Noddy, Duri and Ji-a stopped in front of room 210. Underneath the door, a strange fog billowed. It smelled like... cigarettes?
"That's weird." Noddy observed.
"Why?" asked Ji-a.
"None of the other guys smelled like they smoked."
"So?" asked Duri.
"Because they're his inner circle, they should share some of the same vices, right? Blood, booze, smokes... this is something he's never done before."
Noddy put his ear to the door, and Ji-a put her microphone under it.
Inside, Vlad was raving... "They're gonna get me, they're after me, oh God please... just a little more blood. Just a little more!"
The girl responded weakly. It was impossible to tell what she was saying.
Noddy looked down at the door knob – it was reversed. The lock was on the inside, to keep the girl in, and the latch was on the outside. Everyone knew what was going on... anyone could have saved her. But nobody did. Noddy spat on the floor and busted down the door.
"I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS, VLAD!!" he shouted, pointing his finger at him like a sword.
Vlad turned to Noddy and laughed. "You? Of all people?"
Duri was shaking, getting noxious from the fumes. "What does he mean be that?" Then she snapped a pic of the scene, while Ji-a surveyed it with her camera. The blinds were drawn – nailed shut, in fact – and the place was a dingy mess. The girl in the red hoodie was hand-cuffed to the futon, looking gravely ill. She must have lost a lot of blood, because she was pale, and her eyes looked hollow. The nicotine could have been stoking Vlad's hunger more than usual, Noddy figured.

Vlad hummed. "I've left the place go since your last visit. What took you so long, anyway? It's not like you don't know how to find me."
Noddy looked down at the floor, suddenly unsure of himself. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to come back."
The girl looked up at him. "Don't... bother." Her gravelly voice pushed out the words as best as she could. "This prick always wins. Everyone takes his side, everyone wants what he has. They see someone like me, suffering... and all they wanna know is why I deserve it. You're all the same... vampires."
Silence claimed the room.
She went on. "All I want to do now is hide, so when the people take his side, so I'm not there to punish for making him 'look bad'. For tarnishing his 'pristine reputation'." She coughed. "This monster has damn near bled me dry, and he doesn't give a shit. Look at him... look at his eyes. And he's the standard you all want to live by, because he's sexy and smart, and gets what he wants. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of ALL OF YOU."
Vlad kicked the girl in the face, and laughed. "You know, for an asthmatic, you sure have a lot to say! Ahaha." He bent down and lifted her chin. "Besides... you owe me, for helping you. How could you have gotten your life back without me?"
The girl tried to spit on him, but she was dry. Noddy was horrified.
Vlad glid his view to Noddy. "Don't look so surprised. I'm just evolving... changing my methods." He held up the needle. "You could have, too... had you not abandoned me. If anyone in this school drank as much blood as I did this cold, cold winter... it was you."
The girls said nothing. Noddy didn't look at them. Then he growled, "Everyone hated me, for being gay. Hell, just for liking men on the side. Called me anything they could think of, bullied me relentlessly. You were the only person I thought could understand me... everyone accepted you, and nobody treated you like a pest-"
"Like VERMIN." Vlad smiled. "Let's stick to the theme, shall we? I'm the great snake, the all-consuming dragon... and you're the measly rat."

"I did what I thought would make you love me." Noddy continued. "You were everything to everyone, no matter how many terrible things you did. They thought you were superhuman, and that you were popular because you deserved it... but I see now that you're less than human. Your whole family, should be more ashamed of you now than ever before."
"AHAHAAA! But they aren't, are they? They don't know what I'm capable of. And all that do fear me. For in the darkness, I am power itself. Tell me, does your mother know what you've done?" Vlad quick-stepped over to Noddy, and put his long, dirty nails on his face as he grasped his neck. Noddy tried to break out of his grip, but Vlad was incredibly strong.
Vlad laughed sardonically. "Are you on a diet or something? You're so weak... you can barely fight me off."
Then Noddy choked out one more thing... "It's not about what you can do... it's why you do it." Noddy elbowed Vlad square in the stomach, knocking him backward.
Vlad staggered, then stood up coolly as if nothing had happened. He golf clapped. "That's nice. May I finish my meal?"
"NO!!" Noddy shouted, and tackled Vlad to the ground. He started beating Vlad, until blood streamed across the vampire's face. When Noddy was done, Vlad's chipped tooth... was missing. Vlad swallowed something along with his own blood, and his bruising eyes closed hard. He cried, "Oh no... not my beautiful, ivory fang... not again..."
Then Noddy held Vlad, while Duri snapped more pictures. Ji-a stepped back, to capture the whole scene.
"Make sure you get his good side," Noddy chuckled.

