Love Drunk: Halloween Style!

Welcome to a belated Halloween version of Love Drunk! This is not a canonical chapter, it's just for fun! So even though it's late, I hope you like it! :)

Friendship! What Evelyn Robertson wouldn't do for her friend Roxanne Harmon wasn't worth doing! Lainie was a loyal and loving friend, she and Roxy had been inseparable since their first day at primary school. Lainie had stood up to bullies and been battered for her troubles, all for Roxy!

Roxy was always a beautiful young woman, but when she was younger she was chubby and an easy target for teasing. Lainie was a freckly little nerdy girl who kept quiet, except for when Roxy was being picked on! Then she transformed into a little lioness and lost many battles defending her best friend. She had stood by her through thick and thin!

So when Roxy asked her to move to Midnight Hollow from Riverview with her, she jumped at the chance! Midnight Hollow was the hometown of Roxy's favourite band, Sweet Cacophony! It just so happened that the band were looking for a new keyboard player after their previous one, Jeremy Price, mysteriously disappeared. Roxy was an avid pianist and she had her own keyboard, this was a great opportunity for her to be with her idols! "You're okay with this?" Roxy asked her nervously.
"Yes!" Lainie rolled her eyes, how many times? "Besides, I've managed to achieve two out of the four goals I set myself!" she smiled wryly.

"Oh yeah?" Roxy smiled back curiously.
"Yeah! Graduate, check! Go to Europe, check! Marry Jared Leto and die! Still working on number three and I'm in no hurry to complete number four!" she chuckled as Roxy joined in.
"I thought it was marry Christian Slater and die?"
"It is! But it's also not 1991 and I'm not a vampire slayer!" Roxy gave her best friend a playful shove.
"I'll stick the kettle on!"

As they settled into their new house, Lainie looked around the neighbourhood. This town was well known for it's spooky goings on, disappearances, sightings of strange creatures roaming the hills at night, and most of the population seemed to be nocturnal! Hardly anybody went out during the day! But Lainie put this to the back of her mind and focused on Roxy's goal, to be in the band she adored! Lainie was planning on asking in the local restaurants and cafes if there were any cooks positions available. Her dream was to be a top chef with a chain of her own restaurants!

But her search was useless. No vacancies in any of them! As she stood outside the grocery store, a flyer in the window caught her eye:
Help Wanted!
Single mother seeks housekeeper to keep her unruly twins in order and to cook and clean as and when required! Interested? Then call 07695433451 and ask for Temperance!
Lainie was definitely interested! She was good with kids and she was sure to get some cooking and baking done, it sounded ideal! She had called the number and spoke to a very eccentric and babbling woman named Temperance Kennedy. She arranged for her to meet the twins and to check out the house she was to be keeper of. When she arrived, the house seemed just like all the other houses around town...old and spooky looking!

When Miss Kennedy answered she was just as Lainie had imagined, totally bonkers! "Hello! You must be Lainie! Come in come in!" she sang to her and pulled her inside.

"Excuse the mess!" she giggled, but Lainie couldn't see anything messy about the place.
"You have a lovely home!" was all she could say.

"Oh thank you, Robbie is out at the moment but Lottie will be in to meet you soon. They're a handful I warn you!" she giggled again, it was annoying, but Lainie tried not to let it get to her.

As Temperance was laying down a few rules, a young woman appeared. "Hello!" she chirped.
"Lottie? Meet Lainie!" Temperance introduced the girls to one another as Lainie looked at the young woman, this was one of the twins???

"Hi!" Lainie mumbled, "I'm sorry, I was expecting children?" Temperance let out a booming laugh.
"Oh no no no! Do I look like a mother of children???"

"I'm Charlotte, mother doesn't trust me or my brother Rob to do anything! Rob was expelled from the Academy in his first year and I could never attend due to my nerves!" Charlotte was very pretty, thin, but pretty!
"The Academy?" Lainie looked at her, confused.
"Yes! The Wiccan Academy!" Lainie obviously didn't hear her right, WICCAN Academy???

"Sorry!" Lainie laughed nervously, "I thought you said Wiccan Academy there!"
"Yes!" A puzzled expression appeared on Charlotte's pretty face.
"Oh!" was all she could reply.
"We're witches!" Temperance waved a hand, "I didn't put that in the ad because I wanted some replies! And you humans with your prejudices, just tell me one thing...are you anti Wicca?"

Lainie didn't know what to say, "Er...no not exactly!"
"Good!" Temperance nodded, "You can start tomorrow, 8am sharp!"

When Lainie arrived back, Roxy was standing in front of the mirror muttering away to herself. "You have at least four hours until the auditions!" Lainie smiled and patted her friend on the shoulder.
"I know!" she whimpered, "I'm so nervous Lain!" she cried.
"You look fine honey! Let's go get something to eat!"

