Zoe crawled carefully over Simon the next morning and tiptoed out of the room and across the hall. She knew he hadn't been asleep for more than a few hours because he woke her up when he dragged in at nearly 2 o'clock. But in spite of all her precautions not to wake him up, only fifteen minutes after she started getting sick, she heard someone come in and felt them pull her fingers from her hair and put a supportive hand on her back. After her first bout with the sickness, she leaned back against him when he prompted her.
"You okay for now, love?" He said, sounding weakened by exhaustion.
"You shouldn't have gotten up." She complained. "Go back to bed."
"It's my own fault I was up so late." He retorted. He had his back against the cabinet under the sink, her pulled tightly to his chest. "Besides, I have time to make up for." Zoe and Simon were sitting down with their breakfast when her father got up.
"Smells good, Zo."
"Thanks, dad." He ate and then left for work.
"So, what's on the schedule today?"
"It's Monday, don't you have school?"
"What's the point? Besides I'll be taking make up courses anyway because of being held hostage and the days I missed sick before I found out. And don't even get me started on the hospital..."
"You're still going." He said calmly.
"Simon, I can't go, I've missed too many days, I'll be expelled anyway."
"Well, you're not dropping out."
"How exactly do you plan to stop me?"
"I'm hoping that was a rhetorical question, Zoe."
"Well?"
"If I have to drag you there myself, you're going. Throwing you over my shoulder is out for obvious reasons, but I can still carry you one way or another to the bus stop." He shot a threatening glance over the paper in front of him. She put down her fork and sat back in her chair, ready to sulk. "If you're done with breakfast, go ahead and get dressed." When she didn't move, he looked at her again. She was still staring at the wall opposite her. He sighed. "Do I have to do everything? I can dress you too, you know. You might not like it." She glared at him and pushed away from the table. He shook his head when he heard her stomping up the stairs and slam their bedroom door. 10 minutes later he put the paper down started for the stairs. She was dressed when he opened the door, but she was sitting on the bed and staring out the window sadly.
"This just doesn't happen to girls like me." She said quietly when she heard him come in. He sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into his lap, holding her to his chest.
"What, darling?"
"This... thing." She said miserably. "I'm avoided enough as it is since Lorraine left. I can't imagine how they'll see me now." He kissed her forehead.
"Love, please. I need you to try to make it work. For me, if not for you. And Lorraine will be coming soon enough. Cheer up, braveheart."
"You mean...?" He chuckled and kissed her again.
"She can come." She gasped and threw her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, Simon! I promise we'll stay out of trouble."
"I know you will. I'll make sure of it. I'll be in the house every second."
"Paranoid." She mocked lovingly.
"Protective over things I love." He chuckled. "You're still going to school."
"Darn it." He walked her to school, carrying her books with one hand and had hers in his other. Across the street from the school, he kissed her.
"I'll be here the moment you need me."
"Will you be home for me to call if I do need you?"
"Why would you need to call me?" He grinned. "There are shadows during the day too. I won't be able to blend as well as I could, but I'll do my best." He handed her her books. "I'll see you at 3, love." And he continued walking in the direction of 3rd. A few girls watched him go in awe then gaped at Zoe. She sighed and crossed the street and went into the building without meeting the gazes she felt. She turned in the excuse Simon had perfectly translated into her father's handwriting claiming illness which rightly fit because she'd gotten sick in class before she left. She asked for admittance to see a guidance counselor to see about make up classes that summer so she could graduate. She told Mrs. Hudson, the senior guidance counselor, her situation and she looked at her disapprovingly but gave her the permission slip to up the classes during the summer. That was the best part of her day, to say the least. Sitting in her last period of the day- English- she tapped her pencil on the desk most of the class, trying to ignore the whispers of the girls just a few seats away.
"- Zoe the Bird, who'd have guessed?" One said. Another giggled.
"Is the guy blind?" She said.
"I don't think so and to add to it, he's absolutely gorgeous. I mean, this is like, bypassing the Carter boys." Said a third. The other two gasped.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I saw him walking her to school this morning."
"So how much older is he?"
"He doesn't look that much older than us."
"So, what? He a dropout?"
"I don't know. I've never seen him around here."
"Figures. She's so pitiful, she has to go out of town for a guy that'll have her." Her lead snapped and they hushed, apparently not realizing how loud they had been getting.
"Whit, you idiot, I think she heard you!" One of them hissed at the other.
"So? There's no way in hell she thinks she's good enough for him."
"Ladies? Something you'd like to share with the class?"
"No sir, Mr. Wheeler."
"I suggest you turn around and pay attention, then."
"Sure thing." They were quiet for the rest of the class. When the bell rang, Zoe got her books out of her locker sluggishly. She smiled slightly when she saw Simon leaning against the rail on the front steps of the school. He smiled at her and kissed her as he took her books again. Zoe couldn't help but notice the looks she got when he took her hand and gently pulled her off across the road and towards home. Once they were in the house, he closed the door securely.
"There. That wasn't so bad was it?" But she was already crying silently. He pulled her to him. "What's wrong, darling?"
