Chapter 4

Crossed Wires

Jonathan went to see Dracula after he left Mavis's room. He wanted to know if the ring he had bought would be ok. He stayed away from silver, since some myths said that it was harmful to monsters. He decided on a white gold band set with three gemstones. On the outside were two sapphires with a smaller but brilliant diamond in between. He thought the sapphires would compliment her eyes beautifully. And you could never go wrong with a diamond, right?

Knocking on the door of his study Jonathan asked, "Drac, you got a minute?"

"Not really, but what do you need."

"I can come back later if you're busy."

"Nonsense. I can make a little time."

"I got the ring I want to give to Mavis," Jonathan said as he pulled the box from his pocket. I wasn't sure if the myths about silver were true or not, so I went with white gold for the band."

Dracula took it in his hand and there was no reaction between the ring and his hand. "Jonathan, it's beautiful. I know my Mavy will love it."

Just then there was a knock on the door. A woman's voice said, "Drac, are you in there?" They were both relieved that it was Wanda as Dracula invited her in. "What are the two of you up to?" She noticed Jonathan holding an empty ring box while Dracula still had the ring in his hand.

"Nothing," Jonathan said not convincingly as he grabbed the ring back from Dracula and put it back in the box.

"Holy Rabies," Wanda said, "You're actually going to do it, aren't you?"

Jonathan's face almost turned as pale as Dracula's. He couldn't believe that his secret was out. "Yeah," he said unsure of what to do. "I'm gonna ask her when we get to Hawaii. I think I'm gonna do it the second night we're there, since my parents' anniversary is on April 5th. It might be perfect that it would also be our Yes Day."

"Yes Day?" Wanda asked

"You know. The day she said 'yes'. The day she agreed to marry me."

"That's sweet," Wanda said. She turned to Dracula, "We had the talk."

"Don't say anymore until we can be in private about that," Dracula said sternly.

"Sorry. I guess I should leave. But, Aunt Wanda, please don't say anything to Mavis about me proposing. I want it to be a surprise."

"I won't honey," she said as she gave him a small kiss.

As he left, Dracula told him to come back later. There was something else he needed to talk to him about. Jonathan agreed that they could meet after dinner.

"He is such a nice boy. I can't believe that we were scared of humans before he arrived," Wanda said with Dracula nodding in agreement. "I think their both ready, or just about." Dracula looked nervous about this. "If he is ready to propose, it is just a matter of time. Besides, I can tell that they are zingers. They're perfect for each other."

"I hope you didn't tell Mavis that."

"I only told her that when the time is right for your first time, it will be magical. But I also told her that doing it too early can make it not as special."

"It's not too late to cancel their trip."

"Why would you do that? You've already given him your blessing to marry Mavis, haven't you?" Dracula nodded in confirmation. "Then why would you ruin her trip and all the planning he has done to set up his proposal?"

"I was joking. I want my Mavy to be happy, that's why I also had a talk with her."

"Oh? What about?"

"Her turning Jonathan into a vampire. That way he can be with her forever."

"Do you think they will want to do that?"

"I don't know, but if Jonathan really wants to be with Mavis for eternity like he told me, it's the only way."

Wanda decided to stay the day at the hotel. She wanted to get a massage and some other things at the spa. And why not let Wayne have a little fun with his spawn after all?

Jonathan went back to Mavis's room. He had forgotten that he still had the ring in his pocket until he knocked on her door and went in. "Hey, Mavy."

"Don't you have your own room, Johnny?"

"Yeah, but I can't spend time there with you." He went to her and hugged her, and gave her a little kiss. "You want to dance?"

"I love would love to dance with Johnnystein. But I don't hear any music."

"I got that covered." Johnny pulled out his phone and played Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen. "It's from one of my mom's favorite movies."

Mavis got lost in the message. Her eyes got hungrier and hungrier as they danced to the music. By the end they were almost blood red, but they were still large and eerily beautiful.

"Mavis, what's wrong?"

"I want you," she said in a sultry voice. "I'm ready."

