Jubilee stared at the TV screen. For the thousandth time that night, a group of scared teenage girls were trapped in a shack. The crazed psychopath was just beyond the door, laughing maniacally. His chain saw easily cut through the wooden door. The girls screamed louder as a blood-soaked football helmet came into view. “Who wants to go long?!” he screamed, laughing even louder. Of course, then the girls screamed louder.

Jubilee would’ve been asleep by now, if it wasn’t for all the screaming girls, laughing killers, and death wails of stupid soon-to-be-dead people. She yawned and glanced at the clock. It was just after twelve in the morning. Jubilee yawned again and decided to give it a rest for the night. She was just reaching for the remote when she began to snore.

* * * * *

“Two in the morning?” Jubilee asked, staring at the clock. “Man, what a nap.” She turned off the TV and looked around. The room was plunged into near-darkness, save for a small lava lamp in the corner. She tried to stand, only to find that both of her legs were asleep. She groaned in frustration, trying to move them around, searching desperately for some circulation.

“Jubilee,” a voice called softly.

Jubilee looked up instantly. “Huh?”

“Over here, Jubilee.”

She turned to the door to find a figure standing in the shadows. “Monet, if this is supposed to be scary, try again.”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” the person said as he stepped into the dim light.

Jubilee gasped in surprise. “Geez, Ev, don’t scare me like that!”

Everett sat down next to her, a smile on his face. “You scare easy and it’s my fault?”

Jubilee threw a couch cushion at him. He caught it and slammed it down on her head. “Ouch! No fair!” Jubilee launched herself at him, tackling Everett around the waist. He laughed and begin to tickle her. “Hey, stop it!” she nearly screamed.

If Everett heard her, he ignored her.

Jubilee had no choice but to run. Or try, anyway. She had just made it around the couch when his hand clamped around her wrist. “Too slow,” he teased. Deciding she’d had enough of his mouth, Jubilee came in low with a head butt. She heard the wind go out of him and knew she’d caught him off guard. Unfortunately, she put a little too much force into it. They both tumbled onto the couch, which creaked in protest.

“Gotcha!” Jubilee announced, pinning his arms and straddling his chest. “Now what do you have to say?”

Everett only stared up at her, a strange smile on his face.

“What are you starin’ at?” she finally asked.

“You,” he replied.

Jubilee blushed bright red and attempted to cover her cheeks. She realized her mistake seconds later. His hands locked on her hips, and Jubilee soon found Everett staring down at her. “You planned this, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he answered. “And if I did?”

“Never mind,” Jubilee muttered, slipping her arms around his neck. Everett leaned closer, until his face was inches from her own. Jubilee pulled his head down, pressing her lips against his.

Everett suddenly broke the kiss. “Not too desperate, are we?”

Jubilee frowned up at him. “Makin’ fun of me is not a turn-on, Ev,” she warned him.

“You’re cuter when you’re angry,” he informed her, gently kissing her nose.

Jubilee smiled and kissed him again. “Anything to save your butt, huh?”

“Anything to kiss you again,” he corrected her. Everett begin a slow path downward, leaving a trail of kisses to her neck. Jubilee sighed happily and let him do all the work. He smiled and stroked her cheek, now staring at her neck. “Jubilee, do you love me?” he asked suddenly.

Jubilee blinked and looked up, not sure if she’d heard him right. When she didn’t answer, Everett repeated question.

“What do you think?” she countered with a smile.

He stared at her a moment longer. “Never mind; I just figured it out.”

As he leaned down and kissed her neck, Jubilee begin to think back. She’d always wanted to be more than friends with Everett, but this was the first time they’d ever done anything like this. She couldn’t remember kissing anyone, except for Logan, but he still saw her as a daughter and nothing more. He was almost afraid to touch her at all. Everett, though they’d been best friends for a long time now, clearly didn’t have that problem.

Her thoughts stopped abruptly as she felt a small but sharp pain in her neck. Jubilee arched an eyebrow. “Ev, I’m not sayin’ I’m against bitin’, but there’s a fine line between gettin’ kinky and hurtin’ a girl.”

Everett paused and looked down at her. “Are you okay?” He seemed genuinely concerned.

Jubilee smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. “Yeah, just take it easy. I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

He smiled back at her and tenderly kissed her lips. “I love you, Jubilee,” he said quietly, staring into her eyes.

She could tell that he was serious. Really serious. “I do,” she whispered.

Everett blinked. “What did you say?”

Jubilee shook her head. “Whoops. Heh.”

Everett grinned at her. “Should I start picking out curtain patterns?”

Jubilee glared at him. “Just shut up and kiss me, you jerk.”

Everett kissed her lips once and then went back to work on her neck.

Jubilee was just getting back into the mood when she heard his voice. She was about to tell him to shut up again when she realized what he’d asked.

“Do you really love me?”

“You know I do, Ev,” she replied.

He smiled and looked at her neck again. “Good. This’ll be a lot easier then.”

The next thing Jubilee knew, the slight pain in her neck came back tenfold. She tried to scream, but found she could only make a strange gurgling noise in her throat. She shut her eyes tight, hoping it was all a bad dream.

“Open your eyes,” Everett said.

To be safe, she only opened one. That was a mistake. Everett’s face was mere centimeters away from hers. Large fangs protruded from his top row of teeth, shining and dripping with a mixture of saliva and blood. Her blood, Jubilee suddenly realized in horror. “Ev, no...” she whispered sadly, tears coming to her eyes.

Her whimpers seemed to hurt him more than his fangs had hurt her. The fact that she was afraid of him was disturbing. “Don’t be scared,” he told her, brushing a hand against her cheek.

She shrank away from his touch. He pulled back for a moment, and Jubilee feared he would strike again. She shut her eyes, just as she heard him grunt in pain. She felt his weight on her again, and his warm breath a moment later.

“I can save you, J, but you have to trust me. Here, drink this.”

Jubilee felt a cup being pressed against her lips. Without thinking, she slowly tasted the cold liquid. There was a sweet sensation in her mouth as she swallowed. She downed the entire cup in a matter of seconds, and a loud belch erupted from her lips. A few minutes later, Jubilee finally opened her eyes.

Everett stared back at her expectantly. His fangs were gone. “How do you feel?”

“Alive,” she replied. “What was that stuff?”

“You’ll know,” he promised, standing up. He headed back to the stairs, but her hand grabbed his arm.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

He shrugged. “To bed.”

“Not without me you’re not,” she argued, tightening her grip on him.

Everett stared back at her. Finally, he smiled. “All right, let’s go.”

“Race ya!” Jubilee shouted, running past him.

He laughed and chased her up the dark stairway.