#I’m wearing vampire teeth that’s not popcorn I swear

[luxus-aeterna]

baroque gentle lady | IG

[meltwonu]

| 🎃 𝕸𝖔𝖓𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕸𝖆𝖘𝖍 🎃 |

↪ ✦ close your eyes ✦

this chapter pairing; sub!seokmin x vampire!reader

genre&warnings; vampire!reader, sub!seokmin, dacryphilia(crying kink baybeee)🥴, corruption kink kinda went brrr in this a little, lots of teasing, dirty talk, a little mutual masturbation, tiniest hint of orgasm denial, whiny needy seokmin, allusions to subspace.

he said:

notes; THE-- ☠️ I exposed my crying kink in sdpp so we out here living our best lives now 😗💖 also seokmin being a whiny baby and crying bc everything you do to him is new and just too much for him is so fuckin hot ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️ HENNYWAYS, you guys!! I cant believe monster mash is almost at the end, how the hell?!? this went by so fast 😭💕 and thank you for all the love and support on each chapter! even when tumb1r seems to hate me!! Lol, and for those in SoCal, be safe! stay indoors if u can, wear a mask if u have to be outside! And stay hydrated!! I’ll see y’all tomorrow! 🎃 👻 💕

word count; ~2300

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - x - x - x - x - x

you take a drag, i take a sip;

i want your legendary kiss

you know i got designer taste;

and your design’s too good to waste

when the beast comes out at night;

yeah, it always wants a bite

and i try, try to resist;

but then the devil always wins.

Seokmin doesn’t believe in vampires.

He thinks Halloween is fun, but doesn’t believe in ghosts, demons or anything of the sort so he spends the night in; feet propped up on the coffee table as he watches another rerun of another vampire horror flick that he’d seen at least two times prior.

It’d been thankfully quiet for most of the night, despite the pouring rain and periodic thunder claps, but he enjoyed the way it added to the spooky atmosphere of the holiday.

Seokmin scoffs at the TV a few moments later, hand lodged deep in the bowl sitting in his lap. “Vampires aren’t even real.” He mutters.

“Says who?”

The bowl of popcorn in his lap is sent flying, and he acts quicker than he, himself, anticipates. “Who the fuck are you!? How did you get in here!?” His eyes dance over to the front door still locked and momentarily wonders if he left a window open.

He pales, realizing that it’d be impossible anyway.

Seokmin lived on the 17th floor of the building.

“Well!? Fuck---I’m---I’m gonna call the c-cops!” His shaky hands reach for his cell phone on the coffee table as you giggle.

You take a seat on his sofa, picking off a piece of discarded popcorn as you pop it into your mouth. “And tell them what? Exactly?”

“That there’s a psycho in my fuckin’ apartment and that you broke in!” Seokmin holds onto his phone a little tighter, palms clammy. He didn’t even hear the door open. You nod, pretending to think. “Oookay, so what are you gonna tell them when I do this?” You disappear in a puff of smoke and Seokmin feels like he’s going to throw up.

“Wh---”

“Boo!” You whisper from behind him, laughing when he runs roward and trips back onto the sofa. “What the fuck!?” His eyes show panic and confusion, shaky fingers letting go of the phone that was in his hand as it clatters to the floor.

“I--What are y-you? Please, don’t take my soul, it’s all I have left! I swear!”

You can’t help the laugh that bubbles up from your throat, doubling over as he watches in fear. “Why are you laughing!?”

“I---you--you’re a funny one!” You wipe a stray tear from your eye as you catch your breath. “No, I don’t want your soul, I just want something to eat, that’s all~”

Seokmin’s eyes only read confusion when he stares back at you. “You want… food?”

“Mmhmm~”

You smile wide and Seokmin finally understands.

Ah. That kind.

He doesn’t know why he agrees. 

Maybe it’s in his kind and innocent nature to believe you won’t suck him dry like a caprisun, but he agrees.

Maybe part of it is curiosity too and maybe part of him feels bad that maybe you haven’t fed in a while, but he introduces himself after you do and he finds himself trusting you a little bit more.

He’s not totally sure why.

“So----So how does this work, do I just---” He cuts himself off as he shakily turns his head to the side. “Wait, how do I know this isn’t a Halloween prank?! Did Jeonghan put you up to this?”

“Oh! Jeonghan, you know him?”

Seokmin’s eyes almost fall out of his skull. This couldn’t be happening. “Are we talking about the same Jeonghan? Yoon Jeonghan?”

“Yeah, lanky guy with brown hair, right? Super lethargic?”

Yep. That was Jeonghan.

Seokmin nods slowly, still a little perplexed. “So, why do you know him exactly? He hasn’t replied to my texts for the last three days... You didn’t... do something to him, did you?” You sit next to Seokmin on the sofa and he flinches almost immediately; scooting over a little more to put some space in between you two.

  He wouldn’t admit it right now, but he thought you were really pretty.

“Um, no. He’s out of town and maybe just ignoring you but he lets me feed sometimes, y’know, when he is around. Maybe that’s why I was drawn here, y’know? Familiarity.” Damn.

Seokmin does feel a little bad now; for himself and for you. He bites his lip as the heat rushes to his face. “How---how do you usually, um, d-do it with Jeonghan?” The heat rushes down his body at the same time at his unintentional innuendo. “I mean, no! Not---not that, I meant how you feed! Fuck, sorry!”

Grinning, you’re quick to make your move as you push Seokmin down onto the sofa and straddle his waist.

“Wh--”

The words are caught in his throat as he watches you lean over to the coffee table to pluck out a lollipop from the bowl of candy. You unwrap it, licking it once before you bring it down towards his lips. He shakily parts them, welcoming the cherry flavoured candy into his mouth.

“You see, Seokmin,” You start, hands already roaming down his torso as he moans around the candy. “When people think of vampires, they think vampires just feed whenever, right? Just a quick bite here and they’re done.” He nods. “But that’s no fun~ So some of us like to play a little first, y’know? Get the blood rushing~”

You cup him through his sweats as he whines and he’s quick to thrust his hips up into your touch before he can even think properly.

Oh, fuck! Don’t do that! He tells himself.

A giggle from you is all it takes for him to blush even harder. “It’s okay, Seokmin. I want you to feel good too. Don’t you wanna feel good?”

“Y-yeah… O-okay…” His voice is muffled slightly from the candy still in his mouth, but he allows himself to lean into your touch. In truth, he was a little scared and a little nervous and he knew you could tell.

“Have you ever done anything… with restraints? Or things like orgasm denial?” You pluck the lollipop from his mouth; a thread of spit connecting it to his lips before you bring it to your own mouth. You quickly bite down on the hard candy, breaking it down into small pieces before swallowing. Seokmin grimaces a little.

“Um…” He’d never even heard of orgasm denial before, much less even had a thought about restraints. “...No. I--I’ve only… um… done it twice...”

You grin down at him, eyes flashing red. “Oh, Seokmin… you have so much to learn.”

You like shy Seokmin.

Maybe even a little too much.

“A-ah, no… no more t-teasing, I--ah!” He lets out a choked sob, hips thrusting up as you continue to tease the head of his cock. You move frustratingly slow and you don’t even bother to wrap your whole hand around him, instead just rubbing your palm across the tip as the tears pool up in his eyes.

“I--I don’t---mmh!” Seokmin bites his lip. He’s never felt quite like this before and the feeling was good, but unfamiliar.

“Don’t even think of cumming either~”

“But--” He chokes up again, except this time he can’t stop the tear that slides down the side of his face. You smile down at him, licking your lips.

“You’re so cute when you cry~ So pretty~” You pity him a little so you wrap your hand around his cock, working your hand up and down his shaft as he lets out a shaky breath. He’s unsure of where to put his hands, so he keeps them crossed over his chest, sweater paws keeping his clammy palms contained as he watches you.

“I--p--please, can I c-cum?” He whispers, voice small and slurred. “Nope~”

He lets out a small sob as he tries to blink away the tears.

When you feel him getting close, you pull your hand off of him; easing off of his lap and to the other side of the sofa. Seokmin watches in confusion, sitting up slightly as he watches you slide your panties down your legs. You toss the material at him, laughing when it falls onto his cock.

“We’re gonna play a little game~” He watches with an open mouth as you spread your legs; gulping when you immediately run your precum covered fingers through your wet folds. “We’re gonna touch ourselves just like this, across from each other, and if you can hold off your orgasm for, oh let’s say, 10 more minutes? Then I’ll reward you.”

“And---and if I c-can’t?”

“If you can’t… Hmm~ Then I’ll have to bring my ropes next time~” You wink at him, fingers pinching your clit as you moan out loud. The noise is enough for Seokmin’s cock to twitch and he wraps a shaky hand around himself as he watches you touch yourself from across the sofa. He uses your panties too, covering them in the precum that leaks from the head of his cock. 

It falls into relative silence as Seokmin bites into the neck of his sweater to keep in his high pitched whines and cries. He watches as you sink two fingers into your cunt and he sobs as he thrusts up into the his fist and your panties wrapped around his cock.

This is unfair, he thinks. 

“Mmh Seokmin~ I’m already imagining your cock fucking into me so deep… Ah, my fingers just aren’t enough~” Teasingly, you curl and scissor your fingers inside of your tight warmth, genuinely imagining it’s Seokmin instead. He releases the sweater material from between his teeth, drool dripping from his lips and eyes pooling with tears ready to spill.

“Please, I, hic, I--I can’t h-hold off, hic, I need t-to, hah, c--cum… I--I can’t...”

In a flash, the air is knocked out of Seokmin’s lungs as his back hits the sofa and he’s staring up at the ceiling. His sticky fingers find purchase in the material of his sweater again as you crawl back into his lap. You pry off the soaking panties covering his cock, tossing them to the coffee table as he groans.

You wrap a hand around his leaking cock, moving your hand up and down a few times before you use your thumb and index finger to circle the base as you squeeze hard. “Just a whiny baby boy crying and begging to cum. So cute~”

He squirms underneath you as he tries to get you to do something but you hold steady, fingertips wrapped around the base of his cock to keep him from cumming. “Now now, Seokmin. I’ll let you cum. But you have to be patient~ If you cum without my permission, I’ll make you wait even longer~”

Seokmin nods feverishly, uncaring of what came after. You still hadn’t fed from him too and he could’ve cared less about that.

You let go of his cock as he releases a shaky breath and he watches through foggy eyes as you raise your body until you’re hovering just above his cock. You use your hand to position him right at your entrance and Seokmin lets out a sharp whine when you drop yourself down onto his cock in one fluid motion.

“A-ah, fuh--fuck!”

Your pussy is warm, wet and tight and Seokmin is really fighting a losing battle at this point.

He cries quietly, hips canting up to meet you bouncing in his lap.

“Mmh~ Seokminnie crying making me so fuckin’ wet~ Ah~ I’m gonna cum soon too~”

His head is fuzzy and every new sensation makes his body react in a way he never knew it could. The tears blur his vision but he can already feel his cock twitching and body tensing up slightly; a telltale sign that he was already close.

“I, hic, please…” He slurs out, already too far gone. His body felt weightless; a slight floating feeling overcoming him as he continued to fuck up into you. 

Your eyes flash crimson and you pry one of his arms away from his clothed chest, pushing the sleeve back as you kiss his wrist.

“Okay Seokmin~ I want you to cum, baby boy. Let me feel your cock throbbing and filling me up with your warm cum~”

Seokmin could die and be happy, thank you’s rolling off of his tongue through choked cries as he finally lets himself go.