"It was worse than I thought it would be!"
"What happened?"
"I always knew they thought I was a little out of the ordinary but I never thought they thought I was- god, I know I'm a little strange, but pitiful?"
"I prefer to call you refreshingly different." He said cheerfully. She glared at him and his smile vanished. "If it helps, Lorraine's waiting for you to call. She took it that you'd dropped out."
"I thought you were there the whole time?"
"Well, obviously not if I thought you were okay. I'm sorry, love, I had to come back. I forgot they were going to call me to tell me if I'd gotten the job or not." She gasped.
"Did you?"
"Well, here's the thing. They need extra hands. Males. You know, what with the killings lately, they're afraid to make their females work after dark." Zoe nodded slowly.
"Yes? And?"
"I'll be working night shifts only."
"Oh. Well, Lorraine and I can take care of ourselves, Simon, don't worry." He smiled.
"I'm not worried. Because Benjamin is coming to stay with you while I'm gone. That's why I didn't come back after they called me. I had to go talk to him. I start tonight, so he'll be here the moment the last ray of sun is gone."
"What? You got me a babysitter?"
"No. He offered to help if I needed it yesterday. I just took him up on it."
"And made him my babysitter." She pointed out. He grinned sheepishly.
"Of sorts. I don't pay him. And I believe you'll get along with him a lot more than you might a real babysitter." He added with a chuckle.
"Not to mention if I slip up and cut myself, I may die." Simon's expression darkened.
"That was a one-time thing, Zoe. He hadn't eaten in a while and he's promised to make sure he feeds well before he comes."
"And how does he plan to do that if he's going to be here the moment the last ray disappears?"
"I said he'd be here, not in the house. He won't come in until he's eaten something. But he won't ever be out of scents or sounds reach. He'll know if you try to leave." He quietly threatened. "He'll stop you." Simon sighed. "Please, Zoe. Don't make this hard. We're just trying to keep you safe." She glared at him still and he sighed again. "Go call Lorraine and stop looking at me like that." He pleaded. She jumped at his reminder, having to hang up and redial several times before she got the number in right in her excitement. Lorraine answered immediately.
"Hello? Zoe?"
"Yeah, it's me, Lor. Guess what? You can come!"
"Yes! I'll be there Friday afternoon. That's okay, isn't it?"
"Of course!"
"Oh, by the way, if Simon looks anything like his voice sounds...-" She hummed her approval. "He's a keeper." Zoe laughed.
"I guess so. In his own strange way."
"Why? What happened?"
"Well, you'll find out when you get here anyway. Well, there's been another round of those weird killings and Simon just got a job with a convenience store downtown but he only works at night because the owner is afraid to let the girls work after dark."
"Well, sure."
"So he's worried about me, of course, being Simon."
"Of course."
"So now we have a babysitter. His cousin, Ben, will be staying with us while he's at work."
"Okay, now you've lost me. In what universe does two teenage girls sitting at home equal to needing a babysitter?"
"Simon's, apparently." Lorraine groaned.
"Oh well. We'll get through it. Is his cousin cute?"
"I guess so, I've never really looked at Ben that way. Well, now that I think about it, yeah, he's pretty attractive." Simon chuckled from the table behind her. She covered the receiver. "Stop listening in." She hissed. He laughed harder.
"Benjamin will be interested to know you think he's attractive."
"Of course he is. You're related, aren't you?"
"Zoe? You there?"
"Course I am. Sorry, Simon's being a pain. So you'll be here on Friday, right?"
"Yeah. Some time around 4."
"Great. I'll talk to you then!"
"Yeah, Zo. I'll see you on Friday." Zoe hung up the phone and turned to find Simon standing right there. He kissed her without warning and she subdued before long, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing back. When she pulled back for breath, he rested his forehead on hers.
"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked for the second time that night. But her answer was different this time.
"No. Not at all." She leaned back up and kissed him again.
"Should I come back later?" Came a smug voice behind Simon. Benjamin was standing just inside the kitchen door, a dark jacket on, despite the eighty-eight degree weather outside. Only Zoe wouldn't have recognized him if not for his voice. His hair was as black as night and his eyes were a silver-gray color.
"Benjamin, what are you doing here? It's the middle of the day!" he pulled the large hood up on his jacket and pushed his hands down in the pockets, all of his skin covered except most of his face.
"If you walk with your head down, you're less noticeable. More true with me because that means I'm not frying." He grinned as he let the hood back down.
"Well, if you're here." He extricated himself from Zoe's arms, despite her protesting groans. "I need to shower. I've been hiding out in bushes and trees all day." He headed up the stairs.
"So I hear I have another charge?" Benjamin said with a grin.
"Yeah. What happened to your hair."
"Simon suggested that gray probably wasn't the best color for someone of the age I'm trying to pass for. At least he can pass for a blond. So he got dye. Awful smelling stuff, let me tell you."
"Well, as long as you're trying to fit in, do you mind if we call you Ben instead of Benjamin?"
"Sorry?"
"Well, I don't know of any Benjamin's that actually go by Benjamin. That are living." She cut him off when he started to protest. Benjamin sighed.
