Class was a bore, as always. The day had passed by slow, droning on and on, seemingly never ending. I was sat in my class I shared with Blane, chuckling quietly at something he had said.
"I swear, it was the most fucked up thing I've ever seen." he said, shaking his head as our quiet laughs died down.
I wiped a tear from my eye with my shirt sleeve, shaking my head also. "Jesus, Blane. I don't know where you come up with these stories. Seriously."
He shrugged, twirling his pen between his fingers. "All true, I promise. My mom is a lunatic, she's always getting us into crazy situations."
I chuckled once more, leaning back in my seat, watching as the professor walked lazily in the room. The chatter soon ceased as he took his place at the front, the lecture hall growing silent as everyone waited for him to begin his lecture for the day. He stared, his monotone voice immediately giving me a headache, and had me wishing I was anywhere but there.
"Do you think he could sound anymore robotic?" Blane whispered to me, leaning over towards me a bit so he didn't have to talk too loud.
I shrugged, rising my eyebrows and shaking my head. "Who knows. He sounds like that genius that used a computer to talk, doesn't he?"
"Stephen Hawkins?" Blane chuckled, glancing at the professor to make sure we didn't get caught. "Huh, he does, doesn't he?"
We both snickered, eventually turning our attention back to the professor, waiting for the hour and a half lecture to be over. Once we were dismissed, Blane and I made our way out to the parking lot, laughing with one another about any stupid thing that came to our minds. I stopped at my Jeep, unlocking it, and opening the door. I threw my bags in the passenger seat, grabbing my phone and checking my messages, smiling once I saw one from Grayson. Blane leaned against the back door, giving me a small, nervous smile, once I looked up at him. "So, um, could I ask you something, and it not come out weird?"
I raised my eyebrow, laying my phone in the center console, before sitting in the driver seat. "Yeah, I guess. What is it?"
Blane nervously reached up, scratching the back of his head. "So, like, your boyfriend. He's not gonna get upset at us being friends or anything, right?"
I laughed a little, shaking my head. "No, Grayson's not really the jealous type." I paused, shrugging a little. "Well, he is, but not in like a super insecure way. As long as you don't do anything disrespect towards me, he won't care. I promise."
Blane smiled, relieved by my words. "Great. I just, I know that was kinda sudden. I just don't want to cause any unnecessary problems, ya know?"
I nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. "I totally get it. And thank you for asking. But yeah, he's..very mature for his age. So there's definitely nothing to worry about."
Blane nodded, glancing at his watch that rested on his wrist. "I gotta head out, I got work at three. Would you possibly wanna stop by, maybe grab a coffee or something? It's on me." he jokingly said, flashing me a dazzling smile as he stood up from my Jeep.
I nodded, smiling back. "Yeah, that sounds nice. What time? And where is the shop?"
"I get off at nine. I'm just helping out a bit today. It's the coffee shop a few blocks down. Elevated Ground." he answered with a shrug.
"Yeah, I'll be there." I replied, sliding my legs into the Jeep and cranking it up. "Have fun at work. I'll see you around nine."
Blane nodded and turned, making his way over to his truck, climbing in and starting it up. I pulled out the parking lot, taking a deep breath. Blane didn't seem like he was hiding anything, but it was driving me insane knowing that he wasn't all human. Grayson had been gone for three days, and I had been hanging out with Blane during school, hoping to figure out some answers. So far, he hadn't said or done anything that seemed suspicious, and I was growing frustrated. Roger had transitioned, and when Grayson questioned him about what happened, he had no answers. He couldn't even describe the vampire who had turned him, and had no recollection of what had happened. His transition hadn't been peaceful, like it was suppose to be. Grayson had explained that when a vampire was turned, they would usually be unconscious for the transition. The fact that Roger had been awake told Grayson that whoever had done it was in a rush. They didn't go through the proper steps, taking and then exchanging blood. They had forced the transition, which apparently was a very painful and slow process.
Roger was traumatized. He didn't understand what had happened to him, and when Grayson and his father explained it, he had freaked out. He was a very religious man, regardless of his sexual orientation. The fact he was now an immortal blood drinking being hadn't set well with him. Grayson assured me he was being taken care of, which had relieved me a lot. Roger was a kind soul, he didn't deserve what had happened to him.