As they headed to the kitchen, Lainie suddenly remembered her achievement. "Oh forgot to say, I got a job today! I'm housekeeping for some really weird people who think they're witches!" she laughed as Roxy stopped dead for a moment.
"Not the Kennedys?" she gasped.
"Yes, why?" Roxy rolled her eyes and groaned as she followed her.

"They're actual practicing witches! They're from the Red Tree Coven of Midnight Hollow! They're big news in this town! The twins are kinda...unstable!" Roxy gave her a worried look.
"In what way?" Lainie eyed her friend warily.
"They can't control their powers! Their spells often go...well badly is all I'll say!" Lainie scoffed at her best friend.

"There's no such thing as magic!" Roxy pushed her roughly and let out a tiny squeak as Lainie made for the fridge.
"Don't ever say that again Lain! Or we'll all suffer! Don't knock what you don't understand!" Lainie shook her head and laughed again, there really was no such thing as magic! The Kennedys were just nuts!

The club was dark but lit with coloured strobe lights. Three young men stood on the stage as the girls approached them. Their faces glowed in the lights and Lainie couldn't see them properly but they all had long hair and tattoos, typical rock stars!

One of the boys called to them, "You here for the audition?" his voice was soft, almost whispery as Roxy called back nervously,
"Er y-yeah!"
"What's your name?"
"Roxanne Harmon!" her voice was shaky as Lainie squeezed her hand and whispered,
"Knock 'em dead!"

Roxy seemed to impress the three boys, as she sat and played a few of their songs on the keyboard, their faces came into view as they complimented her on her effort and asked her to try accompanying them.

The lead singer was very handsome, he had a pretty boy quality to him amongst all that hair and attitude. He had bright, glowing blue eyes that made Lainie's stomach swirl around like a tumble dryer. He was really very cute and when he sang, she got lost in his voice, it was so beautiful!

The guitarist was equally as handsome, with brown eyes that also glowed, but not in the same way. He played his guitar rather aggressively, Lainie imagined he wasn't one to cross!

And the drummer completed a trio of handsome men! He seemed softer, more approachable than the other two. Lainie imagined he was the older and wiser one of them all, like a big brother figure.

When they'd finished a couple of songs, the singer told Roxy that she'd done really well. "You're the best we've heard so far!" his soft and whispery voice was mesmerising. "Give us your number and we'll let you know okay?" Roxy's face fell, she didn't have a mobile and the house phone wasn't set up yet! Lainie jumped up and called to him...

"Roxy doesn't have a phone yet! I'll give you my number...if you...if you like?" the singer smiled slightly at her and replied,
"Sure! It would be my pleasure!" Lainie blushed and approached the stage.

"I'm Dexter! And that's my brother Ashton and my best friend Drew, and you are?" she blushed even more, her cheeks were so hot she was relieved that the lights hid it so well.
"Lainie, Lainie Robertson!"
"That's...is that short for Elaine?"
"No Evelyn!" she couldn't believe she told him that! She hated her name, but she seemed to want to tell him everything...

...his eyes had complete control over her! "Well thanks Evelyn, we've gotta run. We'll be in touch!" he smiled again, but there was something about the way he said the last sentence that sent a shiver down her spine. 

Not in a bad way, but in a take me I'm yours kind of way. She was smitten with this guy and she'd only just met him! But despite her attraction for him, there was a distance in his voice that she couldn't ignore, this guy was off limits...

...but it just made her want him even more!

As the three boys headed out the back way, Ashton grunted at his brother, "You can't call her little brother!"
"Why not?"
"You know why not! You're attracted to that girl, she's way out of your century kiddo AND she's human!" Drew let out a high pitched laugh that sounded almost like an amused howl.
"Shut it Mitchell!" Dexter muttered.

Dexter hung his head, it was true! He did like her, she was cute and those little freckles on her nose made him want to nibble her neck! "Okay, but I want her friend! She's the best keyboard player I've heard in a long time...even better than Jeremy!"
"That's true elder Maloney! She's pretty hot on those keys!" Drew agreed with his friend.
"Well it's a good job we got rid of him then isn't it?" Ashton grumbled, "Now let's go, Avril's waited long enough!"

The next morning, Roxy was up at the crack of dawn! She was waiting to hear back from Sweet Cacophony. Lainie sat opposite her as she read her paper, her hands shaking it somewhat with nerves. Lainie was also nervous, it was her first day working for the Kennedy family! She still wasn't convinced that they were actual witches but...just as she was thinking this, a headline on the front page caught her eye!

