Vampire Beach: Initiation (3 page)

Jason knew how it felt
-
he'd been bitten by a vam
pire. It hadn't hurt, and he'd been deliriously happy for hours afterward.
A little chemical bonus.
If that feeling could be put into pill form, the world would be addicted. He also knew that the vampires had to feed in order to live. He understood all of it. But he still didn't want to be a vampire's dinner, and he didn't want his sister to be either.

"Jason, are you going to help me out here?" Danielle asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"Uh ... no," he said. "Sorry. Those parties do get
wild
." And you might get bitten,
he added silen
tl
y.

Dani rolled her eyes. "I can't believe this. You've all turned into a bunch of conservative little grannies."

"Well, that doesn't sound like much fun," said a gravelly voice from the hallway. Jason turned to see his aunt Bianca pulling a rolling suitcase in from the front
door.

"Bee!"
Mrs. Freeman squealed, sounding just like Dani when she greeted one of her friends. She ran over and threw her arms around her sister.

Dani laughed, and Jason knew why: Aunt Bianca was definitely not a "Bee." Bee was a cute lit
tl
e girl with pigtails. And Aunt Bianca was, well, stunning. Tall and slim, she had straight dark hair that hung down her back, and big, deep blue eyes. While Jason thought his mom was pretty
-
in an all
-
American
-
mom sort of way
-
he knew Bianca was the real beauty of the family. Her all
-
black designer outfit with a knee
-
length trench coat and high
-
heeled black boots didn't hurt. She looked like she'd stepped out of a fashion magazine. Maybe if his mom put on those boots ... but Jason couldn't even imagine it.

"Hey, big sis," Bianca said, hugging Mrs. Freeman. She pulled away and looked her up and down. "You look
exacdy
the same." Bianca glanced over at Jason and Dani and gave them a grin. "But these two have gone California on us! Jason, I've never seen your hair

He went over to kiss her hello. "It's the sun," he said. "It's
always
sunny here." "So you like Malibu?" she asked.
"Definitely."

"He fits right in," Danielle added, coming to greet Bianca. "He's already learning to surf."

Bianca laughed. "And how about you?" she asked Danielle. "Are you adjusting?"

Dani shrugged. "I have a few friends."

"You have about twenty friends," Jason corrected her.

"Yeah, but who knows how long I'll be able to keep them if I'm never allowed to leave the house!" Danielle replied, with a pointed look at their mother.

Bianca raised her eyebrows. "Does this have any
thing to do with the old
-
grannies comment?"

"You showed up in the middle of a battle. Clash of the generations," Mrs. Freeman explained.

"She won
’
t let me go to a party
-
," Dani began.

"But we're not going to bore you with the details,"

Mrs. Freeman interrupted. She turned back to Bianca. "How long are you in town?"

"A week or two," Bianca replied, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

"Are you going to see any movie stars?" Dani asked. Aunt Bianca worked as a casting director and freq
uently
dealt with big
-
name actors. Even though she lived in New York City, her job required her to fly back and forth to Los Angeles several times a year. She kept an office in L.A.

"I might," Bianca said, her eyes twinkling. "In fact, it would be helpful if you could come along and act as my assistant at some of the meetings."

"Oh, my God!
I would
love
to," Dani cried.
"Thank you." She threw her arms around Aunt Bianca, and Jason felt himself relax a little. Two minutes with Bianca, and Dani's foul mood had evaporated. Jason was glad their aunt would be with them all weekend
-
it might even mean he would manage to get to Zach's party without a major scene from his sister.

"So when do I get the grand tour?" Bianca asked when Dani released her. "I hope you guys like the house. Stefan always said DeVere Heights was the only place to live in Malibu."

Mrs. Freeman smiled sympathetically. "It's your first Thanksgiving without him," she said softly. "How are you holding up?"

Jason knew that Bianca and Stefan had fallen in love pretty much at first sight. Even though Stefan had been a good twenty years older than Bianca, she had been completely and genuinely devoted to him. Jason had to admit that the few times he had met
Stefan,
the guy certainly hadn't behaved like a sixty
-
something. He was handsome, intelligent, and witty, and Bianca had taken his death
-
in a nasty traffic accident
-
pretty hard.

Bianca's smile faltered. "It's tough, Tania," she admitted. "But being here with all of you really helps."

Mrs. Freeman nodded. "Well, let's show you around, then."

Jason grabbed his aunt's suitcase. "I'll put this up in the guest room," he said. "I don't need the tour."
What I need is some time to get over my idiotic behavior
-
with Sienna,
he thought as he headed for the stairs. He had a feeling it wouldn't be easy. He might have to start with a nice lobotomy.

"I'm going to start you off with the worst one, just to get it over with," Adam said after school the next day. "Now I want you to be prepared. It's bad. It's very, very bad."

"Then why do I have to see it at all?" Jason asked. He swung his locker door shut and took a moment to silently appreciate the lack of textbooks to drag home.

Thanksgiving weekend equaled no homework.
Nothing but relaxation for the next four days.
And food.

"Even the worst Kubrick is better than ninety per
cent of the crap that most people like," Adam replied. "Besides, there's an orgy in
Eyes Wide Shut."

