What… what's this feeling? Oliver asked himself.

A blur of noises and sounds surrounded him; translucent shades of blue and green. It almost felt like he was underwater. 

A single strain of voice filled the murmur, too soft to make out.

That voice… I know that voice. But… who's is it? I—I can't remember…

He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. But when he opened them again, Oliver saw two blurred figures standing in front of him, like ghosts or angels. 

"Oliver! OLIVER!!!" 

They screamed to him, their voices trailing away into silence. 

Am I… falling? Who was that? A–and why were they yelling my name?

Oliver continued to fall into blurred obscurity—or, at least, he assumed he was falling—the surrounding environment continued to get brighter and brighter. Soon, he was falling straight into a beautifully blinding white light. 

Th–this light… its so… beautiful… 

A single tear rolled down Oliver's face as he plummeted towards the bright whiteness. He felt warmer and warmer as he fell, getting close and closer until—

THUD

Oliver's eyes shot open groggily, and he looked around his room from the floor, blanket still halfway on his bed.

"It… was a dream?" He asked himself. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. "...what the hell was that about?"

He turned to check the clock. 

7:45

"Shit! I'm gonna be late!"

Oliver jumped up, rummaging around for something—anything—clean to wear. 

He overslept. He had 15 minutes to get to school.

Storming down the stairs while pulling on his hoodie, he burst into the bathroom. Without even turning the light on, he brushed his teeth and combed his hair simultaneously, taking one last look at himself in the mirror.

Good enough.

Grabbing his backpack, Oliver picked up his keys and flew out the door, fumbling to lock it behind him. 

He checked his phone.

7:51

"No, no—not today. I can't be late today!" 

He started to run.

Bounding down the empty sidewalks, Oliver kicked himself for waking up late—today of all days. Not only was it his first day of high school, but it was also his first day of school since she broke up with him. And he had already determined that this year was gonna be different. 

It's gonna be different, he said to himself. This is gonna be my year. I'm gonna score a girl so freaking great, she'll regret dumping me for sure… if I can just make it in time…

Sneakers pounding on the pavement, he crossed the school gate and made it inside, gasping for air. He checked his phone again.

"Th––thr–three minutes to spare." 

After he collected himself, he looked around. There were kids everywhere. Girls everywhere. 

He smiled, thinking of the prospects—it was a whole new year at a whole new school. Anything was possible. 

"OLIVER!!!" 

He jumped as someone screamed his name from a distance. He turned back.

"M–Marilyn?!" He cried. He couldn't believe it. She came jogging over to him, short blue hair bobbing in the September wind. 

Shit… whatdoido, whatdoido?… I can't be seen with her… it'll ruin everything!

He turned and started speed walking away, avoiding eye contact. Just keep walking… maybe she'll take a hint… 

Marilyn saw he was moving away from her, and yelled after him.

"Oliver! Oliver, wait!!!" She started running after him.

Shittttt! He thought, starting to run as well. He didn't know what she could've possibly wanted with him, and he honestly didn't care. 

They ended up literally chasing each other around the school yard. Kids wound point and start at Oliver hiding his face from onlookers as Marilyn—the freak—chased him, yelling his name. 

Oliver couldn't believe his tough luck. Why the hell is she chasing me?! Is she weird AND crazy?! He could feel kids staring at him from outside his hoodie. 

"Oliver, wait!" She yelled, not tired in the slightest. "Oliver!!!"

He continued to run. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marilyn running full speed in her skirt and green sweater, screaming, "OLIVER, WAIT! I HAVE GREAT NEWS! WHEN I CATCH UP TO YOU, I'M GONNA LET YOU BE MY SIDEKICK!!!" 

Kids were laughing and recording on their phones as they ran. 

Sidekick? What the hell?! 

He didn't know what the hell to make of a comment like that, but it didn't matter. He just kept running as fast as he could away from her. 

Eventually, when he turned back and saw no one there, he stopped to catch his breath. 

"Shit, I th–think I l–lost her," he said to himself. He looked around, scanning for her. He ended up in a secluded area behind the school, overgrown by bushes and trees peeking over the wire fence. There were no doors leading into the building, and no gate on the fence. It was completely empty. 

The coast looked clear. 

He didn't have enough time to wonder what the hell that was all about. "What time is it?" He wondered outloud.

"It's 7:58 a.m." 

"GAH!" Oliver cried, jumping and looking around. She sounded far away. Eventually his eyes caught something, and he looked up. 

All the way on top of the flagpole, was Marilyn—standing. She was standing on the flagpole. 

As if that wasn't enough to make Oliver's jaw drop, she proceeded to jump off the flagpole, landing in front of him without so much as a wince. 

He looked up.

