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Pete
“Nngh” the nameless twink below me moans. I pull off his neck and lick the wound closed. Well I did know his name. At least he told me when we were flirting at the bar. I back away, look in his eyes.
“You won’t remember any details from tonight. Go home, drink two large glasses of water. You’ll wake up tomorrow feeling hungover after a night of good fun.” I say, compelling him to leave. I take a deep breath and push away from him. He staggers slightly and leaves the dark alley. I lean back against the wall and sigh. When I chose to become a vampire 50 years ago the night scene is what I lived for. Now it’s just a crutch for a quick meal. It’s lost a lot of its glamour and appeal to me.
I hear footsteps approaching from my right and lift my head up, cautious.
“Hey baby,” Meagan. She nearly floats above the ground she walks so gracefully. She oozes sex appeal in everything she does. No wonder I fell for her at first sight so long ago. “I picked us up a nice plaything at the bar.” That’s when I notice a small framed light haired club boy hanging off her arm. I couldn’t see his face but he smelled delicious. “He looks just like that boy you fawn over, I picked him out just for you.”
“I’m not in the mood anymore Meagan. I just fed. I just want to go home right now.”
“Well I wouldn’t waste him if I were you. I compelled him to do anything you say for the next 12 hours.” She gives him a gentle shove towards me. “Enjoy. I’ll be at home.” She’s gone in the blink of an eye. I sigh and look down at the boy in front of me.
“Hey.” I say gently. He glances up at me and I freeze. I’d know those blue-green eyes anywhere. “Patrick?”
Patrick
I don’t know why I’m even here. Don’t shit yourself Stump, you know why you’re here. Pete posted a selfie on Snapchat in front of the club. That’s why you’re here.
I sigh. I flag down the bartender for another beer.
“Hey beautiful.” A blonde woman scoots in close next to me.
“Hi.”
“Patrick, right?”
“Do I know you?” I squint my eyes trying to place this woman. I don’t recognize her at all.
“No but I know you. And for the next 12 hours you will do anything I or Pete Wentz ask you to do.”
That’s a weird thing to say. I want to make a comment on that but can’t seem to find the words. Next thing I know I’m being dragged in the back alley of the club. Did she spike my drink? I feel like I’m trapped inside my body as a passenger. I know I had a few beers, more than my average but I’ve never felt like this before.
We come up on a man standing in the alley leaning against the building. The woman and man say a few things to each other, I can’t quite understand what’s being said. It’s the weirdest sensation. Next I’m being shoved in front of the man. I feel a gentle breeze and then the man calls out to me. I look up. I would gasp if I could make my brain cells start functioning.
It’s Pete.
“Let’s get you home, come on.” Pete takes my hand and leads me in the direction of home.
——
“Trick what were you doing at that club?” He asks me.
“I was there for you.” I answer before I can even think not to. What the hell? Why did I tell him that?
“Okay? Well obviously Meagan really did compel you. Let’s get you to bed.” Pete takes my hand again and leads me to the bedroom. Through the haze surrounding my brain, my heart still starts to beat faster.
Pete
Patrick’s heart is thudding so loudly in my ears. Thank heavens I fed on that kid before Meagan found Patrick. What the hell was he even doing there anyway. That’s not his scene. Of course he looks so different. He’s so skinny and I swear he got shorter. Maybe it’s just the way he seems sucked in on himself. My heart breaks a little looking at him.
I look at the time on my phone. 2:45am. This is going to be a long 12 hours. I can’t just leave him alone, when the compulsion wears off he won’t remember what happened. Of course maybe that’s for the better.
“I can’t believe Meagan took advantage of you like that. I’ll deal with her.” I ramble to Patrick. He’s looking up at me like a lost puppy from where he’s sitting on the bed. He looks so broken. His eyes have lost their shine. I hold my arms out for him. “Come here.” I say. He dutifully stands up and falls into my embrace. I know it’s the compulsion making him do what I ask, but I really hope deep down he’s hugging me because he wants to. Taking a deep breath of everything that is Patrick, I fight off the wave of hunger that brings my fangs out. I hug Patrick tighter and just lead him to his bed. Pulling back the covers, I gently pick him up and set him in bed. I try not to wince at how light he is.
“Go to sleep,” I say while tucking him in, “I’ll stay with you for awhile.” I crawl on top of the covers and hold him tight. I can take at least this without feeling guilty of taking advantage of him. “I love you.” I whisper. Patrick’s steady even breathing lulls me into a restless slumber.
