Woohoo! I’m seeing Savage Garden in concert for the first time! This is gonna be great! Right now I’m in line outside but I don’t care ‘cause the weather is so great. The sky is dark blue and purple because the sun is setting. It doesn’t take long before the sun completely disappears. The line moves quickly and soon I’m in the auditorium. I take my seat, which is in the second row, and I wait impatiently. The lights dim and everybody gets up. I immediately recognise The best thing. A couple of songs later, I hear the beginning of The animal song. Darren looks so cute when he’s jumping and dancing around the stage that I take many pictures of him. And lucky me, I'm in the front row, these are the best pictures I’ll ever take. Then, when he is singing Hold me, he sees me snapping all those shots so he grabs my hand and pulls me onstage. He tells me to take pictures of him and I can’t believe it’s happening to me. He puts him arm around my shoulders, grabs my camera and takes a picture of us. I give the camera to my friend so she can take a picture of us in a hug. He gives me a hug and my friend takes a picture. He gives me a kiss on the cheek and puts his lips close to my ear. His warm breath against my ear is enough to send shivers down my spine. “You’ve got to help me, meet me at the St-Louis Square after the concert. I’ll explain then.” He says in a shaky voice. I go back to my seat, worrying for Darren. What would be terrifying enough to reach out to a person you don’t even know? The rest of the concert passes by and I try to forget about that strange event for the moment.

I walk silently to the St-Louis Square, wondering what is the matter with Darren. I hear someone creeping behind me so I turn around. I don’t see the person’s face but I’m sure it’s not Darren. That weirdo is too tall to be Darren. He is still approaching me and I’m beginning to be nervous. He grabs me by the shoulders, opens his mouth and bends down to my neck. I just have time to see two long fangs in his mouth. I feel him biting me so I kick him in the groins. I take my lucky charm out of my pocket. It’s a cross my father gave me when I was young. I put it in his face and he runs away. I feel tears forming in my eyes. My neck hurts really bad. I touch it and I look at my hand. It’s covered with blood. I look in my purse and I take out a tissue. I wipe the blood on my hand and on my neck. I put another one on top of my wound to stop the bleeding. “Oh My GAWD!” I hear loudly behind me in a thick Australian accent. I turn around and I see Darren, looking horrified. “I was attacked…” I say, not really believing it. “Where do you live? We’ll have to go there, I can’t go to the hotel.” He says, taking me by the arm. I lead him quickly to my house, which, fortunately, is near the St-Louis Square.

I go in the bathroom, I take out a wash cloth and I put some water on it. I wash my neck and I put a big bandage over the wound. I get out of the bathroom and I see Darren in the doorway. “Come on, couches aren’t just a decoration.” I say, sitting down on my grey couch. He sits down besides me and he sigh. He’s about to talk but I cut him. “I’m so impolite, do you want something to drink? I got apple juice, milk, coffee and water.” I say. “I’ll take a coffee. Thanks.” He says. I get up and I go in the kitchen. I boil some water and I prepare him a coffee. “You want sugar and milk with that?” I ask him. “Well I’ll put it myself since I know exactly how I want it.” He says, walking in the kitchen. We go back to the couch and we sit down. “So, what’s bothering you?” I say, turning to face him. “Well, now you’re probably going to believe it. Daniel is a vampire but no one believes me. I’m afraid to be the next one. I always thought being a vampire would be cool but now I’m scared to death!” He says. “How do you know he’s a vampire? Did you see his fangs?” I ask him, my eyes widening. “No but I saw him drinking from people. One of the victims was a young girl around your age. How did you manage to survive that attack? He’s way too strong!” He says. “Well, first of all, I took a self-defence class so when he grabbed me I kicked him in the nuts. And then I took out my lucky charm, a cross, and when he saw it, he ran away.” I explain. “Man, look at the time, it’s 1 am, I should go to bed.” I say, yawning and looking at my watch. “Can I stay here for the night? I know I don’t know you very much but I’ve got nowhere to go, I’ll sleep on the couch, I don’t care unless it bothers your parents that a complete stranger is sleeping over.” He says, looking at the floor shyly. “My parents wont really care, they’re not here for the week, I’ll go get you a blanket and a pillow.” I say, opening a cupboard in my bedroom. I take out a pillow and a blanket and I give them to Darren. “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite!” I say, laughing and going to my bedroom. “Can I at least have a good night kiss?” He says in a childish voice. I laugh and I look at him, shaking my head. “You’re such a fool.” I say. “Hey, I don’t even know your name, what is it?” He asks me. “Lidia” I say, walking to my bedroom. I get to bed, I’m so tired of all the events that occurred tonight.

