Chapter 2: No Way!

In her seventeen years of existence, she believed that fairies, mermaids, werewolves, and vampires are nothing but tales.

Stories made by human imagination, something that won't ever come true. Something that only exists in movies. And yet, there's someone, right in front of her, claiming that he's one of those mythical creatures.

"Vam... pire?" She mumbled, almost like a whisper.

There's no doubt that this lass is so confused. She has a lot of questions based on what she witnessed earlier but doesn't know where to start.

'Is he joking? But how come he managed to jump as high as this? Is he a monster too just like that scary stalker?!' Things like these roamed inside her head.

Rae blinked, "But I'm not joking. I'm--"

He was cut off when they heard someone yawned.

"What time is it? Is it nighttime already?"

A small black creature suddenly came out of Rae's bag. It has wings that's why it can fly. And it has glowing big yellow eyes, big pointed ears, big mouth with sharp little fangs. It's shape is similar to...

"A talking bat?!" She blurted in surprise.

"A human?" The small talking bat glanced at her and then to Rae, "Young master, what's the meaning of this?"

"I'll explain later, Primo. But for now..." Rae looked behind and saw that the monster bat earlier is still chasing them.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Yana gulped nervously.

"Hang on." Rae said and before she could do so, he jumped high once again. Too bad this lass isn't fond of aerial rides.

And when they landed on the playground, she immediately went on the corner to get some fresh air. She felt so dizzy that she could throw up anytime.

"Now it's time to take care of this Level E." She heard him say.

'Level E? What's he talking about?' When she glanced at his direction, she saw the monster bat flying towards them.

"Here it goes, young master!"

The monster used its speed and attacked Rae using its sharp claws. But he just dodged all of its attacks effortlessly.

'How can he fight that monster head on? Is he nuts!?' Yana said to herself as she anxiously watched them.

"You're done? Now it's my turn!" He grinned and kicked the monster bat, as it hits the tree, it collapsed in such collision.

'And how the heck did he manage to kick him that strong!? D-don't tell me... He's really a... Vampire?' All suspicions came to her once again as she witnessed these things.

"Nice kick, young master!" The small talking bat praised.

Rae walked towards the monster bat, "It's too early to celebrate, we--!" He didn't get to finish what he's going to say when the monster bat suddenly got up and rushed as fast as it could. And if he's not mistaken, the direction where it's heading is...

He turned around, "Yana, watch out!" He shouted and was about to rush towards her when she suddenly panicked and screamed.

"Don't you dare... TOUCH ME!!!"

Her defense mechanism made her swing her bag as hard as she could and hit its face. With such impact, one of its fangs popped off as it fell on the ground.

The thought of seeing that monster bat rushing towards her with it's slimy saliva and hideous face made this lass protect herself for the sake of not getting wet with that disgusting drool. And that leaves the monster unconscious for a moment.

And as for the two, they were dumbfounded at what they witnessed. Especially Rae. Who would've thought she can take it down all by herself.

"Girls are... really scary.." Primo whispered and gulped nervously.

Rae glanced at the small talking bat and placed his index finger near his lips.

"Shh... She might hear you." He whispered. And then, he walked towards the unconscious monster bat.

"Now, for the final move..." He took a pen from his pocket and suddenly stabbed the monster bat on its chest using the pointed part. Then, the monster slowly turned into ashes and faded away.

"I-is it dead?" Yana, who's still trembling after witnessing such a hideous sight, finally dared to ask.

"Yep. It's gone for good." Rae nodded and smiled as he wiped his pen filled with blood.

"B-but how? I thought vampires die when they got stabbed by a wooden stake in their chest?"

Rae just chuckled at the lass' confused look.

"What's so funny?"

The lad shook his head, "Nothing. But to answer your question, any sharp objects can kill that level; it's the 21st century anyway."

The lass didn't seem to get the gist of what he said.

"Since the pen is the sharp item I have, I used its other purpose: for Self-Defense!" He raised his pen like a weapon with a victorious smile on his face.

"Do you really have to promote it that way?" Yana said as if she finally get what he meant.

With that, she heaved a sigh. All the things that she saw and happened today are enough to make her feel exhausted.

"I'm going home. Thanks for saving me." She said and turned her back.

"Not so fast, miss..." The small talking bat called Primo said out of the blue.

Yana glanced at them, "What do you want?"

