Empty Room With A Song

by death-in-the-orchard

Alexander Anderson, the high school senior, quarterback, rich kid; clashes with the withdrawn, troubled teen who goes by the name Hell Dog or Alucard on the streets and by Vlad at school...here is their struggle to survive. Note: This is not yaoi.

4. Chapter 4

It wasn't raining during the car ride, and the sky was clear with only the threat of another storm rolling in from the grey mess of clouds in the distance. But it was cold. Vlad's nose was frozen as the two walked up the steps from the parking lot to reach the main campus, and his nose was beginning to run. Damn. Today was not a good day to be wearing someone else's grey sweatshirt. The clothes were relatively warm and definitely pleasantly clean, but he knew that it was not a good day for him to be wearing them. His goddamn nose just refused to cooperate.

Anderson noticed as Vlad sniffed a few times, but he was ignorant of the teen's dilemma. "Are you sick?"

"No." Returned a growl, and the pale face turned away from Anderson, pretending to look around. Then the boy realized that he did have a reason to look away. He was searching for a spot where he could waste the fifteen minutes that were left before classes were going to start. He sniffed and warmed his hands in the sweatshirt's pouch, touching the soft interior thoughtfully, though he refused to let it displace his stubborn scowl. "I'm wearing rich boy clothes today… People are going to think I stole them from some unlucky bastard." He chuckled a little as he played a likely scenario of him actually stealing someone else's clothes right off their backs. This could be a little fun… But then the fleeting feeling of amusement left Vlad and he frowned as he realized that he was letting Anderson lead him away from the picnic tables he usually occupied. They were moving to a line of benches, weighted down with several teenagers, a mixture of boys and girls, mostly Seniors by the looks of them. A big looking guy hollered to Anderson, who chuckled as if the appearance of this individual was funny. He lifted a tan hand in recognition and then dropped it into his letterman jacket's pocket. Others greeted him, made hyper and talkative by the Christmas two week break that would begin after the last bell for the day rang. None of them even noticed the skinny teen that was trailing behind Anderson, wary of their presences. Someone clapped Anderson on the shoulder with a spreading, impish grin.

"You know, Alex, we've been dying to ask you about your new friend…" His teasing eyes deadened upon seeing Vlad's narrowed red gaze, over his friend's shoulder. Panicking, the boy coughed and quickly backed away from Anderson, maneuvering around so that he was behind a bench now. This sudden change grabbed the others' attention and they gazed at Anderson for a while, to see what was wrong. Then, slowly, they saw the person standing behind Anderson, acting more as his shadow than as another presence. Vlad remained where he was, set on keeping his distance from the other teens, but he was not against speaking to them, and he opened his mouth with a badly concealed sneer of contempt.

"What about his new friend? I would like to hear about this as well."

"Hey!" Anderson shot back at the unpleasant, and rather provoking, tone. "Don't cause trouble, Vlad. You just got here."

The teen snorted, glaring at the others as he took in the remark with a different meaning. I did just get here. I am the new friend that these bastards want to use for their own entertainment…to satisfy their own damned curiosity. They can all just go to Hell. With this thought, Vlad turned on his heel and began to stride away, passing the picnic tables because they were within seeing distance of the benches. He chose to hide in the Art Building instead, sniffing and rolling his shoulders on the way.

Anderson called after him, but gave up. He could feel the cold welcome coming from his friends, and their sharp stares that stalked Vlad across the quad. They turned those stares onto him when Vlad was too far away to be interesting to watch anymore. "What the hell was that, Alex?" Someone demanded, confused by what they had just seen. "Why was he with you?" "Why are you hanging out with him?" "Bad crowds aren't good to meddle with, Alex." The tone of his friends' voices were containing more concern for him now, and Anderson sighed, fixing his glasses and rubbing the back of his head as he postponed his explanation. It felt like he didn't have the right to tell them, and that it was none of their business, but they were just worried about him and didn't understand what was going on. One female voice rang out, spiking through his nerves.

"Why are you with that Hell Dog freak?"

"Yumie!" Anderson said loudly, aghast. "He is not a freak. How can you say something like that?"

The others were quiet. They had been thinking the same thing, Anderson realized with a start. He frowned at the group, disappointed. "Really now. He's not that bad."

"Were those your clothes?" Heinkel's question brought turmoil to the group and they chattered incoherent things while Anderson's body froze up, frustrating himself. He growled in his throat, hoping no one would hear him as he tried to gain control of his temper.

"Well, yeah, they were. A lot of things happened yesterday and I had to lend him some clothes."

