My Key to Outside

Vampire Excuses

We actually went to my locker today, and like I expected, Benny was there.

"Hey," he smiled.

"What do you want?" I asked as Marley stood beside me, expecting me to stand up to him.

"I really need to talk to you," he begged.

I hesitated before saying, "Okay; fine."

We walked further down the hallway to a corner away from Marley.

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"You said that Friday," I tried my best not to break down to him.

"I'm serious. If you knew what it was, you would understand."

"Then what was it?"

"My friends and I are stuck in a situation and we find ourselves having to go out late on weekends a lot. You won't believe me if I told you why."

I thought about what he said for a minute. Why would he have to go late on a Friday night for something extremely important? "I already don't believe you, and if you're 'friends' are stuck in this situation, do you really consider me a friend? I'm not stuck in your situation. I've got my own," I questioned him.

"Of course, I do, but I can't can't tell you why I left Friday because you might freak out. It's THAT serious."

"Well, when you figure out how to tell me this 'serious situation,'" I put in hand quotes, and continued, "I'll be ready to hear it," and I walked away.

"What did he say?" Marley asked when I got back.

"He just tried to tell me that he was doing something important, but he can't tell me what, so I told him to tell me when he can," I explained.

"Good for you," she smiled.

When we were halfway to class, I asked "what's your plan to get back at him?"

"I thought you would come up with something..." her voice trailed off.

"You're the one who had the idea!"

"We'll find something," she said. It was a few seconds before she smiled and said "I'll meet you in class," and then walked away.

*Marley's POV*

I searched and searched for Benny until I finally found him talking to one of his nerd friends.

"I need to talk to you," I said.

"I thought I was an 'idiot,'" Benny said.

"That's because you are," I replied. "If you can't tell Natalie what you were doing Friday, you'll regret it."

"I already do. I feel so stupid for what I did. I wish I could tell her but nobody believes in anything I say."

"Then she most likely won't be your friend anymore. You meant a lot to her, and then you ruined everything. If you don't tell her what happened, she'll never want to be your friend again. Even if she does, she won't trust you."

"I want to, but can you tell her? She believes you."

"It's got to be you to tell her. If you don't tell her, we'll find out ourselves."

"Okay; whatever," he said.

"Hope to see you around," and by that I meant 'hope to see you around talking to Natalie.'

                                             *              *              *

*Benny's POV*

"Can I tell her?" I asked Sarah.

"No! She won't believe you anyway," she said.

Sarah, Erica, and Rory are all vampires. Believe it or not, but it's true. Ethan and I help them defeat whatever horrible thing chases after them.

"I have to! She won't be my friend anymore if I don't."

"Poor Benny. You'll never have a girlfriend now, will you?" Erica teased.

"This isn't the time," I complained.

"What if she tells other people?" Sarah asked, changing the subject back to the vampire thing.

"She'll promise not to. The only other person that'll know will be Marley, and Natalie will make her promise to tell no one," I tried to convince her.

"I'd love it if she knew I was a vampire," Rory said.

"Shut up; she doesn't want you," I said.

After a moment of thinking, Sarah said "okay; fine. You can tell her."

Right after that moment, Natalie and Marley sat at our lunch table.

"Have an explanation yet?" Natalie asked while Marley glared at me.

"Actually, I do," I said.

"Let's hear it," Natalie said.

I took her to a place where nobody was.

"You're not gonna believe me, but Sarah, Erica, and Rory are all vampires," I said.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not even surprised! You come up with some dumb excuse for ditching me. Why don't you tell me that you were with Ethan and Rory already?" she yelled.

"I was! And Sarah and Erica."

"Don't you dare bring up the vampire thing again," she glared. "I'm sorry, but I can't trust you, Benny," her voice trailed away as a tear rolled down her cheek.

That's exactly what I was afraid of. She'll never believe me. She'll never trust me. She'll never love me.