"But it is full of underground vampires."
"What if this one wasn't? What if it was just full of the vampires we know?" Isuggested. "Jagger could still have a club and you and Sebastian would have a place to drink your Romanian smoothies."
"The vampires we know? You saw how my best friend acted. How are they going to be partying with a bunch of mortals?"
I wasn't sure. I only knew Iw anted the Crypt--a place I could dance in.
Closing the Crypt before it even opened meant I'd never even be able to experience the club at all. How ever, I didn't want the students of Dullsville to be in harm's way for my needs. There had to be a way to compromise.
"Maybe we canconvince him to openthe club just to mortals," I suggested.
Alexander thought. "Ithink it's a great idea. But Idon't think he'll go for that. He wants the Crypt to be like the Coffin Club. To be the king of bothworlds."
"Listen, Trevor's great at soccer. Youare great at painting.And Jagger? He's great at making clubs. He can do it."
"Yes, I know. But does he want to?"
"He's so misguided. He wants to be loved like youand Trevor. He reallydoes. He just doesn't see it because he was too busy trying to get revenge. But now that he's not? He could just be a success and popular owning and running this club for mortals."
"Again, Ithink that's a good idea--but youare talking about Jagger here."
"Alexander, I want this club. The CoffinClub is too far awayfor me to go to. Myparents have the countryclub. Billy has Math Club. I don't have anything."
"What about me? The Mansion?"
"I love hanging out withyouat the Mansion! Don't misunderstand me. But I'm prettyclose to having mykind of club.
A place for me to go to and have fun. I've never had a place like that anywhere."
"Well, youlike Hatsy's Diner," he encouraged playfully.
"I do, if Iwant a burger. But I want to dance. I want to move and be in the darkness."
Alexander had traveled to cities and clubs around the world.Althoughhe was a vampire, he'd been able to go to fun places that didn't see the light of day. I'd spent my life miserable in places where I didn't belong.
"But if we can convince Jagger to keep the vampires out and just let mortals in," I began, "then it can be a club like anyother.And there isn't a club anywhere near here for teens to party. I'm sure he'd get a crowd. It would be a win-winsituationfor him."
Alexander wasn't convinced.
"We'll have to persuade him that it's in his best interest to keep the club," I pressed.
"Are yougoing to tell him?" he asked with a coygrin.
"He's not going to listento me," I said. "But he'll listento you. He'd have to."
"Would he?"Alexander wondered. "Jagger and I have a truce. But further than that? I'm not sure that I could convince him to open his club anyway but the way he wants to."
I sighed. "But I fantasize about the Coffin Club. It was a wesome--the music of the Skeletons blasting against the walls. Those freakymannequins hanging from the ceiling. The coffinlid doors.And the secret dungeon."
"And Phoenix. . ."Alexander laughed.
"Yes, Phoenix," Isaid, recallingAlexander's purple-haired alter ego who convinced Jagger to keep the Dungeona secret. "Iwas crazyabout him as well. Not like you, Imean. But like you."
Then it hit me.
"What if he came back?" Iwondered aloud. "What if Phoenixmade sure that the club remained onlymortal? Except for you, Sebastian, and the others, of course. But the Covenant would remainclosed."
Alexander thought for a moment.