I wake up, hearing a noise in the living room. It sounds like someone is hitting a window with his finger. I open my eyes and I sit up. I hear a loud yell so I run in the living room. I see Darren squeezed at the edge of the couch, looking at the window. I look up and I see what is causing Darren’s fear. Daniel is floating in front of the window and an evil grin is planted on his face. He looks up to me and seems surprised. He punches the window and it breaks easily. “Hmmm, a left-over!” He says, jumping on me. I scream in surprise and I find myself pinned to the floor. I try as hard as I can to get out of his grip but he is way stronger than me. I see Darren trying to get Daniel off of me but he fails. Daniel pushes him and he crashes to the wall. He is knockout, I have to deal with Daniel alone. He bends down, rips off my bandage and begins to drink from me again. I scream as loudly as I can and Darren wakes up. I continue screaming so Daniel doesn’t hear Darren approaching. Darren kicks him in the stomach so he rolls off of me. I try to get up but I am too weak. I crawl to my bedroom, searching for my cross. I find it in my drawer and I crawl back to the living room where Darren and Daniel are fighting. I gather all my forces and I jump on Daniel’s back. I put my cross in front of his eyes and he jumps backwards. I hold onto his back and he runs everywhere. He jumps by the window but I don’t have time to get off his back. Darren runs to the window and looks down, screaming my name. He sees me, holding the edge of the window, trying to climb back. He grabs my arms, put his foot on the edge of the window and pulls me in. I fall on the floor, breathing heavily. I breathe even harder but I feel like there is a plastic bag on my head. I put my hand on my chest and my heart is beating faster than ever. “Shhh, calm down Lidia, it’s okay, he’s gone now.” Darren says, stroking my hair. I manage to catch my breath and he goes to the bathroom. He comes back with a wet washcloth and a bandage and he cleans my neck. “You’re lucky, he didn’t have time to drink much.” He says, putting the bandage on my neck. “You know, it’s really frustrating when you trust someone so much and then he stabs you in the back!” He says, hitting the floor.

I wake up and I am blinded by the sunlight flooding in my bedroom. I scratch my neck and memories from last night run through my head. Daniel is a vampire, he bit me twice and Darren is sleeping in the living room. What a night! I get up and I walk slowly to the living room, rubbing my sleepy eyes. I see Darren all dressed up on the couch watching television. “Hey Lidia, finally up?” He says with a cheerful smile. “It’s only 9 am, since when are you up?” I ask him, sitting down. “6 am” He answers, turning to the television. “Did you eat breakfast?” I ask him, yawning. “No, I was waiting for you.” He says, turning off the television. “Well, I don’t have much to eat, the cupboard is pretty empty.” I tell him, pointing to the cupboard. “It doesn’t matter, we’re going to the restaurant. After all, you let me stay in here so you deserve it.” He says, getting up. “Thanks! Just let me get changed okay?” I say, walking towards my bedroom. I quickly put pants and a tank top on and I get out. We walk to the nearest restaurant and we order our breakfast. “I can only thank you for saving my life twice.” I say, swallowing my last spoon of fruit salad. “You probably know a lot about me with everything you can find on the net. But I want to know about you.” He says, resting his head on his fist. “Well, there’s nothing really interesting, what do you want to know?” I say. -Well, what languages do you speak? -I usually speak French but I also speak English and I’m learning Spanish. -Cool, say something in French! -Okay, Darren est mon idole, je n’oublierai jamais son talent. It means Darren is my idol, I’ll never forget his talent. But I can’t say much in Spanish though. -Well say something! -Te quiero, it means I love you and me quiero mucho jardin selveje or something like that means I really love savage garden. -That’s cool to know three languages. Let’s see… do you have a boyfriend? -No, all the boys at my school are idiots. -How old are you? -14 -What’s your favourite subject in school -Art and music -That’s cool! What instrument do you play? -Guitar and keyboard, listen why don’t we get out of here, the smell of cigarette is making me sick. -Yeah, me too. He pays the bill and we get out.