I soon pulled up at home, seeing Mom's car gone. I parked in my spot, grabbing my bag and climbing out the Jeep, going up to the front door, and letting myself in. I went to my room, deciding to catch up on a few assignments as I waited for nine to roll around. Two essays later, it was eight-thirty, and I stood, grabbing my keys and heading out to my Jeep. Mom had called a few hours ago, telling me she was meeting dad for dinner, and they probably wouldn't be home until later. I was worried, remembering Grayson's words about being out past dark. Hell, I wasn't abiding by them, so I pushed them to the back of my mind, climbing in my Jeep and driving to the coffee shop.
I pulled up, parking on the street, and heading in. The place had grown nearly empty, being so close to closing time. The streets were empty, since all of the shops around it had already closed for the night, since it was weekday. Blane was behind the counter, a black apron wrapped around his large frame, a smile on his face as he handed a drink to the only customer left in the shop. He told them to have a nice night, before finally landing his eyes on me. "Hey!" he greeted, stepping out from behind the counter, wrapping his arm around me in a causal side hug. "Gimme a minute. I'll go make us some drinks." he said, stepping back as he made his way back around the counter. "You hungry? I can have Terry make us some sandwiches if you want one. Best paninis in town." he joked, starting to make each of us a drink.
I shrugged, taking a seat at a table by the wall. "Why not? Since you're paying." I called back, rolling my eyes as he jokingly shot me the bird. I pulled my phone out my pocket, shooting Grayson a quick text, letting him know I was out with a friend and would call him once I got home. He wasn't that happy that I was out past dark, but nevertheless, he told me to be safe and please call him. A few moments later, Blane was walking over to our table, juggling two cold drinks and two paninis in his arms. I rolled my eyes, chuckling and taking the sandwiches from his arms, sitting them both down on the table.
"Thank you." he mumbled with a smile, sitting the two drinks down, before taking a seat. "I didn't think you were an ADHD maniac like myself, so I fixed you a milkshake. Hope that's okay?" he asked, his eyebrow raised.
I nodded, taking the drink and opening a straw, plucking it in the lid. "Yeah, this is great. Thank you." I said, taking a sip, giving him a look. "Really, thank you." I repeated, chuckling at his expression. "So, best paninis in town, you say?" I asked, pulling the sandwich towards me.
He nodded, taking a bite of his own, chewing and swallowing before answering. "Oh yeah, totally. Terry makes a mean panini now."
I rolled my eyes, taking a bite, nodding my head in agreement. "Yeah, this is pretty good." I said with a laugh.
Blane laughed along with me, both of us eating our sandwiches and drinking our drinks. We made small talk, mostly getting to know one another while we ate. Blane told me he was twenty three, and lived with his mom, who had been the one to raise him his whole life. He didn't know his father, but didn't seem too worried by it. He said his mom had told her he was a dick, so he was grateful he had never met the man. I listened, telling him about my parents once he asked, explaining what my dad did, and about my mom's business.
"That's really amazing. My mom had a miscarriage a few years after I was born, and it was really hard. I wish she would've had someone like your mom in her life." he commented after I told him about the blankets she made.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Mom always struggled with fertility, she says I'm her miracle baby. I think that's her motivation really. She just wants people to know someone understands, even if it's a stranger, ya know?" I replied, taking a sip from my shake.
Blane nodded, giving me a small smile. "I think that's a really beautiful thing she does. Some people do it for the money, and money alone. She seems like she does it for the passion of it."
"She does. She's always been a caring person." I said, leaning my head against my hand. "So, what made you transfer colleges?" I asked, changing the subject.
He chuckled, leaning back in his seat casually. "Ahh, where do I begin? Um, basically, I got dropped. So, really, I didn't transfer. I was going through some stuff, and let it affect my schooling. I started skipping a lot, mouthing off in class. Typical stuff, ya know?" he chuckled.
I nodded. "I hope things are going better now. You seem pretty chill to me."
"I am. Mom thought it would be a good idea to move, get out of the city we were in. It took a while, but I got my shit together and decided to go back to school." he said, a sense of pride in his voice.
I gave him a smile, happy to see him so proud of himself for how far he had come. "Well, there's only one way to go once you've gotten down. That's up. Seems like you've done a pretty good job of it."
I slight blush crossed his features, and he gave me an airy laugh. "I appreciate that, really." His attention was pulled away from me to the man in the back, Terry, calling his name. "What's up?" he called out, watching as the older man walked around the counter.
