A/N: The main character in this story is one that I've created, but Mick, Beth, and Josef all make appearances too.
Disclaimer: I own nada. If I did own Moonlight, it would be renewed for ten seasons minimum!
-o0o-
It's six o'clock. I know that the party doesn't begin until eight, but it never hurts to be early. It's strange that I still get just a bit nervous before these things. After all, I've been a part of this agency for, what was it again? Three years? Yes, that's it, three years. I don't fear that they'll do anything to hurt me. After all, the only parties we cater to are run by Josef Kostan, and only the best of the best vampires are invited to come to his parties. No, I really just get nervous because I feel so… different from all of them. Like there's an invisible social ladder hanging in the air. Vampire on top, lowly freshie below them. Though that feeling is a part of every girl's conscious, we're happy with our job. It's difficult to explain to someone unless they've actually been through it, but I'll do the best that I can. After all, how is the tradition of the willing freshie going to live on if the stories aren't passed on?
I stand in front of my closet, focusing my attention on my 'work clothes'. There have to be at least a hundred different dresses here, thanks to Josef. It felt awkward accepting them at first, but I know that it's just his way of making us feel more comfortable. After I'd accepted that fact, I'd actually come to enjoy the little arrangement that Josef sets up with his freshies. He treats us well, which is more than we can say for some other vamps in this city.
After a few minutes of deliberating, I select a dress from the closet and try it on. It's a rich red satin strapless dress that cuts off at the knee. Simple, but it matches well with my red hair. Josef had said that when he gave me the dress. It soon became one of my favorites. Now, I know what you're thinking. It may seem like I have a sort of romantic interest in Josef, but I assure you that our arrangement is strictly professional. Of course, once your blood flows through someone else's veins, you forge a close connection, but that connection exists between Josef and every freshie he's ever drank from. I don't feel any jealousy or anything like that. None of us do. It's sort of like an unspoken pact that we're all familiar with, and we accept it without problem.
Satisfied with the dress I've selected, I sift through my many pairs of heels to find the perfect ones. Eventually I decide on a nice pair of strappy black heels. My feet will most likely kill me by the end of the night, but that's okay. I've grown used to that by now. After I've settled on my outfit, I move to the bathroom to finish up my hair and makeup. I spend about an hour preoccupying myself with that. It may seem a little vain, but what can I say? I guess I'm just eager to impress.
At seven, I grab my purse and head down the stairs to my car. It never hurts to arrive early to one of these parties. It's better to acquaint yourself with your surroundings, and also to have a heads up on who will be there. It lets you know who to make a beeline for, who to avoid, and most importantly, where to go once you start to feel too lightheaded. Keys points to remember in this line of work.
-o0o-
The party kicked off exactly on time. The vamps started filing in at eight o'clock sharp, and all of the girls had spread themselves around the room. We usually stick to groups of three or four. It allows the hungry vampire to have a choice of his meal. My usual group consists of myself, Jenna, and Claire. We each look different, which is a key strategy when trying to appeal to a wide range of vamps. As I've mentioned before, I have red hair, but Jenna is a blonde and Claire is a brunette. That's pretty much the first thing a vamp thinks about when selecting his meal. Not that different from a human trying to pick up a girl at a bar.
The three of us sit at the bar, quietly discussing the vamps we've seen arriving. This is usually the time where we share stories from our last party. We exchange tips on who to avoid and who to appeal to. It really helps when you want to avoid getting a crushing migraine the next morning. Much worse than a regular hangover. We sip our waters and talk amongst ourselves. We've each learned the hard way to avoid drinking alcohol during these things. It thins your blood, which affects your stamina considering how quickly you bleed out once you're bitten.
Within fifteen minutes, Claire is spotted by one of her regulars. Antonin Belevich. A very handsome vampire, in my opinion. Tall, very tall, muscular, short, cropped dirty blonde hair, and beautiful green eyes. He was turned in the late 1700s while traveling across Europe, or so Claire had learned a few parties back. They'd founded a laid back kind of friendship over the years, which isn't unheard of. I have a few such friendships with a few vamps that I've met through these parties.
Claire delicately holds out her arm, palm turned up, and Antonin gently wraps his fingers around her slim wrist. Together, they slowly walk towards a less crowded corner of the room where they can have a little more privacy. I smirk playfully in their direction. Claire is always the first meal of the night.
I turn my attention back to Jenna as I hear her call out to an approaching vamp. Josef. We smile warmly at him as he approaches us, another vamp and a blonde woman following him. "Jenna, Victoria, I'd like you to meet Mick and Beth."
Mick… that name sounds so familiar. Wait, of course, it's Mick St. John! A lot of people have heard of him. He's the PI vamp who follows his own rules about what he is. He really is a puzzle to many vamps within the community. He drinks only store bought blood, never from a human, which is odd amongst other vamps. I wonder why he's at this party, especially with his own freshie in tow. It seems very strange for him.