Jonathan's eyes got as wide as they could, and a look of fear came over him. Could this really be how his life would end? "But Mavis, you can't."

"You know you want to." She slammed him on the bed with the speed and strength of a vampire. She began kissing him on the lips, and slipped him the tongue as well. Johnny was trying to scream, but no sound would come out.

He thought, "If she was going to bite me and suck out all my blood, why would she be doing this? Why not just get it over with? There has to be something else that she wants."

"Johnny, that was incredible," she said as their lips separated.

"DRAC!" Johnny was finally able to scream between gasping for breath.

Mavis moved to the side of his neck and began to nuzzle on it. He could feel her fangs scrape his skin, but the bite he expected never came.

It was the most pleasurable experience he had ever had, but the way she was acting still had him deathly afraid. "DRAC!" He yelled again as loud as he could.

"Why are you calling for my dad? Don't you want to do it?"

"Not really. I don't want you to," he stopped mid sentence as Dracula entered her room, and was terrified at what he saw.

"Mavis, what are you doing?" He demanded of her pulling her off of him.

"Dad, it isn't what it looks like."

"It looked like you were about to bite him."

"No, I wasn't. I thought it was the right time."

Dracula and Jonathan were both confused. Dracula thought she might have meant to turn him, while Jonathan thought she meant to have their first time.

"Drac, it's cool. I think I misunderstood what she was doing." He went back over to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry I overreacted. I thought you hadn't gotten over you desire for my blood, and I panicked."

"Johnny, I should have told you, instead of just acting. But I thought you would want to."

"I do, but I don't know if I'm ready yet, Mavy. I want to desperately, but I don't want to ruin our first time by doing it too early."

"That's what Aunt Wanda said too."

Dracula became as red as a vampire could be upon hearing all of this. They had forgotten that he was even in the room. He slipped out and went to see Wanda.

Mavis noticed the bulge in his pocket. (Not that. Get your mind out of the gutter.) "What's that?"

"It's a surprise."

"Is it for me?"

"Maybe. But I'm not going to give it to you until we're in Hawaii." Jonathan blushed when he revealed he had a surprise for her in Hawaii. Just then his phone rang.

It was his sister. She had never talked to Mavis, and it seemed to be the right time. He declined the call, but called her back using FaceTime, which she accepted. "Hey, sis."

"Hi, Johnny. And that must be Mavis next to you."

Mavis smiled at her almost exposing her fangs, but not quite. "Yes. Hello, Jenna. It's so nice to finally get to speak with you."

Something seemed off about Mavis's expression to Jenna. Her mouth wasn't opened wide enough for the smile it looked like her eyes wanted to give. She was hiding something. Her teeth that were exposed looked perfectly pearl white. But two of them looked a little different. "So, how's life in Romania?"

"Great," Johnny interrupted urging Mavis to play along. "We've been staying at this old castle, and met all sorts of interesting people."

"Like your father, Mavis?"

"Dad? You know how they can be; a little overprotective of their kids, especially their baby girls."

"Yeah. My dad is the dame way. I just wish he'd let me go out on my own a little bit. I mean, I'll graduate high school next year, but he won't even let look at colleges nearby on my own."

"So where do you want to go, sis?" Jonathan asked.

"I really don't know. I'm thinking Cal, but a part of me wants to get away from here. Maybe UCLA or USC. Especially since I have the grades to go anywhere I want, and could probably get a scholarship."

"Sounds like fun," Mavis said, even though she had no idea about anything Jenna had just said. "And I can't wait to meet you in person in a week and a half."

"Ditto. Talk to you guys later."

They hung up the phone. Mavis said, "She seems nice."

"She is. Just a little bit of a snoop. I almost wanted to tell her about you now."

"Why didn't you?"

"I don't know. Jenna is great at keeping secrets, but something tells me that you two need to meet in person, first."

"I trust you Johnny. When you think the time is right, I will be ready to explain everything." She held him closer, "And when you are ready for our first time, I'll be ready for that as well."

Jonathan gulped loudly. Hearing Mavis talk like this was a huge turn-on. "I'm so sorry I misinterpreted what you were trying to do. I just panicked, especially when you went for my neck. I thought you were going to bite me."

