him? Whatever it was, it bought her to close the gap between them.

"My heart accepts your offer, yet my mind is screaming for me to refuse." A slow smile crossed his stunning face.

"Does your heart know that with your consent that it will cease to beat?" her teeth clenched together in thought.

"As long as you're there to love me, what else matters?"He smiled again, teeth flashing.

"You're an extraordinary person," her whispered as he swept her brown hair over a shoulder to expose her neck. "Estelle Lovelace..." Her name sounded perfect on his lips, almost like music. It flowed off his tongue like honey and expelled his cool breath against her heated skin.

Pain exploded into the column of her neck. Estelle winced as she felt him suck her blood into his mouth.

She was going to die...

Yes, but she also knew that with her death, there was life. She was going to be with him, Nikolai, for all eternity. That thought made her smile.

She felt herself slowly sink to the ground. Her heart was beginning to slow. The smell of grass mingling with the metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils. Darkness suddenly washed over her vision, plunging her into a black abyss. A slow thumping noise drummed its last cadence to silence...

Estelle Lovelace was dead.