This story is the sequel to The Masquerade. It picks up shortly after The Masqerade ends. This one has slightly stronger adult themes. Some new characters. Many returning. Let me know what you think!
As the darkness overtakes another day Ravyn stirs awake. She crawls from the big bed carefully, trying not to wake Shannon. He opens an eye and smirks at her before rolling over and pulling the covers up over his head. She stifles a giggle and creeps out of the room, closing the door behind her. Music plays in the kitchen quietly. She walks in to find Tyler working out in the small gym off of the kitchen. She grabs breakfast from the fridge and leans against the door jam, watching him finish a set of push-ups.
"You miss him, don't you?" He asks without looking up.
She sighs, "That obvious, huh?"
"Incredibly," he replies dryly. "Give him some time. He'll come back when he's ready, he's been through a lot."
"I know," she mutters. "I just wish it hadn't been so sudden. I thought he would stay and be part of our family..."
Tyler rocks back onto his knees and looks her in the eye, "He is part of our family. He just needs some time to adjust to losing his. As terrible as Vampiro was, it can't be easy losing your maker."
"You're right," she admits.
A lot had changed since Vampiro's death. Matt and his clan had built a house at the far end of the plot Ravyn owned. They had made all the same alterations that Ravyn made to the mansion, so both homes were completely safe during all hours of the day. Shannon had moved into Ravyn's house and they had been dating ever since. AJ had taken Vampiro's demise a lot harder than anyone expected. Shortly after he packed up and left, not telling anyone where he was going.. If or when he'd be back. But Scott made sure that he knew he was always welcome with them.
They chat a bit as Tyler finishes his workout. Soon the rest of their family joins them downstairs.
"We should see if Matt wants to go out tonight," Shannon suggests.
Let's go ask him," Scott agrees heading towards the door.
"Scotty..." Ravyn smirks. "We can just text him. We don't have to walk over there."
Scott huffs, "You kids and your damn technology. They live less than a football field away and you can't be bothered to ask in person."
"Nope," Ravyn giggles and pulls out her phone. She shoots off a text and gets an almost immediate response. "So, Matt and them are going to the new goth club the next town over. Do we want to join?"
"Yeah, we could use a night out," Scott confirms. "I'll let everyone know that they're welcome to join."
Ravyn nods, "They're leaving in an hour. We can just meet in front of their place."
Scott wanders off to see if any of his children are interested in joining out. Ravyn and Shannon go upstairs to get dressed. He quickly picks out a nice button up shirt with black jeans and starts spiking his Mohawk while Ravyn struggles to choose clothes. She browses hanger after hanger before looking to Shannon for assistance. He chuckles and motions for her to get out of the closet and let him by. In less than a minute he has an armful of clothes for her. He hands them over to her with a grin and crosses his arms, satisfied. She quickly changes into the black leather mini skirt, ripped up fishnets and low cut tank top he had chosen. After a glance in the mirror she nods with approval. She runs a brush through her black, lime and teal hair then applies some black eyeliner with a touch of silver shadow. She meets Shannon back in the bedroom. He takes her hand and pulls her in for a deep kiss. They manage to pull away from each other with just enough time to meet everyone else in the garage. Ravyn, Shannon and Tyler get into Ravyn's car while Scott and Lodi take their own. They pull out of their driveway and wait in front of Matt's house. A moment later Matt's car meets up with them and leads the convoy to the new club.
"Man, this place is far away," Tyler groans after only ten minutes in the car.
"Dude, Ty," Ravyn laughs. "We've been in the car for less than fifteen minutes."
He whines, "Ugh I hate car rides. We're supposed to be superior beings. We don't have to eat or breathe... Why haven't we mastered fast travel or teleportation!?"
"I see where you get the attitude," Shannon snorts looking over at Ravyn.
She shoots him a glare. "Watch it Prince," Tyler smiles. "She has my temper, too."
"Oh my god! I do not!" She protests.
The two guys crack up at her sassy reaction. She shakes her head and keeps following Matt's car. Fifteen minutes later they pull up to a building that looks like an abandoned warehouse with a sign that just reads 'The Darkness' in red neon. They find a spot in the big parking lot and Scott leads them inside. A large bar island separates the dancing area from a section with tables, booths and chairs. They take one long table in the center of the seating area with Scott and Matt at the heads of the table. On one side Shannon sits next to Scott, with Ravyn, Jenn and Jeff. Lodi, Tyler, Daffney and Shane take the other side. The group chats while they watch the club. There seems to be more humans than vampires, but everyone looks to be getting along fine. The dancing area is well populated and all of the bar stools are full. Many of the other tables have at least one or two people sitting at them. The music is good, and not overpowering their conversations. Jenn and Jeff are the first to make their way to the dance floor. A few songs later Ravyn's and Shannon follow them. They dance close during a semi slow song taking the chance to observe the people around them.
