"Uh ... yes, she will be. But I don't think taking her would be a very good idea."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Yes," my dad said. "I think it's a great idea."
"Isn't there that girl from Math Club that you'd like to invite?" I asked. I remembered going to one of his parties at the library and seeing a girl there who appeared to be really attached to him.
"Yes, but I just thought it would be fun to ask Stormy."
"I'm dating Alexander. You can't date his sister," I said as if it were a fact.
"There isn't a law against it," he responded. "Besides, it's not a date. It's just a dance."
"This would be a wonderful opportunity for both of you," my mom said to Billy. "This will be Billy's first dance, and Stormy's first in America. She could learn a lot. I think it would be very special for them both."
Nerd Boy attending a school dance? I knew he was growing up, and if he'd been someone else's brother it might have been okay. But he was mine, and I knew his every smarmy quirk. I wasn't ready to accept he was growing up, and I definitely wasn't ready to see him falling for a vampire.
"I don't think so," I said. "Can we change the subject?"
"Why?" my mom pressed. It was just like her to get her nose into other people's business - especially mine.
Because she's a vampire, I wanted to say. But I knew I couldn't share that information with them.
"She's Alexander's sister," I said instead. "And I don't want you to cramp my style."
"You don't have style!" my brother barked.
"Well, if you don't think I do, then why do you want to invite Stormy? She dresses like I do."
"Because..." he started, "I thought it was the nice thing to do."
I felt awful. It was really sweet of him to want to take Stormy to the dance. But I couldn't get past that he was my nerdy little brother. Stormy was cool and cute. I could see why Billy Boy liked her, and I believed he genuinely did. But I had to think of a way out of the situation and ensure that Billy wouldn't want to take her to the dance.
"Well, if she goes, then I do, too," I threatened.
"I think that just killed the invite," my dad said.
"I thought so." I grinned like a chess champion.
"Fine," Billy said. "But bring Alexander, too."
My grin soured as I realized who was the champion after all. And it wasn't me.
"But she can't go!" I said to Alexander later that evening at the Mansion when I told him about Billy's invitation to the middle school dance. We were in his attic room while Stormy was being tutored by Jameson, who, I now knew, was in fact a half-vampire.
"Why not?" Alexander asked. "She'll be so excited."
"Because my brother is a nerd."
"He is not," Alexander said with a chuckle. "He's perfectly normal."
"And he doesn't know the truth about you and Stormy. That you both are vampires."
"I don't think that will be an issue."
"How can it not be?" I questioned worriedly. "He's very curious."
"Relax, Raven. It's just a dance. They'll be fine."