Immortal Hearts

I still can't believe Alexander is a real vampire," Becky said the following day at Evans Park. We met at the swings, our usual outdoor hangout. No one was around, and we could talk freely about the Underworld.

Becky had a revulsion to my favorite haunts - cemeteries - and the swings always brought back memories of childhood. And I loved that swinging as high as I could gave me the closest feeling I ever had to flying.

"It's really hard to imagine that it is true," she continued, trying to keep up with me.

"I know," I shouted proudly. "And there's more. Jagger and Luna. Scarlet and Onyx. And Romeo..."

"And Sebastian?" she asked.

"Yes. Cool, isn't it? And to think they are all living here in Dullsville."

"It is so overwhelming. But most of all, Alexander."

Becky was full of questions about the Underworld. And even if I'd already answered them, she wanted me to tell her again.

Becky dragged her white Keds into the dirt, and I followed suit with my untied combat boots. "When did you know?" she asked as I caught my breath. "I mean really know, like I do now?"

"I suspected when I first met him - especially because the people around town were saying his family were vampires. But I didn't really know for certain until I didn't see his reflection in Ruby's compact mirror."

"And you didn't tell me," she said with a sad longing.

"I wanted to!" I responded sincerely.

"I know it must have been hard. I'd have to tell you something like that immediately." I'd always felt guilty that I hadn't blabbed the vampire news to my friend then. But I also had an obligation to Alexander. And the more I grew to know him, the more the sense of obligation was stronger.

"I wanted to every time I saw you," I defended. "I even tried once - "

"I know you did. I guess I just wasn't ready to hear it."

"And now you are," I said.

"It's hard for me not to want to tell everyone, too. My parents..."

"But you know you can't!" I insisted. "If word gets out, they'll all be run out of town. And that includes Alexander."

"I know. But it's so hard. That's why I have to talk about it with you."

"Have you told Matt?" I asked.

She appeared shocked, as if I'd caught her stealing candy. "You said I could!"

"I know. I couldn't imagine you keeping it from him, and for some reason he doesn't seem to have loose lips."

"Well, I told him."

"Did he freak out?"

"Yes. I still don't think he believes me. But I think the fact that I knew made me seem more worldly or something to him."

"That's cool."

"I thought so, too." Becky grinned. "So what's it really like dating a vampire? You have to wait all day to see Alexander?"

"Yes."

"Like now?"

"Uh-huh."

"Until the sun sets?" she asked, looking at the bright sky.

I nodded.

"Isn't that awful? I can see Matt at school and on the weekend. How can you take it? You are missing so much."

"Thanks for reminding me," I said sarcastically.

"I just mean..."

"I know. That part is a drag." It was one of the many reasopire many ns I longed to become a vampire - so Alexander and I could be together full-time. "But since I like the nighttime and sleep through most days when I can, it's really the perfect fit," I told her.

"Does he sleep in a coffin?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Have you seen it?"

"Yes.

"Is it in a dungeon?"

"No, in a small room off of his bedroom."

"Have you been inside it?"

"Yes."

"Oooh. I bet you loved it!"

"I did!"

"Do you think... I could see it sometime?"

"I'm sure you can."

"I can't imagine Alexander sleeping in a coffin. I mean, I can - he is different, in a good way. But Matt - everything is pretty normal about him. I can't imagine what I'd do if I went to his room and found him sleeping in a casket."

"I know exactly what you'd do. Faint!"

Her cheeks flushed as we both laughed. "But for you," she began, "isn't it a dream come true for you really, to be dating a vampire?"

"It is, Becky. It is. And I'm so happy that we can finally talk about it. I've been dying to tell you for ages."

"And does he really drink...?"

I nodded eagerly as she cringed.

"And you still want to become one?"

"And you still want to become one?"

I nodded again.

"Does he try to bite you?"

"No, but I wish he would."

She shook her head at me. "So do you think it will happen?" she asked, slightly terrified, clinging to the swing's metal chain link.

I was quiet for a moment.

She hung on for my answer.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"It takes two for me to become a vampire. I can't do it alone. I need Alexander."

"Of course. Isn't he willing?"

"He wants to protect me from his world. He thinks I might hate it. I understand his struggle. It's a big decision to make for someone else."

"That is a big decision."

And something I wanted so badly to happen. "But he did take my blood," I confessed proudly. This was big news, and I felt like I'd burst with joy to finally be sharing it with my best friend.

"You are kidding!"

"No!" I exclaimed. "I had a cut - just like you did that night when you fell and Sebastian took..."

"What?"

Then I realized. Becky hadn't known what Sebastian had done that night. "Oh ... nothing."

"No. What were you going to say?" she pressed.

"Uh ... it's not important."

"You have to tell me. What do you mean, that night I fell?"

"Uh ... you skinned your knee."

