Vampire Kisses fanfiction
PLASTIC PROMISES
Claude Sterling/OC: Madeline Torrent

Chapter 07.

Kat sniffed the crisp night wind and sighed with satisfaction, the scent of many humans in one place filling her nostrils.

"Let's head north, shall we?" she suggested, tugging on her lacey fingerless gloves. Tripp narrowed his eyebrows.

"We can't. That's where Alexander is. If we head north, he'll find us and Dracula knows what he'll do to us for not keeping our promise," he said. Kat scoffed.

"Oh please. We're full vampires too, now. We can take Alexander easy. We've got his powers now. And besides, how do we know he knows we've been drinking human blood?" she asked.

"Well, if we hunt for humans in Dullsville then Alexander will surely find out," Tripp said, shrugging one shoulder. Rocco slapped him on the back, Tripp's glasses almost falling off his face from the impact.

"Ah if we stay discreet he'll never find us," he reasoned. "We should go check out Dullsville for a bit." Kat smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his middle. She noticed Claude staring out into the busy streets, leaning against a building wall.

"What's up with you? Are you even listening to anything we're saying?" she asked. Claude blinked numerously before turning her way.

"Huh?" he said in a bored tone, smacking his lips. Kat narrowed her eyes.

"Ever since you came back to the graveyard this morning you've been acting really weird. What's going on?"

Tripp peered over his glasses and pushed them back onto his nose, usual techno punk music blasting through his earbuds. He knew what was going on; at least he assumed it had to do with that human girl. Last night, Claude had left his friends at the Dungeon and hadn't told them where he was going. They only saw him when he returned to the graveyard when the others were getting ready to sleep in their coffins. He'd returned quiet and only mumbled short responses to their many questions. Plus, he bore the scent of fresh blood, so the others figured he had just gone out for a hunt, at least Kat and Rocco had. Since Tripp knew Claude's secret, he assumed much more.

"Nothing," Claude shrugged nonchalantly. "So, what were you guys talking about?"

"We're thinking of going over to Dullsville for a snack. What do you think?" Rocco informed, draping an arm around Kat's shoulders. Claude pondered the idea. What would Alexander say if he caught them drinking from the Dullsvillians? However, heading to Dullsville would mean that he'd be far away from the human girl he'd failed to kill, which would definitely benefit him.

"If Alexander catches us feeding, then who cares? Like I said, we can take him," Kat assured, as if she'd read Claude's mind. "It's four against one, and we're all equal in strength, well, except maybe you, babe. You're the strongest of us all." She cooed while stroking the planes of Rocco's chest. Claude and Tripp exchanged eye rolls before Claude cleared his throat to bring the two public displayers of affection back to reality.

"Kat's got a point," Claude said. "We've got all the powers Alexander possesses, and plus — I'm smarter than he is. He can't read my tactics. So, anybody hungry for some Dullsvillians?"

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Maddie slouched in the passenger seat of Travis's leather interior BMW. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she kept her eyes glued to the window so that she wouldn't have to look anywhere near his face. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. What in the world convinced her that going to a soccer game was the greatest solution to her problem?

Oh right. The psychopath vampire guy in the alley. She couldn't dance her troubles away because of him. As a matter of fact, she couldn't do a lot of things because of him. A lot of the things she thought of or did reminded her of last night.

Maddie shuddered and combed a loose strand of hair that wasn't pulled up into her ponytail behind her ear. Her finger rubbed against the points of her many piercings. Piercings. That ring in the goth boy's lower lip. She mentally groaned. There was no escaping him.

"Are we almost there?" she unintentionally snapped at Travis, who had been driving silently. Ever since the argument — what was that argument about? — back at her apartment, the two had hardly exchanged a word. Travis had left Maddie's room to watch a Spanish soap opera on one of the only channels her television got and Maddie had remained in her room until she'd finished her essay. Maddie was pretty sure Melinda was relieved that the two of them were gone, as she was stuck in the middle of all the awkward tension in the house.

