The sheriff was on the phone when Ember walked into his office. Since she was no longer going to the Rave'N, it gave her time to travel into Jericho without worrying about when she needed to get back.

She slammed two ziplock bags onto the desk, one containing the claw, and the other the cloth with Xavier's blood on it. The sheriff was on the phone, but he came off it as soon as she did this.

"That's the claw of the monster, and that's a dried blood sample from a potential suspect. He used it to dab scratches on his neck," she said, gesturing to each bag in turn. "Run the DNA test and see if they match."

The sheriff blinked at her. "I'm sorry, do I work for you?"

"No. If you did, things would get done a lot faster round here," Ember was quick.

The sheriff gave a wry chuckle. "You think this is funny?"

"You asked for concrete evidence, and now you're bashing your head against it, as I knew you would," Ember said bitingly.

"Where'd you get this?" The sheriff asked, poking at the claw in the bag. "And who's the suspect?"

"If the test is run, I'll explain everything," Ember replied, not giving up easily.

"I'm not playing games, Addams!" The sheriff warned.

"No, you're losing them, sheriff," Ember retorted.

Silence hung between them, then, finally, the sheriff pressed his intercom.

"Bernice, bring me a DNA authorisation form, please."

Ember almost smirked at him. It felt good to be playing the winning side when she had been on the losing one for the past few days.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Eugene was sitting on the edge of the pool in the quad with Wednesday, no less, when Ember approached him.

"Why do glum?" She asked the boy, taking in her monochrome cousin for a second before talking to the hummer.

"Saw Enid at lunch. Asked if she got my honey," Eugene sighed.

"It's not like I didn't warn you," no, Ember hadn't delivered the honey. But Enid was never going to say yes.

Then Ember looked at both the boy and her cousin. "You know, I figured that since none of us have a date to the dance-"

"We could go together!" Eugene jumped up and Ember away from him.

"What? No, I was going to suggest we stake out the cave and identify the monster," Ember said. "So, you two in?"

"Sorry, cousin," Wednesday sighed. "It's not like I want to go to this torturous place where people move their bodies for fun, but I got asked, and I may have underlying motives."

"Who asked you?" Ember said curiously.

She would've expected 'Xavier' to come out of Wednesday's's mouth before what actually did. "Tyler."

Ember's eyes widened. "What? When?"

"In Jericho earlier," Wednesday said, before walking off, clearly not wanting to say anything more.

"Okay then," Ember turned back to Eugene. "Let's stake out the cave. Tonight. And then we can find out who the monster is. I already have my suspicions."

Eugene just nodded.

Neither noticed Xavier, looking jealously on at them in a close beside the quad.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

So, that night, as everyone, dressed up in their white and (occasionally) coloured dresses and suits, Ember had on her leather jacket, black jeans, and black backpack. She was just grabbing a torch as she heard a knock on the door.

"I'm coming, Eugene!" She shouted, putting the torch and Thing in her bag and walking towards the door. "Hey, did you happen to grab any extra batteries for the-"

She was expecting Eugene Ottinger at the door, in a coat, some hiking boots and a backpack. She was not, however, expecting Xavier Thorpe at the door, in a white suit and jacket, a tie of the same colour, his hair up in an elegant bun and a smile on his face.

"Xavier," Ember said, eyes wide, stepping back a little.

"Uh, I- got your note," Xavier told her, holding up a piece of card with (Ember could just see) some typewriter print on it. "It said you were sorry? That you- did want to go to the dance with me? I just- don't know how you dropped it off," he chuckled.

"I have a pretty good guess," Ember muttered, sparing a glance for Thing, who was still sitting at her desk.

"I mean, after our fight, I didn't think you would want to see me again, but... your note explained how you don't think I'm the monster, how you moved on. So... I'm willing to forgive you," Xavier smiled. "I mean, it totally took me by surprise, but..."

"Me too," Ember's eyes were still wide.

"Well, just so you know... I'm glad I came," Xavier smiled, then he looked her up and down. "You... need a few minutes?"

Ember nodded, almost slamming the door.

"How could you do this to me?!" She demanded of Thing, rounding on him as soon as the door closed. "And now Xavier's just expecting me to- to turn up-"

She rammed open her wardrobe door and went through it, finding the dress she arrived in. But when she turned to Thing, however, he was shaking his wrist, and pointing to something on her bed.

The dress she had seen in the Uriah's Heap shop window. The red one with skulls... the one she had actually liked looking at...

