"Order up!"

The Midnight Diner was in the middle of their usual dinner rush. It was a small establishment, but was located right off the highway, so there was a constant influx of costumers. The sun had just begun to set and the middle shift was about to end.

The owner walked in from her office in the back to check in at the register.

"How did we do today Joe?" she asked the young man who was starting to balance the till.

"Pretty good actually," Joe replied. "We had a decent rush at lunch and dinner."

"Not breakfast?" The owner asked, reviewing the receipts.

"Nah. Breakfast is always kinda slow."

Through the kitchen window, the cook, a college student, called out. "I think it's time for me to go Mya!"

The owner checked her watch. "You still have three minutes left on your shift, Luke," she called back. "Besides, you can't leave until you get relieved. You know the rules." Her voice was stern, but there was a smile on her face.

"What if he's late?" Luke groaned.

Mya called back, "Then so are you."

As if on cue, the bell on the door rang as someone entered.

Mya saw who it was and smiled. "Darren, there you are. We were just talking about you."

Darren smiled. "What can I say? I'm such a fascinating topic!"

He went behind the counter and grabbed an apron and his name tag. After putting on a hair net, he went into the kitchen.

"You are relieved Joe," Darren said, knowing the kid would be happy to be able to go home.

"You were almost late," Luke grumbled.

Darren patted him on the back and winked. "Almost means I'm not."

Luke rolled his eyes and clocked out. As Luke clocked out, the other waiters and waitresses followed suit as the customers at their tables paid their bills and left.

Nights at the diner were typically slow, but Darren enjoyed them. After a few hours of working, it was 2am and there was only one person in the diner. He was sat at a table for two by the window drinking coffee and working on a newspaper crossword.

Meanwhile, Darren took the opportunity to clear tables and start washing dishes. He usually had help, but the usual waitress, Erika, was sick and didn't come in. Mya offered to try to find someone to take her shift, but Darren insisted that he could manage on his own.

"After all," Darren had said, "There are hardly any visitors at night. I can manage on my own for one night."

He finished wiping down the tables. Returning the rag to his back pocket, he walked over to the man sitting alone.

"Can I get you anything else, sir?" Darren asked.

The young man looked up. "No thank you. I'm fine with my coffee."

Darren smiled and nodded. "I will be in the back. Just shout if you need anything."

As Darren went back behind the counter, he heard the bell ring as someone else entered. He looked up and a huge smile spread across his face.

"Kaleb!" he shouted with glee. He raced around the counter and gave his old friend a hug. "What are you doing here?"

They pulled apart. "I'm visiting!" Kaleb replied. He was dressed in average human clothing, but he was scruffier than when Darren last saw him. Other than that, his old friend from Vampire Mountain looks the same.

Darren gestured for him to sit at the counter. When he did, Darren pulled out a mug from under the counter and poured him a cup of coffee. "So, what's going on?"

Kaleb took a sip then replied, "I've been doing some traveling. I decided to seek you out." He lowered his voice, "I followed your mental signal here."

"What about training?" Darren asked, "Vanez let you leave?"

"Finished," Kaleb said simply and took another sip.

"You're done?" Darren was shocked. He glanced at the man in the corner and lowered his voice. "It usually takes ten years to become a guard. I left 7 years ago and you were only just about to start."

Kaleb smiled and responded in an equally soft voice, "I finished early. I really took to it and passed everything like it was a breeze!"

Darren leaned forward and whispered, "I'm so happy for you, but what are you doing here?"

"I told you," Kaleb whispered back. "Visiting."

Darren shook his head and explained, "I mean why aren't you serving?"

"Once I start serving, I'm going to be in the mountain for years. It was Vanez's idea to use the time I would have been training to go out and explore once more before settling in for good."

Darren smiled and straightened. "That sounds fantastic," he said normally. He pulled out his rag and began wiping down the counter. "How long are you going to be staying here?"

"Haven't decided yet," Kaleb said.

"Why don't you stay with me for a couple days?" Darren offered.

"Where are you staying?" Kaleb asked. He took another sip from his mug.

"I have an apartment a few blocks from here. My roommate just moved out so I have the whole place to myself."

Kaleb looked around. "How did this start, then?"

Darren replied, "It happened about three years ago. I had just come to America from Tokyo. It was so loud in Japan and I wanted to be somewhere quiet for a few months. That's when I found this place. I stumbled in late one night and met Mya. She owns it. I had been thinking about getting a job, and they were looking for a new fry cook. I worked in the kitchens for all those years so I figured why not? It seemed like a perfect opportunity. She took me in and gave me a job here. Granted, this cooking is totally different from back home, but I like it." Darren shrugged. "I've worked here ever since and…"

"And a few months became a few years," Kaleb finished.

They shared a smile.

Kaleb stayed for another hour. Darren went in the kitchen and made him a stack of pancakes-they were what Darren made best. Kaleb finished them quickly before he sent Darren a mental message while Darren was working.

I need to feed tonight before the sun comes up. Can I meet you at your place?

So, Darren gave Kaleb his keys and mental directions to his apartment.

It was 5:30am and it was getting close to the end of his shift before the man sitting at the table by himself asked for his check. Before he left, he asked Darren,

"Did I hear you say you were looking for a roommate?"

