A Heart Attack at Seventeen
Why? Because I felt like giving Joss the slightest bit of a shock. Alright, one Hell of a shock.
Joss stared at Henry, disbelieving.
"You – You're going to hang out with Vlad… alone?" He managed to stutter. Henry nodded.
"Sorry Joss." He grinned. "We'd be glad to have you come… but you probably wouldn't like it." Joss blinked. "We're going to the Crypt. It's a Goth club."
"Bathory has a Goth Club?" He wondered, stunned. Not only was his cousin going out late at night with that THING, he was going to somewhere that everyone acted like THEM?
If there ever was a moment in his life that Joss wanted to break his oath of secrecy to the Slayer Society, it was right now. He wanted to jump up, grab Henry by the shoulders, and scream at him not to go, his life was more important than one night of hanging out, he should stay at home, Vlad was a bloodsucking monster, he wouldn't make it through the night.
Unfortunately, he had learned the hard way that telling anyone about the Society wasn't good. Plus, knowing Henry… Joss didn't want to risk having his cousin keel over from a laughing-induced suffocation.
So he let Henry walk out the door, to his sure death.
"And then he just panicked… like he wanted to tie me to the bed." Henry finished explaining. He laid back on Vlad's bed, putting his feet in the pale boy's lap. Vlad paused for a moment, before responding.
"Dude, that's kinky."
Henry threw a pillow at him. "Vlad, I'm serious."
Vlad ducked the pillow, grinning. Henry paused, before they both broke out laughing.
About five… tenish… minutes later, Henry wiped his eyes.
"Still though." He managed, almost serious. "I'm worried. You know, with the stories going around about the slayer…" Vlad hesitated.
"Maybe you should just tell him." He suggested.
"What, about – about YOU? Vlad are you crazy?"
Vlad laughed. "No you dork. About US." Henry glanced at the floor. He did feel really guilty about lying to his cousin, but what other choice did he have?
"Maybe…" He mumbled. Vlad smiled softly, shifting as Henry stared at the ceiling, his hands behind his head. Henry turned his head slightly, facing Vlad as the other boy laid down next to him. Vlad put his head on Henry's elbow, gently smirking.
"I know. Just try it."
Henry blinked, looking directly at Vlad. Slowly, he opened his mouth, and whispered,
"Okay… here's goes." He took a deep breath, and spoke directly to the half-vampire.
"Joss, I'm dating Vladimir Todd, and I love him more than anything…" Henry smirked. "And the sexy little Goth staring at me is about to get himself thoroughly tongued if he doesn't get that adorable smirk off his face."
Vlad didn't change his expression, but his eyes gained a mischievous glint.
"Who ever said that that was a bad thing?" He muttered, sliding closer to Henry.
"Nelly." The blonde confirmed after a second's thought. "She said if we made any noise she would relocate you to the outside shed."
Vlad grinned. "We would have some privacy then…"
Henry was up and dragging Vlad out to the back yard before the Vampire could even think to stop him. Privacy was exactly what Henry demanded at that moment.
Joss's heart stopped froze at the sound of Henry's car pulling up outside. Joss was off the bed, down the stairs, through the hall, out the door and racing across the porch before Henry had even closed the car door.
"Henry!" he called out, shocked that his cousin was still alive.
"Who else would it be?" Henry wondered, standing by his car. "What Joss? You look like you've seen a ghost… or Otis." Henry grinned, coming up the path from the driveway to the front porch. Joss blinked, realizing he had been staring.
"Oh, well… I was worried." Joss grinned sheepishly. "You know, with all those stories about the prowler going around…"
Henry laughed. "I thought you were panicking because you thought that Vlad had knifed me or something." Joss's grin turned sour. 'Or something…'
"Yeah… just protective I guess…" Joss muttered, going back inside.
Henry opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut.
He would have to wait until later to tell Joss about….
Joss turned around in the door way, glancing at Henry. He was happy… seeming TOO happy. Something told him that his cousin hadn't gone to a club. He was too neat, too clean… he didn't seem to have any makeup or a headache.
All this made Joss wonder what else Henry was hiding from him. And convinced him even further that Vladimir had to die. Before his cousin was drawn any further into his net.
Little did Joss know… Henry was the one that had begged for it.
Joss was very careful not to let Henry out of his sight around Vlad again. Whenever the two went out, he was with them. He sat with them at lunch, hung out with them after school.
