"She's just like me!" I exclaimed.
"I thought you'd like her."
"She's the cutest thing I've ever seen! I want her to come home with me," I said wishfully, kneeling down and staring at the kitten.
"I found them last night."
"You want me to keep her?"
"She's finished nursing. And the mother can't care for them all."
Alexander and I sat off to the side and watched as the kittens purred and the mama fell asleep.
"I'm surprised she isn't hissing at us," I said.
"She understands we're not here to hurt her, but to help her."
"So, you're like Dr. Dolittle with a bite."
He grimaced at my joke. "Do you want the cat or not?"
I nodded my head eagerly.
Alexander picked up the tiny black kitten, who looked like a small ball of yarn in his handsome hands.
"It's okay," he said, handing her to me.
I held the tiniest black baby kitten I'd ever seen. She licked her mouth and looked up at me as if she were smiling.
"I can keep her?"
"I wanted you to have something to remember me by."
"Remember you?”
“To keep you company during the day.”
“That is the sweetest thing!" I stared down at my Gothic Gift gazing up at me with teeny lime green eyes. "I'll call her Nightmare."
16 Vampire Visitor
Where did you get that?" Billy Boy asked when I brought Nightmare into the house.
"Alexander gave her to me."
"She's so cute. But you'll have to hide her from Dad. You know how he feels about pets."
"I know, but I'm not bringing a lizard home this time. It's just a kitty."
"Where'd you get that?" my dad asked, coming down the stairs.
"Alexander gave her to me."
"I don't care if the president gave it to you. It has to go."
"Paul, she is really cute," my mom commented, petting Nightmare's head. "And Raven is certainly old enough to be responsible for a cat."
"Her age is not what I'm concerned about," he warned.
"Dad, didn't I prove enough to you by working at Armstrong Travel? I'm not a little girl anymore."
He paused as I held my Nightmare up to his face.
"Fine. But she stays in your room. I don't want her running all around the kitchen countertops or scratching on my couch."
"Thanks, Dad." I gave him a huge hug and kiss on his cheek.
"Now I'll show you your new home," I said to Nightmare as I took her to my bedroom.
I looked around my room. I didn't know where to put her.
"I have an old box in the garage filled with clothes from college that would be a perfect bed for her," Mom said, peeking in. "It's above the tools. Bring me the box and I'll repack the clothes."
“Thanks."
I started to close my bedroom door when Nightmare began to follow me.
"I'll be right back, sweetie," I said, putting her in the middle of the floor. "I'm going to make you a bed."
Nightmare's ears perked up, and she looked at the window. She darted up onto my computer chair and then onto my desk. She stared out the window, hissing. I picked her up and placed her on my bed.
"I'll be right back. Sleep here for now."
When I reached my bedroom door, Nightmare was back at my feet, her lime green eyes squinting at me. She hissed at me and pawed at my boots.
I picked her up. "Mommy will be right back." I kissed my new kitty on the nose, placed her back on the floor, and quickly closed the door. I could hear her scratching against the wood as I ran down the hall.
I walked to our garage at the end of our driveway. I stood on my dad's toolbox as I searched for the box. I could hear the crickets.
There was a lot of rustling in the tree by my bedroom window. I froze.
More rustling. It could be a squirrel. Or having just seen Trevor last night, I thought he could be toilet papering my window.
I turned off the garage light and tiptoed over to the tree. But now the leaves were still. Not a bird. Not a squirrel. Not a soccer snob.
I headed back to the garage, and then I saw Jagger.
I gasped.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to see you."
"I thought you went back to Romania," I said, stepping back.
"I was hoping you would come with me."
"Alexander assured me that the feud was over and you were gone for good."
"That is why you can't tell him," he said. "Otherwise, not only will your safety and Sterling's be in jeopardy, but the whole town's."
"The whole town?" I asked.
"Don't tempt me," he said, licking his lips. "You wouldn't like to know what happens when a small town finds out a vampire is living among them and dating one of their daughters."
I froze. I remembered how easily Dullsville was sucked into Trevor's rumor, resulting in gossip and graffiti. If the town had proof of Alexander's true identity, there was no predicting what people would do.
"Fine, I won't tell him. But you must leave now!"
Jagger only stepped closer.
"I'm not going back to the cemetery with you," I argued, backing up. "I'll scream if I have to. My father is inside and he's a lawyer."
"That won't be necessary. Why spend your life sitting in a mansion with a sensitive artist watching paint dry when we could see the world together?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"Well, I'm sure you could persuade me to stay in town. In fact, I'm beginning to like it here."
"I don't want you! Your feud is over with Alexander. Go home already—"
"Feud? I have other things on my mind now. Alexander might be able to deny who he is, but I can't deny who I am."
His blue and green eyes shot through me. I looked away, afraid he'd make me dizzy again. He began to lean into me.
"Raven!" Billy Boy called from the back door.
My brother ran down the steps holding Nightmare. Jagger stepped back into the shadows.
"Billy Boy! Go inside. Now!" I exclaimed, running toward him.
"What's taking you so long?" Billy Boy asked. "Nightmare is throwing a freak attack. I found her pawing against your bedroom door."
