“Ugh, nothing is worse than Christmas music,” Joan grumbled as she Mike and Jaden walked up to the local Christmas tree shop.

They could hear Christmas carols being played as the music blared out of the shop's speakers.

The local shop belonged to Monroe and his family. His family owns a large amount of land and every Christmas they cut down pine trees to sell.

“I thought you were a Christian isn’t it like a sin to hate Christmas music?” Mike asked.

“Haha very funny. Just because I believe in God, doesn’t mean I have to like Christmas. Besides most Christmas songs aren’t even about Jesus so there.” Joan stuck her tongue out.

They all laughed.

They walked up to the shop on this brisk Sunday morning.

“Gone for the holidays?” Jaden eyed the sign on the door.

“Yeah right, I’ve heard Monroe puts that sign up when his parents leave him in charge of the shop. I have to get a tree today, I told my mom I would.” Joan says.

“Well just bang on the door until he comes.” Mike shrugged.

“Monroe, get your lazy butt out here! I want to buy a tree!” Joan banged on the door.

“Maybe he’s not here.” Jaden looked around and saw no one was out attending to the trees.

“He has to be, it’s his store.” Joan pointed out.

“Yo Monroe! Open up, it’s me Mike!” Mike banged on the door.

“You know Monroe?” Jaden eyed him.

“We tried out for the wrestling team together, and maybe formed a small friendship.” Mike crossed his arms in pride.

Joan rolled her eyes and started walking around back.

“Where are you going?” Jaden and Mike quickly followed her.

“The lazy sac probably fell asleep. So I am just going to sneak in through the side.” Joan hopped the small wooden fence the secluded all the trees.

The boys quickly followed her.

Joan’s arm was mostly healed although sometimes it still hurt when she bent it the wrong way. She had a bad scar on her shoulder blade, but no one hardly ever saw it due to her shirt covering it.

Joan went to the side door and pulled on it, it opened. She quickly walked inside and went to search for Monroe.

“Hello! Anyone home!?” Joan called.

“We let ourselves in!” Jaden announced.

“I think that was obvious.” Mike pointed out.

“Hey, just trying to be polite.” Jaden glanced around.

“Monroe! We know you are here!” Joan called.

“Maybe he’s in the restroom.” Jaden walked towards the restrooms for employees only.

Joan walked over to the front counter and went around to see if anyone was in the back. Mike looked around the shop at all the hand-carved ornaments and cheap plastic decorations.

Joan sighed when she didn’t see him lounging around in the back.

“Anything?” Joan called to the others.

“Hey they are having a sale on penguin-themed stuff, does that count?” Mike asked.

Joan walked back and crossed her arms, eyeing the penguin plushie he was holding. He laughed nervously and put it back.

“Nothing, I guess he’s not here.” Jaden walked over to them.

Joan frowned and glanced around one last time.

“I heard his parents are out of town so maybe he’s at a friends house right now. I mean it is pretty early, we can try and come back later.” Mike suggested.

“Not like we have a choice,” Joan muttered as she walked back out the side.

The boys quickly followed her.

“Or we could always buy a tree at Wal-Mart,” Jaden suggested.

“No way, my mom is on this weird trip about supporting local business. Something about corporations trying to control us. I don’t know, all I know is if I buy a tree from “the man” I’ll get a three-hour long lecture about politics. No thank you.” Joan said.

They snickered as they got back into the truck that Joan’s brother had let them barrow.

Before Joan could start the car a missing person flyer slapped on her windshield and blocked her view. She grabbed it off and eyed it, the boys also stared. Missing boy, only seven years old. Joan narrowed her eyes before crumbling up the flyer.

“You don’t think it’s them, do you? Those two vampires?” Jaden asked.

“No way, Joan told us they left, remember?” Mike pointed out.

“It’s them,” Joan said sure of herself.

“But I thought those two evil vampires left,” Jaden said.

“I just said that to both of you to make you feel better. The truth is that they are still here, it’s not safe. You two are at risk. I have to start training you to protect yourselves.”

“You lied to us!” Jaden turned to her just as she started the car.

“I had to, for your own safety. Just being associated with Bex puts you in danger. Keeping you in the dark was the best option.” She clenched her steering wheel as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“You can’t just lie to us! This whole time we have been in danger and not just us, what about Darci? She hangs out with Bex too! She’s in danger just like the rest of us!” Jaden said.

“I know! But we can’t tell her, that could put her in even more danger! Right now it’s best if she doesn’t know.” Joan said firmly.

“Are you crazy!? We have to tell her. She is in danger and she doesn’t even know she is.” Jaden argued.

“Hey calm down, it’s okay. We can figure this out.” Mike put a hand on his shoulder.

“How! Two psychopaths are on the loose and Joan’s known this whole time. She lied to us. We are all in danger and if we don’t do something fast we are going to end up like that!” Jaden pointed to the crumbled up flyer.

“I won’t let you two end up like that,”

“So what are you going to do?” Mike asked.

“Train, starting today you two are going to train to be a vampire slayer. You don’t actually have to be one, but you need to learn how to protect yourself. It’s the least I can do.”

