Vlad brushed his bangs out of his eyes as he set to work on his English assignment.

He was supposed to write an essay about his family, and so, he did what he could.

There are many people I know that I consider family.

Vlad flipped the pencil over to erase.

He started over.

Family has always been important to me, and my family is what I keep the closest to my heart. I have my aunt, Nelly, who has been my guardian for the past three years. Even though she is my legal guardian and not truly my blood-related aunt, it still feels like she's true family. And she is.

Then there is my uncle, Otis.

Vlad stopped. He couldn't go on and on about Otis, especially when he was his substitute teacher for eighth-grade English. Everyone would start suspecting Vlad of isomething.

He erased the part about Otis and continued the essay.

At the end, he included a question to himself:

I'm not quite sure, but maybe, could there be other close relatives of mine out there?

He closed his writing journal and flopped on his bed. He looked at his clock just as Amenti, Aunt Nelly's cat, leaped on his stomach, causing him to emit an "oof."

"Amenti..." Vladimir groaned, picking up the plump cat and setting him on the floor. He then heard the door close.

"I'm home!" Nelly called from the front of the house.

"I'll be down in a bit!" Vlad picked himself off the bed and almost literally leaped down the stairs, making his way to the kitchen to find his aunt and uncle in a seemingly deep conversation, so deep that it was making Nelly blush.

"Ahem," Vlad cleared his throat. "Hey Aunt Nelly, Uncle Otis. Welcome home." He ran over to give them a hug.

After all that had happened to his parents, his experiences with Elysia, and even his encounter with the vampire slayer, Vlad had taken his guardians' presence more seriously.

As Vlad broke the group embrace, he heard the rustle of a paper bag, out of which Aunt Nelly pulled an Igloo insulated lunchbox.

Both Vlad and Otis immediately knew what is was, and were almost like puppy dogs at Nelly's feet.

"This is for dinner." Nelly shook her head and flicked her hand to shoo them away.

As the guys headed over to the living room, Vlad stopped Otis to ask him a question.

"So...um, do I have any other close relatives that I don't know about? Like other aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents..."

"Siblings," Otis looked over at Vlad intently. "to tell you the truth, Vladimir, I am truly not quite sure."

Vlad shrugged, looked over his shoulder smugly. Seeing that Nelly was no longerin the kitchen, he tiptoed quitely to the freezer and snagged two blood bags, popped them into the microwave, and returned to the living room. He tossed one to Otis, who nodded a thanks, and plopped on the couch.

What if, Vlad wondered. What if I have brothers or sisters?

-------

The girl with the jet-black hair set down her suitcase as she waited for her taxi to pull up to the curb. She had on a pair of aviator sunglasses, which hid a pair of mysterious, blended grey eyes that were rimmed in death-black eyeliner. She wore a pair of Tripp skinny jeans and a Rage Against the Machine tee with a white-long-sleeved thermal underneath. Even though it was about 95 degrees outside, this girl was just all bundled up. The cab pulled up to the curb, and she loaded her things into the trunk. Then without word, the cab pulled off. And like that, she was gone.

She was on her way to Bathory, the small, small town with a population of about 1,000. There was one highschool, which was also the middle school, and the local mini-mart, also known as the Stop-n-Shop.

She arrived at her destination and payed the cab driver, who sped off hastily.

She pulled out a pamphlet from her pocket that read "Foreign Student Program" and opened it.

The boy's name is Henry...

She walked up to the door and knocked, greeted by a woman who was smiling,ear to ear.

"You must be Valerie! Oh, come in, dear. Let me help you with your bags."

"Thanks," Valerie said quietly, with a small smile.

"Oh dear, don't have to be shy." She turned toward the house. "Henry!"

Henry came bounding down the stairs, whispering something that sounded like 'I hope she's hot' over and over again.

"Henry, this is Valerie. Valerie, this is my son, Henry."

"Hi," Henry smiled. Valerie smiled back.

"Henry, help her upstairs. Make her comfortable." And like that, she disappeared into the kitchen.

"So, uh, Val, you got a last name?"

"Tod. Valerie Tod."

"Huh. You have the same last name of my best friend! Haha!"

Valerie smirked.

Vlad.

Bathory was the perfect place to be.