Heinkel's eyes narrowed and her lips turned down into a sharp frown. "A lot of things…? What are you talking about? Why are you getting yourself involved with someone like him? What good can come from it?" Anderson tried to speak but the girl just raised her voice to cover his interruption. "We all know you're a great guy, Alex, so you probably want to help him out or something. That's understandable, for you, but it's not good. It's not worth it, Alex. It's flat out stupid and dangerous! You stay away from sinking ships like him. They'll only drag you down with them."

Anderson's green eyes were wide and blinking, trying to expel his shock as quickly as possible. He hated her logic. But it was a logic that sung true in his ears, but felt so wrong when he tried to swallow it. It was like a cold stone in his gut. "He's not bad, I tell you. And…it was my mom yesterday. She actually took him into our house and made him stay over." Oh God this was coming out all wrong, but after he had said it, he couldn't bring himself to take it back. Because, none of it was a lie. He would never have dreamed of making Vlad sleep over at their house. Maybe feed him and clean him up, but not invite him to stay there, though he had no objections to it. There was nothing wrong with it, really, in his opinion. He just wouldn't have had the guts to think of it. They weren't that close yet, though, their relationship was tightening quickly now. He could consider Vlad as a friend, and he trusted the boy. Vlad wouldn't hurt him or his family. He wasn't dangerous…those around him might be, but not Vlad. Vlad was a good kid.

"Alex." Yumie shook her head from where she was standing with her arms crossed, her bangs in her eyes. "He's one of those people who aren't going to go anywhere in life. He probably can't and won't get into a college, he'll be waiting tables until he dies or overdoses or does something stupid that get's himself killed. Get away from him, Alex. We're your friends…we just want what's good for you."

"And you're mom should know that too, she's a smart woman. She must have had a really…" Heinkel paused, her eyes twitching in disgust. "…REALLY good reason for bringing that guy into your house." Her brow furrowed as her eyes darted to the ground, perturbed by the concept. "Are you sure he didn't steal anything?"

"No! I mean, yes. He didn't steal anything, Heinkel. You're being ridiculous. He wouldn't steal anything! I mean, God." Anderson's hand gripped his hair viciously, drowning in disbelief at the moment. "You should have just seen what a nervous wreck he was at my house, freaking out about messing up the littlest things, terrified of his stuff breaking my washing machine! He isn't like how you imagine him at all. He's just all alone, his uncle's in the hospital, and you should see just how skinny he is. It's scary! I mean…" Horror descended slowly upon Anderson's mind, and his eyes widened and hit the floor, shock and shame freezing up his body.

The others were staring at him, not seeing his sudden inner conflict, but astonished by what he had said. Another voice spoke up, drawing Anderson back to the surface of his thoughts.

"You know…Andy…you should really just let some adults handle this, then. You don't know what you could be getting yourself involved in. You have to be trained, probably, or know things, study, about this kind of stuff before you get in too deep. Let your mom take care of it. She'll probably help him out by getting him some, you know, professional guidance or help him enroll with some kind of government program that can provide financial aid for him and his…his uncle, you said? It's not really for someone like you. I mean, you have college to look forward to next year, for Christ's sake! What are you going to do? Hurt your chances at that for a guy like this? It's insane! We're telling you to drop out of this as soon as you can. Get him some real help and then get out of it as fast as you can. He's bad news…a sinking ship like Heinkel said."

"Yeah." A few quiet voices echoed behind the words. Anderson's head hung, his face directed towards the sun bleached concrete and its rugged texture. Compassionate friends offered to give him a seat, and he accepted, sheepishly, unsure about what he was going to do now. But abandoning Vlad was not an option. Never, in his mind, did he consider it. He was not a coward.

*~*~::..+..::~*~*

Anderson walked in with the rest of the arriving students, and his eyes wandered up to Vlad's table. As he drew near, with the choice of going to his own table or to the lower one, Anderson heard the boy cough into his sleeve and sniffle with his blocked nose, stuffing his hands back into his pockets again as he slouched in his seat. Sadness weighed down the tan features, composing a piece of misery on Anderson's face, and his feet forced him to go to the lower, emptier table. Vlad saw his face, and flung out his hands in an attempt to get rid of the germs that had accumulated on the borrowed sleeves.

He paused at the sad expression. "What did they do to you? You look like somebody just killed your pet hamster or something, Anderson. You were happy this morning."

God, he felt terrible. He felt like a terrible person too, as he sat down next to the boy he felt like he had betrayed only minutes ago. His posture was grossly decomposing by the second until Anderson sighed and buried his face in his arms on the table, turning his head so he could look at the pale teen and speak to him. "Are you sure you aren't sick?"

