"What year is it?" David asks me, I furrow my brow and shake my head.
"That's a stupid question," I start but the look that passes over his face scares me. "It's 2019." I answer quickly, throat closing up.
"Luna, tell us the truth."
"I am," His hand tightens, and I grip his arm, flinching at the pain in my jaw. "You're hurting me,"
"Good."

🖤🖤🖤🖤

The radio played an old Bruno Mars song as I drove down the highway. 

The sun was shining, and I fixed my sunglasses before turning the radio up. I tapped my fingers to the beat, completely bored with this drive and honestly trying not to bring my mood down. You see, I never wanted to make this drive, all the way to Santa Cruz California, from my hometown in Indiana. No, I am freaking hated this so much! My cousin, my precious baby cousin, Poppy, is having her birthday party and she's turning 18. Yes, congratulations to her, no one really cares. At least, I don't. I was mostly pissed because I was forced to come. My mom, bless her, is very sick and isn't doing very well and I didn't want to leave her alone. My mom's friend, Brenda, had offered to check in and help my mom while I was away. Suddenly, I didn't have an excuse to not come. My grandparents paid me money to make the trip, after I tried to tell them I didn't have a lot of money to just throw around. Yeah, it seemed I wasn't getting out of this one.

I take a turn, my gps telling me to, and get off at the next exit. It was a quiet road, and I was thankful that I could kick it up a notch with the speed. I frown when I hear the stereo go out, static making my head throb as I tried to switch it to a different station.

"Now here is Tiffany's new song, I Think We're Alone Now!" The song began playing and I hummed, bobbing my head to the beat. Yeah, let's take it back to the 80s.

'Trying to get our way!' I begin to sing, swaying my shoulders and chest sensually as I could while keeping myself straight on the road. I rolled down my window, letting the wind take my hair and mess it up. Yeah, this was a good song. I slow down when I see a town come into view, and the sign reads 'Santa Carla'. Huh . I wondered if that was just there for show, because I knew Santa Cruz was the filming place for The Lost Boys . Maybe they kept it up because of tourist? That seems like something super cool. I pull over, grabbing my phone and getting out, snapping a few pics to send to my mom. She knew how much I loved that movie, as she was the one that showed it to me when I was a kid. I have to say, I think I'm the only one I know that doesn't have a problem with the vampires costumes? Like, the hair is fucking great, and the clothes- hot damn . I even started to collect my own patches on my beloved jean jacket. I love my jean jacket, it's even getting a few holes because it's so freaking old. I got it in middle school, the size much too large for my little frame, and I've still not grown into it all the way.

I pull into the town, people looking at me oddly and I wasn't sure why, because they were the ones dressed weird. Was everyone having a throwback to the 80s? Maybe there's a festival? Huh, I don't know. I need gas, so I park, getting out and begin to fill up. After paying, I notice that I am rather hungry. Santa Cruz had their famous boardwalk, and it was beginning to get dark. So, I better eat now if I wanted to enjoy it. I didn't want the nightlife to make every place super busy and rambunctious. Parking my car outside the boardwalk, I grab my shoulder bag and slip my jean jacket on over it. I take my phone and headphones, just in case. I make sure it's charged, and I nod when I see I had enough charge just for a few hours. So I was fine if an emergency happened. I walk around the boardwalk, taking in everything. Yeah, definitely an 80s festival or something. I felt a little out of place. I was dressed more for the 90s grunge feel. I had on a pair of high waisted skinny jeans, a tight, long sleeved black crop top that had a very high neck. Over that, I had on an oversized dark green flannel, my jean jacket completing that 90s feel. I wore white converse, shoes my grandparents got for me for my birthday earlier this year. My hair was wind blown, but I had messily braided it back into a single french, tied with a bright pink scrunchy. I noticed an ice cream stand and opted for that, knowing that I had a few dollars on me.

I walk up, giving the girl behind the stand a smile. She pops a bubble, waiting for my order.

"Can I have a cup of strawberry please?"

"That's fifty cents." I blink, surprised. Surely it would have been like a dollar or two. I pull out fifty cents and she takes them, getting my ice cream. I grab a napkin and spoon, thanking her. I walk slowly, eating my ice cream as I hear people scream and laugh on the rides, kids running around and teens hanging in large groups.

