This really wasn't a planned story but with my exams almost over I found myself writing this after inspiration from another fanfiction writer. This is a collab with Lazy Wonderland, we also have another collab fanfic called 'Be Proud' which is on her account if you want to check it out.

Otherwise I hope you enjoy, and also this is based off of the game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines which is an extremely good game.

With that done, on with the chapter...

The song to listen to while reading this chapter and is also sung during the chapter:

(youtube) /uoUCyrg5Syo

His body ached and pulsed and it felt as if his skin was being slashed and torn. A constant sensation of burning ripped through him, down to his core and further and he unleashed a scream of fear. Pure, unimaginable fear. Everything around him was too bright, too vibrant that it blinded and burned him. A hand glided over his chest and very gently grasped around his neck, the fingers cold and sharp. An echoed chuckle in his ears sent his body into a vengeful uproar like nothing he had ever felt before. This whole sensation felt wrong and dark and evil. He wanted to shout for his brother, for God, for anyone to get this darkness away from him. A low hiss warned him to stay quiet.

"What I am giving to you, this freedom, is from the kindness of my heart." The hand around his throat clenched tighter and he flinched. "You'll be confused when you wake up but that is perfectly normal for a youngling. Come find me in a bar called the 'Blut und Knochen' near the pier when you are ready to understand what you are." The voice was somewhat kind and mystical, but he couldn't reply as his throat felt as if it were expanding. "I'll leave a blood bag in the fridge, the first thirst is always difficult." A kiss glossed his dead lips and the hand and the shadow moved away from him. "I hope you will understand why I did this, Feliciano."

He cried as his body became numb and his heartbeat slowed to almost no pulse at all. He waited for the blackness to consume him and let him sleep, when it did he felt as if he had shaken the hands of Death.

Five weeks earlier

"I'm sorry Mr Vargas but there's nothing we can do."

The doctor, one Feliciano had known since he started working at the hospital, looked grave and pale as he explained the issue at hand. Feliciano bowed his head and felt tears trickling down his face. So this was the price of being in love with another man? Grandpa had been right all along, he was likely turning in his grave at the thought of his grandson joining him soon.

"This is bullshit! You're a doctor so do something about this!" Lovino snapped, his antagonistic stance not helping the situation.

"As you know there is no cure for AIDs. We can prolong the inevitable with pills but...I'm afraid there is nothing more we can do for your brother." The doctor returned his eyes to Feliciano. "Everyone here will be supportive for you, Feliciano, as a favourite member of the staff we will do our absolute best to give you what you need. I'm just sorry you had to hear this from me."

Feliciano soaked in the silent pause and tried to push a smile onto his face as he looked up again. "Thank you, Dr Carriedo."

Dr Carriedo nodded his head and continued on to explain the pills he would be taking and the other unimportant information he needed to understand. Most of it went over his head, all he knew was that he had sinned and was now diseased. Maybe if he had died then and there he wouldn't have had to deal with Lovino's eyes that were full of pain, the constant pitying looks from his co-workers, the nagging voice in his head telling him he was evil and he deserved this. He had stopped going to church altogether, not wanting to be near that holy place with all the judgemental eyes on him. Would God hate him for this? Would He sent him to Hell? Feliciano shuddered at the thought.

He began arguing with Lovino over petty things, he would cry over not being able to follow a simple instruction from a doctor and it was as if he was becoming more useless the longer he lived. He found himself sitting at the local diner alone late at night, twirling a straw in a glass of lemonade, just to be away from everyone in the world. Until one night someone joined him. The man had slipped into the chair opposite with an elegant aura about him. Dressed up as a man on his way to a higher class charity event, Feliciano felt his body tense at the man's sudden appearance.

"You seem troubled, love."

Feliciano almost knocked the lemonade to the ground as he stood up. "I'm sorry but I'm not-"

"Calm yourself young man, I'm not flirting with you." The man motioned for him to sit again, and Feliciano couldn't fight the urge to disobey and run. Carefully he sat down and stared at this stranger. Sickeningly, his blond mess of hair reminded Feliciano of Otto but otherwise the two were compltetely different. The man before him had eyes of jade and the voice of an Englishman, his face was smooth and two dark catepillars rested above those eyes. Feliciano felt ill as knots tightened in his stomach, warning him away from his wrong desires. "You appear so saddened, why is that?"

Feliciano never took his eyes away from the straw as he explained: "I was diagnosed with AIDs a few weeks ago. Ever since everything I've done means nothing and I feel dead already." Tears threatened to fall again, as they had been ever since he had heard the news. "Sometimes I wish I was, then maybe people could move on and I wouldn't be such a weighted sin on them."

