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When Wilbur first met Tommy, he was the most annoying teenager he had ever seen. The blonde was horribly loud and never, ever shut up. No one could push him without getting pushed back.
But time changed his opinion. Tommy was loud because he hated silence and he hated not being the best in anything. But at least he accepted it now. (The brunette had to help him with that.)
Now he sat across from his friend, (read: brother), and the two were making fun of the people passing by the cafe. Tommy loved the window seats for that reason. The blonde was laughing hysterically over one lady’s hat currently. But Wilbur was distracted by his phone pinging an alert.
Right, the appointment. He thought.
“Hey, Toms, I have an appointment I need to get to.” The blonde froze. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Wilbur said as he shrugged on his trench coat.
“Appointment, big man?” The teen asked, sounding curious.
“Yeah, remember the announcement from the new mayor? Schlatt wants a renewal of all citizen IDs, but wants everyone to get a doctor’s checkup first.” The brunette shrugged at the last part. “I don’t know why, but at least he’s paying.”
The blonde furrowed his eyebrows. “I wonder why.”
The other just shrugged again. “I’ll see you later.” He left the younger to his thoughts.
~~~
“Everything checks out.” The doctor said, smiling as Wilbur tugged his sweater back on.
“Thanks, Bad. I’ll see you in another three years.” The other just rolled his eyes before adjusting his glasses.
“Stupid, muffin. Oh, wait.” The brunette paused by the door. “I’m supposed to hand out these pamphlets to the patients. Something about a warning? I haven’t read it.”
“Alright, thanks again!” He waved.
Stepping into his car, he eyed the packet. Sure enough, big bold letters said, “Warning” on the front. Opening it, he was a little surprised.
“This is a message to all legal citizens. A Vampire has been discovered in our midst. They were found feeding on a corpse before the funeral. They got away, but where there is one, there is always more. Beware. They appear to be extremely aggressive. If you see or talk or even breathe near one, leave the area. They could be hungry and you could be the next target.”
Wilbur paused at the end of the paragraph. “This seems kind of like a prank.” He hummed doubtfully. “But if they are real…” He shuddered a bit.
“For centuries, our people have wondered if these mythical creatures are real. But now it appears they’ve just been hiding among us the whole time. All of our legends about them appear to have been false, made up so we could never detect them.”
Chills crept up his spine as it kept going.
“We have no way of telling who is a vampire except through a physical exam. After the original one escaped, my soldiers were able to capture another. After several tries, it broke and told us-”
“It?” He muttered. (He felt a little bad for the vampire.) His thoughts were interrupted by the quiet patter of rain on his windshield. “Right, I need to go home.”
On the drive back, his thoughts kept tripping over the fact that vampires were real. Wilbur wasn’t exactly a book nerd, but he enjoyed a good story now and then. The pamphlet seemed to burn a place in his peripheral vision on the seat next to him. If they were real, would they just come after humans? Like, in the shadows? Fear and anxiety swallowed him.
Going through the motions, he soon found himself in front of his apartment. Unlocking the door, he hardly glanced at his things. Wilbur threw his coat on a hook and kicked off his doc martens. The weather provided a steady background noise as he plopped down on his couch and grabbed the pamphlet again. He found where he left off and settled down again.
“According to it,” (He shook his head again at the word.) “We now know that vampires wear contact lenses to hide their scarlet colored eyes. But the color can still glint through if a strong emotion happens. And none of their hearts beat, unless the very rare condition of having one. Everything else in the stories are false. I repeat, FALSE. Stay inside and avoid strangers.
“That is all the information we can provide at the moment. But if you open the next flap, you will note the picture of the one first discovered before it escaped and that of our prisoner.
“Please report any suspicious individuals to the police.”
The brunette flipped the page and flinched a little. The pictures were slightly blurry, but both vampires looked violent. He shuddered as he closed the pamphlet before tossing it in a trash. He didn’t need it now.
Tired and now stressed out, he collapsed back onto the couch. A little nap would be nice and a rainy Saturday was perfect for it. He ignored the pinging from his phone for the beckoning of sleep.
~~~
Wilbur blinked his tired eyes open to blue ones staring at him.
