Chapter Three – Human Again
Sunday nights were for vegging. Vegging, and being disappointed about the proximity to Monday. Sarah, on the other hand, was more than ready to go back to school. She had been carefully prepping for this venture long and hard during the last few weeks of social isolation.
She unlocked her cell phone and briefly re-visited the checklist she had made for the following morning:
1. Drop off extra credit with Mrs. Thoroughbred before first period
2. Bring Erica coffee – hopefully she shows – if not, I'll drink it!
3. Talk to Ethan
Sarah thought she was ready. It took some time, but she'd finally convinced herself that she was mentally and emotionally prepared to face Ethan. She'd even found a couple of do-it-yourself Tai chi videos on the internet and so, she was relaxed… calm. She would confidently walk through the double doors to his locker, face him head on, and say-
"Hey, girl." Erica appeared suddenly, having flashed in front of Sarah's window, smirking good-naturedly.
"AHHHHH! Holy… Erica," Sarah clutched her chest, and stormed over to the window in a huff, "Come in, but don't do that again." She grabbed Erica's hand to help her inside. "I'm easily excitable." She added, under her breath (she doesn't have those vampire spidey senses anymore).
Erica tossed a leg over the windowsill and gracefully entered Sarah's bedroom (a norm for the two friends). She went straight for Sarah's bed, sitting on the edge, and laid back with an anticlimactic 'plop'.
"It's so good to see you," Sarah then smiled, letting her moment of shock pass rather quickly, "Where have you been? I've been texting and calling… it's been almost two weeks since vampire HQ blew up." She leaned against her desk and crossed her arms, a curious look in her eye.
"UGH! Don't even get me started." Erica dramatically held up a hand with a slight eyeroll. "Little miss fang fang forced us outside of Whitechapel to summer camp. A serious drag." She examined her nails, then raised her now sparkling eyes to meet Sarah's. "But some of us didn't make it outside the town limits before the explosion, did they?" A smile creeped at one corner of her mouth, to Sarah's surprise.
"How did you know?" Sarah asked, flushing slightly.
"Well, you're flushed, for one. But two, Anastasia and the council have 'eyes everywhere.'" Erica finger-quoted, sarcastically. Then genuinely, "I'm happy for you, Sarah. Really."
"Um, thanks?" Sarah raised an eyebrow, "What's the catch?"
Erica laughed. "The catch is – accept I'm happy for my best friend, who got what she always wanted, before I change my mind…" She stood up from the bed and placed her hands on Sarah's shoulders. "…and bite you!" She flashed her fangs playfully in the direction of the nape of her best friend's neck, as if she was going to bite her, who snorted.
"Get off of me, you psycho!" The two girlfriends laughed and chased each other over to the bed, where they flopped down, and after another minute of laughter and lighthearted teasing, readjusted.
Sarah moved her schoolwork and bookbag onto the floor, so that there would be enough room for both of them. Erica unlocked her phone and began to flick through social media absentmindedly, while Sarah sat and watched her inquisitively, once again losing track of her thoughts.
Sarah hadn't thought about what Erica might say once she found out what happened at HQ. Would Erica be angry with Ethan? Threatened by him? If the council found out how powerful he really was, would they want him reprimanded for posing a risk to vampire immortality? Erica loved being a vampire. Sarah couldn't really imagine a scenario where Erica wouldn't be wary of Ethan's seemingly large contribution toward Sarah's newfound humanity. Should she tell her? Or wait until she can regroup with Benny tomorrow?
Sarah leaned her chin on her fist and frowned. A soft sigh must have escaped her lips (her thoughts moving too quickly through her mind to notice) because Erica soon snapped her head toward her gloomy friend, skeptically. Sarah offered the young vampiress a small smile in the hope that she would let it slide, but to no avail. There's no taking back the scent once the dog has caught a whiff.
"What's going on with you?" Erica locked her phone and sat up, poised, at the ready.
"Nothing, Er. I'm just tired." Sarah always cracked under pressure. She quickly stood up (even more suspicious, in Erica's mind) from her position at the head of the bed and began to gather her papers that she had set on the floor earlier.
"No, you're not," Erica stated definitively, readjusting her sitting position. A smug grin began to form on her face, "I know that look."
"What look?" Sarah played it off in her typical way.
Erica tapped her chin thoughtfully, then stood from the bed, proudly. "You're moping." She tapped Sarah's nose, much her chagrin.