Mike gulped.

“We are a team, you two are my friends. I’ll find those vampires and I’ll kill them myself if I have to.” Joan said.

“We have to tell Darci,” Jaden said firmly.

“No, it’s too dangerous,” Joan said just as firmly.

“She could be a target!”

“Or she isn’t but telling her makes her one.”

“How do you know!? You don’t! What about our families, our relatives? Is anyone really safe?”

“Jaden calm down if you start causing an uproar that will just bring them to your doorstep. We have to play this by ear. If we do something rash it will come back to haunt us. We have to be careful, one wrong move and someone could get hurt.”

“I can’t just keep lying to her!” Jaden said.

“Well, you have too! Or you’ll get yourself killed and people you love killed. You have to let me and Lyssa handle this. This is our fight, not yours. You just got caught up in it. These vampires don’t care about you, they care about killing Bex and hurting Lyssa. And I won’t let them touch Bex ever again. Just lay low and do what I tell you, please, for your own good.” Joan pulled into her house.

“Just listen to her, she’s been doing this a lot longer than we have,” Mike said.

“Whatever.” Jaden got out of the car.

Joan sighed.

Bex turned over in bed and opened her eyes. She smiled when Lyssa’s chartreuse eyes stared back at her. Lyssa smiled a soft smile and pushed some of Bex’s light brown hair out of her face.

“Morning my love,” Lyssa said.

“Morning.” Bex snuggled closer to Lyssa.

Lyssa just let Bex lay next to her enjoying to early morning silence. Both of them were still naked, but they were now in Lyssa’s room rather than the lounge room. Lyssa wrapped her arms around Bex and breathed her in, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment.

“Guess what,” Bex said into her.

“What?”

“I didn’t have a nightmare last night.”

“I know, I could feel your wonderful happy dream.”

“What’s a dream feel like? I never feel anything when you sleep.” Bex said.

“Well I am technically dead when I sleep, but your dreams they feel like a long lost memory. Sometimes the memories are bad, sometimes they’re good. I enjoy the good ones the most. It’s like when you didn’t even know you forgot something and suddenly you remember it. You get this warm feeling in your chest and it brings a smile to your face and you wonder how you could have ever forgotten it to begin with. It’s a strange feeling, but I like it.”

“Sounds wonderful.” Bex began to run her fingers through Lyssa’s hair.

“It is, it’s like I am sharing memories with you, it’s really quite something to experience.”

“No fair, I want to see your dreams.” Bex pouted.

“Maybe one day,” Lyssa said.

They laid in silence once more, the sounds of morning birds chirping outside and the wind rustling through trees. Bex adjusted her position so that Lyssa could rest her head on her chest and listen to her heartbeat. While Lyssa was listening Bex just lazily ran her fingers through Lyssa’s hair.

“How do you feel, are you sore?” Lyssa asked.

“A little, but it’s a good kind of sore. I kind of like it when you’re rough with me, it makes me feel like you see me as an equal and not as someone you need to protect. It makes me feel powerful in a way.” Bex admitted.

“I don’t mean to be rough, it just happens.”

“I know.” Bex giggled.

“Are you hungry? I can go fetch you something… actually I have a confession to make.”

“What’s that?”

“I have been trying to learn how to cook for you. Cooking was never something I felt the need to learn, but I have this vision in my head.”

“What kind of vision?”

“I can show you.”

Lyssa closed her eyes and focused on their bond.

Bex gasped when an image appeared in her head and then like a movie it played out. Lyssa surprising Bex with a four-course meal. Bex smiling and digging in eating all sloppy like she usually does. Bex would enjoy the meal so much that Lyssa could experience all the flavors through their bond. The image slowly faded away.

“Wow, that looked good, now I am hungry. Well, how do you think your cooking skills are so far?” Bex asked.

“I’m not sure, I can’t exactly taste the food and find out for myself.”

“What happens when you eat regular food?”

“Well, first my extra sensitive taste buds would probably fall off from overload. The food goes into my stomach but since I can not digest it, it just sits there and rots until I regurgitate it. not very pleasant.”

“Ew, sorry I asked.” Bex made a face.

“Emm, perhaps I could try cooking for you today?”

“Sure, like a test run.” Bex smiled.

Lyssa pulled back and sat up with a smile.

“Really? What if it tastes awful?”

“Then I’ll spit it at your face and demand a cheeseburger.”

Bex laughed when Lyssa made a face.

“Kidding, I will be nice. Promise.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Bex giggled before getting out of bed.

“Come on, let’s take a shower together.” Bex stretched.

“I’ll start the water.” Lyssa zipped by her in a flash, the speed made a gust of wind that blew Bex’s hair.

Bex rolled her eyes before slowly walking to the restroom.

Just as the two got in the shower Bex’s phone started ringing.

Lyssa and Bex couldn’t hear it over the running water, and of course, they were too busy making out with each other. So the phone just kept on ringing and ringing until it went to voice mail

A message popped up on the screen.

One missed call from Bex’s mother.