*Two weeks later*
LUNA

When I was with Star the other day, I came up with the idea of a beach party.
Just something that we all can collectively do. Lost Boys included.

I'm already getting comfortable around Marko's presence, now it's time to get comfortable around Dwayne and Paul.

Though David is a question mark.
Well, if he isn't just a complete jerk, then I'll see how things go between us.

And besides...he, very well, might become my vampire brother-in-law.
I shudder just a little.

I don't think Star loves him, though every time I try to ask, she always says yes.
Reasons why I don't believe her, is because she's always hesitant, and when she does answer, it sounds forced.

I just hope that deep down she makes the right decision.
Star has always said or done something, if it meant pushing her and her feelings aside for a better outcome.

I don't want her to end up doing that...

For now though, I'm struggling with three beach bags and a stereo.

Did I over pack?
Most likely.
Still, four guys, two girls. A total of six people.
We need refreshments, plus some snacks.

And luckily, I'll have extra's leftover.

I groan, dragging the speaker behind me before someone speaks up.
"Need help?"
I look to see Marko, arms crossed with a Cherise cat smile on his face.

How convenient.
He seems to be showing up right when I need something or someone lately.
Hey, four hands make light work.

I nod. "Yes please, thanks."
"No problem," he takes my bag before grunting, "Jesus what did you pack? Rocks?
"Yes, rocks," I roll my eyes, "hey, I thought vampires had super strength," I point out.

Can't vampires run at a seriously fast speed?
Plus turn into bat and fly?
That'd be pretty cool honestly.

"Well, not super. But," he shows off by lifting the bag over his head with one hand as if he picked up a feather.
My eyes widen.
"My joke made you smile," he remarks, winking before walking forward towards the spot we picked for the party.

Okay...that was a flirt, wasn't it?
Well, if that isn't a flirt then I don't know what is.
It got me blushing a little as I approach him and begin to set everything up.

I've known him for a short while, but still, he's shown to be alright.
He's the closest one to my age.
He's energetic like me too.
And we both seem to enjoy some of the same things.

Like moterbikes, the boardwalk.

I glance at him for a moment.
It's crazy...on the outside he seems like a normal teen, not a vampire.

The thought makes my mind flip.
But...he was once a human, just like Star was.
What is his past story?

He looks at me. "What's up?" He asks, throwing a blanket on the sand in case anyone wants a seat.

I sit down. "So, what are you able to do? Beside killing people and drinking blood?" I ask, pushing aside the personal questions I want to ask.
It's too soon to ask them.
One day, he'll feel comfortable to share it.

He laughs a little, and sits down as well, one arm thrown over his propped up leg.

"Well, we never age, that you already know. We can run really fast, we can fly. We-"

"Can you turn into a bat?" I ask curiously, because seriously, if he can, then that's pretty badass.
I'd demand he'd show me too.

He shakes his head. "Nope. Can't do that. But we're pretty strong, like you just saw," he smirks and winks at me.
I roll my eyes. Bragger.

"But that's about it. I mean, we can eat regular food, but we need blood to survive. We definitely need to stay away from light, it'll burn us. And no Holy Water. Absolutely not."

"Why is that?" I ask, before his eyes stare into mine with such an intensity it makes my chest tighten.
"Because we'll melt," he says, which makes my jaw drop slightly.

They actually melt?
Like when Dorothy threw water on the Wicked Witch of The West, and she melted?

Well, that's totally gross.

He chuckles a little at my reaction.
"You're freaked out."
"I'm just..." I trail off, searching for the right word to describe what I'm feeling.

Vampires have a lot of cons, it seems like.

"I'm shocked," I finally say, and he stares off into the ocean.
We don't say another word to each other for several minutes, until the question I've been dying to ask finally comes out of my mouth.

"Do you think it was worth it?"
He glances at me, a certain faraway look within his eyes that I can't read.
Soon, he lays down. "Of course," he replies, hands behind his head. "I have no responsibility. I can go and do whatever I want, whenever I want. No one can stop me."

"Yeah but," I lay down as well, to look at his face. "There's lots of things that you can't do."
"Yeah?" He scoffs, "like what? Give me a good one."

"Like doing all these fun things out in the sun," I point out, "like meeting new people."
"I met you," he remarks, a little smartass in his tone, "you're new."

"By force," I point out, "remember that. Marko, what I mean is..." I push my hair down, sighing, "maybe it wasn't worth it."
Maybe he had people who loved him.
Maybe he could've been so much if was human.

"Whatever," he snarks, sitting back up, "you don't know what life was like before David found me. You don't know shit..."

"Marko-"
I try to reach out to touch him, but before I can, he instantly shrugs away, and Star's voice fills the air.

I look behind me to see her running towards me, dropping to her knees and pulling me into a hug.
And past her shoulder, is Dwayne, David, and Paul.

"You made it," I say as Star pulls away to get in a sitting position beside me.
"Yep," David says as Paul reaches down to grab a chip from a bowel. "We said we would."

I nod, and Paul chuckles under his breath.
"You were serious about it being a party." His eyes bounce from the speaker, the food, and the blanket.

"Of course," I stand up, going towards the speaker.
By now, Marko has joined the other Lost Boys, hiding his emotions with the cocky mask he wears too well.

I put in a CD, and Tim Cappello's "I Still Believe" begins to play.
David scoffs, Dwayne nods to the beat, and Paul snaps his fingers playfully.
I giggle, grabbing Star's hands and lifting her on her feet.

"Come on! Dance sis!" I laugh as I swing Star's limp arms around.
She's shy at first, but soon, she's loosened enough to shake her hips and jump up and down like me.
Fast forward a few moments, now we're bobbing our heads like rockers.