Darren raised his eyebrows. "Oh…yeah. Well, maybe. I haven't really been looking. Why do you ask?"

The man replied, "I moved to the area a few months ago, but it's not working out between me and my roommates. I figured, if you were looking, you might be interested in getting a little help with the rent?"

"Maybe," Darren said.

"Well," the man said, "let me know." He grabbed a napkin and pulled out a pen from his pocket. "I will leave you my phone number and email and you can reach out to me if you make up your mind."

He handed Darren the napkin, paid his bill, and left. Within half of an hour, his shift relief came and Darren went home. The door was unlocked when he got there and Kaleb was sitting on his couch, flipping through a book he kept on his coffee table.

"Hey!" he greeted.

Kaleb looked up. "It's about time. I was getting bored."

Darren chuckled. "Sorry I have to make a living. I can't keep swiping money from the people I feed from." He closed the curtains over the window like he usually did when he got home. The sun would be rising soon and he hated when he forgot and got woken up by the burning sensation.

Kaleb showed Darren the book he was looking at. It was The Three Musketeers. The book was old and worn; it's binding had started to fall apart. "You had this at Vampire Mountain," he said.

"Yeah I did," Darren replied. "I brought it with me."

"Where did you get it?" Kaleb asked.

Darren took the book in his hand. "It was a gift. When I was growing up, Dad's mentor used to watch me while he worked. He's the one who taught me to read and write. When he left, he let me keep this since it was my favorite." Darren smiled. He hadn't thought of Seba Nile in years. Larten never mentioned him and Darren suspected that his leaving hit him hard.

"How was the trip from Vampire Mountain?" Darren asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Not bad," Kaleb said. "You are my first stop. I wanted to see how you were doing."

Darren smiled. "I'm doing great! I love it out here." He looked down at the scars on his fingertips. "I have missed home though." He looked back up at Kaleb. "How is everyone?"

Kaleb smiled knowingly. "You mean how's Larten?"

Darren only smiled.

"He's fine," Kaleb said. "He's missing you like crazy though."

"He said that?" Darren asked, shocked.

Kaleb backtracked. "Well, he never came out and said it, but I can tell. He misses having you around."

Darren smiled. "I miss him too. There have been instances when it caused me to almost head back without a second thought. We've never spent this much time apart. How is everyone else?"

"Just fine," Kaleb said, "The kitchens have been running great as usual. They don't seem to miss us too much. Vancha is back in the Mountain. He's been serving a term with Paris and Kurda. The other princes have left."

"Have you seen Gavner?" Darren asked.

"Briefly," Kaleb said, "We have never spoken, but he has been coming back and forth from the Mountain."

The last time Darren and Gavner spoke, it was in a mental message from Gavner a few months after they separated urging him to keep the knowledge of the other vampires' mysterious disappearances a secret. Apparently, the princes decided not to tell any vampires who weren't Generals about it. Darren figured it was to not cause a panic, but he was curious if there have been any updates or if other vampires were allowed to know yet.

"Any other news?" Darren asked, hoping to bait any information out of Kaleb without giving anything away.

"I don't think so," Kaleb replied. "Everything seems completely normal."

That gave Darren what he needed to know. The Princes weren't making the telepathic troubles among certain vampires public.

"What's that in your hand?" Kaleb asked.

Darren looked down. He hadn't realized he was still holding the napkin with that man's contact information on it crumpled in one hand. He carefully opened it. "Do you remember that man who was sitting in the corner at the diner tonight?"

Kaleb nodded.

Darren continued, "Before he left, he told me he was wanting to move out of his apartment. He asked if I was looking for a roommate and gave me his contact information."

Kaleb raised one eyebrow. "That's convenient. Didn't you say your roommate left?"

Darren nodded. "Should I look into it?"

Kaleb shrugged. "What's the harm? If it turns out you don't like him, you don't have to take him up on his offer."

"I guess that's true."

"What's his name?" Kaleb asked.

Darren looked at the napkin and tried to decipher the name scribbled at the top. "It says his name is…Steve Leonard." Darren handed it to Kaleb to look at. "I might give him a call in the next few days. My paycheck isn't enough to cover rent for a two-bedroom apartment by myself. I've been stealing from houses I feed from. I was either going to look for a roommate or move somewhere smaller anyway."

Kaleb handed back the napkin. "Seems like this guy is worth a shot."

Kaleb stayed with Darren for close to a week before he left. His absence caused Darren to feel homesickness start to plague him. Larten, Gavner, and the other vampires hardly left his thoughts. He only had three years to wait before seeing them all again for Council, and that helped him feel better. After a few days of lonliness, he found himself wishing he had a friend around to help him pass the time. So, he decided to finally seek out a roommate.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number on the napkin Steve gave him.

"Hello?" came the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hello!" Darren greeted. "Steve Leonard?"

"Yes," he replied. "Who is this?"

"Darren Shan," Darren said. "We met at the Midnight Diner a few weeks ago."

"Oh that's right!" Steve said. "I was starting to think you weren't going to call."

"Well," Darren started. "I was thinking about what you said. Are you still looking for a new roommate?"

"As a matter of fact, I am."