The Garden of What Once Was

CHAPTER FOUR

It was a bright and beautiful morning. The warm sunlight peeked through the shades in Reed's room. Everything was just...perfect. Reed had wrapped himself in a snug cocoon with his blankets after forcing himself to get up and brush his teeth, as he still had a few more minutes left to get more beauty sleep. He was sleeping so soundly that he didn't wake up when the door to his dorm opened.

"Consider this revenge for interrupting my fun with the little lady on the roof," Jared snickered, grabbing a hold of the sheets.

    With one swift pull, he sent Reed tumbling off his bed, still in his cocoon. Reed opened one eye as he tried to register what had just happened. Both of his eyes snapped open when he finally saw Jared standing above him, smiling. He let out a big yawn before lifting himself off the floor. The blankets pooled around his feet as he stood up, shrugging them off.    

"Thanks for ruining a perfectly good dream, ass," Reed muttered, his voice cracking with exhaustion.

    Reed stumbled over to where he had hung up his uniform the other night. He was still too tired to cause any bodily harm to his annoying friend, but that might change a few minutes from now.

"Let me guess, you were dreaming about me," Jared cooed.

"Dreaming about you would be a nightmare," He coldly replied, throwing on his pants over his boxers.

Jared continued to tantalize Reed, "I don't blame you for dreaming about me. I mean, I am pretty hot after all."

    Every bit of Reed's self-control was being put to the test. One part of him wanted to smother Jared with a pillow and the other was telling him to just ignore him.

"Y'know, you should be nicer to me! I came all the way to your dorm just to make sure you woke up on time, Honeybuns."

Reed's fingers twitched as he looked over at the pillows that were scattered across his bed. "Do you want to die today, Jared?"

"Actually, that's not on my agenda for today. I could add it to my list though," Jared cheekily answered.

"Please do."

He went back to putting on his uniform, choosing not to murder Jared this morning. Besides, there was always the next day to get the deed done. Reed put on his watch, checking the time as he did. There was just enough time for him to get breakfast before the first period. As you might have already guessed, breakfast for vampires did not consist of light, fluffy pancakes drowned in syrup. Instead, their breakfast usually came from the necks of their peers. If they didn't have enough time, they would have to get blood from bags. Blood that came from bags was always stale and left their mouths stained with a metal aftertaste. Reed shuddered at the mere thought of having to force such a disgusting thing down. As he walked towards his door, Jared stopped him.

"Your tie is crooked, Honeybuns." He fixed Reed's tie, running out the door before Reed had the chance to pummel him.

"Get back here!" Reed ran after him, intending to cut Jared's life short.

... ... ... ...

Ember closed the door to her dorm. Her bad luck streak seemed to come to an end. That morning, she didn't wake up late, nor did she neglect to take off her slippers before heading off to class. She hummed a light tune as she locked the door. The chipper mood from earlier toned itself down as she sensed a pair of eyes following her. Now it was just a matter of whose eyes were watching her. Is it a vampire or a human? Ember's hand tightly gripped the strap to her backpack, getting ready to swing it at whoever was behind her. She turned around, prepared to be attacked by a vampire who hadn't had their breakfast yet.