Huff...Huff...Huff I ran as if hell was on earth. Band practice had just finished, and I was running to the mansion from the abandoned factory. The guys and Nudge went home. I arrived at the Mansion at 6:45. Alexander opened the door himself and kissed me politely on the cheek.
"That never happened when Arthur opened the door!" I said.
"Well, you better tell me if it does. We have a rule, you know. I don't kiss his girls and he doesn't kiss mine!" Fang glowed even more than he had that night I'd snuck in and he had extended his hand.
He was growing confident. He led me up the grand staircase to the family room.
It was filled with modern art pieces flowered paintings, an Andy Warhol print of Campbell's soup cans, Barbie doll sculptures, and flashy, furry, wild rugs. There was a black leather couch, a big-screen TV, and a glass table with a giant tub of movie popcorn, Sno-Caps, Dots, Sprees, Good & Plenty, and two neon-green glasses filled with pop.
"I wanted to make you feel like you're at the movies, " he explained. I smiled and kissed his cheek. He looked at me and blushed slightly.
He put in the DVD and turned out the lights, and we snuggled together in the darkness. I picked Sno-Caps and he chose a pack of Sprees. We were watching Friday the 13th from 1980.
The popcorn rested between us on the couch. Jack was about to get killed when Fang gently pulled my face away from the screen. He stared me at with his deep midnight eyes. He leaned toward me. And he kissed me.
My eyes widened but fluttered close. His mouth was warm and soft under mine. He kissed me as if he were drinking me in and filling my heart and veins with love. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my hands through his silky black hair. As I took a breath, he began kissing my ears and gently nibbling them. I shivered gripped the collar of his shirt.
His lips and teeth made their way down my neck, his mouth filling me with total passion. His soft biting on my neck tickled. I was so into his spell, I stretched my legs out clumsily on the coffee table, spilling Fang's glass and then the popcorn over him. Fang, startled, sunk his teeth into my neck so hard, I gasped and pushed him away.
"Oh, no! I'm sorry!" he apologized. Popcorn was scattered everywhere and I held my neck, which was pulsing like my heart.
"Max, are you okay?"
The blood rushed from my brain, and the room began to turn one way then another, and my stomach felt nauseated. Then everything started getting dark and I passed out.
It seemed like hours later, but it was only seconds. I awoke to Max calling my name.
"Max? Max?"
"What happened?"
"You fainted! Here, drink this." He put my glass to my lips, like I was a baby. Fang's face was covered in worry.
He took some ice that had spilled on the table and placed it on my neck.
"I'm so sorry! I never meant to!"
"That's cold!" I cried.
"I've ruined everything, " he said, holding the dripping ice on my neck.
"I never meant to hurt you." I could feel his fingers tracing the wound. "It's just a flesh wound. I didn't break the skin." I nodded slightly and closed my eyes.
"It's okay," I mumbled.
"I want to ask you something," he said, walking me to my door.
"You don't want to hang out anymore?"
"No, I mean-I just wanted to say.."
"Yes?"
"The other day, I was walking around town and saw some flyers about a Snow Ball at your school...I was wondering if you wanted to go?"
"I've never been to a school dance before."
"Really? Me neither."
"Then it'll be the first time for both of us," I said.
He leaned in to kiss me and stopped suddenly. "I better not."
"You better!" He leaned in again, and this time our lips melted together, his strong hand gently holding my chin.
"Until we meet again, " he said, kissing me one last time. He blew me a final kiss when he reached the car.
I couldn't possibly sleep at night, my mind was racing, dreaming of him, replaying his kisses over and over.
I wanted to be with him every moment, because whatever he was, he was my Fang. My funny, intelligent, caring, lonely, gorgeous, dreamy Fang. He was more incredible and exceptional than I had ever imagined.
"I heard you're hanging with the vampire," Dylan said the day before the Snow Ball as Nudge and I walked through the hall after lunch. Signs for the dance hung from the ceiling and were plastered on the walls.
"Isn't it enough that you're a freak and your band crew or whatever are trolls? Now you have to date a lunatic? Don't you know that the Mansion is haunted?"
"You don't know anything! You've never even met Fang."
"Oh, Fang. The monster has a name. I thought you just called him Frankenstein. If I do ever meet him, I'll kick his ass and run him out of town. We need to know that we can walk the streets safely at night!"
"I'll kick your ass if you ever even come near him. If you ever even look at him."
"If he looks anything like you, I'll need sunglasses to guard against the blinding ugliness."
Principal Smith walked by. "I hope everything is okay with you two. We haven't received a budget for new lockers." Then he put his arm around the jerk and said, "I heard you kicked the winning touchdown in yesterday's game, Dylan."
They turned away, Principal Smith engaging the reluctant Dylan in jock conversation.
"How did he know I'm seeing Alexander?" I asked Nudge, puzzled.
"Uh, I guess people. You know how people talk in this town."
"Well, people in this town are stupid."
I turned and saw the signs for the dance, TICKETS ON SALE NOW. SAVE FIVE DOLLARS IF YOU PRE-PURCHASE.
"Tickets? Frig! I didn't know I needed tickets! Do I get them at TicketMaster? Charge by phone?" I laughed.
"That's what happens when you're on the outside, you know?"
"I totally know. The outside gets worse and worse each day."
"Maybe they'll be sold out and we'll have to dance on the school lawn," I joked.
"Maybe it's best you and Fang have a private dance at the Mansion."
"Nudge the band is playing too," I looked at her skeptically.
"Dylan knows a lot, Max," she said oddly.
"Fine, so he'll get into a good college. What do I care?"
"I'm afraid of Dylan. His father owns half our farm."
"The corn or the sugar?"
"I have a confession"
"Save it for Sunday. Forget about Trevor. He's just a bully."
"I'm not strong like you. I never was. You're my best friend, but Dylan has a way of making people people believe his lies and making them say things. But please don't go to the dance, " she said, grabbing my arm.
Suddenly the bell rang. "I've gotta go. I can't get another detention or I'll be banned from the dance."
"But Max-"
"Don't be afraid, girlie, I'll protect you from the monsters. "