us. I wondered if that would ever happen.
I was torn about the Crypt. When I thought about what Jagger was proposing, a fabulous new dance club where none before existed, I was ecstatic. Practically speaking, though, there was nothing worse than having vampires (ones other than Alexander and his family, of course) inhabiting our town and mixing with mortals. If this place became a second Coffin Club, we could only guess what new vampires would do. Would they put the lives of unsuspecting students or townspeople in danger? But the other part — the dance club itself — was exactly what I’d really wanted all my life. A club, a haunted happening, only a few miles from my own house, that I’d be able to attend. A place, unlike school and all of Dullsville itself, where I would finally fit in.
My mind raced. Maybe I could help Jagger and the others with the plans, marketing, and decorating the Crypt. I could be the very thing they needed to bring life to the club.
Could this really be the gift I’d always dreamed of, and just in time for my birthday? But this one thing that would bring excitement into my life might bring disaster to Alexander’s. The increase in vampires in Dullsville could bring attention to them and ultimately reveal the secret identity of the one vampire I cared about the most.
Or maybe, just maybe, this could be a place like the Mansion, where Alexander could finally be himself. No hiding or pretending to be anything but himself. Just drinking real Bloody Marys and dancing until dawn.
It was a gamble, knowing Alexander’s former nemesis. Jagger was a vampire who craved attention and seemed to receive a lot because he owned a vampire club. Ultimately I was skeptical about his underlying intentions for this new club.
I was restless. For the first time in my life, the one thing I knew I needed to stop from happening was the one thing I wanted to make sure happened. Jagger, Sebastian, and the others were holed up inside the factory making plans for the Crypt while I was reduced to studying, homework, and insomnia.
What happened to your lip?” Becky asked when I hopped into her truck the following morning before school. “Did Alexander get carried away with you?”
“Is it that noticeable?” I pulled down the visor and checked my reflection in the mirror — an act I wouldn’t be able to do if I were a vampire someday. I struggled with the idea that I would no longer be able to see myself and what that simple task would mean for me. To never be able to adjust things such as makeup, hair, and my clothes.
Alexander was gorgeous naturally. I wasn’t sure that I was ready for the world to see me without being able to present myself the way I wanted to be seen.
As I touched up my cut with corpse white cover-up, I felt a renewed sense of confidence. It wasn’t the kind of confidence one feels when securing oneself with makeup but rather an internal assurance and peace. I felt as if I couldn’t contain my glow.
“What’s up with you?” Becky said. “You can’t seem to stop smiling.”
“I’m just in love. . ” I said dreamily.
“Me too. We are both so lucky we found good guys. I still can’t believe that we both have boyfriends, can you?”
“No,” I said honestly.
We drove past the covered bridge that met the winding road leading up to the factory on the outskirts of town. I could see the smokestacks high above the trees, as if they were deliberately taunting me — reminding me of Jagger’s presence.
“But I have so much on my mind,” I said, slightly hinting to Becky.
“What’s up?”
“If there was something you wanted to happen but it might be a threat to others, what would you do?”
“I wouldn’t want it to happen.”
“It’s that simple?” I asked.
“Why would I want something that was not good for everyone?”
Becky was an altruist. That’s why she was such a good friend to me. But in this case I would have preferred she be a bit more cynical.
“Why would it be bad?” she asked, worried. “Is this about you and Alexander?”
“It might not be bad,” I confessed, and it was true, since I didn’t ultimately know Jagger’s plans. I was just going by his previous history.
“I think it would be easier if you just told me what you are talking about instead of being so cryptic.”
“It’s not really a threat, not now anyway,” I said.
“I guess you’d have to take the threatening part away. That’s the only way it would work.”
I thought about what Becky said. If somehow I made sure that no vampires were invited to the Crypt, other than the ones already inhabiting the vacant mill, then maybe there wouldn’t be a threat. I knew Onyx and Scarlet, and so far they didn’t seem to take advantage of unsuspecting mortals. If Sebastian liked Luna, Onyx had her fangs set on Jagger, and we kept a close eye on Scarlet’s fondness for Trevor, all the vampires would be accounted for.
Perhaps it could be a fun place for Dullsville’s high school students to hang out. They could, at last, finally understand what I’ve been craving all my life. Maybe the darkness could make them, too, feel more alive than ever.
And it could be a huge, morbid playpen for me.
“You are a genius,” I declared.
“Now are you going to tell me what you are talking about?”
Just then my cell beeped. It was a text from Alexander.
I can’t sleep. Thinking of you.
I melted inside, knowing that my boyfriend was lying in his coffin and dreaming of me. And though I loved Alexander’s mystery and old-fashioned style, I was grateful to be a not-so-normal girl with a not-so-normal boyfriend now that we were able to communicate like a normal couple.
I quickly texted back.
Miss you like crazy.
I held the phone out to Becky proudly. “Alexander,” I said.
“I have something to tell you. .” my best friend said as we pulled in to the entrance to school. “There are rumors about Alexander’s party. Some people are saying Sebastian bit Luna. Like for real — like a vampire!”
“Why would they say that?” I asked skeptically.
“Someone swore they saw blood and the rumor snowballed. Now some kids are freaked out. They’ve been talking about it all week. I was kind of afraid to tell you. I didn’t want you to be upset. But it isn’t going away.”
“So? That’s all these people do is talk.”
“But I think it doesn’t really matter, since Sebastian and those guys aren’t even here anymore.”
They are still here, I wanted to say. I weighed my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if it was time to tell her Sebastian and Jagger were sequestered in the factory, making a second Coffin Club.
“I kind of wish Sebastian hadn’t left,” she said in a tone that was mostly saved for a confessional. “Not because I like him — in that way — but there was something different about him. Like Alexander and that Jagger guy. I really can’t put my finger on it. They’re different from the guys here.”
Because they are vampires, I wanted to say.
“It must be that European charisma,” she finally said.
“Yes, that must be it.” I smiled.
Becky pulled into the student parking lot and turned off the truck. “Your birthday is coming soon,” she said excitedly as we got out and headed toward the main entrance. “What do you want to do? We could all go to Hatsy’s or Hooligans.”
“That wasn’t what I really had in mind.”
“The cemetery?” she asked nervously.
I smiled again. I hadn’t thought much about celebrating my birthday. Ever since I was little, all my parties were duds and the only ones I ever enjoyed were when Becky and I just stayed up all night pigging out on brownies, chips, and super-sugared and hyper-caffeinated sodas and endlessly watching vampire movies.
“Alexander turns eighteen just before my birthday. I think we should just have one party together.”
