In the evening, Jason sat on the couch, his leg bouncing as he waited for Will to tell him to come over.

Bing. He checked his text. 'Why aren't you here yet?'

"Wait, what?" Jason fumbled with his phone to respond. 'I was waiting for you to tell me to come over.'

'I said come over for dinner; isn't that good enough? Whatever... just get over here."

'On my way.'

Jason grabbed his jacket and headed for the front door.

"Going out again?" Maggy asked from the kitchen doorway.

Jason froze. "Uh, yup. I'll try not to be late."

"Oh... Okay..." she sighed. "Stay safe."

He glanced over his shoulder at her as she headed back into the kitchen with slumped shoulders. "Come on, Mags, don't do that."

She ignored him and sat down at the table to do a crossword puzzle; another lonely night at home alone.

"I'll make it up to you later," he mumbled and headed out, not wanting to be on the wrong end of Will's anger.

Jason's heart rate spiked as he pulled into the eerie woods, slowly driving through the dirt path up to the Gilbert house. He parked outside and approached their door. He took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock.

The door opened. "You're late," Will complained.

"Sorry."

"Whatever, just get in here," Will rushed him in and headed back into the kitchen. "We better eat the meal before it gets cold." Will pointed, telling him where to sit. "Sam, get in here; dinner time," he said and set up the plates on the table.

"Good evening, Jason..." Samantha sat down across from him, fighting her turbulent emotions. How do I even approach all of this?

"Good evening," Jason said as his plate was set in front of him. "Thanks, this looks delicious," he took a deep whiff and salivated.

"Don't be shy, dig in."

After Jason's first bit, he melted. "Oh, this is so good... I didn't know you could cook, Miss G. Then again, you always bring those delicious lunches."

Will burst out laughing. "Despite her being the main one to eat the food, I'm the one who cooks it." Will leaned in to whisper, "I'd worry about the food if she was the one cooking."

"Would you quit ragging on my cooking skills?" Samantha snapped, glaring at Will for a second before righting herself and digging into the meal.

"You two are so close..." Jason smirked, thinking of Maggy and wishing he didn't leave her looking so lonely.

"Of course, we are," Will rolled his eyes. "You know, I almost forgot how good this dish tastes," he took a sip of blood and then another bite of chicken parmesan.

Jason noticed his red, thick drink and decided not to ask about it. "My sister's a pretty good cook, too, but she's never made this before. It's so good... Mmm..." Jason almost melted again as he ate another bite.

"Thank you; it's nice for the chef to get compliments once in a while."

Once they finished their meal and Jason did the dishes of his own free will, they sat back down at the kitchen table to chat while having a drink.

"So... I'm assuming you didn't invite me here just for a drink," Jason sipped on his hot chocolate, his head dipped down as he eyed them.

"So, Will, why did you invite him?" Samantha asked, sipping on coffee.

"Well, to add to the situation, two of the vampires at school have been taken care of," Will started.

"Wait, two?"

"The one you killed and the one I did. You did say he was probably a student, right?"

She nodded, her stomach in knots.

Jason shuddered at the talk of murder, everything suddenly feeling more real.

"You really don't have to help us, Jason," Samantha reached across the table, placing her hand on his. "It's enough that you want to help."

"Quit trying to push away people who want to help," Will snapped, slamming his fist on the table.

"But he's scared; just look at him."

"I'm okay, Miss G, really, and I want to help." He patted her hand, lingering as he noticed how soft her skin was.

How does he even expect to help? She sighed and leant back in her chair. "Fine, whatever. So, what's our plan?"

"There are still a few vampires at school... but I'm not sure which ones are working with Evan. I've talked to the werewolf at school, and she wants nothing to do with the fight between vampires and werewolves. Apparently, her family left it all behind a long time ago like we did, except they're still on good terms with their clan. That said, she did agree to kill any vampires she saw out to kill her fellow students."

"Not exactly with us, but I guess at least she isn't an enemy."

"I'll work on her more later. Now, for the first actual part of us finding a way to beat Evan, is to strengthen you," he stared at Samantha and she tensed, sensing something bad.

"How do you plan to do that?"

"How do you think?" he glanced at Jason.

"Wait... Is that why you brought him here? You want me to drink his blood?!" she stood abruptly, knocking her chair over.

"He loves you and wants to help, so what's the problem?"

Samantha froze for a split second and then laughed. "What are you talking about? At most, it's just a high school crush, right Jason?" She turned to him and faltered.

He was gazing at her with a serious expression and said, "It's not just a crush—"

"Then it's an admiration for your sister's saviour."

"It's not that either; I liked you well before you saved her... despite my efforts to try not to..."

"Oh... But you're just—"

"Just what? A stupid teenager? You think because I'm young I don't know my feelings?"

