WHAT I'VE DONE Chapter 11
Sleep evaded the teen. He spent hours just staring into the black void that was his room. His life had become crazy. Family and friends were dead thanks to his favorite, well ex-favorite, fast food joint. He was taken in by his nemesis who he then fell in love with and confessed his feelings to. He was to be taught by said nemesis turned ex-nemesis turned lover, not to mention how he had given Vlad a blowjob and almost lost his virginity in a fit of emotions and conclusion jumping. Was it too much to ask for a little normality in his life?
A dim green glowing 3:00 convinced him to give up on his pursuit of sleep. He switched on his light and found himself standing on his hard wood floor looking at all the stuff he had yet to give a place to. Boxes of gifts from Vlad when they went shopping mingled with the two ugly suitcases that had items shoved half heartedly into them. A sudden impulse finally got him to clean his room and unpack. He had finally come to terms with the fact that the mansion was his new home.
It had taken him only a little more then an hour to completely clean his room. The clothes were all hung up and folded into drawers, new clothes from Vlad mingled with his dull wardrobe that he brought with him. Boxes of space shuttle replicas sat neatly on his dresser, waiting to be cracked open and be made.
Danny had even discovered a TV that had made it's way into a corner of his room when he wasn't paying attention, or maybe it had been there the whole time, he wasn't sure. After a little bit of heavy lifting and puzzling things out with a plethora of cords, he had set up his TV and game station. He popped in "Blood Raine" and started tapping on the buttons.
As he shot and slashed his way through the stages of the game, he could feel a bit of familiarity return. He was finally playing video games, just like he had been doing since his parents brought home their first gaming platform.
Vlad walked into the boy's room after coming to wake him up and saw that the boy was already awake. He made his way quietly into the room. The older man walked up behind the boy and watched him play the video game. The teen was fully focused on the game by this point and hadn't even noticed his partner's presence. The boy was so wrapped up in the game that he was even yelling at the TV.
"How the hell do I kill an immortal! This is impossible you dumb game!" Vlad watched the teen's character run around a small circular room followed by a pack of wolf like creatures. Every time he tired killing one, two more took it's place.
"Try hitting the ceiling supports." Vlad offered. Danny jumped up and spun violently around. He was face to face with Masters.
"When did you get in here!" The TV blasted the sounds of Raine being mauled by the pack of immortal creatures and the game over music played. "Damn it." Danny muttered. He looked over his shoulder to see the black and blood stained animation play out.
"Sorry." Vlad offered. He looked at the start screen that offered to restart the game from the last saving point. "How many hours have you put in?"
"I've been playing since four. So like…" Danny glanced over at his clock and calculated the number in his head. "…four hours. It's been four hours and I'm almost done."
"Impressive. Why did you start playing at four though?"
"Couldn't sleep." The game started back up and Danny made his way back to the impossible fight. "Aren't you an hour late for waking me up?"
"I was going to let you sleep in." Vlad took a seat on the bed and watched the cut scene play. There was only one wolf like creature claiming to be immortal. The fight then started over again and Danny slashed helplessly at the wolf thing as it multiplied.
"What was it you told me to do? The supports?"
"Try cutting the supports. These kinds of fights always have a trick to them." The two sat back, listening to the loud sound effects play out as Danny did as instructed. Sure enough, after cutting all the supports, the cut scene to signal the end of the fight played.
"You being a gamer… still hard to believe." Danny sighed, saved, then turned his attention to Vlad. "Why were you letting me sleep in?"
"Well, I figure it is pretty much summer already. So what if you stop school a little early this semester? We'll work on your ghost training a bit this summer then try to pick up the whole schooling thing in August."
"Generous. Maybe I should give you head more often." The teen smirked as he turned off the game system.
"I wouldn't mind that, but I made this decision before you did that." Vlad pulled the teen close to him and held the boy so that their eyes met in the dim glow of the room. The TV screen barely illuminating the darkness. "Have anything you want to do today?"
"I have a few ideas." The teen smirked as if he was plotting something, then his stomach decided to interrupt. The two men listened to the boy's body growling loudly, yelling for food.
"Breakfast it is." Vlad replied as he untangled himself from Danny and got off the bed. "Have any idea what you want to eat?"
"Not really." Danny confessed. He just wanted something filling.
"Alright then. I think I know something I could make you." Vlad turned intangible and floated down through the floors. Danny quickly followed him. They stopped in the kitchen where the older man set out to grab some ingredients.
"Want any help?" The teen looked around the perfect kitchen and wondered how his lover could find everything he needed so effortlessly.
