Disclaimer: I do not own The Lost Boys. Sheryl and Wanda belong to me.
A/N: I'm really sorry about the short chapters and slow updates. I'm on spring break right now, so I'll have more time to write!
---Chapter Nine: Cigarette Burns
So maybe eating had been a bad idea.
Wanda sighed in disgust as she scrubbed the kitchen floor with a ratty dishtowel. She had thrown up all over the kitchen floor after swallowing a mere three mouthfuls of oatmeal. The knees of her pants were soaked with soapy water and vomit from kneeling in the mess to clean it. When she finished washing the tiled floor, the dishtowel went into the trashcan instead of the sink. It was falling apart anyway, and she wasn't in the mood to clean her vomit off of anything else today.
"Ew," she mumbled, shuddering.
She desperately wanted to brush her teeth, but she settled for rinsing her mouth out with sink water and chewing a stick of mint gum. Her reflection was the last thing she wanted to see right now.
"What the hell am I gonna do until the sun goes down?" she wondered aloud. "Shit, I have almost ten hours!"
'Go visit your mother,' her conscience offered.
"Oh…right. Mom." Wanda frowned. "Ah, great. I've completely ignored her for days!"
After changing into a clean pair of jeans and slipping into her sneaks, Wanda dashed outside and headed for the boardwalk. She ran back into the house several minutes later to retrieve her sunglasses.
---
Sheryl tiredly rubbed her eyes and yawned. Today was, without a doubt, the slowest day of business since she started working at the video store. It was literally empty at the moment. Only two or three people had come in so far. Bored out of her mind, she leaned on the counter and closed her eyes, figuring she might as well daydream to pass the time. Something warm suddenly touched her hand. Her eyes promptly opened, and she found herself staring at a Styrofoam cup of coffee.
"Black, right?"
"Wanda!" She leaned forward and kissed her daughter on the cheek. "You're my hero!"
"I figured you might want some company. I guess it's a good thing I stopped by, huh?"
"This place has been dead all morning."
"Coffee shall make everything better!" The girl grinned and took a small, almost cautious sip of her own beverage. "Mmm…they had this French vanilla stuff that I just had to try."
"Is it any good?" Sheryl asked, picking up her Styrofoam cup.
"Yeah. I like caramel more, but it's still pretty yummy."
Sheryl laughed a little as she drank her coffee.
"Are you going out again tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Oh." She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. "What do you do all night, anyway?"
Wanda froze for a moment before replying, "I made some friends."
"You did?" Her mother eye's widened. "Oh, honey, that's wonderful! Why didn't you tell me? What are they like?"
"They're the wild party time, but they're really nice to me." The smile on Wanda's face suddenly seemed forced, but Sheryl didn't notice. "They wouldn't hurt me or anything."
"Well, that's good. Tell me more."
"Four guys and their leader-type's girlfriend," came the curt answer. "They're hot. Like, really hot."
"I'm assuming they're a little old for you?"
"Yeah, but only one of them is single. The other two are gay."
"And then the girl is dating the fourth guy?"
Wanda stiffened a little and nodded.
"Jealous?"
"No. I just don't like her." She snorted. "You should see her hair, Mom. You would laugh. Oh, how you would laugh…"
"Mmm, that's okay. Excuse me a second." Sheryl cast a smile towards the front door. "Hi! Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No, that's okay," a pretty teenager girl replied. She walked over to the horror section and looked at all of the titles. "Oh…wow, there's so many. Maybe I do need some help."
"All righty, then."
"My boyfriend wants me to pick out a horror movie for tonight, but I have no idea what to get."
"Get something with vampires," Wanda said without thinking. "Uh…they're always fun."
"That might work." She grabbed a movie, paid for it, and left.
"Thanks," Sheryl sighed. "That's twice you've been my hero, Wanda. I don't know anything about horror movies."
"Don't thank me." Wanda cringed. "The movie she picked out sucks."
"Oops."
"Yeah."
---
Wanda had managed to kill the rest of the day by preparing herself for that night. She managed to take a shower and brush her teeth without looking into the bathroom mirror once. She spent nearly an hour brushing her hair and smoothing it into a neat ponytail. It took her a long time to decide on what to wear, but she eventually settled for ripped up jeans and a black t-shirt. She was also wearing a pair of fishnet tights she'd found in her mother's bedroom. They looked pretty cool under the jeans.
"Leather jacket, leather jacket," Wanda muttered as she rummaged through Sheryl's closet. "Come on, damn it, I know she has one!"
She was ready to go at eight-thirty. The leather jacket, which she'd finally managed to locate after ten minutes of searching, was just a little big on her. The boots were finished her ensemble.
"Damned if I'm gonna look in a mirror…" She ran into the kitchen. "Mom! How do I look?"
"Sexy," her mother said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going after the single one, or were you lying when you said you weren't jealous?"
"Neither, honestly!" Wanda blushed a little. "I just feel like such a little kid around them. I want to look cool, you know?"
"Well, you do. I didn't know someone your age could look so good."
"Very funny."
"Do you need a lift?"
"Are you going on another date with Max?"
"No, I'm taking a break from him. He's kind of creeping me out."
"Then don't worry about it. I can walk."