"Duh." An eyeroll. "I'm exhausted from two grueling weeks of social isolation! Not to mention that unfortunate run in with my ex-boyfriend."
"Nuh uh," Erica sang, "you're moping, or should I say pining… over a guy."
Sarah's eyes widened in horror. "I am not!"
Erica scoffed. "You're an even worse liar now than when you played pop and I played corn and we did the popcorn dance Halloween of '06. You just had to impress concessions guy."
"That blush was taken out of context." Sarah pouted rapidly and huffed, crossing her arms.
Not having heard her for a lack of caring, Erica continued. "And the only guy you've had relations with recently is...Ethan." Her devious smile grew.
Sarah shot her a frostily incredulous look. Erica countered it with a long and drawn-out rather sharp look of her own. If Benny were there, he might have argued that it was a "laser-eye-beam level stare."
"Okay." Sarah sighed in defeat, "So, I'm thinking about Ethan." There was no throwing Erica off the train of perceived romance. If she smelt it, she dealt it.
Erica smirked triumphantly. "What about him?"
"I'm not…" Sarah started, but once again was stuck at where to begin. Should she start with the lucifractor, or from the very beginning – when she first started to feel differently around him? When does she get to the part about the weird superpowers and how that might affect their relationship? What if they go to hug tomorrow and he breaks her in half with some kind of newfound super strength, now that she's no longer a vampire?
"Well," Erica interrupted Sarah's rabbit hole thinking before it became too embarrassingly dorky. Showed just how much time she'd been spending with the geek posse. "I think I have a few ideas."
"Alright," Sarah flinched slightly, only half-listening and still somewhat lost in her thoughts, "What is it?"
Erica returned to examining her nails. At some point during Sarah's reveries, Erica had located her friend's nail file. "That you like him."
Sarah was snapped out of her musings almost immediately. "Come again?"
"Sarah, why won't you admit it to yourself?" Erica teased, "You're head over fangs."
Sarah, the emotionally distraught newfound human that she was, couldn't even begin to meet her friend's mischievous, yet ultimately kind eyes. "There are no more fangs." Sarah whined softly to herself, face in her hands.
"Hey," Erica tossed the file over her shoulder and stood up, "Speak for yourself! I'll see you at school, alright? Don't stay up all night brooding." She chuckled to herself, much to Sarah's dismay. Sarah felt as if she was going to throw up. All that Tai chi for nothing.
"Oh, and Sarah?" Erica paused, halfway out of her friend's window, amidst the light pink curtains blowing in the brisk nighttime breeze. "After you pull yourself together, we've got to talk about all this lucifractor junk, alright? Thing three and I learned some interesting stuff from the council… about your little schoolgirl crush." The vampiress offered a rare, sincere smile, albeit slight, and then she was gone.
Sarah groaned in response, and rolled over onto her stomach so that her face was planted in her pillow, and did that thing again with her arms where she made herself see stars.
Ethan closed his locker after first period and sighed.
Three things continued their constant re-play through his mind: vampire HQ exploding and the intense emotions he felt in that moment – though the rest was blank; the rubble and glass that rained down as he and his friends shielded themselves from the wreckage, and Sarah's wide and pensive eyes boring into his as he reached out a tentative hand to help her upright after the fallout had subsided.
To make matters worse, he had actually run into her that morning before first period at the Lotta Latte. The bell above the entrance rang, signaling his arrival. He noticed Sarah right away, paying for her coffee (free from zombie cooties of course). He went up to her to say hello while she finished up at the register. However, when they met eyes, hers had widened to an excessive degree and she managed a belabored greeting before hurrying past him, aberrantly mumbling something about needing to complete a checklist in the right order.
Ethan frowned to himself, so much for that third date.
"Hey, Ethan." The subject of his morning musings surprised the young seer out of his thoughts.
"Sarah! H-hey-" Ethan started, but before he could finish Sarah had wrapped him up in her dainty arms. Just as swiftly however, she let go. The sophomore barely had time to manage a response, let alone register whom he was holding.
"The last two weeks have been a serious load," She rolled her big brown eyes and he nodded agreeably, falling into step with her, "I missed my nerd squad." She smiled slightly and shyly pushed a couple of stray hairs behind her ear. Sarah… shy? This is new. On second thought, Ethan supposed he didn't really know her before she was a vampire.
Though he had been unable to get a word in edgewise, or address their uncomfortable two-week lapse in communication, he felt something begin to stir deep within his chest following the recent progression of their relationship. Could it be courage? He decided to pipe up before he changed his mind.
