Grayson's POV

I watched in surprise as Ariel's brown hair started getting black at the roots, spreading all the way to the tips. The blood from her wound stopped oozing out and she awakened with a jump.

"Ariel!", I exclaimed, holding her face in my hands. Ariel opened her eyes, staring at me. She shut her eyes again and lost consciousness. I called Ethan to come pick us up.

• • •

Ariel's POV

My eyes fluttered open and I put a hand to my head. I sat up, which was hard at first, but I was able to balance myself. The last thing I remembered was seeing Reba and...getting shot? I was confused. I looked around the room and noticed that it was not mine.

Then whose was this room?

I got up, steadied myself and slowly walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

I gasped in shock and stared at my black hair, grabbing locks of the smooth strands and breathing heavily. I ran a hand through my hair, confused.

What was happening? I rushed out of the bathroom and walked out of the room and into the living room to see a shirtless Grayson sleeping on the couch.

Did he bring me here?

The air was filled with the aroma of fried bacon and I walked to the kitchen, where Ethan was frying delicious-looking strips of bacon.

But, for some reason or the other, I did not want to eat it...I wanted....blood?

That was it.

I wanted blood.

The thirst for blood increased in me as I watched Ethan's muscular body.

I wanted his blood...why?

What is wrong with me?

I walked closer to him, with light footsteps, and-

"ARIEL!"

I turned around abruptly to see Grayson, and I couldn't help but stare at his toned abs.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?", he asked me, nodding at Ethan behind me.

I nodded and followed him out of the kitchen, not before hearing Ethan mumble something about not wanting to finish breakfast without us.

Grayson and I walked into the room where I had been. He shut the door and turned to me.

"So, there is no other way to say this...", he said, letting his voice trail off.

I raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

He gave me a toothy grin.

I frowned.

"What the f-", I started, but Grayson put a finger to my lips. I shut my mouth and stared at him.

"Watch.", he said, and grinned again.

Suddenly, two of his teeth grew in length, to form two, sharp fangs.

I gasped in shock at the fangs.

"I'm a vampire.", he mumbled, looking down. "Wh-how...?", I said, not sure what else to say.

"I got bitten. I had a terrible car accident when I was just nine. I couldn't be saved. I had lost too much blood.", he said, gloomily.

I could see a tear roll down his cheek.

"Then, a friend of mine at the time bit me, against his mother's protest.", he explained further. "He saved me. I began to get a lot of mood swings. I wouldn't let anyone except Ethan and my friend and his family get close to me. Not even my own parents or sister.", he said, shaking his head.

"Oh, Gray...", I said, feeling my heart break into a million pieces.

I hugged him, and his body stiffened at my touch, and suddenly, he broke down, and started sobbing into my hair and shoulders, hugging me tightly.

I softly stroked his back, trying to comfort him, a million thoughts rushing through my head.

Was this why Grayson's eyes had appeared red more than once?

Could he turn into a bat?

Did he bite me?

Is that why I suddenly got a thirst for blood?

Is that how my hair suddenly turned black?

Do I sparkle in sunlight now?

"You know, I tried to get close to them, but...I can't. It kills me every night, knowing that I could've had a beautiful relationship with my family.", he sobbed.

"Shh, Grayson. Its okay. Its not your fault, I'm pretty sure you love them and wouldn't try to hurt them.", I said, stroking his back and kissing his brown hair.

He pulled away from the embrace and sniffed, wiping his tears away.

"His bite saved me. I bit you to save you. It was the only way. I'm sorry. Now you're gonna get mood swings and you're gonna need to be trained not to lash out at the most random of times.", he said, sadly.

"Gray...its okay.", I said, shaking my head.

"Its not. I've ruined your life.", he said, closing his eyes in regret.

"You saved me.", I said, putting my hands on his face. He opened his eyes and looked straight into my eyes. I inched closer to him, and he put his hands on my shoulders.

"Guys, breakfast is ready!", Ethan screamed from outside.

I removed my hands from Grayson's hands and walked out, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Hey, I've got some chicken blood for you. I didn't want to give you human blood because I'm pretty sure that would be illegal or dangerous.", Ethan said, sitting down at the table.

There were three chairs laid out, and at one of the places was a small cup filled halfway with blood.

There were three plates of pancakes, bacon and eggs.

My stomach growled in response and I sat down and promptly started eating.

"Its delicious.", I said, grinning. Ethan smiled but his smile disappeared after he saw my face.

"You..you have fangs.", he said, gasping. I looked around nervously.

"I mean, I thought you'd get them at least a week later. Grayson got his a month after, you know.", he explained, taking a bite of his bacon. Just then, Grayson walked in, his eyes red from crying.

Ethan gave a look to his brother, and Grayson just nodded in response.

What sort of twin telepathy was this?

Grayson dug into his pancakes and groaned.

"Syrup?", he asked.

Ethan sighed.

"Shelf", Ethan said.

All of a sudden, a bottle of syrup floated from the kitchen to the table and landed right in front of Grayson. I gasped, and Ethan and Grayson both smirked at my reaction.

"Being a vampire gets you an ability. Mine just happens to be levitation.", he said smiling. "Also, you get to be invisible."

"Wow.", I said smiling wide. "But its not all fun and games. Your eyes change color according to emotion. You'll have to learn how to control that. And your fangs. Know why mine aren't visible? Its because I can control them. You'll have to learn to do that too.", he said, and took a sip of the blood.

"That was for Ariel.", Ethan said, narrowing his eyes at Grayson. Grayson rolled his eyes and set the cup down.

"By the way, Ariel. Remember how you said Ethan was never seen in school?", Grayson asked.

"Yeah...", I said.

"Its because Grayson is a dumb piece of shit and he took a goddamn year to train himself. By that time, I graduated.", Ethan said, laughing.

Grayson rolled his eyes.

• • •

"Now, imagine something that enrages you.", Grayson said to me. I instantly imagined Reba forcing me to wear a black, transparent piece of lingerie, and pushing me to a creepy old guy.

"Oh wow, that's a strong shade of red. Now, try thinking of something that makes you happy.", he said.

Happy?

For some reason, my mind wandered to pictures of me hugging Grayson.

"Great! I feel this is going to be easy. The secret is to think of things that make you happy, to get your eyes normal. Over time, you should stop feeling overly angry at stuff.", Grayson said, smiling.

"How do I know when my eyes are red?", I asked.

"After a considerable amount of practice, you should be able to feel it.", Grayson said.

"You did great for your first time. Now, a lot more practice, and then finding out your secret ability.", he said, kissing my forehead, which made my nerves settle down.

• • •