"Mom, I don't get what's so important that I have to go home right now! Why can't you just tell me?" Johnathan frowned at the cellphone, while with his free hand he tried to put his pants on. He could faintly hear the rustle of a towel inside his bathroom, with the full knowledge of who was inside.

His mother had called not two minutes ago, and at first he seemed surprised of it, only for his face to change into one of mild consternation.

"A-are you sure? But… I spoke to him just last week, that just can't be!" he paused for a second, listening to the other person on the line, "I can't… I just… Mom, I can't just up and leave at a moment's… yeah, I know! I love him too, but…" he was frustrated, but gave a deep sigh and then relented, "fine, fine! I'll… check if I can make it over there soon… I don't know, mom, maybe tomorrow, if sooner I'll call you, ok?"

With a final sigh he cut the line and rubbed his hand over his face, uttering a low "fuck" that Mavis barely heard.

"Johnny? Are you ok?" she asked, now fully dried up and dressed, sitting by his side on the bed.

"My dad… he... uhm… he's really sick…"

"Oh, Johnny… I'm…" Mavis' mood tanked as much as his. She had met Mike Loughran before, and while the family in general had been quite mixed in their feelings toward her, Mike had been very friendly, borderline fatherly, to her. The burly man had been Mavis' greatest surprise of the lot, with his warmness and friendly demeanor, and he had taken a liking to him. To hear that he was very ill was a blow that the vampire girl had not been ready to receive, "what… is there anything we can do?"

"Mom wants me to go back, to see him and give him moral support. She says that the worst has already passed, he was at the hospital the whole week before… God, I feel like a scumbag!"

"It's not your fault! You didn't now! Honey, don't punish yourself, it wasn't on your control. You know I love your dad, but nobody told you anything, you couldn't possibly know how bad he was. If you can… you should go. He'll be happy to see you I'm sure of that."

"Come with me" he asked, almost instinctively. In this harsh moment of his life he wanted the emotional strength that Mavis gave him, and didn't want to be separated from her this entire time.

"No" her answer almost made him gasp loudly, but she steadied him with her hand to his shoulder, "you know your family isn't still 100% on board with our relationship, and I don't want you fighting with them when you should be with your dad."

"Yeah, I guess so… I'll miss you, you know?" he sadly said to her. Her heart was moved by how romantic he could be without trying, and locked her lips with his.

"I'll miss you too. Do you promise to call every night?" she asked, hopeful, giving him a pouty-bat face that could melt his heart in seconds.

"Of course I will, Mavy" before his turn to kiss her.

The next day came soon enough. Mavis was helping Johnathan pack his backpack for the trip, and it seemed like, as usual, the young man was over-packing.

"Johnny, you don't have to take all of this, you'll be coming back in a week, and I'm sure your mom has clothes for you over there. Clean, hopefully…" she cringed a bit at the unpleasant smell that wafted from some of his clothing.

"Sorry" he sheepishly apologized, as he agreed with her and started to unpack anything he wouldn't absolutely need. When he pulled one of his dirty shirts, a small leathery box came crashing down. Mavis leaned and picked it up swiftly, looking at it inquisitively.

"What's this, Johnny?" she asked the redhead, who diverted his attention to the object in her hand.

"I hadn't seen this in a while. My dad… he gave it to me when I decided to travel" he opened the case and produced a shiny, old-fashioned compass. It was more of an heirloom than a useful piece of gear, but Johnathan had kept it to remember his first home. It took a lot more meaning now, thanks to the matter at hand.

"It's beautiful. Must have costed him a lot of money" she observed, still entranced by the item.

"Probably… and you know what? I want you to have it" he proclaimed. The shock of the statement brought her back to reality, and faced him with an open mouth.

"But… this is yours… it's special… not to mention expensive…"

"I know, and I want you to keep it, now. Think of it as a small piece of the love I feel for you"

If Mavis was able to blush, she would be veet-red at that very same moment.

"Oh, Johnny!… I don't need this for that. I know you love me, and you know I love you. I think last night… proved that very well" her tone turned mischievous for a second, as she hugged his neck and brought him closer for a brief, but oh-so-romantic kiss. If Count Dracula was there to see it, he would be very, very annoyed, to say the least.

"Still," he continued after the kiss was broken, "I want you to keep it. So you know that I'll come back to you."

Mavis just sighed and relented, accepting the gift and keeping it inside its case.

"Fine, I'll hang on to it until you come back. Now be done packing, or you'll be late for your flight" she finally added, pecking him in the cheek and leaving to store the case in her closet.