Vlad's eyes shot to the other side of the room, avoiding Anderson's gaze. "No. I just have a cough…and I'm sorry about your clothes. The germs will come out in the wash, right? But because of me you still have to wash them again…and I don't mean to make you sick… Not that I'm sick, that is."

The awkwardness actually brought a faint smile to Anderson's lips and he laughed softly, making Vlad growl and damn him.

"Shut up, fat ass. I am not sick. I'm just going to snot up your sleeves and the rest of your clothes just to spite you, you fuckin' creep." He snarled as the laughter got louder and Anderson had to stifle it with his arm.

"Stop cussing, fluffy runt." Anderson chuckled, a knot in his chest making him feel a little nauseous.

"Oi. You can't call me that at school, fat ass. It's not funny either, bastard. How about I knock you on the head to get rid of that fat smirk of yours?"

"Go right ahead." I deserve it.

"Hey, Anderson." Vlad's volume and anger fell as the other boy continued to act strangely, never moving his head from his arms. "Aren't you supposed to be saying stuff like 'I'm not fat'? Oi. Anderson…" Vlad leaned closer to the blonde head. "Get up. The teacher's here. She's not going to see you if you're like that and then you'll be marked absent. Do you hear me in there? Sit up, you stupid bastard. This isn't funny anymore."

"I'm tired." Anderson lied with a hidden wince. "You should've let me sleep for five more minutes this morning, runt. And I am not fat, and stop cussing. I hate hearing it so early in the morning."

Vlad poked the head angrily, causing the bent body to start, and he fell back into his chair and crossed his arms with a grumble. "You fat rich boys are too pampered. You need too much sleep."

Anderson chuckled in his arms and then bit his lip until he thought it was going to burst. He felt like shit. That's what he felt like. Shit.

"Come on Anderson. Sit up now. The teacher's explaining something. You care about your grades, right? Well, you're not going to be able to do squat if you don't sit up and listen. I'm not going to help you out later when you're whining about missing the instructions like a dick. Get up, fat ass." Anderson didn't respond to the aggravated teen, cutting Vlad's frustration down with worry. "Hey, Anderson…?" Vlad ventured quietly, looking at the lowered head. He licked his lips and glanced at the teacher and the other students as people began to chatter and get up to get their supplies. He nudged the head with his fist. "Hey? Are you sick? I didn't mean to get you sick too. It was an accident."

So you are sick. Anderson's chest rose and fell with a breath and a sigh. He didn't sit up. "Why won't you go to college?"

Vlad started and sat back with an unpleasant scowl. "Because my grades are crap and I don't have the money, Anderson. And, on top of it all, it'd be a waste. I'm naturally stupid."

"You're not stupid."

Vlad scoffed, a warped grin on his face sparking a dancing light in his eyes. He laughed at the statement, deriding it with an intended passion. "Oh, God Anderson. You're just as funny as ever. You haven't seen my grades. You've never tried to teach me anything. I'm a bona fide idiot when it comes to school stuff. I swear, it goes in one ear and right out the other." His hand rose to cut through the air, miming his words after he had said them. Vlad shivered a little and pulled on his borrowed sweatshirt to try and make himself warmer. His body was freezing while his head pounded with the heat of an inferno. He was getting a headache too. The boy cursed his bad luck.

"You're not stupid, Vlad. The only stupid thing about you…" Anderson sighed as he got up and he rubbed the deep impressions the pads on his glasses left on his nose. "…is that you think you're stupid."

Vlad crossed his arms irritably and muttered. "You should join the circus, Anderson. You'd make a great, fat ass clown. I'd laugh at you, for sure."

Anderson blinked at the other teen and scowled, pointing a finger at the pale face. "Okay…that one kinda hurt. Stop it with the fat jokes or else I'm going to have to go on a diet... And the next thing you know, I'll be anorexic just like you." Anderson moved away to get his piece of paper, while Vlad huffed.

"Fat rich ass bastard." Vlad got up and shoved his chair away as he followed Anderson. "What's your problem today? You're as moody as hell."

They sat back down. Anderson watched as Vlad's pencil stabbed into his paper, drawing something already. His glasses glinted in the light as his face fell with shame once more. He twirled his pencil anxiously in his fingers. A confession…he needed a confession, like at Church. He sighed, and then swallowed, turning his ankle under the table. "I said some stuff I shouldn't have said…earlier, with my friends." Vlad was rigid, and his hand dropped his pencil as his eyes rose, wide, to stare at Anderson. "I was only trying to defend you…because, well…they were saying stuff, and someone said that you might've stolen stuff from my house. So, I said that my mom had taken you to our house and forced you to sleep there…and that you wouldn't have done anything like that. I only meant to defend you. I…"

"Did…" Vlad cut in loudly, and then cleared his throat and eyed his paper. "Did you tell them about…you know." His hands rose and he moved his fingers quickly, like he was playing a piano.

