Harper continued to work at the Van Heusen's sandwich shop even after the vampire couple had attempted to drain her and Alex's blood. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said that she needed the job. Besides, the Van Heusens were actually nice people to work for. They were eccentric, true...and they were secretly bloodthirsty monsters...but they were very polite and let Harper have frequent breaks during her shift.

Of course, that didn't mean Harper wasn't cautious. The Van Heusens may have promised never to try and bite Harper or Alex again, but seeing as how they were monsters their word probably wasn't 100% reliable.

However in the process of keeping her guard up, Harper kept thinking back to the night when the two vampires had first attempted to make a meal out of Alex and her. Neither girl had realized they were in danger until Alex's family, and the Van Heusen's daughter Juliet, had burst in and saved them. It was sort of scary to think about how close they'd come to losing their lives. Indeed, their rescuers might have been too late if the Van Heusens hadn't argued a bit before trying to take their first bite.

It was the nature of that argument that kept playing on Harper's mind. Both vampires had wanted to bite one girl more than the other. And the strange thing was, the girl they both wanted...was Harper.

Why did they want me more than Alex? she thought one night as she was finishing up her shift. How could anyone want me more than Alex? The concept was unbelievable to Harper. Her best friend Alex was amazing. She was cool and witty and really, really pretty...she was everything that Harper wished that she herself could be.

Then again, the Van Heusens probably hadn't been judging them on what kind of people they were. They'd been evaluating Harper and Alex and how their blood would taste.

But what makes me so tasty? Harper wondered. She giggled quietly to herself after having that thought. I'm tasty. Tasty and delicious. Her giggling continued.

"What's so funny Harper?" Cindy Van Heusen asked.

Harper let out a yelp and jumped. She hadn't heard her boss come up behind her, which was to be expected. Vampires could move quite silently when they wanted to.

"Calm down dear," Cindy said with a smile that managed to appear pleasant in spite of her fangs. "I didn't mean to scare you. Although it is nice to know I haven't lost my touch. Did you know that I was voted scariest vampire in Europe for three years in a row?" Her expression filled with pride for a moment but soon turned sour. "Then that glory hound Lestat started to get so much press. Honestly, I could be scarier than him any day of the week!"

"I'm sure you could," Harper said, hoping to cheer the vampire up. She didn't feel particularly safe around Cindy or her husband when they were in bad moods.

Cindy smiled again and patted Harper on the head in an affectionate manner. "You're such a sweet girl." She sighed. "I wish I'd been able to eat you. No offense."

"Um...none taken." the teen replied. Although the thought was frightening, she knew that Cindy had meant the words as a compliment. "You know, there's been something I've wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead," Cindy said as she went about her business, checking each table in the currently empty restaurant to see that the napkin dispensers were full.

"Okay, it's about the night you and your husband almost did...um...eat Alex and me."

Cindy stopped her work and looked over to Harper. She had a feeling this conversation might prove interesting. "Please, feel free to ask whatever you like. We vampires rarely get to discuss such things with mortals."

"Well, you might think this is silly, but...why did you want to drink my blood more than Alex's?"

"Ah, that's what's on your mind," the vampire responded. She could see the curiosity in the young mortal's eyes and realized that this conversation was going to be very interesting indeed. And, if she played her cards right, quite satisfying as well. "I don't think that's a silly question at all." She sat down at one of the tables and motioned for the young woman to join her.

Harper started to move towards the seat, but then glanced at the clock on the wall behind Cindy. "One second," she said, and then went to the time clock to punch out.

"You're such a good employee," Cindy said as Harper finally joined her. "So responsible."

"I try," she replied, smiling at the praise.

Once Harper was comfortable, Cindy began to explain how vampires used their supernaturally acute senses to determine how mortals would taste.

"And you could tell that I'd taste better than Alex?"

"To me, yes," Cindy answered. "And to my husband, Alucard as well. But he and I have always had similar tastes. I'm sure there are some vampires that would prefer Alex. We all have our own likes and dislikes after all."

"That makes sense," Harper said.

Cindy leaned forward and gave the girl a conspiratorial grin. "Do you want to know why we find you so appealing?"

