Footprints of a vampire

- ALIZ'S P.O.V –

Talk of Cassie getting professional help was out, every corner of the school buzzed with stories and rumours of how Cassie had tried to escape, how Cassie was mentally unstable and how she was psychotic. I laughed quietly to myself, this is what she deserved. Something was obviously wrong with her if she was obsessed with someone like Matt Baines; she was in desperate need of professional help. I was getting tired of people asking me about her, thinking I’d know how she was doing in the loony bin because I was her ex boyfriend, I shrugged them all away hoping Cassie would take an overdose some day. This was the first and last time I felt glad I was in Matts body, I saw him on countless occasions having to answer stupid questions since he was the one Cassie tried to kill. Now every time someone mentioned Cassies name, Aliz’s name would be mentioned close by as the girl Cassie tried to murder. I caught people sending him many sympathetic looks which he’d get angry by and storm away in the opposite direction.

“Matt, don’t you think you should at least visit her? I mean she was your girlfriend at one point.” Another girl tried to convince me at the end of the day as we walked out.

“If you care about her so much, go and bail her out yourself, but be careful she might accuse you of flirting with me and try to kill you too.” I snarled.

“Well, there was no need to be so rude about it! I was just suggesting that you should go and see her!” She snapped back.

“She’s my ex girlfriend, my ex.” I repeated rolling my eyes.

“And she tried to kill Aliz, I keep saying this and no one listens, Cassie gets what she deserves!”

“So . . . You have a thing for Aliz?” Tiffany smirked at me knowingly.

“When did I say that? No wait, when did I ever imply that?” I asked angrily turning to her now as we both stopped in our tracks.

“But you’re not denying it.”

“Oh, maybe I didn’t make myself clear enough. I do not or will ever have any sort of a thing for Aliz, in fact I hate her, is that clear enough for you Tiffany?” I yelled.

“No need to shout!” She huffed turning away from me abruptly she stalked off angrily.

I rolled my eyes and walked on, why were these people so nosy? And why did these girls think I had a thing for Aliz? I wish I could just shout it out to the world; I was Aliz for heavens sake, I cannot have a thing for myself!

“Are you actually coming to the cinema tonight then? Or are you going to continue trashing my reputation by refusing to sneak out?” I heard Matt from behind me.

“Matt, you have a song to rehearse, I have some swimming to learn, and you’re not taking anything seriously!” I sighed.

“You need to loosen up, suit yourself stay in then be an antisocial zombie, I’m going out tonight.” He flicked his hair and grinned skipping down the front steps he turned once more.

“I’m going to get me some action.” He wiggled his eyebrows and I gasped in horror.

“Wait! How – Why – Matt! Stop!” I hissed after him as he skipped away.

“What the hell did you mean by that?” I caught up to him.

“It meant exactly what it meant.” He nodded snickering.

I pulled his elbow back in astonishment.

“You listen to me, that body belongs to me! I own that body, so I decide what happens to it and where it goes!”

A girl passing by stopped to stare at us both in bewilderment, I let go of Matt quickly trying to make it look like nothing was going on but I already knew what the girl must be thinking, she grinned and walked away.

“Happy now?” Matt continued on.

“Just in case you find yourself with nothing to do tonight, go on my laptop, click on my documents, then go into the file called school work, click on the folder three rows down – that’s the best one to watch, works every time.” He winked.

I stopped walking, mulling over what he had just said and then I realised, and my mouth fell open in disgust. Matt turned around and laughed at my expression.

“Oh come on, I was joking.” He laughed nodding his head as we parted, both of us heading in the opposite directions to our actual homes.

* * *

I had never really been grounded before, I had only had small telling off’s or long lectures about useless things, I sat on the stairs pondering on ways to get back inside my own body. And when the time would come, I would push this eccentric experience to the deep depths of my unconscious mind, hoping it would stay there - never to be re-visited or re-opened, nothing but a traumatizing memory that would never be shared.

“Grounded huh?” Mike popped his head around the door smirking at me boyishly.

“It wasn’t my fault; it was Cassie, that nut bag.” I defended myself yet again.

He strolled out of the room; his hands slouched in his pockets making his way towards me in a bored manner.

“Maniac or what, I heard she tried to kill your new girlfriend.”

“My what?” I yelled standing up on the stair that I was sitting on, it allowed me to tower over him menacingly, and just the effect I needed.

“Your new girlfriend.” He repeated, apparently not intimidated by me or my towering figure at all.

“She is not my girlfriend, I don’t even like her!” I exclaimed backing down a little; I didn’t know any other way of telling everybody that I didn’t like Aliz because I was Aliz! Mike shrugged walking out of the front door.

I frowned after him, sitting back on the stair when I heard angry hisses from the kitchen, I slowly crept towards the door pressing my ear close to the surface, it was cold on my cheek as I listened.

“. . . And she tells me off for offering her some extra work! I said Colette; I’m just trying to help you and the daft woman curses me in French!” Matt’s mother exclaimed, clearly offended.

I bit my lip, she was talking about my mom, I wanted to know what was going on so I pushed the door open and strolled in casually, stopping by the worktop, I pushed myself onto a tall stool.

