Chapter Text
A chime rings out into the night as you step out of the drugstore and onto the sidewalk, echoing sadly behind you as you step away from the building and start towards home. A plastic bag dangles from your fingers, heavy with bags of candy. It isn’t the healthiest way to nurse your disappointment, but it’s going to be your way tonight.
It’s been a long week. You’ve finally moved into your own place. At first, you’d been so happy and excited - and you still are. Your cute little townhouse is perfect for you, and all your friends and family have given you amazing housewarming gifts. Your disappointment comes from the fact that you’d gotten a call earlier today telling you that, unfortunately, you were being let go from your job.
You know other opportunities would come your way, sure. But you’ve been working at this place for some time now - you had started way back during college and gone through a promotion or two since then - and as far as you understand you haven’t done anything wrong. Someone higher than you just wanted to give your position to a relative - a nephew, or a cousin or something. You’ve told your parents and they’ve agreed to pay your rent for the time being, but you don’t want to be beholden or a burden to them for too long.
You continued your walk home, feeling heavy and weary even though you haven’t been doing anything but lying around feeling sorry for yourself. For a moment, you think you hear the sound of footsteps behind you, and that makes you falter for a moment, but you just continue on your way. You just want to get home, flop onto your bed, and eat gummy worms while binge-watching an anime or something off Netflix or Hulu.
But then you lift your head. Someone is walking behind you. Suddenly you’re very aware of your surroundings and situation. You’re a young woman walking alone late at night. You’re the perfect target for a lot of people… and a lot of creatures. Your house isn’t too terribly far away, but you suddenly wish that you’d driven to the corner store instead of walked.
You take a deep breath. Someone’s walking behind you. That doesn’t mean you’re about to get jumped by anyone - or anything. Still, you start walking faster.
The person behind you picks up the pace as well.
You’re beginning to panic. You are being followed. Glimpses of things you were taught in middle school and Tumblr posts on self-defense that you scrolled past a little too quickly fly through your mind. What do you do? Start running? Call someone?
“Um - excuse me?”
You turn around a little too quickly. You really hadn’t expected your potential attacker to call out to you. But the man standing behind you isn’t what you expected at all.
He’s tall, and lanky. Tufts of curly brown hair are ballooning out from under a New York Giants toboggan; you’re distracted by the pom-pom on top for half a second. He’s wearing brown jacket - too thick for this mild night - and holey jeans, and his chin is covered in the stubbley beginnings of a beard. A raggedy backpack is hanging off one shoulder.
Quite frankly, he looks homeless.
“Can I help you? Why are you following me?” you blurt all at once. He lifts up his hands and smiles disarmingly, but you catch a glimpse of sharp teeth and pure fear shoots through you.
“I just need some help,” he says, looking dismayed as you take a few steps back. “I’m just - I’m really hungry, and - “
“You’re a vampire.” The word is accusing as it leaves your mouth. “And you’re hungry? I’m not about to be your dinner - “
The man looks upset. “Wait, wait! Just hear me out! I’m not into - I can’t - drinking human blood isn’t my thing, okay? I was a human myself, until recently.”
You’re not entirely convinced, but you’ll listen. Still, you remained poised to run.
“Just the thought of drinking human blood makes me sick,” he explains. “Because of that, I haven’t eaten in - well, since I was turned. I’ve got no money, and you’re the first person that’s even listened to me in all this time, and if you would just give me some… I don’t know. Raw meat’ll do. Anything.”
He sounds so pitiful, and now that you’ve heard this much of his story, you can’t possibly turn him away. And if you didn’t help him, you’d be responsible if he lost his shit and went on a killing spree. You know it’s probably a bad idea, but…
“…Okay,” you say. He looks as if he might just melt in relief. “Come on. I’ve got some steaks you can have.”
He’s beaming like an excited child as he trots to catch up with you and walk by your side. You try not to look at his sharp canines.
