I have been so lazy lately but watching an episode of iCarly got me back up and running again. I'm really sorry about the delay but thank God I have more time because it is a very long weekend. I'll try to not randomly stop uploading chapters for all you people who have been waiting for the next chapter.

VV

Chapter Twelve: Meet the Family

I released an exasperated sigh as I slapped a sponge on the side of Dan's charger. As punishment for stealing his Discovery card I had to take care of cleaning his car for the next month. I don't understand what the big deal was. At least I didn't use the money to buy something like…a new laptop or a rare Egyptian statue. I've always wanted one of those…or a life time supply of ham.

I rolled my eyes at my own mind for wandering so easily as I scrubbed the side of the police car. At that moment a felt a sudden rush of wind which wasn't a surprise since the wind always seemed to be blowing but this sudden gust wasn't natural. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Freddie smiling that boyish grin that annoyed me to death but only made me love him more.

"Good job popping out of nowhere. Are you stalking me again?" I questioned sarcastically as I dropped the dirty sponge into a soap-water filled bucket. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded as his boyish grin turned into a sheepish smile. I gave him a blank stare as I bent over to pick up the sponge again.

"Okay let me get straight to my point; I want you to come to my house tomorrow." He said shoving his hands into his pockets. I quickly stood up straight and gave him an incredulous look. He wanted me to go to his house and actually be close to his family?

"Your house? Won't your family be there?" I questioned. He furrowed his brow for a moment before taking a step towards me. My heart jumped into my throat and I could hear the pounding in my ears and the worst part was that he could to with his sensitive ears.

"Yea…are you scared?" He asked carefully. I narrowed my eyes and in one swift motion I punched him square in the jaw. He just smiled softly at me. I knew it wouldn't hurt him which is why I had done it. He was like my own personal punching bag.

No one, not even him, can accuse me of being scared which was why I punched him in the first place. Never in my life have I been scared…except a few days back when I was afraid of losing Freddie. That was the only thing I was afraid of and I didn't even count it as a fear.

"Of course not! I'm just wondering how they will react because I'm sorta human and I'm not exactly the most lovable person on this planet." I stated in a matter-of-fact tone as I went back to washing down the car. He took the sponge from me and in less than ten seconds he was rinsing the car down. I blinked still trying to get used to his…abilities.

"I beg to differ." He said putting down the hose and walking around the car to stand before me. I smirked at him shook my head at the remark. He tried way too hard.

"This coming from a vampire." I muttered as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I only pray to God that Dan was too engrossed in his television to come and spy on me. He probably thinks I'm still trying to get that really tough mark out of the hood of his car.

"Don't worry, they'll love you. A house full of vampires means that there won't be much judgment held over your head." He said reassuringly as he brushed some of my blonde hair out of my face. I smirked again and bopped him on the forehead.

"You better be right or I will get you with impale you with a wooden stake." I laughed as I shook my head making my hair fall back in my face. He smiled at me lightly and nodded, but in the blink of an eye his expression quickly fell as he stared past me and down the road. I glanced over my shoulder and saw nothing there except his Bugatti parked in front of the house. "What is it?" I asked furrowing my brow in confusion.

"Just…some complications." He said placing his hands on my shoulders and giving them a good squeeze before he smiled at me weakly and quickly strode over to his car. I quirked an eyebrow at his sudden mood change but let it slide because this was Freddie we were talking about.

He quickly sped off just as someone pulled into the driveway. My father came out the house with a smile plastered onto his face as Ben and Cameron exited the car that had just arrived. Ben looked at me strangely and narrowed his eyes before going straight to Dan to talk about whatever they spoke about.

What was up with the look? I hadn't done anything that bad…yet. Dan probably told him what I had done with the credit card or how I skipped class the other day. He probably saw me as a trouble maker or a bad influence on his son which I am in both cases.

"What brings you here loser?" I asked as Cameron approached me. He laughed lightly and shrugged as if he wasn't sure himself.

"Ben and Dan planned a game day. You know how dads are." He said as I picked up the house and began to pick up where Freddie left off.

"You sound like a girl. Shouldn't you be in there watching the game too? I would but I have to wash the charger." I said as I sprayed a certain part of the car so that I nearly hit him with water. He smiled at me sarcastically and I just played innocent. He was probably the reason Freddie left early.

"So did you figure anything else about these sudden killings?" Ben asked rather loudly; just loud enough to catch my attention. I glanced over in his and Dan's direction just as Dan was about to respond.

"Yea, we don't believe that it was done by animals. After closer inspection we saw that the process was way to clean." Dan said in a low tone. That was his official police business voice again.

