Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nova was raised, sort of how you would expect a child soldier to be raised.

Not that she knew that’s what she was of course. She wouldn’t know that until many years later. She just… thought it was normal. Because for Daywalkers, it was.

She possibly had it worse than most, because her father was the commander. Still, there was almost always a sense of camaraderie that came with being a part of something like this. You understood each other, because you were forced to grow up the same way.

Nova hadn’t always liked it. Her father, her role, her duty. Occasionally, she would feel like she wanted to quit or give up.

But then, she would think of the disappointment in her fathers eyes, and she would work twice as hard. Because no matter what, impressing him was what was important.

At least, it used to be.

Things changed the summer the orchards died. Suddenly, they needed to go find the original orchard, and the training they had was no longer theoretical. They might actually need to fight vampires.

Nova was almost happy for it, even if it was under dire circumstances. Finally, she had a chance to prove herself to her father, and do what she was raised to do. Then, she actually met the vampires.

Specifically, she met Victor.

He was a vampire. He was the boy from her visions. And, he was possibly one of the best people she ever met.

He introduced her to ways of thinking she had never previously thought of. He showed her truth about the way she was raised, and showed her what she deserved to be treated like.

And most of all, he was so genuine and kind, that she had to reconsider everything she had ever learned.

She couldn’t have not fallen for him if she tried.

But then, she knew so many knew things about how things were going because of him.

Instead of seeing preparation from her childhood, she started to see exploitation, and a lack of love. Instead of training, she saw manipulation.

She never even realized it. And that was more jarring to her than anything.

It wasn’t even a question after that whether or not she was going to help the vampires. She could not, WOULD NOT, betray them. Not for her father, and not against Victor.

She made that clear to Ray. Even if it didn’t work out well, and she had to see the heartbroken look in Victor's eyes while he asked her if she planned to have them starve, or if she had to watch the orchard burn down.

She didn’t give up. She made that clear to Victor, and eventually him and everyone else helped her make it clear to her father.

They saved their towns. Their orchards. And in the end, they made life better for everyone.

She had trouble with her father after that. She was more cold and distant. And she didn’t know how to handle all that she had realized. It was going to take more time than what they had had so far.

She still felt the weight of responsibility. She still trained harder, and had more expected of her.

But now, she had friends who made it lighter. She had someone who loved her enough for the both of them, even if he wasn’t what she expected.

So, in the end, Nova Bright was going to be okay. Not immediately, and definitely with more work. But she would.

Somehow. Someday.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing that was more chaotic than you might expect, (Or might totally expect) it was a movie night with their friends.

According to Zed and Addison, this had been a big tradition for them back in Seabrook, for a human holiday called “Halloween”. Apparently, it was based around monsters, and tons of super creepy movies were based around it. This had given Addison, the “responsibility” as she called it, to show them these things.

It had started with the zombies, then the werewolves and aliens, (apparently the aliens movie nights had been an EXPERIENCE) and now that Nova and her friends had been invited to seabrook, they needed to be “cultured”.

Nova walked up to Addison's front door, inhaling heavily, while holding her pillow and Victor’s hands.

She glanced over at him, and couldn't help but smile. The sight of her vampire boyfriend holding pillows and blankets, and wearing red and black pajamas was quite literally too adorable to process.

Of course, he had said the same about her when he saw her in the light pink sweat set Addison had gotten her for her birthday. Apparently, it made her look, “Like an adorable marshmallow”

She would be lying if she said that didn’t make her love him more.

Vera, Vargas and Ray were arguing about something stupid (per usual) when Nova reached out to ring the doorbell, and she was likely three seconds from strangling them when a familiar blonder answered the door.

Addison opened the door, and immediately squealed at the sight of them, springing forward to wrap them in a hug.

“Oh my god, I'm so glad you made it!” she exclaimed, pulling back from hugging Nova to squeeze Victor. Nova smiled, and let out a small laugh as she nodded.

