Vampireville

  “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.”

  Exhausted, I walked into my darkened bedroom and switched on my Edward Scissorhands lamp.

  I almost jumped out of my skin. Sitting on my bed, appearing more sinister than ever, was Jagger.

  I let out a scream.

  That only made the creepy teen smile.

  “Raven? What’s wrong?” my mom yelled up from downstairs.

  “Nothing,” I yelled down to her. “Just stubbed my toe.” Then I whispered to Jagger, “What are you doing here?”

  “Bats can sneak in anywhere. You should know that by now.”

  “I want you out of here!” I demanded.

  “I won’t be long. Luna had a lovely chat with you. She’s very excited. She thinks she’s found a new best friend.”

  “Well, maybe she has.”

  “She said you girls talked about all sorts of girly things. Boys. Hair. Vampire bites.”

  I caught myself in my dresser mirror’s reflection and stepped back.

  Jagger played with the nightstand light switch. On. Off. On. Off.

  “Stop that!” I warned. Something was missing. “Where’s Nightmare?”

  I heard scratching coming from my computer desk file drawer.

  I raced over and opened it up. “Nightmare!” I said, picking up my black kitten. “You poor girl.”

  “Odd,” he said, leering at me. “She doesn’t hiss at you.”

  “She doesn’t hiss at Alexander either,” I said, gently stroking her fur. “She has taste.”

  Jagger lay back on my bed, placing his red Doc Martens on my bedspread. “This is a cozy bed.”

  “Get your feet off of there!” I scolded, pushing his shoes off.

  Jagger leaned across the bed and pulled up the comforter from the floor.

  “Where is your coffin?” he asked. “Not under here.”

  He rose and slithered over to my closet. He slowly opened my closet door. “Not in here,” he remarked. “Maybe you’re hiding it under your dress,” he said with a wicked grin.

  “It’s in the basement.”

  “Funny. I didn’t see it down there.”

  My blood boiled. I felt enraged. Jagger had been slinking around my house with my family inside.

  “It’s hidden. Now get out—”

  “Sure, but can you show me something?”

  “The door? Or the window?” I opened the curtain and lifted the window.

  Jagger rem
ained still.

  “Some of Trevor’s friends said you showed up at school. Curious, really. A vampire risking the sunlight.”

  “You’d believe a bunch of soccer snobs? They spread more rumors than the National Enquirer.”

  “Well, then,” he said, sizing me up with his mismatched eyes, “I have noticed their penchant for gossip.”

  I felt a sense of relief, but only for a moment.

  “At the drive-in I distinctly remember Alexander bit you on the neck. Blood dripping down your neck like a wild river, the sweet smell permeating the air. But Luna said she didn’t see a wound. Maybe I could take a peek.”

  “You can leave. Now.”

  He stepped closer, his ice blue and green eyes piercing my soul.

  “Show me your fangs and I’ll show you mine.”

  “I only show Alexander,” I said, inching back.

  “What a waste, really.” He took another step, pinning me against my computer desk. “So how do you like living this lie?”

  “Lie?”

  “Yes, it is a lie,” he said, staring straight into my eyes. As if he were going to read my soul. “Pretending to be something you’re not.”

  I gasped and looked away. My heart stopped. I bit my black lip.

  I reached behind me, stretching my fingers across my computer desk in hopes of grabbing something to use as a weapon. At any moment Jagger was going to look into my eyes and hypnotize me and drag me back to Dullsville’s cemetery. I fingered Billy Boy’s two-ton encyclopedia.

  “I think you enjoy being deceitful,” he said, gently touching the vampire’s kiss necklace. “Making believe to your family that you are still mortal.”

  I breathed again and released the book.

  There was a knock at the door.

  “I need my encyclopedia.”

  “Billy—go away.”

  “You borrowed it two months ago!”

  “Billy. Billy—go away,” I said sternly.

  Jagger stepped back and I raced around him.

  Billy Boy opened the door.

  I turned around. The curtains were gently blowing. Jagger was gone.

  “Is something wrong? You never call me Billy.”