Title: Chasing Ghosts
Chapter One: Staring
Words: 3,604
Edited: 8/11/14 – 14/3/15
Notes: Lost Boys is my favourite vampire film of all time and one of my favourite films of all time as well, I hope you all enjoy my story, your feedback is welcomed.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lost Boys, though I really wish I did.

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Danielle Jones wasn't an idiot. She had done some pretty idiotic things in her lifetime but she had always been on the intelligent side of the track. Standing in front of her neighbours, two boys no older than fourteen she felt utterly responsible for them even though she had known them for only two months and couldn't understand how she had let this situation slip by her in the past.

"Don't either of you have school?" She asked, eyeing the two boys with curiosity "You should have left ten minutes ago; at this rate you're going to be late. Alan you told me your parents ran this shop while you had school, is that true?"

"They do-" Alan began, but his brother was having none if it today

"They don't" Edgar stated

"Why don't you just close the shop?" she asked

"We'd lose too much money-" Edgar argued

"We've done it before" Alan said impatiently, rolling his eyes while he did so "Edgar we've gotta' go, we can't miss anymore school than we already do, we're struggling enough as it is to make the grades we have"

"Is hiring someone to work the shop during the day not an option?" The older girl suggested "I'm sure you could find someone around here that'd be willing"

"You expect us to trust someone we don't know with the shop? With all of the comics and not to mention the money we're pulling in?" Edgar glared, his tone full of distaste "Of course you would"

"Well, I was just trying to help" she said softly, shaving grown used to Edgar's harsh voice and criticism to the suggestions she often had

"You could do it?" Alan said, turning to his brother "Yeah, she could do it man we trust her"

"You trust her" Edgar grumbled "I on the other hand-"

"I wouldn't have said yes anyway Edgar as I already have a job" Danielle smiled at the younger, friendlier brother "If I could, I would"

"Yeah like waiting tables is a good job" Edgar grumbled

"I bet it pays more than it would here" she smiled politely "And that's what matters, now you both need to go to school, you miss enough as it is already as Alan said"

Danielle watched them both begrudgingly pack up the shop, bringing all of the comic stands inside before grabbing their backpacks from behind the counter.

"Have fun leaning" She told the boys brightly – Alan grinned but Edgar rolled his eyes and mumbled something she couldn't hear under his breath before walking towards the exit of the Boardwalk.

Danielle Jones had met Alan and Edgar Frog whilst browsing through the comic book shop they both ran for their parents two months ago while she was on her lunch break, Alan had always been pretty friendly towards her but Edgar was quite the opposite – though deep down she thought she was beginning to grow on him. He isn't as sarcastic and rude as he used to be at least.

The walk to the diner she worked in from nine to five every weekday was only a few shops away; it was quite small and hardly busy on the hours that she had to work. The uniform consisted of a light blue dress that brushed the mid length of her thighs with a small open necked collar that looked like something straight from the fifties. She arrived five minutes early, like always and tied the black apron around her waist – which was completely pointless. It's not like she was the cook and the apron couldn't really even be called an apron to begin with, it was so short that if it really came down to it would be pretty useless form protecting her uniform from food and coffee stains. The diner itself went alongside the uniform, looks like something pulled straight out of the 50's with its black and white tiled floor and squishy red chaired booths. Old records hung along the wall along with portraits of James Dean, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and even a little old retro jukebox sat in the very far left hand corner. It was run by and elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Hart – they were lovely and incredibly polite so much that it had freaked her out at first; they hired her on the day and didn't even ask if she had any prior experience. They were both behind the counter and smiled brightly as she walked through the double doors, she joined them momentarily after she had placed her bag away under the counter.

"How're you this morning dear?" the elder lady asked

"I'm fine and yourself Mrs. Hart?"