“Of course, we wouldn’t miss it.” she said with a smile. Addison looked positively delighted, and even the chaos behind them had quieted down as she led them inside.

“Come on, everyone is in the basement setting up. We are almost ready to go.” she said enthusiastically. Nova just smiled, and looked back at Victor. He shrugged, but was also smiling as she pulled him with her. This was certainly going to be interesting.

—--//—--

The basement they entered was a picture of chaos. Zed was messing with what appeared to be a projector, and Eliza seemed to be scolding Wyatt about eating from the snack table. Willa was helping Bree set up the additional cushions on the floor for seating, despite the massive sectional that filled most of the room.

Nova couldn’t help but smile as she entered, the homey feeling of all these people in one place making her happy. It was rare to have them all together like this, and it was… nice.

Willa seemed to notice them first, and smiled her fanged smile as she greeted them.

“Hey cubs. Nice to see you made it.” she said, giving her a hug. She squeezed her back ,a dn then nodded as she hugged the others.

“Yeah, we would have been here sooner, but somebody was arguing about which movies snacks to bring, and we got delayed.” Victor said with a laugh, sending a pointed look to Vargas and Ray. Vargas looked offended.

“Uh, excuse me! You need to tell him that frozen fruit is superior.” he said pointedly gesturing to Ray. Ray looked offended.

“Uh, not true! Anyone who doesn't eat popcorn for movies is insane.” he said with a huff.

The room lasted maybe 4 seconds, before they were all bursting out laughing. At least with some people, things never change.

Eliza came over, shaking her head as she took their snacks and set them up.

“Lucky for you, we have all of those. Chillax. And everyone have a seat, we are gonna start the movie.” she said, gesturing for them all to go to the couch.

It took maybe 5 minutes to get everyone set up on their seats. Vargas and Ray were on adjacent bean bag chairs, where they were pretending to be mad about sharing a blanket, even though there was enough for the two of them to have their own. Eliza and Wyatt sat next to each other, where she was fully concentrating on the movie in front of them, and he was just watching her fondly.

Vera and Willa were sitting next to each other, deep in quiet conversation about logistics the whole time. Zed and Addison were curled up next to one another, sweet enough to give anyone looking at them a toothache.

Nova herself, was sitting with Victor, a blanket draped over the two of them as she lay on his chest, and he quietly stroked a hand over her arm.

The movie was some old film called “IT” that was about a murderous clown. It was kind of creepy, and had plenty of jumpscares that made them all jump, and a select few of them (Ray) squeal like little girls.

It was silly, but also scary at the same time, and was kind of fun. Especially when halfway through she zoned out slightly and just focused on the feeling of Victor's steady heartbeat under her ear.

He hummed softly, brushing her hair back and kissing the top of her head.

“You good?” he said softly, almost fond like he could sense how sleepy she was.

She smiled and looked around, at all the chaos unfolding around them. Cute couples, best friends, both quiet and loud love. It was perfectly imperfect, and that was what she loved about it.

Maybe, just maybe, she could get behind these movie night things.

She looked up at VIctor and gave him a soft smile.

“Yeah, I am. I really am.”

Chapter Text

Nova wasn’t quite sure what to do about this development in her life.

I mean, it wasn’t like she was doing anything wrong. She was dreaming. Dreams were harmless things, things that couldn’t hurt anyone or anything. They weren’t even something you could control.

But still, Nova felt responsible for everything she was seeing.

She was a vampire. The niece of the eldress, the heir to shadyside, and the future leader of all vampires alive today. The coined, “princess of darkness”.

And yet, her dreams were filled with images of the sun.

Well, not the sun specifically. But something pretty damn close to it.

All the dreams started the same. She was on a beach, similar to the one in shadyside, with a cliff overlooking the ocean nearby. The sky was a familiar shade of night, the stars their usual winking bright color.

But then, the sun would slowly start to rise.

She had never seen it before, but she knew this was the sun. it was large, and bright, and it spread over the darkened horizon in a map of colors. It was mesemerizing.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” a voice spoke up behind her. She whipped around, and saw someone standing there.

