It had been a long day for Vlad resulting in an even longer night and he just wanted to get away from it for a while. Away from being the Pravus for just one day, that's all he would ever dream of asking for, one day. If he could have that then maybe, just maybe, his life wouldn't be all that bad. A day when slayers weren't always trying to poke sharp pointy sticks into his heart and his fellow vampires weren't threatening the lives of his loved ones. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to picture such a day.
He would wake up and eat Nelly's pancakes without needing a special syrup smothered on top and Nelly would cringe at his lack of chewing before he swallowed instead of at the sight of blood. He would greet Henry at his door before school and they would laugh and joke without the weight of the oppressive bond between them. Simply best friends hanging out. He would later ditch Henry in favor for Meredith, his girlfriend, a pretty picture in pink. She would smile at him and he would respond in kind with no secrets holding them back from each other. No blood lust threatening to ruin a perfectly good make out session. Vlad shivered pleasantly at the thought.
Yes. That would be a perfect day. A perfectly human day he mused to himself.
Before he could pursue this train of thought, Vlad found himself in front of his old elementary school. He didn't know what he was doing there. In fact, when he let his legs lead him, he expected to be taken to the belfry, but low and behold he was once again proven wrong. The fifteenth time this week he acknowledged. Pushing the thought that sounded particularly similar to Henry, Vlad made his way onto the school grounds. Since he was there he might as well look around.
Vlad reminisced on simpler times as he made his way to the outside playground. He spotted a tree and remembered the first and last time Henry tried to steal the sandwich Nelly packed him for lunch. He recalled Henry shouting that he was sick of school lunches and that Vlad would be a bad friend if he didn't trade with him. After a stiff refusal from Vlad, Henry stole his lunch anyway and consequently turned a peculiar shade of green after his first bite of the bloody ham and cheese sandwich.
The thought made Vlad chuckle lowly to himself.
Treading further Vlad noticed the swing set and a more unpleasant memory pushed its way to the surface of his conscience. Two large figures towering over a small quivering body on the swings. He quickly cut off this memory. He still had the same issues with the two bullies to this day and he wasn't in the mood to dredge up more unpleasant thoughts. He had enough of that already.
Deciding that he had done enough wandering for the night he turned to leave and that's when he heard it. He recognized it as a girls voice and immediately looked around for a hiding spot. He made a run for the slide and successfully managed to hide himself before he heard the voice again. It was closer and much clearer. Now that he could hear better he recognized a fait melody, he glanced at the watch on his wrist which read 5:45am. Who was the crazy girl out at six in the morning practicing her singing?
As he sat there listening to the vaguely familiar tune, Vlad's curiosity was piqued. He chanced a glance at the person who had disturbed his brooding. He spotted a black silhouette perched on top of the monkey bars. He could just make out her outline. Long hair in curls that stopped just below where she sat as if she had spent a painfully long time growing it out from childhood. Overall it wasn't a very impacting image. The girl was poorly dressed to defend against the outside elements at this time. A short-sleeved shirt paired with jeans and converse. Despite his apparent lack of interest Vlad couldn't help but watch and listen to the girl practice and eventually the street lights sparked to life and it was bright enough for him to see her face. He noticed immediately that she was crying. Her face was a shocking shade of red and her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. By all means the girl looked to be sobbing but her voice never faltered.
Vlad stayed tucked away in the slide until the girl sung her last lines and disappeared into the morning. He wasn't sure why but as he was heading home Vlad felt his mood rise, if only a little after his strange encounter with the girl. That is of course until he looked at his watch and saw that it was almost seven a.m. Nelly was going to kill him. He rushed home and mourned the end of Summer and his ability to sleep in every day with no responsibilities.
As Vlad pulled open the front door to his house a thought accrued to him. With all the supernatural shit that had been invading his life recently he wouldn't be surprised if the girl was some kind of apparition. Shuddering at the thought of ghosts in Bathory he hurriedly entered the house. He needed to get ready for his first day back to school.