Grey Inbetween
Author: yeknodelttil
Show: Young Dracula
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Vlad/Erin
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Dracula. This is purely for the enjoyment of its fans, created by a fan
Spoilers: Series 3 of Young Dracula.
Summary: Set after 3x08. As Vlad wouldn't accept help to deal what was happening to him, what if Erin had chosen to follow the stubborn vampire instead of remaining at the school?
A/N: I know I said I'd start posting tomorrow, but I couldn't resist. This fic I have been dying to type for the last month…
I solemnly swear to try and post before 9:30pm every day, not like my last fic and at all hours. If I don't post it'll be because I can't log in and I'll post first thing the next morning.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Chapter 1: AwayErin followed Vlad out into the dusk courtyard. She had to almost run to keep up with his long strides.
"Where are you going?" She asked as he passed her as he moved towards the archway. She didn't want him to leave.
Vlad didn't look at her, he didn't want to. "I don't know. I need to sort this thing out." His voice bounced off the floor and walls.
Erin stopped, pleading with him. "Stay I'll help you." Vlad lifted his hood, protecting himself from the dying light of the day. "When will you be back?" He ignored her, "Vlad!" She shouted trying to get him to turn around.
Erin felt like stamping her foot as she watched him walk away from her, he could be the most stubborn thing on the planet at times. He didn't speed away; if he was desperate to leave he should have sped away as fast as he could.
Erin went to chase after him but her plans were thwarted.
"Erin!" Erin turned slowly as her name was called. She plastered on a smile as she faced the school head teacher. "Where is Vlad?"
That really was the question of the night.
"I don't know." She answered quickly and honestly, glancing upwards and back towards the school.
"I need to speak to him and his father about his behaviour today." Erin resisted wincing. Vlad had really excelled at getting suspended today. Miss McCauley studied Erin, something about her told the young teacher that Erin as hiding something. "Is the Count in?"
"I think so." She managed to force out.
As soon as Miss McCauley went inside and spoke to the Count the entire clan would realise that Vlad had gone. She needed to sort this out as fast as she could before they worked out Vlad had run away to deal with his evil nature.
He could never deal with it while his family was around.
"If you see Vlad can you tell him I want a word with him?"
"Yeah…sure." Erin told her, nodding frantically.
Miss McCauley furrowed her brow at the strange way Erin was acting before darting inside.
Erin slowly turned around once the sound of heels clicking against the cobbles had quietened before completely vanishing from her ears.
She knew what she had to do.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Erin glanced down the long, damp corridor, taking care not to bump into any other vampires in the house. Things were already tense thanks to the havoc 'Vlad' had wreaked on the school. The only vampire she knew she could account for was Ingrid, she was sure she was still in her room where she'd taken her earlier.
"BERTRAND!" She heard the Count yell and darted into her room, the Count was sending Bertrand to look for the errant vampire. She quickly rummaged through the drawers grabbing things she might need to follow Vlad, clothes especially.
She wasn't going to remain in the school on her own; she didn't trust any of his family or Bertrand. Her stasis spray had nearly run out completely so she couldn't use it around them for much longer.
As soon as the door closed she stripped off, slipping into jeans and a thick jumper. She didn't want to wear her school uniform while chasing him down.
She stuffed a few sets of warm clothes into her rucksack; she had a spare one that she would need for Vlad's things. Erin had already started packing her bags earlier thanks to his other side so it wouldn't take that long to get ready. She had sleeping bags and a tent in the car. She grabbed her warmer jacket; the nights were a lot colder now than when she'd first met him.
She grabbed the toothbrush and hairbrush off the table, stuffing it into her bags. Opening her school bag she grabbed her purse and a notepad and a few pens. You never knew when you needed to rite something.
Walking over to the small unit she grabbed a towel and some soap. There was no way she was going to spend time with Vlad for whoever knew how long without having a wash at all, his nose was a lot more sensitive than hers.
