"A Corpse in the Dark "

Right now, it felt like as much of a prison as my own home. I looked around the room at the dull walls, bereft of furniture, well, except the two beds, a desk, and a chair. What I needed was to decorate the place.

Grabbing my phone, I clicked on my photos of my parents. I longed to be with them. To hear them ordering me around. I never thought l'd say this, but I missed their nagging.

I dragged myself out of bed. I couldn't sit here moping. I had that homework to write and a class schedule to keep up with. I sighed and figured, who better to help me with my assignment than Chuck.

One glance at my phone reminded me that he didn't want company.

Instead, I lay back against the pillow as brown eyes filled my head. The deep, musky scent of fur filled me, and slowly, panic melted into desire. I saw him standing against the backdrop of his pack...the three of them more of a menace...a powerful determined menace.

"This is not happening," I snarled and rolled over, shoving my face into the pillow.

Something clattered outside my room as though a tray had fallen to the ground. I jolted upright, senses on fire, and glanced at my phone. One grasp of the cell and press of the button showed it was midnight.

Must've fallen asleep.

I craned my head, listening for another sound, but none came. But I was awake now. With a sigh, I pushed my feet out from under the overturned sheet and headed to the door.

One turn of the lock and the door cracked open. Dim lights spilled under closed doors.

I stepped out and shut the door behind me before padding across the room to the balcony.

A cool breeze brushed over my thighs, and I hugged myself, rubbing my arms. An empty lawn lay below, and not far in the distance were the woods, black as a raven's feather. Who knew what was in there. It gave me the chills so l headed back inside and shut the balcony door.

Crawling back in bed, l lay there, tossing and turning, my mind fully awake. But sleep refused to come. With a grunt, I climbed out of bed once more. Stepping into my ankle boots, I grabbed my leather jacket and stepped outside into the corridor while dressing myself. Great look- pajama shorts, boots and jacket.

I almost laughed at myself. I pulled the door behind me before heading down the hall, past a dozen doors. All were silent, and I took the stairs down to the lower level where there were vending machines for snacks and drinks, and a new machine offering small portions of refrigerated bottles of blood. Wow...And payment was a swipe of my room key.

So, I stocked up on some midnight snacks, only type A for me. An empty desk, phone, and a bowl of apples sat against the wall in the foyer.

Behind the desk was a map of the building.

There were more dorm buildings like this one and a few houses marked on the outskirts of the academy compound. Teacher's cottage, was printed underneath each one. So, I hiked it back upstairs, cradling my four small bottles of blood.

My steps echoed, the thud slow and rhythmic as I climbed the stairs once more. I was lost in the sound as I reached the door. Until the heady scent of salty sea mixed with a metallic tang found me. I knew that scent as clearly as any other. I glanced around the hallway as shivers crept up my spine. Fingers fumbled with the door handle as I turned the handle and rushed inside and then stilled.

A dark shape lay on the floor in front of me. I stuck out a hand, tapping the wall for the light switch, and blinked into the glare as the light flicked on.

A man lay on my floor.

A mortal man.

Lifeless.

Dead.

In his blue striped pyjamas.

His cheeks were blueish and sunken, his face stained with dried red marks.

"Fuck!" I wobbled on my feet.

Bites littered his neck, flesh torn and ripped open, blood staining his skin. The coppery smell sickened me. My stomach riled up, bile hitting the back of my throat. It shouldn't have, but it didn't smell like food to me, just like putrid death.

His grey eyes were wide, open, and dead. He wasn't even wearing shoes. God, someone had ripped him out of his bed to murder him, but why the hell was he in my room?

The bottles of blood slipped from my grasp. They bounced around my feet, the lids cracked open, and blood splashed everywhere. My legs, the wall behind me, the carpet, turning the scene into a slaughterhouse.

I stumbled away, hitting the wall with my back, my knees weakening. The smell of the sea grew stronger. I trembled, and my eyes watered as I hugged myself. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, everything fell too silent.

Then, an ear-piercing scream rang from the doorway.

I jumped in my skin and jerked around to find Ava there.

"Holy shit he's dead...you killed a mortal."

One Should Make Lifelong Relationships

"I-didn't k-kill him." I stuttered.

I shook my head, but I couldn't look away. Dead. There's a dead body in my room. My stomach clenched as l

gagged.

The scent of blood made me hungry...but the sight of that...that thing made me heave.

A whimper tore from Ava's lips. Her eyes were round orbs, her breaths ragged and wheezing.

Instinct took over, my muscles flexed, and I stumbled forward. "Please, you've got to believe me. I didn't do this. I swear to you...l swear."

Her gaze was frozen, fixed on the corpse, and I kept checking the corridor, expecting someone to come rushing out from her earlier scream. How long before someone heard us, before they came to investigate?

Sirens would blare. The hounds would come.

And, of course, they'd blame the new vampire.

The pact.

I closed my eyes at the thought. To kill a mortal broke about fifty different laws.

They'd sentence me to death, and there'd be nothing Dad could do to save me.

He'd be taken before the Supernatural Council, tried like a criminal in front of the Ancients.

I was in so much trouble.

The urge to run consumed me as Ava's harsh breaths filled the space. A door slammed shut somewhere in the dorm, echoing through the hall.

I flinched and grasped Ava's arm, dragging her with me. "I promise you, I promise with everything I have, I...did..not..do...this."

She followed, cutting me a confused glare, before she stumbled toward the body.

I grasped the door and eased it closed before the lock gave a click.

"Fuck me!" Ava cried out, and I jerked around to find her staring down at the male. "It's Drew, the human exchange student."

Her words were a sucker punch to my gut, I lurched forward, stomach rolling...there was no more stopping my body. I darted toward my desk, grabbed the waste bin, and then retched.

"You really are the worst vampire l've ever seen," Ava muttered, while I kept choking and whimpering. "You're like those mortals who eat meat but can't stand to see where that meat actually comes from."

"Don't." I waved my hand in the air as my stomach rolled and rolled. "No more."

One swipe with the back of my hand, I rushed to my bathroom and rinsed my mouth. The cotton towel was soft and smelled faintly of lavender. I held onto that perfect scent and stepped into my room once more.

Ava prodded the body with her foot, making me whimper.

"So, you believe me?" I couldn't look away as his leg rolled with her prodding and then fell back into place.

Ava didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry about yesterday in the woods." I was desperate.

"Didn't mean to push you. Instinct took over, and I just wanted to show up those cat bitches."

And in an instant, Ava turned to face me. "I won't scream. I won't even make a sound. I will trust you on one condition?"

Hope surged like lightning through my chest. "What is it?"

In my head I was counting how many furs it'd take, how many houses l'd have to buy...

"You become my friend. And not just a friend...my best friend. We share everything, gossip, homework, stories about..." Her face grew red.

"Sex. I want sex stories. I want everything. It's that or I start screaming right here...right now."