Here's chapter 6, THANK YOU to everyone who read, reviewed favorited and all that good stuff!

I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire. Or Sharpie. Or Post-Its

Rory turned to find himself face-to-face with Erica. He couldn't figure out if she meant her statement to be harsh or sweet, her tone was an odd mixture of both.

"I didn't even know you were playing, but I don't think Ryellie'll be mad you took her turn." As Rory spoke, no smile graced his lips.

Erica was almost too dazed to answer. Much like his statement, that just didn't make sense. "Are you okay?"

He blinked deliberately, but answered soon enough. "Yeah, but Ryellie's obviously not hiding up here, so I gotta get back to the game." His statement was blunt.

Erica's tone turned annoyed, to hide the hurt. "You would rather play Hide & Seek than spend time with me?" Rory didn't hear that as an invitation. All he heard was anger.

He surprised himself when he finally replied, after what was basically a stare-down with Erica.

"It's Sardines." He corrected. "And, I guess… this makes us even."

He turned his back on her to fly off the roof, when she called out to him.

"Rory, wait." He only looked at her, not bothering to turned back around and face her.

Erica reached for her pocket and took out something that barely fit inside. A rubber frog with a frilly cuff around its neck. With the one-word warning of "Catch.", she tossed it to him.

It was as if she was throwing all his affections back in his face. As payback for him blowing her off.

Rory caught the frog with barely any effort. "Thanks." He said, emotionless. With that, he was gone. Back to playing.

Erica stood frozen for a second. Then, she opened her mouth to scream in frustration. Except, no sound came out. Her eyes burned like fire, from the tears she held back.

"You were right." Benny told Ryellie, as he shielded his eyes. Rory shined his flashlight directly in his face. He wished he could give the vampire a taste of his own medicine, but that would just be cruel.

"Of course, I'm a girl." She whispered back teasingly. The sound of Sarah's chuckles drowned out Benny's growl of pretend annoyance. Rory crawled under the bed to join the others in hiding, silently.

He ignored the questioning looks thrown his way, while the others wondered what supernatural creature got his tongue. They also couldn't help but think who to blame for wiping the smile from his face. Rory seemed to read their minds, and made half a grin appear in attempt to calm their nerves.

"Phst! Ry!" Reegan called out quietly from the doorway. "You in here? I need to ask you something." Although she couldn't tell, Rae rolled her eyes in reaction.

"Such a cheater." She accused, earning herself a pitiful whine in reply. "Do you see what I have to suffer through on a daily basis, Ethan?" Rae asked him.

"Yeah, I see." He answered, with a vigorous nod. Unintentionally, he added: "I get a double dose."

Rae's gasp and Reegan's scoff were drowned out by a chorus of howling laughter. Since they gave up their spot, Ryellie, Benny, Sarah and Rory crawled out and stood up. A satisfied smile spread across Benny's face. "My turn." He declared.

"So, is that a 'yes'?" Reegan asked enthusiastically, once Ryellie was found and the group was counting for Benny. She was still stuck on the subject of Ryellie designing clothes for their store.

"Or a 'no'?" Rae practically pleaded.

"It's a 'maybe'. Ryellie told them, sounding unsure of even that.

The group was counting in the twins' room. No one counted out loud, because of all the confusion it could cause. Ethan wasn't counting at all.

With the lights turned on, he discovered that Reegan and Rae's bunk bed was writable, covered in material for dry erase boards.

In black marker, he wrote his name and half an ampersand. Capping the one tip of the marker, he flipped it upside-down between his fingers and uncapped the red tip. He passed the marker off to Sarah, who-to his relief, and joy-beamed. She finished the ampersand off and-only when she was finished writing her own name-noticed something.

The sound that came out of her mouth when the realization hit her was a mixture of a happy laugh and a horrified gasp. "Ethan, this marker's permanent."

At those words, he grinned from ear to ear. "I know."

Sarah moved her flashlight around. She was on the first floor, in a room that belonged to some of Ryellie's grandparents, searching for Benny.

