𝓑𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓜𝓮 | 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙒𝙚𝙞𝙧

2. 🦇

Later, at night, Erica called me so we could hang out together while she babysits at the Morgan's. We walk across a bridge, talking amongst ourselves, hearing nothing but crickets and the wind. Suddenly, we hear rustling coming from behind us. I quickly spin around and put my hands up in defense, ready for whatever would attack us. Then, we hear a squawking in the distance. Figuring it was a bird, we turn around and we're about to walk when suddenly someone's voice scares us. "Hey," they say. We abruptly turn around and gasp in shock as we see Sarah stand behind us. I let out a sigh of relief after seeing her. "Sarah, oh my gosh, you scared us," Erica says, releasing a sigh. "I wanted to apologize. I haven't been the greatest friend lately," she states toward Erica. "Yeah. I miss hanging out with you," Erica tells Sarah as we walk down the bridge, me walking behind the two. "You don't even text me anymore," Erica points out, disappointed in her friend. Sarah lets out a sigh. "Things are kind of weird right now. I can't really--" Sarah tries to explain, but she gets interrupted by Erica. "No, it's okay. I got it. I'm not cool enough for you since you started dating Jesse," she mentions. Sarah puts a reassuring hand on Erica's arm. "No, that's not it at all, I swear," she states. "Then what? The three of us are supposed to be organizing this fan club screening together," Erica informs Sarah. "I know. My life's just really complicated right now," Sarah tells her. "This is the one we get to find out if he bites her or not!" Erica exclaims. "I know, but it is just a movie," Sarah argues, making my eyes widen, knowing that Erica will take offense to her statement. Erica gasps. "Just a movie?' Oh, my gosh. Who are you?! We have to go. I have a babysitting job and Zoe is coming with me. I will see you around, Dusk abandoner," Erica states, hurt by Sarah's choice of words. Erica turns around and grabs my hand and drags me to the Morgan's house. "Erica! Zoe!" Sarah shouts for us. "Okay, fine. You're right, it is because of Jesse, but it's not how you think," Sarah yells for us, trying to discreetly describe what has been going on with her and Jesse. "Well, speak of the devil," Jesse says with a smirk as he magically appears behind Sarah, making Erica and I glance at him with a confused look. One of the two drama club members from earlier shows up in front of us. "Hello again," he says, greeting Erica. "Hello... again," Erica awkwardly responds. "You're not... avoiding me, are you?" Jesse asks, with a hand over his heart, hurt. "Oh, she's avoiding a lot of people," Erica remarks, still angry from Sarah's words. "Come on, what are you afraid of?" Jesse questions. "I just... I need some more time," Sarah demands. "Tick... tock... Time's up," Jesse tells her. "So, anyway, listen. There's this monster party at Jesse's later, and if Sarah is not interested, maybe you two would like to hang out with us," one of the drama club members offer. "But they can't; they're babysitting," Sarah tells him. "No, we're not. Count us in," Erica says as she speaks for both of us. "Erica, Zoe, no!" Sarah worriedly shouts at us. "I am allowed to break the rules, too. And he's really cute," she states as she whispers the last part, making the drama club member surprised. "You don't understand!" Sarah tries to clarify. "Okay, the rest of you, go on ahead. Sarah and I need to have a little talk," Jesse commands. The drama club member, which we found out is named Gord, escorts us to his car. 

After some time of driving, Gord pulls up to a huge gate in front of a huge mansion. In his car, I listen to the audio from Erica's phone in the backseat as she watches Dirk Baddison get interviewed about the film. "I never in a million years thought I'd start dating Julia in real life," Dirk says during the interview. "There is so much chemistry between them on set. I mean, come on, fourteen kissing scenes? It was just a matter of time before they became an item," Erica mentions. "Uh-huh. Wow! I... so don't care," Gord says, uninterested and annoyed by Erica fangirling over Dusk. "Password?" A man asks through a speaker. "O positive," Gord states. The gate opens and he drives to the mansion. I get a chill down my spine and I rub my arms. Something about this place doesn't feel right. 

We enter the mansion and Gord offers to pour us some drinks. Before he does, I ask him what is in the drinks. "Oh, come on, Zoe, don't be such a 'party pooper," Erica comments. "I'm not, I was just wondering if there was something we're not supposed to drink in there," I respond. Gord lets out a light chuckle and says: "Don't worry, it's just punch," he reassures me. I nod and he pours drinks in our cups before pouring himself some to drink. He hands Erica a drink before handing me a drink. I take a sip of the punch. It just tastes like a regular, fruity punch. "See, nothing bad in there," Erica says with a smile. I nod and I sip the punch again and I talk to Erica and Gord. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Sarah walk inside. "Look who finally decided to show up. I guess Wes talked some sense into you, huh?" Gord remarks, putting an arm around Erica. "Oh, yeah. We had a real heart-to-heart. Actually, uh, I need to talk to Zoe and Erica. Alone," Sarah states. "So, now you have time for me?" Erica questions, frustrated at Sarah. "No, no, it's cool. Be my guest. I'll go find Jesse. He'll, uh, really want to know you're here," Gord says as he removes his arm from Erica in search of Jesse. "Come on! You two aren't safe here. We have to get out of here now!" Sarah whisper yells at us. "You sound like my mother. Don't worry, party pooper! It's not like I'm going to give in to peer pressure. Besides, nobody here's even drinking," Erica points out. "Not yet..." Sarah mumbles under her breath. She starts to explain what has happened to her from the past few weeks. "Look, I know it sounds crazy, but a couple of weeks ago, I got bit by a vampire, and now I'm a fledgling!" Sarah exclaims, making my eyes widen. Erica looks at her with amusement, not believing her. "Wow. You really expect me to believe that?" She asks. "I swear. And if we don't get out now, we'll never get out, like, ever!" Sarah warns us. "Okay, you sound like something from Dusk," Erica remarks, thinking Sarah is crazy. "Zoe, you, believe me, right?" Sarah questions with pleading eyes. I contemplate for a moment before saying: "I guess" with a confused expression. She sighs and walks away from us to most likely find Jesse. I drink the remaining punch in my cup and I throw it away. Then, one of the drama club members from earlier comes up to me. "Hey," he greets with a grin. "Hi," I state with a friendly smile. "Could I... Show you something?" He asks with a raised brow. I ponder for a moment, thinking "What could go wrong?" I nod and state: "Sure." He leads me upstairs into one of the bedrooms. 

Once we get into the bedroom, I notice how many Dusk posters are hung in the room. "Jesse really wasn't kidding when he said he's a fan of Dusk," I comment, looking around the room. Suddenly, the drama club member I'm with bares his fangs and hissed at me. I start to scream, but he covers my mouth with his hand to muffle my screams. He holds me in a tight grip and I try to struggle free from his grasp. With one last hiss, he bites into my neck. The pain was unbearable. It felt like two huge needles digging into my skin. A moment later, he releases me and I gasp for air, horrified at what just happened to me. I look up at him, the effects of nausea and dizziness take over me. He smirks down at me and wipes the blood from his lips. "W-What did you do to me?" I question, my head pounding as if it were about to burst. He ignores my comment and grabs my hand to pull me up to steady me so I could walk, or in this case, stumble. He opens the door and he leads me downstairs to the partygoers. I see a blur of what looks to be Erica downstairs. My vision starts to clear and I see Erica cross her arms with a grin toward me. Then, I get placed next to her, wondering what would happen to us.