JAFNF Chapter 4
(Wednesday, August 4th)
Shit. That's all Dave could think about as he entered the kitchen. Not apple juice, not his nerdy friend, just how much deep shit he was wading in today. Actually, he took that euphemism back. It sounded disgusting. Either way, he knew when his brother called him into the kitchen, their talk wouldn't be good. Dave walked into the kitchen, and by walked, he meant that he took five steps from his living room onto the chessboard-patterned floor of their light blue kitchen. The area had what he assumed was normal kitchen stuff, which included various appliances, cabinets, and their refrigerator. Speaking of the refrigerator, Dave wanted some apple juice, but he felt far too nervous to actually go get the stuff.
"Dave." Dirk's voice said, and Dave had to resist the urge to cringe. Instead, he over compensated, and his response was extra loud.
"What?" He asked, and immediately his guardian looked towards the couch. Thankfully, John was still in the bathroom.
"Keep your voice down!" He said, his voice barely above a whisper. Dave rolled his eyes behind his shades, but spoke quietly.
"Whatever." He responded, then allowed his brother to continue.
"Okay, I really didn't want to be rude to your friend, but why the hell did you think it was a good idea to bring a human in here? I let you out of the house for like, seven hours and you return with your geeky internet friend? That's some shitty responsibility Dave." His guardian spoke, and Dave frowned. Dirk's tone changed."I mean, I kind of get it. He's the first contact you've had with someone that's your age, but is the best course of action really to bring him to our house? You know you shouldn't bring people in here." Dirk said, his voice stern. At that, Dave folded his arms and stared at his older sibling.
"Why can't I? Shouldn't I get this much freedom? Besides, you bring people in our house all the time , or at least you did in Texas. How is this any different?" The boy asked, looking through his shades defiantly.
"It's different with you. I have to protect you! Is that not clear?" The older one asked, now glaring through his sunglasses as well.
"Oh, right. You have to protect me because I'm a 'pureblood'. You know, I'm a person too! Hell, I wish I could be human, like you! I fucking hate being a vampire." Dave failed to notice the bubbling anger behind his brother's usual collected façade.
"Shut up Dave." The man said seriously, and Dave felt guilty enough not to respond. He knew he'd gone a little too far with this, but in true Strider fashion, Dirk didn't confront him about it. Instead, he merely silenced the boy, but even a response like that was enough for Dave to realize what he'd done. "It is my job to take care of you, understand? That's the one thing our parents told me to do before hunters fucking killed them, in an attempt to kill you! You being protected is what our fucking dead mom and dad wanted, so I'm going to protect you. Unfortunately, I can't actually take care of you if you fuck yourself over by walking into the arms of a hunter. You know that, I know that, so I don't know what your fucking problem is." Dirk responded testily. Dave huffed. His parents died before he was old enough to remember them, but it did make him feel a little guilty for breaking some unspoken but obvious rules in their house. Dave knew the dangers of letting random people into his house. They could easily be tracked by hunters, or be hunters themselves. But this was John. He'd been Dave's closest friend in the world for years, meaning that there was no way that Dave would pass up an opportunity to finally hang out with him. So, he refuted Dirk's words, not because they were inherently wrong, but because he didn't want to lose the opportunity to be friends with John. Besides, Dave could probably convince Dirk that John was a safe person to let in.
"Whatever. You know, there's only like a thousand hunters in the entire world, and like 90 billion werewolves and vampires and shit. So, excuse me if I want to invite a friend over!" Dave said. Dirk's voice, in turn, became level again.
"Well, want to hear something funny?" Dirk asked, only receiving a poker face from Dave in response. "Here's something hilarious. There are like 90 billion monsters or whatever, but you want to know something? There are only four pureblood vampires in the entire world, and you're one of them. So excuse me from trying to stop you from letting hunters on our trail!" Dave tried to speak, but Dirk continued. "And before you say they could hunt other purebloods, let me remind you that you're the easiest one to get. Out of the current purebloods that are alive, one of them is like, crazy or something, another is an old fucker, one is normal, and one is you! However, at least the old one and the normal one have each other and they get their crazy vampire shit. You know what you have? Your gigantic support team includes some inexperienced guy running around, trying to hide his dumbass of a brother from some insane murderers." Dirk's voice actually sounded eerily calm, and Dave's arms flew outwards in his desperation to make his brother understand.
