Six

I held the tube of lipstick in my hand, and slowly, proceeded to put on the cherry red lipstick I had bought exclusively for this occasion. To my right stood Marlene, braiding sparkly twine into her hair. We were in my bathroom, getting ready for the Halloween party. It was Halloween tonight, and I was beyond excited. I loved this holiday. No matter where you were, or what you were dressed up as, there was a sense of magic in the air. One night in the year you could be anyone, or anything, you want. It was like a mini vacation, a way to briefly escape your normal life. I thought it was thrilling.

This year, I had decided to be a vampire. I realized I have never been one and decided to pursue the idea. I wanted to be a modern, sexy vampire though, so instead of buying a generic costume I just raided through different closets around the house and made my own. Marlene was a fairy this year, and I praised her for her choice. She usually was a cat, or a witch. I'm glad for once we were both something different.

Usually I wished I had straight, perfect hair, but I decided having long curly hair was sexy when you were a vampire. I tousled and tufted, trying to uncharacteristically create more volume. I was pretty much done; I had already done my make-up (pale, a lot of mascara, smokey eye shadow, 'blood' red lipstick) and put together my outfit, which consisted of my mom's old, 80's leather mini skirt and a long sleeved black top with a plunging v-neck. I wore thigh high leather black boots, too. Marlene said I looked 'scary' sexy, and at first I considered going as something completely different all together, not wanting to be 'scary' looking at all. But it was too late; I decided I looked fine, and now tried to put my vampire fangs in.

Marlene finished getting ready and started to sing, twirling around, her fairy wings almost hitting me on the face. "Where's Aiden?" Marlene wondered.

"Coming over in a bit. Gary and Bailey should be here, too," I added, now realizing it was almost time to go to the party and nobody was at my house, ready. I hated being late to anything.

I finished with the fangs, and looked at Marlene. "So?" I asked her. Oh, my. My voice sounded so stupid! I had to get used to these quick, or else everyone would think I had something in my mouth all the time.

Marlene started to laugh at how I sounded. "Are those even worth it if you're going to sound like you're constantly sticking out your tongue?" She giggled.

"Yes!" I replied, spitting all over my arm by accident. Then my drool started to accumulate. This was bad. "How do they do it?" I cried, running to the sink.

"Who?" Marlene wondered, fixing her purple and green eye shadow.

"Vampires. How do they talk with their fangs? This is ridiculous!" I almost started to cry. I didn't want to be the butt of every joke tonight.

"Vampires don't exist, Char," Marlene replied seriously. As if I thought they did. I looked at her and rolled my eyes, deciding to get off the subject.

Moments later everyone was gathered downstairs at my house, enduring the usual torture of my parents taking lots of pictures. Gary was a banana, and Bailey had come as a genie. She looked really cute and I made a mental note to be that next year. Aiden came as a pirate, and when I saw him I couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't smiling though; he looked at me intently.

"You look amazing," He had said into my ear, and I had giggled, kissing him on the cheek.

"Alright, we'll let you guys go," Dad finally said, and we all sighed in happiness. The group dispersed and we all got ready to leave. Gary decided to drive, and we piled into his car. The party was at Chet Furber's house; he owned one of the biggest houses in North Pole. When we arrived, there were already people surrounding the lawn and crowding inside. The night was dark and without mercy; even in my long sleeved top, I was shivering like no other. Chet and some guys were working on setting up some lights so we could see. Music was heard pumping inside and the chatter was equally as loud. I hoped nobody called the cops and broke the party up.

After saying hi to everyone I knew, I decided to chill inside with Aiden. Gary and Bailey were dancing, and Marlene was nowhere to be found. Aiden kept telling me how good I looked and I considered finding a dark corner somewhere and making out with him for the rest of the night, but I didn't want to seem desperate. I gave him a few kisses here and there, but preferred leaving him wanting more.

Halfway into the night, I excused myself from the group I had been chatting with to go to the bathroom. "Want me to help you find it?" Aiden asked me politely.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I'll be right back," I replied, smiling cutely at him. I proceeded to make my way through the crowds, keeping an eye out for any door that might be concealing a restroom. It wasn't until I found the bathroom that I realized all those people I had been pushing through was the line to go to the bathroom. "Seriously?" I grumbled, and decided to go outside. I had to go so bad I didn't care if I ruined one unlucky bush's night.

