Chapter 01 - The First Encounter

Third person’s point of view

Few years ago.

“Luna, no matter what people say about you.. I trust you.”

Those words kept repeating inside Luna’s head as she stared at his best friend’s dead
body. She was hiding behind the tree where no one could see her but she could still
see her friend’s body lying in a coffin with no sign of life. His whole body was as
pale as white as if he had lost all the blood from his body, his skin was wrinkled as if
it had whitered. The whole parts of his body seemed to run out of flesh because the
bones were already evident in his body, he had a bite mark on the left side of his
neck and a long and thick piece of tree trunk stuck on the right side of his chest.

“Cy!” the mother of the child yelled in pain. “No, no, no! this can’t be.. you were
only 12!”

The whole people in town were circling all around the place and gossiping about the
child’s death.

“Look at that bite mark on his neck.”

“There’s no blood left in him.”

“I’m sure it was a vampire.”

“A vampire?”

“That’s never happened before in our village.”

“Do you think that.. she did it?”

“That girl named Luna?”

“Bad things kept happening ever since she came to our village.”

“A fire broke out at Cy’s house a while ago.. how could such a tragedy happen
again?”

“Maybe the rumor about the girl is true..”

Luna was just standing there behind the tree while listening to the people’s
accusation about her for his friend’s death.

Her face was full of guilt and regrets. She knows that she can’t defend herself in front
of these people. She was already miserable for Cy’s death so she doesn’t care
anymore of what people would say about her.

***

Flashback before the tragedy.

Years ago, in the peaceful town of Riverfield. People always believed in.. vampires.
They always believed that there was a young vampire girl who moved to their town
named Luna. The rumors said that they never saw her going out at daylight and she’s
simply wandering around alone at night, looking for a victim. The rumors also said
that she collects living animals and eats them. One time, there was a missing chicken
in the neighbor’s backyard and they immediately thought that Luna was the one who
did it. The rumors just kept going around the town and it was a never ending cycle.

Luna is a sweet and shy girl. She’s just 6 years old at that time and yet, she’s already
experiencing the cruelty and judgment of many people. Luna has long brown straight
hair reaching below her waist and her bangs were reaching her long eyelashes, her
skin was fair and her eyes were brown. Her lips are pinkish as well as her cheeks.
She barely goes out at daylight because the people always misunderstand and judge
her for being a dangerous vampire,

Luna is not a vampire.. but she has a special ability that she can’t show to other
people because they might be even more convinced that the rumors about her were
true. Her parents were also well aware of her special ability that’s why they also don’t
let her wander around at daylight in the town. Because of that, she has always been
afraid to show up in front of many people. She’s just always in her room most of the
time and playing alone by herself because she has no friends to play with, no one
wants to play or be friends with her because they are frightened of her.

One day, Luna was left alone in their house because her parents had some errands
to do. She was so bored at home so she decided to leave the house for a while to go
to her favorite spot on the uphill of the town in broad daylight where no one could
still see her. When she got there. She immediately sat down under the big, tall tree
and bowed herself while holding her knees. This is the only place that she can think
clearly. The place is so peaceful and you can smell and feel the fresh air up there.
Other than the large tree standing there, there’s also a small playground that is no
longer being used so no one could ever come up there to play.

That’s what she taught. Little did she know that starting that day, she will finally have a
friend..
“People say you’re a vampire.”

He immediately looked up at the boy in front of him in shock. Luna thought that she
was alone and no one was coming in this place except for her.

“What?” she nervously said while staring at the boy standing in front of her. The boy
was a little taller than him and had blonde hair. His eyes were as blue as the sea, his
skin was just as fair as her skin. His face was soft and he looked really nice and
friendly. They looked like they were the same age. The boy smiled at her without
showing his teeth.

“Well, are you?” he said while his both hands were behind his back.

Luna felt a little offended even though she already knew what people thought of her,
so she just tilted her head to the side, looking a little grumpy while ignoring the boy’s
question.

Luna stepped back a little when the boy reached his hands in front of her, still
smiling at her as he introduced himself. “I’m Cyden, but you can call me Cy!” he
said. “I’ve never seen you out in the daylight, what’s your name?”

