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As the door shut behind him, locking away the sounds from the party, Jon took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the evening air, and he thought, I am so fucking drunk.
From the balcony, he could glance across the parking lot below. There was his old volvo, covered in toilet paper courtesy of the neighbourhood kids, and, further away, the edge of the park, the dark paths barely illuminated by the lampposts.
Jon grabbed a hold of the cold balcony railing as he leaned forward, taking in an even deeper breath as he tried to clear his mind. It was buzzing with alcohol. The taste of beer lingered on his tongue. He licked his lips to rid himself of the flavour.
“Oh no,” someone spoke on his right, “is Dracula preparing for a bite?”
Jon blinked, surprised to hear anyone else outside, and he glanced about him until he caught sight of the girl. She was standing on the next balcony over, leaning onto the railing herself, a gentle smile on her red lips.
“Hello,” Jon said.
“Hi,” she greeted him, her fingers running through her hair.
She was dressed in a black jumpsuit, the fabric sitting tight around her shape. Atop her silver hair, she wore a headband with cat ears, and her nose had been darkened with a dot, her cheeks bearing three streaks each.
“How scary,” Jon said, turning to face her. “A cheetah.”
“I’m a cat,” she corrected him.
“I’m certain cheetahs are cats,” Jon spoke.
“Acinonyx,” she replied.
Jon blinked. “You what?”
“Acinonyx,” she replied. “Most cats are members of the genus Panthera, but cheetahs do not have retractable claws. They’re part of their own genus - acinonyx.”
For a moment, Jon was stumped. Then he asked: “How’d you know?”
“I’m a vet.”
“Well, isn’t that fitting.” Jon prodded himself up to stand tall, his hand clenching on to the railing to ensure he wouldn’t fall. After three rounds of shots, his feet were a bit unsteady. “It just so happens that I am allergic to garlic.”
“Because you’re a vampire?”
“No,” Jon said, shrugging in his black and red cloak, the cheap fabric fluttering in the wind. “Because my genes are shit.” As the girl laughed, he bared his set of false teeth to show her his sharpened teeth. “Look, I’m even wearing an insert.”
“That’s something to brag about? With time, most guys will.”
Jon licked across his plastic teeth. As he took in her shape, he thought, She’s too sexy to be this far away. Truly, the balconies were only three feet apart. Nothing he couldn’t scale when sober but, in his current state of mind, he was trying to convince himself that jumping wasn’t such a good idea. Still, he moved to the edge of the balcony, leaning onto the side as he watched her more intensely. “You’re at a party?”
The girl nodded. “My friend - her name’s Missandei, you know her?” She waited for Jon to shake his head, then continued: “Well, she throws a Halloween party every year.”
“You don’t like parties?”
“I do.”
“Then why are you out here?”
“Same reason as you, I suppose,” she shrugged. “Needed a gulp of fresh air.” She too moved to lean onto the side of the balcony, allowing them to face one another.
Jon licked his lips as he looked her up and down once more, and she chuckled:
“You’re very obvious, you know.”
“Sorry,” he spoke, but he didn’t even feel embarrassed at being caught staring. “You just really suit that costume.”
“It’s barely a costume, to be fair, but thanks.” She cocked her head. “What’s your name?”
“Jon,” Jon replied.
“Well, I’m Daenerys,” the girl said, and she reached out as she offered him her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Jon stretched his arm, just far enough to grab a hold of her fingers and give them a shake. “You too,” he said, a smile on his lips. As he pulled back, he smelled warm perfume on his palm.
“So is that your flat?” she asked.
“No,” Jon shook his head, “I’m visiting too. That’s my friend Daario in there. You might have heard someone singing karaoke earlier? All him.”
“Yeah, did think someone was being murdered,” Daenerys joked, making Jon laugh. She cocked her head to the other side, her fingers playing with her hair once more. “So, Mr Dracula, have you bitten any ladies yet?”
“No yet,” Jon said, licking his false teeth once more.
“So are you a Bram Stoker vampire or a Twilight one?”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“How’d you pick your costume?”
“I just looked for something cheap on Amazon,” Jon admitted.
Daenerys smirked. “Thought as much.”
“How about you? You’ve… clawed anyone yet?” Jon said, realising too late that his suggestion was less sexy that Daenerys. He didn’t even earn a reply from her either - she just smiled wryly at him and rested her elbows onto the railing, leaning closer. He cleared his throat: “You know, there are a lot of girls at this party.”
“Is there now?” she said. “You must be very happy.”
“None as good looking as you, though,” he added.
“Smooth,” she said, rolling her eyes, but the smile remained on her lips. “You know, there are a lot of guys at this party.”
Jon prodded himself up a little. “Oh yeah?” he said.
“All of them as good looking as you,” she teased.
Jon wrinkled his nose. “Ah, come on,” he said, leaning over the railing. He ran his fingers through his black locks, messing up the curls. “You’re meant to return the compliment.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, did I hurt your pride?”
“Yes,” Jon sulked, pouting his lips, “I suppose I better suck your blood now.”
“Is that so,” Daenerys spoke. She too leaned over the railing, and their faces neared.
In the cool breeze, it was easy to feel the heat from the other person. Jon revelled in the fact that her warm breath slippered across his cold cheeks, causing him to shiver. If only I could get closer, he thought. He pushed the tips of his shoes in between the holes of the balcony, keeping his feet steady as he leaned even further, close enough to hover her lips. As he looked into her eyes, he felt the dizziness from the alcohol vanish, and a new kind of drunkenness setting in - full on the look of her, her smile, her flirtatious eyes, the way she twirled her silver hair around her fingertips.
“Wish we were at the same party, Daenerys,” he said.
She slowly blinked her eyes, the violet shimmering from between her long eyelashes as she licked her lips. “Well, isn’t that just romantic,” she spoke. “We’re like Romeo and Juliet.”
“Cat and vampire?” Jon chuckled. He reached out with one hand, holding onto the railing with the other to keep himself steady, and he stroked her cheek. Her skin was soft and warm beneath his cold fingertips, and when he took hold of her chin, he felt her shiver.
She bit her lower lip ever so seductively. “Just don’t fancy their ending,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” Jon said, pushing closer, “I intend to end on the good part-”
Just then, their lips brushed. But before Jon could engage himself more in the kiss, he felt his lips grow cold. It was as if the breeze took them rather than her, and as he blinked his eyes open, he realised why - he was falling. He slipped head first off the balcony, his hands grabbing at the air, and he cried in shock as he dropped down into the bushes below.
“Jon!” he heard Daenerys scream above. “Jon, are you okay? Jon!”
He groaned. He had landed face-first in the shrubs below. His arms arched, stuck in between the thorny branches, and his back felt sore as he flipped over, forcing his body to face the night sky. Above him, the stars glimmered, the full moon shone, and there, hanging over the balcony railing, was Daenerys, her silver hair fluttering in the breeze.
“Jon!” she called again. “Are you alive?”
Jon raised his hand to wave. “Nothing can kill a vampire!” he called, though he felt a dull pain in his left side. As he tried to move his left arm, it hurt too much. Fuck, he thought, I hope it’s not broken.
“Garlic can kill a vampire,” Daenerys insisted from above. Her voice sounded panicked. He guessed she was just speaking to calm herself. “Or a stake through the heart.”
Jon glanced at the many branches around him. “No stakes. Just bushes,” he assured her.
“I’m coming down, hold on!”
As Jon laid still, he watched her face disappear from the balcony once more. He took in a deep breath, the evening air filling his lungs once more, and as he closed his eyes with a grin, he thought, She is worth a trip to the A&E.