He smiled at her, and she felt frozen in place. It was a boy, maybe her age, but possibly older, with dark hair streaked in gold, and brown eyes. He looked like sunshine personified, with tan skin, and clothes in shades of light red, gold and white.

“Who are you?” she asked. He shrugged, his hands still in his pockets.

“I don’t know. Who do you think i am?” he asked, that smirk never leaving his face. She narrowed her eyes, but she knew he was right. The clothes, the sunrise happening behind them. Gold hair, gold clothes, and the simmering fire behind his eyes.

Daywalker

“Why are you here? What do you want?” she asked. He smiled, glancing at the horizon behind her.

“I don’t know sunshine. Maybe you need to come find that out for yourself.” he said simply. Then, he looked out at the horizon, and gestured forward.

She followed his gaze, and her breath caught at the sight of the bright sun, its colors blending perfectly into the night sky. She didn’t know if she had ever seen anything so beautiful.

“Ill be here.” he said softly.

She whirled around, about to demand more answers, and ask infinite questions.

But he was gone.

—-//—-

Nova woke with a start, her brain foggy, and her mind spinning with all the possibilities of the things she had seen. Sunrises, and boys with charming smiles and fire behind their eyes.

She rubbed her eyes, standing to go look out the window.

Down in the streets below, there were children playing, laughing as they spun through the air. The moon was low in the sky, and the light darkness of twilight stretched out.

No sun. No golden light.

She sighed, backing up again. She couldn’t dwell on it, they were only dreams. But.

She couldn't get the picture of the boy out of her mind. He was a daywalker, obviously. He had the clothes, the persona, the hair. It was textbook.

Except… it also wasn’t. Because he didn’t attack her. He didn’t seem violent, or like he would burn you to a crisp at the first sign of trouble.

She rana hand over her face. It was confusing enough to be a leader, and learn all of these things about daywalkers and the vampire's history with them.

It was infinitely more confusing to have all of that contradicted.

She didn’t know what to think. Was it real? Or was she just imagining him?

But the main question was. If it was real… was he really waiting for her? Did she really need to go find him?

She looked around, pictures of her aunt and her, and the ribbons of won competition that covered her walls.

She had sworn to stay loyal to her people. No matter what. But now… could she keep that promise? She had to be what they needed. But…

Still, as the day wore on, it would haunt her.

Maybe leaving the border was necessary. For this at least.

—--//—--

Victor knew this was a bad idea. In fact, it wasn’t just a bad idea. It was a very, very bad idea.

Did it stop him from sneaking past the border guards in the middle of the night, and going out to the beaches?

No. No it did not.

He sighed, leaning back against the cliff as he panted to catch his breath with his eyes closed. Turns out, running away from people that were meant to catch you, while you were trying to not let them know you were there at all, was very difficult.

He sighed, laughing slightly at the absurdity of it all. He was the son of the sun. or, the commander of the daywalkers.

Coincidence, that the leader of their people was called “commander” like they were some sort of arny? No. because they were. Born, raised, and bred to fight against vampires. Trained since childhood.

And him? No one had been trained more than him. Logistics, battle strategy, ability training, physical combat. He had done it all. No one was more of a weapon than he was.

Theoretically of course.

In reality? He was the biggest disappointment to ever grace the halls of his ancestral home. At least, he was in his fathers eyes.

He wanted to be different. Try new things, make change. Leave the border.

In his mind? Things that would make him a better leader, and better equipped to take on the role. In his fathers mind? The thing that made him such a screw up.

Either way, it's very fun.

He had known for a very long time now that he would never fulfill his dreams. He was never visiting anywhere outside the border. Never seeing the moon and the stars.

Stars. The things that fascinated him to no end his whole life. And even more so, since the girl with the stars appeared in his dreams.

She was beautiful, with bright blue eyes, and goldened hair streaked in red. She wore black and red, and she sat on the beach staring up at the stars. In his dreams at least.