“Hmph!” Luna grumped and turned her head again to the side, still refusing to
answer Cy’s questions. “Is your name ‘hmph’?” the boy teased, trying to make his
face look serious.

“No! my name’s-” Luna stopped yelling when Cy cut her off.

“Luna, right?” Cy asked. “I actually knew already.” he smiled widely at her when he
succeeded in making Luna speak. “You’re famous in our village. They say you’re the
vampire that moved here.” Cy said, pretending that he's grumpy to tease Luna and
raise his index finger in front of her.

“I’m not a vampire!” Luna yelled, getting annoyed at Cy.

“Really?” Cy smiled again. “Everyone says.. that you’ve bounced around different
cities..” Luna was still grumpy, refusing to look at Cy by closing her eyes and looking
irritated as she listened to what Cy was hearing about her. “...you don’t come out
during the day.. walk around alone at night.. and eat CHICKENS.” Cy said in a scary
voice like he was narrating a scary horror story.

“Absolutely not!” Luna yelled in annoyance while gritting his two small fists.
“Especially that last part!”

“Right? I thought so.” Cy smiled again widely that reached his eyes, ignoring Luna’s
irritated face.

Luna just dropped and knelt on the ground while holding her head in frustration.
“Ugh.. why are there such weird rumors going around about me?” she whispered to
herself but Cy heard it because they were just inches away from each other.

“Why don’t you just come out during the day?” Cy asked with his curious eyes. “You
can go and tell everyone it’s not true.” he said like it was that easy to do.

Luna didn’t answer. She just hugged her knees and looked away.

No matter how many times I tell them that it’s not true. Nobody ever believes my
words.

And.. what if..

“Luna, you must never use that ability.” she remembers what her mom said when they
knew about her ability.

“Don’t show it to anyone, people will misunderstand you.” her dad also said while
holding her shoulder. “Make sure not to draw any attention.”

Why do I even have this ability? she questioned herself.

What if..

“When others see you using that ability, even by accident.. everyone will think you’re a
vampire.”

What if.. I really am a vampire?

I’m scared that the rumors might be true.

Luna stopped thinking when she heard what Cy said that completely disappeared her
thoughts a while ago.

“I don’t think.. you’re a vampire.” Cy said with a wide smile to assure her. Luna
looked at her with an open mouth, she couldn't believe that he didn’t believe that
she’s a vampire just like what most of the people said. Cy looks away from her.
“Because I was born.. with a limp.” he’s emotions suddenly changed for a second
and looked at her again with a wide smile.

“Huh?” Luna tilted her head to the side with a confused look, she didn’t get what he
meant by that.
“If you think that you’re not like the others.. you became afraid of facing them.” Cy
said. “Lots of people gossip about those who are different from them.” Luna slowly
turned her gaze at Cy’s foot, she noticed that Cy’s one foot was stiff, making him
hard to walk because he has.. a limp. “I once heard someone say that my parents
would regret giving birth to me, and I was scared.. that it might be true." Cy bowed
his head a little and lowered his voice like he didn't want her to hear it. "But not
anymore." he looked at Luna and smiled. "I know for sure that my parents love me..
so I don't let stupid gossip like that get me, hehe." he said and gave her a cute smile.

"Let's be friends." Cyden reached his hands again in front of Luna who's still sitting
and holding her knees. "Other kids don't let me join them either."

Luna looked at him for a minute before she finally reached his hands and smiled.
"Sure." she replied.

It was her first time.. having a friend. They Spending a day full of fun. They laugh
together and tell funny jokes, they enjoy playing and splashing each other in the sea,
eating ice cream together, and spending the day watching the sunsets in their usual
spot under the tree. They grew up together and waited to tell her secrets to him.

"Whoa!" Cyden said with full amusement in his face.

"I-it's a weird ability, isn't it?" Luna asks nervously while avoiding his gaze and gently
holding her one arm because she feels really shy when she shows her ability to him
for the first time.

"Not at all! It's a special one! that's so cool!" Cy said with full amazement. He gave
Luna a big thumbs up using his two thumbs.
"You really think so? you're not scared that I might be a vampire?" Luna asked while
still lowering her gaze and looking at Cy.

"Nah, of course not. I know you." Cyden replied with a wide smile to assure her that
he didn't think of her that way.

