The Hunger

Summary: One month after the Jesse 'incident' and things are returning to normal. Except, Ethan doesn't feel too normal and that bite mark on his arm is taking it's time to heal.

Spoilers: Up to and including 1X13 (Re-Vamped)

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, only the madness in my words.

A/N: I'm back with another chapter! Thank you for reading and for the comments. I'm now halfway through Nano and man is it exhausting, it's definitely nice to take a break from it and be able to work on this fic when I can ^^


Chapter 7

"So here's the deal, Ethan. You're going to die. I'm going to kill you right now whilst there's no one here to save you."

Jesse's grip tightened around Ethan's throat as he raised him from the ground. He kept him there, feet dangling a foot away from the polished floor for a long moment during which Ethan could feel himself struggling for breath. But before his vision could blur too much or his lungs could ache from the lack of oxygen, Jesse threw Ethan towards the stands as if he was nothing more than a weightless ragdoll.

Ethan crashed into the first step of the stands and felt pain blossom out from his back. His backpack skidded away, somewhere beyond, out of reach. But he was left with no time to search for it. Jesse stalked forward, toward him.

"You know what the best thing about being me is?" Jesse asked, cocking his head to the side.

Ethan grunted and pushed himself up a little. "Is it your sparkling personality?"

But Jesse ignored him, only offering a twisted and dry smile in return for Ethan's remark before continuing on as if Ethan hadn't spoken. "I always get what I want. People just don't say no to me. They can't."

"Then it looks like your luck is running out," Ethan spat back, glaring at Jesse with a mixture of contempt and worry as the vampire drew closer.

"Do you know what happens to people who say no to me? Do you know what will happen to Sarah?" Jesse grinned, wicked and devilish, mere feet away now. "I will destroy everything she cares about, starting with you."

Coming to a stop at Ethan's feet, Jesse considered him for a moment, shaking his head as if he thought it wasn't even worth the effort. But still, he swooped down all the same, his hands snaking out to grip Ethan's jacket and pull him upward to his feet. Ethan took the opportunity to struggle against him, placing his hands against Jesse's shoulder in an attempt to push him back. And push him back he did.

Jesse was forced into letting go of Ethan as he was sent flying back toward the opposite wall, though instead of crashing into it, he landed gracefully a foot or two in front of it and smiled. Ethan was still too shocked by the strength he had pushed out to pay too much attention to the cocky way Jesse began approaching again, those pale eyes lit up in anticipation.

"You know, I really wasn't sure at first," Jesse called out to him and the way he spoke reminded Ethan of a villain's monologue at the end of a film. Only the way things were going for Ethan, he doubted it things would go quite the same way it did in the movies.

Ethan swallowed the lump in his throat and watched Jesse, wary, unable to speak, his mind still spinning too much.

"I thought that maybe... maybe Sarah had gotten all the venom out because it just took so. Damn. Long. To take effect," Jesse continued, pausing in his movements, his eyes moving up and down Ethan. "But then," he said, raising a finger, "then I remembered. Your blood tasted different... it was 'special'."

"I've heard that somewhere before," Ethan shot at him, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable at the thought of Jesse knowing about how different his blood was. He drew back a little, his legs hitting the bottom step of the stands and stopping him from moving any further back.

Jesse rolled his eyes and let go of a breath before regarding Ethan again, the distaste back in his eyes and voice. "Don't worry, you're not my type." Then he grinned that deadly, wolfish grin of his, head tilting to the side once more. "But that doesn't mean I can't use you."

He pushed forward once more and Ethan felt his chest tighten, a small voice in the back of his mind telling him that he couldn't just stand there and wait for Jesse to get to him. His eyes dropped to the ground and he searched for his backpack. It wasn't until he span on the spot and saw a hint of black and red beneath the stands that he found it.

Dropping to his knees at the base of the stands, he ducked his head to see his backpack more clearly. The zip had come undone and the water gun was laying half in and half out of the bag, a small pool of Holy Water seeping out from where the holder had broken away, the dagger right in the centre of the pool. He cursed but reached out all the same, stretching his arm as far as he could and pushing against the stands, fingertips scrabbling at nothing but empty floor and air.

Then he felt the burn of Holy Water and instantly pulled back, hissing at the pain it caused. Holding his hand to his chest, he lowered his gaze again and cursed. He wasn't going to be able to reach the backpack from there, not before Jesse got to him.

He pushed himself up and away from the stands, turning to see Jesse looming closer – taking his time, toying with Ethan. After all, Jesse was a vampire and had been for longer than Ethan had even been alive. And Ethan was... he was a fledgling who didn't even know how to use any of the powers he had been granted with the curse.

With one last look to Jesse, Ethan darted to the right, pushing himself forward until he reached the end of the stands. Once there, he gripped the side and rounded it, all the time listening as Jesse continued to talk to him.

