Mucho thanks to all who have read and/or reviewed. AJS1018, I can't seem to reply to you privately so I'll say it here: thank you for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. :)

"Can I go now?" Marko asked. He paced back and forth near the entrance. "I'm starving. I need to feed before I meet up with Bonnie."

"And I have a shop to run but I'm being patient. Try it out sometime, Marko," Max replied.

"Oh, right because running a shop and feeding is the same thing. I could end up killing Bonnie if I haven't eaten."

"A shame if you really want to turn her but it can't be helped if you do," Max said with a casual shrug. "Boys need to eat to get strong."

Marko sneered at the fatherly tone in Max's voice. None of the boys respected him when he tried to be like one. It was a joke. He was their Head Vampire and nothing more. The guy who provided the blood for initiation and made sure they had shelter and helped cover up their tracks. But when he started with the patronising advice it was so easy for them to forget about how much he looked out for him and react negatively towards it.

Marko scoffed. "Fine. If I kill her you're to blame," he muttered.

"Don't scoff at me," Max scolded. "And don't roll your eyes at me either."

In his wheelchair, David chuckled at the spat going on. He looked over to Marko and wagged a finger.

"You heard father. Be a good boy now."

Together they snickered while Max sighed and placed his glasses back on. Marko rolled his eyes again. The man was quite into this pretence of his. It wasn't necessary for him to wear glasses. People with twenty-twenty vision were not automatically suspected of being vampires, despite what those stupid Frog boys thought. Yet when they first came to Santa Carla, Max had insisted and said he would do his best to look like the most unlikely vampire.

The boys had then asked if that was the reason for his attire. He hadn't been impressed with that question at all.

"This is what happens when boys don't have a mother," the Head Vampire murmured and picked up his car keys.

Marko sneered. "We don't need a mom, Peter Pan."

"We're big boys, Max," David added.

"Big boys who run around the boardwalk and cause trouble. You'll get yourselves exposed. That security guard –."

David barked out laughter and stood up to face Max squarely. "Vernon Beasley?"

He was seriously suggesting Vernon Beasley was a threat to them? That idiot security guard only sent them off the boardwalk and warned them to stay away. The man was a joke to the boys. He wasn't scary and he certainly didn't have any authority over them. Stay off the boardwalk? They owned the boardwalk. Even if others, like the Surf Nazis, thought differently.

Gangs had come and gone in Santa Carla. It was always the same routine. They waltzed into Santa Carla. Acted tough and terrorised people. They would meet David's gang. Started a rivalry. Then they disappeared.

Into the ocean.

Ripped apart.

Marko smirked. "He's no threat. Just a useless security guard. We could easily deal with him."

"We'll roast him on a nice bonfire," David said and the boys chuckled together again.

"He's dealt with you numerous times. Everyone knows your reputation here. You managed to stay low all this time but now you're all starting to get too cocky. And if that guard suddenly disappears, people are going to be able to point you out. You'll be number one suspects." Max straightened his jacket and walked the entrance. "I know the police are lax here but you still need to make sure your kills cannot be connected. Understood?"

The boys refused to even respond. With a stern look, Max straightened his jacket and nodded at Marko.

"You can go now," he said.

"Finally," Marko sighed and pulled his jacket on.

"We'll be at the Boardwalk sign," David said to him.

Marko flew up to the top of the cliff and kicked start the engine of his motorcycle when he jumped on. He paused before taking off, bending forward when his stomach growled and felt like a knife had gone straight through him. His throat tightened.

Taking shallow breaths he sped off towards the boardwalk, ready to dump his bike and find anyone who was alone.

It was hard to decide whether working on a different night to Edgar and Alan was a good thing or a bad thing. Their attitude towards Marko had no doubt bugged Bonnie to the point where she was completely fed up. The mere mention of 'vampire' would send her up the wall. Even when she was flicking channels late last night and caught Fright Night she screamed and almost threw the remote into the television. She was sick of them. Sick of hearing Edgar and Alan go on about them. Sick of hearing her so-called friends accuse Marko of being one.

Sick. Sick. SICK!

That had been the good part of working the Saturday shift. No Edgar and Alan. Her hours working had been free of supernatural topics. It was either complaining about exams to Gerry or getting into long conversations with other comic fans. It was a nice distraction to have an argument on who the best Batman villain was. Stating her case for Scarecrow to every Batman fanatic who came in was heaven. Her mind only seemed to be on three things at the moment. MS tests, exams, and vampires. She'd hardly touched new issues of her favourite comics since real life had started to latch onto her and cause unnecessary stress.

When exams are over, I'm spending my first free day in bed and reading all my comics, she thought.