"Oh all right. I suppose I could go by a different name."
"It's not a different name, just kind of an abbreviation."
"An abbreviation."
"Yes, an abbreviation. Just think of it as that." He sighed again.
"An abbreviation not a difference."
"Great. Thank you." She hugged him. He froze for a moment before hugging her back.
"Mmm." He hummed to himself. "You're warm." She chuckled.
"Get your paws off her." Simon said jokingly as he came back downstairs in a different pair of jeans and a t-shirt, a red apron over his arm. Benjamin was stifling a laugh. "Oh shut up!" He turned scarlet and kissed Zoe. "I'll see you later. I have to be in thirty minutes before dusk. Give the girl time to get home." She nodded. He nodded at Benjamin and went out the back door.
"And let the babysitting begin." Zoe said gloomily.
"Sorry?"
"You're here to keep an eye on me, right?"
"Yes."
"Is that not what a babysitter does?" Benjamin looked lost. "Oh. You probably didn't call them babysitters, did you?"
"I really don't know."
"Umm... a nanny? Or maybe a governess?"
"Never heard of a nanny either. But a governess I have."
"Basically like that. Except babysitters often watch other families children too." Benjamin glared at her. "What?"
"Govern-ess, Zoe."
"Oh. Well, not all babysitters are girls either. Although most of them are, sometimes it pays to have a boy. You know? A little more likely to be able to do something if anything happens? Such as, in our case, a vampire attack?" Benjamin snorted.
"Simon's not worried about them attacking you here. Someone would have to invite them in. He's more worried over you trying to go out." She huffed and walked out of the room, into the family room where she turned on the television. Benjamin followed her and sat down next to her on the couch.
"Are you gonna hover all night?"
"No. I get bored just as easily as you." She rolled her eyes. "Look, Zoe. I don't like that you have to be held here any more than you do. I really don't like that he trusts me enough to leave you in my care. My control is by no means perfect. But you know that." His fingers brushed the yellowed bruises on her neck that he'd inflicted almost 2 weeks ago. Because Simon had ripped him off, his fangs had drug a little farther than needed be, making the wound bigger than usual so it didn't heal as fast. She cringed away from the cold of his skin. He misread it. "I'm sorry. That was a little too bold." He turned back to the TV, his arms crossed over his chest, careful to keep a comfortable distance from her. He caught her glances every now and again during commercials. Finally she sighed.
"I'm going to go get something to drink." He stood before she had a chance.
"I've got it." He left the room and came back. This time she made sure not to flinch when she brushed his hand even though it was colder than the soda can that had just came out of the fridge. He sat down in the exact same spot, nearly a foot away from her. She'd been hoping to escape up to hers and Simon's room. "So..." He said finally. "Who's this other blood bank I'm supposed to keep an eye on later?" He asked, grinning.
"My friend Lorraine. The one that used to live in the house you're staying in." He nodded.
"Simon's actually allowing her to come?"
"Well, Christopher's already tried to kill her once. She knows the situation and that we won't be out at night so..."
"If you don't mind me saying, that's not like Simon. He's a cunning one and all, but he's often more cautious than need be. That had made him very hard to track, so I should know." Benjamin said with a smile.
"Well, he kind of feels bad. You know, what with first the leaving, then the baby, and now he's making me stay in school so he decided to let me do one thing my way, I guess. And he knows I miss her so..." She stopped and watched his expression. He looked like he was listening, but like he was far off at the same time. "Benjamin?"
"He knows he's lucky." He said.
"What?"
"He's lucky to have someone. None of our kind deserve it. We've all had our chances. Most of us didn't make the most of them."
"I would say it's not too late for you, but I don't know how rare it is for one of your kind to have Simon's case."
"None of us really do. We know that some take a personal interest in humans, but more often than not, they end up killing them either by accident or that was their intention all along."
"Well, are all vampires loners? I mean, for someone who was so set to kill, you and Simon get along strangely well."
"Well, he's not exactly that hard to agree with. I'd never actually met him. And no. We're not usually alone. If I had learned the truth before, Simon and I would have teamed up long ago. Actually..." He said and dropped off. "I don't know if Simon wants you to know this or not, but the killings lately have been committed by a camp of three vampires."
"A what?" Benjamin chuckled.
"A camp; a group of our kind."
"Oh." She said blushing red.
"It's the proper term for a family of bats. That name started around the time humans found out we could transform." She nodded shyly. He grinned. "I'm not scaring you, am I?"
"No."
"Good. That's the last thing I want to do." She looked up at him. Neither of them had realized they'd been turning until they were both facing each other on the couch. He leaned suddenly he leaned forward and caught his cold lips on hers. It took them both a few moments to realize what was going on then she pulled away.
"Benjamin..." She said quietly but as sternly as she could.
"I'm sorry I... I don't know what got into me." Zoe stood slowly.
"I think I'll go to bed. When my dad gets here just tell him you're Simon's cousin here to watch out for me while Simon's at work." He nodded and she slipped out of the room and up the stairs.