Travis shot her a quick sneer. "Damn, monster. Can you take a chill pill? You don't have to get an attitude." Maddie snapped her head in his direction with an icy glare.

If only he knew what I've been through, he wouldn't be acting like a jerk, she thought. But she didn't exactly want to tell Travis Mitchell what had been bothering her. They weren't friends. They would never be friends. They had been enemies since the third grade when Maddie first attended Travis's elementary school. She'd been dressed in an orange jumper with a brownish stain near her rear. Of course she'd gotten the jumper at the thrift store, and the stain had come along with it. When Travis spotted the stain, he thought it witty to make a comment about it, announcing at recess that Maddie Torrent had pooped her pants. Maddie could distinctly remember the entire playground laughing at her, a couple of the supervisors hiding their snickers as well, and the smug smile Travis wore, as if he were so proud of his comment.

Maddie had gotten her revenge, though. The very next day, Travis had come to school in his brand new baseball uniform. Why? Maddie had no idea and she thought it kind of ridiculous that he would come to school wearing that, but, of course, the other kids thought otherwise. During lunch time, Maddie made sure to put some of her chocolate pudding on Travis's seat discreetly and, the next thing she knew, Travis was sporting a very nice brown stain on his white baseball pants. Maddie had then pointed a finger at him and announced that Travis Mitchell had pooped his pants. She got the laughter from her fellow classmates, but as for the supervisors, they sent her to the principal's office instead of chuckling along with her.

After that, the two had always been butting heads with each other, plotting revenge for the next childish scheme they pulled on each other. So there was no way Maddie was going to confide in Travis if they couldn't even play nice.

"Just answer the question," Maddie snapped, intentionally this time. Travis rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Yeah, we are. What's your deal, anyway?"

"I just need to get out of this car."

"Why? I cleaned it just for you," he said with a smirk. Maddie shot him another death glare, but Travis laughed at it.

"Shut up. Why do you have to say things like that? If I wasn't smart enough to know your tricks, I'd think you were actually leading me on."

"You mean I'm not?" Again, he laughed. Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Hell, no."

They crossed a couple sets of train tracks and Travis turned onto a road which led them through a very rural neighborhood. Maddie had never been up north from downtown. She figured a cousin of Travis would play for a league of much higher standing.

"Your cousin is a farm boy?" she asked with a snicker. Travis shot her a quick glare.

"No, but my uncle does own most of this land. We just have to cross through Cowville to get to my cousin's town."

"Okay. Jeesh, you don't need to get all defensive."

"I'm not being defensive!" retorted Travis, clearly sounding defensive. Maddie snickered.

Ten minutes later they were driving through a fancy suburban neighborhood. The houses were a lot closer to each other now, each with a neatly trimmed, green, grassy lawn and an expensive shiny vehicle in the driveway. Maddie wouldn't have been surprised if Travis's cousin lived in one of these houses.

A couple more turns and a high school came into view, lights from a field in back of school illuminating a glow around the building. More expensive cars were filed in the parking lot.

"Guess people have got money on this side, huh?" muttered Maddie, not necessarily to Travis, but he answered anyway.

"Yup. And my cousin's one of the richest kids here. Ain't that great? Wealth runs in the family. You should think about joining it," Travis smirked, elbowing Maddie as he put the car in park. Maddie groaned in disgust and hastily unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car.

"You mean marry you? No, I don't think so. I've got higher standards," Maddie assured. Travis barked out a cruel laughter.

"Marry me? No way, monster. I meant you become my maid. The pay's pretty nice. I bet you'd be satisfied with five bucks an hour. And maybe — maybe — then I can give you a bonus of playtime up in my bedroom, but only once you've done my laundry."

Maddie stared at Travis with her mouth slightly opened. Oh God, he was nothing more than stupid.

"Let's just go. I need to get my mind off of a lot of things," Maddie grumbled and stomped off towards the soccer field. Travis caught up with her quickly and they passed by unfamiliar kids that attended the school.

