A/N: So, this story has been stuck in my mind for months. Literally. It had gotten to the stage where I couldn't work on any of my other stories because it was just there in the back of my mind...lurking! But I must warn you, yes there are vampires in this story. No there will be no real main vampire characters, the only reason they're in the story is so that Puck has a job. Also, my vampires don't sparkle. Not that I'm against sparkly vampires, I'm just more of a 'turns to dust in sunlight' fan. There will be a few more chapters, perhaps three or four, I'm not certain. Each one will skip forward a few months, which means the story will move faster (yaaaay!) Anyways, yeah, so here it is- the result of much work! I found that I wrote this in a different style to my other stories, or at least it feels different, I'm not sure in what way but it does... I hope it's still okay and that you guys enjoy it!
Rachel heaved the heavy back door open and shivered as she stepped out into the cold, dark alley. She pulled her red woollen cape tighter around her; the bitter winter air was especially cold against her face, now cleaned of all stage make-up. She let out a soft contented sigh as she moved forwards stepping into the surging throng of bustling New Yorkers rushing along the Great White Way.
It was early December and she could already feel the frost in the air. She grinned with excitement as she kept up her brisk pace heading towards the subway. She loved this time of year, especially in New York. The city was just magical during the holiday season. There would be that pristine layer of first snow and the smell of hazelnut and cinnamon hot beverages would waft from every vendors cart along the streets. She looked forward to decorating her new apartment, it would be her first Hanukkah with her own place and she wanted it to be perfect. Her Dads were going to come up from Ohio to celebrate with her. She thought about the decent studio apartment she had in Brooklyn. While she may be making the big bucks now, she knew that theatre was a fickle thing and once directors decided she was too old she had no idea what she would do. This was why she hadn't blown all her money on staying in some swanky Upper East Side suite as had her friends, who had acted alongside her in various musicals. She was being responsible and mature, well mostly… She considered herself a well-trained saver, except for the few weak moments when she would happen to be strolling along Madison Avenue and pass the coveted Christian Louboutin boutique, where she would spot a pair of heels placed centre stage in a beautifully designed window display that just needed to be loved by her. She took her usual route home and studied her well-worn, soft black ankle boots with the red soles from her seat on the subway. There were times that she worried that she may in fact have a shoe addiction but then she would peruse her friend, Kurt's, shoe closet (yes, an entire closet dedicated to shoes) and she felt at ease once more.
There was nothing she didn't love about New York, she even found the poorly lit, smelly, crowded subways an entertaining part of New York culture. Rachel enjoyed People Watching. Usually the car would be packed with people and she would have a variety of characters to watch and imagine what their life would be like. However, considering how late her rehearsal for 'Fiddler on the Roof' had lasted until, the subway car she was sitting in was almost empty. The light flickered constantly above her, its greenish hue adding an almost ominous undertone to the journey. There were a teenaged couple seated at the end of the bench across from her. She smiled softly, recalling her high school sweetheart and how different they had been compared to the couple before her. This couple had matching ripped jeans and piercings; the boy had blonde dreadlocks whilst his girlfriend had short spiky red hair. Rachel and Finn had been your typical, clean cut American teenagers. He had been the quarter back on the football team and she had been the slightly geeky, lead vocalist in the schools show choir. She wished her and Finn had been as interesting as the two teenagers engrossed in each other's kisses sitting nearby. They both looked like their tattoos alone could tell many an interesting story. She sighed, suddenly uncomfortably aware of how very single she was at the moment. Glancing around the car once more she spotted an unshaven man dressed in numerous ill-fitting layers and a brightly knitted bobble hat, he had a tartan trolley bag at his feet. Near the back of the car, leaning against the cool, no doubt germ riddled window, was a handsome man with a hard looking chiselled face and unnaturally icy blue eyes. He wore a black hoody with the hood covering some of his well-proportioned face. Rachel felt her cheeks flush when his cold, assessing gaze locked with hers. Well, that was awkward, being caught staring whilst People Watching meant you lost the game. She smiled nervously at the strange man with his broad shoulders and fixed her black handbag more securely on her lap.
