3 Vampireville (7 page)

"Those two kids I was telling you about were in here last night," the elderly clerk gossiped. "I think they are cousins of that weird mansion family on Benson Hill." "I heard they look like walking corpses," the younger one chimed back. "They do. I just don't get why kids today think it's cool to look like they've just come out of a coffin." "I've heard one of them drives a hearse." Just then the elderly clerk put down her paper and spotted me. Her eyes bugged out like she'd seen a ghost. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "Have you been waiting long?" "An eternity!" I said.

So Jagger and Luna were beginning to make their presence known throughout Dullsville. Were they bored, careless, or marking their territory? Even though Trevor and I'd spent our lives at each other's throats, I didn't want Luna and Jagger after his. Besides they were looking to do far more damage than wringing his neck. A mixture of emotions flooded through me�protecting a fellow Dullsvillian from a deadly duo, thwarting a plan to have a nefarious soccer snob wreaking havoc, and diverting a plot to have my nemesis turned into a vampire before I was. I'd have to get these tablets to Trevor. At any moment, Jagger or Luna could strike�or in their case, bite.

Though keeping up my new vampire identity was exhausting, I was really beginning to enjoy it. Everything I felt before as a vampireobsessed goth I now had to live out�my distaste for the light and passion for darkness, having a secret identity, and being an insider instead of an outsider. I imagined the rest�flying high in Dullsville's sky, living in a spooky dungeon, Alexander and I cuddling the day away in a king-size coffin. As the sun began to set, I rode my bike to Trevor's, with my Paxx Pharmacy bag safely inside my Olivia Outcast backpack. I'd already called Jameson and told him I'd be a few minutes late to meet Alexander. It was crucial that I keep up my vampire charade and wait until darkness until I visited Trevor, just in case Trevor spilled my visit to Luna. If he shared with her that I'd visited him after school the first day he was sick, Luna could assume Trevor was delirious from his cold medicine. But now that my nemesis was on the mend, I had to cover my tracks. I couldn't give them any reason to suspect I was still a mortal. "I've been waiting all day for you," Trevor said as he opened the front door. He was wearing plaid flannel pajama pants and a longsleeve Big Ten surf shirt and was sporting a much healthier glow�a bad sign he'd be coming back to school, but a good sign he hadn't been bitten. "You missed me?" I asked with a saccharine grin. "I thought you were Luna," he said, disappointed. "We're not buying Ghoul Scout cookies today," he said, closing the door. I quickly blocked the door with my boot. "I'm putting the final touches on my health project," I said, opening the door and stepping inside. "Do you want me to feel better or put me in the morgue?" "Do I have a choice?" "Why don't you write down in your report the reason for Trevor Mitchell's illness. Two words: Raven Madison. I'm sure the Infectious Disease Institute has heard of you," Trevor said. I ignored his rude comments and walked into his newly painted sunflower yellow kitchen, which still smelled like fresh paint. "I've heard you've been getting visits from a ghostly candy stripper. I mean, striper," I said with a grin. "Sounds like someone is jealous." I pulled out my Paxx Pharmacy bag and placed it on the granitetop kitchen island. "My mom already got me medicine." "It's just a few things so I can get extra credit. Vitamin C, a bag of cough drops, and Garlic One capsules." "Garlic capsules? I'll smell like an Italian restaurant." "They're good for cardiovascular health. Should help you on the soccer field." "Didn't you see all my trophies? I can play in my sleep," he said arrogantly. I was running out of options, and time. I had to go for the jugular. "Word on the street is, these are a major aphrodisiac. Gives off a scent that girls find irresistible. Something about pheromones. Anyway, someone like you shouldn't need it," I said, heading for the front door with the capsules. "Hey, wait," he said, catching up to me in the entranceway. "Leave those here." He grabbed the package from my hand. "Not for me, of course. For the guys on the team." 10 Hatsy's Diner One block north of Dullsville's downtown square sat Hatsy's Diner�a quaint fifties restaurant complete with teal blue and white vinyl booths, a black-and-white-checked tile floor, neon Coke signs, and a menu of cheeseburgers, atomic fries, and the thickest chocolate shakes in town. The waitresses donned red diner uniforms while the waiters dressed as soda jerks. Occasionally Becky and I would frequent Hatsy's after school when we managed to scrounge enough change to cover an order of onion rings and a mediocre tip. Alexander and I arrived at Hatsy's. A few families and young couples were scattered around the diner. The soccer players were already gulping down malts and fries at two large tables. All eyes turned to us as we walked through the clean, crisp, bright diner in our usual blackness. A surge of excitement shot through me�I felt like a gothic princess on the arm of her handsome gothic prince, although I knew the stares were from ridicule rather than envy. Alexander studied the framed Bobby Darrin, Ricky Nelson, and Sandra Dee records, too engrossed in his new surroundings to feel self-conscious.