The ride to the airport was uneventful, it was the good-byes that he hadn't been able to handle that well. While everyone had tried to keep a straight face, Mavis hadn't really been able to for long. She had broken into silent sobs and had hugged him a bit too tightly, obviously regretting having talked him into the travelling. He had promised to come back as soon as possible, and she had quietly shaken her head affirmative against his shoulder. He could still feel the humidity of her tears in the fingers he used to wipe them off her face. The promise of coming back and a quick kiss in the lips was made before he was able to leave without her weeping more than necessary, and he could only see Count Dracula comforting Mavis, as she leaned on him to be brought onto a hug.

"Man, this sucks so much…" he whispered to himself, as he ran a hand over his face and let out a sigh. This would be a very long week.

Johnathan had been gone for full two hours, and Mavis was already feeling like it had been months. She sat on her own in the lobby, which was sparsely populated at the moment, looking pretty miserable.

There was guilt in her mind, now. She had wished Johnathan to just sit the problem out, let Mike just get better on his own, and she now felt so miserable for even daring to think of that. She had gotten so used to him sacrificing anything for her that she was now thinking of actively asking for him to do it. Just when she had complained about him not doing any more of that. She was turning into something she didn't want to be.

Why?! I don't want to be a damned hypocrite!

She sighed heavily, and laid back on her seat, rubbing her forehead. The week can't go by fast enough.

Ah, there she is.

The pitch of the girl's voice was the right one… now that she had actually heard her speak, and not… ugh.

There must be something that she could offer. Something that would tempt her beyond reason.

Something to reel her in.

And maybe it wasn't hard to find out. She was depressed, that much was clear. She was vulnerable. She could probe her for information.

And then she could take anything worthwhile from her. Anything.

"You seem to be troubled", Mavis nearly jumped at the foreign voice that seemed to call her, and quickly spun to face the stranger. She was a woman, looking around mid-thirties to early-forties, dressed in what Mavis could describe as a 'casual but classy' outfit: a burgundy dress on which the skirt ended about ten centimeters below the knees, with no sleeves, and a modest cleavage which didn't give out much of anything (Mavis would have forgiven if it had, the woman's breasts were plentiful). She could see a man falling for her any time of the week.

"I… uhm… it's personal" she lamely answered, feeling a little put down by such an imposing figure.

"Sorry if I come across as awkward, it's not my intention. I just wonder what could possibly bother you. You are Count Dracula's daughter, aren't you?" the woman asked, sitting across from her.

"Well, yeah… how do you know?" Mavis asked curiously. She was 100% sure there was no way…

"Tabloids and magazines. You and your father are really famous, even if nobody has been able to get two words out of you. Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Minerva" she extended her hand to the young vampiress, who reluctantly accepted and shook it.

"Mavis, as you already know. Are you staying for a while in the hotel?"

"Yeah, considering I kindda lost my home to monster hunters…" she grimly answered, her smile only faltering for a second.

"Oh… I'm sorry. It was… so insensitive of me…"

"it's ok, at least I didn't go up I flames with it. I noticed the hints of human activity in the Hotel, though. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" she suggested in a lightly mischievous way that made Mavis' face show a light shade of pink.

"Yeah…. Uhm… I don't know how to put it, but… my boyfriend is... well… a human"

Yeah, already noticed… but maybe that's my angle.

"Oh… well… that's… something we haven't see in many decades, you know? Last time it happened, the human prospect had to choose between becoming a monster or remaining human"

"And what happened? What did the human choose?" Mavis asked, her curiosity picked by the devious woman.

"She decided to turn. I hope she never regretted her choice" the dark sorceress answered coolly. She was, of course, skipping some other parts of the story.

"How do you know all this?" Mavis wondered aloud, her tone suggesting that she wanted to know everything

"I turned her. She and her… boyfriend, as you put it, contacted me and practically begged for it. But, like I told you, it was a couple of centuries ago I'm hardly on my prime anymore"

But Mavis was barely listening to her anymore. The cogs on her mind had begun to spin, and now she could see an opportunity.

"Do you think… you could do it the other way around? Turn a monster into a human?" she asked, hoping for an answer that satisfied her.

Ah, young love. Makes people stupid and careless. Just like I like them.

"I… never tried it. But I know where you are going, and the answer is absolutely no. It's way too dangerous, and why would you want to turn into such… a limited species? You have all these centuries ahead of you…"

"I have my reasons. Please? There must be something you want that I can give in exchange Anything!"

