Have you ever felt like you were being watched? Well, that's what I felt at that very moment. I was sitting at a table in this club called the Bronze. It was my first night there, and it was a very cool place. They'd had something like it in my old town but it wasn't as fun. Everyone knew each other here. It was perfect. I didn't know many people. I'd made quite a few friends of course but other then them I didn't know anybody. I glanced around. Maybe it was because I'm a pretty paranoid person or maybe it's because I was new. Then the feeling stopped and I felt that nobody was watching me anymore. My friends kept chatting but since I was new I didn't know who they were talking about.
" Did you hear that Melanie Hanson actually asked Curty Wineburg to the dance? And he said yes!" Cordelia Chase gossiped as all her friends laughed in disbelief. " I can't believe her! How many guys has she dated in the last month? That must be like number five!" Sara cried, another girl that I had just met. It seemed to me that they were the popular crowd. Everyone looked up to them. Well, almost everyone. I have to admit, some of them would definitely take some getting used to but some of them were really nice. Like Cordelia. She was the first one of them that I had met. I was in my first class and she was sitting next to me. I was wearing one of my favourite outfits and I guess she liked it because she started to ask me about it and after that we just hit it off.
Another one I really liked was Tamara. She didn't really care what people thought of her as much as the others did. She was one of the leaders of the group. She didn't have a steady boyfriend and she didn't really care. I liked that about her. " Hey Carrie! Come with me to get a café laté?" Cordelia asked as she started to get up. " Sure!" I said hopping up. Cordelia was going out with this guy named Xander. He seemed like a decent guy but some of the girls really bugged her about going out with such a loser. I didn't see what was so bad about him but I didn't really know him so I decided to meet him before I started to say anything.
" Cordy! Up for a few dances?" He asked, joining the two girls on their way to the counter. He started to make weird gestures which I thought was dancing. I laughed because he seemed really funny. " Xander! I'm getting a cup of coffee!" He just stared at her, still waiting for an answer. " That means no." Cordelia replied rolling her eyes. " And who is this lovely lady who has joined you this evening?" He asked looking at me. Cordelia ordered her coffee and turned to face him. " She's my friend dweebhead. Carrie meet Xander." Xander shook her hand while he gave Cordelia a charmed smile. " Wow. I didn't know that Cordy had any of those. What did she call you again? A friend? Is that spanish?" He smiled at me and just as Cordelia's order was laid down on the counter, he picked it up and started to wisp it off in the opposite direction of our table. " Hey! Your going the wrong way! Our table is this way!" She cried but he kept on going. She sighed. " You can go back to the table if you want. I'm going to try to get back my coffee." She said waiting for me to answer her. "No, I'll come." I replied as we started to make our way to the table where Xander had just sat down.
We walked up to the table and sitting there where three other people. Two girls and a guy. I didn't know any of them, so I immediately jumped into shy mode. " Can I have my coffee now?" Cordelia asked. " Why don't you sit with us? Were celebrating." The blonde girl asked, smiling at the two of them. " Your in a good mood. You aren't usually so almost charming." Cordelia said, sitting next to Xander. I just kept standing, waiting for someone to notice that I was alive. " Were all just striving to achieve that perfection that you have attained." The red headed girl assured Cordelia sipping her coffee while trying not to laugh. " Whatever." Cordelia replied. " Um, did anyone notice that there is a girl standing at our table who came with Cordelia or do I really need glasses?" The guy asked. His hair was bleached and I thought that he looked kind of familiar. That's when I recognized him as the lead guitarist of the band that had been playing earlier.
" Everyone, this is Carrie. Carrie, this is Buffy, Willow and Oz." Xander introduced me as they all said hi. " Sit down." Cordelia told me, gesturing to the seat next to Buffy. I sat and just stared at my hands. " So where are you from?" Willow asked. " Oh. I'm from L.A." I replied. " Yeah? Me too!" Buffy cried. " It's nice to know you guys have something in common." Cordelia said sarcasticly. " What school did you go to?" She asked me. " I went to Elaenor High." I said. " Oh. I didn't go there." She said. We all just sat in silence for a moment until Cordelia started a conversation about something. Sitting there reminded me of my old friends. But I had to push that thought away. I never wanted to think about that horrible experience ever again.
That's when I had that feeling again. That someone was watching us. Not necessarily me this time but someone at our table. I looked around casually and noticed a guy standing in one of the corners of the room. He was staring at Buffy and you should have seen the look in his eyes. And the worst part was that I knew that look. It was the kind of look that you saw in the eyes of evil. Or the kind of look that I've seen too many times before. In the eyes of a killer.
I looked away and waited to see if anyone noticed. Everyone was talking and nobody seemed to notice that there was someone watching them. Waiting. I looked over again and he noticed. But for some reason, I couldn't look away. I knew that there was something different about him. Something alluring. But once again I looked away. There was definitely something going on with him. Then I got up from the table. I don't know why I did. I didn't even say anything. It was like I was in a trance. I barely even felt the movement in my body as I got up from the table and left. And I walked by him. I didn't look at him or anything, I just walked by. He followed.
I opened the door and walked into the night air. It was chilly that night. but I don't remember feeling it. My steps made hollow noises against the silent night. Soon, I heard another set of footsteps. They started off really slow and then they got faster, until they'd caught up with me. He grabbed my arm and said " Excuse me." I turned to face him. " Yes?" I asked him, for the first time seeing him up close. " Are you a friend of Buffy's?" He asked. I just stared at him. " I don't know who your talking about." I replied, getting a little confused. He seemed so fake now that I think about it. Not that I think about it much. I could barely think. I don't think I would've even been able to tell him my name.
