Chapter 6 - Venom

Valentine didn't know how long he'd been screaming.

Someone was soothing him, holding his head against a warm chest, nevermind the fact that Valentine was soiling their clothes with his tears. "Shh…shh…." The voice soothed, and Valentine vaguely connected it to Violet. "Don't worry, he'll be okay. This isn't your fault," She rubbed his back comfortingly, tipping her cheek to the top of his head, "None of this is your fault…" Her words were tender, though Valentine was aware enough to sense the hesitation in them.

It was his fault.

Valentine gazed at the boy laid out flat on his back. He couldn't even recall who had placed Nico on his bed, or when the others had even burst into the room. Nico was deathly pale and barely conscious, although his eyes were slightly open. He was aware enough to turn dull, glazed eyes towards Valentine, however, and managed to put a faint hint of dislike into the glare. But it was so weak, it was sadly pathetic.

Nico was in pain – blind, consuming, nerve-shredding pain. His tongue burned, his stomach felt like it was eating itself away, and his blood…god, he felt like his own blood was boiling up inside him. Nobody knew what was wrong, so no one dared give him any medication in case it sent him into shock. The pain was so intense, however, so horribly unbearable that right now, Nico just wanted death to come swiftly. Not even his first death had felt this bad…and certainly, this death would be much more permanent. He just wished he could do it in peace, without having that stupid human staring down at him like he was some pathetic, fragile thing. What, he couldn't even die in peace without this guy hovering around? He glared at Valentine as much as he was able. Dying or no, he looked ready to try and rip Valentine's throat out.

Valentine was trembling in Violet's arm. To the side, Ivan was busy placing a bandage around the shaking boy's neck, which was still red and punctured from Nico's earlier invasion.

Nico made a soft, choked sound that sounded something like 'I hate you' but it was hard to tell. Just that effort was hideously painful and Nico choked, coughing, a racking wheeze rattling through his aching lungs and throat. He groaned in agony, his blonde head tipping back on a heap of pillows, his features twisting in torture. Beside him, Arielle was holding his hand tightly, her face easily revealing her concern. Her hand felt so warm, but did she have to hold on so goddamn tightly?

Harold remained quiet, focused, as he pressed a finger against the skin under Nico's left eye and examined the boy's eyeball. It was bloodshot, just as the right eye was. He'd done so many examinations, but for what? Vampires weren't supposed to get sick like this, so did Harold even know what to look for?

Frowning, Harold reached down and grabbed the hem of Nico's shirt, shoving his shirt upwards with no warning. What the hell…? Nico moaned in complaint as he pulled away from Arielle's grip, his hands battling weakly at Harold's hands, trying to push the other vampire away. God, this guy was checking him out as he lay here dying? Pervert.

Arielle tried her best not to stare too hard at Nico's tone body, though she couldn't keep her gaze from landing on his faint 6-pack. A small blush rose to her cheeks and she quickly stood up, giving Harold more room.

Harold patiently took hold of Nico's arms, avoiding holding them too tightly, and pinned them easily at the boy's sides. His gaze flew back to the blonde's abdomen, his chest, his sides… Harold's gaze landed on a small purple bruise-like patch of flesh that was no bigger than the size of a penny. It was just under Nico's left ribcage, but that's not what caught his attention. The colored area seemed to be moving, travelling, and—

Harold suddenly sat up, his expression full of stress, "Get Valentine out of this room," He said, his voice soft. Nico attempted something like a smirk, but it only hurt.

"V.I.P….only," Nico managed to mutter out at Valentine, who was practically being dragged out by Violet and Ivan, with Arielle following closely behind. The boy didn't have any strength to stand on his own two legs.

Once Valentine was out, Nico glanced at Harold curiously and started to question the man as to why Valentine suddenly needed to go. Before he could form the words, Nico was suddenly pushed down with iron strength that Nico could not hope to match. Harold's eyes flickered darkly for a moment, "I told you his blood's off-limits." They both knew Valentine's blood was off-limits, but only because he was a human they intended on keeping alive. Neither realized his blood was so off-limits, it killed. Still, was Harold really about to give Nico a lecture about following rules?

"I didn't even…drink—" Before Nico could explain that he'd barely consumed a couple drops of Valentine's blood, Harold had leaned forward and sank his teeth into the boy's side, just where the patch of colored flesh was.

Nico screamed.

