This chapter took a lot of work, I hope it pays off. A big thank you to all my readers, reveiwers, favoriters and all-that-good-stuffers.

This chapter is dedicated to xBreakingxSanityx, Aerity, and loveu5missu6 (Please check out Status: Totally confused and A Special Sleepover. Amazingly epic awesomeness!)

Enjoy! I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire

Ethan didn't know what made him keep his vision a secret. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that both the stars had been having so much fun at his house the previous night. He didn't want to ruin their good time.

It also didn't make much sense to him, and probably scared him into silence.

If Ryellie was normal, should she be able to give him a vision?

Then again, Benny had said that practically half her family was made up of shape shifters.

Thoughts of the vision stopped when Sarah came up to Ethan at his locker.

The hallways were surprisingly empty. Ethan had gone to school early, thinking a slower walk might help calm his nerves. He didn't know why Sarah was early, but he was happy whatever the reason.

"Hey, Ethan." She greeted gleefully.

He didn't know what Sarah was so happy about, but once again, he didn't care. As long as she was happy.

"What're you thinking?"

She just had to ask. And Ethan just had to blurt out the answer.

"I love you."

The world stopped. In that moment, he wished he was the vampire instead. With their speed, Ethan could get away from Sarah as fast as possible. If they both weren't frozen in place. He wished at least-by some miracle-Sarah hadn't heard him.

"What did you say?" She asked, slowly and softly.

Ethan knew when Sarah asked that question, it wasn't a chance to rephrase himself. He couldn't just change his answer, because she'd heard it the first time. She just had to make sure she'd heard right.

Deep down, Ethan knew that Sarah had always been somewhat aware of the truth, if not fully. That, he could handle. It was her reaction to finding out she was right that he wasn't sure he could take. He had to muster up all the courage he had to keep his eyes from brimming with tears when he finally spoke again.

"I said… I love you."

The second time around, Ethan's words came out stronger than they had before. He sounded sure of it, like he had been for awhile. No matter how crazy it sounded. He knew those words weren't supposed to just be thrown around, and he wasn't going to take them back.

Sarah let the words sink in.

After her initial shock wore off, the first feeling she had was guilt. All she could do was think back to the hand-holding incident.

The guilty feeling was quickly replaced by fear. She was thinking of the end before they'd reached a start. Not that she was sure they could go anywhere.

Anger took over when she realized why she'd held back in the first place: they were from two different worlds. The sadness that came with that realization was painful, but a feeling of immense joy suddenly overwhelmed her.

"You don't know that for sure." Sarah said. Ethan wanted to argue, but she didn't give him the chance. "But, even if you do, we have to… pace ourselves." We have to take each day as it comes. They both thought.

"So," Sarah began. "Do you wanna go out with me?" It was a chance at normalcy, something the two of them weren't used to. In that moment, Ethan was sure that he was the vampire he'd be floating. Unless that was strictly a Rory thing.

He couldn't say 'yes' fast enough. Or more times in a single breath. The more Ethan said it, the more Sarah smiled.

"Okay, where to?" She asked.

Ethan looked at Sarah with bulging yet smiling eyes. "We can't go now!"

She shrugged. "Who's gonna miss us? Class hasn't started yet. It's like we were never even here."

Ethan debated that, and Sarah held out her hand for him to take.

With that, the two of them were running out the door, trying not to laugh too loudly as they left.

"Weird, Ethan didn't say he wasn't gonna be here today."

Erica rolled her eyes at Rory, wondering why she was even hanging out with him. That was the last thing she'd ever plan to do with an open class period. "What are you, his mom?" He shrugged that off.

"You know what else I think is weird?"

"No one cares what you think." Erica told Rory harshly.

"I do." Ryellie said as she came up to the two others. Erica gave her a look.

"Your dress looks like a picnic blanket." She told her.

Ryellie smiled. "That's because it used to be one." Then, her smile turned into a frown. "Let the boy speak."

Erica scoffed, but reluctantly complied. "Go ahead." She said to Rory.

"Sarah's not here either." He pointed out.

"Yeah, weird." Erica agreed. She eyed both Rory and Ryellie. "Like you two."

Rory fought off a frown, and Ryellie whispered to him: "She just wishes she was us."

Rory laughed happily. "That tickles."