We walk on the main street and I look at him confusedly. “Where are we going?” I ask him. “To the hotel, the others must be worried sick about me. It’s really not my style to go somewhere and not tell anyone.” He says. We arrive to the hotel and we go in the elevator. He knocks on the door and a sleepy Leonie opens it. “Darren, where were you? We thought something terrible happened to you.” She says, giving him a hug. “Don’t worry, I just spent the night at Lidia’s house.” He says. “Who’s Lidia?” She asks him. “Oh, I forgot to make the introductions. Leonie, this is Lidia. Lidia, this is Leonie.” He says, taking me by the shoulders and planting me in front of her. “Nice to meet you, I love your updates.” I say, smiling to her. “Well thanks, nice to meet you too.” She tells me, shaking my hand. “Well come on, get in.” She says, pushing us inside. I sit down on a big white sofa and it’s really comfortable. “Last night, Daniel went out to look for you but he never found you, we were very worried.” She says, picking up some bread and putting it in the toaster. Darren looks at me, looking shocked. “That’s very… nice of him.” He says, trying to smile. “So Darren, what were you doing at Lidia’s house?” She asks him, looking suspicious. “Huh, well, I was taking a walk last night and… I saw Lidia tripping and she cut her neck on… a rock. So I went to help her and I brought her to her house since it was closer than the hotel. It took me some time to stop the bleeding and to put on a bandage and when I was finally finished, I realised that I had no idea how to come back to the hotel so she offered me to stay over for the night. And we became friends” He says, moving his hands in every direction. “Well, I have to go now, I want to change and I have to talk to Lidia so… Bye Leo!” He says, giving her a hug.

We walk to his room and he picks up some clothes. He goes in the bathroom and I sit down on his comfortable bed. He comes out wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of cargo pants. “Daniel’s only haunting us, no one else has a clue about his real nature. That’s dangerous.” He says, sitting down next to me. “Yeah, and now he knows where we both live!” I say, resting my head on my knees. “I think it’ll be safer to stay here for the night. If Daniel comes in, we’ll just have to scream and the others will probably help us. Ben’s room is on our left, Karl’s room is on our right and Lee’s room is in front of us. They’ll probably hear us if we scream loudly.” He says, pointing to the directions. “What do you say we forget about it for now and relax for the day.” I say, putting my hand on his shoulder. “So, what do you wanna do? I don’t have much inspiration so…” He says. “I don’t know, I’m so tired.” I say, falling flat on the pillow. “Hey, that’s a good idea, let’s sleep!” He says, lying next to me. “Hey guys, I think Darren has a girlfriend. He came to my room this morning with a girl called Lidia and he had spent the night at her house. And he didn’t seem so sure about the story he was telling me. There’s only one thing, she was about 15 years old, that’s a little young for a 28 years old man.” Leonie says to the guys. “Why don’t we just ask him instead of pretending that she is his girlfriend.” Ben says, walking towards Darren’s room. He knocks on the door and no one answers. He knocks again, still no answer so he decides to open the door anyway. His jaw nearly hits the floor and he comes back running to Leo’s room. “It’s his girlfriend, they were sleeping together!” He says, all excited. “I knew it! He couldn’t hide this from me!” Leonie exclaimed.