I stop near a balcony of sorts, leaning on the rail and notice a few bikes parked just a few paces to my left. They have nice bikes, at least from my opinion. I know nothing about them, as I've never ridden one before. I always thought about it, but I have enough anxiety just driving a car, I think I'm fine for now. I sigh, pulling out my phone and seeing its only 9 o'clock. Not even a call or text from my family that wanted me here in Santa Cruz so bad. I scoff, rolling my eyes as I pull out my headphones. With my headphones in, and the grungy feel of the atmosphere, I played Job's Eyes by Far. A song I first heard when I was watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer . The beat started, drowning out the cries of laughter and adrenaline from the boardwalk around me. I leaned back against the bars, my attention on my ice cream, I mixed the scoops into a soupy type of mess, it was then that I felt like I was being watched. It was that feeling you get in the back of your neck, when your hairs tingle and stand on end. I glance up, looking around for anything weird, almost shrugging it off when I see movement from the corner of my eye. I look to my right, seeing a group of boys walking towards me, rounding the walkway. At first, I was going to look away, because it just seemed to me like a group walking passed. However, what kept my attention was the fact that I was clearly looking at four guys dressed as The Lost Boys from the movie, The Lost Boys . I wanted to laugh, because it was just so odd that these guys were dressed that way. I mean, the costumes looked so good, from Marko's jacket to David's bleached hair. It was perfect. I pull out my phone as they pass, the guy dressed as David leading them, Dwayne just a few steps behind him, then Paul and Marko. I open up my camera, snapping a few pictures. I winced when the noise went off, clearly the sound of a camera. I smiled when I caught them, a few pictures of them walking, then of them by their bikes. It wasn't until I got to the last picture that I saw that the guy dressed as Marko was looking at me.

Alex Winter was probably one of my favorite actors that I discovered just a few years ago. Of course, I saw this movie when I was very young, and only coming back to it about two years ago, I really took in the actors and how they portrayed the characters. My roommate in college was appalled that I'd never seen Bill and Ted and made me watch both of them, so obviously I recognized him from there as well. He was just one of those actors that stuck out, something about the way he was. I don't know. Marko's always been my favorite of the guys, but honestly, they were all pretty great.

I jumped in surprise when I felt someone leaning against my left side. Looking up from my phone, music blaring in my headphones, I come face to face with an Alex Winter clone. It was like he had just jumped right out the tv, standing before me as Marko. I must have looked stupid because the smirk on his face was nothing short of amused. He wasn't speaking, and it took me a minute to gather my thoughts. Oh yeah, I had headphones on. I watch as the other three stroll over, crowding me against the railing. I take in their positions, Paul standing beside Marko, David directly in front of me, and Dwayne close but not close enough to touch at my right. I was completely boxed in, and the fact that they looked just like the Lost Boys made this experience even better.

I reach up, popping my headphones from my ears and turned my music off.

"Can I help you boys?" I ask, trying to hide the giddy smile I felt coming on. I really wanted a picture with them, because these guys just had the look. I try to remain calm, and not freak out at the Kiefer look-alike. I lean back, aware of the fact that the Marko guy was pressed up against me. I could feel the thickness of his jacket, and I just wanted to reach out and touch it because damn was it colorful.

"Did you take some good pictures?" The David guy asks, voice smooth as he tilts his head to the side and down, looking at me with bright blues. Jesus , he was beautiful.

I blush, "Oh, you saw that?" I hear them all share a laugh, and I feel like a little animal boxed in by predators for just a moment. "Sorry, I was trying to be discreet." I shift against the railing, my stomach twisting. "It's just, you guys look awesome !" I gush, face hurting from smiling so big.

Paul guy grins, eyes hooded ever so slightly and I was sure I smelled a hint of pot coming from him. "You don't look so bad yourself girl." I blush, shaking my head as he sends me a flirty wink. God, they basically lived up to the characters too?

"You're not from here, are you?" David asks, and I shake my head.

"No, I'm here for my cousin's eighteenth. I had no idea you guys were having an 80s throwback festival!" I try to strike up conversation, and looking around I miss the small looks they sent each other. "I can handle the fashion, but even the prices for everything! They're so low! Gas was so cheap!"

"What's your name sweetheart?" Dwayne asks, leaning on his arm as he looks at me, direct eye contact. I smile, feeling hot under his gaze.

"Elsie, but you can call me El. Everyone does." I shrug, before looking up at him through my lashes. "And you?"

"Dwayne," Huh, I blink as he gives the name.

"I'm Marko," Comes a voice from my left, right by my ear. Out of reflex I move away, his breath cool as he gives me a cheeky grin as he looks to Paul.

"Paul," Paul says, and places an arm on David's shoulder.

"David," Comes the last name and I shake my head, a small giggle leaving me.

"No, really." I tease them, "I knew that, I mean your real names!" When a beat of silence falls into our circle, I shift uncomfortably.

"What other names?" Paul asks, head tilting to the side.

