It had been a day and a half since Victoria had her run in with Kait after trying to sneak back from feeding. The red haired girl had been very helpful and even offered to get Victoria a new supply of blood packs. That gesture earned Kait some big points and Victoria hoped they could be better friends. Normally they would just see each other in passing around the mansion or in class.

Victoria made her way through the halls to find Kait’s room. What number was it again? 4 something…410? No. Maybe 412? That didn’t sound right either. Oh wait! Here it is! 413. That sounded right. Her little hand reached up and knocked on the door. She could feel her hunger starting to rise. The thought of getting blood packs wasn’t helping any either.

It was probably going to take until Thursday to get those blood packs, Lisa said. The Sanctuary had its own clinic with its own medical staff, so there wasn’t any reason that they couldn’t get a legal supply from the blood bank. Getting it illegally would have been faster, of course, but it would have been riskier, it would have been more expensive, and it would have been a lot more trouble than Lisa wanted to juggle along with the half-a-million other friggin’ things she needed to deal with.

On Monday evening, Kaitlyn and Alice heard someone knocking at their door. Kaitlyn jumped from her seat with an “I’ll get it!” and went to answer it. She was eager for an opportunity to do not-Algebra-homework.

Until she opened the door and saw who was on the other side. Then, she started to panic.

“Oh, hey Victoria,” She managed weakly. She made sure the door was open enough that Victoria could see Alice.

Please don’t be here for blood. Please let this just be Victoria stopping by for a chat.

It didn’t take long for someone to answer the room door. In fact, Victoria thought she heard Kait call out that she was going to be the one to answer the knocks on the door. A smile spread across the red-eyed girl’s face. “Hi Kait.” With the door open Victoria couldn’t help but glance into the room and noticed another female.

Victoria couldn’t remember if Kait had mentioned having a roommate. Maybe she did the last time they met on that bloody night, or maybe it had been brought up one day in class. No matter the case there was a second person in the room. A quick wave from waist high was directed to the other girl. “Hi.”

Hesitation started to set in as red eyes refocused on Kait. “I’m sorry. Umm…is this a bad time?” Fingers laced together and thumbs rubbed over each other. She hoped Kait had kept her word about Victoria’s dark secret. At the same time the blood drinker also hoped her friend had been able to get what she needed.

It was a quiet Monday evening, and both Alice and Kaitlyn were at their respective desks, doing their respective homework. Alice had a number of exams coming up that week, so she was trying her hardest to eliminate distraction. That meant avoiding idle chit chat with her roommate, ignoring her phone whenever it vibrated, and leaving all other forms of social media aside. In fact, she was so absorbed in her Biology homework that she nearly fell out of her seat when she heard a knocking at the door.

She tried not to get annoyed at the sudden intrusion and was grateful when Kaitlyn eagerly announced that she would get it. On the other side was a small blonde girl who looked to be around Kait’s age. Must be one of her friends, Alice thought, returning the wave and going back to her textbook.

She tried her best to ignore their discussion and concentrate on her homework, idly rolling her pencil between her fingers.

“No, it’s fine,” she said quickly. “It’s not a bad time.nWe were just doing homework. I’m almost done anyway. So, uh…” Kaitlyn glanced meaningfully at her roommate, then back at Victoria. If Victoria wanted to keep her secret a secret, she’d have to be careful.

“Are you here about the… the thing we were talking about, last time?

Kaitlyn’s mind raced. What if she said yes? There weren’t any blood packs for Victoria here yet, so she’d have to get her blood somewhere else. Or, rather, from someone else. Someone who probably wouldn’t survive the process.

…Unless they could survive getting their neck bitten off. And Kaitlyn...

Well, at least she had a plan B now. But she really didn't want to go with plan B.

With the wave returned back from the other girl in the room Victoria turned her red eyes to Kait. The blonde girl nervously chewed on her lower lip and nodded. She noticed Kait’s discretion and tried to follow along. “Oh ok. Umm…yes it is.”

Victoria was feeling the hunger within her, the feeling of fire slowly building up. She did her best to keep her composure, but her pleading eyes and her fidgeting told a different story. She had let herself go as long as she could without losing control. That time was quickly running out now. If Kait didn’t have the blood packs Victoria would be forced to find another source to feed from.

Crap.

“Well…” Kaitlyn began, “I don’t actually have... I mean… I, uh…”

She was completely silent for a moment, mind racing. She had a pained expression on her face as she stared into Victoria’s eyes. Then, she sighed. “…I have an idea.”

The redhead turned to her roommate. “Hey, Alice? You think the girls’ locker room would be empty around now?” If so, it would be the perfect place for what Kaitlyn had in mind. It would be quiet, it would be private, and there would be showers.

Kait’s initial response wasn’t filling Victoria with much hope. Had the red-haired girl forgotten? Maybe she couldn’t get the blood packs for some reason or another. What if she had been caught and got in trouble? Thoughts were flooding the blonde’s head but her hunger was growing more intense.

