“Lost your sense of fear, feelings insincere. Cannot be your memory.” –Memory –Sugarcult.

“So, you like him.” Payton picks at my mom’s chocolate box in the kitchen. I munch on a mango, which I’ve never liked but I always find myself eating and deny the statement immediately.

“No, I don’t! He just saved me from being burnt as toast.” I sour my face and throw the fruit out. My taste buds have been destroyed.

“He likes Backstreet Boys?” Izze chuckles, nibbling on her piece of chocolate. “You can have him now, Page. I’m not interested in guys that like boy bands. Maybe he’s gay.”

“He doesn’t seem gay.” I reach for a chocolate covered nut.

“Yeah, and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing if he is. I’m saying-”

“Just shut up and eat your chocolate, Izze,” Payton snaps. “Page, where’s your mom? Are you sure she won’t mind us eating her Belgium chocolates?”

“She’s in France.” I help myself to another chocolate. “I think.”

The thing about my mother is she’s always traveling for business. I don’t even know what she does, and don’t care as long as it pays the bills. The occasional times she does return home, she leaves just as sudden without so much as a goodbye, do well in school, or call me.

I’ve never even heard her voice over the phone.

She’s an irresponsible, insecure adult who lost herself once Dad died. Which was six years ago! Lee and I continued with our lives. I can’t understand why Mom can’t do the same.

“Oh. I hear France is the most romantic places in the world,” Izze intervenes.

Paton rolled her eyes and I continued stuffing my face.

They say vampires don’t eat? Well, they’re wrong.

“I heard Damien’s been to France. It would explain why he’s in our class.”

I shake my head. Izze would be willing to believe anything as long as she agreed to it.

“What if he really was a vampire?” Izze continued. “That would be really crazy, right?”

“Most likely not,” I comment strongly. “His skin doesn’t burn at all and he has no fangs. As far as I can tell, all he’s doing is making fun of us.”

Izze shrugged. “You never know.”

“Okay, well, I always know, and seeing how this conversation is over, you guys should go home.”

...

I lather sunscreen on my face in the morning and try to ignore Damien, which is kind of hard since he won’t stop talking to me.

“What kind of sunscreen is this?”

“It’s called None of Your Business.”

“Coppertone Sport,” Izze chimes.

I swear Izze is the reincarnation of Brutus.

“I loathe you,” I hiss.

“Currently,” she counters.

“No slip grip. Water proof. Ultra-Sweat proof,” Damien remarks. I look over at him and see he’s examining my indigo sunblock bottle.

“Give it back,” I try to say with composure.

“Whoa, with SPF 15?” His black hair flops over those electric green eyes as he looks at me. “Are you sure that’s enough to protect a vampire?”

The jerk lets me snatch my sunblock lotion from his hand and shove it in my bag.

“I’d like to know-”

“No.”

“But you haven’t even heard what I said.”

“It’s still a no.”

Damien laughs, shrugs, says whatever, and turns around coughing, “Sunblock Girl.”

I kick his chair with such force he slams into his desk, winding him. He wheezes but doesn’t turn around.

“Page Fare,” Damien says darkly, “I bet you can’t go a day without sunblock or your black armor.”

“You’re right, I can’t,” I admit. I know what he’s trying to do. Damien wants to coax me into going to school dressed like a normal teen.

Yeah, right. And kiss Death?

“How do you know you can’t handle the sun? Have you tried it before?” This time Damien does turn and face me.

“I have,” I answer truthfully.

Only Payton and Izze know this story. Dad, too, but he’s gone now.

Dad stayed stayed for hours after that horrid episode in my bedroom singing, reading and talking until I fell asleep. I don’t know where Lee was, but Mom was somewhere else on the continent. Dad and I made a secret never to tell anyone about what happened, and I felt so special.

“These are your friends,” Dad joked as he bought me Aloe Vera, lotion, sunscreen and Ceta Phil.

“So, you have caught on fire?” Damien pressured.

“I don’t have to tell you my whole life.”

“I don’t believe you.” Damien folded his arms. “I think you just want attention. You just happen to be born with sharp teeth and your skin is sensitive to the sun. Whose isn’t? Lee doesn’t look the slightest bit like a vampire. Face it, Sunscreen Girl, you just want attention.”