"Why didn't you just say so?" Jason joked. "There's no such thing as a bad orgy." He led the way out to the front courtyard. A few guys were playing Frisbee on the lawn, and a mini traffic jam choked the road near the gates from the parking lot. Everybody wanted to get out of school and start enjoying the holiday weekend.

"Freeman!" Michael Van Dyke came charging past, smacking Jason on the shoulder as he ran. "See you
Friday.”

"Zach's birthday soir
é
e?"
Adam asked, watching Van Dyke sprint for his Hummer.
"You going?"

"I guess," Jason replied. "Brad and Sienna both told me I
had
to go." In fact, that was the only thing Sienna had said to him at all today. She hadn't exactly avoided him, but she also hadn't made eye contact even once. Was she thinking about their near
-
kiss from yesterday? Was she
relieved
that it hadn't happened
-
or disappointed? He couldn't tell. But if he went to Zach's party, at least he'd have another chance to talk to her.

"You think it'll be a typical vampire
-
fest?" Adam asked, lowering his voice.

"I'm expecting a little more from
Lafrenière
."

"Fair enough."
Adam grinned. "But I don't need anything fancy. Cold beer and hot girls, that's
it
!"

Jason knew the vampire parties could be relied upon to provide all that in style. And this being Zach's eighteenth birthday bash, who knew what other amusements might be served up?

Although, Jason reflected, he'd be even more psy
ched for the party if he didn't know that the humans would be part of the buffet. He still found it unset
tling. Even with the whole no
-
h
arm
-
no
-
foul setup. And even though Sienna and Zach had assured him that no other vampires would succumb to bloodlust, he had a hard time letting go of his suspicion. Who knew what made a vampire cross the line? Maybe it was like becoming an alcoholic. One day a couple of drinks just weren't enough. One day just a taste of blood would lead to more and more and
-

"Jason, look out!" Adam cried.

A strong arm wrapped itself around Jason's neck.

I
nstinctively, Jason grabbed the guy's forearm, yanked it down, and threw his own weight forward. The guy stumbled to the side, releasing Jason to regain his own balance.

Jason crouched, prepared to fight. He remembered all too well what it was like to fight a vampire with superhuman strength. He had to be ready....

"Dude, chill!" his opponent cried.

Jason squinted into the bright sunshine, trying to make out the guy's face. "Tyler?"

"This how you say hello in California?" Tyler laughed, holding up his hand for a high five.

Jason laughed in amazement to see his old friend standing there. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded, slapping Tyler's hand.

"Visiting.
Duh," Tyler said cheerfully.

Jason shook off his surprise and reached out to hug his friend. He hadn't seen Tyler in months.

"Somebody want to explain all this male bonding?" Adam asked.

Jason stepped back and grinned. "Adam
Turnball
, Tyler
Deegan
."

Adam held out a hand. "First friend in Malibu," he
said.

Tyler shook. "First friend in kindergarten," he
replied.

Adam whistled. "You totally win. Although Jason and I don't throw down every time we see each other."

"Yeah, what was that about?" Tyler asked, rubbing his arm as he turned back to Jason. "You're pretty jumpy for a mellow California dude."

"Sorry," Jason said. "I was just thinking... well, I, uh, got into a fight a while ago, and when you grabbed
me…”

"Say no more. I will not try the sneak
-
attack hello on you ever again." Tyler glanced around, his brown eyes wide. "The guy in the 7
-
Eleven gave me direc
tions to the school, but I thought he must be wrong. This place is awesome!"

"You're not kidding," Jason agreed. "The cafeteria
has an ocean-view terrace.”

"You mean you don't have that in Michigan?" Adam teased. "Do you at least have a
glacier
-
view
ter
race?”

Tyler snorted. "It's cold, but it's not
that
cold.
Can't compete with this, though."
He glanced around again, and Jason took the opportunity to check out Tyler's jeans and well
-
worn Detroit Pistons T
-
shirt. He had a dark blue hoodie tied around his waist, and his cur
l
y dark hair was longer tha
n
Jason had ever seen it. He also had at least three day
s
worth of stubble on his
chin.

He looks like crap,
Jason thought with a twinge of concern for his old friend.

Tyler turned and caught him staring. "Admiring my new tat?" he asked, lifting his arm to show off a fake tattoo of
Tweety
Bird in garish yellow.

Adam laughed. "What'd you do, hit the gumball machine jackpot?"

"You know it," Tyler said. "This was my prize. And there was a little kid watching, so I had to put it on." He rubbed at the temporary tattoo with his finger.
Tweety's
face didn't budge. "I can't get the damn thing off."

Jason had been friends with Tyler long enough to know when he was putting on an act. And right now,
he going
all out for an Oscar in "funny and normal."
But the stubble and the long hair and the showing up randomly in California
-
not so normal.

"Where's your gear? Let's get it in my car. Or did you drive out here?"

Tyler held out his thumb.

"You
hitched?"
Adam yelped.
"All the way from Michigan?"

"Yep.
I caught a ride with this one dude I know who took me through three states
-
a trucker," Tyler said. "Then I just hitched the rest of the way. I'm short on cash, so no first
-
class flights for me."