Kaycee's POV: Kaycee walked on the soft, lush green cỏ of the small meadow seperating the vamps from the bar. She was determined to see Duncan, no matter what, if it meant sacrificing being a vampire, if it meant suicide, anything. Suddenly, she heard crisp footsteps behind her.

"Kaycee!"

Kaycee quickly looked back and saw Bridgette, Courtney, and Gwen running toward her. She turned back around and started running- one boot on, one boot off. She ran all demented like and slow because her one-not shoe pattern was slowing her down. She stopped, reached down, and unzipped her boot, taking it off of her slender foot, and she ran. Harder. Faster. Anything to get her three Những người bạn away from her so she could see her lover.

Finally, she crossed the meadow and the bar was just up ahead. About forty feet, no more. Soon she would be with Duncan.

Then, she came to the door. A small note was taped to the door. Kaycee fingered it and snapped it off the door. "Bar opening hours 6 PM to 2 AM. CLOSED OTHERWISE."

She dropped the note. Duncan wasn't here. But where was he?

She looked to the ground - and spotted something shiny. She looked down. It was a key. A key, she asked herself, to what? As she examined it thêm closely, her pale fingers touching the cold metal, she saw it was a key to an apartment. Apartment 14C, building C, down on Main Street, to be exact. She just looked at it another một giây - and took off running down Main Street.

Where is it, she asked herself. I don't know what an apartment looks like, hoặc where it would be.

Then, she came upon a tall building that loomed over her, casting far shadows from its height. Kaycee squinted at the fine lettering above the doors. AUTUMNLINE APARTMENTS.

"This must be it." she đã đưa ý kiến quietly, and slowly walked inside the cool, eerie building. Once she got inside the whole atmosphere changed. What was that?

The air conditioning.

She walked up to a front bàn where a woman - about 5'6'', stood at a computer.

"Um, hello ma'am." Kay said.

"Oh hello." The woman smiled. "I'm Anna, I work here as the apartment realtor. In other words, I assign people apartments."

"Um, Anna, uh, I, found this key," she handed Anna the key. "outside that bar down the street."

"Oh, did ya, now?" she asked, taking the key and looking at it thoroughly with her large green eyes. "I think this apartment is in use. Why don't bạn go give the renter their key?" she smiled, a perfect toothed smile, and nodded.

"Um, thank you." Kaycee took the key back.

"Apartment 14C, the C standing for the third floor."

"Ok." Kay slowly walked toward the elevator shaft that stood in the tường to the left of the clerk's desk. Hm.....what is this? She pressed a button and the doors slid open. She stumbled back a bit at the sudden action but slowly advanced herself into the elevator. She looked warily at the button pad on the wall. WTF?

She fingered the buttons and pressed one that had a "C" on it. Immediately, Kaycee fell to the floor - landing on her bottom, as the small silver room advanced up. A few giây later it moved down, and Kaycee's stomach sank, and then the doors opened to a long hallway, marked with gorgeous sapphire carpet and a pale blue wallpaper.

Kaycee stood up and, playing with her fingers, she took a few steps into the hallway. The elongated room smelled of mothballs and women's perfumes. There were a few distant crashes from rooms further down, and there was even a small scream and after, a laugh. Kaycee looked down at the carpet blanketing her bare feet in pure softness. It was like walking on cotton. Suddenly Kay jumped as there was another scream and then all was silent.

She advanced herself phía trước, chuyển tiếp into the hallway, looking on the doorframes for a 14. 9, 10, 11, 12.

Finally she came to 14. Apartment 14C. Still holding the small faded vàng key in her palm, she knocked at the door, rubbing her arms from having no sleeves on in the cool hallway.

Footsteps inside the room groveled towards the door, and the door opened.

"Um...do I know you?" A teenage male, about 17 hoặc 16, answered the door in pajama pants and a white tee shirt. He had medium blonde hair, which was a bit restless since Kaycee might've woken him up, but otherwise he was quite handsome. It was about seven in the morning, so the male was drowsy.

"Um, no, but I'm really lost, and I need to find someone." Kay swooned and acted as if she were a damsel in deep distress.

"Uh, sure." the teen closed the door behind him as he walked out into the hallway near Kaycee.

"I'm Geoff." He said, holding out his hand.

