My Guardian Vampire

I walked a few steps in, and was quickly ambushed.

"Hey!" my friend Brittany greeted as she, Grace, and Casey crowded around me. "I thought you couldn't come...” she said trailed, looking at me speculatively. I grinned in return.

"I left and Katy here picked me up."

"Yeah, and she almost got raped in the process," Katy added, and even though she was serious, she smiled.

I feel should probably put a word in here about my friends. Katy is one of my two "best-best" friends as I call it, a kind of preppy-ish, happy, outgoing (though easily embarrassed) girl a year older than me. Since she's my cousin, I've known her the longest. She's extremely smart, and I have some kind of connection with her that I don't have with anyone else.Then there's Brittany, my other "best-best" friend and almost the opposite of Katy. She's a shy (until you get to know her) gothic who I can tell anything to, and we fight constantly. She's the only person who understands when I get depressed, and I'd do anything for her, though I'd also probably kill her over a slice of pizza. Then comes Grace, a extremely quiet punk loving teenager who's one of the coolest people I know. She's always honest, an amazing artist, and looks at things from ways that I'd never imagine. The last of the fab-four is Casey, who is the nicest person you'll ever meet. Voted friendliest in our school, she simply has a magnetic, innocent personality that will do anything for you, (reminding me almost of a puppy). Though sometimes, she lets people take advantage of her, which pisses me off. She's the person that worries when you're sick, and that you can totally trust, as long as you don't cross her.

We walked up to the front of the cafeteria, where the first band was setting up their gear, as I told them the story. As I finished I received a quick smack from Casey for being so stupid. My childish snicker in response was cut short, feeling struck again—but in a totally different manner. Sensing someone behind me, I tensed up before turning around. A guy stood tall before me, dressed with a white dress shirt, black pants, and some kind of vest on top of his shirt. He smiled at me, and I could practically feel the heat of the stares coming from behind me.

"Hi," he said, still standing there.

"Hi..." I replied, much more awkwardly in tone, waiting for him to say something. His hair was shaved at the sides, bangs falling on the side of his face, partially dyed. His eyes flickered behind me to Brittany momentarily. As if remembering something, he handed me a flyer in his hand.

"Make sure to check out our merchandise after the show," he said to me, smiled and turned to Brittany.

"You too," he said, winking at her and walking off. She, of course, was practically drooling on the floor. Mentally, I face palmed. Shy? Yes. But boy crazy? Absolutely.

"Oh my, Brittany, like what you saw?" I teased. She glared at me, but in the same way she had for years, amusement hidden behind the attempted-malice stare.

"Hell yeah!" she said, raising her head high as if in defiance, but laughing slightly.

The first band finished setting up, people tapping their feet and folding their arms expectantly. I could tell the band knew this would be no easy crowd to please. Luckily (for us) they sucked, so most people left the area, leaving my friends and I to spread out and claim good spots in front of the next band. As a seasoned concert goer (even at my age), I knew enough to stick myself slightly to the left of the microphone, a perfect spot. I was not going to move from this space, no matter what.

A local band then came on, which always brought on the cheers. As they were playing, I sang (loudly) the words to the song. I was also dancing like an idiot, which was my favorite thing to do (especially since people some get embarrassed for me, and others join in and start to have fun).

My reverie was shaken suddenly mid-song however, as the door on the other side of the room was opened, sending an icy freeze as the cold air tried to make its way though the room. I spotted another band coming in, one which I had seen many times before and loved so dearly. Their music wasn't the best in the world, but their band had something that made them better than most:
Rob.

A true showman, he was the band's ultimate weapon: not only the singer and one of the guitarists, he really knew how to excite a crowd, getting them to dance and fall in love. Ever since the first time I saw them, Rob and I had become kind of friends—we would talk after the show, and he usually would give me a sticker or something for free because I would always dance and sing, helping the rest of the crowd feel comfortable to do likewise.

Rob walked in last of the band and smiled at me, making my heart skip a few beats. I smiled at him and waved quickly before returning to sing the song the band was playing, forcing my attention back on the event I loved so dearly.

The local band eventually left, leaving the crowd to wind down for a moment or two. Rob's stepped up and began to set up their gear right in front of the crowd. This closeness was why I loved the local concerts more than the big ones—you can talk to the band, be right next with them, and form a real connection.
As Rob set up his guitar and microphone, we chatted, and I could feel myself grinning like an idiot. I didn't care. It was nice to have my heart beating like this, even if it was only for a short time; it had been so long since the last concert of his, I didn't mind.

Grace suddenly grabbed my sleeve, breaking me out of my trance.
"Yes?" I asked, still laughing and on a high from my talk with Rob. He had walked away grinning, helping his other band mates set up.

"Look! They're all here!" Grace said, pointing to the doorway. Another band, which I guessed would be the last one of the night, was congregating in the corner towards the door. The guy who handed Brittany and I a flyer was standing with them, laughing at some hidden joke.

"Who are they?" I asked as I turned my head slightly towards Grace, though I never took my eyes off of them. Something about them seemed...strange. As soon as I thought this, one of them looked dead ahead at me. For some reason an involuntary chill quickly stole its way up my spine, though I was at least certain it had nothing to do with the open door. I quickly looked away, breaking the eye contact.

"I've seen them once before, they're the best band I've ever seen live," she said excitedly. I chuckled, though it was more in surprise at Her expression. Grace never usually enthused past a slightly-louder-than-speaking-voice "yeah!", so this kind of excitement was a bit odd. But I was glad to see it.

"I'll take your word for it Gracie," I said, beaming back at her as Rob's band started up.
Rob's band was amazing as ever, and I danced and I sang, losing myself to some beautiful world. My heart continued to dance with me every time Rob would look my way while singing, or talk to me while playing a solo (something he often did, trying to seem cool and nonchalant), or, my favorite, press his guitar against me, trying to embarrass me.

I smiles and sang and danced and laughed as always, but something kept taking me back from my happy earth: the guy, apparently from Grace's band, staring at me from across the room. I would look to him and frown—no matter how much I tried to ignore it and relax, a knot in the pit of my stomach kept forming, making me feel sick when I thought of him. And for whatever reason, whenever I felt ill he would frown at me. This creeped me out even more—it was as if he somehow understood how I was feeling.
I tried my best to concentrate on Rob standing before me, something I had waited months for, but to my disappointment I could never shake the feeling. With a lump rising in my throat and my stomach knotting itself sick, I couldn't stop frowning. After a while of this, Rob looked at me and frowned himself for a moment (he was playing his guitar) but quickly went back to singing. This sent melancholy sensations through me; Rob now knew something was wrong, which made me feel guilty.

Nothing was wrong, so why did I feel so sick?

Notes

Hey ya'll!

Me again. I'll probably post the first few chapters or so before posting the rest on a daily basis. Please feel free to comment!

Ali