She breathed a sigh of relief as the doors to the car slid open once she had arrived at her destination. She was walking along the lonely, darkened street when she heard a solitary set of footsteps following behind her. She swallowed, reassuring herself mentally that she really had nothing at all to worry about. It was New York for heaven's sake! Nobody was going to hassle her here! They'd be too busy rushing to their next destination. Still, the street lamps on her way home from the subway station weren't working very well and even though the journey back to her apartment was short, there would be long stretches of darkness interrupted only by the grim flicker of a faded orange street light. She quickened her pace and clutched her handbag closer to her chest. She strained to hear over the sound of her racing pulse in her ears, the footsteps were getting closer. Rachel quickly threw a harassed glance over her shoulder and felt her gut clench with anxiety. It was that creepy guy from the subway, the handsome one, who had caught Rachel staring at him. She turned back to search frantically in her bag as she once again increased the speed of her walk from brisk to an almost jog. Mace… where on earth was her Mace? She had to have pepper spray or something in her handbag… perfume? Would a well-aimed spritz of her beloved Black XS perfume stun a potential attacker long enough for her to get away? She rummaged in vain, her hand blindly clutching at used biros, scripts, her wallet, random pieces of make-up, some loose change… really? She must have carried pepper spray in every purse and bag she'd ever owned since moving to New York and today of all days she decided she wouldn't need it? She silently cursed herself and tried to listen for the footsteps. That's when she realized they had stopped. The street was eerily quiet. She looked back over her shoulder. The stranger was gone. She heaved a relieved sigh and turned back around to continue on her journey home. She was already beginning to smile at her insane, barely averted panic attack when she looked up and shrieked. He was standing right in front of her. His back was to the faded orange glow coming from the flickering street lamp. His face was shrouded in shadows but she knew it was the man from the subway. Rachel stopped screaming as she heard a low, throaty chuckle rumbling from the man in front of her. She shivered and kept her left hand firmly embedded in her handbag.
"Stand back, I- I have a gun!" She stammered, lying through her teeth. A part of her had a feeling this man wouldn't be intimidated by pepper spray, much less an imaginary bottle of pepper spray. She was so mad at herself at that moment. If only she'd taken a taxi home like the rest of her cast mates had. So much for having recession busting habits… doubt they're much good to you when you're dead. She pulled herself together and tried to stand tall, which is difficult when you barely pass the five foot mark. "I don't know what you're laughing at." Rachel huffed shaking her bag at him "I-I've killed a man before!" Rachel rolled her eyes internally. Her inner drama queen had gone too far. Who on earth was going to believe she, little geeky Rachel Berry, had killed a fly never mind a human being? However, Rachel was nothing if not a dedicated actress. She nodded and widened her eyes at him showing him that she expected him to be terrified of her murderous antics "yes, so, if I were you, I would leave now before I- I…kill you."
The figure stood unmoving and silent before her. She swallowed. What exactly was he trying to do? Bore her to death? Was this a staring match where the winner got her purse? She shuffled from one foot to the other and shivered a little. She wished she'd brought her winter coat instead of her cape. While it made an impressive fashion statement, the cape didn't really keep out the bitter chill. Finally she sighed exasperatedly and demanded "look, mister, what exactly do you want from me?"
The man chuckled again as he took a step towards her. His icy gaze bore down on hers and Rachel tried her hardest not to notice the fact that his laugh wasn't the funny "ha, ha, ha" kind, or even a sarcastic "hah, hah". It was more of an evil "mwahahahahaha!" She gulped as the eerie orange light reflected off of one of his unusually long incisors.
His voice was as smooth as silk as he murmured "can't a man take an interest in a pretty girl?" He smirked at the blush that crept across her cheeks as he stalked towards her.
Rachel glanced down at her scuffed boots. She wasn't really sure how it had happened but she was pretty sure her alleged attacker was actually…hitting on her? The worst part was that she was blushing! What was wrong with her? She had to stop. Now. He may be a handsome charmer but Rachel's gut instinct had told her he was creepy and she trusted her gut instinct. "No. He can't." She replied curtly, sending a challenging stare "not this pretty girl anyways." She made to move past him saying "now, if you'll excuse me I'm on my way h-"
The man wrapped his deathly cold hand around her tiny wrist in a vice-like grip and dragged her to him. Rachel let out a shriek as she collided with his rock solid chest. "What do you think you're doing? Let go of me!"
The man smoothed her dark curls away from her face with one of his cold, hard hands. He smiled down at her wickedly as he leaned towards her face. Rachel let out a shrill squeak when she slapped him across his handsome face. Her hand stung and it felt like she had just slapped a brick wall. His face twisted into an angry snarl and his eyes darkened once he realized Rachel hadn't fallen for his…charms. He gripped both her wrist and held them at her sides as he hissed into her face "this is going to happen one way or another- might as well enjoy it, sweetheart."