"I was letting you know that I'm heading out for the night. Already got the back cleaned and stocked, so just make sure you lock up." the older man said, already holding his car keys in his hands.
Blane nodded, giving him a smile. "Alright man, you be safe."
Terry nodded to both of us, stepping out and heading to his parked car. Blane turned back to me, opening his mouth to speak, before he stopped again. I raised my eyebrow, seeing him peering past me, an alarmed look on his face. "Blane, what's wrong?" I asked, my voice beginning to shake as pang of fear crept into me.
He didn't answer, standing up from his chair and grabbing my arm. He began pulling me to the back, and I glanced behind me, seeing a figure standing outside, towering over a quivering Terry. "Oh no." I mumbled, letting Blane lead me into the back room more easily.
He stopped once we reached the room, rushing over to his bag and rummaging through it. "I need you to stay here. Don't leave this room." he demanded, pulling a small stick looking thing from the bag.
My eyebrows furrowed, seeing the pointed end of the stick. "Is that a stake?" I asked, walking up to him and peering at the piece of wood.
"Yeah. Look, I totally get it if you don't want anything to do with me after tonight. But please, don't leave this room." he replied, giving me a pleading look. "I know I seem totally crazy—"
"You don't." I interrupted, shaking my head. "I know what's out there, and I need you to trust me when I say that you do not need to confront that thing. Let me call Grayson, he's the one who needs to deal with it." I said, placing my hand on his arm.
Blane raised his eyebrow, giving me a suspicious look. "Your boyfriend? You want me to wait on you to call your boyfriend?" he asked, his tone full of disbelief.
I nodded, my face remaining neutral. "Yeah. He needs whoever that is to be alive, or there's gonna be a whole lot more vampires roaming around here."Blane gave me a blank stare, seemingly appalled by what I was saying. I sighed, my grip on his arm growing tighter. "Look, I know you aren't human— at least not all the way, and because you carry a stake around and know a vampire when you see one, I'm assuming I can trust you with this. Grayson is the...leader of the vampiric realm. There's been a vampire going around changing people, and he believes that that vampire has somehow breached the portal of our realms. So, I need you to put the stake down, let me call Grayson, and let him capture this thing so he can figure out what the hell's going on. Okay?"
I waited for him to answer, and finally, he sighed, gripping the stake tighter in his hands. "Fine, call him. I'm going to save Terry, I'll keep it distracted the best I can. But if he's not here in five minutes, I won't hesitate to kill it." He paused, searching my eyes for any sign of mistrust. Finally, he pulled my hand off his arm and began making his way out the back room, rushing outside to confront the vampire getting ready to maul Terry.
I sighed, grabbing my phone and hurriedly calling Grayson, who picked up on the second ring. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, his voice light.
"No, there's a fucking vampire outside the coffee shop I was meeting Blane at. He's out there fighting it I guess, and he already knew what it was when he saw it." I rushed out, peering out the back room, seeing Blane's figure in a protective stance over Terry. The creature stalked towards him, it's nails elongated, and a pair of fangs shining bright in the light. "Gray, please get here." I whined out, squealing when the vampire lunged at Blane, who deflected it's attack.
"I'm coming now, Grace. Stay where you are. Don't hang up." Grayson's voice filled my ear. I could hear him rushing to something, and distant yells in the background coming from Preston.
I watched in horror as Blane fought the vampire, stabbing at it with the stake at superhuman speeds. He always barely missed, the vampire just slightly faster than he was. I shrieked, watching it grab Blane by the neck, tossing him to the side like he was nothing. "Blane, get up." I whispered, watching as he slumped to the pavement, not moving. "Gray..." I whispered into the phone, tears pricking my eyes as the vampire stalked to a trembling Terry.
"Grace, listen to me." Grayson's voice replied back, his voice firm, and full of authority. "Your friend is probably a Hunter. Does he have a bag with him that you can get to?" he asked.
I nodded, my mind not registering that he couldn't see me.
"Grace, answer me, Baby. Does he have a bag?" Grayson asked again with more urgency.
"Y-yes." I answered, rushing to the bag he pulled the stake out of. I wedged the phone between my ear and shoulder, grabbing the bag and dumping its contents out on the floor.
