BONDING
DISCLAIMER
Belongs to Warner Brothers and Joel Schumacher. I only own the plot.
Michael pulled his jacket around his body and stared into the night. It had been two weeks since Max and most of the Lost Boys had been killed. The only remaining member of the vampire pack was David, but only Michael and Star knew this. The others had bought their story that the leader of the Lost Boys had also been killed. As he continued to stare, the vampire's words came back to the mortal, "You're a good fighter, Michael. Real good. Almost too good. How often did it happen? The beatings, Michael. How often did they happen?" Michael wasn't sure how David had known. Nobody knew, not even his mother. Oh, she had occasionally commented on a bruise she had seen him with, but he had always covered, saying that he got it in gym.
"You ready to talk?" The unexpected voice caused Michael to jump. He turned to see David.
"What are you doing here?" Michael demanded harshly.
"I just want to talk to you, Michael. That's all," David replied. Michael turned back to the direction he had started in.
"Go away," he said.
"You don't want to talk? Fine. Then I will," the vampire stated.
"I said 'go away'," the human snapped.
"Around seven years ago, there was this guy, about twenty years old. He had moved to Santa Carla to get away from the past. Away from the memories of physical abuse. But he couldn't stop the nightmares. After the umpteenth time of being awakened from one of the dreams, the guy decided to walk along the beach. Incidentally, he found himself at a video store. Obviously, his life changed and along the way, he met others with the same type of problems and introduced them to this new life, creating a pack. However, their final members didn't come until seven years later. But everything ended badly. The pack was destroyed, including the man who was the official leader." Once again, Michael turned to face David. He understood that he had just been told the vampire's life story.
"So, now you know my story," David stated.
"And you want mine? Is that it?" Michael responded angrily.
"Enduring physical abuse isn't something to be ashamed of," David said gently.
"I couldn't tell. Not ever," Michael whispered.
"Didn't you at least try?" David asked.
"I made a complaint...once," Michael admitted.
"What happened?" David questioned.
"He took apart my bike. I can do basic maintenance, but I can't fix an entire Honda 250. He fixed it after I recanted," Michael told him.
"I'm sorry, Michael," David said softly. The mortal gave a short, ironic laugh.
"You know, I never told anybody any of this before. And when I do, it's to a vampire," he said.
"Only in Santa Carla," his companion added. The boys laughed. As the night wore on, they continued to talk, each revealing more about the abuse they had endured. David told Michael how he had made his father his first kill and Michael admitted that he had been secretly relieved when his parents had divorced. Presently, David looked to the sky.
"I've gotta go, or I'm gonna be a big pile of ash," he stated.
"Yeah, go," Michael replied. David took to the skies and flew away. For a moment, Michael just stared. Then, blowing out a breath, Michael headed home.
