“Please tell me.”
“I don’t know.... It’s just annoying that he’e ag that s the one that gets to see you all day when it should be me.”
“Believe me, you are the only one I’ve ever wanted to see,” I tried to reassure him.
“I know. But it’s one of the things I miss by being a vampire.”
I felt for him. Alexander experienced the same longing I did for him by not being able to completely share our worlds.
“I hate it, too. I wish you could be by my side at school. Hang out by our lockers. Sneak off for a kiss. But then again, you wouldn’t be you.” I gave him a soft smile.
“So, Trevor knows first,” Alexander said. “Is that really a big deal?”
“Yes,” I insisted. I wanted to be the first to have any new Crypt information, and I thought we deserved to be in Jagger’s inner circle. “We hang out here all the time. We should know everything. And that means Jagger is still keeping secrets from us. What else does he have planned?”
“But a haunted house isn’t something that we need to know about,” he said in Jagger’s defense.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes,” he went on, pushing his dark locks away from his face. “It’s his right, really. If he wants us to know, he can tell. If not, no big deal. It’s just a haunted house.”
Just a haunted house? I thought. This was a haunted house dreamed up by a living, breathing vampire. And not being in on the idea from the beginning made the news really sting, especially when Trevor knew before me.
“Now what’s this about Luna and Stormy?” Alexander went on.
“Luna is shoving it in my face that she and Stormy are like sisters. And I haven’t even met her.” I folded my arms like a child.
“Stormy’s not here yet,” Alexander said. “Why are you worrying about this now?”
“Luna seems to think she gets to bring Stormy to the Crypt, not us. Not me.”
I felt like I was in first grade. I was getting all wound up over something Luna might or might not do. But just the thought and her goading me was enough to make steam rise from my multipierced ears.
“How about this?” Alexander said. “Stormy’s my sister, and I’ll bring her here. And since you are my girlfriend, you’ll be coming with us. Luna will see her in due time. I want you and Stormy to get a chance to hang out. And I know Stormy will want that as well.”
“Thank you!” I flung my arms around Alexander. I wanted to be a part of his family, and I didn’t want anyone to come between us—especially someone as wicked as Luna Maxwell.
For the rest of the night I was buzzing. When I wasn’t dancing with Alexander, I was hanging with Becky and my vampire ghoul friends. It was interesting to see Luna and Romeo together, whether it was for spite or if she truly found him irresistible. Sebastian seemed to be in heaven dancing with Onyx, and I was happy to find him having such a good time.
Jagger finally came up from his office downstairs and noticed Sebastian and Onyx on the dance floor together. His ashen face flushed as blood-red as the dyed tips of his white hair. Jagger immediately stormed over to Sebastian and wedged himself between the two.
“What’s up, dude?” Sebastian asked, surprised.
“Can’t find your own date, dude?” Jagger charged.
Sebastian wasn’t deterred. He wasn’t a menacing figure, but he wasn’t one to be pushed around, either.
“Yes I can, and she’s right here,” he replied, continuing to dance.
“I can have you removed from the club,” Jagger said, snapping his black-fingernailed fingers, “like that.” The tension was mounting, and I worried it was going to break out into a fight.
Scarlet must have overheard the commotion because she bravely stepped in.
“I think Onyx can choose for herself,” she said to Jagger defiantly.
Onyx looked at all of us and got flustered. For a moment she stood speechless, then fled the dance floor.
Scarlet hurried after her. Alexander came to Sebastian’s side and pulled him away from Jagger and off toward the bar, diffusing the tension between the two vampires.
Jagger put his hands on his hips, shook his head, then disappeared the other way. I grabbed Becky and we found Scarlet and Onyx talking in the restroom.
“I’m not sure what to do,” Onyx said, patting her face with a paper towel. “I really like Jagger.”
There was only one mirror on the wall for the mortal attendees. The vampire girls were standing on the other side of the room so as not to raise suspicions about any absent reflections.
“But I think Sebastian is cool, too. I love his dreadlocks,” Onyx continued, “and he is so laid back and kind where Jagger seems…”
“Dangerous?” I prompted.
“Yes.” Onyx turned to me, surprised by my answer.
“He is,” I said. But wasn’t that why Jagger was appealing? He did ooze sex appeal and power, and that tinge of danger was just the right kind of edginess that made him attractive.
“But Sebastian is so fun,” Onyx went on. “He’s really sweet, and I like that he loves to just hang out.”
“Yes, Matt is really laid back, too,” Becky said. “That makes it really nice.”
I thought about Alexander, who was so exciting to be with, too, no matter what we did.
“Well, I love the danger,” Scarlet chimed in. “Trevor seems so clean cut, but he does have this dark edge. He’s so conservative, but it’s really like he should be wearing chains and studded earrings.”
“So you like his dark side?” Becky asked. “I don’t like that side of him.”
But I knew what Scarlet was referring to. She found the side of Trevor that was conniving and menacing attractive.
“Yes,” Scarlet wailed. “And that he is mega-hot!” They all giggled, but I rolled my eyes.
“That’s why I’m confused,” Onyx said. “I like that Sebastian is spontaneous, but I also like that Jagger is so headstrong and focused on his clubs. It’s really sexy.”
