Fangtastic! by Sienna Mercer Page A

thought,
leaning back against the tree.
    Charlotte
was Ivy’s neighbor on one side; on the other lived the Carltons. Their property
ran up the length of the hill, to where a line of bushes separated the two
yards. Ivy had no choice. It was risky, but she decided to try and sneak behind
the Carlton’s house, up the hill, through the bushes, and into her own
backyard. Then she could climb in her bedroom window without Toby seeing.There
wouldn’t be many trees to hide behind on the way, but luckily she had vampire
speed on her side.
    Ivy
peeked out again. She held her breath, waiting for Toby to turn his back on her
in his walk along the curb.
    Wait
. . . wait . . . go! she thought, sprinting out from behind the tree and dashing for the Carlton’s
backyard as fast as Olivia’s pink mules could carry her. A weather vane planted
in the grass spun wildly as she zipped past.
    “You
know what?” Olivia said desperately, tossing a tangled black skirt in the air. “I’m
really sorry, Brendan, but I don’t know what I did with that book.” She pointed
to her head. “Cobwebs!” she sang manically. “But I promise I’ll keep looking
and bring it to you tomorrow in school. Okay?” Olivia glanced anxiously up the
stairs toward the door. Ivy’s going to be here any second! she thought.
    Meanwhile,
Brendan just kept staring at her with that same impenetrable look.
    “Okay?”
Olivia pleaded again. “I promised my dad I’d set the table for dinner, so you
really, really have to go now.”
    Without
a word, Brendan started for the stairs. He’s finally leaving! Olivia
thought, nearly overcome by relief. Then he appeared to think better of it.
    “Something’s
not right,” he muttered to himself.
    He
turned around at the bottom of the stairs. “You’ve been acting weird since the
moment I saw you in the mall,” he told her. “The way you talk, the way you move
. . .You’re not acting like— like my girlfriend.” He looked at Olivia, his eyes
filled with concern. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay, Ivy?”
    Olivia
gulped and nodded.
    Suddenly,
a totally horrified look spread across Brendan’s face.
    Olivia’s
heart stopped. He’s figured it out, she thought. Ivy is so going to
kill me!
    “Are
you mad at me about something?” Brendan asked shakily.
    Olivia
is not going to be happy, Ivy thought with a grimace as she stood panting at the back of her house. She’d
run so fast that one of her sister’s pink mules had shot off her foot like a
rocket and flown way up in the air. Ivy didn’t even know where it had landed.
Still, she was seriously relieved to have successfully made it into her backyard
without Toby seeing her.
    Ivy
hopped along the back of her house to her bedroom window, which sat at ground
level. Kneeling down, she glimpsed her sister in the room below. Good thing
I left this window open this morning! she thought. She got down on her
belly and scooted through the window feet first.
    “Hey,
Olivia!” she called. “I’m back!” As she felt for the landing with her feet, the
other mule fell off and clattered down the stairs. She continued loudly, “Toby
Decker should be the one everyone’s worried about. What a stalker!”
    Olivia
didn’t answer. “Olivia?” Ivy called. “Olivia!” She found her footing, shut the
window, and turned around.
    Right
away, Ivy noticed the panicked look on her sister’s face, and she froze. For a
moment, she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then someone stepped out of the
shadows. It was Brendan, staring up at her from beside the foot of the stairs.
    Ivy
watched her boyfriend look from her to Olivia and back again, a wrinkle of
confusion spreading across his brow. He just heard me call Olivia “Olivia”! Ivy thought in panic. Several times! And she’s supposed to be me! As she
stared at Brendan, she realized that it was time to tell him the truth, but her
heart sank. Once he finds out I’ve been keeping this a secret, she
thought, he probably won’t