Disclaimer: I do not own My Babysitter's a Vampire. Otherwise, there'd be a lot more seasons.

Please excuse any grammar mistakes. This one was pretty fun to write.


"I hope that's your good news face," said Eden after speedwalking through the school halls to meet a cheerful looking Betty at her locker.

It was the next day. Eden's parents were still dolls and Danny was still missing.

"I'm 99.9% sure that I found the right spell," Betty told her, confidently pointing to the page in her spellbook.

"Okay, that's great!"

It was a premature celebration on Eden's part because Betty's good news came with a dreaded but.

"But," she began. "I can't be sure how James's pronounced it. He has to cast the reversal spell himself."

"Then we have a problem. Another problem, I should say. I spent all of this morning trying to convince him that it was a dream."

"Did he believe you?"

"Not really. I think the only part he actually believed was when he asked where mom and dad were and I said they were sleeping in."

"It's fine. We just tell him that Danny's real, that he's evil, and that he needs to be stopped. James is a good kid. He'll want to help. And I bet he'll be jumping at the chance to use magic again."

"I hope you're right."

"Trust me. I am. And I advise you to believe it."

A chilling image of Eden's parents stuck as tiny, ugly dolls with painted faces cut across her thoughts. "What about my parents?"

"They should revert back to normal once Danny's been defeated."

Eden nodded, relieved. "Good. Now, we just have to defeat him."

"He's a ripoff Ken doll. How hard can it be?"

Eden admired Betty's optimism. Or maybe it was just Betty lying to herself.

"Hey, have you talked to Rosy?" asked Eden as Betty saved her spellbook in her bag.

"Yeah. She sent me a text saying she was busy hanging out with her new boyfriend."

Boyfriend? Rosy? Not likely. Rosy was a sweetheart, and she was about as pretty as Eden and Betty. But her personality was a little much for guys to handle. Why would she lie, though? "Oh. She's mad that we didn't let her in."

"Or. . .she actually has a boyfriend."

Both girls immediately laughed at the joke. What boy at their school would ask anyone out of their nerdy, weird, supernatural trio out?


Rosy walked into school that morning with her arms wrapped around Danny's. She could not believe such a sweet guy existed. And to show interest in her of all girls?

Rosy did think she was pretty cool and funny, but it wasn't until now that someone else agreed. There was something off about him with the way he limped, talked, and smiled. Plus, he smelled like a Barbie doll. Rosy didn't want to question a good thing, though. Sure, he was a little odd, but "odd" might as well have been her middle name. Danny was a great fit for her.

"Ow!" her boyfriend suddenly cried, grabbing onto his leg in pain.

Rosy patted his back. "Are you okay?"

Instead of answering her, he changed the subject. "Do you know who can fix a broken toy?"

"Well, usually I just send stuff back to the manufacturer."

He narrowed his eyes as if confused.

"You know, the person who made it," Rosy explained.

Revelation gleamed across his face. "Of course. The maker." He seized hold of her hand. "You're a real smart ray of sunshine. Aren't you?"

Rosy chuckled shyly at the touch of his thumb over her knuckles. "I guess."

"Modest, too? I find that cute."

Cute? Her? Eric had never called her cute. Actually, he had never called her anything positive at all. The closest he had come to a complement was, "You're even more annoying now that you're a vampire."

"Didn't you hear the bell?" asked Principal Hicks, walking up to them from behind. He was wearing a gray, Whitechapel spirit shirt and black slacks. "You should be heading to class."

"Class? What's that? Some kind of party?" questioned Danny.

Rosy wondered whether he was being sincere or funny.

"Student IDs, please," ordered her principal firmly.

She pulled her ID from her pocket to hand over to him, most of her attention still cast on Danny. He was smooth, stylish, and romantic. And the best part was that he was her boyfriend! Not Becca's or Dawn's or. . .that other hot cheerleader girl whose name was slipping her mind. He liked her!

After a quick glance at it, Principal Hicks gave her a serious, no-nonsense look. "You. Get to class," he told her, tacking a strict, "Now" on to the end.

"Uh, okay," said Rosy.

She looked at Danny. He just smiled at her.

She smiled back, then she walked away and started for her class, still barely able to believe she finally had a boyfriend who was sweet and handsome. . .if a little weird.

The sweaty man with the mustache and glasses led Danny to one of the doors in the hallways.

As he opened it, he asked Danny, "What makes you think you can just waltz into a school you don't even attend?"