"But that's not my fault! I was born into all of this, not bitten. I didn't ask for it." Dave became quieter now, and his gaze turned towards the ground as he crossed his arms again. "I don't want to be a vampire, bro. Screw the "powers", I don't care about them. I just… want to be normal for once." Dave admitted, and Dirk's face didn't change, but his posture did slightly. At least Dave's words had some effect. Dirk's voice turned a little sympathetic.
"Dave. I know you didn't ask for this. I didn't either- but I'm trying to help you out here, man. You know I'm just trying to keep you safe. Even settling down here feels like a risk, but I know you wanted to try school before you turn eighteen. I've already bent rules, and we got really close to being caught in Texas. I know the council says there's no reported hunters in the state, but they could be wrong. It's dangerous for you, everywhere. I wish I could take you somewhere where you could live normally, but this is the most I know how to do. You know, I'm trying too." He said, and sighed. Dirk seemed legitimately sorry, but also didn't seem willing to change. At that realization, Dave stopped trying to argue. It was pointless anyway, and Dave already knew he was right. They were silent for a bit, until Dave heard a flushing noise. The two needed to finish this conversation, now.
"Fine. I won't bring anyone over." He amended, but continued. "But I'm still going to school and being friends with John! He's been my best friend for years, even through all the crazy vampire shit. I deserve that much, at least." Dave said, and Dirk seemed to be okay with at least continuing school. "Please though- think about me hanging out with him, please. He's my best friend." He said, and with a sigh, Dirk promised he'd think about it, and that was final. Both sensed that the conversation was kind of over, so Dave abruptly turned and walked back to the couch. As he entered, John walked back from the bathroom. Instead of commenting on his friend's lack of a bathroom mirror, John frowned at his friend.
"Dude, you suck at directions." John said, crossing his sweatshirt covered arms. Dave raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses, his casual demeanor back.
"What?"
"Your bathroom was not on the second door to the right. It was on the left, Dave, and four doors down." John said, rolling his eyes. Dave wanted to respond sarcastically, but his brother cleared his throat behind the two, and everything fell silent.
"Sorry you two, but I have to go. Even though I work at a night club, they need me to start my set up now." Dirk said, and John nodded. It was time for him to go, yet he didn't feel like he'd overstayed his welcome or anything. Dave just sighed in response, then clicked the remote on the TV. Really, the nightclub was a good lie. No one would background check him or ask about his "profession", and it explained why Dirk was home all day. While he actually preferred building robots (and running from hunters), it was nice to have a cover job.
"Alright. It was nice to have you over John, maybe the next time we hang out, we can do something that's actually interesting." He said, then stood from the couch he'd recently sat on. John immediately grabbed his backpack from earlier, then slung the heavy item over his back, lumberjack style.
"No problem, thank you for having me over." He said, addressing the two brothers. Dirk nodded, making it clear that he understood, then spoke up again.
"I can drive you home, John." Dirk said, and John immediately froze. Dave, who'd been looking away in slight disinterest, looked up at his friend in surprise. How did he suddenly get so tense? John immediately unfroze though, and offered one of his (slightly) bucktoothed smiles.
"Actually, If you could just drive me back to school, that would be great." John said, and Dave stared at him from behind his shades. Dave could feel that he was uncomfortable, and nervous. John wasn't exactly the best at hiding his emotions, but now it was clear that he was trying anyway. If Dirk noticed, he didn't care. Instead, the man just shrugged, deciding against asking questions. It wasn't as if he was a nosy or particularly caring person, so he just held the keys on his finger. Immediately, the three males piled into the car, then Dave started up the truck.
John relaxed after a minute. No questions asked- that was nice. After looking at the vehicle for a few seconds, he realized it didn't have a rearview mirror. Instead, the car had little cameras that displayed footage from behind the car. John found it cool, but instead of looking into it more, he absentmindedly pulled out his phone while the car drove on. The two Striders were arguing about something- probably the car's music volume- but John found something else that captivated his interest. He had a new pesterchum, and it was from a pink typing stranger.
TipsyGonalgist (TG) began pestering Ecto Biologist. (EB)
TG: John!
TG: Johnny boy, we need to tlak!
TG: *Talk, sorry
EB: Uh, hello? Who is this?
EB: How do you know my name?
TG: Ssssh John!
