soda tabs || rory keaner

dusk iii: unbitten

The four teens ride in Evelyn's car on the way to the movie theater. Benny and Althea sit together in the back while Sarah drives and Ethan rides shotgun.

"I think the cubile animus works as a kind of soul vacuum. Jesse will try to capture 219 souls tonight. Then, I don't know somehow trade them." Ethan explains to the car, Benny not paying attention as he tries to read any of the spells in his new book.

"To bring back all his followers." Althea realizes.

"Exactly." Ethan points at her.

"Ugh. 'Soul for soul' it's so evil!" Sarah shivers. "I can't believe my first kiss was with him."

"He was your first kiss? But you're... 17!" Ethan exclaims as if he will ever kiss anyone. Althea hits him on the arm and shakes her head. "I mean... so pretty. I mean..." He tries to explain himself.

"Well, I don't know I guess I just wanted my first kiss to be memorable." Sarah explains.

"Certainly was that." Althea laughs. "My first kiss was..." She cuts herself off when Ethan and Benny shoot their heads toward her.

"You had your first kiss and didn't tell us! Who?" Benny yells.

"Never mind." She mumbles softly.

"No! Not never mind!" Ethan says.

"Yes." Althea says and that was that.

"You suck." Benny says before he goes back to flipping through the spell book their grandma gave him. Althea looked over his shoulder to realize it was an exact copy of the one she got.

"Grandma failed to mention that this book isn't even in English." Benny says, frustrated that he can't read the spells.

"Yah, she didn't tell me that either when she gave me my spell book." Althea sighs.

"Thanks for that by the way, not telling me we were spell masters." Benny berates his sister.

"She told me not to. That woman is terrifying!"

"Hmm sure. Your first kiss, our magic, why you moved home." He lists off. "What happened to tell each other everything?"

"I didn't realize I had to update you on every little detail of my life!"

"Little detail? Thea, we're not human!! And you kissed someone!" Benny yells at Althea.

"Can you two do this later? Ya know, when 219 people's souls aren't at stake?" Sarah asks the two as they pull up to the movie theater.

"Fine." The siblings mumble at the same time.

"This is it. Erica and I waited a whole year for this advanced screening." Sarah says as she parks the car.

"Wow that's... really lame." Benny says.

"Like you're so cool." Althea say sarcastically. Benny doesn't throw back a retort, excited that his sister seems to be much happier tonight. After their grandmother told them she could still use magic she seemed more... hopeful. It was one part of her life that had hopefully returned to normal. She was also much happier after finding out Rory was alive... or at least ok.

"Just read your magic book, dork." Sarah tells him and Althea laughs, giving Sarah a high five.

"The bouncer looks like one of them." Ethan points out the man standing at the front of the line, checking tickets. He was definitely one of the vampires at the party. "You think he recognizes us?"

"It's ok. I think I know another way in." Sarah leads the group through the back alley. They find the door Sarah was planning on leading them through locked with chains.