I blocked Billy Boy's step. Frantically, I turned around, shielding him.
The backyard was empty. Jagger was gone.
I pulled Billy Boy inside and locked the door.
"I've never been so happy to see you!" I said, squeezing my little brother, Nightmare in his hands.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, cringing like I had cooties.
"I just thought I saw the bogeyman."
"You watch too many scary movies," he said.
"I sometimes feel like I'm starring in them," I replied.
17 School Ghoul
As much as I hated going back to school after spring break, I knew at least my daylight hours brought a safe reprieve from Jagger.
I returned to Dullsville High a different person than when I had left—as if being the only goth in a conservative town hadn't made me different enough. I couldn't concentrate in class, knowing I was privy to a secret world of vampires.
Classmates continued to bury their heads in textbooks and anticipate the next soccer game, while I doodled in my journal and couldn't wait for the next sunset.
I was still an outcast, but I think my classmates got a rise that Trevor had been dethroned from his kingdom. And although they didn't high-five me in the hallway or invite me to their parties, I was actually given a cutter's privilege at the drinking fountain.
"It's a shame Alexander is homeschooled. It would be nice to eat lunch as a foursome," Becky said at lunch on the baseball bleachers.
"Yeah, that would rock."
"But still, we should do something together."
"How about going to the drive-in?" Matt asked, as he walked up the bleachers behind me. "Kissing Coffins is playing tonight. Admission is half p
rice if you wear a costume."
"Cool! I've always wanted to see it on the big screen. I'm sure Alexander would love to go."
"And I'll be able to see what happens to Jenny," Becky said excitedly. "I can dress as one of the town's vampires and wear a cape."
"And fangs!" I added.
Just then Trevor walked onto the field with his soccer-snob groupies. He looked up at Matt, who sat down next to Becky.
As much as Trevor tormented me and as pathetic as I thought he was, I felt a tinge of pity for him. He was an even sadder case now that he was Matt-less. I watched Matt offer Becky his sandwich.
"I'm glad you got traded to our team," I said to Matt, who closed his brown bag and gave me a warm smile.
After school, Becky and I searched through my closet to find her a costume to wear to the drive-in.
"Man, you do have a lot of black," she said, as I tossed out dozens of skirts and shirts for her to choose from.
Becky modeled black tights, a black miniskirt, and a lacy black chemise.
"That's perfect. You'll be one of the members of the vampire gang who tries to convert Jenny. I just need my outfit."
I heard my mom's SUV pull into the driveway, and Becky and I raced to meet her at the back door.
"Can I have an advance on my allowance?" I asked hurriedly.
"Calm down," she advised. "Don't I even get a hello?"
"Hello," I replied. "Now, can I have an advance on my allowance?"
"I hope you didn't bid on a Hello Batty toaster on eBay again. I thought we told you—"
"I want to dye my hair blond."
"Blond?" she asked, shocked. "You are not going to ruin your gorgeous black hair."
"But it needs to be blond to complete my costume."
"Are you in a play?"
"Well, sort of."
"For school?"
"No, I just need your help."
"Well, I have some wigs from college in the box I emptied for Nightmare. I know there's an auburn one. There may be a blond one, too."
"Can we go see?" I begged.
Mom reluctantly put her purse down on the kitchen table, and Becky and I followed her into my parents' bedroom.
She rummaged through an old Harrod's shopping bag. "Here it is!" she exclaimed, as if she'd found a sunken treasure. She handed me a weathered blond wig. "I wore this in college. Your father loved it!"
I rolled my eyes. "I also need a white dress," I confessed.
She looked at me, pleased, as if her rebellious daughter were finally asking to borrow pearls. "I'll see what I have!" she replied gleefully.
She picked up a pair of flared denims with rhinestones from the box. "Do you believe I once wore these?" she asked, holding them against her pleated Ann Taylor skirt.
"I have a white blouse," she said.
"Ahh. Here's a white eyelet skirt."
"Perfect."
My mom stuck the wig on my head, and I held the clothes in front of me.
"It's like looking at a teenage version of myself," she said fondly.
I threw the skirt and blouse in the wash, and Becky and I returned to my room.
"We are so going to rock!" I said. "But we just need one thing to complete our outfits."
I hunted through my dresser drawers, closet shelves, and boxes underneath my bed.
Halloween was months ago, and in a town like Dullsville it was easier to find a fake Prada purse than fake teeth.
Frustrated, I banged on Billy Boy's door. He opened it slightly, sticking his Charlie Brown—shaped head out. I could barely see Henry typing at my brother's computer.
"Did you take my vampire teeth?" I accused him.
"Why would I want your nasty saliva near me?" Billy Boy said, starting to close the door on me.
"Well, I can't find them, and I have to have them for tonight," I argued, pressing the door back open.
Henry rushed over to the door. "I have some," he offered. "Never been used."
Henry and Billy Boy rode their bikes, and I followed with Becky on mine. We must have been quite a sight as we headed to Henry's house at the edge of Oakley Woods—two goths and two nerds riding alongside one another.
We parked our bikes in Henry's driveway and entered the colonial-style five-bedroom house.
