He stared into the darkness, straining his ears to pick up the noise he had heard before. A sharp tinkling noise broke the silence again.
Peta grimaced. "Phantom... I'm here. Should I turn on the lights?"
"Of course not! Just open the curtains and let in some moonlight," Phantom replied from Peta's right.
Peta sighed and followed Phantom's orders blindly.
As the heavy velvet curtains were pulled aside, the room in which Peta stood was slowly revealed by the silvery light. The room was square-shaped. Peta stood by the large bay window. To his right was the door that he had just walked through and to his left was a wardrobe. In front of him was a large four-poster bed, draped with a deep purple veil.
Peta heard the clinking noise again as he watched Phantom's silhouette move behind the veil.
"Phantom? I came as soon as I read your message... What do you want?" he asked.
"Come here," Phantom replied in a strange voice. Peta moved towards the bed at once in his long sweeping stride. He reached it and pulled the veil aside neatly.
Phantom lay on the bed, wearing a silver dressing gown that was open; revealing his deathly pale chest and white boxers.
"Urm..." Peta said, adverting his gaze.
"Come... sit," Phantom's voice was soft and swam through the moonlit room like ripples on a black lake.
Peta once again obeyed, sitting next to the young man.
"What do you think, Peta?" Phantom asked in the strange tone of voice.
"About what, Phantom? I have many thoughts..." Peta laughed quietly. Phantom rolled over to face Peta, a cool smile playing on his lips.
"About life..."
Peta smiled and sighed. "I think a lot about life... and living. Death... and dying..."
"Do you wish to die sometimes, my Peta?"
Phantom's question struck Peta, dumbfounding him into a dull grin.
"Well... Ur... sometimes... Sometimes I think about death and try to work out how it can actually exsist... I mean... The human body could last forever... if it didn't... Ur... die."
Phantom laughed softly.
"Your thoughts are surely... interesting," he said. Peta felt his face burn. Phantom shifted his weight and Peta noticed the shiny glint of something wrapped around his arm.
"Can you lie next to me?" Phantom asked him. Peta heard it as a plea, not an order. He looked into the man's hazy eyes. They were filled with a fear of which Peta knew not.
Peta lay next to Phantom, feeling the smooth velvet blankets stroke his body and the springy bed creaked under his added weight.
"Phantom? May I ask you a question?" Peta questioned. Phantom laughed.
"I believe you just did..." he pointed out. Peta's mouth twitched into a brief smile. "But you may ask another question if you must."
"Why DID you call me into your room this late at night?" Peta asked Phantom. Phantom sighed.
"If you must know... I had a nightmare..." he said quietly, his voice filled with worry. Peta surveyed Phantom's face carefully, trying to read his facial expression.
He seems frightened... But that can't be right... Phantom isn't a weak child... I've never seen him act like this... Peta thought.
"Don't get me wrong, Peta, I'm not afraid of the dark..." Phantom said suddenly in an angry voice as if he had read Peta's mind, which, Peta thought dully, wouldn't surprise me.
"I just..." Phantom started, but stopped in his tracks. He hiccoughed and grabbed Peta, wrapping his legs and arms around his skinny, twig-like body. "Peta... I'm going to tell you my darkest secret, but if I do, you must swear you won't tell anybody..." Phantom whispered.
"Of course! Phantom, I'd never tell anybody anything you didn't want them to know! Even if they chained me up and burned me alive... I'd rather DIE than tell an outsider your secrets..." Peta babbled.
Phantom shook with fits of laughter. Peta frowned at him.
"I'm sorry... you... you're just so... too... loyal..." he gasped. Peta's face burned again. Phantom went quiet and watched the vampire closely.
"Peta... I have a problem... I... I'm afraid of... I'm terrified of being... alone..."
Peta felt a stab of sadness in his heart. Phantom, the living corpse who lived for pain and death, was afraid of loneliness?
"But... Phantom, you're never alone. I mean... you have me and Candice and all the other Chess Pieces..."
"No... Peta, don't you see... Don't you understand...?" Phantom squeezed his body closer.
Peta's heart stopped beating. He felt his blood run cold.
