It took longer than I thought it would to update, but I had a small case of writer's block and things didn't come out right when this chapter was in-the-making.

It wasn't ignorable anymore that Dwayne would mysteriously leave for the whole night once they set foot on the boardwalk. He had avoided every question that revolved on where he had been. He behaved differently around the others, and—what David found the strangest—he smelt of someone else all the time. Not a human, not a vampire. And when he stopped paying attention, David put his foot down.

"What the hell?" he snapped one day, causing Dwayne to glance at him before spacing out again. He couldn't get Sam out of his head. It seemed everything about him pulled Dwayne closer. The baby blue eyes and slender face, the sarcasm and arrogance whenever he talked…Dwayne could keep going on the little things he noticed that Sam thought he didn't. They were all very cute, in his opinion. But he would never say that out loud, of course.

And the way he laughed and smiled…Snap out of it, Dwayne; you're melting in front of everyone.

He had met up with Sam every day for weeks, and suddenly one night he wasn't there. Dwayne thought it was very strange, and found himself overall bored that night. Maybe he had something else or better to do, Dwayne thought. But when the next night came along and Sam was still a no-show, he was a little concerned.

Dwayne hadn't fed in a few days, so he took it as an opportunity to. His stomach growled as he searched the ground from the sky for some stragglers from the boardwalk. But it was Sunday, and at that a school night, so he only found two people in their late twenties hanging out on the beach. A couple. He smirked. It was dark except for the light the moon reflected off the water. They were lounging in the sand, in a perfect, romantic moment.

There was a huge log lying in the sand, and Dwayne wasn't the only one crouching behind it. "Missed you last night on the boardwalk," he whispered. Sam scoffed; clearly annoyed Dwayne was crashing his hunting spree. Sam turned his attention back at the two civilians in front of them, crouching low. Dwayne did the same. "What a way to ruin the moment," he commented.

"What are you even doing here? I'm kind of busy," Sam hissed at him. Dwayne didn't answer his question.

"I thought romantic settings on the beach in the moonlight always sounded really corny. But that dude's totally pulling it off."

"Did you follow me here, Dwayne?" Sam asked, getting annoyed with his presence.

"No. You just happened to be in the same place as me. Seems to happen often." He gave a crooked grin and Sam scowled, turning back to the humans, who were now about to kiss.

"You have beautiful eyes," the male remarked to her, stroking the side of her face gently. Sam looked at Dwayne out of the corner of his eye; he was staring at him. Sam could have pretended it annoyed him, again, but he found himself watching Dwayne, too.

It was as if the words slipping out of the human's mouth were coming straight from Dwayne, directed at Sam. They could both envision the cheesy violin music playing during the romantic moment. The humans were having the same scene unfold as Dwayne had always pictured his and Sam's in his head. This wasn't as serene and planned as he would have wanted, but Dwayne was all for it. Once Sam had fully turned his head he almost froze in place.

Dwayne leaned in slowly, careful not to do anything sudden. And, though Sam hated to say it, he almost leaned closer to him. But that would make things too easy, he thought. It had to be a challenge; they had to work to impress Sam. Oh, and Dwayne was so…so much more persuasive than the others. Just as Dwayne's fingers touched his face and his lips touched his, Sam was no longer there, and Dwayne felt nothing but empty air.

In an instant—in the middle of the humans' kiss—the night around them was filled with screams and ripping, and Dwayne stayed where he was, smirking.

He knew from then on how difficult Sam was going to be. He couldn't say he didn't like it; he always appreciated a challenge.

Now Sam knew Dwayne was interested, and he wouldn't let go of that. He tried to kiss him; you didn't do that and not feel anything for someone. Well…that's not entirely true for some people…

For the next week Dwayne tried—really tried—to get more of his attention. Sam didn't miss it; in fact, he enjoyed it. He liked how Dwayne would stumble over his words and try to be some cool guy when he was around. It was kind of cute…but Sam wasn't supposed to be interested. And I'm not. But his façade he put up for protection was crumbling, and he knew it. Everyone else he had come close to liking would only tap at the stone wall a little before giving up, but here Dwayne was with a sledgehammer, knocking it down five bricks at a time. Sam could only hold information for so long.

Five weeks they had been hanging out. Thirty-five days of nonstop thoughts about Sam, Dwayne thought. It was true; he could barely go a minute without thinking about him. It was almost pathetic, and the boys would surely make fun if they found out. If. Dwayne thinks it's safe to call them friends again, because surely Sam didn't like him.

Two months, before the school days for kids would begin again, and Dwayne suddenly feels a boost of confidence. "I'm gonna research you," he told Sam one day during one of their regular conversations.

"You're going to research me? You didn't strike me as the reading type."

"I just don't read as a hobby in front of my friends. I can read. And I will; look up what you are." Sam laughed.

"Good luck with that." Dwayne had went to the only bookstore for miles, and a pretty big one it was, but found nothing that really said "Sam". Except for the werewolf ones, but he would smell if Sam was a werewolf or not. But what the hell is he then? Dwayne was getting frustrated, but not enough that he gave up searching. But, alas, there were only so many books at the book store, and he was running out of stories to look into. He began to wonder if Sam went in and burned all the ones that hinted about him.

What the hell, he thought.

Just be patient, he would tell himself. Sam would come around soon…hopefully.

"Is there such a thing as werewolves?" he asked the boys one day when they were gathered around by the fountain. It was the only thing that made sense and fit Sam's description.

"Werewolves?" Marko asked joyfully, too curious.

"What makes you ask?" David said, blowing out the smoke from his cigarette and squinting his eyes.

"We exist, and grow up thinking we don't."

"I've never seen one."

"I have," Paul added. Everyone turned to look at him in shock.

"In a dream…" Marko finished airily. Paul scowled and they all laughed, except for Dwayne. Later on that night Dwayne talked to Paul more about it.

"Did you really ever see one?"

"Sure did, bud."

"Where? When?"

"A few months ago, like, everywhere. The same one."

"Was it like, a werewolf?" He didn't want to ask out loud if it was hairy or not.

"Looked completely normal," Paul answered. "I would have never guessed. He sure was cute, though," he went on.

"What was his name?" Paul was silent for a beat.

"I never got it," he slowly admitted, not wanting to acknowledge that he failed to get someone's name. "He reminded me of Marko, in a more mature way." He lit up a cigarette, finishing off his pack.

"What did he look like?"

"Why are you asking? Did you meet a werewolf, Dwayne?" he teased. Dwayne rolled his eyes. "I've seen a lot of faces. And I told you; he reminded me of Marko."

"Oh, so you pursued a guy who –"

"Can it," Paul said sternly. "I never told him."

"Of course you didn't." Dwayne didn't mention anything about werewolves the rest of the night; he didn't want them getting suspicious or thinking he was obsessed.

The images relayed in his head over and over again; Sam with his long tail and ears, mercilessly drinking the blood of a victim. It intrigued Dwayne, yet at the same time worried him.

Be patient, Dwayne, he repeated for the fifth time that night. Sam will explain everything eventually.

God, he hoped he would.

I know this chapter is way shorter than normal, but to get things flowing again I needed one boring chapter. Sorry if you were falling asleep or skipping half of it!