"What do you think?" Shannon asks.
"I like this place. It's got a good vibe," she confirms.
Shannon kisses her forehead, "It has a good mix of people too."
Ravyn nods, "It's more than just goths and vampires. I like seeing the punk rock and steam punk people too. It makes everything so much more interesting. That's one of the coolest things about living forever. People watching."
Shannon laughs. They spot Jenn and Jeff across the dance floor and make their way over to them.
"Hey," Jeff greets them. "Have you guys noticed that a bunch of the vampires here are just a bit... Off?"
"Well.." Shannon smirks. "If there's anyone who would notice something like that, it would be you."
"I know right?" Jeff roars with laughter. "But really though. They seem like they're on something."
Ravyn takes a moment to survey the room, "I didn't realize that vampire drugs were a thing."
"Definitely a thing," Jeff confirms. "It's usually as easy as just feeding on humans that are high or drunk. There's also the really hard stuff. Usually a vial of liquid blood mixed with colloidal silver. That's the shit that can kill us if we aren't careful."
"That's pretty intense," Ravyn exhales. "You'd think with all these years being dead that I'd know more about it."
"The ability for vampires to get high is pretty new science," Jeff admits. "And you rarely feed off of humans anyways. So it's probably not something you'd run into terribly often."
"I just feel weird feeding on people. I mean, I will. But if I don't have to, I won't," Ravyn explains.
"I agree," Jenn nods. "Last thing I need is the hassle of feeding from humans. Too much drama. I do really like this place though."
"I like places where Jeff and I aren't the only ones with weird colored hair," Ravyn gestures towards a woman with bright orange hair in the middle of the dance floor.
Jenn giggles, "You with the greens and blues, Jeff with the whole rainbow. Shannon with the Mohawk. That poor girl is the most normal of the bunch." Jenn pauses, staring at the woman with the orange hair. "I think I know her..."
A moment later she turns and catches Jenn's gaze. Her face lights up and she makes her way through the crowd towards their little group.
"Jenny?" She asks with a thick Irish accent. Jenn just nods excitedly. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here now!" Jenn smiles. "Guys, meet Becky. Her and I did some work together back when we were still human. We met when I was on a photoshoot in Ireland. Oh, Becky, I'm sorry. This is my boyfriend Jeff. Our brother Shannon and his girlfriend Ravyn."
Becky shakes everyone's hands, "Her job sent her to the most boring places! I took her out and showed her the best places and what Ireland is really all about."
"I really liked that job," Jenn smirks. "Travel photography is definitely much harder when you can't go out in the daylight."
"So what brings you here, Becky?" Shannon questions.
"My clan broke up. None of us were really close like family. We all lived separately. My maker died in a freak accident," she begins. "Really weird. He got stuck outside of his home. Locked out after losing his house key and the sun caught him. So I've been doing as much traveling as one can. Meeting new people. Hoping to find a place to settle down."
"That's awful," Ravyn sighs. "But it sounds like you're making the best of it. If you ever need a place to crash just let us know."
"We've got a table on the other side of the bar if you want to meet the rest of our family," Jeff adds.
"I'll definitely do that! I'll stop by in a little bit," Becky confirms before wandering back into the crowd.
Ravyn and Shannon head back to the table leaving Jenn and Jeff to keep dancing. She leans her head over onto Shannon's shoulder letting her eyes close. Her eyes pop back open when she feels something tap her chest. Tyler grinning like a maniac across the table is enough to tell her that he's up to no good. She glares at him.
"What?" He chuckles.
"I know that was you," she starts. "I don't know what you're up to... But I don't like it."
"Me?" Tyler flutters his eyelashes innocently. "What makes you think that I could ever be up to no good?"
"Because you're my jerk brother," she states matter of factly.
Tyler clutches his chest mockingly, "I'm hurt! It pains me so greatly, dear sister, that you think that I, your adoring and ruggedly handsome brother would cause trouble." He stands up and glances around the room before looking back at her. He shoots a crumpled up straw wrapper like a basketball directly down the front of her shirt. He winks as a look of pretend rage crosses her eyes. "Eh, maybe you were right," he laughs as he turns on his heel and heads to the dance floor.
Shannon is doing his best to hold in his laughter when Scott chimes in, "Well... It WAS a REALLY good shot." He and Shannon start laughing so hard that Ravyn can't help but join them. But only after chucking the paper ball at Scott's head.
They all get a chance to relax and have fun at this new club. All of the girls have a good time getting to know Becky and truly enjoy their seldom had girl time. Near the end of the night everyone meets back up at their table.
"Scott did you see the clan leader meetup?" Matt asks.
Scott nods, "I did. Next week right?"
"Yeah," Matt confirms. "Next Thursday. Is that something we want to go to?"
