vampires will never hurt you || rory keaner

t w e l v e

"Oh, man, that earwax was epic! I'm serious. I couldn't get the earbud out. It was like it yanked it back in." Benny says as he and Ethan pull up weeds from outside the school, as punishment for breaking the principals window when they rewired the PA system.

"Earwax can't do that, Benny." Gabe says sitting across from the two with a book in her hand.

"Hence my unease, but that explains why my charm fell on deaf ears."

"Maybe she just ignored you. Like all the other girls do?" Gabe laughs.

"If they're running from you, they're not ignoring you." Benny defends.

"Hey, guys!" Sarah says walking up to the group. "Getting punished for your ghost alarm thing, huh?"

"Sarah, can I ask you a question? Do girls have like way more earwax than guys? Is it a puberty thing?" Benny asks.

"Do guys have fewer brain cells or is it just a Benny thing?" She retorts.

"Well, I mean... it takes a lot more than that..." Sarah walks away before he can finish. "She didn't even wait for my answer."

"Is it just me or are there a lot more weeds here than usual?" Ethan says.

"Maybe they only get pulled when someone gets punished." Benny says.

"Oh, gardening isn't a punishment, gentlemen." Principal Hicks says walking up to the boys. "It is an opportunity."

"An opportunity to get hands dirty and jabbed with thorns?" Ethan says.

"No, an opportunity to look within. To banish the weeds inside your soul. What you have to do
is remove the root, so that the weeds never grow again."

"I really think a spray bottle of Weedageddon'd be easier." Benny says.

Thanks for telling us this, Principal Hicks, but... why are you telling us this?"

"Normal troublemakers clog toilet bowls. You two rewire PAs, break my office windows, talk about space demons. I worry about you."

"So you want us to clog more toilets?" Ethan asks confused.

"No, forget it. Carry on weeding." Principal Hicks says walking away.

"Man, that inner weed stuff was pretty emo. Kinda like you Gabe."

"Shut up loser." Gabe says back to her brother.

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"What kind of girl can resist both my bowling anecdote and talking about herself? Strange!" Benny says as he, Ethan, and Gabe walk down the hall together.

"Speaking of strange... Hey, Rory, what's up?" Ethan says when he notices the huge smile on Rory's face.

"Erica and I totally like the same band."

"Single Tear?" Gabe asks.

"Aren't all those songs about how hard it is to be them?" Ethan asks.

"Yeah, they totally speak to me. They're rich and famous. I'm a vampire. Nobody gets us." Rory explains. Gabe can't help but chuckle.

"Nobody's ever got you. I don't think liking the same band is gonna make much of a difference." Benny says.

"Ah, maybe not right away, but like single tear says, "There's no time like the future."" He starts singing.

Rory goes to put in his headphones when vines start coming out of them. The three across from him notice this and are quick to snatch them away from him.