Lainie wrinkled her nose and screwed her eyes to read the small print on Roxy's newspaper, "Hospital Ward Raided!" it said. From what she could make out it seemed as if thieves had broken into the local hospital and stolen supplies, only thing was there were no drugs stolen, just blood! Roxy looked over the top of the newspaper at her best friend, "What?"

"Nothing!" Lainie shrugged innocently.

"You're reading my paper again! Look if you want it..." she began but Lainie shook her head vigorously.

"No no! It's just..."

"What?" Roxy's left eyebrow arched as she scanned Lainie's face.

"The hospital robbery! You'd think..."

"What?" her eyebrow arched even further, but this time rather than being annoyed, she was genuinely curious.

"Blood was taken, no drugs, no cash, no equipment!" Roxy blinked and cleared her throat.

"Maybe vampires did it!" and then she let out a high pitched giggle and stood up, heading for her bedroom.

"You know sarcasm is the lowest form of wit Roxanne!" Lainie tutted and frowned. "Vampires! Pft, and I'm Buffy Summers!" Roxy laughed even louder as she turned back to face her.

"Well I wish you monsters!" she chuckled.

"Gee thanks Willow!" Lainie called to her. She and Roxy were obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, often quoting from the show to amuse themselves. But something about this whole break-in just didn't seem right! It was getting close to Halloween, maybe it was just a prank. Just then her phone rang, an unfamiliar mobile number. 

"Hello?" There was a short silence, and then the male voice spoke.

"Hi, is that...Lainie?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, this is Ashton Maloney, from the other night?" his voice was silky smooth, like his brother's, and like his brother there was a distance in his tone.

"Oh yes!"

"I just wanted to let Roxy know that she's in, if she wants?"

Lainie smiled, Roxy so wanted to join this band! "Thanks Ashton, I'll tell her!"

"Cool, rehearsals are tonight, same place at sundown!" and he hung up. Lainie shouted her best friend.

"Hey Roxanne! Guess who's in a band now?" Roxy appeared in the doorway and gasped. "You got it girl! You're the new keyboard player for Sweet Cacophony!" Roxy squealed and jumped up and down! But in the back of her mind, Lainie had a bad feeling...

Rob and Charlotte Kennedy were identical twins, and just as kooky as each other. Temperance was out somewhere and after giving Lainie hefty instructions on how to treat the twins, the grown up twins who were two years older than she was, it was just the three of them in the house. Rob was looking at Lainie with yearning in his eyes.

"You're very beautiful!" he mumbled.
"Thank you!" Lainie blushed and tried to read her book.
"Your eyes are blue!"
"Yes!" not looking up from her book, she nodded.
"You're freckles are all over your cheeks...and your nose..."
"ROB!" Lainie announced rather loudly.

"Yes?"
"Please, will you let me read my book for a little while? And then maybe you could help me bake some cupcakes?" Rob's face lit up with excitement.
"Really???"
"Yep! Just..." Lainie sighed, "...let me finish this one chapter, sound good?"
"Yes, very!" he nodded enthusiastically. Rob may have been a grown man but he seemed to behave like a child. And like a child, he wasn't very good at following instructions!

"So did you hear about the vampires stealing the blood from the hospital?" Lainie growled and closed her book.
"Vampires?" she played along, even though she wanted to throw her book at him and break his annoying glasses.
"Yes, they stole the blood! Must be reformed vampires, not into killing humans for sustenance!" Lainie closed her eyes and screwed up her face.
"You've lost me, what are you talking about?"
"You do know that as well as the vampire infestation there are three separate clans in this town yes?" Lainie's patience was wearing thin.
"Vampires? Clans?"

"Yes, the Graysons are the newest in town and very young, the patriarch is barely 200!" Lainie could only listen to Rob in disbelief. "And then there's the oldest clan, the Trevalyans! They came here from Dragon Valley over 350 years ago when the town was founded..." Rob blathered on as Lainie thought about his little tale, imagining these clans fighting for supremacy in this spooky little town!

"...and then finally there's the Maloneys!" Lainie's ears pricked up, the Maloneys??? Like the boys in the band Maloneys??? Lainie butted in.
"What do you mean?" but just as he was about to explain, Temperance appeared and began to scold him.

"ROBBIE! Enough of your stories! Really, with Halloween coming up he likes to tell tales! Lainie will you help me with the bags in the car? I have a couple of pumpkins for the twins to carve!" Rob was scowling at his mother until the mention of pumpkins turned his frown upside down as Lainie followed Temperance outside.

Just as Lainie was finishing at the Kennedy house for the day, the guitar player from the band Roxy had just joined appeared at the door. "Hey!" he addressed her with surprise.
"Hello again!" she smiled and nodded.

