I called Becky and she tried to calm my nerves. I paced and watched the clock. When would the sun set? Why was it taking so long? I decided to try to enjoy my last hours of sunlight and hung outside on our swing, soaking in my last few rays. But I was still preoccupied by the sun"s slow descent. The minutes seemed like an eternity.
An hour later, I heard my mom call me from inside. I left the sun and came in.
My parents were leaving for a dinner with friends. They were gathering their coats from the hall closet. Before they headed out, I stopped them.
"Wait," I said. I rushed over and gave them each a hug. The next time they saw me, I"d be a vampire.
"Why are you acting so strangely?" my mom asked. "You"ve been preoccupied all day and hanging by yourself outside. It"s not like you. Are you and Alexander okay?"
"We"ve never been better," I told her. "Truly."
"Then why all the affection?" my dad asked. "You must be up to something..."
"I just want to say how much I love you guys." I really looked at my parents, gazed into their eyes, and gave them a warm smile.
"Are you okay?" my dad asked. "Do you have a fever?"
"I"m perfect," I replied with a grin. "I"ve never felt happier in my life."
"Well, I"m glad you"re so happy," my mom said, and gave me another hug. I hugged her back with all my might.
"I am, too," my dad remarked, and kissed me on the forehead.
I waved as my parents headed out the door. Once they had left for dinner, I began to get ready for my big night. I took an extra-long shower and lathered myself with the sweetest of scents. I dried my hair and did my best to rid it of any imperfections. I headed for my room and put on my dress. It would be the last time I could see my reflection, and I wanted to make the most of it. I laced up my corset bodice and fluffed up the flowing skirt. I wore dark tights and studded platform heels. I drew on my gloves and added an oversized skull ring and a silver thumb ring to my right hand. I layered my wrists with several rubber, leather, and dangling bracelets. I touched up my eyes with heavy liner and shadow. I painted my lips with black lipstick. I stared at my reflection. For the first time in my life, I really felt beautiful.
I pressed my lips to the corner of the mirror, leaving a dark kiss to remind me of who I was leaving behind and who I was going to become.
I was hurrying down the staircase when Billy came in from the family room.
"Why are you so dressed up?" he wondered.
"I thought you were going to Henry"s," I said. I wasn"t expecting to see my brother. I hope his questions weren"t going to delay me.
"He"s coming here," he said.
"I"m going out," I said.
"What are you up to? What"s going on?" he asked.
"Nothing. I dress like this every day."
"Not that fancy. Where are you going dressed like that?" he asked skeptically.
"Why, the cemetery, of course."
As I reached the door, I stopped. I turned and gave my baby brother a huge squeeze.
"Get off," he said. "What"s wrong with you?"
"Nothing"s wrong. Everything is right. Finally," I said, "everything is right."
Alexander was going to take care of all the covenant altar amenities, and Becky and Stormy were going to meet me at the cemetery with a basket of black roses.
I was usually late to school, but for this I was early. Neither Becky"s truck nor Alexander"s Mercedes were parked at the cemetery yet.
I did my best to climb the fence and not snag any of the lace or seams of my dress. Once I was safely over, I breathed in the cool night air and took in my surroundings as if I were in the cemetery for the first time.
The tombstones seemed to be welcoming me, and the stars appeared to have an extra twinkle.
I felt a warmth come over me as if I was doing what I was meant to be doing my whole life. I"d waited for this moment since I was a little girl, so I took in the sights and sounds around me. It was quiet and eerie, and the crisp night air gave me an extra chill. I was loving it.
This was my night. Our night. And I felt like I couldn"t get to the altar fast enough.
Glistening candles began to illuminate my way to Alexander"s grandmother"s modmoightnument, and my heart was beating in overdrive with excitement. Next to the statuesque monument was the enchanting covenant altar. It was spectacular. Dozens of candles lay in a circle around it. Ivy wound itself through the dark wrought-iron trestle. A black coffin lay underneath with a lit candelabra and two pewter goblets. I only needed Alexander.
And then I saw him: a dark-haired figure with his back toward me in the distance just behind one of the sides of the trestle. He must have been making the final touches for our ceremony. I raced over to him. I took a deep breath. This was the moment I"d waited for all my life.
When I reached Alexander, he turned around.
I gasped in horror. Green eyes were staring back at me. It couldn"t be. Not tonight. Not this night.
Trevor Mitch.e.l.l was as gothed up as I was. His normally model-blond hair was newly dyed jet black and was gelled up and spiky. Several silver-studded earrings flashed from his earlobes. His fingernails were painted black. And he wore a menacing grin.
He leaned on the trestle as if he owned the cemetery. "It"s what you"ve always wanted, Monster Girl."
I was stunned. First of all, I was expecting Alexander. And second, not in my wildest imagination was I ever expecting to see Trevor Mitch.e.l.l dressed this way.
Trevor was hot and seductive. Part of the attraction I had felt for him before had been that we were opposites. However, with him staring back at me while dressed like a gorgeous goth, it was hard for me to take my eyes off him.
But as attractive as he was, he wasn"t the reason I was here.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. "Where is Alexander?"
"That isn"t important now."
"You need to leave. Like now," I urged.
"I"m right where I need to be," he said.
"How did you know about this?" I asked.
"I have my sources."
