A/N: HELLO STRANGERS! Woo. I finally found my Dizzying Crimson USB port :)

Today, Henry sat with Vlad and I. It was a nice change, compared to his usual sit-with-Mellissa-and-completely-forget-of-your-friends'-existence. Vlad's telling of how he found out his dad was still alive left Henry with his jaw dropped. "So he never really died?"

Vlad shook his head. "Nope."

"Are you coping well?" Henry asked, taking a bite of his submarine sandwich. Some onion was left hanging across his lip, but he picked it up with his fingers and dropped it back into his mouth. Vlad nodded, but Henry frowned.

"I would say I'm happy for you, but I just don't agree with your parents leaving you for all these years." Henry said disapprovingly. "It just doesn't seem moral."

"I'm not focused on what's moral and what's not," Vlad shrugged, biting into his bloody sandwich. There was a drop of blood running down his lips, so I flirtatiously ran my finger through the blood and licked my finger.

After his sandwich, Vlad wrapped the crust in his sandwich in the leftover Saran wrap, and threw it into his paper bag. "I'm going to go to my locker early and get my books. Ciao."

I waved him goodbye.

+++Vlad's Perspective+++

After lunch, I dawdled down the hallway when I heard sobbing from the broom closet. I stopped, brushed my hair out of my face, and opened the door, turning on the light. After wincing at the initial, strong scent of bleach, I looked down to see Meredith crying into her hands. I stared, perplexed at the preppiest girl in school bawling her eyes out.

"Meredith?" I asked, keeping my distance. She obviously bought a new perfume – I could smell it from here. "What happened?"

She looked up, her mascara running down her face and smudged onto her palms. "Nothing. Nothing happened."

"Then why are you crying yourself dry?" I asked. She still shook her head, refusing to answer. I sat by her feet, and my fangs shot out of my gum. Oh, shit. But I couldn't just leave her here.

"Listen, I know I hurt you, and I didn't mean to," I sighed. "And I can't go back with you now. But I want to help you."

She sobbed, and surprisingly trusted me. "I'm so tired. I'm tired of everything. I can't stand all the shit that's going on in my private life. I'm so sick of it."

This was a side of Meredith I've never seen before. "Why?"

"My boyfriend dumped me. That's the fourth time someone's broken up with me in a row! I'm going to die alone, Vlad! I'm going to die alone!" she exclaimed, then started crying some more until she wiped her makeup away with the heels of her palms. She kept repeating her fear. "I'm going to die alone! My only friends will be my cats!"

"You won't find your soulmate in high school," I relaxed her. She finally looked up at me, but then started crying again. Her crying was getting rather annoying. The scent of the salt in her tears made my nose twitch. She then latched onto my shoulders and continued crying.

Her hysterical crying caused her heart to beat just under a million times a minute. The proximity made my mouth water. My fangs elongated more, stabbing my tongue like knives. Her hair was still in a preppy ponytail from gym, probably so it wouldn't leave that hideous wave where the band constricted her hair. Therefore, her neck was totally conspicuous in the eyes of the vampire.

The Elysian Council says a vampire can only have two drudges. I used to have two – Henry and Snow. Due to Snow's being a vampire, now my drudge count has went down to one. Plus, I released October to Snow a few nights ago. I guess I can uphold one more drudge. I'll release Meredith later.

Her blood tasted sweet, like magnolias. However, it could be the perfume I assumes she bathes in nightly. After the bite, she was passed out for a moment. She woke up, and then she simply blinked up at me. "What just happened?"

"You…cried yourself to sleep?" I made up an excuse. She then shrugged, and scratched her neck. Scarlet red liquid coated her forefingers. With obvious concern in her voice, she exclaimed, "Why am I bleeding?"

I stumbled over my words until I said, "Uh, uh…you fell."

The girl must've thought about her "dying-alone" thing again, since she started sobbing. Although it's against my ideals, I ordered her, "Stop crying."

Meredith did as I said. I then whispered in her ear, "Go back to lunch. Talk to Mellissa."

She nodded. "Thank you, Vlad."

As if nothing has happened, she walked away, the click-clacking of her heels growing more distant as time passed. I got up, went to my locker, and got out my books. I then looked in the mirror that came with my locker caddy thing (Nelly insisted on buying it). Even after the blood-capsule lunch and feeding off of Meredith fucking Brookstone, my fangs were still elongated. With a shuddering sigh, I shut my locker and sat outside of my next class, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Right now, I needed anything to distract myself from the fact that me – the school monster – can never, ever be satisfied.