A/N: I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. If you haven't voted in my poll on my profile page yet, the Logan/Camille bank heist story is winning, so if you aren't pleased with that result, then vote for something else. Also, in case you weren't aware, I wrote a one-shot called "Blood Brothers" that contains Jagan bromance, Guilty James, and angst, so you should give it a read.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Even after Christmas…
My Best Friend Is a Vampire
Payback
Stephanie's POV
I went back to my apartment, and as soon as I entered, something didn't feel quite right. I couldn't exactly put my finger on it, but something felt…off. You needed a keycard to enter any of the apartments at The Palm Woods, so unless someone went to Mr. Bitters and asked for a duplicate, no one could have got in that way.
I wasn't even sure that someone else was even in the apartment right now. Just because something felt off didn't mean that was what felt off, if that even made any sense. My eyes darted around the room wildly. Adrenaline started to course through my veins. My breathing started to accelerate.
Nothing seemed to be out of place. I still had a hunch that someone had at the very least been here, even if they were no longer here. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Ever since I betrayed Logan by throwing tetrodotoxin on him, I've been a little jumpy.
I know he's going to want revenge. I know he's going to want answers. Frankly though, I'm not sure when. That's the worst part too; the anticipation. You know it's coming, but you don't know when. You can prepare yourself all you want mentally, but there's still the element of surprise which you can never quite prepare yourself for.
I closed the door behind me. I was aware that I just did one of two things; either I shut people out by keeping them from coming in, or I trapped myself with someone if in fact someone was in my apartment. The second option started to give me goose bumps.
I was fully aware that I had made a mess of things. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would. The only problem is that I don't know what I could have, or should have done differently.
My objective from the beginning was to get closer to Carlos; to get him to notice me instead of the Jennifers or the Simms Twins. I think I like him, and I think he likes me too. It's just our relationship, if you can even call it that, hasn't even gotten off the ground yet.
Of course, now that I "killed" his best friend, that isn't helping matters any. I mean I'm not any closer to Carlos now than I was before I even agreed to go along with this whole thing. In fact, the exact opposite happened; I was closer to Carlos before this all started than I am now.
For that matter, Carlos probably hates me now, and truthfully, I wouldn't blame him. As far as he knows, I killed his best friend. Despite Logan being claustrophobic, I stuffed him in a crate just to make his alleged death seem more realistic. I don't know. I guess I thought he would need a shoulder to cry on, and I was perfectly fine being the shoulder he cried on. However, that wasn't the case at all. I mean he was no doubt crying, but I was probably the last person he would go to for comfort.
I ventured further into my apartment. My dad wouldn't be home for quite some time, so it was just me. I scanned my environment for any sign of an intruder, but again, nothing seemed out of place. If someone had been here, they made sure to cover their tracks.
"Hello, Stephanie," a familiar voice greeted me. I knew who the owner of that voice was too: Logan.
I spun around on my heels, and I saw him leaning against a wall with his arms folded across his chest. He kept his facial expression carefully blank, which oddly enough, was creepier than any other facial expression he could have worn. I could feel my heart pound against my chest.
"Logan," I said in a voice far too timid to be my own.
He began to leisurely stroll over to me. Every step he took towards me, I took one step backwards. Normally, I wouldn't be afraid of Logan, but after what I had done to him, there was no telling what he was capable of.
"How did you get in here? The door was locked," I stated, my voice trembling.
"I'm a vampire. I can do anything," Logan replied in a voice that had I not witnessed his lips moving, I would have said was not his own.
Being an aspiring horror filmmaker, I didn't frighten easily. However, Logan had me spooked. I found everything about him to be disturbing; the way he talked, the way he walked, the absence of any facial expression, the way he acted.
I held my hands out in front of me as I tried to explain myself to Logan.
"Look Logan, I know you're angry with me, but I can explain," I said.
"By all means, please do. My ears are burning," he responded.
There was something about the way he was gazing at me that was unsettling. It made me want to stare at the carpet instead just so I wouldn't have to make eye contact with him. They say that your eyes are the window to your soul, but if that were the case, then what does it say that I couldn't gauge anything from looking in his eyes?
I shook my head vigorously as one possibility crossed my mind; he doesn't have a soul. But if he didn't have a soul, then could what he said before really be true? Is Logan actually a vampire? I mean to have a soul, you have to be living. Technically, vampires are undead creatures. What am I talking about? It's impossible, right? Vampires don't exist!
"I carefully weighed out the tetrodotoxin. You were never in any mortal danger. I just had to make it look real, you know, to freak Carlos out and all. As for stuffing you in a crate, I know you're claustrophobic and all, but since the tetrodotoxin caused your heart to stop beating, you wouldn't need to breathe. As soon as you woke up, I would have freed you from the crate myself. How did you get out of the crate anyhow?" I asked, still refusing to make eye contact with Logan.
"As I said before, I'm a vampire. I can do anything," Logan replied.
Okay, that wasn't creepy or anything. Maybe it's one of those things where the more he says something, the more he starts to believe it himself. Or maybe there wasn't anything to believe in the first place. Maybe he really was a vampire. Nonsense! He just has me rattled. That's all.
"What about the part where you betrayed me? We were supposed to be on the same side here!" Logan exclaimed.
