Chapter Four: Vampires (pt 3)

He'd texted Toby as soon as he was out of Derek's sight- telling him they could meet up at the coffee shop about an hour after school on Wednesday. He also, sadly, had to break the news that Derek was to supervise them, which Toby replied to with a 'Nooooooo L'.

So, yeah- there he was, sitting at a table and basically being ignored as vampire and werewolf stared off in individual death glares. Stiles had originally thought Toby could never really look dangerous, being so cute- but the horror that glare set in his bones almost made him shiver.

They'd all ordered their respective beverages- Toby neglecting to order the Stiles Special again, but both non-humans seemed to be letting their drinks run cold in favour of a staring-match.

Stiles coughed, fiddling with his notepad (that he'd brought along to write notes for the bestiary) and feeling extremely awkward.

"So, ugh, can you guys stop trying to kill each other via eye-contact and can we actually get this thing started?" in all honesty Stiles was feeling a little peeved at their actions.

Toby snapped his head to look at him, as though he'd just remembered Stiles was there. As soon as he set his eyes on him, though, his entire expression softened- the anger and challenge fading away, eyes lighting up and mouth turning upward in a small, soft, smile.

Stiles, out of the corner of his eye- noticed Derek watching Toby, noticed him noticing the way Toby changed and Derek himself looked upset, not angered, just upset- like he was disturbed by the expression on the vampire's face.

"So, uh Toby…both you and Derek have mentioned some kind of…bad vampires- like, different from you or something?" Stiles asked, trying to relieve the obvious air of discomfort.

Toby frowned, his nose crinkling cutely, "Yeah- uh, my sister and I call it 'the buffy mode'." he said.

Derek snorted- like he actually found what Toby said funny, and Toby smirked in return.

"Buffy mode?" Stiles asked, confused.

Toby nodded, looking more like a puppy than a bat, "Yeah- uh, all vampires start out like me- normal looking (except with the, you know, fangs and glowing eyes and crap), but…ugh, it's hard to explain." Toby ran his hands over his face.

"Try." Stiles urged.

Toby nodded, "Okay, so- yeah, normal looking. That's what all vamps start out like. Normal looking people who can do normal people things- like walking out in the sun. But if the vampire…let's say, kills a human- well, their appearance starts to reflect their soul- kind of like an Alpha's form does-" at this he nodded to Derek.

"So- the buffy reference…?" Stiles asked.

"Well- the weird, bat-like faces in buffy- are kind of the faces most of the bad ones get- it's permanent too, so they're constantly ugly. But, ah- the really bad ones- the ones who kill for more than just blood…they look like, I don't know- a mixture between a classic description of Dracula…and a weird monster thingy. Pointy ears- pointy teeth, claws, red eyes- skin tight across their face…tall, like eight feet- and really, really skinny. Only the really evil ones get that way- they're the ones that ignited most of the stereotypes."

Stiles wrote all of this down on the notepad he'd brought along, little footnotes that he'd later turn into paragraphs for his bestiary.

"Speaking of stereotypes- let's play a little true or false." Stiles suggested and Toby nodded in agreement.

"So- garlic?" he asked.

"True- it's kind of like our wolfsbane…we can be near it- but if it touches us it hurts like a bitch."

"Okay- good to know- no garlic bread. So, holy water and crucifixes?" Stiles paused writing, waiting for his response.

Toby snorted, "We're not demonic creatures, so no, false. I think that all started 'cause someone saw what we call a 'demon vamp' and decided it held great resemblance to the ideals of a devil."

Stiles nodded, it made sense.

"Sunlight?"

"More people you kill- more it burns…feels nice and warm to me by the way." Looking suddenly anxious, as if Stiles may find him as dangerous as Derek made him seem.

Stiles saw Derek rolling his eyes- and Toby glared at the sourwolf in return.

"Coffins?" Stiles asked- trying again to break the tension.

"Well- you have to be dead to be turned- and vamps are nocturnal, so I guess that where that came from. But no- false- I sleep in a perfectly nice bed." Okay, wow- Toby definitely just winked at that. The dude was kind of weird- one minute he was cute and awkward, the next dangerous and forward.

Derek was growling- the total cockblock. Ugh he was such a downer, probably thought Toby was trying to drain Stiles' blood or some shit.

"You're nocturnal? You said that last night." Stiles mentioned and Derek growled again, "What are you doing out in the afternoon then?"

Toby smiled, dimples flashing, "I wanted to see you- that's actually why I was at the shop yesterday too…I thought I had more of a chance seeing you in open day."

Stiles blushed- Derek growled.

"Okay! Seriously, we're in public- can you hold out the vampire-werewolf rivalry for just one moment?" Stiles complained, while simultaneously hitting Derek in the arm.

Toby rolled his eyes and smirked at Derek unkindly, "I don't think that's why he's so antsy Stiles- why are you so mad Derek?" Toby asked, smiling evilly.

Stiles felt like he was missing something here.

"I just don't like you." Derek deadpanned, and sipped at his coffee calmly.

"Ugh- enough of the size comparing, "- at this both of them looked embarrassed, "Can we get back to the questions please?" Stiles had had enough…although he'd been that way for a while now.

"Okay, so- history of vampires?" Stiles asked- clapping his hands in an effort to get started again.

In the end, he got all of his information, almost twenty pages of notes…but it meant having to endure glares, growls, hisses, smirks and very racist comments about dogs and leaches.

In the end Stiles ended up having to drag Derek out of there by the back of the t-shirt- as he was trying to lunge at a livid Toby.

Stiles waved his goodbyes, still utterly confused about why the hell they hated each other so much. Surely the vampire/werewolf conflict didn't run that deep? Oh well- he'd have to text Toby about it later.