Amber's POV

THREE WEEKS LATER

The sound of a knock echoed throughout the house, and I sat up in bed, the covers falling off my chest. I groaned, rubbing my eyes and looking at my watch. Almost 6:30. I nudged the sleeping form next to me.

"C'mon, Jerry. It's time to get up. We're already getting trick-or-treaters."

Jerry didn't respond. I smirked mischievously, shoving him as hard as I could. Jerry let out a yelping noise as he awoke with a start, flailing his limbs as he flopped off the bed and onto the hardwood floor with a thump. He groaned loudly.

I laughed, the kind of laugh that makes your entire body shake. "Oh Jerry, I'm so sorry! I don't know my own strength."

He climbed back onto the bed, glaring at me. "You'll pay for that, pup."

I winced at the pet name. "Ugh, gag. It's payback enough when you call me things like that. I'm only a wolf once a month."

"Yes, but you act like a wolf twicea month." Jerry grinned, laughing himself. "You were a nightmare last week." He leaned down, kissing my neck voraciously.

I squirmed, giggling. "Oh yeah, sure, blame it on the menstrual cycle. I had a real reason to be angry!"

"Mm-hm…" Jerry muttered, trailing his kisses from my neck up to my lips. I kissed him back fiercely. I cut it short by pulling back.

"Seriously Jerry. There are children at the door. Think of the children." I leapt out of bed, slipping on my underclothes.

"It's Halloween, Amber." Jerry followed suit, and I felt his hands grazing my sides. "Any screams the kids hear will just be part of the whole spooky ambiance." He planted a tender kiss at the back of my neck.

"No, no, no." I said sternly, turning to look at him. "We can save that for later. Keep things PG, at least until I get my costume on. You're gonna love it."

"Am I?"Jerry perked up a single thick eyebrow in curiosity.

"Ohhh yes. Just you wait." I heard a knock at the door again, and I sighed. "I can't answer the door like this!" I reached into our dresser, pulling out a Party City shopping bag. "I'm gonna put this on real quick. Wait here."

I rushed into the bathroom, and I must have spent a good fifteen minutes in there. The fabric was shitty and kind of scratchy, and a bit tight, but I made it work. Then I slapped on some makeup, and finally I was done.

And even stillI could hear the knocking, growing loud and impatient. I frowned. If those were the same kids, they have been waiting there a while. Move on to the next house already, jeez.

Before I went to answer the door, I took one more quick glance in the mirror. My wavy brown hair was tied into a ponytail. I had black eyeshadow on, and bright red lipstick. I wore a blood red dress, complete with black lace, and a black corset (and that thing was a son-of-a-bitch to fit into, let me tell you). To tie it all together, a shiny silver (but not real silver!) necklace, an amulet in the shape of a bat with ruby eyes.

I look HOT! I flashed a quick triumphant smile, complete with two gleaming fake fangs. When I said Jerry would love this, I said he would love it. I could totally pass for the real thing… well, as real as I could manage with a budgeted Party City spree.

I put my hands on my hips, chin held high as I did my best interpretation of a red carpet strut back into the bedroom, where I assumed Jerry was waiting. "How do I look?" I said, in my most convincing Transylvanian accent I could come up with.

"Stunning, as always." Jerry replied, with an added growl to his voice. I blinked. Was that a sexual growl? I sure hope so… Sounded… animal.

I glanced over at Jerry to see what that was about, and I screamed.

Jerry was hairy. Reallyhairy. He had a beard- or was it glorified sideburns?- and there was dark, grey hair sprouting from his chest, poking out of a tattered flannel shirt. There was even hair on the backs of his hands.

His hands… Oh god. He has claws. I started to panic. I saw him smile, and he had fangs too, but not his usual fangs. Instead of just two, it was two really large ones and a bunch of smaller, sharp teeth in between. I then noticed his ears… sharp and pointed, and also covered with grey hair. A wolf's ears.