It was like before, when Nico had first turned. He'd cause so much trouble and rebel so often, giving Harold no choice but to bite the boy and show him who the boss was. Those bites hadn't been gentle, and neither was this. Harold still had no intention of easing into a bite just as Nico had done with Valentine. It was all blunt and force with Harold, though Nico couldn't even understand why he was the one getting bit. Sure, he'd crossed the line tonight, but...did he deserve to die that much?

Nico's body tightened in pain and his head twisted to one side as he half groaned, half growled against pillow, his own fangs sliding out in defense. Harold slid his teeth out and bit the flesh again, and again, the bites crisscrossing and causing blood to well and seep freely from multiple puncture points. It filled Harold's mouth, and he was quick to spit it out on a small bowl he found lying among Nico's messy heaps of clothes. This made Nico even more confused, but he was in no condition to argue or try to yank Harold away.

Nico groaned again, sharply, his eyes snapping open and widening slightly at the vicious way Harold was mauling his side. The pain of bite upon bite was breath-taking. The skin, made naturally sensitive by the first bite, screamed sensation and agony at each successive penetration and the heightened awareness of feeling it brought. Nico shuddered, his fingers tightening painfully in the bedsheets around him. Too absorbed in the pain of the bites, Nico wasn't aware that the sensation of his own blood boiling had begun to die down.

Minutes passed. It took more effort than Harold would have liked to admit, but he eventually pulled away from Nico, his lips stained with the boy's blood. Harold stared at the raw, bloody mess he'd made of Nico's side once more before standing up to head to the bathroom, where he quickly rinsed his mouth with cold water, making sure not to swallow a drop of Nico's blood. He wasn't sure if his plan would work, but it was the only idea he had. That strange purple patch of flesh…it hadn't been normal. It was like a poison, and had it travelled to Nico's heart or spread anywhere else, the boy would've been gone. By sucking it out and removing it from Nico's body, Harold could only hope that the boy would regain his strength soon.

Once he was certain his mouth was cleaned out, Harold returned to Nico's bedside. Sometime in the midst of the flesh-tearing, the young vampire had fallen unconscious, but Harold didn't feel alarmed. Judging by the steady rise of Nico's body, he knew his breathing had returned to normal, and that all traces of the poison had been removed.

"Stupid child…" Harold mumbled under his breath as he settled down beside Nico. "It would be so inconvenient for you to die…" The faint wry and amused thought traveled through his spinning, sleep-deprived brain. Harold raised a wrist to his own mouth and bit down, hard, until drops of blood began to flow freely. He knew vampire blood would help to heal all the broken flesh. Placing his bleeding wrist against Nico's lips, he watched as the boy struggled back to consciousness.

Nico was cripplingly hungry – no thanks to Harold – but he almost felt too weak to swallow the blood that was being so generously offered. The blood was nowhere as sweet as Valentine's had been, but at least it wasn't deadly.

Nico would've laughed at that thought, except he would've probably choked on Harold's blood, and that would definitely go against Harold's blood being non-fatal.

"Do I have to go to school?" Ivan pouted, drawing a glare from Nico. Hours had passed since Nico had bitten Valentine, yet he still hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep. He was tired, his side felt sore, and he was hungry. He didn't want to deal with Ivan's irritating complaints.

"Well, duh. Arielle and I are going too," Violet said as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Nico and Val can stay since…" Violet blushed as she searched for words that wouldn't stir up an argument, "…they're tired." Ah, yes. Not far from the truth at all, "They'll be fine alone." Somewhere in the kitchen, the fridge door slammed at the sound of these words. Moments later, Arielle appeared in the doorway, holding a cup of juice fairly tightly. Her knuckles turned white.

"Are you sure they'll be okay together? Alone?" Arielle whispered to Ivan, ignoring Violet's raised eyebrows.

Ivan shrug his shoulders as he packed the last of his notebooks with a sigh, "I think so. Val's sound asleep, so if Nico can just keep his paws off—"

"I'm still here, you know," Nico mumbled from the couch he was sitting against. The TV in front of him was playing some cartoon, but the volume was low. His head was tilted back, one arm hanging loosely against his eyes. He felt so damn tired, but at least his insides weren't burning. The others didn't have to remind him to keep his so called 'paws' off Valentine, Nico didn't want to be anywhere near that guy for a while.

"Guys, hurry up, we're late!" Violet yelled as she grabbed the car keys and headed for the door, making sure Arielle and Ivan were close behind.

