When Forever Ends

Chapter One
Figure in the Storm

I slowly walked down the shore of the white beach. The sand cool, white oozed through my toes. It was mid-summer, and late in the afternoon. Like most summer days in Florida, a bad storm was coming.

My name was Hayley Drew. I lived in a beach-front townhouse in Ormond Beach, Florida. I was fourteen. My life was going no where. For most of my life I was at the top of my class, in advanced classes, getting straight A's. In seventh grade that changed. My grades slowly got worse until I was in average classes getting C's.

I had no friends anymore. They had all left me. This started in sixth grade. I had started changing, wearing black clothing and dark make-up. Most of my friends were scared off. I only had a few friends who weren't scared of my new ways, but then, like my grades, it just got worse. Eventually no one was left. And I had troubles making new friends, so I never did.

My looks weren't great, either. I was not fat, but I wasn't skinny either. My face was covered in too many freckles, my eyes were too small, and it was closer to a circle then an oval like it should of been. I was short, too. My hair was my best feature. It was once brown, but was now jet-black. It was thick and curly and went down to my waist.

I didn't have love either. I never had a boy friend, and my family wasn't "loving" to me. I was just another bother to them.

The storm was starting to pick up. The wind howled at me was it ripped across the beach, making my hair dance behind me. I continued walking, I loved storms. I stared at the black water, which was blue when the sun was out. The waves slammed against the white sand as the black clouds came closer. It started to rain.

Lightning struck the water near by. Thunder shook me as I continued walking. I couldn't see down the beach because it was raining so hard. The thunder roared and the waves furiously hit the beach. Soaked, I continued walking. Cars whipped down the road next to the beach, spraying me with even more water. My hair was no longer curly, but soaked and straight. My black tank-top was completely wet and my jeans were getting heavy with water. My eye-liner was probably running by now. I really didn't care though. I continued walking down the beach, farther and farther away from home.

I was probably a mile away from home now, maybe even father. The rain was as strong as ever. This storm wasn't ending soon. This one was going to last for awhile.
Shivering, I realized I was starting to get cold. Being wet while the wind was blowing was not a good thing. The lightning continued. The storm seemed to be getting worse.

In the distance, I saw a figure. Why would anyone be out in a storm like this? Then again, I was. I strained my eyes to see him. I walked closer. It was a boy, around my age, but I didn't know him from my school. He had short, dark, brown hair. I couldn't see details, but I could see he was pale, slim, and tall. Before I could get any closer, he turned his head, saw me and disappeared. Literally disappeared. It was too quick for any human to have ran away. I stood there for a long, time maybe minutes, maybe hours. I'm not really sure. But I stood there and stared at the place he had stood. Something was weird about this. Really weird.
Chapter Two
Confused

The rain was still falling hard as I walked back, the thunder rumbled in the distance.

I was still confused about what I saw. I must of been imagining. There was no way that could of happened. He just disappeared. I was seeing stuff. I was going crazy. Crazy.

As I walked up the wooden stairs that took me from the beach to the road, I continued to think. What if I was going crazy? What if there really was a boy there? What could that mean? The road was basically empty because of the storm. I crossed the wet pavement to a townhouse complex called The Sea Spray. Typical for a complex meant for summer homes. The townhouses were all the same. Dark blue with white doors. One-car garage. Three floors. Stairs leading to the door. Three windows. It was so typical. So boring. I started down the road that split the complex in half.

My house was the first one on the right. I walked up the pavement stairs to the door. The living room is the first room you entered in the house. It was a small room, with wooden floors and cream colored walls. Next to the door was a large widow that had a view of the beach. The only place to sit was a couch that was a deep red, the pillows the same. In front of the couch was a small, dark brown coffee table with nothing on it. In front of the coffee table was the flat-screen TV. Next to the TV were the stairs. The entrance to the kitchen was in the corner of the room.

"Where have you been?" yelled my twelve-year-old little sister, Isabella, over the noise of the TV.

"I was taking a walk. Leave me alone." I replied. I wasn't the nicest sister ever, nor the happiest.