"That'd be nice. I have some fruit I'd like you to wash and cut." The teen groaned inwardly about having to cut food again. His knife skills sucked and they both knew it. Though, he had offered and that's what Vlad wanted. Danny set to work washing and slicing the fruit that Vlad had pulled out. Berries of every assortment were diced to the best of the boy's ability as Vlad blended some white substance and crushed nuts to mix with a small bowl of oats he had gotten out. "What exactly are you making?"
"Parfait. It's quick, simple, healthy, great for summer, and fun to make." Vlad finished up and watched as the teen cut the last of the fruits. He patted the boy's shoulder as he bared witness to the boy's better knife cuts. He grabbed a couple of glass cups from the cabinet and set them down. He instructed Danny to place the ingredients in his cup however he wanted.
Halfway though filling the cups up, they got into a playful argument. Vlad's cup looked perfect and tasty while Danny had just tossed in the food. "Daniel, a dog wouldn't even find that appealing."
"At least mine doesn't look girly. Might as well add a pink heart doily while you're at it."
Vlad lightly bumped the boy with his shoulder, which earned him a gentle punch to his shoulder. They laughed as they finished preparing their food. Vlad was halfway out the kitchen when Danny pointed something out. "What's the point of leaving the kitchen to eat out there? All it does is make you walk more."
"There aren't exactly chairs in here, now are there?" Vlad was interested in how the teen's mind worked. Then again, transferring from the average table in your kitchen house to Vlad's mansion probably wasn't the easiest thing to do.
"Watch and learn fruitloop." Danny jumped up onto one of the clean white marble counters that adorned the large room. He sat there with his parfait in hand and held out his hands as if he just did magic. "Ala ka zam! A chair!"
"Smart ass." Vlad muttered as he smiled and walked over to the boy. He jumped up on the counter and started eating his food. "The view certainly is different."
"What, you rather look at a sad, dark, blank room then a perfect kitchen?"
"No, not quite. I prefer a certain view." Vlad turned his head so he was looking right at the teen. "This one is quite nice."
"Oh no, a romantic. Must be a fan of Shakespeare as well." Danny joked.
"As a matter of fact I am. I find his story Othello to be…"
"Why does this not surprise me?"
"You're in love with a man who's been single and lived as far away from people as he could get. Video games and books are the only thing I have for entertainment any more."
Danny gave a fake cringe. "You're right. I'm in love with a loser."
"A really rich loser who can give you anything you desire." Vlad pointed out. "Not a bad trade off."
"A rich loser who knows how to make good food. Actually, it's a really good trade off." Danny smiled as he finished off his parfait. Even though he piled all the food in his cup, it still tasted great.
"You never told me what you wanted to do today." Vlad pointed out as he slowly worked on eating his own food.
The teen crossed the perfect light blue and white room to wash his dishes. He thought about it for a minute then said, "Bowling. I'd like to go out on a bowling date."
"Such a kid. A bowling date huh?" Vlad remember back to when he was a teenager playing his hand at dating. A bowling date sounded rather refreshing. "Sounds a little boring for a grown man like me." Vlad said with an air of mischief.
"What, you don't want to go?"
"Since you want to do it, I'll go. But how about we spice it up a little." Danny left the dishes on a rack to dry. He turned his full attention to what the older man was saying. He waited for the man's suggestion. "How about a friendly bet. A gentleman's wager if you will?"
"The bet being?" Danny crossed the kitchen. His mind buzzed with excitement at the new challenge.
"Tonight we'll spend a little time together. Who ever scores the higher score when we bowl today, will get full say of what we do tonight." Vlad licked his long silver spoon clean as he stared at his little lover, waiting for his answer.
"Best two out of three?" The teen was rather good at bowling. In a small town like Amity, there wasn't much else to do but hang out at Nasty Burger and bowl. He was sure that he could beat a man who hasn't stepped into a public entertainment facility in years.
"Deal." Vlad held out his strong pale hand and the teen grabbed it with determined strength. They shook on their agreement.
"Deal."
"Well, shall we head out for the lanes?"
"It's only eight thirty, Vlad. Everyone knows the good bowling lanes don't open up until at least eleven." Danny remarked. It had been his experience that fun well kept bowling allies opened late, stayed open until early morning, and usually hand some good décor.
"Alright. Seeing as your room still looks a little blank, and I'm sure we could both do with a few new games, let's spend our time shopping." Vlad wiped down the kitchen counters and finished the dishes.
"I doubt I'll ever get you. You do every job at your house by yourself, you avoid going out in public unless it suits your plans, yet you're eager as ever to go blow your vast fortune."
"It's not going to spend its self, now is it?" Vlad smiled in victory. "Besides, what so wrong with buying my lover a gift or two. I don't mind showing my appreciation for a good night.