She never spoke to him. But she was a constant. And ever since he had seen her he had an inexplicable desire to the stars.

What did this desire to see night, combined with the continuing desire to leave Sunnyside get you?

It got you a boy running out to the beach in the night. To see it, the outside world and night. Even if it was only once.

He sighed, and opened his eyes. And then, he promptly gasped.

He hadn't been able to see the sky fully while running. But now that he stopped, he could see it in all its shimmering glory. And glory it was.

He walked across the shoreline slowly, a dumbfounded expression on his face. The sky was dark, a brilliant midnight blue. Across it, thousands of prinpicks of lights covered it, like a twinkling map of glitter. And in the distance, the silver moon hung like a beautiful sun.

It was breathtaking. It was amazing, and he felt grateful to even be in the presence of something like this.

“Wow.” he said softly. Because. Well. wow.

He could have stood there forever. But instead, he suddenly felt a sudden strong gust of wind. He looked around, confused.

And then, another gust of wind, strong enough to throw him at least 20 feet, blew and threw him across the sand.

He yelped, and landed with a roll in the dark sand.

He landed on his back, groaning, clutching his side. He glanced up long enough to see a figure standing nearby, hands outstretched in a gesture he recognized well enough to be for power casting. It didn't take a genius to guess what had happened.

“Do you mind?” he called, groaning as he propped himself up on his elbows.

But then, the figure came into focus. He nearly gasped, trying not to freak out at who it was. Still, years of training against enemies made him school his face into a neutral expression as he looked over her.

It was a girl. Not just any girl, but THE girl. Same blond hair, blue eyes, red hair streaks. The dark clothing, the way she stood. It was all the same. It was HER.

And even though he didn’t show his own shock, he couldn’t help but let out a quiet sentence under his breath.

“It’s you.”

—-//—-

Nova wasn’t sure what she had been expecting when she came out here tonight. The sunrise mostly. Something she was both incredibly curious about, and terrified for.

But when she heard another figure quietly whisper out “wow” as she stood nearby, she acted on instinct.

She turned, and threw a massive gust of wind at the figure. They flew at least 20 feet, and she nearly gasped as they fell with a heavy grown.

She watched as he, (She quickly saw that this was indeed a boy from his voice) groaned, and rolled over painfully.

“Do you mind?” he called out, propping himself up on his elbows.

She was about to call out that she was sorry, and go see if he was okay, when she caught a sight of his face.

She froze, as she looked him up and down her eyes scanning him like she didn’t know where to look. Because she didn’t. Because he was the same.

Dark hair, with gold streaks. Gold light red and white clothing. Dark eyes that shone gold when he hit the ground. A daywalker. The boy from her literal dreams.

“It’s you.” she said with surprise, probably louder than she should have. She could see a flash of surprise in his expression, before it returned to indifference, and he stood up, stretching his arm and back muscles in a way that made her grateful for the dark to conceal the color of her face.

“Yeah, it's me. Mind telling me who you are, and why you just threw me like a sack of flour?” the boy said, surveying her up and down. She tried to regain her composure, and looked at him apprehensively as he dusted sand off of his clothes.

“You’re a daywalker.” she said finally, like that was the only thing she could notice. She felt like even more of an idiot, when he raised an eyebrow, before looking down at his clothes and fire gauntlet, and then back up at her with a smile.

“Well spotted.” he said with a small laugh. She scowled, and then looked him up and down.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked. He tensed before shrugging.

“Why are you here?” he asked back, smiling as she gave him a look. She huffed.

“Don’t play this with me, I need to know if you are not… out here to spring a surprise attack on my town or something.” she said, her eyes flashing once. He snorted, looking her over again.

“Crazy thing to say, considering we are practically on the border of sunnyside right now, and I could say the same thing about you… vampire.” he said with an amused look, tracking the red in her hair. She gave him another look, and then a mocking smile, where she flashed pearly white fangs.