Ryellie's eyes went wide. "You have ticklish ears too?" She practically gushed. "We should form a club."

Erica groaned, making Ryellie glare at her. "I thought you were a vampire, not a zombie. Besides, I know you do all that just because you don't wanna admit you think he's cute." With that, she walked away.

When it came to Erica and Rory, Ryellie's logic was three's a crowd.

She didn't understand why Rory was obsessed with being Erica's accessory. "Maybe I'm just jealous." Ryellie thought aloud. No one ever showed her that kind of attention. Or devotion.

"I bet you miss her." Rory said to Erica as they walked down the hallway. "You probably have no idea what to do without your best friend. Like me when it comes to Ethan and Benny. Even though they're more each other's best friends. This whole day's been going by so slow I don't know how I can stand it!"

Erica turned sharply and shoved Rory into a row of lockers. He was too stunned to realize if it hurt or not. "I don't know how I can stand you." She said. Then, in a mocking tone, she added: "Oh, wait. That's right, I can't."

"Oh, I get it." Rory replied, his face never falling. "You're mad 'cause you're lonely. Well, that's why I'm here for you."

Erica shook her head, talking through her teeth. "What is wrong with you? I mean seriously Rory, are you out of your immortal mind? I'm not mad because I'm lonely, I'm mad because you're annoying!"

"I don't think so. You're lonely. You've been like that for awhile now, I can tell. It's in your eyes. It's okay, you can say it." Rory told her.

Erica scoffed . "How can I say anything when you don't even take a break to breathe? You know, I wouldn't think you were so insufferable if anything you talked about actually had a point." She was trying to get in his face. Make him flinch. And admit she had a point.

Rory didn't look hurt by this. He looked confused. For once, he had to think about what he would say next. His question came out slowly. "Then, why do you always let me keep talking?"

Erica blinked, unable to deny that she was stunned. "What?" She asked, sounding just as confused as Rory had.

"Everyone knows you're tough, and you could definitely take me, but…" He didn't know how to finish, and she didn't know how to respond.

"I'm waiting to see if you get tired of always talking, but never really saying anything." Erica said finally.

"Good point." Rory replied. Short and sweet.

"I am tired of that." He admitted. "But there's a reason behind it."

"Which is?" Erica asked, watching his smile turn brighter. He'd been waiting to hear that question from her for a long time.

"I'm waiting for you to shut me up again." Rory told Erica.

She flat out laughed in reply. "You'll be waiting forever." She started walking away.

Rory shrugged innocently where he stood, refusing to let his smile falter. "Good thing we're vampires then, huh?"

Erica paused, and turned back to Rory again slowly. She walked back to where he was standing, practically stamping her feet the whole way. She was prepared to give him a piece of her mind, and get him off her back for good.

Except, Erica's mind didn't get a say. She was too preoccupied with kissing Rory to think.

It seemed like the kiss could've gone on forever. After all, there had been so much that went left unsaid between the two of them. The desire never to stop was completely mutual, but they eventually needed to breathe.

That's all they could stand to pause for: a breath. In a single breath, Erica managed to say close to a full sentence. "You tell anyone about this, you're dead. Again."

Speechless, Rory could only manage a simple nod as he leaned in for another passionate kiss.

"We don't have much to plant today." Benny's grandma said. Ryellie had come over right after school, eager for more bonding time with the boring day she'd had so far.

Benny watched Ryellie muse over an aloe plant. She broke off a leaf. Her eyes shifted to see if anyone was watching. Her two witnesses could only laugh in reaction.

"Yay, free lotion!" Benny and his grandma exchanged amused glances until they heard her say: "Whoa, overload." After a short pause, Ryellie added: "Hey, Benny, want some free lotion?" weakly. The way he raised his eyebrows had her expecting a 'no' in reply.

Benny held out his hands to her, though, and she took them. For a second, it was almost as if the aloe was glue and their hands were stuck together, but they let go.

"I think your cousins' craziness is rubbing off on you." Benny said, making Ryellie cock her head just slightly.

"You don't think I'm capable of my own craziness?" The pride in her voice made him smile.

"If you two are done sharing your 'free lotion'," Benny's grandma began, unable to resist smiling, "who wants to help me plant carnations?"

Ryellie jumped at the chance. "These are the flowers they make corsages with, right?" She asked.

