Children Of The Night Chapter 7 It was unusual to have classes on Saturday but it had been canceled earlier in the week. Ava had just finished her breakfast and was polishing off a blood and raspberry smoothie. She couldn't stand cold blood by itself and it wasn't the same reheated. One morning when Gwen had decided to stay over the night before she got a brilliant idea to make the cold blood in a smoothie. The girls had been making them ever since. It was a nice day out, the sun shining bright and the birds singing. Ava stood on the sidewalk breathing in the fresh morning air. Slowly, she made her way to the school. With all of the classes she was taking Ava was always in a hurry and never really had time to enjoy the mornings. She figured since she was withdrawing she could take her time. A coffee place/bakery sat just up ahead on the corner. The road there was a busy one and there were a lot of very angry drivers. Ava dipped into the bakery and got in line. The smell of fresh bread and coffee overwhelmed her senses. Besides blood it was the best smell to her. She heard the door open and that smell rushed through her. The smell that could stop her in her tracks and make her woozy. The line moved forward, and she didn't. A young woman behind her cleared her throat kind of rudely, stepping a little closer to try and get Ava to move. "Sorry." she said a little breathlessly, moving up with the line. She was third back from the front. Ava looked around the small area, knowing exactly who she was looking for. Butterflies filled her stomach as she spotted him at a table near the window and bathroom, Pierce. She couldn't help but stare. "I could spend eternity watching him." she whispered. "What?" Ava jumped at the sound of the young woman's voice who was behind her. "Nothing." she said as she moved closer to the counter. The woman looked to where Ava had previously been staring. "Ah. Him?" she said, motioning towards Pierce. Ava shook her head, "I just know him from a class. That's all." "Hot, right?" "Yeah." Ava replied, grinning. It was her turn at the counter. "Next." the man behind the counter said. "I would like a mocha cappuccino, extra whipped cream, light on the chocolate sprinkles and a large blueberry muffin please." A few minutes later the guy handed her a small box and her drink. She gave him a $10 and walked away. "Keep the change." she called behind her as se headed straight for Pierce's table. "Hey." She flashed a smile a him. "Hey what's up?" he replied, smiling back. "Not much. Cappuccino and a muffin. Headed on my way to withdraw from school." "Withdraw?" his face dropped some. "Yeah, I'm going to reapply later. College just isn't for me right now." "Well hopefully I'll get to see you still. We seem to run into each other a lot." "A lot? We've ran into each other twice, not counting now. We have never associated outside of class before until last night." "Well we see each other in class, and after you withdraw then it will e only be random encounters." Pierce grinned when he said, making Ava laugh. "Excuse me." said a voice behind her, the one from the line. Ava turned around, moving out of the way a bit. The woman sat across from Pierce, handing him a coffee and a muffin. "Ava, this is my girlfriend Prudence. Prudence, this is my friend Ava." Prudence grinned and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you." Ava forced a grin and took the girl's hand, using every force of her being not to crush it to dust.

Children Of The Night (6) Chapter 6 The house was quiet when Ava returned. She peeked into Macy's room, a large ball of covers with two feet lay on the bed. She headed for her room, not really tired but it was where she spent most of her time when she was home. Her laptop blinked on the desk that was on the far side of her room. She glanced at it as she slipped her shoes off and changed into her favorite Dr Pepper pajama pants and a white t-shirt. The screen said she had an unread instant message. Ava clicked on her messenger as she sat in the chair. It was from Gwen, and the message made her heart drop. "Another one found dead just down the street from the theater. This shit is freaking me out, message me when you get home." Ava typed her a quick message, "Hey, made it home safe and sound." She was about to shut off the computer and lay down when a new friend request popped up. Curious, she clicked to see who it was from. She smiled as Pierce's name showed. Ava accepted the request, then shut down her computer. Tired, she collapsed on her bed. The sun shone through her window, forcing Ava to open her eyes. With a groan, she sat up. The light glinted off the silver ring she had on her left thumb. It was engraved all over with stars. Ava walked to the bathroom, grabbing her hairbrush. As she ran it through her auburn tangles she was glad she had the ring because without it she would have burnt to nothingness the minute the sun touched her. Ava threw on a pair of jeans and her Bob Marley t-shirt. She slipped on the ballet flats from the previous night and grabbed her laptop bag. Ava wrapped up the cord and placed it in the special power cord bag. She shoved the computer in the bag and zipped it up. Macy could be heard downstairs bustling around in the kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee and pancakes wafted up the stairs. Ava followed the smell down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Smells great." She grabbed a cup filling it with coffee. As she added the sugar and creamer Ava glanced at Macy. The girl was in her pajamas still and her blonde hair was in a messy ponytail. "No classes today?" she asked, sipping on the coffee. "No, sadly not today." "Well lucky you, I'm actually thinking about withdrawing." Macy's eyes grew large, "Drop out? Why?" "It's just a drag. Why spend all this time sitting in classes and doing work when I have so many years ahead of me? I can do it at any time." Ava grabbed a plate, piling it with fluffy yumminess. She spread butter over the cakes, dousing them with syrup. The girl sat them on the table, moving her bag from the chair she had sat it on. Ava sat down, taking large bites and gulping down her caffeinated beverage. "You would really drop out?" Macy asked her, sitting in the seat next to her roomie. Ava swallowed the bite she had been chewing, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to head to the office today and withdraw. I have so much time, why would I waste it on school right now." Macy shook her head, looking at Ava like she was crazy. Ava shrugged and they finished their breakfast in silence.

