Samantha went the next few months without any contact with Jason outside of school. It was the end of the school year and the grade twelve students were getting ready for their graduation. She watched them move about outside setting everything up as she sat in her classroom. Her students wanted her there, but she said she couldn't bear to be the one to send them away and they let her be.

"I know I turned myself into a student with fake credentials and whatnot, but there's no way I'm participating in that," Will popped up beside her as he had been doing for months.

"It is a bit much, isn't it? But it's a proud moment for them."

"And you can watch it from here."

She nodded without thinking and snapped to attention. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing," Will smiled and sat down on the windowsill.

"You're going to watch it?"

"If you are, I am too."

"Why don't you participate in it then? The others think you're a graduating student too."

"I'll pass; I'd rather enjoy from afar with a drink," Will pulled a flask out of his jacket.

Samantha's nose twitched, breathing in the scent coming from the flask. "You have alcohol not blood in the flask?"

"Ah, so your nose does still work after being dried out again," he took a sip. "Want some?" he held the flask out to her.

She sat down on the windowsill beside him and took the flask. "Thanks."

His eyes widened for a split second and he smirked. He had expected her to complain about him bringing alcohol on school grounds, but if she took it, she must've been struggling more than he thought.

"Are you ready, Jay?" Roy held onto Jason's shoulders, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"To graduate, yeah, are you?" Jason nodded.

"Of course, but that's not what I'm talking about. Are you gonna do it?  Or have you chickened out after all our planning?"

"Do you think I should?"

"Of course, I do!" Roy shook him. "Today's the day you've been waiting for. The love of your life isn't your teacher anymore; she's fair game."

"But what if she still rejects me? I don't know if I can handle the heartbreak again."

"Man up, dude, or else I'm going to confess."

"To Samantha? I thought you didn't have feelings for her."

"Not to her, to Maggy."

"Wait, what?" his eyes widened and he froze.

"Jay?" Roy waved a hand in front of his face. "Did I break you?" Roy poked him in the forehead.

"Don't you dare confess to my sister!"

"Geez, why do you hate me so much? I thought I was your best friend."

"I know you too well and it's terrifying to think about you two going out and then breaking up. Sorry, Roy, but Maggy is my sister and I have to choose her side."

"Seriously? I say about confessing to her and you instantly go down the line of us breaking up?"

"Hey," Maggy ran up to them off to the side of the rows of chairs by the trees, having been hanging with her parents in the waiting area. "Mom wants to take a few pictures before it starts... and during and after," she laughed. Her parents were rarely available for school functions of any sort, but they made time for this.

"Yeah, okay." Jason gave Roy a warning look and walked away.

Roy sighed and glanced up at the school. He instantly noticed two people in one of the windows and smiled.

Samantha jumped away from the window. "He totally knows we're here," she said, having locked eyes with Roy.

"So what? You're a teacher; there's nothing wrong with you being around during graduation," Will sighed. "Maybe you haven't had enough to drink..." he held his flask upside down. "Shall I find us some more?"

"No, I'll do without..." Takes quite a bit for us to get drunk anyway.

"How long until this thing starts? I'm so bored," Will sat on her desk chair and spun around.

She glanced at her watch. "They should be getting everyone seated soon."

"Are you going to meet up with him after the ceremony?"

"...No." She shook her head. "We've stayed away from each other these past few months and it's worked. I'll say goodbye from afar and that'll be the last time we see each other."

"Oh? Are we moving again?"

"We can move back home."

Will froze. "Come again?"

"We can go back to the clan."

"Why would you want to? I know Evan is gone, but it's not like we have a lot of good memories of the place."

"I've heard you talking to them, Will. I know they want you to be the new leader."

"If you've heard that much, then you have also heard me decline them numerous times. I don't want to lead them."

"Why not? I think you'd make a great leader and they definitely need it. It's a great opportunity."

Will stomped up to her and she backed up into a wall. "Evan wasn't the only one who hurt us, in case you've forgotten. And even the thought of going back there pisses me off. If I tried to lead them, I'd probably off every single one those punks who abused us."

Samantha swallowed hard.

"You may have forgotten over the centuries, but I haven't. Besides, I don't want those pigs near you and our promise was together forever."

"Forever is a long time."

"And yet still potentially not long enough," Will poked her in the forehead and sat back down. "I'm not leaving you and if you leave me, I'll hunt you down and annoy you until you cave. And you know how good I am at finding people."

He's doing this for me...

"Don't you dare feel guilty about me turning them away! This isn't just for you. I need you, Sam, so don't force me away. How about this..." he leaned on her desk. "I'll train the next leader. They'll have to come here for the training, but we have plenty of space at home."

"You think you can train someone to be a good leader?"

"Of course; I even have someone in mind. Now..." he walked back over to the window. "It's finally time to watch the ceremony."

"Maybe you were right," Samantha unlocked her bottom drawer and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of vodka.

Will whistled. "Who would've thought my sister would keep some strong stuff in her desk?"

"Are you saying you don't want any?"

"When do I ever turn down alcohol?" He snatched a glass and sat back down.

Will and Samantha sat together watching the ceremony in silence.

"Hard to believe the people who helped save us are just teenagers, isn't it?" Will glanced at his sister. She had a blank expression as she continued to stare out the window, empty glass in hand and empty bottle on the table. "I swear... you're more hopeless than I am..." He smiled sadly and downed the rest of his glass. He looked out the window again, watching them scatter since the ceremony had ended. He patted her arm, finally grabbing her attention. "I'm gonna go wander a bit, eat some of the free food and probably have a chat with Maggy. I'll come back later and we can head home."