"I think it's something we should consider. The venue is an hour drive. And the meeting should be a few hours at most. We can be home the same night," Scott continues. "I'd like to bring a few others along. But we can work that out later."
Matt nods in agreement, "Good plan. Let's get home for tonight and we can plan from there."
The two households finish up at the club and say goodbye to Becky before heading home.
A few days later Ravyn awakes to an empty bed. She glances around the room and finds a note on her bed stand.
'Meet me in the garage at 10'
Shannon has scrawled onto the notecard. She flips it over and smiles when she sees that he had drawn a heart with their initials inside. She swings her legs over the side of the bed and stretches before stepping onto the hard wood. Crossing the floor she opens the closet door. Her favorite skull print dress is laid out with a sticky note that just says 'wear this'. She picks up the hanger and grabs a cute pair of heels before disappearing into their bathroom to take a quick shower. When she finishes her hair and makeup she opens the door to the hallway. Tyler's door is open and the light is on inside. She pops her head in quizzically.
"You're never not working out at this hour," she says worriedly. "What's wrong?"
He spins around from his mirror and asks, "Do I look ok?"
She assesses his outfit. A dark rust colored button up shirt and black jeans. Then notes his tied back ponytail. "You look like an adult. Where are you going?"
"I've got a date," he claims proudly.
She snorts, "Shut up!"
He huffs, "Why do you find it so hard to believe that your much handsomer older brother has a date?"
"You're older than me by three months," she laughs. "Come here." She steps forward and starts adjusting his shirt buttons. "So who's the lucky girl?"
"I'm meeting up with Becky at a punk show in the city," he confesses.
"Tyler!" She play slaps his chest. "You're going to a punk show in a button up dress shirt!?" She takes him by the hand and drags him over to his closet. She shuffles through a rack of shirts and stops at a plain grey tee. "This is my favorite shirt you own. It makes your muscles look big," she flexes for emphasis then hands him a black zip up hoodie. "And take this. When she pretends to be cold later you can let her wear it. Just don't expect to ever get it back."
He pulls her in and hugs her, "Thanks."
She just smiles and starts back towards the garage. As she reaches the kitchen she sees Scott standing by the sink.
"You have fun tonight," he says with a Cheshire Cat grin.
She pauses, "You know something I don't. And I'm just going to keep right on going and pretend that doesn't bother me just a little bit."
Scott chuckles as he watches her descend the stairs down to the lower level. She opens the door to the garage to see Shannon leaning against the hood of her car. He's dressed nicely with his Mohawk spiked up. He stands up to greet her by pulling her body close to his and kissing her deeply. He takes her hand, leading to the passenger side and opens the door for her. She thanks him and slides into the seat. He closes the door for her then walks around to get into the drivers seat. He hits the garage door opener, leans over to kiss her again then starts the car.
Over the next few hours Shannon takes her out to the city. They spend some time people watching before he brings her to a museum. He reaches for her hand to take her through the big double doors. She's immediately met with a complete T-Rex skeleton. A huge smile creeps across her face. They slowly make their way through the huge traveling exhibit. When they finally make their way around to the front of the exhibit again Ravyn is smiling ear to ear.
"That was amazing," she exclaims as they step outside into the fresh city air.
"I thought you'd like it, he squeezes her hand. "I saw an add for it a few weeks ago and knew I needed to take you."
She leans into him and sneaks her arm around his waist as they walk down the sidewalk. A warm breeze kicks up as they turn into a nicely manicured garden. They wander the garden, admiring the night blooming plants, before deciding to head back to the car. As they round the corner before the parking garage they see a pair of familiar faces. Tyler and Becky recognize them and walk over to say hello. Ravyn shoots Tyler a smirk she she realizes that Becky is wearing his hoodie.
"Hey guys. How was the show?" Ravyn asks.
"Really good!" Becky says excitedly. "They played a lot of new stuff."
Tyler nods, "They had an awesome set. Are you guys heading home?"
"I think so," Ravyn confirms. "The Prince showed me a really good time tonight. I'd like the chance to make it up to him."
"In that case we're definitely going home!" Shannon exclaims.
"You guys are awesome," Becky laughs.
"Hey are you busy Thursday?" Ravyn asks her.
Becky shakes her head, "No, I don't think so."
Ravyn beams, "You should come over to our place. A bunch of us will be home while the others go to that big meeting."
"Sounds fun," Becky notes. "I'll see you guys then!"
They say goodbye and head their separate ways. Shannon drives them home with Ravyn's hand in his. They pull into the garage and park. Ravyn meets him in front of the car with a flirty smile. He wraps his hands around her waist and pushes her up against the door to the house. He bends his head down to kiss her and whispers "I love you." She returns the sentiment and he scoops her into his arms and carries her up to their room.