Harper's eyes widened and she couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice as she answered. "Yeah. I really would."

"You're so full of life," Cindy answered. "So filled with joy and sweetness." Her voice lowered. "And passion."

"Passion?" Harper repeated, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Me?"

"Oh, don't pretend that it's not true," Cindy said with a laugh. She reached across the table and brushed her hand slowly against the girl's cheek. "Everything you do, you do with all your heart. I can sense that." She paused and inhaled deeply, not because she needed to breathe, but simply to take in Harper's scent. "You have no idea how intoxicating you are."

"I'm...intoxicating?" Harper could barely believe what she was hearing. But Cindy was so convincing...so sincere. Harper felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"You're amazing," the vampire said. "Such a lovely young thing."

Harper laughed nervously and shook her head. "I'm not lovely."

"Don't be foolish dear," Cindy replied. "You're beautiful."

"I am?"

Cindy moved with superhuman speed from her chair. In less than the blink of an eye, she was standing behind Harper's chair, her hands massaging the girl's shoulders.

"Very beautiful," she said. "What a stunning vampire you'd make."

Harper's heart was still pounding, and she felt herself start to tremble all over. Oddly enough, it wasn't entirely due to fear. Nonetheless, she did realize just how much danger she was in.

"You promised not to bite me," she said. "You and your husband both promised."

"We did," Cindy agreed. "And we're not dishonest." She continued rubbing Harper's shoulders, leaning down to whisper in the girl's ear. "However, I'm not above exploiting loopholes. For example...if you asked me to bite you, I'd be happy to oblige."

"I'm...I'm not going to ask you to bite me," Harper said unsteadily.

"Why not?" Cindy asked. "Why wouldn't you want to be a vampire? You could leave your old life behind."

"I like my life," Harper protested.

"Do you?" Cindy moved her hands down from the girl's shoulders, and cupped Harper's breasts. "I've heard you talking with Juliet, Alex and others. Your home life is unhappy. Your parents are distant and quarrelsome. Most of your classmates look at you as some sort of outcast. Really, the only people you have in your life are Alex Russo and her family."

"They're all I need!" Harper countered with more than a little anger in her tone. Cindy's words had struck a little too close to home.

"That may well be true," Cindy replied. "But they're wizards. Their world is a world of magic and supernatural beings. Don't you think you'd be even closer to them if you were a supernatural being yourself?"

Harper found herself too confused to argue. Cindy's logic seemed reasonable. And it was hard to concentrate with the vampire's hands rubbing her breasts. Why did that feel so good? Harper liked guys.

But she also liked what Cindy's hands were doing. No question.

"But...if I'm a vampire, I'll be evil...like you." She paused. "No offense."

"None taken," Cindy purred into Harper's ear. "Juliet is a vampire and she's not evil. She still has a soul. You could be the same."

"I...could?" Harper swallowed the lump in her throat. What she was considering was insane...and forever. But part of her already knew how this was going to end. That knowledge excited her in ways that she couldn't even put into words.

"Normally transforming a mortal into a vampire while allowing them to keep their soul is a tricky proposition," Cindy explained. "But with a soul as bright and strong as yours...it wouldn't be hard at all."

Harper turned her head slightly so that she could see Cindy's eyes. The vampire was looking at her hungrily. It was frightening.

It was thrilling.

"The choice is yours, dear," Cindy said. "Entirely yours."

Harper was shaking all over. But when she finally found her voice, it came out as a shout.

"DO IT!"

An instant later, Cindy's fangs were in her throat. Harper didn't feel even a moment of pain. There were too many other feelings coursing through her all at once.

"Oh God," she gasped. "This is really happening!"

Then she just stared up at the ceiling, in a state of near-ecstasy, as her life was drained away.

To be continued...

author's note: There's part one of my first ever Wizards of Waverly Place story. It's only going to be a three-parter, and it is going to different than any of my previous stories. But I love vampires, I love Selena Gomez and I love Jennifer Stone...so, I just have to do this story. Hope you don't hate it. But whether you do or don't - please review.