Free Thicker Than Water by Carla Jablonski

somehow feeling light.
    Someone banged into her and she found herself staring up into red eyes. The gaunt face smiled down at her, his fangs small and discreet. “Excuse me,” he said.
    Kia smiled back and let him wriggle by. Carol stared after him. Kia hadn’t noticed until then that Carol and Aaron were dancing beside her.
    â€œWhat a weirdo,” Carol said. “I can’t believe he’s actually wearing fangs.”
    Kia started dancing again. She liked that the guy was extreme, was doing the vampire thing totally. He looked real—and wasn’t that the point? To get dressed up and create a whole alternate world?
    Kia wished she had done more to get ready and noticed that Aaron and Carol were getting the same suspicious looks on the dance floor that they had gotten outside. Here it was Kia who fit in.
    Scanning the crowd, she wondered if this was a secret world for most of these people. An entirely alternate life.
    A vault, Kia thought, looking up at the arched stone entry-ways. That’s what Vampyre Central reminded her of—a place to hold and keep secrets safe. The kind of place where Kia could have as many secrets as she wanted and no one would be disappointed in her.
    â€œYou came!”
    Kia turned and saw Hecate coming toward her through the crowd. She was dressed even more provocatively than she had been at the hospital, in a plastic micro-mini and a vinyl corset.
    â€œSo what do you think?” Hecate asked Kia.
    â€œThe music rocks,” Kia said.
    â€œYeah, Damon’s awesome,” Hecate said. She glanced toward the DJ booth. “Not to mention hot.”
    Kia felt Carol and Aaron standing there, just standing. They had stopped dancing and were waiting to be introduced. For the first time ever, Kia felt uncomfortable about claiming their friendship.
    â€œCarol, Aaron, this is Hecate,” Kia said.
    â€œSo I’m guessing this is kind of new for you,” Hecate said to Carol.
    â€œUh, yeah.” Ordinarily Carol behaved as if she were the hostess of the universe. But with Hecate she kept quiet.
    â€œSo are you a vampire?” Aaron asked. He drew out the word vampire and said it with a bad Transylvanian accent. Kia cringed.
    Hecate ignored the question and smirked. “What were you thinking?” She gestured at Carol and Aaron’s clothing. “I’m surprised Scream let you in.”
    â€œScream?” Carol said, raising an eyebrow. “Someone calls himself Scream?”
    â€œI’m going to get a drink,” Hecate said. “You want anything?”
    â€œDefinitely,” Kia said.
    They wove their way to the long bar. Hecate ordered the round since she was the one with the ID. Kia noticed there were a few kids probably around her age, but mostly the crowd was in their twenties, and some a little older.
    Red confetti drifted down onto the bar in front of her. She looked up and once again stared into black eyes. The DJ grinned down at her from his booth above the bar. He was leaning on the rusty-looking iron railing, his fair hair feathering around his pale face.
    He looks like a drawing. The high cheekbones, the smooth plane of his forehead, the short, sharp nose, the curve of his lips all created shadows and surfaces perfectly laid out for charcoal. And slightly unreal. From this distance, Kia couldn’t tell if he had fangs or not, but if he did, Kia was sure they’d look good on him.
    â€œDamon’s sizzling hot, don’t you think?” Hecate said, nudging Kia in the side with her elbow. Kia flushed and looked down at her drink. It was a muddy red and served in a martini glass.
    â€œWhat is this?” she asked, grateful to have an escape from the DJ’s intense eyes.
    â€œBloodbath,” Hecate said, lifting her glass. “Cheers!” She clinked Kia’s drink and took a sip.
    â€œWhat’s in it?” Aaron asked, eyeing the drink suspiciously.
    â€œRed wine and