**********Several Months Later, Back in the US**************

"So, anyone for going out tonight?" Joey asked.

"Man, is that all you ever think about?" Justin whined.

"Yeah it is. Why you got a problem with that youngin?"

"No, just pissed cuz I know Jayce won't let me go, especially now that we're back in the states."

"Hey, he's going out tonight anyway. He won't even know you're gone."

"He's going out again?" Chris cuts in.

"Yeah, thought you knew. Seems like you two've been going out together all the time lately." Justin comments.

"I haven't been going with him." Chris mumbles under his breath.

"You don't have anything to tell the rest of us do you?" Joey teases, poking Chris in the ribs.

"What? No, what are you talking about?"

"Well, you and Jayce go out every night. We just thought maybe that you were going out 'together' or something. With neither of you ever talking about where you go or what you do. It's a bit intriguing." Justin states.

"Yeah, right." Chris grumbles. (Where the hell is he going tonight.) "Look I gotta go, I'll talk to ya'll in the morning."

"Sure, night Chris. He already left though." Joey yells and Chris heads down the hall.

"Shit, now what."

"Hey, Chris? What's with the long face?" Lance asks heading down the hall.

"You don't happen to know..."

"Nope. He didn't say, and he left about 15 minutes ago. Sorry man. But I do have the key to his room if you'd like to hang in there and wait for him."

"Thanks Lance."

"No problem man. You think you'll ever get him to tell you what's going on with him?"

"I don't know Lance. I know he's not some kind of phycopath but I still worry. What if he were to get hurt?"

"I don't know what to tell you man. You want me to hang with you till he comes back?"

"Sure, I could use the company. He probably won't be that long anyway. It's strange but he never seems to be gone more than an hour or two at most."

"Yeah, still hasn't changed his routine huh?"

"Nope. Just wish I could figure out what he's doing."

"Well. You've been following him, where's he been going?"

"I'm not sure you wanna know Lance. It's kinda wierd."

"Come on man, I sit around with you waiting for him or sit around and wait to make sure you both make it back in one piece but I'm not good enough for you to tell me where he's going?"

"Ok, calm down Lance. I'll tell you. Geez man, don't have a cow."

"Excuse me..."

"No, I think that would be my line. What are you two doing in my room?" I ask, entering the room.

"Shit, well, I'll take that as my clue to leave," Lance blurts as he jumps up and practically runs from the room.

"I'll deal with you in a minute. Don't you move. We need to talk about this Chris."

Chris puts his head down, "I'll be here."

"You better be, cuz you really don't want me hunting your ass down right now."

I go into the bathroom and pull the small bag out of my backpack, cut it open and drink the contents. I didn't bother hiding the bag this time. I had decided that if Chris found it and asked I wouldn't lie, I'd tell him the truth and see how he took it. After several months of him following me and constant ridicule from Joey and Justin he deserved the truth, if he asked the correct questions.

I walk out into the bedroom to find Chris sitting in the same exact position he'd been in when I went to the bathroom. "You can relax man. I'm not gonna lay into you. I just wanna know why you and Lance were in 'my' room and not his or yours."

"Can I use the bathroom, then you can yell at me or what ever?"

"Sure, go ahead."

As Chris is taking care of his business, he sees the small plastic bag in the trash can. "What the hell?" He leans over and picks it up, smells it and then drops it. "Well, now I know what he's been getting at the blood bank, but why?" He leans down and picks the bag up again.

He walks back out with the small bag behind his back, "So, you gonna tell me where you went tonight?"

"Chris, *sigh* we've bee....." I trail off as he pulls the bag from behind his back.

"Now, before you give me the same speel you've been giving me for the last year, perhaps you'd like to explain why you have this in your trash can."

"Perhaps you had better sit down," I state.

Chris sits down in the chair he'd been sitting in earlier.

"Maybe you should tell me what you're thinking and then I'll tell you the truth."

"Ok, well. *deep breath* I know you've been going to the blood bank every night for the past year and a half. Until tonight I didn't know why though. When I found this in your trash can, I figured that out. I knew it wasn't to donate blood, simply becuase you won't let anyone within ten feet of you with a needle. For the life of me I can't figure out what exactly you need blood for. That's kinda where you have me stumped. I do know that you drink it but why?"

He looks up at me with a puzzled look, "You honestly have no conclusions from finding that and being around me all the time?"

He thinks for a few minutes, "Other than the blood bank thing and the drinking blood... Holy shit. That's not... They don't exist. You can't be...."

I watch him as the lights come on, "Yes Chris. We really do exist."

"But this isn't possible. You go out in sunlight, you eat garlic, I've even seen you go to church. How is this possible."

"I can do all these things becuase I've never taken a human life. As long as I don't kill, I don't have to suffer as the traditional vampire would."

"But, I don't get it. How? When?"

"When? How what? How did this happen?"

"Yeah."

"When I was in LA I met this guy. We dated for a while, then one night he took me to this club. I got so trashed that I couldn't have stopped him if I wanted to. He told me all this shit about himself, that he was a vampire and that he wanted to turn me. He wanted to change me because he was in love with me and wanted to spend eternity with me. Being the nieve fool that I was, I believed him and let him drain my blood. He disappeared that night. I've never seen him again. One of the people from the club found me, or should I say vampires, and took me back to this place. He explained that as long as I don't take a human life, I will be able to walk in daylight, and almost all the other things that can kill a vampire won't apply to me. Once I take a human life, I'm bound to live at night, garlic and holy ground/water will kill me. Basically, all bets are off once I kill."

"So that's why you've been going to the blood banks?"

"Yes."

"So we're all safe? You're not gonna come into one of our rooms one night and attack us?"

"No, I have no desire to take a human life. As far as the vampire that found me could tell, I still have my soul for some reason. As long as that is the case, I, more than likely, won't have the urge to attack anyone."

"So you don't even lust for blood?"

"Yes, I lust for blood. I just don't have any urges to kill for it."

"So you could live off of...say rats or something like that if you had to?"

"No, Christopher. I have to have human blood. I can't live off of rat, cow or any other type of blood."

"Oh, so if you can't...."

"Chris. I'm not gonna attack you or any of the guys. I'm not gonna go on a mad killing spree."

"You're...."

"Christopher!"

"Ok, so other than these nightly excursions of your's, what else have you been doing to maintain this other persona? I'm assuming Lou has no idea about this other side of you?"

"No, nobody else knows except you."

"Oh, well....So...Why'd you tell me."

I just smile at him and walk to the door, "That's for another night's discussion. I'm tired, and would really like to get some sleep."

He walks out of the room, "Don't know why you always have to keep secrets. I hate when you do that."

"You'll find out soon enough Chris. One secret at a time." I put a hand on his shoulder as he walks by. "Night Chris. Sweet dreams."

I watch him walk down the hall, "Wonder what he'd do if I visited him in his sleep? Nah, don't think he'd take that too well yet."