Rachel grew furious, so much so that she could barely see straight. She began to scratch, slap and claw blindly at his magnificent face as it bore down on hers. "Let…me…go!" She screeched, twisting and turning in his iron grip. Just then she felt a sharp pinch at the base of her neck, where it met her right shoulder. She gasped "ouch! Wh-"
Before she could finish her last word there was a dull thud sound and Rachel watched as the cold, vicious light drained from the horrible man from the subway's eyes and his skin seemed to crumble and turn to dust before her. She was baffled as she gaped down at the large pile of, what looked like the contents of a dust bag from the vacuum cleaner, on the pavement. Rachel watched in fascination as a light breeze picked up and scattered the dust further down the street. She hoisted her handbag up over her shoulder and glanced up. That's when she jumped and screamed…again. There, standing just behind the spot her assailant had turned to dust, stood another man. He seemed to be around her age, perhaps a year or two older. With dark, close cropped hair, a healthy tan and mysterious hazel eyes. He had broad shoulders and was tall. He also seemed better built then the creep from the subway. This new guy was wearing a long, black trench coat that swayed (thanks to the light, but still bitingly cold breeze) around his calves. His gaze was dark and locked on hers, studying her reaction.
Rachel shivered "d-did you just see that?" She asked gesturing towards the empty space between them where the creep had stood and then pointing at the dusty ground at her feet.
The guy's eyes were still trained on hers as he simply replied "yes."
She narrowed her eyes, suspicious of his tense stance. Her gaze slowly travelled further down his body and that's when she spotted the wooden stick in his hand. She paused for a second as things slowly started to click into place in her mind. Rachel shook her head, her dark curls bouncing about her face, "oh no…No, no, no, no, no!" She waved a bruised hand at the stick "no! That was not, I mean, he was not- was he?" She felt panic begin to swell up inside of her. The guy made a move to come towards Rachel but she stumbled backwards and cried "don't touch me!"
His feet froze and his eyes softened a little as they took note of Rachel's state of despair. He lifted a hand towards her "your neck, it's…" his deep, husky voice trailed off.
She lifted a hand and gingerly touched the spot at the base of her neck that was still stinging from her encounter with the creep. She felt a warm dampness beneath her fingers. She drew her hand away and saw the glistening warm blood coating her fingertips. Rachel felt her stomach lurch and she swayed a little. Suddenly she felt quite dizzy. "Oh dear…" she murmured quietly to herself as she tried to stay calm and keep her balance. Warm, strong arms encircled her and she felt grateful, if a little embarrassed, towards this new guy.
So, okay, Rachel could at least admit to herself that she may possibly have enjoyed being carried to her building. The guy refused to let her walk after she had 'almost fainted'. Pfft! Faint, Rachel Berry does not faint! When she had told him where her building was he raised his eyebrows and smirked at her.
"That's where I know you from. You're the girl that's moved in across the hall from me." He lowered one eyebrow but kept the other raised roguishly as he murmured sexily "hey."
Rachel swallowed loudly and frowned. She was trying not to notice, from her perch in his arms, how the stubble that covered his chiselled jaw made him look like some sort of modern day Greek god. "How have I never met you before now then? I moved in to my apartment like three months ago."
He shrugged "I work at nights and don't get out much during the days. I'm Puck, though."
She smiled shyly at him and replied "Rachel Berry…" She paused "look, about that guy earlier…and my neck…and that-was that a wooden stake?"
Puck met her questioning gaze and simply asked "what do you think happened?"
Rachel blinked. "I- well… he- it was sort of… No, it wasn't. I don't believe it." She shook her head and raised her eyebrows defiantly at Puck's sceptical stare. She shrugged finally as the silence wore on and they approached their building, "but, let's just say, for argument's sake, that I did think the creep from the subway was in fact a-a vampire? What exactly does that make you Mr Puck?" She couldn't even believe she was having this conversation.
He scoffed at the title she'd given him and smirked down at her "it's just Puck, as in Noah Puckerman. If, theoretically, that was a vampire then that would make me a vampire hunter." His hazel eyes were no longer watching where he walked as he focused all his attention on her reaction.
He must have been sorely disappointed as her reaction wasn't exactly understanding, when she snorted "oh, yeah, right and I'm a unicorn."
