Love Bites

  “You’re sure?”

  “Of course. How would they, anyway? No one talks to me—just about me.”

  He glanced away. I knew it was painful for Alexander to imagine me at school without him. “I just wish—”

  “Just say the word and I’ll quit,” I said, wide-eyed.

  Before Alexander could remind me of the importance of my education, I pulled him close. “Matt wants the five of us to go to Hooligans.”

  Jameson shuffled into the room with a tray of two bloodred smoothies, each garnished with a tiny blue plastic sword and three cherries. Alexander took one and I picked up the other.

  Jameson’s bulging eyes bulged out even more. “Miss Raven, that is for—”

  “I’ll save you the trip.”

  I marched up the staircase, followed by Alexander, careful not to spill the bloody concoction, and pressed my ear to Sebastian’s bedroom door. I could hear the sounds of footsteps on the squeaky floors, followed by a thud.

  “Room service,” I called.

  The door creaked open. Sebastian’s hair was sticking up like a starburst. He was sitting on his closed coffin in boxers, a black wrinkled shirt, and unlaced boots and was staring at the cell phone in his hand. Socks, T-shirts, and bandannas were scattered around his coffin like the dirt from his homeland.

  “What happened to you?” Alexander asked.

  “I didn’t sleep. I’ve been up all day.”

  “Well, here’s your breakfast,” I offered, almost shoving the drink at him.

  “I’m not thirsty.”

  “Oh, yes you are. I need you well nourished.”

  He examined the smoothie and fiddled with the tiny sword.

  “Try it, you’ll like it,” I encouraged him.

  He made a face. “Anybody, is there a vein in the house?” he called.

  Alexander laughed.

  “It was never fun dining with the Sterlings,” Sebastian continued. “When the Camdens had people over for dinner—we really had them for dinner,” he joked like a vaudevillian comic.

  “Drink up,” I demanded.

  I watched Sebastian as the red liquid slowly made its way up the straw, past his full lips, and into his mouth.

  I thought he’d be repulsed, as one would be tasting sour milk. But he appeared to enjoy it just as any mortal might a strawberry shake.

  “Raven tells me you sent flowers to Becky at school?” Alexander asked.

  “I didn’t send them,” he emphasized.

  “Whatever—however,” Alexander said. “The point is…”

  “I know…. It’s just…I’ve never felt this way. Really. I see how you two are. I feel that way about Becky.”

  “May I remind you that Becky has a boyfriend?” I said firmly.

  “What would you have done if you thought Raven had a boyfriend?” Sebastian challenged Alexander.

  Alexander had experienced that kind of situation when he saw me with Trevor outside the Mansion last Halloween. My boyfriend thought carefully before he spoke. “It’s not the point what I’d do….”

  “See?” Sebastian said. “I can’t forget her. Besides, people break up all the time.”

  “Becky and Matt will never break up.” I hadn’t imagined that scenario before, and I shuddered at the thought. “She’s going to get married to him.”

  “Married? She’s still in high school.”

  “When she gets out. And she certainly isn’t going to date a vampire!”

  They both looked at me. I had just stuck my combat-booted foot in my black-lipsticked mouth.

  “I mean that in a good way,” I said. “I’m the one who likes vampires,” I declared. “But Becky has a thing for mortals.”

  “I’m sorry, Raven, I can’t change my feelings,” Sebastian said sincerely. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked with an almost childlike quality.

  “You can change what you do about them,” Alexander said. “Raven’s right. You have to back off.”

  Sebastian cooled down. “I know. I just couldn’t sleep all day…waiting and wondering when I could see her again.”

  “Well, you’ll get to see her tomorrow night,” Alexander revealed.

  “Really?”

  “Matt wants the five of us to hang out,” Alexander said.

  “Who’s Matt?”

  “Becky’s boyfriend,” I stressed

  Sebastian turned toward the window. The moonlight cast a glow against his sad and almost lonely expression.

  Perhaps once he saw how happy Becky was with Matt he’d be cured of his feelings for her.

