Halloween was months ago, and in a town like Dullsville it was easier to find a fake Prada purse than fake teeth.
Frustrated, I banged on Billy Boy’s door. He opened it slightly, sticking his Charlie Brown–shaped head out. I could barely see Henry typing at my brother’s computer.
“Did you take my vampire teeth?” I accused him.
“Why would I want your nasty saliva near me?” Billy Boy said, starting to close the door on me.
“Well, I can’t find them, and I have to have them for tonight,” I argued, pressing the door back open.
Henry rushed over to the door. “I have some,” he offered. “Never been used.”
Henry and Billy Boy rode their bikes, and I followed with Becky on mine. We must have been quite a sight as we headed to Henry’s house at the edge of Oakley Woods—two goths and two nerds riding alongside one another.
We parked our bikes in Henry’s driveway and entered the colonial-style five-bedroom house.
We were greeted by his housekeeper, who was folding laundry.
We walked up the pristine wooden stairs to his bedroom. A NO YUPPIES ALLOWED sign hung on his door.
“I like that,” I said.
A spongy black doormat rested on the floor, and a million dead bolts sealed his door.
“What are you hiding inside? Secret recipes of cafeteria food?” I asked.
After he unlocked the outside dead bolts, he stepped onto the mat. His bedroom door sprung open automatically.
Henry had a loft bed, with a metallic blue computer underneath. Stars were pasted on his ceiling, I’m sure in astronomically correct order. A solar system mobile hung from his ceiling fan. A telescope stood by his window.
He slid open his walk-in closet doors to reveal neatly stacked, clear plastic shoe boxes.
“Five dollars gets you samples,” he said, pointing to them.
Each box was labeled: ACNE. BLOOD. PIMPLES. PUKE. SCARS.
“Who wants to have more pimples?” I asked.
“And I have smells. Here,” he said, opening a beaker and pushing it under my nose.
“Gross!” I said, repulsed. “It smells like the bathroom after Billy Boy uses it.”
“Shut up!” my brother said.
“I like to pour this on Mrs. Louis’s chair sometimes,” he said proudly. “Look around. I have them alphabetized.”
“I should have known.”
Becky and I each handed over our money and loaded our pockets with ghoulish goodies.
When we were finished, Henry held a box before me as if he were holding the Holy Grail. He opened it, revealing two exact replicas of human teeth in the shape of fangs.
“With the glue, seven dollars.”
I knew I had only six in my purse.
“Five dollars and a stick of gum,” I offered.
“Six. And your school picture,” he countered.
I looked hard at him, then at Becky.
“But you inscribed it to me!” she said.
“Please,” I begged, flashing her my puppy-dog eyes.
She opened her wallet and handed Henry the picture.
I handed him the money and left before he changed his mind.
As I headed out to meet Alexander for our date, I found my parents in the kitchen, paying bills.
“I’m going to be out a teensy bit late tonight,” I advised.
“It’s a school night,” my mother said.
“I know, but we’re going to the drive-in,” I said with a smile.
“Why don’t you wait until the weekend?” my mom asked.
“Because tonight’s half price if you wear a costume. Becky and Matt are going, too.”
“Becky?” my mother asked, surprised.
“Yes, my little Becky. It’ll be our first double date. Besides, I already did my homework, and we have a sub for first bell anyway.”
“Seems like you had all your excuses lined up,” my father said.
“I’ll take care of the dishes all week,” I said to my mother. “And Dad, I’ll wash your car.”
“Last time you washed my car, you put Wicked Wiccas stickers on it.”
“But you have to admit, it looked cool.”
“And last time you took care of the dishes, you broke Grandma’s teapot,” my mother remembered.
“Fine. Then we have a deal,” I began. “I’ll just go to the movie, and I’ll save you trouble by not doing your chores.”
“How did that just happen?” my dad wondered, as I headed for the front door. “And when you’re finished with that blond wig, your mother needs it back.”
I slung my backpack filled with my Kissing Coffins accessories on my shoulder and grabbed a container of garlic powder from the kitchen. I held it tightly in my hand, as if I were holding a can of Mace, as I walked to the Mansion. If Jagger jumped out at me, I wanted to be protected.
I felt a familiar lurking presence as I turned the corner to Benson Hill. I saw a rustling in a bush and blond strands poking through the branches. I took a deep breath, and I quietly opened the container of garlic powder and threw it hard, directly into the brush.
“Ouch!” a male’s voice cried.
Trevor jumped out of the bush and held his forehead.
“What are you doing?” I shouted at him.
“I saw you coming up the road and wanted to scare you,” he said, rubbing his wound.
“You don’t have to hide. Your face alone could scare Frankenstein.”
I grabbed the container from the sidewalk and replaced it in my purse.
I walked away, and Trevor continued to follow me as we drew closer to the gate.
“I really don’t have time for you anymore,” I said. “I’m going to the drive-in.” And I slipped past the slightly open iron gate.
“You have a pretty good arm. You should try out for the baseball team. And tell your gothic boyfriend,” he called, “if he wants to apply, they could use a batboy.”