“Matt is passionate about soccer. It is really cool to date someone who has a passion. I can see why you like that in Jagger,” Becky said.
Alexander was passionate about his art. It was one of the traits that made him so alluring. I agreed that their interests did make our guys that much more dreamy.
“Well, Trevor is passionate, too.” Scarlet paused and looked to me. I wasn’t sure what she was going to say next, but I sensed she was referring to me. “Soccer, too,” she eventually said. “Trevor has so many layers to him.”
Yes, I thought. You peel back the layers of a jerk and find a bigger jerk.
Everything just felt right with Alexander. I could make a list of the things I liked about him, but there was something deeper to it that I couldn’t quite put into words but that let me know he was the one. Our relationship just felt like heaven.
“You don’t have to make a decision this minute,” Scarlet said. “For now, we’ll dance together.”
“Yes, let them fight for you,” Becky said like an old pro in the romantic game. “It canon.e. “I be very exciting.”
4 Shopping for a Ghoul
The following evening, Alexander and I were making our way down the attic stairs of the Mansion when we saw Jameson entering one of the vacant bedrooms on the second floor.
“Just getting it ready for Miss Athena’s arrival,” Alexander’s butler said.
I was thrilled that the time was getting closer for Stormy to arrive in Dullsville. But the bedroom that Jameson was readying was bare except for a small dresser, making it feel cold and lonely. It didn’t look comforting for a younger sibling to inhabit, and I was wondering how Stormy would feel about staying in it.
“We should really do something about this room,” Alexander said to Jameson. “Don’t you think?”
“Yes, it needs a feminine touch,” Jameson said. Both Romanians looked to me.
“Really?” I asked, excited for a chance to decorate more of the Mansion. “I’d
love to!
“So … what does she like?” I imagined all the things we’d need as I sized up the room. “We could buy rugs, curtains, and maybe a cool chair?”
“She’s just visiting, not moving in,” Alexander said.
“Oh yeah…” I said, realizing I was getting ahead of myself.
“But no—you’re right,” he added. “I don’t want her running back to my parents saying she didn’t like it here.”
“So what are her favorite things?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Then my boyfriend thought for a moment. He noticed my Hello Batty earrings. “She loves Hello Batty.”
“Oh, cool!”
“You have something in common already,” he said, tenderly patting my arm.
“We also have you,” I said, flashing him a warm smile.
Alexander returned mine with a radiant grin.
“Does she like Olivia Outcast, too?” I wondered out loud.
“I think so.”
“What’s her favorite color?” I asked Alexander. “Black? Pink? Red?” I didn my’t really know anything about Stormy except that she was Alexander’s sister. And just because she was a vampire didn’t mean she liked dark things. Maybe she was blonde with little tiny fairy-tale locks. Then I thought of Luna—did she look like her? I couldn’t bear the thought.
“Uh… I know she loves purple.”
“Of course! We can put some girlie things in her room, like purple curtains and a funky velvet chair. She would love that! I can picture her already. I’ll put out some candy on the table and a gift bag on her dresser.”
“Sure,” Alexander said. “I didn’t even think of that before now, but I’m sure she’d feel much better in something cute and fun rather than this cold, barren room.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” I said enthusiastically. “I’ve never had a little sister.”
For a moment I dreamed about the perfect sister for me—a younger sibling who would want to have picnics in the cemeteries, stay up late and watch scary-movie marathons, and share dark music together. She’d be nothing like the sibling I had, Billy, a little brother who would rather solve math equations than hang around tombstones.
“Well, I’ve never had a younger brother,” Alexander said. “That would be really cool, too.”
“Can we trade?” I asked seriously.
“Sure,” he said, but I could tell by the glint in his eyes he wasn’t as keen on giving his sibling away as I was.
It was hard to find anything fun and funky in Dullsville that would be appropriate or cool for Stormy. I bought most of my clothes and trinkets at thrift stores or online.
Becky and I shopped at our local discount superstore while Jameson waited for us at the front by the coffee shop.
I got my usual stares as we paraded up and down the aisles looking for anything fun to decorate Stormy’s room.
“This is nice of you, to try so hard to make Alexander’s sister comfortable,” Becky said as I tossed a purple fleece pillow into our cart.
“How can I not make the effort? I think it will be cool to have her here, even if it is only for a short while.”
“I don’t know.” Becky handed me a neon-green lamp. I shook my head, and she put it back on the shelf. “I don’t have a little sister. This is foreign territory to me. But whatever we do will be fine. You’re Alexander’s girlfriend. She’ll love you, too.”
“Aww, thanks.” I suddenly felt the pressure relieved.
“What do you do to decorate a room for a vampire?” she asked aloud.
Two elderly women glared at us, bewildered.
“Shh!” I said under my breath.
“Oops,” Becky said, startled by the ladies overhearing her. “For Halloween,” Becky corrected loudly. “We’re shopping for Halloween.”
We quickly pushed our carts around the gawking ladies and headed for the next aisle, where we burst out laughing.
“That was close,” she said. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“Welcome to my world,” I remarked.