"Get your mind off of things? I can help with that," he offered, trying to snake his arm around her shoulders. She violently shrugged it off.

"No. Your little clever maid suggestion is one of those things I'm trying to delete from my memory," Maddie retorted.

"Suit yourself, but the offer is always there." He winked at her and flashed his handsome smile, a smile that would have made any other girl melt at his feet, but made her taste the bile rising in her throat.

They made their way towards the bleachers, which were practically full of chatting parents and students. The home team was practicing near the bleachers closest to Maddie and Travis, while the away team further east. Travis suddenly beamed and waved his arm over his head.

"Hey, there's Trev! Hey — Trevor!" he called and violently yanked Maddie's arm, almost literally dragging her behind him as if she were a doll.

"Hey! Travis — let go! Hey — ouch!"

Travis suddenly let her go and absentmindedly pushed her away with even force to almost send her to the ground. She caught her balance and dusted herself off, cradling her arm as she watched Travis meet with a blonde boy who was practically identically to Travis himself. They were of the same height and had the same blue eyes. The only differences really were that the other boy's blonde hair was grown out more and his body build more rugged.

"Who's the chick?" he asked suddenly, looking over Travis's shoulder.

"I'm who Travis likes to think is his girlfriend," Maddie teased, crossing her arms. Travis shot her a look of disgust.

"Um, no you're not. She begged to come to the soccer game with me, so I obliged. She's kind of annoying, if you ask me," he added softly. Maddie dropped her jaw and narrowed her eyebrows. Trevor scoffed.

"Well, that's too bad. She's a cutie," he said and grinned at her. Maddie took a step back.

"Hey, well, I'll trade you for that sexy-looking blondie over there." Travis tilted his chin towards a bubbly cheerleading, her ponytail bobbing with every move her head made. Maddie rolled her eyes. Trevor looked towards the cheerleader's direction.

"Cynthia? Take her. I was supposed to take her out tomorrow, but I'd rather bring the little one over here." His grin grew wider.

"I'm not little," Maddie automatically retorted, which brought snickers to both boys. "And I'm not here looking for potential boyfriends. Sorry."

A whistle tweeted through the crisp night air and Trevor looked over his shoulder at the field.

"Gotta go. Keep an eye on me, cutie," he said to Maddie. She pretended to gag.

"No thanks," she said in return, but Trevor had already run to join his team.

"I knew Trev would like you," Travis said proudly. Maddie rolled her eyes.

"Oh, is that so, Mr. Matchmaker?" she asked sarcastically. They climbed the bleachers and took their seats near the top, Travis instructing her where to go and where to sit. She snapped back at him saying that she was plenty capable with finding seats for them, but Travis ignored her and continued his demanding.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to come," Travis reminded when they sat down.

"You don't have to remind me. I know I was on drugs," she mumbled.

"Hey, go get me a hot dog and a Coke, will you? Be sure to put extra onions, and easy on the mustard. Oh, and no relish —"

"Excuse me but do I look like your slave?" Maddie snapped. Travis scoffed.

"If you were my slave, I'd be holding a whip right now. Whoa — that sounded kinky," he added with a grin. Maddie groaned.

"Oh my God! Fine! I'll get your stupid hot dog, just as long as I get to be away from you," she exclaimed and stood up.

"Don't forget the onions," Travis reminded.

Maddie had had enough. She was fuming, but she was also mad at herself for being stupid enough to come with the baseball boob to this stupid soccer game. She hated soccer and she hated Travis, so why was she here with him? This wasn't solving anything. Her mind still lingered on last night in the alley and the boy with the lip ring. And Travis's bratty behavior wasn't helping to get rid of those images.

She scanned for a way off of the bleachers. Why had Travis told her to sit all the way up here? Why had she listened to him? As her eyes drifted towards the hot dog stand near the school building, her eyes met with a figure whose appearance made her heart stop. As a matter of fact, her entire body froze. Eyes wide as dinner plates, she met with the dark eyes of the boy she had met in the alley. The lip-ringed psychopath. And he had friends.