"I'm looking for Char, why are you here? How do you know the Kennedys?" he was pretty nosy!
"I work for Temperance, I'm her new housekeeper!"
"Oh!" was all he could say, "Is Char there?" the look of adoration on his face was unmistakable.
"No she's out I'm afraid! Don't know where, she said something about mushroom picking at dusk? If that makes any sense..." he butted in and turned away.

"Yes, thanks!" and he was gone. Keen, he really was besotted with Charlotte! It was cute!

As Lainie headed home, she thought about Dexter Maloney and how he'd made her feel. How Rob had claimed that he and his brother were vampires. She let out that giggle that she had suppressed earlier as she was aware of someone behind her...someone VERY CLOSE behind her!

Drew found Charlotte foraging around for ingredients no doubt as he called to her, "Hey Char!"
"Hello Andrew!" she called back in a sing song voice. "What are you doing here?"

"It's not safe for you to be out on your own Char!" he mumbled and his cheeks glowed.
"Ah, so the big bad wolf is here to protect his Little Red Riding Hood?" she smiled and turned around.

"Char, the wolf wanted to kill Little Red, remember? I want to make sure you don't get killed!" he frowned.
"I appreciate your concern Andrew, but I can take care of myself!" Drew looked down at the ground and grinned.

"Why won't you marry me?" Charlotte laughed softly and shook her head, taking hold of his hands and feeling the roughness on his fingers from years of playing his guitar.
"Silly puppy! You know why!"
"I'd let you do anything! I'd give you anything Char! You know that right?"

Charlotte sighed, "Andrew it's never going to work! You and me? It's too...taboo!"
"I don't care! I've loved you since I was a pup and I will continue to love you until I'm old, grey and my fangs have fallen out!" Charlotte walked away calling back to him.

"Love is not enough!"
"What else is there?" he retorted and kicked a mound of dirt with his shoe. Why did she always push him away?

Lainie was about to run when she spotted those glowing blue eyes, and she felt her heart begin to slow down to a normal pace. "Hey!" Dexter smiled at her and winked.
"Hello!" was all she could say.

"I was out for a walk and I er...I spotted you so...I thought I'd come over and say hey!" he blinked and a small chuckle escaped his perfect lips.
"Oh, well you did that already so..." why was she being so...short?

"Your friend really was the best keyboard player we saw by far! And I just want you to know that she's safe with us, you know?" what an odd thing to say.
"No I don't, safe in what way?" Lainie eyed him intently, more intently than she had ever done before!
"You know, we won't hurt her or let anything or anyone else hurt her!" suddenly his eyes burned into hers and he added, "But you're not!"
"I beg your pardon?"

"You need to stay away from me, I...I will only hurt you! And I don't wanna do that Evelyn, I like you way too much to ever...look just don't come around when we practice or..."
"But my friend needs my support!" Lainie looked at him in disbelief. Suddenly he grabbed hold of her and breathed her in, a low soft growl murmuring in his throat.

"You do things to me, can't you see that? I feel things when you're around! And I can't afford to...feel!"
"And what about me? Do you think I want to feel things for you? Do you think I have a choice? When you look at me I want you to just do whatever you want with me! And I wouldn't care as long as I'm with you!" he let her go and turned away.

"Don't say these things to me!" he breathed and screwed his beautiful eyes shut.
"Why? I like you and you like me! We only just met and it feels like I've known you a lifetime!"
"No!" he spun back round and faced her.

"I mean it! Keep away from me, or you'll regret it!" he growled again, but this time it was more aggressive.

Lainie closed her eyes and sighed, "Dexter..." but when she opened them, he was gone!
"Well this is interesting!" A frail voice called from the trees.

A young woman with dark brown hair and eyes just like Dexter's appeared from the shadows with an amused grin on her very pale and scarred face. "Dexy's in looooove!" she giggled.
"Who the heck are you?" Lainie spat as the woman cocked her head to one side and laughed, it seemed to take all of her strength to do that one thing and it sounded eerie.

"I am a ghost and you are an angel sent down from heaven to cleanse his blackened soul and to revive his shriveled heart!" Lainie began to walk away and leave the strange young woman behind as she called to her, "Until we meet again, dear sister!"

"Until he drains you dry and consumes you!" she mumbled and blended back into the shadows.

Dexter returned home to a panicked Ash and Drew. "What?" he looked from one to the other.
"It's Avril!" Ash gulped as Drew finished for him...

"Dex she's gone!"

Rather than head back home alone, Lainie invited Rob over to finish his story. "I was so pleased to be asked out on a..."
"Rob I'm not asking you on a date, it's just coffee and a chat!" Lainie rolled her eyes as they sat together on the couch. "Now, finish your story!"
"What story..." Rob looked confused.
"The one about the vampire clans!"

"Ohhhh! Yes! Where was I?" he frowned and tried to concentrate.
"The Maloneys, vampires? Continue!"

