The Movie: Pt. 5

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On Monday, Charlotte had a hard time getting out of bed. She considered pretending Friday night's events were all a terrible dream; believing that was a million times easier than accepting reality. But she didn't have that option. She had to pull herself up and operate as usual, only now she couldn't stop pleading for things to go back to the way they were.

Benny and Ethan were waiting for her outside so they could walk to school together, just like they'd done every day for the past eight years. Only today, they couldn't find words to lift the tension that weighed them down.

Charlotte searched for Erica throughout the school day. There was no sign of her or any of the drama club freaks. The school day dragged on; teachers' voices muffled and words on the board blurry. It was impossible to focus on school when the previous night's events were on a loop in her head.

At last, the final bell echoed through the halls. Charlotte met Benny and Ethan at their lockers and they left the school together. Same as the morning, not much was said between them.

"Guys! Wazzzuuuppp?!"

All three of their heads shot up at the sound of the voice approaching.

"Rory, you... We thought you were dead!" Ethan stuttered.

Charlotte wasn't even thinking as she rushed forward and threw her arms around the blonde boy's neck.

"Wow, hey, this is new." Rory hesitated but returned the hug, giving questioning glances to Benny and Ethan. The two just watched with wide eyes, just as surprised as he was.

As quickly as she'd embraced him, Charlotte broke away from Rory and glared at him.

"What were you thinking being at that party?" She seethed, reaching out to shove Rory in the chest, expecting him to stumble back. To her surprise, he didn't budge. She squinted at him, a mix of anger and confusion stirring in her eyes. Only now did she get a chance to notice his new look: his hair was flipped out at the ends and he wore obnoxiously large sunglasses.

"Hey, you were there too!"

"I was there looking out for Erica."

"Right, Erica. Remind me to thank her later."

"Thank her?" Ethan cut in.

"Yeah! I woke up the morning after the party feeling awesome. No asthma, I don't need my glasses, and I barely have to sleep anymore. The only problem is the sun," Rory warily looked up at the sky, "Kind of annoying."

"You're a fledgling too?" Benny finally stepped forward after being peculiarly quiet.

"Heck no! I'm rockin' the full-on vampire action, dude! The big V! Can I get a 'what-what'?" Rory held up his hand for a high-five which no one reciprocated.

"What? You... drank human blood?" Ethan's face scrunched up and Charlotte shuddered.

"They said if I didn't I'd die." Rory said meekly, the 'cool guy' front suddenly crumbling. He saw his friends' reactions and frantically continued, "All the other kids were doing it!"

"Do you have any idea what you've just done to yourself?" Benny asked.

"I'm immortal and all-powerful, dude. Kachow!" Rory celebrated, kicking his leg in the air. Benny stared at him, attempting to process the amount of absurdity coming out of Rory's mouth.

"I can't believe you! I can't-" Charlotte shook her head and ran her hands over her face. Two days spent mourning this doofus and he strolls up thinking nothing is wrong.

"I don't think I like you being mad at me. Can we just go back to the hugging?" Rory extended his arms hopefully.

"No!" Charlotte and Benny answered in unison. Charlotte glanced up at Benny, whose eyes were fixed on Rory. She caught herself going red in the face, hoping it would just play off as anger and not... whatever it was that was fluttering around in her stomach.

She didn't have time to pay attention to this feeling as she watched Benny's eyes drift upwards in alarm. She followed his gaze and noticed the four vampires nearing behind Rory. They all paused a few feet away, but their presence still unnerved the three humans, who were now outnumbered.

Charlotte locked eyes with the one standing closest. Gord. She suspected he'd been the one to bite Erica, who still hadn't been seen since the party, and therefore was furious with him. He smirked back at her beneath his sunglasses, clearly satisfied with the pain he'd caused. Benny took a subtle step forward, putting himself slightly between Charlotte and the three shaded vampires.

Rory looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes, "Sorry, I gotta go to church."

"Church?" Ethan questioned, "Vampires don't do church."

"Jesse says we have to," Rory shrugged, then checked over his shoulder again before whispering, "He's so bossy. He's all 'blah blah the prophecy' and 'blah blah you must find the Cuban animals'-"

"Cuban animals?" Ethan, Benny and Charlotte all repeated at the same time, initially unsure if any of them had heard correctly.

"What are you talking about?" Benny asked, growing frustrated.

"I don't know, that's what it sounded like. Anyway, we'll hang out later. Or fang out!" Rory grinned, flashing his shiny new fangs, "Zing!"

Charlotte watched Rory go with sad eyes. He still had the same goofy spirit, only now he was being played like a puppet in some weird vampire shit. Their sweet, innocent friend was now an undead bloodsucker; and the worst part was he saw no problem with it.

"Come on, grab your backpacks." Ethan began to walk away, "We're going to church."

Charlotte blinked at him for a moment before Benny realized what he'd said and blurted out, "What?"

--------------------------------

"Hold this." Benny handed an empty drink pitcher to Charlotte.

"What is this for?" She wondered. They'd snuck into the church to spy on whatever Jesse and his legion of the undead were up to. There was no sign of them yet, but the two were still proceeding with caution while Ethan checked outside.

Benny took her hand and led her towards the altar, where a stoup of holy water sat. Charlotte glanced at the pitcher in her hand and began to follow Benny's train of thought.

"You better not be doing what I think you're doing." She groaned.

"We're dealing with the supernatural here, Sylvie. I think we need it more than they do." Benny released her hand so she could reluctantly hold the pitcher under the tap.

Charlotte noticed the faint sound of footsteps against the carpet behind them. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed a priest quietly approaching. She gently nudged Benny with her elbow. His eyes went wide as he caught sight of the priest, now standing next to them and eyeing them suspiciously. Benny took the pitcher from Charlotte and slapped the cover on it.

"It's for uh," He quickly conjured up a story, "It's for our Aunt Sassy. She's uh, she couldn't get to mass, she's got the..."

"Belgian pig flu!" Charlotte finished for him, unsure where that excuse came from.

"And ebola." Benny tossed in for good measure.

"Anyway, we gotta go." Charlotte awkwardly bowed her head toward the priest and grabbed Benny by the arm, dragging him to the door.

"Keep the faith, eh?" He called to the priest, causing Charlotte to shush him. The second they made it out the door she couldn't stop herself from snickering. Benny smiled down at her, holding the door open as she passed through.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐫~ 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙒𝙚𝙞𝙧Where stories live. Discover now