I was hyperventilating at this point. Had I bitten him at some point when the wolf had taken over, and he just never said anything? Was he now some sort of freak vampire-but-not-really-a-true-vampire-anymore-slash-werewolf hybrid? "J-Jerry?" I whimpered, and he edged closer to me, growling deeper. "JERRY!" I screamed at him, quickly backing out of the bedroom and hiding behind the doorframe. "What in the hell is happening?!"

"I forgot to mention," Hairy Jerry stopped growling, his voice returning to normal, "that you would 'love' my costume, too." He chuckled. "So sorry if I scared you, love. I certainly didn't mean to." The bulky wolf teeth made his speech just a bit slurred, but his voice was still as alluring as ever, using a calming, careful tone.

A wave of relief washed over me, followed by anger. I punched him on the arm, not too hard but hard enough to let him know I meant business. "You scared theshit out of me, Jerry! I fucking hate you." I then laughed and hugged him. "But I love you way more. It's a great costume."

Jerry smiled, hugging me back tightly. "I thought you would enjoy it. Quite ironic, our costume choices. Yours is much more becoming, though." He took a step back, taking it in. "You really do look gorgeous."

"I look the part of a vampire's bride then?" I gazed up at him, reaching a hand up to play with the fur on his face. It felt like Barbie Doll hair, and was so crudely glued on… how did I ever think that was real?

"Ab-sho-lutely." He winced at the sound of his own slurred voice, and spat out the bulky fangs into his hand. "I don't think I can keep this up, though."

"Just use your real fangs, Wolf-Man." I leaned up, kissing his hairy cheek, leaving a red lipstick stain on the fur. "Oh! That reminds me! Almost forgot the best part!" I rushed back into the bathroom, ripping open a tube of fake blood and squirting some on my lower lip so it dribbled down my chin.

Then I heard a loud banging on the door. "Damn kids," I muttered. "Let's go give them a scare, babe!"

"Now that's something I miss doing." Jerry snaked an arm around me as we made our way to the door.

Jerry pulled open the door wildly, and I gave my most menacing vampire hiss, as Jerry roared, our arms raised in a threatening manner.

A scream rang through the air, and it dawned on me that it wasn't a horrified scream, but more of a squeal of delight. And instead of seeing trick-or-treaters running away in terror, suddenly all I could see was a mass of curly blonde hair as a pair of arms entangled around me, squeezing the hiss right out from my throat.

"Gabby?!" I yelped in astonishment, stumbling backwards into the house.

"Ohmigod, you guys! You both look soooooo goood!" Gabby let go of me, then gave Jerry a quick hug. "The perfect couple costume! Except… aren't vampires and werewolves supposed to be enemies?"

Jerry and I exchanged a look at that, wanting so badly to laugh.

Gabby continued. "You took literally forever to answer the door, but that's okay. I brought scary movies, snacks, and WINE!" She excitedly grabbed a bag of shopping goods from outside, coming back in. "You don't mind, right?"

"No, not at all!" I smiled brightly, putting my arm around Gabby. "Sounds a lot more exciting than just handing out candy all night."

"No offense, Amber, but… your house is a bit… creepy. I doubt any kids will come by here."

"It is wonderful to see you, Gabriella." Jerry took her hand, kissing the back of it lightly.

Gabby giggled, a bit flustered from that. "Amber, I've said it before and I'll say it again, you landed yourself a real great guy. I'm so proud all my dating advice paid off."

I took a glance at my friend's costume, looking her up and down. "A witch, huh?" She was wearing a very elaborately detailed dress that ended at her knees, black with glittery spiral designs. She wore knee-high black and green striped socks and shiny black boots with buckles. Her look was completed with one of those miniature clip-on witch hats in her hair.

"Yep! Made the dress myself!" She clapped her hands together, giddy with excitement. "Sexy, isn't it? I bet it would make the boys go crazy. I put a spell on you… and now you're mine!" She sang the last part, in the style of Bette Midler.

