Mia, Anna and Carmine walked casually down the street. Normally, Mia and Anna would try to walk quietly in the shadows to avoid being seen. But with Carmine in tow, there was no point in trying to be subtle. Carmine didn't have any of the special abilities that either Mia or Anna had; with her along, they'd lost all of the advantages that usually went along with sneaking up on any potential prey.

Instead, the girls walked down the street, talking casually. Carmine had apparently decided it was a good time to go window-shopping, and kept pointing out things in the various displays they passed. Anna responded to Carmine's every comment, keeping alive a conversation she looked like she had absolutely no interest in. Only Mia remained silent; she was too busy watching the people walking by, trying to see who would make a nice target.

After spending what felt like way too much time looking around, Mia finally spotted a couple she thought had potential. They were in their early thirties or so – perfect. Mia had already passed up several groups for being either too old or too young. Usually she wasn't so picky, but with Carmine along it was a different story. She didn't want to pick anyone that might be seen as weaker – she didn't want to give Carmine the impression that she just went around picking on helpless little children or the elderly.

Mia tracked the couple with her eyes. They stopped at the corner and Mia realized they were going to cross the street. The girls were going to have to hurry if they wanted to catch up. Carmine was saying something about a particularly hideous mannequin in a store window they were passing, but Mia wasn't paying attention. Instead, she grabbed Anna's arm, effectively ending whatever conversation they were having.

"You see that couple up there?" she asked.

Anna looked in the direction of Mia's gaze.

"The lady in the black skirt and the man with the jacket?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Anna thought for a minute, sizing them up before answering. As she looked, a small smile graced her face.

"Good choice."

Carmine didn't say anything, but Mia could see her stiffen just a little as she realized it was time.

The girls casually crossed the street, still a block behind the couple, and Mia started feeling better. She was glad that it hadn't taken too long to find the right people for their attack. She concentrated all her energy on the couple, planning out exactly what to do. She started going through all the ways they could approach – what would work and what wouldn't. She went meticulously through every detail in order to avoid thinking about Carmine; as much as she liked Carmine, she still kind of wished she wasn't there.

Carmine had told both Mia and Anna that she'd be fine – that she wanted to come just this once. But Mia still wasn't sure it was a good idea. It wasn't just the way Carmine reacted last time she saw a vampire attack that was bothering Mia. As bad as that was, her bigger problem that she was starting to feel incredibly self-conscious. There were just some things she really didn't want to do while someone else was staring at her, judging her.

They silently stalked the couple, doing surprisingly well at blending in – especially since there were three of them now. Maybe Carmine was more subtle than Mia gave her credit for.

They walked past the shops, neither the man nor the woman stopping much to stare at anything in the windows. Mia saw the rather large bags each was carrying and her heart started to sink; she realized that they were heading for the parking garage about two blocks away. Mia just hoped they'd be able to get these two alone before they got into their car and drove off.

Unfortunately, the couple never slowed down enough for Mia and her friends to attack without raising suspicion. But with friends still in tow, Mia followed the couple, unwilling to give up quite so perfect a target even as they walked up the ramp and into the parking garage.

As luck would have it, Mia's persistence paid off. She and her friends stalked the couple all the way to the car and found that they'd parked in the furthest corner of the building. After putting their bags in the back seat, the woman got in and shut the door behind her. But the man was a little slower. He was just getting ready to shut his own door as Mia approached him, practically jogging to get there in time. He stared at her with an expression that was more annoyed than anything else.

"Excuse me." Mia said politely.

Anna, realizing that Mia was going to go for this couple after all, walked unassumingly up to the passenger side window that the woman has so conveniently already lowered. Carmine, having nothing to actually contribute to what was about to take place, had decided to keep to herself next to a cement pillar across the aisle and watch. While taking note of where her friends were, Mia continued talking to the man – both to distract him and to reassure him.

"You see," she told him earnestly, "I came here with my friends, and now we're lost."

The man looked at her, compassion replacing the annoyance.

"Where are you trying to go?" he asked her.

"The freeway." It was the first place Mia could think of.

"Well, that's easy. Here's what you do. When you get out of the parking garage, you're going to want to make a left. Then you'll go south about three blocks, and..."

As he continued to explain the directions Mia didn't care about, she stared intently into his eyes, bits of gold beginning to appear in her own irises. Anna said something to the woman, who turned to face her instead of Mia and the man.

The man never did finish his speech. Somewhere in the middle, he got confused – distracted. As his mind became foggy, he simply stopped talking and continued to stare blankly at Mia. Mia waited longer than she normally would have, making sure he was completely in trance before continuing. The woman slumped down in the seat next to him, and Mia knew that she wouldn't be waking up any time soon, either.

As soon as she was sure the man's mind was too glazed over to remember what would happen next, Mia moved in. She opened the car door a little wider and squatted down. She leaned the seat back just a little to get a better angle and slowly – carefully – leaned in towards the man's neck.

Mia had been nervous about this attack, but as soon as she tasted his blood in her mouth, all her reservations melted away. It tasted so good, so fulfilling. As she sat there, drinking all she needed, she thought about how there really was nothing more satisfying than fresh blood. Really, it was almost a relief – she could hardly believe she'd been nervous about this!

When she'd had her fill, Mia pulled slowly away. And she was once again aware of what had made her so nervous about this night. Carmine. Mia quickly wiped her mouth on her sleeve before standing back up and gently shutting the car door.

Mia and Anna slowly made their way back to where Carmine was waiting. It wasn't until they were halfway there that Mia finally got up the nerve to look Carmine in the face.

Carmine was still standing where she had been when Mia first approached the car. She had a strange look that Mia couldn't immediately place. It wasn't horror or revulsion like it had been last year when she'd seen Fredrick attack that girl. But what was it? Finally, Carmine spoke.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be." she said, smiling cautiously.

When Mia heard those words she felt both relieved and suspicious. It was great that Carmine seemed to be ok, but there was still something that didn't seem quite right. She got a not-so-reassuring feeling that Carmine had something up her sleeve.

"I'm glad." Anna said, Mia's relief mirrored on her face.

"Yeah, I could definitely get used to that." Carmine said, apparently thinking out loud.

"Get used to what?" Mia asked sharply.

There wasn't going to be another time with Carmine. She'd seen how Mia and Anna did it, and that they weren't brutal when they attacked. But it had been really awkward, and Mia didn't want to go through it again. As much as she liked Carmine, she really didn't want her to be involved in this.

"I just meant – that if I came again – I mean, it's not so bad." Carmine stammered.

"Yeah..." Mia said absently, trying to think up a nice way to tell Carmine that once was more than enough. Mia looked closely at Carmine, trying to see if she could figure out what her friend was up to. Carmine correctly read Mia's expression and smiled brightly.

"Don't worry." Carmine told her. "I saw what you do and it wasn't too bad. That's all I meant. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

Mia narrowed her eyes for a minute, trying to decide. But Carmine seemed genuine. "Ok." Mia said finally. She would just have to trust her friend that nothing else was going through her mind.

Mia smiled back at Carmine, trying not to let her suspicions get the better of her. It must be all that was happening with Summer and Zev, she told herself. But just because she was having a hard time trusting certain people at school didn't mean she had to stop trusting everyone. And Mia knew that Carmine wouldn't plan anything stupid – at least, not without telling her friends first.