Matt and Becky were sitting alone in a corner booth. "Hey, guys, we're over here," Becky called. Alexander and I nestled into the booth. "I thought you'd be sitting with the rest of the soccer team," I remarked as we grabbed the menus resting behind the chrome napkin holder. "We thought it might be cozier if it were just us," Becky said. A tall waitress with an hourglass figure, a brunette beehive, and white cat's-eye glasses approached our table, chomping on a wad of pink bubble gum. "Hi, my name is Dixie," she said, cracking her gum. She pulled out an order pad from her white apron. "What can I get you?" "Two vanilla shakes and an order of atomic fries," Matt said. "And we'd like the same, but make the shakes chocolate, please," Alexander said. Dixie blew a big bubble and popped it with her front teeth. Then she sashayed off toward the kitchen. All the guys in the diner gawked at her, even Alexander and Matt. "When I grow up, I want to look just like that," I said to Alexander. "You already do," he said, putting his arm around me and giving me a squeeze. Alexander's eyes lit up as he spotted the vintage tabletop jukebox. "This is cool," he said, flipping through the menu of fifties tunes. "I've only seen these in movies." I'd forgotten that my boyfriend spent so much of his life hidden away in his attic room, far from the mundane musings of mortals. I got goose bumps seeing him so fascinated in his new surroundings as he examined the list of titles and artists. "Elvis rocks," he said, elated. I dug my hand into my purse and placed a quarter in the jukebox. A moment later, "Love Me Tender" played over the speakers. Alexander smiled a sweet smile and squeezed my hand. His leg was touching mine, and I could feel him tapping his combat boots to the beat of the song underneath the table. "So what have you guys been up to lately?" Matt asked. "Hunting for coffins," Alexander said. Becky and Matt looked at us oddly. "The usual," I said, smiling. Matt and Becky laughed. "So how was your game?" Alexander asked Matt as he put his napkin on his lap. "We kicked butt. But only because Trevor played." "No," Becky defended. "You scored, too." "I thought he was sick," I said. "Well, he managed to show up and score a few goals. As much as I hate to say it, we're not a winning team without him." "Did he go home?" I asked. "No, he's over there," Matt said, pointing behind me. I turned around. Trevor was in the far end of the diner, playing pinball. "He shouldn't be out at night," I declared. Becky looked perplexed. "I'm using him as my project for health class. The night air isn't good for a cold. Excuse me, I'll be back in a sec," I said, awkwardly scooting out of the booth. I could feel eyeballs on me as I walked across the diner, but not for the same reason they had been looking at Dixie. I tapped on Trevor's shoulder. "What are you doing here?" My nemesis glanced at me and rolled his eyes. "Looks like I'm playing pinball." "You're sick. You shouldn't be out where you can pick up more germs." "Believe me, with you standing next to me, I've already picked up several diseases," he said, pressing the flippers with gusto. "You should be at home," I ordered. The ball hit a bumper, causing the game board to light up. "You left Monster Boy to talk to me?" he asked. "You've been to my house twice. I'm beginning to think�" "It's best you don't think. Did you take your garlic?" "I had a game, not a date," he said, tilting the machine. "You should be resting." "You sound like my mother," he said, banging on the flippers. "Well, maybe you should listen to her." "Why, so she can tell me not to see Luna? Has my mom been talking to you?" "She doesn't approve?" I asked, curious. "What do you think?" "Your mother is right this time. Luna isn't your type. You need a girl with a tiara, not a tattoo." "But do I really? Luna dresses