"Oh yeah, you look amazing, Gabby." I took her hand and led her to the living room couch. Jerry went off into the kitchen, probably grabbing himself a fruit cocktail, purposely giving us some privacy.

Gabby and I sat down.

"So, I was thinking I could sow your wedding dress, too!" Gabby said, a bit too loudly. I could hear Jerry choking on his fruit cocktail in the kitchen.

I smiled warmly, glancing towards the kitchen, a small blush forming on my cheeks. "I don't think we're quite there yet."

"Aww, well, never hurts to plan ahead, you know. But I will be your maid of honor, right?"

"Absolutely." I looked back at Gabby, my voice growing soft, concern for her taking over my thoughts. "How are you doing?"

Gabby must have known exactly what I was referring to, because she lowered her face, and her tone grew a bit sad. "Well, I haven't heard from Nate in a while now. I'm pretty sure he's moved on. You were right, Amber. All along."

"I still shouldn't have freaked out…" I said forlornly. "I'm just glad we're all good now. And you deserve better than him anyway. You'll find someone soon, I promise."

"Yeah…" She sighed, then brightened up again. "Friends before men, am I right? I'm happy, really."

"I'm so glad you decided to stay." I grinned. "I've always needed you. You're my best friend. I just forgot that for a little while."

"Oh, that's all in the past. We'll always be besties, no matter what!" Gabby pulled out a couple paper cups, pouring red wine into each and handing one to me.

"Jerry, quit being antisocial! We're gonna put on a movie!" I yelled.

"Coming." He chimed, strolling back into the living room and sitting on the other side of me, and wrapped an arm around my waist.

I edged close to him, leaning my head on his chest. "What movies you got there, Gabby?"

"I brought a bunch. The Conjuring, The Shining, Child's Play, Saw…"

"Saw?!" My eyes flew open in surprise. "Yikes, Gabby, I didn't think you'd be the kind of person to be into that sort of thing!"

"I'm not. I haven't seen any of these. Scary movies aren't usually my thing."

"Well… let's not watch Saw. Your sanity is in danger as it is. That movie's trash, anyway." I laughed. "Pick one of the others."

"Okay!" She picked out one of the DVDs, and got up to hook up the DVD player as Jerry picked up the remote and switched on the TV. He flipped through the channels.

"I'm not entirely sure what channel you're supposed to have it on for DVDs…" Jerry said, sounding confused. He probably wasn't used to such "modern" technology.

"I think it's channel 3? Or you press a certain button to change modes…. Uhhh…" I grabbed the remote from him, squinting, trying to figure it out myself.

I glanced over at the TV, blanking out. On the channel Jerry had left it on, a very cheesy-looking Halloween themed set was shown. It looked to be a graveyard, complete with styrofoam tombstones and cobwebs that looked like stretched out cotton balls. Rubber bats hung from the stage ceiling on clearly visible wires. Whatever this show was that was on seemed pretty old, deducting from the grainy looking footage, maybe from the '80s, or older.

"Oh, you guys! I forgot to show you the best part of my costume! Wait here, I gotta get it out of my car." Gabby suddenly dropped the DVD and ran out.

"Your friend has a very short attention span." Jerry said with a smirk, gazing at me.

"I know. She's a lot of fun though. I guess we can watch this until she remembers what she was doing." I turned my attention back to the television. The camera was focusing on a coffin now, and the coffin was slowly pushed upen from the inside, and an old guy with grey hair slowly rose up, turning his head slooooowly towards the viewers. It was like something straight from a B-movie. "Dear God," I said with a snort. "Everything about this is so cheesy. Look at that get-up he has on." I snorted.

The old man began to speak.