“Thank you so fucking much. I mean - thank you. Really.” He pauses. “I’m Danny, by the way.”
“My name’s Y/N,” you mutter.
The two of you walk in silence for a moment, and Danny seems bothered by it. Eventually he says, “I guess I should explain what happened - how I got turned. I mean, if you care to hear it.”
You have to admit that you’re curious. “Sure, I’ll listen.”
“It wasn’t long ago, like I said. I was in an accident. A really bad one. Like, I wasn’t gonna make it.” He doesn’t go into detail on the accident, but you don’t say anything. “And long story short, I was turned without my consent.”
“That’s…” You don’t want to say awful, because it feels like a statement about vampirism as a whole, but he says it for you.
“Awful? Yeah. It sounds bad to say it, but they should’ve let me die.” His face darkens briefly. “Anyway, I have way too many human friends and, like, I felt like a danger to them. So I left. It sounds dumb, but like… I didn’t ask for this, and I was so mad and upset, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hurt them, so I just left. But my… well, the people who decided to turn me, they’re not exactly happy with that decision.”
“Are they… chasing you?” you ask, a little incredulously. It sounds like something out of a book…
“Well… yes.” When you glance behind you as if to check if someone else is following you, he rushes to clarify. “I mean, they were. But I haven’t had any run-ins with them in a while, so I think it’s okay.”
You’re a little nervous. Maybe it was a bad idea to help this guy. But you’re in too deep, now…
At your front door, you turn to him. “I’m still kinda moving in, so… excuse my mess.”
“I don’t mind,” he says happily, and you unlock the door and motion for him to enter.
He hovers nervously in the entryway for a moment as you toss your keys on a nearby sofa table and kick off your shoes. You motion for him to do the same, and he quickly obliges, reaching up to pull off his hat as he does so. More wild curls tumble out, freed from their knitted confines.
You go into the kitchen and he awkwardly follows you. “Have a seat.”
He plops down at your kitchen table, piled high with half-unpacked boxes of kitchenware, and drops his bag at his feet, watching you as you go to the refrigerator and pull out a steak, still in its packaging. He’s practically salivating as you turn to him. “So, um… I’m sure you don’t want to eat it ice-cold or anything so I’m gonna, like… I don’t know, pop this in the oven for a few minutes. Just to warm it up.”
There’s a wild hunger in his eyes that you don’t think was there before, but he just nods eagerly. “Oh, yeah. Sure.”
Still, there’s an impatience in him as the oven preheats, as you take the steak out of its packaging, as put it on a pan and toss it in the oven. Even after you close the oven door, he’s staring at it. You push a set of heirloom silverware out of the way - a gift from an aunt, you think - and lean against the counter, watching him. He must be seriously hungry. You’ve heard about vampiric hunger, and you think he must be pretty strong to keep it together like this.
That makes you gulp nervously. You hope he can continue to keep it together, at least until the steak is a little warm.
“So…” you start slowly, dragging out the word until he actually looks at you. “Are you gonna just… keep running from these guys forever?”
“Not… not forever.” Danny looks uncertain.
“Where are you going next?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really think out that far. I just kinda… go from one town to the next.”
You sigh heavily. You know you’re making a mistake, but… “You can stay the night and figure out what you’re gonna do next in the morning.”
Danny’s face goes blank for a second, as if he doesn’t understand you. And the, an odd mixture of relief and sheepishness crosses his face. “Oh, no - you don’t have to put yourself out for my sake…”
“It’s no trouble. You can crash on the couch.”
Danny sinks into his seat and you know he hasn’t had anything as soft as a couch to sleep on in some time. As you reach to take the steak out of the oven - still raw, but warm now - you feel a pang of sympathy. Vampires really do get a bad rap. He deserves a nice place to sleep, even if just for a night. And -
“ - And you can use the shower,” you add, moving his steak to a plate.
He doesn’t say thank you as you set the steak, along with a fork and knife, before him, but his smile is thanks enough.