Now the bad part… she desperately wanted to speak to them. Or maybe just Alan. Talking to Edgar was like talking to a brick wall. She realised, reluctantly, that she had said some pretty rude things to him yesterday and he was quick to hold a grudge. That was always the problem with Edgar. If he found someone who he could trust then he would be a friend. Yet he would also give up an ally immediately if they turned against him.

Fine. If he would ignore her then… whatever. She didn't care.

But if Edgar was pissed at her, no doubt Alan would follow suit. Piss off one Frog brother and the other one gets pissed off.

Let's forget about this for the moment, she told herself. She had a date now and that would be another nice distraction from any problems. Fun was needed at the moment and she intended to enjoy a night out even if it was another sneaky one.

If Marko ever got here.

Maybe something had made him late but she struggled to believe that. She couldn't push away that nagging piece of insecurity. The relationship had not started off well. She had been driven into acting paranoid and thinking he didn't like her, which she loathed. She should never feel like that.

But the weight on her shoulders quickly lifted as she finally caught sight of him. Marko was searching the boardwalk frantically, looking around at people. She started waving her hand.

"Marko!"

He looked up, seemed to mutter something to himself, and he walked cautiously towards her. She skipped towards him, jumping into his arms when she reached him and kissed him merrily on the lips.

He fought the urge to recoil back. He also fought the urge to tear her neck open right there. That single whiff of blood sent his mind shutting down and his instincts begging to take over. Just for a minute… just while he fed… taking every drop of blood…

He pulled away, pressing his fist against his mouth. He felt a small prick of sharp teeth against his lower lip.

"I just need to do something. I'll be right back," he said behind his mouth and started walking off.

She tilted her head quizzically. "Be right back? Where are you going?"

"Something I have to do. Just… stay there."

She shrugged and laughed. "Come on, I've been waiting here for ages. I'll come with you."

"No! You can't. Not… yet."

"What do you mean 'not yet'?" She put her hands on her hips. "Oh no, are you going to start acting weird again?"

He groaned, unable to stop himself and put a hand to his chest. Passers-by stopped to look. Some stopped when they saw the boy in pain and freezing but despite their concerned look no-one came rushing to help or see if he was okay.

Only Bonnie ran straight to his side. He looked away, trying to cover his tingling face with his hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. I'm –." He groaned again. "– Fine."

She laughed dryly "Oh, right! You're fine. Yeah, you look totally healthy." She tried to touch his face with her hand to get a proper look. "You look ill."

He jerked his head away. She frowned, taking in his appearance. Marko had always been a pale guy. But this paleness he had tonight did not look healthy. It was pasty and there were dark shadows under his eyes. His lips looked chapped. And he sounded like he couldn't breathe. He made wheezing sounds every time he breathed in.

"Are you sick? You look really pale."

"I… really… need to go…" he said and tried to march off. He groaned when she followed him, still determined to find out what was wrong.

"Marko, you look like death! What if you need the hospital?" She sped up her pace and managed to dart in front of him.

His chest was tight. His throat felt like it was closing up. And Bonnie wouldn't stop goddamn talking. If she kept talking to him, grabbing hold of him every time he tried to get away, he was either going to grab a passer-by or use Bonnie instead. She was way too close… if she took one more step… maybe…

But that would be the end of everything. He would have exposed himself, his pack, and every other vampire in the world.

"It's nothing! Just… stop!" Marko snapped. "Don't go on anymore."

"Go on? Marko, you're starting to scare me now. You're in pain –."

"Look… I'll just be a second. There's something I need to do and I'll come back." He managed a weak smile but he put his hands up when she tried to reach for him again. "Wait here."

He raced into the crowd before Bonnie could react. She was left standing there, gawping into space as she tried to get her head around what had happened. Seriously… what on earth? What the hell was that? That wasn't a Marko she had ever seen before. She had seen distant Marko and playful Marko but that wasn't him. That couldn't be him.

He looked like he was suffocating, Bonnie thought and a tiny whisper taunted in her head.

Very pale and acting strange…

No, Bonnie thought. Don't even start.

She stood there amongst the crowds, playing with the cuff of her shirt. Groups of people dodged around her. Marko had disappeared.

Maybe she had spent too much time with Edgar and Alan but she couldn't help it. It had been such strange behaviour. And what she had seen…

Maybe it was the lights playing tricks on her but she was sure when Marko spoke and his hand had moved away from his mouth just a little bit, two of his teeth seemed longer. But, of course, that was just the light. That had to be the light. She was right next to the Giant Dipper and other rides with their dazzling, flashing lights. They were messing with her vision. That's all.

But still…

I need to get home, she thought.