I walked to the side of the house where it was very dark. I almost didn't see a guy and girl kissing fiercely, and luckily they hadn't seen me either. I inched by them and continued, trying to find a discreet spot.

After I was done, I was on my way towards the front door. Damn, it's cold, I thought, holding myself. Before I could place my hand on the door knob, someone came up beside me and touched my shoulder. I whirled around.

"Joel?" I breathed, not believing what I was seeing. I could barely make him out because of the dark, but he was wearing a collared shirt and jeans. No costume, no jacket, no anything. "Aren't you cold?" I wondered stupidly.

"No," Joel replied. He didn't look like he was going to say much else.

"So…I see you're back," I continued, rubbing my arms in an effort to deal with the cold and the weird effect he seemed to have over me.

"I came back for a moment," Joel corrected. "Are you a vampire?"

I almost said no, because I had forgotten I was in costume. "Yeah…it's Halloween," I told him, just in case he didn't know.

"Cute." He gave me a small smile. "Well, I'm going to go. I was just-,"

"Checking up on me?" I finished for him, shaking my head and looking down.

"Yes. Checking up on you," Joel repeated. He abruptly turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" I called, and ran after him. Joel didn't turn around. I faced his back. "Are you leaving again?"

"Yes. I needed to check if the killer was still around. But, it looks like it's not safe for me yet to return permanently," Joel explained, still not turning around.

"Oh, ok," I replied, not knowing what to say at that point. He looked over his shoulder at me, and reached out a hand. I took it, not thinking about if maybe he wanted me to give him something or what not. I was only embarrassed for a second, because it turned out he did want me to grab his hand. He squeezed mine briefly; it was so cold.

"Goodbye," Joel said softly, let go of my hand, and walked away. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore, just like last time. I looked at my hand, it was shaking uncontrollably.

"Charlotte?" I heard Aiden's voice from behind me.

"H-Hey," I replied, turning around and giving him a smile to let him know I was fine. He gave me a small smile back, but looked worried.

"Are you ok? You're freezing. You should come inside." Aiden held out his hand. I took it quickly, in an effort to warm up instantly. It worked. Aiden's hand was nothing like Joel's hand. He pulled me in to the house, and kept his arm around me. "Where did you go?"

"I had to pee. The bathroom line was obnoxious," I confessed sheepishly. Aiden laughed, his arm pulling me closer, so as I could snuggle into him.

"I better keep an eye on you. You're a wild one," Aiden joked. I laughed softly but quieted down, no longer in the party mood. Why is it that even when Joel Graham is gone, he still lingers on my mind? He was such a nuisance.

Thankfully everyone else was getting tired of being there too, and we decided to call it quits. Gary dropped Aiden and I off at my house because Aiden had left his car there.

"See you guys later!" Gary called out. Everyone else started yelling bye through their windows. Aiden and I waved and said our goodbyes, too.

We walked to my porch, but before I opened the door Aiden grabbed my hand. "I can't go in," He told me, and I gave him a confused look. "Curfew," He added.

I nodded. "Did you have a good Halloween?" I asked him sweetly.

"Yes," Aiden replied, smiling. He leaned down and gave me a kiss. "Best one I've ever had."

"Good," I said back, smiling, eyes blinking sleepily. What time was it anyway?

"I know you're tired, so I'll make this quick," Aiden suddenly murmured, and my heart snapped to attention. I didn't care how tired I was! What was Aiden going to say?

"What is it, silly?" I laughed, placing my arms around him. He looked down at me and smiled.

"You looked really good tonight," He told me.

"You've said that a million times."

"I know," Aiden replied, chuckling. "But…I'm seriously starting to think that…I'm falling for you," He added with a serious tone. My smile faded away. Was he being serious? I can't believe this! I was so excited. Too bad I probably looked dumbstruck. Aiden, don't take it the wrong way, I thought in my mind. I'm just surprised, that's all.

