“What, a vampire?”
Vlad’s heart stopped. He was pretty certain he’d died of shock and that only the aid of his locker was keeping him in a standing position.
Eddie looked almost as surprised as Vlad felt.
Henry put an arm around Eddie’s shoulders and coaxed him away from Vlad. “It’s not exactly a secret that Vlad’s the equivalent of a giant mosquito, Eddie. In fact… he’s not the only one. The whole school is full of them. And you’re their next meal.”
Eddie had grown even paler than Vlad was. Henry whipped open a classroom door and shoved Eddie inside, closing the door behind him.
Vlad threw Henry a glance. “What the hell are you doing?”
Henry smirked. “Just trust me, Vlad. Maybe we’ll scare some sense into the little weasel. Nobody messes with my friend.”
“When did you set this up?” Whatever
Henry shrugged. “Dude. I’m a McMillan. It’s not like it takes a lot to get people to help me out. Especially when it comes to messing with a worm like Eddie.”
Eddie burst back out the door. The students in the room, each of whom had donned a pair of cheap plastic fangs, laughed loudly at Eddie’s abrupt exit. Eddie, realizing he’d been had, shoved Henry as hard as he could. Henry barely moved. Eddie looked furious. “What makes you so loyal to him? You know what he is!”
Henry set his jaw and tightened his muscles-he’d never liked being shoved. “Yeah, he’s a monster. Just like Dracula and Frankenstein. Just like the boogeyman in your closet, Eddie.”
Eddie lowered his voice to a growl, but didn’t retreat. If anything, he moved closer until he was right in Henry’s face. “Why are you protecting him?”
Henry cracked his knuckles, dropping all of the joking tone from his voice. “He bit me when we were eight-we bonded.”
Eddie paused, then tilted his head and smiled. “So what? Now you’re some kind of vampire’s pet?”
Henry’s shoulders lowered slightly. For a moment Vlad thought that Henry was about to walk away, that he was going to let Eddie win. But then Henry grabbed two handfuls of Eddie’s shirt and slammed him into the lockers. “Listen to me very carefully, you little speck. Vlad isn’t the dangerous one here. I am. And unless you back off and stop harassing my friend, you’re gonna find out just how dangerous I can be. You got me?”
Henry pulled him away from the lockers and slammed him against them again. When he spoke, it was more of a growl than actual words. “I’m nobody’s pet. Now get lost before you make me angry.”
After Eddie disappeared out the front doors with wide, terrified eyes darting back to Henry with every step he took, Vlad gave Henry’s shoulder a squeeze. “Dude, that was awesome. Thank-”
Henry shook him off. “Yeah, don’t mention it. Just leave me alone.”
13 THE MANY FACES OF FRIENDSHIP
VLAD BUTTONED THE BOTTOM BUTTON on his black vest and regarded his reflection in the mirror. While Nelly had fought him tooth and nail on wearing skinny black pants, a white dress shirt with black pinstripes, a black vest, a black jacket, and tennis shoes adorned with tiny skulls to the Snow Ball, Vlad thought even she would agree that he looked pretty good. He slipped his jacket on and brushed his black hair from his dark eyes. He was cloaked in shadows from head to toe. This was going to be a night to remember.
Downstairs, the doorbell rang out in an ominous tone. Moments later, there was a soft knock on Vlad’s door. Vlad checked his jacket pocket for ChapStick and said, “Come in.”
Henry opened the door, and Vlad’s smile deflated. He was dressed in the same outfit he’d worn to school that day.
Unwilling to entertain the notion that his best friend was ditching him again, Vlad said, “Dude, you do know that this is a semiformal dance, don’t you? Snelgrove will never let you in wearing that.”
“ That’s okay.” Henry cleared his throat against his fist, then took a deep breath, as if whatever he was about to say required an enormous bout of bravery. “I’m not going.”
Vlad stiffened-it wasn’t like Henry to miss a dance, let alone this dance, and they’d been talking about going as recently as last week, the day he stood up to Eddie, the day Henry had stormed out in a huff. The Snow Ball was a huge deal to everyone-from the goths to the jocks. It was just about the only time the two groups could mingle in the same room without any snide comments being tossed around. Vlad couldn’t imagine Henry missing out. “What about Kylie McAuliffe?”
Henry shrugged vacantly. “I called her a couple of hours ago and canceled.”
Vlad just about choked. “Why?”
Henry stood there for a long time, despondent. He seemed to be bursting with things to say, but holding them in, as if he didn’t want to taint Vlad’s mood with his own. Finally he sighed and dropped his gaze to the ground. “It’s just a stupid dance, Vlad.”
Vlad tightened his jaw, resisting the temptation to read Henry’s mind. “Is it because of Melissa?”
Henry shoved his hands in his front pockets, his eyes still on the ground. Finally, in a gravelly tone, he said, “If you really wanna know, it’s because of you.”
Vlad blinked. He wasn’t entirely certain he’d heard Henry right. He squeaked out, “Me?”
Then Henry’s hands were out of his pockets, his eyes blazing, his face red. “I’m so sick of it, Vlad!” he yelled. “You think you’re so special because you can float through midair and read people’s minds. You think you’re so great because you can order me around and I have no say at all. I’m sick of it! I’m sick of you!”
Vlad was shocked into complete silence. Every word slashed through his heart like a knife, until his insides were nothing more than a pile of goo. It hurt to hear these things-but it hurt a thousand times more to hear them from Henry.
Though it pained him to do so, Vlad took in a slow, deep breath, licked his dry lips, and forced his mouth to form words. “For one, I don’t think I’m all that special. Most of the time, my abilities just make me out to be some kind of freak. And since when do I order you around?”
“At lunch a few weeks ago. And there were other times.” Henry’s eyes were red and shining, as if he were fighting back frustrated tears. “I don’t get a choice. You made me your drudge and didn’t even ask me, didn’t even tell me what it would mean.”
Vlad’s own eyes filled with tears, and he shook his head, hoping the action would clear his vision. “How could I have told you? I didn’t know, Henry! Not until Otis told me two years ago. This is nuts. You’re acting like a crazy person.”
Henry met his gaze. His words were crisp, cold. “I’m tired of being your slave. I want out.”
Vlad felt as if every ounce of air had been sucked out of his lungs, and he nearly staggered in an effort to catch his breath. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was like his best friend had been replaced by one of the pod people. He shook his head, confounded. “You… you really don’t want to be my drudge anymore?”
Henry didn’t reply. Vlad fought the urge to weep uncontrollably and instead pushed his anguish deep down, where he could pretend it didn’t exist. He didn’t speak for a very long time.
Then finally, once his heart had completed its explosion, throwing shards of itself up against the walls of his rib cage, he choked out, “I read something about releasing a drudge in the
