Dark Rose

Dark Rose1

By Ayesha Raees2

It finally become a little clear as I stared at his back in pure horror and anxiety, trying to clean my foggy mind to see what was happening around me. It was unbelievably shocking as I watch him make a turn and disappear in the darkness of the trees around him. I wanted to know what he was feeling, wanted to know what he was thinking… I just wanted to know everything.3

But why would someone trust an average girl like me? Someone who can’t even talk without blushing two thousand shades of crimson and then trip over her own feet when trying to get away? She was a joke to him and though she did not wanted to admit it; she was dumb, stupid and very careless. 4

Why would he like her anyway? A boy like him would probably go for a skimpy, popular cheerleader, not her because she was totally stupid.5

As he disappeared from my sight, I fell on my knees like someone had pushed me and started to tear up. Tear began to flow down my cheeks as I grabbed my head, clutching to my black curls as I wept.6

I had met him only a few years back but our encounter was not like anyone else’s. I first saw him in the train; his head was low, and his red ear length bangs hiding his perfect green eyes. His pale complexion shone in the moonlight and he wore a thick black cloak. He looked deep in his thoughts and didn’t even care that the train was almost empty and the next spot would be Charlie’s Top Town where I had to get out. I was going home after two weeks staying with uncle as it was summer vacations and as I was only sixteen years old, I did not want to read the newspaper. My first hours went quickly by as I listened to my Ipod and read a novel. But now, I had nothing to do.7

I remembered that I stared at him in a daze, I have never seen such a beautiful guy before… he was perfect and as I was a fiction-addict, and I always thought that dark guys were cool. 8

I didn’t know that he noticed me because he just kept staring at the floor like anything. 9

The next encounter I had with him was at my final months of high school, I was surprised to see him there and we were both paired up in our geography class. I remembered as he came over to my apartment and we worked on our projects together, sometimes laughing and joking. He was a great guy but I knew that I should never judge a book by its cover… it was an obvious thing that there was something strange about him. Something that I could not put my finger on. His actions told me; his eye movements when it swiftly darted towards any creeks or noises that came from our surroundings, his suspicious absence in our biology class whenever it came to dissection, his high grades in PE… everything. 10

I cleaned my eyes and slowly looked towards the full moon that shown down like rain on my. 11

I was suspicious and curious because I did not understood why he was hesitating in asking me out as it was obvious to both of us that we both liked each other. I was so tensed that I wasn’t able to sleep at night. Then one day which was today, I decided to go for a walk, as I walked down the pathway, trying to get rid of my thoughts when I suddenly spotted the same mop of red hair and the strange swish of a dark cloak as it made its way towards the forest. Curiosity taking the better of me dragged me after him as he walked away. We were very well in the forest when he suddenly disappeared into a puff of black smoke. For a second, I could believe my eyes and I thought I had some kind of mental disorder because I was hallucinating… how can my crush just disappear in a puff of black smoke? It was certainly not possible.12

But my suspicious were again gone wrong when a muscular arm was wrapped against my waist and a sharp object was slightly pushing through my throat. I was frightened, had I followed the wrong guy? But when he spoke, my heart sank.13

“Don’t move or I will kill you,” he had said.14

Tears started to gather in my eyes.15

“Chris…?” I was able to choke out.16

It was like a sudden change in the atmosphere, everything went silent for a while and the once firm arm that wrapped around me began to shake like a magnet as a gasp was heard from the red head and he dropped the sharp object which fell on the ground with a small thud. With the help of the full moon, I saw that the sharp object was a shiny long dagger; I gulped loudly before whipping around and staring at the red head who had suddenly stepped back, creating a huge amount of space between us. 17

I watched him as he stared at me in utter shock and then hung his head down, staring at his shoes, his shoulders slumping down in the process. He stood there silently. I couldn’t understand, he was about to kill me when suddenly he had stepped back. What was he? Who was he? Was he a serial killer? But if he was then why was he in high school? Maybe he is a USA spy sent to kill someone… but whom? Her? Why? 18

My mind spun like a toy as I stared at him, lost for words. He was the first one to speak.19

“Julia, what are you doing here?” his voice was heavy as it was trying to hide something from me, I did not know but I wanted to.20

