Julien Gregg's Twilight in Babylon: The Vampire Saga Chapter Two

 Chapter Two
Phenomenon


Did I mention that it rained a lot in October? Well let me tell you I woke
up one morning to zero visibility the rain was coming down so hard. I got
in my truck and made it to pick up Angela and Mitch and we made to school
and the rain suddenly stopped. We were all three soaked to the bone. I
stood there beside my truck trying to wring out my t-shirt. Then a sound
like I'd never head before occurred. I looked up just in time to see Tyler
barreling toward me sideways in the mud. He was coming straight for me. I
only had a moment to gawk in horror before I was slammed to the ground and
a powerful body kept me there.

As I watched a hand pushed into the van, lifted it and moved it away from
my legs. I looked into the eyes of Edward Maxwell. He looked at me as if he
were in trouble for some reason. He'd just saved my life!

Girls screamed and everyone came running. Edward helped me to my feet and
asked if I'd hit my head. I didn't answer him. I just stood there stunned
and wet now covered in mud. He looked at me expectantly but I had forgotten
his question.

"I asked if you hit your head?" he asked.

About then my head began to throb. I winced and put my hand in my muddy
hair. He nodded. To my horror an ambulance showed up to take me away. I was
strapped to a gurney and put in the back of the ambulance. Edward got in
with me. He didn't say anything but he looked me over with what looked like
urgency in his face.

The EMT said something about possible head injury. I had the drums of
heaven in my head at the moment. I kept wincing as it kept
throbbing. Edward kept looking at me and finally I'd had enough of that.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"To see if you're bleeding," he said. "I shoved you to the ground pretty
hard, I'm afraid."

"About that," I said, wincing. "You couldn't have watched out for my head?"

"Well he's back to normal I think," Edward told the EMT. "Still might need
a CT."

"That's your father's call, kid," the EMT said. "We'll be there in a
minute. Are you hurt?"

"Nope," he said.

"Of course not," I sighed and then winced again.

I was having no trouble remembering what had happened though. Edward
Maxwell had lifted a van and pushed it away from my legs. Then let's think
about the fact that he wasn't anywhere near me when it happened. How did he
get across the muddy parking lot so quickly? These were questions that made
my head hurt so I stopped thinking about them.

We got to the hospital and Doctor Gabriel Maxwell took of care of me as
soon as I got there. He looked like most of his sons. He was a beautiful
man with caramel colored hair, eyes like sapphires with a darker shade of
blue in a ring around his irises. He was built like some of his sons as
well.

"Follow the light," he said as he held a light pen up and moved it back and
forth slowly. "Okay," he said. "What day is this?"

"Monday," I said.

"What year is this?"

"Twenty one, seventy," I said.

"Who are the men in parliament?"

"Bob Schaffer, Neal Breckenridge, Walter Mayfield, and Allan White are the
only ones I can ever remember," I said.

"That's fine," he said. He put his index fingers in my hands. "Squeeze my
fingers." I did that. "Good," he said. "It looks like you've got a bump on
the head, maybe a concussion. I'd like to do a CT scan just to rule out
anything else that might be hiding in there. Okay?"

"Fine," I said.

"Sit tight," he said. "Someone will be here to take you to radiology in
just a moment."

"How are you feeling?" Edward asked as he came into the room.

"Better," I said. "Your dad wants a CT scan to rule anything else out but
he thinks I may have a slight concussion."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to slam you to the ground so hard."

"You saved me from the van," I said. "You even seemed to pick it up and
shove it away."

"That's ridiculous," he said. "No one can pick up a van and push it away."

"That's what I thought I saw," I said.

"Well you did hit your head," he reminded me.

"That I did," I said. But I knew what I'd seen.

"Still think I picked up and moved a van away from you?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes, I do," I said.

"Wow," he said, smiling. "Just wow."

"Sure," I said. "Make fun of me, blow it off. I don't care. This is the
most you've spoken to me in over a month."

"I told you it wouldn't be a good idea for us to be friends," he said.

"I get it, Maxwell, you don't like me," I said. "You don't have to keep
saying it."

"I didn't say I didn't like you," he said, shaking his head. "I said it
wouldn't be a good idea for you and I to be friends, not that I didn't want
to be your friend."

"That's all cleared up now," I said with a sigh.

"You really should stay away from me," he said.

"Oh you never know," I said. "Tomorrow there may be another van careening
across the parking lot ready to do me in."

Before his angry words could be uttered a man walked into the room in peach
colored scrubs. He had buzzed dark hair and dark eyes. He wheeled me out of
the room and down to Radiology. There a man with a name tag that named him
Larz Maxwell helped me onto the table and sent me into the machine. Then I
was back in bed and the buzzed guy wheeled me back to my room. This time
Charlie was there.