His deride was like a whip to my skin, and I could’ve hit him right then.

…

“Lee,” I began as I watched her search through our refrigerator.

“Yeah?”

“How do you know Damien?”

Lee pulls her head out with a lemonade can and closes the white door with her foot. She surprises me by blushing and looking at the tiled wall.

“He helps me.”

“Helps you?” I arched an eyebrow. “With what?”

“We met in AP History but, well, you know how I’m in student council? Yeah, he helps me organize things just to pass the time since he has nothing to do. I think it’s just an excuse to hang out with me.”

Oh yeah, that’s it.

I roll my eyes and open a cupboard to bring out some Oreo, double stuffed.

“So how did it go?” Lee sipped her drink.

“Huh?”

“With Damien? How was the drive yesterday? I forgot to ask.”

“Why? Do you like him or something?” I wonder out loud.

Her face flushes and I gape, revealing my sharp teeth.

“You do?” I ask incredulously.

“How did you know?” She sets down her can and covers her face with her pretty hands.

This is so unreal. It’s like I’m in an episode of The Twilight Zone.

“I thought you liked Vice President Collin?”

“No way! That was so long ago.” Lee waves her left hand in the air. “So, did Damien say anything about me when I left?”

“Um…” No, not really. “He said we look alike.”

Lee yelps and jumps in a circle, throwing me off guard.

“What? What am I missing?”

“Well, duh, Page.” Lee ended her hysteria with sarcasm. “You’re so pretty.”

“Since when?” I ask, wholly new to this.

“Since forever!” Lee groans in envy. “If only you just stopped wearing-”

“Okay!” This talk was making me queasy. “So, we’re pretty.”

And she was. Pretty, I mean. I knew that. But I never stopped and checked myself in the mirror. I was too busy covering myself to bother.

Lee glowed with joy and hugged herself like a total dork.

“Damien is nice, isn’t he?” She gushed.

Nice? Hardly.

“I mean, saying such a thing. Did you like him? I hope you liked him!” Her eyes are pleading, like she truly needs me to at least tolerate him, which is so not possible.

“Um…yeah.” It’s a miracle I haven’t collapsed from heart failure.

“But as a friend, right? Nothing more?”

“Stop it, okay?!” I stomp out of the kitchen, unable to handle this Dr. Jekyll and Miss. Gooey-Love-Girl in such small space.

I swivel around and snatch a whole pack of Oreos. If I’m going to hide away from this weird, unbearable sister, I’m going to need food to survive.

I leave her drowning in happiness and wallow in, well, woefulness.

…

“I’m not surprised Lee likes him.” Pay coats her toes with a fresh coat of violet. We aren’t at my house but hers, which is vaster and more spacious.

“Humph.” Izze scowls. “I now have more competition. Plus, she’s smarter than me! Which is so not fair!”

“I thought you didn’t want him anymore, Izze,” I remind.

“Yeah, if you wanted to take him. But if you won’t, then I’d definitely take him.”

“That makes sense.” Payton’s hazel eyes narrow as paints her pinkie toe. She misses and grazes her skin, causing her to curse. Izze and I ignore her rare outburst and continue talking about Damien.

“How come whenever we talk Damien is always a part of the conversation?” I inquire.

“Because he’s hot,” Izze explains with a “duh” accent.

Even Payton nods in agreement.

“You think he’s hot too, Payton?” I cry.

“Everyone thinks he’s attractive. Even you, Page.”

“No, I don’t,” I fight.

“I’m not saying you have to like him. I’m just saying you find him attractive.”

“You do think he’s attractive, right?” Izze wiggles her eyebrows.

“Get me some wax. I’ve got to rip those brows off of you,” I growl.

“Oh ha, ha, ha. How about I do you a favor and smack you upside the head so you can get over yourself.”

…

Science. Last period.

No lab, just notes on pollution and layers of the earth et boring cetera.

Damien was late again and I was becoming paranoid. I spent half of the class wondering where he was, what he was up to, and ended up only writing two sentences.

Providentially, Payton allowed me to copy her notes, which was problematic seeing how everything she writes in is in cursive.

Suddenly a square, folded paper slid in front of me and I look up to see Damien casually walk past.