Will smirked, glad Jason didn't chicken out and was even talking about it confidently.

"That's not what I meant," Samantha sighed.

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"Are you saying I'm not good enough for you to feed off of? You know... he told me about the whole empath abilities you have, so I also know that you already know of my feelings..." he trailed off, having trouble following his own train of thought.

Samantha rubbed her face. "Seriously, Jason, that still doesn't seem enough to compel you to be a living blood bag."

"We've already done it once; it wasn't bad..." he blushed.

"Of course it wasn't bad," Will laughed. "Not only were you able to have her mouth on you, but vampire bites only hurt for a moment before euphoria sets in. It's like a drug to some people; that's why there are more vampire... establishments than you'd think."

"I see..."

"Jason, think this over—"

"I have and I've agreed to it. I want to help you..." Jason approached her and knelt down. He lightly gripped her hand. "Please let me help you," he pleaded.

Will whistled. "And here I thought you were a little bit of a bumbling buffoon."

"Hey!" Jason's voiced squeaked and he coughed.

"What? You're proving you're more than I thought you were already; keep going."

Samantha's vision blurred and she shook it off, trying to focus on Jason in front of her. "Go home, Jason..."

Will sighed. "I guess plan A didn't work... Time for plan B."

"What are you talking about?" Jason glanced over the table at him. "What's plan B?"

"It has already kicked in, so this shouldn't be too hard."

Samantha held onto her head as the room spun. "Will... what did you do to me?"

"Jason, be a dear and hold onto her shoulders from behind."

Jason's brows furrowed as he looked between the siblings. "Um..."

"Jason," Will hissed, sending a chill down his spine.

"Yes, sir..." Figuring he had no choice – and that Will wouldn't hurt her – Jason moved behind Samantha and grabbed onto her shoulders, holding her against the back of the chair.

Will pushed the table out of the way and held onto her face with both hands, leaning in so he could stare into her lidded eyes.

She grabbed onto his arms, trying to pull them away, but barely had enough strength to hold them up. "Will... what are you... doing?"

His eyes glowed red. "Jason here is your lover and you're free to drink from him. More than that, you take pleasure in drinking his blood because he loves you and you can feel it with every mouthful. You know how to control yourself when it comes to drinking, but you also know you need to keep your strength up so you drink from him daily."

Jason was about to say something but swallowed his words instead.

"You feed him little bits of your blood as well to help him heal daily." Will paused, thinking for a moment. "We are going to succeed in getting rid of the vampires who threaten us in town and then take Evan out. Then we are all going to live happily in peace, no longer hiding from the clan. Do you understand?"

Samantha managed a nod and then her eyes closed, her body going limp.

"Miss G?"

"Pick her up," Will commanded.

"O-okay..." Jason cradled her in his arms and turned to Will. "You hypnotized her, right? You can do that to vampires?"

"I'm not sure, actually... but a vampire who is drugged and starves herself is likely susceptible to one who's almost as old as them at full strength. I guess we'll know once she wakes up from her little drug-induced nap."

"You drugged her?!" Jason backed away from him.

"What did you think happened? I needed to so she wouldn't be able to fight us while I hypnotized her; nothing more, nothing less."

Jason stepped back again.

"You better not try to run away with my sister," Will said, his voice full of ice. "Not only will you not get away, but I'll erase all of this from your mind and maybe help myself to a light snack. Besides, why are you so afraid?"

"Come on... you drugged her..."

"As a means to an end; she'll be fine, I promise."

He swallowed and hugged her closer. "Why did you tell her to be my lover?"

"Wait, that's what's bothering you? I thought you'd be happy; you get Samantha! Isn't she what you wanted? The woman of your dreams and all that."

"Well, yes, but not this way."

"This was the only way to make her drink, and it's the only way she'll be strong enough to defend herself with what's coming."

"But now I can't make her fall for me since she thinks she's in love with me already..."

Will shrugged. "That's not exactly true... You can still woo her, as much as a teenage boy can anyway."

"I can?" Jason hesitated, plagued with uncertainty. "How? Will it even matter what I do if she already thinks I'm her lover?"

"Having a lover and being in love are two different things. Besides, you can't hypnotize someone into being in love with another person."

"Really?"

"Really," Will sighed, rolling his eyes. "You two will be physically closer to each other and she won't be afraid to touch or bite you now, but the real emotional connections and whatnot would need to be built, assuming it hasn't started already with all of your meet-ups."

"I'm so confused..."

"Not surprising." Will sighed. "The heart is a strong thing indeed; it can break through hypnosis—"

"But won't she have an emotional connection to me because I'm her 'lover' and she's drinking my blood?"

"Ugh," Will groaned. "I don't know how to explain it any better to someone as inexperienced as you. Just trust me when I say I can't force her to be in love with you. Jason, are you going to bring her upstairs or am I going to have to remove you from our situation?"