"Maybe one day," she said in a very sexy voice, "but not until we're both ready for that."

Jonathan was now confused. Did vampires kill their human lovers after they were done with them? Or was this some way they could be together forever? "I trust you, Mavis. When you're ready to, just let me know."

Now it was Mavis who was surprised. Had her father told him about turning him, or did Johnny think she would have to feed on him? "We both have to be ready. That will be the final level of our relationship, but we can't even think about that for a while." Mavis thought back to what her father had said about Bela and his cronies. She thought, "I can't turn Johnny into one of them. Even if he could live with me forever, I couldn't live with myself." The two shared one last passionate kiss together before heading down for dinner.

Mavis and Johnny sat at a table with Dracula and Wanda. Wanda asked, "So how are you two lovebirds?"

Dracula became as red as possible, giving Wanda a stern and dirty look.

"Fine, I guess. Just had a little misunderstanding," Mavis said.

"That may be the understatement of the century," Johnny added. "It was my fault."

"You two are perfect for each other. I know the two of you will make each other happy for a very long time, perhaps eternity."

Mavis looked guilty about this. She still hadn't told Johnny about turning him. The time wasn't right. They would leave in three nights. Mavis was sure that she loved Johnny, but she had to wait to talk to him about this.

"So are you all packed, honey?" Dracula asked.

"Almost, just a few more things to get still. More sunblock for one."

"There's one other thing we will need to consider, Mavy. How are you going to feed?"

Mavis didn't know. This was the one thing neither of them considered. "I hadn't thought of it. I guess I'll just eat human food."

"No, my little mouse. I mean how are you going to feed?" He said stretching out every letter. "You know, blood?"

"Oh. I guess we can just take a few cases of Blood Beaters."

Johnny knew this wouldn't work. It would be too expensive to ship cases of it on their passenger plane. And if anyone opened one of the cartons, they would be in for a shock, even though they were plain white boxes. "We could probably take enough to get thru our trip to Hawaii, and then have more shipped to my parents' house. We'd just need to make sure that it wouldn't arrive before we got there. How much do you need a day?"

"About half a quart, but I can also hunt for mice and other small animals to lessen that."

Jonny said, "You will need to be careful about that. Humans keep many small animals for pets, like dogs and cats mostly, but a few have mice and other things like that."

"So I will make sure that a case of Blood Beaters is at your parents' house on your second day there," Dracula instructed. "You will need to make up some story about what it is to tell them."

The pair all enjoyed their meal together. This would be one of the last time that they would all get to see each other before Johnny asks her the question.

Back at Jonathan's home, Jenna was still lost in thought. What was Mavis hiding from her? Her complexion was too perfect, and she wore dark lipstick and makeup. "Why would Johnny hide that she was Goth? It's gotta be something else." For some reason her mind was drawn to Twilight. "That can't be it. Vampires don't exist, do they?" She picked up her copy of Breaking Dawn. She read closely the descriptions of Bella after she was turned, then watched the final scenes of the first part of the film. They seemed to fit with Mavis well, although not perfectly.

"Johnny can't be in love with a vampire. He just can't." She thought back to the books. "Why not? After all, it worked out fine for Edward and Bella. But would she really have to turn him? Would he still be the same fun loving brother he always knew? And how does 'feeding' work? Are we all in danger?" She kept coming up with more questions the more she thought about it. Jenna finally allowed herself to forget about it. They would have time to talk about all of it on the ride back from the airport. She was glad that she would have time to talk to them alone, and maybe figure it all out before. "Maybe I should take my books. And a little bit of blood." One of her old boyfriends had engaged in a protest and got some pigs blood to pour on something. There were several slaughterhouses not too far from their home. "What am I thinking? Just stop it!" But she couldn't stop thinking about it, and wanted more than anything else to call Johnny to get everything out immediately. "If it is true, then he'll tell me eventually. And besides, Mavis seems really nice. They look like they really love each other, and shouldn't that be all that matters?"