Just when all hope was gone...

It's been exactly a week since Elaine and I followed Brianne to that church of the God of Light.

I was starting to get a little worried, honestly.

She hadn't shown up at school once since that day.

Maybe she really did see us.

And I don't know, maybe she's been too embarrassed to come back?

I hope that's not the reason.

If it is, it means her devotion to the God of Light is even more pathetic than mine to that so-called vampire god I swore to worship day and night.

I haven't even lit a single candle for him.

Not for lack of trying, though.

I spent an entire afternoon looking things up online!

I searched on the internet, in order:

■ Information on the vampire god.

■ Who is the vampire god?

■ The real vampire god, not the one from video games!

■ Milf and teen boy fuck hard."

(Yeah, I like to take some time for myself every now and then. Got a problem?)

■ How to create a vampire god: Tutorial.

And still, no clue who the hell the vampire god is.

Whatever.

It actually calms me down a bit to see Brianne walk into class after her week-long absence, even if she doesn't look great.

She's limping slightly on her right leg. Must've had some kind of accident or something.

And yeah, she confirms it a moment later while chatting with the guy who sits next to her—a guy so forgettable I don't even remember his name.

Didn't waste a second pretending to be worried about her.

Pfft… does that loser seriously think he has a chance with her? What an looser.

Apparently, she stepped wrong while walking on a mountain trail and cut her calf on a sharp branch.

Not that I care, anyway—Brianne's a closed case for me.

I even handed over the twenty bucks to Elaine already, and she didn't waste a second spending it on weed.

«I'm saving this for Saturday night. You said you're sleeping over, right? We'll roll a fat joint with this stuff straight from the Netherlands—best way to deal with heartbreak!»

Honestly, I'm touched.

Now you understand why I care so much about my friendship with Elaine? Seriously, where else would you find such a thoughtful friend—someone who uses the money she won in a bet just to ease the sting of your failure?

She's the best! No doubt about it.

Sleeping… well, she sleeps.

I don't have that luxury—vampires don't even know what the word "sleep" means.

And to avoid getting dragged to a hospital by Isabelle, I have to pretend to sleep every night.

You have no idea how fucking boring it is to lie there with your eyes closed for six, seven hours straight.

Especially now that I share a bed with Isabelle.

Or with Elaine, when I stay over.

Well, in that case it's easier. Most of the time, I just black out from alcohol or weed.

Not exactly the healthiest way to get through the night, but at least I don't have to fake it—I'm completely out cold.

And thanks to the near-instant regenerative factor vampires have, I don't even suffer liver or lung damage from all the drinking and smoking—just a bit of dizziness.

Basically, I'm living every teenager's dream.

Then came break time… and something totally unexpected happened.

Something incredibly ordinary, yet absurdly extraordinary at the same time!

I was just walking down the hallway, lost in thought—debating whether I should see if Elaine was down to fuck that Saturday night—when…

Brianne… waved at me!

I didn't imagine it (I think).

She really waved at me!

Sure, it was just a quick little hand motion paired with a smile that barely qualified as one, but still—way more than before!

She raised her arm a bit as we passed each other in the hallway—I was heading back to class from the bathroom, and she was going the opposite way.

She didn't even look me in the eye—she was super embarrassed—but who cares.

That little gesture brought my dead-and-buried hopes of fucking her back to life!

I should probably tell Elaine, but if I do, she might sell the weed she bought just to give me my money back—and there goes our stoner Saturday night.

I mean, come on, I'm the adopted son of a millionaire—twenty bucks aren't gonna bankrupt me.

I wonder why Brianne waved at me… maybe staring death in the face made her realize that a young, beautiful girl like her shouldn't leave this world without first trying a high-quality dick?

That has to be it.

There's no other explanation.

Whatever.

I'm willing to forgive her and give her a second chance—I'm a generous, understanding vampire after all.