Alexander murmured. “This is the best birthday ever,” he raved.
He put the necklace on, and it looked amazing hanging around his neck.
“I’m never going to take it off,” he said, giving me a juicy kiss.
Jameson arrived with a chocolate cake in the shape of a black palette with candles looking like small paintbrushes. As he and I began singing to Alexander, a third voice joined in.
Sebastian stepped out of the shadows as the song came to an end.
“Happy birthday, dude!” he said.
I couldn’t help but invite one guest. I knew it would be romantic to have an intimate dinner with Alexander, but with his best friend in town, it wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t included.
Jameson and Sebastian gave Alexander a large box with a bow. Inside was a guitar.
“Wow — thank you!”
“Now you can really have a garage band,” Sebastian said.
The four of us sat at the table, eating cake and talking and laughing over the sound of a wailing guitar.
I was sleeping late as usual on the following weekend when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I sat up to find Becky standing by my bed.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Am I late for school? It’s Saturday, isn’t it?”
But Becky wasn’t interested in the days of the week. She handed me a cup of coffee from Javalicious.
“Thanks,” I said.
“You’ll need it. I just came from Matt’s scrimmage.”
“They played in the morning?”
“No — you slept most of the day away.” She opened the curtains and I was blinded by the sun.
“No—” I said, squinting. I turned to look at my clock. It was four-fifteen.
“You need to be awake for this. Rumors are spreading that there are vampires living in Dullsville!” Becky said.
“Can you believe that?”
“What?”
“I swear. Vampires, here in Dullsville. That’s what people are saying.”
“They said that when Alexander moved here. Trevor started that one, remember?”
“Well, they are saying it again.”
“Where, when, and who?” I asked. “I need names.”
“Well, you know it started when Sebastian bit Luna at Alexander’s party.”
“Yes, but they don’t have proof that really happened.” I yawned.
“But it’s more than that. The soccer snobs and other students were weirded out when Alexander, Sebastian, Scarlet, Onyx, Jagger, and Luna came to the game,” Becky confessed.
“That’s not news. . ”
“They said they’re. . freaks.”
“They’ve said that about me all my life. That’s nothing new either.”
“You know how people talk. Jagger and his entourage don’t go to school and are only seen at night. Scarlet drives a skull and Jagger a hearse.”
“Yes, I guess it does look a bit weird to Dullsvillians. But totally normal to me.” I smiled with pride.
“Matt said Trevor told him that Scarlet has fangs, and others are saying they live in graves in the factory.”
Coffins, I wanted to correct her.
“Trevor will say anything,” I said. “And they live in the mill because they are making it into a dance club.”
“I know that, and you know that. But it’s not just Trevor. Even Matt thinks things are strange.”
“He does?”
“But not too strange. He knows Alexander. But like me, he’s a bit worried that those guys are living in that creepy factory.”
“They are fine. Really.”
“But there’s more.”
“Yes?”
“No one wants to go to the club now.”
“Are you serious?”
She nodded.
“He’s going to be opening up the Crypt in just two days! If no one comes, then he’s going to close it.” Now I was the one freaking out.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you,” she said sincerely.
“No, I’m glad you did. I’d hate for that part to be a surprise.”
I had to get to the factory. Jagger couldn’t close the Crypt before he opened it.
As soon as it was dark, I rushed to the Sinclair Mill and whisked past Scarlet and Onyx without even saying hi and headed straight for Jagger, Alexander, and Sebastian, who were having celebratory drinks.
“What’s wrong?” Alexander said.
“Everyone at school is saying that vampires are living here. Now no one wants to come to the club’s opening. We have to do something. We only have two days!”
“What do you mean?” Jagger said.
“Just that. Rumors about us — you guys. That you are vampires. Sebastian bit Luna. You don’t go to school and are never seen in the daylight. These people live for that stuff. Then you throw in a skull car and a hearse. I told you it wasn’t safe for you to have an underground club here. Now do you see what I mean?”
“How are we going to open if no one shows?” Sebastian wondered.
Failure wasn’t in Jagger’s vocabulary. “They’ll have to show,” he said defiantly.
“Dude, we have to have girls here to make this work,” Sebastian said. Luna shot him a dirty look. “And guys, too.”
“Stop. Let me think,” Jagger said. “What if we change? We’ll have to make our look be more ‘friendly.’”
“So you guys are going to be preps?” I asked.
“It’s a thought.”
“Your hair is white with blood-red tips,” I said.
“I can dye it brown.”
“And Luna — her pink hair?”
“I’m not touching my hair,” she said.
“And what about all your tats? You’re just going to scrape them off?”
“We’ll cover ours up,” Jagger said. He didn’t like that I was challenging his idea.
“No. You can’t change who you are. I’ve been this way my whole life and I’ve never changed,” I said firmly.
“And they accepted you?” Jagger charged.
They all turned to me, already knowing the answer.
“This is about business,” Jagger said. “Not about making friends.”
“But it is,” I said. “You can’t not be who you are. That’s why I love you guys. If you change, then you’ll be like everyone else in town. I can’t have you do that. There’s got to be another way.”
“Then can you tell me what it is?” Jagger challenged. “I have already invested a lot of money in this. You told me how everyone in town would come here to dance. Now you are telling me they aren’t. What do you suggest I do?”
There was only one person in Dullsville who could change everyone’s mind.
“Trevor Mitchell,” I said. “If he’s on board, then everyone in town will be, too.”
“We’ll have to do more than just show up to his soccer game,” Jagger said. “This time, we’ll have to make him a partner.”
It wasn’t too long before Scarlet returned with Trevor. Apparently all it took was a few texts, several lip-