"Mom and dad are at a bar... Dinner is on the table." Of coarse. At a bar. My mom and dad were alcoholics; they always came home drunk, most of the time one of them were passed out.

"What don't you understand about 'leave me alone'?" I asked.
She continued to ignore me "Why'd you take a walk during the storm? It was a really bad one, too."

"Shut the hell up!" I shouted and walked into the green kitchen.
Dinner was on the counter. It was ham. Ew. I glanced at the clock. It was 8. I had been gone for four hours. Wow. I walked back into the living room, where the stairs were and headed down them, to my room. I needed time to reflect on what I saw.

It was supposed to be a family room, but my mom said I could use it as my room. The walls were black and the carpeted floors were white. It was larger then the living room, but not by much. On the left wall was my white, wooden framed bed. It had Twilight pillowcases and a black bedspread. Next to it was a white bedside table with a black lamp and alarm clock on it. On another wall there was a TV and computer. I also had a wall with my book case filled with the many books I had read. I had my many Twilight things on top of my bookcase. On the same wall as the book case,was my dresser. On it was my iPod and speakers. The walls were cluttered with posters of Twilight and my favorite band Paramore. On the ceiling there was a light brown fan. In the back corner was the door to the garage.

I went over to my dresser to turn on my iPod. As the beginning notes of Ignorance by Paramore started, I got into my Pj's. As I changed, I sang along.
"If I'm a bad person,
You don't like me.
I guess I'll go,
Make my own way.
It's a circle,
A mean cycle.
I can't excite you anymore.
Where's your gavel, your jury?
What's my offense this time?
You're not a judge but if you're gonna judge me,
Well sentence me to another life" I sang. I wasn't a good singer at all, even though my name was the same as the lead singer of Paramore, Hayley Williams. My Pj's were gray sweatpants and a black tank-top.

I laid down on my bed and opened my book, Passing Strange by Daniel Waters, part of my favorite series, Generation Dead. And then it passed my mind again. The boy. What had be been doing? Why did he run away when I saw him? Why was he so pale?
The questions buzzed in my head, never disappearing. I couldn't read, I was too distracted. I didn't pay attention to the music, either. I thought for God knows how long and eventually drifted to sleep.

Chapter Three
Beach at Midnight

I was back on the beach. But this time it was pitch-black, probably midnight. I had no idea where I was. So I just walked.

The beach had a creepy feeling to it. Something was different. The only light was a full moon, the dark, calm water reflected its light. Nothing made sound but the waves gently crashing on the shore. I had a feeling I was being watched.

Each time I took a step, the feeling got more powerful. I stopped.

"Hello?" I called into the night, breaking the silence. Nothing. "I know someone is here. Come out."

A strong breeze came through, picking up my hair. This seemed like a horror movie. A person with a bloody mask was going to jump out any second and chop my head off with a chainsaw. I continued walking, despite my fear. There was a swoosh sound. Like something or someone was running. Scared, I started running.

Then I stopped. My eyes widened in fear and my jaw dropped. There was the boy again. But this time he was only a few feet away. He stood around six feet tall, which was really tall for my age. His dark brown hair was messy, covering part of his white face. His eyes were black. Black. I knew then he wasn't normal. But, despite his black eyes, he was so handsome. More so then any boy I had ever seen in my life.

Then, with his perfect lips, he smiled. He had fangs. Fangs! And they were covered in blood. I was right. This was like a horror movie. And the next victim of this vampire was me. It was time for me to die.

Realizing it was time for me to die, I shrieked. It was the most horrible noise I had ever heard, curdling my blood. I couldn't believe it was coming from me. And then I opened my eyes.

My wide eyes scanned the familiar setting. I was in my bed, in my room, in my house. No one was trying to get my blood. I was safe.

Vampires are not real.

Vampires are not real.

Vampires are not real.

Vampires are not real.

I tried to tell myself they weren't real but something in me told me they were. The boy at the beach was a vampire. But there was no way he could of been a vampire. This just added to my confusion.