“What’s that about Aliz’s mom?” I asked nonchalantly whilst examining an apple in my hands.

Matt’s mother began her story.

"Well there we were at work today and Colette has this patient named Nathan and he has a thing for Colette, I mean she's a single young mother, in fabulous shape, and she's French! And that seems to do it all, well we told her that it would be better for the patient if we assigned him a new nurse. I mean we need to keep it professional.” She breathed.

I wanted to laugh; this was all, over a petty little thing like a patient having a crush on my mom? It wasn’t like my mom had done anything wrong.

"And at first Colette agreed, but there were no other patients for her to be assigned too, so she thought it would be best for her to stay with Nathan, of course I told her that she couldn't." She continued.

"But then she went all angry saying she knew the patient well and the next transfer was in a week's time so she wouldn't be working for a whole week."

"And we all know and love her cooking, it's exceptionally delicious, so I jokingly offered for her to come and work for me as a temporary cook! But there was some sincerity in there; it would be great to have a change of food!" She smiled.

"But Colette went slightly mad at me stating she wasn't a charity case and that she didn't need my help!"

"But I was only trying to help her, and she threw it back into my face!" She finished.

"You did the right thing; it is her fault if she cannot see an offer!" My father reassured her.

I stared at them and narrowed my eyes, how dare they? How dare they say it’s my mothers fault? They, being upper class rich, snobs, thinking they’re better than my mother?

“Perhaps you didn’t say it in the right way mother, I mean why else would she have said she wasn’t a charity case?” I grit my teeth squeezing the apple tightly in my fist, trying not to let my anger seep through. It was so easy for them, money comes in, and money goes out, so easily.

“And what do you mean by that Matthew?” She narrowed her eyes at me tensely.

My knuckles were turning white over the apple, I eased the pressure slightly only to squeeze it harder, I could feel my thumb pushing down the peel, a trickle of juice slid down my thumb and my blood boiled.

“I mean, if you didn’t come across like a fake, sympathetic Mother Theresa and more like a friend, maybe she would have accepted your offer and not taken it the wrong way!” I shot a filthy look at Matt’s mother and father and hurled the apple across the room; it hit a draw and slid down onto the worktop, sending tiny bits of apple and juice everywhere. Storming out of the room, I marched to the front door and bolted out of it in anger, slamming it shut behind me I stood on the front step looking around.

The rain beat down heavily as I dragged my feet down the street, not knowing where I was headed, I cursed in my mind as I let the downpour soak me. They thought they were superior, but they weren’t, they had little values and they were freaks – all of them. I wanted to expose them, I wanted to tell the world that they were vampires, but I knew I would end up in a room next to Cassie if I tried. I walked on into the night, splashing hard into the deep puddles, but this still didn’t relieve my anger. I trudged along, my hands still curled into balls at my side; this had to be one of the worst times of my life.

- MATT'S P.O.V –

I watched her sitting opposite me eating, my stomach twisted in hunger and I looked away, I wasn’t used to thinking about other people before myself, it was difficult.

“And zen, zi nerve of zat woman!” She spat after swallowing, I continued to stare at the window, rain dripping hard down it.

“Thinking, that I am some charity case!” She snarled, apparently still angry.

I turned to look at her in a bored manner, her big brown eyes stared into mine, and I had to look away.

“Some people clearly do not understand the values of life! Zey think because zey have it all already, zen everybody loves zem and needs their charity pennies! Zi nerve of zat woman!” She babbled on.

“What woman?” I asked yawning.

“Myeria Baines! She is thinking because that patient liking me, zen he is getting unhealthy!”

“So she deports me from being his nurse and now I have to wait a whole week!”

“Matt’s mom?” I leaned forwards; she had my full attention now that I was interested in what she had to say.

“But, she was just trying to help.” I argued.

“Nah, she was trying to shove it in my face zat she has more money zen I do!”

“No, I’m pretty sure she was only trying to help!” I exclaimed angrily, why was this woman so stubborn?

“What do you know Aliz, you are just a child, Myeria is just showing off!”

“I can manage just fine without her charity or her offers.” Aliz’s mom piped out.

“We don’t need her mocking us; we are doing just fine, me and you.” She scoffed.

“No we’re not!” I exclaimed, my hand making contact with the tables hard surface.

“Look at me! I’m a scrawny little girl, no muscle, barely any fat because of the lack of food!” I blurted out, getting up. My mother offered to help her and she had thrown it back in her face and insulted her and she thought we were managing okay?!

“Aliz, vat are you talking about!?” She asked getting up.

“Don’t bother.” I snarled stalking out of the kitchen. I stopped in the hall wondering whether to go to my room or out; at that moment I could hear her footsteps getting closer so I headed for the front door – slamming it shut behind me.

How dare she? This unappreciative woman, my mother had tried to help her! She thinks we’re managing fine? Well she was stupid and stubborn. I stomped in the darkness, kicking through water and dodging huge puddles as they came to light by flickering street-lamps. I let the rain run down me heavily as I broke into a run, I needed to go somewhere else, and so I turned into the alleyway and ran down it heading for the park.