Author's notes: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than I'd like. But...hopefully the content makes up for it. Also, thank you guys so much for the reviews. I'm loving them.
Michael flopped down onto the couch in the living room, stretching out his legs in front of him and relaxing. The room was bright. Much brighter than the cave or the boardwalk. And it made him realize just how beat-up his sneakers looked, as he glanced down at his feet and wiggled his toes. The fibers around the edges were so paper thin, he could practically see his socks.
"Hey, is my stuff still here, mom?" Michael turned towards Lucy as she entered the room and took a seat at one of the easy-chairs opposite the coffee table, facing him. He could save himself some trouble and just grab a pair of old shoes. No need to break them in. No need to switch to something newer or shinier. David was always bugging him about his sneakers. Any little thing to piss him off, Michael would go out of his way to do. He was becoming a zen master of passive aggression.
"Of course. We bagged up a few things and put them in the shed out back to make room for Star-..." Lucy paused, smoothing out her skirt and looking up at the ceiling, "...for Star, while she's been staying with us."
Michael nodded. Speaking of Star, her clothes were getting dangerously ratty and shredded. Maybe he should grab something for her while he was here? But then...how would he manage to get anything on her? Maybe he could convince Paul to try for another round and up the ante under pretense. No, he really didn't want to encourage the bastard to touch her again. Rabid and mindless or not, nobody deserved that particular blonde vampire's affection.
"Hey, is that my jacket?" He furrowed his eyebrows, noticing a lump of black leather slung over the arm of the couch opposite him as Sam flopped down beside him and blocked his view of it.
"Uh...yeah..." Sam scooped it up and tossed it to Michael, he caught it in his arms and frowned. There was something off about it...kind of smelled...
"Sammy, did one of your stupid Frogs wear this?" He pressed it to his nose and inhaled the scent to confirm it. Yep. Edgar.
"Yeah, he was kinda freaking out after that joke you guys played. Thought he was turning into one of you, so he tried to get in some practice dressing like ya too..." Sam's face was halfway between mild amusement and nervousness that Mike would slug him for letting things get that far.
"..." Michael lowered the jacket and handed it to Sam, "I want it back next week. Dry-cleaned."
"Michael Emerson, it's not even dirty," Lucy scolded, not really understanding why it was such a big deal. To her it just seemed like he was being a little antagonistic.
"Mom. It wreaks. I don't know if you're aware of this, but those kids don't bathe very often. You can smell them a mile down the road before you even see them. The second they get out of the car, it's like the fungus circus has just come to town with an army of corn-chip scented sweat clowns," Michael defended himself. It was true. Edgar and Alan did kinda have a perpetual BO issue. Being a vampire with super senses didn't help matters, either.
"...They're not that bad," Lucy shook her head, though...she did flinch a little. "I'll have to talk to them about hygiene before they leave, though...I just really don't know how to approach it without hurting their feelings."
"I'll tell them," Sam suggested. "Kinda tired of my bed smelling like ass in the morning when they're done with it."
"So!" Lucy clapped her hands together, effectively closing the book on that topic and ready to dive into the next one, "tell me about this girlfriend of yours. What is she like? When am I going to meet her?"
Sam raised his eyebrows and stared at his older brother, "you got a girlfriend, Mike? What about Star? Since when?!"
Michael shifted on his seat and cleared his throat, "uh...she...that..."
"She's that one boy's sister. What did you say his name was? David? You know, Sam. The one who keeps his hair in that unique style with the spikes?"
Sam squinted, "mom...I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a sister. I didn't see any girls when we went to visit them last night."
Michael resisted, just barely, the strong urge to kick his little brother. Or choke him. "...she went shopping. For milk," he ground out through his teeth.
Sam shook his head, "you guys don't have a fridge. Mom, there's no way Mike has a girl-" Sam's eyes suddenly grew wide as he stared at his brother. "Dude! SICK!" That explained more than Sam even wanted to know. Like all the weird looks the blonde jerk kept giving his brother all night. At the time, Sam had been too terrified to think much about it, but now...ugh. He was seeing a new side to his brother, and he really hoped it wasn't the reason Mike had ended up as a bloodsucker after all. There were still a lot of things Mike hadn't told him, like how exactly he did end up disappearing with David that night. Maybe he like...got up after everyone else went to bed and tried making out with David's corpse, like a freaky...gay...vampire Sleeping Beauty, and decided to start shit-sucking again of his own free will?!
"...am I missing something?" Lucy looked back and forth between her sons. "Michael, don't glare at your brother like that. It's scaring me." And indeed, Michael's eyes were filled with so much heat, she barely recognized him in that moment.
The smaller boy just glanced over at Lucy and smile faintly, "I mean...like...sick, because she's probably a vampire, mom. Sorry Mike, didn't mean to offend you or nothing. I'm...I'm sure she's..." He trailed off, unable to find the right words. So he just left it at that, while Michael took a few seconds to calm himself down. As long as his brother kept his little eureka moment, and his demented conclusion jumping to himself, there was no reason to lose his temper. Mom didn't need another reason to freak out.
Lucy nodded slowly, feeling it was probably best just to let whatever had just passed between them go unanswered. "I'm going to go check on the casserole. Sam, why don't you help your brother find his things out in the shed?" She suggested, standing up and smoothing out her skirt, picking off a few pieces of lint in the process.