This seemed to make him only smile more, his eyes flashing gold once, as she saw flames flicker in his hands. Neither of them needed to do anything more to prove that they were dangerous. They understood.

“Victor,” he said simply. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“What?” she asked in surprise. He smiled and shrugged, sticking his hands casually into his pockets.

“My name. You asked who i was, and since you clearly already know WHAT i am… my name is Victor.” he said. She looked at him for a minute, skepticism in her eyes. But there was something about the look in his, that made her trust his words.

Strange.

“Nova.” she finally said.

“My name is Nova.”

He smiled, and gave her a nod.

“Nice to meet you Nova.” he said.

Then, he plopped down on the sand, and looked up at the sky. She looked at him, confused. It was quite possibly the most vulnerable he could have made himself. She didn’t know what to do, until he glanced over at her.

“You asked me why I came out here tonight. The answer is that I came to see the stars. And I will, at least until sunrise.” he said firmly, before looking back out at them all.

Nova was surprised, coming to sit next to him cautiously.

“A Daywalker who likes stars.” she said curiously. He shrugged, smiling.

“We are all fascinated by things we do not know. I’m interested in stars, like im interested in you. Beautiful… but hard to figure out on a first impression.” he said with a wink.

She was once again, grateful for the dark color of the night.

“You shouldn’t be curious about me. I shouldnt be curious about you. I should hate you.” she said firmly, like it was a fact. He turned to her curiously.

“Then why are you here?” he asked simply. She froze momentarily, before swallowing and looking at him thoughtfully.

“Maybe I’m not scared of you, even if I should be.” She said simply.

It was his turn to have pink cheeks, and unlike her, he couldn’t hide from vampire night vision.

“I can show you them.” She said without thinking, as he turned to look at her.

“The stars.”

His eyebrows shot up, and he looked at her in confusion.

“Really?” He asked, his expression looking surprised. She nodded, surprising even herself.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of my thing right?” She said with a nervous kind of laugh. He smiled, and nodded.

“Yeah. Show me the stars Nova.” He said quietly. And if his words sent a shiver down her spine, as she drew slightly closer to point out the constellations… then nobody needed to know that.

——//——

Victor was absolutely mesmerized by Nova, as she drew a map of the stars in the sand quietly.

He was fascinated by them, of course. But there was something about the way that she looked there, that couldn’t not make his breath catch.

He was beginning to think he may have found something more beautiful than the stars.

But as beautiful as those stars were, he saw the familiar line of light that was breaking over the horizon as he sat there with her, and he knew that he would have to soon return.

The thought of leaving her now after the night they had been there filled him with an unexplainable sense of dread. Or maybe it was explainable and he just didn’t want to listen to it.

Nova on the other hand, seemed to be mesmerized by the Sheen of gold that was overtaking the night sky.

“Wow.” She whispered softly.

“I knew that it would be beautiful but… I didn’t think it would be this.” she said in amazement. He raised an eyebrow looking at her.

“You've seen the sunrise before?” he asked. Her cheeks flashed a light shade of pink, and she shook her head slowly.

“Well no, not exactly. But… once I guess. In a dream.” she said quietly, glancing over at him.

And maybe they didn’t see it just then, but something unspoken passed between them. Dreams. Funny things they were indeed.

“ I like watching the sunrise with you.” Victor said with a smile.

Nova smiled back. And for once, they weren’t just a vampire and a day walker together there. They were something else entirely. Something new.

The sun was a painful reminder, and he stood with a sigh.

“I have to get home,” he said quietly. Nova seemed to understand, nodding, and standing up.

“Me as well.” she said just as quietly. Neither of them moved.

Nova seemed to hesitate saying something. But then she surged forward and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you Victor. It was… nice to meet you.” she said with a small smile. And for once it didn’t feel forced to smile back.

“You too Nova.”

He had to force himself to walk away after that because he knew that one more second there he wouldn’t leave. He could feel his eyes on her as he walked away, and as he got to the arch that would make him disappear, he turned around to wave one last time.