Patrick
I blink my eyes open to the mid afternoon sun coming in through my bedroom windows. I groan and turn over. I take a deep breath and my eyes fling back open. Pete. His distinct cologne. I can smell it on my pillow case. What happened last night? I sit up. Why am I fully dressed in bed?
“Pete?” I call out hesitantly. He couldn’t be here, could he? After a quick look through the house, he’s nowhere to be seen. My heart sinks further into my chest with every empty room. Of course he wouldn’t come home with you. You’re so pathetic, fat and ugly. No one would take you home. You drank yourself into a stupor and stumbled home just like every other time you tried to find him at a club. I sigh.
I look at the clock. 3:07pm. What’s the point this late in the day? I grab my phone off the counter. 14% battery. I must not have charged it last night. I trudge back up to bed and crawl back in. I’m hit with the scent of Pete’s cologne again. This time I smell it though, it brings tears to my eyes. I silently weep into my pillow and fall back asleep.
The next time I awaken, it’s dark outside. “Aaagrhh!!” I grasp my calf. Muscle spasm. I whimper while trying to rub my tense muscles. Fuck. I limp to the bathroom and turn on the light. I avoid looking in the mirror. My shaving razor shines in the bright light. Carefully, I take apart the razor until I have just the blade free. I watch the light dance off the reflective metal surface. Pressing the blade to my forearm, blood begins to bead up quickly, my hands begin to shake and I drop the razor. It falls to the floor and relief fills my body as I watch some of my blood drip down to join it. I think I found an answer to my heartache.
Pete
“How could you?” I ask, stalking in the front door letting it slam behind me.
“How could I what? Give you just what you wanted so you could stop pining? You should be thanking me.”
“What’s wrong with you?! Patrick is a person! He’s not just some plaything! He’s a friend! I’d never use him like that!” I’m shouting now, who cares if the neighbors here.
“Well if you would just pull your head out of your ass, maybe you could get what you want. You think he was sitting in that club by himself to pick up a date? He was so obviously looking for you the entire time he was there.” If my heart could beat, it would pick up speed.
“No..” I say quietly this time. “He doesn’t feel that way about me. You should have heard the things he said to me when we all started this hiatus.”
“Believe what you want. But I’ve been on this earth far longer than you. I know what love can do to people. Just think about it. I’m going to go to Japan for a few weeks, meet up with some old friends. If you’re not here when I get back, I hope you and Patrick are happy together.” With that said, she kisses my forehead and leaves. I take a deep breath and slump down on our couch. I’m not stupid, she just gave me the biggest out ever to go be with Patrick. But if he doesn’t feel the same way, I’m not sure I could recover from that. I get up and grab a blood bag out of the fridge, our ‘emergency stock’ according to Meagan. She always preferred to drink right from the source.
——
A few hours later, I’m still sitting on the couch contemplating my fears of Patrick rejecting me. I sigh. Now is as good a time as any to just get it over with. I look at the clock, 10:23pm. Fuck he’s probably in bed. Fuck it. It’s now or never.
The drive is a quiet one. His kitchen light is on, maybe he is still awake. I knock on the door out of respect. As much as I want to just barge in and declare my love, I don’t want to scare him. He doesn’t answer after a few tries. I try the handle, it’s unlocked. I could have sworn I locked it when I left this morning. I open the door and my gut falls to the floor. Blood. The smell hits me so hard. The hair sticks up on the back of my neck and I’m on red alert. I fly through the house to find the source.
The smell leads me to the bathroom on the second story. Patrick. Covered in blood in his bathtub. His arms are cut. The razor grasped loosely in his left hand. A heart wrenching sound fills the quiet. It takes a second before I realize it’s my own sobbing. I kneel down next to the tub. A new sound travels it’s way into my head. So faint, but still there. Patrick’s heartbeat.
“No,” I whimper. “You can’t die. Baby, please. Not when I just came to tell you how much I love you.” I bite my own wrist and feed the blood to Patrick’s cold unresponsive lips. I bite my other wrist and drag the blood across the wounds on his forearms to stop the bleeding. Vampire blood has incredible healing properties. I can only hope it’s enough and it’s not too late. After a few minutes I pull my wrist away. I gently take Patrick’s too light limp body out the bathtub and cradle him in my arms on the floor. “Please, Patrick. Stay with me. Please, baby.” I rock him back and forth. Holding him close, I feel the exact moment Patrick’s heart stops beating.