Vampires ARE real.

And for the rest of the night I sat there and thought about that.

Chapter Four
Swim In Silence

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My eye lids fluttered open. My eyes scanned the room. Since my room had no windows, it was completely dark, except for the light coming down the stairway. My eyes met the digital clock. 1:30 PM. It was Saturday, so my parents had been partying last night at a bar. More then likely, they were hungover and would sleep all day.
I turned on my bedside lamp. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I stretched my limp arms and yawned. Believe it or not, I was still exhausted. I threw my covers off of my lap and shuffled up the stairs to the kitchen.
The kitchen was small, it had checkered green and white tiles and dark green walls. On the left side was the kitchen table, a square just big enough for four. Over it was a stained-glass lamp that hung from the ceiling. On the other side of the kitchen was all cabinets and drawers. The sink was in the middle, with the dish washer next to it. The counters were green, like the walls. The fridge was on the far side of the wall, next to it, in the corner, was a tiny pantry. A green island with the stove on it and the oven underneath was in the center.
I slowly walked over to the fridge and grabbed the cold, metal handle. The wide door opened easily. I reached into the back and grabbed a fruit salad. I spun around and opened the drawer that the silverware was kept. After grabbing a fork, I walked back down the stairs to my room. I put the fork and fruit down on my bed and walked over to turn my iPod on. The song on was Haunted by Evanescence. I loved that song. It had a creepy feeling to it, it reminded me of zombies digging themselves out of their graves.
I walked back over to my bed and sat down. At this point, I was wide awake. I opened the plastic lid and picked up the fork. I slowly ate and thought, again. That dream was trying to tell me something. But what? I continued eating as the songs continued playing. The dream is trying to tell me something, repeated in my mind over and over again. I was lost in thought. Time escaped me until I looked at the clock. It was five. Already. Time for a walk, I thought.
After walking over to the dresser, I scanned the drawers to find something to wear. I picked out my only dress. The plain, black dress went down to my knees and flew back when you walked. It had no straps. I hastily brushed my hair. It was still pretty messy, but I didn't care. I grabbed my iPod and the black headphones next to them.
My sister wasn't in the living room, so I figured she was in her room upstairs. I walked out the door and down the cement stairs. Like yesterday, the sky was gray. I turned on my iPod as I walked across the street in my bare feet. The song on was Swim In Silence by Paramore.
"Meet me here beneath the burning sky
Where the ocean comes and takes us from all our lives
Never said that you were coming back
I have waited all the while and found the place you hide
What keeps you so far away?"
I continued down the wooden stairs and onto the beach. The water looked so nice. So inviting.
"We can swim in silence
You can pull me under
I will not come up for anyone
I could slowly sink in
Watch you as you leave
I will drown until you care
I will drown until you care"
Without thinking, I dropped my iPod onto the sand and walked to the water. The cool water washed over my feet as I continued walking. Part of me was screaming at me, telling me that a storm was coming and I better get out. But I continued. The waves were getting rough, crashing into my legs. As I got deeper my skirt floated on top of the rough waves. I dove under a wave and swam for a while, going deeper and deeper into the water.
The part of me that was screaming got louder. Suddenly I realized what I was doing. I turned around and looked at the shore. My eyes widened as I realized how far I was. I was at least half a mile away from the shore. Thunder rumbled and rain started to fall. And then I realized how tired I was.
I'm going to die, I thought to myself. Just as soon as I thought that, something grabbed my right ankle. Before I could even scream, something pulled me under. The salt in the water burned my eyes, but that was the least of my worries.
Help me! Somebody! PLEASE! I thought as I struggled to get back to the surface. I kicked whatever was on my ankle as hard as I could and tried and tried to swim up. My mind was screaming at me, telling me to keep trying. But I continued going under. Every time I tried to breathe, water would fill my mouth. And then I gave up the struggle. I watched as the last bubble of air reached the surface and popped. Then I closed my eyes and sank to the rocky bottom of the ocean floor.
I will drown until you care.