The Blood Nexus

Chapter 4: Friend

^V^

My friends (including Piper) stared at me as I trudged through the door. I guess they were anticipating my return so they could ask me all about what happened. Or maybe they were just worried.

"How'd it go?"

"What's it feel like?"

"Did you talk to him?"

"Can I see the scars?"

Or… maybe not.

"Okay guys, wait." I said, sitting at the desk, getting comfortable first. Radarr jumped up on the desk and sat next to me. "I barely spoke to him, and he didn't bite me at all."

"Why not?" Junko asked.

"Because… I was scared." I mumbled reluctantly. There was silence for a few moments before Finn burst out laughing.

"Aw, was wittle Aewow scawred?" He said between laughter.

"Finn, shut up!" Piper yelled at him, yanking his ear. "If it was you, you would have peed your pants, like you did two Halloweens ago!"

"Hey, you said you'd never tell anyone!" Finn pushed Piper's hand away and gritted his teeth. Stork was giggling behind them.

"Anyway…" Piper sighed. "It's strange that you being scared stopped him from biting you, isn't it?"

"He said he doesn't like it when his feeders are scared." I explained. "That's why he doesn't hunt."

"That is weird." Stork said. "Vampires don't just feed on blood; they feed on the victim's fear, as well."

"Well, maybe he's just a different kind of vampire, that's all." I shrugged my shoulders. "Besides, he asked me to come over tomorrow."

"Why, so he can scare you again?" Finn asked sarcastically.

"I'm not going to be scared again." I said, getting irritated. "Can we just go to bed? I'm very tired."

"Yeah, let's do that." Piper said, standing up and stretching. "Good night, boys."

"Night Piper." I said, watching her leave the room. I got up, too, turning out the light and getting into bed, the others doing the same. Tomorrow was going to be another long day.

^V^

When classes were over, I found Piper by our locker talking to another one of her roommates, named Dove. I greeted them as I put my books in our locker.

"So, how was your meeting with the president?" Dove asked me.

"It was… fine." I said. I didn't feel like going into details.

"So was mine, sort of." She said. I did a double-take.

"What? You got picked, too?"

"Yeah, she did. You were there when they called the names." Piper told me.

"I… guess I wasn't listening." I rubbed the back of my head. "So, who's your vampire?"

"It's Ravess." Dove snarled. "She's not very nice, but she didn't kill me." She showed us the bandage that covered the bite marks, with dried-up blood around the edges. Seeing that suddenly made me nervous. "She only took what she needed and kicked me out."

"Well, that's good." Piper said. She looked at me, seeing my nervous expression. "You alright?"

"Uh, yeah." I answered, closing the locker. "Well, I gotta go… do my homework." I said shortly, starting to walk quickly down the hallway. What the hell was wrong with me? I was never scared of vampires or blood before, so why am I scared now?

^V^

It was nighttime, and time to go back to the Dark Ace's "penthouse" dorm. I knocked on the door and followed the creepy thin butler in like I did before, and stood nervously in front of his door again.

"Hello?" I said, creeping my way inside.

"Come in, Aerrow." I heard the Dark Ace say soothingly. I did what he said, shutting the door as gently as I could. I scanned the room, but there was no Dark Ace… again. I figured he might be sitting in the chair again. "I'm in the next room." He called. I followed the voice to the adjacent room, finding the dark-haired vampire sitting at a dining table, with a plate of food set at the opposite seat. "Please sit down and eat, if you like." He said.

"Uh, okay, sure." The food did look good, and my dinner wasn't precisely satisfying. I sat down and picked up the fork, but then I stopped suddenly.

"What's the matter?" Dark Ace asked me.

"Is this poisoned or something?" I asked bluntly. The Dark Ace looked at me for a second, and then put his hand to his mouth, snickering softly.

"No, it isn't." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Our chef made it."

"Vampires have chefs?" I found that rather odd.

"Yes, for the feeders, and for other human acquaintances." He snapped his fingers, and in seconds a fat man with a beard came in, wiping grease off his hands. "Armano, you are free to leave."

"Thanks, sir." He looked over at me. "Enjoy the food, kid."

"Thank you." I said to him as he left.

"He works in the cafeteria to kill the time that we don't need him." Dark Ace joked. I took a bite of the food.

"Mm, it's a lot better than the cafeteria food, though." He laughed again. "Dark Ace, why did you do this for me?"

"Simple." Dark Ace leaned back in his chair, his eyes swelling with pride. "I don't want you to be scared of me."

"But…" I sighed, deciding not to argue. "But… I don't know why I'm scared. I shouldn't be."

"Oh, no?" Dark Ace cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, I mean… I'm not prejudice of vampires at all." I explained. "Vampires aren't too different from humans or animals. We all have to eat to survive. It's just a matter of seeing things. I guess… I got scared like any prey would." There was a long pause, and then the Dark Ace cracked a smile.

"You are a very insightful boy." He said to me. "It's just that… the fear gets old after so many years; I want the fear to turn into… excitement." His eyes got darker.

"That's really weird for a vampire to say." I said. "Especially you. All the girls in my class adore you, and the boys are jealous of you. And all the vampires here seem to follow you."

"Yes, but out of fear." He pointed out, resting his head in his hand. "Being the rich president is not that great."

"Lonely at the top, eh?" I said, finishing the dinner.

"Hmph, I suppose." He added softly. I looked up at his expression, and though he was trying to hide it, I could tell it was… sadness. Loneliness. I always knew vampires could be lonely creatures, but when there's a place full of them, I thought they'd be able to find someone. I guess in his case, it's different. I felt bad. I didn't want him to feel like that.

"Well…" I stood and walked carefully over to him. He looked up at me, and I felt a blush rise in my face. "Maybe… we could be friends, if you want." His eyes went wide and his mouth opened slightly, totally surprised at what I just said. I smiled genuinely, showing the truthfulness in my statement.

"I would like that, Aerrow." He smirked back to me. "But let's get one thing straight right now." He took my hand in his, gently rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "You… are not my prey." He looked dead in my eyes, making me shiver a little.

"R-Right, Dark Ace."

"Please, just call me Ace."

"O-Okay… Ace."

^V^

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