"Really? you mean it? you really think that?" Luna asked with hope in his eyes.

“Yeah!” Cy said while smiling and gave her an ‘okay’ sign but Luna still looks sad.

“I’m still scared that I might be one, though.” Luna sadly said while pouting her lips,
looking upset.

Cyden stared at her for a moment.

“Luna,”

“Huh?” Luna looked up at him.

“Wanna try biting my neck?” he said without any hesitation

“What?! nonsense! absolutely not!” Luna complained with embarrassment in her

face. “What if something goes wro-?!”

“It’s okay, Luna.” Cy cut her off. “I trust you,” he said with full of certainty.

Luna looked so scared, she dropped her head and didn’t know what to do. “B-but..
but what if..” she hesitated. She didn’t want to hurt Cy if she is really a vampire.
“You don’t have to do it right now.” Cy calmly said. “When you believe that I trust
you.. and.. when you start believing in yourself.” he assured her with a smile. “When
that time comes, promise me that you’ll bite my neck.”

It was her first time.. having someone who trusts her more than she trusts herself.
Meeting Cy was the best thing that happened in her life.

A few weeks later, while they were playing and running around in their favorite spot.
Luna told Cy that she was ready to bite his neck to find out if she was really a
vampire. Cy looked so happy because Luna finally learned to trust herself. Luna
thought about it carefully but she’s still a little bit hesitant to bite his neck. There are
still so many ‘what ifs’ going on inside her head and she didn’t want to put Cy’s life
in danger.

But she knows she already made up her mind, so it’s now or never.

“Ok, I’m ready!” Cy said as he positioned himself while sitting below the tree.

Luna went and kneel behind him. They were both barefooted because they were
running earlier. Cy tilted his neck to the side so Luna wouldn’t have a hard time to
bite his neck.

Luna just stared at his neck, his mind was arguing for the last minute. She let out a
deep sigh before doing what she needed to do. Cy was just looking up and calmly
sitting on the ground while swaying his feet. He didn’t look bothered at all. Luna let
go immediately after she bit his neck. She looks at Cy and surveys his whole body to
see if something changes in him.

“Tell me how you feel?” Luna asked nervously.

Cy laughed at her because of her scared and nervous face. “Relax! I’m fine.” he said
while smiling. “I told you.. I trust you so I’m not worried at all.”

She didn’t know how to respond. She was so lucky to have him as her best friend, he
always looked at her with trust in his eyes that no one could ever look at her the same
way as he does.

I enjoyed every second I spent with you.. and I look forward to what’s to come..

Should I ask you to go see fireflies together next week?

I’ll come to you this time.. to your village, your home. You always approach me first so
this time, I’ll come to you, Cy.

When she was on her way to his house, she saw a big and thick fire coming from
Cy’s house. She immediately ran as fast as she could, her eyes grew wider and she
was stunned when she saw their house slowly burning with thick fire. The people in
town were in total chaos while she was standing there in the middle of the crowd and
couldn’t move her feet and her whole body was shaking in fear.
“Cy! Cy! Cyden is still in there!” she heard his mom yell. Luna was even more
nervous and scared when she found out that was still inside the burning house.

“You can’t go inside! the whole ceiling collapsed.”

“I have to save Cy, he can’t run!”

Luna realized what Cy’s mom said, she then pulled herself together and stomped her
feet as she dashed towards the burning house without any hesitation to save her best
friend.
She doesn’t care what people might think of her anymore. She is no longer afraid of
what people might say towards her. The only thing that mattered to her at that
moment was to save her friend’s life.

“Luna, you should never use that ability.”

“Don’t show it to anyone.”

“People will misunderstand you.”

“People will think you’re a vampire.”

“Cy! Cy!”

She runs as tears slowly form in her eyes. The only thing that she was scared of at
that moment was that she might not be able to see Cy anymore and that it might be
too late to save him.

It doesn’t matter whatever people say.. whatever they think of me.. I won’t let their
dumb words lead me by the nose!

And with that, she used her ability and with her full force, the whole burning house
crashed and crumbled into pieces. All parts of the house were destroyed. There was
still a big fire all over the collapsed house and it’s still getting bigger and bigger.