Anderson, who had seen this, shook his head hurriedly. "No. Nothing about that. But I mentioned it that you…had trouble with the washing machine. You thought you were going to break it…" Anderson waved his hands to ward off any anger he imagined was rising up. "But I wasn't making fun of you or anything like that at all. I was only trying to explain how I knew that you wouldn't steal from my house."

To Anderson's surprise, Vlad snickered and began to draw again. Red went to Anderson's blank paper. "We're doing free-draw, or whatever you want to call it, 'Christmas stuff'." He continued to draw.

"You…you…" Anderson stammered, gawking at the other teen, amazed by his indifference. "You don't care? You aren't mad or anything?"

"I don't care if you make fun of me or stuff like that Anderson." Vlad shrugged without looking up. "Just don't tell them personal stuff like the piano, but other than that, you can tell them that I'm a freak or whatever. I really don't care."

Anderson's face contorted, as if pained. "Hey. I didn't do that."

"I know. You said you defended me…thanks, I guess. But don't go out of your way for me. It makes us even. I always make fun of you for being fat anyway."

"Hey! But I'm not fat!"

Vlad laughed at Anderson's angered expression, enjoying himself now, and he coughed a few times, then laughed again. "Fat ass. Damn it, you should be a clown."

"Shut up Vlad. You're a jerk, you know that? A real jerk in the neck."

"A royal pain in the ass, eh?" Vlad chuckled and drew a few lines as Anderson's pencil descended upon his own paper. "Fine by me."

Anderson just scowled and went on drawing his picture. When Vlad saw what it was, he frowned.

"Hey." His pencil's eraser jabbed at the white paper, scuffing it with a pink mark. "That's not a lady bug. I demand that you draw a lady bug, not…whatever the hell you're trying to draw. It looks like crap. Draw the lady bug."

"I don't want to." Anderson growled back, and then chewed on his lip as he saw the snowy forest that Vlad was drawing. He paused and then smirked when he came up with a way to make fun of it. "Looks like Narnia."

Vlad stared at Anderson until the teen looked up with a smug grin. "What the hell is Narnia?"

*~*~::..+..::~*~*

After watching the name 'Anderson' stitched into the back of the black jacket, fade into the crowds of teenagers moving about the campus, Vlad's stolid face moved with a sharp jerk to see the direction he would take to go to his next class. His feet moved stiffly as thoughts forced him to go back in time, to return to the moment Anderson had confessed to having guilt for what he had said about Vlad to his friends. A scowl would not come to the pale lips. There was no emotion as the boy moved through the crowds, never becoming a part of them, just passing through like a shadow.

When rain began to trickle down and the boy coughed again as others ducked under ledges to avoid the cold water, no observer would have thought of them as scattering children caught in the rain. They had too much purpose and responsibility to be seen as children, but they were not adults, they were not individuals, apart from their families. Vlad was caught somewhere within this picture, as a shadow slipping off into a building. And the rain continued to drizzle down from the grey, moving sky.

His thought's roamed, and his feelings remained numbed. He was always taunted, made fun of, hated, despised. Anderson…it didn't matter if the boy also did so, if he despised him and told others about his warped personality, his strangeness. A drop of water rolled down from his temple, sliding along his jaw line. He tried to listen to the other voices talking around him, but his thoughts were much louder than the other teenagers. They were loud, but they said nothing. It irked him, but he could do nothing against them and their emptiness.

*~*~::..+..::~*~*

Vladimir stared at the weighed down arms, brimming with an assortment of packages, both unwrapped and wrapped, and baggies filled with green and red candies, decorated with the holiday in mind. The red eyes continued to track the progress of the football player as he trudged through a deep puddle of murky, brown water, the dirt swirling about his shoes as he moved through it like he was breaking through a solid cloud. The sky was damp with a spraying drizzle, but the dark clouds suggested that another thunderstorm was on its way so all athletic practices had once again been cancelled and almost the entire school was trying to squeeze its way out of the parking lot at the same time, so Anderson was stranded on an island of grass for a minute as a backed up line of cars were exploiting a break in traffic that had occurred farther up, where the parking lot became the main road. Anderson finally reached his car, giving a heavy sigh of relief and a crooked, proud grin as he accomplished the feat. Vlad was still staring at his arms, blinking owlishly.

He gazed at the sugary foods, at a loss for words for a moment. Then he licked his lips and cocked his head to the side, stuck between anger and easy humor. He snorted, amused now as he saw Anderson juggle with his load as he struggled to get his keys out of pocket, almost dropping an arm-full of packages. A single box bounced onto the wet concrete, its glistening red wrapping paper instantly being stained by the black grim. Vlad scooped it up with a wry grin. "Did you rob 7Eleven or Santa Claus himself?" He laughed at the odd look he received from Anderson and tossed the present from one hand to the other, enjoying his lightened mood.