"Yes, they do." Benny's grandma answered.

Ryellie gave a nod in reply. "That's about the only thing I know about flowers. It's why my family cooks instead of gardening. If we can't make the house look pretty, we figure we might as well make it smell delicious."

Even at the distance Benny was standing away from the other two, he'd overheard. "Gotta love that logic." He replied under laughs.

When Ryellie was done assisting Benny's grandma with planting, she ventured off to another part of the garden. Benny felt his grandma's eyes on him as he wiped his hands off quickly.

He just wasn't used to aloe straight from the plant. Catching sight of what he'd done, his grandma narrowed her eyes at him jokingly. "What?" Benny questioned innocently.

"I'm onto you." She told him.

Without a response to that, Benny got down in the dirt to plant lilacs. Ryellie stood by his grandma when she got back from wherever she'd wandered to. "Okay, I lied." She told both of them. It was strange for all three of them to hear, until she explained herself.

"Another thing I know about flowers is that lilacs are my favorite."

"Why is that, dear?" Benny's grandma asked her.

"The meaning behind them." Ryellie answered dreamily.

Flowers have meanings? Benny thought, quickly remembering how he'd always heard that roses symbolized love. "What's that?" He asked Ryellie, seeing that the look on his grandma's face suggested she already knew the answer.

"I'd tell you, but that would spoil things." Ryellie said. Benny blinked.

"Whatever that means!" He honestly didn't think he'd ever be able to decode that statement, but he wasn't angry about it. Just surprised. "I didn't know you kept secrets."

"I tell you later, I promise." As Ryellie said this to Benny, she held out her hand, waiting for him to take what she held in it: a four leaf clover.

When he did, she didn't give him a chance to thank her. There was something she couldn't let herself forget to say: "The best luck I ever had was being some random guy's target."

Benny stood up as Ryellie went on: "I've been looking for a way to thank you ever since, but I don't think anything will ever really sum it up."

By the look in her eye, Benny could tell Ryellie felt she was being overly dramatic. He couldn't think of a way to respond, and what came out of his mouth didn't make sense to either of them. Or his grandma.

"I, uh, think I left my… printer running."

With that, Benny was gone. Ryellie sighed and knelt down in the dirt, too disappointed in herself to care about how dirty her dress would get. "Well, I don't even have to ask what that was about. I know it was something I said."

"Ethan, could you stand still for like five seconds, I'm trying to have a conversation here."

"Oh, he can't hear you." Jane told Benny, standing in front of Ethan's computer to have the conversation for him.

"Huh? What do you mean he can't hear me?"

"I've been trying to ask what's going on since he got home, but he wouldn't stop singing long enough to tell me."

"Singing?" Benny echoed.

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm happy." Ethan said finally, coming into view.

"Yeah, well, good for you, but I'm FREAKING OUT OVER HERE!"

Ethan gulped and Jane jumped.

"Yeah, how do you like it?" Benny asked Ethan. Then, he added: "Sorry, Jane."

Instead of answering Benny, she looked up at her brother. "Benny's scary when he yells." She left with that, and Ethan sat down in front of his computer.

"Benny is scary when he yells. What's your problem?" It was only then Benny realized he didn't know how to answer.

"I don't know." He said lamely. "What's your problem?" If Ethan was acting weird, there had to be some reason. Plus, Benny didn't feel like discussing his own issues.

Ethan took the question seriously. "I can't figure out what to wear on my date."

His smile was so bright, it could've blinded Benny.

"You asked Sarah out?" For a second, he swore Ethan was joking.

"This time, yes. She asked me out this morning." Ethan said.

"This morning? It's Wednesday." Benny said this as more of his own reminder. For him, all the days had began to run together.

"I know." Ethan replied, almost self-righteously. "What do you think of that?"

"I hate being suspended." Benny decided. "I miss everything." And I mess everything else up.

"I thought you said it was more than worth it." Ethan reminded him teasingly, too happy to notice the look on Benny's face. He just had to rub it in.

"Have fun on your date." Benny told Ethan sarcastically.

"I will." He replied.

If he'd noticed Benny's tone, he didn't care. Nothing could ruin this for Ethan.

"You just came back from hanging out with Benny and you're not smiling? That's so weird." Rae commented.

