by Mari Mancusi
I am the biggest loser on the planet. I don’t deserve him. In fact, I don’t deserve anyone. I deserve to be an old maid, living all alone, with fifty cats to take care of.
I steal another look at Magnus and suddenly all the stupid excuses I’ve been making about why it’d never work out between us seem ridiculous and naive. And suddenly all the reasons I’ve wanted to stay human seem inconsequential.
I want to be with Magnus. No matter what I have to give up.
It’d be worth everything.
Even my soul.
But it’s too late.
Isn’t it?
Rayne looks from Magnus to me and back to Magnus again, her expression unreadable.
“I’ve got to pee,” she suddenly announces, without ceremony. And before I can say, “Do what you have to do,” she’s already gone.
Leaving me alone with Magnus.
Was this her plan all along? Could my evil boyfriend-stealing twin actually be a saint in disguise?
I wonder . . .
I stare at Magnus. He stares back at me. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. I realize it’s up to me to make the first move. I was the rejecter in this whole mess. He opened himself up to me. Told me how he felt. And I threw it all back in his face. I am the one who needs to make serious amends.
And I’m ready to do so now.
“Magnus, I’m—”
“Sunny, there you are!” Before I can protest, arms wrap around my waist from behind. I whirl around. Jake grins at me, looking like a lost, slightly drunk puppy dog.
I look back at Magnus, who is watching the scene with cool eyes. This is not good.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, my love,” Jake says, squeezing me tight. Gah! Go away, dude! You’re screwing up everything.
But Jake doesn’t go away. Instead he leans into me and starts messily kissing my neck. “Oh God, I love you so much, Sunny,” he murmurs too loudly. Way too loudly.
Magnus’s eyes narrow. “I’ve got to get going,” he mumbles.
“No Mag, wait!” I cry. But he’s already halfway out of the room. Vampires can really move when they want to.
I’ve got to reach him. To tell him how I feel before it’s too late!
“I beg of you, Sunny, my love, please never leave me!”
“Oh, eff off, Jake!” I cry, while squirming to get away. I know full well I’m damning my one and only chance to be A-list in high school. To date a Sex God and be the envy of all my friends. But I totally don’t care. In fact, I don’t care if I turn into the biggest social reject Oakridge High has ever seen.
As long as I get to talk to Magnus.
But Jake isn’t letting go without a fight, so I give him a little persuasion.
In other words, I stamp on his foot. Hard.
With spiky heels.
And vampire strength.
He lets go, yelping in pain. I hope I haven’t put an actual hole in his foot. Oh well, no time to check now.
I sprint to the ballroom exit. This is like Cinderella in reverse, though I’m sure Magnus isn’t going to leave a glass slipper behind. Maybe a Prada loafer . . . ?
I’m outside before I catch up to him. He’s walking through the parking lot, his head bowed and his steps slow. He looks like he’s lost his best friend.
What he doesn’t know is that his best friend wants him back. Badly.
“Magnus!” I cry.
He stops in his tracks, not turning around. I rush over to him, grab his hands. I’m so out of breath it isn’t even funny. I really need to clock in some quality time at the gym when all this is over.
“Magnus,” I repeat, panting. We lock eyes. His look so sad, it breaks my heart. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Sunny, I—” he says.
And suddenly we’re talking and crying and laughing all at the same time. Apologizing, explaining, begging for forgiveness.
“I love you, Magnus,” I say after we both pause for breath. “I didn’t realize it. Or maybe I did, but I didn’t want it to be true. I thought it would be way too complicated. And I was too concerned with being normal. But I don’t care anymore. I love you. And I want to be with you. Forever. No matter what it takes.”
“I love you, too, Sunny,” he says, reaching over and brushing a bloody tear from my eye. “Accidentally biting you was the best mistake I’ve ever made in my life.”
Aw. He’s so sweet. So wonderful. So—
So kissing me.
Our mouths clumsily find one another, desperately seeking everything from the other person. Seeking and finding, I might add. Finding acceptance. Desire. Love. The works.