"What do... you mean?"
"Don't be stupid... You know what I mean..." Phantom replied icily.
"Phantom... You know I live only to serve you... If you were to die..." Peta's voice broke. The painful memory of Phantom's death 6 years ago plagued his mind like an army of black ants.
He remembered sitting by himself in the library, reading books long into the night. He shivered at the memory of the empty hollowness that tore at his heart. He sniffed and panicked, realising he was crying.
He started when a cold slimy thing ran across his cheeks, tracing the salty tracks of his tears. He focussed his eyes on Phantom's face that loomed over him like a silver full moon.
"I guess you don't want to be alone again..." Phantom said quietly in to Peta's ear. Peta nodded slowly, still sobbing softly as Phantom held him. "We can be together..."
"How? How can we be even more together?" Peta asked him. Phantom's face turned pink.
"I can think of one way..." he replied, kissing Peta on the cheek.
Peta flushed, feeling hot and starting to sweat as Phantom ran his hands across his back.
"I..." Peta started, but Phantom pulled him closer, enclosing him with his cold aura.
Phantom smirked as he grabbed Peta's wrist and placed something around it. Peta's eyes widened as the cool grip of steel fondled his skin. He pulled his arm forward and heard a clinking noise. He gasped in shock. Phantom had put a handcuff on him which was attached to a short chain that ended around Phantom's right wrist.
"Phantom? What is this?" Peta demanded, waving his chained hand in the man's face. Phantom laughed.
"Why, it's a handcuff attached to a chain, Peta."
"I know what it is!" Peta said angrily, "Why? Why a handcuff?"
Phantom's sadistic grin carved into his beautiful face. He licked Peta's neck. Peta shuddered under the icy-coldness of Phantom's tongue. He clutched onto Phantom as he rolled onto his back with Phantom, still lapping at his Adam's apple, on top of him. Peta moaned and dug his nails into Phantom, piercing his flesh and drawing blood.
Phantom yelped in pain, but didn't stop biting at Peta's neck.
Peta grinned maniacally, letting his primal instincts to take control as he tore his claw-like nails through Phantom's back, shredding his gown. Phantom cried out in agony and enjoyment. He stared down into Peta's large eyes, panting for breath. He sat up on the man and took off his shredded dressing gown.
Peta smiled at Phantom as the man looked over his shoulder at his back, wincing slightly.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Peta said, mocking a motherly tone of voice. He pushed Phantom off him.
After a confused struggle where Phantom's bandaged arm served him as a club-like weapon which nearly knocked out Peta, Peta lay on top of Phantom. Phantom. Lay on his stomach, gasping for air as Peta licked his wounds, lapping up his bitter blue blood and pushing himself against Phantom's backside.
Phantom groaned and clutched the bed covers underneath him as if he was afraid of being pushed through the bed as Peta pushed harder and harder.
"Take these off!" Peta rasped frantically, pulling off Phantom's boxers. Phantom's eyes widened. He had planned to do this with Peta tonight, but this was going too far. Phantom wanted to be on top.
"Oh Peta! I never thought you would enjoy this!" Phantom exclaimed as Peta pushed up harder against Phantom.
"Oh God, why wouldn't I? It feels so... good!" Peta answered.
"I don't want to be the only naked one around here... Take off your clothes, God damn it Peta! Go IN me!" Phantom ordered, rolling onto his stomach, making Peta fall off him.
Another struggle commenced as Phantom tried to get on top of Peta while trying to take off his robes and Peta tried to throw Phantom off him so he could mount him again. The bed creaked and groaned under their weight as they compromised and lay on their sides.
The bed gave an ominous clunking noise which made the two stop in mid-action.
"What was that?" Peta asked, the spell broken.
"I don't know. Peta, keep going... please don't stop now."
Peta hugged into Phantom, feeling his nakedness against his skin.
"I think it's gone now, Phantom. Sorry," Peta said, pulling out of Phantom and sitting up. "I don't want to break the bed."
"Aw... but..." Phantom began, but Peta butted in,
"No more."
"Fine then..."
The two cuddled into each other, falling asleep in each other's arms.