Benny leaned in a little closer to Fayette, his breathing shallow. Fayette bit her lip again, knowing what was about to happen and not knowing how to prevent it, secretly not wanting to stop it at all. Their noses nearly touched now.

Benny, out of nowhere, jumped and reached into his back pocket. Pulling out his cell phone angrily, he muttered under his breath, "This better be an emergency, Ethan." He answered the call, saying in an agitated voice. "Hello?...Yes, I'm with Fayette. Is that why you called-" Ethan must've interrupted him, as there was a long pause. "Who's Rowan?"

At the mention of that name, Fayette gasped. Benny peered over at her, and she covered her mouth. "Well it seems Fayette does know him. I'm just glad you two are all right... Be careful, okay?" He hung up the phone, looked over at the poor frightened Fayette beside him, and decided, "I should take you home."

"No, you wanted answers, I'll have to give you those first." She placed her head in her hands, mumbling between her fingers, "I'm so sorry. I never knew this would all snowball like this."

Benny placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I promise. How about, to ease the tension, I'll tell you about myself first."

Fayette raised her head and looked back into Benny's eyes. "Okay."

"Well, not too long ago, I found out Grandma is an Earth Priestess, and I'm a SpellMaster. Basically, I've got a Spell Book, and I can cast spells and whatnot. I know it's probably a lot to take in, and a bit weird, but...this town is full of weird."

Fayette choked out a laugh. "Yeah, you're telling me. But thank you. I wasn't expecting that, but surprisingly, I'm not scared by it. I don't know if it eased things for me, but now I feel less weird explaining things to you." She took a deep breath before carried on. "I'll have to give the short version for now, but... on our first date, near the woods, it was Rowan."

"Why didn't I see him?"

"One step at a time. Anyway, my family is kind of...important. So are Rowan's parents. Basically, they think it'd be a good idea for us to get together...or date, I guess. But Rowan is a very bad person. Evil, almost. And it angers him that I don't want him. But I didn't think he'd try to hurt you, or Ethan, or Sarah. I'm so sorry."

"That's it?" Benny smiled softly. "Yeah, I kind of feel like you could've gone first now, but... I'm a SpellMaster," he added weakly.

"Remember how you said I'd be surprised at what you could handle? I guess I understand why now. But just please know that I'm telling you as much as I can, and I don't want you thinking I'm lying to you or anything."

"I don't think that. I should probably get you home now, though."

Earlier

"Who are you?" Sarah asked, feeling her vampire senses kick in with the presence of danger.

"Don't worry. I won't bite. You, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about," the boy taunted, gesturing to Sarah. "I'm just here to give a message."

"She asked a question. I suggest you answer it," Ethan spoke up, placing an arm in front of Sarah to protect her.

"I'm Rowan. Let's just say I'm a friend of Fayette Challacombe's."

"Then why did you come to us?"

The boy stepped closer towards them, allowing himself to be more visible in the streetlight. He towered over Ethan and Sarah, a fairly skinny guy with noticeable muscle tone in his arms. His hair was messy and ashy brown, with eyes as green as grass. There seemed to be a permanent sarcastic smirk on his face. His hands were crossed against his chest as he spoke. "Fayette has a bit of a restraining order against me, at the moment." He smiled, as if this was a joke. "As I said, I'm here to give a message, and then I'll be on my merry little way."

"Go on." Ethan, despite being quite mortal, was still determined to protect Sarah, who was fully capable of fighting her own battles.

"All right, impatient. Your friend, Benny, would be wise to stay away from Fayette. He's being closely monitored, and the longer he associates himself with her, the more dangerous things will get for him. Clear?"

"Not at all," Sarah scoffed. "You think we'll take your word for it? Fayette has given us no reason to not trust her. You, however, have 'villain' written all over you."

"Oh, if only it were that simple," Rowan said, stroking Sarah's cheek with his long finger.

Sarah nearly jumped out of Ethan's grip with rage. Rowan merely laughed, and disappeared once again into the trees.

"Sarah, let's go to your car, drive off, and call Benny."

"Should I walk you home?" Benny asked, once they'd left the bookstore.

"No, I promise I'll be safe until I get there. Can you text me to let me know you've gotten home safely?"

"You could always walk me there to ensure I do," he grinned.

Fayette smiled weakly. "You're a tease, Benny. But it's pretty late. Just promise you'll call or text?"

"I promise."

Fayette started to walk off, leaving Benny under the nearby lamp post, before she turned on the spot. "Thank you, for tonight. I'm really glad you took me here."

Benny kept his eyes towards the ground as he dug the toe of his shoe into the dirt. "I think we left off on my turn..." His hands were buried in his pockets, and he finally glanced upward at Fayette. "So, would you rather... kiss a frog or go to the dance with me on Saturday?"

Fayette started walking backwards, away from him. "That depends. How good of a kisser is this frog?" She gave a huge smile, slowly turning around and shouting behind her, "Just don't trod on my toes as we slow dance!"

Feeling accomplished, Benny began walking towards his house with a little more hope instilled in him.