When Damien asked me out at the start of the school year, I was ecstatic. I mean, who wouldn’t be, with those eyes, so blue you could swim in them and that deep, soothing voice that you couldn’t help but trust? Plus, he was the school’s star running back. He was a sharp contrast to his brother, Blain, whose eyes were hard and cold, his body pale, and his scowl dismissive.
Amazingly, we stayed together all the way until homecoming in October. The day after they announced the date and theme (A Night on Mount Olympus, in case you were wondering), Damien pulled me into an empty classroom during lunch.
“Victoria, “ he said. “I want to ask you to homecoming, but,” he paused, looking nervous,” there’s-something-I-need-to-tell-you-first.” It came out in a rush, making it sound like it was all one word.
“Okay, what is it?” I tried to sound nonchalant, but I was worried. I knew Damien, and he didn’t get nervous easily.
He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. “I’m a vampire.”
“No, seriously,” I laughed. Come on! A vampire? Those weren’t real. “What is it? You can tell me.”
He turned away, “I am serious.”
“No, you can’t be.” When his expression not only didn’t change, but he sat down at a desk and put his head in his hands, I knew something wasn’t right. “Prove it,” I said shakily.
He looked up, his eyes wet, though no tears had yet escaped. He nodded and stood up. He bowed his head and was gone. A bat, pure black and hovering exactly where Damien had been a moment before, was in his place. With a nod of the bat’s head, it too disappeared and Damien reappeared, giving a sheepish smile, exactly where he had been before.
“Oh my gosh,” I was stunned, almost excited. Then I stumbled backwards, leaning against the wall as realization washed over me. A vampire? I thought. I had been dating a vampire? “Oh my gosh.” I wrapped my hands protectively around my throat and looked back at him in horror.
“Vic-,” he saw my terror and stepped towards me. When I pressed myself further against the wall, he stopped. I had hurt him, his eyes made that clear, but I didn’t care. “No, Vic, it’s not like that. I-I mean, yeah, most vampires are evil. Heck, my dad’s Dracula. And Blain hates anything and everything that hasn’t been turned… But I’m not like that. Vic,” he edges closer to me and cupped my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I would never do anything to hurt you. I- Vic, I… I love you.”
This startled me. In all the time we’d been dating, he had never told me that he loved me. I looked away, a single tear working its way slowly down my cheek.
“I-I have to go,” I broke away and ran out of the room, trying to block out his calls after me, not slowing down until I reached the safety of the girl’s bathroom, where I let my tears flow freely.
The next several days before homecoming, I took to keeping a wooden stake strapped to my inner thigh, just in case Damien should try to bite me. He didn’t seem the type to, but he didn’t seem like a vampire either, so my character judgment was clearly faulty.
I saw him in the hallways frequently, but our conversations were wordless. He pleaded for forgiveness with his eyes and I rejected him again and again by looking away. Once my friends had gotten wind of the breakup, a whole twenty seconds after I emerged from the girl’s bathroom, they had done nothing but try to convince me to go to the homecoming with them.
“It’ll be great! A girl’s night out!” they squealed every chance they got.
After hearing only that for two days straight, I gave in, despite the fact that all I wanted was to stay at home, eat a pint of Häagen-Dazs, and cry. But I sucked it up, figuring it wouldn’t be too bad. After all, Damien seemed too heartbroken to go; I was sure he’d miss it.
Damien didn’t miss homecoming. He was there, sitting alone, only talking to Blain. I tried to have fun, but was unnerved by his presence. Once, I even saw him gesture towards me. I checked to make sure my wooden stake was secure underneath my dress.
The third slow dance of the night was Avril Lavigne’s Keep Holding On- our song. I knew from the previous weeks that I couldn’t hear that song without bawling. So, I left, telling my friends I’d see them Monday.
I was almost off of the dance floor and out of the gym, when I felt a hand rest on the small of my back. Thinking it was Damien, I turned, saying through clenched teeth, “Damien, no. I can’t deal with this right now. I-“ but I stopped short when I saw that it wasn’t Damien, but Blain.