"How many times do we have to tell you Danny, call us by our first names" she scolded the younger girl lightly "You make me feel terribly old when you use my name with a title"

"Sorry Anna" she replied with a shake of her head "I'll try harder, I promise"

As expected, the day dragged by. With it being so quiet Anna and Jeremy saw no need to put two waitresses on duty especially when they were both working as well – the only other staff present were the cooks out the back who Danielle hardly ever spoke to unless she was retrieving orders. She had never worked nights here but she hoped it eventually grew busier than how it was during the day, if it didn't she had no idea how the place ran and kept itself in business.

At 4:58 exactly Gemma walked through the door. Gemma was tiny thing, with blonde hair and blue eyes she stood at five feet flat in height and couldn't be a day older than sixteen. She and Danielle had never spoken and that wasn't about to change today, Danielle retrieved her bag as soon as Gemma had put hers away and smiled at the owners of the little café before heading towards the double doors once more to take her exit

"Bye" she waved, choosing to brush aside the nonresponse she received from the blonde compared to the bright smiles she received from her bosses. Wasting no time she began the journey back to the comic book shop, smiling and waving at the two brothers as she walked past the half-crowded shop and into the tiny apartment building next door. She continued her way up the staircases and to the third floor, fishing the keys out of her bag and entering the small, yet cozy apartment with the faded number 5 hanging on the front door. It really was quite small as it only held three rooms; the main room which saw a small kitchen, a circular dining table with three chairs, a large sofa and a bookshelf, one bedroom which had a surprisingly comfy large queen sized bed with a matching set of drawers and vanity table and lastly a bathroom which barely fit the large bathtub, toilet and sink. The apartment was small but it wasn't a dump and it was also fairly priced which is incredibly rare to find around Santa Carla, especially seeing as it was located on the boardwalk itself. The walls were painted a soft yellow and most of the furniture was white – the colour scheme was simple but as long as it all went nicely together she found she didn't really care that much.

She dropped the bag onto the large couch and stripped out of her uniform, leaving the blue dress on the floor as she quickly threw on some jeans and an old black t-shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves and had several tears in the back. With the rent and grocery shopping taking up most of her pay check clothing definitely wasn't on the top of her current wish list but even before she had moved to Santa Carla clothes were never really a large issue. She picked up an old, worn out copy of Anna Karenina and continued from where she had left off, where Kerenin is consulting for a divorce which back then in Russia was quite rare and could only be requested if an affair had taken place. Anna Karenina was one of her favourite books of all time and she personally believes it to be one of the best in the world, she had lost count long ago of how many times she had read it.

The skies grew dark and Danielle took no notice, to that or the cheers and cries from the crowds and rides from the boardwalk below – she however did notice when her stomach started growling almost painfully. She regretfully tore her gaze from the book and marked the current page, fishing out her wallet from the bottom of the bag that was next to her on the couch. She placed a twenty dollar bill in her pocket before leaving and locking up her home.

The comic book shop was still quite crowded, well as crowded as comic book shops could be and both of the brothers were both behind the counter. Danielle walked towards them, earning an eye roll from Edgar but a nod and smile from Alan "I'm going to Ichi-Ban, can I get either of you anything?"

"We already ate" Alan said "Thank you though"

"Alright, I'll see you both later" she waved before turning around and taking her leave

"Don't get eaten" Alan said seriously, the girl shook her head and rolled her own eyes this time, she couldn't believe they were still going on about Vampires, of all things to warn her about in the world it had to be Vampires

"I won't" Danielle replied, choosing not to voice her true thoughts on the matter and continued on her way – it wasn't her place to judge the beliefs of others after all

"You know one day you'll take us seriously and that'll be one day too late as you'll be getting fed on" Edgar called out after the older girl

"I'll believe it when I see it Edgar" she said lowly, low enough she hoped so that the boy didn't hear – all she needed was another Vampire debate.

Ichi-Ban was pretty much empty when she walked through the doors; the couple that ran the place stand behind the counter and who she guessed to be their son was cleaning up a dirty table. This was somewhere she came often when she had her head stuck in a book and had forgotten to cook, Ichi-Ban was cheap and the food was always great. She walked up to the counter and smiled at the small Asian lady who by now already knew her order by memory.