"Well, there are only three Maloneys left now! Their parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews were all murdered about 50 years ago and Avril Maloney was fatally wounded! I remember mother was sent for in the middle of the night by her brothers, Ashton and Dexter! She was a goner but mother healed her, well not entirely. You see she was left permanently weak, she could no longer hunt for herself. You see all vampires are supernaturally strong, they have power beyond your common and garden human...no offence!" he nodded sympathetically.

"None taken!" she blinked and waited for him to continue.
"Yeah so Avril was going to die...you know a true death? There was a piece of wooden stake embedded in her heart, by all intents and purposes she should have died!" The young woman Lainie met earlier, could she be Avril Maloney? She had Dexter's eyes!

"But I think her brothers' love kept her alive! Ashton, he's now the clan patriarch and her favourite brother, he dotes on her. She never leaves the house and her brothers do everything for her! Mother managed to heal her heart around the wooden splinter, but it's still there! She's weak because it can never be removed! She's a poor, frail little thing! And the Maloney boys feel guilty because she's their baby sister and they should have protected her!"

"But there was always a rift between the Trevalyans and the Maloneys! Dexter got into a spat one day with Julius Trevalyan's son and heir, it got ugly, apparently Samuel Trevalyan tried to force himself on Avril and Dexter caught him and...killed him! Julius demanded that James Maloney, Dexter's father, give up Dexter to them like an eye for an eye kind of thing! But James would never throw his own son to the wolves! Instead he sent him away to stay with the Mitchells, a tribe of werewolves out in the woods. But while he was away, the Trevalyans attacked the Maloneys, killed James and his wife Elisabeth along with everyone else! Ashton ran to get Dexter when the slaughter began, not realising that Avril was in the house!"

"Dexter hasn't been the same for 50 years! He's racked with guilt, he feels responsible for his family's deaths! A few months later, in the middle of the night, Ashton and Dexter enlisted mother's assistance once again and with the help of magic, the brothers invaded the Trevalyan mansion and killed Julius and practically the entire clan. Only Julius' daughter Rosalie, her mother Genevieve and the servants were spared! Rosalie was only 40 years old at the time, a mere baby! Dexter looked out for Rosalie, he just wanted to make sure she was safe, despite being the enemy!" Lainie looked at Rob, unable to gauge his emotions. Was he telling the truth? Vampire clans at war? Could this really be true? Or just a very fertile imagination?

"Anyway now the clans are depleted and Ashton is supposed to have taken a bride to expand the clan, but it's been over 50 years! There's a girl who works in their nightclub, the Maloneys own property all over town, and she's been in love with Ashton for years! She's absolutely besotted with him. My sister is very good friends with her, they have a lot in common! The Maloneys have a guardian, a werewolf from the Mitchell tribe named Drew, and Lottie likes him very much! Dexter brought him back as a pup about 30 odd years ago and he's been with them ever since!"

"What about Dexter? Could he...marry and expand the clan?" Lainie asked innocently.
"Oh yes, but like I said...he's a shadow of his former self since the slaughtering!" Lainie breathed heavily and smiled, he did tell great stories. Yes the Maloneys seemed guarded and mysterious, but vampires? Werewolves??? Yeah right!!!

"Lainie? I know you met them and that your friend is in their band now, but I would steer clear if I were you! The rumour going around town is that they are behind the hospital raid, they need blood for Avril to keep her going. The brothers live on animal blood but Avril needs human blood to survive!" Lainie stood up and put on a fake smile, but she was shaking inside.

"Well thanks for the chat Rob, it's been great!"

After Rob had left, Lainie felt a mixture of sick and excited! She was actually beginning to believe all of this. But rather than vow to stay away from Dexter Maloney...

...she wanted him more than ever!

"Come on Avril you need to drink it! You've been outside, you'll be weak!" Dexter stood in his sister's room with a glass of blood.
"No! I don't!"
"Remember the witch said you need to keep up your daily intake of plasma to survive!"
"It's not fresh Dexy!" she pouted.

"I know baby but what else can we do? Our clan hasn't killed or hunted for over two centuries! Dad's rules!" Avril let out an exasperated laugh.
"Daddy's dead Dexy! And so is mummy and auntie Laura and uncle Maxwell and cousin Sarah and cousin Richard and..."
"STOP!" Dexter yelled!

"Avril stop! It's just the three of us now but Ashton is in charge and he says we abide by the clan's rules! I agree with him! We were born into this we weren't turned! We're not savages we're purebred and that makes us better than these murdering scumbags on the streets!"
"Window dressing dear brother! Are you forgetting Samuel???" she waved a dismissive hand. "If Ashy wants to abide by our long dead father's rules then we will die out! He can't even find a wife! 50 years and he's still not taken a bride! And you..."