Danny was about to answer, stepping inside a dull room deprived of color and style, when he short-circuited. He groaned and hunched over in pain. Feeling winded, he gasped for air. Danny hadn't realized he was running so low on energy.

He felt a hand on his back as he clutched his stomach.

The man with glasses spoke up. "Are you alright?"

Danny grinned widely. "I will be."

Thirty seconds later, Danny was limping out of the drab room with a mischievous smirk, his energy replenished and the pain a distant memory. Meanwhile, a doll adorning a mustache and glasses lie lifelessly in the middle of the floor.


Eden and Betty's chemistry class had let out, so they were walking to their lockers to grab what they needed for Home Ec.

The two girls spotted Rosy on the way and figured now was the probably the time to apologize.

"Hey, Rosy," said Eden, making the first move. "We know you're mad about last night, but—"

"Mad?" Rosy interrupted. "How could I be mad? Last night was amazing!"

At first, Eden thought maybe Rosy was being passive aggressive, but then she realized Rosy was smiling. It wasn't a fake smile, either. Eden knew what Rosy's face looked like whenever she feigned happiness. This wasn't that. She was genuinely excited about something.

"What do you mean?" asked Eden.

"I met your cousin. . .or whoever he is. . .Danny. He's so cute and sweet. And he's so into me!"

"Wait what? You let Danny out?"

She nodded.

Now, his disappearance made sense. Danny had been with Rosy all this time.

Betty whisper-yelled, "Why would you do that?" She would have really yelled if they weren't standing in the school hallway with a bunch of students passing by.

"Because he's hot," answered Rosy.

"Dude, he's a doll."

Rosy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"I mean, literally a doll!" Betty corrected.

When Rosy still didn't seem to get it, Betty had to further elaborate. "As in he's made of plastic!" she exclaimed in a frustrated voice.

"So? A lot of hot guys are."

"Rosy," said Eden, struggling to remain patient. "Get this through your thick, vampire skull. He's not human."

"Are you ladies talking about me?"

Betty and Eden jumped ten feet into the air. Well. . .not really, but they could have with how badly Danny scared them, sneaking up from behind like a disco doll ninja.

"Hey, Danny!" Rosy greeted, running up to his side. "How'd it go with Principal Hicks?"

"Fine. Though, he did look a little stiff when I left."

Stiff? Eden thought. As in doll stiff? Or old people stiff?

"You didn't get into trouble or anything?" asked Rosy.

"No."

Eden was feeling a little daring, so she piped up, "Yeah, that Principal Hicks can be a really nice man. A real doll. Wouldn't you say, Danny?"

He just smiled. "Yeah."

That confirmed it.

So doll stiff, not old people stiff, Eden mentally noted.

"Are we talking about the same person?" Rosy questioned.

No one bothered to answer her. She was too far out of the loop to understand much of what was going on, anyway.

Eden squared her shoulders and stood tall, all the while shaking on the inside and praying that she would still be made of flesh and bone by the end of this. "Alright, Danny, you're coming with us."

Rosy held his arm protectively. "Over my undead body!"

"Dude, listen. He's dangerous," Betty tried to explain.

Rosy wasn't having it, though. She bared her fangs and snarled, making her two friends flinch back in fright. Luckily, the hallway was nearly empty now, so no one saw except for the people—or dolls—who already knew Rosy's secret.

"Well, so am I!" she threatened. "So. . .so back off." Rosy awkwardly lined her fingers up with her palms and held them up, as if warning her friends that she would karate chop them in half if they tried to steal her boyfriend. Then she wrapped her arm around Danny's waist and angrily walked off with him.

Eden and Betty looked at each other and realized they were thinking the same thing.

"Sam," both said aloud.


"So it's settled," said Betty to Sam. "You'll kick Danny's sorry, plastic butt."

"What? I never said that!" he protested.

Eden, Betty, and Sam were sat on a bench in the hallway, planning their next move. Sam wasn't being very cooperative, though.

"Come on!" Eden pleaded. "He's got Rosy wrapped around his finger."

"I can't believe she got a boyfriend before me," mumbled Betty, sulking.

Sam rolled his eyes.

Eden was just as disheartened as her friend, but they had bigger problems right now. "We have to find some way to split them up," she said. An idea popped into her head, and her lip perked up into a conniving grin. "Or someone."

Sam seemed confused, but since Betty could practically read Eden's mind through the power of geek friendship, she immediately got the message.

Sam was annoyed watching the girls exchange knowing looks, nodding at each other like the weirdos they were. "Okay, Kirk and Spock, you wanna fill me in?"