"What?" He wondered in alarm. "Too early? Too much?" Aiden let go of me and ran a hand through his hair nervously. I started to laugh.

"Aiden, that's wonderful," I told him quietly, placing a hand on the back of his neck and standing on my tippy toes in order to give him a kiss. That assured him. "Oh!" I cried out in surprise as he put his arms around me and picked me up.

Once he put me down he yelped in happiness, grinning wildly. "You're crazy," I told him, watching him in awe. The boy was in love. And with me! How touching.

"Sorry, I'm just…really happy," Aiden said, grinning still.

"I'm happy, too. But if you keep acting like this I might not be able to be seen with you in public," I told him jokingly, giving him a smile. Suddenly, Aiden kissed me.

"I love when you smile," He told me. He kissed me again. I laughed; I couldn't help it, he was acting so silly. "I love when you laugh," Aiden added, before kissing me yet again. Finally I had to call it quits to this beautiful moment, because I was getting awfully tired and had begun to regret wearing a mini skirt in this weather a long time ago.

"Bye!" I yelled out, waving. Aiden waved from the driver's seat, just before he drove off. I sighed just like the girls in the movies do after having a wonderful time with their love interest.

I opened the door and saw the lights were on in the living room. "Mom? Dad?" I called out, wondering why they were up so late. An odd sight welcomed me upon entering the living room area; Mom was sitting on the couch, crying. Dad had a hand placed under his chin in deep thought.

"What's going on?" I asked suspiciously. I couldn't even begin to imagine.

"It's Nate," Dad simply replied. "Honey, I think you should sit down."

**

"Another body was found horribly mauled, off the cliffs near the freeway," The news reporter spoke in a monotone voice.

I shuddered and turned off the TV. I couldn't watch that anymore; the killer had struck again. The people he or she has killed so far are completely random and have nothing to do with another. Nobody knows anything; there's not one trace. At first it just seemed odd, that there was a killer. It almost felt unreal. Murders were things you heard about happening in other towns, things you read about in books or watched in movies. I would have never imagined I'd be scared to leave my own house because something like this was happening.

At least it was better than what I dreamed of last night; Hilarious dream, by the way. I must have been out cold as soon as Aiden left me on my porch, and I had probably walked up to my room and fell on the bed instantly. I don't remember doing that, but once I woke up the dream was as clear as the sky in North Pole during the summer.

My dream consisted of me walking in to my living room, finding my parents on the sofa acting awfully strange. My mom was crying, my dad was ordering me to sit down and acting all serious. They told me they finally had to explain to me why Nate was acting so strange, why he was gone all the time, etc. My dream was extremely realistic, but I knew it was a dream once my parents started to talk.

"This is going to sound quite a bit surreal to you," My dad began. He grabbed my hands.

"What's going on?" I kept repeating.

"Nate has gone through…a transformation," My dad continued.

"Your dad and Nate…they aren't normal, Char," My mom added.

"Well, we are. Just not human…," Dad tried explaining.

I couldn't remember the dream after that. The only thing I do remember was my dad telling me something about wolves. Werewolves, to be exact. Something odd like that. I mean, it was so fucking weird. I didn't even want to think about it.

I was still tired from last night, which is why this morning I had been watching TV lazily after breakfast. However, it was November now, and I wanted to see how the trees in my backyard were doing. I like seeing the leaves all orange and red; I thought it was interesting how leaves change color.

I wrapped my wool sweater around me tightly before pushing open the sliding glass door leading outside. I was walking slowly, biding my time. The grass crunched beneath my boots. A part of me hoped it would snow soon, even though I usually hated snow. But, now that I was going out with Aiden, snow reminded me of couple's ice skating, cute snowball fights, bonding over building a snowman and other romantic things couples did in the winter.

I was looking up at the trees, just minding my thoughts. I heard a noise and turned back towards the house, but I knew Dad was fishing and Mom was upstairs knitting or reading or something. Nate had been gone for a few days, probably at a friend's. I didn't think much of it. Seconds later though, I heard the noise again. I looked towards the wooded area that resides deep in my backyard. My heart began to race, wondering for a split second if the killer had made his way over here.

