Just a couple of days later, Ashley found herself standing in a corridor in her school, late in the evening. The place was pretty deserted, although she had seen a few people hanging around for evening classes and other kinds of activities. That wasn't what she was there for, though. Actually, she wasn't quite sure what she was there for. It had just sort-of happened. After her dream, her strange, frightening, erotic dream, she'd found herself unable to get the vampire girl - who she was increasingly sure was, in fact, Lillian - out of her head. She'd found herself thinking of it time and time again, often when she was in class or at other awkward times. Those eyes... those red eyes...
The next thing she knew, she'd been asking people about Lillian. Just a few questions, here and there to different people, easy enough to play off as idle curiosity. But her curiosity was far from idle; she'd committed every piece of information she'd been told to memory. It was rumors and gossip, mostly, but there seemed to be a lot of truth mixed in. She'd gathered that Lillian didn't attend regular classes. She only attended special night classes, purportedly owing to a skin condition that meant too much direct sunlight was unhealthy for her. That had certainly caught Ashley's attention, but she had forced herself not to read anything into it. Vampires weren't real! It was just a coincidence. Probably, she'd heard that rumor before and just forgotten about it, and that was why her brain had made the subconscious connection between the vampire in her dream and Lillian. Probably. Although it was also rumored that Lillian had never been seen to eat or drink...
Ashley quietly pinched herself, making herself get her head on straight. She pressed herself against the wall, and peeked around the door into the classroom she was standing outside. Lillian was still in there, perched in a desk and staring at her phone. Ashley stepped away again, hiding herself. She blushed. This was ridiculous. She was stalking a girl at her college based on nothing more than a dream! She knew she should stop, but she just couldn't help herself. She felt compelled to talk to Lillian. It was the only way she was going to get her, and the vampire from her dream, out of her head. The resemblance really was striking, though. Lillian was just as goth as the vampire, if much more punk. She was wearing a black skater skirt skirt with black fishnets underneath, and a black waistcoat over a white short-sleeved shirt, with numerous silver chains hanging from her belt and the buttons of her waistcoat, and silver chain bands around each wrist. She was deathly pale, and wore her long, black hair straight, holding it back with a simple hairband. It was quite the look.
Ashley found her heart racing fast, just at the sight of the girl. She still wasn't sure what she was doing exactly. Was she just looking, or was she working up the courage to go and talk to Lillian? Which was worse? But if it was the latter, what was she going to say? She had no idea. For the hundredth time she told herself she should just go home, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to. She simply had to be around Lillian.
But as Ashley was trying and failing to decide what to do, she heard footsteps coming from around the corner. She looked around and saw there was nowhere to hide, so had no option but to talk towards the sound. She could pass herself off as a random student going somewhere else, and double back once whoever it was had left. A few seconds later, a girl Ashley vaguely recognized rounded the corner. She was a medical student, and dressed in med student scrubs. She was in the same year as Ashley, and they had talked a bit at a few freshman events. What was her name again? Zoe? She was taller than Ashley, had dark skin and frizzy natural hair, and rosy complexion. Ashley raised a hand and gave her a friendly wave, and to her surprise Zoe almost jumped out of her skin. She looked around furtively for a moment, before hesitantly returned Ashley's gesture with an insincere smile. That gave Ashley pause. Weird. She noticed Zoe was carrying something that looked like a big cooler. Also weird. But Ashley figured it didn't really matter. She and Zoe passed each other, and she kept walking until they were a fair distance apart. Ashley glanced back, and did a double take when she saw Zoe turn and suddenly dash the exact classroom Ashley had just been peaking into. The classroom that Lillian was sitting in.
Every rational thought in Ashley's head was telling her it was a bad idea, but she couldn't resist sneaking back and peaking into the room, pressing herself tight against the wall so she was as out-of-sight as possible. She strained her ears, listening in. She had to know what was going on. She had to. Zoe's strange behavior hadn't really captivated her at first, but if it was something to do with Lillian she needed to find out what was going on.
"I-I'm sorry I'm late," Ashley heard Zoe mutter. The black girl was standing at the desk Lillian was perched on, staring at her nervously. Lillian hadn't looked up from her phone.
"And why is that?" Lillian replied, still not looking at the quivering med student. Her voice gave Ashley chills. It was incredibly cold, and just like the voice of the vampire in her dream.
"I had to be careful!" Zoe exclaimed. There was a pleading note to her voice. "I almost got caught last time, you know that."
"I suppose." Lillian finally glanced at Zoe, flashing her a look of utter disdain. Zoe blanched. "But that is your problem, not mine. I don't expect to be kept waiting."
"I..." For a moment, it seemed to Ashley like Zoe was about to get angry. But then, all of a sudden, her whole body sagged and she looked down at the floor. "Yes. I'm sorry."
"Good." Lillian set her phone down on the desk and jumped off it, and held out her hand. "Now, let me see what you've brought me. I'm thirsty."
Wordlessly, Zoe handed Lillian the cooler bag. Rushing ever so slightly, Lillian hauled it up onto a chair and unzipped it, inspecting the contents. She reached inside and pulled something out, and it was all Ashley could do to suppress a gasp. It was a blood bag filled with blood, exactly the kind that was hooked up to people when they were given blood transfusions. All kinds of thoughts were rushing through Ashley's head, but those were all completely brushed aside when Lillian ripped a small hole in the blood bag, held it aloft above her head, and allowed the crimson liquid within to drain into her open mouth.
Ashley froze. This was real. Lillian was drinking blood. She was a vampire. No, no, a small part of her mind was insisting. There had to be another explanation. Maybe it wasn't really blood. Maybe she was just delusional. But deep down, she didn't believe that. Between the unmistakable stench of real blood and the dream she'd had, not to mention all the other rumors, she knew it was true. Lillian was a vampire.
Her first instinct was to run, or scream. She wasn't safe. She needed to get away, so she could decide what she was going to do. But what stopped her was noticing Zoe's reaction to Lillian feeding. The med student didn't seem scared or disgusted. She was staring intently at Lillian's open, bloodstained mouth, like it was the only thing in the whole world. She was bending towards the vampire, and her face was flushed a deep red. She was breathing hard, her chest rising and falling noticeably with each rapid breath. And most tellingly of all, she had started to rub her thighs together repeatedly. Ashley almost gasped when the penny dropped. Zoe was turned on.
There was something so perverse, so horrifying, about that, Ashley couldn't look away. The words 'Lillian' had spoken in her dream came back to her, unbidden. Some mortals find it pleasurable. They come to need it, to crave it, to beg for it. Ashley swallowed awkwardly.