"How'd you pay for it?" Ember asked, kind of mystified by the dress as she took it up and looked at it.

Thing just held up all his fingers.

"Five-finger discount, of course," Ember sighed, putting the dress on.

"Thing, don't look!"

❣︎❣︎❣︎

Xavier was standing in the entrance hall as Ember descended the stairs. His head was definitely turned as he saw Ember descend them.

"Wow," he said, absolutely speechless as she came towards him and settled in front of him. "You look..."

"Hideous? Unrecognisable?" Ember said. "A classic example of female objectification for the male gaze?"

Xavier smiled. "No, Ember, you look beautiful. Breathtaking, even."

No one had ever called Ember that before.

But he could still be the monster.

"Eugene?" Her head turned round as she saw Eugene approach her, in about exactly as she thought he would be in at her door when Xavier turned up.

"Ember... what's going on?" Eugene asked, looking from her to Xavier.

"Ember?" Oh, great. Tyler. Another one to add to the list. Ember could see Wednesday at the edge of the hall, not having much fun. Or not looking like it.

Ember just gave Tyler a look of recognition, then, sparing a second to glance at Xavier, she pulled Eugene aside.

"What happened to staking out the cave?" He asked her. He wasn't angry, just confused.

"Sorry, Eugene, I've been... rerouted," Ember sighed.

Eugene looked from her to Xavier and back. "Sure. I get it. Guess I'll check out the woods myself-"

"Don't go alone," Ember warned. "It's too dangerous. Stand down. We'll go together tomorrow night, understood?"

Eugene looked down. Then up. Then he nodded.

Ember sighed, walking back to Xavier. Tyler and Wednesday had gone.

"What was that about?" Xavier asked her.

"Nothing. It's fine," Ember said, walking into the hall with him.

If she had been paying attention, she would've noticed Ajax's surprised look, Bianca's jealous one and Tyler's sad one, whilst flashing an angry look at Xavier. As well as many other students, looking at her in wonder.

The hall, meanwhile, was what she was paying attention to. Enid had not been joking when she said the theme was white. Everything, from the tablecloths to the fake icicles to the fake smoke covering the dance floor was that colour. As well as everyone's (including Enid's) outfits.

"Ember Addams, Xavier Thorpe. What a lovely surprise!" Ms Thornhill was walking towards Ember and Xavier.

"Ms Thornhill," Ember said, giving her a slight nod.

"Glad to see you two together," the teacher smiled.

"We're not together," Ember said immediately. Xavier just chuckled.

"I'm going to get us some drinks," she told him, walking off into the crowd.

"OMG! I love the look!" She ran into Enid at the drinks table. She was wearing a white sparkly dress and she had little jewels underneath her eyes. "I see you and Xavier managed to work things out," she smiled knowingly, even though Ember didn't know what there was to know.

"I could say the same," Ember said, for she had noticed Enid's date when she walked in. It was one of the three pilgrims she had now fought twice. The mayor's son, Lucas. The date with Ajax the other night hadn't gone as planned, and now Enid was trying to get her own back.

Nevertheless, her eyes went wide, looking from her date to Ember. "It's not what it looks like."

"Good, because that pilgrim already has two strikes in my book. And a third is probably coming," Ember said.

"It's okay, Lucas is trying to make his ex jealous. I'm trying to make Ajax jealous..." Enid explained. "It's a win-win."

As if on cue, 'Lucas' came over. He held up his hands. "Ember, I come in peace," he smiled.

"That's a shame. I brought my mini axe," Ember said monotonously. Lucas' face fell. "My newly sharpened one."

And with that, she left, going to actually get a drink.

Only to see Tyler at the table.

"Oh, here we go. Just hit me with why you took my cousin here and how I shouldn't be at this dance with a boy who has less brain cells than a goldfish even when I didn't want to come here in the first place."

As Ember had recited this off, Tyler was just stood there. "I- I wasn't going to-"

"You were staring Xavier down when we walked in here. You should know I'm observant by now," Ember told him, staring at him.

"I can't believe you took him here," he muttered.

"Why?" Ember asked.

Tyler's eyes flashed. He was angry at her for the first time since Ember had met him. "You don't know what he did to me!"

This hung between them for a few seconds. Ember wondered what Xavier had done now. Tyler was partly fueled by jealousy, and part by anger.

Then Ember spoke. "Enlighten me."