"I know - I remember that. And Sebastian helped me when I began to bleed." Her eyes grew wide as she remembered. "Oh no! Then you pushed him away. I thought it was odd then - that you struggled with him when he was trying to help me. But now that I know... Did he bite me? Did Sebastian bite me? Am I going to be a...?"

"No, calm down. He wiped off your blood from your knee. That's all."

"Why would he do that?" she wondered. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Not really. He didn't bite you. That's all you need to know."

"But he wiped it off. I remember."

"Yes, he did."

"But what did he do with the blood?" she asked, trying to remember. Then she looked at me as2emked at if she already knew the answer.

I reluctantly nodded, recalling how he put his bloodstained finger to his mouth.

"Oh, gross!" She covered her ears. "I don't want to hear."

"You just told me you want to know everything."

"I didn't need to know that part. I feel woozy." Then, suddenly, she clutched my shirt. "Will I turn into a vampire?" she asked desperately.

"No. You are no more a vampire than I am."

"Are you sure?"

"Dead sure."

My best friend sighed with relief.

"No, you have to be bitten for that to happen," I said with a sigh of my own. But there was something I wasn't sure she knew. Something I wanted to have happen to me. "And if the vampire bites another on sacred ground, then they are bonded together for eternity," I said. "Isn't that romantic?"

"Uh ... yes. I guess," she said uneasily. "But what is sacred ground?"

"A burial site. A cemetery. Or a tomb. But Alexander took my blood, too," I said, not wanting to feel left out of the drama. "Not on sacred ground, but like Sebastian did to you. Only it was really magical for us."

"Well, it would be to you, but to me, it's completely gross. I think I will stick with Matt. Fortunately for me the only thing he likes to drink is Gatorade." We both laughed at the extraordinary situation that was now our reality.

"But do you still want to be a vampire now that you know the truth?" Becky asked.

"I've known for a while."

"I know. But seeing them interact - their lifestyle and their needs. Do you really want to be one like you've always wanted to before?"

"Yes. More so than ever."

She nervously twisted the ends of her hair and took a moment to process my answer.

"Would we still be able to be best friends?" Becky seemed seriously worried.

"Why not?"

"Because if youxtrcause i are a vampire ... you wouldn't be going to school anymore. I'd miss you in classes, lunch, and after school. I'd only be able to see you a few hours in the evenings. Who would I talk to at school?"

"Matt."

"But you are my best friend."

"I would still be your best friend. Nothing will change that."

"I need girl time. I can't imagine going to school without you."

Her words hit me like a dagger in my heart. I didn't want to hurt Becky by becoming what I wanted to be. I'd always thought about the positives of being a vampire, with one of the best being that I wouldn't have to go to school during the day anymore. But I hadn't thought about the downside - not seeing my best friend, Becky, every day.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that now." I tried to ease her mind. "Alexander isn't planning on turning me any time soon - at least not that I know of."

"It must be hard for him, being a vampire and loving a human."

"I think it is. He tells me so."

"Maybe that's why you two get along so well. You both understand and crave the other's world." I leaned back in my swing. "Yes. I crave it even more since I met Alexander. I feel like I'm only a step away."

"Really. So soon?"

"I don't know. I just want it so bad."

"We only have one more year in school before college," she said. "I'm hoping you'll at least wait until then?" I could feel the sense of dread coming from Becky regarding this change. It could have simply been college - but this matter was also about a life change.

I could feel the sense of dread coming from Becky regarding this change. It could have simply been college - but this matter was also about a life change.

Becky and I had been best friends since third grade. Our friendship wasn't something either one of us was prepared to give up - and I had truly never thought about that when I envisioned being a vampire.

"I'd die without you, Raven," she burst out, hopping off her swing.

"Me too, Becky," I said, following after her. "Nothing will keep us apart."

"Not college - " she urged.

"Or the Underworld," I added. I was surprised I said it. It was new to me to be able to share the secret I'd been holding about Alexander, the Maxwells, and Sebastian.

Her smooth forehead wrinkled in shock. She was still getting used to the idea of the new reality herself.

"Besides, it isn't something we have to deal with now." I tried to reassure her. "Alexander hasn't walked me down the cemetery aisle yet, has he? And neither one of us has really talked about college."

"We'll agree to go to the same one, then. You and me and Matt and Alexander."

"Duh!" I said. I didn't imagine Becky was planning to go to some fancy-schmancy college with outrageous tuition and a billion miles from Dullsville.

"Even if we have to meet in night classes," she added.

"Agreed!" I put my arm around her shoulder.

"But what if you don't wait until then?" she asked. "Alexander gave you that eternity ring." She pointed to my ring finger.

I never took off the glistening ring with a black diamond heart in the center. Not even in the shower or when I slept.

"Yes ... but..."

"I see the way Alexander looks at you. Now that I know the truth, I know what he is thinking. I thought it was just his European charisma." She laughed. "But it's not, Raven. He wants you in a way that is not..."

"Human?" I asked.

