Chapter three, and thankfully longer this time. Now, since the special isn't up on Youtube yet, Draculaura's story of Valentine isn't exactly…exact. But it'll be close. Hopefully. I'll do my best. In this chapter, we see more of Ghoulia's love problems, and then Valentine enters the picture, and at the end we see Holt/Frankie. In the beginning, there's a confrontation between Clawdeen and Romulus. This chapter is for wolverinacullen and iwilleatyoursoul for reviewing and favoriting (and using proper grammar and spelling, GOOD JOB!).

Chapter Three: The Calm Before The Storm

Clawdeen had rushed her makeup and hair, and she had gotten ready too quickly. Clawd had asked her what was wrong; she had always taken such care with her appearance before, but today she hadn't even curled her hair and she only had on a thin layer of lipgloss. Clawdeen thought about telling Clawd what she was panicked about, but thought better of it. Clawdeen had worried that she was going to lose Draculaura when she started dating Clawd, and she didn't want Clawd to go through the same with Romulus. And he might not even take her seriously. After all, Romulus had only driven Howleen home. Maybe there really was nothing to worry about.

But Clawdeen wasn't one to take risks.

Every second dragged on more and more slowly. It seemed like it would never be time to head to the bus time. Finally, Clawdeen got sick of waiting, and left earlier than her siblings. Then she waited and waited, and realized that leaving so early had been a bad idea. She sighed and sat down on the bench.

Romulus had been on his way to school, driving his own car when he spotted Clawdeen sitting on the bench. His instinct instantly warned him that something was wrong. Clawdeen hadn't gone all-out on her outfit, hair, and makeup like she normally did. She sat kicking a rock with her platform, a sullen expression on her face. Neither Clawd nor Howleen was with her. Something had happened.

He pulled over in front of her, and called out to her, and his heart raced when her face lit up at him. He'd give anything to see her always smiling at him like that. "Hey Clawdeen, you need a lift?"

She nodded and got up, the sound of her platforms hitting the pavement following her as she got into his car. "Yeah, and actually Romulus, I wanted to talk to you about something." Romulus raised an eyebrow but nodded as Clawdeen shut the door.

Heading down the road, Romulus asked, "So what's on your mind? Did you and Howleen get into a fight?" It was a decent guess, but Romulus didn't think that would be enough to get Clawdeen to stop putting effort into her appearance. She and Howleen got into arguments all of the time; they were sisters who shared a room, it was perfectly normal for them to fight.

"No, but it is about Howleen. She told me that you drove her home yesterday, and I was just…thinking…" Romulus looked at her, nodding to tell her to go on. "Romulus, you don't have a crush on my sister, do you?"

Romulus chuckled a bit and shook his head. "No, she's your sister; I would never do anything like that." That was the truth. He would never be with another girl, or any girl unless Clawdeen said she wanted him too. But dating Howleen? That just seemed wrong. Howleen was only 14, he was 17 (almost 18, actually). Not to mention, she was his best friend's sister and Clawdeen's sister.

He couldn't remember not feeling something for her. Even as a pup, he remembered that he always wanted to be with Clawdeen; he always wanted to play with her, sit next to her when they watched a movie, just be with her. He had had a crush on her for almost all of his life, and now at the age of 17, he knew he was in love with her.

Clawdeen was fierce and feisty with a bad temper. But she was deeply loyal and always there to defend a friend or sibling. No matter what she said, she would always be there for them, and she would never do anything to hurt them. Clawdeen was the only girl he could imagine being with. Even if he couldn't be with her, that was better than watching her date some other guy. He heard from Clawd that she once went to the movies with Heath Burns, but he had no problems with that. He gave a laugh, and knew from the moment he met Heath that that relationship was doomed from the start.

"What's so funny?" Clawdeen asked.

He shrugged her off. "Oh, nothing. And like I said; don't worry, I was just dropping Howleen off as a favor. You have nothing to be worried about."

Clawdeen smiled back. She really did overreact; suddenly, she was very thankful she didn't tell Clawd. He would've teased her about being jealous, and she was not jealous. "Hm, I really did panic over nothing. Now I wish I hadn't rushed through my morning. I look like I just rolled out of bed."