Nova waved back. And even though it felt like a goodbye… It didn’t feel like a goodbye forever. But a goodbye for now.

Chapter Text

Zed and Addison, had a very special relationship with the Sun and the moon.

I mean, didn't everyone? The Sun was where they spent their happy days, dancing and singing and going on dates. It was happy, and light, and contained memories. That’s what made it special.

Then, there was the Moon. It had a different kind of memory attached to it. It was for nights spent counting stars, it was where they had met for her first ever zombie block party.

They danced under the moonlight, and hugged after late football games. The night was for quiet intimate moments that only they knew. Nothing compared to that, not for them.

For Wyatt and Eliza, the sun and the moon were a very different thing.

In the day, they were all quiet affections . Shared glances at school, subtle inside jokes, and secret glances that nobody but them needed. The day was for subtlety, and the quiet assurance that they were THERE, even if it wasn’t loud enough for everyone to hear.

Nights were different. Nights were when they got to run wild, and be who they were without the judgement of the world around them. They got to live among the woods where Wyatt showed her the places he grew up, or for when Eliza snuck him around dark buildings where she played as a child

Night was time to be wild and crazy, and who they truly were. Nothing compared.

For Nova and Victor, the sun and moon were representations of who they were.

Being a Vampire and a Daywalker, they never had any encounter with the other. It was new territory for them both.

The daytime was spent, with Nova showing Victor the joys she had lived in her life. Days in sprinklers and sunny picnics, or festivals of fire and light. It was when she got to see Victor laugh while covered in gold glitter, eyes sparkling with the discovery of something new.

She knew he had spent his whole life wanting to explore new things, and he knew how happy showing him her life made her. He would do it a thousand more times for her smile.

The Nighttime and the moon were a different thing for them. It was for time spent sprinting through fields, and showing her constellations while she stared in awe. It was about flying for the first time, and seeing stars reflected in Nova's eyes.

It was a miraculous thing to show her something that was so integral to who he was, and to use it to show her a kind of people she had never known. The Nighttime was for them and only them.

For Ray and Vargas, the Sun and moon were a little different than one might expect. Because while they had a certain aesthetic, their personalities reflected the opposite.

For the first time, Vargas got to see an amount of sun and happy celebration that satisfied the adrenaline rush he had chased since he was little. It made him almost giddy to be among people who valued energy and lightness more than anything, and his boyfriend loved nothing more than to look on the scene fondly.

In the beginning, Ray had been skeptical of the nighttime. But he had since come to really appreciate the cool and relaxed beauty of the dark time. Vargas had been absolutely content to see Ray unwind in the safe cover of the night with him. They had been able to exist in a more relaxed way, that got Ray to stop feeling the overwhelming pressure of his normal life.

The Sun and Moon meant something different for everyone. They held different memories, and represented so much more than we can say. But at the end of the day, we are all connected by them. By the solar flares, that fuel old stories and light up the expanse of our sky.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing that Vampires were good at telling, it was scary stories.

When Addison and Zed originally told them that scary stories were told at campfires, the trio of vampires had shared sneaky glances with one another.

That had started it. Soon, they were all taking turns telling stories of horror, murder, and mystery while daywalkers watched in horror or fascination. Vargas and Victor told them like a professional, complete with acting and suspenseful jumps that made several people shriek. Even other vampires.

Vera told them mystically, sitting on the bench with a sort of quiet creepiness that made everyone tense, and jump when a branch snapped. It was possibly, the most fun they had in a while.

Victor was in the middle of telling a story that he had read from an old book of his aunts, about a group of vampires that used to drink blood, sneaking through woods to pick off other vampires and daywalkers alike. (After a summer and year spent around each other, the blood drinking had become more of a playful inside joke than anything.

Nova and Ray sat beside each other, leaned forward tensly as Victor continued in a dark voice.

“You wouldn’t even know they were coming, until you felt the whisper of their breath on your neck…” he said quietly, glancing around. Everyone inhaled shakily.

“Boo.”