It had to be at least 25 feet tall. 

He looked back down, greeted by her smile. "Hi, Oliver."

"W-what the hell do you want from me, Marilyn?" He yelled, still thinking about what just happened. 

She smiled warmly. "Oh, it's simple, Oliver—I just want you to drink some of my blood." 

"That's–that's disgusting! Why in the living hell would you…? No!" 

"You better do it Oliver." 

What the hell? Was that a threat? "Or what?" He asked.

"Well, if you wanna get to class on time…" 

"Shit…" He said. He knew he was almost late already. 

Oliver sized her up. She was pretty slim, and not too tall. He figured he could easily take her. Sure, she might be able to climb a flagpole, but that didn’t necessarily mean she was strong. 

Oliver tried to shove her aside—forcefully, at that. But she didn't move an inch. He looked her over again, stupefied.

"What was that, Oliver?" She smirked.

Oliver scowled, challenged. 

If she wasn't gonna move, and was gonna try to force him to drink her blood, he figured he had a right to defend himself. 

He rushed forward to tackle her, nearly jumping on top of her. But again, she was like a piece of stone—completely unbudged. 

...What is this girl made out of? I can't even move her… and I'm charging at her.

"Marilyn, you can't just—"

She snatched the collar of his shirt and spun him around with inhuman speed, pinning him to the wall of the school building. 

Where before she seemed somewhat nice—crazy, maybe, but nice—now she had a look of stone. "I'm done waiting, Oliver. Drink it. NOW!!!" 

Her scream rang through the small area they were in, but didn't carry out any further. 

Marilyn's change in tone caught him off guard. Her grip tightened on him, her knuckles digging into his collarbone. He shifted uncomfortably—she had a death grip on him. 

"Marilyn, please—just let me go! Why are you doing this?!"

"Just drink my blood and I'll let you go, Oliver!" 

"I—er…"

"Oliver," she said slowly, "You're really testing my patience. Drink it already!!!"

As Oliver hesitated for a second time, she lashed out, sailing her fist into the wall right next to his face. The entire wall shuddered on Oliver's back, and he could hear the sound of plaster crumbs hitting the asphalt. 

"Do it, before I sock you!"

Looking out of the corner of his eye, he saw that she had punched a hole in it. The cement wall had a freaking crater in it. First there was the flagpole, now this…

She… she's… some got kind of… super abilities? 

BING BONG

"Shit! I'm late!" He said to himself. 

"Well Oliver," she started, "ARE YOU GOING TO DRINK IT?!" 

"F-fine! You win! I'll drink it! But … you better let me go afterwards."

He didn't know what he was doing, but all he cared about was getting to class as soon as he possibly could. 

"Ahh, finally!" She said, satisfied. 

Oliver watched as she used one of her canines—oddly sharp canines, at that—to prick her finger. An orb of liquid crimson started to pearl up at the wound. 

"Drink up!" She smiled happily, holding her finger out to him. 

"Er…" He hesitated, wondering if he was really gonna do this. But he knew he needed to get to class, so he opened his mouth. 

She put her finger on his tongue, and he gagged as he sucked the blood from her finger. She pulled her finger away shortly after. 

"See! That wasn't so bad, Oliver!" 

"Shut up, Marilyn!" Oliver smacked his tongue, trying to get the sulfur-y taste out of his mouth. Marilyn let go of his shirt, and he relaxed, panting for air. 

"There! You happy?!"

"Yup!" She responded cheerily, as if she wasn't threatening to beat him into a cement wall a few seconds ago. 

"Weirdo…" He murmured. 

Ready to finally go to class and forget this whole thing ever happened, he turned to start walking away. But he couldn't. His legs felt like lead when he tried to walk, and his whole body grew exhausted. His legs started trembling beneath him as he caved to the floor. 

What… what'd she… do to me…?

"It worked!!!" Marilyn cried, clapping. "Finally, a sidekick!!!"

Oliver was losing consciousness as everything started getting hazy around him.

She… she drugged me with… her blood? 

Marilyn lowered herself down to his level. "Go to sleep, Oliver—I'll take care of you." 

"N–no! I… I won't… s–sleep… I won't!"

Oliver used all the energy he had left to try and force himself up—try to run, try to move, anything!—but he just couldn't. He felt his eyelids getting heavier by the second.

Shit… I–I don't even know what… what's she gonna do with me? 

He tried fighting again, focusing all his energy on hoisting himself up and trying to walk—even crawl—away. But he couldn't. The pull of exhaustion was just too strong. 

Shit, don't g–give… in… Oliver… d–don't… give……

He struggled more fiercely than he ever had before, before fruitlessly collapsing to the floor and blacking out. 

End of chapter one