"Dad?" I asked.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm good," I said. "Doctor Maxwell wanted a CT to make sure that nothing
was wrong. He thinks I may have a concussion."

"Your uncle is worried about you," he said. "And you should probably call
your mother."

"You told her about this?" I asked, livid.

"What was I supposed to do?" he asked. "Her only son was taken to the
hospital by ambulance."

"God, she's probably freaking out!" I snapped.

My head hurt but I had my phone out in a flash. I called Mom and told her
that everything was fine that I just had a bump on the head. She told me to
be more careful and hung up.

That crisis was averted. I was a little angry with Charlie for calling
Renee. The less Renee knew the better. I thought he knew that. We were both
lucky that she hadn't hopped a plane and come here. She'd have been a force
to be reckoned with.

It turned out that all of my "friends" were in the waiting room. They'd all
left school and braved the muddy roads to get here. The Maxwells were among
them which shocked me but hey I was the one with a concussion. The CT had
been clear so I was free to go.

As soon as I was among them they informed me that school was canceled for
the day because of the mud. Several thanked me for getting the school to
cancel. I told them all that I was fine but needed to rest and take it easy
for a few days. That meant that whether the school was open or closed I
wouldn't be there. Kale even made me take a few days off at the shop.

They wouldn't let me cook either. I was to stay in bed and call for one of
them if I needed anything. I got some much needed sleep while they were
both working. I did get to come down to dinner each day which was supplied
by the diner. We had delectable unhealthy meals with more cobbler than I
could shake a spoon at. I didn't mind. It tasted good and I loved it.

In the book that I was reading I came to the chapter that was all about the
vampires from the nineteen seventies. I read all about them. They were
faster than a human can see, they were stronger than any human, and they
had powers that scared the humans so much that they'd fainted or had
accidents in their pants. I thought about Edward and held him up with what
I had read. Faster? Well he had come across the parking lot at school
faster than anyone could see. Stronger? He pushed up and over the van with
one hand. Powers? Well I didn't know about that. I just thought he could be
a vampire but he walks in the sun. Didn't vampires burst into fire when
they were in the sun?

When I was finally able to go back to school it was like I was even more of
a celebrity. Tyler kept insisting that he was sorry. Mike was glued to my
side. Jessica tried twice to get me to go out with her and suddenly Archie
and Jason were sitting at our table. It was weird but it was what it was.

Suddenly Homecoming was approaching. The football team wasn't that great so
none of us went to the game. Instead it was all about the dance. It was
formal so we had to rent tuxes. I wanted nothing to do with the dance but I
agreed to accompany Mitch and Mike to Kingsville to get tuxes.

While they were getting tuxes I decided to walk around and check out
Kingsville, or at least the corner of it that I was standing in. I promised
to meet them at the restaurant in an hour. I walked for a while and then
turned the wrong corner. I found a group of motorcycle enthusiasts and
wanted to get away from them.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of them asked me.

He was taller than me and outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds of
solid muscle. He had on black leather chaps and a leather vest over his
pecs. His blonde hair was long and trailed behind him in the wind.

"Answer me, boy!" he cried.

"I just went down the wrong road," I said. "My friends are waiting for me."

"His friends are waiting for him," he said to the other bikers who laughed.

"Well your friends are going to be disappointed," he said just as
headlights beamed across the bikes and the Volvo was speeding into the lot.

"Get in," Edward's voice was angry I obeyed and got in the car. He got out
and walked toward the bikers. He did something and they all took a step
back. Then he got in the car.

"What do you do to them?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said. "What were you doing in that lot?"

"I got turned around," I said. "I was supposed to be going to the
restaurant to meet Mitch and Mike."

"Fine, we'll go to the restaurant," he said. "Prattle on about something to
distract me while I drive."

"Okay," I said. "Um, Mitch and Mike came to get tuxes but I didn't want
one. I don't want to go to the dance."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because I'm a klutz at the best of times and I don't belong on a dance
floor," I said. He laughed at this. "And you're obviously talking to me
again."

"Apparently," he said. "I can't get what those bikers were thinking out of
my head."

"What do you mean `out of your head' you don't know what they were
thinking," I said.

"Well it isn't hard to guess," he said as he pulled up in front of the
restaurant. Mitch and Mike were coming out as we got out of the car.

"Hey," Mitch said. "We waited for you but got hungry."

"No problem," I said.

"I'm sorry for keeping him," Edward said. "We bumped into each other and
got to talking."

"That's fine," said Mike with a big smile. He was clearly nervous in
Edward's presence.

"We were leaving," Mitch said. "You coming with us?"

"Um," I said.