We were greeted by his housekeeper, who was folding laundry.
We walked up the pristine wooden stairs to his bedroom. A NO YUPPIES allowed sign hung on his door.
"I like that," I said.
A spongy black doormat rested on the floor, and a million dead bolts sealed his door.
"What are you hiding inside? Secret recipes of cafeteria food?" I asked.
After he unlocked the outside dead bolts, he stepped onto the mat. His bedroom door sprung open automatically.
Henry had a loft bed, with a metallic blue computer underneath. Stars were pasted on his ceiling, I'm sure in astronomically correct order. A solar system mobile hung from his ceiling fan. A telescope stood by his window.
He slid open his walk-in closet doors to reveal neatly stacked, clear plastic shoe boxes.
"Five dollars gets you samples," he said, pointing to them.
Each box was labeled: ACNE, blood, pimples. PUKE. SCARS.
"Who wants to have more pimples?" I asked.
"And I have smells. Here," he said, opening a beaker and pushing it under my nose.
"Gross!" I said, repulsed. "It smells like the bathroom after Billy Boy uses it."
"Shut up!" my brother said.
"I like to pour this on Mrs. Louis's chair sometimes," he said proudly. "Look around. I have them alphabetized."
"I should have known."
Becky and I each handed over our money and loaded our pockets with ghoulish goodies.
When we were finished, Henry held a box before me as if he were holding the Holy Grail. He opened it, revealing two exact replicas of human teeth in the shape of fangs.
"With the glue, seven dollars."
I knew I had only six in my purse.
"Five dollars and a stick of gum," I offered.
"Six. And your school picture," he countered.
I looked hard at him, then at Becky.
"But you inscribed it to me!" she said.
"Please," I begged, flashing her my puppydog eyes.
She opened her wallet and handed Henry the picture.
I handed him the money and left before he changed his mind.
As I headed out to meet Alexander for our date, I found my parents in the kitchen, paying bills.
"I'm going to be out a teensy bit late tonight," I advised.
"It's a school night," my mother said.
"I know, but we're going to the drive-in," I said with a smile.
"Why don't you wait until the weekend?" my mom asked.
"Because tonight's half price if you wear a costume. Becky and Matt are going, too."
"Becky?" my mother asked, surprised.
"Yes, my little Becky. It'll be our first double date. Besides, I already did my homework, and we have a sub for first bell anyway."
"Seems like you had all your excuses lined up," my father said.
"I'll take care of the dishes all week," I said to my mother. "And Dad, I'll wash your car."
"Last time you washed my car, you put Wicked Wiccas stickers on it."
"But you have to admit, it looked cool."
"And last time you took care of the dishes, you broke Grandma's teapot," my mother remembered.
"Fine. Then we have a deal," I began. "I'll just go to the movie, and I'll save you trouble by not doing your chores."
"How did that just happen?" my dad wondered, as I headed for the front door. "And when you're finished with that blond wig, your mother needs it back."
I slung my backpack filled with my Kissing Coffins accessories on my shoulder and grabbed a container of garlic powder from the kitchen. I held it tightly in my hand, as if I were holding a can of Mace, as I walked to the Mansion. If Jagger jumped out at me, I wanted to
be protected.
I felt a familiar lurking presence as I turned the corner to Benson Hill. I saw a rustling in a bush and blond strands poking through the branches. I took a deep breath, and I quietly opened the container of garlic powder and threw it hard, directly into the brush.
"Ouch!" a male's voice cried.
Trevor jumped out of the bush and held his forehead.
"What are you doing?" I shouted at him.
"I saw you coming up the road and wanted to scare you," he said, rubbing his wound.
"You don't have to hide. Your face alone could scare Frankenstein."
I grabbed the container from the sidewalk and replaced it in my purse.
I walked away, and Trevor continued to follow me as we drew closer to the gate.
"I really don't have time for you anymore," I said. "I'm going to the drive-in." And I slipped past the slightly open iron gate.
"You have a pretty good arm. You should try out for the baseball team. And tell your gothic boyfriend," he called, "if he wants to apply, they could use a batboy."
I left Trevor and was walking up the Mansion's driveway when I overheard him talking to someone outside the gate. I glanced back and saw my nemesis from behind, standing next to a guy with white hair.
I stopped. Jagger and Trevor? A dangerous duo.
I sneaked back down the driveway and hid behind a bush next to the wrought-iron gate.
"Hey, watch out, dude!" Trevor hollered. He must have bumped into Jagger in the darkness.
I could only imagine Trevor's reaction to the shock of seeing the pale, tattooed, multipierced Jagger walking alone on a darkened street. I wasn't sure if Trevor would hit him or take off running.
"Sorry," Jagger said in a cool voice. "I didn't see you coming.
"It's so dark around here," Jagger continued, shifting his feet.
"Yeah, I think the Sterlings knock out the streetlamps on purpose."
Jagger laughed. "That babe you were walking with. She's your girlfriend?" he asked.
"Raven? She's my nightmare. No, she hangs out with the dude who lives in the Mansion. I've never seen you around here before," he said, scrutinizing him.
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