"Never thought they were." Ben grumbled looking in my direction. We locked eyes and he gave me that look again. The look kept screaming at me telling me that he knew something, but I wasn't sure what he did know. I blinked and turned back to the car.

"We have to spread the word about this. People need to be more careful now that there is a killer out on the loose." Dan sighed shaking his head as I glanced over my shoulder back in their direction. Ben was still giving me that look.

"Yea…we don't want anybody important getting hurt." He said before breaking his gaze away from me and heading into the house. Cameron gave me an apologetic look and followed his father. Dan glanced over at me and jerked his head towards the car, silently telling me to get back to work. I complied with an eye roll.

"Wow…I understood you were loaded but this place is…wow." I muttered as Freddie slowly came to a stop on the hillside drive that was connected to a garage that was open and had different expensive cars in it. I noticed that there was a green Ducati in there too.

The house was amazingly huge and modern. It was located at least twenty miles outside of Lewiston in a secluded area within the forests. They had the whole stay-out-of-sight thing done. It was amazing how normal they were. The only abnormal thing was all the expensive items they owned because there was an entire garden full of flowers that did not look native to America.

Freddie quickly came up to my side of the car and opened the door for me before extending a hand to me. I unconsciously took his hand as I continued to look around. The mansion was too much to take in all at once and I couldn't help but feel anxious to get inside. The scenery also made the area look even better.

We entered the house and a sweet smell filled my nose. It reminded me of Freddie but it had other fragrances mixed in with it. I smiled and looked around. The area was so free and welcoming that I couldn't help but throw my jacket to the floor and walk farther in past the porch.

"This place is so bright and open." I commented turning to look at Freddie who was picking up my jacket and hanging it on a hook. He smiled happily at me. He was probably glad I liked it. He seemed rather worried on the drive up here.

"What were you expecting Puckett? Cob webs, Coffins and a Victorian styled castle?" He questioned sarcastically as he took my warm hand within his frozen one. I smirked and shrugged.

"Not the cob webs." I retorted smartly. He chuckled and rolled his eyes at me.

"Not the cob webs." He repeated under his breath as he led me through the large living area which was mostly consisted of white furniture and flat screen television tha size of one of the walls in my room. He brought me into the dining area and I could hear talking from the next room over.

"Why so many ham dishes?" I heard the familiar rude voice that belonged to Valerie ask in her attitude filled tone. I hated her voice so much that it sounded like nails trailing down a chalk board for me.

"Freddie said that ham was her thing." That voice was harder to recognize because I haven't heard it much before but after carefully thinking about it I matched it up with Jake.

"I'm sure she'll love it despite the fact that we haven't used this kitchen at all…" I heard Spencer insert. There was a short pause in the talking and I heard Valerie chuckle darkly.

"Smell that? The human has arrived." She sneered. I grit my teeth and clenched my fists before quickly stomping my way into the kitchen to see everybody doing something. Spencer was cutting a ham and Jake was placing sandwiches on a tray. Valerie had a tossed salad in her hands and a woman I have never met stood before in an apron.

"Hello! You must be Sam. Fredward has told us so much about you which is why we are preparing so many ham related dishes. He tells us you fancy ham." The woman said. I just stood there speechless.

She was beautiful. He smile was so warm and welcoming and her pure white skin was flawless. She was tall and perfectly shaped and her platinum blonde hair fell elegantly along her shoulders. Her eyes were kind and the same color as Freddie's. She was the happiest, most cheerful vampire I ever saw, next to Carly.

"Sam, this is my mother, Chloe." Freddie said. I was jerked out of my stupor by his words and smiled nervously at her as I extended a hand towards her. I have never been nervous in my life but her perfection, just like Freddie's made me feel awkward.

"Hello Mrs. Shay." I said carefully. She looked at my hand and gave me a high five. I furrowed my brow. Hadn't I asked for a handshake? She laughed lightly and I could see Jake roll his eyes in the back round as Spencer snicker. Freddie let out a low groan.

"Keep it real Sam! You can call me Chlo." She said with a nonchalant wave. I held back my laughter as Freddie hid his face in his hands. This had to be the most embarrassing moment of his life. "I hope you're hungry!"

"Just another excuse to use the kitchen." Spencer sighed as he went back to cutting the ham. My awkward smile returned as I looked in Chloe's expectant perfect face.

"Um actually…" I began in a guilty tone. I couldn't disappoint this woman. She seemed like the type to always please people and drink up the congratulations she would obtain for everything she did. It was probably more of an accomplishment for her because she hasn't been human enough to cook a meal for a while.