I open it on my lap and read:

Tomorrow, in P.E., I dare you to wear a white shirt without anything else on (besides pants and shoes, obviously) which means your hat and sweatshirt. You may wear sunscreen. I want to see you turn into a bat.

-With all Hope,

Damien Evabranch

“Are you going to do it?” Izze asks me as we leave school grounds.

“No,” I answer flatly, ripping the paper to shreds and tossing it in the nearest trash can. “I’m not going to go suicide. And with all hope? He’s just being selfish.”

“Well, you know he’s not going to stop this until you prove it,” she points out. I ignore her and shove my sunglasses on.

“I think Izze is right. Just go to P.E. and bring your sweatshirt and hat with you so that as soon as he sees, you can put them back on,” Payton suggests, breathless.

“No!” I repeat. “I thought you, out of everyone, would know my pain the best. You were there.”

Pay shrugged. “Times change and chances are meant to be taken.”

Wow.

“But it isn’t a chance, Pay, it’s a dare. There’s a difference,” I snap, wholly disappointed in my friends.

…

“Today I was dared by a boy,” I told Lee as we watched a re-run of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Many.

“Really.” Her eyes stay pasted to the television. “Was he cute?”

“What does that have to do anything? Don’t you care about what the dare is?”

“Yeah…”

“I have to go to P.E. without my hat or sweatshirt on.”

She pauses the show and looks at me solemnly.

“Okay, Page. I have a very serious question to ask and you must answer me seriously.” Lee leaves a big space of silence.

“Yes?” I urge.

“This boy that dared you…is he cute?”

I chuck my pillow at her.

“That’s what you call a ‘serious’ question!? I can’t believe you!”

“Well if it’s an ugly guy,” my sister laughed, “then he’s not worth the sacrifice. But if he’s cute, you should.”

“Why?” My eyes shoot daggers.

“Because,” Lee presses play, “the cuter the guys are, the likelier the easier it’ll be to wound their ego.”

“…Okay?”

“Now are you done? I want to finish watching this episode.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I sat next to her, half of my attention paid to the show and another to the decision if I should fall into something painfully pointless.

I can’t believe I’m even considering this.

I won’t do it. I’d be crazy to.

…

“So, you’re going to do it?” Izze asked through the phone. I shrug but know she can’t see so I say probably.

“Probably? PROBABLY? Pay, did you hear what Page just said?”

“I heard what Page just said,” Payton parrots. “I thought you weren’t going to do it.”

“Well, I’m still deciding. I figure if I stand in the sun for a minute and can put protection on immediately, I should be fine. Better than before when I was completely defenseless, you know?”

“What made you change your mind?” Izze asks.

“Um, my sister.”

“Lee? What did she do?”

I relay the talk I had with my dear sister and I.

“I don’t know if she knows what she’s talking about,” Payton answers.

“Shut up, Payton,” Izze snaps. “I’ve always liked your sister.”

“Well, I figure the best way to take an enemy down is to prove them wrong,” I say.

“That’s one way,” Payton answered.

“But hey, Page,” Izze says, “I don’t think any dare is worth hurting yourself over so if you do decide to do it, be very careful, okay?”

There’s the friends I needed before!

“Okay,” I grin broadly. “See you tomorrow in French?”

“You bet.”

“Bye,” Pay joins in.

…

French class was monotonous and I felt like I was suffocating. Why was that? Why was it so hard to breathe?

Was it because I got diminutive time of sleep? Or maybe because Damien wasn’t talking to me?

Suddenly the same, recognizable folded piece of paper was tossed onto my desk.

I opened it hastily, feeling Izze’s gaze on my shoulder.

Hey, Sunscreen Girl,

Did you read my note? What did you think?

I pulled out a pen and scribbled on the bottom:

Yeah I read it. I ripped it up.

I heard Izze click her tongue in disapproval as I threw it back over to him, which landed directly in his lap.

Perfect.

The paper was thrown back to me, this time sloppily folded.

Hey, Sunscreen Girl,

Does that mean you are going to take on the challenge?

Scribble:

You’ll have to wait. But if you want me to really do it, you have to start calling me Page from now on.

Note passed back.

Hey, Sunscreen Girl,

How about Fare? I like calling you by that more.

I rolled my eyes and wrote down my answer back.

Fine.

Like I had a choice.

He didn’t reply.