Bite Me

     My day didn't get any better after I woke up. I felt no motivation to do anything, and I would have been perfectly content to stay sat on the bathroom floor for eternity, had my silent despairing not been interrupted.

     "Go away," I groaned when I heard my bedroom door creak open. I didn't know who was intruding on my privacy—without even bothering to knock, no less—but I couldn't find the will to peek out and look. Whoever it was, I didn't want to see them.

The intruder made no move to leave, however. Contrary, their soft footsteps neared until a small, pale form emerged in the doorway. It was Casper, wearing his signature big, goofy smile. "Hi Kieran!"

"Hi," I croaked; my throat felt like sandpaper. Casper's eyes finally seemed to take in my appearance, and his smile fell. He hopped over and clumsily sat down beside me.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head and stared straight ahead at my sink. "I'm fine," I lied.

"Then why are you crying? And covered in. . .blood?"

I lifted a hand to feel my cheek. I thought I'd have stopped crying by now—I'd stopped sobbing, at least—but my fingers came away wet. "I don't know, Casper."

Casper poked my side, forcing me to look at him. "Why are you lying?" He asked, his bottom lip pushed out in a pout. "Don't do that, I don't like it. My mommy says lying is bad for you."

I chuckled at his bluntness. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "You're right—your mom's right. But I don't think you'd understand."

Casper pondered this for a moment, then shrugged. "Still tell me."

"Why?"

"Because you need to talk about it."

I narrowed my eyes at him, suspiciously. "How old are you again?"

Casper grinned proudly. His front teeth had grown in, but now another was missing, just below them. "I'm six!" He proclaimed.

     "You don't sound like you're six," I said disbelievingly. Casper didn't respond. He just stared at me with his crazy big brown eyes, silently willing me to spill. I eventually gave in, not because I wanted to confide in a six-year-old, but because I wanted him to leave. I loved him to death, but I needed solitude. "I went through a breakup, that's all."

      Casper's eyes got even bigger, and his mouth made an 'o' shape. He was quiet for a few seconds. Then he said, "My mommy said you were dating a werewolf. A boy one."

      My throat bobbed as I swallowed. I nodded, slowly, and said, "Yes, I am. Was. I was."

     Casper pursed his lips. "Cool."

      "Cool?"

      "Yeah. I have a crush on a girl in my class." Last December, he'd become the youngest vampire in our clan to ever make the trade. "She kissed me on the playground, but it was kind of yucky. I hope she's a werewolf."

     I blinked, surprised. Since when did six year olds know anything about crushes and kissing? "Oh?"

     "I think I also have a crush on her brother, though. He's funny. And he has a shiny Charizard."