As Pete and Vince drove away, Vince leaned forward so that his mouth was next to his uncle's ear.
"Did you see what she did to me?" He raged. "She's a real pain in the butt!"
Pete gave him a look. "I'm sorry, kid. Just try and stay away from her. Then she won't be able to get to you."
Vince's eyes narrowed. "You know it was her mommy and daddy that took my mommy and daddy? They've probably killed them!"
Pete shook his head. "I don't think so. Her mother is a good person. I don't think she'd let that happen."
Vince looked at him in surprise. "Her mommy is nice? If her mom was so nice, then why did she hurt my mommy?"
Pete paused at a stoplight and turned to face his nephew. "Your father and the other men of the pack put Roxie in a vervain bath that hurt her very much. Do you think that your mother would take it lying down if someone hurt you?"
Vince shook his head. "I guess not. But I still don't like Roxie."
Pete nodded. "That's okay. You don't have to like everyone. But I don't like hearing that you fought with girls, no matter how annoying they are."
Vince rolled his eyes. "All right, Uncle Pete."
They got to the pack homebase and Pete brought Vince inside. Pete's friend Max looked Vince over. "Look's like he's had quite a day."
Pete grinned a little. "He got into a tussle with a girl. It didn't end well for either of them."
Max looked interested. "What girl?"
Vince frowned. "Roxie. You know the annoying one with the big mouth that Mommy and Daddy stuck in the vervain bath? We fight a lot."
Max gave Vince a look. "Well you shouldn't let her push you around! Show her who's boss! Do whatever you have to."
Just then, one of the senior members of the pack, a silver haired man named Tom, came into the room. "What are we talking about?"
"Just that Vince should stand up to a vampire girl named Roxie who's been giving him a hard time," Max said. "Perhaps even kill her."
"I don't think killing her would be a good idea," Pete said.
Tom nodded. "Indeed. Don't forget why it was such a boon to find her in the first place. She knows about Vanessa." Tom looked at Vince.
"Son, I know you might find this difficult to agree to, but I want you to be nice to Roxie. Make her trust you. She knows about Vanessa and we need that information. Can you do that for us?"
Vince winced. "Do I have to?"

Tom nodded. "Yes, you do. This is important."

Vince pouted. "Okay."

Tom looked at him. "She can't be that bad."

"Yeah-huh," Vince nodded insistently. "She is!"

Pete cleared his throat. "To change the subject, what did you do at school today besides get in trouble with Roxie?"

Vince grabbed his black backpack and began rifling through it. Then, he pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper. "We're having a party tomorrow."

Pete tried to take the wrinkles out of the paper before he read it. "You're having a day outside at the park because your class did such a good job on their math tests? That sounds like fun."

Vince nodded. "It should be! We don't have to have class or anything! It's in a couple of days, though. I can't wait!"

"In the meantime," Pete said, "Miss Kendrick said that you've been suspended for tomorrow."

Vince looked at Pete curiously. "What's 'suspended'?"

Pete sighed. "It means you don't go to school because you're in trouble."

Vince's eyes lit up. "I don't have to go to school? Yay!"

"Oh, no," Pete said quickly. "This isn't a good thing. I have to think of a punishment for you."

Vince pouted. "Punishment? Why?"

Max nodded. "Yeah, come on, Pete. Lighten up. The kid was only trying to defend himself."

Pete frowned. "Even so, if we want to stay where we are, we have to keep ourselves in line so that the humans don't find out about us and drive us out."

Max punched Pete in the shoulder. "Pete, you're acting like a girl. Working at Enid's is making you soft."

"Who's acting like a girl?"

At the sound of the voice, the men turned. They saw a young woman with big light blue eyes and shoulder length honey blonde hair standing in the hideout doorway. The room was silent for a moment before Vince ran at the girl and threw his arms around her. "Tessa!"

Tessa smiled and ruffled his hair. "Hey, kid! How's my favorite brother?"

Vince lowered his eyes. "Suspended."

Tessa turned. "What did you do to deserve that?"

"He got in a fight with a girl and I'm sure she's suspended too," Pete said. "Great to see you, Tessa."

Vince looked up at his sister. "Why were you gone so long?"