He wasn't anywhere out in the open, and she doubted he would try the spot under the bed after Ryellie. A place so surprisingly spacious got cramped quite quickly.

Sarah's doubts were proven right. Same went for the room across the hall. Except, she did find something. Something that made her stop short and do a double take. Sarah carefully placed it in her pocket, and moved onto the kitchen.

Simon's Kitchen, according to the sign hanging in the doorway. The place was a chef's dream come true. Filled with cooking tools she couldn't even name. Something she'd call a modernized classic. Sarah could almost smell the food and-after failing to find him-she wondered why Benny wouldn't want to hide in there.

Sarah stepped into the dining room, waving the flashlight again. There was one long table in the dead center of the room, with eleven chairs surrounding it. What really caught her eye was the china closet. It was elegant-like everything else in the room-and almost enchanting.

She walked closer and took a look at all the fancy plates. Something stood out among them. A figurine, painted silver. More specifically, a bull. Sarah laughed, amazed and amused. Something else caught her eye, making her drop her flashlight.

"Benny, you scared me to death. Metaphorically speaking." Her harsh whisper was answered by a light laugh.

"Sorry." He said. "You're really good at this game."

She shrugged that off, switching off her flashlight and standing beside him. "Okay, I thought Ryellie's hiding place was ridiculous. How are all of us supposed to fit behind a china closet?"

"Be creative." Benny replied. Then, after a pause, he added: "So, have you kissed Ethan yet?" He couldn't have sounded more nonchalant. When he switched on his flashlight briefly to see her reaction, he watched Sarah's face flush furiously.

"No, don't you think he would've told you if we had?"

"You're right."

"Of course, I'm a girl." Sarah replied, earning herself a look she felt deserving of. One that said 'Don't steal Ryellie's lines'. She sighed. "We're taking things one at a time. Especially with what's going on between you and Ryellie right now. Whatever that really is-"

"Wait." Benny cut Sarah off. "So because you guys are too busy pitying us, you can't be happy?"

Sarah shook her head. "We're not pitying you. And we're ecstatic." She smiled brightly. At least, I know I am."

In that moment, a flashlight shined in their direction, catching Benny right in the eyes. He glared, squinting. "Okay, Rory. Now you're just doing that on purpose."

Rory clicked off his flashlight and stood beside his friends. He could only laugh when he told Benny: "You're like a flashlight magnet."

"Do you have some sort of strange fascination with this room?"

Ethan turned to see Rae watching him in the light of her flashlight, from the library doorway. Her tone was much calmer without Reegan around. He almost mistook her for someone else.

"Can you blame me? Your house… it's amazing."

"Thanks, we work really hard for that. Seriously, I don't think Simon, Lydia, Miles and Victoria know the meaning of the word 'retire'."

Ethan gave her a look, a little lost. "My grandparents." She explained. "Uh, well, my paternal grandparents and my uncle's parents. With the four of them, it just makes it easier to call them by their actual names."

Ethan nodded and turned to one of the many bookshelves. One book stood out from the rest, since the cover was facing out. It was a children's book, with vibrant colors and detailed drawings. The title didn't catch his attention, but he read underneath it did: Written by Grace Temberlon Illustrations by Lucas Newbold.

That was enough to make him want to read the book, as Rae spoke about how her dad and aunt made a great team. Ethan was about to agree wholeheartedly, when he flipped to the dedication page. For Reegan.

Those words triggered something. A vision.

Reegan, her hair dye-free, stood in front of a For Sale sign, staring at the sticker that said 'SOLD'. There were tears in her eyes. Guilty tears.

Rae hadn't even noticed Ethan was out. He did the best he could to hide his shocked expression, and ignore the loudest thought in his head: She's the reason they had to move.

His head was spinning. What was he supposed to do? Confront Reegan? He figured asking questions would only bring the past back to haunt her. He couldn't do that while he still worried about his own future. So-once again-he kept quiet.

