Dan's POV

Every night for about a week, I went to see Phil. He was so lovable. I couldn't get myself to believe that he wanted to seal himself away forever. It would be too sad.

The day for Cynthia to come back came quickly. She was driven home by one of those weird friends of hers. I went to her place. There was something I had to tell her.

I knocked at her door. When she opened, I looked at her. Her leg seemed to be fine besides a limp and her arm was in a sling. "Dan! Fancy meeting you here. I haven't seen you in some time. Come in."

I went with her inside and sat in a chair. She sat across from me. "CC," I said. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, no worries. It's only a fracture. They thought the leg was broken, but it was just a really bad misplacement and yadda yadda boring doctor stuff. How's the town been? Are we still on vampires, or did they move to ghost stories?" she laughed, but I didn't. She looked concerned at me. "Not funny anymore?"

"No it's just... I made a new friend while you were gone."

"Ok?"

"And he's... different."

"So?"

"His name is Phil, and CC, Phil is... he is a vampire."

She burst out laughing. "Oh, ok! Sure! Does he have fangs? Does he suck blood? Please," she said sarcastically, "tell me all about him!"

I lowered my eyes and did not speak until she got the message.

"Oh my God you're serious. A real vampire? Are you sure?"

"He has fangs, can't be in sunlight, and can turn into a freaking bat. Yes, he's real."

"Is this a joke?"

"No. I've been visiting and talking with him for the past few nights. We got into this one conversation and well... I think it's time you know the truth."

"The truth?"

"He convinced me that if you are really my friend, you wouldn't care. So, here goes." I took in a deep breath, but it turned into a yawn from my messed up sleep schedule. "Cynthia, I'm gay."

"That's it?"

"What do you all freaking mean by that's it?! This is kinda a big deal!"

"No it's not. Dan, I know this."

"How?"

She looked at me. "Really?"

"Am I really that obvious?"

"No, I just know. It's not exactly too difficult to see, Dan."

"So you're ok with this?"

"Yes. But let me get this straight. Wait, no pun intended. Ok, but seriously, so you made up a story of you meeting a vampire just to come out to me?"

"No, CC. Phil is real. Do you want to meet him?"

"Ok, fine. Let's go right now. Where is he?"

"We can't go right now. It's daylight. We need to wait until the night."

She sighed, still not seeming to believe me. She agreed to go with me tonight. I hoped Phil wouldn't mind.

"Please don't tell anyone, ok? And also, he's kinda nervous around people, so please be nice."

"Dan, when am I not nice?"

"I'm just gonna go. Do you want anything? Coffee maybe?"

"You suck. Mocha, please?"

"Fine."

Phil's POV

As the night came, I awaited Dan's return again. Happily, I sat back under the tree, like always. I had something to look forward to, and I've never been happier. It was strange, but lovely.

"Phil?" I heard him call.

"Over here," I responded, standing up.

He turned and saw me. "Phil," he smiled. "Hi. Uh, I brought someone along. I hope you don't mind. I thought you might like to meet her."

I looked skeptically at him. "Who?"

"My friend Cynthia, remember? She came home today from the hospital. I finally came out to her. I didn't know if you maybe wanted to meet her?"

I got an uneasy feeling. I wasn't good with people. If Dan had me meet her and I messed it up, he wouldn't want to see me anymore. If I didn't, he'd be upset and leave. But I had another feeling that I couldn't quiet identify. I didn't want Dan to be around another friend. I wanted him to myself. Hesitantly, I agreed.

Dan had her walk around. She was pretty, but had her arm all patched up. Her face went from a smile to horror. "This is Phil," he said. "Phil, Cynthia."

"H-hey."

Her eyes gazed up and down, stopping at my mouth. I became self conscious. She took Dan aside. "What the hell, Dan!" I heard her whisper-yell at him. "I thought this was a joke! He can't be...."

"He is! It's fine! He's not going to hurt you!"

She looked at me again. I tried to smile, but I couldn't.

"Stop it! You're making him upset. He isn't very comfortable around people, and he doesn't like to have his teeth pointed out. Stop staring!"

They seemed sure I couldn't hear them, but I very well could. Cynthia put her arm on her head.

"This is crazy. You're crazy! What did you do? Get one of the stupid people from town and make them play dress up to scare me? Is that it?"

I knew she didn't believe him, and I tired to stay calm, but my heart raced with anxiety and fear. I turned and ran in the direction of the cave. I quickly changed form into a bat, and hung myself from the dark cave top, so they could not find me.

Dan ran in after me, calling for me to stop. "Phil? Where are you?"

Cynthia followed him. "Where did he go?"

Dan seemed to know, and searched the cave's ceiling for me. I held still, but I was shaking. He must've noticed. "Phil? I see you," he said comfortingly. "It's ok, you can come down. No one's going to hurt you."

"Dan? Are you talking to a bat? Are you ok?" Cynthia asked suspiciously.

"No, that's Phil. Look at the eyes."

My eyes? My eyes stayed the same as a bat too? I never knew. I dipped my head around for her to see.

"Oh my God. Oh my God, it is him."

Nervously, I flew down and took the form of my actual body. My hands stayed close to my chest to contain my beating heart.

Cynthia's eyes grew wide as she watched my transformation. "Wow," she whispered. "S-so you're really...?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Heh, yes."

"I," she said slowly, "am so... so... sorry. I didn't mean to - "

"No, its fine," I declared. "It's all fine, really. I'm sorry for running away."

She gave me a smile. "I'm sorry, I never properly introduced myself. I'm Cynthia, but people call me CC. You're Phil?"

"Yeah."

She offered her good hand, and I shook it. "I've never exactly met a vampire before. Sorry for my bad reaction. I was so sure Dan was lying to me since we used to kid about vampires existing. Thanks for not hating me."

"Its ok. I don't hate you."

Dan smiled. "Better?"

I nodded. Cynthia yawned. "I think I'll be heading back home. Its late, and I'm not exactly nocturnal."

"Ok. Want me to show you out?" Dan offered.

"I think I can manage. Nice to meet you, Phil. I promise to keep you a secret."

"I appreciate that."

"Night, guys," she said, leaving. I put my hand over my chest to relax.

"You ok? I'm sorry, I didn't know she'd be so rough."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It doesn't matter. Still better than people instantly trying to kill me."

Dan and I spent another night together, but my mind was somewhere else. He had protected me, and made me feel so safe. He saw my eyes and could find me as a bat. He was so beautiful.... Why was I having thoughts about him? He was the only thing on my mind. When the sun began to rise, he left for his home and I to my cave. I tried to change form so I could sleep, but something happened.

"What?" I said to myself. I was unable to change form. I tried again, and focused again, but I couldn't seem to get it. "What happened?" Finally, after a struggle, I was able to become a bat. I hung upside down and prepared to sleep, but not long in, I suddenly changed into my body again and fell painfully to the ground. Unable to change again, I crawled deeper into the cave to prevent the sun from getting me, and was barely able to sleep at all. What happened to me?