"Think about it, Sam," said Eden. "Who has Rosy been crushing on since the beginning of the year?"

"Just about every guy in this school."

"No. . .well, kind of. . .but who is it that she really, really likes?"

Sam considered her question. It was only a few seconds before the answer came to him. "Eric."


"First, you ditch me. And now, you want a favor?" Eric said incredulously.

"Eric, I already apologized," replied Sam, Eden and Betty standing at either of his sides. "I promise we'll hang out together soon. But this is important. We need your help."

Well, it was really Betty and Eden's problem. It was Betty's spell that brought Danny to life, and it was Eden's brother who cast it. Sam couldn't let some cliche, evil doll run around turning innocent people into dollar store toys, though. Besides, Eden's parents couldn't pay or even hire him to babysit as long as they stayed the way they were.

"Fine," Eric groaned, leaning against his locker in a cool-guy posture.

Sam pulled that pose every so often, and it never failed to intensify Eden's crush on him. Not that Sam knew that.

"I'll hear you out."

Sam sighed, doubtful Eric would ever agree to this. "We need you to flirt with Rosy."

Eric smirked. "That's funny. What do you actually want me to do?"

"I'm serious, Eric. You have to flirt with Rosy."

He frowned. "No. Way." Eric punctuated each word to make his refusal clear as day before abandoning them at his locker.

If Rosy needs an ego-boost, he thought, she's not getting it from me.

Eric wasn't flirting with the likes of a nerd, especially one so aggravating she made him want to sunbathe until he finally burst into flames. At least then he wouldn't have to listen to her constant babbling about how nearly every superhero from Marvel could beat The Hulk in a one-on-one fight.

Behind him, he heard Betty ask, "Well, if Eric won't help, how are we going to claw Rosy away from her new boyfriend?"

Eric's shoes squeaked against the floor as he braked himself, his momentum slightly lurching his upper body forward. Turning back slowly with a facade of unconcern, he echoed, "Boyfriend?"

The gang watched Eric casually shove his hands into his pockets. He had shown approximately zero interest when they first asked for this favor, so this change in behavior from out-of-the-blue had them confused and curious.

"Rosy has a boyfriend?"

"Pretty much," said Betty.

Eric let out an amused chuckle, as though he knew this had to be a joke. "Since when?"

Eden answered him this time. "Since yesterday."

"And why do you need me to flirt with her?" He stepped closer to them, becoming more invested as they explained their predicament.

"To break them up."

"What for? Is he dangerous?"

Betty made a face. "I would say so."

Eric went quiet and stared at them, biting the inside of his cheek. He looked to be in deep thought. A few seconds passed before his mind seemed to surface again, and he said, "You know, Sam, you and I have been best friends for years. And as your friend, I should be there to help you." His words were so ingenuine, it was as if he were reading straight from a script.

Sam lifted a mistrustful eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes," he confessed. "I was being selfish." If someone told Eden that Eric's body had been possessed by a sympathetic, apologetic, down-to-earth fellow, she'd have no other choice but to believe it.

"You were?" asked Eden.

Eric glared at her. "Yes," he practically growled, now sounding more like himself. "You just need me to break them up, right?" He didn't wait for a reply. "No problem."

With that said, Eric walked away to find the two lovebirds and twist a knife into their relationship like a rusty screw.

Betty voiced the question everyone seemed to be asking themselves, "What was that about?"


Eric had to wait until their lunch period to scour the school for Rosy, but he eventually found her in the halls, standing in front of a "Vote 4 Steven" poster.

Steven could hang as many posters as he wanted. There was no way he was going to win. Not only was he uncool, he was uptight.

Eric noticed Rosy making goo-goo eyes at a loser with shiny pants and a ridiculous haircut.

This will be easy, he smugly thought to himself.

Eric swiped his hand through his hair, adjusting his bangs so they looked good (well, they already looked good), and approached the lovey-dovey couple with confident, cool-guy strides.

He tacked on a flirty smile that livened his dimples and opened with a simple, unsuspecting, "Hey, Rose."

Rosy gave Eric her attention for a brief moment, returning his greeting with her own, "Hey," before shifting her gaze back to her boyfriend.

Eric saw that he was caressing her hand, and his smile cracked a little.

He resumed his mission, "Wow, you are looking gorgeous today."