By the time Benny was found, Ethan felt he needed a second opinion. As he stood in the kitchen with the others, he knew exactly who he wanted that opinion from. The one he had to find. He just hoped he got to Sarah first. And that she had some advice.

A search of the first and second floor led to nothing. The twins complained about having to go into the 'icky basement' for no reason.

"What's so icky about a finished basement?" Benny asked them.

"Well, nothing really." Rae admitted. "But it's dark down there." Benny looked down at his flashlight oddly, and back up at the twins with the same exression.

He looked over at Ryellie. "I will never understand your cousins." The look she gave him in reply said 'That makes two of us'.

While the twins argued with Benny, and Ryellie questioned where Rory was, Ethan made his way to the third floor.

He checked Ryellie's room first. It was the smallest room on the floor, not counting the bathroom.

His shined the flashlight on the walls, but what first caught his attention was Ryellie's canopy bed with the patchwork quilt, and her beside table. Seemingly empty, besides the pencil holder full of colored Sharpie markers, a towering stack of Post-Its and the bottle of lilac lotion that sat atop it.

He was surprised to find that the walls were completely covered in paintings. None of them seemed to be Ryellie's own. He'd seen her drawings, and this artwork was a different style. Beautiful, nonetheless. Except, the back wall was blank, painted a soft neon orange.

"That looks suspicious." He commented to no one.

No one responded with an echoing giggle.

Ethan's eyes shifted, looking curious and confused. "Sarah?"

She answered his call with another laugh. She couldn't help it, picturing his expression.

He stepped closer to the wall and ran his hands along it, pushing slightly. Revealing Ryellie's hidden closet, and an impressed Sarah.

She looked more than impressed, actually. Her eyes lit up as if she hadn't seen him in weeks.

Behind those bright eyes was something unsettling. Ethan wasn't the only one with a secret to share. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"You tell me." Sarah replied. It was obvious to her that Ethan had seen something too. "Another vision?" She guessed.

Ethan nodded. "Of Reegan, crying. It seems like her family had to move because of something she did. Like this wasn't a change of scenery or a job transfer-"

"It was an escape." Sarah finished for him, proving that she understood. With a sigh, she added: "I wouldn't bring it up. Reegan can be harsh at the happiest of times…" Her voice trailed off.

Ethan was glad he wouldn't have to say anything, but he worried about what Sarah had found and what it would mean.

"Recognize anybody?" She asked, pulling a photograph from her jacket pocket and handing it to him.

Ethan expected more bad news, but he didn't fight the smile that appeared on his face when he processed what he was seeing. The picture was fairly old, approximately thirty years. One of the women in the picture had to be Lydia or Victoria. Maybe they were both there. All he knew is that out of the six women seated at the table in the picture, he knew one. "Grandma." He said happily, dumbfounded.

"Do you believe it?" Sarah asked, sounding equally shocked as Ethan flipped over the picture and read the cursive writing on the back. To say it short and sweet, friends forever.

"This is crazy, wait 'til Benny sees this."

The door swung open, startling them both. Ryellie looked at them questioningly. She had obviously overheard. Ethan passed her the picture. The happy shock on her face told him she had never seen it either. Smiling brightly, she spoke in a hopeful tone. "Do you think the fact that Lydia and Victoria were friends with Grandma changes things? Maybe my parents will let Benny and I date now."

Benny never heard about the conversation regarding the photograph, because he was last to find Sarah. What better hiding spot than one that was hidden already? He was glad when she was out of hiding, that meant he had an opportunity to tease her.

"So?" He prompted.

Sarah blinked. "So, what?" Benny waited for her to figure that out on her own. "No, I didn't kiss Ethan." The other seekers' ears perked up, but they pretended not to listen.

"Why not, what are you so afraid of?" That question was simple, but the answer wasn't.

"Everything."

Benny nodded. Then he thought of something, and spoke his mind. "I dare you."

Sarah's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You heard what I said."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sarah asked. She couldn't believe she was actually whining.