“What the-” He jerked upwards. Tommy was grinning from his seat on the floor. “When did you get here?”
“Not long ago, big man. I was just a tad worried.” He smiled more somehow.
And that’s when Wilbur saw it. There was a dark flash in the other’s eyes. His heart dropped in his stomach. (It couldn’t be.)
“You alright, Wil?” A hand reached for his forehead, but he jerked away.
“I’m okay.” He swallowed the lump. “The doctor told me I had a small illness. It’s nothing I can’t beat.” He grinned, but didn’t feel it. His mind was skipping back to all the times he’d seen Tommy’s eyes darken and never noticed. And every time was when he was doing something emotional.
“Oh, but we can still meetup tomorrow, right?” The other made begging eyes, but Wilbur just felt more sick.
“It would probably be better if we waited.” He patted the blonde’s shoulder, hoping to just get the teen out of his apartment.
“Oh, okay. I’ll see you later, big man.”
Wilbur let out a quiet sigh of relief once he heard the door shut behind that red sweater. (The sweater he gave Tommy.)
His thoughts buzzed in a haze. Nothing’s right. Nothing’s okay. Get out. Get OUT. GET OUT!
Wilbur stumbled off the couch and slipped his shoes back on. Snatching his coat from the wall, he staggered out the door. His breathing stuttered in panic as his thoughts just shouted to GET OUT ! He didn’t know where or how, but he was leaving.
His whole world had been upheaved. Not only were vampires real but he suspected his best friend (his brother) was one of them. Had it all been a lie? Had Tommy ever cared? Was it all a ploy just for a snack?
Rain hammered down on him as he dashed down the sidewalk. He knew the police station was around here somewhere. Wilbur couldn’t think besides that of GET OUT and Find safety. Anxiety buzzed in his skin, speeding his legs on. It came in sight just as he was grabbed by the arm and pulled into an alley.
“So this is what Schlatt planned.” Wilbur looked up into the eyes of Tommy, who looked furious. “That stupid traitor.” He spat the last word out before eyeing the man on the floor in front of him. “So, I see you got a little, ah, notice?” His grin seemed more malicious than anything.
“I-I-Tommy.” He pleaded as the teen grabbed his shirt. “Please.”
“Do you know how long it took me to get into human society? Fifty years!” He brought Wilbur closer to him. “All to be ruined by that selfish jerk called the mayor. All of my friends, my brother even, gone.” The brunette flinched at the accusation. “All because Schlatt wants more power with vampires. I want to tear his throat out.” He growled lowly.
Tommy dropped him finally as the blonde began to pace, staying dry from the awning over the alley. Wilbur weakly sat up and wiped at his wet hair. Fear twisted his stomach as Tommy finally looked at him.
“I won’t let him ruin this though.” He muttered lowly. “Did you really believe that I’d get close to you just for a drink? There’s plenty of blood banks if I’m thirsty.” He crouched down, eyeing the man again. “Schlatt may have just ruined our whole reputation as people, but we all used to be humans too.” He grinned at Wilbur’s shocked face. “And, I want you. I wanted you from the moment I met you. You are mine .” Wilbur shivered and tried to back away. “I’m sure it will take a bit of convincing for Dad and Techno, but they’ll agree. I always get what I want.” His eyes were full of red with possessiveness.
Wilbur finally tried to escape. Stumbling, hoping to get away, but immediately was grabbed. Tommy tsked at him as he was tossed back effortlessly. Back on the concrete, the brunette finally broke, sobbing and gasping for breath in his panic. A hand grasped around his neck, pushing him against the wall slightly. The grip tightened as he struggled, grasping at the fingers.
“Shhhhh.” Tommy started petting Wilbur’s hair with his other hand. “You’ll be home soon.” The brunette looked up at him with tears, fear pounding his brain. (Or the lack of blood flow.) “We’ll have to train all that fear and hate out of you. But Dad said there’s always an adjustment period.”
The blonde shrugged as Wilbur started to lose focus in his eyes. He tried to fight the darkening vision, but the firm hand stopped his efforts. His mind finally fell away as the vampire above him smiled.