"You want Katsu Chicken with no sauce, extra chicken?" The store owner asked politely, already scribbling down the order onto a small writing pad, she knew Danielle too well.

"Perfect" she replied, placing the correct amount of money and a tip on the counter before walking to her usual booth which sat against the far wall in the middle of the restaurant, noticing that the only other people occupying the place were a young couple who were playing footsies under the table in the center of the room. Sinking into the booth comfortably she edged towards the corner and pulled her knees up to her chest as she found the perfect spot.

The order was placed on the table before Danielle in minutes, steaming and sitting inside a little Chinese container, it smelled amazing and she couldn't wait to dig in. Checked to see that they had remembered to give her a plastic fork instead of chopsticks she soon found that thankfully they had, having never been taught how to use them before coming here in the first place she didn't exactly want a repeat of her first attempt. The first strip of chicken had just been swallowed when she was suddenly distracted by the faint bell chime of the entrance door; normally she wouldn't be bothered with people, or staring at them for that matter but one of the two boys was wearing the most odd jacket she had ever seen and try as she may she couldn't help but try and get a glimpse at all of the patches that had been ironed or sewed on.

The boy with the jacket was a little shorter than his friend and had long, curly hair that cascaded down his back, his white undershirt ended above his bellybutton and his baggy jeans sat firmly on his hips. The taller boy also had blonde hair, not as long as the first but it ended just below his shoulders, it was messy and made him look like he had just woken up and rolled out of bed. His hair suited his overall appearance which consisted of a fishnet shirt topped with a long navy blue coat that fell to his knees and tight beige pants.

Danielle went back to her food immediately before they could spot her staring, digging into the simple bliss that was Chicken and Rice. She remembered the first time she had come here and ordered, the woman looked at her like she was crazy when she asked for no sauce. Just plain chicken with rice by itself with no Katsu sauce and a fork instead of chopsticks, still do this day she laughs quietly to herself over the owners' expression whenever it crosses her mind.

Her mind wondered soon to the Frog Brothers and what they possibly could have eaten for dinner seeing as they don't cook for themselves and most of the time if she was not making them eat something healthy they were off eating Carnival Food. Their parents barely take care of themselves let alone their two young sons and it makes her feel incredibly sad, but at least they have the right state of mind - kind of anyway - if you exclude their elusive beliefs in vampires.

Movement caught Danielle's eyes and she glanced up quickly to the table beside her own and saw that the two blondes had now taken a seat; both of them were now seated on the further side of the booth so that they were facing her. The thought of anyone, let alone two attractive boys watching her eat made her feel incredibly nervous but nonetheless continued eating the Chinese, not lifting her eyes in the slightest in case they caught her staring. The taller of the two blondes could definitely be a model from what she remembered, though the whole fishnet shirt was a little strange. At her thoughts Danielle heard a snort of laughter coming from the table next to hers; she couldn't help but look up to see the boy with the patched jacket laughing quietly into his hand while the other shoved him roughly in what seemed to be annoyance. They looked quite similar to one and other now that she could seem them closer, maybe they were even related? They could definitely pass as cousins or maybe even brothers. And there was that jacket, it really was quite eye-catching, or so she thought. Seeing how many skulls she could possibly count sounded like an okay idea, which was before she realized that she was now indeed staring again, openly staring this time. Immediately glancing to the boy's face to her surprise and horror realized he was now looking back, a tiny smirk playing on his lips.

Danielle immediately went back to her food and tried to forget the small exchange, shaking her head to herself and thinking about how it all could have been avoided if she had just cooked for herself instead of getting lost in a book instead. Once she had finished her Chinese she stood to her feet, taking the empty takeout box with her as she walked the diner before placing it on the front counter. The Chinese woman smiled and nodded her head as a sign of thanks before throwing it in the bin beside her "Thank you" she smiled before walking towards the exit "The food is always good here, I'll be back soon"

Danielle didn't look back to the table which held the two blonde boys and instead made a beeline towards her apartment building. The crowds were still pretty big as the boardwalk didn't close for another two or three hours, she was bumped into three times on the short walk back to her home but this certainly wasn't anything new. Apart from the odd tourist here and there Santa Carla was pretty much a teenage-runaway central, then again she couldn't really talk seeing as she was one herself. But she was lucky at least; she had a job which paid well enough for her own apartment and food for the table so that she didn't starve.