"Are you sure?" Sheryl frowned. "I don't really like the idea of you walking home by yourself."
"I'll talk one of the guys into giving me a lift home, okay?"
"That would make me feel better."
"Okie dokie, then. Can I go now?"
"Yes, dear. Be careful."
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
---
No words were exchanged as Wanda straddled the back of Marko's bike and wrapped her arms around his waist. They started off down the beach, but they weren't whooping and cheering like they normally did. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. The contempt was practically radiating off of them. Even Marko had turned to stone, and he had been the nicest to her. She remembered the night of their conversation by the bonfire. She had been able to handle being a last resort for him, but when she finally realized that his friendship was only charity for a lonely little girl… Well, fuck him. And she had really liked him, too.
'Your brain is rambling. Stop not making sense!'
"We're here," she heard David say. She hadn't even realized that they'd stopped their bikes.
"Where is here? I wasn't paying attention."
"Far end of the beach."
"That was specific."
"It's as specific as you're going to get. You shouldn't have zoned out."
"Bite me," she mumbled weakly. She sighed when she realized the irony of her words. "Just get this over with."
David turned and stalking walking towards a small grove of trees. The others followed, and it was only then that Wanda noticed that Star was absent. Not that she gave a shit.
Without a word, the boys flew away from her and descended upon a group of Surf Nazis who partying in the clearing. Wanda wasn't as nearly surprised or scared as she thought she would be. She leaned back against a tree and watched them expressionlessly as the boys tore them apart. The scent of blood hit her hard, but she refused to quench her thirst.
'They really are vampires…'
A tear ran down the side of her face.
'And I'm one of them…'
---
"I hard a pretty hard time accepting it at first," Marko admitted, taking a drag off his cigarette. "Paul helped me through it pretty fast. I couldn't stay mad, ya know? It wasn't like they were trying to ruin my life. They just wanted me to be with them. It felt pretty good to know that someone wanted me to be with them forever."
"Can't say the same for me, though." Wanda hugged her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees.
"It's not like we're helping much," the vampire replied with a bitter laugh. "We have our reasons for doing this, Wanda. We aren't trying to be assholes or anything. It's nothing personal."
"Whatever."
David, Paul, and Dwayne had already left. Marko was supposed to be taking Wanda home, but they'd somehow gotten distracted and were now sitting in front of a bonfire surrounded by dead Surf Nazis.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me those reasons?"
"Sorry. Can't."
"I figured as much." Wanda glanced at his cigarette from the corner of her eye. "Can I…can I try one of those?"
"I guess so." Marko handed her one and lit it for her once she had it in her mouth.
Wanda coughed violently on the first few puffs, but she forced herself to keep smoking it.
"How long have you been…"
"A vampire? Shit, three years, maybe?"
"David was the first?"
"Yeah. Dwayne was second, and then Paul."
"And now me." She numbly held the cigarette away from herself. "No way out of this, right?"
"Not that I know of."
"Except for killing the head vampire?"
"Where'd you hear that?"
"Those boys who work at the comic book store."
"Oh, them." Marko chuckled. "I doubt they've ever even killed a vampire before. They probably have no idea what they're doing."
"You don't seem worried."
"About them or you?"
"Me."
"I don't think you have the guts to kill anyone. That's why you're gonna make a shitty vampire."
"How long can I last without blood?"
"You'd probably die of starvation after a year, maybe. Star's been fighting it for about a month now."
"…she doesn't really fit in with you guys."
"You're a fine one to talk."
"Well, she doesn't!"
"I know, I know. David will probably get rid of her if she keeps fighting the thirst. He's getting pretty annoyed with her."
"He doesn't love her?"
"I suppose he does, in a way."
Wanda put her cigarette out in the dirt. Her legs slipped away from her chest and stretched out in front of her. "I don't know what to do. Mom's gonna freak if I tell her. She'll probably think I'm crazy, or she'll think she's crazy if I manage to prove it to her. I don't want her to get hurt. What if I accidentally lose it and kill her?"
"You're a pretty sweet kid, Wanda. I really wouldn't have cared."
"Mom issues?"
"She was whore, like your mom used to be. She never got over it, though." Marko paused for a moment. "And she didn't get paid."
"Well, speaking of my mom…I need to get home before she gets too worried."
---
Another wordless motorcycle ride later and Wanda was home. She hesitated before getting off the bike at first. She still had so many questions that she wanted to ask Marko before he left. Part of her still wanted to try for some information on why the hell this had happened to her in the first place. When she finally said something, it wasn't a question.
"I hate you."
Marko stared at her for a minute or two before reaching out and gently taking her hand. He turned it so that her palm face upward.
"We have all the time in the world to work on that."
And then he put his cigarette out in her hand and sped away.
---
A/N:...I didn't exactly proof-read this. I'll get the typos when I update, which will hopefully be before next weekend. I know that everything was rushed. I forced myself to write this entire chapter at once because I promised myself I would have this up before Wednesday. Chapter ten is going to have a lot more of the Lost Boys and Max in it and a little less Wanda. It's also the last chapter before it's revealed whether or not Wanda joins the pack.
I actually like how this chapter ended. I've had an image of Marko putting out his cigarette in Wanda's palm for weeks.