"Hello." Mick smiles awkwardly at us, while the woman, Beth, gazes at us with what must be wonder on her face. I give a slightly confused look to Josef, not wanting to come off as impolite, but wanting to know the full story behind these two. Josef nods, understanding the unspoken question. "Mick and Beth are dating, and Beth was a little curious about our kind."
Her face reddened slightly in embarrassment at the statement. She turned to us to explain herself. "Mick doesn't exactly explain everything to me, and I was just a little curious to see what goes on at a party like this."
I smile warmly at her, sensing that she feels out of place at a party like this. Jenna turns to her with friendliness in her eyes as she speaks to her. "Your curiosity is to be understood. When I first started out, I was very curious and had so many questions. I guess the only way to really understand the relationship is to witness it firsthand."
Mick looked even more uncomfortable as we continued to talk to his girl. "Beth's not my… freshie." I raise an eyebrow at him in question, but say nothing else. Their relationship is interesting, though private, and I know better than to intrude on a personal thing like that. "Oh, well, I still hope you enjoy the party Beth. And Mick, it was nice meeting you." Mick smiles gratefully at us, thankful that we didn't question his relationship with Beth any further. He, Josef, and Beth continued on around the room, visiting other vamps and freshies as they exchanged the normal pleasantries.
I turn my attention back to room, keeping an eye out for any hungry vampires. I continue to sip my water as I glance around the room, waiting for someone to approach me. It doesn't take long. He's new to Josef's inner circle, as I haven't seen him at any of Josef's parties in the past. He walks up to me with a friendly grin, and I smile back in understanding. I hold my wrist out to him, and he takes it in his hand the same way Antonin took Claire's. He leads me outside to the garden surrounding the building of the party. There are fewer people here, which is comforting. It's always nicer to have a minimal audience during these things.
We don't exchange a word as we sit on a bench amongst the flowers. I'm used to this by now, as it certainly isn't uncommon. He delicately grasps my wrist as I watch his eyes change to silver and his fangs extend from his mouth. When I witnessed this action at my first party, I was terrified. But now, I've learned to trust the vampire to obey when I tell him it's time to stop.
I look away as his fangs lower to my skin. It's much more pleasant when you don't watch the fangs sink in. I feel the sharp puncture of fang on flesh, and I gasp at the pain it causes in my wrist. His fangs sink lower into my wrist, and I feel my warm blood bubble over as I close my eyes and lean my head back. Pleasure replaces pain as I feel his lips on my sick, gently lapping at the sweet blood that flows from the punctures.
My mind goes blank as I focus on nothing but the sensations that run through me. My senses are in overdrive as I feel his hunger in the way he drinks from my wrist. His cool lips tingle against my heated skin, and I let out a sensuous moan as I revel in the erotic sensations that run through my body. My head feels light and my body feels weak as I fall limp against him, and I gasp the gentle word "Stop." as I feel close to my limit. He gently removes his fangs from my wrist and lays me down on the bench as he gets up. I set colors speckle in my vision as blackness threatens to envelope me, but I fight it back. It's best to hold out until you know that someone is carrying you to the hospital wing.
Sure enough, as the vampire heads back into the party, one of Josef's security guards approaches me and gently lifts me from the bench. Only then do I succumb to the growing blackness and gently lose consciousness against his strong arms.
-o0o-
It's morning. I wake to the nuisance of harsh sunlight in my eyes as it pours through the open window next to my bed in the infirmary. At least ten other girls are lying in similar beds, IVs in their arms. I look to my left to make sure that it's there, and of course, the bag of B negative gently drips the transfusion into the vein it's connected to. I never feel any real fear that I won't get a transfusion, but I find a strange comfort in always checking to make sure it's there.
I try to sit up, but a dull headache bothers me as I try. I lay back down, knowing that it's better for me to rest until the transfusion is entirely flowing through my veins. I turn my head to take in the other girls. We're all still in our party dresses and heels, having had no time to change between last night and this morning. I see Claire lying on the bed to my right. This doesn't surprise me. She always lets Antonin take as much as she can bear. She'd confided in me that she loved the feeling she received when she willingly offered her blood to Antonin. It was a feeling that she'd never experienced with another vamp, according to her experiences. I regard the two puncture wounds in her neck with interest. How she hid those wounds from inquisitive humans, I'll never know. I don't particularly like to allow vamps to feed from my neck. It's more difficult to hide those puncture marks than when they're on your wrist. After all, it's much easier to wear a long sleeved shirt for a week than it is to wear a turtleneck.
I lay my head back and close my eyes, thinking back to Mick and Beth. I'll have to ask Josef more about them some time. They're an interesting pair, those two. I've seen plenty of vamp/human relationships in my three years as a freshie, but the relationship between Mick and Beth was quite unlike anything I'd seen before. Very interesting.
But, as for right now, I think it's better for me to refrain from saying too much more. I need to reserve my strength for recovering from the party last night. After all, I'm expected to work another one of Josef's parties in three days. In my final words of parting, let me just say this: Becoming a freshie is one of the things I am most satisfied with in my life. It's opened me to a whole new world, literally, and it has given me a new perspective on life. It's definitely made my life more interesting, and I'll never regret it for a single day in my life.