like you and you've been trying to convince me for years that you are not a mutant. Did you ever think it wasn't your clothes that led people to think you were a freak?" "So what do you see in her?" I interrogated. "She's the new girl, beautiful and mysterious. Kind of what you liked in Alexander." "That's completely different. I like Alexander because he is unlike anyone I've ever met and exactly like me. But Luna isn't your type. She's too goth." "Just like someone we know�" "You'd risk your popularity for her?" I whispered with a twinge of jealousy. I hated to admit it, but deep down I did wonder what Trevor saw in Luna that he didn't see in me. "Are you kidding? I'll be even more popular for scoring the new goth girl rather than the old one." It was as if he had just driven a stake into my heart. "She and Jagger now hang out with me all the time," he continued in my face. "They watch me at practice and games. I'm more popular than ever�a king of both the insiders and the outsiders." "I'm telling you, your mother is right this time," I tried to warn. "Well, was my mother right about Alexander and his family?" he asked, referring to the rampant rumors spread throughout Dullsville that the Sterlings were vampires. "She thought they were weird just because they were different." "So did you," I argued. "She said they were vampires," he continued, hitting the ball again. "Had the whole town believing they were. Especially you." "You were the one who made up and spread those rumors. But in this case, maybe you should believe it." "That Luna is a vampire?" I paused. The restaurant went quiet. Trevor let the pinball bounce against the bumpers and drop through the flippers. Just then I felt someone behind me. I turned around. Jagger, in a ripped white Bauhaus T-shirt and black jeans, and Luna in a black and pink minidress and pink fishnets, stood before me, glaring. She was beautiful. She looked like a gothic pixie fairy girl, with skinny pale arms dangling black rubber bracelets, her long cotton white hair flowing over her shoulders and bright blue eyes sparkling. Both stood in front of me like they were ready to extract me from the diner. "What are you doing here?" she charged. Suddenly, like a gothic Superman, Alexander appeared by my side. As Luna leaned in to me, Alexander bravely stepped between us. "Good-bye, Monster Girl," Trevor said, taking Luna's hand. "C'mon, Jagger." Jagger gave Alexander a deathly stare, then followed the odd couple toward the tables where the soccer snobs were eating. I leaned against the pinball machine as Trevor sat at the head of the table with Luna and Jagger on either side. The soccer snobs inched away as if the Romanian siblings had rabies. The players continued to avoid eye contact and kept the conversation to themselves. "We have to get to the treehouse," Alexander whispered. "While Jagger and Luna are still here." Alexander and I quickly returned to our table to find our order had just arrived. "What was that about?" Matt asked. "We have to go," I said, grabbing my purse. "But we just got our food!" my best friend argued. "Becky and I can't drink four shakes," Matt said. I glanced back at Trevor. The star player was shining in his spotlight, back from a cold to save the team. A girl on one side, his new friend on the other. It disgusted me. "We really have to go�," I repeated. "Just because Trevor and those guys are over there?" Becky asked. "Yes," I said, "but not for the reason you think. I'll have to explain it later. Trust me." Alexander placed a twenty and a ten on the table. "Please, it's on me." "Our lucky night�we can order burgers now," Becky joked. I laughed and gave my best friend a quick hug. While all eyes were glued to Dixie as she took Jagger and Luna's order, Alexander and I snuck out of the diner, past Jagger's hearse, and into the Mercedes.

