Darkening Day
Chapter One
Joe Hardy stared blankly out of the airplane's window, his fiercely intense blue eyes unblinking and glazed over as if he were sleeping while awake. His chest rose and fell steadily, purely out of habit as he breathed in the millions of smells contained in the small cab of the plane. He could smell his brother, a good, outdoorsy smell, his blood warm and flowing appealingly through his veins, smelling sweet and repulsive at the same time, achingly familiar. He could smell the fat man in the seat in front of him, a mixture of greasy smells and mold, and Joe swore he could smell cholesterol in his veins. A sweet, floral, delicious smell wafted from someone on the back of the plane—the gorgeous blonde who had flirted with him before boarding the plane.
The smells both repelled and seduced his senses. He hated the burning they left in his throat, loved the delicious smell, and mouthed a silent thank you at his uncanny and supernatural ability to restrain himself. Sighing, he glanced at his brother who was sleeping, and thought with anxiety that perhaps he should have told Frank the whole truth. He shook his head wearily and forced his thoughts elsewhere.
He looked at his reflection in the window, still shocked at the drastic changes in his appearance after his experience in the insignificant town of Forks, Washington. The boy who looked back at him was not the boy he had seen in the mirror so many times before—this boy was pasty white with a tan undertone to his skeletal whiteness. His eyes were still blue, but even more shockingly so than ever before. He looked like an angel—beauty was prominent on his seventeen-year-old face. His skin was ice cold and rock hard. Although he didn't have to breathe now, a heart still thudded softly, weakly within his cavernous chest.
He heard movement beside him and deftly turned to his brother, who was just waking up from his nap. "Hey, bro. Nice nap?"
Frank shrugged and stretched as best he could in the limited space the airplane seat offered. "Fine, I guess." He studied his younger brother with concerned brown eyes, causing Joe to grimace.
"Frank, I'm fine, stop fussing over me."
Frank shook his head as he took in the drastic changes in his baby brother. "It's just so unreal," he muttered, then smiled. "How much longer?"
"We'll be arriving in New York in about fifteen minutes," Joe informed his brother dutifully. He hesitated. "Frank, I don't know if I'm going home."
Frank's eyes widened in shock. "What?"
"At least, not yet. Not until I find a way to explain all of this-" he gestured toward his foreign reflection in the window extravagantly, "-to Mom and Dad."
Frank shook his head agitatedly. "No, you've gotta come home, bro. I thought...spray on tan...long sleeve shirts...stay indoors on sunny days...?" His voice became more pleading with every strange suggestion.
Joe laughed dryly. "I tried some of that spray on stuff while you were sleeping, Frank." He chuckled darkly at the memory. "The traces of venom in my skin melted it off within minutes. And I can't go around in gloves and sweaters all the time, or stay indoors on sunny days constantly—it's not normal, Frank! I've got to find some way to explain all of this before I go home, because everybody is going to freak when they realize that something big has happened to me..."
Frank shook his head even harder. "Joe, don't be ridiculous. You don't have to do this—we'll think of something. I know you can't tell the whole truth, but maybe you could fudge it a little...?"
"Do you want Aro, Marcus, and Caius to come visit the house, maybe have a cup of tea with our parents and Aunt Gertrude?" Joe asked coldly. Frank paled at the thought. "Besides," Joe said softly, "even if I could think of something, I'm not going to take a chance with Vanessa..."
"What do you mean?" Frank asked, bewildered. "You're different from the others—not dangerous at all."
Joe hung his head. "I lied a bit, Frank," he said. "I told you that blood isn't appealing to me—well it's not, at least not as much as the others. But-" he hesitated, "-I am a vampire, Frank." Frank cringed a bit at the word vampire and Joe pretended not to notice. "Even though I have more humanity in me than other vampires, I'm not immune to the smell of blood. Like right now—I can smell your blood—kind of rusty, coppery, and sweet." Frank began to look a little uncomfortable. "My throat is burning because of the smell and my mind and heart are appalled that I find your blood so appealing. It's all very confusing, you see. And if there's any chance that I won't be able to control my thirst around Vanessa..." he shuddered. "Alice saw our first meeting and she knew that I wouldn't hurt you—wouldn't even think of it...but things are different when it is someone you are in love with...Edward said that Bella smelled so delicious that he almost killed her the first time he smelled her. I know I can contain myself with anyone else, but I don't want to take a chance with Vanessa."
Frank groaned. "Joe, you are so obnoxious! Do you really think Alice and the others wouldn't warn you if you were going to murder your girlfriend? It's safe, Alice knows that! She knows the future, remember? Joe, you gotta come back!"
Joe scowled out the window and said softly, "I'll think about it." He then closed his eyes and laid his head back.
"Joe, I know you're not sleeping—you can't sleep!" Frank hissed quietly. The corner of Joe's mouth twitched.
"You think that's funny?" Frank kidded, then punched his brother in the arm, forgetting how rock-hard his skin was now and yelped in pain, causing several people to glance his way. After everyone had turned back to their own business, Frank nursed his hurt hand and muttered, "Stupid vampire brother."
Joe snorted in laughter, knowing at this moment that there was no way he could not go home with his brother—they needed each other.
~Emachinescat ^..^