"No…" Anderson mumbled as he shoved his key into his car door, turning the key to unlock it. He was going to add to what he had said when he realized that he had a button that could unlock his car doors along with the trunk, so he fussed with his load to get to the button. He let the presents spill out of his arms into the trunk of his car, selected two packages after a second thought, and then slammed the trunk shut. He was going to the driver's seat when Vlad spoke again and he stopped to watch the boy.

"Then where'd all this crap come from, Anderson? Did it just fall from the sky or did you get hungry, fatty?" He sniggered, circling around the back of the car while Anderson stood still, following him with a frown.

"I am not fat. And…" He smiled slightly and opened his door as Vlad opened the passenger's side. "…girls enjoy giving me presents."

Vlad paused, losing some of his humor as he gave a partial scowl to the other teen and flopped into the seat. "Oh, shut up, fat ass. Girls give you food because they think you like it so much, considering how fat your ass is…"

"They give it to me because they're friendly. If you try being nicer to people, maybe they'll give you candy too." He laughed at the growl he received and he pulled out of the parking spot and waited in a line to enter another even longer line that lead to the main road. "Calling people fat does not constitute as being nice."

Vlad was quiet as they inched long, frowning with crossed arms as he thought the whole thing over. "Getting candy doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I should try this 'nice' act, sometime." He shrugged carelessly and turned his eyes to his side window, noting a few girls who were dashing between the cars, trying to get across. Then a mixture of students joined in, all scrambling to get to their cars as the rain drops matured, growing heavier and more frequent as time went by.

"Here." Anderson had one hand on the wheel while the other dangled a bag of M&M's in Vlad's face, jostling it so that the colored candies would clink together. "Candy."

Vlad glared at the bag, swiping at it so that it would swing wildly and hit Anderson's hand. "Not from you. Who wants candy from a fat ass?" He chuckled at the angered look Anderson threw at him. They were still stuck in the school traffic, but they could see the first stop sign in the distance.

Anderson threw the bag into a cup holder that was situated between the passenger and driver seats, muttering something about an ungrateful runt. His hand rustled around in a different package and removed a few pistachios that easily left their shells and were soon being chewed into oblivion. Vlad noticed and waited until they got to the stop sign before snatching up a few without Anderson noticing. As they reached the second stop sign, Vlad munched on a nut thoughtfully, finding that he enjoyed the salty, somewhat sweet, taste. He continued to steal pistachios as the car drove along and the rain hit the windshield as the moving arms of the wipers pushed the water aside so Anderson could see where they were driving.

When they could see the black gate that opened to let them into Anderson's driveway, the tan hand shifted through the shells that were left in the bag, and he looked down, confused when he found that they were all gone. Vlad smirked by his side.

"Damn, you at them all already."

"No…" The doubtful hand drooped as the green eyes stared at the bag and then had to returned to where they were driving. He pulled into the garage. "I didn't even eat that many…I didn't think." Vlad chuckled good humouredly.

"Here, why don't I you out." He dropped a large handful of empty shells into the bag, surprising Anderson who looked at the other boy's shell occupied lap with a growl.

"You thief! You ate all of my pistachios! And you were trying to make me think I…"

"Oh, well, considering that you are such a nice person…so nice that you deserve all of these gifts, I assumed that you would gladly share them with me." He sniggered at the stubborn snubbed glower, and got out of the car with a stretching smile. He coughed into his arm when his irritated throat lashed out at him, punishing the boy for the humor. Vlad continued to laugh anyway when Anderson had to take the shell filled bag along with the M&M's out of the car. The blonde teen threw the useless bag away and took his backpack and a few of the gifts from the trunk. He glanced at the amused red eyed boy, his mouth twitching at the hoarseness in the coughs.

"Hey you. Help me out here and take up a few of these, you nut stealing…nut." He scowled and moved to the side, leaving an empty space where Vlad could move to gather up the remaining packages and bags. Vlad scooped them up with his own scowl.

"Damn, just how many of these things did you get? And, for that matter, how many girls gave you all of this? I mean." He looked at his arms and then Anderson as the other walked away. He hissed a curse. "Shit. Just look at 'em all. Shit, Anderson. How nice are you?" Anderson laughed out something that Vlad didn't catch, but he didn't care enough to ask Anderson to repeat himself as he followed the teen into the house, he just glowered at the gifts in his hand, revisited by his confusion and disbelief from before. "I mean…what do you have to do? Carry their books or bags? Tell them they smell like flowers when they smell like crap? What did you do, Anderson? There has to be a master plan that led up to this."