"We better hurry," I said as we bolted through Henry's backyard. Alexander and I didn't know how much time we had to remove the coffins before Jagger and Luna returned. I scaled up the treehouse ladder and Alexander met me inside. When I pulled back the black curtain, the coffins remained as we'd seen them before. Alexander stood behind Jagger's casket. Then he pushed the coffin with all his might. Jagger's bed wouldn't budge. "What's going on?" I asked. "It's stuck." "Is something in it? Maybe a dead body?" "It would have to be several dead bodies. This thing weighs a ton." Alexander opened the lid. All that remained inside was a rumpled black blanket and white pillow. He closed the lid and tried to move it again. "Maybe it's caught on something." I bent over the opposite end, and together we pushed and pulled as hard as we could. But the coffin wouldn't move. "Let's try Luna,� Alexander said, brushing his dark locks away from his face. I grabbed one end of the pale pink coffin and Alexander held the other. We couldn't lift Luna's coffin off the ground. Alexander and I searched the hideout for anything we could use as leverage. "Check this out," I said, pointing to a few nails lying next to Jagger's duffel bag. "When I think we've thought of everything, so has Jagger," Alexander said, frustrated. "I don't have any tools with me," I said. "I think he counted on that," Alexander remarked, gently touching my shoulder. Just then we heard the sound of a car driving up the road. Alexander and I quickly escaped from the treehouse as headlights from Jagger's hearse shined on the driveway. "I've heard about nailing a coffin lid shut, but never the whole coffin!" I said as we made a fast getaway. 11 Bat Fight

The following evening, when I headed out the front door to meet Alexander at the Mansion, I found a red envelope lying on the porch. In black letters it read: RAVEN. Inside, a red note with black typed letters read: MEET ME AT OAKLEY PARK, Love, Alexander. How sweet, I thought. A spontaneous romantic interlude in the park. Alexander Sterling was king of planning the most mysterious, meaningful, marvelous dates�a picnic at the Dullsville cemetery; a goth rock dance at Dullsville's Country Club golf course; picking out my kitty, Nightmare, at an abandoned barn. I imagined arriving at the park, votives surrounding the Oakley Park fountain, bubbles floating from the steaming water, Alexander and I wading in our bare feet, our lips tenderly touching. Then I wondered, was this note truly from my vampire mate? Unfortunately, since I'd encountered Jagger at the Coffin Club, I had grown suspicious. After all, Jagger had met me in an alley in Hipsterville, appeared in my backyard, and hid in the Mansion's gazebo. Then again, if it was Jagger, he could just show up at my house. I hopped on my bike in my lacy black knee-length dress and pedaled my heart out to Oakley Park. I raced over the bumpy grass toward the swings. When I reached the fountain, my dream guy wasn't there. I walked my bike over to the picnic benches. "Alexander?" I called. All I saw were the flashing lights of lightning bugs. Then I heard the music of the Wicked Wiccas being piped in from the outdoor amphitheater. I walked my bike over to the domed stage where my parents dragged Billy Boy and me to see Dullsville's symphony orchestra play on Sunday nights during the summer. I had preferred sitting alone on the wet grass, listening to the screeching violins in a rainstorm while my parents sought shelter underneath a tree, to watching them canoodle and dance to "The Stars and Stripes Forever." I coasted down the aisle of the theater. A lit candelabra and a picnic basket were sitting on a black lace blanket, spread out center stage. I leaned my bike against a cement bench. I raced around the orchestra pit and climbed onstage. "Alexander?" I heard nothing. I searched the wings. I found only chairs and music stands. I went to center stage and sat on the blanket. I opened the picnic basket. Maybe there was another note telling me to go to a different romantic location. But the basket was empty. Something felt strange. The crickets turned silent. I stood up and looked around. Still no Alexander. Then, right in front of me, stood Luna, in a tight black dress with mesh sleeves and pink fingerless gloves, a pastel pink amulet hanging from her neck. I gasped and stepped back. "What are you doing here?" I asked her. "I'm supposed to meet Alexander." "He got a note, too," she said with a wicked grin. "'Meet me at the cemetery. Raven.'" I glanced around, peering into the wings of the stage, squinting out at the empty seats. Jagger could have been anywhere. "I'm here alone," she assured me as if she were reading my thoughts. "I've got to go�," I said. Luna stepped in front of me, her chunky black boot almost