He smiled. "You look fine. I like it." Only when Clawdeen left her hair straight did he remember how long it was. He had the urge to run his fingers through it. He wanted to lean over and kiss her, but he didn't even want to think about what would happen afterwards.

She only laughed as they approached the high school. "If you say so." He parked his car in the student lot, and she waved goodbye as she spotted Frankie and Draculaura waving to her over by the main door. She smiled. "I'll see you, Romulus."

Romulus joined his own friends who had driven themselves to school. One of them asked, "Hey Romulus, is that your girlfriend?"

Romulus only sighed. "I wish."

…

Frankie had barely survived first period sitting next to Jackson who explained that he turn on some music so Holt could get out a couple of times a day, and had left with Cleo, Draculaura, and Clawdeen, who didn't really look like herself today. Draculaura needed her lipstick out of her locker, and they were surprised to see Clawd there with a makeshift step ladder.

"See?" He said. "Now you can get to your top shelf no problem!"

Of course, this was for her 1600th birthday. Frankie knew that Clawd had been clueless about what to get her, since her birthday was also Valentine's Day. He had been chasing his tail as to what to get her. And obviously, he was trying to show that he had been listening, but Draculaura had completely taken it the wrong way.

"That's what you think of me!" Draculaura shouted as tears began to cloud her vision. "You think I'm short!" She then proceeded to cry her eyes out, and Cleo and Clawdeen gave him bitchy looks and then followed Draculaura and Frankie to her girl's bathroom.

Frankie knew it really wasn't Clawd's fault. Draculaura was almost 1600; she had had a lot of birthdays, and he had a lot to live up to. But as she would soon discover, there was a lot more to the story than that.

"It's really not Clawd." Draculaura started. "It's just…I'm just expecting too much that's all. I mean, Clawd wasn't my first boyfriend."

"Really?" Frankie asked. Frankie had been the one to suggest that she date Clawd. Now that they had been dating for a few months (most of Frankie's life, in reality), it seemed impossible, unreal, that she'd be or had ever been with anyone else. But instead, Draculaura was telling her that she had had another boyfriend. "Who was?"

"I don't really want to talk about it…" Draculaura said, while Clawdeen and Cleo looked relieved. Frankie was about to drop the subject, always respectful of peoples' boundaries, but Draculaura suddenly returned to the topic. "Well, okay, if you're gonna twist my arm!" She smiled as she thought of the fond memories she had had. "His name was Valentine. He was the most romantic monster ever! We did everything together; he was so sweet. He was the heartthrob of the school; he could've had any girl he wanted, but he picked me." She thought about the reenactment of the witch trials they did in her last school, and how he had called her the sweetest names, like "angel" and "beautiful". "And on my birthday, he gave me the most wonderful present-a holiday, just for me! But we had to leave, because of a misunderstanding with the villagers. And…I never saw him again."

That was an area Frankie couldn't understand. In some ways, she had no experience with boys-in other ways, she had too much. She could understand having your heart torn in two between two completely different boys, but she didn't understand what it felt to suddenly be ripped him away from your boyfriend. And she was really hoping she would never find out.

Clawdeen shook her head. "Draculaura, things are different. You're with my brother now."

Draculaura nodded. "I know, I know. I just need to remember not to have my expectations set so high."

"Yeah, and ghoul, don't you think it's weird that he made a holiday for you, but named it after himself?" Clawdeen was more than sick of this story. She had heard more than a dozen times-literally-and really, she didn't think she would've liked this guy if she had met him. He sounded all too wrong for somebody as sweet and naïve as Draculaura. Clawd was an idiot at times, but he was just a puppy on the inside, and Clawdeen knew that she could trust him with her best friend.

Exiting the bathroom, Frankie spotted Ghoulia waiting loyally for Cleo. Frankie smiled. "Hey ghoul, have you decided who you're gonna take to the dance yet?"

Ghoulia gave that zombie groan that meant "No, I haven't. I do not know what to do." When translated.

