A/N: Okay, this is my first Vladimir Tod fanfic! I'm not going to say too much about it 'cause I don't want to spoil it, but it takes place between Ninth Grase Slays and Tenth Grade Bleeds. Anyway, read and enjoy!

A Broken Promise

"Ha ha! I beat you again!"

Henry laughed as Vlad threw the controller down on the couch, sighing exasperatedly at the video game screen showing his and Henry's scores. Henry smirked as Vlad pouted.

"No offense dude, but you suck!"

Vlad rolled his eyes at the pun and slugged his friend's shoulder playfully. He was about to vow that one day he would finally beat Henry, but at that moment his stomach rumbled.

"You're still hungry?!" Henry raised an eyebrow at Vlad. "You just ate a half hour ago!"

"I know. My cravings've become a lot more frequent lately." As if to illustrate his point, Vlad felt the familiar throbbing in his gums as his fangs slid out. He tried to account this to the fact that he was just hungry, not the fact that he could smell Henry's sweet blood flowing through his veins as he sat next to Vlad on the couch.

"Uh, maybe you should go get a blood bag?"

Vlad nodded at Henry's suggestion and stood up, his tongue brushing over the tips of his fangs in anticipation. He went into the kitchen and opened the freezer.

"Oh no," he muttered as he saw there was only one blood bag left. No way was that going to be enough to settle his craving. He sighed as he grabbed the bag and shut the freezer.

Vlad's fangs slipped easily through the plastic, and his spirits heightened a little as he realized that the blood was his favorite type: O positive. He gulped down the pack in no time at all, and he licked his lips as he dropped the empty bag into the biohazard container beneath the sink. With some effort, he managed to make his fangs shrink back into his gums as he grabbed the phone and dialed Nelly's number.

"Hello?" Vlad was glad to hear Nelly's cheerful voice as she picked up the phone.

"Aunt Nelly? Hey, do you think you could bring over a few blood bags? We're out."

"Oh, Vlad, sweetie, I can't really leave until my shift is over. I already have to make up a lot of hours . . ."

"Oh, okay." Vlad tried to sound nonchalant, despite the nervous feeling he was getting inside.

"Are you sure? I guess I could take a little more time off . . ." Vlad half smiled at Nelly's concern.

"No, don't worry about it. I'll be fine!" He hoped he sounded more convincing than he felt.

"Vlad, if you really need me to come over-"

"Aunt Nelly, I'll be fine! Besides, you need to make up all those hours you missed!"

"Alright, if you're sure . . ."

"I'm sure. I can last a couple of hours until your shift is over."

"Okay, call me if you need me!"

"Okay, bye!"

"Bye, Vlad!"

Vlad hung up the phone and bit his lip. He wasn't sure if he really could last a few hours, especially with Henry still there. Henry and his delicious O positive blood . . .

Vlad remembered the time when they were eight and he'd bitten him. As soon as his fangs had slid into his throat, a wave of deliciousness had gone over his tongue, more wonderful than anything he'd ever tasted before. The blood had tasted so good . . .

"No!" Vlad shook his head to chase away the thought of Henry's blood. Henry was his friend, and he wasn't going to feed off of him, even though he was his drudge. He was never going to treat Henry the way Vikas treated Tristian.

He willed his fangs back into his gums again as he made his way back to the living room. They had automatically elongated at the remembrance of Henry's blood. Vlad walked into the room and sat back down on the couch next to his friend.

"Dude, what took you so long?!" Henry paused the game just as he was about to defeat an alien and turned to Vlad. "I thought you got stuck in the freezer or something!"

"Oh, ha ha," Vlad said sarcastically, and Henry grinned at him. "Actually, I was calling Nelly. We ran out of blood bags; there was only one left."

"Is that why you still look so hungry?"

Vlad was slightly taken aback by Henry's question.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, to me it is." Henry shrugged. "I don't know about other people, but I can always tell when you're hungry. Maybe it had something to do with me being your drudge?"

"Yeah, maybe." It was silent as Henry thought about that. Vlad tried to ignore the blood pounding through Henry's veins, but his fangs found their way out of his gums anyway. He tried to take a calming breath, but he caught a whiff of Henry's blood and that only made it worse.

"So, is Nelly coming over with some more blood bags?"

It took a moment for Vlad to register that Henry had asked him a question.

"What? Oh, sorry." Vlad cleared his throat and tried to ignore the scent of his friend's blood, which was becoming more enticing with every breath he took. "No, I told her I'd be okay. She needs to catch up on the hours she-"

"Vlad." Henry held up and hand and Vlad went quiet, mentally scolding himself as his eyes flickered to the blue veins on Henry's wrist. "You're not gonna be okay."

"Wha- yes I am! I'll be fine!" Vlad frowned as Henry looked pointedly at his fangs.

"Dude, you can't even control your teeth right now! And don't try to argue!" Henry gave Vlad a look as he opened his mouth to protest. "I can tell when you're in control and when you're not, and right now you look like you're gonna lose it if you don't get blood soon."

"I . . . I can control myself," Vlad said stubbornly, but he started to doubt the truth behind those words. There was a moment of silence, and then Henry took a deep breath and held out his arm toward Vlad.

