Vampire Kisses Series - Vampire Kisses Part 2

"How about a full-length mirror?" I teased, peeking behind a cloth.

"I'll take one of these empty boxes!"

"That's no good. Your friends will kill you. You'll be a laughingstock the rest of your life. Believe me, I know how it is."

I looked back at him and saw the terror on his face. I wasn't sure if he was scared of his friends outside or of the bas.e.m.e.nt steps that might cave in at the slightest pressure. Or maybe he was afraid of ghosts.

"Okay," I said. "You wait here."

"Like I could go anywhere? I have no idea how to get back!"

"But first..."

"What?"

"Let go of my hand!"

"Oh, yeah."

He let me go. "Raven-" "What?"

"Be careful!"

I paused. "Jack, do you believe in ghosts?"

"No, of course not!"

"So you don't think there is a ghost here? Of that old woman?"

"Shhh! Don't talk so loud!"

I smiled with expectation. But then I remembered his gang's dare and grabbed his baseball cap. He screamed again.

"Relax, it's just me, not one of those spooky ghosts you don't believe in."

I carefully ascended the creaky steps and b.u.mped into a closed door at the top. But it opened when I turned the k.n.o.b. I was in a wide hallway. Moonlight was s.h.i.+ning through cracks in the boarded windows. The Mansion seemed even bigger on the inside. I caressed the walls as I walked, the dust softly caking my hands. I turned a corner and stumbled upon a grand staircase. What treasures lay at the top of it? Is that where the ghosts of the baroness appeared?

I tiptoed up the stairs, as mouselike as I could in my heavy combat boots.

The first door was locked, as was the second and third. I leaned my ear to the fourth door, and I heard the sound of faint crying from the other side. A cold chill ran through me. I was in heaven. As I listened closer, I realized it was only the wind whistling through the boarded windows. I opened a closet, which creaked like an old coffin. Maybe I'd find a skeleton! The only thing I discovered, however, were several old hangers sporting cobwebs instead of clothes. I wondered where the ghosts were. I peered into the library. An open book lay on a small table, as if the woman who stared at the moon had been reading it when she died.

I grabbed Romanian Castles off the shelf, hoping it would open a secret pa.s.sageway into a spook-filled dungeon. Nothing moved except a hairy brown spider that scooted across the dusty shelf.

But the next moment, I heard a loud sound and nearly jumped through the roof-it was the honking of a horn! Startled, I dropped the book. I had totally forgotten about Jack's gang and my new mission.

I ran back down the grand staircase, leaping over the last steps. A bright light was beaming through the boarded-up windows in the living room. I climbed onto the bay window and peered out, safely hidden behind the boards. I could see the seniors sitting on the hood of their car, the headlights s.h.i.+ning up through the gate of the Mansion.

One of them was looking in my direction, so I pushed Jack's cap out through an opening between the boards and waved it like I had just landed on the moon. I felt triumphant. The seniors gave the thumbs up in reply.

I found Jack in a sweat, sitting in a corner of the bas.e.m.e.nt on top of some wooden crates. He must have been thinking about rats as well as ghosts.

He grabbed me like a child grabs his mother. "What took you so long?"

I replaced the cap on his head. "You'll need this."

"What did you do with it?"

"I let them know you made it in okay. Ready?"

"Ready!" And he pulled me back through the window like the place was on fire. I noticed he didn't get stuck this time.

We shoved the board back in place. It looked as if we had never been there. "We don't want this to be easy for anyone else," I said.

He stared back like he didn't know what to make of me, or how to thank me.

"Wait! I didn't get a souvenir!" he realized.

"I'll go back in."

"No way!" he said, grabbing my arm.

I thought for a moment.

"Here, take this." I gave him my necklace. A black leather band with an onyx medallion. "It only cost three dollars, but it looks like it was owned by a baroness. Just don't let anyone appraise it."

"But you did all the work, and I'll get all the credit."

"Take it before I change my mind."

"Thanks!"

He weighed the necklace in his hand and gave me a warm kiss on my cheek. I hid behind the crumbling gazebo as he ran back down to his buddies, dangling the necklace in front of their faces, getting high fives. They adored him now and so did I. I held my filthy hand against my freshly kissed cheek.

After that day Jack hung out with the cool club and even became cla.s.s president. From time to time, I'd see him around the town square, and he'd always have a huge smile for me.

I didn't have a chance to return to my Barbie Dream House. Word spread that Jack had snuck into the Mansion. Fearful that more kids might break in, police patrolled the area at night. It would be years till I visited the Mansion again.

5

A Light in the Window

Still sweaty from gym cla.s.s, Becky and I pa.s.sed the Mansion on our way home. I noticed something I had never seen before: a light in the window. Windows-they weren't boarded up anymore!

"Becky, look!" I screamed with excitement. This was the best birthday present of all! There was a figure standing in the attic window, staring up at the stars.

"Oh, no! It's true, Raven. There are ghosts!" she screamed, clutching onto my arm.

"Well, this ghost drives a black Mercedes!" I said, pointing to the snazzy car parked in the driveway.

"Let's go," she pleaded.

Suddenly the attic light went out.

We both gasped at the same time. Becky's nails dug into my thrift-store sweater. We waited, wide-eyed and speechless.

"C'mon, let's go!" Becky said.

I didn't move.

