Rossas eyes flashed. aWell, no. But I had to give mouth-to-mouth a few times.a Everyone laughed. Destiny studied Ross.

Shead been thinking about him all summer.

aYouave been working out?a He grinned and flexed his biceps. aCheck out this new bod. I think I want to live forever!a aWhy?a Ari asked.

aThink of all the girls I could have!a Ross smiled.

Livvy slid next to Ross on the couch arm.

aYouare bad,a she said. She tugged playfully on the tiny silver hoop in his ear. aDid you miss me this summer?a Ross squinted at her. aWhich one are you?a More laughter.

Destiny groaned. Is Livvy going to come on to Ross now? Does she have to have every guy?

Livvy and Ross were laughing about some- thing. Livvy had her arm loosely draped

46.

around his shoulder.

I canat believe sheas doing this in front of Courtney, Destiny thought. Livvy knows that Courtney is crazy about Ross. And she knows I have a crush on him too.

Fletch Green sat on the floor at the other end of the couch, his long legs crossed in front of him. He was talking into a cell phone.

When Fletch turned off his phone, Destiny made her way over to him. aYou and Ross had summer basketball practice?a He scratched his wavy, carrot-colored hair.

aDidnat you hear? Coach Bauer called off summer practice. Heas still messed up about his wife.a aOh. Right.a Coach Baueras wife died suddenly near the end of the school year. Marjory Bauer wasnat that old, forty-eight or forty-nine, like the coach.

Bauer took a leave from school. Destiny remembered the rumors about him. That he went berserk or something. That neighbors could hear him talking loudly to himself late at night. That he had lost all interest in coaching the team.

aSo are you guys gonna be any good this

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year?a Destiny asked.

Fletch shrugged. aRoss and I are the only seniors. Weall have to step it up.a aAny more Coke?a Bree Daniel called from across the room. Sitting on the floor across from Ari and Courtney, Bree waved her empty soda can in the air.

Destiny really couldnat stand Bree, with her screechy mouse voice and her piles of streaky blond hair that fell over her face, and her pierced eyebrows that always made Destiny cringe. Bree had recently become Livvyas best friend. Or, as Destiny put it, Livvyas Bad Influence. Bree was the one urging Livvy to get a tattoo. And Livvy had never smoked a cigarette until she started hanging out with Bree.

aThereas a kind of bug that spits out juice that makes human skin dissolve,a Ari was telling Courtney. aI saw a show about it on the Discovery Channel.a aAri, get a life,a Fletch said. His cell phone rang. He raised it to his ear.

aIall go downstairs and bring up some more drinks,a Destiny said, making her way to the stairs. aAnd I think we have some bags of nacho

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chips.a She raised her eyes to Livvy, who was practically in Rossas lap. aHey, Liv, whereas Dad? Have you seen him?a Livvy shrugged in reply. She didnat take her eyes off Ross.

Weird, Destiny thought. Dad usually likes to come up and hang out with my friends. She started down the stairs.

aDo you have any cookies or anything?a Bree called after her. aIam really starving.a Destiny pushed open the door and stepped into the kitchen. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the single, dim ceiling light over the kitchen table.

aOh. Hi,a she said when she realized her dad was sitting at the table. Across from him sat Coach Bauer, his face solemn, hands clasped on the table. Destiny saw a deck of cards in front of her dad, but they appeared untouched.

aHi, Coach,a Destiny said. aHow are you?a He nodded. aNot bad.a The orange light glared off his bald head.

Destiny turned to her father. aItas kind of dark in here, isnat it?a aItas okay,a he answered softly. aMy eyes have been bothering me. Too much time in the

49.

lab, I guess.a He removed his glasses and rubbed his temples.

Destiny pulled open the fridge. aDonat you two want to come upstairs? You know. Say hi.a They looked at each other. aMaybe later,a Dr. Weller said. He picked up the deck of cards, but he made no attempt to deal them out.

Destiny grabbed a couple of six-packs of soda and balanced two bags of tortilla chips on top of them. She stopped at the doorway and turned back to the two men. aCome on up if you want. I think weare going to watch one of Arias disgusting movies.a Her dad gave her a short wave. aHave fun.a When Destiny returned, her friends were in a heated discussion. Ari paced in front of the others, talking animatedly. aThere were two of them,a he was saying. aIam not making this up.a aTwo what?a Destiny asked, tossing a soda to Bree.

aTwo deer,a Ari said. aIn Millerton Woods.a Destiny turned and stared at him. aWhat are you talking about? There are hundreds of deer in those woods.a aYouave been away. You donat know whatas

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going on here,a Ari said. aThe two deer were dead. Their blood was drained. For real. Totally drained.a Livvy rolled her eyes. aAnd how many horror movies did you watch this summer?a aItas not a movie,a Ari insisted. aItas for real.