"You can take some of my blood."

Vlad licked his lips as he once again saw the veins in Henry's wrist, more inviting than ever before. He shook his head quickly and looked up at Henry's eyes pleadingly.

"Please don't start this again." His voice was soft with the effort of trying not to grab Henry's arm and sink his fangs into the soft skin.

"Listen, Vlad." Vlad closed his eyes and cringed as Henry scooted closer to him so it was easier for Vlad to reach his wrist. "It's obvious you're not gonna make it until Nelly comes home; you need blood now, and I'm the only one who's willing to give it to you. Would you rather go attack some random person on the street and take their blood forcibly?"

"No, but-"

"Then just bite me already!" Henry held his wrist up closer to Vlad, and Vlad's mouth opened slightly and he inhaled Henry's scent.

"Stop it, Henry." Vlad's eyes flashed dangerously and Henry gulped as he got a good look at Vlad's fangs. They seemed longer than he remembered, and sharper too . . .

No, that's just the stupid "drudges obeying orders" thing talking, Henry thought. He shook himself and, ignoring the intense desire to pull his wrist away and forget about his friend, he looked Vlad dead in the eyes.

"No."

Vlad's mouth fell open in shock. Henry looked just as surprised as he was.

"Did you just . . . did you just disobey a direct order?!"

"Yeah, I guess I did." Henry's look of surprise was replaced by a smirk. "So go on, Mister Vampire. Bite me."

He shoved his wrist right up under Vlad's nose. Instinctively, Vlad grabbed Henry's arm with both hands and pulled his wrist to his mouth. Henry shivered slightly as Vlad's fangs grazed his skin.

"I don't want to hurt you . . ." Vlad remained in control of his vampiric instincts for one last attempt to avoid sinking his fangs into his friend's wrist.

"You won't," Henry said forcefully. "Now drink." He moved his arm slightly closer to Vlad. With a groan that seemed to come from deep in his throat, Vlad gave in.

Henry let out a slight gasp as Vlad's fangs slipped into his wrist, but soon the pain subsided and was replaced by a feeling of calming assurance that he was doing right thing as both Vlad's drudge and his friend.

Vlad gripped Henry's wrist tighter as he gulped down mouthful after mouthful of the sweet liquid he'd tasted so many years ago. Blood flowed over his tongue and down his throat, leaving behind a feeling too wonderful for Vlad to describe. His uncle had been right: there was nothing like feeding from the source.

After what felt like hours but had really only been a few minutes later, Vlad was brought back to his senses when Henry's wrist was nearly jerked out of his grasp as Henry fell back onto the couch. Reluctantly, Vlad lifted up his head and put his hand on Henry's wrist so staunch the bleeding. He sighed in contentment as he licked the blood off of his lips, and then he suddenly went rigid.

He'd just fed off of a human. He'd just sucked his best friend's blood.

"Oh god . . ." Vlad took his hand away when he was sure Henry's wrist had stopped bleeding and examined his friend. "Henry?!"

Henry's eyes were closed and for a horrible moment Vlad thought he had killed him, but then he let out a shaky sigh of relief as he realized he was still breathing.

"Ugh . . . Vlad?" Vlad was even more relieved as Henry opened his eyes slightly and looked up at him. He looked completely exhausted, like he was going to pass out any second.

"H-how do you feel?" Vlad's voice wavered slightly as he looked at Henry with concerned eyes.

"Kinda dizzy and really . . . really tired." As if to emphasize this, Henry let out a huge yawn and Vlad bit his lip, feeling extremely guilty.

"You sure I didn't take too much?" Vlad felt slightly better as Henry smirked at him.

"If you took too much, I wouldn't really be talking to you right now, would I?" Henry's smirk turned into a grin as Vlad smiled weakly back.

"Yeah, I guess so . . ." Henry rolled his eyes at Vlad.

"Dude, relax. I'll be alright!" Henry gripped Vlad's hand reassuringly. "Besides, what are drudge's for?"

"You're my friend and I told everyone I'd never, ever bite you again . . ." Vlad looked down as Henry squeezed his hand again.

"And no one's ever gonna know that you did bite me!" Vlad looked up at Henry quizzically. "What, you think I'm gonna go around telling people I got bitten by a vampire?! My mom would send me to the hospital to have my brain checked out! Even if I did tell people, no one would believe me!"

"Eddie Poe would." Henry sighed exasperatedly at Vlad's stubbornness.

"I'm not gonna go tell Eddie Poe! Vlad, look at me." Vlad reluctantly met Henry's eyes. "I. Will. Be. Okay. Alright?"

"Okay," Vlad agreed halfheartedly, looking down again.

"Good. Now, will you stop moping and help me up? I want to beat your butt at level easy again!" Henry grabbed hic game controller with one hand as Vlad grabbed his other arm and helped him sit up. Vlad felt a stab of guilt as Henry grabbed his head and held it for a moment, but Henry soon shook the dizziness off and handed Vlad his controller with a smile.

Even though it seemed like Henry didn't mind it, Vlad vowed to himself that he would never bite Henry again.

Vlad only hoped he could stick to that promise this time.

A/N: So, what did you guys think? Please review!