Isn't Clarissa's Family the BEST?

[[You think so, right Alois? CB]]

"Soo, Alois..." Clarissa was smiling as innocently as she could. She had even put her hair up into pigtails, just to seem more innocent. She toyed with her hair, wondering if it had worked. "I have something to ask you."

"What do you want?" he asked, eying her suspiciously from the couch. "Every time you wear your hair like that, you ask for something I don't want to provide. Like a cat."

She giggled.

"I'll get Herr Fuzzball eventually. Buuut that's not what I'm asking for." She smiled sweetly. "Say, do you want to meet my parents, Alois? Yes? Awesome! I love you so much!"

She flung herself at him, nuzzling him. "I knew you'd say yes!"

"...I didn't say anything," he replied, peeling her off. "You know, I might've said yes, but now I'm pretty sure there's something I won't like about them and you're hiding it."

She pouted and placed her hands on her hips.

"Why would you ever think that?! You're so mean sometimes, Alois!" She complained loudly.

Finally, she sighed and pulled her her from her pigtails. "I just...Well...My family is very protective of me, you know."

"Uh-huh..." he said, sipping blood from his glass. "Then why do I need to meet them?"

"Because! Mom and dad say you don't exist!" She pouted for real this time. "Mom wants me to stop wasting my time here, so I really need to get them to know you exist."

"Tell them you're at a job. Or Youth Group," he replied, leaning back against the couch.

"Mom won't let me handle a job until I get my grades up and she knows I'm too anti-social for a Youth Group." She replied, crossing her arms. "...I tried that, anyway. She refuses to let me come back unless she's seen you."

"Show her a photograph," he suggested. "Or you could say you're volunteering, or at the library, or something--use your imagination, Clarissa, you have an alarming one."

Suddenly, she grabbed Alois by the collar and shook him.

"You don't understand! Mom is very strict!" She placed her hands on his chest. "Please, just come by for an hour!"

He sighed deeply.

"You're at least sixteen, right? Just live with me."

She slapped him.

"For a vampire, you sure are a coward!" Clarissa remarked, crossing her arms.

He rubbed his cheek.

"If your mother is as scary as you make her out to be, excuse me for being a little apprehensive. Besides, I have no business facing her--I'm not even fit to be your lover. I'm waiting until you're of age."

She laughed.

"But I'm completely legal. Trust me, I looked it up."

He raised an eyebrow.

"...You're already twenty years of age?"

She giggled.

"Oh, you, Alois. I'm seventeen. I only have to be sixteen to be legal." She replied simply. "In one year, I'll be an adult and I can live with you. But I'd rather keep mom happy, too, so doing this will help her realize you're not a bad person. And that you're real."

"Just tell her you're joining a nunnery," he said evasively, draining the last of the blood.

"Are you into nuns, Alois? Because that's weird. Though, it would kind of be like the Sound of Music, right?" She giggled.

"Never heard of it," he replied. It was a shame, too--if he had watched it, it would've become his favorite movie of all time.

"Anyway, you're coming to meet my mother no matter what you say." She told him happily.

"But why?" he asked. "If you're too young to move out, you're too young for me to ask for your hand and even consider taking your virginity."

She giggled.

"Those come later. Just do this for me this once, and I'll owe you. You know what a great thing that will be for you? You can get me to do anything!" She winked.

"...I can't think of anything I want from you," he replied honestly.

"I'm sure you can think of something later! Please, Alois. I'll never see you again if you don't come with me..."