Chapter 2

Halloween

Shiro turned to the side, admiring his image in the mirror with a smirk. Ichigo was going to lose it when he saw Shiro's costume. They hadn't discussed what they were dressing up as, but the pathetic black nylon cape and plastic fangs that Shiro had picked up at the Stop & Shop last weekend were sure to be the running gag of the evening between them. He brushed his white hair from his eyes and slipped the plastic teeth into his mouth. They fit perfectly over his own fangs, which were protruding slightly, despite his large dinner.

Not an hour before, Aunt Nel had warmed two sizable steaks until the blood dripped from the raw meat. He'd restrained himself from picking up the steaks with his bare hands and ripping into them, but only because Aunt Nel insisted on manners. So even though it agonized him to do so, he took his time, cutting the steaks into medium-size bites and sucking the juices into his hungry mouth before dropping the dry, tasteless meat onto his plate.

He pulled the fake teeth out of his mouth and examined the sharp points of his fangs. "Aunt Nel, you'd better get a snack pack ready." "But you just ate." came a lilting voice from the bottom of the stairs. "Oh well better safe than sorry, I suppose. What time will Ichigo be here?" "Any minute." Satisfied with his costume, Shiro turned from the mirror. The old floorboards creaked beneath his sneakers. He kissed his fingers and pressed them to the frame on his dresser. In the photo, his mother was poised on the edge of an old Victorian chaise, with his father standing behind her, his pale hands on her shoulders. They were smiling at the camera, and Shiro found himself smiling back at them.

He opened the top drawer and stuffed ten dollars from his secret box into his pocket. Partying with Ichigo had taught him one thing above all else: be prepared. Shiro left his bedroom and made his way down the stairs. Aunt Nel stood at the bottom, holding up a plastic container covered with saran wrap. He could see the deep red, slushy contents through the wrap and licked his lips. "Did you microwave it? It's better warm."

"It's warm enough." She handed it to him and widened her eyes in disgust as he bit through the saran wrap and slurped. "Use a spoon! You'll get it all over the rug and I just had it cleaned. Between that rug and your T-shirts, the dry cleaner thinks we're either accident-prone or ax murderers. And take it easy on the snack packs tonight, Mr. Midnight Feeder. There are only two left. I'd better bring some more blood bags from the hospital tonight and fix up enough for the rest of the week."

"Could you get O positive this time? That's my favorite." She nodded and he smiled brushing past her to the kitchen. He was spooning a big, sweet glob of half-frozen blood into his mouth when the doorbell rang. With a hurried swallow, he dropped the empty container into the biohazard box beneath the sink and popped the plastic fangs over his shrinking canines. With careful steps, he snuck over to the wall just to the right of the archway and peeked over at the front door, where his aunt was greeting Ichigo with a hug.

Shiro jumped out from behind the separating wall and held his cheap cape out with both arms. "I vant to suck your blood!" Ichigo doubled over, roaring with laughter. When he straightened, he slapped Shiro on the shoulder, "That's a sweet costume. Check me out. You'll just die." Ichigo placed his fists on his hips on a pseudo- Superman pose, and when he turned his head, Shiro's jaw dropped at the sight of two small holes on Ichigo's neck. "No way." He stepped closer to inspect Ichigo's bite marks.

They were flawless. Shiro had only seen one actual vampire bite on a human before, and Ichigo's handiwork was very close to the real thing. "What did you use?" "Silly Putty and raspberry jam." "Seedless?" "Well, duh. Can't have seeds in my wound. Might get infected." Aunt Nel regarded Shiro with a concerned glance over the top of her glasses. "Did you get enough to eat?" Shiro nodded, stuffed a tube of his sunscreen into his pocket, and opened the door. "Party's over at midnight." Nel held out her hand. "You won't need that. I want you home by eleven." "Eleven?" At times, Nel could be ridiculously overprotective.

