I immediately locked the doors.
“What are you doing?” Matt asked. “It’s a drive-in.”
“Keeping out the riffraff,” I said.
Just then a preteen boy with straws stuck on his teeth for fangs pressed his face against my window.
“See!” I said, as we all laughed. I leaned against the window, bugged my eyes, and flashed my vampire teeth.
The boy’s mouth dropped open, and his straws fell to the ground. “Mom!” he cried, and ran off.
“That was awful,” Becky admonished.
“But funny,” Matt confirmed.
We munched on our snacks and cuddled as the previews ended and the movie began. All the while, Alexander and I anxiously glanced outside for any vampire activity.
“I don’t think I can do this,” Alexander whispered when he caught me focusing on the picnic tables instead of the movie screen.
“Of course you can.” I could see the concern in his eyes. I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the mouth.
“Hey, we can’t see,” Matt and Becky said.
Alexander and I laughed, a great relief from the nervous tension that had been building up in us. I cuddled next to him and, for a while, forgot about Jagger. We got lost in the moment, and Alexander and I recited the lines of the movie together.
Three-quarters of the way through the film, at the moment that the vampire Vladimir was bringing Jenny to a graveyard wedding, the screen turned yellow, and the film burned and crumbled. We could hear a flapping sound.
The crowd began yelling “Boo!”
“Aw, man,” I heard Matt say.
“It’s all a conspiracy to make us buy more popcorn,” I said.
We climbed out of the car and stretched.
“I could use a drink. You guys want anything?” Matt asked.
“Thanks anyway,” I said.
“I’ll go with you,” Becky offered. Matt grabbed her hand, and they left for the snack bar.
“Should we be concerned about them?” I asked, feeling uneasy.
“Jagger wants you, not a soccer match.”
I looked around. My heart started to race.
“Now I’m getting nervous,” I said.
“Why don’t you relax in the car. I’ll stand guard.”
I opened the driver’s-side door, jumped in, and quickly locked the door.
I turned to lock the passenger door and gasped.
Jagger was sitting next to me!
“You thought I wouldn’t recognize you with blond hair,” he sneered.
I tried to open the door, but he grabbed my arm.
“I’ve come to collect what I didn’t collect before,” he said, looking into my eyes, his fangs primed. I pushed him away just as I heard a banging on my window. I looked up to see an enraged Alexander.
He tried to open my door as I struggled to keep Jagger’s fangs at bay.
Frustrated, Alexander ran to the other side as Jagger automatically locked all the doors.
“Help!” I cried, pushing him at arm’s length.
Alexander returned to my window, balling his fist to punch through the glass, when I managed to wedge my feet in front of Jagger. I stretched one hand toward the window, my fingers reaching as far as they could, and barely touched the lock. With all my might, I managed to lift the knob with my index finger.
My door flung open, but Jagger pulled me out the passenger door before Alexander could reach me.
He dragged me away from the car and toward the back of the drive-in.
But before Jagger reached the exit, Alexander caught up and grabbed his arm. “Let her go,” he demanded, “before I—”
Jagger’s grip remained tight around my wrist.
“I came to do what you could never do,” Jagger said.
“What does he mean?” I asked.
Alexander flashed his fangs at Jagger and stepped in between us. “Don’t make me do this in front of those people,” Alexander said, referring to a few patrons in the distance who were looking at us curiously.
I backed away, out of reach of Jagger.
“This would never have happened,” Jagger continued. “My sister just wanted to be like everyone else. She could have had anyone. But we chose you! And you left her standing all alone!”
“You know why. I never meant to hurt her or your family,” Alexander defended.
“You’ll do the same thing to Raven. You really were never like one of us. You may deny who you are,” Jagger yelled, “but I won’t deny who I am!”
He ran toward me and grabbed my arm just as Alexander grabbed the other.
Then Jagger flashed his fangs and lunged at my neck.
“It’s too late!” I hollered, ducking away. “Alexander already has me.” I leaned in and bit Jagger’s arm.
Suddenly the parking lot lights dimmed and the movie started again. The vampire Vladimir was leading Jenny by the hand through the cemetery. A gang of vampires was following them, trying in vain to stop the ceremony and take the ingénue for their own.
Jagger howled out in pain as I pulled Alexander toward the movie screen.
Alexander resisted. “Where are you going? We can’t turn our backs on him.”
I gazed up at the screen. Vladimir was leading Jenny to the tombs. “We don’t have much time.”
But Alexander stared back at Jagger, whose pale face was turning red.
“Just like we planned. Please, trust me,” I begged him, tugging his hand.
Alexander glanced over his shoulder. Jagger was heading straight for us.
I could see Becky and Matt coming through the parking lot with drinks in their hands.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Becky asked as she got closer.
“I can’t talk now, but get in the car and lock the doors!” I commanded.
Alexander and I hurried toward the front of the lot, where the movie screen was.
An angry Jagger lurked behind us.
“What is Raven doing?” I heard Becky ask, as she and Matt got into the Mercedes.
Alexander and I stood in front of the movie screen and our Kissing Coffins mirror images.
Patrons began hollering, “What’s going on?”
I looked out into the crowd, but I couldn’t see Jagger.
Then I noticed him hovering behind a family, only fifty feet away from us. When he caught my eye, he took off toward us.
“Hurry!” I exclaimed. “We don’t have much time!”
As Vladimir lifted his beloved Jenny into his arms, I placed my arms around Alexander’s neck. He lifted me up.
The crowd roared, clapping and tapping their horns as we acted out the movie behind us.
I could see out of the corner of my eye that Jagger was now only a few feet away, coming after me.
“Just like the film,” I whispered.
Alexander anxiously looked into my eyes. My fist clenched by my side, primed for what was about to happen.
“Bite me, Alexander!” I cried. “Bite me!”
Jagger reached out. Alexander put his mouth on my neck just as the on-screen vampire did to his bride. I felt a slight pressure on my flesh. I grabbed my neck and cried out. My head slumped back, my body lay limp in his arms. My heart pulsed in overtime as if beating for both of us. I could feel the warm red liquid slowly dripping down my neck, the smell of blood permeating the air around us. Alexander lifted his head proudly, mirroring the on-screen vampire, holding his bride in his arms, a red river flowing from both vampires’ lips.
The crowd cheered.
I glanced over to Jagger, whose blue and green eyes were now red with rage. Alexander gently let me down.
I was light-headed. I stumbled to my feet, holding my red-stained neck, as the liquid trickled down my forearm. As the camera moved to a close-up of Jenny’s face, I looked at Jagger with a wicked grin and flashed my vampire fangs.
He began to howl with such a rage his body shook, but his cry was masked by the audience hollering and honking their car horns.
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.”