"Are you going to get my hot dog or what? Why are you just standing there?" snapped Travis, pulling Maddie from her paralyzed state. She shook her head and her heart began to race. She quickly sat back on the bleachers and turned to Travis.

"I need the keys to your car," she said lowly. He looked taken aback.

"Why?"

"I have to go home," she said quickly. "I-I just remembered that I'm not supposed to go out tonight. My mom wanted me home."

Travis stared at her strangely. He obviously didn't buy her fib.

"Well you sure seemed intent on coming," he said. Maddie quickly glanced back and noticed the boy and his crowd lurking around the hot dog stand, keeping to the shadows, but also keeping his eyes on her.

"Please. Just take me home then if you can't trust me with your car," Maddie pleaded.

"Are you kidding? I'm not missing this game. You can just make up some excuse to your mom later. Your sister will cover for you; she seemed cool, for a kid."

Maddie's breath was getting heavier and faster as she whipped her head back and forth towards the boy and Travis. Her eyes were wide with fear and she bit her lip to keep from breathing so loudly. Travis eventually noticed.

"What's wrong with you? Are you really that worried your mom's going to flip? Jeez, you're a wuss," Travis said. Maddie was too frightened to be angry with Travis's taunts. She needed to get out of here, but she couldn't be alone. At least with the crowd she was safe.

"Please, Travis. I'll do anything, I swear. Take me home." What was Maddie saying? She wouldn't do anything for Travis, but her fear was taking over her voice and she was rambling anything that would get her away from the boy. She glanced briefly back at him. He was just as confused as she was seeing her here. But the glint in his dark eyes still frightened her as clips of last night flashed through her mind. She could feel his breath on her neck, feel his body crouched over hers, hear the suckling of his tongue running over those fake vampire fangs. She quietly, and unintentionally, whimpered and looked away from him. It was then that Travis looked at her with concern.

"Okay, what is going on? Do you really want me to take you home that badly?" he asked her.

"Yes!" she said desperately, not even trying to hide it. Travis rolled his eyes and stood, lifting her to her feet by her elbow. "Fine, but I'm keeping you to your promise. Anything for me? Hmm … I'm going to have a field day thinking about this. I've got to decide this carefully. Who knows when I'll get another one of these promises again?" They walked off the bleachers, Maddie hugging herself tightly and keeping close to Travis as they passed the ghostly gang. Travis noticed them and gave them a disgusted look.

"Jeez, who invited the zombies? Didn't think kids like them would enjoy a soccer game," Travis snorted with an eye roll. Maddie hushed him and the worry spread through her body. What was he doing, trying to make them mad? If they heard him she might have gotten a repeat of last night, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"What?" Travis asked, confused. "Who cares what they think of me and what I say? It's not as if I'm ever going to see them again. And since when do you care about stuff like that anyway?"

This was the third night in a row Maddie had seen that boy. Clearly there would be more chances. Was he following her, like she had suspected last night when she'd confronted him about it? Was he really a stalker?

"Just hurry up and get in the car," she ordered softly. The boy's eyes still lingered on her, as if they were glued to her body. They pierced her, and she felt as if he were looking through her, undressing her. She shuddered and quickened her pace.

"Jesus, Maddie. I am seriously getting weirded out by you. What's your deal?"

Maddie ignored him until she got into the car and Travis drove away. The boy and his gang had followed them to the parking lot, which made Maddie's heart slam so hard against her chest, it hurt her. But they were gone now and Maddie's heart slowed to a safer pace.

"Okay, Maddie, I'm getting sick of your antics. What the hell is your problem?" exclaimed Travis when they were on the road. Maddie gulped. She couldn't even speak. The fear had knocked her voice away from her and she couldn't retrieve it. So, instead of explaining, she broke down into an uncontrollable sob, right in front of Travis Mitchell.