hitting my own. "I think Alexander can wait. After all, he's made me wait for him since I was born." "I didn't have anything to do with that," I said, referring to the covenant ceremony in Romania where Alexander was supposed to turn her into a vampire. "And Alexander didn't either. He never made that promise." "Don't defend him," she argued. "Besides, that's not why I'm here." "Then why are you?" "I want you to stop seeing Trevor," she said. "I don't know what you're talking about." "Don't play dumb with me. I know you visit him at night. And I overheard you at the diner. You told him to beware of me, like I'm some freak!" "He has the right to know who you really are." "I was a freak before I turned. Now I am normal." "But you don't even know the real Trevor. Believe me, he's the freak." "I don't remember asking you for your opinion." "Jagger is not looking out for you. He's not concerned with finding you a soul mate. He's still looking to get back at Alexander." "Don't talk about my brother like that. You don't know anything about him�or me. You don't even know me." "I do know Trevor." Luna's eyes widened. She stuck her hands in their pink fingerless gloves on her almost nonexistent hips. "Trevor's right. You are jealous!" she accused. "He thinks you are in love with him. And I do, too." "Then you are as loony as he is! You deserve each other." "You won Alexander. I have a right to find my own fun." "This isn't a contest. These are people, not prizes." Her blue eyes turned red. She stepped so close to me, I could smell her Cotton Candy lip gloss. "I want you to back off!" she said in my face. "I want you to back off!" I said in her face. If she was going to push, I was going to push back harder. "I'm not afraid of you," Luna said. "I'm not afraid of anyone," I replied. I thought at any minute we were going to have a cat fight�or in our case, a bat fight. "If you tell Trevor about me," she threatened, "then I'm going to tell him about you!" "What about me?" "That you are a vampire. That we are vampires." She stepped back and folded her arms, as if triumphant. I didn't know what to say. "Then tell him," I said finally. "He'll never believe you." Luna stepped back and gazed at the moon. "You are probably right," she relented. "I thought I saw you reflected in the Hall of Mirrors. Jagger convinced me it was part of the illusion. I guess I didn't want to accept that Alexander had turned you. It's odd really, not being like everyone else, isn't it?" I'd never met a girl, or anyone besides Alexander, who acknowledged feeling the same way I did, vampire or not. "Yes," I agreed. Luna's dark mood changed. Her stiff shoulders relaxed. Her angry blue eyes softened, looking almost lost, and lonely. "It's funny," she continued, "how much we have in common. We're not all that different, you and me. I've always been surrounded by real vampires. Ones that were born to the Underworld. I'm the only one I know who was turned. Until I met you." I could see in Luna's soulful eyes that she was hungering for a connection. She reminded me of someone who was alone, living on the outside of life instead of thriving on the inside. She reminded me of myself. "It's not fun being an outcast," I said. Luna smiled a pale pink smile, like a warm hug was melting her darkened spirit. She grabbed my hand as she sat down by the basket. "Sit for a moment." "I really should go�," I said, resisting her. "Just for a minute," she pleaded. I reluctantly sat down on the blanket. "Tell me, how did you feel when you turned?" She scooted closer and eagerly leaned in to me, like we were gossiping at a slumber party. "How did I feel?" I asked, confused. "When Alexander bit you." I paused. If I answered wrong, I could blow my whole vampire cover. I was alone, onstage with a vampiress, without my garlic, a stake, or sunlight to hide behind, and Alexander was waiting for me miles away at the Dullsville cemetery. "Please�tell me, how did it make you feel?" she repeated. "Like magic," I whispered. "Yes," she nodded eagerly. "Like a life force I'd never known coursed through my veins and pulsed straight to my heart." "Go on." "I felt my heart stop, as if it had exploded with love, then beat again like it never had before," I said, getting caught up in my own imagination, almost believing it myself. "Me too�But you were in love." "Yes. I've loved Alexander since the first moment I saw him," I said truthfully. "He is gorgeous." Then she whispered, as if she were sharing a secret, "I had a fling." "Who was he?" "An acquaintance of Jagger's. I barely knew him. But he had a chiseled chin and a ripped chest. Deep blue eyes and spiky red hair like fire. He took me to a warehouse. We made out for a while, his lips were like velvet. And before I knew it, he had bitten me." "Wow," I said, hanging on her every