“Well, it’s more like a sentence on life,” he said, grinning. “I live by three rules: Don’t dwell on the past, present, or future, party hard, and never fall in love. Easy.”

“Which means, while you guys are off partying tomorrow, I’ll be at home in my makeshift lab, playing with D’s blood.” I groaned. “You’re even able to make a nice gesture sound appalling. How is that possible?” “Years of practice,” he said, grinning.”

“Sophie nodded. “She’s right. It’s almost like they were…zombies.” “Zombies?” I asked in disbelief. “I know how it sounds, but it’s the truth,” Brooke said. “We were attacked by zombified vamps and weres.” She paused. “Okay…now that I’ve said it out loud, it does sound really stupid.” “It’s not like they were actual dead zombies, though,” Seth explained. “More like, robots.” Brooke rubbed her temples. “Now you’re bringing robots into this? You think that will help our case?” “Yes,” Seth growled. “Better than zombie vamps.”

“Don’t worry, even if I don’t tell them, my little brother will. I’m pretty sure he was born for the sole purpose of making my life a living hell,” Seth muttered, then noticing that his parents’ friends were drawing near, rushed off to hide.”

“I said I wasn’t going to hurt you!” he growled, pinning me even further into the soft, wet earth. “But I never said that I wouldn’t hurt you!” I snapped. He brought his face toward mine. “I’d like to see you try,” he whispered.”

“I saw you fall. Are you okay?” he asked. “Yup, great,” I said, forcing a smile. “Dancing One, Dawn Zero.”

“I have no idea what he wants. Maybe he needs to remind you to pack your skimpiest swimsuit.” He paused. “Oh, wait, no. That’s me.” He grinned as I rolled my eyes. “Why do I even try to have normal conversations with you?” I asked him. “Because you like talking to me.”