The silence was almost a bliss once the others were gone, but that didn't mean Nico's thoughts would remain silent. There was too much to think about and try to understand, but it was so hard when he comprehended so very little of what had happened…

Never, in his life, had he felt sick after drinking some lousy human blood, especially blood that sweet. Nico felt a deep hunger in the pit of his stomach at the memory of Valentine's blood. He pressed his arm tightly against his eyelids and tried to shove that memory out.

After a moment, Nico lowered his arm and sat up straight, catching a glimpse of the time. It was only 8 AM, yet the house was practically empty. Harold had left the house earlier than the others on some sort of 'business trip', as usual, and he was probably at the school by now to play the part of Mr. Brigg, the 11th grade science teacher.

Sometime after helping Nico out, Harold had put Valentine into a deep sleep to help relax the boy, but it wouldn't be long before that wore off. Nico sighed, knowing he'd have to avoid a bullet of questions when Valentine awoke. Until then, he could at least enjoy a cup of coffee and try to get some rest.

Black, one sugar. Nico stirred the mug with a teaspoon before carrying it back to the living room. He paused for a moment and frowned. His hands cupped around the mug he was holding before settling back onto the couch. Vampires didn't really need human food, but that crap tasted good, so why the hell not?

A minute passed, and Nico took a sip before glancing back up at the TV. "I know you're awake," he commented conversationally. Nico took another sip of his coffee then finally sat up and turned around, his gaze landing on the boy at the top of the staircase.

Valentine was a train wreck. His dark hair was wildly mussed from sleeping on a pillow and sticking up at endearing angles. To Nico's amusement, he found the boy attractive like this. Valentine's half-lidded eyes were a little questioning as he met Nico's gaze.

Valentine didn't want to know how Nico knew he was there. Even as he scanned his surroundings, Valentine kept Nico in his periphery vision, watching his body language, wary of the threat he represented. Despite all that, Valentine felt a bit of relief that the boy hadn't died from…well, Valentine wasn't sure. Much of yesterday seemed like some sort of horrible nightmare, and Valentine hadn't had enough time to process it all. He did, however, process one very obvious thing.

"Where is everyone?"

Turning back around to face the TV, Nico finished his coffee and set the mug down on the small table in front of him. Valentine noted that he had changed out of his silly pajama pants. In place of the outfit he had been wearing, Nico was now dressed much more casually in a dark, copper colored short-sleeve shirt and black pants.

"School," Nico replied flatly, wondering when the real questions would start. It was better to get through them now, rather than later when the others were around.

"Oh." Was all Valentine said. He felt a funny little drop in his stomach at the fact that they were the only ones in the house. Slowly, he made his way over to Nico's couch, and the vampire was unable to keep his eyes from roaming to Valentine's bandage. A blush rose to Valentine's cheeks, and Nico narrowed his eyes in mild amusement.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Nico stated, but Valentine's blush only deepened.

Yes, Valentine had caught the way Nico had stared at his neck like it was a piece of cookie, but that only freaked him out. He was only blushing because he couldn't keep the memory of Nico's possessive growl from the previous night.

'Mine'.

Valentine swallowed hard.

"Okay," Valentine replied tonelessly, once more keeping his answers short. Nico frowned at this, but didn't press any further. When the blonde didn't say anything, Valentine settled at the edge of the couch Nico was sitting on. "Can I…"

Nico's gaze didn't leave the TV. When Valentine didn't continue, he rolled his eyes, "What? Spit it out, stupid."

Gritting his teeth, Valentine glanced down at his clenched fists. "Can I go home?" He felt it was necessary to ask.

"Nah." Nico replied simply.

"No?" Valentine's eyebrows burrowed in a frown as he raised his gaze.

"No." Nico replied, irritation slipping in his tone. Harold made it clear not to let Valentine leave until he returned, but then again…Harold had been under the impression that Valentine would be asleep until at least noon.

Valentine hesitated for a moment. "Are you going to stop me if I try and leave?"

Nico didn't bother trying to repress it, a wry grin quirking the corners of his mouth. "Yes."

A minute passed and neither of them said a word. Nico reached for the TV remote to turn on the volume, pausing when he heard a shuffle from beside him. Taking hold of the remote, Nico quickly shifted his gaze to the edge of the couch, which was now empty where Valentine had once been. "Wha—" Nico jumped off the couch and lurched forward, grabbing Valentine's wrist before he could get too far.

Caught by surprise, Valentine used all his strength to avoid falling backwards.

