{{Seth's POV.}}

How could I not know Charlotte's birthday? Well now that I think about it…our birthdays never really came up in conversations. I had two days. Two days to find her a present. Two days to throw her a party. Two days to tell her that her mother was alive and coming to her birthday. This couldn't end well.

I arrived at her house. She was bringing bags in from her father's truck.

"Charlotte," I called. My heart sped up at her gorgeous smile.

"Hey. Uh, can you help me take these in?"

"Sure." I grabbed an armful of bags and followed her inside. "What are these for?"

"My dad finally bought food. Some of it is for my birthday party I think. I guess I forgot to mention that my birthday is this Saturday." It was such a nice time to tell me her birthday was in two days. I couldn't exactly blame her. We set all the stuff on the kitchen table. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You seem a little down. Is everything okay?"

I sighed. "Yeah. Everything's fine." Now would be a good time to tell her. It would be better than later. Maybe it would give her time to think and maybe she wouldn't be so mad at me.

"Uh, actually there is something I have to tell you. Something that is really important."

"Okay." We sat at the table. She started unloading the bags.

"It's about your mother. She's─" I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Typical.

"I'll be right back." The door opened, then closed a moment later. She came back to the kitchen. "No one was there. Okay so go ahead. My mother is...?"

"She's not─" There was another knock. She held up a finger. Again the door opened and closed.

"I think someone is pranking my house." Another knock. "What do they want?"

I walked past her and opened the door. "What the hell do you want?" I growled.

"Uh, s-sorry. I think we have the wrong house."

I blinked. Two girls stood outside. They had suitcases with them.

"Oh, sorry. Can I help you?"

"We're looking for Charlotte Duckling. Do you know where she lives?"

"Charlotte? She lives here."

"Oh." Their faces brightened.

"Come in." I opened the door wider. They stayed in the hallway as I went to the kitchen. "Uh, Charlotte there's two people here that know you."

"Who?" She peeked around the corner. "Jessi! Carla! What are you guys doing here?"

"Your birthday party!"

"And a few extra days."

"Awesome! I'll show you guys to my room. I can't believe you guys are here!" They ran up the stairs and came back a few minutes later.

"Seth, these are my best friends, Jessi and Carla."

"Hi." I stood and let them have the chairs.

"He's cute," Jessi whispered as she walked in.

"He's probably taken, right Charlotte?"

"Shut up you guys."

"It's not like her can hear us."

I smiled to myself. If they only knew. They sat at the table and talked catching up on their summer.

I couldn't tell her now. I would have to wait, but it didn't look like I would be telling her before Saturday. She would want to hang out with her friends. They would probably help her plan her party. This was a very bad time for her mother to mention that she was coming. I didn't want Charlotte to think I was lying to her. I did try to tell her. This was so frustrating. I left without any of them noticing. I made it to the edge of the woods behind her house before she called me.

"Seth? Where are you going?"

"I have to talk to Sam." I wanted to tell him that Arianna was coming. I didn't have time to this morning. Even though Mr. Duckling told me not to, I thought this was an exception.

"Oh. Okay. So I'll see you later?"

"I don't know. There's a lot that's going on." I really hated this.

"Seth?" I stopped and turned to face her. She crushed her lips to mine. "Please, be careful. Whatever you're doing."

"I will."

"Saturday? That's only two days. We have a lot of work to do," Sam said. "And those two vampires of hers are going to be a problem."

"And two of her friends are here," I added.

"Which means we have to keep them clueless." I nodded. "Stay with Charlotte. And try to tell her."

I nodded again and left. My phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Seth. Something's wrong again." It was Alice. "I can't see anything."

"Arianna is coming this Saturday. Charlotte doesn't know. I've been trying to tell her, but I keep getting interrupted."

She sighed. "We'll keep an eye on things."

"Thanks." I hung up.