I paused. Who could have told him? Becky, but she wasn"t even here yet. Sebastian? Did he have loose lips after all? "You don"t even know what this is about," I challenged him.
"I do," he said confidently. "It"s about becoming a vampire."
"What?" I was even more shocked. And slightly frightened that Trevor knew why I was here.
He grinned down at me. "It"s why Jagger took you up on the altar-and Luna did with Sebastian. It"s about bonding with another for eternity. On sacred ground. And this place is sacred enough for a hundred humans to turn into vampires."
I was even more taken aback by his knowledge of the evening. "Who told you that?" I asked.
"I told you, I have my resources. Or, rather, vampires."
"Scarlet?" I wondered. She wasn"t likely to tell. Or was she? "But she didn"t even know about tonight."
"Look what I"ve done for you." He rolled up his black sleeve. It was a tattoo of a raven.
"It"s permanent," he said. "And I"m hoping we"ll be, too."
I stared at his tattoo. What was Trevor doing? And what was he suggesting?
"What are you doing here?" I yelled. "Trying to ruin my night?"
"No," he said. "Trying to make it last forever."
"I don"t know what you"re talking about!" I shouted. "You aren"t even a vampire!"
Then his fangs flashed in the full moonlight.
I gasped again and stepped back. "No ... this can"t be! You can"t be."
I was living a nightmare. Trevor Mitch.e.l.l, my nemesis, a vampire? And we were standing together on sacred ground.
I picked up my dress and inched back. "Who turned you?" I asked, breathless.
"That doesn"t matter now. It"s time to be talking about us. You and me. And eternity."
"There is no you and me!" I stepped back again, but he drew closer.
"I think there is." He took my arm and pulled me in to him and laid a riveting kiss on me. I was shocked and, for a moment, lost in the embrace. I felt like I had more than a year ago when he kissed me on the lawn of the Mansion on Halloween and several times before. He knew how to kiss and make a girl feel happy against his lips, but it was hard to see into his soul-if he had one. Tonight I felt something even deeper. I really felt in his lips that there was something more to his feelings than trying to seduce the goth girl. I felt that he loved me.
I wanted him to leave. I had a.s.sumed the Maxwells might have disrupted our evening, but I"d forgotten about the bigger threat-Trevor Mitch.e.l.l. Though he was attractive and we had a lifelonghadleave. I connection, I was angry and sad for him that he was spoiling my big night. On my end, I was kissing the Monster good-bye.
I pushed his face away from me.
It was the one night I"d thought I didn"t need my garlic. I didn"t have anything to defend myself but me. I had to get him off of me and escape this situation. I kicked him in the shins as hard as I could. They must have taken a beating over the years of playing soccer, because he winced in pain and drew back, though he kept a tight hold of my arm.
I bared my teeth and was ready to bite at his arm when I saw a commotion by the tomb.
"I thought you were waiting for me-" Becky said as she approached the altar with Matt at her side.
"I am! This is Trevor!" I yelled to her. "Not Alexander."
I heard her gasp. "No-it can"t be!"
Stormy emerged, holding her black satin basket of flowers. "I told Alexander he couldn"t trust that guy! What is he doing up there?"
"What is he doing here?" Vibrant red hair came out from the shadows by the tomb. Scarlet"s angry face matched the color of her hair.
I was surprised to see Scarlet. It was one thing to see Matt, but Trevor and now Scarlet, too?
"This was supposed to be private," I mumbled. "What is going on?"
"Why is Trevor up there with you?" Scarlet asked me.
A surprised Sebastian stepped out, too, into the moonlight along with Onyx.
"He"s a vampire," I said to her, "and now he plans to turn me."
"No-" she said. "It"s not true! Don"t listen to him!"
Trevor gripped my arm even harder.
"Then if you didn"t, who did?" I asked her.
Just then a pink-haired girl stepped out of the shadows.
"Luna!" I said. "You never quit, do you!"
She seemed shocked to see Trevor up at the altar, just as I was shocked to see everyone here at the cemetery.
"But I do!" she said. "I don"t know what you"re talking about. Why is Trevor here?"
Romeo had been holding her hand, but then he moved away. "You turned him?"
"Of course not!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her. "I thought she was going to be here with Alexander."
Jagger and Valentine appeared, too, seemingly shocked by Trevor and me at the covenant altar.
Trevor continued to grip my arm. I didn"t feel the physical pain of his grasp as much as the emotional one of him threatening to bite me.
"Well, he"s a vampire now and thinks he"s going to turn me!" I shouted to them.
"No-" Becky said. "She was waiting for Alexander!"
"You can"t do that!" Sebastian yelled to Trevor.
"This got out of hand!" Becky said. "I"m sorry, Raven, I only told Matt about tonight."
"Well, word travels fast in a small town, Monster Girl," Trevor said, drawing me close to his side.
"Let go," I said to him, "or I"ll be going for your jugular!"
Trevor looked at his new audience-who were only a few yards away. It was hard to make them out from the flickering lights surrounding us. But when our eyes adjusted, it was clear. Everyone was stunned and didn"t know what to do. My nemesis was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence and pride. Then he looked at me. "I"m going to prove to you and everyone else that it"s me you really want."
Trevor grinned madly and showed his fangs. He leaned back, ready to bite my neck. I was ready to kick, punch, and scratch my way out when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Jagger and Sebastian rushing toward us.