"You think of yourself as a sin? Dear boy, I do not think of you as a sin. No one is free from sin, sure, but that doesn't mean we should be engulfed by them." The man moved suddenly and reached across the table to wipe Feliciano's face clean. The hand felt so comforting. Feliciano looked into the man's eyes and felt his body come alive again.

"What if I could cure you? Free you from the disease and your sin?"

Feliciano dropped the blood bag and watched it splatter to the floor.

His hands shook violently, both of them stained as he ran into the bathroom. His stomach gargled as he saw a rippled reflection of himself in the mirror. He was paler, ever so slightly paler than before and his eyes were pure crimson. But his dirtied mouth showed that a layer of sharpened teeth poked in front of his normal top teeth. He screamed at the monster, praying for it to leave and for his face to become human again. Eventually, the extra layer slithered back into his gums and his red eyes dulled into the sweet honey orbs they once were.

He sank to the floor and tried to breathe.

Grandpa had told him and Lovino stories about all kinds of monsters, but Feliciano knew exactly which one had now plagued his body. Anger rose in his veins as he remembered what the man had told him:

"Come find me in a bar called the 'Blut Und Knochen'."

Feliciano washed his hands and face clean of the filth and went to open the front door, instead the door was ripped from his hinges and Feliciano stood for a moment holding the broken door. He bent down and dropped it cautiously before he sprinted out of the house and towards the city. It surprised him how loud everything was, he could hear every little car horn and conversation spoken around him. The streetlights were troublesome, they didn't burn him but he felt weakened beneath their glare. What scared him the most was his emotions. His fear, his anger...they felt more like rage. He had never felt this angry in his life.

It began to rain as he stood outside the bar, the neon red lights and muffled music strangely familiar. The sign above the bar's entrance was that of a black bird screeching and Feliciano remembered the bad omen black birds were said to have. He shook his head and walked into the building.

The monsters make me hide

Perhaps I'll eat myself alive

Internally

What is there left for me to be

Feliciano looked towards the end of the bar to find a huge stage with a band dowsed in pulsing colours as the lead danced and sang across the stage. He looked too young to be in a place like this, barely above a teenager, and yet no one seemed to bat an eye as they danced along or nodded their heads to the dark music. The bar itself reminded him of the old church back in Italy. The walls were a pale red and stone statues were placed in corners, all of them looking suspiscious to come alive. Feliciano shuddered and walked up to the bar counter. On the edge of the counter stood a statue of an angel crying, Feliciano half expected the angel to cry blood. The bartender was leaning on the counter and seemingly flirting with another man. Feliciano's eyes widened as he realised the bartender had eyes of red and hair whiter than snow. The man he was talking to moved towards the crowd in front of the stage and so the bartender walked over and greeted Feliciano.

"Hello there-" he stopped, sniffed and then grinned. "A new youngling? We haven't had a new one since the second world war. So, who are you sired to?"

Feliciano blinked.

"Wow, they really threw you into the deep end, didn't they? The person who turned you you're now sired to, which basically means you are now his or her bitch." The bartender shrugged, but Feliciano's eyes widened further. "Look, seeing as you're new I'll give you one on the house." He bent down and then jumped back up with a shot glass and began pouring a red liquid into the shot.

"No wait I don't want to drink blood!" Feliciano said frantically. The bartender looked confused but then he sighed.

"Why am I always the one left to explain how this works?" He uttered, and then picked up the shot glass. "You see this stuff? This is the only thing that will keep you alive, you ain't eating or drinking anything else kid. You see, there are four factions of vampires. You've got the big guys: they are the Germanics like yours truly, the Asians but they keep to themselves mostly, the assholes of the Soviets and finally the bottom of the foodchain are the misfits. The misfits are vampires like you, they are turned by one of the families just to have a bit of fun or do their dirty work. You understand so far?"

Feliciano nodded his head slowly.

"Well, most families don't like the misfits as they're like a wildcard. As you can probably tell the families don't get along and trying to keep the peace around here is near impossible, so, we let each family have their own section of the city and keep to that section. But here in this bar? we welcome all factions just to have a drink and some entertainment, while I may dislike the Soviets business is business."

The bartender offered Feliciano the shot glass again, for a moment he just stared at it but gingerly he took it. His stomach gargled hungrily and he found himself downing the glass, feeling the bliss trickle down his throat, and craving more. He wiped his mouth clean with his sleeve and placed the shot glass on the table. "Grazie."

The bartender smiled. "Italian, huh? You sure Toni didn't turn you?"

"Who?"

"Antonio Carriedo. He's had his eyes set on this Italian guy for months now, says he's in love, the poor bastard."

Feliciano choked. His friend at work was a vampire? The one who had told him about his disease in the first place? He felt sick. "No, it wasn't him." Feliciano croaked. "It was this guy I met at the diner not far from here. Blond hair, green eyes, and an English accent."

