3| Damon?

"Angel!" Chloe yelled, snapping her back to reality.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked, worried. She had called her name several times, but she didn’t respond—not until she yelled her name.

"Sorry, I’ll be right back." Angel said as she quickly leapt to her feet and dashed out. She needed to leave there before she lost control. What was wrong with her? If Chloe had not yelled her name, she would have lost every ounce of control and fed on that girl in front of the whole school. Chloe was her savior.

She rushed to the restroom in order to calm herself down there, but as she trudged inside, a girl entered right after her and closed the door.

"I know who you are." The girl said this as she inched closer to Angel.

"I know who you are too." Angel retorted. 

"I saw the way you looked at my friend back there. I saw how you craved for her blood. I swear if anything happens to her—" the girl said, making the throat-slitting gesture. "I’ll tear you apart."

"So this is what all this is about, huh?" Angel pressed her lips tightly together. "Does your little friend know that her friend is a predator? And can rip her apart at any moment?"

"I would never hurt her." The girl groaned.

"Good." Angel muttered. "I wouldn’t hurt her either."

The girl was about to respond when a group of girls suddenly started banging on the restroom door.

Trudging to the door, Angel unlocked it and pulled it open.

"What were you both doing in there? Alone?" One of the girls outside asked, and the irritation in her voice was palpable.

Ignoring her, Angel walked past them. She wasn’t in the mood to entertain any drama. She was still hungry.

By the time she got to the classroom, lunch break was already over, and Chloe and Liam were already in the class.

"Where did you rush to without even finishing your lunch? You never finish it anyway, but where did you rush to?" Chloe asked, her voice filled with concern.

She scratched her temple, thinking of what lie to tell.

"I was pressed. I had to poo," she said when she finally came up with one.

"Ewww." Chloe scrunched up her face as she held her nose. "That’s the reason why I’ve been perceiving a bad odor since you came in.”

She chuckled softly. "Come on, Chloe."

One of their classmates, James, suddenly appeared in front of them. "Angel and Chloe. I’m hosting a party at my house tonight; my parents are out of town. Wanna come?" He asked. 

 "Yes!" Chloe beamed. 

"No." Angel declined the invitation.

"We’ll come." Chloe quickly said.

"Alright cool.. I would be expecting you." James said before dashing out.

Angel rolled her eyes. "I’m not going."

"Come on, it’s going to be fun." Chloe pouted. 

"You can go with Liam; I am not going." Angel said sternly. 

They argued about it for a while before the teacher entered the class, bringing an end to the argument.

…

Angel’s father, Jake, was sitting in the living room, watching a movie on the television, when she returned home after school.

"Good afternoon, Dad." She greeted

as she sauntered inside the house.

"When last did you eat?" Was the first question her dad threw at her. He had noticed how pale she looked.

"I ate at school and—" She started, but he cut her off.

"You know that’s not what I’m talking about."

"My bl.." she trailed off when Taylor walked inside the living room. He may be her brother, but he didn’t know her secret. "It has finished." She continued. 

Jake sighed. "You should always let me know when it finishes. I’ll go and get it for you."

 "Dad!" Taylor whined. "What do you always get for Angel that you don't get for me?"

Angel flicked her gaze at him and barked. "It’s none of your business."

"Hey, go easy on your brother." Jake muttered, then darted his gaze at Taylor. "I’ll get something for you too. What do you want?"

"Forget!" Taylor groaned as he started ascending the staircase. He really wanted to know what their dad always got for Angel. He hated that they always kept him in the dark.

Blowing out a breath, Jake leapt to his feet. "I’ll be right back." He told Angel before dashing out of the house.

…

Jake returned an hour later with a gallon filled with cattle’s blood that he got from the butcher’s shop. He went straight to Angel’s room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Angel said, and he pushed the door open immediately.

"Here it is." He said this as he trudged to where her bedside refrigerator was situated and put the gallon inside.

"Thank you, Daddy." She muttered. 

"Please let me know whenever it finishes. You shouldn’t wait for me to ask and starve yourself." Jake told her, his gaze fixed on her.

"You know what would happen if you starved for too long."

Of course she knew, as evidenced by how she almost lost control of herself at school.

Nodding her head, she replied. "I would let you know when it finishes."

"Good." Jake said, and he dashed out of her room.

After he left, she quickly opened her refrigerator, pulled the gallon out, and gulped some blood.

Her skin color was slowly restored, and she felt alive once again. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she ate. Damn! She hated her life. She hated that she was not normal; she hated the fact that she had to survive on blood.

Her phone suddenly rang, and upon picking it up, Chloe’s name flashed on the screen.

"Bitch!" Chloe yelled when she picked up the call.

"What’s up, Chloe?" She muttered. 

"Angel, please. Damon would be at James’s party, and I would like you to meet him. Please." Chloe pleaded. 

"Okay," Angel said.

"Okay? Okay, as in, you would come?" Chloe asked, surprised. She didn’t expect her to give in just like that. Angel has always been the kind of person who doesn’t change her mind easily.

"Yes Chloe. See you soon." She said and ended the call.

Leaping to her feet, she made her way to the living room where her dad was, to ask for permission.

"Dad, can I go to Chloe’s house? There’s an assignment we have to do together." She lied.

She knew her father wouldn’t allow her to go to a party because a lot of things could possibly go wrong.

"Yes, you can go, but be sure to come back early." He permitted her.

A smile touched her lips. "Sure." 

….

By the time Angel got to James’s house, it was already filled up with teenagers playing truth or dare; some were playing other games; and some of them were just drinking and making out.

She navigated her way through the crowd to find Chloe. After a few minutes of searching, she found herself sitting on a guy’s lap on the couch.

The second she locked eyes with the guy, she knew in an instant that he wasn’t human. What was Chloe doing with a vampire?

"Who is he?" Was the first question Angel shot at Chloe when she got to where they were.

Chloe placed a kiss on his forehead. "This is Damon, the guy I told you about."

Angel furrowed her brows. "Damon?!" She exclaimed. 

"Yes, Damon," Chloe said, then darted her gaze at Damon. "Meet my best friend, Angel."

No, this can’t be. Chloe can’t be with a vampire. Angel panicked. Vampires want nothing else to do with humans other than feed on them.