"Okay, nevermind." I wave it off, obviously these boys were in deep character. Perhaps they were hired by the boardwalk to do this, giving tourists a real thrill of the Lost Boys. In that case, I'll play along. Not like anything's going to happen. "What are you boys up to?" I tilt my head, playing dumb. I see David's eyes are locked on mine, and for a moment I'm positive this is the real Kiefer. His eyes are so intense I cannot stand still, and I see the ghost of a smirk graced his features at my discomfort.

"We were about to go for a ride." Oh, yes, the bikes. So they used motorcycles as well? Interesting.

"You ever ride a motorcycle?" Marko's so close to me, invading my personal space but I'm so elated that my favorite vampire is leaning on me that I don't tell the guy to get off. I shake my head, looking into his eyes.

"No, my mom was always a stickler about avoiding them." I fight a smirk, looking at his jacket before back up at his eyes, "Even more so the men on them." A low chuckle vibrates from his body, and I can feel it on my side. Gosh, he was so hot. I don't know what it was, but it was just something in the way he looked at me. In the way they all did. Marko was dark, and while he was adorably cute like an angel, he still felt dangerous. Like he knew something I didn't, or was waiting for something. Paul gave me the calm before the storm feels, his eyes were heavy with what I assume to be the buzz from weed, however they were dark and aware. David, was just David. He was cunning and sadistic, and cruel. You could see that in the way he stared at you or smirked when he saw you were uncomfortable. Dwayne was quiet, and his expression was usually neutral but even in the movies he sometimes wore a smirk or smile.

"You don't have to worry about us," David comments, never breaking eye contact. It was like he was demanding it from me, as I found myself unable to look away. "Why don't you come with us?"

"Where ya headed?" I throw back, "I was suppose to be at my aunts about three hours ago. I wouldn't want to worry them." I drawl, a slight country tone coming through as I basked in the attention. I wondered if these guys were super into the characters and would maybe try to torment people and scare the shit out of them. I hoped so, because that's fucking awesome.

"Just to a place all for ourselves." At the mention of the hotel my eyebrows shoot up. They had one? Was it like a replica? Did they make a fake little cave and a set type of place for them to take people back and scare them? Somehow I didn't believe the boardwalk would go that far, yet I was so freaking curious.

"Oh yeah?" I can't contain the excitement, and I really wanna see it. I turn to look at all of them, and I can see them sharing little smiles with each other, clearly entertained by my question.

"Wanna see it?" Paul asks, and I'm nodding before I can even think.

"Yeah!" I'm too surprised that I can't even form words. "Are you coming back later or should I drive behind you? I don't feel comfortable leaving my car here." Marko's arm is thrown over my shoulders, and he's leading me away from the pole.

"She can follow us, right Marko?" David jests, and I feel like it's that scene in the movie where they are at the bridge as they start to head towards their bikes. My car was parked a little ways away and I break from Marko to go to it.

"I think so," Marko smirks at me and I shake my head with a grin, not sure if this was happening or not. I get to my car, seeing the boys pull their bikes up by me.

"So I just follow you guys?" I throw to them, voice raising to go over their bikes.

"Try to keep up!" David smirked, making the other boys laugh and throw me their own grins. I shake my head, getting into my car and starting it up. I follow them, staying with them but at a reasonable speed. We took the backroads to get there, and when they stopped, I realized that it was a cliff. Holy shit. No way. I get out, making sure to grab my bag and place some things I felt I would need. My headphones, my portable charger, my phone, some mints, and my wolf figurine. I close the door, placing my lanyard in my bag as well. I turned around only to be greeted by Paul wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

I jump in surprise but laugh it off, he did smell like weed. But it wasn't overwhelming, just a spicy kind of smell. I slid my arm around his waist, letting him lead me down the steps.

"Oh my god! No way!" I say as I see the entrance that looks just like the movies. "You've even got the signs up!" The boys don't comment as I'm lead through, helped down the entrance and I'm just standing there, spinning in circles. "This...this is beautiful. I don't believe it."

"This was once the hottest resort in Santa Carla, it was destroyed in 1906 when the big one hit." I place my hand to my mouth, silencing the girly squeal I feel bubbling. I look up and to my right, seeing Dwayne giving me a smirk. I miss the rest of David's little monologue, taking in the essence of this place. It was actually homely, warm with a soft breeze coming from the opening. Barrels were lit, candles on fire, and I took in the aesthetic of the orange and yellow glow of the cave now that it was lit. The fountain was there, along with the foundation of the hotel. It was in ruins, of course, but it was supposed to be.

"Can I take some pictures? I mean, this place just looks so..." I shake my hands, unable to come up with a word.