"Okay, I need you to tell me what's in the bag. Anything that looks weird for someone to be carrying around." he paused, his voice sounding slightly muffled as he yelled to someone, "I don't give a fuck what Graham said! Get me a fucking portal, Preston!" After a moment, his voice filled my ear once again. "Baby, does he have a crucifix, holy water, anything like that?"
I nodded, this time remembering to answer him verbally. "There's a crucifix and another stake."
Grayson sighed into the phone, probably nodding much like I had. "Okay, take the crucifix and the stake and stay where you are. The fucking council is giving me a hard time, but I swear to you, I'm coming. If the vampire comes in there before I get there, don't attack it. The crucifix will hold it off long enough for me to get there." His voice came out rushed and airy, like he was running while speaking.
Tears were running down my face at the point, and I sniffed, my words tumbling out my lips. "Grayson, what do I do if you don't get here in time? How do I kill it?"
"Grace, you're gonna be okay, Baby. I swear it. I'm coming. If you hold the crucifix out at it, it'll stop it long enough. But if you do need to use the stake, take it and push it through its chest, where it's heart is." he rushed out.
I nodded, tensing up as I heard the front door of the shop open. My breathing picked up, and tears fell from my eyes like a stream. Fear bubbled up in me, and I heard a hiss come from Grayson, followed by a stream of curses. "Father, I need the portal, now!" he yelled.
Slow footsteps sounded through the empty shop, growing closer and closer to where I was. Finally, a large figure stood in the doorway, fangs out, and a sinister smile on its face. "Lookie here, there's another one." the man drawled out, a hiss coming from his throat as he crouched. His face was covered in blood, probably Terry's, and I could tell he hadn't been gentle when feeding. His nails were elongated, razor sharp and also covered in blood. He was older, looking to be in his early fifties when he was changed. His eyes were wide and had a wild, bloodthirsty look in them.
My phone fell from my neck, clattering to the floor and cracking. I could hear Grayson shouting through the speaker, but his words were incomprehensible. The vampire glanced at my phone, smirking as another loud hiss fell from his lips. As he lunged, I threw my hand up, the crucifix held tight in my hand, pressing against the man's cold chest. He hissed out in pain, his skin sizzling, the crucifix burning a mark into his skin under his blood stained shirt. He continued to hiss, unable to move as the crucifix held him in place. I closed my eyes, my breath coming out in pants, soon turning into sobs as I felt him begin to push back against the crucifix. "You fucking bitch. I'm gonna enjoy draining you dry." the vampire hissed out, finally breaking free of whatever hold the crucifix had over him. As if on instinct, I raised my other hand that held stake, pressing the blunt end to my chest, the pointed end penetrating the vampires own chest, causing a small explosion of blood to ricochet through the room as he lunged into it. I screamed, closing my eyes, feeling the cold blood coat my skin. I kept my eyes closed, afraid to open them, not knowing if the vampire was truly dead or not. I slowly felt my knees give out, and I let myself slide down the wall until my butt hit the floor, my pants being the only sound in the room I could hear.
Hands suddenly grabbed me, and I let out a blood curdling scream, pulling back, trying to keep my neck pulled into. "Grace, it's me, Baby! Open your eyes!" Grayson's frantic voice rang in my ears. I sobbed, opening my eyes and looking up at him, throwing myself into him. He caught me easily, wrapping his arms around me, cradling my head into his neck. "I'm here, Baby. You're safe. I swear." he mumbled, sounding relieved as he held me tightly to him.
"H-he fought the c-crucifix—" I stammered out between my sobs, another wave of tears falling from my eyes as my sobs wracked through my body.
"Shhh, I know, Baby. You did good, you did exactly what you were suppose to." Grayson praised me, his voice soft and comforting. He didn't release me, just held me to him, letting the blood and my tears stain his shirt and neck.
My sobs died down a little, and I clung to his form, my face buried in his neck. "You said you'd be here, Gray.." I mumbled, my tears still falling.
"I know, Baby. The council didn't want me leaving, and even after Preston explained the situation, Graham dicked around about the portal. I'm so sorry, Grace. I'm so sorry." he painfully apologized, digging his own face into my neck, not caring that another vampires blood was soaking us both. "I want you to come back with me. Either that, or I'm staying here. I'm not leaving you again, I swear."
I didn't reply, just buried my face deeper into his neck, a small sob falling past my lips.