The bartender's smile fell and he seemed to snap his head to the stage before back on Feliciano. "That so? Damn it, that guy is seriously a thorn in everyone's side lately."

"You know him?"

The bartender looked grim. "Yeah I know him. Technically he's part of the Germanic family but has always been a drifter, always causing trouble in places he shouldn't. Look it's not my place to say but when he turns someone, it's always for his benefit and never ends well for the person who's been turned."

Feliciano didn't like the sound of that and clenched his hand beneath the bar. "He told me to meet him here."

"He's here usually but maybe not tonight. You see the guy singing on stage?" The bartender motioned to the teenager who was now pulling a girl onto the stage to dance with. From the distance Feliciano couldn't tell whether it was the lighting or not, but the teenager's eyes began glowing red. "Well, word on the grape vine is that Alfred over there has been Arthur's, the guy that turned you, plaything for the past few months. If Alfred knows you're sired to Arthur...it won't be pretty. Alfred's a good guy, but since being turned he's more like the jealous type. Then again, we all change when we turn."

"Will I change too?" Feliciano asked.

The bartender stroked a hand across his neck and spoke carefully. "Do yourself a favour kid, find a good memory that reminds you what it is to be human and hold onto it."

Feliciano looked into those red eyes and knew that he was being warned. He told himself firmly that he would hold onto every memory he had and never let it go. The bartender smiled again as if nothing had happened.

"Why don't you go and talk to some other locals? Might help you in the long run to have some friends on the inside, you know?" Feliciano thanked him again for all his help. "Don't mention it kid, the name's Gilbert."

Feliciano stayed at the bar a little longer, afraid of meeting other vampires in case he got caught up in something he shouldn't. However, eventually he managed to push himself off the bar stool and walked through the tables that were stationed around the stage and the dancefloor. He caught glimpses of these tables, most had men or women talking amongst themselves but the more secluded ones saw one or two vampires drinking from someone. Feliciano snapped his head forward and decided to stop looking at anywhere other than the stage. Strangely, the teenager was still performing but had since pulled up another four people to dance with. Feliciano stood and stared for a moment, watching this apparent teenager move swiftly from one dancer to another, caressing a cheek or dragging a hand along their chest. Feliciano gulped. He was surprised how sexuality wasn't an issue here.

"Hey I haven't seen you around before."

Feliciano jumped at the female voice. The woman had mousy brown hair and wore a large smile, her warming aura hardly belonged in a place like this. "No, I'm new. My name is Feliciano." He felt his usual chatty voice had deserted him.

"I'm Laura, hey are you a vampire?"

Feliciano felt his skin prickle. "No I mean-"

"It's okay Feliciano, I'm not one myself but when you hang out in places like this you get used to spotting one." She said sweetly, giggled at his nervousness, and then motioned for them to move to a table. "Must be a thrill, going through the process I mean."

Feliciano had a bitter taste in his mouth. "You feel your skin burning you from the inside."

"Now that doesn't sound like fun, but living forever and watching things come and go that's the fun part. I would jump at the chance to become one, but my brother tells me I shouldn't. Always thinks he knows what's best for me. You got any siblings?"

"One, my brother Lovino. But he's not a vampire."

Laura looked shocked. "You haven't turned him yet? I would if I were you, otherwise he'll grow older and when you don't he'll get suspicious." She laughed as if it was a joke, Feliciano just squirmed uncomfortably. "Still, with all this faction stuff it must be really tedious turning someone."

Their eyes fleeted to Alfred and Feliciano's heart stopped when he realised Alfred was feeding on a woman right there on the stage. Laura cheered and soon more uproars followed. He guessed this was acceptable in this bar? "Is he allowed to do that?"

"Well he's not supposed to, but Gil has given up telling him and nearly everyone hear knows about vampires. Some of us, the ones that aren't vampires, we come here to act like a donation. If you get my drift."

"You...let vampires drink from you?"

"As long as they promise not to drink too much, why not? Although there's a strict rule that comes with it: we have to give the vampire consent for them to drink from us." Laura leaned closer and moved her head to reveal her neck. "You want some?" Feliciano had to cover his mouth to stop those horrible teeth from sprouting. He shook his head violently. "Tell me when you do, you seem like a nice guy."

Feliciano spent the rest of the night with Laura, too fearful of the many eyes seeming to glare at him. He was the newest youngling since the second world war? No wonder it felt as if every vampire was whispering about him. As the performance on stage drew to a close, he swore Alfred caught his eye and winked at him, the teenager's mouth stained with the girl's blood from earlier. That was the moment he decided it was best to make his way home and said a quick goodbye to both Laura and Gilbert before heading out into the rain, secretly hoping by morning the nightmare would end.