Dreamland

“You. A vampire? But, you’re not pale, or ice cold… And you don’t sparkle.” I said.

He slapped his hand to his face, as if he was frustrated “Twilight has tainted your mind.” He replied.

“Vampires don’t sparkle. They’re not always pale complexioned, and are not always ice cold.” He explained.

“Well, explain all of the other vampire movies. And wouldn’t you have bitten me and turned me into a vampire by now, or killed me or something?” I kept making up excuses to why he was not a vampire.

“Avril, you need to see in your own perspective. Not how others perceive things.” He said.

“But vampires are supposed to be cold. OH! And they suck people’s blood, too!” I kept arguing my cause.

“Avril, what do you see?” He asked.

I was stumped. “What?”

“What do you see when you look at me?” He rephrased.

“A tall, slim, tan skinned guy.” I told him.

“And what do you say that I’m not?”

“A vampire... Look, I don’t see how-”

“And what do you think all vampires look like?”

“But, how is this-”

“You said pale skinned, cold, and… Sparkly.” He grimaced.

“Yeah, but-”

“I am none of those things, but I can assure you that I am, in fact, a vampire.”

“Are you so fast that you can travel up a mountain in 2 minutes?” I asked.

“No.”

“Do you have cold and pale skin?”

“No.” He answered again.

“Then you are not a vampire. Why would you just go up to someone and be like ‘Hey guess what. I’m a vampire,’ because to me, that makes no sense whatsoever.” I explained.

He grabbed me by the arms and I shut up instantly. He looked down upon me with a fierce look in his eye.

“Avril, I am a vampire. I do not sparkle, I’m not cold, and I can’t travel at supersonic speed. But I am a vampire, and I could kill you in a blink of the eye.” He forced upon me, these words, and I trembled before him.

He could kill me in a second, I give him that. And he was scary as hell right now. But I still needed convincing.

I froze.

He brought his mouth to my neck. He was going to bite me. I tensed up.

“Relax, Avril.” He said. “You obviously need proof that I’m a vampire. Here’s your proof.” His voice was so hard, so dark, so… Seductive.

He brushed his teeth against my neck and I melted. I could feel his tongue trying to taste just the right spot to sink his teeth. His warm breath, heating my skin, filling me with an indulgence.

I was waiting for what seemed like an eternity. I braced myself for what was to happen, I thought about knowing him for so long, and not ever coming across this topic before. I couldn’t piece together why I hadn’t noticed. I thought about what he said, about how I needed to see things in my own perspective. I thought about how it was only him and me. No parents, no siblings, nobody else but him and me. All I could think about was what a good life I had lived as a human, because the bite from a vampire would turn someone else into a vampire, too. Wait was that another perspective problem?

I screamed bloody murder without even realizing.

He had bitten me. He did it. He was a vampire. I needed no more proof. Was he sucking blood? No. But he was biting me over and over again. He then stopped biting and began giving me little kisses to my neck. Small, warm kisses moving up and down my neck. I was engulfed in the feel of him pressed against me. He pulled away slowly and I moaned.

I collapsed to the ground.

“Avril. You really have a problem with fainting.” He laughed.

I came to.

“You… you bit me.” I felt my neck. It was sore and there were little bite marks.

“I did. To prove to you that I am a vampire.” He said softly.

His hand was combing through my long brunette hair. It felt really good.

“Am I… Am I going to turn into a vampire? Like you?” I began trembling rapidly.

“No, Avril.” He said.

“But you bit me.” I said.

He sighed. “Avril, me biting you will not turn you into a vampire. It doesn’t work that way with me.”

“Then, how would I become a vampire?” I was just curious.

“We would have to exchange blood. But I didn’t give you any of my blood.” He explained.

“Did you drink my blood?”

“No.”

“Then, how are you surviving?”

“Avril, a vampire does not need to drink a human’s blood to survive. It all relies on the type of vampire.”

“Well, what type of vampire are you?”

“I can’t tell you that. There are more of my kind, and if I told you, you’d be dead for sure.”

“But, why can’t you-”

He looked me dead in the eye, and held me close.

“Avril, if anything happened to you… I… I don’t know what I’d do.” He was choked up.

I put my head against his chest.

“I know. It’s okay.” It all came back to me.

“Maxim.” I said.

“What?” He asked.

“Your name is Maxim.” I told him.

“You remember. Oh my gosh. Avril… You remembered!” He exclaimed.

He pulled me close and I held him back. I remembered. There was still something different, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Oh. I got it. Your eyes. They’re crimson red. Your eyes are red.”

He peered down at me.

“I have always had red eyes.” He smiled.

“You’ve always had red eyes.” I repeated.

“We need to keep moving. I know a safe place for us to stay.” He changed subject.

“I don’t know if I can go any farther.” I said. “I’m sorry, I feel like a nuisance.”

He scooped me up and held me as if I was a baby.

“You are as light as a feather.” He said.

“Maxim, you’re amazing.” I sighed and placed my head against his chest and fell asleep to the rhythm of our traveling movements.