"I think Beau should eat," Edward said suddenly. "How about I stay with him
and drive him back to Babylon myself?"

"That's fine with us," Mitch said. "Beau is that fine with you?"

"Yeah, I should eat," I mumbled. He was making me very nervous.

We went into the dimly lit restaurant and the hostess, a girl with bad dye
job and way too much eyeliner came over to us. "Two?" she asked.

"Could we have a table in the back corner?" he asked, handing her some
folded bills.

"Sure," she said, smiling at him.

She took us to the back of the dining room and put us in a corner
booth. Edward sat with his line of sight on the dining room and I sat
across from him. He looked at me as the hostess gave us menus.

The whole place was deep purple and lavender. It was over the top but the
food smelled good and I was hungry. It wasn't long before a dark haired
girl with no makeup came to the table to take our order.

"Nothing for me," he said. "Beau?"

"Mushroom Ravioli," I said. "And a soda."

"Two sodas," Edward said. He smiled at the waitress and I thought she was
going to pass out.

"Coming right up," she almost whispered as she walked away from the table.

"Here," he said, shoving the basket of rolls at me. "Eat."

I did as I was commanded. I pulled a roll out of the basket and pulled it
apart. I added butter and began to eat it in medium bites. He watched me
the whole time. I was getting a bit uncomfortable.

"How did you find me tonight?" I asked.

"I followed you to Kingsville," he said. "I wasn't really paying attention,
and I didn't realize when you'd left your friends. Then when I checked in
on them I realized that you weren't with them and panicked a little. I
scanned the minds of everyone on the street, just to see if anyone had seen
you. I followed your scent to the ally way and to the lot where I found you
with the bikers."

Did he have any idea what he'd just said? He'd scanned minds? Followed my
scent? I had an idea, but it was a wild one. Vampires were said to have
existed in the nineteen seventies but were killed off by the American
government. I hadn't been sure I believed in the existence of vampires but
I surely didn't believe the bit about the American government killing them
off. Could Edward be one of those vampires? No, I thought. He walked in the
sun for crying out loud. I thought back to all I had learned about vampires
from fiction and he didn't fit the mold.

"Say something," he said.

"You scanned minds?" I asked.

"I can read every mind in this room apart from yours," he said.

"What's wrong with my mind that you can't read it?" I asked.

"I tell you that I can read minds," he laughed. "You think there's
something wrong with you."

"I can believe just about anything about you," I said. "I've seen your
speed and strength."

"You aren't going to let that go are you?" he asked.

"Nope," I said. "Sorry."

"Well have you any theories?" he asked as the waitress brought the food.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can get for you?" she asked him, clearly
flirting. I was shocked.

"No thank you," he said, shutting her down. She walked way from the table
disappointed.

"Yes, I have a theory," I said. "You might not like it though."

"Try me," he said. He looked at my plate. "Eat."

"All right," I said stabbing a ravioli with my fork and putting it in my
mouth. "My theory has more to do with a story that I read in my book about
the History of America."

"I'm listening," he said.

"Well supposedly there were vampires in Storyville, Iowa in the nineteen
seventies," I said. "It said that they were killed off by the American
government. Now two things, if vampires existed then where are they now?
And knowing the American government at that stage in the country's history
tells me that they had no way to kill them off."

"First," he said. "Vampires were killed off by the government. They had
very practical weapons to use against them. Second, vampires went to sleep
and slept for a hundred years to make the government think they had all
been killed off."

"You don't fit the mold of a vampire," I said. "At least not the ones I've
read about."

"Vulgar fictions to make humans think they stand a chance against
vampires," he said. "Anyway fire away at the holes in your theory."

"You walk in the sun," I said.

"In the nineteen seventies a vampire named Eric Maxwell was created. He was
born with many gifts that vampires hadn't known for over seven hundred
years. He turned a bonded Forsaken into a vampire which was thought
impossible, but it changed him, too. He could walk in the sun and do even
more miraculous things.

"He changed the vampire world to his bloodline by simple blood exchanges,"
he went on. "Now vampires can walk in the sun, sleep at night, but they
don't sleep as long as they used to."

"You don't look like a vampire," I said.

"Well what does a vampire look like?" he asked. "I mean if you read
Stoker's fable then you think all vampires wear capes and live in castles."

"All right," I said. "What about coffins?"

"Vampires used to sleep in airtight coffins to keep out of the sunlight,"
he said. "With the restriction of the sun lifted they began to sleep in
beds."

"Turning into a bat?" I asked.

"Myth," he said. "I can't turn into anything. You're thinking of the
Forsaken."

"What are Forsaken?" I asked.

"The world would call them werewolves," he said. "They aren't like
werewolves at all. Werewolves turn on every full moon. Forsaken can turn at
will."

