Blood Bond

The Carnival Is That Way!

I was dreaming…Daryl was there for some reason. And Kyle was there…and I was there. I was laughing at one of Daryl’s jokes. He could be funny sometimes, but something was wrong with me. I was flirting with him!

"Hey, Kyle, could you get me some water or something?" Daryl asked.

"I’ll get it!" I offered, standing up.

"Thanks, Tonia." He smiled.

"Sure." I said, laughing. And as I passed him he reached out and grabbed my hand. I giggled and kissed his cheek. He smiled and let go. "Here you go!" I said when I came back with water.

"Thanks, baby. Come here."

"Yes?" I asked and he glanced from the spot next to him to me several times. I…giggled and sat down. He smiled and made my head lay in his lap. He stroked my hair as he talked to Kyle about something. I couldn’t understand a word he said for some reason, but Kyle nodded and went to the computer room. I looked up at Daryl and he smiled. I sat up and smiled back.

"You know, your brother can be childish sometimes," Daryl remarked.

"Yep."

"But not you, right?" Daryl asked. I shook my head. "I didn’t think so. And you’ve been kissed before, too, unlike him, right?"

"Umm…well, not exactly…” Why did I lie about that?

"You’re kidding? Well…Now you can say you have." I opened my mouth to question him, but felt his lips on mine. I started leaning in...


I felt something soft yet cold pressing on my lips and I leaned closer, like it was still in the dream. I opened my eyes and saw Daryl lying on top of me, kissing me. I pulled back and he did, too, smirking.

"Get off me, Daryl!" I yelled.

"Told you that would wake her up! Oh well, can’t say I’m complaining," he commented, helping me up. "And just what were you dreaming about, baby?" he mocked, wrapping his arms around me. I looked away and didn’t even try to squirm. "Thought so." He smiled and kissed my cheek.

"Come on. We’re already behind schedule!" Kyle called.

"Man, he can be so childish sometimes, can’t he?" Daryl smirked.

"Shut up!" I snapped. Daryl growled.

"You’re making this too fun for me." Daryl smiled.

"What’s too fun?"

"Taming you." He smiled and I gave him a disgusted look. "Better get going," he said, his hand touching my ass. I snarled at him and he laughed. "Way too fun."

Eventually we all agreed to meet up at the cemetery when we were done. We would get candy and pull off a trick at the end. This year we were going to prank that mansion across the street of the cemetery that always seemed to only appear on nights with eerie moons in skies like tonight’s sky. There was the reason Kyle had whispered "perfect" a few minutes—or hours, who knows?—ago. We all split up and started our half hour trip apart.

I was ready for Daryl’s trick of making me scared this time. Last year he kept scaring me until I refused to walk alone. Not this year, though, because I was going to get him!

That whole half hour I made sure I was in a group, breaking away when I saw a house with no little kids begging for candy. I would've bet a hundred dollars that Daryl was cursing at my strategy of never being around one of his possible "scare spots", as he often called them. My plan was perfect until I saw Daryl talking with some freaky looking kids. He saw me and urged me over. It seemed that he’d probably been telling lies about me. It was like he’d just said, "There she is now." I thought perfect… and walked over.

When I got there Daryl hugged me tightly and kissed my lips quickly. It made me wonder what he told them. I finally looked to the two people there and saw that the boys were roughly the same age as each other, around fifteen or so, and were probably twins. They were dressed up as vampires and looked very realistic.

They also had the act down because when I stood before them, and next to Daryl, one said, "For you and we’d like to say—"

"You look very lovely." The other had chirped out a perfect finish to the sentence as they both held out a single black rose.

Daryl must have seen my confusion because he elaborated by whispering, "They take things too seriously. Just take it."

"I am James and this is my brother—"

"Jeremy Scanthers." I did a sort of wave.

"Could you please not finish each others’ sentences?" I asked, to which they nodded.

"Of course, Tonia. And congratulations on…you know."

The fact of the matter was it kind of freaked me out. My twin and I couldn’t do that. It was like they had a special bond with each other that neither I—nor anyone else I knew that well—could ever understand. I didn’t know if Daryl had given out my name or if they guessed it or—Wait! Did he just say congratulations?

Sooner than later, they departed and I was left with Daryl. But that James guy had looked back at me and frowned, as if pained.