“All this secrecy,” she whispered. “It’s very difficult.”
“But it makes it all that much more exciting, right?”
Becky shrugged her shoulders. She was still getting used to the revelation that the Underworld existed and that it was as close as my boyfriend.
“What about this?” I asked, pointing at velvety lavender curtains that were displayed with other sample curtains.
“Ooh. Cool. Maybe you can decorate my room next?”
“Sure!” I answered, delighted.
“Only you’ll have to stay away from blood-reds.”
“If you insist.”
Becky peered out the end of the aisle and into the main part of the store. I followed her. “Are there any vampires here?” she whispered.
“No, just one wannabe.”
“How do you know?” she asked with a hush. “How do you know that everyone here isn’t a vampire?”
We glanced around. A sample of Dullsville’s population permeated the store: couples, families, teens.
“I don’t think there has ever been a vampire in this store,” I answered with a laugh.
“What about Jameson?” she asked, looking toward where he was waiting for us near the checkout. “Is he a vampire?”
“I don’t know.... He goes out during the day,” I said.
“Maybe he’s part vampire and part mortal.” Becky said. “He sure looks that way.”
Becky’s comment left me feeling curious about Alexander’s butler.
“Well, I don’t think we’ve left anything for any other visiting vampires,” she said, assessing our selections.
Our carts were full of fun stuff that I thought Stormy might like: pillows, candles, wall hangings, a few scatter rugs and assembly-required furniture to make her space more comfortable.
“I think we’re all set,” I said, and we headed over to the Creepy Man and his credit card.
Alexander hung up the curtains, and Becky and I placed the scatter rugs on the floor in Stormy’s new room. There was so much dust there, Becky went into a coughing fit.
My boyfriend was attractive even in the dim lighting as he worked as hard as a handsome handyman.
“Is this straight?” he asked. I’d never realized Alexander was such a perfectionist. The drapes hung flawlessly.
Now that the curtains were hung and the funky furniture and shelves were installed, we placed a few ornaments on the antique dresser. Alexander had painted tiny pictures of his family, and I fitted them into frames we’d purchased.
“She’ll love this,” Alexander said, examining the room.
“Do you think so?” I asked. I thought the room was fabulous, but since I hadn’t met Stormy yet, it was hard to know if she would. I could only count on Alexander for his opinion.
“Hey, what’s not to like?” Alexander said, sizing up our room makeover. “This place is awesome!”
“I think so, too,” Becky concurred. “I love how you transformed this room.”
“I’m glad you both think so,” I said, wiping my hair away from my face. “But this is really your grandmother’s home. Stormy might be offended that I decorated it.”
“Well, now it’s my home, too. And besides, my grandmother would be happy to know that you are going to so much trouble for my sister.”
“I had a great time doing this,” I said. “I’m glad you think your grandmother would approve.”
“Well, more importantly, Stormy will. She is very opinionated. And this is way cooler than her room at home,” Alexander added.
“I agree, Raven, you’ve outdone yourself,” Becky said. “She’s going to love iandng to lt here!”
“Did Stormy ever visit the Mansion when you were growing up?” I asked Alexander.
“Just as a baby. I don’t think she remembers it. She was so little.” Alexander beamed as he gazed at our accomplishment and put his arm around my shoulder. “The only problem is now she’ll never w
ant to leave!”
5 Spooky Siblings
A few days later, Stormy was set to arrive in Dullsville. I was so excited to meet her, I skipped dinner and waited for the sun to set outside the Mansion. I remembered how anxious I had been to meet Alexander’s parents. I’d imagined what they were like and worried what kind of impression I’d make. This time, I wasn’t as nervous, but I was hoping Alexander’s sister and I would get along smoothly. When the door finally opened, I greeted Alexander with a huge kiss. I was pacing around the Mansion, the yummy smell of Jameson’s dinner in the warmer wafting throughout, while Alexander lay on the antique sofa, flipping through a modern art magazine as we waited for Jameson’s Mercedes to pull in.
“I think I hear a car,” I said, running to the door.
“That’s the tenth time you’ve said that,” he said, not looking up from the mag.
“I’m sure it’s them this time,” I said, happily twisting the doorknob.
“That’s not the Mercedes,” Alexander called as I opened the door, as if he knew with his vampire sixth sense.
Disappointed, I thought it best to wait it out with Alexander. And why not? We had so little alone-time anymore that I might as well take advantage of it. I snuggled up to him on the sofa and was leaning my head on his chest when I heard a car on the street. The sound got louder with each passing moment, and bright lights shined on the Mansion. I knew this had to be Jameson’s ride. We both sat up.
I poked my head against the window and peered out into the night.
I saw two headlights and a black car illuminated from the streetlight. “It’s them! It’s Jameson’s car.”
Alexander couldn’t hide his enthusiasm from me as he, too, beamed. We headed to the door, and after he opened it I followed him outside to the parked car. Jameson said good evening to us as he slowly came around the back of the car.
I did my best to catch a glimpse of Stormy, but all I could see was dark hair.
I waited with bated breath to see Alexander’s little sister.
Jameson politely opened her door d, "and out stepped Stormy Sterling.