Immortal Hearts Page 0,24

the attic. I found Stormy waiting in her room, dressed in black jeans and a studded belt, with a ripped, dark blue shirt that had the word TRAGIC spelled out in red letters. She stood at the dresser and applied the final touches of stormy blue makeup to her eyes.

I watched in awe. What took most girls hours in front of the mirror took only a few minutes for Stormy to do without a reflection to look at. She even applied burgundy lip liner and eggplant-colored mascara without so much as a smudge or mistake. She got ready and adjusted her outfit with such ease, I was greatly impressed. I wondered if I were a vampire how I'd ever manage to do such simple tasks without a mirror. I was sure that to have makeup smeared around my face like a clown.

However, I did feel a tinge of pain in my stomach thinking that even though I, too, wanted to be a vampire, Stormy couldn't see how cute she was. She'd always been different in that way from every mortal girl, and I felt lonely for her.

She began brushing her jet-black hair when she spotted me standing by her doorway.

"Did you have a good time on your overnight - or over-day?" I asked.

"I had a blast!" Her eyes lit up as if she were Cinderella back from the prince's ball.

"You must still be exhausted from traveling and now dancing and hanging out with friends," I said. Phantom raced over to me and rubbed her head against my boot."I feel great," she responded enthusiastically.

"Where did you sleep?" I asked. I picked Phantom up and petted her.

"I shared a coffin with Luna. We talked most of the day."

I imagined the two girls as being inseparable. I bet they talked about Alexander, Romania, boys, and being vampires. I wish it could have been me.

"I bet that was fun," I said.

"I had the best time ever."

I guess "ever" included our dinner last night. Or was I being paranoid? I had to give it more time for us to really connect. And to not be so competitive.

"It must be nice for the two of you to catch up," I said.

"Yes, I haven't seen her in a while. Especially since she was..."

"Yes?" I asked.

"Uh ... turned."

"Is she much different?" I asked. I really wanted to know. It might be an indication of what I might go through someday.

"Oh yes."

I was hoping for that. In Luna's case maybe she wasn't as good a friend to her or she'd become more sinister.

"She's even more fun!" she exclaimed. "If you can imagine."

I mumbled quietly to myself.

"Well, I am glad you are here," I said. "Once I found out about you, I was dying to meet you."

"What do you mean once you found out?" she asked quizzically.

I'd just stuck my combat-shoed foot in my mouth. "I mean because Alexander is so cryptic. He didn't talk much about your family at first. I realized it was because he missed you all so much."

Stormy smiled, her purple and black bands glowing on her teeth. She seemed pleased with my answer and to find out that Alexander was pained, too, by his leaving home. "Yes, it is very hard to get information from my brother. It's like pulling fangs."

"Well, let's go," Alexander said, coming down from his attic room and reaching me in the hallway.

Dullsville's artsy movie theater was really different from the suburban megaplexes. The theater and screen were dinky in comparison, and there was only one concession stand. However, it made the movie-viewing experience cozy and intimate. The seats were practically centuries old, red upholstered, and the floor was always still sticky from the popcorn and spilled drinks from the movie before.

Alexander bought his sister all the items she wanted - which was quite a lot. She tried to hold the supersized drink and popcorn, and it was almost impossible to see her behind them.

We walked into the empty theater. I was excited to sit in between them, or at least have Alexander in the middle, but Stormy squeezed between us both as we headed into the aisle. I wasn't sure if she was trying to separate us or hoped to be the one in the middle for the attention. I was actually flattered that she wanted to sit next to me. Either way, as the lights dimmed and the macabre music played, she and I stuffed our faces with popcorn, gummy bears, and submarine-sized colas.

She even grabbed my arm a