Shiro rolled his eyes and dug the tube back out, slapping it into Nel's hand. "But no one else will be leaving early, and besides at midnight there's supposed to be some big surprise." Nel looked at Ichigo for confirmation. He nodded enthusiastically. "We can't miss it." "Well…" She bit her lip in contemplation, and after what seemed like an eternity, she sighed. "All right, but stick together, and if you get hungry, give me a call on my cell. I'll be at Deb's until late." Ichigo nudged Shiro with his elbow. "Matthew called me earlier, said Rukia will be there." Shiro shot him a look that screamed "shut up," and they bounded out the door, vampire and victim. Nel called after them, "Be careful boys."

Other than the fake wound, Ichigo was dressed as he normally was, with a pair of ratty-looking sneakers in his feet. He gave Shiro a sly glance. "Big thing at midnight, huh?" Shiro shrugged and adjusted the cape around his shoulders. "I'm a creature of the night, for God's sake. And she wants me home by eleven? I don't think so. Why doesn't she just follow me to the party and kiss me good-bye?"

"Hey don't knock it. If it weren't for Nel, you'd never get kissed." Shiro slowed his steps. "Like you've got room to talk." Ichigo shrugged. "I've kissed plenty of girls." "I'm not talking about your mom, dork." They turned down Elm, and at the end of the street, Shiro could see cars stopping in front of Matthew's house. A blur of people moved from vehicle to house, and Shiro felt a twinge of nervousness settle into his muscles. The headlights from one of the cars that had been in front of Matthew's house turned toward them, blinding Shiro temporarily. Ichigo had shoved his hands keenly focused in the sidewalk.

"Neither am I. I'm talking about girls like Carrie Anderson and Stephanie Brawn." "Stephanie will kiss anyone." "Yeah I know." Ichigo's smile returned. "Her sister's cute, though." Shiro raised an eyebrow, half chuckling. "Dude, that's gross. She just turned twelve." "So?" Ichigo grinned broadly. "So you'll be fourteen in like two months. It's gross." Shiro shook his head and looked down at his right shoe, where his toe was poking through a tear. Impossibly, Ichigo's grin broadened "She's nice." "Whether or not a girl will kiss you isn't a measure of how nice she is."

Ahead, Shiro could see the hint of a soft blue sweater and angel wings disappearing into Matthew's front door. Rukia. He'd overheard her in third period yesterday gushing over what she planned to wear. It was that moment that he'd decided to accept the invitation to the party, last minute or not. "So what is, Einstein?" Shiro stopped in his tracks. Ichigo had stopped walking as well and tilted his head with a curious gleam in his eye. Shiro nodded and said "Girls that make out in the back of the band room aren't nice." "I never told you it was the band room." Ichigo furrowed his brow and grabbed Shiro's shoulder for a second, lowering his voice so eavesdroppers couldn't hear. "Dude, don't do that freaky mind-reading stuff. I hate that."

Shiro shrugged and kept walking. Ichigo nudged Shiro with his elbow and gestured to a group of three trick-or-treaters in front of them with a nod. "Want some candy?" "I shouldn't. Nel's still ticked about last year." Shiro shoved his hands in his pockets and looked from his best friend to the kids on the sidewalk. "You know, those kids told their parents they were attacked by a vampire. And that idiot Officer Kagine started asking my aunt all sorts of questions. If people find out about me, about what I am…"

"Oh, come on." Ichigo had stepped in front of him, partially blocking Shiro's view of the receding fourth graders. Two were dressed as superheroes of some sort. The third wore the same cape that Shiro had on. "It'll be funny. Besides if you don't do it…I'm totally telling Rukia that you like her." Ichigo turned away and wrapped his arms around himself, making kissing sounds. Shiro seethed. "Dude! Not cool!" The grin on Ichigo's face made it clear that he wasn't about to let a good gag go without a fight. With a shaking head, Shiro relented. "If we get caught you owe me big time."

Ichigo beamed. "And I did that without any of the special powers normally associated with best friends of the undead." Ichigo stepped to the side and Shiro moved past him, ducking through the tall bushes that lined the sidewalk. Shiro ran as quietly as he could until he stood half a block ahead of his costumed victims. After shimmying up an old oak tree, the bark rough on his hands as he climbed, Shiro scooted out onto a long, thick branch and waited for the fourth graders while Ichigo stayed in the bushes.

