"Don't worry. I couldn't afford to feed it," I said truthfully, and pushed my way past him.
That night I was more restless than usual. Not only had dozing off in Alexander's coffin disrupted my sleep pattern, but I was exhilarated. I, Raven Madison, had spent the daylight snuggling in a coffin with my vampire boyfriend. I wanted to scream it from the top of my lungs! I went to the window and peered out into the darkness. I didn't want to be alone.
I'd give anything to spend an eternity with Alexander in his attic room, in our cozy coffin. But there would be a price. I would have to say good-bye to all that I knew and loved—my parents, my best friend, Becky, even Billy Boy.
And then I would be trading mortal nemeses for nocturnal ones. I wondered if being a vampiress would bring me any closer to the Maxwells. In the underworld, except for Alexander, I might find myself even lonelier than in Dullsville.
I lay in bed, Nightmare cuddling at my feet while I doodled sketches of Valentine in my Olivia Outcast journal. He was a cartoonish-looking kid with spiky white hair, tattoos, and piercings.
Above him, I drew a bat with green eyes. I thought about where an eleven-year-old vampire could be sleeping his daylight hours away—Dullsville's cemetery? The attic of an old church? Or maybe he was hiding in piles of leaves in the Oakley Woods. And I wondered what he might be doing alone in Dullsville at night—spying on tween mortals, searching for vacant treehouses, or marking his future unsuspecting Dullsvillian prey? But then I began to think about how Valentine must be lonely without his family, isolated from his friends or guardians. Did he run away from home? Why wasn't Valentine with Jagger and Luna?
Then I drew Jagger—his blue and green hypnotic eyes, his skull tattoo, his white hair with bloodred-tipped ends. Above him, I sketched a bat with piercing blue and green eyes. I wondered what Jagger really wanted in life. Was he back home in Romania biting the necks of teenagers out for a night of clubbing? Did he really crave to be a soccer star, as Luna had revealed to me, the same way he craved blood?
I drew an image of Luna. A gothic fairy princess with long white hair and baby-doll blue eyes, decked out in a tight black dress with pink rubber bracelets, a choker, and pink combat boots. Above her I drew a bat with ocean blue eyes. A kindred spirit of sorts. I imagined her back in Romania, thrashing it up at an underground club, the flashing lights twinkling against her like tiny ghosts as she danced the night away, oblivious to the handsome clubsters surrounding her, and waiting for the perfect moment to stop and pick the neck she wanted to taste.
Not only was she bonded to her brother Jagger, but someday she'd be bonded to another vampire for all of eternity.
Luna had actually accepted me as a vampiress. She complimented me on my style instead of being repulsed by it.
But our relationship was really built on lies. I had convinced her I was from the Underworld, and she had fooled me into thinking she desired Trevor when in fact it was Alexander she wanted all along.
I guess in our deceit we deserved each other.
I'm sure Alexander could paint the teen and tween vampires as precisely as a photograph, but I managed to capture their essence. The images stared back at me as if they were real. I closed my journal on the rendered Maxwells and looked forward to tomorrow, when Alexander and I might finally put an end to their invasion of Dullsville.
5 Treehouse
The next morning, Dullsville High's hallways were decorated with posters for the upcoming prom. VIVA LAS VALENTINES signs with red, pink, and white hearts filled the walls and classroom doorways.
I shoved textbooks into my locker as Becky began to tack up passport-sized arcade booth pictures of her and Matt.
"We took these Saturday night at the movie theater. Aren't they cool?"
I stared at the four poses—one with Matt's arm around Becky, one with them blinking, one where he was kissing her on the cheek, and the last with a Teen magazine smile—all of them reflecting a couple in love.
I gazed at my locker—tacked with magazine clippings of Trent Reznor, Marilyn Manson, Ville Valo…and vacant of the one guy who meant the most to me.
"I figured by now you'd have a shrine to Alexander," Becky commented.
"I did, too," I admitted. That was before I knew he was a vampire, I wanted to say. "He's actually quite shy around the camera."
"No way. He's so handsome, he could be a model."
I glanced at my best friend, whose normally cherubic fresh face glowed more than ever. Always quiet and mousy, she was gaining confidence now that she'd been dating Matt.
I'd always blabbed my secrets to Becky. I was bursting to tell her the truth about Alexander—why I didn't have a picture shrine, why Alexander didn't attend Dullsville High, and why he was seen only at night. Carrying this secret around was a heavier burden than a backpack full of textbooks.
Becky was so happy with her boyfriend—taking pictures together, renting movies, watching him play soccer. I'd always craved more—to fly, to live in the darkness, to be eternally bonded to my soul mate. But at that moment, I realized I wanted to be like any girl who was lucky enough to be in love and hang her boyfriend's picture in her locker.
"Do you have your prom dress?" Becky asked, bringing me back to reality.
"Uh…well…"
"I can't believe it. We have dates to prom!"
"Yeah…"
"Aren't you going?" she asked, confused.
"It's just that…"
"You haven't asked Alexander yet?" she guessed. "It's next weekend."
"Of course I asked him," I stumbled. "He said he wouldn't miss it for the world."
She smiled with relief. "Yesterday, my mother and I picked out a dress and put it on hold. We're picking it up after school. Want to come?"
"I'd love to, but I have to meet Alexander and my brother. It's a long story…"
"Oh, that's okay," she said, trying to cover up her disappointment. "Perhaps another time."
"But I can't wait to see your dress. I know you'll look fabulous in it."
She beamed like I'd told her she won a beauty pageant. "What does your dress look like," she asked, "besides black?"
"Dress? Oh, yeah. I guess I'll have to get one," I said, just as first bell rang. "But where in Dullsville am I going to find a dress?"
Alexander and I arrived at Henry's house to find his backyard vacant of any preteens, vampire or otherwise.
"Hurry, let's check the treehouse before my brother and Henry show up."
We walked past the pool, lounge chairs, and gazebo, which were illuminated by the backyard house lights, and crept into the shadows where the treehouse was.
I hung on to Alexander's silver bullet belt and followed him through the darkness. I remained at the foot of the tree as Alexander combed the grass and brush.
"Wait here," he said, reaching for the ladder.
I folded my arms like a toddler. "You mean you're going to leave me here alone?"
Alexander shook his head. "Good point. Stay close and be careful."
He extended his hand and guided me as I took my first step up the ladder in the darkness.
Alexander followed closely behind me. When we reached the deck, I headed for the treehouse door, only to find as many locks on it as a New York apartment.
"Maybe there's a chimney I can climb down," I said, frustrated.