The pleasure washes over him after a few more swivels of your hips and he barely even registers the fact you’ve already sunk your fangs into his wrist, too lost in his own bliss. 

You moan against his skin, drinking up just enough to get him lightheaded before you’re lapping up the wound.

Seokmin tasted extra sweet.

Licking your lips, you release his arm as it falls limp next to his body and you immediately bring your fingers down to your clit, rubbing harsh and quick circles on the nub to get yourself to cum.

“Oh, god, Seokmin!” You cry; walls fluttering around Seokmin’s overly sensitive cock as he whines and squirms underneath you.

You ride out your high, hips coming to a stop as you catch your breath above him. Seokmin, on the other hand, feels a little delirious and warm; fingertips twitching at his sides. “Ngh…” He whimpers, unable to even speak with how exhausted he felt.

You lift your hips, cum sliding down Seokmin’s cock as he groans in oversensitivity. “Ah~ Look at how much cum you spilled in me, Seokminnie~” His bleary eyes watch as you let the cum slide out of your pussy and right over his cock and he almost, almost hates the way his cock twitches as the sight.

Sitting back on his thighs, you watch him bask in his post-orgasm glow; smacking your lips as you reach for another lollipop from the coffee table. “So~ How did you like it?” You ask, a teasing lilt in your voice when you visibly see his cock twitch.

His throat feels dry, that’s all he knows. 

Seokmin’s clammy palms slide back into his sweater paws, pressed tight against his chest again as he gently leans up. You can’t help but smirk at his appearance; puffy red eyes from crying and cheeks stained with drying tears with his cock still curving up to his abdomen covered in his own cum.

“I---s--so what’re you g-gonna teach m-me next…?”

[miracul0us-multishipper]

Lady Wifi (part 1)

Marillion AU

“Come on...”, Marillion whispered into the glowing outline in front of her. “You can do it! You've practiced the entire morning, you've got this!”

“But they're all looking at me!”, her champion - The Magician, an amateur entertainer with stage fright from Mendeleiev's class - whispered back. After failing at a simple trick this morning her brooch had alarmed her of his distress, and since she couldn’t focus until it was resolved she had akumatized him. It was supposed to be quicker than talking to him as Marinette, but her lacking experience with a miraculous showed: she'd had to spend almost half an hour convincing him that letting out his frustration on the Eiffel Tower wouldn’t help him. Now, instead of making Paris' most famous monument disappear, he was trying to impress children at the Trocadero. Not the greatest challenge with his new magical powers, but that wasn’t the point.

“It doesn’t matter.”, she calmed him. “You can’t fail! You are using real magic now, they'll be so amazed they won’t even know you’re nervous.”

“But it won’t be forever! And then I’ll just do regular card tricks, and probably ruin it again.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But in my experience, when you’re feeling scared you're twice as likely to make a mistake! I'm just helping you to get some experience with crowds, so that you'll feel surer next time. Some positive feedback is always good to lift a creative block.”

She always went to her parents when she couldn’t finish a design. Their genuine awe and pride of her abilities never failed to get her back on her feet. But since the Magician didn’t want to call his parents, the job to encourage him fell to her.

“Okay... I... I'll try!”

He stepped forward and took off his cylinder, ready to create a cloud of white butterflies. The kids cooed and awed, and the Magician smiled hesitantly. Marillion gave him a thumbs-up from her hiding place on the roofs.

It went flawless, after that. He made little lights and clouds of colorful smoke, more butterflies and even made himself dis- and reappear a few times. The children were utterly fascinated and their laughter and applause warmed her heart. And her champion's as well: soon the clouds of butterflies were joined by a freshly purified akuma and the Magician transformed back into a carefree, laughing boy.

“See?”, she said to no one. The link to her champion had gone vacant when he had detransformed. With a last smile towards her freed akuma she turned around and vanished with a swirl of her tailcoat.

This had been a great morning after all.

-

“This is a horrible morning!”, Alya complained to Tikki. Not only had she failed to identify her nemesis via a cutout of Marillion, she had even been caught by Bustier! And Marinette wasn't here to distract her!

“Well, I did tell you to focus on your lessons.”, her cherished but unbearably goody-two-shoes friend replied. “Besides, it’s impossible to recognize the wielder of a miraculous. Your masks are magical, remember?”

“It was worth a try.”, she shrugged. “And hey, its not like you’re the one who has to focus for two hours on the most boring subject there is. Oh! Rose, Juleka! Have you seen Marinette?”

Tikki hurried to hide in her bag while her classmates shook their heads and she moved on.

“Where is that girl?”

“She said she didn’t feel well. Maybe she went home?”

“But she left her bag here!”

Tikki raised an eyebrow - or at least the skin where her eyebrows would be, if she had any.

“Because your friend never forgets anything, right?”

Good point. She loved her BFF, but Marinette sure was a mess.

“I‘ll look at her locker. If she's not there I'll just bring her bag over to her home.”

Any excuse to go by the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie was fine with her. The croissants were incredible, and Tikki barely ate anything except their delicious macarons. In her mind she was already sinking her teeth in the artwork of a pastry when a ruffling sound stopped her. Was that... Chloé?

Indeed. The blonde b... beast was hurriedly packing something into that overly expensive handbag of her, and she looked very keen on not being watched. Alya's eyes narrowed and she hid behind a corner. Suspicious!

Her spying- observing turned out to be worth it. Thanks to her infallible intuition and sixth sense as superhero, she was able to witness it: Chloé Bourgeois, heiress to the mayor of Paris and his empire of hotels, meanest little brat under the sun... pulled a purple mask out of her locker. A butterfly shaped mask. And ribbons that matched Marillion's.

The bell rang and startled Alya out of her stupor. She quickly disappeared into the yard before Chloé - Marillion! - could spot her.

“Did you see that?”, she hissed to her Kwami, still not believing her luck. “Oh my god, Tikki! Did you see that?”

“I... uh, I did? But Alya-“

“This is Perfect, with a capital P!”, she cackled. “Oh, I can’t wait to tell everyone! By tomorrow I'll have thwarted my nemesis AND the school bully. Admit it, I’m the best superhero you ever had, right? It hasn’t even been a week since Stoneheart!”

Tikki struggled to keep up.

“Alya, you know I believe in you and your great potential, but I really doubt that-“

“I'll have to prepare my article for the Ladyblog! This is gonna be the scoop of the century, Tikki!”

“Maybe we shouldn’t rush-“

“This spoiled little brat really thought she'd get away with it, huh? Thought that just 'cause she's pretty in purple I’ll have mercy? Well, think again, Marillion! Now that I know who she really is, I suddenly don’t find her attractive in the slightest!”

“Wait, you think Marillion is attractive? Why didn’t you say anything-“

“I don’t! Not anymore, at least, and even if she weren’t Chloé... She isn’t that pretty. Villainy is not her color. Oh! I gotta remember that line for when I confront her. It could be my new catchphrase.”

“Alya!”, Tikki called out with more volume than should be possible for her tiny body. Immediately her chosen fell quiet. “Alya, please think this through! We don’t have any proof of Chloé being Marillion. And her suit is created by the miraculous! Why would Marillion carry her mask around if she can make it appear with a few magic words?”

Alya scoffed.

“You don’t know her. Chloé has an Ego that thwarts the Eiffel Tower, she'd totally be the type to wear her own merch. Besides, no one ever said supervillains were smart, hm?”

“But Marillion saved Chloé, don’t you remember? When Stoneheart dropped her. They can’t be the same person, we’ve seen them together!”

“Well...” This time Alya actually paused, but soon waved it off. “Don’t you think that’s weird? First Marillion causes her to fall, then she catches her... sounds a little staged to me. She totally did that to deceive us! She's got the means, her miraculous is really op.”

“But-“

“Nah-ah. You can’t apply logic where Chloé - or magic! - is involved. But if you insist on a second opinion, I'll go and tell Nino! Oh, and I'll leave a message for Marinette.”

Tikki sighed deeply as her chosen talked on. She loved Alya with all her heart, but sometimes her creativity expressed itself in ways that weren’t always... productive. This was going to be exhausting.

-

“Did he just... die?”, Marinette asked, baffled by that utterly random turn of events. What a ridiculous ending!

Nooroo didn’t answer, instead he desperately shoved popcorn into his little mouth.

“Hey, are you crying?”, she gasped and moved to grab the tissues. Stubborn her Kwami shook his head, despite the obvious tears that ran down his little cheek.

“Oh, honey!”, Marinette tried to comfort him. “It's just a movie. They're okay in reality, I promise!”

“'M not shad!”, he insisted, the words muffled by the sugary popcorn in his mouth. “I kno' they're oh-righ.”

He hiccuped and hurried to take the tissue she offered, blowing his nose. His voice a little clearer now, he swallowed and rubbed his eyes.

“It's just that... he wanted to be better, didn’t he? He wanted to be good! And then, when he finally did it, he... he...”

Oh. Maybe this movie had been a bad idea after all.

“He was good now.”, she assured him. “And he was happy! For... a moment.”

Admittedly, that was a weak argument. Gosh, time to distract him.

“Maybe we should watch Pride and Prejudice next? No bad endings, I swear! Plus, the dynamic is really similar and I'm sure you'll adore Keira Knightley!”

Nooroo sniffled and looked up at her.

“Are you sure? It's almost four o’clock in the morning.”

“What?!”

A panicked glance at her phone confirmed Nooroo's statement and she all but hauled herself up the ladder to her bed.

“I’ve got school tomorrow!”, she wailed and frantically tucked herself in. “That means I'll have to get up in three hours! That means I won’t get enough sleep! That means I’ll have bags under my eyes and yawn like a hippo just when Adrien looks at me! Alya is going to think I’m a freak who stays up all night like a vampire! This is a disaster!”

“Uhm... are you sure that's going to happen?”

“With my luck? Definitely.”

-

Contrary to her fears, she did not wake up dead tired and embarrassed herself in front of everyone. No, she didn’t wake up at all!

Until Nooroo gently nudged her shoulder, that is, to inform her that they had overslept.

“Noooo! No, no, no!”, she all but cried as she shoved her homework into her bag and got dressed. “Damn Disney for making this many movies!”

“Marinette, you lost something!”

Eagerly Nooroo caught the note that had fallen out of her bag and gave it to her.

“It's from Alya!”, she realized and her eyes widened. “What?! She found out who the real Marillion is?”

Her Kwami gasped.

“Oh no!”

“We gotta hurry! Before she tells anyone!”

-

“I'm telling you, she is Marillion!”, Alya insisted and pointed at Chloé. “So what if I took a measly photo of her locker? She's a supervillain! You have to search her for her miraculous!”

Monsieur Damocles cleared his throat.

“Mademoiselle Césaire, I understand if you feel embarrassed, but that’s no reason to make such accusations. Please don’t aggravate your situation.”

“Aggravate her situation? She broke into my locker!”, Chloé - that little monster - complained. “How can it get worse than that?”

M. Damocles blinked.

“She, uhm, is kind of accusing you of terrorism?”

“What, because she called me Marillion? That’s a compliment, though not one I want to her from the likes of her. But what about my locker?! Suspend her already!”

The headmaster sighed deeply. He wasn’t paid enough to deal with these kids.

“A week of suspension, and now out of my office.”

“WHAT?!”

-

When Marinette entered the class, she was prepared for betrayed looks and roared accusations. Instead, everything was silent as Bustier wrote something on the blackboard. And Alya was missing.

Nervously she tapped Nino on the shoulder.

“Where is she?”, she whispered and nodded to Alya's vacated seat. Nino shook his head. “She got into a fight with the Principal because she thinks Chloé is Marillion. She's even been suspended!”