Without even looking at her cousins while she walked to her room, Ryellie said: "You know, it's probably because of what you two said." She wished she could blame it on them, but she felt it was ultimately her own fault.

She turned around when she got in the doorway, blocking it. "Now when he looks at me, he doesn't see a friend. Just some obsessive freak."

Reegan rolled her eyes. "Ry, do you always have to be such a drama queen?"

Ryellie crossed her arms. "I'd rather be a drama queen than a liar."

"Let it go, already." The twins told her.

"I can't. I'm your cousin and you guys don't even trust me."

"It's not that." Rae insisted. "We were trying to get away from our shape shifter lives. It's why we came here."

Ryellie blinked. "You wanted to get away from your supernatural lives, so we came to Whitechapel? Great move."

"You know what?" Reegan sneered. "You're never gonna understand us. So why don't you just run back to your boyfriend?"

"I'd do that if I had one," Ryellie told them. "but that's never gonna happen, not with Benny."

"Ethan, where are you going all dressed up?" His mom asked when he came downstairs, calling him to everyone's attention.

Both his dad and sister could've easily warned him to duck and cover based on the hunch they had, which was proven right when Ethan answered.

"I've got a date." Instead, they let him be smothered.

"MY SON'S GOT A DATE!" Samantha exclaimed happily, practically tackling him to the floor when she hugged him.

"Mom, I understand your excitement, but does the whole world need to know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Samantha said, getting a hold of herself and letting Ethan go.

"So, who's this date with?" Ross asked.

Ethan was surprised that his parents couldn't guess, but figured that was because they weren't around most of the time when Sarah was over. He could see by the warm smile that spread across Jane's face that she for one already knew, and he decided-of course-to fill everyone else in.

Ethan's face broke into another overwhelmed smile when he spoke next.

"Sarah."

Benny glared at the pile of his old clothes he still hadn't moved. It was strange how-if he thought about it enough-everything reminded him of Ryellie.

It was as if the distance between the two of them took eons longer than a walk around the block.

They were separated by rambling words Benny couldn't change. Ryellie was making it difficult for him to hold a conversation, as if he was the shy one. He didn't want to think about it. Not when his only company in that moment was dead silence.

"THAT'S SO UNFAIR, I HATE YOU!"

Other than that, which sent Benny running full speed toward his best friend's house.

Jane let Benny in. Ross and Samantha were too busy trying to get Ethan to open the door he'd just slammed in their faces to take care of that themselves.

"Did they tell him he couldn't go?" Benny asked. Jane just nodded, and they both headed upstairs.

"I don't understand. Five seconds ago you were so happy for me. What's the problem all of a sudden? You can't say you don't trust her, she's here every Friday. What're we supposed to do? Just pretend this whole day didn't happen?" Throughout his entire rant, Ethan was fighting back tears.

"We're trying to protect you." Samantha said, looking to avoid an argument. She didn't want to be brutally honest and say what was on her mind: Sarah will outgrow you and move on sooner than you'll be willing to accept. That's how she saw it, and Ross had the same opinion.

Ethan opened the door. If he was surprised to see Benny standing in front of it with everyone else, he didn't let that show.

"I don't think I need to get into all those cliché sayings about love."

His parents flinched at the word, but he continued on.

"This morning I said the worst thing I could've said at the worst possible time. There was nothing special about this day, and no room for me to say things like that. I thought the world was going to end, but it didn't. This turned out to be the best day of my life because I decided to do what I've wanted to for months now. And if I end up hurt because of it, the least I could say is I had the guts to try."

No one was going to argue with that.

Sarah came to the door in the middle of Ethan's apologies. "You guys know I love you, right?" His parents laughed.

"Of course." Samantha replied. "We love you, too."

"Oh, and mom… Sarah's camera shy so can we skip the pictures?" Reluctantly, she agreed, as they reached the door.

"Sure, but one of these days I'm gonna catch her off guard."

Ethan and Sarah were speechless at the sight of each other. Their smiles said enough on their own, though.

Knowing they were too lost in each other's eyes to pay much attention to the world around them, the others gave silent waves the two reciprocated as goodbye.

As Ethan made his way to Sarah's car, he imagined himself saying "I've gotta warn you, my mom might attack you with a camera some day soon. Run if you see a flash going off." He remembered what a disaster picture day had been, though, so he stopped himself. Instead, he just let Sarah speak.

