What is... "Home?" (Hetalia Fanfic, W.A. '13 Finalist)

Chapter 44~!

My birthday gift to you all, even though it's MY birthday today as I post this for you. ~^ ^~

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"Good evening," a deep voice toned from behind me. I yelped and nearly dropped my iPod off the side of the building. I whipped around without standing from the edge, my eyes searching the darkness with ease. Leaning against thin air was a boy my age with pale blond hair and red eyes that gleamed despite the lack of moonlight. His shirt was striped red and black and his slacks were plain, silky black.

"Sorry to startle you, my dear," the boy said as he sat next to me on the little wall surrounding the rooftop. "My name is Romania, but you can call me Vladimir if you wish."

"I'm Malcolm," I replied, stuffing my iPod in the pocket of my blazer.

He smirked with a knowing glint to his eyes. "I know you're a girl, Melina."

I sighed. "I guess I should have figured that. Especially since you called me "my dear"."

He chuckled. "Yes, well, you can't hide much from a vampire, or at least, until now. I can't read your thoughts anymore now that you've become like me."

I looked down forlornly at my hands. "Right..."

"Rata, England told me what happened and asked me to talk to you. I was surprised to find you up here, since I like to come up here when I can't sleep."

"But I thought vampires slept during the day," I said, turning my body around a little to look at Vladimir. "Wouldn't the sunlight hurt you?"

One corner of his lips turned up into a half-smile. "Yes, well, I've trained myself to sleep at night, although I don't sleep for long. A few hours at most is all I really need."

"And the sunlight?"

"I've had centuries to build up my resistance to it. You, on the other hand, have been a vampire for a few hours."

I said nothing, instead staring out over the woods that bordered the school grounds.

"You fed. Quite recently," Vladimir stated, and I flinched. "How did that go?"

"I didn't want to, but then he made me because he was worried I would die," I replied a bit unevenly. "I made myself stop after a little bit, though."

Vladimir's crimson orbs widened. "You were able to stop yourself even thoughit was your first time? How?"

"I was... afraid I'd hurt him," I admitted hesitantly. "I was really unwilling but he kept making it hard to resist and I gave in. Mostly."

"Interesting," he said to himself. "Perhaps you have some form of magical control over yourself."

That perked my interest. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, if you possess some sort of magic within you then magical happenings can become easier or worse, depending on the situation. Are you following?"

I nodded. "I think so. The only weird thing is the idea that I have magic in me. Well-" I pointed a finger up as a memory struck me, "- I did have fairy friends when I was younger."

"I can sense that you do, now that I think about it. But that's besides the point. I believe what we should be discussing is how to survive comfortably during the day."

"Okay," I said, facing him fully now.

"First of all, wear sunglasses. That will keep your eyes from getting burned. You can take them off inside and in the shade. Even though it's still winter you'll probably want them on hand."