Rosy glanced behind her, assuming Eric was talking to another Rosy that just so happened to be near her. When she didn't see anyone, she pointed at herself. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," he said, inching towards her. "I was thinking that since we share the same taste in food, I could take you out for dinner later."

"No, thanks."

"Great. So I'll pick you up at. . ." His voice trailed off as Rosy's words sunk in, and he frowned. A look of disbelief crossed his face. He chuckled ironically, thinking this must be a joke. "What?"

"I'm with Danny, now," Rosy said, turning on him. Her hand still clutched his. "And he's actually nice to me."

"I'm nice to you," Eric countered. Realizing that wasn't exactly true, he corrected himself. "Sometimes."

"No, you're not. I've had bullies that are nicer than you. And I'm finally seeing it."

"So what, Rose?" Eric felt something poke his bottom lip. He was so frustrated, his teeth were involuntarily reshaping into fangs. Eric closed his mouth and waited until they were flat again. He wouldn't have minded if the guy discovered he was a vampire. Then, Eric would have no choice but to exterminate him. Another passersby might see, though. Besides, killing him was a bit of a drastic move.

"Come on!" he yelled. "You've always like me!"

Rosy stared back at Danny and smiled. "Not anymore."

Eric glared at the idiot Rosy was choosing over him. He looked like something out of a cliche 1970s disco movie, and Rosy would rather date him? It was ridiculous.

Eric gave up on changing Rosy's mind. He didn't want to seem like he was desperate, especially when it came to a nerd like Rosy, so he just sent Rosy's boyfriend a growl before walking away.

This wasn't over.

Eric didn't care that Rosy was taken. That wasn't it at all. He was upset because he didn't want a rumor going around that Rosy of all girls rejected him. And he didn't appreciate Rosy talking back to him. Since when had she grown a backbone anyway?

He threw open the door to the men's restroom, then splashed his face with sink water. He needed to cool his head. That disco freak picked the wrong girl to date.


Danny stood staring at the door Eric walked through, face blank. His dead eyes seem to come to life as they burned with malice.

"I'll be right back," he told Rosy with a deceiving smile.

When Rosy saw he was headed for the bathroom, she stopped him. "But Eric's in there right now. Maybe you should wait until he's finished."

"I'll be alright."

Danny couldn't have someone aiming to steal his girl.

He limped to the bathroom and opened the door. Eric was at one of the sinks. His bangs dripped with water as he scrutinized himself in the mirror. When he noticed Danny and his stupid grin, he scowled.

"We should have a chat," said Danny.

Eric turned away from the mirror to face Danny. "Yeah, we should."

Without another word, Eric attacked. Sam, Betty, and Eden said that he was dangerous, so was it really wrong if Eric ended him? He was doing everyone a favor. Eric's fangs darted from his mouth, and he bit into Danny's neck. Instead of tender skin, however, his canines were met with something more solid.

"Ow!" he shouted, pulling away and licking his teeth. "I think you bent my fang!"

Danny chuckled in amusement.

Eric grabbed him by his arms, shoved him against the wall, then hurled him into one of the bathroom stalls. Danny didn't make a sound as his head hit the door and he dropped face first to the ground. The sleeve of his shirt ripped at the shoulder.

Danny slowly picked his battered body up. With his hands and knees on the floor, he turned his head.

Eric's eyes widened in shock and confusion. The skin on Danny's cheek looked like it had been peeled off to reveal a hidden layer of metal underneath, and one of his pupils had been colored over with black.

"You wanna play? Fine," he said, and when he spoke, he sounded creepily animatronic. It was the kind of voice that emanated from a broken toy, its pitch shifting between low, normal, and high.

Danny smiled. "Let's play."


Rosy was checking that her hair looked presentable for her boyfriend—man, she loved saying that!—when Danny approached her.

She jumped at the sight of his face. What was wrong with it?

"Rosy," he said. His voice was strange. Unnatural. There was something robotic about it. "I need your help."

Rosy was at a loss for words. She suddenly recalled the word "doll"—that was what Betty had called him, along with "dangerous." Maybe she should have listened to them.

So what if Danny was a doll, though? So what if he was dangerous? Rosy wasn't exactly normal herself. They could work through this barrier. It wasn't as if he cheated on her or anything. He just so happened to be a walking hunk of plastic.

"The one who made me," said Danny. "He can fix me. You must take me to him."

"Wait. Where's Eric?" she asked, realizing someone must have disfigured Danny's cheek. "Is he still in the bathroom?"

Danny scowled at her. "You seem more worried about him than me."

"No, that's not it."

