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Star was riding the high from a good gig, good crowd, good energy. She sat on the side of the stage while the guys packed up.
David and Paul were bickering about the setlist, having differing opinions as to what they should have played third for whatever reason. Personally, Star thought the middle of the setlist was pretty interchangeable. It was really just the first and last that mattered for maximum impact. Marko also seemed to be tuning them out, humming as he wrapped cables.
Dwayne was engaged in talking shop with some guy about bass pedals. Star found herself watching absently. It was always nice seeing Dwayne excited to talk about anything, especially something he was genuinely passionate about. His new acquaintance seemed to be asking appropriate questions, keeping the conversation going.
Star felt a bit mean thinking the guy was probably loving the fact he was talking one-on-one with one of the guys in the band. He was kind of nerdy looking. And a redhead.
On the other hand, he rightly should be loving talking to Dwayne. Some of his effortless cool might rub off on the poor kid.
She focused on a smell she’d half-noticed before. It was getting more intense. Still watching Dwayne entertain the redhead, Star tried to parse what it was without looking around. It was an interesting earthy, musky scent with a battery tang to it.
She stopped breathing when she realized she was smelling blood.
Unlike her brothers, she had to take another breath. And another.
Star was nearly hyperventilating. Her body was urging her to pounce on her victim. She was grasping at the racing thoughts in her head: the nerdy guy didn’t deserve it, he was making Dwayne grin like that, maybe he could be a friend…
She forced herself to move, needing to get away from the intoxicating scent. She kept her head down, hoping maybe if she couldn’t see anyone, she wouldn’t smell them.
A different scent suddenly caught her attention. She ducked into an alley and heard a rat scurrying further down.
She finally felt like she could breathe again. She also nearly gagged. Instead of anyone’s blood, she was only smelling a dumpster overflowing with trash. This was preferable. Star just stood there entrenching herself in the stench.
When her thoughts stopped spinning out, she went back home to the Ironworks. Star kept her head down again and walked quickly. She tried to keep the memory of the reeking garbage at the forefront to keep from smelling anything else. Her hands shook as she shoved them in her pockets.
The boys were mostly playing cards on the floor and watching TV. David was reading off to the side in an easy sprawl.
“Hey Star, where’d you go?” Paul asked.
“Just…getting some air,” she said. Her nose wrinkled, the alley still with her.
“Want me to deal you in?” Marko offered.
She shook her head and sat on the couch. Then she had too much time to think once more. She realized too late she should have joined the game. It would have been a distraction. Everything had to be a distraction nowadays.
Star was starting to spiral about what it would be like the next time she left the factory. She thought she was handling it, but then something would happen, would stand out. The scent of a cut someone didn’t know they had, an excited heartbeat, an asshole she wished would die, and the urge to be the one to kill him.
She ran her tongue over the fangs in her mouth, wondering how long they’d been there.
Her immediate source of relief flipped another page.
David looked up when Star approached. He turned to lower his feet to the floor and his eyes darted over her, seeking what was wrong. If he could smell the alley on her, he didn’t say anything.
“Star?”
“I…I need you,” she spoke barely above a whisper, hand already reaching to brush his throat. His expression quickly went from concern to that understanding she was counting on.
“All you have to do is ask, baby.” His eyes didn’t match the easy tone he put on. She knew he was just trying to make her feel better.
Star settled on his thigh while David deftly unclasped the choker he wore. She could feel him watching her. Star didn’t want to risk seeing anything that wasn’t teasing or playful from him, so she didn’t look at his face. Just his neck.
“C’mon,” he invited.
He cupped her head as she pierced him. Star felt more than she heard him hum. She wrapped her arms around his waist and melted into the copper in her mouth, the cool hand stroking her face.
She drank and her thoughts went quiet.
“Alright, Starshine,” David said and gently tapped her cheek. Star reluctantly pulled away, licking the drips of blood from his neck and off her own teeth. She put her head on his shoulder.
“We can’t keep doing this, Star.”
She sat back.
“You need to feed. Properly. I can’t—” He paused, hand still on her face. “This won’t let you survive forever.”
It hurt. Then she remembered smelling a hapless bass-enthusiast's blood and the hurt took on a different shape.
She hid her face in his shoulder. Ignored the hunger already unspooling in her stomach.