Then the subject changed to an odd topic as Kait asked her roommate about the girl’s locker room. Maybe Kait did have the packs but just couldn’t keep them in her room because of Alice. A glimmer of hope sparked up and Victoria was able to push down her hunger just long enough to wait for those packs.

Victoria didn’t know what to say at that moment. If Kait was keeping the packs a secret from Alice then the little blonde wouldn’t say anything. Instead she waited to go to the locker room with Kait.

Kaitlyn didn’t even wait for Alice to answer. Her mind was racing in ten directions at once.

“Well, I don’t think anyone would be there." she said aloud, to nobody in particular. "It’s like nine-thirty right now, and there weren’t any games, so…”

Kaitlyn stopped talking, walked over to her desk, and pulled the drawer open. After shuffling through it for a moment, she palmed her lock-picking thing and slipped it into her pocket.

“We’ll prolly need towels, too." The redhead shot towards the bathroom, grabbed a pair of red towels (her favorite color), and flew towards the door.

“Let’s go. Later, Alice.” She was so preoccupied that she didn’t even bother to wave.

Was Kait talking to Alice when she mentioned no one being in the locker room…orrr was she talking to Victoria? It was very unclear and Victoria was getting confused. All the red-eyed girl could do was watch as Kait moved about her room like a little tornado. She grabbed up various things that ended with some red towels. Was she wanting to go swimming now?

As the girls finally reached the locker room Victoria couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer. “Kait…can you tell me what we’re doing? I’m really confused right now.” Not to mention starving.

As they got closer to the locker room, the hallways were increasingly empty. The lights weren’t even on when they reached the room’s entrance. There weren’t many good reasons to be walking around this part of the Mansion in the evening. Even though it was unlikely that anyone was around to hear them, Kaitlyn whispered her reply: “Well…”

Kaitlyn stopped in front of the door, looked down each end of the hallway, then turned to look Victoria in the eyes. Those big, red eyes. “I couldn’t get blood packs for you, but…” She swallowed. “I have another way to help. I won’t be able to die for the next few months, so you can take my blood. I’ll be okay.” She used the term ‘okay’ very loosely here. She would survive, at least, but it would suck.

The redhead tugged on the door to the locker room. It was unlocked, but the lights were off inside. It was probably empty. At least, Kaitlyn hoped it was.

Arriving at the locker room Victoria looked to Kait as the red haired girl turned towards her. What she said made the blonde girl’s eyes widen. A sense of horror rushed through her. Kait was offering…her own blood!?

Victoria stepped into the room with her friend, but quickly addressed the situation. “Kait…I …I can’t. I can’t take your blood. You’re my friend…aren’t you?”

The hunger wasn’t taking a timeout for discussion. Pain shot through Victoria’s stomach causing her to double over and drop to her knees. She wrapped her arms around her midsection trying to be stronger than her body’s need for sustenance.

Victoria didn’t look like she could go much longer without her fix. It didn’t matter if Victoria had a problem with the plan, or if Kaitlyn really wanted a way to back out on this whole thing. Of course, if Kaitlyn backed out on it, she would be condemning somebody else to death, whether a total stranger who doesn’t deserve it, or Victoria herself. And it would all be Kaitlyn’s fault, because she had the power to stop it, and she didn’t use it.

Sigh. She’d already taken Victoria this far; it would be stupid to back out now. “I think I’m your friend. That’s kind of why I’m doing this.” She waked in and turned on the locker room’s lights. “And so you don’t have to kill anyone.” Moving towards the showers, she gestured for Victoria to follow her.

“I’ve lived through worse.” Technically. She let out a nervous chuckle, imagining how terrible she was going to feel in a minute or two.

The lights in the locker room came on and Victoria looked around. She hadn’t been here before, but it looked much like she imagined a locker room to look like. Rows of…well…lockers, showers, benches to sit on and restroom facilities all were available for use. While the blonde had never been in such a room before she had seen some in movies and TV shows.

Kait’s voice received attention from Victoria. She wanted Kait to be counted as a friend. After their first meeting Victoria felt more comfortable with Kait than most others in the mansion. “I’d like to think of you as a friend Kait.” Victoria followed the red-haired girl to the shower area. “But I don’t want to hurt…” Pain surged through the girl’s core again sending her to her knees. She couldn’t hold out much longer. Her body demanded her to feed very soon.

Kaitlyn gave Victoria a worried look. She knew what falling-down-to-your-knees pain was like, and she knew that it was a really bad sign. Didn’t Victoria say she could die if she didn’t have blood?

She knelt down in front of Victoria and looked her in the eyes. “Seriously, I’ll be fine,” the redhead assured her. “I want to do this for you. I don’t want you to have to kill people, or anything like that.” Kaitlyn didn’t like killing people, and she didn’t think Victoria did, either.

“So… I thought it’d be easier to clean up if it happened in the shower. Need help getting there?” Kaitlyn would be willing to help Victoria walk, if asked.