As I gazed up at him, I began to feel better. The pain of the last several weeks seemed to melt away, Blain’s once cold and unfeeling eyes now seemed warm and welcoming. His smile that I had never seen before told me that he cared, truly cared, much more then Damien ever had. His touch was warm as he steered me off the dance floor, outside, and into the courtyard, which was wonderfully quiet and deserted.
“Vic,” he said softly, his voice caressing me, “I’m so sorry for how rudely Damien told you of our little secret. That was wrong of him. He didn’t explain the true nature of being turned.” I nodded as Blain continued, “He made it sound like something horrible, something to be afraid of, but,” he smiled down at me, “it’s far from that. You see, people who are turned live better lives. They no longer know pain or hunger or sorrow, only happiness.” He caressed my cheek, his hands feeling warm on my tear-stained face. “Vic,” he whispered into my ear, “I can make all of the pain go away. It doesn’t hurt, I promise.”
Of course, I thought, Finally, the answer to all of my problems.
I tilted my head back, the sweetheart neckline of my dress fully exposing my neck. Blain leaned forward, stroking my neck. All of a sudden, there was a ‘crack’ and his head snapped back.
I stumbled several feet backwards, my mind and eyes focusing as I realized what had almost happened. My gaze fell upon the struggling mass that was Blain and my rescuer, whose face I couldn’t make out in the darkness. Punches flew from both as I watched, terror rooting me to the spot.
In one, swift motion, Blain was pinned against the wall as the other shouted at and punched him, each word accompanied by a blow to the face.
“Don’t. Ever. Touch. Her. Again.” I recognized the voice; it was Damien’s.
“Vic,” he looked over at me, not releasing his brother, whose nose was now bent at an awkward angle. “Are you alright? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” His voice had gone from pure anger to worry in an instant.
“No, I’m fine,” I paused, my terror subsiding. Then, I remembered my weapon. Reaching under my dress, I lowered my voice. “Damien, get out of the way.”
“No, Vic, I don’t care what he told you, I’m not letting him turn you. I-,”he stopped, his eyes resting on the object in my hand. He looked confused as to why I had it, but nodded and backed away from Blain some.
I raised my arm and plunged my wooden stake into Blain’s chest. There was no blood, not even a shriek of pain, only some smoke and then he collapsed into dust.
“Vic, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. When he saw me here alone, he asked what happened to you, so I told him. I never dreamed he’d even think of hurting you. But when I saw that you two didn’t come back inside I knew something was up and I had to do something. I-,” he sighed, defeated, “I’ll let you go back to the dance now.” He started walking back towards the gym.
“Damien, wait!” I called after him. He paused and turned. I ran towards him, flung my arms around his neck, and buried my face in his chest. “I love you, too,” I mumbled to his tie, but he understood. Gently, Damien lifted my chin until I was looking into his eyes. His cut lips formed a smile and then kissed me so passionately, that my knees buckled and I fell.
But there was no need to worry. Without breaking the kiss, he caught me and carried me into the gym. We stepped onto the dance floor just as the voice over the loud speaker announced, “…and this year’s homecoming king and queen are…Victoria and Damien!”
Later that night, as Damien drove me home, realization struck.
“Oh my gosh. I just killed Dracula’s son,” I glanced over at him, “with the help of his other son.”
“Oh yeah, dad won’t be too happy when he finds out about that,” shrugged Damien. “Don’t worry, I should be able to throw him off of our trail for a while.”
“But what happens when he does find out?” I was panicking, I know, but we had just killed Dracula’s son. I shuddered to think of what would become of us when we were discovered.
“Vic,” he stopped the car in front of my house. “Relax. If dad tries anything, we’ll just do to him what we did to Blain, that’s all.”
His words had such a calming affect that I had to make sure everything was in focus and it wasn’t another vampire trick of Blain’s. But everything was clear. Better then clear, because, for the first time in weeks, I was happy.
And I relaxed.
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