“What?!”, she yelled, but she wasn’t the only one. Adrien had been surprised as well.

After Bustier rebuked her for the disruption, Adrien leaned over to Nino as well.

“What do you mean, Chloé is Marillion?”

“That’s what Alya thinks. Crazy, huh? Not that I wouldn’t suspect Chloé of being a supervillain, but... yeah, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“That's horrible!”, Marinette murmured, masking her relief that her secret was safe. Poor Alya! “We've got to do- Ah!”

With no warning a wave of hot red anger crashed into her, searing through her brooch. She barely noticed Madame Bustier sending her to the Principal, she was already on her way out and running towards the bathroom.

“Marinette!”, Nooroo worried as she gasped in air and waited for it to pass. “Oh, this is bad. The closer your bond to a person, the stronger you feel their emotions!”

“Don’t worry about me.”, she said, the pain already receding. “Worry about Alya! She must be so hurt and we've got to help-“

She fell silent all of a sudden. Nooroo paused.

“Marinette? What happened?”

She shook her head, confused.

“It... stopped.”

Her eyes widened.

“I can’t feel her anymore.”

- - -

Any guesses what movie they watched? ;)

[artificialqueens]

Trick or Treat (Branjie)- athena2

A/N: Vanessa takes her sister trick-or-treating, and Brooke answers the door. Cue Vanessa doing anything she can to knock on Brooke’s door again. Please leave some feedback if you’d like!

—

“Isn’t 12 kinda old for trick-or-treating?” Vanessa asks Izzy.

“Isn’t 25 kinda old to spend Halloween watching Hocus Pocus?” her sister shoots back, plastic pirate sword swiping at Vanessa’s face. “And Mom said you have to take me.”

Vanessa resists the urge to take credit for teaching Izzy to read so finely when the read is directed at her.

“Fine. But make it quick. Silky and A’keria are coming back with my pizza soon.”

—

They make their way up the apartment building as brightly-wrapped candy piles into Izzy’s pumpkin. Izzy pounds her fist on a white door, and Vanessa notices the person answering for the first time. She has to crane her neck just to see the blonde’s face, wide pink lips contrasting smooth, fair skin and bright green eyes. Her lips stretch into a smile.

“Trick or treat!” Izzy bellows. The woman laughs and tells Izzy how great her costume is as she offers her a skull-shaped bowl overflowing with king-size candy bars.

Blondie’s got the good stuff, Vanessa notes.

“You, um, you live on the 7th floor, right?”

It’s several seconds before Vanessa even realizes the woman is talking to her.

“Apartment 712!” Vanessa shouts. Shit. What is she doing? This woman is a tornado tearing through her usual supply of smooth lines and flirty grins, and all Vanessa can do is grit her teeth and hope it looks cute as Izzy pulls her away before she even learns the woman’s name.

Now I gotta knock on this bitch’s door again–

She looks over at Izzy, lifting her pirate eye patch to examine her jumbo Snickers that could feed a family of four.

Bingo.

—

Silky and A’keria sit at the kitchen table expectantly, munching on pizza, when Vanessa trots in, thinking of how she can get Izzy to agree to this scheme.

She hands her sister the largest slice of pizza in the box, flourishing her hand so the cheese stretches like it always does on TV, figuring food is a decent bribe. She’ll use money as a last resort. Izzy’s 12, five bucks is probably enough to get her to do anything. What’s a 12-year-old need money for anyway?

Vanessa keeps her tone casual. “Hey Izzy, you wanna put on my old witch costume and go back to the 6th floor? They had some good shi–stuff down there.”

Izzy raises an eyebrow, one of Vanessa’s own gestures directed at her, like looking in a mirror. “Is this ‘cause you want to talk to that tall-ass blonde?”

“Tall-ass blonde?” A’keria inquires, head turning like it’s on a spring. “The one that works at that dance studio across the street?”

“No!” Vanessa barks before A’keria and Silky can start giving advice, which usually came in the form of roasting her. She doesn’t even know if Blondie likes girls, but that smile, and those eyes… Vanessa has to try. “And you ain’t supposed to swear, Izzy.”

Izzy shrugs. “Don’t tell Mom, and I’ll put on your costume.”

“Deal.”

—

After instructing Silky and A’keria to work on more costumes, Vanessa finds herself back in front of apartment 620.

“Trick or treat!” Izzy calls again.

Blondie extends the bowl once more and Izzy sinks her hands in. Vanessa tries to peek inside the apartment, but Blondie is almost as tall as the doorframe and she can’t glimpse much. The kitchen behind her looks neat, but that’s all she can get.

“Back again?” she asks pleasantly.

“You remember me?” Vanessa bats her eyelashes.

“I wouldn’t forget that face.” Blondie’s cheeks turn pink. “Also, it was only like 10 minutes ago.”

“Right,” Vanessa laughs. “You’ll be seeing me some more tonight. Got tons of siblings. Figured I’d take ‘em one at a time so I don’t lose anyone.”

Maybe it’s the Halloween moon, but her smoothness is returning. The lie flows out with no thought, and just like that, Vanessa’s bought herself another few trips to her door.

“How many more siblings do you have?” Blondie asks, and Vanessa can’t tell if she’s asking out of curiosity or to clock her for the lie. The gleam in her eyes makes Vanessa thinks she’s on to her, but she can hope.

Vanessa does some quick math–never her strength–in her head and figures she can scrape together three more costumes. “Three.”

“I guess I’ll see you soon then.” Blondie smiles shyly.

“Yes, you will.” Vanessa grins back.

—

“How we doing on costumes? We’re gonna need three more,” Vanessa informs them when she’s through her own door, Izzy tearing off a Reese’s wrapper behind her.

“Going old-school with this one.” A’keria holds up a white sheet. “Silky found your old vampire cape, so we can do that one next. And we found your angel costume, but I don’t think you want your sister wearing that.”

“Heck no.” That costume was her pride and joy last Halloween, phone numbers and drinks flying into her hands like she had a magnet. Maybe she could put it on for Blondie–no, that’s way too desperate.

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Silky demands.

“I ain’t gonna look desperate!”

“Because dressing your sister in any costume you can find to pretend she’s several different children isn’t desperate at all,” A’keria mumbles dryly as she finishes cutting eye holes in the sheet.

Vanessa shoots her a look and hands Izzy the sheet. “Put it on.”

“I don’t wanna be a ghost,” she whines, “That’s lame.”

Vanessa leans in. “You want more candy?”

A nod.

“Then put it on.”

—

“So, you been in this building long?” Vanessa asks as Izzy digs in the candy bowl. “I think I woulda noticed you,” Vanessa adds, stepping on Izzy’s foot when she rolls her eyes.

“Just a few months. I got a job at a dance studio nearby. I don’t go out much, to be honest, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t noticed me.”

A’keria was right.

“I’m, um, I’m Brooke, by the way,” she continues. “I don’t think I told you.”

“Vanessa.” Before she can stop herself, she throws her arm out, wraps her hand around Brooke’s, and shakes it. Who the hell does she think she is, a white businessman? But the mystery of what her touch feels like is too much to resist, and Vanessa’s heart misses a beat as she meets Brooke’s skin, soft and a little cold in her grasp.

Izzy nudges her, and Vanessa realizes she’s still pumping Brooke’s hand up and down, the blonde’s whole arm shaking with the motion.

“Guess I better go get the next kid,” she says, sadly pulling her hand away.

“Guess so.”

Brooke sounds just as sad to have her hand back.

—

“Alright, vampire is ready to go,” Silky says, gesturing to a cape and white shirt. “We even got some face paint.”

“If you’re doing makeup and everything, I want money,” Izzy insists.

“How much?” Vanessa’s fingers curl around the five-dollar bill.

“Ten bucks.”

Damn. “How about five?”

“In this economy? Please,” her sister scoffs. “I want ten.”

“Fine.” Vanessa parts with the money. She’d pay triple that for another minute with Brooke.

—

As Brooke tells Izzy what a scary vampire she makes, Vanessa finally tears her eyes off Brooke’s face and takes in her clothes for the first time: white Converse, dark jeans roaming up her mile-long legs, and a loose black sweater on top.

“No costume for you?” Vanessa asks.

Brooke shakes her head. “Nah. I was with this dance company for a few years, and after putting on makeup and costumes for hours every night you kinda need a break.”

“I get that.” Vanessa nods. “I do people’s makeup all day, sometimes I don’t even wanna do my own after.”

“I think you’d be beautiful either way–not that it’s any of my business, of course,” Brooke offers.

“I could let it be your business,” Vanessa winks mischievously.

“Are you gonna move? I want candy!” someone yells, and Vanessa whirls around to face an irate, waist-high Captain America, shield raised menacingly.

“Sorry.” Vanessa pulls back into the hall. “I’ll be back,” she calls to Brooke.

“I’ll be waiting.”

—

“This is your last chance, V,” A’keria warns. She hands Izzy the princess dress and Silky scrubs off the face paint. “You’re out of fake siblings, unless you want to tell this woman you adopted a child in the last hour. Just give her your da–dang number already.”

“I know, I know.” She digs through her junk drawer for paper, hoping Brooke won’t mind it’s a sheet from the Disney notepad Izzy left here, the image of Moana staring up at her.

“At least you closed your mouth when you stared at her this time,” Izzy says, tugging on the dress.

“Hey!”

“You know you did it, girl,” Silky insists.

“Probably drooled, too,” A’keria adds.

“I don’t see either of you in a couples costume tonight!” Vanessa snaps. She triumphantly lifts the paper with her phone number like an Olympic medal. “I’m gettin’ my girl.”

—

“This is the last one, huh?” Brooke asks. She sounds genuinely sad about it.

“Yep.”

“Amazing how they’re all the exact same height.” Brooke bites her lip and Vanessa knows she knows but couldn’t care less.

“Yeah, real amazing.” Vanessa grins. “Anyway, I got a little something for you.”

“A treat?” Brooke raises her eyebrows.

“If you want it to be,” Vanessa says coyly as she slips the paper into Brooke’s hand.

“Thank you,” Brooke says sincerely. “And I like the Moana theme,” she compliments.

Vanessa shrugs, straining her neck for last one peek at Brooke’s eyes. “It’s my sister’s.”

“The real one?” Brooke teases and Vanessa can’t hold back her laugh. “Don’t worry, I think it’s kinda sweet,” Brooke reassures her. And then Izzy steps back and the moment is over all too soon, with nothing to do but wait for Brooke to call.

“Well, happy Halloween.” Vanessa shuffles down the hall.

“Happy Halloween.”

—

The sky is dark, the living room still littered with popcorn and candy wrappers from the annual Dreamgirls showing of Hocus Pocus, when the doorbell rings.

She yanks it open with a sigh. “Look, it’s midnight, I ain’t got cand–oh.”

A lacy black dress pops against Brooke’s milky skin, exposing her strong shoulders and the top half of her chest in a deep V that really needs to go a bit deeper. Her lips are red as blood, eager eyes framed in heavy black makeup, blonde hair hidden by the tulle rising from her head.

“Thought you said you didn’t like costumes,” Vanessa manages as her knees turn rubbery, mouth dropping open.

“Well, I had this in my closet, and I thought I’d make an exception for you,” Brooke says, stroking the rubber snake slithering around her neck with black-gloved fingers. “Now, what do you say I take you downstairs and give you a real treat?”

[fredheads]

excerpts from the same party

predictably, my free choice for day 8 is fred’s life falling apart 

i. 