"It's because I'm broken, isn't it?"

"Broken? No!"

"If you love him so much, be with him. Not that he'll be much fun anymore. I'll find the maker myself."

Danny limped his way past her, turning heads as he left.

"Wait!" shouted Rosy, not caring if she drew attention to herself. "You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

Rosy huffed. Finally she finds a boy willing to be hers and she loses him in one day. At this rate, Rosy would be searching the Earth for the next several centuries and she'd still be single. It would her and a few undead cats!

This was Eric's fault, she realized. He was the one who attacked her boyfriend and ripped half of his face off. Rosy pounded her fist on the boys' bathroom door, yelling Eric's name. When he didn't come out, she looked left and right, waited until no one was watching, and slipped inside.

Ew! This was disgusting! She'd have to burn her shoes after this. "Eric," she whispered angrily. "Where are you? I think Danny's breaking up with me, and it's your fault!"

As she stepped forward, Rosy felt something under her foot.

"Huh?"

It was a doll. Rosy picked it off the floor to examine it more closely. Eerily, it looked like a miniature version of Eric, complete with a leather jacket, jeans, and blond hair. Even a pair of fangs protruded from the doll's lips.

Weird, she thought.

"Hey, what are you doing in the guys' bathroom!" a boy yelled from behind her.

Rosy bolted for the door. "Nothing! Sorry!"


"Still no call from Eric?" asked Eden. "Maybe he bailed on us. It was kind of big ask for him."

Betty spotted Rosy as she was walking by. "Rosy? Where's Danny?" she asked.

Rosy stopped to reply, "I don't know. He went off looking for 'the maker.'"

Eden noticed the doll in her hand, and her heart dropped to her stomach. She pointed at the doll. "Rosy, what is that?"

"Oh. I found it in the boys' bathroom."

Everyone squinted at her, but Sam was the only one who actually had the courage to ask, "What were you doing in there?"

"Looking for Eric," she answered simply, as if that completely justified her actions.

"Well, you found him," said Betty.

"What?"

Eden decided to clarify since Rosy was a little slow on the uptake. "That doll is Eric. Danny must have turned him."

Sam swiped his bangs from his face and groaned. "I should have never gotten him involved in this."

Eden moved to place her hand on his shoulder but was too scared to follow through. Instead, she tried to offer him words of comfort. "We'll get him back to normal."

"Wait. Danny did this to Eric?" asked Rosy.

Betty rolled her eyes. "Yes, keep up."

As Rosy began to stare at the doll in mortification and stroke his blond hair, Betty looked to Eden. "Now what?"

Eden didn't miss a beat. "Now, we find Danny."

"Easier said than done. Where would he be?"

"Rosy said he was looking for 'the maker,'" Eden recounted, boxing "the maker" in air quotes.

"So who's the maker?"

Eden thought for a moment. The answer came quickly. She could practically hear the lightbulb flick on above her head. "James!" she exclaimed. "He's looking for James. I'm supposed to pick him up after school."

"Give me your keys!" said Sam. "I'll pick him up and meet you there."

Eden did as he told her, hoping this day would not end with her height shrinking to six inches. She was short enough at 5''3.


"Thanks for picking me up, Sam! You run really fast!"

Sam wished he had the luxury of feeling as excited and relaxed as James, but unfortunately, he was too worried about the psycho, lifeforce-sucking doll that was on the loose. He missed the simpler times where this situation would have only existed inside a TV show.

At least something could be said for the excitement in this town. With werewolves and vampires at every corner, there was no time for boredom.

"Okay," said Sam, closing the front door of the Morgans' house. "We're going to hide from Danny." He disguised the direness in his voice as prankish enthusiasm, trying to mask this attempt at survival as a joke.

"Can we play tag instead?"

"Hide-and-seek's more fun," he said. "Now, go hide! I'll count to twenty."

"Okay," James relented, throwing his bookbag aside to run up the stairs.

Sam closed his eyes and started counting.

"One. . .two. . .three. . .four. . ."

He had reached seven when the door opened.

It was Danny.

The doll stood there with those dead eyes and that creepy smile. He was in rough shape. The skin—or, really, the plastic— on his cheek was ripped from his face. Clearly, Eric had given Danny a fight.

Sam internally berated himself for not locking the door. He had not realized Danny was so close by. It was a stupid mistake. Hopefully, it wouldn't cost him. Or James.

"I love hide-and-seek," said Danny. "Can I play?"

Sam ignored his question. "Stay away from James!" he yelled.