"No plan." Anderson unloaded his gifts onto a counter and Vlad did the same. When Vlad saw that Anderson was sorting them, creating a food pile and a pile of wrapped or boxed gifts, he did the same. "I'm just nice to everybody, Vlad. I have a lot of friends, and a lot of friends that are…girls, I guess." He lifted up a tiny teddy bear keychain, turning it in his hands. "And girls have this thing where they like to give guy friends presents if they don't have boyfriends to give presents to. Well," He smirked and set the teddy bear on top of a neat stack of boxes, as if seating it on a royal throne. "…I'm not complaining. I like free stuff."

Vlad muttered something and then sneered at the mini mountain of candy. "You're friends want to fatten you up."

The bag of M&M's flew at Vlad's face and smacked him on the cheek. He cursed, glaring daggers into Anderson before he bent down to pick it up. Anderson laughed darkly. "You're the one that needs to fatten up, runt. Eat the candy."

"Stuff it." A pale hand chucked the M&M's at Anderson but the football jock dodged and threw another bag of candy in return. This continued for a little while, until they realized that they were bashing up the gifts. Then the two gave up and set to storing the candy in the cupboard, hiding them in the back of the shelves. Anderson settled onto a stool when they were done, and pulled a wrapped box towards himself. He tore off the wrapping while Vlad gravitated closer to see what was underneath it.

"Do these girls like you or something?"

Anderson was on his third box and soon he had it opened and was bolding a pair of cheap (Christmas) ear phones. He looked up, past the present. "Not like that…at least, not most of them, or not that I know of. They're just friends that I've known since middle school, elementary school even." He let the ear phones hang off of the bear key chain and he picked up the fourth and final wrapped gift.

Vlad watched in silence as the gift was revealed and the wrapping paper was crumbled up into a ball and thrown in the garbage. He wetted his lips before he spoke, his chest jerking with an abrupt cough he chose to ignore. "Not…" Cough. "Not many kids from my middle school…went to the same high school." He coughed into his fist and Anderson offered him a glass of water. He growled at it, but a hand forced it into Vlad's gut, spilling some on his borrowed sweat shirt. "Fine." He hissed, his throat itching with the moving air, and he gulped down some water.

"What about those guys you hang out with at lunch? You were with them today, too, weren't you? I was…kinda dragged off, so I couldn't check."

Vlad sneered at the glass of water he moved around on the smooth surface of the counter. "They come to me. I don't go to them…they aren't my friends. And they're annoying as Hell. My…friends…don't go to our school or they don't bother showing up for classes." His features quieted and the glass was stilled, though a pale finger drew lines in the condensing water on the outside of the glass. "They're…different, but I've known them forever, so I get along with them."

Anderson watched, listening to the words with rising unease. He shifted his weight from one foot to another and cleared his throat as he leaned back on a counter by a stainless steel sink. "Are they…delinquents?"

Vlad's eyes widened and a laugh burst from his lips before he could stop himself, and the humor continued, making his tone unpleasant when he answered the question. "Are they delinquents? You mean, do they do drugs, drink, vandalize public and private property, steal, and all the rest?" He laughed again, though it sounded more like a cackle in Anderson's ears, and the green eyes narrowed as they darkened.

"Do you do those things with them?" Vlad's laughter died and he turned to the quiet, passively aggressive voice, and leaned his weight on his elbow on the counter, remaining on his stool as he looked at the tan face.

"Some of it Anderson, but…before you freak out and turn me over to your mom," Vlad lifted his hands and pulled back his sleeves, then pulled on his eye lids, showing the clear whites of his eyes. "…I'm drug free and I don't deal. I drink, when someone else provides it, but I've never been drunk. Does that make it any better?" He shrugged, asking himself the question as he read it in Anderson's narrowed eyes. "Hell no. But that's what I've grown up with, Anderson. Same with the 'delinquents' I call my friends. It's not all our fault, you know. It's just how we were brought up, or mostly that's the case. My uncle got me to develop a taste for cheap wine and small quantities of beer…but I can't handle anything stronger, he never let me experiment with anything stronger. Guys make fun of me, but why should I care? I don't give them a reason to disrespect me, other than not showing off in that regard, so I'm let alone, mostly."

They were left in a tense silence. Vlad thrummed his fingers on the counter, biting the side of his mouth as his foot tapped quietly on the tile floor. Anderson took a breath and opened his mouth when the silence was broken by a cough. "Why are you called Hell Dog?"

