At home, Kate’s father didn’t notice her irritation. He never does. She made herself dinner and spread her homework on the kitchen table. She could undoubtedly finish it all very quickly if she wanted, but tonight she wanted a distraction. She had already studied most of the material in other schools, but she kept her eye open for new things she didn’t know yet.

Once in bed, she curled up around herself and drifted to sleep thinking of Trevor. Everything he said swirled through her mind. He told her he was the same as her. Did that mean he was half vampire? He obviously had the power of seduction. But he also admitted that hers was stronger and easier to succumb to. And then the way he made her heart pound in the hallway? She tried to forget about it and fall asleep. And sleep eventually found her.

“Kate?” His silky lips whispered her name as she ran her trembling fingers over his bare chest. She did not look up at him. She didn’t want him to go.

“I have to leave you now, Kate.”

She shook her head obstinately and wound her arms around his torso. “Don’t leave me.”

Soft, warm lips met her ear and her heart fluttered. “We’re not safe here. I want us to be safe.”

Before Kate could protest, Trevor was slipping away into the darkness and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Angry tears poured from her eyes and she begged for him to come back. “Trevor please! Please Trevor we’re safe. There’s no one here. We’re alone! Please!”

But he was gone.

Kate shot up in her bed and wiped the fresh tears from her cheeks. She heard footsteps coming.

“Kate? Is there something wrong?” Her father seemed awkward leaning on the door frame, staring at her. He never gave off a look of genuine worry, but this was most likely as close as it got.

“Yes, just a bad dream.” She laid back down.

“Okay.” He shut the door and retreated back down the stairs.

Instead of falling right back asleep she stared at the ceiling in anger. She had let Trevor have a say over what she dreamt and she was beside herself. Even then, laying in her bed awake and alone her heart was resounding in her chest at the thought of him. She closed her eyes but the second she did, Trevor’s face flashed before her eyelids. Not the face from school, but the face in her dream. Distorted with the pain of leaving her in the darkness.

Kate also saw herself. Unforgiving and ungrateful that she had any time with him at all. She rolled her eyes at how ridiculous she was being over a dream. Girls dreamt about this stuff all the time, right? Or so she believed.

School the next day was a catastrophe. Every second she looked at something, in her peripherals she saw Trevor. But when she turned her head, he wasn’t there. She thought maybe she needed to see the school psychologist, however when she was retrieving her books from her bag at a bench in the hallway, Trevor came over.

He sat next to her and smirked. “When are we going to study, Kate?”

When he said her name she flashed back to her dream and shuddered. He noticed, of course, and took it as a sign of positive reaction.

“Is there something wrong, Kate?”

She refused to look into his eyes. “Nothing’s wrong. And I’m afraid I can’t tutor you.”

He didn’t seem phased by her reply at all. “You look tired.”

She shoved her books in a little harder and stood up, about to walk away.

Trevor stood up and turned her around with both hands wrapped around her arms. She tried to shake him loose but he just looked at her. Determined to make eye contact. She gave in when she noticed her fingertips getting tingly.

The glare lasted four seconds. Four seconds and nothing happened. Just a sweet smile tickling Trevor’s lips, and Kate’s heart doing back flips.

He let go and walked down the hallway.

Kate had to sit back down before she passed out. He didn’t seduce her, but he made her heart feel like pudding.