"He made me. He can fix me. But that doesn't mean we can't have some fun first."

Danny suddenly swung his arms, making to grab Sam, but his opponent ducked.

Sam reeled back his arm and punched Danny in his face. Instead of his knuckles meeting skin and bone, he felt hard plastic. It was almost like punching a thick jug. Danny recovered instantly, smile resolute and as irritatingly wide as ever. Sam tried for another punch, aiming to hit harder, but Danny caught his fist.

A blue light shined where Danny's hand connected with Sam's, and Sam could feel himself rapidly losing energy. Danny was laughing. When he finally released him, Sam collapsed to the floor, panting.

"James," called Danny in a creepy, teasing voice, the kind of voice a serial killer would use in a twisted game of hide-and-seek. "I want to play with you."

He began to make his away up the stairs.

Sam was weak, but he couldn't let Danny hurt James. He fought with his body, willing it to move, as he crawled towards the doll. It was only when he had gone days without blood that he became this enervated.

Knowing Eden was counting on him, Sam was able to reach Danny. He grappled for his shoulders and threw Danny down the stairs with as much force as he could muster in his weakened state.

His head popped off by the time he hit the bottom. "That wasn't very nice," he said, voice dying away at the end like a defective robot.

He heard the back door open. Eden, Betty, and Rosy came running inside.

"Wow! You pretzeled him good," Betty remarked.

Eden noticed Sam sitting at the top of the staircase, breathing heavily and clutching his head. "Sam, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," he said.

Eden looked back down at the still, lifeless doll and bravely picked up the head by the hair.

"Ew!" squealed Betty, which was odd because Eden knew for a fact Betty had touched grosser things before. "Eden, what are you doing?"

"Scare Finder Rule Number Ten," recited Eden, smiling triumphantly. "No one can do anything without a head."

Her point was immediately disproved when Danny's hands stretched out to snatch his head out of Eden's grip. Together, Betty, Eden, and Rosy expelled the perfect, high-pitched, girl-in-a-horror-movie screams. Then, they ran so fast up the stairs, their P.E. would have been impressed.

The four watched as Danny twisted his head onto his body. Eden felt sick.

"Sam, where's James?" she asked.

"He's hiding in his spot."

"Okay. Betty and Rosy, you two go find him."

"No offense, Eden, but Rose stands a better chance of fighting off a killer doll than you."

Eden could not deny it. "Well, I can't just leave you here!"

"I'll be fine, Eden. It'll be two against one. Go!"

Eden and Betty exchanged looks of sheer panic before running off to find James. All Eden could do was hope Sam had enough energy to pummel that doll and that James had enough sense to help them defeat Danny.

Eden would threaten to tear James's favorite underwear if she had to, but somehow, she would convince her annoying brother to recite that spell.


Rosy positioned Eric so he was sitting against the wall. She was careful of his head. She did not know if it was possible for dolls to suffer from concussions, but she wanted to avoid giving him one.

Sam stood up. His legs were shaking. Danny must have zapped him of most of his energy, but he cracked his neck like he was ready for this fight.

"You look a little bent out of shape," he taunted as Danny climbed the stairs, legs turned at awkward angles and the joints in one arm locked so that it was abnormally straight and stiff.

"But I'll get fixed," said Danny. He paused on one step, and with an evil smile, added, "I can't say the same for you."

Rosy looked at Eric, small and lifeless. Danny did that to him, she reminded herself. And Danny needed to pay for it.

"You can sit this one out, Sam," she said, approaching her ex-boyfriend.

Wow, she had an ex? That was weird.

She held up her fists and bared her fangs. "I can take him."

"Aww. Rosy, are you mad at me?" he asked her.

"You turned Eric into a doll!" she yelled at him.

"Maybe I got a little too jealous. But I promise I'd never do that to you."

"We are so over!"

Rosy swung her arm and connected with his cheek. Then, she kicked his stomach.

He clung onto the railing to catch himself. Before Rosy could land another hit, he grabbed her shoulders and pinned her to the wall. "I like this game."

She looked to Sam. "Okay, maybe I do need a little help."


Eden banged her fist against her closet door. "James, I know you're in there! You always hide in there!"

When he refused to come out, Eden jiggled the knob furiously. Of course, it was locked. What else would she expect? Why did her closet even have a lock? Was she afraid her clothes would run away?

"There's a psychotic doll in our house! This is no time for you to be acting like your stubborn, infuriating, bratty self!"

