Samantha drove up to her mansion off in the middle of a crowded forest. She slammed her car door shut and sat on the hood, staring up at the darkening sky.

"You're back late; what were you up to?" her younger brother, Will was waiting at the entrance for her.

"There was some trouble, but I dealt with it," she sighed and walked past him.

Will sniffed the air. "Why do I smell blood?" He closed in on her. "Have you finally caved and had a drink from someone new?" he smiled, hoping for the best.

"It was necessary, that's all. A vampire attacked one of the students at my school. I was able to dispose of the low-level vamp easily, but I didn't have enough power to hypnotize them."

"Oh-oh-oh... Considering you used to be one of the strongest around, that's surprising. I guess it has been too long since you fed on real food."

"As long as nothing else pops up, I won't have to again."

"I don't know why you starve yourself like this. You know you don't have to eat straight from the humans these days; I could get you a steady supply of blood bags to drink."

She rubbed her face, groaning. "I'll pass; humans need those bags too, you know?"

"There's no winning with you, is there? Anyway, just say the word and I'll get some for you. I can even get you a willing human with ease."

"Thanks, Will, but I'll be fine." She started to walk upstairs towards her room.

"What if it wasn't a one-time occurrence? What if they've found us again?"

She turned to face him, following her up the stairs. "It's been decades; do you really think they're still trying to find us?"

"I don't think they'll ever stop."

She bit her lip. "If that's the case, I guess we'll have to find somewhere new to live again."

Will grumbled. "I've kinda grown attached to this house... Maybe you should switch schools at least and start over. Use a different name this time. I know they probably don't look for your real name these days, but it was reckless to revert to using it."

"It's hard to change it every time; takes a while to get used to a new name and I end up not responding to people. It's easier this way and I didn't expect them to look for my real name."

"Then quit being a teacher. We have more than enough money without your piddly wages, and I can make a ton gambling if needed," Will smiled as she glared at him. "I don't even have to hypnotize people to win there; I'm just that good."

"I love teaching and we've finally settled into this town; I don't want to hide in this mansion with nothing to do."

"There's plenty to do in town without teaching; it has an active nightlife."

"I like the daytime and I love teaching." Her students' faces flashed through her mind. "I don't want to leave in the middle of a school year anyway..."

"Okay, okay," he held his hands up. "Please, don't cry; you know I can't handle tears."

She rubbed her eyes. "I'm not crying."

"For now, I'll try and find out if this is a one-time incident or if something's going down," he pulled the hood of his hoodie up. "See you later." He waved and headed off.

"Bye, Will." She dropped her bag beside her bed and flopped back on it, letting out a groan. "What should I do?" she grabbed one of the extra pillows and hugged it. The picture of her deceased boyfriend on the nightstand caught her eye. "Nero... What should I do?" A tear escaped, streaming down her face as she passed out.

The next day at school, Samantha arrived early to do a check of the perimeter for anything weird or supernatural. She ended up back where Maggy was attacked the day before, the scent of blood still lingered in the air.

What was Maggy doing over here? According to Jason, he waits for her in the parking lot every day, but you don't pass through here to get there if you're coming from school. If the vampire carried her here, we would've heard her scream earlier. Based on his age, I doubt they knew each other, so what was she doing over here? Did he lure her out? That must be it...

She noticed scratch marks on the tree right beside where Maggy was attacked.

Too deep to be from Maggy, but not too deep; it was probably the vampire and not something even worse to deal with.

The bell for school rang and she jumped.

Dammit; I've been out here too long. Samantha rushed to get to class.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," she sighed, setting her bag down as she turned to her first-period class.

I forgot to bring lunch with me... At least I'm not that hungry today; his blood is still in my system. Over the years, the amount of blood she required to stave off the hunger decreased dramatically, but if she had a bit of blood after a long time, she'd end up craving it more. Samantha wandered around outside the school checking for vampires again. She heard footsteps coming towards her and a delicious scent tickled her nose. Jason? What's he doing here?

"Hey, Miss G, what are you up to?" Jason approached her in the parking lot.

"Hey... Nothing for a student to worry about. Shouldn't you be eating lunch right now?"

"Shouldn't you? I normally find you on that bench, but you weren't there."

She turned to him, her arms crossed. "And what if I said I already ate?"

"Funny, so did I."

"But what are you doing here in the parking lot? Did you go somewhere for lunch?"

"Nope; I had lunch in the cafeteria since my sister was too tired to make me something to take."

I hope she's not out of commission for too long. Samantha gritted her teeth, wishing they found before she was attacked. "Is that so? Well, I hope she's feeling better soon, but you still haven't answered me. Why are you here?" There's no way he remembers, right? Samantha eyed him.

"I like going for a walk after I eat lunch. That's how I always end up running into you at that bench and sometimes you share your food. Thanks again for that. Any chance you have food to spare today too?"

