There was nothing left he could do to Alexander, nothing he could take.
Jagger's eyes grew redder, his muscles rippled, and he licked his fangs. He withdrew into the darkness and disappeared.
19 Night and Day
“I loved the way you acted out the movie last night!" Becky complimented me the next day at our lockers. "I had no idea you planned to do that. You totally rocked!"
"Thanks. I just had to wait for the right moment."
"Who would have known Vladimir would only pretend to bite Jenny so the vampires wouldn't covet her as one of their own."
"He does it so the vampires will believe Jenny has bonded eternally to him. They are forced to flee London and return to Romania, never to harm her again."
"Yeah, but you would think Vladimir would want to make her a vampire for himself."
"Well, the lesson is, not all vampires are bad," I said with a smile.
"They aren't?" Matt asked, standing behind us.
"Yes, just like soccer snobs," I teased.
"Well, I thought Alexander really bit you. Can I see your flesh wounds?" he added.
"Isn't that a personal question?" I kidded. "Besides, Alexander only pretended to bite me— just like Vladimir does to Jenny. He gave an award-winning performance," I said proudly. "I think he actually liked acting in front of all those people."
"Well, the blood looked real, too," he said.
"My brother's nerd-mate, Henry, has all these special effects. That's where I got these vampire teeth," I said, and flashed them.
"Why are you still wearing them?" he asked.
"I can't get them off. I think Henry charges extra for glue remover."
Just then two of Dullsville High's junior varsity cheerleaders stopped at our lockers.
"Like, can you tell me where I can get those costumes you wore last night?" one asked.
"You looked like Marilyn Monroe," the other cheerleader said to me. "And you looked like Elvira," she said to Becky. "I want a costume like Elvira."
Costume? I wondered. Hadn't they ever noticed I'd always dressed like that? I considered telling her about Hot Gothics in Hipsterville, or inviting her to come over to my house to borrow from my closet. But the thought of preppy cheerleaders dressing goth just because they thought it was "in" turned my stomach. I'd been an outcast for so long, I might have a hard time being an incast.
"You were awesome last night," her friend complimented. "Where did you get that blood?"
I was thinking of telling her about Henry, but decided to keep him my secret.
"It was real," I said.
"Ooh, gross!" they both exclaimed, and scurried away.
I had to admit, I liked the attention the drive-in performance brought me. Even if I knew it was going to last only as long as a ditzy cheerleader's attention span.
The bell rang.
"The drive-in's going to have another costume night," Matt added. "And people are already talking about acting out the movie."
"Maybe Alexander and I should get a cut of the admissions. Where's my agent when I need her?"
"Who was that creepy white-haired kid who came over to you by the movie screen?" Becky asked.
"I guess someone wanting to play one of the vampire gang," I replied, and slammed my locker shut. "But I thought he sucked," I added. "He wasn't convincing as an evil vampire at all."
20 Dancing in the Dark
There was a new girl in Dullsville—me. After all, I'd spent sixteen years living a monotonous existence. Now Dullsville wasn't so dull anymore. A few blocks away from me on Benson Hill lived the love of my life—Alexander Sterling. My boyfriend. My Gothic Mate. My vampire.
I was reunited with Alexander, and his nemesis was out of our lives. I had to wonder what would be normal for us. I was dating a vampire. I would have to keep a secret I'd never be able to share with Becky, my parents, or anyone. To keep him in my life, I needed a padlock on my black lips.
Alexander and I would always have to meet after sundown. I would never be able to eat breakfast or lunch with him. We'd have to avoid sitting near mirrors at fancy restaurants and make sure garlic wasn't being minced anywhere in the vicinity.
And most important, I wondered whether I would have to become a vampire for us to have a future.
That evening, I met Alexander at the Mansion door, a backpack slung on his shoulder and an umbrella in his hand.
"Let's go," he said proudly, taking my hand.
"Where are you taking me tonight? A tomb?"
"You'll see…"
"You were awesome that night. Everyone at school thought you totally rocked! For a moment, I thought you were really going to bite me."
"For a moment, I really wanted to," he said with a wink.
"It must be hard for you, resisting your impulses."
"You have impulses, too, that you resist, don't you?" he asked playfully, tickling me. "Why should I be any different?"
I giggled.
After a few blocks we stopped in front of Dullsville's country club.
"You're kidding. My dad belongs here."
"Well, he has good taste."
"I never thought so."
Bushes standing eight feet high lined the property of the golf course, surrounded by a low chain-link fence.
We quickly climbed over the metal blockade and walked onto Dullsville's golf course. Of all the places I've snuck into before, this was not on my list.
"If I get caught sneaking in here," I joked, "this could really ruin my reputation."
At night, the course seemed mysteriously spooky and gorgeous.
We walked across the tee, down the fairway, and onto the green, avoiding the sand traps and bunkers just like golf balls.
Alexander and I sat on the green of the third hole, which overlooked a small lake with a lit fountain. A few weeping willows, which offset the lake, in the darkness looked like they were crying black lace instead of leaves. The course was eerily quiet. The only sounds we could hear were crickets and the gentle splashing of the waterfall.