Cautiously she peeked her head out of the room, pulling it inside as Vlad's door opened again. She pressed herself back against the door. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the stasis spray, there was hardly anything left of it. Erin would have to water it down slightly to make it go further.
She closed her eyes as she heard footsteps move down the corridor before they stopped suddenly. She fought not to breath as the door handle to her room was slowly lowered. As quick as a flash she locked the door, her hands trembling as she did so. Erin pressed her hands to her chest as the door handle was frantically jerked up and down; she heard a hiss from the other side of the door, before a whooshing sound and she knew she was alone. She let out a sigh of relief before rapidly unlocking the door.
As quick as she could she ran into Vlad's room, she'd only been in here twice. She ran towards his closet and grabbed some of the things she knew Vlad liked to wear. She packed the bag on his coffin stuffing until it was bulging with some of the things she had packed for herself. She grabbed his leather jacket; it wouldn't fit into the bag so she slipped it on herself to carry it.
She caressed the leather, for a vampire the only leather Vlad wore was this jacket. The rest of his family constantly wore leather then again Bertrand hardly wore leather either.
There was only one more thing she needed before she could go after him.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
The route to the blood cellar was clear, the two rucksacks over her shoulders were banging against each other.
She flicked the light switch in the corner of the room, immediately rows upon rows of blood appeared before her eyes. Looking around she found some wooden crates; they were just shoved into one corner. From the way they had been 'delicately' placed she guessed they weren't the best vintage and the only vintage the Count hated was soy blood.
She carefully lifted off the lid wincing as a splinter buried itself in her index finger. She had been right; it was soy blood in there.
"Where are you going?" Erin heard a soft voice ask. Erin turned to see Wolfie looking up at her. She tried to bite back a curse and barely succeeded. Wolfie held a bottle of blood in his small ands and she knew it was for Ingrid.
Erin moved the small rucksack stuffing as many bottles of soy blood as she could into it that she could carry.
"Away for a short while." She told the young wolf quietly, bending down to his height.
"Are you going after Vlad?" She should have known Wolfie would know Vlad had gone.
"Yeah," Erin threw a glance upwards through the floorboards, "Promise you won't tell anyone I've gone after him." Wolfie looked at her, "Please." Wolfie nodded slowly, he wanted his brother back but dreaded him coming back at the same time.
"How long will you be gone?" He asked,
"Until Vlad's ready to come back." She answered, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I'll bring Vlad back." She promised him.
Wolfie hugged her tightly, "Please don't get hurt." She wondered if he meant emotionally or physically. Wolfie had been staying with Ingrid and he'd seen what Vlad had done to her.
"I won't." She kissed his forehead again. She stood up, "Remember don't tell anyone I've gone after Vlad, not even Ingrid."
Wolfie nodded before watching her as she walked away as fast as she could.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Erin instinctively walked over to the driver's side of her silver blue BMW before stopping completely. Vlad wouldn't be anywhere near people so he wouldn't be taking any direct route. Knowing Vlad he would stick to the shadows not to be noticed. In avoiding people he would be in more danger with the slayers lurking in the countryside.
She closed her eyes thinking, Vlad would want to stay under the cover of some form of shelter. He would have to in case he was caught out by the sunlight. The only shelter around was the nearby woodland; if he hadn't used his speed then he would still be there.
She pulled the bags out of the back of the car dropping them on the garage floor. It wasn't exactly a garage but it was the perfect size for her car.
She yanked open the boot of the car, it always stuck slightly. Ryan had always promised to oil the mechanism. She winced as it creaked hoping no one would hear it.
Erin opened the top of the rucksacks and grabbed the sleeping bags stuffing them inside the tops of the rucksacks. She didn't know if Vlad would actually want to use a sleeping bag but she packed it anyway. She could carry the dome tent easily. The rucksacks were actually quite light, the soy blood one was the heaviest.
She slammed down the boot before regretting her action as the sound echoed around the bricked courtyard.
