"Of course! The one time we get pizza, is when your mom is treating us!" Benny exclaimed irritatedly, sitting down on the top of the couch.
"The guys still has..." Ethan glanced down at his watch "...Two minutes and forty nine seconds" He sighed.
"Zero chance in that rust bucket, which reminds me. Limo or jetpack?" Benny asked.
"Benny, what are you talking about now?" I asked, rolling my eyes as I turned to face him.
"Our ride to the 'Fly off to the Moon' dance. You guys already know my pick but d'you think the chicks will dig a stretch?" He asked, nodding in thought.
"What chicks?!" My brother exclaimed.
"Jetpack it is"
"Benny, I think I'm out" Ethan admitted, shaking his head.
"What?! We gotta go. Party, possible chicks, jetpacks!" Benny exclaimed, counting the reasons off on his fingers.
"I don't know I mean, ever since we dug up the Cubile Animus, Sarah got possessed and trashed the house, and nearly killed Emma. I've kind of felt like laying low" Ethan shrugged. I nodded in agreement.
"You can lay low when you're dead, these are the best years of our lives!"
"Really?" Ethan asked.
"I really hope not" Benny replied, his tone a lot less enthusiastic.
"Coming up, yet another name to the Whitechapel list of missing persons. Who is it? Stand by" The TV guy said. I rolled my eyes, looking down at my homework.
"Missing persons? How about my missing pizza! I'm calling it in" Benny declared, pulling out his cell-phone.
"Dude, calm down!" I exclaimed, shaking my head in annoyance.
I walked down the hallway with Maya, listening to her go on about how excited she was about the dance. Now don't get me wrong, I loved her, but she could really talk. Which was weird considering how shy she was on her first day. Benny and Ethan were most likely near their lockers, though Ethan was probably suffering as much as I was right now. The pizza guy hadn't shown up last night, so my brother was most likely listening to Benny whine about how upset he was about the missing pizza. Despite all the hype around school, I wasn't that fazed by the dance. But then again, after everything that had happened this year, the only news I'd get excited by was the news of someone telling me that my visions were disappearing. But I would never be that lucky.
"...So, who are you going with?" I caught the end of Maya's question, inwardly beating myself up for not listening to her.
"Uh, what?" I asked, shaking my head. She rolled her eyes.
The 'Fly off to the Moon' dance. Who's taking you?" She repeated.
"No one" I shrugged. She stared at me with a look of disbelief.
"You're kidding?"
"Nope. Why? Who are you going with?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from myself.
"No one, I just told you. I'm waiting for someone to ask me" She replied, standing taller.
"Would this 'someone' be Rory by any chance?" I asked knowingly.
"Maybe"
"Look Maya, if you're waiting for Rory to get your hints, then you'll be waiting forever. Which wouldn't be that bad, considering you're both vampires" I chuckled, shrugging my shoulders.
"Thanks, thanks a lot" She muttered sarcastically "Anyway. Why aren't you going with anyone?"
"Because no one's interested in me" I replied, staring ahead in thought.
"You're kidding right?" She asked with raised eyebrows. I turned to face her, shaking my head "OMG! You need a date, it wouldn't be normal if you went without!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah, and you need to stop hanging out with Erica so much. OMG, really?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"We share a lot in common, and this isn't about me, it's about you. There are tons of guys in this school that would kill to go with you!"
"Yeah right" I muttered, crossing my arms as we walked.
"I'm serious! You're hot, Emma. Look around you, notice anything?" She asked, gesturing to the crowd surrounding us. Looking around, I could see maybe one or two guys checking us both out. But I wasn't fazed at all.
"Yeah, jocks check all the girls out" I shrugged, walking on ahead.
"Emma" She groaned, catching up to me.
"What?!"
"What's bugging you?" She sighed knowingly.
"Nothing" I lied, biting my lip nervously.
"Really? I can hear your heartbeat speeding up, c'mon just tell me" She begged. I rolled my eyes.
"All this talk about dates and boys, it just reminds me that I'm not seeing Benny anymore" I admitted.
"You could've just told me that. Look Emm's, if you want him back that bad, just ask him" She shrugged. I stared at her with a look of disbelief.
"You're joking? Maya he's not interested in me anymore, he always talks about other girls around me like it's normal. Trust me, he's not interested" I sighed, shaking my head.
"Okay, you really need some kind of update on guys. Nerds or not, they all work the same way. He's trying to make you jealous, trying to make it seem like he's over you when he really isn't. Now you believe me. He wants you just as much as you want him" She shrugged.