Benny raised his eyebrows and answered with a smile: "Because it's fun."

He was the last one out of Ryellie's room when everyone finished counting. He had to walk past her art studio to get downstairs. The French doors made the place inviting, so he couldn't resist.

Ryellie's drawings lined the walls. One wall was strictly pictures of her family. Another seemed to be dedicated to Ethan and Sarah. A third was for pictures of Rory and-to Benny's shock-Erica. Surrounding the doors were pictures of him and Ryellie. The one that stood out the most was of the kiss they'd shared, complete with tears. Benny exhaled deeply, slightly saddened, and then had a thought.

He looked up at the ceiling. "Of course." He said, spotting the lone drawing. The only picture in the entire art studio of Ryellie by herself. It was surprisingly cartoonish, straying far from Ryellie's style, almost anime. In the picture, a younger Ryellie was clutching a stuffed rabbit and staring at a burning building. He shivered, despite the fact that it was still beautiful, albeit disturbing.

No longer knowing what to do with himself, Benny moved onto the next room. He was taking his search for Ethan slowly for a reason, Sarah was supposed to get there first.

Rory didn't know about Benny's plan, but he also had no idea where Ethan could be. He found himself in the twins' room for the second time. He quickly saw that Ethan wasn't in there, but he didn't leave. He knew he was being nosy, but he couldn't help his curiosity.

There wasn't much to see besides the pictures that hung on the walls. Their laptop was off, and Lord of the Power Button didn't bother with it. Instead, he looked at a letter that sat next to the laptop on the desk.

It was written on special stationery, with an expansive pen. The cursive writing was bold, as if the message was urgent. It wasn't meant to be seen by Rory. He knew that, but he couldn't help himself. He read:

Rae,

This letter should arrive to your house the day you do. I'll try to write as often as I can. If you don't get a letter every week, take it as a warning that something's coming. I'm sorry you had to leave me. I'm sorry your family is a moving target. Mostly, I'm sorry I'm so cynical about the whole thing. I just miss you.

You know that I've never been good with words, so I'll just say this: I love you with all my heart, and I'll be watching over you always.

The letter was unsigned. For a moment, Rory just stared at it, mystified. What did it all mean? He knew enough to worry. This letter seemed to be the only one. The question was, what did that mean for Rae? He wanted to find out, help her even, but he wasn't supposed to know.

Sarah searched her memory for a clue on where to find Ethan. Not that she'd related her hiding spot to his memory. When she thought about it, however, a closet would've been Jane's first choice. Not that that had anything to do with her.

She tried to think back to times that really defined their relationship. Sacrifices. Like when she cured him from his werewolf form, when she could've taken the cure for herself. This led her to the 'icky basement'. She'd been hiding the first time anyone searched it, so she didn't know it was finished. She didn't even have her flashlight on. As a vampire, she had to wonder why she and Rory even used them. Most of the time, they saw perfectly well in the dark.

She expected the basement to be a bunch of empty space, aside from maybe a washer machine and dryer.

Until she bumped into something. "Okay, that's a pool table."

She was answered by a light laugh, and kneeled down to find Ethan underneath said pool table. It's not fair. He thought, not wanting to give up his spot. He supposed it was payback though, and didn't mind Sarah being first to find him. "And that's my boyfriend."

Ethan couldn't help blushing, especially when he realized she had never called him that before.

She practically rolled underneath the pool table to lie beside him, and he had to laugh seeing that. "Hi." She said.

"Hi." He echoed, noting that her tone implied a lot more than a greeting. It was more of an opener. She had something to say.

Sarah hadn't planned on saying anything. She planned on doing exactly what she was dared to. Only, things didn't go according to plan.

"Months ago, my life was normal." She found herself saying. "And I used to think I'd trade everything to have that normalcy back. But I know that if it wasn't for Erica finding a rebellious streak..." She trailed off for a second, hardly believing it herself when she thought back. But Sarah had a point to make, so she continued on. "we wouldn't be together. If I have to keep these fangs, I'm glad I get to keep you too."