"I like to be surrounded by beautiful scenery—but you overshadow even that."
I gave him a quick kiss.
"I also like to dance in unusual places." He opened his backpack and pulled out a portable CD player. He switched it on, and Marilyn Manson began to wail.
"Can I have this dance?" he asked, offering his hand.
At first we slow danced on the green to one of the morbidly sluggish tunes. We must have looked like quite a sight—two goths dancing in the dark on a golf course.
As the songs picked up pace, we danced around each other and the flagpole until we were exhausted.
We ran to the lake and cupped our hands in the water. The light from the fountain caught my reflection in the water. What should have been Alexander's reflection was only ripples of water from where he dipped his hands. I looked up at him. He smiled back joyfully, not even aware of his missing image. I felt a pang of loneliness for him, wondering what it must be like to live a life of empty reflections.
Breathless, we plopped down on the green and looked up at the stars. The sky was clear except for some clouds in the distance. Lying on the open golf course without hovering trees and glaring streetlights, we could see what seemed like a million stars twinkling just for us.
Alexander sat up and pulled out two drinks from his backpack.
"Gummi worms, spiders, or lizards?" he asked, reaching back inside.
"Worms, please."
We both drank and chewed on the brightly colored candy insects.
"What's it like never seeing your reflection?" I asked, his missing image still on my mind.
"It's all I've ever known."
"How do you know what you look like?"
"From paintings. When I was five, my parents commissioned one of their artists to make a portrait of us. We have it hanging over the fireplace in our home in Romania. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. How the artist captured the light, the details of my mother'
s dimples, the joy in my father's eyes, all through gentle strokes from his palette. The artist made me look alive when I felt lonely and grim inside. That's the way this man saw me. I decided then that that's what I wanted to do."
"Did you like the way you looked?"
"I'm sure I looked much better than if I'd seen myself in a reflection." Alexander's voice became impassioned, as if he were expressing his thoughts for the very first time. "I always felt sorry for humans, spending so much time in front of the mirror. Fixing their hair, makeup, and clothes, mostly to impress others. Did they really see themselves in the mirror? Was it what they wanted to see? Did it make them feel good or bad? And mostly I wondered if they based their self-image on their reflected one."
"You're right. We do spend a lot of time worrying about our looks, instead of focusing on what's inside."
"The artist has the power to capture that. To express what he thinks about the subject. I thought that was much more romantic than seeing myself in a cold, stark glass reflection."
"So that is why you paint portraits? Like the one of me at the Snow Ball?"
"Yes."
"It must be hard to be an artist among vampires."
"That's why I never fit in. I'd rather create than destroy."
Alexander suddenly looked up at the moon. He got up and grabbed a sturdy branch that had fallen from one of the trees and was lying by the lake. He took off his belt and bound the branch to the umbrella handle. He removed the flagpole and stuck the umbrella stick in the third hole.
"What are you doing? Want to keep out the moon?"
Suddenly I could hear the sound of a sprinkler turning on. Water began to drizzle down over us like a gentle storm.
I giggled as the cold water hit my legs.
"This is so awesome! I never knew a golf course could be so beautiful."
We kissed underneath the sprinkling water until we noticed lightning flashing in the distance.
I quickly packed up our drinks and CD player while Alexander dismantled the umbrella.
"I'm sorry we have to call this short," he said as we headed for home.
"Are you kidding? It was perfect," I said, giving him a quick hug. "I'll never look at golf the same way again."
21 Creepy Carnival
For the next few days, I went to school, hung out with Becky and Matt, dodged Trevor, came home, and took care of Nightmare. After sunset, I spent as much time as I could with Alexander, watching movies, cuddling, and listening to music in the darkness.
By Saturday, I was exhausted. I slept the day away and met Alexander by dusk at his Mansion. It was the night of Dullsville's Spring Carnival.
In the past, Becky and I had always attended the carnival together. This time, we would be arriving separately on the arms of our respective dates.
Alexander and I entered, hand in hand, shortly after sunset. We stepped through the two arches made of multicolored balloons, a white wooden admission booth in between. Alexander approached Old Jim, who was selling tickets; Luke, his Great Dane, was sitting at his feet.
"Two, please," Alexander requested, paying for us both.
"I see you've been sleeping in one of the vacant coffins," Old Jim warned.
"I haven't slept at the cemetery for months," I replied. "Maybe it's—"
He looked at me skeptically. "Well, if I catch you, I have to tell your parents, you know."
Alexander grabbed my hand and led me away from Old Jim and through the balloon-filled entrance. The carnival was spread over Dullsville High's soccer field. There were booths of homemade pies, corn dogs, snow cones, rides like the Ferris wheel and the Scrambler, a fun house, and games of tic-tac-toe, a ring toss, and a dunking booth. The air smelled of cotton candy and grilled corn on the cob. Alexander and I walked through the crowd like the prince and princess of darkness. But he was oblivious to the stares and looked like a wide-eyed kid not knowing what to play with first.
"Haven't you been to a carnival before?" I asked.
"No. Have you?"
"Of course."
"You made it," I heard a familiar voice say. It was my dad.