Nova and Ray both yelped, falling off the camp bench, as someone whispered between them.

Vargas, who had quietly came to stand behind them and whisper for dramatic effect, fell to the floor laughing, and was quickly joined by Victor. Everyone else paused for a moment, before joining the boys in laughter.

Victor chuckled, plopping down next to Nova and kissing her cheek as she scowled at him.

“That wasn’t very nice.” she said, but she was smiling. He shrugged and smiled, slinging an arm over shoulder.

“Yeah, but it was hilarious.” he said. Ray scoffed, as Vargas layed down in his lap smiling up at him smugly.

“Yeah sure, just don’t be surprised if there is a snake in your pillow tonight.” Ray grumbled. Vargas laughed, kissing Ray’s palm.

“Aw, you know you love me.” he said with a wink. Ray was still grumbling, but his cheeks were pink, and even Nova had started to laugh a little.

“Alright Alright, settle down.” Vera said with a roll of her eyes, gesturing for everyone to be quiet as she settled into her place. The campers quieted, waiting for her to began what was sure to be a terrifying and amazing story.

“I’m here to tell you, about the Witching hour.” she said ominously, glancing around the young faces of the campers. A young daywalker girl looked at her in confusion.

“But aren’t Daywalkers descended from Witches?” she asked, her eyes wide. Vera gave her a look, and she shrunk back into her seat.

“Technically yes, they are.” Vera said, looking back out at the rest of them.

“But I’m not talking about real witches. Im talking about the Witching hour.” Everyone looked on in wonder, as Vera continued.

“The Witching hour, is a supernatural time frame, as old as the night itself. Original legends say, that between the hours of three and four am, the spirits of everyone passed on linger in the night.”

Everyone was hooked, listening intently as the coals of the fire dimly illuminated her face.

“All the spirits that have died in these woods, or vengeful poltergeists that follow you, are awake and alive at this time. They can contact you, or latch themselves to you, or even harm you. Your only defence, is sleep. After all, you can’t fight a ghost.” she said quietly. One of the smaller vampire girls tugged on her sleeve, her eyes wide in fear.

“What happens if you don’t sleep?” she asked nervously. Vera smiled, running a hand over the young girls back.

“Possibly nothing. Maybe the ghosts will leave you alone. But legend says, that they might not, and the only way to be careful enough is to be asleep. And at a camp like this, you never know what spirits lurk in the shadows…” she trailed off ominously.

Then, all of a sudden, Zed appeared behind the younger kids, and yelled out

“AH!”

They all screamed, and scrambled to their feet. Upon seeing zed, they all collapsed in relief as the older kids and teens laughed.

“Alright campers, I think thats enough nightmare fuel for one night.” Willa said,leading the kids up. Addison laughed, nodding and prodding the glowing coals of the campfire one last time.

“I agree, we need to make sure you guys are in bed. After all, you don’t want the ghosts to getcha!” she said playfully. All of the kids eyes widened, running to their cabins as addison and zed followed laughing.

Eliza chuckled, coming to stand next to Vera as they packed up the s’mores.

“The Witching hour. Clever.” she said with a smile. Vera shrugged, a small smile on her face.

“My mom used to tell me and the boys that story at sleepovers so we would actually go to sleep. Figured I’d condition these kids a bit.”

Victor laughed, and came over to stand by them with one arm slung around Nova’s shoulders.

“Nice on V. No more late night outings for them.” he said with a laugh. She raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that goes for the two of you as well. Please try to be inside at a reasonable hour. Don’t want you to get possessed!” Eliza called after them. Nova giggled as Victor led her away, calling a quick, “We will!”

Eliza sighed, seeing that Ray and Vargas had already disappeared, as Vera headed to their cabin.

“Ghosts.” she muttered with a laugh, walking away.

“Ridiculous.”

But that night, even as our favorite lovers flew under the stars, and the kids slept soundly in their beds, the spirits of many would start to linger as the clock hit three.

Heed the stories. They are all based in truth.