He could feel Ichigo's approving eyes on him and had to stifle a chuckle. As the superheroes and their vampire comrade approached the tree Shiro was perched in, their fingers clutching pillowcases filled with sugary treats. Shiro popped the plastic fangs out and stuffed them in his front pocket. He let his imagination wander a bit, through rivers of blood and hunger that screamed to be satiated. Touching the tip of his tongue to his newly exposed fangs, he leaned forward until his feet slipped from the branch. Wind brushed his hair back from his face as he descended and then, with a flicker of concentration, Shiro willed his body forward.

Arms outstretched, his fangs exposed, his throat releasing a low, guttural growl, he floated closer to the boys until he was just above their heads, and screamed. The superheroes dropped their pillowcases and bolted in a blur of capes and shrieking terror. The vampire was left behind, staring up at Shiro in a horrified moment that dragged on forever. Shiro screamed again and so did the boy, finally relinquishing his hold on the bag. He was frozen to the spot.

Shiro wandered if he would ever run away. Shiro could hear the boy's heart pounding against his ribs, a loud thunder echoing through his mind. He heard the whoosh of rushing blood and felt the boy's tightened panic in his own chest. Then, in a blink, Shiro saw himself floating down, cheap plastic cape fluttering behind him, bright, sharp fangs shining in the streetlight.

The urge to wet his pants was undeniable, but what would Mark and Todd think if they saw? But then why should he care what they thought. They were mean jerks and had run away without him. And when they found out he was dead the next day, they'd feel awful and deserved to.

Shiro blinked again, squeezing his eyes tight and opening them once more. His feet came to rest on the ground in front of the boy. He'd read the little vampire's thoughts without even trying. Shiro whispered, "You should get home now," which seemed to be the magic words required to release the boy's feet from where they'd been cemented into the sidewalk.

The boy ran past him, the pitter-patter of his steps quieting as he shrank down the street in the direction his companions had gone. Ichigo burst from the bushes, cackling wildly, and snatched one of the fallen pillowcases from the pavement. "Did you see his face? I thought he was going to wet himself." He dug out a pack of peanut-butter cups and tore open the orange wrapper, stuffing one of the cups into his mouth, he held the other out to Shiro. Shiro lifted the sweet chocolate to his lips and bit, his fangs shrinking back in his moment of confusion. The candy melted in his mouth, but he found little pleasure in it.

Ichigo ran ahead, calling over his shoulder for Shiro to hurry. Shiro picked up the little vampire's bag and ran to catch up just as Ichigo was stepping onto the porch of Matthew's house. Music was blaring from the open door, and flecks of colored lights hit the porch from inside. Matthew's mom greeted them with laughter. "Well, come on in, you evil dudes! The party's started and it's totally rockn'!"

Shiro and Ichigo exchanged looks. It was both sad and annoying when adults tried to act cool. Without comment, they walked inside. The living-room furniture had been pushed back against the walls, and a large, mirrored disco ball was suspended from the ceiling. Bursts of fog occasionally covered the floor with a hiss. Shiro counted twenty of his school mates before he gave up trying to figure out how many were there.

But not before he noticed Rukia standing near the punch bowl at the opposite end of the room, giggling with several of her friends. Ichigo nudged him and said something , but Shiro couldn't hear over the loud music, so he nodded and watched as Ichigo was swallowed by the crowd. Left to his own devices, Shiro took an empty spot on the end of the couch and waited for Ichigo to return.

Ggio Vega and Nnoitra Gilga were moving toward the front door. Shiro shrank into his seat, hoping they wouldn't notice him. Ggio looked straight at him and pulled on Nnoitra's sleeve until Nnoitra nearly fell over on top of Shiro "Oh my God, check this geek out."