Vlad's neck jerked, forcing him to look Anderson in the eyes for a moment. The red gaze dulled, and then sparked as his lips twisted into a leer. "Curious now, are we?"

"Concerned, actually." Anderson replied in a cold monotone, crossing his arms to show that he was ready to wait for his answer.

Vlad paused, watching the intent eyes. Then he grinned without real amusement or pleasure behind the expression. "I bite." The green eyes widened, disgust and shock coming with his knowledge behind the scar on his mother's hand. He would have gotten angry, if not for the somewhat pained look his glower drew from Vlad. The black head of hair shook, and Vlad sighed, burying his hand in his hair. "I get in a lot of fights, and I'm expected to take part in organized fights…and I tend to bite, just in reflex sometimes. I bite, I hiss…I do…abnormal things, and I scare people. Plus…I have, you know…red eyes." He leaned away from his hand, and put it on the counter as he glanced at the emotionless face by the sink. "It's not something I asked for…but I have a sense of…of some kind of pride for it. But you wouldn't understand, Anderson, and you shouldn't. It's…a survival thing… Actually, I don't know what it is, but I don't mind the name. People respect it, and I don't get much respect in…life, Anderson. People look at me and they move away. They cringe. They hurry past me on the sidewalk so as to not get too close." His hands were in his lap now, but he was still looking calmly into Anderson's unresponsive face. "I like the fighting. I like thrill…almost as much as the piano. Though, you'll probably just say that it's insane…fighting has its own skills and stuff." He paused for a moment. "It always reminds me of 'the survival of the fittest', Darwin's thing. But you can't explain it… You have to… It's something you have to experience in order to get, Anderson." Vlad's eyes widened for a moment, and he looked away with an awkward laugh. "Well, damn. This has nothing to do with your question, now, does it?" He chuckled and slouched as he sat on the stool, catching his head on the counter with his hand and he sighed. "Can we just forget this and move on? Hm? I want to go see if my shoes are dry. Your shoes are too big and they're starting to give me blisters. 'kay? Shoes, Anderson. I want to get my shoes and my other clothes. I got to go check up on some stuff. I have to go home and see if anyone's broken in and stolen everything or not. I'll walk after you give me back my stuff…"

"Shut up, Vlad."

The red eyes rose as the teen sat up stiffly and watched Anderson leave the sink. "Let's get your stuff and then we can figure out how we're going to either eat all of the candy before my sister get's home, or how we're going to hide it from her."

Vlad was quiet, unable to make himself move on command, but he got up when Anderson left the kitchen and yelled at him to 'come get his own stuff'. Trying to forget about the uncomfortable discussion they had just had, Vlad smirked emptily as he walked with Anderson to the laundry room. "Is your sister fat too?"

"I am not fat." Anderson shot back, and then grumbled. "My sister isn't fat either." He continued to walk, but his foot halted in the mid step after another moment. His eyes swung to Vlad who stopped by his side, looking the other teen over with a small, growing grin. He started to walk again while Vlad's mouth creased with a tight frown.

"What the hell was that? Did you have a brain fart for what, Anderson?"

Ignoring the crude question, Anderson smiled. "Do you want to go to a party tonight?"

"A what?"

"A party. There's a Christmas party that I'm supposed to go to tonight…do you want to come?"

They had reached the laundry room now, and Anderson went to the drier to remove the clothes while Vlad slowly walked to the sink where his shoes had been set to dry. He picked them up and weighed them in his hands for a bit, then clapped the shoes together, facing the wall. "I don't mingle well with your crowd Anderson."

"So you're just going to let that scare you away from going?" Anderson smiled slyly as he pulled the clothes from the dryer. Vlad had stopped clapping the shoes and was staring at the wall. Slowly, his eyes narrowed and his mouth scowled as his hands smacked the hole littered converse together.

"I guess so."

Anderson gave a false sigh and stood up. He closed the door of the drier with his foot and turned to leave while Vlad followed. "Then I'm not going either."

"What?"

Anderson fixed his grip on the pile of clothes in his arms, frowning when his glasses began to slide down his nose. He jerked his head futilely to fix them. "I'm not going to the party if you aren't…though I've been looking forward to it and all."

"Shut up." Vlad growled, tempted to throw the shoes at the blonde head. "Don't guilt me with your stupidity. Go if you want to, stupid bastard fat ass. Go."

"No."

"Damn you! Go to your stupid goddamn party!"

"You need to stop using that word, or else one of these days I'm going to beat the snot out of you Vlad, but no. I'm not going unless you go, you runty coward."

The argument continued up the stairs and into Anderson's room, enduring a full half hour until Vlad conceded. They were going to go to the 'stupid goddamn party', after all.

*~*~::..+..::~*~*

"Fuckin' Hell."

