We stood there on the beach staring at each other. The sun was setting and the waves were rising. Birds flew anxiously around us, my hair was blown in all directions by the shifting wind and there I stood. Just standing there, scared. Afraid of my best friend.

“Darcy, say something?” Aria pleaded. I shook my head, wiped away my tears, and tried to fight the rest off. I needed to be strong. “What am I suppose to say?” I asked her. I was in shock. I had no idea that my best friend could keep this secret from me. Why would she? I tell her everything.“If you thought you was protecting me then you was wrong, because I don’t feel safe.” I turned to walk away but before I could go anywhere she was in front of me. It was amazing. She was incredibly fast and she frightened me. “I won’t hurt you.” I covered my eyes with my fists. “Your hurting me now. You’re breaking my heart.” I screamed. She grabbed my wrists and easily removed them from my face. “I might be a vampire, but I have been the whole five years we have been friends. I was afraid to tell you.” Things made sense now.

“You shouldn’t have been. You should’ve told me the first day we met.” I was making her feel bad and she deserved it. “What was I suppose to say. ‘Hey I’m Aria Shivawn and I’m a vampire.’ If you don’t want me to be your friend anymore, say so.”

“So.” I didn’t hesitate but I felt the guilt leave my lips.

She looked up in the sky an bit her lip. “You might not believe me but every moment, every memory, it was real.” she turned around to leave. I hesitated. My tears fell as quickly as they were coming. The truth is, is that it was real. We did have good memories, and I would never forget them. Then she was gone. “Wait! I lied. I want you as my friend more then ever.” I put my hands on the back of my head, turned around and started to walked away. “How do I know you really mean that?” I jumped. I turned back around and there was Aria. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Sorry D, but how can I believe you. You’ve given me two different answers.” I panicked, but I knew what I would say next. “Turn me.” I breathed in hard. “We’ll be friends forever.”

“You don’t know what your asking for. You know nothing about what I am or my family. I made sure of that, but now I don’t have to hide from you anymore.” She shrugged her shoulders wanting me to ask her questions. “What do I need to know?” I asked her.

“I don’t sparkle in the sunlight... I explode. I turn into ash.” I automatically pointed up.

“The sun is out.” I told her.

“Stop being sarcastic. I have this,” she pointed to the ring on her finger. It was beautiful. The ring was black, but laced with silver lines that twisted and curved in all directions. “life ring. That’s not what you call it, but im not a technical thing. This little ring allows me to walk around in the sun unharmed.” It’s weird how something so small could bring such a big purpose. “How?” I asked her.

“It’s cursed.” I was starting to put things together. Aria, she was, always blowing me off to go places exotic that would cost a fortune, but she’s immortal she has a lot of money. She’s probably been around for hundreds of years. She would always make excuses why I couldn’t come to her home, and I believed her. “How did it get that way?” I asked her

“A witch. Darcy, everything. every story, you’ve been told about witch’s, vampire’s, and werewolves existing. There real.” I blinked really hard.

“Your not going to disappear are you?” I asked. She giggled and put her hand on my shoulder. She looked me in the eyes, “I promise I’ll always protect you.” I shook my head.

“What does that mean?” I asked her. It was silent for along time. The waves now reached up to my feet. The cool water was enough to make me jump. High tide was coming in. She still didn’t answer me and the silence was getting to awkward. I looked around. The beach was deserted. “Fine, go.” She blinked hard.

“What are you talking about?” She asked stupidly.

“You aren’t going to stay. That’s obvious, so just go now before you hurt me even more.” I started to walk farther up the beach. She followed me cautiously. Up ahead was a sand hill. I easily climbed to the top by grabbing the long grassy weeds that were secured by roots. Aria didn’t bother to climb, she just jumped up. It was freaky that she could jump to the top of a ten foot sand hill.

“I didn’t say I was leaving.” She finally said.

“You don’t have to. I can see it in your eyes.” She laughed. I wondered what was so funny. “Look, I got to get back. Sookie is probably flipping out, and Victoria is spending the night...You can...” She held up her hand.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” She asked. I shrugged my shoulders.

“You’ve stayed at my house a million times before any of this happened. Just because I know doesn’t mean anything. Plus, I still have questions.” She shook her head.

“Okay, but ask them now. I can have you home in a couple minutes, so we can stay as long as you want.” I nodded.

“How old are you?” I asked her. I wondered if she knew Shakespeare or Elvis.

“I was made this was in 1865. So im about, one-hundred and forty-six years old.” I was shocked again. She looked like a normal person, she was a little paler and now that I think about it, her eyes are creepy, yet beautiful.

“How did you get this way?” I asked her. The expression on her face was complicated to read. I didn’t think she was going to tell me what happened. I think she regretted something about that time.

“My boyfriend, Riley, took me to a ball that his friend was hosting. Now remember, the 1800's was a renaissance time. My sister, Alex, was trying to sneak off with her boyfriend, Demitri, but I caught her in time. I tried to talk to her, but she ran off into the woods. I followed and when I finally found her she was torn to pieces. I was scared and I ran over to her. That’s when a wolf attacked me. Um, Jackson, our master, or coven leader, whatever you want to call him, spelled all of the blood and saved us. Alex and I were dying, so he changed us.” So that’s how it happened.

“How did he do it?” I asked. She was happy to answer my questions, but in her eyes I could see the pain that came along with the answers. I was hurting her, but she didn’t mind it.

“Venom. When we bite a human we drink their blood, but when we do that our venom is exchanged. If we drink the human dry, they’ll die, but if we leave them alone with our venom in them, the change will start and it’s almost impossible to stop it.” She was looking down. She had her fingers in the sand and I swear I saw a red tear roll off her face.

“Are you crying?” I asked her. She nodded. I grabbed her and pulled her into me. I squeezed her tightly. At first I thought she was going to object to the hug, but she really needed it. “I’m always here for you Aria. We made each other that promise five years ago. I love you A. Don’t forget that you’re still my best friend.” She nodded in my arms.

“Lets go back to the house.” I told her. I stood up, only to get pulled back down by her.

“You need to meet my family. I’ve kept them from you for a long time. They want to meet you.” She explained. Meeting my best friend’s family was an amazing thing, but her family made me nervous.

“Later. I want to get home.” She nodded and stood up. She held her arms out and I jumped into them. It was amazing how fast she was. We were back to my house in less than three minutes.