"Anyone in particular from this little nerd squad?" Sarah laughed warmly in response. Ethan had become very familiar with the feeling of his heart soaring whenever she did that.
"May-be..." She sing-songed, dragging out the last syllable, dare he say flirtingly. She was flirting with him! MADAY MADAY… say something you dumbass! A goofy grin began to grow on his face, but not before he recalled the awkwardness of the last few weeks. He inwardly cringed at what he was about to do.
"Sarah," He looked down at the ground and counted to three softly to increase his courage, "I've been meaning to talk to you about-"
"Wassup!" A startling voice exclaimed behind the young couple in the hallway. Ethan and Sarah turned their heads inward and around in surprise, causing them to embarrassingly and painfully collide.
"AGH!" They chorused, grabbing their respective noggins in uniform. Ethan scratched at his head uncomfortably when he registered the grinning spellmaster, while Sarah (though no longer a vampire, was still rather intimidating) growled in annoyance.
"Whoops, my apologies amigos. It's been a long two weeks, and my vocal intonation is still off. I must've forgotten the ways of socialization." Benny wiggled his fingers on the latter and laughed good-naturedly. Though upon recognizing Sarah's hard gaze, he cowered a bit.
"I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" He easily slipped back into his facetious ways. Ethan frowned.
"No, Benny." The seer felt he might have imagined it, but he could've sworn he saw a shadow pass over Sarah's eyes before she speedily looked away. A moment of silence passed between the three friends.
"Well, the three musketeers are back and at it again! I missed this… the comradery." Benny weaseled his way in between the young couple and threw both of his arms around their shoulders. Sarah mumbled something unintelligible and shoved Benny's arm off of her shoulder, clearly aggravated.
"Get off, Benny."
"The playful banter..." Benny winked cheekily at Sarah and she visibly shuddered in return.
Ethan shot Benny a glare and the spellmaster simply smirked in his typical way, and gestured his head toward Sarah, shooting his friend a thumbs-up, unbeknownst to her. Ethan rolled his eyes and shoved his friend off of his shoulders as well, and joined Sarah in glowering at him, but now her face had faded into a small smile.
"So? Who's ready for our next creepy crawly showdown?" The young spellmaster inquired and punched the air a few times, enthusiastically, for effect. "I feel like we're the kings of the world after that last one!"
Ethan heaved a sigh, "Hopefully not anytime soon. I need a break from the supernatural for a while, and you need to start wearing a helmet," Benny scoffed while his friend continued, "All I need coming my way this holiday season is a normal, run of the mill Thanksgiving topped with a family-filled Christmas. Very...normal." Sarah nodded in concurrence.
"What about the lucifractor?" Benny raised an eyebrow at Ethan, "Did you get rid of the darn thing after you showed it to Grandma?" Ethan opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted.
"I found the darn thing! Can I volunteer to get rid of it?" A beaming Erica suddenly appeared from around the hallway corridor, gripping Rory's ear tightly as he attempted to swat her hand away.
"Erica!" The trio exclaimed in unison, rushing to meet her and her "play thing" halfway.
"Have no fear, sexy is here." She flashed her fangs bouncily and Sarah stifled a laugh at Rory, who was still desperately clawing at Erica's hand.
"Erica, what happened to you guys?" Ethan asked keenly and the blonde bombshell shrugged in return.
"That little twit Anastasia old school-glamoured dork number three and I and forced us out of Whitechapel before the explosion. But no worries, we took care of her." She beamed almost manically and exchanged a look with Rory.
"Let's just say we'll be hiding from the vampire council for quite a while." He chimed in.
"Though they should be thanking us," Erica examined her nails disinterestedly in her typical way, "We did destroy their stupid lucifer thingie."
"Okay, first of all, luci-FRACTOR, genius." Benny enunciated the latter sardonically and Erica hissed in return, triggering him to pipe down shamefacedly.
"Second," Ethan turned to face the bickering pair and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "We didn't destroy it… something else did. And the three of us," he gestured to himself, Benny, and Sarah, "can't remember what."
Benny and Sarah exchanged a worried glance; Ethan too caught up in his own mind to notice. Erica however, did notice; and she narrowed her eyes accusingly at the odd pairing.
"What do you mean?" Rory interrupted the brief moment of uncomfortable silence. "We know that- "
"-we gave it our best effort!" Benny interrupted, punching Rory hard on the arm. The young vampire yelped in return.
"Hey!"