Tessa sighed. "Because there were a bunch of vampires hassling my boyfriend's pack. I went down to help him, but it didn't end well."

Pete put a hand on her shoulder. "So Will is...?"

"Dead." Tessa nodded. "Yep. I don't know what I should do now. Maybe I'll just get a dog."

Max pulled some tequila out from one of the cabinets. "Maybe this will help you forget your troubles."

Tessa gave Max a look. "What are you trying to say? Do you think that just because I'm grieving I can't out drink you?"

"Maybe." Max smirked and pushed his black hair out of his eyes. "Why don't you give it a shot?"

Tessa nodded. "Okay."

Half an hour later, Tessa had finished off an entire bottle of tequila and didn't seem any worse for wear. Max was asleep under the table. She got off her chair and wiped off her hands. "Well, I sure showed him. Uncle Pete, where will I be sleeping?"

Pete gestured up the stairs. "In the room next to Vince's, like usual."

Tessa looked at Vince. "Don't be afraid to see me if you get bad dreams tonight, okay?"

Vince nodded. "Thank you, Tessa."

Three days later, Adrian decided to make another run to find candidates for Helene's new body. He hadn't been successful so far, but at least he'd had a few good meals. He went into the kitchen where Selina was reading the paper. When she saw him, she looked up and smiled. "Good morning, honey. How did you sleep?"

Adrian nodded. "Not bad."

Just then, Roxie came running in and grabbed Adrian by the arm, beginning to tug him toward the door. "Come on! We have to go to the store and get stuff for my school picnic tomorrow!"

Selina cleared her throat. "Roxanne, don't tug on your brother. If you'd like him to do something for you, say please."

Roxie let him go. "I'm sorry. Would you please take me to the store to buy me stuff for my school picnic tomorrow?"

Adrian shrugged. "Okay, why not? It isn't like I have anything better to do."

Then, they heard a shriek. A few minutes later, Vanessa emerged from the hallway off the kitchen, clutching a struggling, growling Rusty. "Take this animal or I will kill him," she breathed, holding him out to Adrian.

"Why?" Adrian asked, taking him. "What did Rusty ever do to you?"

Roxie looked at Vanessa and started giggling. "I think Rusty went to the bathroom on her shoes."

Vanessa growled and Selina snorted. "Good dog."

Adrian looked at his mother. "I could take him to the dog park after I take Helene to the store."

"Would you?" Selina asked. "That would be so nice. Thank you."

Adrian sat down at the table. "How come you and Dad never take Rusty to the dog park?"

"We used to," Klaus said, entering the kitchen and giving Selina a look. "Before you were born. But then your mother decided that the dog park was evil."

Selina choked on her coffee. "I didn't say the dog park was evil. I just thought that Rusty could hang around better company, that's all. See," she gave Adrian a meaningful look. "There was this poodle at the dog park, a female, that had her eye on Rusty and she was always trying to make babies with him. I thought he could do better, so we stopped going."

Adrian burst out laughing. "You seriously stopped going to the dog park because there was a girl dog there that Rusty was interested in? Geez, based on that, I'm surprised I'm allowed to have any relationships at all."

He and Klaus smirked at her while Selina glared at them sourly. "I wouldn't expect you to understand," she said, standing up and heading out of the kitchen with an air of wounded dignity, making sure to "accidently" spill a cup of coffee that was sitting on the counter all over Vanessa's new jacket on her way out.

Once she was gone, Adrian and Roxie ate breakfast, then went to the store and after dropping Roxie off at home, Adrian took Rusty to the dog park.

It was a nice day out. That was something Tessa was glad for. She loved her new dog, but she didn't relish the idea of putting her in the backseat of her car yet. She'd decided to walk Rosie to the park that day. The park near her house was clean and neat and bustling with people. Some of the dogs, especially the bigger ones, probably sensed Tessa for what she really was and growled and barked when she came near them, but mostly they left her alone. Tessa was walking Rosie toward the pond in the middle of the park when all of a sudden, the dog started yipping loudly and was off like a shot, pulling a panicked Tessa behind her and not stopping until Tessa had plowed into the pond and gotten soaked. When Tessa was able to think clearly again, she found herself on top of a blonde-haired, blue eyed young man. He was soaked too. And sputtering

"Sorry," Tessa said, getting up and eyeing his chocolate brown leather jacket mournfully. "Your jacket's probably ruined."