The tension released in her shoulders. He just likes going for walks... "No, sorry. If you want, I can get you some dessert today too though."

"Really?" he almost salivated at the thought. "I'd love that. For some reason, I'm super hungry today."

"Okay then, how about you come with me to the dessert cart this time and choose what you want?" I wouldn't mind something sweet right now anyway.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Jason nodded. "Sure, that sounds great. Thanks, Miss G. Lead the way."

She walked past him, her eyes scanning the parking lot as she went. Jason glanced at the spot Maggy was attacked between the trees before following her.

They stood in front of the cart. Jason leaned in close, his eyes trailing from one dessert to the next.

"I'll take a piece of vanilla cake, Jason, choose whatever you'd like." She rummaged around her bag as he pointed at three different desserts. He was about to point out a fourth when she grabbed his hand and pulled it down. "I think three desserts should be enough; any more and you'll end up in a sugar coma in class."

Jason laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. Probably should've only picked one, but they all look delicious."

Samantha paid for their desserts and they wandered back over to the same bench from yesterday.

"Are you two meeting up like this on purpose? I always seem to find you here," Roy popped up beside them, eyeing Jason's plate. "I'll take that!" he picked up a square piece of cake with his bare hands and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth, getting icing on his upper lip.

"Hey, that was mine!" Jason complained.

"And let you have all the dessert Miss G buys? No way; you need to learn to share." Roy licked his lips and fingers.

"And you need to learn to ask first."

"Just take the other half of mine and quit bickering," she handed Roy her plate.

"Thanks, Miss G," he gobbled down the rest of her dessert.

"So, seriously, what's going on here?" Roy eyed both of them and inserted himself between them, his arm hanging on the top of the bench behind her.

"Roy, nothing's going on here," she moved his arm so it wasn't behind her. "And I shouldn't have to say this, but I'm your teacher and you should treat me as such. I don't date students, but I am here if you need help or food," she motioned to the plate.

"You're here to help us?" Roy nodded, lost in thought. "Interesting..."

"Dude, lay off," Jason warned him.

Samantha stood. "I'll see you in class, students." She walked away shaking off the delicious scent Jason was giving off. So much for not being hungry.

"Wow," Roy had been watching her walk away when he noticed, so was Jason. "Well, well, seems you are still attracted to our teacher after all."

"We've both established she's hot, but I'm not you; I wouldn't chase someone out of my league or that would lose their job if they dated me."

"Sure, you say that now, but that look in your eyes say 'I want her'."

"I bet she's tired of dealing with all the students that aim to get her..." Jason sighed. If she was a vampire – and a good one at that – then how long could she have been a teacher? How much has she had to put up with throughout the years?

Samantha spent the rest of the day in a daze, wondering if her brother had found anything out yet. She walked up to her car after school.

"Sammy!" Arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Ah," she yelped in surprise.

"Geez, you didn't notice my presence at all, did you?" he released her.

"Will," she turned to him. "What are you doing here? And don't hug me at school. In case you've forgotten, you look like a teenager and people will think I have a relationship with a student."

"Interesting..." Will stroked his chin.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't."

"But what if I have the sudden urge to hug my big sister?" he smirked.

Her mouth hung open. "You want to get me fired?"

"Someday, maybe. I'll tell them you touched me," he hugged himself.

"Ew, you little perv." Samantha pulled him into a headlock and gave him a noogie. "Quit screwing with me and never say that to anyone."

"Ah, I give." She pulled away. "And you messed up my hair," he complained, fixing it using her car mirror until it was perfectly in place.

"If you don't want a noogie, you shouldn't mess with me. Anyways, what are you doing here?"

"I was on my way home and happened to be nearby. I figured you'd be out of school soon, so I stopped by to hitch a ride."

"You didn't take your car last night?"

"I did take one of them... and I sorta lost it."

"What? How?"

Will coughed, clearing his throat as he averted his gaze. "Let's just say it was exchanged for information and leave it at that."

"I'm guessing it wasn't one of your favourites if you were willing to bet with it."

"Of course not."

"Wait, does that mean you walked here? All of your informants are way in the middle of downtown, right?"

"I took a bus part of the way, felt sick and walked the rest of the way here."

"Never could stomach riding a bus, could you?" Samantha shook her head and unlocked her car.

"Been a while since we rode together," Will said as he hopped in the passenger's side.

"Buckle up."

"Seriously? We're vampires; why would you worry about something like that?"

"I could get in trouble for you not using it, and even vampires feel pain if you end up going through the windshield."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Will grumbled as he clicked his buckle in. "There, happy?"

"Yup," Samantha hummed, smiling as she took off.

"Did you see what I saw?" Roy asked Jason as they stared at Miss G's car driving away. "He totally hugged her."