Benny shot him a laser-eye-beam level stare and Sarah partook in the effort by pinching their chatterbox friend's arm, hard. Somehow, that seemed to be enough to shut him up, if only for the lack of wanting another surprise thumping.
For the first time, Ethan eyed the bumbling crew suspiciously. Something was up there. He just wasn't sure what.
"All for taking a break from the crazy for a while?" Sarah suddenly proposed to the group, breaking up the seer's thoughts before he could properly question the events of the last minute or two.
A hallway-echoing chorus of "I"'s gained traction around their makeshift circle. Soon after, the five-minute bell rang abruptly, signaling the proximity to the start of second period. The gathering of teenagers groaned… some inwardly, some outwardly. Sarah took in a sharp breath and abruptly turned to Ethan.
"See you at lunch?" She offered, grabbing Erica's arm hurriedly and dragging her away to honors biology.
"Yeah, sure." Ethan said softly as they strode away. Rory waved at his sophomore companions enthusiastically before putting in his earbuds and starting off to who knows where. With that, Ethan and Benny fell into step toward calculus.
"So, have you and Sarah talked about-"
"-the date, or the fact that we haven't spoken in weeks? Nope." Ethan sighed dejectedly, popping the "p," and his friend grimaced.
"Seriously?" The spellmaster groaned, "It's been two weeks and you still haven't talked about it?"
"Well, we were beginning to." The seer muttered and Benny swung his arm in front of Ethan's chest to stop him.
"That's what I was interrupting? Aw, man. Curse my old man hearing loss. I'm sorry, dude."
Ethan shook his head.
"It's fine." and offered a lop-sided smile. He couldn't stay mad at his best friend, who could finally converse and hear (somewhat) properly again. "Besides, I was probably going to screw up and say something dumb again anyway."
"Dude, heck no!" Benny smacked the young seer upside the head whom rubbed it begrudgingly, "She totally wants the 'D'!" The spellmaster waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Ethan echoed the upside-the-head smack, this time on Benny, and the friends' laughter resounded down the hallway; relieved to be reunited once again.
The day dragged on mechanically for Ethan.
He naively thought some good old-fashioned functions might help to take his mind off of things, but to no avail. The supernatural teen found it difficult to stop tapping his pencil and biting his lip too hard that he drew blood. It's a good thing he didn't have that class with Rory or Erica.
There were so many questions left unanswered. What happened during the few minutes that neither him or his friends could remember? Were they safe? And perhaps even more importantly... what had happened to Stern? And if the lucifractor could wipe people's memories… what else could it do?
Unfortunately, the young seer hadn't thought to do much research into the history of the lucifractor over their school break. Further, everything during the week between the pocket dimension fiasco and Stern's revenge tirade had all happened so quickly. Ethan even stooped so low as to begin to entertain the possibility of discussing his concerns with Jesse. The stubborn seer shuddered at the latter thought. One encounter this semester with Sarah's ex was enough. Besides, how would he get in touch with the guy? According to their vampire intel, the reverend changes numbers after any "big casualty event." Benny's grandma was definitely a better option.
Ethan anxiously shook his head out of his musings and let out a labored breath. Back to functions and anti-derivatives... Forget the supernatural, Morgan. But how could he after everything that'd happened?
Sarah nurtured a love-hate relationship with honors biology.
She didn't mind learning about ecology, animal migration patterns, or environmental science… but this week they had moved into fishery ecosystems, and given the opportunity (and perchance a helping of vampire super speed), she would've leapt out of her chair to shut off the projector blasting pointless tips on algae identification. And as the old chap on the screen droned on and on about the difference between small- and largemouth bass, she couldn't help but fall deeper and deeper into a preoccupied funk.
Next to her, Erica was cheerily sipping her morning coffee (which wasn't coffee at all, but rather her morning snack in a cup). Sarah tossed a sad glance toward her (recently) more confident friend, mentally revisiting her failed attempts at checking off step number three that morning. To make matters worse, she was pretty confident that Ethan had caught her mumbling about her stupid list, which rendered the newfound human all the more wary.
She quickly retrieved her cell phone from its resting position at the head of her desk with fervor, and typed out a quick message. She then exhaled and waited for the inevitable buzz on her friend's desk.
When it happened, Sarah cringed, while Erica quickly recovered her 6G before they were discovered. Subsequently, the vampiress switched off the vibration setting on her phone, out of an abundance of caution.