There was no way Joss was letting his cousin become a snack to that thing. Or worse… Joss shuddered at the thought of Henry becoming a Drudge to it.
A slave, forever bound to a vampire and unable to make their own decisions.
Unfortunately, one night, he passed out while studying.
Joss stood, staring at the note Henry had left.
'Sorry Joss. You fell asleep. I didn't want to wake you, and I really need to get some things straightened out. I'm going to be hanging out with Vlad until pretty late tonight, so don't wait up for me. ~ Henry.'
Joss's stomach clenched at the thought. Henry, alone, with that THING. What could happen to him, what could be done in all that time? There was one thing that had stopped him from grabbing his stake and slaying the monster before anything could happen to his cousin. He just didn't know where to look. Henry and Vlad had more hiding places around town than any other kids. And when Joss had woken up… the clock already said that it was 11:00. When he asked Henry's mom, she said he had left around seven. Shit.
That meant that Henry would be back soon. Hopefully. But four full hours, late at night, with a Vampire? That's when they were strongest, when they had the advantage.
Finally, Joss's Slayer instincts kicked in. He grabbed his stake, intent on searching every corner of Bathory if necessary for his cousin.
After three hours Joss staggered back through the window (if it is possible to STAGGER through a window…), entirely defeated and convinced that his cousin was dead.
Just at that very moment, Joss heard footsteps in the hall. His interest peaked, because everyone else in the house was asleep. Joss had checked on them before he left. Could one of them have woken up while he was gone? Then, a small feeling of hope grew in Joss as he heard the door to henry's room open, then close almost silently.
Joss ran from his room, entirely forgetting his stake on his bed, and ran into Henry's room.
Henry sat on the bed, his legs dangling off then end. He smiled serenely at his cousin, as if everything was entirely right in his world.
"Hey Joss." Henry sighed, barely turning to face his cousin. "I didn't expect you to be up this late."
The look on his face made Joss nauseous. The vampire had done something to Henry, something horrible.
"Yeah, you were gone for a long time." Joss admitted, narrowing his eyes. "Where did you and Vlad go?"
Henry grinned, oblivious to his cousin's concerns.
"It was wonderful." Henry sighed, then giggled. Joss literally died a little. Henry… giggled?
But what he said next really sent Joss to the afterlife.
"Vlad planned it all… It's our anniversary."
Joss's jaw hit the floor, leaving a severe indent.
"Anniversary?" He managed to repeat. Henry nodded, laughing.
"I should have told you… Vlad and I have been dating for a while. And today was our one year anniversary…" Henry sighed, leaning forward. "And it was Perfect…" '
Henry didn't wait for Joss to speak, but instead continued, in the same, blissful tone.
"Yesterday he left me a note, saying that he had planned something special. So I drove over to his house, and picked him up. I swear, he was more beautiful than I had ever seen him." Henry's eyes glazed over. "He had on this deep purple shirt, that sort of blended down to his belt. His belt was studded, and every few of the studs were painted purple… and the rest of them were red. He was wearing these black skinny Jeans, and they fit him in all the right places perfectly…" Henry moaned the last word, making Joss's stomach clench. "They were tucked into his high-tops, and he had brushed his hair so that his bangs only covered half of his face.
"He brought a bag with him, and we went out to my car. Vlad told me where to drive, until we pulled up outside of this adorable little inn… and Vlad took a Key card out of his pocket and opened up the room. There were two parts of it, and a bathroom… only he kept the bedroom door closed… then he pulled out a chair at the small table, so I could sit and watch him make us dinner… he's so cute when he's being domestic." Henry giggled again, like a girl who had just found her crush. "then he sat down across from me, and we had dinner, and we talked for hours… Vlad even offered to not have blood if it would creep me out, but I said that it was fine." Joss blinked, realizing that Henry had just told him about Vlad's vampirism. "He watched me for a long time, then he stood up, and suggested that I brushed my teeth or took a shower while he cleaned up… So I did. He even brought my toothbrush with. I don't know how he did it, but he did. And when I came out, Vlad had all the dishes cleaned, and the bedroom door was open. I could hear music coming out of it, so I went in."
Joss froze, terrified. 'Please, no. Tell me he didn't'
"Vlad was sitting on the bed, but he stood up when I came in. There were candles everywhere, and he had put incense in a burner… Vlad had pulled the curtains open and left the window wide open. And then he smiled at me, and I felt myself blush straight through my body. Vlad had turned some music on… I can't remember what it was, but it was romantic… it was perfect. Everything was perfect. HE was perfect." Henry sighed, starting to lean back.