So Tyler told her.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

A few minutes later, Ember was sitting outside the hall on one of the circular couch in the entrance hall. The music from the dance was floating around, but she wasn't listening. She was too busy thinking about what Tyler had told her.

Apparently, a few years ago, this girl had showed up in Jericho, and she and Tyler had started dating. Then, according to Tyler and Tyler only, Xavier had used a siren (this was before Bianca) to manipulate the girl into falling for him.

Ember was annoyed. Even more so when Xavier came and stood over her. "Was it the thin mountain air or the yeti-tinis that got to you?"

Ember turned to look at him. "Tyler told me what you did. How you used a siren's power to manipulate a girl that liked him into falling for you."

That had him taken aback. He sat down beside her, heaving a heavy sigh. "Look, Ember-"

"Did you, or not?" Ember questioned.

"I- I wish that I could say it was an accident," Xavier turned and looked at her. "Or that it wasn't half as bad as it sounds, but... I'm lying. And he... he could've got me in trouble with Weems or his dad for displaying power to normies, but... he didn't."

Ember said. "Why'd you do it?"

Xavier sighed. "I... I could give you... so .any excuses, but... I'm actually still trying to figure it out. I mean, I dated Bianca afterwards and broke up with her because I thought she was doing the same thing to me that I had done to that poor girl... I just- I realised that's not the version of myself I want to be.

"But when I'm with you... you make me the version of myself I want to be."

Ember had no idea what to say.

"Look, I did something terrible, but... I'm not terrible. I promise," Xavier said.

Then he took a risk, and put his hand on hers.

And she didn't move away.

"Come on, let's go dance," Xavier smiled, standing up as Ember did the same.

"Let's go."

❣︎❣︎❣︎

"When the sun goes down

And the moon comes up...

I turn into a teenage, goo goo muck."

Ember didn't even know what she was doing, but soon, she was dancing. And not just with Xavier. She was right in the centre of the dance floor with Xavier, and Thing, technically. As he joined in on the proceedings as well, confusing her date.

"You better duck,

When I show up,

The goo goo muck."

She kept moving away from Xavier and dancing back towards him, definitely being the most exuberant dancer on the floor, if not the best.

But Xavier thought she was. Privately.

" 'Cause I'm a goo goo muck tiger

And a teenage beast..."

Soon, Enid and Lucas, Bianca and her date, Ajax and his, Wednesday and Tyler, and loads and loads more couples, had joined the dance, everyone having a really good time. And soon, even, some people were joining Ember in just doing random dances, some doing the worm, some just freestyling.

But still, Ember was the best.

And still, Xavier stayed with her.

And he would never admit it, but he had waited a long time for this. To be here, dancing with Ember Addams.

It was pretty special.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

"Whoever invented high heels must've had a side hustle as a torturer!" Ember cursed under her breath as she walked towards Bianca, who was sitting on the same circular couch she had confronted Xavier on before. The girl was dressed immaculately, in a dress of big, circular, turquoise sequins that looked rather like scales. It was good, considering she was a siren.

But either way, she looked sad.

So, Ember sat down on the couch beside her and took of her shoes, admiring the two big blisters she now had on her feet before looking at Bianca.

"As my dear mother always says. "Fire tests gold, suffering tests a woman"," she replied.

"Speaking of suffering, I just heard why you broke up with Xavier," Ember said bluntly. "I'm... sorry for you. By the sounds of it he had it wrong."

"It's... fine," Bianca sighed. "It was never going to last long, anyway. It never does, with Scales."

Ember sighed, looking down.

"But you make him happy."

Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "What?"

"You," Bianca said. "You. You make Xavier happy. The happiest he's been in years actually."

"My aim is to spread pain and misery, not happiness," Ember told Bianca, who smiled.

"Well... just so you know, I'm not the only one who can see it," the siren smiled. "And... maybe me and him didn't work out, but... we've both moved on. And I can respect that."

Ember gave a curt nod. She didn't really feel like it was her place to say anything.

"You don't know what it's like," Bianca changed the subject, leaning back in her chair and sighing a heavy sigh.

"Being beautiful and popular? Having a big circle of friends?" Ember asked, nettled. "Yes, that's right. Point made. Can we move on now-"

"Never knowing people's true feelings," Bianca answered, making Ember turn. "If someone likes me for me."

"What about your amulet?" Ember asked. She had learnt that the sirens all had 'amulets' so they couldn't exercise their powers on people day to day. But, since the story with Xavier and Tyler, she had learnt something else.

