Vampire Kisses fanfiction
PLASTIC PROMISES
Claude Sterling/OC: Madeline Torrent


Chapter 02.


The club was pounding with heavy metal music. Teen vamps danced together in the middle of a graveyard-looking dance floor, banging their heads and pumping their fists in the air. The room was pitch black, save for the strobe lights that would have blinded any human, and there was a thick fog that snaked the floor around clubbers' feet.

Claude and Tripp entered the Dungeon, peering around for Kat and Rocco. Ever since the two had hooked up they'd wanted nothing but to be alone and make-out for all of eternity. Claude and Tripp were fine leaving them alone, as they didn't want to witness their tongues all over each other. After glancing the club over without any sign of their feline friend and her brawny mate, they decided to head over to one of the lounge caves, at least one that wasn't occupied with snogging vampires.

"I'm curious, Claude," piped Tripp when they settled onto two black sofas across from each other. A dusty dark wood coffee table with a lit candelabra separated them. "Why did you let the girl go?"

Claude's dark eyes drifted away from his techie friend and spread his arms across the back of the sofa. "Like I said, I wasn't hungry."

"You wanted her for yourself," Tripp reminded, arching an eyebrow. "We killed enough humans tonight, I figured," lied Claude, flipping his bangs out of his face, keeping a straight face. Tripp looked at him skeptically.

"Claude, ever since we became full vampires all you've ever thought about is feeding. What's really on your mind? Why didn't you drink from the girl?" Tripp interrogated. Claude glared as he glanced away. Damn he was good. Tripp was smart; really smart. He had the ability to instantly see right through you and your lies. Luckily only he had that ability and the others didn't. Then Claude would be spilling his embarrassing secret to everybody else. Fortunately Claude was able to tell Tripp secrets. Unless you were a drop-dead gorgeous girl (or any girl, in fact, who wasn't Kat), it'd take a lot to get a secret out of Tripp.

"All right. Fine," grumbled Claude with an eye roll. Tripp grinned triumphantly and leaned in, taking one of his earphones out of his ears.

"It's really weird," Claude started. "That girl did something to me to not make me want to bite her."

"Like she put a spell on you?" Tripp asked.

"That's ridiculous! She wasn't a vampire. Only vampires could put humans under spells," Claude ranted, drifting away from the subject. But Tripp cleared his throat and Claude returned. "No she was definitely human, but something about her made me not want to drain her."

"Perhaps you thought her blood smelled bad."

"Are you kidding? She was delicious! You smelled her. I could drink bodies and bodies of her blood all day. Her blood was captivating but …" He faded as he stared, baffled, in front of him. What was it that made him not want to drink from her.

No way in hell I'm in love with a human, he told himself. He didn't even know the girl's name, or if he'd ever see her again.

But it would be nice just to see her again. Just one more time.

He shook his head. No. No, no, no. He wasn't going through this. Clenching his teeth and running his fingers through his hair, he looked down at the ground, eyebrows furrowed. What the hell was wrong with him?

Just who the hell is that girl?

"Claude!"

Tripp's voice sliced through his manic thoughts. Claude tore his eyes from the ground and looked through Tripp's lenses. Tripp looked almost concerned as he did puzzled about Claude's behavior. Since when did Claude Sterling ever freak out?

"Could you just tell me what's going on? You're acting really, really weird," he said.

Claude sighed heavily. Might as well tell him. He'd already seen him go through a phase.

"When I looked at her face, something … inside of me stirred like crazy. My stomach did these weird flip-flops, my heart was beating like a jackrabbit. Tripp, please do not tell me I'm developing feelings for a girl who's considered my snack," Claude pleaded. Tripp stared at his desperate friend for a long time. Oh it was so obvious.

Tripp snickered and Claude glared at him, feeling his face turn hot. I better not be blushing! Claude snarled inside his mind.

"What?" he snapped.

"It's so obvious," Tripp said. "You totally dig the human girl."

"No! I don't! I don't know what the hell is wrong with me, but I don't like her!" exclaimed Claude, throwing his arms in the air. His eyes were wide like a madman and his teeth were bared. A couple seconds later, Kat and Rocco walked into the lounge cave.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Kat with a strange look on her face.

"You look as if somebody stole your entire collection of Disturbed CDs," chuckled Rocco.

"It's nothing," Claude suddenly said, shaking his head and combing his fingers through his bangs. His face returned to normal and he leaned back on the sofa, crossing a leg over his knee and spreading his arms across the back again. Kat and Rocco exchanged strange looks and peered at Tripp, who stuck his earphone back into his ear and bobbed his head to the music.

"Well, you guys have officially gone from weird to weirder," Kat said and sat down next to Claude. She made room from Rocco by scooting especially close to Claude, who grumbled and squeezed into the corner of the sofa and the arm.

"Where have you two been?" asked Tripp, who began scrolling through songs on his iPod. Kat and Rocco both smiled coyly.

"You don't wanna know," Rocco said and Kat giggled, wrapping her arms around his middle. Kat wasn't a giggler, so it was strange to Claude and Tripp to hear such a sound from her. Being with Rocco really brought out new characteristics from her.

"Probably not," scoffed Claude. Kat rolled her eyes.

"What the hell is killing your mood? You used to be a lot more fun," she spat.

"Well sorry for being such a buzz kill!" Claude sneered back.

"Guys, guys," Rocco interrupted, preventing any violence from happening between the two. "Why are you fighting? You two are friends. If this is still because of the human girl, let it rest."

Claude rolled his eyes and stood from the sofa. "You know what? I'm going to get some fresh air," he sneered and stomped away, pushing through the crowds of moshing vampires. When he made his way passed the vampire bouncer, he raced through the hallway, eyes narrowed in a fierce glare, still trying to get that damn image of the blue-eyed human girl out of his mind.

Tripp is wrong! What the hell does he know about love anyway? He freezes up whenever he tries talking to a girl!

Claude knew that whatever he thought of his friends he didn't mean. He'd never tease Tripp about his shyness around attractive girls. But he absolutely refused to believe what he'd said. Claude was not digging the human girl. No way.

When he made it outside, he leaned against the side of the Coffin Club building, the club where the mortal goths hung out. The cool air was refreshing for him. Claude sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. The image hadn't left. Why hadn't it left?

"I won't accept that I like her. I don't even know her!" Claude exclaimed aloud to himself.

He partially regretted confessing to Tripp, only because he didn't like his response.

"Tripp's not going to blab. Tripp better not blab," Claude mumbled. He knew he wouldn't anyway, not unless Claude had told him to.

"I'm probably just fazed by her looks," Claude said to himself. "I'm not going to lie to myself; she was pretty hot. Her eyes were gorgeous."

So was everything else about her. The unnamed blue-eyed girl was adorable. And her blood smelled so wonderful. Claude sighed again as his eyes drifted to the black sky. He licked his lips and slightly smiled.

"Her blood smelled so good," he whispered.

But if her blood smelled so good, why couldn't drink from her? He'd fed on pretty girls before, why was she any different?

"It's so obvious. You totally dig the human girl."

Had Claude sounded too defensive for Tripp to come up with that conclusion? Well, Tripp was wrong. Claude did not dig the human girl. Claude thought it was strange that when he looked at her he decided he didn't want to drink from her, even though her blood smelled delectable, but he did not dig her.

But with all honesty, he wasn't sure what he felt for her.