Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to give feedback to this story. I appreciate you guys more than you know!! But I want to give a special shout out to mystery625, cuppycake-the-evil-cupcake, cloudNrain, vampiress2010, Mrs. Brittany O'Shea – I wish -, Shygirl2008, twilight h8r 101, and twihead22796. Thanks for your dedication in reviewing!!!
One final disclaimer: I do not own the characters, except Luc, Ellen Schreiber is the creator of these fine personalities. I also own the story.
Despite Trevor's excuse, my parents still grounded me for an extra three weeks. It seemed fitting that after two weeks full of action and adventure, I'd be restrained to doing absolutely nothing for some time afterwards. All that I was allowed to do was eat, sleep, and shower. Well, that wasn't all I could do, but some days it was all I did. At nights I'd call Alexander, and when either one of us had to leave I spent the rest of my time watching horror films or reading my favorite vampire novels.
Alexander's arm was healing nicely, as Jameson put it. They couldn't take him to a hospital because when the doctors took an x-ray, nothing would show up. They assumed it was broken, and because I was out of action for three weeks, he had plenty of time to recover.
Tonight was special because I was finally free from my sentence. No more monotony, no more nothingness. I like my room and all, but being in it for all this time had me craving new scenery. And tonight Alexander and I were celebrating. I wanted to look as best as I could. I went through my closet twice, trying everything in as many combinations as possible. After vacillating between two outfits, I ended up choosing a completely different one. I slipped into torn black hose and laced up a navy blue mini corset dress. I wore one fishnet glove and the other was solid black. My makeup and hair was dark and otherworldly. I smiled at how scary I looked, wondering how I would survive without my reflection. It would sure make putting on the black lipstick a lot harder.
Our doorbell rang and I shot down the steps. "I got it!" I announced just as my parents and Billy Boy came up behind me. This was my special night, made even better because I had no idea what Alexander had in store for us, and I didn't want my family to ruin it.
I opened the door and there he stood. My Gothic Mate, Gothic Prince, my Knight of the Night. He looked gorgeous in a vintage black blazer with an embroidered skull on the breast pocket, a silk black button up, and black jeans over ancient looking Victorian style Wimple shoes. I was glad to see he wasn't wearing a sling like he said he had been. His eyes popped the instant he saw me. He smiled and extended his hand to me, his spider ring shining.
"You look beautiful," he said in awe. I couldn't help but blush; he always flattered me.
"Hello, Alexander, we haven't seen you in a while," my mom joked as he stepped inside.
"Yes, but that wasn't entirely my fault." He looked at me sternly. My family laughed.
"I blame Raven, too," Billy Boy chirped. "Without you around, it hasn't been any fun." I flicked him on the arm. "Hey," he warned.
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, can I go out now? I'm not grounded for some other reason, am I?"
My dad shook his head. "No, you've served your time." He laughed and then looked at Alexander. "Be sure to have her home by midnight."
"I will," Alexander said. He smiled at me again and tugged me outside. "Bye," he said to my family as they all waved back. I closed the door behind us.
I looked around outside but I didn't see the Mercedes anywhere. "Where's your car?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "Wherever Jameson is. He has a date with Ruby tonight." Ruby White was my boss at Armstrong's Travel Agency when I had to work there, after I'd lost my dad's expensive tennis racket, which was later given back to me by Trevor after I'd received enough money to pay my dad back. It was a horrible situation, but I gained a good friend out of it in Ruby.
"Wait, then how did you get here? You didn't fly, did you?"
He laughed. "No, I didn't fly. I took something else, but I was afraid that if your parents saw it they'd have a heart attack." He led me around the corner and pointed to something I hadn't seen in a long time. "See?"
I grinned. "Wicked!" A sleek black motorcycle was parked along the curb, looking stealthy and extremely dangerous. Not to mention amazing! I didn't know Alexander had brought it back with him from Hipsterville. I noticed two helmets on the seat. "You mean we're riding this?" He nodded. "Sweet! I haven't ridden on this since Phoenix drove me home that night in Hipsterville."
"If you want Phoenix, I have the purple wig at the Mansion," he joked. He grabbed the two helmets and handed one two me. "Strap up," he said as I took the smaller helmet.
I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You want me to get helmet hair?"