"But didn't you see the way she reacted to it?" Jason asked as they headed to his car.

"The noogie? That's just them playing. They're seriously close and that's why she's not interested in me. I bet you they're together. I wonder what class he's in; I don't recognize him."

"Are you sure he was a high school student?"

"With a face like that, I'd say so. Hurry up and get in the car before they get away," Roy rushed Jason in.

"You want me to follow them?"

"Yes, now hurry! I can still see their car, but they could turn away at any moment."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"If you don't drive now, I'll date your sister."

"As if."

Roy narrowed his eyes. "I may not have won over Miss G yet, but Maggy—"

Jason glared at him. "Don't you dare go after my sister."

"Drive and I'll leave her be."

"Friggin' hell," Jason cursed under his breath as he started to follow them.

They followed her out of town, with long stretches of forest crawling along the edge of the road, and the two boys exchanged a confused glance.

"Think she lives out in the middle of nowhere or they're finding a hotel out of town to be together at?" Roy asked, his imagination running wild.

"It would take a while to get to another real town from here. There's next to nothing around for miles in this direction."

As the traffic thinned out, Jason let the distance between their vehicles grow.

"I'm not sure I should keep going... Haven't we followed them for long enough?" Jason asked.

"How is it far enough if she hasn't stopped anywhere yet?"

"Where'd she go?" Jason noticed there were no cars in front of him on the road.

"Did we pass her?"

"How would we have passed her? And there haven't been any turns in a while."

Roy thought for a moment. "At least none that lead onto paved roads."

Jason pulled over to the side and stopped. "Now what? I'd rather go home and check on my sister; make sure she ate something today than to stalk our teacher."

"Psh, it's not stalking," Roy laughed.

"Uh, it kinda is. We followed her without her knowing."

"Turn around and I'll keep a lookout this time," Roy waved his hand, trying to get Jason to move.

"Whatever, but if you don't see anywhere she could've gone, I'm heading home."

"Okay... You'll drop me off first, right?"

"Contemplating dropping you off right here," Jason grumbled. It'd probably take a few hours to get back home on foot.

"I heard that! I know you wouldn't abandon your best friend."

"You mean the best friend who used my little sister to threaten me? Why wouldn't I?"

"Come on, dude, you know I was kidding."

Jason glared at him.

"Oh!" Roy pointed to the dirt road leading into a forest. "Maybe they went that way."

"You want me to go in there?" Jason grumbled as he pulled off to the side.

"What are you complaining about? You own a Jeep; isn't it meant for off-roading?"

Jason slowly drove down the dirt path, worried something would run out in front of him or that he'd end up driving into a ditch. He stopped at a fork in the road. "Which way now, Sherlock?"

"Give me a sec," Roy hopped out of the Jeep and examined both roads. "That way," he pointed to the left and got back in.

"How do you know? It's not like it's raining to have fresh tracks or anything."

"No, but that path is used way more; there're barely any tracks on the right path."

"Here's hoping we don't end up lost out here," Jason drove to the left. The shadows from the trees overtook the road and he couldn't see far down the path.

The dirt path broke into a vast field. In the middle of the field was a Victorian-style mansion. Even though it wasn't in bad shape, the whole place had an ominous vibe.

"Looks haunted," Roy said.

"You really think she's here?" Jason asked, itching to turn his vehicle around.

"Only one way to know," Roy hopped out and took off.

"You better not ring the doorbell or I really will abandon you here." Jason watched as Roy peeked through the garage window.

Roy waved him over. Not wanting to make any noise, he left his Jeep at the entranceway. Jason ducked down and ran over to Roy, his palms sweating.

"It's her car in the garage," Roy whispered. Jason glanced in and saw her Solstice. "She's definitely here with that kid, but why?" Roy wandered over to the windows with Jason close behind cursing him. "They're sitting on the couch together... sipping on red wine?"

"There's no way he's a high school student; a teacher like her wouldn't allow that."

"Why not? They're in the middle of nowhere; who's gonna complain about a teenager drinking out here? Whoa, get down," Roy ducked, gripping the neck of Jason's jacket to bring him down with him. "I swear the kid looked over."

"Our cue to get out of here, don't you think?"

"But I want to know what they're talking about."

"Who cares? We've definitely already crossed a line. If we're caught here, who knows what they'll do."

"Dude, are you afraid of Miss G?" Roy scoffed.

"No, but I don't want to be on her bad side. I thought you wanted to woo her, so do you really want to be caught stalking her?"

"Oh, my boy does have a point." Roy thought for a moment. He glanced in the window again. "Crap; they're gone."

"Let's scram," Jason took off, running towards his Jeep.

"Wait for me," Roy stumbled away from the mansion and nearly face-planted into Jason's Jeep.

Once they were both in the vehicle, Jason turned it around and rushed to head home, nearly sending his vehicle off the path a few times.