"So you're a vampire," I said, coming back to the obvious.

"Yes," he said, smiling wide enough for me to see his fangs. "Are you
scared?"

"No," I said, and I wasn't. I trusted him.

"Then you're crazy," he said.

"I read that vampires drink evil blood," I said.

"But there are always accidents," he said. "Humans don't usually get too
close to us without being bonded. We could kill a human in myriad ways that
you wouldn't even think of."

"But I'm safe with you," I said.

"Safe as far as I would never bite you," he said. "But safe is a relative
term."

"You wouldn't bite me?" I asked.

"The only hell I can think of is a world without you in it," he said.

"I thought you didn't want to be friends," I said, smiling.

"I said we shouldn't be friends," he said. "I didn't say I didn't want to
be. However it's too late. I'm tired of trying to stay away from you."

"So you're going to pay attention to me?" I asked. The food was gone.

"Come," he said, motioning for the waitress. She came over and he handed
her a folded bill. "Keep the change."

Then we were in the Volvo and headed back to Babylon. He was silent for a
bit but then he finally sighed.

"You think you're safe with me, and you are," he said. "But you may not be
prepared to give me what I want."

"You want to turn me?" I asked.

"Absolutely not," he said emphatically. "I want to be our lover."

"I'm open to that," I said, smiling in the darkness of the car.

"I love the way you blush," he said, letting me know that he could see
better in the dark than I could.

"So at school," I said.

"I'll be a devoted boyfriend if you'll have me," he said.

"Oh I'll have you," I said with a smile.

"Good," he said. "Then my brothers might actually shut up about you."

"They talk about me?" I asked, startled.

"Usually they tell me that you're as into me as I am to you," he
said. "They tell me to go for it and to hell with the rest. They'll be
happy to know that I've shucked all of the `rest' behind me and taken the
plunge."

"Well Archie and Jason will be happy I guess," I said.

"Archie sings your praises all of the time," he said. "But then he sees the
future, so he saw you coming a mile away."

"He sees the future?" I asked.

"Yeah, he sees what might happen if you stay on your current path," he
said. "A lot of what he sees never happens though. People change all of the
time."

"I'd like to be able to see the future," I said.

"Well you've got a cool little shield thing going on at the moment," he
said. "It's why I can't read your mind."

"About that," I said. "You can't get anything?"

"Nope," he said. "It was why I didn't think it was a good idea for us to be
friends. I could never know what you were thinking. Then the thing with the
van happened. You clearly saw more than I wanted you to and I was so
worried that you'd spread the tale. I kept reading the minds of the other
kids and looking for the story. But it never happened. That's when Archie
started in on me."

"I would never tell anyone anything about you," I said honestly.

"I think I get that now," he laughed.

We pulled up in front of my house and I reluctantly got out of the
car. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow," I sighed and walked in the house.

"Beau?" Charlie asked from the living room. I peeked my head in.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You're home early," he said. "I'd have thought you guys would hit the town
or something."

"Nah," I said. "We all have school in the morning so we called it an early
night."

"When do you pick up your tux?" he asked as he looked at me.

"Dad, I don't have a tux on order," I said. "I told you I'm not going to
the dance."

"That's right," he said. "But why?"

"Because I have two left feet and no one asked me," I said.

"Well you're supposed to do the asking," he said.

"Well I didn't because I don't want to go," I said. "Goodnight Dad."

"Goodnight," he said, smiling. He really enjoyed having me in the house.

I went up to my room and found Edward lying in my bed. Now that was a
fantasy of mine, but he was fully clothed so that wasn't a fantasy. I
looked at him and smiled. It didn't occur to me to ask what he was doing
there.

"I came in through your window," he explained.

"Aren't I supposed to have to invite you in?" I asked.

"Hollywood gets it all wrong," he said. "If you want me to go though."

"No," I said. "You stay. I'll be a minute in the bathroom."

"Take all the time you need," he said.

I went to the bathroom, used the toilet, washed my hands, and brushed my
teeth. I got in the shower and took a record short one. Then I dried off
and put on sleep shorts and my ratted Crippen High Pirates shirt and went
back to my room, hanging the towel over my desk chair.

"I like you like this," he said. "All warm and comfy."

"You've only seen the school look," I said with a smile.

"Not true," he said. "I've been here a time or two."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was curious about you," he said. "Please understand."

"I'm not upset about it," I said. "I kind of like that you were curious."

"Good," he said. "So, how does this go? We cuddle here on the bed?"

"Something like that," I said. "We can't have sex. My dad will flip out."

"I'm not ready for sex yet," he said. "So just come over here and lie down
with me."

"I like the sound of that," I said. Then I had a thought. "Why did you
follow us to Kingsville?"