word. "We were on unsacred ground, so we were not bonded for eternity. I never saw him again." "That's so sad," I lamented, honestly feeling sorry for her. "You were lucky; you found Alexander. So you see how important Trevor is to me. When Jagger introduced us and I stared into his heavenly green eyes, I immediately felt a connection. Not only is he handsome and athletic, but as I got to know him, I sensed that he had everything he could ever want but true love. This is what drew me to him. I'm looking for someone to quench my thirst�for all eternity." She fingered the pink amulet. "Jagger has different needs than I do. He hungers for the hunt, lusts for new prey. Finds ecstasy in the transformation of an innocent mortal into a bloodthirsty vampire. But for me, these bottles are growing quite tiresome. The hunt isn't sustaining me. It's flowing blood that I really crave. The sweet taste of red succulent liquid mixing with the salt of my beloved as it drips and dances on his flesh. To know that someone will ache for me as much as I hunger for him and eternally satiate each other. I want someone to satisfy my hunger forever." "But Trevor's not good enough. You deserve better," I said earnestly. She looked at me skeptically. "You need someone who is intelligent. Sensitive. Mature. Courageous." "He is those things. You don't know him the way I know him." I knew I should go, that Alexander must be waiting at the cemetery wondering why I hadn't shown. At the same time, there was so much I wanted to know about Luna, about being turned, about becoming a modern-day vampiress. There was so much I wanted to know for myself. And I didn't know when I'd get another chance. "Do you like being a vampire?" I asked, now the one riveted. "I've waited for it all my life. Everyone in my immediate family is a vampire. When my younger brother, Valentine, was born, I dreamed that he would be mortal, like me. But when he wasn't, I cursed the day he was born. The last mortal in my family tree was my great-great grandmother, and I never even knew her. I spent my whole life living in the daylight while the rest of my family slept. I was never part of their world." "How did you cope all alone?" I wondered. "I tried to mask it by being a bubbly straight-A student, becoming popular with the kids at school. It put a strain on Jagger's and my relationship. I was jealous of Jagger and he was of me." "Really? I can't imagine Jagger being jealous of anyone." "I could see it in his face every time he awoke from his coffin. We had only a few hours together before I had to get to sleep. We'd sit in my bright pink room and I'd share every detail of my events that day at school." "Who would want to go to school?" I asked. "Jagger was especially interested in sports. In Europe, soccer is huge. He dreamed of being what he couldn't be�a soccer star. He would show up at night games, hungry to be a player instead of a spectator. But to the students he was odd�a kid who never went to school, was pale and skinny, and dressed like a freak. He was never included. Now he watches Trevor play soccer, wishing he had that life. I think that's why he wants Trevor for me." For a moment Jagger and Luna weren't vampires but just teens like me who were tired of being outsiders. "How do you like being a vampire?" she asked. "Uh�I love it," I fibbed. "But now you're different from your entire family." "If you'd ever seen my family, you'd know I always was," I said with a laugh. Luna laughed, too. It was like we'd known each other for years instead of only a few minutes. "My little brother is a total nerdo," I said, desperate to share my life with her. "How old is he?" "Eleven." "So is Valentine! It's so refreshing to meet someone like you. You understand what it means to live in both worlds but beg for the darker one." Luna pulled out a Pinky Paranoid clutch purse from behind the basket. "Want some candy?" she asked, handing me a Dynamite Mint. I nodded and unwrapped the candy as she took out a hair brush. "Tell me about Alexander," she said, inching next to me. She began to brush my hair, as if we'd been soul sisters for years. I felt uncomfortable, as this girly behavior seemed straight out of a Gidget movie. Teens around Dullsville were never seen brushing one another's hair. Luna, however, was much more fairylike than any girl I'd ever met. I felt almost hypnotized and relaxed as she smoothed out my hair, opposite of the way I felt when I was a child and my mom ran a fine-toothed comb through my tangles. "Alexander's so dreamy. His eyes are like milk chocolates. His attic room is filled with portraits he's painted of me and his family," I rattled on like a drippy girl, then changed my tone. "But it's hard sometimes," I confessed. "I want to share our reflections. I want to have a photo of us on my night stand." �Yes, it does have its drawbacks. But it's a small price to pay for an eternity together.