New Text Message from: Sarah Fox – December 6, 10:02am
I am unwell
Her friend stifled a chuckle before typing out a response.
New Text Message from: Erica Jones – December 6, 10:02am
That bad huh?
Sarah frowned at her phone.
New Text Message from: Sarah Fox – December 6, 10:03am
Ugh. I dunno what to do… I can't focus. It was so much easier over break when I could just ignore him.
New Text Message from: Erica Jones – December 6, 10:05am
Sarah…
New Text Message from: Erica Jones – December 6, 10:05am
And Ethan…
New Text Message from: Sarah Fox – December 6, 10:06am
What?
New Text Message from: Erica Jones – December 6, 10:06am
Sitting in a tree…
Sarah craned her neck toward her friend to find her beaming as she proceeded to mouth the letters "K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Sarah could barely make it out under the hazy light of the ancient projector, but it was still defined enough for the brown-eyed beauty to stay outright appalled.
Her shocked expression transformed into a soft growl as Sarah managed, "Erica..." Her friend broke out into a soft giggle and Sarah elbowed her hard in the chest.
"AGH!" The blonde clutched her upper body melodramatically and huffed, glaring in her friend's direction. Human or not, hell hath no fury like a teenage girl scorned.
Suddenly, the classroom lights switched on and the projector was flipped off, as twenty-five other student heads turned around to face the pair of seventeen-year-old girls bickering in the back row, whom were now frozen in place.
"Ladies!" Mrs. Thoroughbred hissed, and said ladies swallowed, hard. "Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class? Perhaps a controversial take on lake pollutants?"
Erica coughed on her beverage, sputtering.
"Oh! We were just so thrilled over this riveting film that-"
"Erica thought the documentary was boring, so rather than paying attention, she decided to text me. So, I reprimanded her – in good fun – because that was extremely rude and disrespectful to you, Mrs. T." Sarah flounced, flipping her hair over one shoulder while the spunky vampiress gasped in shock and awe.
"Erica Jones! I suppose I'll be seeing you after class." Their teacher asserted before returning to the projector hastily to switch it back on. Erica then muttered something under her breath along the lines of, "Sarah Fox, you will die."
Sarah smirked and leaned over to whisper daintily in her ear, "payback."
"Well," a trademark eyeroll, then a slight (almost impressed) smirk, "looks like Sarah wannabe Morgan just made Erica's list."
Oof. Sarah scrunched her nose in a grimace. She may as well have anticipated that.
Class soon ended, thankfully signaling the end of that dreadful documentary. Sarah waved goodbye to Erica teasingly before speeding out of the room before she got bit or worse. From what Sarah could make out, Mrs. Thoroughbred had bestowed upon her friend a grungy eraser and single piece of chalk. It was unclear what Erica was forced to write on the board, but Sarah was certain she'd hear about it later that day when she 'died.'
Sarah moseyed her way to the lunchroom, stopping at her locker for a short time along the way. She dawdled and took her time replacing her honors biology textbooks with those of European history, the latter of which she shared with Ethan. She strolled toward the cafeteria after retrieving her salad from the small fridge in the senior lounge, and quickly recognized the dork squad animatedly waving her over. She couldn't help but shake her head warmly, wearing a slight smile as she sauntered over to their table.
"Hey, Sarah!" Ethan's brown eyes smiled along with him and she couldn't help but echo the gesture.
"Where's Erica?"
Sarah raised a curious eyebrow. He'd never expressed concern over her whereabouts before. Her mind briefly revisited earlier that day when Ethan had asked Erica where she was during the battle at vampire HQ. Sarah shook away the petty worries (these thoughts were so unlike her) and forked up a reply.
"Detention."
"Oooo!" Benny chided. "What did little miss sassafras do this time?"
"Actually, it was something I did." Sarah looked askance. "She was giving me a hard time about something… so, I may have gotten her in trouble with Mrs. Thoroughbred. Let's just say that she didn't take it lightly." She waved her fork in an illustrious circle before going back in for more chicken caesar salad.
"Woah! Sarah the Nark! I never saw that coming." Rory's eyes widened genuinely. He'd been attempting to catch pizza bagels that Benny was lazily trying to toss into his mouth.
"It was do or die." Sarah shrugged casually before rummaging around inside her tote bag for the math homework she had been putting off.
"I like your style!" Benny smacked her back with his palm approvingly and she visibly winced.