Apart from the Frog brothers the young girl didn't really know anyone in this small town, though she didn't really make an effort to make new friends and meeting the Frog brothers was completely coincidental in the first place. Danielle had no idea they even lived in the same apartment building as she did, not until she saw them by chance leaving one morning as she was also getting ready to leave for work. It was Nights like tonight after she had eaten a meal when she usually stays in the shop until it closed; making friendly banter with Edgar and polite conversation with Alan and it was also the only time she left her little home at night time. It just wasn't safe around here. Too many people went missing and she personally wanted to live a little bit longer before disappearing off the face of the Earth.

Once Danielle reached the comic book shop she sat in her usual seat, next to Edgar as Alan walked around making sure no one was stealing or asking a customer if they needed help with finding anything in particular.

"Did either of you honestly have something to eat?" she asked seriously "Something that wasn't corn dogs, fried Twinkies or fairy floss?"

"Stop mothering, it isn't an attractive trait" Edgar replied, surveying the store from next to where she sat with her legs crossed at the ankle

"I'm not trying to be attractive Edgar; I'm asking if you've had something proper to eat"

"We had curly fries before you came down" he muttered, obviously not happy with the choice of food

"I would have bought you both something" she sighed to herself "All you had to do was tell me what you wanted when I went to get Chinese"

"Yeah well you ain't our parents so just quit it" he somewhat snapped, obviously Daniele had crossed the invisible line that had been drawn down the track

"I'm not trying to be your parent Edgar, I'm just making sure you don't starve, I didn't realize that was a bad thing" Edgar didn't reply to her words "Teriyaki or Katsu chicken?"

"Teriyaki" he replied, sounding somewhat defeated as he spoke "Alan likes Katsu with extra sauce"

"I'll be back in ten minutes"

Danielle made her way back to the Chinese restaurant and ordered for her two neighbours, barely having to wait five minutes before they had the correct orders in a plastic bag and ready for her to go. As she exited the shop she made sure that the bag was tied at the top and that they hadn't forgotten any chopsticks, looking up once more to her surroundings she eyed the person that was walking backwards towards her – before anything could say anything the boy had walked straight into her, causing her to drop the bag and fall down to the ground quite ungracefully.

"People need to start watching where they're going" she sighed while checking on the plastic bag to see if anything had spilt - thankfully nothing had. Not at all did she give a thought to the person who had just walked into her, not until he spoke that is.

"I could say the same for you" the boy replied, funny enough she hadn't even realized she had said the words aloud.

"I'm sorry but if I'm not mistaken you were the one who was walking backwards, into me might I add. From my perspective and position on the floor you're indeed in the wrong here" she looked up for the first time and to her dismay realized that it was one of the boys from Ichi-Ban earlier, the one that wore the fishnet shirt and the long jacket though he looked quite taken back by the words she had just spoken. His friend was also with him, the one with the cool jacket but so were two others that she did not recognize, though once again that was no surprise seeing as she hardly ever left the comic book shop and her apartment "And you don't even offer to help a girl off her feet?" she added, laughter lacing her tone

Just as Danielle was about to get to her feet the boy held out a hand, this caused her to laugh lightly and shake her head at the unexpected action "You know, it doesn't count if you have to say something before the offer"

Standing to her feet without the blondes help she continued to walk around the group of four boys and made her way back towards the comic shop, still finding it hard to believe that she just had to run into the two bots that she had been caught staring at earlier in the night. Reasons like this were a prime example of why she didn't leave her apartment in the first place.