It’s so wonderful I can barely stand it. He loves me. Magnus loves me. It’s unbelievable for me to even comprehend how great that is.
As we kiss, his arms wrap around me and pull me close to him. We fit perfectly together. Like we were made for one another. And maybe we were. After all, I know we have compatible DNA.
I honestly wouldn’t mind kissing him all night. Never going back into the prom. Never having to face my crazy, obsessed date. Make this my new reality and forget everything about the world. If I had Magnus at my side, I’m sure I could do it in style.
Then Magnus pulls away, glancing at his watch. At first I’m irritated. Like, hello? Does he have somewhere he needs to be or something?
“It’s almost time,” he says.
I cock my head in confusion. “Time? For what?”
“For you to drink the Grail blood.”
“But . . .” I scrunch my eyes. “I’m not . . .” Didn’t he listen to a word I just said? I love him. I want to be with him. And that means giving up my humanity for him, obviously. Doesn’t he want me to?
“Not?” His turn for the confused look.
“No, Magnus.” I shake my head. “Don’t you get it? I’m not going to drink it. I’m going to stay a vampire so I can be with you.”
He frowns and takes my hands in his, bringing them up to his chest. I can’t feel his heart beating, but that’s probably only because he doesn’t have one.
“No, Sunny,” he says firmly.
“Huh? What do you mean, no?”
“I won’t allow you to remain a vampire for my sake.”
“But . . .” Doesn’t he want to be with me? Or was this all some kind of sham? I can feel my heart tearing apart inside. “But I love you,” I say, almost afraid to admit it again.
He smiles softly and leans forward to kiss me on the forehead. “I love you, too,” he whispers. “That’s why I can’t allow you to remain a cursed creature of the night. I want you to have the gift of life I never had.”
“But I thought you said you liked being a vampire.”
“It has its moments,” he says with a shrug. “But at the same time, it can be a lonely life. And forever is a long time to live.” He pulls me tight into an embrace. “I don’t want you to suffer like I have. I want you to be you. The human you that I love.”
“But then, but then . . .” I can’t seem to form a sentence. This is not going the way I had planned at all. Not that I had really planned it out, but if I had, this wouldn’t be the scenario. In my planned version, he’d be thrilled that I wanted to stay a vampire. We’d crush the blood vial and retreat to his coven and be one with one another, forever.
That’s it! That’s what I need to do.
I pull out the vial from my purse and before I can have second thoughts, I slam it on the ground. Then I smash it with my foot. Blood and glass go flying, staining my once-adorable stilettos.
I swallow hard. There. It’s done. Over. Finito. No turning back now.
I am a teenage vampire.
“Why did you do that?” Magnus cries, looking horrified.
“Because I want to be a vampire,” I say stubbornly. Oh God, what have I done? What possessed me to do that? Panic sets in fast and furious.
“But you don’t,” Magnus insists, not making it any easier. Why can’t he just be happy? Why can’t he
throw his arms around me and say he was hoping I’d do that? That I’ve made him the happiest vampire alive and he can’t wait to spend eternity with me. Or do something besides stare at me with an incredulous look on his face, saying things like, “But you hate being a vampire.”
“I’ve changed my mind,” I say firmly. No need to show him my doubts and fears and overall freak-out. “I’ve grown to enjoy the whole vampire thing over the past few days. And I think it’d be a charming way to spend eternity.”
“You’re just saying that because you think that’s what I want to hear,” Magnus says, sighing deeply. “But you don’t really mean it. Sunny, I know you too well.”
Jeez. This is not turning out how I’d hoped it would. At all. Where are all the tender embraces? The taking me back to the coven and celebrating my new unlife?
“Well, what’s done is done,” I say, attempting a casual shrug. “No turning back now.” I stare down at the Grail splatter on the pavement. I wonder if I got on my knees and licked . . .
No. That’s ridiculous. It’s gone. It’s done. I’m a vampire and I’m more than thrilled about it.
“Do you want to go . . . inside?” Magnus asks abruptly. “Maybe dance or something?”