A few moments later proved that there was no killer in my backyard, but something, far, far worse. My breath got heavy, and I was so stunned I couldn't move. My eyes were fixed on the eyes of another, the eyes of a beast.

A huge wolf was walking out of the wooded area, towards me. He paced slowly, keeping his head low. This thing is huge, I thought. I had to run. But then it'd chase me. I'd surely die. I didn't know what to do, so I did the first thing humans do when encountered with danger: I screamed my lungs out.

The wolf stopped, raised its head and stared at me. I screamed again and ran towards the house, hoping whatever that thing was wasn't chasing me. I reached the glass door, pushed it open, and hurriedly closed it shut; I was breathing so hard I thought I might faint. I couldn't see the wolf any longer, but I didn't wait to find out where it went. I stormed upstairs, crying for my mother.

"Mom! Mom! Hurry!" I screamed as I flung open her door and found her in bed, reading.

"What is it?" She wondered in alarm, removing her reading glasses and putting the book down. She sat up and reached for her slippers.

"There's this-this thing outside!" I cried. "A wolf thing!"

Mom raised an eyebrow and walked towards her bedroom window. She pushed aside the curtain and looked out. "Sweetheart, the only thing I see is Nate outside," She told me.

"What?" I yelped in surprise. Nate had not been outside. Was I finally going crazy? Like, for real? I ran to the window and stood next to my mother. I watched with my own eyes Nate walk towards the house and eventually go in.

"But he wasn't there before!" I cried out in protest. "I was outside, and he wasn't there!"

My mom placed an arm around me. "Sweetie, don't you remember last night?"

"Last night?" I echoed, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Last night…the talk?" My mom tried reminding me, but to no avail.

"Are you referring to my dream?" I suddenly blurted, trying to remember if I had brought it up to her this morning.

My mom didn't reply. She walked over to her phone, pressed a button, and waited while it dialed. "Go downstairs. I'm calling your father," She said gravely.

I stood there for a moment, wondering why she was acting this way. She pointed out the door then, so I had to go downstairs. I waited on the sofa, my nerves acting up something terrible. What was going on? If I didn't know, and if I wasn't crazy by now, surely I'd go insane at this moment.

Moments later it was just like my dream; I was facing my parents, but this time Nate sat to my left. It was mostly quiet. The tension in the room exhausted me.

"Your brother isn't normal," My mom began to explain. "Neither is your father."

"Not normal how?" I wondered, biting down on my thumb nail nervously.

"A long time ago, when Alaska had mostly native people, there was a tribe that descended from wolves…" It was Dad's turn. My parents switched off from explaining to me whatever it was that they were trying to say.

"I've heard that story already," I told my parents. "It's a stupid legend." They needn't answer to that; their faces told me there was more.

"The story goes that the tribe is actually werewolves. Well, not really werewolves, but certain tribe members could shape-shift into wolves. They also have sister tribes in other parts of the country, even around the world…"

"You're telling me the tribes that lived here had people who could turn into wolves?" I asked, playing along for now, trying to make sense of all this.

"Yes. This metamorphosis between members continues to this day. However, it is a deeply kept secret. Nobody except the members of the tribe know and they are not allowed to tell humans. As a result, they stay far back into the woods when they transform and try not to be seen."

"There are people who live around here who can change into wolves whenever they want?" I replied, emphasizing the world 'wolves' to see if my parents gave any sign this was some post-Halloween joke to get on my nerves. But their faces didn't change, they remained grave and serious.

"Yes. The legend describes them as werewolves, as I've said, but they don't transform at the moon. They can turn into wolves whenever they want…"

"Ok now I'm confused. Where does Nate and Dad come into all this?" I persisted, trying to find cracks in their story, trying to see if they hesitate before answering because they haven't thought this far into the joke…

"Your father's grandpa was a part of the tribe, and his grandma was a human. Somehow, since it's rare, your father's dad—Grandpa—was able to transform as well. Your father was at first thought not to have it, since it occurs usually when one is a teenager. But when your father was in his early 20's, it finally happened, and they realized he was just a late bloomer. But it seemed the curse was wearing off. Unfortunately, even though we all wished for this, it looks like…Nate has it as well." My mother caressed Nate's face and looked at him affectionately.

