Chapter 4

"Edward, it's time for school!" His mom yelled from downstairs.

Ed sat up in bed.

"Edward, did you hear me?" said his mom again.

"I heard you, Mom!" Ed yelled back, as he got up.

If he was right, he had Jerry's number in his phone. He checked it in the contacts, and it was there. Ed wasn't sure what the vampire wanted from him, but he had no one else… What Charlie said was still in his head.

He sent another text to Jerry: Can we meet at Dusk tonight? I want to talk. He hit "Send" and went to get ready. He put his phone in his jacket pocket, grabbed his backpack, and went downstairs. His parents were both there.

"Okay, Ed. Your mom and I have to work late again," said Rick Lee.

"So, what else is new? When I was younger, we used to do everything together. Now you guys barely have time for me anymore," said Ed, "I gotta go."

"Edward, you haven't eaten anything yet," said his mom.

"I'm not hungry," said Ed, walking out the door.

Ed wasn't too far from his house when he got a text from Jerry: Don't worry things will get better for you I promise

Ed walked into school feeling, for the first time since last night, a glimmer of hope…

That is, until he ran into Mark and Ben…

"Hey, Nerd. I still owe you for what happened last night," said Mark, "Does the invitation to hit you still stand?"

"No, it expired," said Ed.

"Yeah, well I'm gonna do it anyway," said Mark, "Later, at dusk- If I see you again."

"I'd like to see you try," said Ed, as he continued walking to school.

Once he got inside, he went to his locker. He was in the middle of putting his backpack away when Charlie approached him.

"Hey, um, can we talk about last night?" asked Charlie.

"No. You already said enough last night," said Ed.

"Oh, so you're still mad at me. I get that. I was a jerk," said Charlie.

"Yeah, try an asshole," said Ed.

"Okay, fine, I get it. But you have to understand why I did it. I mean, come on- You insulted Amy. If you had a girlfriend, I would never insult her, no matter how nerdy she was," said Charlie.

"What's that mean? So, what? I can't get any girl? That's what you're saying?" said Ed.

"Well, I didn't mean it in that way," said Charlie.

"Let me tell you something, Brewster: If you can get new friends, so can I," said Ed.

Ed slammed his locker shut and walked away.