"Go ahead." David answers, and I looked over to see him sitting comfortably in his wheelchair, watching me. I dig into my bag, pulling out my phone. I started to take pictures of the place, and I was just getting to the fountain when Paul jumps from it, landing nearly on top of me.

"What's that girl?" He comes up, taking it from my hands and I raised an eyebrow.

"Um, a phone?"

He furrows his brows, looking at me as he taps it, causing the camera to focus. "It's not any phone I've ever seen."

I smile, rolling my eyes. "Oh, yes, you don't have these in the 80s." I take it back, and step away, "See, these are iphones. And they can do a bunch of different things." I snap a photo of him, catching him looking right at me with a joint hanging from his mouth. I turn the phone around and show him his picture. "See?"

"Whoa!" he says, leaning down close to it and looking at himself. "That's crazy! Marko, come here!" The blond comes over, his pigeon long forgotten as he suddenly appears next to us, leaning to look at the phone.

"It's a camera?"

"Yeah, my phone can make calls, send texts, emails." I began listing off things, playing into the fact that these guys wouldn't know what an iPhone is. "I can take videos, pictures, play music, watch movies."

"An eye-phone ?"

I nod, fighting a laugh at the innocent look Marko has. "Yeah, don't worry, they'll show up in the early twenty-first century." I throw him a wink, lightly hitting his arm.

"The twenty-first century?" David calls, standing from his throne and walking over. I nod slowly, furrowing my brow.

"Yeah," I laugh as he narrows his eyes. "What? Oh, come on. Guys, you can play these parts very well but really, it's only us here. You can break character."

"What character?" Dwayne asks, coming up behind me. The atmosphere was practically sucked from the cave as they dropped the grins and moved in closer to me. It was like watching a pack of hyenas circle a lone lioness.

"Guys?" I ask, looking at them, skin tingling with the threatening way they were crowding me. I feel Dwayne's chest brush my back and move forward, nearly hitting David's front. I didn't like this, and I wasn't a claustrophobic type of person. I was naturally afraid of men, but what girl wasn't? The fact that these guys were dressed as characters in a favorite movie shouldn't have gotten me to let my guard down, but it did, and now I'm kicking myself in the ass for it.

"What do you mean girl?" Paul's voice was smooth, but didn't have any kindness. It wasn't malicious, no, somehow Paul always struck me as the guy that put on a happy go lucky front but was actually very serious underneath. Maybe that's why he fit in with the guys so much. His character was always depicted as a pothead, aloof and not all there, but he was probably very dark and cunning in his own way. The airhead pot lover facade was probably just that, a facade.

"You know what I mean." I throw back, hands holding my phone to my chest. My chest hurt from how anxious I was, my heart beating faster and faster with each moment. "This isn't funny." I look at David, as if the guy would give the go ahead and drop the act. I was hoping-no, praying for it. All I was met with was bright blues, dull in life, and the thin line his mouth was set in.

"We aren't laughing." Marko says, and I glance at him, unwilling to take my eyes off of David for long.

"What year is it?" David asks me, I furrow my brow and shake my head.

"That's a stupid question," I start but the look that passes over his face scares me. "It's 2019." I answer quickly, throat closing up.

Paul snorts, "Yeah right,"

I glare at him, "Yes it is you twat! Now stop with this fake vampire shit, it's not funny anymore." I can't hold back the anger and fear. I'm scared, and I want to leave. I want to call my mom and talk to her before bed, I want to just go to my aunts and leave in two days to drive back home. I feel tears pool in my eyes from the frustration, knowing these guys were toying with me. David's gloved hand reaches out and snags me by the chin, startling me and causing a whimper to escape my lips. I hold onto his arm instinctively, not trying to pry his hand away because just from how hard his grip was, I knew any attempts to do so would be futile.

He moves my head back, so I'm forced to look at him. He smells like cigarettes and something else, almost metallic in a way. I don't want to admit it, but I think it's blood. The way pennies smell like blood type of way.

"Luna, tell us the truth."

"I am," His hand tightens, and I grip his arm, flinching at the pain in my jaw. "You're hurting me,"

"Good." He fires back, looking at me for a moment. "How did you know about us? Hm? You speak as if you know us."

"I don't, not personally." I say, my cheeks wet with tears of anger and fear. I wasn't sure why I was crying, but to be fair I've always been an angry cryer. "I know the characters. I've seen the movie."

"What movie?"

"The Lost Boys, it came out in 1987, and it's about you guys. You guys are vampires, in Santa Carla, a fake city in California. You rule the boardwalk, you hate surf nazi's, you-you have a girl named Star who won't kill to become a full vampire. You also have a little boy named Laddie, he's also half but too young. I-I don't-"

"Prove it."