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Dearest Rowan,
     There are a number of things I never got to tell you, and a number of things I probably still shouldn't. I'm in a difficult place now where it may be tough for me to reach to you physically, but just know that I am here mentally. 
Stay away from that which makes you fear.
Stay away from the unknown.
Remember who you are, if you ever find out.
If you ever feel like you were meant for this life, look me up. I'll be waiting.
-Love, Miu
•     •     •
The bell rang and my head jerked up from my desk with urgency as the teacher glared at me knowingly.

"Shit." I muttered putting my head back down on the desk, I had fallen asleep...again. I felt a tug on my hair and I groaned, knowing exactly who it was. I was having a totally freaky dream about a wolf tearing apart a carcass in the woods and I blamed it all on my lack of sleep last night.

"Sebastian. Can you tell me what I missed?" I asked my best friend and partner in crime as he began to shove all of my papers in my cheap backpack that my gram had bought me. I peeked at him with one eye, seeing his blue ones roll.

One of the most quiet yet influential guys at school, Sebastian remained one of my best friends from my past. Like my mother, I wasn't so good at making friends...and I blamed her every day for it. When my mother and I moved in with my grandparents so she could pursue whatever the hell she did, I would play with Sebastian who lived next door. We were the two lonely 6 year olds. His family too had issues and often left him with a babysitter.

"Maybe if you didn't stay up all night you'd be at least half awake and not stone cold dead during the epithelium lecture." 

My eye twitched at that comment. As a child, I was diagnosed with a disease that pretty much categorized me as a vampire (my mom hated that word, so I didn't say it often).  My body didn't produce enough blood to distribute throughout my body and I couldn't stay out in the sun for long periods of time. I also loved my meat rare...fresh out of the slaughterhouse rare actually, but we didn't tell the doctor about that. Otherwise, I never got sick and could stay up all night without even batting an eyelash. In fact, I felt even more energetic at times late into the night. Sebastian didn't know some of this and I didn't plan on telling him. Mom says it's my stupid dads fault I'm this way...whoever he is. I'd like to meet him and give him a good what for. I thought following Sebastian out into the crowded hallway. 

"Hey Sebastian." a girl on the cheerleading squad crowed as I shot her a raunchy look. UGH!!! those girls were so obnoxious. Sebastian saw the look on my face and laughed.

"You look like hell right now, you need sleep." He couldn't be more right. The daytime pissed me off.

"You need a shower, you hippie." I grumbled, secretly happy that he dealt with me through all of my moods. He thoughtfully slid his nosering as we approached my locker and I spun in the combo. 

"Has your mom come home from the last time she left?" He asked as I froze momentarily and stuffed my books in the locker.

"No." I said a little more high pitched than I intended. Sebastian stared at me. "She's working." I continued, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Sebastian flipped his hair and began to walk with me as I slammed my locker and stalked away. I wasn't sure what my mom REALLY did as a career, and at this point in my life, I really didn't care.

Sebastian and I left the school and went to his car. It was a gorgeous autumn day, with leaves crunching underneath our shoes as we jogged to the car.

He unlocked the doors and let us into his black volvo, he turned the heat on for a second to make the car warmer. His body usually always felt hot to me, even when it was cold out.

"The black bomber is forever broken." I teased using the cars nickname and noting the tape on the overhead light. Sebastian made a pained face. 

"The golf clubs I was taking in for cleaning smacked the shit out of it." Sebastian worked at a country club for the better part of the year and at a book store for the other half. We backed out of the lot, the windows down, letting mid Octobers chill creep through the window. We pulled up to my house and I saw my grandmother before she saw us. She was a beautiful woman, with brown hair, streaks of gray scattered about. Her body was lean and tan still from over the summer. She was outside, picking weeds from her flower garden. I rolled my window down.

"HI GRAM!" I hollered. She jumped, looking up and holding her heart. Sebastian and I snickered as she narrowed her eyes at us.

"Do you live to scare me?" She said coming over to Sebastians side of the car and yanking him out.

"Give me a hug handsome." she said squeezing Sebastian, he squeezed back, picking her up as I got out of the car. "How's my favorite young person?" she said looking up at him in adoration. I coughed.

"Gee thanks gram." I said. She obliviously patted my head and left Sebastian and I in the driveway. Sebastian rubbed his bare arms because of the cold. "I dont know why you insist on dropping me off in my driveway, it's a waste of time and gas." I said as Sebastian followed me into the house. I had to take my iron pills before I passed out. The house was warm and quiet as Sebastian followed me into the kitchen silently.

"Maybe I don't want you to get kidnapped or something. I'd be bestfriendless and you know how spineless I am." He answered sitting at the table. I shook my head and grabbed my pills from the drawer, carefully portioning them and popping them in my mouth. I remembered my mothers story about my uncle being kidnapped, she never revealed more than she wanted to on the subject. But I felt that she definitely KNEW more. I wanted to share my suspicions with Sebastian, so badly, but I couldn't.

I watched his naturally golden hair drift above his head as he put his head on the table and yawned, his back rippling with a shiver.

"Cold?" I asked putting a pot of water on the stove. 

"Mhm, it's always a little chilly in your house." he mumbled adjusting his head on his arms. My grandfather walked into the room with a stack of mail in his hands, he pushed his reading glasses on his nose.

"Hey there Rowboat." he said, using the nickname that he had made for me. My mother had always given off the vibe that she didn't like gram and gramps, but never voiced it. I didn't know why, and I thought she was being selfish and stupid. They were just airheaded and sweet minded. Pretty much typical old folks.

After nodding politely to Sebastian, he left the room, padding to his office and shutting the door softly. I was kind of glad, because I wanted to share the dream I had with Sebastian and didn't want my grandfather to hear. I leaned on the counter lost in my thoughts and how I would bring up the conversation.

Sebastian got up and lowered the heat on the pot as it began to whistle.

"Helloo? Earth to Rowan, is anyone in there?" he asked, curiosity apparent in his voice. I shrugged, deciding to keep it to myself for now. He had been acting secretive with me lately anyway, so why should I share with him?

"I'm kind of sleepy." I said stretching genuinely as Sebastian raised an eyebrow, his lipring catching the light as he turned his lips up to do a half smile at me.

"I don't need to be a brain surgeon to know that this means you need alone time." 
 
I snorted, "Actually you do, and you need a masters in hint-ology too." 

Sebastian shoved my shoulder and squinted at me. I didn't want him to go but, if he stayed I probably would have divulged too much about my dreams and scared him or something.

"I don't know why I tolerate you." he said as I smirked and poured hot water into his travel mug putting in a green tea bag. I handed it to him as he tugged the hoodie he had left at my house the previous night on.

"You love my sarcasm." I said ushering him to the front door. It was his turn to snort. "Are you still going away for the weekend? I heard it's supposed to be a full moon and I wanted to know if I could use your huge attic to watch it." 

Sebastian put his hand on the doorknob and shrugged. "I don't know, I may be going up north for some family thing. You can let yourself in with the spare key if you need to."

I nodded watching him walk outside and stiffen at how cold it was. 

"Bye Bastian." I said waving and letting the chilly air kiss my nose and lips. After closing the door and locking it securely, I went back to the kitchen and cleaned up, the issue about my dreams still present and fresh in my mind.

The blood wasn't scary to me, in fact it made me wonder. It was the wolves baying at the moon and fighting that scared me. What did it mean? I went to the fridge and pulled out a chunk of raw hamburger meat, setting it on a plate, praying my gram wouldnt notice, and heading upstairs to my room, leaving the letter in the back of my mind and downstairs. The only thing I could think about was the menacing stares of creatures in the night that haunted my sleep.