Jason stared at Samantha's face for a moment. Not doing as Will said meant they'd lose any little bit of a relationship they already had, and he couldn't bear the thought of being just one of her students again. "Fine..." Jason mumbled. "I'll play by your rules for as long as I can handle it."

"Alright. Suffice to say, don't tell her about the hypnotism."

"Why?"

"Aside from the obvious, it also might break her free from it or she might have a psychotic breakdown."

Jason paled. "Uh, okay; best not to mention it."

"Good, you agreed. Now, would you mind bringing her upstairs? Second door on the right is her room."

"I have to go into her bedroom?"

"Are you afraid of it or something?"

"No, it's just... I've never seen a teacher's bedroom before."

"She's not just your teacher anymore; she's your lover," Will swayed his hand towards the stairs. "Move along."

Jason nodded and headed upstairs. The hallway was dimly lit by the light coming in from the window at the end of the hall. "Second room on the right..." he mumbled as he approached her door. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open with his foot. He glanced around her bedroom and noticed the same sweet scent that came from her in the room. She had a deep red theme going throughout her decor and there were a few pictures on her desk along with a stack of papers to grade. On her bed, she had a couple of stuffed animals. "Cute..." he smiled at them and laid her down beside them on the bed.

He brushed the strands of hair out of her face. "I'll do what I can to protect you, Samantha," he sighed and kissed her forehead. "I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other now." He pulled the blanket up over her and stepped away. He bumped into the nightstand and knocked over a framed picture. "Oops, sorry." He picked up the photo, looked at it and froze; a man who looked almost like an older version of Jason had his arm around Samantha as they smiled happily.

"Don't go... Nero..."

Jason frowned. "Who? And... Why does he look like me?"

"Ah, so you've seen it? I'm surprised she hasn't gotten rid of that picture yet... or rather hidden it away with how adverse she is to even mentioning his name," Will said from the doorway. When Jason took too long, he wandered upstairs to check on them.

"Who is that?"

"Her dead boyfriend; at least he's not competition for the spot."

"He looks like me..." Jason mumbled.

Will laughed. "You two do share quite a few similarities, but I've already checked; you're not related, at least not in any recent generation. I suspect you share ancestry a few generations back, but it's not worth checking that far back."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry about the dead boyfriend anymore and come along; I have something to talk to you about," Will said as he walked away, his hands clasped behind his back and head held high.

Jason followed him without another word until they went to the front door. "Uh, bye for now, I guess," he pulled his jacket on, ready to leave.

"One moment..." Will pulled a vial filled with red liquid out of his pocket and held it out to Jason.

He eyed it and raised an eyebrow. "What's that for?"

"In case you get severely injured."

"Wait, is that..." Jason swallowed.

"A vial of Samantha's blood? Yes, it is; now take it." Will grabbed his hand and forced him to take the vial. "If you're on our side, you're in danger. Heck, every student at that school is in danger, you're just more in the middle of it."

"Okay, I get it..." he slipped it into his pocket and stepped past him.

"One more thing," Will said and Jason turned to him. "If you die with vampire blood in your system, you will turn into a vampire."

Jason froze, his mind trying to process. "I thought it was supposed to heal me?"

"When you drink the blood, yes, but it's not going to continuously give you regenerative abilities."

"Oh... Good to know I guess."

Will eyed him. "Are you going to be okay with this? If you want to back out, this is your last chance to run away with your tail between your legs."

Jason thought about Samantha and his heart clenched. "No... I'm all in."

"By the way..." Will stopped him again. "Was the girl Roy went out with Emily Richards?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because she was found dead outside of the movie theatre."

"Wait, what?!" Jason gripped his hair with both hands. "Holy crap! Why didn't you tell me earlier? What does this mean? You don't think Roy is a vampire, do you? I mean, I grew up with him; he's my best friend."

"Quit your rambling. And as you know from yours truly," Will pointed at himself. "Vampires born of humans are human until they die. Besides, I wasn't suggesting he was, but he might be in league with them or hypnotized, which is why I asked about him before. Miss Emily Richard's death makes it quite likely he's involved somehow."

Jason's heart raced and his head felt like it wanted to explode. "What do I do? Should I follow him? Check up on him? Ask about Emily? How'd you find out about her?"

"It was on the news."

"Okay, that means it should be okay for me to ask, right?"

"Whatever," Will sighed, growing tired. "Tell me if you find out anything important otherwise feel free to keep it to yourself."

Jason nodded, keeping his mouth shut.

"Goodbye," Will nudged him out of the house and closed the door.

"Damn, for a small guy, he's scary."

The door opened. "I heard that," Will said and shut the door again.

"Note to self, vampires have super-hearing." With everything weighing heavily on his mind, Jason headed for home.