He rolled his eyes. "The last time you rode with me, we didn't have time to put on helmets. If your parents find out that I took you without one on, they'd kill me. Humor me."
"You're right," I agreed and put the helmet on. Alexander straddled the bike and motioned for me to get on. I jumped on right behind him. He started the engine as I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding for dear life even though we hadn't begun to move. He kicked the stand out and leaned the weight of the bike on one leg.
"You ready?" he called. I nodded as best as I could with the clunky biker helmet on. He balanced the bike and shot off down the street. The adrenaline rush was awesome. The feel of the wind blowing against my body was thrilling. When I was riding on this bike before, I was relieved that Phoenix had saved me from Jagger, so I was a bit preoccupied to enjoy the ride. Now, with nothing to bar the experience, I was having the ride of my life.
Alexander stopped just outside of Hatsy's and parked the bike. I spotted a familiar red Camaro in the parking lot. We took off our helmets and I looked at him skeptically again. "We're going to Hatsy's?" I asked him. He was the king of romantic dates; I was surprised he wasn't more original.
He shook his head. "No, we're just stopping here for a second to check in."
"Oh," I said as I realized what he was talking about. Since I was grounded, I hadn't seen Becky or Matt, and I talked with my best friend only once to see how she was.
We walked inside the diner like royalty. I felt like I was on the arm of a gothic prince. Mostly teenagers were inside, the usual for any summer night at Dullsville. At a large table in the far corner sat the entire Dullsville High Soccer team including the couple I wanted to see most. I pulled Alexander over and tapped Becky on the shoulder. She turned around and grinned from ear to ear when she realized that it was me.
"Hey, Ray!" she said, getting up from her chair and giving me a hug. When we pulled apart, I noticed that the cut on her neck was now a barely noticeable pink line. "You're finally free."
"You're telling me," I laughed. "Alexander and I just stopped in to see how you were doing."
"Okay, but you might want to watch out for –"
"You!" someone shouted from behind me. We all turned to see who it was. Recognition flashed across my face as my eyes narrowed. "Hey you two vampires," Trevor spat, marching toward us. I rolled my eyes.
I feigned innocence and batted my eyes at him. "Why Trevor, whatever are you talking about?" I said in the most proper voice I could manage without cracking up.
He stopped in front of Alexander and me, his face contorted crazily. I swore he was going mental all over again. "I always knew you were insane." His voice shook from madness. "You thought you could hide in a town like this. Well I know what I saw and I'm ready to tell everyone that you're vampires!"
Truth was, only one of us was. We weren't going to let him on that he was only half-write, though.
It was dead silent in the diner for a split second, and then Alexander and I busted out laughing. "Maybe you're the insane one," I said in between shuddering guffaws.
"Come on, everyone knows vampires don't exist," Alexander said convincingly. All the people at the soccer table seemed to be embarrassed by their captain's actions.
"But I saw the fangs, and the red eyes," Trevor spat, looking for any sign of recognition on our faces. He jabbed a finger at my boyfriend. "You hissed at me, right before… uh…"
The scary thing was, even though Luc hadn't died, people in town were really having trouble remembering him. Becky forgot all together that she was ever kidnapped. It was something that I had to ask Alexander about later tonight.
Alexander looked bemused. "Look, you're a little confused," he said calmly to Trevor. "Maybe you dreamed this. But I am not a vampire. See." He flashed a perfectly white, non-fanged smile at my nemesis. I thanked God they were retractable. "I don't have fangs, well I do, but they're in a drawer at home. I bought them at a costume shop." A few people laughed at that.
"But –"
"Look, you've been accusing him of this for long enough," I cut in. "Despite how popular you are, no one will believe you. I think you're wasting your time." I squeezed Alexander's hand and pulled him toward the door. "Bye, Becky and Matt," I said to them as we exited.