“I followed you here. I don’t understand… what are you?” I blurted out. I knew it was sudden, I knew it was unexpected but I wanted to know. I just did.21

Chris raised his head and then looked at me, his paper white complexion shining in the moonlight.22

“I am a very bad person, Julia… please stay away from me, I don’t want to hurt you,” he muttered before he turned around swiftly.23

And I stared at his back, my muscles shaking.24

“What do you mean!? I LOVE YOU!” I shouted like a dumb idiot would do. I wanted to tell him if he wouldn’t do it, I loved him since the day I first saw him but I was waiting for him to ask me out but… was he a serial killer? 25

He stopped in his tracks and suddenly grabbed his chest with his right hand as though in pain. 26

“I love you too… but we are never meant to be,” he muttered before turning to his heels.27

“But-“28

“I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME!!”29

His last shout was my collapse, his harsh voice was my weakness and as I watched him disappear into darkness, I collapsed on my knees and wept like a child. 30

I just did not understand.31

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I know she was crying. She was so sensitive, so emotional, and so… human. I loved her but I always hesitated to tell her because I was scared. I did not want to tell her what I truly was. What would she think of me? 33

I remembered the first time I had seen her, I was returning after my hunt and it was twilight, the sky was beautiful and I was about to go to my apartment when I suddenly spotted her. She was sitting by a fountain, wearing a white cloak under her nightdress, her wide blue eyes were glued on the sky and her black curly hair looked absolutely beautiful. She was an angel.34

From that day, I followed her around but she never seemed to look at me but one day she saw me in a train. I was mad after her so I even joined the same high school as her even though my kind of species won’t need education.35

As predicted, she had a wonderful personality and was very dumb. But dumbness was always innocence and sometimes I used to feel guilty because she trusted me and she just couldn’t see what truly I was.36

And this guilt eventually made me leave her.37

She might be thinking that I was acting mean and harsh to her but she did not understand that it was for her own safety. Whenever I was near her, her beautiful aura made me hungry; I wanted to bite her like I did to so many people. But I didn’t want to ruin her life… I knew how she must feel if she was forced to live forever and then wont be allowed to go in sunshine if you don’t sacrifice something of equal love. I knew that she wouldn’t understand and would probably leave him.38

So that guilt had made him leave her. She was human; she would probably get over it.39

I ran out of her sight, my hand still on my beating heart. I was hurt too. I did not want to leave her in a state that was currently in. I loved her too. But we would never be… never.40

I panted as I relaxed my muscles against the tree bark and slowly slid down it, tears falling from my eyes. I could still hear her cry, we weren’t that far apart. I wanted her to go home and sleep properly and just forget all about me.41

She was human… he was not.42

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Julia slightly shivered as she got up from the ground, unaware that someone was watching her closely. She straightened her sweatshirt and ran her hand through her black hair as she rubbed her swollen eyes again. She wanted to find him, it was obvious but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to find him in a thick forest like this. He was mean, he was harsh and he probably hated her but she still needed an explanation and she was determined to get it. 44

She rubbed her eyes again as she started to walk towards where he had disappeared before.45

As she walked through the bramble covered path, the moonlight showing the way dimly and only herself for courage and protection, she tried not to think of stuff that was possible of happening to her. If something even might happen to her, she had no Prince Charming to rescue her from that situation because her so called Prince Charming have left her, in the middle of a forest, at midnight and not to forget, with tears rolling down her cheeks.46

She sighed loudly. She would just find him, ask him for a PROPER explanation and then go home and cry for the next of the week like she did when she was depressed. 47

Suddenly she came to a halt, trying to listen to her surroundings because she had heard something unfamiliar around the bushes. She was about to walk again when she suddenly realized that her body couldn’t move. A cold shiver ran through her spine making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She felt cold sweat run down her forehead and her black curls got still as the wind for a second disappeared. The surroundings got dead silent and the air around her became a white fog that covered the area like a blanket. She gulped loudly and trembled, suddenly scared.48

‘Something is not right,’ she thought to herself as she tried to move her body but was only able to move her arms and hands. She brushed a few strands of hair in front of her pale complexion and then again gulped loudly as she turned her head to hear another rustle of branches. 49

Not understanding what was happening, she opened her mouth and was about to yell for help, hoping that ‘someone’ would be near her to help but her mouth was at once covered by a shabby hand that came out of nowhere. 50

