I woke up suddenly, as though somebody had just thrown a bucket of cold water over me, and sat up. “What’s the matter?” The familiarly smooth voice made me jump, and I looked sideways to see Kaname sitting casually with one ankle crossed over the opposite knee. “Nothing,” I mumbled, “Just…woke up quickly is all.” There was no way I would tell him the truth: I had been having a vivid dream. I had been back in the garden, but this time it was not Aido who drank from me…It was Atasuki. It was his eyes that had glowed crimson, his face that had lost all traces of its usual kindness.

I scraped my hair behind my ears, suddenly irritated by the way it snaked past my shoulders. It was a weird colour too; it grew naturally in a rich shade of purple, no matter how many dyes I used. I rubbed my eyes to wipe away the remainder of my bad dreams, and growled quietly when it caused my hair to fall forward again. Angrily I scraped the offending curls into a high ponytail before noticing Kaname was watching every movement with mild interest. “What?” I asked roughly, not realising how aggressive it sounded until a flicker of shock registered on Kaname’s face.

He shrugged slightly. “The Headmaster came by to see you. He wanted to try and contain the situation. Actually, he seemed a little disappointed when I told him that everything was fine.” I laughed sarcastically. “Is this what you call fine?” I pointed to the place where Aido had bitten me, surprised to find a plaster over the two small holes. Kaname shook his head sadly. “No, that isn’t fine…But you might be pleased to learn that you won’t be changed into a vampire yourself. I’m guessing that Akatsuki Kain won’t have told you that.”

I sighed. “I should be pleased,” I said bitterly, “I should be. Instead all I can think about is how if I was changed, then…then maybe Akatsuki would let me be near him.” Kaname hissed felinely. “Don’t ever say that! To see death cloud those green eyes of yours would be more than I could bear.” I looked at him incredulously. “Seriously, how is this about you? I asked you to leave me alone last night; I still haven’t forgotten that you didn’t tell me that all of you are vampires! If you actually cared about me then you would have told me.” He stood up slowly. “Is that what you think?” he asked in a strangled whisper. “You think I don’t care about you? I have never cared about anyone else as much as I do for you. I was just trying to protect you, because...because I love you so much that it makes my heart ache.”

“You don’t have a heart, and I don’t want your love,” I said cruelly. Kaname’s red eyes sparkled momentarily before he looked away. “I’ll leave, then. There is some…business for me to attend to back at the Moon Dormitory.” I watched him leave before burying my head in my hands. Why had I been so horrible to him when he was being nothing but nice to me? Actually, I knew the answer to that already. It was because ‘he’ wasn’t here. I wanted him so much that it made my head hurt.

“Cassie? Are you alright?” I held my breath in disbelief, wishing hard that I had recognised that voice correctly. “Atasuki,” I breathed, looking up. Even the sight of his grief-stricken face couldn’t stop the happiness I felt at his presence.