  Sebastian snapped back with a wicked grin. “Great! I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  6

  Becky and the Barn

  The students at Dullsville High treated me more oddly than usual the next day when I arrived at school. Apart from the usual shifty glances thrown my way, I heard more whispers and mutterings than normal. I was throwing my coffee in the trash when I felt a person standing behind me.

  “Your secret admirer is not so secret anymore,” a male voice said.

  I tried to ignore the demon in khakis and inch around the trash can, but he blocked my escape. Cornered, I spun around.

  Trevor towered over me. His golden locks were combed perfectly, as if he’d just been primped for a photo shoot. I didn’t have the energy for one of his trivial confrontations.

  “Do you mind? Littering is illegal, you know. Be my guest and do us all a favor,” I said, gesturing toward the can. “Throw yourself in.”

  “I love it when you talk dirty,” he said, not budging. He placed his hand against the wall, blocking my exit.

  “I really don’t have time for you today,” I said, and slipped underneath his human barricade.

  “Two-timing your boyfriend takes a lot of time and energy, does it?”

  This time I stopped and faced him squarely. “What are you talking about?”

  “Word has it there’s a new monster in town and he’s leaving gifts in your locker—candy, jewelry, love notes.”

  I was always amazed at how fast rumors spread throughout Dullsville and how grossly incorrect they could become.

  “No one is leaving me anything.”

  “Is that so? Then what were those flowers doing on Mrs. Hathaway’s desk?”

  “Teacher Appreciation Day.”

  “That’s not until…”

  “I was planning ahead.”

  “I’m not going to even react to your lies. I thought when you ditched your boyfriend, the least you could do was come to me. After all, I’m much better-looking.”

  “I didn’t ditch Alexander!”

  “Then he doesn’t know?” he asked as if he was unraveling a mystery. “You are two-timing him.”

  “You’ve wasted enough of my time….”

  “Or are you having a monster threesome up there in that filthy mansion? You always seemed the kinky type with your studs and boots.” He sidled up to me, so close I could feel his warm breath against my neck.

  “No—you have it all wrong.” I faced him hard. This was one time I’d rather have been in class than out in the hallway. “I have to go….”

  “Well, someone is going to know about you sneaking around—and it might be Alexander.” Trevor thumped me on the head and disappeared into the crowd of students.

  I wasn’t dating Sebastian. There was nothing to hide from Alexander—but by the way everyone was treating me, the whole school must have believed I was cheating on him. My boyfriend, like any other, would not have been happy about that.

  After school, I was at Becky’s waiting for sundown. The time had slipped by as Becky typed away at her computer doing research for an English paper and I ignored my own homework by lying on her bed, rereading The Vampire Lestat.

  “I think I’m almost finished,” she said gleefully.

  “Well, I should be going,” I said. The sun was slowly sinking; only a few rays still poked out behind the field. “I need to tell Alexander that the whole town thinks
I’m dating Sebastian before it gets back to him.”

  “I’m sorry things have gotten so far out of hand. If you hadn’t stuck up for me…”

  “That’s my job,” I said. “I’m your best friend.” I hopped off her bed and grabbed my jacket. “I better get my bike.”

  When we arrived at her house, Becky and I picked apples from one of her trees for a snack, and I’d parked my bike in the barn.

  Becky peered out her window. “Why don’t I drive you home instead?” she asked with concern. “It’s totally dark out there.”

  “That’s okay. I can find my way.”

  “But there aren’t lights,” she said. “Even in the barn.”

  I’d always protected Becky—at school, in town, in life—but this was her property and she wasn’t normally afraid on her own land.

  “Don’t worry,” I reassured her as I walked down her creaky stairs. “I can go by myself. It will just take a minute.”

  “The light switch hasn’t been working, and quite frankly it’s kind of spooky without it,” she confessed.

  “I’m all about spooky!”

  “I’ll drive you home,” she insisted.

  “You don’t have to do that. Besides, I love wandering around fields in the dark. Maybe we’ll find a dead body.”

