“Frankie, come here please.”

Frank fought to roll his eyes as he came back from being with Gee and his mom was on the front porch. The sun was giving him a headache and he just wanted to go lay down.

“What’s up ma?”

“Frankie, are we friends?”

“What?”

“I said are we friends?”

“Yeah Ma, yeah we’re friends.”

“I hope so cause friends talk and…”

“Ma, I’m tired, I just want to go lay down.”

“Take your glasses off.”

“What?”

“Take your sunglasses off Frankie.”

Frank took them off and turned away. He didn’t know if the colour of his eyes was still the same.

“Look at me Frankie…please.”

Frank turned his head and made eye contact with his mother.

“You know if it’s a girl or…”

“It’s not Ma, trust me, I have bigger problems than that and it’s…”

“Not something that you can talk to me about.”

“Yeah.”

“I love you Frankie.”

“Love you too Ma.”

Frank walked off the porch grateful for the darkness in the house. He saw his grandfather and Patrick in the kitchen.

“Well…looks like I’m not the only one that got lucky last night.”

Frank rolled his eyes. Patrick looked at him and then went back to his cereal. Frank just headed upstairs to pass out.

(time passes)

“What are we doing mom?”

“I just feel bad about running out of our date last night so I wanted to bring Grant a bottle of wine as an apology.”

Linda got out of the car and walked to the gate.

“You know you should be the one really apologizing.”

She stepped to the gate and then reached over to unlock it.

“I’m going to leave it on the porch, someone is going to take it otherwise.”

Linda stepped inside the gate and began walking up the path. Thorn, Grant’s dog came out.

“Hey Thorn.”

Linda reached out to pet the dog that she has known for a bit at the store when suddenly he snarled at her.

“Thorn? Thorn, its me, Linda, you know from the store?”

Thorn continued to snarl and then started to advance on her. Linda screamed, dropping the wine bottle and running to the gate.

“MOM!”

Patrick jumped out of the car, the comic he was reading about the hounds of hell in, dropped to the ground. He ran and pulled his mom out of the gate just as the dog reached it. His head went part way through the splintered wood. Linda and Patrick jumped in her car and left quickly.

(time passes)

“Look, you will feel better if you just kill him.”

Patrick rolled his eyes as he watched the Frog brothers open the comic shop.

“I’m not going to kill him Brendon, he’s not even a vampire, he’s only half.”

“Still, that is half too much.”

Ryan looked and Brendon and they nodded.

“Guys, all you have to do is kill the head vampire and all half vampires go back to normal.”

“Does your brother know who the head vampire is?”

Patrick looked at Ryan, and shook his head.

“Then you need to kill him.”

“Stop guys, look all this weird stuff started happening when my mom started dating Grant, the guy who owns the video shop. Maybe he’s the head vampire!”

Patrick opened up the vampire comic.

“It says here that vampires need a day time protector. They used dogs, the hounds of hell. The dog that attacked my mom, he may have been that!”

Brendon and Ryan looked at each other.

“We’ll look into Grant.”

(time passes)

Frank woke up at dusk. He got dressed and slipped his leather jacket on. He snuffed the only light in the room...a lone candle. He headed out of his room into the hallway. Patrick’s door was slightly open.

“Patrick…”

Patrick saw him and shut the door. Frank sighed and went down the stairs.

“Smells good in here, what time is dinner?”

“I told Grant to be here at eight.”

“Company again?”

“Pop, you haven’t had company in almost 20 years!”

“Yeah, and now we are having company again!”

Linda laughed as she pulled the bread from the oven. She looked up and saw Frank.

“Frankie, Grant is coming over for dinner, I’d like for you to meet him.”

“I can’t.”

Frank walked toward the door.

“Frank! Things are going to change when school starts you know!”

Frank opened the door and saw a tall man on the porch.

“Hi, you must be Frank.”

Frank looked the guy up and down.

“And you must be Grant.”

Grant held his hand out, but Frank didn’t take it. He clutched his flowers tightly.

“Well…uh, you’re the man of the house so I won’t enter unless you invite me.”

Frank looked at the guy and smirked.

“By all means, come on in.”

“Thanks.”

Grant passed by entering the house and Frank left.

“Hello?”

Grant looked around for Linda. He heard something behind him, but when he turned he just saw two closed double doors.

“Grant, you’re here, I didn’t even hear you come in!”

“Hello Linda. Yes, Frank let me in.”

‘Sorry, he had a previous engagement apparently.”

“Smells really good. Is it alright if the guest sees the food before the dinner?”

“What? Oh! You mean is it alright for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.”

“Yeah, I get those mixed up.”

Grant pulled the flowers from behind his back.

“Thorn sends her apologies. She promises to behave if you come back.”

“Oh, well I’ll uh…think about it.”

Grant handed Linda and flowers and then leaned in to kiss her. They kissed for a brief moment till a throat cleared. When Linda pulled away slightly flushed, she saw Patrick with two other boys.

“Hey mom, these are my dinner guests. Brendon and Ryan, the Frog brothers.”

“Oh Patrick, I didn’t know you were having guests.”

“Well we can always just have peanut butter or…”

“Nonsense. Grant, this is my youngest son Patrick and this is Brendon and Ryan…Frog?”

“Ma’am.”

The five sit down to dinner. Brendon and Ryan and keeping a close eye on Grant.

“This smells amazing Linda, you outdid yourself.”

“Thank you Grant, but something definitely doesn’t smell amazing, someone has horrible breath.”