" Buffy? The blonde girl at the table?" He reminded me. "Oh. I just met her. She seemes like a nice girl." I replied as if I were in a daze. " Yes. I was wondering if you could give her a message for me?" He asked, his eyes turning to that familiar look. "What's that?" A voice asked from behind us. We both turned. There was Buffy standing there, staring at the guy that stood next to me. " Oh. Nevermind. I'll have to tell you some other time. " He said and he started to walk down the street in a very confident manner. And I stared. " Are you okay?" Buffy asked running up to me. " Yeah. I'm just dazed in a major way." I replied, shaking my clouded head. " Come on." She said, leading the way back to the Bronze. When she opened the doors I heard the sounds once more. The sounds of the living. I turned and looked over my shoulder one last time. I could see the his shadow down the street. I knew once again that he was watching, waiting. And then, I turned knowing that I would see him again.
The next day at school was pretty normal. I met a whole bunch of new people. I finally got to find out about the people that everybody was always talking about. The worst part was that I had to explain to everyone that I was an orphan. my parents had both been killed a few years ago. I didn't work to keep up the apartment or anything. My parents had owned a big corporation and they had left more then enough money for me to live on. I could've been living like a queen. But big houses weren't a luxery when you were the only one in them. I still owned part of the company so I learned money from that too. It had taught me a lot about the business world. More then I would ever need to know. More then I wanted to know.
The day passed normally other then that. No strange occurances ot anything. No major problems. No deaths. Not like at my old school. I was so glad that I had moved. So glad. It was so different here. Nothing interesting ever happened. That's just the way that I liked it. I'd had enough interesting things happen to me. I wanted a normal life for a change. I also got to know the 'losers' as some people called them. By that I mean, Buffy, Willow and Xander. I started to like them. I stood up for them and I think that Cordelia was glad that she had somebody on her side. Not that everyone had a problem with them. Only the girls that had to put other people down to make themselves feel better. They weren't exactly the type of people you wanted to know.
That night a bunch of us decided to go to the Bronze again. Well, tonight I was going with Cordelia, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Oz. A few other people in our normal group were going too but we weren't going with them. Some of them were so fake. Anyway, that guy was there again. He was really starting to freak me out. He was in the same corner again. I think Buffy noticed that I kept looking in his direction but she didn't say anything. She'd mentioned something about him the day before though. I just couldn't remember what it was. My mind felt like mush. We danced. We drank. We talked. We laughed. We did all the things that normal teenagers do. But I barely felt anything. I don't think I even remember what happened that night. It kind of scares me.
Later that night, we were all ready to go. I didn't have any fixed curfew because obviously I had nobody to go home to. I still set times for myself though. I always tried to keep boundaries for myself. Since there wasn't really anyone to set them for me. We were on our way out when that guy showed up again. I'd decided to stay for a little while and so they all left without me. Well, Cordelia had stayed with Xander in the other room so she could give me a ride home. I sat there talking to some of my other friends when the guy came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. ' Hi. Can I speak to you?" He asked, giving me a smile. " Sure." I said getting up from the table. A brief warning passed through my head and I ignored it. That was the biggest mistake of my life. Or at least the last.
He led me to the door and held it open for me. " Thank you." I said politely, walking into the gorgeous night. That's when I realised that I didn't even know his name! I couldn't believe that I was just walking outside with this guy that I didn't even know. It didn't stop me though. " I want to introduce myself. My name is Angel." He said, extending his hand for me to shake. I shook it as the warning sounds in my head grew louder. " Hi. I'm Carrie." I said, smiling back at him. " Can I walk you home?" He asked me, smiling that charming smile of his. ' Sure." I said. So we walked. Through the alley, the only noise that you could hear was the sound of our footsteps. It wasn't uncomfortable silence. It was just a nice silence. When we got to a generally deserted area, Angel grabbed me. And, he kissed me. It was a hard kiss, hollow, no passion, no feeling. I knew that the warning signs that had been going off in my head all this time were of no use now. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen now.
He started to kiss my cheek and then he slowly went down until he was kissing my neck. I didn't stop him but I didn't kiss him back. Finally, he reared up his head and I got a glimpse of his face. His face had changed since I'd last seen him and his forehead was all deformed. His eyes were like black holes and he had fangs. Before I had time to scream, he had dug his fangs deep into the tissues of my neck. I didn't feel the pain at first because I was in shock. Then all of a sudden it was like a searing pain all the way through my entire body. I could almost feel my life slipping away and just before I blacked out, he gave one final jerk and I crumpled to the ground.
When I woke up, I panicked. I was in a very small, boxlike thing. I thrashed around and pushed until I felt the lid start to give. When I finally managed to open the lid, I realised that there was dirt all around me. I pushed it away and after what seemed like forever, it lifted away and I got out. I jumped out of the dirt and stood on firm ground. Searching around myself, I took in my surroundings. I was in a graveyard. That didn't clue in for a few minutes later. And that's when I realised that I had just jumped out of a coffin. And over my grave was s headstone with my name on it. I freaked out. I started to run until I banged into someone. I screamed, but a new force inside me growled.
When I had finally looked up, I saw Angel. " It's about time you woke up. it took you a lot longer then it takes most." he said, looking slightly annoyed. " What is going on?" I asked. I felt disoriented and lost in a world that looked so different but hadn't changed at all. " Don't you know? haven't you heard of the undead? Vampires? Welcome to the wold of eternal lfe." He said, laughing in such an evil way that it surprised me. And I laughed too. I laughed until the blood I thought used to be in my body seemed to disappear and my humanity along with it.