She nodded her head.

I felt a huge beam of warm energy flood through me. But what I took as a compliment from Becky was something she meant as a big concern.

Though I felt melancholy about any type of change that led my best friend and me to being apart even for a minute, I did like the reassurance from someone else that Alexander craved me in a way that only a vampire could.

"It will be okay, Becky," I said. "No matter what happens between Alexander and me, you and I will always be best friends. You can count on that forever." Becky and I gave each other a quick hug before heading off to her truck to get some coffee.

I was ready for an eternity with my true love, but not an eternity apart from my best friend.

"I saw how quickly you yanked Luna off of me at the Crypt," Trevor said to me in the hallway the following day at school. "The lengths you go to, just to keep girls away from me."

"I was helping out Scarlet, not you. And on second thought, maybe I should have saved Scarlet by letting Luna paw on you instead." He grinned mischievously. His devilish nature couldn't mask his attractiveness. I felt ensnared by his gaze.

He fingered his blond locks and leaned in to me, then whispered, "It's so clear who you'd really prefer to be your real boyfriend, and that's me."

"When will you get over your delusions?" I asked. "I'm not even sure what Scarlet sees in you," I said.

Trevor inched even closer, his green eyes piercing through me. "But I think you do. I think you always have. Do you know why I like Scarlet?"

"Because she breathes?"

He smiled churlishly, his milky white teeth beaming. "Because she reminds me of you. When I am kissing her I imagine that I'm kissing you." I was taken aback. Trevor never knew when to stop. "Don't be cruel! She's my friend."

"Which is worse?" he asked, getting in my face. "That I kiss her and think of you? Or that when I'm on the end of her succulent lips, that I might not be thinking of you?"

Trevor was a tease. Of course I didn't want him to use Scarlet, and I didn't want him to like me, either. But was I being honest with myself when there was a tiny piece of me that got a rise out of Trevor's torment? Or was it just something I'd grown accustomed to all my life?

Trevor drew me in to him. "How about now I'll kiss you and you can see for yourself who I am thinking of?" I pushed against him as hard as I could, my black nails standing out against his yellow polo shirt. I knew he wasn't going to force a kiss on me, but his embrace told me he got a kick out of my trying to squirm away from him.

For a moment, I thought about kissing him back, giving him the biggest shock of his life. But I remembered Alexander. And his lips were the only ones I wanted to be on the end of - regardless of how much I wanted to torment my nemesis.

"I can spit," I told him instead.

Trevor immediately released me and jumped away. "I'd say 'You wouldn't dare,' but I know you would."

"Don't tempt me," I said, adjusting my dress.

"Halloween is coming," he said as if it was a warning. "Jagger is planning to have a spectacular event down at the Crypt. Luna, Scarlet, all the girls will be there." How did Trevor always know more about the vampires' plans than I did?

"I'll be there. With Alexander," I charged back.

"What horrible monster will you come as this year?" he asked. "Yourself?"

I really loathed Trevor. No matter how hard I tried, he always seemed to be one step ahead of me.

"I'll be the one dressed as your psychiatrist," I said, and headed off for class.

I felt extra groggy when I awoke in Alexander's coffin. I lazily rolled over and snuggled up close to him, hoping to doze back to sleep. He caressed my hair and I felt amazingly at peace in his embrace.

"Good morning, Monster Girl!" I heard a familiar voice say.

Then a cell phone was turned on, illuminating the inside of the casket, and I saw green eyes staring back at me. How did I get in a coffin with Trevor Mitchell?

Where was Alexander? What was happening?

I tried to break open the coffin lid, but it wouldn't budge. I pushed against it with my feet as hard as I could.

"Let me out!" I screamed. "Let me out!"

"It's too late," my nemesis said. "We are here together for eternity."

His hand crept across my neck as if it was marking his territory.

I smacked it away. "Let go!" I yelled. "Alexander!"

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Trevor asked.

"Not with you! Never with you!"

"But I thought it was me all along. When you were little, didn't you try to get me to bite you so I could turn you into a vampire? It's what you always wanted, Raven."

"Let me out!"

I screamed and kicked and pleaded. I could feel my nails scraping against the wooden casket lid. I was sure my fingers were dripping with blood.

"Raven!" I heard a girl's voice say.

"Raven!" I heard a girl's voice say.

I awoke with my fingers digging into my school desk. Becky was nudging me in the side.

I tried to hide my embarrassment as all my classmates stared at me. I was used to stares - but this time I felt like an idiot. I glanced around, and one particular student was grinning back at me: Trevor. I felt like somehow he'd just witnessed my whole dream, too. Beads of sweat peppered my brow, and I wiped my perspiring hands on my black tights.

Mr. Simmons glared at me and shook his head.

"Miss Madison," he said in a teacherly voice. "I'd give you a detention, but I'm afraid you'd sleep through that as well." For the first time in high school, I agreed with one of my teachers.