Frankie patted her friend on the back. "I hear you, ghoul. Don't worry, you'll figure something out, just like I did." As optimistic as she tried to seem, Frankie knew she was far from figuring things out. Ghoulia dragged her feet across the floor, moving next to Cleo, and Frankie headed to her next class.

Turning the corner, she was surprised to literally run into Holt. He had been blasting music from his earbuds. "Hey Frankie." He grinned as he helped her pick up her books.

She smiled, though the nervousness and fear made her want to rip her stitches out and go to pieces. "Hey Holt. How have you and Jackson been doing?"

Holt sighed. He knew this was important to Frankie, and if he wanted anything with her, he needed to work out what was happening. But Jackson was just so… "Frankie, I know you want us to be friends and all and we're trying, we really are…but it's just hard since Jackson and I are…you know. Two totally different dudes." Frankie nodded, and Holt wondered if she felt guilty about putting them up to the task of trying to get along. "So, what have you been up to?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

Frankie shrugged. "I've been helping Ghoulia with her boy trouble. She doesn't know if she wants to take Don or Slow Moe to Draculaura's party."

Holt contemplated this for a moment. This sounded all too familiar to him. He gave a weak, almost not there smile. "Just like you and me." He said, and only when he saw Frankie's face did he realize that had been the worst possible thing to say. He mentally slapped himself as Frankie squeaked out excuses and skidded to her next class. Holt scowled at himself, and he felt something nagging at him inside. He suspected it was Jackson reprimanding him for making Frankie feel bad. "Shut up." He growled. "She means just as much to me as she does to you."

Frankie slumped in her seat, knowing she had to figure something out and figure something out soon. The best thing to do would be to sit down and have a talk with them-but that was too difficult when they shared a body. Frankie was a smart girl, but when it came to matters of the heart, she was clueless. Which one did she like better?

Jackson was a safe harbor, someone she could trust. Sure, he flaked out on her, but that wasn't his fault now, was it? Jackson was sweet and smart, and he was a very nice guy. She still didn't get why Manny always picked on him, especially for something as stupid as him being a Normie. That thought still made her spark with anger. She would always be there for Jackson, like he would always be there to listen to her when she had a problem.

But Holt…

Jackson was a great guy, he was really cute, but there was something about Holt that made her light up with sparks and made electricity run through her veins. When Holt pulled her close, she felt this fire spread through her skin. It went from her fingertips to her toes. It was the heat that Holt sent rushing through her. They always had a good time, and Holt laughed even when she accidentally electrocuted him. And Holt could be sweet too; she still listened to the mix he had made for her and when she thought about it, it made her want to listen to it.

She sighed and planted her face in her book, trying to ignore the feelings that were shouting at her from within.

At the end of the final bell, Romulus put his books and binders away in his backpack, and asked Clawdeen if she wanted a ride home. His heart raced again when she said, "Yeah, sure, thanks." She smiled and got into the passenger seat and Romulus began to drive. Clawdeen felt safe knowing that she was with Romulus, and her life wasn't in danger as long as he was around.

They talked and laughed and told each other about their day, Clawdeen completely oblivious to how much Romulus wanted to pull over and kiss her until he ran out of air in his lungs.

Clawdeen smiled as she turned up the radio. "Love this song."

And I'd be ridin' and I swear I see her face at every turn.

Tryin' to get my Usher on, but I can't let it burn.

And I hope she know she the only one I urn for.

Seeing Romulus' tense and anxious face, Clawdeen asked, "Are you okay?"

Romulus forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Longest chapter so far! And it's had a little bit of almost all of the pairings, which is always good. Tomorrow is Friday (at least in this story), and then the storm will only grow stronger once it hits land. By the way, in case anyone hasn't noticed, Clawdeen/Romulus and Frankie/Holt are totally my favorite pairings. I can't believe they weren't in the special! Which, again, seriously disappointed me. I've had enough of Draculaura/Clawd. Now what I want to see is more of Clawdeen/Romulus.

See you soon!

~Mimi