"We still are! From the beginning, this has always been about freaking Carlos out. Whether you want to admit it or not, your so-called death did just that! I mean you should have seen him! I feel terrible that I had to go behind your back when I faked your death. I regret not being able to keep you in the loop about my plan. It was just better that way," I explained.
I chanced making eye contact with Logan, and when I did, I was surprised to find that he was standing right in front of me. I shuffled backwards several steps. Apparently, I wasn't very aware of my surroundings because I stumbled over the couch in the living room. The wind was knocked out of me as soon as my back hit the floor.
Logan instantly was hovering over me. He grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head. He carefully positioned his body to the side so that when I kicked and thrashed, I wouldn't be able to hit him.
"Logan, stop it! Let me go! What are you doing?" I shouted frantically.
I was shocked. Logan wasn't a very big guy, but his grip on me was remarkably strong. I thought for sure, I'd easily be able to shove him off me, but that wasn't the case at all. He effortlessly held me down on the floor.
I didn't scare easily, but I was scared. I was terrified. My eyes started to brim with tears. I was so helpless right now. I was so vulnerable. I had never seen this side of Logan before. Frankly, I didn't like this side of Logan. What had I done? I've created a monster.
He placed a finger to my lips.
"Shh! Relax Stephanie. It will all be over soon," Logan said ominously.
Logan's entire character had done a 180. Everything that once applied to him, applied to him no longer. I was conflicted; a part of me wanted to close my eyes so that I didn't see what was coming. The rest of me wanted to keep my eyes open so I could see what was coming and be able to prepare myself for it.
The side that wanted to keep my eyes open ended up winning.
"Mmm. Your blood smells so mouthwatering. It is one of the sweetest scents I have ever smelled before. I bet it tastes even better than it smells too," Logan commented.
There was a thin sheen of sweat on my forehead. My heart was beating so fast and so hard that I was positive it would pound right out of my chest. I was breathing so quickly that I wondered if it would count as hyperventilating. My form shook beneath Logan, not in an effort to free myself from him, but out of complete and utter fright.
"Logan, I'm sorry. Please don't do this!" I begged.
He cackled. I had never heard him laugh like that before. To be perfectly honest, I never wanted to hear him laugh like that ever again. It was bizarre. It was unsettling. It was almost unnatural.
"But Stephanie, you don't even know what I'm going to do to you…yet," Logan commented.
After hearing Logan's remark, my body let out a shudder. I wasn't sure if it was voluntary or involuntary.
He lowered his face ever closer to my neck. It now hovered just inches above the delicate skin of my throat. I didn't really believe that he was a vampire. The two of us were in on this from the beginning. Since we started this, it had always been about freaking Carlos out. However, something had happened. Logan was different. I knew that I played a hand in Logan's change of demeanor. If only I hadn't tried to "kill" him.
I felt his lips graze the skin of my neck. I squirmed even more, but it was all to no avail. He then proceeded to kiss my throat. I stopped resisting as I found myself actually enjoying it. Frankly, I had never been interested romantically in Logan. It had always been Carlos that I was interested in. If I closed my eyes, I imagined that it was Carlos that was kissing my neck. I moaned in satisfaction.
Then I felt a stabbing pain resonate from the fragile skin of my throat. I was positive that my skin had been penetrated. I now detected some moisture trickle down my neck. I was pretty sure what that moisture was: blood. My eyes flew open, and I sat straight up, surprised when I actually could.
I placed my hand over my neck, and then inspected my hand. Sure enough, there was blood on my hand. I was back in reality now. The reality was that Logan bit me. Or gave me a hickey. Whatever.
"What's your problem?" I shouted.
"I don't have a problem…now," Logan replied nonchalantly.
He was leaning against the counter with his arms folded over his chest. One ankle was crossed over the other. He also had a satisfied smirk on his face that I didn't like one bit.
"It won't be long until you are just like me," he said.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, still irate at Logan.
"When I bit you, I injected venom into your bloodstream. Once the venom circulates through your body, you'll become a vampire like me."
"But you're not a vampire! This whole thing was an act!"
"Was it? Are you certain of that? Perhaps Carlos wasn't the only one I was trying to pull a fast one on. Perhaps I wasn't even trying to pull a fast one. Maybe this is all very real. More real than you realize."
My blood ran cold. I wanted to believe that Logan was lying. After all, vampires don't exist. Logan couldn't be that good of an actor, could he? No, he came to me for help. Why would he do that if he was really a vampire? Unless that was part of his grand master plan. Truthfully, I didn't know what to believe anymore.
"What's wrong, Stephanie? You're looking a little pale. Don't tell me you're already changing. Wow!" Logan commented.
"Stop it! You're lying!" I screamed.
"Am I? What reason would I have to lie? What could I possibly gain from lying? It won't be long before you are in unbelievable pain; pain that you have never even imagined. With that, I'll leave you be. I know when I was first changed, it was sheer torture, and I just wanted to be alone…well, that's not entirely true; I wanted blood too…"
Before I could even say anything more to Logan, he was gone. My breathing had accelerated. My hand remained over the wound on my neck for a reason unknown to me. I just kept thinking to myself that this couldn't be happening; what Logan said couldn't be true.
To Be Continued…