The Frog brothers and Patrick look at Grant.

“Nooks, can you please stop breathing on me with your doggie breath.”

Everyone looked over and saw the family dog panting in Linda’s face.

“Nooks, go upstairs!”

Patrick yelled at the dog as Ryan checked off the box of bad breath under the table with an x. They tucked into their food.

“Would you like some parmesan cheese Grant?”

“Oh sure.”

Patrick handed the container over to Grant. He sprinkled it liberally over his food. They all stared at him again as Grant took a bite and started to cough.

“Grant what’s wrong?”

“It’s not parmesan, it’s garlic!”

“Garlic, how did that happen?”

“Bet you hate garlic right?”

Grant looks at Patrick.

“No, I love it, just not this much.”

“Well here, have some water to wash it down…oopps?”

Patrick lunged forward and threw the holy water that the Frog brothers brought. Grant jumped up quickly.

“Does it burn?”

“What? No, it’s freezing!”

“Patrick! What’s wrong with you? Oh Grant, your nice suit.”

Linda began to help him clean off. Brendon and Ryan got up and cut the candles and the lights.

“Now what?”

“He’s not glowing Brendon!”

“I know, one last thing, get it!”

The lights came on and Grant yelled out at seeing his reflection. Patrick was holding a mirror in front of him.

“Patrick!”

“I know what’s going on.”

Grant closed his jacket.

“You do?”

“Sure and you’re wrong.”

“I am?”

Patrick looked at the brothers.

“Of course. I’m not looking to replace your father or steal your mother, I just want to be friends.”

Grant did a slight bow and left. Linda gave Patrick a look and went after him.

“Shit, well none of that worked.”

“Back to square one, kill your brother.”

“Grant, please wait.”

“I’m doing well aren’t I? O for 2 right now.”

“I don’t know what got into him, Patrick isn’t like that really.”

“Kids his age, they will run all over you if you don’t discipline them Linda.”

“Oh he doesn’t run all over me.”

Grant smiled down at Linda and cupped her cheek.

“Protective mother. Let’s try this again tomorrow. Dinner, my place, I’ll cook.”

“Okay.”

He leaned down and kissed her and then left.

---

Frank was on the boardwalk again searching for Gee. He saw Pete and his band of misfits instead. He walked over and pushed Trè out of the way. He grabbed Pete’s jacket.

“Where is he?”

Pete blew smoke into Frank's face and laughed darkly.

"Take it easy Frank."

"Where is he Pete, where's Gee?"

"Frank...if you ever want to see Gee again..."

Pete grabbed the front of Frank's jacket and shook him a bit.

"Then you'll come with us right now."

His smile dropped and he let go of Frank with a push, then turned and walked away.

(time passes)

Pete, his boys and Frank pulled up near the top of a small hill. They were a couple miles outside of town, and all around was dark.

There was a tree on the top of the rise with low, thick branches. Pete walked over to the tree and climbed up...his boys followed.

They looked down the other side of the hill to where a bonfire was blazing and a bunch of drunk, high or both college age kids were partying to loud music that blasted from the speakers in the open trunk of a car.

Pete grinned, the firelight casting stark shadows on his face as he turned to look between his boys...they were all snickering and elbowing each other as they were practically vibrating with excitement.

"Frank..."

He called back to where Frank was still sat on his bike.

"Over here Frank."

His boys joined in, whisper-shouting to him.

"Frank..."

"Come on Frankie boy..."

Pete chuckled.

"You don't want to miss this."

Frank got off his motorcycle and walked over to where they were and climbed into the tree.

Pete grinned down at him then looked back toward the fire.

"Initiation's over Frank..."

He said seriously with his face turned away.

"It's time to join the club."

He turned to look back at Frank, leaning closer with his eyes turned yellow and a wide grin that showed off his fangs as he started to laugh...his boy's joining in.

Frank should not have been surprised, but seeing them for what they really were was more of a shock than he expected.

The boys all laughed and got in his face, showing him their true selves. The music pounded around them until the grin left Pete's face to be replaced by a dark sneer...and then him and the boys were off.

Frank watched the carnage. The humans...yeah humans, never had a chance. The boys weren't just feeding they were blood frenzied, tearing and destroying. As Frank watched the destruction, he could feel it inside him. It was welling up, the same need, the same hunger that he felt when he tried to go after Patrick, but failed thanks to Nooks.

Pete bit into the top of a boy's head, blood spraying everywhere, while Trè and Billie-Joe tore a guy with big frizzy hair in half, and Mike ripped into a girl's throat then threw her, still screaming, into the flames.

"Frankie..."

"Frank, join us..."

"Fraaaaank..."

The vampires' voices whispered loud over the crackling fire and dying screams.

Frank was growling...he could feel his fangs pushing out. He cried out fighting the need. He fell out of the tree and rolled into the sand.

As the screams ended, and the humans took their last gurgling breaths, Pete led his boys back up onto the hill.

They stood there, drenched in blood. Pete took a deep breath in through his nose...he loved the stench of blood.

"So..."

He stared down at Frank.

"Now you know what we are, and now you know what you are. You'll never grow old Frank, and you'll never die..."

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"But you must feed!"

Pete and his boys started to laugh as they saw the defeat on Frank's face.

"No."

It was weak and pathetic, but it was still there. Then Frank passed out.

Notes

Hi there chipmunks...how's you?

"Look mom...I got fangs!"

Frankie is in deep shit now.

Until next time...PLEASE COMMENT, and peace out babies!
<3