Chapter Text
sharp teeth, driving into my neck, drawing blood. i tried to scream but i couldn't get the sound out, like the vampire was drinking my words as well as my blood, like he was draining every inch of life out of my body. and i couldn't do anything to stop it. i just had to sit there, and let it happen.
"Pete, wake up, dude"
i'm being shaken awake, i open my eyes and watch as they adjust to the bright yellow light, revealing a figure standing next to the bed i'm lying in. Patrick, it's Patrick.
oh yeah, we're in London.
and there's no vampire, no teeth in my neck anymore.
it was just a bad fucking dream. come on, what am i talking about?
i sit up and feel my clothes cling to my back, a cold sweat is never fun, but it's worse when i'm waking up from another nightmare.
"before we go, can i take a shower?"
i shrug the covers off my legs and stand up, a little wobbly, and start making my way over to the suitcase on the floor.
"if you make it quick, Joe and Andy are waiting for us"
he sits on the edge of the bed and opens a little notebook, he seems to be writing something down.
i dont know, i dont really pay attention. i grab some clothes from the pile and head into the small hotel bathroom, the white light fuckin' sucks and i'm always a little startled by my appearance in the morning.
i think some part of me still expects everything to be a bad dream, to look in the mirror one morning and see a living person staring back.
but no, the grey-ish tint to my skin is still there, my eyes still shine red if i catch them in the right lighting, and my teeth are still sharp enough to cut human skin.
i'm still a monster, i can never wake up from that nightmare.
.
i dont remember what life used to be like, when i would wake up and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, when i would smile with no fear of someone seeing my teeth and realizing what i am, when i could eat any food without feeling sick after.
it seems like the last two years have been my entire life, and maybe in some way they have been, they've been my entire afterlife, but i dont like to think about that.
after my shower i quickly put on my clothes, and manage to find a moment to grab a nailfile and take it to my teeth, slowly making them less and less sharp, but they always grow back.
they always do.
because it's a curse and my body wants me to remember that.
plus, it feels fucking horrible to file away my own teeth. and anyway, Patrick is calling my name and telling me to hurry up, so i have to rush to put on my shoes and he hands me a backpack.
"supplies, stakes and holy water, among other stuff" he has one as well, a backpack full of shit that can kill vampires, stuff that my friends can kill me with, if they wanted too.
i told them to, once.
but none of us like to think about that, we swore not to talk about that after it happened. it was too close of a call. too logical a decision. too plain and clear of an idea.
so we dont talk about it anymore.
so we look for others, we go after vampires who hurt people. that's the only way, to deal with what i am.
.
Andy and Joe were waiting for us in the lobby of the shitty little hotel we're staying in, two tiny rooms for three dudes and a vampire.
great idea, isn't it?
"okay, where are we going?"
Joe leads the way out of the door and into the cold January night, it's not raining tonight, which is a tiny little miracle i should probably be more grateful for.
"a concert, actually. small little venue, will you be... okay?"
he turns to look at me once we're all out the door, and for a second i dont know what he means.
I've always loved little gigs like that, cramped rooms full of kids singing their favourite songs. but then i realise what he's saying, asking if i can keep my fangs to myself in a sweaty room like that.
"yeah, i'm not going to rip into someone's fucking neck because they bumped into me. i'm not that crazy" he sighs and starts walking towards the station without another word. i'm not fragile, i wont kill someone without warning. but, i suppose, he's not wrong in some aspect.
i'm always a little scared of what i am, a little worried that one day i'll smell blood so good that i cant resist tasting it.
but i wont, i promise i wont.
and they all know i wont, they trust me and i trust them.
they're all talking, about the band we're going to see or something, saying they're kinda famous or how Andy's watched one of their videos on MTV, or other stuff like that.
i wish we were still in a band, that would've been pretty awesome, we should've been famous one day.
i had a good feeling about the band, i did.
but i guess sometimes my feelings aren't right, maybe that happens more than i like to admit.
i dont know, i can feel that i'm stuck in my head pretty bad at this point, i'm just following the others through a station, onto the underground, and then through the dark streets of London.
there's a line outside the venue, going down the stairs and into the small room.
before we join the line we find a bush to hide our backpacks, because, well, we cant exactly take stakes into a concert.
we just have to hope that if we need them, we'll have time to come and grab one.
and then things go normal for a minute, we're standing in the line and just talking, like four normal guys just here to see the band play.
but, eventually, one of us has to break that illusion.