"I'm kind of feeling very protective of you," he explained. It worked for
me.

I snuggled with him there on the bed. I had thought he would be cold to the
touch but he was warm. He held me like a real boyfriend, though he was a
loose translation of the word boy. I wondered how old he was.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"I've been a vampire for about ninety years," he said. "You've read about
Range Fever?"

"Yes, it sounds horrible," I said, remembering a paper I'd done on its
effect on the human population. It had killed more people than Covid.

"Well my mother, father, sister, and I were all infected," he said. "My
mother asked Gabriel to turn me into a vampire to save my life. I was
dying."

"Well I'm glad he did," I said.

"Me too," he laughed. "My mother and father died. I didn't find out what
happened to my sister for a long time. She lives still, robbing the life
force of others to fill her immortality."

"She's a vampire?" I asked.

"No, a witch who uses the life force of others to stay young and healthy,"
he said. "She's evil."

"Why haven't you stopped her?" I asked.

"Because she can kill with her mind," he said. "She killed some vampires by
making their brains explode in their heads."

"That's awful," I said.

"Yes," he said. "So the Council set forth a law that no vampire was to
approach the Moreau witches."

"My great Grandmother was a Moreau," I said.

"I suspected as much," he said. "You have this ability to block my mind
reading ability. Archie has a bit of trouble seeing you in the future, and
Jasper can't manipulate your emotions either."

"Huh," I said. "That's good I guess."

"It's a great ability," he said. "Be happy with it."

"I am," I said. "But I thought you said Archie saw me coming."

"He did," he said. "He can see you, but he says it's kind of blurry."

"Well that sucks," I said. "Poor guy."

"You're worried about Archie's blurry visions?" he asked, looking at me.

"Well, he's supposed to be my really good friend, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, about that," he said. "Jason and Archie stopped talking to you
because I told them to. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," I said.

"They've gone back to talking to you anyway," he said.

"Jason doesn't look like the rest of you," I said. "He doesn't have that
high glossed look, for lack of any better way to describe it."

"Agelessness," he said. "That's because Jason and John aren't
vampires. They're Forsaken."

"And they live with you?" I asked. "Aren't they your natural enemy?"

"No that's werewolves," he said. "Forsaken are different. Every Maxwell
vampire takes a Forsaken for his first drone."

"What are drones?" I asked.

"Drones are extensions of the vampire," he said. "Forsaken protect us from
enemies, human drones used to be our daytime companions, but now they're
just companions. These men are bonded to the vampire for life."

"Ah," I said. "So Jason is your Forsaken drone?"

"That's right," he said. "How did you guess?"

"You're closer to Jason than John," I said. "John doesn't seem to be super
close with any of your vampire siblings."

"He's Elfric's drone," Edward explained. "Elfric is husband to Gabriel, my
father in the blood."

"Ah," I said. "Nathan?"

"Forsaken," he laughed. "He's Gabriel's drone. Gabriel has two human
drones, too."

"Really?" I asked. "Is one of them named Larz?"

"You met him at the hospital I'm sure," he said. "Yes, the other is
Mark. The janitor at our school is named Anthony. He's Elfric's human
drone. He was positioned in that capacity to watch over us while we're at
school."

"Wow," I said and yawned.

"Sleep now," he said. "Enough questions about immortals."

I slept. I had good dreams but I suspected that had more to do with Edward
being there. I woke up refreshed and ready for the day. Edward was nowhere
to be seen. I got up and got dressed and went down to breakfast. I was so
early that Charlie was still in the house.

"Morning, Beau," he said.

"Morning, Dad," I said. "If you have time I'll make bacon and eggs."

"Sounds good," he said. "I've got the time."

I got the eggs, bacon, and frying pan. I fried the bacon until it was crisp
and then set it up on a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool
slightly. Then I cracked eggs into the bacon grease and fried them over
easy. That was Charlie's favorite. I liked my own over medium but I aim to
please. I dished up his plate and handed it to him. Seconds later I had my
own and we sat down to eat together.

"Where's Kale?" I asked.

"Big banquet going on soon," he said. "There were a lot of orders for
bouquets of flowers. He'll be busy all day long."

"I'll see him when I get there," I said as I ate. Charlie had made toast
and buttered it so we had our feast.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" he asked.

"Don't know," I said, but I really did. It was Edward.

"Well, it's nice to see you in a good mood," he said.  "You're up early,
too."

"Yeah, I slept good last night," I said.

"Well, I hate to eat and run," he said. "But I have to get going. You got
this?"

"Sure," I said. "Have a good day."

"Oh yeah," he said, grinning. "You, too."