-knock knock-…-knock knock-… “Darren, are you there?” Leonie screams through the door. “No I’m not” He muffles in the pillow. “Ha ha, very funny Darren! Come on, open the door already!” She says, exasperated. He rubs his eyes, walks to the door and opens it. He squints his eyes from all the neon lights in the hallway. “What?” He says, looking at Leonie. “Well we’re going to eat at a restaurant, do you want to come? Lidia can come too.” She offers him. “Okay, just let us get ready.” He says, scratching his head. “Well meet us downstairs in 15 minutes.” She says, closing the door. “Hey Lidia, wake up, Lidia!” He says, shaking me. “Huh, wha… what?” I say, waking up. “Wake up, we’re going to the restaurant with the others.” He says, pulling me up by the hands. “Well do you have a brush, my hair is really messy.” I say, running a hand through it. He hands me a brush and I quickly fix my hair. Everyone is waiting for us in a blue mini van. I climb in and take the last empty seat. I look up and right in front of me is sitting no one else than Daniel. My eyes widen as I see his evil grin. I look up to Darren and I can see he’s nervous too even though he’s trying to hide it. I can’t stop fiddling with my moon shaped ring, that’s what I always do when I’m nervous. We get to the restaurant and I almost jump out of the van. But how can Daniel be out in the light? Oh, it’s dark outside, hehe, I hadn’t noticed. I sit as far away as I can from Daniel. A waiter comes to our table to take our orders. I pay attention to what Daniel is ordering, vampires aren’t supposed to eat anything but blood. He orders a steak, medium rare. Well at least I’m safe, we’re in public, he’ll never attack me now. Ah, my order arrives, a mouth watering club sandwich. The same thing as Darren but he asked one without bacon. “I have to go to the bathroom, I’ll be back in a few.” I say, getting up. “Me too” says Daniel. Yeah, as if they’d let a guy in the lady’s room. I arrive and on a door it says: Unisex washroom. Ah shit! I run in and jump on the edge of the window but he catches my foot. “Where do you think you’re going missy, I’m not done with you!” He says, pulling me in, his eyes red with fury. “If you tell anyone about me being a vampire, I’ll make your life a living hell! I can find you everywhere you go.” He says, pinning me to the wall and clenching his teeth. “I…I won’t tell anyone! I swear! Please don’t hurt me I’m sorry!” I say, beginning to cry. He looks at me right in the eyes with this sexy smile. Oh my god, he’s trying to use his charms on me, I won’t fall for it. “Why are you scared of me, I won’t hurt you.” He says, putting his hand on my back and rubbing it gently with his thumb. Damn, he’s going to be tough to resist. He bends down and brushes his lips against mine. Argh! I must resist, it’s the only way I can escape! He kisses me again but with more passion this time. God, he’s trying to kill me! I can’t take it anymore! I kiss him back and I’m relieved, it lets out a lot of stress. He seems satisfied so lets me go and we both walk to the door. When he’s not paying attention, I quickly turn back and run to the window. He’s so startled that he doesn’t even chase me. I jump by the window and I fall flat on the grass with a big whoosh! I start to run and Daniel sticks his head out the window. “You can run but you can’t hide!” He screams. “Boy, they’re really taking a lot of time, I’ll go check if they’re okay.” Darren says, getting up. He gets to the bathroom and Daniel is standing in the middle of the room, all alone. “What did you do with her! Where is she?” Darren screams angrily. “I don’t know, I came in and she wasn’t there. I looked for her everywhere but I didn’t find her.” He says innocently. “Yeah right” Darren mumbles under his breath. They walk out of the bathroom and Leonie gets up. “What’s the matter Darren, you look upset!” She tells him. He simply looks up and says: “Lidia is missing”. “How could she be missing, Daniel was right behind her!” Angie says. They all get up to pay their bill and go out to search for me.

I can’t feel my legs, they can’t support me anymore. I collapse and I have no idea where I am. I’ve been running for almost an hour now. I start crying in fear and exhaustion. I’m lying on the grass, good thing, I know I’m not in the middle of a street. I manage to sit up and I wipe my eyes. There’s no one around, I must get somewhere crowded, it’s safer. I start walking and it’s the first time I see Montreal so deserted. Looks like the whole city disappeared! I walk but I have no idea where I’m going, it’s getting really freaky. Suddenly, I turn around and I see Daniel behind me, about 30 meters away. I scream and I start running even though my legs are killing me. Why did this have to happen to me! What did I do to deserve this? Oh well, I always said I’d do anything to protect Darren. Suddenly, it starts to rain really hard. I get drenched in less than two minutes. Then the wind rises, lightning explode in the sky and thunder roars in the air. So that’s why there’s no one on the streets. Why didn’t the band know about this. They must have missed the weather report. The sidewalk is getting all slippery. I look back and Daniel is gaining on me. I run faster but I slip on the sidewalk and fall down on my back. Then I see Darren bending over me and picking me up. I’m saved! He brings me inside a building and I realise it’s their hotel. Why didn’t I recognise it? I must have been to nervous to realise it. When we’re finally in his room, he puts me down. “That was a close one! Thanks Darren!” I say, hugging him. His clothes are wet too, he was probably looking for me outside. He holds me close and rubs his hip against mine. I look up to him and I meet his beautiful eyes, full of passion. Before I can react, he bends down and kisses me. “You’re finally mine.” He whispers, running his tongue on my lip. He brings me on the bed and lies on top of me, kissing my face and my neck. Suddenly, he bites my neck really hard, just like Daniel, and starts drinking my blood. I try to push him off but I’m too weak. My face turns white and I know I’m going to die soon. “Daniel and I had a little… exchange. Any last words?” He says. “You know, it’s really frustrating when you trust someone so much and then he stabs you in the back!” I whisper, crying my last tears.