Something that Bianca soon told her. "It's not foolproof," she said, touching it on her chest. "It's a mild prophylactic, so to speak. And yes, it's why Xavier broke up with me. He could never fully trust me."

She looked straight at Ember. "The worst part is I could never trust his feelings either. I never knew if they were real or not.

"But then I see the way he looks at you..." And just like that, the subject flipped back. And Bianca was talking about Xavier and Ember again. "And no one is ever doubting whether that's real or not. We all know."

But he could still be the monster. Ember hadn't forgotten this. "Well, I have no time to think about that. And if I did, then he definitely wouldn't be top of the list."

Bianca chuckled. "You're lucky."

"Oh?" Ember asked, raising her eyebrows above her unblinking eyes. "Do tell."

"You don't care what people think of you," Bianca answered smoothly.

Ember thought about this. "Honestly, I with I cared a little more."

Bianca smiled. "We always wish for what we don't have, don't we?"

Ember had no idea if this had a double meaning or not. All she knew was that after this night, something was going to be different between her and Bianca Barclay. A good sort of different.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

"Yo! Yo! Yo! Almost eleven o'clockity, so haul it out on the dance floor one last time, before the Rave'N says, 'Nevermore'!" MC Blood Suckaz, the DJ, yelled into his mic.

Ember was back out in the middle of the dance floor, standing face to face with Xavier whilst everyone danced around them. She still didn't completely trust him, but some of the stuff Bianca had said had maybe sunk in.

"Come on, Ember, let's goooooo!" Enid shouted, coming along and trying to get Ember to dance.

Xavier laughed at the two girls before him, smiling at the enthusiastic one, but going off his head at the one that wasn't joining in.

Then Ember stopped, standing still as she noticed something.

A couple drips of red liquid (presumably blood) on Xavier's shoulder.

The boy himself noticed this, too, and both looked up.

Slowly, one of the screws on a pipe up on the roof was turning. Actually, all of the screws. They were all turning. And they were all filled with red liquid.

And... it didn't help that everyone was dressed in pure white.

Because, slowly, everyone began to get dripped on, even Ember, as she got her face splattered with the liquid whilst looking up. She was smiling, however, whilst most weren't.

By now, it wasn't just splatters. Whole streams of the red liquid were raining down on the dancefloor, and everyone was getting soaked in it.

Soon, everyone was covered.

Ember's face and most of her body was now soaked, but she smiled as she watched students scream and push themselves off the dance floor, most of them completely red by now.

"AAAAARRGGGHHH!" She heard Weems' high pitched scream from the drinks table as the rest of the students ran off the floor, however, the red liquid had flooded the room by now, and many of them slipped and skidded across the floor on their backs.

Ember just smiled and sucked her finger, not tasting the sweet, metallic taste of blood, but a bitter, watery one instead. "They couldn't even spring for real pigs' blood," she rolled her eyes, looking at Xavier, who was still standing across from her. "It's only paint mixed with water."

People were still slipping around them, but then one of them bumped into Ember, and her head was going upwards again-

Eugene... in the woods... running... falling... screaming... something chasing him... getting attacked-

"Ember!"

Her head tipped back up. Xavier was holding her. She was still standing, but she was swaying on her feet, using him for balance.

"Eugene's in danger! He's in the woods!" Ember shouted to him.

"Ember, what-" Xavier was shocked as the girl he was holding regained her balance and took off.

"He's in danger!"

And, leaving Xavier behind, she ran, not slipping on the blood or anything. Her date had to admire her, yet still, he was shocked.

❣︎❣︎❣︎

"Eugene? Eugene!"

Ember had ran from Nevermore to the woods behind it, running through the foliage and leaves in just her dress and heels. Her feet hurt and shivers wracked her body, but she kept running, because Eugene was out her. He must've staked out the cave even after she told him not to.

"EUGENE!"

"Ember! Over here!"

Ember ran in the direction of the voice, but then stopped. Because a roar of a monster echoed through the woods.

But it just made her run faster.

She found Eugene in the next minute, finding him on his back. His eyes were closed, and there was blood and cuts all over his body. Real blood.

Ember, covered in fake stuff, ran to him, and knelt down beside him. He didn't move.

"Oh my god!"

Ember turned. Ms Thornhill was behind her, her white dress also stained with red liquid. Ember turned to look at her.

Then the question.

"Is he alive?!"

The question she could not answer.