Marie woke up to her alarm. At first, she was confused as to why she was on the couch, and then she remembered. Thinking back on last night's encounter, it felt surreal. Was there really a strange man sleeping in her bed right now? She tip-toed as lightly as she could over to the bedroom door, and carefully opened it. A creak made her jump, as she was sure it had woken him up. But the figure didn't move. He took the vampire prince thing very seriously, evident by his posture. He was laying on his back with his arms crossed across his chest. He had not taken off his jumpsuit, and he was sleeping on top of the covers. Marie was starting to panic, because she didn't have much time before she had to go to school.

"H-hey... Hey Dracula!" She whispered loudly, still standing in the doorway. He didn't budge. If it wasn't for his chest gently rising and falling rhythmically, he looked almost dead. She walked closer.

"Dracula?" Marie was now standing next to the bed, her face about a meter from his. She gave him a nudge. Underneath the jumpsuit, she could feel a broad, muscular shoulder. She stood there and just watched the pale man sleep for a few seconds. His face wasn't as scary looking as it had been when he was awake, in fact he was very attractive. Marie decided to let him sleep while she went to school.

She didn't hate school. She was too stupid to find it fun, but also too stupid to have strong opinions against it. While she didn't enjoy the studying, she really liked meeting her friends. Marie was not popular, neither did she have any enemies. She was a very ordinary girl living a very ordinary life. But today was different. As she sat in the classroom, looking emptily into the air without comprehending a single word the teacher was saying, she could not stop thinking about the man in her bed, and it killed her not being able to tell her friends about it. She had decided to keep it a secret for now, as she was sure they would find it weird. The last thing she wanted was for them to make it a big deal. They would probably tell her he's a creep and to call the police. Especially Marie's friend Laura. She hated men with a passion and was very protective of Marie. If anyone would understand, it would be Nina. Nina and Marie had been friends since kindergarten, and she had a kind heart.

During the lunch break, Marie was unusually quiet. Her friends were making fun of and discussing Nina's decision to study math after high school. Nina, like Marie, had little talents in the mental department, and they were both on the brink of failing math. Which is why it was hard to understand Nina's choice, especially since she couldn't quite explain why she wanted to study math.

"Well, the point of studying is to learn, isn't it? So, since I suck at math, I should study it. If I was good at math, what would be the point in learning about it?" Nina said, taking a bite of her toast.

"That's not how university works, Nina. If you struggle with it now, there's no way you will catch up later. You need to work on the fundamentals if you want to understand the advanced stuff. What about studying something you enjoy? If you don't like math now, you're not going to enjoy it in uni, and you're certainly not going to like whatever job you find - if you find any, that is." Laura sneered, and sipped from her vegan Starbucks latte.

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"You've chosen gender studies and you're trying to tell me it will be hard to find a job?" Laughter followed from everyone, including Laura herself. But not from Marie.

"Have you decided yet, Marie?" The third friend, Julie asked. Julie had a new boyfriend every month or so and was an aspiring hairdresser. Marie snapped out of her cloudy thoughts.

"Huh? Oh. No, but I still think I just want to chill for a year. Maybe work a little, maybe I'll travel."

"Travel with what money? And to do what? With peace and love, Marie, you're not really the adventurous type." Julie said, without maliciousness in her voice.

"I don't know. I don't really want to travel or think about my future. I want things to stay the way they are right now. It will be hard to not see you guys every day."

"Change is part of life. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and do something crazy." Laura lectured.

As soon as school was over, Marie hurried home. A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind. Had he woken up? Had he left? Was he really there to begin with? what if he had robbed her? Not that she owned anything worth robbing. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

She cautiously treaded through the small apartment, carefully listening for any sounds. Nothing. She put her ear against the bedroom door, trying to hear if there was anyone in there. Also, nothing. When she mustered up the courage to open the door, she found that he was still lying there in the exact same position. On his back with his arms crossed on his chest.

Marie got the idea to open the drapes to let some light in, which could perhaps help him wake up sooner. The basement she was living in was only partly underground since it was sort of inside a hill. The side which had the entrance and bedroom had windows. As she opened the drapes, the soft light of the cloudy sky lit up the room, which immediately woke up her guest. He sprung up from the bed with a shocked look on his face and jumped towards the corner of the room where the light didn't reach.

"Are you out of your mind, human?!" Dimitri yelled, panting. Marie was confused.

"S-sorry, it's just I thought you had been sleeping for a long time and I thought the light could maybe help you wake up, and, and-"

"You thought the sunlight could help a vampire wake up?!" Marie blinked for a second, tilting her head. Then she realized, and looked away, ashamed.

"Oh... Sorry, I didn't think about that." She looked down. While she didn't believe he was a vampire, she believed that he believed he was one.

"You didn't think? Honestly, I should not be surprised. You have the aura of a dim-witted insect. If the sun had been out, I would have been dead, do you understand?" Marie nodded. There was silence for a few seconds of him just looking at her.

"Are you going to close the drapes or not?" He added. Marie immediately closed them. She was very uncomfortable, as she was a very conflict averse person. Any sort of confrontation scared her. When they were closed, Dimitri started walking towards her, with a stern look on his face. She avoided his gaze but could still feel his eyes digging into her. As he got closer, she realized how tall he was. He was towering over her now, her back against the wall.

"I'm starving." He said, his voice much calmer than before.

"As reparations for almost killing me, I'll suck your blood."