He looked down at it. "It's all right. I've had it for awhile. I've practically worn it through in some parts. See?" He held up a threadbare sleeve.

"But still," Tessa ran her hand over it and quickly pulled her hand away, brushing her fingers against his wrist. "Sorry. That was probably uncalled for, wasn't it?"

But Adrian didn't hear her. He was starting to feel strange, a way he'd never felt before. He was warm all over. He looked up at the young woman with the pretty blue eyes and was about to open his mouth to say something stupid when he felt a yank at his collar.

He choked a little and came back to himself. The blonde was looking at him with concern. "Are you all right?" She asked. "Can I get you something? I'm Tessa, by the way. And this," she pointed at her dog, a labradoodle. "This is Rosie."

Adrian snorted. "And the one who is currently trying to give her a piggyback ride is my dog, Rusty. Well, he's not actually my dog. He's my family's dog. But I claimed prime ownership years ago. I'm Adrian."

"Ah." Tessa smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you." They gazed at their dogs for a moment before deciding that it would be awhile. They took a seat on a bench, then Adrian felt another tug on his collar. He shifted position and saw a frowning Helene out of the corner of his eye. He cleared his throat. "Could you excuse me a second?"

Tessa nodded. "Of course."

Adrian got up and followed Helene to a gazebo on the other side of the park. "And just what do you think you're doing?" She asked.

"I was looking for a body for you like you asked me to," he said. "And I think I'll go with her."

"Her?" Helene asked, her voice shaking. "Why her? She looks stupid. I bet she was a cheerleader in high school. But then again, you did always have a taste for them. As I saw many a time."

Adrian scoffed. "Well you know what? If you're going to scoff at me and be nasty, maybe we should stop all this. Maybe it isn't going be worth bringing you back."

"Excuse me?" Helene's eyes widened. "Are you breaking up with me?"

"Yes," Adrian nodded. "I think I am. You should go into the light or whatever it is that people do after they die. You'll probably be much happier. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other obligations to attend to."

He turned his back on her and began to walk toward the bench where Tessa was. As he walked past a tree, a branch swung out at him, hitting him in the eye. "I don't believe you!" Helene called back. "First you stop my father from telling me about his days in the Clan and now you dump me? What the hell is wrong with you?"

But Adrian didn't hear a thing. He sat down on the bench and Tessa immediately wanted to attend to the cut by his eye. "You never know what will happen in windy conditions like this," she said. "You have to be careful."

"Thanks," he said once she'd bandaged him up. "Would you want to go out to dinner with me sometime? Just so I can say thank you, I mean?"

Tessa smiled. "I'd like that." Then she shivered as a cold breeze blew around her. And she could swear she heard a woman's voice say to her, "I bet you would."

"Are you cold?" Adrian asked her. "I could give you my jacket if you want."

Tessa nodded. "Just a little. I don't know how it got so chilly all of a sudden."

Adrian sighed. "Sometimes weather is unpredictable."

Eventually, they were able to pry their dogs apart and after bidding each other goodbye, they walked their separate ways home. They were quite aways from each other when Tessa turned and shouted to Adrian, "Would you like your jacket back?"

"No," He called. "You keep it for now. I'll get it back from you later."

The next day was the day of the picnic. The sky was dark and it was raining hard. Roxie got out of bed and went into the kitchen where she found Klaus staring out the window and Selina making coffee. She sat down at the table. "Do I have to go to school today?"

Selina looked up. "I suppose not, since you techically don't have class, but don't you want to go have fun?"

"But it's raining," Roxie complained. "Rain isn't fun."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Klaus said, winking at Selina who frowned at him and shook her head.

"How is rain fun?" Roxie asked curiously.

Klaus took her in his lap. "See, your mother and I have made this game, where..."

"Stop!" Selina cried out. "Stop talking right now!"

Klaus just started laughing and put Roxie down. "Go and get dressed. Then I'll take you to school."