"I… no! It's dangerous! I don't think you are fully aware of the implications! And frankly, I can't do it anymore or at least I don't think I can… I'm sorry…"

"Please… just try? I would give anything for it…"

I'm sure you would, poor naïve girl. This will be fun.

Three days later

"Morning, beautiful" Johnathan said through the phone, Mavis recognizing the voice in an instant.

"Morning over there, probably. How is your dad doing, Johnny? Is he still very ill?" the vampiress asked, concern creeping in her voice. They had talked for small amounts of time, twenty or thirty minutes at most, every day, but she hadn't asked about his dad, and she felt it would be appropriate to do so at the moment.

"He's fine, the worst is over, we are just taking care of him so he can make his recovery faster. I'll let you speak to him before I go back, okay? He's still a bit tired at times, but the doctors said it would go away as he recovered."

"I guess that's ok. I'm so glad he's fine. How have you been doing? I can't even imagine how hard this must be on you…" she mused, sitting in her bed to be more comfortable during the conversation

"I was scared at first when I came in here, I thought it was going to be a disaster, and that he would be in worse shape. After seeing him I kindda relaxed. He wasn't really fine, but he was better than I expected, so you know me, I'm rolling with it" something about the calmness of his voice convinced her, and she relaxed herself some too. They kept talking about some stuff here and there, but eventually they had to hang up. After exchanging 'I love you's, the line went silent and they both carried on with their day. Mavis now laid on her bed and looked straight at the ceiling. The prospect of being able to be turned into a human, to sacrifice something for him instead of him doing so again, was haunting her. Could she really do it? Would she give up her immortal life for him?

Yeah, I would.

Living forever wasn't worth it if she had to live without her Zing. Even if just for a few years, she wanted to share an actual, normal life with him. Grow old together, and… when the time came… then maybe leave this world together. If this Minerva woman could do just that for her, then it was worth a shot for her.

She'll come.

The sorceress was delighted at the thought. She had seen the girl from afar a couple of times since their conversation, and whenever she wasn't distracted she would look like she was thinking about something really hard. It wasn't hard to figure out about what.

Young love makes them do stupid stuff, and that's what I want. She would really give anything for this… pitiful human. Oh, isn't this gonna be fun…

She didn't find pleasure in actually hurting anyone, at least not physically (unless they were that hunter that drove her out of their home. Oh, she had enjoyed hat moment!), but the idea of what she would con Dracula's daughter out off send a thrill through her body.

Turning her wouldn't be a problem, she was capable of so much more with too little effort. She could pretend to get tired after the fact, just to keep appearances. After that, she could do whatever she wanted.

Reluctantly, Mavis knocked on Minerva's door, waiting a few seconds until she heard the distinctive voice of the woman telling her to hold a sec. The door opened before she could regret her choice, and the imposing woman looked straight at her.

"Hi, Mavis. What are you doing here?"

"I… thought about it, what we talked about the other day. I want to do it." Mavis declared, tying to sound confident, but with a voice that at times broke for a millisecond.

"Mavis… I already told you… I'm not sure I can!" Minerva answered, faking worry.

"I want to try. Even if you fail, I want to at least have tried. I'll give you anything you want" Mavis begged to her, probably about to kneel in front of the woman.

"Fine, fine! I'll…. Give it a shot, alright? But not here, and not right now. Can you meet me in the roof in an hour?" she nearly whispered, lowering her voice so no one could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Yeah… but... uhm… what is it that you… want in exchange for this?" Mavis cautiously asked, nearly forgetting something really important.

"We can talk about that later. Do you want to do this or not?"

"Yes! I'll see you on the roof"

The older woman went back inside, not before looking around for uninvited listeners, and Mavis went back up the hallway to head for her room, feeling a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. Was it right to do this impulsive act, without even discussing it with anyone? Her father would have a fit after this…

Dad…

She hadn't thought about him. The man that loved her probably a bit more than Johnny, who raised her since she was a baby… the man that would have to bury his daughter when she was gone…

And now she was feeling terrified. Her decision was going to open a deep wound in her family. And what would Johnathan think? About her going behind his back…

He would still love her, she was sure, but he would be so mad… At least he had talked to her about turning, she hadn't even mentioned it over the phone.

This is such a bad idea…

But there was no turning back now.

So, I was finally able to update. So much to do, and so little time to get it done, I have to manage my time pretty well, so please bear with me. As usual, please leave a review, I appreciate them , and I'll see you next update.