Nnoitra guffawed "Nice costume, Goth boy." Shiro glared and turned away. "Nice breath, loser." Matthew's mom was standing near the door, watching the situation with pity-filled eyes. Shiro wished she'd look away, but she continued to stare as the skinny, pale, unpopular boy was picked on.

He hoped she'd have enough sense not to try to comfort him after they'd gone, or worse, before. To Shiro's relief, Ggio and Nnoitra started moving out the door. Then, to rub salt in the wound, Ggio yelled as loud as he could, "Bite me!" A hot flash shot through Shiro's insides, and in that moment, he was prepared to oblige. He could feel his incisors lengthening, pushing his plastic fangs down, away from his gums.

Clamping his mouth shut, he waited a moment to be certain Ggio and Nnoitra had gone, and then stepped out onto the porch and stretched, knowing it would take a few minutes to calm his hunger. The cool quiet of the wraparound porch was a much welcome distraction from the party.

Ggio and Nnoitra's taunts had left him with that uncomfortable, hollow sensation for which the only known cure was a few hours at home, battling evildoers for the fate of the earth. People could say what they wanted about video games contributing to the delinquency of minors, but Shiro was sure that if Ggio and Nnoitra spent more time playing PlayStation, they'd spend far less taunting him.

He flopped down on the porch swing and listened to the music pouring out the front door. He was kidding himself if he thought he'd be able to ask Rukia to the dance. Girls like Rukia Kuchiki didn't date boys like Shiro Tod. Besides, the hickeys would be a nightmare.

His fangs shrank back, and as he stood, he heard Rukia's voice, sweet and giggly, coming through the open kitchen window "Are you asking me out?" Shiro's heart sank into his stomach, then squeezed its way down his leg and popped out of the hole in his shoe, where it struck the floor and broke. That was what it felt like anyway. He snuck over to the window and, holding his breath, peeked inside.

Ichigo was sitting on the kitchen counter, his sneakers dangling. He leaned forward and whispered to Rukia whose soft Black hair was swept behind each ear. Her lips pursed in a pout while she listened. Shiro tried not to jump to conclusions, but the sight of Ichigo's lips moving just inches from Rukia's pretty ear was enough to send his mood plummeting to levels of jealousy he'd not been aware he was capable of experiencing. Ichigo glanced up at the window.

Shiro ducked, but it was too late - he'd been seen. Moments later Ichigo was on the porch. "That wasn't what it looked like." Shiro tried to play it cool, to grasp the last remaining thread of dignity he had and come off uncaring and nonchalant. Instead, his voice cracked and a lump formed in his throat. "This was a mistake. Maybe I should just go home."

"Already? What about Rukia?" Shiro hurried ahead, shrugging as he descended the porch steps. "It looked to me like she was in good hands." Ichigo followed, stopping Shiro with a hand on his shoulder. "You've got it all wrong. I was trying to hook you up for the dance." He looked at Shiro. "You believe me, don't you?" Sure, he believed Ichigo.

But it was hard to ignore the fact that Ichigo was probably the most crushed-on guy at Bathory Junior High. At time, the wistful sighs from interested girls as they passed in the hall were deafening. Still… this was Ichigo. If Shiro could trust anyone, it was him. Shiro managed a smile. "Of course I do." He continued down the steps with Ichigo following close behind. Ichigo said, "Did you hear about Mr. Craig?"

"What, is he going to be out sick for another week? I don't think I can handle any more of Snelgrove's pop quizzes." Ichigo slowed his steps. "People are saying he's been declared missing."

"No way." Shiro stopped walking for a moment and let it sink in. With concentrated effort, he moved forward and tried to erase the possibilities from his mind. "Does anybody know anything?" Ichigo had lost the pillowcase, but his front pockets were bulging with candy. "Not really. They say he just up and disappeared."

"Weird."

"Yeah." The serious expression Ichigo wore was replaced by his familiar grin. "Hey, did you see Stephanie's sister in there? She was looking pretty nice." Shiro shook his head and turned the corner toward home.

"Dude. Seriously. She's twelve."