That Boy Next Door

Chapter 4

A pounding on the door woke Dannie up from her daydream as she stared out the window.  It must be Katy, she thought, who had probably once again locked herself outside the house.  Lazily making her way down the stairs, she opened the door to reveal an angry Van.  If they were cartoon characters, steam would be blowing out of his ears no doubt.

"Can I help you?" she asked quirking up an eyebrow.  

The boy angrily shook a bottle in her face.  It was the bottle of vinegar she had prepared and Dannie silently praised Katy on a job well done.  

"Do you think this is some kind of joke?" he hissed taking a step into their house.  Dannie cowered a little at his aggressive stance but made sure to keep the expression on her face calm.  

"So you're probably not a vampire because you just stepped into my house without permission," she said jokingly.

The veins in Van's neck visibly bulged out as his faced turned slightly red in anger.  Dannie wasn't quite sure if he was going to explode first or if he was going to strangle her first.  She hoped it was the former.  There were a lot of things she had to do before she died.

"What's going on?" a new voice asked and Dannie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Quinn coming to the door.  "What do you want Van?"

"What do I want?  What do I want?" Van asked incredulously.  "What I want is for you," he jabbed a finger at Dannie, "to explain why you got my brother drunk off of tequila!"  At this, he dragged Dexter out from behind him.  The boy looked around seeming a bit dazed.  

Dannie pulled back slightly stunned at his accusation.  It wasn't tequila in that bottle, it was obviously vinegar.  And as far as she knew, vinegar did not get people drunk.

"What are you talking about?  There's vinegar in that bottle!" Dannie protested.

"Yeah, we wouldn't go so far as to get you guys drunk," Quinn said backing up her sister.  

"Well tell me why my brother is drunk and why there is alcohol in a bottle that your sister gave to him," Van said crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at the two sisters.  

The thought seemed to hit both of the sisters at the same time.

"Katy!" Dannie shouted at the top of her lungs.  This wouldn't be the first time the girl had snuck behind their backs to play a dirty trick.  

Katy skipped into the room, her light brown hair flowing lightly behind her.  "Yes?" she asked blinking innocently.

Dannie glared at her sister, unwilling to blink until Katy did.  A few moments passed before Katy let out a big huff of air.  

"Fine.  I might have added a tiny amount of tequila to the drink.  You know, spice it up a little," she told Van smiling with satisfaction when she saw Dexter stumbling around on his feet.

"You guys are freaking insane," Van muttered under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The three sisters stood there awkwardly as Van continued to mutter to himself under his breath.  

Suddenly, a familiar car pulled up in the driveway.  

"Oh crap! Mom's already home from work!" Quinn said frantically to Dannie.  

"Okay, so you should probably leave now," Dannie said to Van.  His head snapped up as he looked at the car which had now come to a complete stop.  As his head turned back to the Hales, his eyes narrowed.

"I'll cover up your stupid prank for you this time.  But just remember, this is not over," he said before turning around and stomping back to his house.