"Okay," Roxie pouted. "Fine." She scampered out of the kitchen.

Once she was gone, Selina went over and punched Klaus in the arm. "What were you thinking, telling her about that?"

He shrugged. "No reason. I just like watching you squirm." He grinned. "Would you like me to make you squirm now?"

Selina glared. "No I would not!" She plunked a cup of coffee down in front of him. "Just drink that, would you please?"

Klaus was ignoring her. "You know, my car doesn't work so well when it rains. We should go see how it's running."

"It would work better if you didn't leave it in the driveway all the time," Selina said through her teeth.

"Come with me," he said. She rolled her eyes and followed him outside, the rain soaking her clothes and the upholstry for a little bit when he opened the door and followed her in. He pushed all the buttons and everything seemed to be working properly.

"There," Selina said. "We're good now. Let's go inside so I can shower before I take Roxie to school."

Klaus turned. "Oh, come on. Why are you always in such a hurry? Let's stay in for a bit."

Selina shook her head. "I'm wet and I'm cold, and..."

She was cut off as Klaus kissed her hard, stripping off her wet clothes and making love to her right in the backseat of his car. When he pulled away, she was breathing hard. "This is really juvenile, you know."

He started kissing her neck again. "I don't care."

She shrieked as he drove in to her and her head hit the window.

"Are you all right?" He asked her, pulling away for a second.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm definitely going to have to take Roxie in my car."

It had been decided that in the event of rain, the picnic would take place at the school. Selina and Roxie parked in the parking lot then went inside with their stuff. Selina then told Roxie goodbye and reminded her that Adrian would be picking her up.

Roxie nodded and told her mother goodbye. Just afterward, Vince came in.

"Hi," he said to her.

She looked at him suspiciously. "Hi..."

He held out his lunch bag. "My sister put some extra cookies in my lunch. would you like them?"

Roxie shook her head. "No thank you. You probably put something in them. Like bugs."

She sauntered away and he took a deep breath.

He let her win at Candyland and Crazy Eights, but nothing came of it. She still seemed very suspicious of him.

At lunch, he went to eat his turkey sandwich and spit out what he could from his first bite. the rest of the bread stuck to the roof of his mouth. He yelled for Miss Kendrick.

"Vince, what's happened?" She asked.

"Glue in my sandwich," Vince said, even though his voice was muffled.

Miss Kendrick rolled her eyes and called for Roxie. "Roxanne, did you put glue in Vince's sandwich?"

Roxie nodded. "Yes, I did. But only because he wanted to give me cookies full of bugs."

Miss Kendrick looked at her firmly. "Roxanne, I don't know what's going on between you and Vince, but it has to stop. It's going to stop. Do you understand me?"

Roxie nodded and went back to her chair. She sat down and felt wetness on her legs. She looked down. Blue paint was soaking into the skirt of her dress. She stood up and everyone started laughing. "Ha ha!" One boy said. "Your butt is all blue!"

She ran for the door. Vince got to it before her, opened it, and then pushed her out roughly onto the carpet. When she came back, she took one of the pies that the moms had made for dessert and hit him in the face with it. Miss Kendrick ran her fingers over her temples. She couldn't wait for someone to come and take those two home.

Finally though, someone did.

Adrian burst out laughing when he saw Roxie's dress. "My god, Rox. What happened to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Roxie said, keeping her chin up. "Let's just go to the car."

They were on their way out when Vince's ride came to pick him up. Adrian saw her and gasped. "Oh, my god...Tessa?"

Tessa turned, keeping a hand on Adrian's shoulder. "Adrian, what are you doing here?"

Adrian gestured to Roxie. "Picking up my little sister? You?"

Tessa grinned. "I'm my little brother's ride today." Vince looked up at Tessa's grinning face and glared at Adrian. "Can we go, Tessa?" He asked, trying to pull her away.

"But she was resisting. "Just a minute!"

"No!" Roxie pulled Adrian the opposite way. "Let's just go."

Tessa and Adrian gave each other understanding looks and then let their siblings pull them away.

"See you tomorrow?" Adrian called.

"Yep!" Tessa yelled back. "It's a date!"