"Thanks, dad?" She muttered, sarcastically.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Ethan teased the prior vampire. "So, are you babysitting tonight? My parents mentioned something about trying out a new Chinese restaurant." The seer fixed his eyes on Sarah's hopefully, who in turn looked somewhat distracted.
"No." She answered after a beat, nose in her homework (trying and failing to look busy) and then elaborated after noting his downtrodden expression, "I mean… they never asked."
"Oh." Ethan replied and pursed his lips. His lips were really full, had she ever noticed that before?
"But why don't I come over anyway?" She blurted, subconsciously wanting his gaze back on her.
The Nerd King's goofier companions began to smirk. She tried her best to ignore them, and continued against her better judgement, "-and we can just hang out? We haven't really spent time alone; I mean just us two... I mean-" Good god, Sarah… stop talking! What was that calming mantra they mentioned in Tai chi?
"Sure, Sarah!" Ethan sported a dimple-filled smile that could have lit up the Whitechapel lunchroom, let alone the entire country of Canada.
"Oooo, so would this be date number twoooo?" Rory, elbows on the lunch table, rested his head on his fists and batted his eyelashes girlishly.
"No!" Sarah replied hurriedly and Ethan's face fell. "I mean… Jane will be there." She paused and then finished matter-of-factly, "-and that's not a date." Satisfied, she watched the twinkle return once more to her favorite set of eyes.
"I'm sure if I talk to her, I could get her to go to a friend's..." Ethan navigated the waters carefully and Sarah felt her stomach do a flip. Was he...? Could he possibly be trying to make this a date? Even though he thought their last one was so horrible?
Benny, who had been watching the tender scene play out before him, frowned interiorly, knowing what he was about to do. "Um, that sounds really great guys… but Sarah, uh… we have to help Grandma with that thing tonight?" He coughed, "remember?"
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"What thing?" Ethan asked, his eyes narrowing in disappointment, but also with hint of jealousy.
"Uh… that thing… that thing we have…" Benny was outwardly struggling. Sarah sighed. She knew Benny wouldn't be interrupting their rendezvous for just any reason. When push came to shove, Benny was Ethan's biggest supporter.
"That's right," Sarah snapped her fingers, "She wanted to talk to me about a protection spell to ward off vampiric venom. Just in case we have another run in with Jesse." She stated confidently. Benny didn't realize he had been holding his breath until Sarah's superior lie resulted in a grateful exhale.
"Oh," Ethan frowned in response, "I mean… does that really have to be tonight?"
"Something about the moon needing to be in a certain alignment? I dunno." Sarah answered quickly, while Benny nodded with zeal.
"O…kay." Ethan trailed off; eyebrows scrunched in suspicion, albeit disappointed. "Another time then?"
Sarah felt her heart drop at his reverie. "Sure."
Just then, the bell rang and the gaggle of teens quickly arose from their seats, all the more eager to remove themselves from the awkward situation. Even Rory, and that was saying a lot.
Ethan ran ahead, muttering something about needing to use the restroom before next period. Rory turned around to face Benny and Sarah, a dissatisfied look on his face.
"What's the big idea?" A shocked gasp, "Are you two secretly dating or something?"
The pair gagged in horror, somewhat coughing on their spit. Sarah was the first to speak, "-of course not!"
She shook her head side to side vehemently, "We need to regroup about the lucifractor."
"Without Ethan?" Rory asked, a perplexed look on his face, "But… he's like the glue that holds our young avengers together." Benny looked off into the distance, the overwhelming guilt making him nauseous. "Plus, doesn't all of this have more to do with him than any of the rest of us?"
"Exactly." Sarah hissed, "We need to compare notes – you and Erica, Benny and me. Things have been so crazy the last two weeks we haven't even had the chance to tell you what we saw."
Rory raised an eyebrow, "or what Erica and I learned from Queen Vamp?" Sarah nodded.
"I still don't get why you're hiding all this from Ethan." The young vampire frowned, in a rare moment of level-headedness. "If it were me, I'd be wicked excited to find out I had new superpowers. More powerful than ours I mean." He clarified, gesturing to the cartoon bat on his graphic tee.
"We're protecting him." Sarah asserted, icily. "Look, let's just meet up at Benny's after school, okay? I'll loop in Erica. There will be plenty of time to regroup with Ethan once we know more." And before vampire ninja could protest, she had turned on her heel toward European history.
Rory looked to Benny inquisitively, wondering where his opinion lied in this whole situation. Benny just threw his hands in the air and shrugged his shoulders at his friend before heading to class himself, feeling queasier than ever.