Quickly she darted over to the doors and locked them firmly.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
Vlad glanced around; he should have thought this through more carefully. He didn't have a clue where he was going. All he wanted to do was get away from people and as far away from Erin for her own safety. He didn't even think through what he might need during his 'sabbatical' – soy blood was now at the top of that list – he'd only cared about getting away from the school as fast as possible.
He'd nearly killed his family, drained Becky dry, hurt Zoltan and had nearly bitten the girl he cared about. This was the part of being a vampire he'd always despised.
Vlad pushed the hood from his head, letting it drop back down on his shoulders before stuffing his hands back into his pockets. He didn't feel the cold anymore but habits from before his transformation were hard to ignore.
He looked up at the sky; the clouds were blocking his view from the stars and from the little light that would have been reflected by the moon. He would have sped if he could, but at the moment he didn't dare.
Everything was too quiet, there were no sounds of traffic or people, but the most disturbing was no sounds of animal life. It was almost as if they knew the ultimate predator was around. He could feed off them just as much as he could off humans, although if a vampire drank too much animal blood the benefits would disappear and wouldn't satiate anyone's hunger. Stephanie Meyer didn't have a clue about their lives.
Tears pricked at his eyes at the thought of what he might easily become if he didn't deal with this quickly. He couldn't stay away from Erin forever; it was for her he wanted to sort this out. His kind was at the very back of his mind, they were the least of his worries and until he was 18 he didn't want anything to do with them.
A twig snapped and Vlad's head turned in its direction. There were plenty of dry twigs in the area but it was easy to pinpoint the exact direction. Instinctively his fangs lowered but he kept his mouth closed not to alarm any innocent breathers in the area.
The gentle rustling of braches being brushed passed flittered through the air towards him. He could feel every sound wave vibrating against his eardrum.
He wasn't sure what he'd do if it were a slayer tracking him. The countryside was crawling with slayers.
He could make out a figure, completely covered so he couldn't see the features. He could smell something delicious, if it was a slayer he wouldn't be able to smell them at all. That scent he'd only smelt once of twice before, he knew it well.
YEKNODELTTILYEKNODELTTIL
The figure drew closer to him and Vlad crouched in a defensive posture. Whoever it was, was loaded down with something. The figure stumbled slightly before stopping and tipping their head.
He let out a frustrated growl as he realised who it was. "What are you doing here?" He forced his fangs back into his mouth, grasping his stomach as the sensation made him cough and gag. Fangs couldn't be retracted forcefully.
"You won't stay at the school so I've come to help you out here." Erin folded her arms and stared at him, it had taken the better part of a night to track him down. She wasn't going to go back now.
He waved his arms, his voice coming across as a growl, "You could have been attacked, alone at night."
"You'd save me." She grinned at him.
"I would've been the one doing the biting." He reminded her fiercely. An angry glint in his eyes. "Anyway I told you not to come!" He snapped at her.
"You didn't say anything you ignored me." She bit back just as passionate. "I'm here now so…tough." It was the only word she could think of.
Vlad's eyes blackened but Erin didn't notice in the dark, "I don't need your help breather."
Erin's eyes narrowed at him, ignoring his insulting comment completely. "You're getting it."
Vlad shook his head softening, "I don't want to hurt you, you'll be too much of a temptation." He could already smell her blood from where he stood, her stasis spray must be running out, the effects of it were much shorter. He fought internally not to react to it.
Erin knew Vlad would only be able to deal with it if he had temptation in his way; otherwise he'd never truly be able to deal with the scent of human blood.
Erin gave him a small smile, "I don't care."
"I do!" He yelled at her
Erin reached into her pocket and pulled out a garlic bulb, holding it out for Vlad to inspect and twisting it in her fingers. "I came prepared." A wide grin on her face. There was no way she was going to eat or drink garlic; she'd had enough of that over the last 17 years.
"That's not going to protect you." He warned her. He could destroy it with a flick of his finger if he really wanted to feed off her.
"Garlic or not…" Erin tossed Vlad a bulging rucksack, a large smile on her face. "I'm here to help."
TBC
A/N: Thanks for reading.