He left and I did the dishes. I cleaned up the kitchen, keeping an eye on
the clock. I had to leave soon, too. I went upstairs and got my bag. I came
down the stairs to find Edward at the door. I smiled and opened it.

"I thought you'd like to ride to school with me today," he said.

"I would," I said, smiling.

I locked the door and followed him to his car. He opened the door for
me. It was surreal but I loved it. We drove straight to school. I was
wondering about his siblings. I mean they took two cars to school but how
would all of them get there?

"I left early this morning to go and change clothes," he explained. "I'm
sorry I wasn't there when you woke up."

"Thank you for telling me," I said. "I wondered where you were. I was
afraid that Charlie caught you."

"He never checked on you," he said. "I went back out the window I came in."

"Where are you siblings?" I asked.

"They have cars of their own," he laughed.

"Okay," I said.

He pulled into the parking lot of the school and everyone was just getting
there. No one noticed that I was in his car yet so we were still safe. He
parked next to Emit's Jeep and we got out.

"Since I'm going to Hell anyway," he said as he put his arm around me and
we headed for the school.

Now people were looking. Some looked shocked. Some looked excited. Some
looked decidedly angry. I didn't care. He was mine. I couldn't believe it
after all that had happened but he was mine.

"They're staring," I said.

"Let them," he said. "It isn't every day that they see a Maxwell with
anyone other than another Maxwell."

"That's the truth," I said, smiling.

Mitch and Mike were waiting for us at the entrance of the school. Mitch had
a smile on his face but Mike looked completely shocked. Edward stiffened at
Mike's look but continued to walk toward the entrance. I wondered just what
had affected him but I wasn't going to ask so close to my friends.

"Good morning, Beau," Mitch said. "Morning, Edward."

"Good morning, Mitch," he said, smiling. "I gave Beau a lift today."

"I see that," he said.

"Mike?" I asked.

"Uh, good morning," he said. "We wanted to apologize for last night. Eating
without you."

"That's all right," I said. "As you saw, it worked out."

"Yes," he said, looking at Edward.

"Well, we'd better get inside," Mitch said, practically shoving Mike into
the building.

"Help me out," I said, looking at Edward.

"Mitch is happy for you," he said. "Mike has a lot of questions he's dying
to ask you."

"You could tell me what those questions are," I said.

"That wouldn't be fair now would it?" I smiled.

"What's not fair is you keeping information from me that would help me keep
your secret," I smiled back.

"Okay," he said. "Mike wants to know if we were secretly meeting up in
Kingsville. He wants to know if we're actually dating, and he wants to know
what you feel for me."

"And what should I say?" I asked.

"Well you can tell him that last night was a fluke, which it sort of was,"
he said. "As for the dating, we kind of are now. What you feel for me, I'll
be listening to find that out for myself."

"All right," I said as we walked into the entrance of the school.

We separated so that I could go to homeroom. Jason was waiting for me
there. He sat beside me and welcomed me to the family. I smiled at this but
thought it was a bit early to be doing that. I wasn't sure what Edward's
plans were. I mean, I was only human.

"You caused quite the stir at my house this morning," he said with a smile.

"I'm sorry about that," I said.

"Don't be," he laughed. "We've all been telling him to do something like
this since he met you. He's really into you, Beau."

"That's good," I said. "Because I'm really into him too."

"We kind of knew that already," he said with a smile.

I went off to my next class with Mike right beside me. He started rapid
firing the questions that Edward had told me he had as soon as he was by my
side. I had trouble keeping up with him.

"Well, last night was a surprise for me," I said. "Yes, we're dating, and I
think I care about him a lot more than he cares about me."

"Well that would kind of be obvious," he said. "The Maxwells don't notice
anyone. Well, other than you apparently."

The other students were all staring at me like I'd won the lottery. I
figured that this was the biggest thing that had happened in this school so
I didn't get upset about their staring at me.

I made it through but by lunch time I was tired of the staring and
whispering that was going on. I mean I knew it was a big thing for them all
but come on. I walked into the cafeteria and saw that Edward was waiting
for me beside his table. I walked straight to him.

"Why don't you eat with us today?" he asked. I nodded.

We went through the lunch line together. Today they were serving pizza. We
only had one tray so I assumed that he wasn't going to pretend to eat
today. But he piled two of everything on the tray as we went through the
line.

"I can't eat all of this," I said in protest.

"Half is for me," he explained, but I knew that he wouldn't eat any of it.

"Can you actually eat it?" I asked.

He picked up one of the slices of pizza and took a bite, chewed and
swallowed. I stared at him in utter amazement. He looked at me and motioned
for me to move along. I did that but I was still shocked that he could eat
the pizza.

"I can eat little amounts of human food," he said. "Too much is toxic
though."

"Ah," I said as we joined his siblings at the table.