"What was it like?" Jesse asked, tone mocking, "Having your body at war with itself?"

Ethan skidded to a halt halfway down the back of the stands and swooped down for the magical, vampire slaying dagger. The Holy water burned at his skin but he ignored it, knowing it would heal – or at least hoping it would. When Jesse next spoke, it was from directly behind Ethan, the vampire practically breathing down his neck. Ethan froze in place.

"How did it feel, trying to fight off the vampire venom slowly spreading through your system... only to lose?"

Ethan swallowed the fear that quickened his heartbeat and tightened his grip on the handle of the dagger. Spinning on the spot, he slashed out with it. "It sucked," he replied with a low growl.

Jesse drew back, narrowly avoiding the tip of the blade, the smile on his face growing even more. "But you feel great now."

Ethan refused to answer that. Yes, he did feel great. His body felt more alive than it had ever done. He felt like he could do anything. Yet, underneath all of that, there was the darker side too. There was the gnawing hunger that ate at his stomach and continued to remind him just why he needed a cure... why he had to get back to normal.

He slashed out again and once more Jesse jumped back.

"Fight me like a true vampire," Jesse goaded, laughter tainting his voice as he snorted. "But then, you're not really a true vampire yet, are you? You're just a fledgling."

"It's enough to defeat you!" Ethan spat back at him, readying the dagger once more and pushing forward to take another swipe at Jesse.

Jesse didn't dodge that time. Instead, he blocked. He gripped Ethan's wrist and spun him around so that his back was to Jesse and the knife was pressed against his own throat, the blade caressing his skin. His free hand was gripped by Jesse also and brought up behind his back, locking Ethan firmly in place.

It was in that moment, in the silence that followed the act, footsteps echoed from the doorway to the gym and a familiar voice called out.

"Ethan?" Sarah questioned, her voice unsure and coated in concern.

Jesse tugged at Ethan, causing the blade to dig into Ethan's skin but not cut. With a voice that definitely held a twisted smile, he breathed out, "well, this is interesting."

Ethan tried to fight against him, bucking as much as he could but the blade limited his movement and in the end he could do nothing as Jesse dragged him out from behind the stands to face the three that stood in the open doorway. He was nothing more than a human shield, and even then, he wasn't really human anymore.

"Let him go," Sarah demanded, taking a step forward into the gym, her eyes locked on Jesse.

Rory and Benny remained in the doorway, watching.

Jesse tugged at Ethan, pulling his arm further up his back, the action causing Ethan to wince at the pain flaring there. "How about we show Sarah what you've been hiding?"

"No..." Ethan breathed out with a grunt against the pain, his gaze flickering to Sarah, her eyes meeting his, questioning.

"Come on, Ethan," Jesse taunted, "show us your fangs."

Ethan tensed despite the adrenaline running through his veins, making him want to fight, to break away. But the dagger was right at his neck, and the threat was right there, staining Jesse's words, colouring his voice. So Ethan tensed, and looked to Sarah, not knowing what else to do.

"No?" Jesse questioned and there was something about the way he said it that made Ethan's stomach drop and chest feel hollow. It was too gleeful, which, for Jesse, wasn't a good thing. "Then how about I give you a reason to?"

It happened so quickly that Ethan was barely aware Jesse had let go of him. He was barely aware that he was no longer holding the knife. In fact, he wasn't aware of anything until he saw Jesse appear behind Benny, knife in hand. The vampire pushed Benny forward, adjusting his grip on the knife and readying it, already making the movements to bring it down.

Ethan didn't know how he did it. He didn't care. All he knew was that he had needed to stop Jesse, stop the knife, before it hit Benny. And so one moment he was standing by the stands, but in the next, he was beside Benny, pushing him out of the way of the knife in time to stop it from hitting a vital point but not in time to stop it from nicking his arm. Not in time to stop it from doing what Jesse had intended.

A scent rose to the air, one that caused Ethan's hunger to intensify. His guts twisted and he froze in place, staring down at Benny and the look of panic that formed on his friend's face. The realisation seemed to dawn on him as it had on Ethan. Benny was the only human there, surrounded by vampires... and he was bleeding.

Jesse took a step forward, catching Ethan's gaze and holding it with his own wicked eyes. A promise lingered there, one that said he wasn't done yet. One that said he wasn't planning on leaving any of them be until he had broken them all down. "I'll be seeing you," was all he said before flashing his fangs once more and then disappearing out of the gym doors and into the night.

"Ethan?" Sarah asked, uncertain, taking a step toward him.

She placed a hand on his arm but Ethan couldn't bring himself to look at her. He couldn't look at any of them, especially not Benny when he was just there... bleeding. The smell was growing stronger the longer it lingered in the air. Sweet with just a hint of something else, something different and enticing. It was like being exposed to the scent of a new pizza with a super secret, extra special ingredient...

And then the hunger really hit.


Thank you for reading!