"I already told you, I'm going to stop you if you try and—"

"I was going to take a piss," Valentine replied flatly. He tried to twist his arm away from Nico, but the other male didn't budge. What the hell was this guy's fingers made of, steel!? "What, you going to stop me from peeing, too?"

Nico paused, as if considering. Valentine's cheeks turned an attractive shade of pink as he made another weak attempt to squeeze out of Nico's grip. "Fine, fine. You can go, but you better be out in five."

What the hell was this, prison?

Valentine resisted the urge to tell Nico to shove it. "Fine," he said quietly instead, the unexpected tone catching Nico more off guard than any snarky remarks would have. Slowly, Nico released his grip on Valentine's wrist but before Valentine could get too far, Nico reached over and yanked the bandage right off his neck.

"OW!" Valentine yelped, his hand immediately flying to cover his stinging neck.

Nico resisted a smirk. "Stop being such a baby," He mumbled, ignoring Valentine's glare as he whacked the boy's hand away from his neck. Valentine opened his mouth to protest, but he felt frozen in place by Nico's gaze, a weird unexplainable lump rising awkwardly in his throat.

The side of Valentine's neck was 50 shades of red, where Nico had grazed his teeth repeatedly against the sensitive flesh. It looked like a hickey. That thought would have been very amusing to Nico, had he not been desperately searching for the puncture wound he'd given Valentine when he'd sank his fang in.

"Jeeze, why do you look so surprised? You're the one who did it," Valentine mumbled under his breath as he attempted to slap the bandage back against his neck.

Nico frowned, but didn't deny anything.

When it was apparent Nico wouldn't try to stop Valentine from leaving to use the toilet, the boy ventured out to the nearest bathroom. On his way out, he couldn't resist from mumbling something along the lines of 'stupid, kinky, tweety-wearing…'.

Nico, of course, heard it loud and clear but was too confused to make a big deal out of it. Before he could even start to make sense of his new discovery, the doorbell rang.

Nico glanced at the bathroom Valentine had escaped to before heading to the front door. Opening it, his frown deepened. "Harold? I thought you were at the school?"

The older man burst inside. He was breathing hard, his voice was hard and serious, brooking no disobedience. Seething, Harold's eyes flashed darkly as they turned towards Nico, "I just got back from a meeting with a few higher-ups," He said, as if that was supposed to explain his paranoia.

Nico shut the door after Harold, "Okay, and? It's not your first meeting." Harold always went out to have 'meetings' with other vampires, most of which were much older and more powerful than he was.

Between the breaths he was trying to fight for and the distress he was trying to keep at bay, Harold caught sight of Nico's confused gaze. "Nico, one of the vampires announced his friend's son was in the area."

Nico still didn't understand what the big deal was, but he didn't have much time to comprehend why it was suddenly so worrying that some extra vampire was running around town. His attention turned to the bathroom where he heard the sound of glass shattering.

Harold made a face that Nico couldn't quite read, though it didn't look happy. "Nico, where the hell is Valentine?"

Nico paled as he approached the bathroom and placed a hand on the door handle. Unlocked. Pushing it open, he gaped at the mess before him. Valentine was nowhere in sight, but Nico had a solid idea of how he'd escaped. The bathroom window was broken, the glass shattered all across the bathroom tiles. Some of them were stained with fresh blood.

Nico opened his mouth, already forming an excuse, "It's no biggie, it's not like he can get far and—"

"Nico. The vampire said his friend – who is also a vampire – claimed that his human son is in the area."

Nico rolled his eyes. Couldn't he see Valentine had escaped through a freaking bathroom window? Now was not the time to discuss some lame vampire and his human son.

Wait.

Nico froze dead in his tracks, his blood going cold. "That doesn't make any sense, I thought you said that wasn't possible? Humans and vampires can't…a son? No way," He tried to blink back his confusion, "And even if that was true, wouldn't we have noticed something…something strange…like…" His gaze shifted back to the broken window, though his mind was elsewhere.

The healed bite marks, the poisonous yet delicious blood…

Nico made eye contact with Harold for a moment to see if the other man was thinking the same thing. When it seemed like both males were on the right track, Nico did what anyone would do if they were suspicious of Valentine being a half-blood, something only heard of only in bed-time stories and myths.

He burst out laughing.

Nico pls. It's not even that funny pls dis is no jok laff. stahp urself. anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, please make sure to leave me a little something! wink wink ;)