Still, he stayed hiding inside.

"If you don't come out, I'll shove your Superman underwear in the blender!"

No response.

"What are we gonna to do?" asked Betty. "Danny's attacking Sam and Rosy, and we still don't know the fix-it spell! Who knows how long they'll be able to hold him off?"

The door suddenly opened and James's poked his head out. "Wait, Sam's in trouble?"


They were one man down with only one man—well, girl— left standing. Sam was on the floor, reduced to a useless doll that couldn't punch, kick, or bite. Rosy would have to finish him, and so far, it seemed that the odds were not in her favor.

She tried for another kick, this time to his neck, but Danny caught her foot and shoved her onto the floor.

Rosy hissed at him. He wasn't phased.

She needed to improvise, work all of her brain cells until she devised a better plan. At this rate, she'd never defeat him.

Suddenly, Danny seized her wrist and with a smile, said, "It's so sad. But I guess this is our last playdate."

As a blue light emitted from his hand, Rosy shouted, "Wait!"

The light dimmed.

"I'm sorry!" she said in a rush, the words plummeting from her mouth like vomit. "I shouldn't have been mad at you. You were just upset, and I get that now. Let's start over." She tried to squeeze his arm, but it was solid. The skin didn't compress beneath her fingers. She wondered if this was anything similar to feeling a guy's flexed muscles. Personally, she wouldn't know.

"I don't know," he said. "You were pretty mean to me."

"Well, yeah. But you were mean to me, too," she contended, matching his tone.

He looked up and hummed, as though he were considering her apology. When he returned his gaze to her, he said, "I do really like you."

She smiled innocently at him. "I really like you, too," she lied.

Her wrist hurt from the unchecked force he was gripping it with.

"Then, all's forgiven, right?"

He released her, and as soon as she was free, Rosy launched herself at him. She aimed for his throat, digging her thumbs against it in hopes of cutting of his airway. Instead of gasping for breath, he only stared at her with disappointment. He grasped her arms and yanked them away, then he threw her back. Her spine hit the leg of the dining table. She cried out at the pain.

Okay. Maybe that wasn't her best idea, but hey, it wasn't like she was smart enough to scheme anything better. That was Eden and Betty's territory. Hers was kicking supernatural butt. Though, in this case, she couldn't even do that much.

Suddenly, Danny was over her. His fingers wrapped around her neck like a boa constrictor. "And just when I thought we made up. Tell me something. . .how do you like it?" His smile was gone. The way his eyes blazed with malice made his face look bizarre and unrecognizable.

She was scared. Rosy was fairly sure that he couldn't kill her this way since she was a vampire, but she still felt like she was dying as he quelled her oxygen supply. Her vision blurred in and out of focus.

"Hurry!" someone shouted.

Danny turned his head. His smile made its reappearance as he greeted, "Hi, James!"

They must have found the spell because, after a rambling of indistinguishable words in a language she didn't speak, the pressure on her throat withdrew and when she sat up there was a doll lying in her lap. Danny!


"So you're parents don't remember anything?" asked Betty.

"Nope," Eden replied, reaching into her locker for her math book. "As far as they know, they came home and crashed for the whole day. So we're off the hook."

Betty nodded in satisfaction. Then, she frowned. "I feel bad for Rose, though. Imagine a guy finally showing interest in you, only to find out he's a walking wad of plastic."

"Yeah," said Eden. "And then he tries to strangle you."

The two walked through the halls. As they passed Rosy's locker, they saw Rosy sitting against it, hugging her knees to herself and sniffling.

"Hey, Rose," Eden said, giving her friend a sympathetic smile. "You okay?" It was a stupid question, but she didn't know what else to say.

"No," she answered honestly, wiping her nose with a used tissue. "But I'll get over it."

"Do you need anything?" Betty asked her. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a pack of gum. "Here. You want some? It's Batman themed."

She hesitated but decided to accept it. "Thanks," she told Betty, admiring the bat signals stamped over the packaging.

"Alright. We're going to class," said Eden. "But we'll meet up after school. You know, to get your mind off things."

She blew a loud, gross-sounding snotrocket into her tissue. "Okay."

Rosy unwrapped a stick of gum and chewed at it while her friends walked away. She was not left alone for long, though.

"Hey, nerd!"

Rosy looked up and saw that Eric was standing over her.

"Oh. Hi, Eric."

"That's it? All I get is, 'Oh. Hi, Eric.'" He imitated her voice, switching the pitch of his own so that it was exaggeratedly higher and more girl-like. Then, he changed it back to its usual deep and swoon-worthy tone. "You owe me an apology."