She told him where she thought of going, since the location of their first date had been Ethan's choice.

She had a nature trail in mind, something they clearly weren't dressed for, but they both knew they'd worn what they did to impress each other.

"The road that leads there is barely even used anymore." He liked the idea of no one else being around to bother them. "It's practically deserted." He added.

"I know." Sarah replied with a smile, tossing Ethan her car keys. "That's why it's your turn to drive."

"Hey, don't you know how dangerous it is to fall asleep on a roof?"

Ryellie gave a quiet whine in reply. "I wasn't sleeping. I can't sleep." She told Benny.

She figured if he was talking to her again-and starting the conversation-she better just be happy about it, and not question the reason why.

Benny climbed up on the roof and sat next to Ryellie. She sat up, and he handed something to her. "I bought this for you. I was gonna make it myself, but then I remembered I'm not that talented." He admitted.

"Lotion?" She asked, laughing.

"It's free." He teased.

"Lilac?" Ryellie guessed.

"Yeah." Benny said.

"Thanks." She smiled, and went to pour some on her hands.

"Ugh!" Benny couldn't help but laugh.

"Déjà vu." He said.

"What is it with me and my lack of portion control?" She asked, practically shoving her hands in Benny's face. "Does that look dime-sized to you?" Ryellie was clearly annoyed with herself, and went on: "I'll tell you how it looks. It looks like a ploy."

"A ploy?" Benny echoed, trying not to burst out laughing and wake up the whole neighborhood.

"Yeah. A stupid, selfish, poorly-disguised ploy to get you to hold my hand."

Ryellie's hand almost rushed over her mouth for the second time since they'd known each other. In a pointless attempt to try to force the words back in, which would've resulted in a mouthful of lilac lotion.

Benny laughed. "Isn't that ironic." The most ironic part about it was he was wishing he hadn't said that.

"What do you mean?" Ryellie asked, lost. She turned to him in anticipation of an answer, and at first it seemed he'd never elaborate. Like he wasn't going to let himself say something he might regret. He seemed to scratch that idea fairly quickly.

In answer, Benny took Ryellie's hands in his. "I see it as the perfect excuse."

Her eyes went wide, but she turned her attention to the stars for distraction. "Do you think I'm pretty?" She asked, still not daring to look at him. That question was supposed to stay in her head.

"Yeah." Benny said, without hesitation. Ryellie was happy he hadn't laughed, and surprised she wasn't angry he hadn't given her the cliché 'I think you're beautiful' reply.

However, he did elaborate eventually, keeping his eyes on the stars as well.

Benny was amazed the stars looked virtually the same as always, a major contrast to all that had changed in the course of one day.

"But… more than that. It's not exactly easy to explain. You'd think with dictionaries that weigh more than cinderblocks, I'd be able to give you an answer." He said honestly, despite his fear. And-although she didn't know that-Ryellie felt she had to do the same for him.

"Well, I think you're… I don't really know what the word is. You've got great looks."

"You're cousins think so too." Benny said, with mock pride.

Ryellie rolled her eyes. "Don't make me go all 'Erica' on you. I may not have fangs, but I can be tough." They both laughed lightly.

"Can I just say this is the weirdest conversation we've ever had?" Benny asked, knowing that that was saying something.

Ryellie nodded. "I agree completely."

"We're still holding hands aren't we?" He asked, not bothering to check.

In response, she gave a weak: "Uh-huh."

Ryellie let go, and Benny's face dropped.

Until she pulled him into that hug-tackle she'd been thinking about since she her first day.

Their heartbeats were like two overly-competitive runners in a championship race.

Benny tilted Ryellie's head up so they could finally look at each other, instead of avoiding that.

She wasn't even startled by the touch. In fact, the only thing that scared them was their next move. But apparently, they both had the same thought.

Benny gently moved Ryellie's arms up so that they were wrapped around his neck, and she tilted her head just slightly as he leaned in to kiss her.

The stars were their only witnesses, as the two were wrapped up in each other. The scent of lilac swirled into the air.

Ryellie wasn't sure the reason-the joy of the moment, or the fear of what would happen once it was over-but a single tear rolled down her cheek.

The tear ran off course as it was met by one of Benny's…

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