"When did you get so clever?" She chuckled.
"I've always been clever, but I only cash in when it's needed" I smiled in amusement and nodded.
School soon ended, and I found myself wandering the halls, looking for Maya. I'd somehow been roped into going dress shopping with her and Erica, something she was more excited about than me. To be fair, I loved shopping as much as the next girl, but the only reason I was going was because the two didn't have a reflection, so it was my job to tell them how good they looked. Though despite my lack of enthusiasm, I was a little excited about it, deep down. Because the harder I thought about it, the more it seemed normal. Dress-shopping for the dance, it was something normal people did, and I wasn't passing up the chance to do something normal for once. Especially considering how my Freshmen year of High-School had gone.
"Emma!" I spun around, finding Benny running towards me.
"Hey" I greeted, crossing my arms.
"What are you still doing here? I thought you'd have gone home by now" He said with narrowed eyes.
"I'm supposed to be dress-shopping tonight with Maya, but I can't seem to find her" I shrugged, glancing around the mostly empty hallway.
"Yikes. Dress-shopping? Really?" He chuckled. I rolled my eyes.
"I know, it's not something I'd be into. But if I don't find Maya soon, there will be two ticked off vampires in Whitechapel" I sighed.
"Two?"
"Erica's going. I'm going with them because they don't have a reflection, you know, I just have to tell them how they look" I explained. He whistled.
"I feel bad for you" I nodded.
"I feel bad for myself. Anyway, where's Ethan?" I asked, noticing that my brother wasn't with him.
"He's tutoring Sarah. They need some alone time" He smirked. I smiled in amusement.
"Right. What are you gonna do then?" I asked.
"I don't know" He whined "I thought you and I could hang out, but you're busy so" He shrugged.
"You know, you could come with" I offered, tilting my head slightly.
"Yeah, me and vampires don't really get along. Plus, I'm a guy, so shopping isn't on my list of fun either" He replied. I rolled my eyes.
"C'mon! I need someone to talk to while those two are looking at dresses. Please" I begged, positioning my hands in the praying sign. He stared at me for a few seconds before groaning.
"Fine" I smiled "But, I am not holding their bags"
"Deal" I said, offering my glove-covered hand to him. He paused for a moment, before finally shaking my hand.
"Well, well. What's going on here then?" A familiar voice sang. Both Benny and I rolled our eyes, turning to face the blonde vampire.
"Nothing. You girls ready?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"We've been ready for the last hour, where were you?" Maya asked.
"Looking for you two. Speaking of which, Benny's coming with us" I said.
"Great! We need someone to hold our stuff while we shop!" Erica exclaimed cheerfully. She headed towards the exit with Maya and I turned to face Benny.
"I'm sorry" I sighed. He shook his head.
"It's fine, c'mon. Let's go shopping!" He exclaimed unenthusiastically. I laughed and dragged him out of the school.
As soon as I got into my house, I dropped my bags onto the floor, falling onto the floor from exhaustion. Benny soon appeared behind me, just as tired. He sat down on the floor next to me, leaning back so that he was leaning against the wall. We'd finally finished dress-shopping with the girls, but the only reason they stopped was because they got 'peckish'. I think it was the only time I was thankful for the vampires' need for blood. Those girls sure were picky with their clothes.
"I thought shopping with normal girls was bad. I was wrong, shopping with vampire girls is way worse" Benny said with wide eyes.
"When have you ever gone shopping with a normal girl?" I asked amusedly.
"When I was little I had to go shopping with my cousins. They're all girls by the way" He replied. I nodded "Anyway. What did you get?"
"I'm not telling. You boys will just have to wait until tomorrow" I shrugged.
"Oh c'mon! I just spend like, two hours doing you a favour. The least you can do is let me see what you're wearing!" He exclaimed.
"Nope. You'll just have to be patient" I chuckled, rising from the floor while picking up my dropped bags.
"Patient? Do you know me at all?" He asked. I rolled my eyes in amusement.
"Ethan! You home?!" I called, leaning against the banister.
"Yeah!" He replied from upstairs.
"See, big brothers home. Go play with him" I told Benny as I walked up the stairs towards my bedroom.
"Play? We're not ten Emma" He said as he trailed behind me.
"Coulda fooled me" I muttered as we reached the second floor.
"Emma!" Ethan exclaimed running out of his bedroom.
"Yeah?"
"I need your help" He admitted. I tilted my head "With clothes" He added.
"Let me stick this stuff in my room first" I sighed. He nodded and I quickly dumped the bags into my bedroom before heading into his room.