Rosy sighed, fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt in embarrassment. Her cheeks were hot with shame. "Yeah, I guess I do. I'm sorry that my boyfriend turned you into a doll."

"And?"

She thought for a minute. She even paused her gum-chewing since her brain was not built for multitasking. Oh! "And I'm sorry for the things I said. About how you're always mean to me and stuff."

"And?"

She searched her brain for something else but all was empty, as it always seemed to be. "Um. . ."

"You rejected my offer to take you out!" he huffed. "Do you know what people are gonna think if anyone finds out!"

"Oh. Then, I'm sorry about that, too."

"Sorry doesn't cut it for that one. You and me are going out together whether you like it or not."

Oh, she liked it. "Really?"

"It's better for people to think that I went out with a loser than think I was rejected by a loser."

Rosy dropped her gaze to her lap sadly. "Yeah, I am a loser. Of course, the only guy to ever actually like me turns out to be crazy."

Eric was quiet at first, but after a long while passed by with neither of them speaking, he said. "You know. . .I can sort of see why he liked you."

Rosy's head shot up. "What?"

He kneeled down and leaned in.

The short distance between them had her heart speeding. She held her hand over her chest to calm herself.

"Don't tell anyone I said this," he whispered threateningly. "Because if you do, I'll shove you inside a tanning bed and lock it." He dropped his voice even lower, leaned in even closer. "But. . ."

He was so close, Rosy could feel his breath hit her nose as he talked. It smelled like fresh peppermint mixed with A positive blood.

". . .you're kind of cute. Kind of," he reiterated. "As in, you're not ugly. And you're really nice and patient and fun and you have this way of making the people around you forget their problems. Though, a lot of the time that's by becoming a bigger, much more annoying problem."

Maybe the insults would have offset the compliments for some girls but not Rosy. She fawned over his sweet words and ignored the jibes, falling deeper in love with her crush.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I understand why he would like you." Eric hurriedly added, "But don't go getting the wrong idea. I'm just saying this because I feel sorry for you. You're still stupid, and you irritate me." He stood. "Meet you at the park tomorrow at five. If you're late, you die. And to be clear, it's a hangout. Not a date."

"Okay, got it!" she said, pretending to be cool and calm. Once he had walked away, she bit on her gum and squealed.

O! M! G! She sort of had a date with Eric!


"Hey, Eden!"

Sam grabbed her arm. The skin where his hand touched prickled over with goosebumps.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked her.

"I'll see you in class," Betty said before Eden even answered, nudging her shoulder. She winked an eye, but because Betty's mouth always opened when she tried to wink, it was painfully noticeable.

"Something in your eye?" asked Sam.

"Uh, yeah. An eyelash," she lied before rushing off. "Bye!"

Sam returned his gaze on to Eden. "There's something I want to ask," he said.

"Yeah, there's kind of something I've been wanting to ask you, too," she said, bouncing on her heels in anticipation. She was determined to leave this conversation with a date.

"You first, then."

Eden swallowed and gave herself a quick, mental pep talk. "Oh. Well. . .are you busy? With anything?"

"School. But that's pretty much it. Why?"

"Um. . ." She thought back to the times she rehearsed this in the mirror and in the shower. "Well, I'm not doing anything. And if you're not doing anything. Then, we might as well hang out. Right?"

He shrugged. "Sure. We always hang out, anyway."

"Yeah. . .but I was thinking it could just be the two of us this time."

He raised one eyebrow. "As friends?"

No! Not as friends! As more than that! "Yeah. Definitely. As friends. I mean, why would we do anything not as friends? Then, that would be a date. And I'm not asking you on a date or anything. That would be weird."

Someone please duct tape my mouth shut!

Eden wanted to bang her head into a locker for backing down. Ugh! She was such a loser!

"Right," said Sam.

Eden scanned his face, searching for the tiniest sign that he was disappointed or upset, but he looked impassive. "Anyway, what did you want to ask?"

"Did James return that doll to his friend, yet?"

"Oh. Yeah. Why?"

"You don't think there's any chance of it coming back to life, is there?" he asked worriedly. "Maybe we should have destroyed it."

"Nah," said Eden. "Danny's stuck as a doll forever. There's no way he's coming back."

I hope, she thought.


Sure, the ending was a little rushed, but I wasn't sure how else to wrap this one up. Hope you enjoyed it! :)