"I do hope you are enjoying our Fright Night double-feature showing. We will very soon be approaching the Witching Hour, when creatures of the night, from all walks of Hell, crawl up from their tombs to terrorize unsuspecting prey. And I have fought them all. I-"

"You know…" Jerry trailed off, shifting his eyes to the TV as well. I felt him tense up a bit underneath me, clearly hesitant to go on. "I... would be honored to marry you, Amber. Someday."

I swallowed, softly, looking up at him. "You… would?"

"Why, of course. You seem to have a desire to be a vampire's bride, from your choice of costume." He smirked, gazing back down at me with his dark eyes twinking. "Why not make it a reality? Not right away of course."

"I…" I was absolutely speechless. Marriage?I knew I loved Jerry. I knew that despite the… unconventional life we were leading, I'd want to be with him. No matter how much he pissed me off sometimes, no matter how fucked up things get… I wanted him. Forever. Marriage actually seemed appropriate. If you're going to be with someone forever, why not?

"I would love to, Jerry. I definitely would." I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. I felt him run his fingers through my hair. My heart was soaring. Every kiss with him felt like the first.

After a minute we pulled back, gazing into each other's eyes like there was no tomorrow.

"I love you, Amber Waite. And I will protect you and care for you for as long as I live. We can grow old together… I am capable of that now. It's all I've ever wanted for myself, and you have given it to me. I'll forever be grateful."

"I can't imagine what you'd look like with grey hair." I smiled warmly. "But…. yeah… that sounds amazing. I'm with you all the way." I snuggled up to him, absolutely beaming with happiness. "I love you too, Jerry."

As the guy on TV drone on with his mock-sinister voice, I thought about what would happen the next night, the full moon. Jerry told me he would be there for me, through it all. He would make sure I'm secure in the basement, make sure I had plenty of food and water. Even talked about putting some stuffed animals in there so my wolf could have something to rip apart. How goddamn romantic is that?

Thinking back, I wouldn't have changed a thing. I used to think that this werewolf thing was a curse, and to a degree it still is. But I never would have moved here if I had never been bitten. Never would have met Jerry.

I hated Jerry when this all started, I really hated him. And now I can't imagine a life without him. During the short time I've known him, we killed a few people, stole my best friend's car, and battled a witch and a zombie. And Jerry got his mortality back, his life, and he wanted to spend it with me. I was so grateful for everything I had right then, that the bad stuff didn't matter. We're cursed, both of us, but we're cursed together.

We found life in death, and love in hate.

"Okay, okay, get this!" Gabby sprinted back into the living room, carrying something in her arms. "Remember about a month ago when I was tied up at that place and that bear-thing ran out and you helped me, Jerry? Remember?"

"Uh, Jerry…" I said in a harsh whisper. "You were supposed to compel her, remember?"

Jerry shrugged, a guilty look on his face. "Oops?"

I punched him in the stomach. "You better do that, like now!"

Jerry coughed, clutching his stomach, sending me a glare. "Okay, okay! But I'm now incredibly curious to hear what Gabby has to say. Gabby, please… Continue."

I grumbled, crossing my arms in a pout. This ought to be good.

"Well," Gabby continued, "You threw this thing away, Jerry, but I grabbed it just to see what it was. I bet you didn't know what you were throwing away, and I don't blame you there. It's just a musty old book, nothing special."

She held the object in her hands for us to see.

Oh god. The spellbook.

Oh no. Jerry and I exchanged worried looks with each other.

"And it turns out, that this book has some really neat things in it, like, magic. I tried some of it, and it actually works! I had to Google Translate all of it to know what it does, it's all in Latin. But it's what gave me the idea to go as a witch and-"

"Gabby, you need to give that to me." Jerry said sternly. "Right. Now."

"Awh, don't be such a party pooper." Gabby opened the spellbook, getting a serious look on her face. "Now, I hope you don't mind, but I've always wanted to know exactly why you moved here in the first place. You never got around to telling me. There's a spell here that should bring out the truth in you."

"Bring out the truth?" I didn't like the sound of this at all.

