And back to Elvira's point of view…

I ran back into the party, cheeks flushed, though not from the cold. Leave it to Eddie Poe to ruin a perfectly nice evening! Though you couldn't help but feel bad for the kid; he was even more of an outcast than I was.

I stayed by the punchbowl to calm my pounding heart and tried not to think about what just occurred. Holding hands with Vlad was…nice. Nicer than it should have been. I mean, he was just my friend. Almost like a brother, though less annoying and generally easier to get along with. And I already had a brother. One who was now dead because of me. One who could have done something with his life, but was taken away too young. And it was my fault. It would always be my fault.

I didn't need a brother. So what did I need? A friend? But I had Henry for that. Henry and…Joss?

Joss was just another person I had to consider. There was no denying that he was something completely different altogether. But what? What in God's name was it about him that I just couldn't seem to get out of my mind? I was about to lose it when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Having fun?"

I turned around and blushed. "Hey, Joss."

He smiled. "You look really pretty tonight."

"Thanks," I smirked, "You look great, too. Anyone else figure out your costume?"

"No. The people here are idiots."

I rolled my eyes. "I could have told you that."

"What?" He couldn't hear me over the music that just got significantly louder.

"I said-"

"Here, just come with me," he grabbed my hand, "We can find a place to talk."

My heartbeat picked up double-time as he pulled me along to a cramped closet. We looked at each other, shrugged, and squeezed in. I could hear the talk about us already, and somehow couldn't bring myself to care.

"Well, this is different," I commented. He laughed.

"Maybe for you." I raised an eyebrow. He shook his head. "Not important. Anyway, this party kinda sucks."

I shrugged. "Maybe if I had more friends it would be better."

"Well," he said, "Then you couldn't spend all this quality time with me."

I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Who were you hanging out with before?"

The question seemed to make him uncomfortable. "Meredith. And some of her other friends." I looked him straight in the eyes.

"Were you also hanging out in closets?"

There was a beat of silence before we both cracked up. Though it wasn't that funny.

"I wasn't laughing nearly this much," he confessed.

I tilted my head to get a better look at him. "So why do you hang out with them? I thought you said you didn't like people who were popular."

"I said I didn't like people who pretended to be someone they aren't."

"Yeah, so all the popular people."

He sighed. "How well do you even know them?"

"Not well," I admitted.

"So don't judge them."

My mouth dropped open and I resisted the urge to smack him. "Why shouldn't I judge them when all they do is judge me? They never bothered to know me before they called me Satanic, or evil, or weird. Why do I have to put up with it and then assume that they really are nice people, when they never gave me a chance? Why should I give them one, then?"

He seemed a bit taken back by my speech, but then shrugged. "Because you shouldn't let stupid things get to you. Let it go; I know you're the better person."

That brought me up short; I hadn't expected a compliment. Something really weird came over me at that moment, and I gazed into his deep blue eyes. Had they always been that lovely? The rational part of my brain shut down as I slowly leaned toward him…

Outside the door, we could hear kids stampeding up the stairs. I quickly moved away from Joss, blushing like crazy, and he led me out of the closet and up into the kitchen.

I silently berated myself on my stupidity. What was that? When did I become the kind of girl that (almost) makes out with guys in closets? No matter how funny, or charming, or cute they are…

Oh my God, what is happening to me?

My self-pity ended as soon as we saw Vlad holding an ice pack to his face. My heart dropped. He had been hurt. I had just had a vision of him dying, for glob's sake, and what do I do to protect him? Oh, yeah, sneak around behind his back with Joss.

Good plan, Vi.

I knelt by my friend. "What happened?"

"Bill and Tom were just being their charming selves," he sighed. "But I handled it."

My relief was nearly palpable; at least it wasn't some stake-wielding lunatic. Still, I was severely disappointed in myself, fist for not helping Vlad, and second for missing an awesome fight. But I digress.

"I can't believe they'd pull something like that," Joss muttered.

I noticed Henry was in the room when he asked, "Where were you two, anyway?"

Joss and I exchanged glances. "We were just…talking." Joss said.

Henry snorted. "Oldest cover in the book. I would know. Seriously, I expect this kind of behavior from my cousin, but Elvira? Tsk tsk. How very un-princess like, sneaking around with boys."

"Shut up!" I snapped. "What gives you the right to say that? Of all people!"

"Okay, calm down," Vlad intervened. "He was only kidding."

I looked at Vlad. He seemed kind of…sad. Hurt.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine."

I didn't really believe him, and was about to call him on it when Matt and his mom walked in.

"Vlad?" she said, "Your aunt just got here."

He sighed and got up, pounding fists with Henry and Joss, and nodded to me without meeting my gaze. What was his problem?

Matt shook Vlad's hand. "Sickest fight I've ever seen, dude. See you at school." With that, my friend disappeared.

"Is he mad at you?" Henry asked.

I shrugged. "I can't imagine why."

And it wasn't until I was halfway home that I realized the truth: Once Eddie Poe showed up, I pretty much ditched Vlad to hang out with Joss. And he might have thought I had planned that. I was horrified at myself but I couldn't deny it.

I had picked Joss over Vlad.