Chapter 1

have you ever felt like your trying to push two magnets together? and neither one can flip, but there oppisite, so they wont go together? thats how i feel. alot. like when i tried to ignore him today.

maybe i should start at the beginning. thats always a good thing to have at the front of a book...

i just moved to minnesota. well we did- my foster parents tara and randy. my name is camilla. we moved from down south-texas. but we dont have an accent- who would guess? today was monday. so here i come school. hope your ready for another klutz.

klutz doesnt even begin to cover it. klutz is a euphemism. i could stand completly still and i would fall over.

i have my own car. nothing special. unless your in the smallest city in the world. which we were. my cars just a siver 1918 chevy siveradoe. it cant go very fast and i cant stand it. so i drove myself to school. not hard because every teenager in a five mile radius was trying to remember how to get there. all i had to do was pick through their brains for about five seconds, and i got the directions. it would be a 20 minute drive from were i was. well that is, if i care about a little thing like speed limits. but what mind reading vampire cares about speed limits? i know this one doesnt!

so i got to school no problem. even being the klutzyest vampire in the world, the humans still see me as the most gracefull being alive. thats what they were thinking about, all day. no one came up to me today, so far. so i found the office, and saw a young guy behind the counter- mid 20s. as soon as he saw me, his breath was gone. shes got to be too young! he kept thinking over and over. if only he knew how old i possibly was- not how old i looked. he would be thinking-shes too old.

"hello, my name is camilla. i believe you were expecting me?" i said politely, slowly, and very high. just enough so that he could hear me though.

"oh, yes."he said, startled- by my voice according to his thoughts. "yes, um, lets see." he said, sifting through his papers."here, heres your schedual, and here is a slip. you need to have all your teachers sign this. off you go now."

first hour, room 203, with mr. pitsa, science. it went smoothly. the humans didnt even relize they have a test tomarrow. too busy admiring and envying me. poor people. mr. pitsa tried his best no to look at me. the rest of the day past like that. that is, untill eigth period.

i did my quick check of all the minds and the guy next to me wasnt thinking about me. actually, it sounded like he wasnt thiking, period. i looked at him, confuzed. he was writing a note. he kept it covered so i couldnt read it. he didnt look at me once througout the whole class. and that smell. oh how it tourured me. i could just whisper in his ear, tell the teacher i need the nurse... NO! i thought. i relized i had clenched my hands very tightly so my viens could be seen through my paper white skin. look away and dont breath, camy. i thought. i made it through the last period. when the bell rang, i was gone. not a smart idea, because everyone was watching me.

that night i went hunting. i told my parents that i made a friend and they wanted a sleep over. they dont know about the whole "mind-reding/vampire" thing.

------------------------------------------------------

the next day, a few boys were planning to approach me. i just sat on the benches outside the school looking bored, being as still as i could- thats really still, seeing as i dont have to breath and all.

the boys were starting bets on who could date me first, when out of nowere a jacket lightly but quickly found its way on my shoulders. i tensed quickly, then relaxed thinking how another vampire wouldnt do that. i turned, slowly and saw thw guy from eighth hour, history, sitting next to me.

"hey" he said quietly in a voice i was sure only i could hear. i nodded, flabberghasted.

"im sorry about yesterday. i was incredibly rude." all he did was shake his head.

"no" he said "no, it wasnt you, dont blame yourself." the only thing i could do was look at him with enough confusion in my face for im to see. but still he didnt look at me. and still, his mind was silent, like no one sat next to me.

"my name is camilla. call me camy. what your name?" i asked politely, but truly curiose.

"jakob. call me jake." how could he keep his voice that low? that quiet? i was still trying to figure out what to say when a boy from my fifth hour math sat next on the other side of me. just after he thought it he said "your camilla right? from fifth our math?"

i nodded "camy. whats your name? i dont want people i dont know to know me." that was such a lie. i knew so much about erick- just from what he was thinking.

"my names erick. wheres your next class? maybe i could walk you there?" he offered, trying to be helpfull. i quick glanced over my shoulder to see if jakob was still there. he had left, but his jacket was still with me. the smell was starting to get to me. i turned back to erick.

"sure" i said, a little reluctantly "its room 203." so we walked. going this slow it would take 10 minutes. for a while we jsut walked in silence. he was trying to think of a way to ask me out.

" hey, would you meet me at the library after school sometime? we have a few of the same classes and i need help."

i could always say i have a boyfriend." sure. when?"