"Yeah, like, show you in your true form or whatever. Best friends tell each other everything. Now's your chance, or I'm using this spell."

Jerry looked over at me, ferocity and fear in his eyes. "Amber… your true form," was all he had to say, and I knew exactly what he meant. What the spell would do.

"Amber, seriously. I just want to know!" She stomped her foot like a fussy child. "I'm gonna give you to the count of three to tell me, or I'm gonna go all-out witch on you. One..."

"Gabby, no!" I held out my hand. "I'll…. I'll tell you."

"Great. I'm listening!" Gabby leaned down with her hands on her knees, smiling brightly. This was a real bitch move on Gabby's part, but if she really wanted answers, she'd get them. Jerry can just compel it all away later anyway.

"You won't believe me… but I'm telling you the absolute truth. I need you to uh… not freak out."

"I wonnnn't, now what is it?"

"Okay." I took a deep breath, letting it out slow.

"I'm… a werewolf."

Gabby's face was completely blank. Her bubbly demeanor had left her, her smile gone from her face. All was silent for what seemed like forever. Aside from the guy speaking on the television. I focused on the sound of his voice, trying to distract myself from the horror of this whole situation.

"And now, I will have the pleasure of showing you the second film in our double-feature… a personal favorite of mine, the classic story of Blood Castle. And I, Peter Vincent, of course, star in it…."

Suddenly, Gabby started laughing, a deep belly laugh. She snorted, and that only made her giggle harder. I quickly looked at Jerry. His face was riddled in confusion.

"No! He's the werewolf, clearly!" She gestured to Jerry and spat out between laughs. "Oh God! Amber, you're too much, girl!"

"No, Gabby!" I yelled, the frustration rising in my voice. "He's a vampire. And I am a werewolf. I'm telling the truth!"

Gabby wiped a tear from her eye, her laughter slowing down. "That was funny and all, but clearly you're not going to tell me. You had your chance. Here goes…"

Gabby started reading the spell aloud. When Jerry and I started shouting protests, Gabby just read louder over us. Lord knows she had the pipes for it... that girl could never shut up.

"Ostende mihi faciem tuam verum est forma. Revelet Deus absconsa tua!"

As soon as Gabby finished, I could feel myself starting to change and shift. Pain erupted through my entire body, and I cried out in anguish. I whipped my head around to Jerry and he gazed back at me in absolute horror. He tried to put his hand on my back to comfort me, but he was changing too, before my eyes. I felt his leathery wing brush against me, as my teeth grew sharp and my bones grinded and shifted around. Fur was sprouting everywhere. My mind started to get hazy.

I slowly turned back to Gabby. I heard a snarl escape my throat, heard my dress ripping as I grew in size, rising on my hind legs, towering over the puny, trembling human. I flexed my claws, thick drool dribbling down my muzzle.

I heard Jerry hiss menacingly beside me. We were closing in on her. And we were hungry.

Gabby screamed.

And the last thing I remembered hearing, before my mind was completely gone, was…

"Welcome to Fright Night!"

Author's Note:

FINALLY IT IS FINISHED! Holy shit. This story has been on my conscience for quite some time. I really have no excuse for the amount of time it took to bring this to a close, other than general life stuff and writers block, etc. I want to thank my friend Heidi Saily for inspiring me to finish it. See, she writes amazing Fright Night fanfictions and I was home sick today and had nothing to do, so I hit her up asking for a link to one of her fanfictions I read and LOVED a while back (It's called Roses Journey and it is bad ASS!) and reading through it, I suddenly got my muse back! And I finished this chapter, and posted it. Go check her stuff out, seriously. She's an incredible writer.

Anyway, for those of you that stuck around, THANK YOU SO MUCH. It's been so great, I really enjoyed writing this over the years. And I really hope the ending sits well with you all. I wanted to go with a bit of a twist!

Thanks again for reading, and don't let the vampires bite!

~Maya Wulfe