Early morning, May 17th..

He shouldered in through the hidden, vine covered side door of the church so hard it banged into the inside wall and swung back into his outstretched hand. He caught it..and eased it closed a lot quieter than it had opened. His ears were still ringing from the loud noise. It did little to drown out the thoughts in his head.

He'd messed up.. And it had almost gotten one of his friends killed..

He kept his hand plastered to the right side of his neck, guiding himself carefully down the narrow hallway. He could barely remember anything beyond seeing Selene tear into May's neck for the second time..

It wasn't even supposed to happen a first time. Regardless of whatever the hell her stupid teacher told her. Helping people.. There were other people that needed it..

Better people..

People that weren't vampires..

He leaned heavily into the wall at the end of the corridor, half turned in the direction he was supposed to be taking next.

It had all gone wrong..

He'd said that he would take May's place for Selene. But he hadn't expected her to actually take him up on it.. As much as he hated it, May had offered..herself.. Selene did it anyway..

He'd wanted her to. He knew what his blood did.. It hurt..he'd wanted to hurt her.. Pay her back..

She went after May anyway..right afterward..

Selfish didn't even begin to describe it..

He grunted, slammed the outside of his fist into the wall.

"Good gracious, boy, you gave me a fright. What in Heaven's name are you doing down here at this hour?"

He blinked, stared at the small figure that he hadn't even heard approach. She wasn't dressed like a nun..but in a long nightgown with a heavy looking flannel robe over it. He didn't know that her hair was that dark a silver..or that long. It was twisted into a messy braid and rested on her left shoulder. Behind her glasses, her gray eyes were wide.

"Sister Agatha.. Look..I'm sorry.. But I'm really not in the mood to be hit today.. Can we just..skip that part..?"

"Boy, what happened to your throat, you're bleeding all over yourself. Come." She snapped her fingers and gestured for him to follow her to the door of one of the several offices lining the hall they had entered.

"I..was kinda just going to go to sleep.. If you're worried about all the delivery stuff--"

"Nonsense." She produced a brass key from a pocket in her robe and unlocked the door she'd stopped at. "You're injured, and you will be treated. I'm not going to have you bleeding on everything and everyone you come in contact with. Inside. Now."

"Mmph.." He didn't want to.. Really.. But if it was a choice between that, and getting hit.. He sighed, pushed off of the wall and begrudgingly followed after her.

She pointed him to one of the chairs in front of the dark desk lining the office's north wall. It squealed when he dropped into it. Sister Agatha swept around to the other side of the desk and pulled a first aid kit from one of the three drawers she'd opened.

"Now, what exactly happened to you, boy?" She worked swiftly, wetting a square of gauze with something that he could smell even from where he was sitting..scrubbing her hands with it. His nose wrinkled, he shook his head.

"Nothing too much.."

"I'll be seeing the wound shortly, are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"

He grunted..she snapped her fingers again and waved at his hand. When he didn't move it right away, she laid her almost gnarled hand on his..and tugged a lot more gently than he was expecting. He blinked in surprise..and let go.

"A vampire, eh? Only creature I know of that makes these two marks like this," she said, gently..sweeping wet gauze all over his neck. It stung..when the alcohol got into the wounds. He grit his teeth, breathing through it. It felt..annoying..

"You didn't exchange blood with the beast, did you, boy?"

"Mmph.." He jerked his head away from her, pushing against the chair to stand up. Her hand clamped down onto his shoulder..shoved into him with strength that he didn't think a little old person should have.

"You're not getting up from this chair until you've been properly bandaged, boy, and I'll not hear another word about it. Now sit." She wasn't..barking like usual.. He scowled, staring up at her. She pushed the gauze into his neck sharply. "Hold this there."

"Don't..say that to me.. I can handle lots of stuff..just..vampires.. No.. I'd never be one of them.."

"Is that so?" She cut another square of gauze..tapped his hand to get it to move again, and started taping the fresh bandage firmly in place.

"Yeah.. It is.."

"That's good to know, boy. They are terrible creatures, one of this earth's worst." She shook her head gravely.

"Yeah.. I know.. Can I get up now..?"

Sister Agatha shook her head, then waved her hand at him dismissively. "Oh, yes. Off and to bed with you. And Toby, if you feel the need to rest a bit later than you're accustomed to..don't feel like you need to pass up the chance."

He blinked, pausing halfway out of his chair. "Are you telling me to sleep in..?"

"Only if you feel like you need it, boy. There will be no slacking in the Lord's house, do you understand me?" Her hands clasped on her hips..she raised her hawk nose at him. He snickered, finished straightening..turning for the door.

"Yeah, I got it.. Thanks..for the bandage.." He slipped out of the office without looking back.

Early morning, May 19th..

It had all started with a simple question.. Although, the dinner party..thing..was kind of weird to begin with.. Not everyone was eating..people had left.. There were awkward silences..

"Am I still your best friend?"

He had blinked to the question. He didn't understand why she would think..that had changed at all, but..

He couldn't even remember what he said..he'd paused, though.. He must have said something..she'd ran out..

He wasn't sure he was supposed to go after her..he didn't think she wanted to see him.. Someone told him to go, he couldn't remember who either. But he did..just so that he wouldn't have to be inside the Hall.

He couldn't remember how he'd found her.. He'd just been running around and hoping to get lucky.

They'd talked.. He was able to tell her.. She thought he was trying to stay away from her because he hated her.. Unlike the last time..he wasn't trying to do it for that reason..

It sort of made him feel worse.

"You don't have to keep treating me like dirt..or pushing me away. Because one day, you'll do it so much, you'll lose me.."

It scared him. Of all the people, Katt was the one that said she would always be there.. And..he'd done so much worse.. Why was it so different now..?

"Yeah.."

He'd just..have to stop.. It wouldn't be so hard now that she knew.. He didn't hate her, he still thought of her as his best friend, he just..felt guilty.. He'd wanted to feel the same way about her..that she did about him. And he'd tried..for so long..

He didn't think he could try anymore.. He hadn't ever wanted her to know, or to find out the way she did..

She hadn't stopped going on about healing him.. She didn't like bitemark scars he had. They didn't really bother him.. He was..annoyed by them. He thought they'd go away by now. He had finally let her. And had given her the scarf back. It was..sort of a ritual now..

"It got messed up.."

They ended that night..smiling.. It wasn't that bad.. They could..go back to normal..

That was, really..all that he wanted..