"Welcome, Beau," said Archie. "You're finally sitting with us."

"Yeah," I said. "Thank you."

"Wow," said Roman. "You do smell like one of us. If it weren't for your
heartbeat I'd think you were one of us."

"I didn't know I smelled like one of you," I said, looking at Edward. He
nodded.

"It isn't just them," John said. "You smell like one of us, too."

"He's also got Moreau blood running through his veins," Edward said.

"Well that would explain why you can't hear him," said Jasper. "It might
explain why I can't manipulate his emotions. I tried hard the day the van
nearly got him."

"Well I'm seeing his future a lot clearer now that he's sitting across from
me," Archie said.

"You know you're all talking about him like he isn't here," said Roman,
smiling at me.

"I don't know why Edward can't hear my thoughts or Jasper can't manipulate
my emotions, but Archie could see me in the future even if I was blurry."

"You were blurry because for you the future wasn't written yet," Archie
explained. "Now it seems to be."

"Enough," Edward said. "He isn't a science project."

"I'll say just this," Jasper said. "For him to smell like one of us and one
of the Forsaken at the same time, there must be a Forsaken and some sort of
vampire connection in his ancestry."

"Well, the Moreau connection is through my father," I said. "My great
Grandmother was Miranda Moreau. She married Jackson Swan."

"Well that explains the witch blood," said Jasper. "His shielding ability
probably comes from the witch gene."

"We can't know that he has a Forsaken or a vampire in his ancestry," Edward
said. "At least without running his genealogy."

"I could do that for you, Beau," said Roman. "I'm really good with research
and computers."

"What do you need from me?" I asked, interested like the rest of them.

"Your mother's maiden name, your father's name, and your grandparents on
both sides," he said.

"I'll write it down," I said and proceeded to do so.

All of this was going on while the two Forsaken and I were eating
lunch. The other vampires weren't eating at all. I liked that they all
seemed to have accepted me. It made me feel good. However until Roman ran
the genealogy I wouldn't know what connections I had to the Forsaken or the
vampires.

The bell rang shortly after I wrote down the information for Roman. We went
our separate ways. Edward and I went to Chemistry while the others went to
their own classes. We walked into the room and took our seats at our table.

The teacher began the lecture as soon as he'd taken roll. Edward and I kept
up a silent conversation all through the hour. He told me that his siblings
were happy for him and really liked me. I was happy for that because I had
worried that they wouldn't like me.

"Something that you said to Mike bugs me," he said.

"Well, that's what you get for listening in," I said. "What bugs you?"

"That you think you care for me much more than I care for you," he said.

"Well of course I do," I said. "How could I not?"

"Mr. Maxwell?" asked Mr. Varner loudly.

"Centripetal force," Edward said, looking at Mr. Varner.

Mr. Varner went on with the lecture. Edward was keeping flawless notes. I'd
have to borrow them if this went on. It did and I mentioned borrowing his
notes and he handed them to me at the end of class.

For the rest of the day I was happy and in a good mood. I even participated
in gym, much to Mike's detriment. I hit him in the back of the head with an
errant volley ball. He laughed it off and I was saved from that fate as the
team played for me and told me to stay out of the way.

At work that night, Edward came and bought roses for Elfric. I still hadn't
met the elusive Elfric. Edward promised that I would. Eric came in to get
deliveries and was surprised to see Edward standing at the counter.

"So it's true," he said, smiling. "You and Edward are a thing?"

"Yes, we are," said Edward. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Well, yeah I'm disappointed that Beau is spoken for," he said. "I did have
plans to ask him to the homecoming dance but now he has you."

"I won't be going to the homecoming dance," I said. "Two left feet. Haven't
you seen me in gym?"

"Oh yeah," he laughed. "You zinged Mike in the back of the head with the
ball today. That was hilarious."

"That's me, comedy relief," I replied.

"Well I'm happy for you and Edward," he said, smiling again. "I'd better
get to those deliveries."

He was out of the store in no time and Edward watched him go with a look on
his face. He turned to me and smiled again. I wondered what was in Eric's
head that upset Edward, but I thought he probably wouldn't tell me. I was
wrong.

"Eric really likes you," he said. "He's uncertain because he's never liked
another boy before."

"Poor guy," I said. "He'll find the right guy one of these days."

"Until recently I suspected that you were with Mitch," he said, looking at
me and appraising me. "Mitch never has unclean thoughts about anyone. He is
a genuinely happy person that thinks of others kindly. I like his mind. His
cousin Angela is much the same."

"Well, nothing ever happened like that between me and Mitch," I said. "The
guy is totally gorgeous, but he likes girls."

"So you noticed?" he asked with a smile.