"Avril, don't go there with Samuel! That's a low blow little sister!"
"Is it Dexy? Murder is murder! And by the way, you're 296 years old! Grow up already!" Dexter sighed and shook his head.
"Avril? If you don't drink this god help me I will hold you down and force it down your THROAT!!!" Avril gasped and took a step back.

"I'd like to see you try!" she hissed.
"ASH???" Dexter yelled.
"WHAT?" a voice called back.

"Get the restraints! Avril's playing up again!" Avril let out a little squeak and backed into a corner, as Ashton's footsteps echoed around them.

Suddenly Avril blurted out, "I saw your girlfriend! I'll tell Ashy you were with her if you don't BACK OFF!"
"Avril don't push me!" he growled through gritted teeth.
"I'll tell him..."

"...and then you'll never see her again!" their eyes locked as Ash appeared with the restraints from the basement.
"Right!" he looked from his sister to his brother as Dexter raised a hand, still staring at Avril.
"It's cool Ash, she drank some. False alarm!" Ash didn't believe his brother, but nodded and left them to it.

Avril grinned wickedly and lay down on her bed, victorious. "See how much better it is when we all get what we want?" Dexter balled his fists hard and clenched his jaw. "And if you try to force me again Dexy..."

"...I'll make her go away! And you know that I can!"
"Why are you doing this? Where is this vitriol coming from?" Avril's grin disappeared and she began to weep.

"There is no room in your life for a girl Dexy! I'm lonely so you deserve to be too..." with a determined look on her face, she added...

"...and she will have to go!" Avril's words sent a chill through Dexter's body, she'd said that once before and Rosalie left. Lainie wasn't safe...

...and Dexter didn't know what to do!

As the boys headed out for their practice, Avril was left alone once again. Alone to do as she pleased, go where she pleased, see who she pleased! And her brothers had no control over her whatsoever!

Erin Daley stood behind the bar gazing at her hunky drummer boy! She loved Ashton Maloney with all of her heart! But he had changed overnight, from being friendly and even protective of her to downright cruel! And all because she confessed her feelings to him one night when she was drunk!

As Ash and Erin exchanged wanting glances, Dexter's heart sank to his stomach when Lainie walked in with Roxy, his warning obviously not getting through to her!

As he grabbed her arm and took her aside, she winced and pulled roughly away from him. 

"Go home!" he growled.
"Make me!" she stared at him with purpose.
"I told you to stay away from me!"

"I know you did, but I'm not scared of you Dexter Maloney!"
"Well you should be because..." Lainie didn't let him finish.
"Because you're a big bad vampire who wants to suck my blood?" Dexter's pale skin went even paler.

"Evelyn! If you get too close to me? I will drain you dry and I will enjoy every minute of it! Do you hear me???" Lainie let out a bitter laugh.
"I know all about you and your clan! You don't kill humans! And you certainly won't drain me dry, so quit acting like you're Count Dracula and be real with me! I know you stole that blood from the hospital, so don't try to scare me off with your empty threats!"

Dexter took hold of her hands and sighed sadly, "You're really not scared of me huh?"
"No, I'm intrigued by you! I want to get to know you, I like the way I feel when I'm around you I..."
"The last girl I got close to...it didn't end well! That's why you have to forget about me!"

Lainie shook her head and felt her eyes well up with tears, "If only it was that easy! It's not! Can you forget about me?"
"No!" he replied honestly, "You're on my mind a lot! You were right when you said it feels like we've known each other a lifetime but...I can't get involved with anyone, my sister..." just as he was about to explain, the band started up and Ash called for him.

Lainie decided it was best if she headed home, 24 hours of having Dexter Maloney in her life and her head felt like jelly wobbling about on the top of her shoulders.

When she stepped onto her porch, the woman from earlier was standing there waiting for her. "Hello sister!"
"Avril?" she looked at the girl and saw Dexter's eyes staring back at her.

"You're trying to make Dexy happy!" she pouted and grabbed her by the arm.
"No..."

"I can't have that!" Despite being weak and frail, Avril Maloney was still very strong and Lainie struggled to free herself from her tight grip. "I'm going to get rid of you, just like I did Rosalie Trevalyan!"

The practice was over and Roxy felt good about her performance. They had a gig in a week's time and she felt ready. As she scanned the club for Lainie, Dexter mumbled "She went home!" and headed out the back.

Erin decided it was time to have it out with Ash, "Ash?"
"I'm busy Erin!" he replied gruffly.
"I love you Ash! And I don't care if you don't want to hear it because I think you love me too!"
"Erin..." Ash seethed and pulled her out of the bar and into a secluded corner.