“Huff! huff! huff!” she heard a familiar voice coughing, she’s sure that it was Cy’s
voice. She looked all around to find Cy. She noticed that his voice was coming
somewhere underneath.
She bent down and found Cy whose face was bleeding and couldn’t barely move
because the large cement with crushed steels on the side had hit him.

Luna grabbed the heavy cement that had run over Cy’s body and used her ability to
lift it effortlessly.

“Luna!” Cy said as soon as Luna removed the big and heavy cement that had run
over him. “You came to save me.”

“Cy!” Luna said as tears started streaming down her eyes, she’s still lifting the cement
on her both hands as she looked at Cy’s face.

“No matter what people say about you.. I trust you.” Cy said even though he was still
on his knees and wounded “Someone with such a kind heart as you can’t be a
vampire..” that time, they were both crying in the middle of the dangerous situation
and in the never ending chaos.

Cy.

Until now.. I thought that there was only misfortune in my life. But now I know.. all
those were stepping stones to meet you.

To learn to value you as a friend. To never lose a precious friend like you.

***
Present day.

“We haven’t had a new student in a while.”

The staff member said as the both of them walked down the hallway. It was already
10 PM in the evening so the light from the outside was the only thing that could give
light through the hallway.

“Your name?” the staff member asked while hugging a book in both of her hands.

“It’s Luna.” Luna answered in a plain voice and a serious face.

They just keep walking while Luna’s holding her bag in both hands. She was wearing
her school uniform. White long sleeve shirt tucked inside her gray skirt ending above
her knee and a dark blue cropped blazer on her top with the logo of the academy on
the left side and a red bow ribbon in front of her long sleeve’s collar. She’s wearing
long black socks ending below her knees and a black shoes.

“Right, Luna.” the staff member turned to her to greet her. “Welcome to Delvoire
Academy.” she greeted Luna with a smile, she doesn't look that old, maybe she was
in her late 20s. “In difference to our founder’s spirit. As you can see, our Academy
operates as a night school. Classes start at 9 PM.” she explained. “It might be
confusing at first, but you’ll get used to it soon.”

“Okay.” Luna replied.

“There weren’t any rooms available in the new dormitory. So you’ve been assigned to
a room in the old one.” the staff continued. “It might be a bit messy since no one
was using it.”

“That’s fine.” she simply said.

“The school rules say, you cannot exit the campus after sunset.” the staff looked at
her for a moment before looking back at the hallway. “However, you should stay
inside for your own safety regardless of the rules.” she added. “There was a murder
nearby recently. Rumors said it was done by a vampire.” Luna looked at the staff
when she heard about vampires. “Since our school is well known for its strict
entrance system.. I’m sure you won’t run into any vampires within the school
grounds.”

Luna stopped walking when she ran into a guy student in front of her. She looked up
because the guy was much taller than her, they stared at each other for a moment.
His face looked soft but a little intimidating, his skin was very fair as if it was turning
pale and his black hair was covering his brown eyes a little. He has a long silver
cross piercing in his right ear that grabs so much attention in him. He’s also wearing
a uniform. White long sleeve shirt tucked inside in his gray slack pants and a dark
blue blazer on his top and a long red neck tie in front of his long sleeve’s collar. He
looked really decent and breathtakingly handsome.

“Oh..” the guy suddenly realized that he’s blocking the hallway. Luna flinched when
she heard the guy speak. “Sorry.” the guy apologized, he stepped aside and walked
away.

Luna turned to the guy for a moment who’s already walking away, she then turned
her gaze back in front and started walking to follow the school staff.

The guy stopped walking and turned his head again to the girl who's already walking
away while following the school staff. He felt a really weird and strong connection
towards that girl. It's like she’s pulling him towards her and he’s inexplicably drawn to
her. He’s not familiar with that feeling but he knows that there was something with
that girl.

“This will be your room, Luna.” the staff laid her hand on the big wooden door in
front of them. “It’s in the far corner, away from the other rooms. Sorry about that.”
the staff apologized. “We’ll get you a new room as soon as there’s a vacancy.” she
added.

“No, it’s fine.” Luna replied. “I like it here, thank you.” she said casually.