TG: Don't worry, Im on the cass
TG: *Case
EB: Uh…
TG: Don't send a ellipisis at me Johnny boy
TG:* Ellipsis
TG: Ill tell you more when youre alone
TipsyGonalgist (TG) ceased pestering Ecto Biologist. (EB)
John stared at his phone uncomprehendingly. After reading over their conversation again, John shivered. He was innerved. The amount of information this person knew about him was alarming, yet he couldn't do much about it except for waiting for more information. John knew that it could have been one of Caliborn's pranks, but this was too specific. The teenager immediately replaced the phone in his pocket, then wanted to share the experience with his friend. Unfortunately, they'd already pulled up to the school, and he pulled his backpack onto his back.
"Thank you!" He said, and the older brother nodded. Dave actually spoke to him, wishing him a fairly standard sendoff.
"Thanks for chilling man, even if it was like, super short. I'll see you later, right?" Dave asked, and John immediately nodded.
"Uh, of course. I mean, we have biology together so- yeah. I'll see you tomorrow." John said. The blonde vampire nodded, and the two brothers rolled away in their car. John breathed a sigh of relief. He finally faced a meeting with one of his friends, and John felt like he'd accomplished something that day.
TipsyGonalgist (TG) began pestering Ecto Biologist. (EB)
TG: Whew!
John hesitantly looked down at his phone, and the strange person form earlier spoke to him again. He felt seriously uncomfortable, and looked around cautiously for any people before he looked again.
TG: I thought they'd never leave.
TG: *never
EB: Okay, you're kind of weird.
EB: Who are you? Is this a prank?
TG: I'm roxy the irl vampire huntrss
TG:*Huntres
TG: Dangit
EB: Ha, ha. Okay, now really, who are you?
TG: I'm Roxy! Cab you hear me now?
TG: *Can
John just shook his head and closed his phone. Roxy the vampire huntress sounded like some sort of twilight fangirl. The odds were that she was some 13 year old that thought they were funny, but it still unnerved him. After all, her texting had been creepily timed. The idea that she was watching him- well, whoever she was, he hoped that she would stop. John didn't even know why some creeper was coming after him, but he felt like he should at least tell one of his friends.
GardenGnostic (GG) began pestering EctoBiologist (EB)
GG: Hey John!
GG: Are you there?
GG: I guess not
GG: Reply when you can!
Apparently, fate wanted him to tell Jade. John felt bad for not talking to her all day, but at least the two had more to talk about now.
EB: Hello Jade!
GG: Oh! Hey!
EB: Guess what!
GG: What?
EB: Dave moved in a few minutes away from me
EB: And we didn't even know it!
GG: What?!
GG: Now you guys will party without me
EB: Aww, Jade!
GG: Kidding! That sounds like fun!
EB: Yeah, it will be!
EB: Oh, one sec
GG: Okay!
John smiled. Talking to Jade always made him feel a little happier. Knowing that she wanted to talk to him made him happy, even if she was thousands of miles away on a remote island. They'd known each other for years, and John was glad that he had her as a friend. Unfortunately, these notifications from a different pesterchum didn't seem to stop coming, so John switched tabs back to the self proclaimed 'huntress'."
TG: Joooooooohnnny booy!
TG: Don't close your phone on me :(
EB: Seriously, what do you want?
TG: Aww John, I just missed you!
EB: …
TG: No seriously though,
TG: Stay away from Dave
TG: He's bad news John
John frowned. Enough was enough. This girl could randomly stalk him all she wanted,(well, okay, she couldn't actually) but the idea that she could find out about his personal life and police him about it- well, he was done with her game.
EB: Do we know you?
TG: No
TG: But you will
EB: I don't want to. Leave us alone, 'vampire huntress'.
TG: Don't worry, we'll talk again Johnny
TG: * mysterious exit*
TipsyGonalgist (TG) ceased pestering Ecto Biologist.
John groaned and immediately blocked the stranger. He wasn't sure if she was watching him, or just hacking his phone, but he knew he wanted it to stop. John read over their conversation again. He still couldn't figure out why Dave was 'bad news', but he wanted to talk to his friend about it. It was possible that this was a part of some scheme to mess with him, but John wasn't sure. Unfortunately, John couldn't do much about it now, and he'd already missed an important meeting. He could think about Roxy when he got home.
AN: Hi guys! Again, all thanks to Saltymastermemester for letting me write this. I enjoy it! The amount of pesterlogs in this chapter was a little undesirable, but hopefully I can shorten it later.