A week later, Noddy sat in detention again.
Laurice packed up his files, and patted Mr. Carisol on the back. "Thanks for calling me," he said, as he left the room. "We'll take care of things, from here."
Mr. Carisol looked down at Noddy, who was twiddling his thumbs.
"So..." Carson began. "You've confessed to your crimes, committed a violent assault, and brought more than half of the student body down with you. I have thirty parents looking to sue the school, and about fifteen who actually are. Our coach has been fired for severe supervisory and parental negligence, and our nurse is looking at seven years in prison for 'selling needles to children', or some other ridiculous falsehood. We've been forced by the school board to implement an Addiction Rehabilitation Program, for students suffering withdrawal and relapses into a thirst for human blood. That, and drugs and alcohol, of which I've seen no evidence that they even exist here! We have to keep them in detention all autumn, just so they don't follow Vlad to juvie. I'm now under police investigation, despite having NOTHING to do with ANY of it. All I can say is... I hope you're happy with yourself, you Devil of Armageddon. If it wasn't for the board's insistence on keeping you here until you start at Skylark High next year, I'd have you expelled YESTERDAY. So are, you punk? Are you happy?"
Noddy leaned back in his chair, and put his arms behind his head. "Immensely."
Mr. Carisol smacked him across the face, but Noddy didn't budge. He stormed out of the room, only to run into a large, balding man wearing a grey suit.
He introduced himself. "I'm Mr. Becken, I'm your replacement until you're cleared by police investigation." He offered his hand.
Mr. Carisol smacked it away. "I'll NOT be REPLACED, you VULTURE!! THIS is MY SCHOOL!!"
Mr. Becken looked down at Mr. Carisol with disdain. "I suggest you go box your crap, you old puff."
Mr. Carisol buzzed off, never to helm the school again... hopefully.
Mr. Becken snapped at Noddy, who was grinning. "Don't look so smug. You're out of detention, so keep out of trouble, too."
"But I still need my extra credit," Noddy pleaded.
"You already got it, for your work on the school paper. Congratulations," he said flatly.
Noddy smiled wide. "Thank you, Mr. Becken! You won't regret this!"
"I already am," Mr. Becken sneered, and left.

Noddy went to check on Ray, the girl who'd been kidnapped. She was recovering in the Nurse's office, where a new nurse was giving her water and a cucumber sandwich. Ray herself was a pretty normal looking girl, the same age as Duri and Ji-a but a lot less mature. Not really his type. The nurse, however, had him practically drooling. She was in her mid-twenties, smoking hot, and had orange hair with gold-ish eyes. She kissed Ray on the forehead, turned on the TV, and closed her bed curtain to give the recovering girl some privacy. They did kind of look related, Noddy guessed, so it's not like he'd get the same treatment. But he secretly wondered if he could fake sick without getting caught... then he shook his head at himself, and left.

Noddy, Duri, and Ji-a walked down the street side, each with an ice slush. Mrs. Chun-Gang still hated Noddy, probably always would, but he had finally started to listen to her daughters. He knew their favourite colors were green and red, and that their mom was from South Korea, and that last week, Trevor B. pissed himself right before he got into the pool, and the girls both laughed at him. Noddy liked listening to them. Not just their voices, but to their words. Their stories were like glittering gems... their value was in their truth. All he had to do was dig a little. Suddenly, Noddy watched Rex run from out of nowhere, and crawl on all fours into the street with a rubber chicken in his mouth. A car, the driver busy on his cellphone, was headed straight for him. Noddy leapt into the street and pulled Rex back, but the side mirror struck him in the side. The other one. As the car sped away, Noddy clutched his ribs, but he was fine. The mirror had folded, and he was unharmed.
Rex took the rubber chicken in his hands. "Thanks for saving me, man! I could have died!" Rex told him, and helped him up.
"No problem," Noddy grunted, "thanks for helping us with the registry."
"Oh, I forgot all about that. Some dude gave it to me when I got back. Laurice, I think... or maybe it was... Leaves?"
Noddy groaned. "Nobody in the world is named 'Leaves', dude."
The girls caught up, and took both of them back onto the sidewalk.
"I guess," Noddy grinned, "that dog story is almost true now. Too bad his parents aren't royalty."
"They are, actually." Rex replied casually.
The three looked at him in amazement.
"No way," said Duri.
"You can knight him!" said Ji-a.
"Sure," said Rex. He knelt Noddy down on the sidewalk, and tapped the rubber chicken on his shoulders, and his head. Each tap made a little squeak. "I hereby dub thee... Sir Liar Liar, of Pants-on-fire."
"No." said Noddy. "How about... Sir Nadal Iker Cortez, the Tooth Rat?"