"What about this?" My brother asked, holding up a Camo tank-top.
"Where are we going, paint-balling?" Benny mocked, his arms crossed behind his head. Ethan groaned and grabbed another shirt from the closet.
"How about this?" He held a plaid shirt in his hands.
"You still wear plaid?"
"Hey! I'm wearing plaid!" I exclaimed, gesturing down at my shirt.
"Yeah, but you're hot enough to rock it" He smirked. I smiled and bit my lip as I turned back to Ethan.
"Ha! How about this?" He asked, turning to us with a black shirt that had a tuxedo print on the front.
"That's it! We're rolling in style, we are renting tuxes!" Benny exclaimed, rolling his eyes.
"Let's see" Ethan muttered, digging through the top shelf of his closet. Benny leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes. I was straddling Ethan's computer chair, leaning forward so that my front was resting against the back of the chair. We'd been at this for nearly an hour, and my brother still hadn't found anything to wear for the dance tomorrow. It was no lie that nerds were clueless when it came to clothes for special occasions "Oh no, no, no, no!" He suddenly exclaimed, running towards Benny with something in his hands.
"Oh chill it'll be awesome!" Benny reassured, his eyes still closed.
"Benny"
"I haven't rocked a tux since Jerry Spellman's bar mitzvah"
"Benny, what is this doing in my closet?" Ethan asked nervously, holding out the object. Benny opened his eyes and they immediately widened, as did mine when I realised what my brother was holding; The Cubile Animus "I told you to put it somewhere no one would ever find it!"
"Have you seen your closet?" Benny asked.
"He kind of has a point" I sighed, rising from the chair.
"Benny, I had a vision. When we dug up the Cubile Animus, something got out, or somebody. Jesse" Ethan said.
"What?! We totally vanquished him!" Benny exclaimed confusedly.
"Yeah, well somehow we un-vanquished him. When we dug up the box" Benny rose from the bed with wide eyes.
"You mean, he was in the box, and we...are you sure?" He asked.
"Well, there's only one way to find out" Ethan shrugged. I sighed and bit my lip nervously.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" Benny exclaimed, gripping his hair nervously. There were footprints leading away from the dig-up site in our backyard, heading towards the street.
"We are so dumb!" Ethan exclaimed.
"We are so dead, we're gonna die, instead of wearing the tux to the dance it'll be to my funeral. Which means we should probably buy instead of rent" Benny said, his eyes narrowed in thought.
"Why did you guys even dig that thing up?!" I asked, gesturing to the hole in the ground.
"We did it to save you!" Benny shouted frustratedly. Ethan and I both stared at him, my brother with a questioning expression while mine was one of surprise "And Sarah" He added.
"We have to find her" Ethan said, shaking his head.
"Great, now we're gonna die twice, first Sarah will kill us, and then Jesse will!" Benny shouted.
"Benny, get a grip okay?!"
"We're too young to die!"
"Benny, calm the fuck down!" I exclaimed, gripping his shoulders.
"How can I calm down Emma? The vampire we got rid of is back and probably wants to kill us!"
"I know! I was there, remember?" I re-capped in a calmer tone. He sighed, averting his eyes "Screaming about it won't help, believe me"
"Guys" Ethan called, gesturing to something behind Benny. I looked to see Sarah approaching us.
"Jesse's back" She and Ethan said in unison.
"Wait, how'd you know?" Ethan asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
"He just proposed to me" She admitted.
"What?!" The three of us exclaimed.
"Jesse's weak, we need to take him out now before he gets his strength back. We'll go tomorrow night" She said.
"But, it's the dance" Benny whined.
"We're coming. Right Benny?" Ethan asked, shooting his best friend a warning look.
"He's weak?" Benny sighed disappointedly, facing Sarah again.
"He can barely walk"
"Alright, let's smoke this broke-down vampire. Again!"
"Okay, I'll set the meeting. You guys get the gear" She instructed, pulling out her cell-phone.
"Okay, it's Jesse take-down 2.0. And this time we know what we're doing!" Ethan exclaimed.
"And we'll still have enough time to dance our way into the honeys hearts" Benny added. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
"That's right, we can totally do this!"
"Good, because Jesse wants to meet at the school for nine" Sarah told us, reading he text on her phone.
"Perfect, we are super psyched" Benny muttered.
"C'mon, fearless vampire hunters" Sarah smirked, heading towards the house. Both boys shared annoyed looks before chasing after her. I sighed and glanced at the hold one more time before following them into the house.