“so she broke up with you to date hiram,” says fp in the black-and-white marble bathroom, bigger than fred’s kitchen - “and now she’s here with hiram, and you want to leave.”

“um… yeah.” fred replies, his response slowed somewhat by the marijuana in his lungs, the stretched-out feeling of being high. fp takes the blunt from his fingers and inhales long - he’s in the bathtub, dry, clothed, reclined like a queen or an emperor.

“the thing is, this is hiram’s house. so i’m thinking you could have forseen this.”

fred just stares at him. fp’s hair is glittering, like someone’s threaded fairy lights through it - the bathroom lights make a halo on his head, glowing through his curls like a supernova crown of thorns. his eyes are two shiny pools of black. it feels like they’re both naked.

“dude, you’re done,” says fp, and puts the roll back between his lips, doesn’t pass it back. fred’s on the counter, feet dangling. “no more for you.”

“i want to go home,” fred repeats uncertainly, suddenly hyper-focused on his red converse shoes, the laces loose on the left one, threatening to plummet off. the counter feels very high, and the black marble floor is easily mistaken for the endless void of outer space. he wonders how he’s breathing.

“we’re not going home when we just got here.” rhythm is a dancer is on the stereo outside, beating through the party like a heart. the heavy walls shiver. “it’s a big fucking house, you don’t have to see them.”

fred keeps staring at fp, fixated on every part of his face in turn. “do you think they’ve slept together?”

fp groans and lets his head fall back, hitting the tap. “dude, don’t do this.”

“do what?” asks fred and wiggles his ankle imperceptibly, lets his loose shoe fall and plummet to hit with a slap on the marble floor.

ii. 

“do you love me?” she asks, face bathed in purple light, and she looks like pictures of goddesses, roller-rink disco ball glow and purple cotton candy. fred wants to touch her, run the pads of his fingers along her velvet skin and wrap her glossy hair around his wrist, lick the sparkly lip gloss off her mouth. they’re in a corner of the dance floor and the music is louder than the blood in his head. the only part of his body that exists is his hands. he puts them on her hips, counts the teeth in the crescent-moon uptick of her smile. hiram’s hands have been there. his hands are not allowed there anymore but the smile says keep them and he does.

“yes,” he says reverently, her face is like a candle, pure and glowing with light. he touches her dark hair and her lips and feels dizzy, drinks from the smell of her, sugar and peach and mint. his stomach jumps.

“i bet you don’t even miss me,” hermione says nastily. “i bet you don’t even miss me a little.”

for some reason he can’t think of the right answer. his mouth tastes like vodka soda and his heart is beating in his wrists. her face is shimmering like a mirage in front of his eyes, far away from him and close up at the same time. he stares at her lips.

“do you love me more than you love him?” she asks.

fred’s mouth is very dry. “who?”

“him,” she says intensely, her shifting, pearlescent aura settling in a glow around her face and body.

“yes,” says fred, only because she hasn’t specified, which makes it easier to lie. then they’re kissing on the dance floor, his hands in her hair and her tongue on his teeth, just like it used to be. 

iii. 

“you don’t have to hold my hair,” he says as he’s heaving, penelope’s short nails raking it back from his scalp (she’s doing a shitty job anyway, there are long strands of hair hanging down at his ears into the toilet bowl, damp with sweat and vomit) - “you have a lot of it,” penelope replies dubiously and fred can’t think of an argument before he’s puking again, hot vodka mixed with old pizza, everything in his stomach.

he resurfaces into what seems like the brightest bathroom on earth - white walls, white floors, white porcelain, shining so brightly that he hides his eyes, ducks his head and stares at his jeans, the dark blotch of his body on the white landscape, counts the flecks of vomit on the white rim of the toilet. he squints to look at penelope who’s skin is washed out by the white, all except her puffy eyelids and nose, which are as red as her hair.

“hal and alice?” he asks, ears buzzing as his eyes adjust, the back of his neck slick with a quarter-inch layer of damp sweat. She juts her chin at him, looking too the worse for wear, her hair in disarray and the lipstick cracked on her raw lips. fresh tears threaten to spill over her eyes, the tear tracks on her cheeks black with mascara. he’s sure he looks no better.

“you saw hiram and hermione, i guess” she shoots back cooly, and then, kinder: “your nose is bleeding.”

he looks down at the white floor and a tiny drop of brilliant red hits the hem of his jeans. he groans and pinches it closed. “i puked too hard.” his voice is cartoonish with his nostrils sealed, his thumb and forefinger wet with blood.

penelope is putting hand sanitizer on her hands. he wonders about her missing glasses, if she has contacts in or has only been squinting. they’re both friendless in this bathroom, which makes them friends, which means he could ask. “i see you throw up at school,” she says.

“my stomach’s fucked up.”

“it’s called an eating disorder.”

“that’s not what it is,” he says, although he’s not sure.

his nose has stopped bleeding, he releases his fingers and she dumps hand sanitizer into his palm, holding the bottle from afar so that it doesn’t touch his skin. the alcohol burns in any little cuts on his skin, mixes with the fresh blood and turns it pink before it evaporates. “gum?” she asks, and he takes some gratefully, though he has a blister pack in his own jeans, flat from kneeling - penelope has the kind that comes in sticks, he pushes it soft around his sore mouth with his tongue.

“do you want to do shots with me and then dance?” he asks.

penelope thinks about it and seems to surprise herself more than anyone when she says yes.

iv. 

“you have to put ice on that,” tom says after hiram hits him, guiding fred quickly into the kitchen, the two of them leaving a trail of blood drops on the cashmere-soft carpet. “soon, or you’ll regret it tomorrow.” he busies himself at the massive freezer, rummaging for frozen vegetables, fred expects, which of course the lodges don’t buy. fred’s gaze lands on the remnants of drinks on the counter.

“pass me that bottle.”

“i’m not passing you that bottle.” tom replies, pulling a thick frozen steak in a wax-paper wrapper from the depths of the freezer and handing it to him. it oozes gluey blood onto fred’s wrist. “put this on your eye.”

their fingers brush when he hands it over, and fred thinks of yanking tom’s wrist toward him, biting it like a vampire, drawing blood. if fp wanted to be jealous he’d make him jealous.

“hiram’s a psycho,” he says, just to keep tom looking at him. “he boxes and hits people for fun.”

“it’s none of my business, but you were making out with his girlfriend.” tom’s avoiding his gaze, and fred’s heart sinks like a dark stone. “that’s why he hit you.”

“who told hiram?” fred asks, peeling the steak away from his eyes. tom grips his wrist and places it back. “it was fp, wasn’t it? go ahead, tell me. it was fp. i already know.”

tom looks away and up at the ceiling. “sixty days till graduation,” he says to himself. “that’s all.”

v. 

he stole a two-six of expensive vodka from hiram lodge’s kitchen and he empties half of it into sierra samuels’ red slushie, more than half to be nice, then dumps the rest into his green one. vodka all tastes the same mixed with icee but its smooth going down. they smash plastic cups together on the wet picnic table in the park and toast to graduation. he watches her lips wrap around the straw and thinks about roller rink dates, popcorn mixed with m&ms at the movies, the last time he kissed her. it’s past his curfew and the bugs are out. drunk food turned into convenience store food somewhere on their walk and there’s an empty bag of beef jerky between them that he doesn’t remember eating, only he must have, because sierra’s a vegetarian and she’s been talking so much he doesn’t think she’d have had time to chew.

“everyone thinks i have it all together but i dont,” is what she says now, and fred says he has nothing together too. sierra stares at the horizon and shakes in her blouse and he puts fps jacket around her to keep her warm. “it’s not fair we can’t love who we love,” she says and starts to cry, weeps on his shoulder with her hair in his mouth and he pats her head like a mother, his mouth too sweet and his lips stained green.

“it’s not fair for us,” she says, “it’s not fair, you and fp, me and tommy, that we can’t be together,” and fred says nothing because maybe if he doesn’t say anything she’ll think she made a mistake, that there was never anything between him and fp at all.

vi. 

“do you have a ride home?” mary asks after almost running him over, and of course he doesn’t, he’s wandering the street outside the party with his lip bleeding and one shoe missing, blood and snot streaming from his nose into his teeth. maybe she only asked as a courtesy because she doesn’t wait for him to answer, hauls him across the street and into her mother’s car, closes the door on him before he breaks down sobbing in her passenger seat.

“who’d you come with?” mary asks, watching him cry. there’s a pair of fluffy dice dangling from the rearview mirror.

“fp” he manages, through his tears and snot. mary stares at his black eye.

“and who hit you?”

“hiram.”

mary swears under her breath. “asshole,” she says. they roll slowly down the street at ten miles an hour, avoiding potholes. fred can’t look at her. it’s like trying to look at the sun. “fp just left you? i don’t believe that.”

“everyone left me.” the self pity tastes good, he rolls it around in his mouth, presses his tongue to the torn flap of it. he draws back into the seat when he recognizes the turn, panicked. “don’t take me home.” he’s too far past curfew for that, too far past wasted, half-covered in blood. “take me to gladys’. it’s okay,” he insists when mary hesitates. “i crash with her a lot.”

“okay,” says mary, “but i’m waking her up. i’m not just dropping you off somewhere if i don’t know you’re safe.”

it occurs to him later that it’s the nicest thing she’s ever said to him, and wholly undeserved.

vii. 

“i made you another mixtape,” he says in the morning, lips sticky with hangover, eyes crusted shut. gladys is awake beside him, eating a bag of chips, the duvet curled around them. he breathes in the familiar smell of sweat and cigarettes and feels safe.

“is it full of your pretty boy rock shit?” gladys asks.

“yeah.”

“okay, i’ll listen.” fred rolls over and she pulls him in against her, mashes his face to her stomach and lower boob. her voice is more smirk than sympathy. “how are you feeling?”

“eat shit,” says fred, whose bruised eye still stings. she’s wearing fp’s metallica shirt, the ME pressed to his cheek. his mouth and stomach are sour and hollow, his joints stiff and his neck screaming in pain. 

“i only ask because mary tossed you out of her car into my yard because you were throwing up bright green.”

“vodka slushies,” he explains weakly, though it feels like a different night entirely that they’d been on that picnic table, feels like the wrong answer. gladys runs her hands through his hair and scratches his scalp. he tries to be cheerful. “you should have come.”

“hiram lodge’s party? i’d rather put a pencil through my eye.”

fred remembers his shiner and lifts his head from her chest. “do i look like a badass?”

“no. you look like a pathetic loser who made out with his ex-girlfriend and had an awful night.” .

“your room is messy,” says fred. there’s a stack of laundry that looks like the leaning tower of pisa in front of his unbruised eye when he finally cracks it open - the duvet they’re sleeping in is covered in clothes and album sleeves.

“i’m gonna clean it. i went to the hardware store yesterday-”

“how butch of you.”

“shut up.” he can tell from her voice she’s smiling. “i’m going to paint it all black. you want to help?”

“your mom lets you?”

“yeah.”

“okay.”

“okay.” gladys curls a lock of his long hair around her finger and smooths it out.

“gladys, what are we going to do?” fred asks.

“you and me?”

“all of us.”

“we’re going to be fine,” says gladys, lying through her teeth. “we’re going to be just fine.”

[exquisitley-obsessed]

Pieces of People - Part 5

Summary: Vampire y/n returns to Mystic Falls after finding out her friend Stefan Salvatore has gone off the rails with blood, what she doesn’t expect to happen is find out her deep rooted connections with the Mikaelson family, in particular – Elijah.