“All right, then. Settle in and get some rest.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

After that, the school staff left, leaving Luna in her new room.

Luna slowly opened the door and it made a creak sound, the door closed behind her
as she looked all over the room. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the mess all
around the room.

There were piles of books and trash on the floor and there were still wine glasses and
used clothes on the table. There were gym materials, soccer balls, and darts
scattered on the other side of the room. The pillows on the bed were also scattered
on the floor, there were also spider webs all over the corner of the room and thick
dust on the windows.

This is my room..?

I can’t believe it..

“This is great! woohoo!” Luna jumped in excitement “I’m finally in my room!”

“Phew! I hope she didn’t notice how excited I was. I’m so happy!” she said to herself
while blushing because she couldn’t control her excitement anymore. She had been
preventing her emotions and limiting her actions earlier because she didn’t want the
school staff to think that she’s weird.

“This is the best high school in Riverfield and it’s known for its strict policy against
vampires! so.. I’ll never be mistaken for one! yipee!” she touched both of her cheeks
while blushing in full excitement at the thought that she could no longer be mistaken
as a vampire.

“People always thought I was a vampire.. because of my strange ability.” Luna

annoyingly said while leaning on the door. “Thanks to that. I have to move over and
over again.” she said. “A dirty room in a corner is no big deal! I just have to clean it
up!” she said like an excited kid while starting to clean some dirty mess in her room.
She piled the books on the shelves and swept the floor happily.

Seriously, this stupid ability has done me no good- Luna said in her thoughts while
cleaning but she stopped when she remembered something.

“Someone with such a kind heart as you can’t be a vampire.”

Luna’s face suddenly became sad for a moment when she remembered what Cy told
her.

Well.. it did one good thing I guess. she said in her thoughts. But now.. I’ll never..
ever.. be able to see such trust in anyone’s eyes again. she thought as she
remembered Cy’s sweet smile and his eyes full of trust whenever he looked at her.

The door suddenly opened and revealed the guy from earlier entering the room. The
guy looked in front of him with shock as he saw the girl he met earlier.. effortlessly
lifting a bed with her two hands.
The girl was too stunned while the bed was still lifted in her hands when he saw the
guy in front of her, leaning on the door while looking at her with wide eyes, they
froze and were both shocked to see each other. They just stared at each other and
didn't know what to do. A moment of silence before the guy finally spoke.

“Oh.. uhm.. I left my book here..” he said out of nowhere while pointing his index
finger at her side where he left his books.

Luna became conscious and immediately let go of the bed. “W-wait, hold on! it’s not
what you think!” she rushed towards the guy while her heart was beating so fast
because of nervousness and she was totally scared that she might be mistaken again
as someone she's not. “I know you might not believe me after seeing that! no one
believes me but-”

She’s trying so hard to explain, she’s already having a teary eyes because she
couldn’t find the exact words to explain herself, she’s so afraid and anxious that he
might not believe her, that he might judge her for being different. She didn’t know
what to do nor say.

She just bowed her head as tears started flowing down her eyes. “I.. I really am.. not
a vampire!” she stuttered while closing her fists. The guy stared at the girl and was
surprised by what she said.

Ugh, I’m done for. Luna just turned her face to the side to avoid the guy’s look. I
worked so hard to get into this school..

She was so upset because she thought that everything she had worked so hard for to
get into this school would just fade away like that.
“I know. You’re not a vampire.” The guy said and leaned closer to her with a smile. “I
trust you.”

Huh? Luna looked at him with wide eyes and gave him a curious look. Her cheeks
were still a bit red because she just cried.

“Vampires can’t enter this school, our Academy is really strict about verifying that.”
he explained while looking at her. “Plus, I can tell by just how upset you look right
now.” he said with an awkward smile.

Luna looked at her with sparkles full of joy. She pressed her palms together as she
intertwined it within her fingers. “Thank you for believing me!” she said sincerely.
“I’m sure everyone feels the same. But I really, really.. don’t wanna be mistaken for a
vampire.” she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice while trying to calm herself
down by closing her eyes and bowing her head a little. The guy nervously smiled.
“And.. there isn’t anyone else in this world..” Luna opened her eyes and anger
suddenly became evident in her eyes. “.. who hates them more than I do.”