"tonight? 3:30? is that okay?" he asked sounding worried i would say no.

i could always say i already am dating someone... "okay, ill let you know if something comes up." we were at my class and the warning bell rang.

today went just the same as yesterday. i answered a couple questions. people avioded me. so on and so forth. that is, untill lunch.

i sat alone at lunch. just like always. for some reason they cant explain themselfs, humans stay away from us vampires. but while i was sitting there - trying to find jakes mind - someone sat down across from me. i expected erick- i was too emerced in my own thoughts to care about others. but it wasnt him.

"hey." said jake. short, sweet, and to the point. just as quiet as the first time i heard him. "hey" i said in my normal - normal, as in vampire - voice.

"heard you have a date tonight. you do know hes going to bring you out tonight- i mean other then the library- right?"

"uh-huh" it was true i did know that. "he doesnt keep secrets well does he?" that was a lie.

"your reluctant to go. you dont like him like that." the first was a statement of fact. the second was a question - he wanted to know why i agreed.

"well-" i was cut off.

"tell him - you got grounded. trust me. tell him, that you got in an accedent and your father called and you got grounded." he handed me his cell phone.

"okay, where am i calling from? i cant tell im this is my cell phone."

"your on a school pay phone." i noded and opend the phone. jakob told me ericks number and i called.

"hello?"

"hey erick." i said humaly,"got bad news. im grounded."

"oh no! why?"

"car crash. it was on the way to school today. person called police, police called my father."

"how long? i mean, maybe we can do a raincheck?"

"im not sure. he said at least till i can pay it off. hey, i got to go. sorry again. 'bye." i quick shut the phone and handed it back.

with the trays of food between us, i could hardly smell jake. which is a good thing. but i worried when he leaned over and pushed his tray to the side, holding his elbows whith his hands on the table. "thers no need to be scared. even for me." how did he know i was terrified for him? i always looked indifferent, uncaring.

"why would i be?"

"i know some reasons." just then, the warning bell rang. we both got up and dumped our trays, his only had one bite taken out of it. mine had none.

he had the same next hour as me. so we walked in silence. i took miniscule glances at him from time to time, studying how he looked.

jakob has really dark hair, almost black. which made his skin look like mine under that grownout/spikey look. green eyes, but they looked fake, like he puts yellow contacts over blue eyes - not at all like mine, which almost glow when i hunted recently. a small nose and thin lips made up the rest of his face.

jakes' body was thin, but not unhealthy looking. under his medium sized shirt, you could tell he had arms like rope. but he wore a dark blue, long sleeve turtle neck- like mine, only mine was gray. my nose came up to his chin.

when we got to sixth hour, he saw me looking at him. he smiled, showing his beautiful teeth. it looked amazing. i smiled back. the rest of the day went like that. i got to my truck and there was a note stuck to the inside fo my window. it said:

CAMILLA CALL ME

WHEN YOUR OFF.

763-554-6872 ~

RICK-E (ERICK)

i shook my head and got in the car. then relized he knew which car was mine. i was creeped out by the thought.

i got home just before the snow started to fall. it was beautifel, but gross. i went inside and put my stuff away. then walked straight into the kitchen.i grabbed the phone to call erick when it rang.

"hello?" i said

"hey camy!" it was erick,"i wanted to know, since we can hang out tonight, maybe we can make a time, like next saterday?"

"erick, i told: you im grounded"

"i called here earilier, you werent home yet, i talked to your mom, and she seemed to want you gone."

"i dont know. let me think about it."

" oh. okay. see ya then." he still sounded elated.

"bye." i hung up. i walked up to my room. a few minutes later i heard a knock on my door.

"cami`ll'? honey? someones here to see you." she spoke uncertainly. most humans stay away from me.

"who is it?"i asked already getting ready for jake. "his name is like, jake, or something. boy, almost as pale as you, black shaggy hair?"

"send him up mom." she went back down the stairs. and then he was right there, moving the homework from under my hands.- and sitting on my bed. i was suddenly very aware of my slobby outfit i put on since i got home: a pair of deep blue sweats with holes and a light purple tank top.

"erick called you again."he already knew, so why lie to him.

"yea. wants to know if i would go out with him this saterday. i told him i dont know."

"why didnt you say yes?"

"because i dont like him like that. his brown eyes never look at my face, his blond hair is never combed, he has a weird skin color, and hes a wimp - body-wise. then his personality! dont get me started on that!"

he nodded. then he said "can we go somewere on saterday? you dont have to if you dont want. and it doesnt have to be a date. unless you want it to be one."

it was my turn to nod. i was suddenly embarrassed - though it would never show in my face other then me biting my lip. i wispered so softly that i hardly heard it-"a date."

then something happend so fast i couldnt follow it. first i was sitting upright, one knee on the bed, facing jake, who was mirroring my position. next, his hand was cupping my face and i was lying down, jake at my side.

"sorry." he whispered. then left.