� Luna pulled my hair off my shoulder and began to braid it. "Where is the wound from Alexander's bite?" she asked curiously�I quickly covered my neck with my hand. She released my hair and raised her white, luxurious locks, exposing two round purple marks on her skinny pale neck. "They say it takes a year to go away," she said. "I hope it stays there forever." "Uh�it's not on my neck," I teased. "You are wicked!" she said with a smile, but then turned serious. "I could have sworn Jagger said he saw Alexander bite you on your neck." "I really have to go," I said, getting up. "Alexander will be worried." I climbed offstage. "Wanna hang out again tomorrow?" she asked, following me. "We can meet at sunset." "I have plans with Alexander," I said, walking up the aisle. "Then the next night?" "I'll see," I said, grabbing my bike. "Why do you need to ride here when you could fly?" "I have to keep up appearances." "Good thinking," she said with a wink. "I'll see you later." I hopped on my bike. "Later!" I pedaled off. When I turned back to wave, the amphitheater was empty. 12 Guest Who? I had to admit�I loved being a vampire. Luna not only believed I was part of the Underworld but wanted me as a friend. I felt like I was flying as I raced my bike through downtown and toward my house. I wondered where I would live. Perhaps my understanding parents could remodel our finished basement�board up the windows, remove the white carpeting, and dirty the cement floors with a few bugs and cobwebs. I could sleep in a black coffin with purple seams and silver studs. Or better yet, Alexander and I could live together in the factory with a super-deluxe two-person gothedelic coffin. Plenty of pillows and comfy blankets, with a built-in flat-screen TV in the lid and stereo speakers on the sides. I pulled into my driveway and found Alexander waiting for me on the front steps, looking as dreamy as ever in black vinyl pants and a ripped black long-sleeve shirt. "Where were you?" he asked, concerned. "I got your note about meeting you at the cemetery, but you never showed." "I
got a note, too," I said, showing him the red envelope. "To meet you at the park." "But I didn't write a note." "I know. Neither did I." "Then who did?" he asked. "Your spurned lover." "Luna? She was never my lover." "I know. I was just teasing." "How did you know it was her?" "She told me. When I showed up at the park." "Did she hurt you?" he asked. "She wanted to. It was all a plan to confront me about Trevor. She wants me to stay away from him." "This is getting out of hand," he said. "I'll talk to her." "No, she thinks I'm a vampire," I said proudly, placing my hand on his. "Can you believe it? We chatted forever. Like we were best friends." "Jagger and Luna don't have best friends. We really have to be careful. There's no predicting what they'll do." "But she really liked me," I insisted. "I'm sure she did," he said with a smile. "We still can't trust them." "Well, she trusts me." "Because you are trustworthy. I know their family, Raven. They're not like you. They are vampires, remember. Real ones." "She accepts me as a vampire. And Jagger is convinced I am one, too." I paused and looked up at my vampire boyfriend. "And I like it. Why can't you accept me as one?" Alexander's smile turned into a frown. "I accept you as you are. I always have." He turned away from me. "I didn't mean to upset you," I said, reaching out to him. I gave him a squeeze with all my might. "I'm getting so caught up in this, I can't even think straight. You must think I'm so immature." Alexander softened and caressed my hair. "You know how I think of you," he said, his chocolate eyes staring into my own. He lifted my chin and kissed me tenderly. "I don't know how much longer I can go on like this. When will we be together�just us? And not have to worry about Jagger, Luna, and Trevor?" "How about now?" he said, suddenly bright. "I wanted you to have this." He handed me a wooden heart-shaped box that had been sitting on the window ledge. My eyes lit up. "You are so sweet! And here I am being selfish." I opened the box. Hanging from a silver chain was a pendant� black lips with a small vampire fang. "It's a vampire's kiss," he said proudly. "Alexander, it's beautiful. I'll wear it forever." Alexander unclasped my onyx necklace and replaced it with the priceless one he had made just for me. He gave me a long, lingering good-night kiss. "Tell me. Would it be easier if I were a vampire?" Just then my dad pulled into the driveway. Alexander quickly stepped back into the shadows. I waited for my dad to come up the front stairs. "Where did Alexander go? He was just here. I wanted to say hi." "He had to get home before he turns into a pumpkin."