“Geez!” I exclaimed, clambering upright. Theo leaned his arms in the window. I marched over to open it so we could talk without the glass in between us. “Theo, what the hell? You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry,” he said. “Were you, uh, in the middle of something?”
My cheeks heated up. “No,” I lied. “Anyway, what’re you doing here?”
Theo’s eyes flitted to the game console in the living room behind me. Then he shot me a grin. “I was wondering if you wanted to play more Super Fighting Guys.”
My irritation at my fantasy being interrupted was quickly replaced by overwhelming relief. “Holy shit,yes!”
“Awesome.”
Theo hopped in easily through the window. It was a substantial height off the ground, and the speed and grace he exhibited was supernatural. I knew if I tried to do it, I’d probably end up on my ass.
But Theo, like the other vampires, wasn’t human. Since coming to live here, it was sometimes easy to forget. I had to remember that fact.
Especially with Margaret, the vampire matriarch, out for my blood.
“Come on, hurry up!” Theo called. “I set everything up already.”
I couldn’t help grinning as I sat next to Theo and grabbed a controller. Instantly all my worries about Margaret and Adriel and my job and everything else melted away.
“Get ready to have your ass kicked,” I told Theo.
“As if, human!”
The deep voice from the game counted down. “Ready… FIGHT!”
At once Theo and I entered a button-mashing frenzy. Our characters jumped and ran and punched everywhere on the screen. Theo’s character quickly got mine in a chokehold.
“Hey, no fair!” I cried.
Theo laughed maniacally. “It’s part of the game!”
I growled and smashed the buttons on my controller. Then, my character ducked out of the hold and launched a counterattack that sent Theo’s guy flying off the map.
“No!” Theo exclaimed. “I’ll get you back for that, just you wait.”
After he respawned, Theo’s character chased mine around for revenge. We both tensed up and jostled around in our seats as we mashed buttons for dear life. The sound of intense plastic clacking filled the air. I began to sweat, and I suspected if Theo were still human, he would have been sweating too. I bit my lip, concentrating hard.
Theo’s character finally caught up to mine and knocked out my health in a single hit.
“Gotcha!”
“Shit!” I muttered.
The round continued for what felt like an eternity, with neither of us giving up or getting the upper hand. It seemed like the game would end in a draw.
Then I saw my chance. As Theo’s guy tried to grab mine and missed, my character grabbed him beneath the belt and tossed him off the map again.
“NO!” Theo yelled.
I pumped my arms in the air and said triumphantly, “Take that,vampire!”
Theo snapped to me and hissed, baring his huge white fangs.
Immediately I was frozen in fear, except for letting out a terrified cry. Memories of Margaret’s attack rushed back to me. White fangs, spit, blood, overwhelming horror. My body wouldn’t move, but my brain was screaming at meyou’re going to die!
Faster than lightning, a figure appeared out of thin air in front of us. Adriel’s eyes narrowed into furious slits and his whole body exuded powerful anger.