"She already ate." Freddie inserted finishing my statement for me. Chloe just continued to smile like she was frozen in time and Spencer smiled lightly as he continued to cut the ham. My attention was drawn in Valerie's direction when I heard a shatter. She had dropped the glass bowl that was filled with salad, to the ground.

"Perfect." Valerie hissed at me as she narrowed her eyes into a glare. I returned the gesture. It didn't matter if I was going up against a vampire.

"I know you guys don't eat so I didn't want to impose…" I said turning on my suck-up mode. I barely used that aspect but in this case I would make an exception and I would be sure to be ruder to Valerie for her little attitude problem towards me.

"Oh that's cool with us Sam! It's all good in the hood." Chloe said clapping at her words. I couldn't help but chuckle at her attempt to speak slang. The way she sounded so awkward was funny but cute at the same time like a small child trying to learn its first word.

"Ignore Valerie. I do all the time." Freddie said nonchalantly. Jake laughed openly and I swear the room shook slightly. Valerie shot him a glare and his laughter died down.

"Yea, let's all just pretend that this isn't dangerous to the family at all." She said sarcastically as she crossed her arms over her chest. I clenched my fists and shot her a death glare but on the inside I was beginning to feel guilty. Was I really putting the family in danger because of what I knew?

"I would never tell anybody." I snapped at her. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"She knows that Sam…" Spencer inserted gently. He seemed like he was the only one unaware of the tension that hung in the air; well Chloe was oblivious as well so I guess they both didn't want to make matters worse but Valerie was just asking to get shot with a silver bullet.

"The only problem is that you and Freddie have gone public now…" Jake trailed off looking me square in the eye. It was like he was holding back. Valerie let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes once again.

"No! I think she should know this. The entire family will be implicated if this entire thing ends badly." Valerie said sharply. My anger nearly brought me to the point of swinging my fist at her but I knew better. She exited the kitchen, stepping on the broken glass with bare feet without a care and it was at this moment that I wish that the glass would have impaled her feet.

"Sorry about her…just pay it no mind." Freddie whispered lowly into my ear.

"Yea, Val is just I drama queen." Jake laughed as he quickly left the kitchen to go after his enraged girlfriend. I couldn't understand why someone as nice as him would be with someone as rude as her.

Right at that moment the large kitchen window swung open and in flipped Carly. Shane quickly jumped in after her and I blinked in surprise as she laid her eyes on me and smiled brightly. Shane just stared at me with wide eyes. Carly made her way over to me with two graceful strides and enveloped me in a hug. Freddie gasped and Carly swayed back and forth.

"Sam! It is so good to see you again. As you must know I'm Carly." She said pulling back from me. Her bright smile had withered to a kind smile which I returned. Something about her made her less annoying than I had presumed.

"Hey…" I said hesitantly. She leaned in towards me and sniffed and I couldn't help but give her a strange look. Did she just smell me?

"Oh, Freddie was right. You do smell really nice." She said with a smile. I could tell she wasn't referring to my shampoo, but my blood scent and I was surprise she was acting to nonchalant around me. I was glad she wasn't trying to hold back from being what she was and I smiled back her for this.

"Thanks." I laughed. She laughed along with me and Freddie furrowed his brow.

"Carly, what are you doing?" He asked her. She gave him a coy look before wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I did the same to her as if we had known each other like best friends since second grade.

"Calm down Freddie. I can tell you right now that me and Sam are going to be best friends." Carly said with an affirming nod. I don't know if she was just saying that because she wanted to know me better or if she saw it in a vision. Either way it was bound to come true. Carly was the only open and less awkward out of all of them.

I glanced over at Shane to see him still rooted in spot and his eyes were still wide and locked on me. I felt rather awkward and gave him a forced smile.

"Sorry, Shane is our newest vegetarian. It's difficult for him." Spencer said as he place a reassuring hand on Shane's shoulder.

"Pleasure meeting you Sam." Shane said carefully. I nodded in recognition of his statement. I don't know why but I felt really awkward with him.

"It's okay Shane, you won't hurt her." Carly said. Shane just continued to stare and Freddie took my hand within his again sending a shock up my arm. Carly stepped away from me and smiled in a knowing manner.

"Why don't I show you the rest of the house…" He said. I simply shrugged not really caring. Carly gave a slight wave and Chloe went to pick up the shattered glass that had been sitting on the floor. Freddie led me away and let out an exasperated sigh. I smiled because I knew he was probably embarrassed beyond belief.

All done. Hopefull you all liked it and don't hate me for not updating in a while. I'm just glad I'm back in my room and can update in peace with music blasting and the television showing me nonsense. Thanks for reading and do what ya gotta do and Pweez review.

V i D a V e N d E t T a . . .