Primo smirked, "Do you really think that the young master will let you get away that easily after everything you saw?"

The lass suddenly became nervous at what she heard, "What do you mean?"

The small bat laughed in an evil way.

"We're vampires, remember? We won't stop until we get what we want!"

Fear suddenly crept inside her once again, 'B-blood? D-don't tell me he's...' She gulped and glanced at Rae.

"H-hey Rae... he's just joking, right?" She nervously asked but the lad just gave her a serious expression that she have never seen before. And that made her scared even more.

She took few steps backwards as he walked towards her.

"R-Rae... Please don't do this... I-I promise I won't tell a soul about what I saw!" She stopped moving when her back hit the tree. Rae cornered her by placing his arms on both of her sides to prevent her from escaping.

She gulped and exclaimed in fear, "I beg you... Please don't suck my bloooood!"

And there's a moment of silence, until the lad suddenly bursts out laughing.

"Pfftt... You're so amusing, Yana!"

And that she realized, everything was just a joke.

"Y-you! You tricked me!" She blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean like that. And, I have no intention of drinking your blood."

"What do you mean? Aren't you a vampire, the bloodsuckers?" She asked suspiciously.

"Yes, for most vampires. You see... I don't like drinking blood for some reason..." He gently rubbed his cheek in embarrassment.

"And what could be the reason?" The lass pressed on, still not letting her guard down.

The lad inhaled, "You see, blood... has an awful smell... It tastes disgusting!" He frowned.

"And what if... I suck blood on someone with a virus? I'll get infected too! I don't want that!" He turned his face in disgust.

And Yana, raised an eye brow as she can't believe of what she have heard. Why does she feel disappointed in such excuse? She should be glad that the vampire in front of her, ironically, doesn't like to drink blood.

Then, she glanced at Primo, "Are all vampires like this?" She asked.

And the small bat sighed, "No, young master is the only exception. We tried several times since he was a kid, but... He really refused to drink since the first time he tasted it."

"Are you okay with that? I mean, as far as I know, vampires get weak if they didn't drink blood." Curiosity continues to roam inside her.

Why does she want to know more of these creatures that nearly got her killed? And she doesn't know the answer either.

"I'm perfectly fine." Rae smiled, "As long as human food can sustain me, I won't be thirsty of any blood."

He made it sounds so easy.

He always smiles. Does he even know how to become sad? He didn't even get scared while facing the monster bat. How come he can smile so easily?

These are what's inside her head. The way how this lad smiles makes her forget for a moment that he's not ordinary. And that, Yana realized something... His gentle smile makes him more human than others out there.

Maybe he doesn't have ill intentions. Maybe... just maybe... That the vampire in front of her just wants to blend in and be normal like them.

These are her realizations as she walked on her way home. But there's something that keeps bothering her.

"Why are you still following me?" She asked and turned to face Rae behind her.

"I'm not following you. It just happens that this is the same direction on my way home."

"Save your jokes on me. Where could you possibly live? I know every person here in our neighborhood." Yana suspiciously looked at him once again.

"Oh, here we are. I live there." He pointed the huge Gothic house she saw earlier this morning.

"Yana?" A familiar voice called her. It was her mother, who went outside to take their garbage out.

"Mom?"

The woman glanced at the young lad beside her daughter.

"Good evening, ma'am." Rae politely bowed his head with a smile.

"Oh, you must be our new neighbor! It's a pleasure to meet you. What's your name?"

"The pleasure is mine, just call me Rae, ma'am." He said and kissed the woman's hand. *

"Oh my, such a nice kid!" She chuckled and then glanced at her daughter who's been dumbfounded the whole time.

"Yana, did you already get along with our new neighbor?"

'Wait what? New neighbor? Him? Since when?!' And all the things she's been through earlier suddenly flashed back inside her mind.

"We're classmates, ma'am."

"Is that so?" Then she glanced at her daughter, "Yana, starting tomorrow, both of you should go to school together. You should welcome Rae in this neighborhood. Okay?"

And like any other loving children, this lass cannot say no to her only parent. But this is what her heart and mind is screaming:

'NO WAAAAAAAAAY!!!'

***

Author's Note:

*The kissing of the hand in this part is what we call "pagmamano". An honorable act that shows respect for elderly people that could also mean asking for a blessing. This is famous among the Filipino people.