Dance? I stare at him in disbelief. How can he think of dancing at a time like this? I’ve just sacrificed my whole humanity and all he can think of is getting his groove on?
I shake my head, too depressed for words. “No, I’m good,” I say, though, of course, I’m not really. Not really good at all, if you want to know the truth.
“Okay,” he says. “Do you mind if I do? I have to . . . use the little vampire’s room.”
I smile halfheartedly. “I’ll wait here.”
I lean against a nearby car, watching him as he heads back inside. I love him. So, so much. I have no doubts about that. And I really do want to be with him forever. So why am I so depressed? I made my decision. There’s no turning back now. Sure I sacrificed my humanity, but it was for the guy I loved. So totally worth it.
I’ll probably learn to love being a vampire. I’ll get assigned my own Donor Chicks. (Or maybe hot Donor Males, heh, heh!) I’ll travel the world. Rule as queen by Magnus’s side. We’ll vanquish evil slayers, etc. Sounds like a blast. Much better than high school.
Of course transitioning is going to be a bit difficult. I can never tell my mom—she’d just lock me up in a place where doctors would stick tons of needles in me and do all sorts of crazy experiments like I’m some kind of lab rat. Ugh.
No, it’d be better if my mom thinks I’m dead. I’ll fake a car crash or something. Those always seem to happen around prom time anyhow. Sure, she’ll be sad at first. But then she’ll eventually grow to accept life without her daughter. And anyhow, she’ll still have Rayne. Well, until Rayne gets to the top of the waiting list again and becomes a vampire herself.
Sigh.
At least I’ll get out of going to high school, I remember, brightening a bit. All those pop quizzes and complicated projects? Never again. Though I will miss performing the starring role in Bye Bye Birdie. Wow, my being dead is going to really screw up the play. As far as I know there’s no understudy to the understudy. I may have inadvertently caused the whole school play and everyone’s hard work to collapse. They’d totally kill me, if I weren’t already pretending to be dead.
And then there’s field hockey. But my teammates will be fine without me. Well at least against everyone but Salem. Salem’s pretty tough.
And lastly there’s Audrey. My best friend. She’s going to be really shocked when she comes back from Disney World on Monday and finds out I’ve dropped out of school, field hockey, and drama. Oh, and that I’m dead, too, of course.
Wow. Who would have thought so many lives would change if I weren’t around? Go figure. Nice of me to suddenly come to this realization after it’s too late.
“Sunny, are you okay?”
I look up. Magnus has returned from his trip to the bathroom and is staring at me with a very concerned look on his face. At first I have no idea why, then I realize I’m crying. Stupid blood tears.
“I’m fine. Wonderful. Very happy,” I say, swiping at my face. I don’t want him to think I’m having second thoughts. Not that I am, really. At least not about him.
He closes the gap between us and takes my head in his hands. Running his fingers through my hair, he pulls me close and kisses me. Suddenly, I’m feeling much better. Concerns about school and parents and friends evaporate as I enjoy the sensation of his lips on mine.
I can do this. I can stay a vampire. Stay with Magnus. Be happy and live a fulfilling eternal life.
His kisses trail down my face to my neck. I love neck kissing. And being a vampire’s girlfriend, I figure I’ll get to experience a lot of it.
And then a searing pain shoots through my entire body.
“Ow!” I cry, pulling away. “Why the hell did you just bite me?”
28
Boys That Bite
I jump away, my hand to my neck like so much déjà vu. “That hurt!” I cry. In fact, it hurt a lot worse than the first time he did it, a week ago at Club Fang. The Club Fang bite was just a pain in the neck, so to speak. This one feels like poison is shooting through every vein in my body—my head to my toes to my fingertips.
“Sunny, sit down.” Magnus commands. Dazed and in massive pain, I allow him to drag me down to the curb. I struggle for breath.
“What did you do to me?” I cry. I feel like I’m dying. Not that I know what dying feels like, but I’m pretty sure this can’t be far off on the pain scale. My head hurts. My body aches. I feel sick to my stomach. It’s awful.