I left Trevor and was walking up the Mansion’s driveway when I overheard him talking to someone outside the gate. I glanced back and saw my nemesis from behind, standing next to a guy with white hair.
I stopped. Jagger and Trevor? A dangerous duo.
I sneaked back down the driveway and hid behind a bush next to the wrought-iron gate.
“Hey, watch out, dude!” Trevor hollered. He must have bumped into Jagger in the darkness.
I could only imagine Trevor’s reaction to the shock of seeing the pale, tattooed, multipierced Jagger walking alone on a darkened street. I wasn’t sure if Trevor would hit him or take off running.
“Sorry,” Jagger said in a cool voice. “I didn’t see you coming.
“It’s so dark around here,” Jagger continued, shifting his feet.
“Yeah, I think the Sterlings knock out the streetlamps on purpose.”
Jagger laughed. “That babe you were walking with. She’s your girlfriend?” he asked.
“Raven? She’s my nightmare. No, she hangs out with the dude who lives in the Mansion. I’ve never seen you around here before,” he said, scrutinizing him.
“I’m just visiting. I’m Sterling’s friend.”
“Friend? I didn’t think he had any,” he said with a laugh. “Well, you better catch him before they go to the drive-in.”
“The drive-in?” Jagger asked.
“Yeah. It’s built on an ancient burial ground,” he whispered, as if revealing a secret. “I’ve heard that late at night, you can see ghosts eating popcorn.”
“Burial ground?” Jagger wondered aloud. “Perfect.”
“For what?” Trevor asked, confused.
“Uh…a club initiation,” Jagger rambled. “But it’s a very exclusive club…. Maybe in the future you could join.”
“Thanks anyway. Soccer takes all my free time. Besides, Sterling doesn’t seem like the type to belong to a club.”
“He’s already a member. I just have to persuade Raven to join. Maybe I’ll surprise them there,” Jagger said. “Can
you point me in the right direction?”
“Follow me,” Jagger’s new ally said. “It’s on the way to the game.”
As the two left together, my mouth hung open in disbelief.
Jagger was planning to have a covenant ceremony tonight at the drive-in, with me as his covenant girl!
I needed a plan fast.
I took a deep breath and tried to think. If I canceled our double date, Jagger could return to my house, putting not only me but my family in danger.
I didn’t have much time to find a way to keep Jagger away for good without ending up as his dinner. Why couldn’t Alexander and I just enjoy a movie together? Like Kissing Coffins, which reflected my own imminent situation—a movie about the vampire Vladimir Livingston, who tried to save the innocent mortal ingénue Jenny from the depths of the darkened Underworld.
And then it hit me.
Jagger was planning to take me tonight at the drive-in? But he couldn’t. Not if I was already taken by someone else first.
18
Kissing Coffins
It’s hard, you know, without a mirror,” I commented anxiously in Alexander’s room as I awkwardly tried to glue my fake fangs onto my teeth. The soundtrack to Kissing Coffins was blaring in the background. “Are they straight?” I flashed him a sexy vampire smile.
“Wow!” he said, impressed. “Are you sure they are plastic?” He touched them with his fingers. “They look so real.”
“Be careful. They aren’t dry,” I snapped.
“Why are you so nervous? It’s just a movie.”
“But it’s not. I have something to tell you. Promise you won’t be mad at me.”
“Okay. Does it involve another guy?”
“Yes, but not in the way you think. Jagger’s still in Dullsville.”
“How do you know?” he asked, shocked.
“I just saw him,” I confessed.
“Where?”
“Outside the Mansion with Trevor.”
“Trevor? That’s the last person he should be talking to.”
“Well, I saw Jagger the other night, too, at my house. But he warned me that if I told you, he would tell everyone about you.”
“He was at your house?” he asked angrily. “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I assured him. “But he plans to, tonight, at the drive-in. Trevor told Jagger it was built on sacred ground and Jagger persuaded Trevor to show him where it was. Before, Jagger wanted me just to get even with you. Now I just think he wants me for himself—unless he is convinced that I have already been taken.”
“But—”
“I’ll need you to convince him.”
“But that means—”
“Just like Vladimir saves Jenny in the movie. It will be so romantic.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You have to. We have no other choice.”
I gave him a reassuring kiss. “It will be okay. Trust me.”
I fluffed my hair. I spun around and modeled my outfit. “How do I look?”
“I like you as a blond,” he said, half distracted.
“And you look like Vladimir,” I complimented him, as I smoothed his dark suit and straightened his black cape.
“You look just like Jenny,” he said.
“But I want to see for myself.”
I grabbed my purse off his bed, opened it, and reached inside, searching for Ruby’s compact.
Alexander pulled at his stomach. “I don’t feel so well.”
“You’re just nervous. I promise you, it will be okay.”
“I really don’t—”
“Wait a minute,” I said, scrounging for a peppermint.
“What’s that?” he asked, repulsed when I offered it to him.
“It’s just a mint,” I answered. “Don’t they have them in Romania? It settles your stomach.”
“Get it away from me,” he said, refusing the mint and stepping away.
Then I smelled something odd coming from inside my purse.
I stuck my hand inside, and buried underneath my wallet and a huge wad of tissues was the cause.