David doesn't dance, though Star tries to get him too.
Dwayne only nods his head to the beat.
But Paul dances, throwing his hair around, as if we're really at a concert.

I laugh harder then I have in years, dancing like a total idiot without a care in the world.
Nothing can ruin this moment.

Star grabs Dwayne's hand to get him to move more, which he does, but it's little to no effort.

David takes a seat and grins at all of us.
Paul dances by himself, well, more like jumps by himself in the back.

And Marko...
After Star left, he swept in and took my hand, spinning me once before jumping up and down with me.
To anyone else who saw us, they would think we're maniacs.

But honestly? We're just youthful teens having a good time.

***

I take a bite out of one of the mini sandwiches I packed, wiping my hands off before scooting closer to my sister Star.
She sits with her legs tucked underneath her, her hands tying her hair back.

The guys are ahead of us, collecting seashells for us.
Though they didn't want too, Star and I forced them to do it.

I wanted to collect a big bag full of seashells to make crafts with, and Star wanted some to paint and decorate her room.
She was always big on painting, whether it be on a canvas, or even rocks.

Mom and Dad still have so many of her portraits, but they're stuffed away in our dusty attic, holding to many painful reminder of the past my parents feel guilty for.

I sigh, glancing at Star.
The guys are out of earshot now, so it'll give me to ask Star about what's going on with her and Michael.

Michael and I haven't hung out, let alone barely talked, since I introduced him to Star that night on the boardwalk.
Seems like he's been drifting from me, and going to Star.

I don't mind it.

A while ago, I would have been furious.
But that was before Michael told me he wanted to be just friends.
And before I realized that he and Star would make a good couple.

I smile at her. "So, what's going on with you and Michael?" I nudge her, "I want all the details."

"Luna," Star giggles, her cheeks changing color slightly.
Oooh is that a sign for a CRUSH I see?!
Does she like him like him?!

I smile even wider. "Come on, tell!"
"Well," she giggles all girly like again, "we've hung out a few times. He's taken me to dinner mostly."

Dinner?!
I gasp a little, making a total big deal out of it, which makes her
totally bust up in laughter.

I'm so glad that she likes Michael!
That's just freaking awesome!
He's such a good guy, he's so perfect for my sister.

"I'm happy for you sis," I do a one arm hug, "but wait..." I release her, realization sinking in, making my stomach drop.
"What about David? And the Mating Bond?"

Star's eyes glance towards the guys, who are coming straight towards us, arms full with seashells.
She leans in and whispers. "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

They drop the gleaming white seashells on our blanket.
"Here you go," David cleans his gloved hands, disgusted at the sand on his fingers.
I kind of wanna throw a bunch of sand at him now. Haha.

"Thanks," I grin, before my eyes stare ahead at the ocean.
It's the perfect time for a swim.
I stand up, taking my skirt off, only in my shorts. "Who wants to go swimming?!"

"What?!" Star laughs, but she too takes her skirt off, running headfirst into the water, and doing a dive.
I'm about to run, before I feel a pair of arms sweep me off my feet, carrying me bridal style to the water.

I scream, out of joy, knowing that Marko is going to drop me in the water.
Of course he is!

Paul laughs hard, and Dwayne chuckles softly.
He's the quietest one out of all of them, I've noticed.
David laughs a little as well, arms crossed and his head tilted to the side, waiting to see what happens next.

Marko continues walking until he's hip deep, and then he stops.
I clutch onto him, still laughing.
The golden sun rays shine on his face, showing off the eye catching features on his face.

I smile just a little, unaware of how long he's been holding me, how long he's been staring at me.
Time freezes.

Suddenly, he leans in and whispers.
"Do you know how beautiful you are?"

My eyes widen.
And just like that, he drops me in the water, not even giving me a damn moment to comprehend what he just said to me.

I surface, gasping for air and hearing there laughter echo throughout the beach.
"You're so dead!" I shout at Marko, running after him with a vengeance.

Of course he runs away, and I'm not able to catch him.
But still...
Tonight...was the best night I've had in a long time.

***

Soon, it's almost 1:00 in the morning, and the party is over.
Marko gave me a ride home, because my bike ran out of gas.
Everyone else went back to the cave.

I stretch my arms out, feeling the cool summer air blow through my open fingers.
I feel so free in this moment.
I feel so...happy.

When he pulls up to my driveway, I step off.
"Thanks," I say to him, smiling a little. "Tonight was fun."
"Yeah," he grins, "it was pretty cool."

I should say goodbye and go inside, but something
screams at me to stay.
So I stand there, silence stretching between us.
Until Marko glances down at his bike.

"I should get back."

"Yeah," I wave a little, "um, bye."

"Luna?"

I turn to look at him.
He only stares at me for a moment, his mind turning within his head.
"I..." He trails off.
What does he want to say?

He looks at me. "Sleep well, okay?"
Oh...
I nod. "Thank you," I wave again, "goodnight."

He doesn't respond, he speeds away down the road, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.
I quietly sneak inside and up into my room, shutting the door behind me.

My heart is pounding out of my chest.
Marko was going to say something else, I could see it on his face.
But what stopped him from saying it?

I climb into bed, curling into a ball under my blankets.
He called me beautiful...
I blush extremely hard, fighting to keep my giggles from becoming loud.

No one has called me beautiful before.
Not in a moment like that...

I put a hand over my heart.
No, don't get carried away.
He didn't mean it. He was probably joking.
Still, the way he held me, and whispered it in my ear...

It left me breathless.