"I know - I remember that. And Sebastian helped me when I began to bleed." Her eyes grew wide as she remembered. "Oh no! Then you pushed him away. I thought it was odd then - that you struggled with him when he was trying to help me. But now that I know... Did he bite me? Did Sebastian bite me? Am I going to be a...?"
"No, calm down. He wiped off your blood from your knee. That's all."
"Why would he do that?" she wondered. "There's more, isn't there?"
"Not really. He didn't bite you. That's all you need to know."
"But he wiped it off. I remember."
"Yes, he did."
"But what did he do with the blood?" she asked, trying to remember. Then she looked at me as2emked at if she already knew the answer.
I reluctantly nodded, recalling how he put his bloodstained finger to his mouth.
"Oh, gross!" She covered her ears. "I don't want to hear."
"You just told me you want to know everything."
"I didn't need to know that part. I feel woozy." Then, suddenly, she clutched my shirt. "Will I turn into a vampire?" she asked desperately.
"No. You are no more a vampire than I am."
"Are you sure?"
"Dead sure."
My best friend sighed with relief.
"No, you have to be bitten for that to happen," I said with a sigh of my own. But there was something I wasn't sure she knew. Something I wanted to have happen to me. "And if the vampire bites another on sacred ground, then they are bonded together for eternity," I said. "Isn't that romantic?"
"Uh ... yes. I guess," she said uneasily. "But what is sacred ground?"
"A burial site. A cemetery. Or a tomb. But Alexander took my blood, too," I said, not wanting to feel left out of the drama. "Not on sacred ground, but like Sebastian did to you. Only it was really magical for us."
"Well, it would be to you, but to me, it's completely gross. I think I will stick with Matt. Fortunately for me the only thing he likes to drink is Gatorade." We both laughed at the extraordinary situation that was now our reality.
"But do you still want to be a vampire now that you know the truth?" Becky asked.
"I've known for a while."
"I know. But seeing them interact - their lifestyle and their needs. Do you really want to be one like you've always wanted to before?"
"Yes. More so than ever."
She nervously twisted the ends of her hair and took a moment to process my answer.
"Would we still be able to be best friends?" Becky seemed seriously worried.
"Why not?"
"Because if youxtrcause i are a vampire ... you wouldn't be going to school anymore. I'd miss you in classes, lunch, and after school. I'd only be able to see you a few hours in the evenings. Who would I talk to at school?"
"Matt."
"But you are my best friend."
"I would still be your best friend. Nothing will change that."