"I notice everyone," I said. "But I don't actively hunt boyfriend
material. Mitch and I are really good friends and nothing more."

"That's good to know," he said. "I'd be a little upset if you were more
than friends at this point. But really, I had resigned myself to the fact
that you would find someone to love that wasn't me. I had made up my mind
that I would try to love that person for loving you as long as he or she
treated you fairly and justly."

"But alas," I said with a smile. "It's you that I'm with and not some other
boy or girl. For the record it would have been a boy."

"So I'm figuring out," he laughed. "I should really go. Ray has looked out
here three times."

"See you later," I said.

"Count on it," he said. Then he was gone.

Ray came out from the back as soon as Edward was gone. He looked at me for
a long moment saying nothing. I suddenly wished that I had Edward's mind
reading ability. I looked at Ray but continued to clean up the desk.

"So you have a boyfriend," he said, and I winced. I wasn't planning to tell
Kale or Charlie about Edward yet. That seemed to be out of my hands now.

"Yes," I said. "Edward Maxwell."

"You make a fine couple," he said. "But don't you think you should tell
your father and uncle?"

"I plan to," I said. "Edward and I are fairly new and I wanted to make sure
that we were a thing before I mentioned it to anyone."

"Okay, good idea," he said. "Allow me to butt out."

I laughed as he bowed and extended his hand. He went back to the back and I
finished cleaning up and got out of there. When I got home I started dinner
and decided I would bring up the subject of the boyfriend at dinner. I was
a little nervous but my fried chicken turned out perfect. I'd boiled corn
on the cob and got the potato salad out of the fridge. I'd made that a few
days ago.

As soon as Kale and Charlie sat down I was nervous again. I dished up the
plates and handed them out. I sat in my place and began to eat. No one said
anything for a minute or two. They were too busy eating to say much.

"This is good, Beau," Charlie said, smiling at me. "I didn't know you could
fry chicken."

"There isn't much to it," I said. "Just cook it on one side, turn it over,
take its temperature and serve it."

"Well it seems amazing to me," he said.

"It really is good, Beau," said Kale.

"Well I have some news for both of you and I don't know how you're going to
take it," I said. "But the secret is out and I want you to hear it from me
before someone says something."

"Out with it," Charlie said. "What's on your mind?"

"I have a boyfriend," I said as calmly as I could.

Both Kale and Charlie were silent for a long moment. Charlie literally had
a spoon full of potato salad suspended in front of him as he looked at me
hard. He looked like he was caught off guard and I wondered if he even
remembered that I'd told him I was gay. What he said shocked the hell out
of me.

"Well I knew he was going to ask you to the dance," he said. "He told me
about that. I didn't expect that he would decide he was your boyfriend."

"Dad, who are you talking about?" I asked, confused.

"Eric," he said. "Obviously, right?"

"No," I said. "I didn't find out that Eric was planning to ask me to the
dance until tonight at work. My boyfriend is Edward Maxwell."

"The Maxwell boys are all too old for you," he said a little louder than
before.

"Dad, Edward is a sophomore just like me," I said.

"Which one is Edward?" he demanded, but it was Kale who answered.

"He's the one that you saw at the hospital the day the van almost got
Beau," he said. "Gabriel's son, remember?"

"Gabriel Maxwell is too young to have a sixteen year old son," he said, now
glaring at me.

"None of them are his sons, Dad," I said. "Edward and Emit are his nephews
that moved in with them when their parents died. Archie, Jasper, and Roman
are Elfric's nephews that moved in because of trouble at home."

"That explains that," said Kale with a smile.

"I want Edward to come to the house," Charlie said. "If he's going to be my
son's boyfriend I need to know him."

And that was all that was said about it that night. I promised to have
Edward over soon. That seemed to satisfy Charlie. Kale was beaming like an
idiot. We all went back to eating before the food got cold. It seemed that
so far I was off the hook.

Afterward I did the dishes. Kale came in while I was doing them to tell me
that he thought it was great that I had Edward. He told me Edward was a
good looking kid and he thought we made a fine couple. I liked that. Kale
was more with the times than Charlie. Charlie was all shoot `em and lock
`em up. Kale was more a lover than a fighter. I liked that about him.

I did my homework using Edward's notes at the kitchen table that night. I
knew Edward was in my room but I was sure that Charlie would have more to
say about my having a boyfriend. I didn't want to run off and have him come
into my room to say it to me. I was wrong though. Charlie didn't say a word
to me for the rest of the night. I did my homework and went upstairs to
find Edward lying in my bed. Oh what that did for me.

I smiled at him and prepared to tell him about telling my dad when he
started to laugh. I asked him what was so funny and he said Charlie's
thoughts. Yeah, I couldn't wait to hear Charlie's thoughts.