"Sounds great!" Sam leapt to his feet and nearly ran from the room, throwing the jacket back over Michael's head. The older boy frowned, pulling it down and dropping it on the couch. He'd rather not smell like Frog for the next few hours, if he could help it.
"Hey, mom, you mind if I use the bath tub before I head back home tonight?" He looked back over at Lucy, and she smiled. "Michael, you don't have to ask. This is still your home. You just don't...sleep here...or really visit very often..." She paused. "You know what I mean, don't you?"
"Yeah, I get it." He smirked, standing up and following Sam from the house. It was just as well that everything was in the shed. That smell was beginning to get to him, and he was starting to get just a little nauseous. Plus, he realized he needed to have a very serious talk with his brother. Make a few things clear before Sam started getting even weirder ideas about him and David. He didn't think he could handle seeing those kinds of images in his brother's head. Maybe that Roxanne chick was just Sam's type, after all.
Star watched the two head out of the house, still shocked Michael had made an appearance tonight. Her last ounce of hope that maybe Max's plans, whatever they were, would ultimately fail...crumbled away. At Max's urging, she reluctantly trailed after them. He didn't say as much, but she suspected he was somehow trapped within the confines of the house, like she had been in the cave until she latched herself onto Sam.
"Star," Max called out as she drifted from the back door. She paused, hovering in the air, reluctant to listen.
"Figure out a way to stall Michael. Keep him here until the sun rises. Then, we should be able to bring the rest of my boys back to me, easily."
"How am I suppose to do that?" She demanded, though she was careful not to let any hint of anger or defiance slip into her voice. She didn't want to challenge him, knowing what he was capable of.
"You're a very quick learner. I could tell as much when you came back here, hitch-hiking in Sam's body. You'll figure something out."
David and Paul reclined in the sand on the beach, while Dwayne dragged a shrieking Marko towards the shore. It was more than a little funny, in more ways than one. Years ago, Paul had snatched a large dress from one of their victims in hope that it would some day come in handy. And since it was just Dwayne's size, it was fairly obvious to all of them exactly how he was eventually going to make use of it. Frankly, that was one of the many reasons the rest of the boys had solemnly vowed that they would never let Paul make a 'bitch bet' again. But the odds of him actually getting under Star's skirt had just been so...ridiculously impossible...neither Dwayne nor Marko had really cared when he threw out his 'bitch bet' promise after their chicken gathering escapade.
"C'mon man, don't make me do this!" Marko struggled, trying to pry Dwayne's hands free from his shoulders. The darker-haired vampire shook his head gravely. "Don't worry, Marko. It's only a week. When this is over, there's nothing to stop us from pummeling his ass for this."
"That's easy for you to say, Dwaynetta!" Marko snarled, referring to the creamy-white lace dress Dwayne wore, bedecked with bright red ribbons and bows. Somehow the girlish effect was dampened, however, by his perpetual scowl and lumbering gait. Honestly, his stubborn refusal to even complain about it was taking some of the fun out of the whole thing for Paul. But the sight of Marko both trying to cling to Dwayne and keep a towel wrapped firmly around him while he was carried like a brushing bride towards the ocean more than made up for it.
"Mikey doesn't know what he's missing!" Paul cackled, tossing his hair and giving a loud wolf whistle towards Dwayne and Marko. "C'mon, girls, I wanna see my show!"
David glanced over at Paul, a slight smirk on his lips as he tucked a cigarette between them. "If you're not careful, Dwayne just might snap and toss you in with him."
"...It's worth it."
"Okay, fine! Let me go! I'll do it myself!" Marko snapped, shoving Dwayne away when he was finally placed on his feet. He took a deep breath and gazed down at the water just barely lapping at his clawed toes, making them sting and smoke in the night air. He was way too emotional right now to keep from changing, and his fangs were clearly in evidence. He flinched. Took a deep breath...dropped his towel...and ran screaming in the other direction while Dwayne chased him down.
"GET BACK HERE!" Dwayne shouted, in angry pursuit. If he had to dress like Baby Jane on steroids, Marko wasn't getting out of his side of the punishment.
Edgar and Alan sat together on a large hay bale in the bed of a large rusted Chevy, glaring down at Roxanne who sat nearby cuddling a small chicken in her arms. Several cages filled with the rest of the poultry surrounded them, and feathers wafted about as the birds clucked in their poultry language of their frustration that freedom had been taken so swiftly from them after they'd just barely had a taste of it.
"Good thing that farmer found us, huh?" Roxie squeaked, picking up the chicken in her arms and trying to rub her nose on it's beak. The bird madly struggled in her arms, bawking in protest. "Okay, okay...calm down, Kentucky..." She lowered the bird into her lap and rubbed it's head. In exchange for helping him gather up the remainders of his poultry, the chicken farmer had offered them a ride and even given Roxanne one bird to take home.
"Alan," Edgar grunted.
"What?" Alan turned to look at his brother, reaching forward to pluck a bit of hay from the other boy's hair.
"This is the shittiest summer...ever."
"You're both totes weird. This is like...the best!" Roxie disagreed vehemently, "isn't that right, Kentucky?" Her chicken was inclined to agree with the Frog brothers.