"Before you say anything...shut up! Okay you have 300 years on me but so what? When two people love each other, what does age matter?"
"Erin I am your employer and you will show me some respect!"
"I want to be your wife Ash! Not your barmaid!"

"I've known your family for over a hundred years, your grandfather and his father before him, both worked for me at the brewery in Moonlight Falls! I watched your mother grow up and marry, I watched her pushing you around in your pram when you were a baby!"

"But I love you, god help me I do! I've never loved anyone until you turned 18 and stood on my doorstep looking for a job!"
"I didn't want the job I wanted you!" she muttered.
"I know, Erin if we do this? It's not going to be Cinderella and Prince Charming, it's going to be the Silent Hill version and that will only be on a good day! My life is...it's complicated and I don't want you to be tainted by it!"

Erin kissed him on the lips as he leaned back in surprise, but he was enjoying the sensation immensely.

"I don't care! I'm dead anyway if I'm not with you!" she breathed.

Ash kissed her back, was he really going to do this? Have a relationship with a human young enough to be his great, great, great, great granddaughter? Yes he was!

When the boys arrived home, Avril was nowhere to be seen!

And when Roxy arrived home, Lainie was missing too! Roxy used their newly connected phone to contact Dexter. "What do you mean she's missing?" he panicked.
"I mean she's not at home!" Roxy shouted back.

Dexter headed out to look for Lainie. As he approached the graveyard, Avril was dancing around like a lunatic inside. "AVRIL?" he called to her, but she ignored him. 

Once inside, she spotted him and stopped with a huge grin on her face. "Dear brother!" she beamed. "It's just the three of us now! Like old times, and Drew of course!"
"Avril tell me you didn't say anything to Evelyn!"
"Like what?"

"Did you scare her away?"
"No..." she pouted. Then with a devilish cackle she added, "I buried her!"
"You...what?"
"Now you shall be as lonely as I am!"

"What are you...where is Evelyn???"
"I TOLD YOU!" she screamed, "BUT YOU NEVER LISTEN!!!"
"Avril..."
"ENOUGH!!! Samuel was the love of my life, and you KILLED HIM!!!" Dexter took a step back in horror.
"He..."

"He what Dexy???"
"He tried to...he forced himself on you, I was there I saw..."
"NO!" she shook her head violently, tears running down her cheeks. "We were going to be married, but we knew that our families wouldn't approve! We were going to run away and you caught us..." Her face was twisted and angry.

"...and you murdered him in cold blood! Caused a war between our families!"
"Avril no!"
"So I killed Rosalie. And then we were happy! Until SHE came along and made you FEEL! You're not supposed to feel Dexy, you're supposed to SUFFER!!!" 
"You...you killed Rosalie???"
"Yes!" she laughed, "I tied her to a tree at sunrise! And she screamed and screamed as the sun burned her skin!"

Dexter tried to block the thought out of his head, Rosalie was gone, but Lainie... "Avril? Where is Evelyn?"
"I told you! Six feet under and probably losing all of her air supply as we speak!" she nodded triumphantly.

Dexter raced to the back of the graveyard where a mound of earth sat like a tiny mountain in among the bushes and the weeds. Dexter dug frantically to free Lainie from her grave as Ash and Drew, who obviously had been tracking him, arrived and joined in.

Eventually they reached her, she looked as if she was asleep. Dexter carried her out from the earth.

"Where's Avril? Drew?" Drew sniffed the air and shook his head, "Can't get a track on her, she's gone!" Lainie opened her eyes and looked up at Dexter.

"My hero!" she whispered.
"Oh freckles!" he buried his head in her hair and fought back the urge to cry.
"Freckles, I like that!" she smiled as her eyes flickered open and shut.

Dexter helped her up and gently brushed dirt off of her clothes. "Dexter?" she looked into his glowing blue eyes.
"Yes freckles?" there was that name again.
"You were right!" she looked away from him as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"About what?"
"You will only hurt me! We need to stay away from each other!" Dexter felt a sharp pain, like a knife to his chest.
"No, I didn't mean it..."

She slowly began to walk away from him. "Goodbye Dexter!" and she was gone.

Drew decided to check up on Charlotte, just in case Avril appeared and tried anything. When she invited him into her home, Rob took Drew aside for a stern chat.

"What is it?" Drew gave him a menacing stare. He wasn't in the mood for Rob's madness, tonight of all nights.
"I think you and Lottie should stop messing around and just get together already!" Drew sighed impatiently.
"Rob, she says a witch and a werewolf just can't be together! I tried so many times and you know how much I love her!" Rob scoffed and shook his head.

Then as he looked Drew square in the eye, he smiled "Nothing can stop two people being together if it's meant to be!"

Drew found Charlotte round the back looking up at the sky. "Hey!" he called to her.
"Hello Andrew!" she replied, she was the only person who ever called him Andrew and lived to tell the tale.