I saw it on the news.a aAri gets all his news on the Sci-Fi Channel,a Ross said.

Ari didnat laugh. aThere were other animals too. Raccoons and some squirrels. They were dead and their veins were empty, totally dry.a aCute little squirrels and raccoons? You are so making me sick,a Livvy said, holding her stomach.

Fletch shook his head. aCourtney, youad better hide your cats if Ari comes over!a Courtney let out a gasp. aYuck. Who would suck catas blood?a aFeeling thirsty, Ari?a Bree asked. aI hear a dog barking next door. Yum!a aItas not a joke,a Ari insisted. aI a I know what it is. Itas vampires. There are vampires out there who are doing this.a Ross and Fletch exchanged skeptical glances. Bree choked on her soda.

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aRemember in third grade when Ari thought Mr. Hubner was a werewolf?a Ross said. aAnd it turned out he just didnat shave that day?a Grinning, Fletch climbed to his feet and put his arm around Arias shoulder. aDidnat you write a paper for Mrs. Klein about real vampires in historya"and she flunked your ass?a aMrs. Klein is very narrow-minded,a Ari said, pushing Fletch away. aMaybe if you would tear yourself away from your PlayStation and watch the news once in a whilea"a aI saw it on TV,a Ana-Li interrupted. aThere was a scientific explanation for the whole thing.

They said it was a virus. Some kind of mutant virus that was killing the animals.a aHow can you believe that crap?a Ari demanded. aOf course theyare going to say itas a virus. Theyare not going to tell you the truth.a aI think a virus that dries up all your blood is a lot scarier than vampires,a Destiny said. aI mean, anyone can catch a virusa"right?a Courtney shivered. aCan we stop talking about this?a Destiny tossed a bag of chips at Ari. aAre we going to watch your movie or what? Come on.

We donat want to think about deer-eating

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viruses. Put in the movie.a Everyone moved to the couch or the floor to watch the TV. Ari slid the DVD into the player.

Destiny dimmed the lights.

aAri likes these vampire films because theyare like his home videos,a she heard some- one whisper.

aIam buying him a Silly Straw for his birth- day,a Livvy whispered. She made loud slurping noises.

aEverybody shut up,a Ari said, squeezing into the center of the couch between Courtney and Ross. aThese Vampireas Daughter movies are the best.a He turned to Courtney, the most squeamish one there. aIf it gets too scary, just close your eyes.a aIam shutting them right now,a Courtney said. She shut her eyes and grabbed onto Arias arm.

The movie started with dripping, blood-red credits and booming organ music. The opening scene showed a black-caped female vampire creeping across a sleeping teenage boyas dark- ened bedroom. The boy woke upa"just in time to screama"as the vampire sank her fangs into his throat.

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aHey, I think I know that guy!a Ross shouted.

aIad like to know her,a Fletch chimed in. aIs she hot or what?a aSheas got a definite dental problem,a Bree added.

aShe probably went to your father!a Livvy joked.

Breeas dad was a dentist. When they were in fourth or fifth grade, he did the braces for just about every one of Destinyas friends.

Destiny usually enjoyed the kidding around during Arias dreadful horror movies. But as the film started, she suddenly felt strangea"a flut-tery feeling that began in her stomach and rose up to tighten her throat.

She took a long drink of soda, but it didnat seem to help. Sitting on the floor, she pressed her back against the front of the couch. She watched three vampires transform from bats into human form. They forced open the window of a girlas house and slipped inside.

Destinyas chest tightened. A cold sweat made her hands clammy. She swallowed hard.

Am I coming down with something? Why do I feel so strange?

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On the screen, a tall, thin vampire, who reminded her a little of Fletch, crept up behind a couch where a teenage girl was reading a magazine. He lowered his head, sank his fangs into the startled girlas necka"

a"and Destiny began to scream.

She opened her mouth in a high, shrill wail from somewhere deep inside her. She saw her friends turn to face her. Saw their shocked expressions.

She heard Arias shouts. aWhatas wrong?

Whatas wrong with her?a She saw Ana-Li drop down beside her and throw her arms around her. aDee, itas okay.a But no. It wasnat okay.

It wasnat okay because she couldnat stop screaming.

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Chapter Eight.