  “Don’t say that!”

  Once outside, Becky picked up a flashlight from on her back-porch railing. “I never get used to coming out here in the dark,” she said.

  It was pitch-black except for the tiny light beaming from her flashlight. We had at least fifty yards to walk just to reach the barn. The cool night air made the journey even more chilling.

  Becky dug her nails into my arm but was doing her best to be brave.

  I thought I’d take her mind off her fears as we traipsed down her gravel road and through the darkness. “So are you sure Sebastian hasn’t tried to contact you again?”

  “No.”

  “No texts? Or flowers?” I hinted.

  “Nothing,” Becky vowed.

  “You’d tell me—”

  “Of course I would. You know I can’t keep secrets.”

  “Good.” Perhaps Alexander’s and my talk was getting through to him. “If you weren’t going out with Matt—would you like him?”

  “But I am going out with Matt.”

  “If you weren’t,” I prodded.

  “But I am, Raven.”

  “You haven’t even thought about it?”

  “No—why would I?”

  As we grew close, a neighbor’s horse whinnied in the distance.

  The old barn smelled like hay and old wood.

  For a moment, Becky struggled, but she opened the barn door. “It sticks,” she said.

  The barn was dark as a cave. Becky shined the light inside. Tools hung from the walls like dripping wax.

  “What happened to the switch?” I asked.

  “It shorted out the other day. My dad didn’t have a chance to fix it.”

  We were blind except for the thin beam from her flashlight. Something felt strange—like we were being watched. I knew that there weren’t any farm animals kept in the barn. I wasn’t sure what else it could be.

  “Hurry and get your bike,” she said.

  Becky was still hiding behind me, pointing past the tractor. She clung to me so hard, I couldn’t move.

  Just then we heard a rustling in the rafters.

  Becky jumped. “Ooh! It’s a bat. My dad said he saw one the other night. I figured you’d want us to catch it for you, but it was too high.”

  “It’s more than a bat,” I surmised.

  After a few moments, the bat disappeared. I sensed someone lurking in the shadows. I took the flashlight and shined it on a bale of hay. Nothing. I shined it again on a workbench. Becky hid behind me, grasping my shirt so tight I could barely breathe.

  “I’m scared, Raven. Let’s go back.”

  I shined it on the tractor. The light caught the tail edge of blond dreadlocks.

  “Sebastian?” Becky said, shocked.

  I turned the light away from the vampire. He approached us in the moonlight, pushing my bike.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. “You’re supposed to be with Alexander!”

  “He was painting and I wanted to get some air.”

  “In Becky’s barn?” I charged.

  “I was walking around and I heard some girls talking. I had to investigate.” He smiled broadly.

  Becky seemed to buy his excuse, but I knew better.

  “You scared us to death—well, at least me,” she said. “I’m so glad it’s just you.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Truly. I’d never want to make your heart race. Unless it was for a good reason.”

  Flirting time was over. “You’re lucky Becky’s father didn’t find you. He has a shotgun,” I warned.

  “He rarely uses it,” Becky said. “You must be tired if you walked all the way from the Mansion. Can we get you a drink?”

  “No—” I answered for him.

  “Sure!” he said over me.

  I took my bike from Sebastian and the three of us headed back to Becky’s house. In Sebastian’s presence, she was no longer afraid and didn’t cling to me in any way.

  Becky offered us fresh lemonade. Becky had the best lemonade I’d ever tasted; her mother made it from scratch. Both Sebastian and I gulped it down and asked for seconds.

  “It’s time we go,” I said.

  Sebastian wasn’t ready to go. He wandered around her kitchen, examining every picture and decoration.

  Where was Alexander when I needed him? If he had a cell phone, I could text him immediately. Instead, I tried to ring the Mansion’s line. If Alexander was painting, his music was probably blaring. It was true. The phone rang endlessly.

  Even Jameson didn’t pick up.

  “No voice mail—really frustrating,” Sebastian said.

  “Aren’t you in town to visit Alexander?” I asked.