Magnus pulls out his implanted teeth and presents them to me. “I’m sorry, Sunny,” he says solemnly. “I thought it was for the best.”
“What was?” I sob, begging the pain to go away. My whole body is practically convulsing like I’m having a seizure. “Did you poison me?”
He sighs and opens his other hand. I stare at it, then up at him.
The other Grail vial.
And it’s empty.
I put two and two together.
“I’m sorry, Sunny,” Magnus says. “I know you say you want to be a vampire, but honestly I don’t believe you. In fact, I’m willing to bet a gallon of blood you’re just saying that because you want to be with me.”
I hang my head in shame. The physical pain has subsided somewhat, but the mental anguish is just beginning. What can I say? Of course, he’s right. But I don’t want him to think that’s any reflection on my feelings for him.
“So I guess it wasn’t meant to be,” I say with a sigh. Great. Now I’m happy to be turning back into a human, but depressed as all hell about losing Magnus.
“What wasn’t?” Magnus asks gently.
I look up in surprise. “You and I. Together.”
He smiles that signature sweet smile of his and takes my hand. I tremble as he strokes my palm.
“Are you kidding?” he asks. “Vampire or human or, hell, if you decide one day you’re going to become a werewolf or elf, I’m not letting you go.”
For a moment I’m tempted to ask if there really are werewolves and elves out there as well as vampires, but then the full impact of his words hits me.
“Really?” I ask, choking out the words through my happy tears. “You want to be with me anyway? Even if I’m not your blood mate?”
He nods. His eyes are full of love.
“But it’ll be hard to . . .”
“We’ll make it work.”
“And what if you get assigned . . . ?”
“You don’t have to worry.
“But what if the other vamps—”
“I’ll take care of them.” Magnus places a finger to my lips. “The lady doth protest too much,” he quotes.
I grin sheepishly. “You just met me?”
He laughs, then his face turns serious.
“Sunny, I love you. No matter what. We will make things work. I have full co
nfidence in our relationship.” He pauses, then adds, “You may not be my blood mate, but you certainly are my soul mate.”
Aw. In fact, major aw-age. I love him so much.
Then, before I can come up with something equally endearing to respond with, he kisses me. A lot. I’d give you details, but I figure it’d just be way TMI and really, who wants that? Plus, a girl has to have some secrets, right?
Just suffice it to say, I happily kiss him back.
Human to vampire. Vampire to human.
Hey, it works for us.
Epilogue
Blog Entry 407 Author: Rayne McDonald
So there you have it. My sister, Sunny, is officially a member of the human race again. (And yes, her freckles are back, nyah-nyah!) She and Magnus (who was really never my type anyhow! I need someone wayyyy more dark and brooding) are officially an item. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Vampire and human. Doesn’t matter, they’re nauseatingly happy together. And Magnus has installed himself as official Master of the Blood Coven, Eastern U.S. region. All’s well that ends well, right?
Well, not so much.
To make a long story short, here I am walking through the hallways of Oakridge on the Monday after the prom, feeling pretty good about myself. Giving the finger to various meathead jocks, avoiding the teachers who want to put me in detention for skipping class to go smoke over at “The Block,” flirting with the new kid who’s wearing an Interpol shirt. (He’s not that cute, but evidently has good taste in music.) You know, your typical Rayney day.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, some old guy grabs my arm and starts dragging me into a side corridor. “You must come with me,” he says in an urgent voice.
I’m just about ready to go tae kwon do on his ass, but then I realize it’s Mr. Teifert, Sunny’s drama coach.
“Dude, I think you’ve mistaken me for my twin,” I say, as he drags me down into the auditorium’s backstage area. “I’m Rayne. Sunny’s the one in your play, not me.”
The teacher pulls on the door and slams it closed with a loud ominous clanking sound. Hmm, cool sound effect. I could use that in my film. (Did Sunny tell you I’m a budding filmmaker? I’m going to be the next Tim Burton or David Lynch, just FYI.)
