Asking Sarah out had been surprisingly easy. This was partially due to the fact that she had never questioned the friendly terms of the date, partially because the quality of the food didn't exactly matter, and partially because of the spell Benny had cast to make her more agreeable.
Sarah, being a vampire, had given Ethan a ride to the restaurant, which basically involved him gripping her arm unnecessarily tightly while she ran at nearly the speed of light. His terrified yells as they nearly ran into lampposts, mailboxes, and someone's grandmother were not exactly impressive material for a first date, but Sarah, still completely unaware of any romantic side to the evening, simply laughed and looked around.
"You're sure this is the right place?" she asked. It was a McDonalds, and not even a nice one. "I mean, the food hardly makes a difference to me, but I thought Benny was trying to impress this girl."
"I might have possibly cast an illusion on this place," said Benny, who had just walked up behind them and was looking thoroughly uncomfortable in his suit. "To Della, it should look like that one really fancy place downtown."
"Benny, you are one devious nerd," said Ethan with fake admiration as they walked inside.
"Yeah, and really cheap." Sarah sighed. "Oh, well. At least it's just us. Four buddies. Hanging out." For a minute, Ethan thought he saw a sly look in her eyes, and wondered if she had known it was meant to be a date the entire time. Then the look changed to confusion, as she asked, "Where is Della, anyway?"
"Bathroom," said Benny, sitting down. "She still doesn't look so good. I'm not sure this was a good idea."
"Well don't let me hear that, or there might not be a second date."
Benny jumped and whirled around to see Della, who was grinning playfully, though he could see it pained her.
"Oh, Della, hi! You look-"
What happened next was difficult for any of the humans in the restaurant to process. Including Benny and Ethan, for that matter.
In a flash, Sarah was out of her chair, fangs out, snarling menacingly. She took a protective position in front of the two boys.
"Mine," she growled.
And then Della had her fangs out, too.
Hissing, she stepped threateningly towards Sarah. Sarah took a step back, shielding the boys with her arms. Della brought up her arm, as if to strike Sarah.
Then her face fell into an anguished expression, and she fled the restaurant.
Sarah dropped her defensive position, sighed, and turned to Ethan and Benny, who were still frozen in fear. "Sorry, guys. Vampires get really defensive when new fledglings enter their territory." Now she turned to Benny and crossed her arms. "Benny, why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know, " he said in a near whisper.
"Well, you ought to go apologize," said Ethan weakly.
Sarah sighed again. "I know where she went," she said sadly.