"That was close," I exhaled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alexander drove up to our favorite date spot: the cemetery. As he parked the motorcycle, I removed the helmet and looked at him quizzically. "I thought you'd get more creative than this. Besides, what if Old Jim catches me here again? He'll send me to prison, or worse, juvie…"
"Relax," he said. "I know for a fact that he isn't around tonight. He's at the bar on Saturday nights, remember?" He shouldered a backpack and led the way. We scaled the high fence together and walked through the tombstones in utter darkness. I was surprised when we passed his grandmother's monument without any signs of stopping there.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
He looked over his shoulder at me. "You'll see." We walked a few more minutes and I was shocked when I saw yet another candlelit table set up in an opening. Sterling silver platters were set for two along with tall glasses filled with sparkling water. A huge dark shadow lurked behind the setup. As we got closer I recognized the outstretched arms and expanse of wings that was known as Celeste Angelo's monument. It looked stunning with the way the dim light played with the shadows of her angled cheekbones.
"Why are we back here?" The memory of finding Becky on the angel was creeping back in my mind. What was he trying to do?
"I wanted you to have a better appreciation of this wonderful statue." He gestured to Celeste. "You have a bad remembrance of her, so I want to make your experience better."
"How?"
He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a sketchpad and pencil. "You're going to be my model." He grinned. "I don't think we've ever done live modeling before."
I smiled back. "Sounds like fun."
For the next hour I posed several different ways with the angel. I reclined in her open arms, leaned against her elongated stature, even repeated her pose and asked Alexander to draw black wings on me. He watched me for once with the eye of an artist, scrutinizing every curve of my body or how the moon painted shadows against us. He worked with what appeared to be careful patience, but in reality it took him a few minutes per drawing. Each work, despite being of the same subjects, was extremely different from the others depending on how he depicted either one of us. Whether he brought out the serenity of Celeste or the intensity of my eyes, every piece had its own unique spark that drew your attention.
This time I was sitting on the grass, resting backwards on my arms looking up at the statue. I was thinking about that, even though she was inanimate, Celeste had sort of been a guardian angel for my best friend and my boyfriend. Even if she was an angel of light, she was there us. She protected us from true evil.
"Alexander? What do you think happened to Luc?" I asked for the first time in three weeks. I hadn't been concerned until now, almost a little afraid to know. But I had Celeste watching over me.
"I guess he went back to Hipsterville," he mused, not taking his eyes from the sketchpad. "Now that we took away his opportunity to create a vampire army from humans, he might try to rally the current vampires on his side. But since Phoenix took over the Coffin Club, no one will take his side, unless he used Magnetism on them."
"If he's still alive, why is everyone having trouble remembering him?"
"I'm not sure, but I would guess that when you threw garlic powder on him, his powers got depleted. If the Magnetism power has been weakened, that might be why it's messing with everyone's memory. Will their memories of him return when he restores? That's something we can't know of until the future."
Well, it wasn't like that was a completely horrible thing. If the Millers remembered that Luc kidnapped Becky, they might place a warrant for his arrest. That would be interesting…
"Done," Alexander announced. I hopped up from the grass and walked over to him, looking over his shoulder.
The drawing was yet another flawless work. Celeste reminded me of the Virgin Mary that you see outside of Catholic churches, he arms outstretched and her face peaceful. Light resonated from her body, illuminating all that was around her. Below was me, watching her with a wondrous sort of amazement, almost as if she were performing a miracle before my eyes.
"Wow, that's amazing!" I marveled. Alexander smiled. I leaned down to passionately kiss him.
He kissed me back forcefully, drinking me in and filling me with love. He slid his arms around my waist to pull me closer. Our lips moved in unison, my mind spinning with all we had just gone through over the past month, with finding out about killings in nearby towns and searching for vampires by night. Even the whole Trevor episode felt like it happened a long time ago. It was clear that no matter what we faced, we would get through it together.
Whether I was going to become a vampire or not was the least of my worries tonight. For now, I was going to enjoy the moment by focusing on the two of us here below the expanse of a beautifully dark sky, our safe haven.
It's been an awesome ride, and I can't believe this is the first story I've finished. If there's anything I've missed, let me know and I'll fill you in. For now, I'm taking a break from Vampire Kisses stories to write one for Maximum Ride. It's called "Not So Normal", and you don't have to have read the books to know what's going on. Also, I may be writing an alternate ending to this story thanks to a suggestion from CloudNrain. I don't think I'll write a sequel, but if I do it won't be any time soon.
I may also start writing a story on this blog I started mostly to document my college search for my friends. If anyone wants to read or has a Live Journal, drop by and leave a comment or request friendship with me. Any advice is great! Go to my profile to check it out!!
Thanks everyone!!! :D