Before Ethan had a chance to respond, the twins came into view. They didn't look too happy.

An argument ensued when the twins found out that Sarah got to Ethan first. To appease them, the others said it could be their turn to hide next.

Which only caused another argument. Even as they went off to find a hiding spot, Rae was going on about how she and her sister were two different people, and they deserved separate turns.

Sarah found them in the three-car garage soon enough, even though the girls were the quietest of the bunch. This came to everyone as a surprise, even them.

Despite how funny they thought it was, they weren't going to let Sarah have a second turn. Everyone agreed that Rory should get a chance.

What a mistake that was.

"How long has it been since Rory went to hide?" Ethan asked.

He was on the second floor, walking through the hallway with Benny and Sarah by his side.

Sarah took out her phone to answer his question. "Almost an hour." The three groaned in unison.

"No one's this good at hiding." Benny said. "He's changing spots. He has to be. Vampire Ninja." He mumbled.

"This makes no sense." Ryellie said, meeting up with the other three when she walked out of her cousins' room for the second time that turn. "I've searched every room at least twice, even the attic."

"Told ya." Benny said, as if that proved his point.

"Not even Sarah can find him, and she's found more people in this game than the three of us combined." Ethan told Ryellie.

This made her want to rethink her strategy. If she could find Rory first, it might mean impressing her role model.

Ryellie backtracked through her steps mentally, trying to figure out what she hadn't done during her search, while the others talked. Then it hit her.

In her excitement, Ryellie ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Within what seemed like seconds, she was on a different floor, smiling up at Rory. "Have you been there this whole time?" She asked, receiving a happy nod in reply.

"You're more quiet than I am." Ryellie couldn't help but say to Rory, in her astonishment. They were in their hiding spot, and it had been minutes since either of them spoke.

He shrugged that off. "Aren't I supposed to be? At least, while I'm playing?"

Ryellie theorized that Rory could be just as quiet as she was all the time. He just chose not to be. Either that, or he was still upset about something.

She had never wished for silence to break. Ryellie liked the quiet. When it came to Rory, though, it was a different story. She thought that was just because she wasn't used to it. Her thoughts were interrupted when Rory's lips pressed against hers.

She practically pushed him over-which would've been painful had it not been for his quick reflexes-knowing no other way to get him to stop in her absolute shock.

"Sorry." Rory said, seeing that she was not only caught off guard, but upset. "I just wanted to see what it felt like." He wasn't defending the action, just being honest.

Ryellie was going to be honest regardless. She never lied. "I love Benny."

That was all she gave as an answer. That was all she needed to say. Rory had seen the proof, their chemistry. He couldn't deny that. He also couldn't change it. He didn't even know if he wanted to, but he had to accept that either way. So, he said "Okay." Despite his inexplicable anger.

"But I understand why you did that." That surprised Rory, because he barely knew why he'd done that. He waited for Ryellie to finish her thought, curious to hear what she had to say. And glad she wasn't mad at him. "There's this void you're trying to fill. You can't help but feel lost if you didn't see where Erica threw your heart when she tore it out of you chest." Rory stared, stunned. That was quite an image, even for a vampire. "Lucky guess." Ryellie explained, not proud to be right. "What happened with you guys?"

Rory couldn't help but keep quiet then, not that he was trying. It was just difficult to explain. He didn't even know where to start, but he figured he had to.

"Well, Wednesday we kissed-"

"This Wednesday?" Ryellie asked.

"Yeah."

Her expression was past puzzled, as she shook her head. "Did Cupid go on a rampage on Wednesday?"

Rory nodded in agreement, laughing. "But he decided to play favorites and stole his arrows back from everyone but Ethan and Sarah." Ryellie had seen Rory's sadness, but that was the first she heard it in his voice.

"So, what happened after that?" She asked, wishing she knew how to cheer him up.

"We just hung out, but we had a date planned for tonight."