"do we know who we're looking for?" Patrick turns to joe, who looks away and goes a little nervous.
"no, not really. a man, about our age, who is apparently going to be here tonight."
"and thats it?"
i cant help but spit out the words, how did we end up here? why did we cross the world for such a simple description? is there even a vampire here tonight?
"they promised the vamp would be here tonight, and he's apparently really dangerous" he adds, i notice we're getting pretty close to the front of the line now, which means i need to focus and try to hear the silence.
i need to find the person who's heart doesn't beat anymore, and probably hasn't beaten in a long time. easy job.
.
the venue wasn't as small as i was expecting, maybe about 2 or 3 thousand people here tonight.
the stage is empty, but it looks so fucking inviting, and i can feel the crowd's energy before the openers have even played.
these guys must be pretty good, if they've got the crowd so excited already.
Patrick and Joe go to grab drinks, while me and Andy start to move around the crowd, finding a place to stand where i can hear everyone's heartbeats enough.
i dont like using my vampire abilities, but in this case, they seem like our only hope to finding this guy. and hey, if we're here, we might as well have some fun, so we push to the barrier.
the cold metal under my hands is like a long-lost love, and i can feel the instruments in my chest when the openers take the stage.
it almost feels like i'm alive, for a moment. the beat seems to thump in my chest like a heartbeat might, and the push of the crowd up against me feels like i'm 20-something again.
soon Patrick and Joe have found us at the barrier, and i'm vaguely aware of them all having a conversation, asking if we have to be at the barrier.
but i'm in my own world, listening to the faint beating of peoples heart's, trying to figure out if there's anyone who doesn't seem to have that faint beating in their chest.
but right now, there's no odd silence, it sounds exactly like it should. and it stays like that, when the opener leaves the stage and the energy ramps up.
the lights dim, a guitar roars through the speakers, and the band take stage.
i feel their energy, the crowd sings like they're the best band in the entire world, and they're honestly a really fun band.
two guitarists, a bassist and a lead singer run around the stage like this is the only thing that matters in the world.
the singer is enchanting to watch, he's wearing a black suit with a red tie, there's a black bar of eyeshadow across his face, and he seems really fucking cool.
and i forget why i'm here, bashing myself up in the mosh pit for a few minutes, feeling the music pulse through my chest and the sweat coat my body, and suddenly i feel like i'm home.
like this sweaty little venue is where i belong, a place i can forget what a monster i am, a place where that doesn't even matter.
but then Andy grabs me and drags me out. i can see the anger on their faces, Patrick looks so uncomfortable here with people pushing up against him to see the band, and thats when i realise.
the band!
it's them!
holy shit, they dont have heartbeats!
the lead singer, his voice covers it, but i know for sure i cant hear his heartbeat. i look between all four of them, watching them closely for a moment, trying to listen and see if any of them have that drum beating in their chest, but they dont.
they're all dead.
all of them.
"we have to go, now!"
i dont know what else to say, all i can feel is the panic rising in my body, if i know they're vampires, then they might realise what i am, too.
hell, they might have already figured it out if i'm really fuckin' unlucky.
"what, why?"
i dont say anything, i cant figure out the words, not here.
i grab their wrists before i can think, dragging my friends behind me and through the crowd, all be it with a little bit of protest.
the stuffy air feels suffocating, and anyway, our backpacks are outside, so i move for the door.
"Pete, wait! what's going on?"
i look between Patrick, who's stood in front of me, and the stage across the room.
the band play like this is their life-force, like they dont have heartbeats but they have instruments pumping through the speakers, they are so alive and i am so dead, even though we are both the same monster.
"the band, they're-they're vampires"
and in the dim lighting, i see the colour drain from Patrick's face.
he looks over his shoulder to watch them, maybe trying to decide if he believes me,
"all of them?" he turns back to face me, and soon Joe and Andy are over here too, standing in a circle with me and Patrick.
"all four of them, i promise, i couldn't hear any of their heartbeats"
"well, like, it's pretty loud in here. did you just miss them?" Andy adds from the left of me.
"confident, they're all dead."
i start fiddling with my hands, trying to keep them busy and stop myself from doing something stupid, like going after the vamps on my own. that would be a terrible decision and probably get me killed. "okay, let's get the fuck out of here."
vampires.
a band of them, Patrick informed me that the band are called My Chemical Romance, as if that doesn't scream vampires.
some stupid little part of me is jealous, that they're able to make it as rockstars with what they are.
but thats a stupid thought, really, isn't it?