Word Count: 3250

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x Reader

Warnings: Sum swearing

A/N: Badassery

MASTERLIST FOR THIS STORY, 

MASTERLIST

It was safe to say that y/n had barely got an hour of sleep that night. Partially because of her issue with the entire Mikaelson family, partially because in the room next to hers she could hear Damon’s entire evening with one of them, Rebekah.

It was such a bad night that when the light first began to hum through the edges of her curtain, y/n was already dressed and sitting at her desk. She had a pen flicking back and forth across her fingers, she had described everything that had happened the night before into her journal and had even drawn out some of the images that had come into her mind.

Soon, she couldn’t bear the four walls of her room anymore and walked down into the living room to find Stephan with his nose in a book.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Y/n asked already pouring herself a drink, well that didn’t take long.

“Hmm,” Stefan said not looking up from his book, “I actually slept quite well. After so many years living with Damon, you learn to just block it out.” He turned the page.

“I wasn’t so lucky. I think I’ll pick up some ear muffs today,” Y/n took a sip, “I still can’t believe he brought home Rebekah.”

“Wait,” Stefan’s book snapped shut, “The girl in his room is Rebekah?” Y/n grinned and nodded, “God,” Stefan muttered under his breath.

“It’s just his self-destructive tendencies,” Y/n sighed collapsing onto the couch next to Stefan, leaning her head against his shoulder as she drank.

“How many times can we use that as an excuse?” Stefan opened his book back up, “Did I tell you he tried to go after Kol last night.”

“Kol?”

“The Mikaelson’s little brother,”

“Ugh,” Y/n squeezed her eyes tight, she had just forgotten about that family.

“What’s your plan?” Stefan asked, his eyes still scanning the words on the paper in front of him.

“I have no idea,” Y/n sighed after a moment, “But, I do know that I’m not backing out. I mean it all makes sense. First, I hear their names and they feel so familiar, then I meet them last night and…I just would be stupid to ignore how I felt then and I was thinking, they’re originals…they could compel me to forget,” Stefan’s eyes drifted from his book to the fire.

“That’s…true,” Stefan pondered. Silence settled between the two of them for a couple of minutes before, “But what could have happened that was so bad that you had to have your memories taken away?”

“I don’t know,” Y/n sighed, “But whatever it is. I deserve to know, I have the right to know.” It was at this moment that two figures floated gracefully down the stairs, even if their appearances were not.

“Let’s not make a big deal of this,” Rebekah’s relaxed hum echoed into the room, both Stefan and y/n’s heads shifted over to the door where they were headed, Damon wearing nothing but a sheet around his waist.

“My thoughts exactly,” Damon smiled at her before spotting y/n and Stefan on the couch, “You two look cosy.” These words caused Rebekah to spin around, clearly ready to defend herself to whoever was sitting there, but one of the people who were, caused her to freeze.

“Y/n?” Rebekah’s voice sounded slightly strangled, a sudden anger swelled thick and fast within y/n. She was simply so sick of there being so much God damn evidence that the Mikaelson family knew her and yet she still had no idea how she knew them or any of her memories back.

“Do I know you?” Y/n basically growled through gritted teeth, surprising herself.

“I um…” Rebekah shifted her weight from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable, “I’m leaving.” She said after a moment and Damon simply nodded behind her, opening the door to a ready to knock Elena.

“I think we should leave,” Stefan whispered quickly into y/n’s ear.

“Aww, and miss all the drama,” Stefan simply gave a y/n a look before standing quickly and heading upstairs. Ugh, sometimes that boy is too moral. Y/n clearly became a fly in the water as Damon and Elena began to argue, Elena, talking about how Rebekah tried to kill her less than 48 hours ago and Damon telling her that last night had nothing to do with her. Y/n was just nearly getting bored when Elena said something that had everything y/n was interested in.

“You should know…that I basically just signed all of their death sentences – Including Elijah!”

“Why do you care about Elijah?” Damon snappily responded.

“What’s this about Elijah?” Y/n emerged from the shadows of the couch giving Elena a small fright.

“Oh God, y/n, you’re here,” Elena sighed, one hand over her heart.

“Yeah I…kind of live here now.” Y/n glanced between the two of her friends quickly before continuing, “What’s this about Elijah.”

“Well,” Elena looked at Damon, “Last night, Esther Mikaelson used my blood to link all five of the original children as one. The reason for that being, she wants to kill all of them.”

“But…”

“Well, if something happens to one of them, it happens to all. So, if one of them dies…”

“They all die.” Damon finished off.

“Oh,” Y/n sighed heavily, this was the last thing she needed right now, “So what are we going to do to stop that?”

“Do?” Damon’s brows jumped up his face, “We are not going to do anything. All of them dying is a good thing, remember?”

“Damon, I still don’t know about my relationship with them.” Y/n moved closer to him, “Look, I’m not asking for you to help keep all of them alive forever I could never ask that of you. I’m just asking for one of them, either Elijah or Klaus.”

“I vote Elijah,” Elena said from behind.

“Y/n,” Damon’s voice was like shattered glass, “You’re not going to be able to care about your past if you’re dead. Having all the originals wiped out is a blessing and I refuse to stop such a mighty act of karma. Besides, your past is not my problem, but killing the originals, is.”

Silence sat thick and heavy in the room, and after a few minutes Elena turned around to leave, y/n quickly following.

“Hey, where are you two going?” Damon called after them.

“We’re going to go do a good thing,” Elena’s voice rang out. Y/n stopped briefly at the door and looked over her shoulder.

“But don’t worry,” Y/n said, “It’s not your problem.”

“Like Damon was proud of himself for sleeping with her,” Elena sighed at the end of her bed, “Is it working?” She glanced down at where Bonnie was focusing on a pot of sage.

“Nope,” Caroline came in, her blonde hair bouncing as she moved, “Look, I don’t think you should worry as much as you do about Damon, he’s clearly not worth it.”

“Caroline’s right,” Y/n popped up from Elena’s desk where she was flicking through a teen magazine, “Damon sleeping with Rebekah is just him acting out as he always does. It’s his self-destructive tendencies. He’s had it ever since Katherine, probably giving her – or himself – a reason why his love was not enough.”

“How do you know so much about Damon?” Caroline’s brows furrowed.

“Like I said,” Y/n smiled at her, “I was his best friend for a while, I helped him through his shit and Lexi helped Stefan through his. Lexi and I were kind of like a weird vampire version of Fairly Odd Parents.”

“You knew Lexi?” Elena asked, perching on the end of the bed.

“Yeah,” Y/n smiled sadly, “She’s amazing, isn’t she? When I heard she died and…how I nearly came to Mystic Falls and beat up Damon myself.”

“Why didn’t you?” Caroline asked, amused.

“I was busy in northern England,”

“Doing what?” Y/n glanced up.

“It’s a really…long story.” The three girls glanced between themselves.

“We’ve got time.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Caroline spoke through a mouth full of popcorn, “So if last night, Klaus felt like a lover to you does that mean that you two have had sex?”

“I don’t know,” Y/n grimaced, sucking on a salty uncooked kernel, “But God I hope not, not after all the shit he’s done.”

“Understandable,” Bonnie nodded. There was a pause, and Bonnie shifted awkwardly on the bed, glancing between her friends.

“Look you guys should know,” Bonnie began, “Esther came to see me and Abby this morning,”

“What?” Elena exclaimed.

“Yeah…the rituals happening tonight.”

“What?” Elena exclaimed again, “But Elijah…”

“I know,” Bonnie said, clearly not that bothered about him.

“Look, I know this is going to sound crazy,” Elena said looking between her friends, “But I can’t let him die…it just doesn’t feel right.”

“I know,” Caroline sighed, “But if it means we can kill Klaus…”

No one responded. Y/n knew at that moment that the majority of people in this town would think that killing Elijah was a small price to pay if it also meant that Klaus was dead. If only she could get her memories back before their bodies turned.

Y/n was laying on her bed, a playlist of songs she didn’t recognise echoing through her room. The images and ideas and questions that were whirring around her head had given her a headache a few hours ago that somehow was still pounding.

“Y/n, darling!” Damon’s voice drifted up the stairs calling her back to reality. Furrowing her brows slightly at Damon calling her ‘darling’ y/n rolled off her bed, brushing down her clothes before heading downstairs.

“What do you need now-” Y/n began asking as she moved down the steps, but when she reached the bottom she found a sight that she definitely didn’t expect. Damon and Stefan looked as though they were having some sort of standoff with none other than Elijah Mikaelson. Y/n opened her mouth to say something but found that there was something stuck in her throat.

“Y/n why don’t you put on that short, little red dress I like so much?” Damon’s eyes were fully fixed on Elijah watching for his reaction. Elijah kept his eyes on y/n and y/n was looking at Damon, like some kind of triangle of intense staring.

“And…why Damon, would I do that?” Y/n found her voice and proceeded to watch carefully as Damon smirked at Elijah before turning to her, giving her a knowing look.

“Because…I’m going to need a distraction.”

It was less than 10 minutes later and y/n had pulled on the red dress, a long dark coat and her favourite classic pair of Louis Vuitton heels.

“So, what’s the plan again?” Y/n asked as she headed for the door.

“Look, all you need to know is that Klaus and Kol have been spotted by Rick at the Mystic Grill, and what I need you and Caroline to go do is distract them.”

“Okay,” Y/n flicked her hair out from her coat, “Just keep me updated on anything you need me to do okay? I want to help.”

“Yeah, I know, I know…just go distract for now.” Damon smiled, practically pushing her out the door.

“Oh, don’t worry, I plan to do a lot more than that.”

“Y/n!” Caroline’s sweet voice called out over the mild chatter from inside the Mystic Grill.

“Caroline,” Y/n smiled broadly, running up to the girl and giving her a quick hug, “Damn girl,” Y/n grinned looking Caroline up and down, “Klaus is going to lose his shit.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it.” Caroline smiled as her breath made a small cloud in the cold night’s air, curling her arm around y/n’s elbow, “Come on, let’s go and be distracting.”

Walking into the bar the first person y/n noticed was Rick who was currently talking on the phone, and by the sound of it, he was talking to Damon. The plan was, Caroline would distract Klaus and take him outside whilst y/n remained inside and finally got to have a little chat with Kol Mikaelson.

“Is that the girl from last night?” She heard what must be Kol saying from across the room, “On the arm of…wait…no,”

“Oh yeah,” Klaus murmured, “She’s back in town.”

“Does Elijah know?” The two were talking so quietly it was almost impossible to hear, but the name ‘Elijah’ recently stuck out like a sore thumb in any and all conversations. Taking off her jacket, y/n chucked it onto the coat rack before following Caroline up the stairs towards the bar.

“Caroline!” Klaus called out excitedly, “Can I buy you a drink?”

“Hmm, I’d rather die of thirst,” She responded lightning quick before turning on her heels and striding confidently out of the bar. Klaus glanced at his brother before standing and quickly chasing after the beautiful blonde but not before pausing in front of y/n. He looked as though he was going to say something, but the thought passed and soon he was on his way.

“Aren’t you going to go after her?” Kol said after a moment, a boyish grin stretched across his cheeks.

“I think she can just about handle herself, don’t you?” Y/n smiled softly at the man, it was strange, he didn’t scream any immediate memories. Leaning over the bar y/n ordered a drink, tonight, she would start investigating. 

“Oh, come on!” Kol laughed.

“No!” Y/n grinned back.

“Let me buy you one drink, that’s all I ask.”

“I’ll let you buy me one drink if you can remember my friend’s name, the blonde one who walked in with me.” Y/n smiled mischievously, she’d hate to admit but she was actually having a really nice time.