"That's why you said you wouldn't be able to come over." Ryellie said. Then, slower and softer, she added: "Wait, Erica stood you up?" Not knowing why she was shocked.

"I think." Rory admitted lamely. "I didn't really give her a chance to explain herself."

"Did she seem like she was gonna explain herself?"

"Maybe. She seemed like she was ready to forget all about it. I guess I was just too upset to go along with that, but I'm over it now." That surprised Ryellie the most.

She wondered whether or not he was lying. "So, you broke up?" She asked.

"I think." Rory answered in the same tone as before. He really didn't know what to think. Were they even together? Rory soon realized he had bigger problems than figuring out Erica.

"You know, I tell Benny everything." Ryellie admitted.

"He's gonna kill me!" Rory protested.

"I'm sure he won't, if I ask nicely."

Ethan, Benny and Sarah walked into the kitchen. Rather than feeling annoyed, the three others actually laughed, wondering where Rory could be.

"This is ridiculous." Benny said. "The house only has twenty rooms."

"That we know of." Ethan joked. With the things he and Sarah had discovered, he figured it was a safe bet to say that. He didn't know it, but Benny understood exactly what that meant. He still had chills after seeing Ryellie's cartoon drawing.

The twins walked in, looking like they were ready to give up. "Where's Ry? It's been twenty minutes since she disappeared." They said in unison. Ethan and Benny wondered if they'd planned that, or it was just natural.

Suddenly Sarah was laughing, like Kurt "The Hurt" Lochner when tickled. The four others threw her confused looks. She couldn't see them though. She was too busy looking up, mid-laugh attack.

Ethan followed Sarah's gaze, and stuttered: "What-how did-how long have you-" By that time, Benny caught onto what the couple was seeing. The twins were the last to look up and find Rory and Ryellie, on top of the fridge.

They gave the others defiant waves and slapped high-fives. Even though Rory's skin crawled at the thought of Benny finding out what he'd done.

When the game was over, the night slowed down. There wasn't much left of it-only a few hours-but Ryellie couldn't help wallowing in the memory of it. Trying to relive every moment.

Even the ones that weren't so memorable. Like the way Benny reacted when she told him Rory kissed her. She didn't expect the two of them to be talking to each other for awhile, and hated that thought even more knowing she was the cause of the fighting.

For a moment, she hated Erica for being the reason behind the kiss itself. She knew there were a lot of moments when Ryellie felt like she hated Erica, but this one topped them all. Not only was she messing with Rory's heart, but-indirectly-Benny's too.

On top of that, Ethan and Sarah seemed to be on a guilt trip, afraid to be a couple.

Days ago, everything seemed oddly perfect. Maybe that should've been a sign. Thinking about how it all changed so fast-how every aspect of her life was different-Ryellie felt that void Rory had.

She had just gotten used to living in an extraordinary town, making friends that seemed to come in small crowds, and-most surprisingly-finding somebody to call her own. It was the last thing she expected, and all that she wanted.

Ryellie knew all too well she couldn't have everything. Two out of three ain't bad. She reminded herself, tilting her head up toward the stars that seemed to have lost their shine. She knew the reason behind that. The 'three' out of three was Benny, for her boyfriend. So, the way Ryellie saw it, two out of three was way past bad.

Two out of three royally sucks.

That night, only two of the group slept soundly. Sarah had sweet dreams of Ethan, and he had sweet dreams of her.

Fighting waterfalls of tears, Ryellie looked up at the sky.

Benny stared blankly at his bedroom ceiling, not daring to blink while a frown made its home on his face.

Rory watched his window for any sign of Erica, wishing she would fly up to it, ready with an apology he knew he wouldn't get the chance to give that night.

Erica leered at some nameless face she honestly couldn't care less about…

Thanks for reading PLEASE REVIEW! Favorite part? Anything from this chapter you want me to expand on? Any ideas? I'm planning for a lot of surprises for the next chapter, I'll update ASAP! =]