I could barely look at anyone. This was beyond ridiculous. It was pure insanity. "This doesn't make sense. Dad isn't a werewolf; I've never seen him do anything in my whole life that would suggest even the slightest hint that he was!" I cried out. "This is a cruel joke, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't, Charlotte," My dad replied firmly. "If you don't transform into a wolf enough, you begin to age normally as a human. Your mom got pregnant with you, and we were newly married. There was no need for me to be running about as a wolf; I had to become a human and a dad full time."

"And Nate? He's a werewolf?" I repeated, gesturing towards him. I looked over and he shrugged at me, smirking smugly. "You're saying we have some gene in the family from my great grandpa that turns all the men in the family into wolves?"

"Well, girls can be wolves, too. But it just so happened that it's only been boys so far," Mom replied.

"Are you saying I could be a werewolf?" I practically screamed.

"No, I don't think you are. Nate here has always showed signs. You, sweetheart, are merely human. But since it's in your blood a little bit, somehow, you have some very minor characteristics," Dad said. "Think about it. You love nature, you love meat, you hate cats. As a kid you'd complain about a smell that was two rooms away."

I couldn't believe this. Were they seriously implying that all this was real? That those small, random facts about me was proof I was part werewolf?

"You're all crazy. Crazy!" I almost started to cry. Didn't my own family know when enough was enough? The joke was over. It wasn't even funny.

"You're so stupid!" Nate growled, getting up. "Do you honestly think we'd make all this shit up? You think I like being this way?" Nate was breathing hard and staring at me with murder in his eyes. What was he so angry about?

"I'm sorry, I guess it's normal for everyone else to have their parents randomly tell them their family is inhuman!" I yelled at Nate, getting quite mad myself.

"You're so dumb. Just try to understand. Nobody knows this happens except us. Obviously you wouldn't know if some kid in your class was a werewolf; he isn't going around telling everyone. It's all a big secret. And you better keep it to yourself…" Nate fumed, but then he started to take a few steps back. He walked to the dining room and placed his hands on the dining room table, taking a bunch of breaths and attempting to calm himself down.

"Nate's right, Charlotte. You can't tell anyone about this," Dad ordered.

"Like I'd admit to all my friends my family is going nuts," I fired back.

"Charlotte, just why in the hell then did you think there was a giant wolf in our backyard just now?" Mom wanted to know.

"I-I," My voice didn't want to work. "I don't know!"

"That was me, Charlotte," Nate said from where he was in the dining room.

"I have to go…think. Be by myself. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry, I-I-I just can't!" I sobbed, running towards the stairs and eventually bursting into my room. I flung myself on the bed and didn't even know what to do first. Pull my hair out in frustration? Scream my woes away? I wanted to cry, I knew that for sure. What the fuck was going on?

A few hours later I was still lying on my bed, not even knowing what to think. Eventually I called Aiden. I knew he'd calm me down. I just wish…I wish I could have told him what my family had said to me.

"Hey, you," Aiden answered cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Nothing," I mumbled, trying to quickly come up with an excuse as to why my voice sounded like I've been crying.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I just…I'm freaked out about that killer, you know, the one on the loose?" I smacked my forehead. I sounded so dumb.

"Oh, Char," Aiden replied sympathetically. "I know it's a scary situation but you'll be fine."

"How do you know?" I grumbled.

"Because," Aiden said matter-of-factly, "I'm here to protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Those words made me feel so good all of a sudden. I was instantly glad I called Aiden. Something about him always made me feel safe, even if deep down I knew he couldn't protect me from my insane family or even a murderer. But, just the fact he said those words alone meant a lot.

"Thanks Aiden," I purred into the phone. "You sure know how to make a girl smile."

"No problem. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Oh, I don't know," I sighed. "Maybe I can stop by later, I want to be cheered up."

"Sounds good, I can't think of anything better than seeing my girl," Aiden replied enthusiastically. I laughed and said I'd come over soon. We said our goodbyes and I mustered up the strength to get up, and start getting ready to see Aiden.