Anderson was caught between a smirk and a glare as he looked at the boy sitting in the passenger seat of his car. Vlad was gawking at the building and the people around them, close to being horrified of the sight.

"Oh my fucking God! Shit, Anderson! Why in fucking God's name did you bring me here? HERE? WHY? You dick! You fuckin' bastard rich ass bastard, Anderson!"

"Okay." Anderson growled, fists squeezing his steering wheel as he forced himself to overlook the language. "Enough with that, Vlad. Let's go in."

Vlad pushed back into his seat and gaped at Anderson, his hands gripping the handle of the door, as if to hold it shut himself. "No way in hell! This is a fucking police station, you God damned bastard! I hate you, Anderson. That's it. I hate you, and you are taking me to a street corner away from this place and letting me out so I can go home. Now."

Anderson opened his door and pushed a button on his key chain that would unlock Vlad's door. Vlad just locked it again, making Anderson scowl.

"You said you were taking me to a party, Anderson, not to jail, you freaken bastard. Damn you." Red darted about to the different uniformed persons and he gritted his teeth and sunk deeper into his chair, as if to hide. "I hate you." He mouthed with burning eyes cutting into Anderson's frustrated expression. Anderson huffed and pulled Vlad so that he was sitting normally.

"This is the party. My mom's work party. You aren't going to be arrested. I promise…like with the shoes…and as you can see, I was right about that, wasn't I? Let's go." He sighed when Vlad hissed at him like a feral cat. "Don't do that while you're here. People will think you're crazy or high on something…'kay? No weird hissing sounds. Now out. Out of the car before I have to get my mom out here."

"Fuck you." Vlad hissed again and his hands melded to the sides of his seat as he held himself down. Anderson muttered to himself and stalked over to a nearby cop who smiled and greeted him friendlily. Anderson gave a half of a smile and informed the policeman and the other man he was standing next to, that his friend had a phobia for police stations and was afraid he was going to be arrested if he got out of the car. Vlad, who could hear him from the open car door, snarled and tightened his grip on the seat as the two policemen came to the car and then went to his window. They took one look at him and lost their cheery mood. One pulled out a flashlight while another set his hand instinctively on his walky talky. Vlad glared at the light that stung his eyes while the man holding the flashlight sighed at the red eyes he saw.

"Are you currently under the influence of any…" He began, but was cut off when an infuriated Vlad hissed, his red eyes going to Anderson who was taken aback by the new development.

"See! I'm not even out of the damned car yet and I'm already getting arrested, Anderson! You dumbass! I'll even let you take me home if it means getting away from here!" Then he glowered up at the policeman, still holding onto his seat. "And you! I am not on any goddamn drugs! This is my natural eye color, you bastard! I haven't done anything illegal! Let me go home!"

The ruckus was slowly attracting the attention of other officers and they alerted those inside that there was a dangerous and confrontational individual, whose hands were hidden from view, screaming at cops from inside a car. Integra, interested in the news, came out as well, and then stared at her son's car and the growing number of police that were coming to look at it.

The flashlight was removed from Vlad's face but he continued to snarl at the faces and held onto his seat. "Anderson! You stupid fat ass! You're a freaken retard! You took me to a fucking police station! I hate cops!"

A loud laugh turned heads and quieted Vlad as he found Integra moving to the door that her son had left open. She leaned in, shocking the other police officers, and patted Vlad's stiff shoulder and sat down in the car with him, smirking and chuckling as he frowned at her, refusing to let go of his seat. "Come on out, Vladimir. You're welcome here, too. You're not going to jail tonight."

Tonight? A few thought as Vlad slowly relaxed his grip on the seat, but his cautious eyes continued to sweep about to the individual cops surrounding him. "Your son's an idiot for bringing me here." He muttered, causing the woman to chuckle and find Anderson with her eyes.

"He knows our Christmas parties are fun, Vladimir. Come on. We have food and soda, I have beer for myself and others over twenty-one, you can't have any, but we also have a Wii and a projector set up. Have you ever played Wii?"

Vlad stared at her blankly, as if she were a lunatic being carted off to an asylum. He hesitantly shook his head to say he hadn't played Wii before. She tugged on his shoulder again and chuckled before getting out of the car. She went to his door and knocked on it. He received the wordless order and unlocked the door after a moment. Satisfied, she opened the door and smiled warmly at the pale face before undoing his seatbelt and grabbing his black sweatshirt. Integra pulled him all the way out of the car and left him sprawled out on the wet parking lot asphalt. Ignoring the stares she received from those watching, she turned and went inside.

Anderson helped the stunned boy to his feet and he escorted him passed the sea of uniforms, and into the police station.