Children Of The Night (5) Chapter 5 (Edited) "Are you stalking me?" he asked. "Maybe." she replied with a small shrug. Her hand lingered on the door. "Are you going home?" Pierce nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, Prudence, my girlfriend, expects me back. We're going to "talk through" our fight. That's just code for blame me until she feels better." He laughed a little, covering up the seriousness of what he had just said. "So you decided to get some drinks in before you went to face her." Ava stated, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the building. Pierce nodded again, "Yep, I guess I figured it would make it easier." "Well good luck with that. I better get in there, a few friends are supposed to be meeting me." she lied, pointing towards the bar behind her. "I gotta get home." he sighed, slowly walking backwards. "I'll see you around." "Likewise." she said, opening the door and disappearing inside. The bar was more crowded than usual. Ava spotted a few other vampires who had decided to hunt there as well. She sat at the bar, ignoring any of the men that were staring at her. "Bud please, bottled." she told the bartender. "Id please." he requested, his palms flat on the bar. Ava stared into his eyes, "You checked my id, I'm good." she whispered in his direction, her eyes never leaving his. "You're good." he said grabbing her a beer. He placed it in front of her, then walked to the other side of the bar to serve a small group of students that had just sat down. Ava sat and slowly drank her beer. Alcohol didn't have much of an effect on vampires, so she could drink all night and feel virtually nothing. The only drinks that affected them were the ones spiked with blood. "For you." The bartender sat a martini down in front of her. "From the young gentleman over there." he pointed towards the group of students that were seated at the end of the bar. "No thank you. Send it back." she said, looking in the opposite direction. She could almost hear the boy's disappointment as the martini was sat down in front of him. Ava smiled to herself, and walked out. A few minutes later she heard footsteps behind her. She had counted on the kids determination and was already near an abandoned alley. "Hey! Why did you return my drink?" "To see what you would do." "And?" his voice sounded hopeful. "You did exactly as I had thought you would." She faced him, her fangs extending. The pounding of his heart was hypnotic, his fear intoxicating. Her body was poised to pounce, tensed up in anticipation for when he would try to flee. Just as she had calculated the boy turned to run. With inhuman speed she was at the entrance to the alley, putting the dead end behind him. "Boo." she hissed. He took off toward the dead end, fear making him clumsy. Ava dived, her fangs sinking into the succulent flesh on his neck as she took him to the ground. The sweet crimson poured into her mouth, filling her with strength and energy. She took just what she needed then pulled away. He lay on the asphalt motionless, passed out. Ava sealed the wound with some of her saliva. She searched through his thoughts with her mind until she found his memory of their encounter. The young vampire wiped it clean, replacing it with a homeless man attacking him then quickly walked away, heading towards her apartment.

Children Of The Night (chapter 4) Chapter 4 After pushing through the immense crowd, the young women found a spot to stand close to the side wall of the structure. The building was fairly small for a theater, only seating around one hundred people give or take. All the seats were full, and the aisles were starting to fill up too. "So many tonight, more than usual." Ava thought, looking around. Kaleb walked onto the stage, his face unusually grim. When everybody was silent, he spoke. "My fellow vampires, I have some fearful news. In the last two nights we have had six of our brethren turn up dead. We do not know who it is. Signs point to hunters, but it could have been a rogue vampire. Until we know for sure, travel in groups. These vampires were murdered when they were alone." The bat king nodded in dismissal, walking off the stage. "What's a rogue vampire?" Ava asked, feeling slightly embarrassed for having to ask. Demetri taught her quite a bit, but he had left a few things out. "A rogue vampire is simply one that goes kind of wild and kills just about anything." Gwen answered, smiling reassuringly. They looked at Macy who looked a little shooken up. She had hoped never to encounter a rogue again. The first and only time one found her she almost died, but Kaleb had shown up, killed the rogue and instead of finishing her off he changed her. "Mace? You ok?" Ava asked, rubbing the girl's arm. "She'll be fine. Just take her home, and remember to walk in a small group." Gwen said. Ava grabbed her roomie's arm, said her goodbyes and headed home. About halfway there Macy started acting a little more like herself. Maybe it was because there was a small group of their own walking right in front of them, or maybe she had just needed a little time to snap out of it. Either way she was talking to a young male pyre while he flirted with her. Ava didn't want to interrupt so she slipped off into the night, making sure to stay near groups. It was close to three and she still needed to feed. Ava felt a little famished, knowing that she had waited a little too long between meals. She could eat non-blood food and it would hold her over but her diet was largely based on the crimson #life force of humanity. Ava hardly ever killed to feed, she preferred sample tasting different people. Spotting a bar that she had only ever heard of, she decided to hunt there. Just as she was about to go inside somebody bumped into her as they were exiting. She turned to say something, just as the person turned back towards her. "Sorry, that was my bad." said a soothing, smooth as chocolate voice that made Ava melt. "It was my fault." she said, a playful smile on her lips while her green eyes stared into Pierce's hazel ones. She took a step towards him, her eyes possessively screaming, "YOU'RE MINE, YOU BELONG TO ME..."

Dr Appointment Today was my first ultra sound of my second child. It was just as amazing as the first time around. I'm so excited!