“Well hello young beautiful maiden, can I bite you?” a cold voice was whispered in her ear.51

The voice was not certainly of Chris neither was it of any nice person because she felt another shiver ran through her spine as she felt the other person’s warm breath on her neck. Though she always thought that serial killers (if he was one) were nice and probably gave people a chance to speak but… it was her first time with a serial killer trying to kill her or something and she had no idea what to do. So being dumb as ever, she raised her arm and hit the guy in the stomach with her elbow as hard as she could. 52

And surprisingly to her, the guy staggered, stepping back and clutching his stomach and removing his hand from her mouth in the process. 53

Julia didn’t lose her chance; she started to run for her life. 54

The fog was so thick that she could hardly see a thing and she was just blindly running ahead of her. She could feel him coming behind her but she never looked back because that would just add to her anxiety. She gave a small yell that probably echoed through the forest as she tripped over a rock and fell on the ground with a loud thud. 55

She was about to get up again when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder and she was roughly and harshly spun around that her place was in front of the guy who was probably going to kill her.56

But what shocked her more was not the pain in her right hand in which the guy had pressed a silver dagger nor was that she was in great danger, but she was more shocked at the sight of his face and his features. His eyes were bloodshot red and were filled with menace, his dark black hair were long and probably ended till his elbows, his complexion was paper white, his lips were crimson and two pair of fangs were sticking out of his mouth.57

She whimpered loudly and the guy smirked as he moved his lips towards her neck.58

Shocked by the quick pace of events and confused at what he was, Julia did the first thing that came into her mind.59

She screamed.60

A huge blow hit her face as the guy slapped her squarely on her right cheek; she fell at her side, blood oozing from her hand like anything. Pain rushed through her body and tears started pouring out of her eyes.61

“Stay still girl,” the guy said as he grabbed her shoulders again.62

Julia closed her eyes, waiting for some more pain but the only thing she heard was a gush of unfamiliar wind on her shoulder and a loud crunching noise. She opened her eyes and they eventually grew bigger when she saw the familiar red head standing over her, his hand clenched into a tight fist. She turned around and saw the red eyed guy lying a few feet away from them, clutching his right cheek where her savior had punched him.63

“Get lost, Malice,” Chris seethed in a voice that Julia sweared that she had never heard before. 64

She looked at him and let out another whimper when she saw Chris’s beautiful green eyes turn into crimson pupils and two pair of white gleaming teeth came out from his mouth. 65

The guy named Malice sat up, weakly and slowly got up, clutching his stomach with his hand.66

“That’s my prey Chris,” he muttered.67

Chris’s glare deepened and he frowned. He raised his hands in front of him in a fighting stance.68

“Then we will fight for her but I see that you are too weak to fight,” he said and then smirked as the guy named Malice scowled and sighed.69

“You can have her,” the black haired guy said as he disappeared into a puff of black smoke.70

Julia tried to stop her tears from flowing out but she was hurt, the dagger was flowing out a lot of blood from her hand and the huge headache that was throbbing was killing her. She looked at her hand and examined it.71

“Here let me help,” 72

Chris sat next to her and gently took her hand in his. He swiftly pulled out the dagger out of her skin earning another small yell from her before wrapping her hand in his handkerchief. 73

Julia looked at his face and was glad that he was back to normal. 74

“Chris?”75

The boy looked at her slowly and put his finger on her lips.76

“I know I owe you an explanation but you have to promise me something before I tell you. I want you to promise me that you won’t tell ANYONE. It’s a real big secret,” he said as he looked keenly at her.77

“I promise,”78

Chris slowly smiled at her and then turned his gaze towards the full moon.79

“Julia, I am a vampire. That’s why I didn’t ask you out in the first place. I was scared to see what your reaction would be. I mean you are a human and I am a vampire, you would probably run away screaming that I feast on human blood… well actually not really human but only blood. But that’s not really a point… I just want to say I am sorry about later. I couldn’t understand what to do,” 80

He looked at her and saw her staring at him in a keen expression, tears running down her cheeks again. 81

And without another thought, she embraced him in a hug.82

“I won’t even care if you are a werewolf because I believe that the person who saves your life will never hurt you,” Julia whispered as she leaned over to kiss him.83

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