“Oh, come on,” Kol groaned, but he was still smiling.

“Hey, I’ve mentioned her at least 5 times. It’s not my fault you don’t listen.”

“I listen!” Kol exclaimed before ordering himself a drink.

“Prove it,” Y/n took a sip of her bourbon.

“I know your name is y/n l/n that you were born in y/h/t and you used to be a flower girl, you have a brother named Alex and you were born in 1111.” Y/n felt her muscles tighten, her glass resting on her lip. Alex’s brows furrowed as he watched y/n’s stiff actions, “Did I overstep my boundaries?”

“No, it’s um,” Y/n felt like smiling but she pulled herself together, “Well you see Kol Mikaelson, I never told you when I was born, yes I told you I am a vampire but not when I was born. Also, I never knew that I was a flower girl…or that I even had a brother.” She watched as Kol’s face turned from playful to emotionless, it was like watching a coin flip, “Now, tell me, how could you know that? Unless you…knew me, 900 years ago?”

“Hmm,” Kol chuckled under his breath, pulling his coat back on, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” In a flash, y/n had pinned his hand onto the bar, sure he was stronger, but she had his attention.

“Look, I know you know me, in fact, I know your whole family knows me. So why don’t we just cut the crap and stop playing this game where you all think I’m a complete idiot.” Kol looked down at her hand before looking straight into her eyes, all the playfulness gone.

“I’m not the one you should be having this conversation with y/n.”

“Oh, really?” Y/n cocked her head to the side, “And why’s that.”

“Because y/n,” He smiled softly, “It wasn’t me who you fell in love with.”

Something about that sentence just tugged on y/n’s final straw. Quickly, and whilst no one was looking, y/n grabbed a fistful of Kol’s hair at the back of his head and smashed his head straight through the bar, bringing the top half of his body down where y/n’s other hand had a certain dagger dipped in ash of the white oak tree was waiting to put him to rest. She pushed it through his heart and watched as the skin at the back of his neck turned grey and veiny.

Sighing heavily, she brought the ‘dead’ body up and leant it over the bar twisting around to check that no one noticed, thankfully everyone nearby probably thought that the smash had come from somewhere behind the counter. She quickly gave Rick and his date the thumbs up before turning back around. Glancing over she noticed Kol’s fresh drink left untouched.

“Um, bartender?” She smiled broadly at the cute man behind the bar, he immediately smiled back and leant in a little closer to her. That’s the thing about vampires, they have a small but powerful attraction to their prey, kind of like a magnetic booby trap. “Is this drink pre-paid?” She said sweetly.

“Um, yeah,” It seems as though the bar-tender just noticed Kol, slumped over and motionless.

“Nothing to worry about here,” She quickly said into his eyes and immediately his smile grew, and he moved away.

“Well…Kol.” She reached over and picked up the drink and took a sip, “Looks like you’ll be buying me a drink after all.”

It was a few minutes later and y/n and Rick were dragging the body of Kol Mikaelson into the back alley with Rick’s new girlfriend and Damon looking on.

“Thanks, y/n, nice work,” Damon swiftly gave y/n a high five after she dropped the body.

“Ahh, I think it’s you who I should be thanking,” Y/n bent down and looked right at the lifeless eyes of the boy she had been laughing with literally 5 minutes ago, “For walking right into my trap.”

Damon was just going to respond when something flashed by, swiftly pulling the dagger out of Kol’s chest and taking out both Rick and his girlfriend. When it came to a standstill it was obviously Klaus, an angry Klaus.

“I should have killed you months ago,” Klaus glowered at Damon before turning to y/n, “And as for you…”

“Oh, come on Klaus, you wouldn’t hurt an old friend, would you?” Klaus just squinted his eyes and cocked his head.

“You don’t remember.” He said knowingly, a glowering smile pulling at his lips.

“Remember?” Y/n felt a smile slowly creep on her face, “Who said anything about forgetting? But thanks...for confirming my suspicions, and trust me, after the enlightening chat I just had with your brother, you’ll be hearing from me soon.”

Shortly after that, Klaus disappeared with Kol and then, Damon disappeared. Y/n was aware that she wasn’t fully in on whatever plan Damon and Stefan had, and she didn’t expect to be. She still had some way to go to be back in the position of trust she was in with them so many years ago. So, she made sure that Rick and his girlfriend got home safely before she herself went back to the Salvatore mansion.

Still in her dress and heels, she rapidly wrote down everything she figured out that night, words flowing from her pen like blood from a wound.

But soon she found herself stuck thinking of the way that Elijah had looked at her tonight, his face trademark emotionless but his eyes, his eyes bled grief and pain and punishment. Following the thought of Elijah, she heard what Kol had said before ringing in her ears ‘it wasn’t me who you loved’.

So she had loved him. Or maybe she had loved Klaus. Or maybe she was a lot more like her old friend Katherine than she had ever thought. 

next part

tag list: @bcfangirlthatswhy

@superwholock-fangir1

@selena8712

@evyiione

@m-nicole-uy

@taylordrunkonwhiskey 

[clown-bait]

29 Neibolt ST (Monster Roommate AU) Chapter 3

Alright friends things are heating up. Pennyboi learns how to deal with feelings and Leech gets a job. Some weird stuff with meat happens. Leatherface is a pure beautiful soul and must be protected. Next chapter will contain SMUT.

Warnings: Mild Nsfw, Blood, Swearing, Drug Use, Alcohol, Fluff. 

CHAPTER 3

Help.

The young vampire to be had been there a full month now and she hated to admit it but she had never been happier. This was truly a new start for her. People even stopped calling her by her original name preferring to use the one Pennywise had given her when they first met. It was meant as an insult but it fit her so well she kept it. She was a bloodsucker now after all. Lucy was gone Leech was who she was now. She had a new job lined up, new friends, a great mentor and she was even given a wig by Leatherface as a housewarming gift when her hair began to fall out. Aside from the impending death and losing humanity thing….and that damn clown…. this was nice. This could work.

Movie night at the Neibolt house was a big event. Everyone joined in even Pennywise who usually kept to himself but when Dracula insisted he join in to make a certain proto-vampire happy the clown reluctantly agreed. He hated that the elder vampire knew about his affliction.

When Dracula found out about it he had been confronting the clown over his disheveled state. “You seem less cruel to my young apprentice and you look like you have stopped feeding. You are infatuated.”

“Infat- What?! No! Leech is, she’s, well we’re just………I mean….I……..…..what do I do.” He was weak and defeated. Pennywise had never had a positive feeling like this before and Dracula was the only one other than Chucky that knew how to deal with this sort of thing.

“You must pursue her it'll be healthy for the both of you! My poor apprentice has been worried sick about her transition for weeks now! Yes! ROMANCE HER WOO HER GIVE HER YOUR LOVE.” The elder vampire was a complete hopeless romantic.

“I was just going to go back to eating my feelings till this goes away?”

“NAY YOU MUST COURT THE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. I HAVE FAILED IN LOVE BUT YOU CHILD YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE”

“One, I'm way older than you. Two no.”

“LOOK AT YOURSELF BOY, YOU ARE WASTING AWAY IN LOVE! GIVE HER YOUR HEART END YOUR ETERNAL LONELINESS.”

“What part of older than you do you- never mind lets pretend this never happened.”

“YOU WILL SEE SOON ENOUGH BOY, YOU WILL SEE THAT YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM LOVE.”

Pennywise hated how that he was right about that. He tried eating more and began to look healthy again until Leech walked by in the kitchen two days later and gave him a damn compliment. Who does she think she is telling him he looked extra scary today. The nerve!

“At least theres popcorn” he grumbled plopping down onto one of the couches. Having two giant monsters in the house plus a very territorial cat required multiple couches and chairs so everyone could fit around the old antique tv.

“Whats on the menu tonight boys” Freddy says opening a beer taking up a whole lazy boy to himself.

“Something we can do a drinking game with please?” came Leech’s request from the kitchen she was busy making drinks for her new friends after she bragged she could make them killer cocktails that would knock their socks off. It also to try to persuade Leatherface to put in a good word for her when applied for the position of bartender at the newly remodeled Sawyer’s.  Dracula was assisting her while carefully watching her glances and shy smiles whenever she heard Penny’s bells. The elder vampire had never had a protege before and he had to admit her fiery personality was growing on him, shed make a fine creature of the night eventually he just had to get her past her unwillingness to change. Leech found it annoying that he was constantly nagging her about her transition. Tonight it was all about how vampires cant hold their liquor. But she liked her mentor, he was like the father she never had and she would often find herself coming to him with questions not only about her condition but also life in general.

“Atta girl Leech you're a woman after my own dead heart” Freddy shouted back the two had been bonding more smoking on the porch talking shit about people who got on their nerves that day. They did have quite a few things in common one was tequila and the other was epic amounts of sass. Pennywise did feel a twinge of jealousy over it but knew if he said something Freddy would tell everyone the eldritch embodiment of fear had a big stupid crush on someone he normally considered food.

“All right guys heres my official audition for bartender at Sawyer’s. Tip jar is on the counter for when all you assholes are blown away by how great I am.” she boasted passing out the drinks.

“Big talk for someone who's tolerance is sinking faster than the Titanic” said Chucky

“Shut up and drink doll. I’ll let my talent do all the ass kicking for me.”

“What the hell is this?” Freddy asked poking the puffy pice of spun sugar

“Cotton candy martinis bitch!”

Pennywise choked on his popcorn.

She begun finishing handing them out and as Penny picked his up his giant hand touched hers. They blinked at each other for a second. “Something wrong Pen? Did I uh offend you with the circus flavors?”

“Oh um no no just something on your um something on your face!” Dracula rolled his eyes at him dramatically from the kitchen.

“Oh where.” Leech frowned.

“Its um… no stop stop! Don't touch it. Just let me do it..” The clown quickly pretended to wipe something off her nose. “nailed it.” He thought.

Chucky's eyes grew wide when he saw the exchange. “No fucking way” he whispered.

Leatherface was delighted at the sweet drink. He even giggled when his friend put the cotton candy in the liquor and it dissolved. “So you think I got the job big guy?” he grunted happily in approval “Aw shucks Bubba you're the best!” she hugged the lovable giant murderer. Leech smiled wide with cockiness “nailed it.” She said to herself.

————

“Wait you only have a waitress job??? But I thought I was applying to be a bartender!?” she complained at the giant the next day. She wasn't mad at him though it was the rest of his family’s fault probably. They Sawyer clan were a bunch of boys they needed a cute girl in the restruant to be the bait for their…. meat source. Finally the young vampire sighed “Fine I’ll take it, anything at this point. Just let me know when I start.” Desperate times call for desperate measures. “Do I at least get a nice uniform?” she asked.

Leatherface nodded enthusiastically, he brought out a bag from behind his back and handed it to her. Freddy was now watching with glee from around the corner. He had been planning this for the past week.

“Oh you've got to be kidding me.” she growled from the bathroom and Freddy laughed.

“Whats so funny?” Pennywise asked sipping a hot cocoa with way too many marshmallows

“I helped the big guy pick the new uniform for the waitresses wait till you see it.”

Leech creaked the door open her face bright red. As she stepped out Pennywise spit his drink and nearly choked on a marshmallow. She was in a tied flannel top and daisy dukes. “Who told you this was a good idea Leatherface?” the giant happily pointed at Freddy’s hiding spot who was on the floor cackling now. Chucky walked by and his jaw nearly fell on the floor before running to get Tiff. Pennywise was 100% broken. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. “Can I at least wear an actual shirt instead?”

Leatherface looked sad she didn't like the uniform. “Oh no” she thought “He's proud of it.”