"I wanna show you something..."
"Oh?" Suddenly Drew began to growl and transform before her eyes.

And rather than terrify her, it seemed to calm her!

"This is me! If you can love me like this? Then we're meant to be!" Charlotte took hold of his hands and smiled.
"Andrew, I can love you in every form imaginable! Now will you kiss me already? After all I have waited over 15 years! My fault of course, I should never have turned away from you but..."

Charlotte didn't have time to finish as Drew kissed her...

...and attempted to turn back as Charlotte tapped his arm. "No, stay like this a little longer?" she smiled as Drew felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her again...

...and when he did, she giggled and tickled his mouth. All these years, waiting for Charlotte to be his girlfriend...and it had been so worth the wait!!!

Roxy stood outside the house she had briefly shared with her best friend, watching Lainie pile her suitcases on the ground. "Do you really have to leave?" Roxy sniffed.
"Yes Roxanne! I do. I'm sorry I can't stay with you but I really don't feel safe here!"

"Dexter isn't a bad guy Lain, it's not his fault that his sister is a nutcase!"
"I can't stick around to find out, and with her on the loose...I'm going to Moonlight Falls to be with my grandmother for a while, then I think I'll go back to Riverview!" Roxy was so sad that they were to be separated for the first time in over 20 years.

As they said their goodbyes and Roxy headed inside, a voice called out from the shadows. "Hey freckles!" and Lainie spotted that familiar pair of glowing blue eyes in the trees.

"Hello Dexter!"
"Don't go!" he pleaded as he revealed himself, risking burning up in the daylight.
"Dexter you shouldn't be out here at this time of the day!"
"I'm not going anywhere until you agree to stay! Nearly 300 years I've been on this planet..."

"...and I'm risking my unlife here to keep you!" Lainie began to panic, she could see his skin start to smoke as tiny embers flickered from his clothes.
"Dexy? Please..."

"Stay with me freckles! I promise to protect and love you for the rest of your life!"
"Dexy!!!"

"I've got barely ten minutes here freckles! Say you'll stay! Or I burn!" Lainie's panic overwhelmed her as she screeched,
"OKAY!!!" and a huge grin spread across Dexter's face as he grabbed her hands.

"I want to be with you, I want us to be together! You trust me enough?" he winked as she gave him a disapproving glare. "Gotta push you for an answer here freckles, kinda gettin' crispy!"
"I...I have to think about it, okay???" she breathed.
"Oh I so wanna nibble your neck right now!" he grunted and breathed her in as she blushed and let out a tiny squeak. His skin was smoking even more as his hands grew hot in hers and she had to pull away before he burned her.

"I love you Evelyn! Do you love me? Will you be with me?" Watching him burn in the daylight, their blue eyes connecting...she knew the answer to that. Her heart ached at the thought of losing him as she grabbed him by the hand, painful as it was, and pulled him towards the house.

Shaded by the sun, Lainie kissed him on the lips as he kissed her back. 

His fangs scraping on her bottom lip and drawing blood. She could taste it in her mouth as he pulled away.

"You'll have to be mine now!" he gave her a toothy and bloody grin. "I've tasted you!" He licked her blood slowly off of his lips, "And you didn't answer me!".
"I..." she stammered.
"Do you love me? Will you be with me?" he pushed her for an answer.

Finally she replied "Of course I love you Dexter, and I will be with you!"

Keira Maloney sat on the swing outside her family home...in the early hours of the morning! She couldn't go out during the day, she couldn't play with the other kids either. She only had her cousin James for company and he was more into computer games than playing outside.

She was a happy child despite her isolation, her parents home schooled her and her father taught her how to hunt animals for blood. But being a vampire wasn't fun for Keira, her mother always tried to make her think about her father and uncle and how their childhood was different from hers, their obligation and the rules of the clan that had long died out with the family. Rules that no longer applied to Keira or James now that her Uncle Ashton was clan patriarch and happily married with a son of his own.

Keira's father Dexter called to her from the top window, "Kee Bee??? Time to come in honey, fifteen minutes until dawn!" 
"Coming daddy!" she called back feeling rather sad that it was time up. Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned around and saw a frail vampire lady with eyes like hers and her fathers. "Hello little girl!" the woman smiled, and it made Keira want to run but she seemed to be frozen on the spot. 

"Would you like to play a game with your Auntie Avril???" her smile transformed into an evil grin as she grabbed Keira's arm with a bony hand...



Apologies for this chapter being so late! Game troubles made this nearly impossible to do, but I was determined to get it out! So a very belated Happy Halloween to all of my friends and loyal readers! I hope you enjoyed this alternate universe, just a bit of silly fun! Final chapter of Love Drunk should be out in the next week or so! :)