"Okay," she nodded. He left and she went back to watching her students enjoying themselves at their last high school function. She placed her hand on the window. "Goodbye, my precious students..."

"Isn't that something you should say to our faces?" a familiar voice came from the doorway.

She froze, her heart skipping a beat. Why is he here? She dared not turn around.

The door clicked shut and he slowly approached her. "We deserve as much after all we've been through together, don't you think?"

"Jason..." she saw his reflection in the window. "What are you doing here? You should be out there with your friends." She rubbed her forehead, blocking out the sight of his reflection.

"I think they'd understand if I told them I had to go confess to the person I love."

She gasped, her body tingling. "Jason... Don't..." Don't make this harder. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes.

"Don't what? Say goodbye to my teacher? Talk to the person I love..."

Her heart tightened. I don't want to say goodbye.

He stood behind her. "Goodbye to Miss G, my favourite teacher, but I still have things to say to Samantha."

"What?" she turned to him, eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"

"You're officially no longer my teacher, right?"

"I guess not..."

He knelt down so he was eye level with her. "Samantha Gilbert," he gently held onto her hands. "I fell for you the first moment I saw you, and when I eventually ended up in your class, you have no idea how happy I was. Even happier still to get to know you as my kind and caring teacher, who always had time and food to spare for her students. Your secret surprised me, but it didn't change how I felt. As I got to know you even better... despite you being forced into it, I got to find out how amazing you truly are and just fell deeper."

"I'm not amazing; I got my students killed, I got my... boyfriend killed before too."

"Will told me about that and it wasn't your fault; it was his choice to try to keep you safe. If you want to blame someone for him, blame Evan. But you're free now, Samantha; you don't have to be afraid to love anymore. And if you're willing to try, I'd love if you'd be my girlfriend again, for real this time."

"Just because Evan is gone, doesn't mean you'll be safe. Who knows who might find out about my blood and I could be hunted again."

He smirked. "You know what I've been doing in these past couple of months?"

"Studying? Getting ready for college."

"I probably should've studied more... but no, not really; I was training with Roy. He's helping me become a hunter; one who can help keep you safe."

"Jason... Don't base your life decisions on me. I'm not worth all this trouble."

He frowned. "Don't say that, please. Why can't you see that you are worth the trouble?"

"I'm a vampire—"

"And I'm human, I know, but I could always be turned a decade or so down the line if I want. Trust me when I say I've thought this through. I've been thinking about it every day since you broke up with me."

Samantha stared at him, stunned and unable to form words.

"If you feel even a little bit for me, can you give me a chance?" Jason leaned forward and gently touched her cheek. "I'll prove to you we're meant to be together, that we work, that a vampire and a human can be together. At the very least, you know I'm willing to feed you and I taste good, right?" he smiled.

She let out a little laugh and nodded. "You do taste good..."

"Give me a chance, Sam, because I love you too much to just let go."

She stared into his eyes, biting her lip.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Hurting you... or causing you to be hurt..." Of having another love taken away.

"Things won't be like they were in the past. And I've trained and will continue to train. I'm strong, Sam, and I want to keep the one I love safe." They stared at each other in silence for a moment, Jason's stomach a bundle of nerves. "So, what do you say? Will you give me a chance?"

The door to the class flew open. "What the hell, Sammy? Either say yes or put him out of his misery and say no! Please, say something, because I can't stand outside waiting for you two to finish this gush fest," Will growled.

"Dude, couldn't you wait any longer?"

"No! You have no idea how indecisive my sister can be, or I guess it's more appropriate to say how hard it is for her to say yes to something that might actually be good for her."

"You think I'm good for her?" Jason's face lit up.

"Oddly, yes; I haven't seen her light up like when she was with you in decades. Even though you're an inexperienced teen and a bit of a lug head, you genuinely care about her and others in general, so yes, you'd be good for her."

"I even have your brother's approval," Jason kissed the back of her hand.

"Not that it probably matters much," Will sighed, rolling his eyes as he walked away.

Jason looked up at her again and they stared into each other's eyes. He took a deep breath, steeling himself. "I'm going to kiss you in three seconds, and if you don't want me to, you're just going to have to stop me. Three... Two... One..."

She grabbed his head with both hands and kissed him.

They separated and he smiled at her. "Can I take that as a yes?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, but I'd still rather not do this at the school."

"Ah, right; I probably did pick a bad location for this, but since I didn't know if I'd see you again and didn't know if you'd answer the door to me, I had to take my shot now."

Will came back in. "Good, you're done. Can we get out of here now? The other students are complaining I didn't participate in the graduation even though I'm here..."

Jason stood and took her hand. "You can go home alone; I'll make sure she gets home safely later."

"Fine, do whatever you want. Have some fun and get her home by midnight."

"I have a curfew now?" Samantha asked, holding back a laugh. "You realize I'm older than you, right? And, you know, centuries-old..."

"Doesn't matter. Midnight," he pointed at Jason.

"You've got it," Jason nodded and pulled Samantha in close.

"Okay then, later lovebirds... I'm off to see my own special friend," Will waved and left.

"Hey Jay," Samantha rested her hands on his chest and gazed up at him lovingly. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. For being you," she smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.

"Mmm... I think this is definitely going to work out."

THE END