"Then Vlad pulled off his shirt, and stepped towards me. He wrapped his arms around me," Henry hugged himself, as if reenacting the memory. "And he held me and told me that this – that HE was the second part of his anniversary gift. If I wanted it. And I did… and it was wonderful." Henry laid back on his bed, placing his hands behind his head. Then, he moaned quietly,
"Oh… Vlad… He did everything right." Henry continued to stare at the ceiling. "And the said that he loved me…"
Joss sat for a moment, horrified by his cousin's tale. (he wasn't sure at what point he had sat down, but he had, and he was thankful for it.) Then, his protectiveness shone through. Joss stood, going over to Henry's bedside.
"Did you have sex with him?" Joss demanded. 'Please, please, please say no… please…'
"Mmmhhnn" Henry moaned, nodding. "Oh, but it was so much more…" He groaned. "We Made Love."
Joss physically shattered. Shit. Henry giggled again.
"it was amazing. Vlad laid me back against the bed, and started to kiss me until I couldn't see straight… then he pulled my shirt off, and he started to kiss my neck and chest… And we, oh, we made love. It was amazing. Vlad did everything exactly right. He was so gentle… he would stop whenever he thought that something was wrong… he went slow and never hurt me… And he told me that he loved me and would always take care of me. Forever."
He didn't know when Henry had been lured into the vampires net, but he was securely fastened there now. He only had one hope of keeping his cousin safe… but something told Joss that Henry had already taken that step.
"Henry," Joss coaxed, knowing that his next question would be odd to anyone else. "Did Vladimir bite you?"
Henry grinned. "Oh, Yes. It was like… like nothing else."
Joss came as close to suicide as he had ever thought possible.
"I can't possibly explain it to you Joss." Henry sighed, contented. "Being in love with Vlad… he's better than anything. What it's like, to feel his teeth under my skin, to hear his adorable voice get all apologetic every time he bites me… he's so cute." Joss clenched his fists, listening to Henry's rant. "it feels… like he takes you to utter euphoria, and then you go about a thousand feet higher. That's what it's like when he bites me. it – it's incredible."
Tears were in Joss's eyes by the time he spoke his next question.
"When?" Of course his cousin had gotten obsessed. He'd read that a vampires bite carried a chemical that set human's endorphins off the scale, so that they wouldn't struggle as the monster drained them dry.
Henry giggled. "The first time? When we were eight." Joss fell over. "I fell out of a tree, and Vlad accidentally let his fangs out. And I asked him to bite me, just to see what it was like…"
Joss stood, intent on killing Vlad where he stood. 'I bet Henry didn't even have a choice in anything.' Joss determined. 'he's that things slave now… he's probably just getting over it.'
Before he could leave, Henry spoke up again.
"And I love him back." He reached up for the ceiling, and a glint of metal caught Joss's eye.
'oh, god, please no. as if this wasn't bad enough…'
"I'm gonna come out of the closet to my parents. And after graduation, Vlad said that we would always be together. That he would love me until I died. And he said that when I died, he would kill himself. That… he'd find a way around the Pravus thing and kill himself. But I don't want him to. So after we graduate… we agreed to get married."
Joss's eyes went wide, and he was by henry's bed in a millisecond. He grabbed his dazed cousin's hand, staring in horror at the ring clasped around Henry's middle finger.
"He proposed?" Joss practically screamed. Henry nodded.
"Vlad agreed that after we're married and I'm in college he would turn me." Henry smiled blissfully. "He offered to stay home and take care of Elysia while I was at school. He's really good at cooking with bagged blood… Vlad swore that we could find somewhere far away from the council, so we could live together. Preferably somewhere without much sun. So we wouldn't have to use sunblock. And I said yes. Because I love him." At that, Henry turned to face him. "At the wedding, I want you to be the best man Joss."
Joss dropped Henry's hand weakly, before turning and almost running to his own room. Only when the door was securely closed behind him, Joss collapsed to his knees, crying loudly.
Not only was his cousin a SLAVE to a vampire, but he was hard fallen for it. Henry had been dating it for a full Year, without even his parent's knowing. He had had SEX with the thing… and worst of all, he was ENGAGED to Vladimir Todd.
And he wanted Joss to be the Best Man?
Joss wasn't sure which to panic over first.