Eleventh Grade Burns(10)

Henry glanced at him. “You’re wondering about Joss, right?”

Vlad nodded. Dutifully, Henry spilled all the details: The enormous U-Haul, helping his aunt and uncle with a million and one boxes, avoiding eye contact with his cousin until the truck had been emptied. Henry hesitated for a moment, and Vlad said, “Anything else?”

It was only then that he noticed the puffy, purple bruise under Henry’s right eye. “Dude, did you get in a fight with Joss?”

Henry grinned. “Busted his lip.”

Vlad raised an eyebrow, suppressing a small smile. “Why?”

His hands tensed on the steering wheel. “Nobody calls my best friend a mosquito. Especially somebody too chicken to say it in anything but a muttered whisper.”

Vlad allowed his smile to come through. “Thanks, Henry.”

“Hey, man. I got your back.”

The sky outside had faded from a soft blue to a mix of oranges and reds. Henry cranked up the stereo. Vlad watched out the window and wondered where Joss was now, what he was doing. Would he unpack before beginning his hunt for Vlad? Or would he be waiting in the shadows near Nelly’s front porch when Vlad returned home tonight?

Joss’s presence in Bathory was unsettling to say the least.

Henry turned the radio down again. “I forgot to ask you something. Melissa wants to know if you wanna go on a double date with her cousin Sara.”

Vlad shook his head. “I don’t feel like dating anyone, Henry.”

“It’s not a date. Not really. But it would do you some good to get out with other girls. Y’know?”

Vlad slumped down in his seat. The scene at last year’s Freedom Fest played over and over in his imagination. The words he’d spoken to Meredith ripped apart his insides even now. “I don’t love you. I never did. Now just ... just get away from me.”

He cast a quick glance at Henry. “Girls other than Meredith, you mean.”

Henry sighed. “Dude, what’s the big deal about Meredith? She’s just a girl. There’s probably a couple hundred at Bathory High alone.”

“She’s not just a girl. She’s ... Meredith.”

“You hardly know her, Vlad. I mean, it’s just like with everybody else—you keep your distance.”

Vlad balked. “I know her.”

Henry said, “Okay, so what’s her favorite color?”

“Pink.”

“Anybody with eyes can see that. What’s her dog’s name?”

Vlad blinked. Meredith had a dog? “I don’t ... know.”

“Beeper. Why did her family move to Bathory?”

“Well ... I ...”

“Her grandmother was sick and they needed to take care of her; they live in her old house.”

Vlad’s heart sank. The truth was he didn’t know Meredith. Not really. “Okay.”

“What does she want to do after graduation?”

“I said okay. You’ve made your point.”

“Have I?” Suddenly Henry sounded enormously frustrated. “Because my point is that you may spend a lot of time fantasizing about who you think Meredith is, but you’ve never really made the effort to know who she is outside of your daydreams. And you’ve certainly never given her a chance to know who you really are.”

Vlad shook his head. “That’s not as easy as it sounds, Henry.”

“So you can’t tell her the vampire stuff. Fine. Don’t. But dude...” The car slowed, pausing at a four-way stop, and Henry met his eyes. “Does she even know your favorite color?”

Vlad swallowed hard. He really hadn’t noticed that he and Meredith were virtually strangers. He just knew that he loved her, and that her absence had left a huge, gaping hole at the center of his being.

Henry sighed as he pulled the car forward through the intersection. “She’s just a girl, Vlad. They all are, until you take the time to get to know them.”

Vlad rolled his eyes at the window, returning his attention to the sky. It was really annoying how Mr. Kiss Every Girl with a Pulse had morphed into Dr. Phil ever since he and Melissa had gotten serious. Clearly, a monthlong relationship was enough to fill Henry with an abundance of romantic wisdom. Riiiiight.

Vlad reached over and turned the volume knob on the stereo up, before Henry felt like sharing any more of his incredible insight on the opposite sex ... or before he threw up. Whichever came first.