“Hey hey big guy! I didn't mean it the uniforms great don't be sad see I’m going to put it away for tomorrow ok!”

Pennywise left the room quickly unable to remain there for much longer without….feeeeeeling.

Chucky walked over to him giving his leg a sharp jab with his elbow.

“What do you want doll.” he snarled

“You're a mess Jingles. Why don't you do something about it?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Your lame school boy crush on the baby bloodsucker.”

“I dont-“

“Don't even man you were practically having a heart attack back there, plus you were staring at her the entire movie night. Tiff thinks its cute.”

“Does everyone know now?”

“Pretty much.”

The clown fell on the floor against the fridge. “Then I need your…………help.” The last word was a struggle for him.

———-

Leech marched into the old house carrying the an entire butcher shop in grocery bags. Drops of cold animal blood dripped down from her purchases and Church had come out of hiding to follow her to the kitchen where she began to pack the fridge and freezer full of raw meat.

“Ok clown your girl’s home go talk to her.” Chucky whispered from behind Pennywise who was hiding on the stairway to the basement.

“Compliment her ears she's been very self conscious about them lately” Dracula suggested to him.

As Pennywise attempted to step forward he paused when he saw the young vampire. She looked to be in a trance as she put meat away finally stopping at a package of bratwursts and taking a deep inhale of the bloody sausage. She let out a small whimper and as a drop of drool fell from her lips the clown felt his breath hitch. “What are you waiting fo- woah!!!” Chucky paused when he saw that Leech has taken one of the sausages out of the package and was brining it to her hungry open mouth. Her tongue had rolled out and she swallowed the meat whole like a snake. “Holy fuck Jingles thats uh… thats some girl you got there…” Chucky’s jaw dropped. Pennywise was completely frozen unable to speak. “Well ah.. nosferatu fledglings do have a…ahem insatiable appetite” Dracula dabbed his brow.

“We’re uh….we’re gonna go….good luck Jingles…” Chucky and Drac both bolted out of the room as Leech finished the tray of sausages completely unaware and going into a slight frenzy.

She ripped open a roast now and began violently tearing the meat with her dull human teeth. She started sucking the blood through the flesh while making obscene gasping sounds as she fed. Drool poured out of Pennywise’s mouth in record amounts as he watched the vampire. She tore off her beanie revealing her bald head and large bat like ears which began to fold straight up against the side of her head. Leech’s eyes flashed forward as she finished Penny marveled at how they looked like little reflections of the full moon against her dark eye circles she was becoming a truly terrifying monster. The clown had never seen something so beautiful or smelled something so sweet. The nosferatu came down from her high panting and gasping looking at the animal blood on her hands and the drool on the floor. “What the hell just happened?” she said to herself. She heard a soft jingle and her face lit up, she quickly put on her beanie to hide her baldness and wiped her face. “Penny?!” she said asked excitedly a small blush creeped onto her cheeks. Her face fell when no one answered. “Must have been my imagination…” she mumbled starting to clean up her mess.

Pennywise had retreated to his lair leaning back in his nest panting with need. He looked down at the tall tent in his pantaloons and shut his eyes. This was bad. He never really felt feelings like desire or lust, not like this. There were maybe a handful of occasions where he was in heat and took a lover for the night disguised as a human but he saw them as more tools than mates. Pennywise couldn't even remember some of their names, he was pretty sure he ate a few after he was done with them too. But this oh this, this was completely different. This new feeling was not something he could just relieve and get on with his hunting. This was a burning need for someone he saw as an equal, someone like him. A fellow predator, a potential mate. He didn't want anyone else he wanted her. And he hated it.

As promised the next chapter will get STEAMY. So stay tuned for that. 

[gaysparklepires]

9. Target

Alice dropped me off in the morning, in keeping with the slumber party charade. It wouldn’t be long until Edward showed up, officially returning from his “hiking” trip. All of the pretenses were starting to wear on me. I wouldn’t miss this after moving out.

Charlie peeked through the front window when he heard me slam the car door. He waved to Alice, and then went to get the door for me.

“Did you have fun?” Charlie asked.

“Sure, it was great. Very… fun.”

I carried my stuff in, dumped it all at the foot of the stairs, and wandered into the kitchen to look for a snack.

“You’ve got a message,” Charlie called after me.

On the kitchen counter, the phone message pad was propped up conspicuously against a saucepan.

Jacob called, Charlie had written.

 He said he didn’t mean it, and that he’s sorry. He wants you to call him. Be nice and give him a break. He sounded upset.

 I grimaced. Charlie didn’t usually editorialize on my messages.

Jacob could just go ahead and be upset. I didn’t want to talk to him. Last I’d heard, they weren’t big on allowing phone calls from the other side. If Jacob preferred me dead, then maybe he should get used to the silence.

My appetite evaporated. I turned an about face and went to put my things away.

“Aren’t you going to call Jacob?” Charlie asked. He was leaning around the living room wall, watching me pick up.

“No.”

I started up the stairs.

“C’mon, Beau,” he said. “Forgiveness is divine.”

“Duly noted,” I muttered as I stalked up the stairs.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone; I’d ignored it since getting back to the Cullens’ house. I had nearly thirty missed calls from Jacob. I sighed and turned the phone off. Shoving it back in my bag.

I knew the laundry was building up, so after I put my toothpaste away and threw my dirty clothes in the hamper, I went to strip Charlie’s bed. I left his sheets in a pile at the top of the stairs and went to get mine.

I paused beside the bed, cocking my head to the side.

Where was my pillow? I turned in a circle, scanning the room. No pillow. I noticed that my room looked oddly tidy. Hadn’t my gray sweatshirt been draped over the low bedpost on the footboard? And I would swear there had been a pair of dirty socks behind the rocking chair, along with the red button up shirt I’d tried on two mornings ago, but decided was too dressy for school, hanging over the arm… I spun around again. My hamper wasn’t empty, but it wasn’t overflowing, the way I thought it had been.

Was Charlie doing laundry? That was out of character.

“Dad, did you start the wash?” I shouted out my door.

“Um, no,” he shouted back, sounding guilty. “Did you want me to?”

“No, I got it. Were you looking for something in my room?”

“No. Why?”

“I can’t find… a shirt…”

“I haven’t been in there.”

And then I remembered that Alice had been here to get my pajamas. I hadn’t noticed that she’d borrowed my pillow, too—probably since I’d avoided the bed. It looked like she had cleaned while she was passing through. I blushed for my slovenly ways.

But that red shirt really wasn’t dirty, so I went to save it from the hamper.

I expected to find it near the top, but it wasn’t there. I dug through the whole pile and still couldn’t find it. I knew I was probably getting paranoid, but it seemed like something else was missing, or maybe more than one something. I didn’t even have half a load here.

I ripped my sheets off and headed for the laundry closet, grabbing Charlie’s on the way. The washing machine was empty. I checked the dryer, too, half-expecting to find a washed load waiting for me, courtesy of Alice. Nothing. I frowned, mystified.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Charlie called.

“Not yet.”

I went back upstairs to search under my bed. Nothing but dust bunnies. I started to dig through my dresser. Maybe I’d put the red shirt away and forgotten.

I gave up when the doorbell rang. That would be Edward.

“Door,” Charlie informed me from the couch as I skipped past him.

“Thanks, Dad.”

I pulled the door open with a smile on my face.

Edward’s golden eyes were wide, his nostrils flared, his lips pulled back over his teeth.

“Edward?” My voice was sharp with shock as I read his expression. “What--?”

He put his finger to my lips. “Give me two seconds,” he whispered. “Don’t move.”

I stood frozen on the doorstep and he… disappeared. He moved so quickly that Charlie wouldn’t even have seen him pass.

Before I could compose myself enough to count to two, he was back. He put his arm around my waist and pulled me swiftly toward the kitchen. His eyes darted around the room, and he held me against his body as if he were shielding me from something. I threw a glance toward Charlie on the couch, but he was studiously ignoring us.

“Someone’s been here,” he murmured in my ear after he pulled me to the back of the kitchen. His voice was strained; it was difficult to hear him over the thumping of the washing machine.

“I swear that no werewolves—” I started to say.

“Not one of them,” he interrupted me quickly, shaking his head. “One of us.”

His tone made it clear that he didn’t mean a member of his family.

I felt the blood empty from my face.

“Victor?” I choked.

“It’s not a scent I recognize.”

“One of the Volturi,” I guessed.

“Probably.”

“When?”

“That’s why I think it must have been them—it wasn’t long ago, early this morning while Charlie was sleeping. And whoever it was didn’t touch him, so there must have been another purpose.”

“Looking for me.”

He didn’t answer. His body was frozen, a statue.

“What are you two hissing about in here?” Charlie asked suspiciously, rounding the corner with an empty popcorn bowl in his hands.

I felt green. A vampire had been in the house looking for me while Charlie slept. Panic overwhelmed me, closed my throat. I couldn’t answer, I just stared at him in horror.

Charlie’s expression changed. He looked uncomfortable. “If you two are having a fight… well, I’ll just get going.”

He put his bowl in the sink and hurried out of the room.

“Let’s go,” Edward said in a low hard voice.

“But Charlie!” The fear was squeezing my chest, making it hard to breathe.

He deliberated for a short second, and then his phone was in his hand.

“Emmett,” he muttered into the receiver. He began talking so fast that I couldn’t understand the words. It was over in half a minute. He started pulling me toward the door.

“Emmett and Jasper are on their way,” he whispered when he felt my resistance. “They’ll sweep the woods. Charlie is fine.”

I let him drag me along then, too panicked to think clearly. Charlie met my frightened eyes with a concerned glance, which quickly turned to confusion. Edward had me out the door before Charlie could say anything.

“Where are we going?” I couldn’t stop whispering, even after we were in the car.

“We’re going to talk to Alice,” he told me, his volume normal but his voice bleak.

“You think maybe she saw something?”

He stared at the road through narrowed eyes. “Maybe.”

They were waiting for us, on alert after Edward’s call. It was like walking into a museum, everyone still as statues in various poses of stress.

“What happened?” Edward demanded as soon as we were through the door. I was shocked to see that he was glowering at Alice, his hands fisted in anger.

Alice stood with her arms folded tight across her chest. Only her lips moved. “I have no idea. I didn’t see anything.”

“How is that possible?” he hissed.

“Edward,” I scolded. I didn’t like him talking to Alice this way.

Carlisle interrupted in a calming voice. “It’s not an exact science, Edward.”

“He was in Beau’s room, Alice. He could have still been there—waiting for him.”

“I would have seen that.”

Edward threw his hands up in exasperation. “Really? You’re sure?”

Alice’s voice was cold when she answered. “You’ve already got me watching the Volturi’s decisions, watching for Victor’s return, watching Beau’s every step. You want to add another? Do I just have to watch Charlie, or Beau’s room, or the house, or the whole street, too? Edward, if I try to do too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks.”

“I looks like they already are,” Edward snapped.

“Beau was never in any danger. There was nothing to see.”

“If you’re watching Italy, why didn’t you see them send—“

“I don’t think it’s them,” Alice insisted. “I would have seen that.”

“Who else would leave Charlie alive?”

I shuddered.

“I don’t know,” Alice said.

“Helpful.”

“Stop it, Edward,” I snapped. “Mind your temper.”

He turned on me, his face still livid, his teeth clenched together. He glared at me for half a second, and then, suddenly, he exhaled. His eyes widened and his jaw relaxed.

“You’re right, Beau. I’m sorry.” He looked at Alice. “Forgive me, Alice. I shouldn’t be taking this out on you. That was inexcusable.”

