"I guess I . . . I just thought . . . Hell. I just didn't think . . . You're kind of intimidating, you know."
"I'm intimidating? Me? I run like a rabbit from trouble, mostly," Eve said. "It's all show and makeup. You're the one who's intimidating. I mean, come on. All that talent, and you look . . . Well, you know how you look."
"How do I look?" He sounded fascinated now, and he'd actually moved a little closer to Eve on the couch.
She laughed. "Oh, come on. You're a total model-babe."
"You're kidding."
"You don't think you are?" He shook his head. "Then you're kind of an idiot, Glass. Smart, but an idiot." Eve crossed her arms. "So? What exactly do you think about me, except that I'm intimidating?"
"I think you're . . . you're . . . ah, interesting?" Michael was amazingly bad at this, Claire thought, but then he saved it by looking away and continuing. "I think you're beautiful. And really, really strange."
Eve smiled and looked down, and that looked like a real blush, under the rice powder. "Thanks for that," she said. "I never thought you knew I existed, or if you did, that you thought I was anything but Shane's bratty freak friend."
"Well, to be fair, you are Shane's bratty freak friend."
"Hey!"
"You can be bratty and beautiful," Michael said. "I think it's interesting."
Shane cleared his throat. "Look, could we get moving? You two are giving me diabetes. And if we're going to get this done--"
"Oh, chill out, Collins; we're bonding, here." Eve met Michael's eyes squarely. "So we're good?"
"Ah . . . I guess."
"Don't bite me."
He smiled faintly. "I won't."
"Then let's go save this stupid town so I can ask you out on a date already."
"Well, you don't actually have to wait," Michael said. "This is kind of a date."
"Hmm." Eve thought it over. "Potentially fatal, dangerous-- yeah, it does sound like a lot of the dates I've had, come to think of it. Only with at least twice the hotness."
Shane looked at Claire and made a gagging sound, which made her laugh. That made him smile, and for a second there it was, that connection, that feeling that took her breath away, like she was flying all the way up into the sun's warm glow.
Shane hesitated, then held out his hand to her. "We do it together," he said. "The four of us. Right?" His fingers felt warm on hers, so familiar it almost brought tears to her eyes. "Right," Claire said. "Michael, just because you're a vampire doesn't mean you shouldn't watch out for Myrnin. He's killed other vampires before. Just . . . everybody, watch out for each other."
"Hey, we're Morganville kids," Eve said. "That's what we do."
"If you're all done kissing and exchanging class rings, let's go," Frank said from the doorway, and tossed Eve a wooden stake, which she snatched out of the air. Michael got a crossbow. They looked at each other, and then exchanged the weapons without saying a word.
"We'll take Eve's car," Claire said.
"I have a car?"
"It's the hearse out there."
"But . . . I don't even have a driver's license!"
Claire went out to the skull-shaped purse sitting on the table in the hall, opened it, and combed through stuff until she found Eve's ID. She handed it over. Eve looked at it, openmouthed, and showed it to Michael. "That is a wicked bad picture, so don't judge," she said. "But look. Eighteen. I'm eighteen!"
"Come on, I've seen you with fake IDs since you were twelve," Michael said, and looked at Claire. "Is it real?"
"It's real. She's eighteen. You're nineteen, by the way."
"Huh." Michael said that like he wasn't sure how to feel about it.
"You're going to let her drive?" Shane asked Claire quietly. "Really? Even though she doesn't remember how?"
"Think of it as on-the-job training," she said. "You can co-pilot. She'll be fine." Claire left them and went to Frank and his group. "Move this." She pointed to the bookcase Michael had put in front of the portal for extra protection. The bikers shoved it out of the way, with a lot of enthusiasm that sent books tumbling to the floor. "There'll be a door here at some point. Whenever there is, get through as fast as you can. I don't know how long I can keep it open."
Frank frowned at her. "Why don't we just all go the same way?" he asked.
"Because the door's locked on the other side, too," she said. "I need to unlock it before you can get through. Trust me: this is better."
"Well, hurry up," he said. "Getting dark out there. You don't want to be on the streets at night."
"Thanks, Dad," Shane said. "Great advice. Never would have thought of that on my own, what with all the vampires and crazy people and everything."
Frank just shook his head and said, "Be careful. All of you. I get the feeling this one ain't gonna be no walk in the park."
That, Claire thought, was probably an understatement.
The streets were a mess. People had abandoned cars and left them; they passed the wreck of Oliver's limousine, too, which, now that Claire took a good look from the outside, seemed even more terrifying. Eve drove with extreme caution, steering with both hands rigidly on the wheel in the driver's-education-approved ten and two positions. She looked petrified, and that didn't get any better the farther they got from the Glass House, and the closer to their destination. By the time they'd pulled to a stop where Claire said, next to the entrance to the alley next to the Day House, Eve looked ready to collapse.