  “Well, yes.”

  “Then why aren’t you two hanging out?”

  “We don’t spend every minute together. We’re guys.”

  When Becky and I got together, we spent every minute in each other’s company. But guys? Sometimes when Henry was over with Billy, one would be on the computer while the other was playing video games. I often wondered why they got together in the first place.

  Still, I wasn’t crazy about Sebastian’s behavior. It didn’t seem to be bothering Alexander, however, if he was creative enough to paint. And for all I knew, Alexander might have needed the space.

  “We better be going,” I finally said to Sebastian.

  “I can drive you both back if you’d like,” Becky offered.

  “You can drop Raven off first, then me,” he said.

  “Becky will drop us both off at the Mansion,” I instructed. “Then we can tell Alexander where we’ve been.”

  After Becky drove us to the Mansion and I placed my bike against the gate, I grasped Sebastian by his sleeve and pulled him toward the front door like a scolded child.

  “See you tomorrow at Hooligans,” Sebastian called back to Becky.

  We met Alexander in his room as he was washing out a brush in a small bucket.

  “Did Sebastian let you in?” Alexander asked.

  “Well, yes, but…”

  “Did you go into town?” he asked Sebastian. “It did me good to get some work done.”

  “Yes, I had a great time seeing the sights,” his best friend answered.

  Alexander was euphoric from painting. I hated to spoil his mood by telling him where I’d found Sebastian.

  “I’m really such a lucky guy,” Alexander said. “My best friend and girlfriend are here and I’m almost finished with my new project.” He pointed to a covered painting resting on the easel. “But this one is for me.”

  Sebastian clearly wasn’t going to tell Alexander what he’d been up to. I strongly suspected that if Alexander found out Sebastian had been lurking in
Becky’s barn, he might throw Sebastian out of the Mansion. I didn’t want to snitch on him, but I wasn’t about to keep secrets from Alexander.

  I had a major dilemma on my hands.

  I gazed at Alexander, who was relishing his creation and his friends. Alexander was so peaceful, I couldn’t bear to tell him Sebastian was stalking Becky or that Trevor was saying I was two-timing him. But then Sebastian surprised me.

  “I happened upon Becky today when she and Raven were together,” Sebastian confessed.

  “Happened upon?” Alexander inquired.

  “Alexander—I’m hooked. I just wanted to see her one more time.”

  “He flew into her barn when Becky and I were getting my bike,” I said lightly. “Nothing serious.”

  “You can’t be sneaking around her house,” Alexander reprimanded. “That’s immature. And dangerous.”

  Sebastian frowned.

  I was the queen of sneaking in places. I wasn’t any better than him.

  “No more. I’ve washed my hands of love.” Sebastian seemed to sense that this was upsetting his best friend. “We’ll stay in for the rest of my stay and play Medieval Mayhem. I won’t see her anymore. Not now, not ever.”

  “But we are supposed to see her and Matt tomorrow at Hooligans,” I said.

  “Well, I suppose one more time won’t hurt, will it?” Alexander said.

  Sebastian’s face lit up. “I’ll have on my game face.”

  7

  Videos and Vampires

  The following afternoon, Becky, Matt, and I were hanging out on Dullsville High’s soccer field waiting for practice to begin. Sebastian’s fascination for Becky indelibly stuck in my mind. Matt and Becky were nestled together by the home-side goal—not even the threat of an opponent’s score could break them apart. As my best friend gazed up at her beau adoringly, I realized I’d never imagined Becky with anyone but Matt. He was the first boyfriend she ever had and I never doubted that someday they’d be married, live a quiet life in Dullsville with a couple kids, and have the proverbial white picket fence. Even a handsome and love-struck vampire so far hadn’t turned her head away from her one true love.

  Sebastian had fallen for a girl who could make him happy—if only she liked him back. I was hoping that that would never happen. Not only didn’t I want Becky to become a vampire, but I didn’t want her to be with anyone besides Matt. But I felt empathy for Sebastian. He didn’t choose his amorous fate.