"Yeah, it's been a long time!" I agreed. "Look at you! You're so…different."

"Thanks," she said, then wrinkled her forehead, "I think."

Our teacher cleared his throat to get our attention, and we started listening to the lesson.

The rest of the day up to lunch passed at a snail's pace. I couldn't wait to talk to Lizzy and see what she had been up to for the last decade.

But really, how could I have forgotten her? I had only met her one other time, when I was four, but it left an impression. I remember it was a hot summer day and my parents were hosting a picnic in the park. For some reason, Lizzy kept trying to steal my ice cream, even begging me that she needed it. Finally she succeeded, only to get in trouble with her parents and have to leave.

Man, those were the days, when we stole ice cream from each other instead of souls.

Just as the three of us sat down to lunch, Sarah ran up to our table and sat down next to me with a cheerful, "Hi guys!" My heart did that little jumpy thing it always does when she's around me, but this time there was a little fear mixed in because of what had happened two weeks before…

"Sarah, this is my cousin Lizzy," Benny introduced. "Lizzy, this is our friend Sarah."

"Hello," Sarah said, smiling. "I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but I have a huge problem. My cell phone keeps doing weird stuff, like the screen turns red and music starts playing on its' own. Do you think you could fix it for me?" she finished, turning to me.

"Uh, sure. No problem," I said, taking her phone and putting it in my pocket. "I should have it fixed by the time you come over tonight."

"Thank you so much, Ethan," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You're a lifesaver."

Watching her walk away, I realized just how much I loved being able to help her every now and then for a change.

"Get ready for tonight, Ethan," Benny began, "because we are going to geek it up! I brought every Star Wars Movie known to man and we are gonna watch them all! Can I get a 'Whoop-whoop'?" he finished, holding up a hand.

"Alright!" I exclaimed, giving him a high-five as he whooped in celebration. "Best movie night ever, man!" I happened to look over at Lizzy and noticed that she was scanning the room fearfully.

"Are you okay, Lizzy?" I asked, bringing her back to the moment.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," she assured me with a smile and tired eyes. Benny picked up on the second detail as well.

"Hey, how much sleep have you been getting?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh, about three hours every night," she said nonchalantly through a yawn.

"What?" I said, shocked. "Why?"

"I'm not doing it on purpose, Ethan," she said disgruntled. "It's just… I always feel like something's wrong. And every time I do fall asleep, some loud noise wakes me up."

"I told you, you need to move in to our house already," Benny told her. "We have plenty of room."

"Wait, you're staying in a hotel?" I asked.

"Yeah. I just don't want to be a burden on Grandma," she answered, resting her chin on her fist.

"Are you kidding?" Benny said incredulously. "She'd love to have you there. Besides, I think she's getting pretty tired of us dudes."

"She does have a good reason to be though," I pointed out, taking a bite of my potatoes.

"Yeah, we haven't exactly been on our best behavior these past few months," Benny mumbled, frowning.

Lizzy looked confused, but before either of us could explain, Benny caught sight of Della.

"Oh, yeah! It's Della time!" he said in a game show announcer voice as he walked away with his tray.

"I still can't believe he is related to me," Lizzy said, shaking her head. I laughed, thinking the exact same thing.

"So, how long are you here for?" I asked, pushing my empty tray away.

"The rest of the school year," she answered. "My parents are on an extended stay in the Swiss Alps, but I didn't want to go. They sent me here so that I would be close to family."

"Well, I think you'll like White Chapel. It never gets dull around here."

Boy, was that a loaded statement.

"That's good," she said, smiling that beautiful smile again. She took a drink from her cup and sat it back down halfway on her tray, causing it to spill.

"Oh, my gosh!" she exclaimed, jumping up at the same time I did. "I'm so sorry."

"No, it's not a problem," I assured her. "I got it." We both reached for the napkin dispenser at the same time. Our fingers touched, and my vision went white.

I saw Lizzy being circled by several hazy figures as she tried frantically to escape. Suddenly, they started shooting through her as she screamed bloody murder.

When I came back to, Lizzy was still cleaning up the mess, mumbling about how clumsy she was. I got some napkins and helped, all the while knowing that Benny and I needed to have a conversation.

"What?" Benny asked incredulously. "That's not possible. Liz has nothing to do with the supernatural world. She won't even watch scary movies."

"Benny," I began, "my visions are never wrong, you know that. She has everything to do with the supernatural world, and a few that live there are really ticked off at her."

It was after school and we were sitting up in my room at my desk. I had just dropped the bombshell about the vision I had at lunch, and he didn't want to believe it.

"But why?" he asked. "Liz couldn't make an enemy if she tried."

"I don't know," I answered, shaking my head, "but we're gonna find out. Right after I figure out what's wrong with Sarah's phone."

"Didn't you just check it out?"

"Yeah, but as far as I can see, there's nothing wrong with it. I checked the circuit board, the memory card, the wires, everything. There isn't even a scratch on this thing anywhere. It's in perfect condition."

"Well, that's weird," Benny said, his forehead wrinkled. "Here, let me see it."

I handed the phone to him, but as soon as it was out of my hand, he dropped it onto the desk.

"Ow!" he yelped. "What the heck? It shocked me!"

We looked back down at the phone and saw the screen turn blood red, and then the words appeared.

STAY AWAY FROM ELIZABETH.

SHE'S OURS.

After the screen went blank again, we looked at each other, matching expressions of horror on our faces.

"I see what you mean now," Benny said faintly.

"Okay, we have to talk to her," I said, standing up.

"I don't wanna freak her out," he said, standing up as well. "She finally agreed to move in with us today."

"But she's in danger, Benny," I said emphatically.

"You're right," he said, nodding, "This time, they're messing with the wrong girl."

I paused. "Is it just me, or did that last part sound wrong?"

"No, it wasn't just you," Benny said sadly.

A few seconds later, there was a loud knocking on the window that made us jump.

"Knock, knock!" It was Rory.

"Aw, man," Benny mumbled as I walked over and opened the window. Rory flew in, circled around Benny, and landed beside him in a Superman pose with a proud, "Ta-da!"

"Sorry, Rory. Now's not a good time," I said regretfully.

"What's up?"

"We found out that my cousin has demons following her around, and we're trying to figure out why," Benny explained.

"We were about to go over to Benny's to talk to her," I continued. "It could get pretty messy if we don't handle this right."

"Can I come?" Rory said excitedly.

"Rory, no," Benny answered, exasperated, and I understood why. If I had been attracted to Liz, imagine what would happen with Rory if he met her.

"Aw, come on Benny! I promise I'll behave."

"What's the worst he could do?" I asked with a shrug. "We may need backup anyway."

Benny sighed. "Okay, fine," he groaned.

"Yes!" Rory exclaimed, jumping into the air. "Time for Rory the Vampire Ninja to strike again! See you guys there!" And he flew out the window.

"I better not regret this," Benny warned as I closed and locked the window.

"I don't think you will," I assured him. "Something tells me that, if the demons are this territorial, we're not gonna get much time to talk to Liz. Let's go."