I turned around to find my parents eating hot dogs at a picnic table.
Alexander shook my dad's hand and politely said hello to my mother.
"Would you like to sit with us?" my mom offered.
"They don't want to spend all night with us old fogies," my dad interjected. "You guys have fun," he said, reaching into his wallet and offering me a twenty.
"I've got it covered, Mr. Madison," Alexander said.
"I like your style," my dad replied, returning the money to his wallet.
"Thanks anyway, Dad," I said. "We'll see you later."
As Alexander and I walked past the booths, patrons and workers stared at us like we were part of the sideshow.
"Hey, Raven," Becky said, when I found her selling homemade pies at her father's booth. "Dad had to run home. We sold out of the caramel apples and only have two pies left."
"Congratulations," I complimented her. "But I was looking forward to some."
"I'll reserve two for you when he gets back," Matt said, as he handed a piece of apple cobbler to a customer.
"I think you've found your calling," I said to him.
We said good-bye to Becky and Matt as they tried to keep one step ahead of their customers.
On our way to the carnival rides, I spotted Ruby, who was standing in between two booths. "Hi, Ruby, are you here with Janice?" I asked.
"Oh, hi, Raven," she said, giving me a friendly hug. "No, I'm here with a friend," she added with a wink.
Just then Jameson, minus his usual butler uniform and wearing a dark suit and black tie, walked over with a fresh swirl of blue cotton candy.
"Hello, Miss Raven," he said, gently handing the candy to Ruby. "I'm glad to see Alexander is in such good hands, as I have the night off."
Alexander gave the Creepy Man a smile.
"I'm glad that you and Jameson are back in town," Ruby said to Alexander.
"I am, too," he replied, and squeezed my hand. "Is Jameson treating you tight? I know he can get kind of wild," he teased.
"He's been nothing but a perfect gentleman," she said, but then whispered, "Hopefully that will wear off as the evening continues."
Alexander and I laughed. "We'll leave you two kids with your candy. I promised Raven I'd take her on the Ferris wheel."
We cut away from the food booths and past the carnival games.
"Raven," Billy Boy called from behind.
We turned around, and my brother ran up to us, holding a plastic bag with a frantic fish inside. Henry followed close behind with his own swimming prize.
"Look what we just won!" Billy Boy exclaimed.
"Cool," Alexander commented.
"He's a cutie," I said, tapping the side of the bag. "Just make sure you keep him out of reach of Nightmare. She's small now, but she'll be growing."
"Not to fear, I'm going to make a safety roof for their fishbowls," Henry proudly proclaimed.
"I'm sure you will," I said to my brother's nerd-mate.
"We're all out of tickets," Billy Boy whined. "Did you see Dad around?"
"Here," Alexander said, reaching in his back pocket before I could answer. He handed Billy Boy some cash.
My brother's eyes bugged out as if he'd just won the lottery.
"Thanks, Alexander!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, thanks, man," Henry said, and they took off back to the goldfish booth.
"That was so nice of you. You didn't have to do that," I said.
"Don't worry about it. Now let's go ride the Ferris wheel," he suggested.
Normally I hated waiting for rides and would cut in line, dragging along a reluctant Becky. Now I enjoyed the wait, because it meant I had more time with Alexander.
Soon we were ascending into the night sky. We slowly came to the top when the ride stopped, letting off the riders at the bottom.
"Do you think it will be difficult because we are
different?" I asked, staring down at the couples.
"We are more alike than most."
"Does it bother you that we are not the same on the inside?" I asked, looking at him.
"But we are in here," he said, pointing to his heart.
"If I were Luna, would you have left the ceremony?"
Alexander looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Do you want me to become a…?" I asked.
Suddenly the ride started up, cutting our conversation short. We cuddled as our car finally descended to the ground.
Alexander helped me off the Ferris wheel. We paused, overwhelmed by the choices of food, games, and rides that still awaited us.
"Let's do the ring toss," he said when we got off.
Alexander and I went over to the ring toss booth as a couple finished, walking away emptyhanded.
I gazed at the stuffed animals as the blue-and-white-uniformed clerk, wearing a black top hat, picked up the rings off the floor.
"They're rigged. I never win. I usually spend all my allowance and I don't even get Mardi Gras beads," I lamented.
Alexander placed some money on the counter, and the clerk stood up and handed him three rings.
"Harder than it looks," I said.
Alexander stared at the single wooden pole as if he were a wolf staring at an unsuspecting deer.
He threw the rings in quick succession like a dealer at a casino. The clerk and I were stunned. The three rings were resting around the pole.
I jumped up and down. "You did it!"
Alexander beamed as the clerk handed me a giant purple bear. I squeezed it hard and gave Alexander a huge kiss.
I glowed as I held the bear, almost bigger than me.
"Snow cones are on me," I announced, as we turned to make our way back through the crowd. My stride was broken when I bumped into someone.
"Excuse me," I said, and placed the bear on my hip so I could see.
"Hey, monster, watch out!" Trevor hollered, holding two tickets. "On your way to get your face painted?" he asked. "Perhaps you should."
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