Kaycee looked at his large hand like 'What are bạn doing?"

"What, aren't bạn going to shake my hand?" Geoff chuckled.

"Um...sure." Kaycee slipped her hand into his and shook it.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"More distant than bạn can imagine." she muttered but Geoff heard.

"What? What do bạn mean?"

"I cannot tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a secret."

Geoff scoffed. "EVERYBODY has secrets. My girlfriend has secrets. Uh, I don't know if bạn know her. Bridgette Gooding?"

Kaycee did know Bridgette. She urged her being to keep quiet but she sputtered out, "I know her. She's my best friend."

"Well, see..." Geoff leaned in to whisper, "...she's a vampire."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Um...actually..." She whispered, too, "I'm a vampire but I was altered into a human after a remnant of mine was left with a human."

"Oh? Who?"

"Uh I don't know his last name."

"What's his first name?"

"Duncan."

"Ah, the criminal, eh?"

"Huh?"

"He's a juvenile. Been to jail a lot of times in the past." Geoff waltzed around slowly. "He's on probation now. Oh, he didn't tell you?"

Kaycee shook her head.

"Well anyway, did bạn wanna speak to him hoặc something?"

"I need to see him. He has something I own."

"Oh, ok. Down there," Geoff pointed to the far dead end of the hallway. "27C."

"OK." Kaycee waved goodbye and started walking down further in the hallway. 24, 25, 26. Finally, she hit 27. She exhaled nervously, and knocked.

There were footsteps inside and the door opened a crack, since a chain lock was set on the door for it to only open so far.

"May I help you?" A girl answered the door, about fourteen hoặc fifteen.

"Yes, I'm looking for Duncan?"

"Why?"

"Because he has something that I own and I would like it back, if that's not any trouble with you, madame."

"Eh, the proper type are we?"

"Uh...sure?"

The girl turned her blonde head. "Duncan, some girl wants you."

"Why?" came a male voice from inside the room.

"Because she says bạn have something of hers." The blonde didn't turn back around to Kaycee.

"What do I have that she wants?"

"I don't know."

"Well, tell her to go away, I wanna be alone."

The blonde girl turned back to the red-haired confused girl. "He needs to be alone."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, is there anything I can do to possibly make him happier? To get out of his state of sadness and lovesickness."

"Um..." the girl was confused at Kaycee's complex choice of words. "I don't know, let me ask him, ok?"

Kaycee nodded and the blonde girl smiled a bit and turned back around.

"Duncan, she wants to know why you're upset and if she can make bạn any happier at all." the girl said.

"Tell her I'm sad because I'm heartsick."

Kaycee walked right up to the door as the girl turned around. "I know, what he said." she stopped the blonde from talking. "I can hear him perfectly clear." she đã đưa ý kiến softly. "Just, please, tell him I know why he's heartsick. And open the door, please."

The girl shrugged. "Fine." She unlocked the door but Kaycee did not move.

"Duncan, she knows why you're heartsick and upset." The girl put her hands on her hips.

"Ashlee, why would she care?" the male picked his head up off his cái gối, gối and propped himself up and sat up straight, drooping over the floor a bit.

"I don't-" Ashlee started to speak but Kaycee advanced into the room.

"Because I was forced to leave you." The red-haired girl stood in the front of the room, in front of the black-and-green-haired male, in her màu hồng, hồng and black punk dress, and stared in his eyes lovingly.

"I left bạn last night, and I'm sorry. But I can't tell bạn why I left because it is dangerously important that I keep my mouth shut."

Duncan was just in a state of shock. "You're....Kaycee?"

"Yes."

Duncan got up off the bed, in pajama pants and no áo sơ mi - and hugged Kaycee tightly.

Kay was just...shocked. She didn't know how to react. He was a complete stranger that she fell in tình yêu with, and he felt the same.

It wasn't long before Kaycee allowed her arms to travel up Duncan's shoulders and hug him back.

"You came back." He đã đưa ý kiến softly and released her. "Why?"

"Becasue I'm in love." Kaycee smiled and reached up - and caressed his soft lips with her own.

Duncan hugged her one thêm time - and this time, Kaycee started crying. And the tiếp theo thing that came out of the teen male's mouth was just completely out-of-the-blue.

"I tình yêu you."