Puck stopped at the front of their building and lowered Rachel to her feet. She immediately missed his warmth and the safety of his big, strong arms. They both made their way to the rickety elevator and once inside, Puck turned to frown down at her. "Rachel, don't be such an idiot. You can't seriously think that the leech who bit you back there and then turned to dust as soon as I staked him wasn't a vampire. There's no other fucking conclusion!"
She huffed "look, I knew I'd meet many strange individuals upon moving to the Big Apple. I realize that you may believe that these 'vampires' exist bu-"
Puck threw his head back against the barriers behind him. "God, Rachel. Just- seriously, think about what happened… just for two seconds and you'll get it."
She looked at her red painted nails and recalled the night's events… It was true, it all seemed very vampire-ish…but who's to say it all wasn't some huge coincidence? She kept falling back on the stake and dust incident. That was harder to explain- pretty much impossible to explain really. She bit her lower lip and looked up at Puck. "Fine. You win. Vampires exist. Congratulations, you have out-debated both logic and me. I hope you're happy." She deadpanned and stared at the shuddering metal barriers surrounding the old elevator. There was a long silence that hung in the air between them before Rachel looked over at Puck. "So, you kill vampires? Vampires like…like Dracula?" She felt so foolish for even entertaining the idea, a part of her was convinced that at any second she'd be told that she was being Punk'd.
Puck smirked "yeah…something like that."
Rachel looked down at the keys in her hand as they stepped out of the elevator and onto their floor. "So, you must save a lot of stupid girls, like me, that get bitten by the…uh…vampires."
Puck shook his head as they slowly made their way to her door. "I'm usually too late." She could hear the bitterness in his voice as he admitted that. "Or the girls are under the fucking leeches control and there's nothing that I can say or do that will convince them that their boyfriend, the guy I just staked, was a bad person." He squinted curiously down at Rachel "most girls are really into vampires. Thanks to the whole vampire entertainment industry, girls are convinced that vampires are just 'misunderstood' and really they are beautiful, caring people." Puck sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It makes me so fucking frustrated sometimes…"
Rachel recalled the countless books she had read and television shows she had loved all based on the myth that vampires existed. They didn't seem so mythical now… She raised her hand to gently press against the tender spot on her neck and winced. They finally reached the door to her apartment. She fiddled with the "I heart NY" key ring holding all her keys in her hands.
Puck stopped beside her and smirked down at Rachel. "You're different though. You didn't really seem to fall for him."
Rachel flicked a stray curl over her shoulder and sighed dramatically "well, what can I say? I find myself bored of charming, handsome strangers that have a nasty violent streak… call me crazy!"
He laughed a deep throaty chuckle and Rachel felt herself go a little weak at the knees. Considering the night she'd had this needed to stop like, right that second. She stopped messing with her keys and blinked up shyly into Puck's hazel eyes. "Look," she started softly "I'm so grateful for…everything you did for me this evening but after what happened with that-the guy…I just, would you mind if I didn't invite you in? I know that's really rude, I'm sorry. I think I need to be by myself and, you know, process everything that happened." She caught her lower lip between her teeth and watched his reaction, hoping he wouldn't be hurt. Her Dad's would be furious if they heard that she'd not invited her hero/ neighbour/ potential new friend in for coffee, it was such bad manners.
However, Puck just smiled a genuine smile down at her and nodded "of course, I didn't expect you to invite me in. A word to the wise, though? Do not invite strangers you've known for less than an hour into your place. It's sort of asking for trouble." He watched as she rolled her eyes, silently making fun of herself for thinking New York would have the same neighbourly rules as Lima, Ohio. She fit her key in the lock and opened the door as he made his way across the hall to his apartment door. He looked over his shoulder and saw her standing in her doorway. He smirked at her "goodnight Miss. Berry."
Rachel smiled shyly back at him as she began to close her door "goodnight Noah." She shut the door on his charming smile and friendly eyes. Resting her back against her door she sighed. Sliding down to sit on the floor she tossed her bag and keys aside and kicked off her boots. "So, what happened to you tonight Rachel?" She asked herself as she unfastened her cape. "Me? Oh, nothing much… got attacked by a vampire, met the male super model version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that just so happens to be my neighbour." She snorted and ran a hand through her hair. Who was she kidding? Nobody was ever going to believe her.
A/N: There you have it! I always find I get so nervous when I start a new story! Thank you so much for reading, let me know if you enjoyed it or if you hated it or any ideas you have...whatever! I love hearing from you guys! Thanks again! :)