“I understand,” Alice assured him. “I’m not happy about it, either.”

Edward took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s look at this logically. What are the possibilities?”

Everyone seemed to thaw out at once. Alice relaxed and leaned against the back of the couch. Carlisle walked slowly toward her, his eyes far away. Esme sat on the sofa in front of Alice, curling her legs up on the seat. Only Royal remained unmoving, his back to us, staring out the glass wall.

Edward pulled me to the sofa and I sat next to Esme, who shifted to put her arms around me. He held one of my hands tightly in both of his.

“Victor?” Carlisle asked.

Edward shook his head. “No. I didn’t know the scent. This stranger might have been from the Volturi, someone I’ve never met…”

Alice shook her head. “Aro hasn’t asked anyone to look for Beau yet. I will see that. I’m waiting for it.”

Edward’s head snapped up. “You’re watching for an official command.”

“You think someone’s acting on their own? Why?”

“Caius’s idea,” Edward suggested, his face tightening again.

“Or Jane’s…,” Alice said. “They both have the resources to send an unfamiliar face…”

Edward scowled. “And the motivation.

“It doesn’t make sense, though,” Esme said. “If whoever it was meant to wait for Beau, Alice would have seen that. He—or she—had no intention of hurting Beau. Or Charlie, for that matter.”

I cringed at my father’s name.

“It’s going to be fine, Beau,” Esme murmured, smoothing my hair.

“But what was the point then?” Carlisle mused.

“Checking to see if I’m still human?” I guessed.

“Possible,” Carlisle said.

Royal breathed out a sigh, loud enough for me to hear. He’d unfrozen, and his face was turned expectantly toward the kitchen. Edward, on the other hand, looked discouraged.

Emmett burst through the kitchen door, Jasper right behind him.

“Long gone, hours ago,” Emmett announced, disappointed. “The trail went East, then South, and disappeared on a side road. Had a car waiting.”

“That’s bad luck,” Edward muttered. “If he’d gone west… well, it would be nice for those dogs to make themselves useful.”

I winced, and Esme rubbed my shoulder.

Jasper looked at Carlisle. “Neither of us recognized him. But here.” He held out something green and crumpled. Carlisle took it from him and held it to his face. I saw, as it exchanged hands, that it was a broken fern frond. “Maybe you know the scent.”

“No,” Carlisle said. “Not familiar. No one I’ve ever met.”

“Perhaps we’re looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it’s a coincidence…,” Esme began, but stopped when she saw everyone else’s incredulous expressions. “I don’t mean a coincidence that a stranger happened to pick Beau’s house to visit at random. I meant that maybe someone was just curious. Our scent is all around him. Was he wondering what draws us there?”

“Why wouldn’t he just come here then? If he was curious?” Emmett demanded.

“You would,” Esme said with a sudden, fond smile. “The rest of us aren’t always so direct. Our family is very large—he or she might be frightened. But Charlie wasn’t harmed. This doesn’t have to be an enemy.”

Just curious. Like James and Victor had been curious, in the beginning? The thought of Victor made me tremble, though the one thing they seemed certain of was that it had not been him. Not this time. Victor would stick to his obsessed pattern. This was just someone else, a stranger.

I was slowly realizing that vampires were much bigger participants in this world than I’d once thought. How many times did the average human cross paths with them, completely unaware? How many deaths, obliviously reported as crimes and accidents, were really due to their thirst? How crowded would this new word be if I ever joined it?

The shrouded future sent a shiver down my spine.

The Cullens pondered Esme’s words with varying expressions. I could see that Edward did not accept her theory, and that Carlisle very much wanted to.

Alice pursed her lips. “I don’t think so. The timing of it was too perfect… This visitor was so careful to make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see…”

“He could have other reasons for not making contact,” Esme reminded her.

“Does it really matter who it was?” I asked. “Just the chance that someone was looking for me… isn’t that bad enough? God, I thought I had more time…”

“It will be alright, Beau,” Edward said quickly. “It’s not that bad. If you’re really in danger, we’ll know.”

“But what about Charlie? What if my little guest had happened to be thirsty last night? As long as I’m around Charlie, he’s a target too. If anything happened to him, it would be all my fault!”

“Hardly, Beau,” Esme said, patting my hair again. “And nothing will happen to Charlie. We’re just going to have to be more careful.”

“More careful?” I repeated in disbelief.

“It’s all going to be fine, Beau,” Alice promised; Edward squeezed my hand.

And I could see, looking at all of their faces one by one, that they truly believed it would be fine.

 It was a quiet ride home. I was anxious and tense.

“You won’t be alone for a second,” Edward promised as he drove me to Charlie’s. “Someone will always be there. Emmett, Alice, Jasper…”

I sighed. “I feel bad. They’ll get so bored, they’ll have to kill me themselves, just for something to do.”

Edward gave me a sour look. “Hilarious, Beau.”

Charlie was in a cautious mood when we got back. He could see the tension between me and Edward, and it made him nervous for me, probably. He watched me throw together his dinner with a peculiar look on his face. Edward had excused himself for a moment, to do some surveillance, I assumed, but Charlie waited till he was back to pass on my messages.

“Jacob called again,” Charlie said as soon as Edward was in the room. I kept my face empty as I set the plate in front of him.

“Is that a fact?”

Charlie frowned. “Don’t be petty, Beau. He sounded really low.”

“Is Jacob paying you for all the P.R., or are you a volunteer?”

Charlie grumbled incoherently at me until the food cut off his garbled complaint.

Though he didn’t realize it, he’d found his mark.

My life was feeling a lot like a game of dice right now—would the next roll come up snake eyes? What if something did happen to me? It seemed worse than petty to leave Jacob feeling guilty about what he’d said.

But I didn’t want to talk to him with Charlie around, and to have to watch my every word so I didn’t let the wrong thing slip. Thinking about this made me jealous of Jacob and Billy’s relationship. How easy it must be when you had no secrets from the person you lived with.

So I would wait for the morning. I most likely wasn’t going to die tonight, after all, and it wouldn’t hurt him to feel guilty for twelve more hours. It might even be good for him.

When Edward officially left for the evening, I wondered who was out in the downpour, keeping an eye on Charlie and me. I felt awful for Alice or whoever else it might be, but still comforted. I had to admit it was nice, knowing I wasn’t alone. And Edward was back in record time.

He sang me to sleep again and—aware even in unconsciousness that he was there—I slept free of nightmares.

 In the morning, Charlie left to go fishing with Deputy Mark before I was up. I decided to use this lack supervision to call Jacob.

“I’m going to let Jacob off the hook,” I warned Edward after I’d eaten breakfast.

“I knew you’d forgive him,” he said with an easy smile. “Holding grudges is not one of your many talents.”

I rolled my eyes, but I was pleased. It seemed like Edward really was over the whole anti-werewolf thing.

I didn’t look at the time until after I’d picked up my phone and dialed. It was a little early for calls, and I worried that I would wake Billy and Jake, but someone picked up before the second ring, so he couldn’t have been too far from the phone.

“Hello?” a dull voice said.

“Jacob?”

“Beau!” he exclaimed. “Oh, Beau, I’m so sorry!” he tripped over the words as he hurried to get them out. “I swear I didn’t mean it. I was just being stupid. I was angry—but that’s no excuse. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever said in my life and I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me, please? Please. Lifetime of servitude up for grabs—all you have to do is forgive me.”

“I’m not mad. You’re forgiven.”

“Thank you,” he breathed fervently. “I can’t believe I was such a jerk.”

“Don’t worry about that—I’m used to it.”

He laughed, exuberant with relief. “Come down to see me,” he begged. “I want to make it up to you.”

“How?”

“Anything you want. Cliff diving,” he suggested, laughing again.

“Oh, there’s a brilliant idea.”

“I’ll keep you safe,” he promised. “No matter what you want to do.”

I glanced at Edward. His face was very calm, but I was sure this was not the time.

“Not right now, Jake.”

“He’s not thrilled with me, is he?” Jacob’s voice was ashamed, rather than bitter, for a change.

“That’s not the problem. There’s… well, there’s this other problem that’s slightly more worrisome than a jerk werewolf…” I tried to keep my tone joking, but I didn’t fool him.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“Um.” I wasn’t sure what I should tell him.

Edward held out his hand for my phone. I looked at his face carefully. He seemed calm enough.

“Beau?” Jacob asked.

Edward sighed, holding his hand closer.

“Do you mind speaking to Edward?” I asked apprehensively. “He wants to talk to you.”

There was a long pause.

“Okay,” Jacob finally agreed. “This should be interesting.”

I handed the phone to Edward; I hoped he could read the warning in my eyes.

“Hello, Jacob,” Edward said, perfectly polite.

There was a silence. I bit my lip, trying to guess how Jacob would answer.

“Someone was here—not a scent I know,” Edward explained. “Has your pack come across anything new?”

Another pause, while Edward nodded to himself, unsurprised.

“Here’s the crux, Jacob. I won’t be letting Beau out of my sight till I get this taken care of. It’s nothing personal—“

Jacob interrupted him then, and I could hear the buzz of his voice from the receiver. Whatever he was saying, he was more intense than before. I tried to unsuccessfully to make out the words.

“You might be right—,” Edward began, but Jacob was arguing again. Neither of them sounded angry, at least.

“That’s an interesting suggestion. We’re quite willing to renegotiate. If Sam is amenable.”

Jacob’s voice was quieter now. I started chewing on my thumbnail as I tried to read Edward’s expression.

“Thank you,” Edward replied.

Then Jacob said something that caused a surprised expression to flicker across Edward’s face.

“I’d planned to go alone, actually,” Edward said, answering the unexpected question. “And leave Beau with the others.”

Jacob’s voice rose in pitch, and it sounded like he was trying to be persuasive.

“I’ll try to consider it objectively,” Edward promised. “As objectively as I’m capable of.”

The pause was shorter this time.

“That’s not a half-bad idea. When? …No, that’s fine. I’d like a chance to follow the trial personally, anyway. Ten minutes… Certainly,” Edward said. He held my phone out to me. “Beau?”

I took it slowly, feeling confused.

“What was that all about?” I asked Jacob, my voice peeved. I knew it was juvenile, but I felt excluded.

“A truce, I think. Hey, do me a favor,” Jacob suggested. “Try to convince your vampire that the safest place for you to be—especially when he leaves—is on the reservation. We’re well able to handle anything.”

“Is that what you were trying to sell him?”

“Yeah. It makes sense. Charlie’s probably better off here, too. As much as possible.”

“Get Billy on it,” I agreed. I hated that I was putting Charlie within the range of the crosshairs that always seemed to be centered on me. “What else?”

“Just rearranging some boundaries, so we can catch anyone who gets too near Forks. I’m not sure if Sam will go for it, but until he comes around, I’ll keep an eye on things.”

“What do you mean by ‘keep an eye on things’?”

“I mean that if you see a wolf running around your house, don’t shoot at it.”

“Of course not. You really shouldn’t do anything… risky, though.”

He snorted. “Don’t worry about me, Beau. I can take care of myself.”

I sighed.

“I also tried to convince him to let you visit. He’s prejudiced, so don’t let him give you any crap about safety. He knows as well as I do that you’d be safe here.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“See you in a few,” Jacob said.

“You’re coming up?” I couldn’t contain the excitement in my voice.

“Yeah. I’m going to get the scent of your visitor so we can track him if he comes back.”

“Jake, I really don’t like the idea of you tracking��“

“Come on, Beau,” he interrupted. Jacob laughed, and then hung up.