“Oh no! It’s my garlic powder,” I said, holding the plastic container toward him. The lid had opened.
“Put that away!” he said, holding his stomach. “I’m sorry!” I said, fumbling and stepping away from him.
“Farther. Like in Utah!”
“I didn’t mean to—” I apologized.
His ghost-white face grew even more gaunt with every breath he took.
I opened the attic window and threw the plastic container as hard as I could, far into the night sky.
Alexander was still stepping back from me, his breathing getting heavier.
“I’ll throw my purse out, if I have to.”
But he said nothing as he gasped for air.
“Jameson!” I called, but the Kissing Coffins soundtrack was playing too loudly for anyone to hear.
I ran out of the bedroom and down the attic steps. “Jameson!” I cried. “Jameson!” I didn’t hear a sound as I barreled through the second floor. I flew down the grand staircase. Why did he have to live in such a big house?
I burst through the kitchen door and found Jameson putting dishes into the dishwasher.
“Alexander!” I gasped. “He was exposed to garlic! Call nine-one-one!”
Jameson’s eyes grew even buggier than usual, making me even more terrified of the tragic state of the situation. But then he collected himself and opened a cabinet door.
Lying on the shelf was an antidote. Jameson handed me the shot.
“You must give it to him in his leg,” he ordered.
“I must?” I said, shocked.
“By the time I climb those stairs, Miss Raven, it may be too late.”
I grabbed the shot from his slender hand and ran.
My heart raced as I took off up the grand staircase, doubtful I would get to Alexander in time.
I rushed into the room to find Alexander lying on his back on his bed, his skin turning blue and his eyes growing vacant. His breath was shallow.
I remembered watching Pulp Fiction. A nervous John Travolta wound up his arm and slammed a shot into Uma Thurman’s arrested heart. I wondered if I could be so brave.
I placed a shaking hand on Alexander’s thigh and raised the shot. “One. Two. Three.” I bit my lip and jammed the injection into his leg.
I waited. But Alexander didn’t move. How long did it take? Was I too late?
“Alexander! Talk to me! Please!”
Suddenly, Alexander sat up, rigid, his eyes wide open. He breathed a full breath of air as if sucking in all the oxygen in the room.
Then he breathed out, and his body relaxed.
He looked up at me with weary eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “I didn’t mean to—”
“I need some—” he tried to say.
“Blood?” I asked, worried.
“No. Water.”
Just then Jameson came into the room with a tall glass.
I held the glass to his lips. Alexander quickly drank it down. With every gulp his eyes grew more alive.
“Your face looks almost pale again,” I said eagerly.
Jameson and I breathed a sigh of relief as Alexander recovered.
“Why were you carrying garlic?” Alexander finally asked.
“In case Jagger visited me again.”
“Jagger?” Jameson asked, alarmed. “He’s here?”
Alexander and I nodded.
“Then shouldn’t we go? Is Miss Raven safe?”
I grabbed Alexander’s hand. “Batman saved me from his evil nemesis before. And tonight he will for good.”
The closest I’d been to Dullsville’s drive-in was when Becky and I were in elementary school. We would sit outside the surrounding fence and watch a blockbuster movie in the crisp grass, eating popcorn and candy we brought from home. If we were lucky enough, the patrons would have their movie speakers turned on full blast. If not, Becky and I
would provide our own dialogue and crack up until a security guard shooed us away.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that Becky and I would be driving through the gates of Dullsville’s drive-in with two boyfriends.
When the rumors about Dullsville’s drive-in being built on an ancient burial ground began, it was forced to shut down. But the only thing excavators discovered buried in the dirt were worms, and the theater had recently reopened. The smell of fresh paint mixed with the night air. Metallic gray speakers hung on stands next to the arriving cars. A yellow-and-white snack bar and picnic tables sat fifty yards behind the last parked car.
As Alexander drove Matt, Becky, and me through the parking lot, couples were wearing homemade capes and slicked-back hair, while little kids sporting pajamas and bat wings hung out on hoods and roofs of cars. Schoolmates from Dullsville High wore black T-shirts and jeans. It was obvious that no one but Alexander and me had actually seen the film. Alexander and I were the only patrons who came dressed as Vladimir and Jenny; everyone only knew it was a vampire movie, so they just wore black. The moviegoers stared at us as we drove through the crowd.
We found a spot in the back of the drive-in, and the four of us got out of the car to decide on snacks.
I had other things on my mind besides popcorn. As the three of them discussed “to butter or not to butter,” I tiptoed around the parking lot. Jagger could be anywhere, waiting to sink his fangs into my neck.
Alexander found me hunting around the bushes.
“Come here,” he said, leading me back to the car. “He’s spoiled enough of our fun. We should at least try to enjoy ourselves. Look around. Tonight, we’re not outcasts,” Alexander said, and gave me a squeeze. He was right. I glanced at the crowd, larger than Alexander’s Welcome to the Neighborhood party.
“This is way cool,” I said, for a moment forgetting about the impending danger.
Matt and Becky returned with popcorn and drinks. The previews started, and we got back into the car—Matt and Becky in the backseat and Alexander and me in the front.