"Raven, I'm already late for dinner! We'll be doubly late for Matt's party."

"You've got the hots for ol' Mattie?" I teased, my eyes glued to the Mansion.

But when she didn't reply, I turned to face her. Becky's cheeks were flushed.

"You do!" I said with a gasp. "And you think I'm weird!" I declared, shaking my head.

"Raven, I've got to go!"

I would have waited till morning, but whoever was inside wasn't coming out.

The light in the attic window had lit a fire in my soul.

"I saw a Mercedes parked at the Mansion!" I informed my family at dinner. I was late as usual, this time for my own birthday dinner.

"I heard they looked like the Addams Family," Nerd Boy said.

"Maybe they have a daughter your age. Someone who doesn't like to get into trouble," my mother added.

"Then I'd have no use for her."

"Maybe she has a father I can play tennis with," my father said hopefully.

"Whoever it is will need to get rid of all those old mirrors and crates," I added, not realizing what I had said.

They all looked at me. "What crates?" my mom asked. "Don't tell me you've snuck into that house!"

"It's just something I heard."

"Raven!" my mother said in that disapproving mother tone.

It seemed no one in Dullsville had seen the new owners. It was wonderful to have a mystery in this town for a change. Everyone already knew most everything that happened in Dullsville, and most of it wasn't worth knowing.

Matt Wells lived on the good side of town, at the edge of Oakley Woods. Becky and I arrived late and entered the party like we were movie stars entering a premiere. Or rather I did. Poor Becky hung tightly to my side like she was visiting the dentist. "It'll be okay," I rea.s.sured her. "It's a party!" But I knew why she was nervous. We were subjecting ourselves to ridicule when we could have been safely at home watching TV like Trevor said. But why should the sn.o.bs have all the fun? Just because Matt's bedroom was the size of my living room? Just because we didn't wear clothes that were "in"? So that meant I should sit home on my sixteenth birthday?

I felt like Moses parting the Red Sea, as a crowd of sn.o.bs dispersed from the hallway upon our entry. Our cla.s.smates eyeballed me, decked out in my usual Gothic garb. Too bad Tommy Hilfiger wasn't there. He'd have been flattered. Everyone was wearing his clothes like a school uniform. The sound of Aerosmith rocked throughout Matt's living room. A thick layer of smoke hung above the couches, and the smell of beer permeated the air like cheap incense. Couples who weren't staring disapprovingly at us were staring adoringly at each other. It was going to be useless to try to talk to anyone.

"I can't believe you showed up," Matt said, spotting us in the hallway. "I'd take a picture, but I don't know if you'd be visible!" Yet despite his bark, Matt wasn't as cruel as Trevor. "Beers are out back," he then said. "Want me to show you the way?"

Becky was in awe of Matt. She shook her head and locked herself in the hallway bathroom. Matt laughed and headed for the kitchen. I waited in the living room by a concert-sized speaker, perusing the CDs. Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, and a bunch of show tunes. I wasn't surprised.

I went back to check on Becky and found the bathroom door open. She wasn't in the hallway, so I walked through the crowd of hammered cla.s.smates to the kitchen. A group of hundred-dollar-hairstyle girls glared at me and left, leaving me alone. Or so I thought.

"Hey, s.e.xy Monster Chick," a voice said behind me. It was Trevor.

He was leaning against the wall next to me, a can of Budweiser dangling from his hand.

"Does that line work for you at every party?"

He smiled a seductive smile. "I've never kissed a girl with black lips before."

"You've never kissed a girl before," I said and walked past him.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. He looked at me with his blue eyes and kissed me on the mouth! I have to admit, he was a great kisser, and it didn't hurt that he was gorgeous.

Trevor Mitch.e.l.l had never even touched me, much less kissed me, except when he bit me in kindergarten. The most I ever got was a thump on the head when I walked too close to him. He had to be drunk. Maybe it was a joke-maybe he was just trying to mess with me. But the way his lips felt against mine, it seemed like we were both enjoying it. I didn't know what to think as he pulled me out the back door, past an inebriated couple mas.h.i.+ng on the steps, past garbage cans and the fountain, under tall trees and darkness.

"Are you scared of the dark, Monster Girl?" The woods let so little light in, it was hard to make out the red stripes on his sweater.

"No, I quite like it."

He pushed me up against a tree and started kissing me for real. His hands were everywhere-on me, on the tree.

"I've always wanted to kiss a vampire!" he said, coming up for air.

"I've always wanted to kiss a Neanderthal."

He laughed and went on kissing me.

"So does this mean we're going together?" I asked. Now I was the one coming up for air.

"What?"

"Like when we go to school? We'll hold hands in the halls and hang out together at lunch? See movies on the weekends?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Then we're going together?"

"Yeah." He laughed. "You can watch me play soccer, and I can watch you turn into a bat." He began softly biting me on the neck. "I bet you like it like this, don't you, Monster Girl?"

My heart sank. Of course, I didn't really want to be Trevor's girlfriend. It's not like he was Mars and I was Venus-we weren't even from the same universe! And I didn't even like him, really. I knew why he'd brought me out here, I knew what he wanted to do, and I knew who he was going to tell. And at the end of it all, he might win ten dollars from all his betting buddies for "getting the Goth Chick." I had hoped he was going to prove me wrong. Instead, he was proving me right.