Chapter 13

Lovino let out a sigh. In truth, perhaps Gilbert had taken a little too much of his blood. He felt a little dizzy and it was a little hard to focus, but Gilbert had stopped. That was enough to make Lovino trust him. He was still standing (barely) and that was a good sign.

Currently, the two were sitting on one of the couches in the library, Lovino watching as Gilbert tried to read a novel. It was rather entertaining, to say the least, and sitting down felt nice since he was still fairly light-headed. He was not going to let it catch on, though. Gilbert's mood had sky-rocketed, knowing he could control himself better than the first time.

Lovino didn't want to admit it, but he was nervous for the kiss he had promised Gilbert. He didn't know why, but he just was.

"Is that even a fucking word?" Gilbert narrowed his eyes at the page.

"If it's in a book, then I'd bet on it being a word," Lovino stated.

"Then why the hell doesn't it make any sense?" Gilbert whined, turning the book sideways.

"I don't think that's going to help anything, idiot," Lovino rolled his eyes.

"Do you know what that word is?" Gilbert asked.

"Si," Lovino nodded.

"Then why won't you help me?" Gilbert whined.

"Use fucking context clues or some shit," Lovino sighed. "You can't rely on me to help you learn how to read again."

"It's not my fault I haven't had to do it in years," Gilbert pouted. "Incoming Spaniard."

"Well, isn't that fucking great?" Lovino grumbled. A while ago, Gilbert had said Antonio had left, but now he was apparently back.

The doors burst open and Antonio stopped where he was, panting as he put his hands on his knees and bent over to catch his breath.

"Fuck, what happened?" Lovino stood up. Not that he was worried or anything, but Antonio looked genuinely scared.

"It's Feli," Antonio panted and Lovino froze. Gilbert stood up now, setting the book aside.

"What about him?" Lovino pressed.

"Well," Antonio looked up at the two nervously. "He's horrible at keeping secrets. He told…pretty much everyone what happened. I figured I didn't have to tell you, Gil, since what you didn't know couldn't hurt you."

"Keep going," Gilbert stated.

"Si," Antonio nodded, seeming to have most of his breath back. "Well, a lot of people, mainly Alfred, thought he was crazy. I didn't think they'd do anything, but Alfred called an asylum."

"What?!" Lovino, despite his light-headedness, was quickly in front of Antonio. "When did this happen?"

"Today," Antonio muttered. "I got a text from Alfred saying he would do it and I went to go see what was going on and…" Antonio stopped, biting his lip.

"Spit it out!" Lovino demanded. If something bad happened to Feliciano, it was all his fault. He was the older brother, dammit! He was supposed to protect him and if he failed…that wasn't an option.

"Someone's gonna come get him at your apartment soon," Antonio muttered.

"No," Lovino shook his head. This couldn't be real. Feliciano couldn't be sent to some asylum, just because some jocks thought he was crazy because he saw a vampire.

"You should go," Gilbert said behind him.

"Really?" Lovino asked, turning towards him.

"Ja," Gilbert nodded. "If that were Luddie, I wouldn't even have to think. You should go."

"Grazi," Lovino nodded to him and turned back to Antonio. "Let's go now."

"Si," Antonio nodded feverishly and they both started running towards the exit of the house. Lovino was still very light-headed, but he tried to get a grip of himself as he ran. If Feliciano was about to be in trouble, his lack of blood could be dealt with later.

It was nearly dark outside as they ran through the streets. Antonio obviously knew where he was going and Lovino followed him quickly behind. He and his brother may not be very good at athletics, but they could run if they wanted to. It wasn't very long, maybe 15 minutes, before they were in the apartment complex Lovino had called home just a few weeks ago. Antonio said he was going to stay down on the street to watch for anything.

Lovino ignored his growing fatigue and light-headedness as he climbed up the stairs to his apartment and took out the key he always made sure to keep on him every time he'd changed an outfit. He shoved it into the key slot and slammed open the door. The apartment was dark.

"Feliciano?" Lovino called into the room, turning on the lights and temporarily blinding him. His vision swam slightly and he nearly tripped over something as he walked further in. Feliciano was nowhere to be seen. Lovino's heart practically stopped.

"So, you're finally back, huh?" a voice asked behind Lovino and he twirled around, which also came with a bout of nausea as he stumbled slightly. Alfred was leaning against the doorframe to the apartment. "We've all been wondering where you went off to."

"I was busy," Lovino stated.

"Yeah, well, you freaked out Feli," Alfred sighed. "He's been spouting things about vampires for weeks now."

"My brother's not fucking crazy, if that's what you think," Lovino snapped and tried to step towards him, but his vision blacked out for a small second and he decided staying put was a better idea.

"You haven't seen him this whole time," Alfred shook his head. "He came in one day saying you were in danger and that we all needed to help you. He wouldn't drop the subject."

"Trust me, there's a story to all of that," Lovino sighed. "Now, tell me where my brother is so I can prove he's not insane."

"Don't tell me you're going a little crazy, too," Alfred laughed. "Hey, I'm the hero, I wanna help you, so don't be scared. Aren't places like that supposed to help you?"

"When you actually are fucking crazy!" Lovino snapped. "My brother and I aren't anywhere close to-" Lovino tried walking forward again and this time, everything stayed black.

"Shit," Alfred muttered as he saw Lovino collapse, barely able to catch him in time. Lovino laid lifelessly limp and Alfred started to freak out. He was about to take Lovino's pulse, but stopped when he saw two odd bumps right in the middle of his neck. If he didn't know any better, he would think they were the work of a vampire.

Alfred pressed his fingers onto Lovino's neck, hoping to find a pulse. It was weak and Alfred could guess that it was because he might have lost a lot of blood. He looked around for any kind of injury on Lovino, but he found nothing but those marks on his neck.

"Holy shit, no way," Alfred shook his head.

"Hey, Al, what's taking so long?" Matthew stepped into the room and paused in the doorway at the sight of the two.

"I don't think Feli's crazy, dude," Alfred muttered.

"What?" Matthew asked, stepping closer.

"Check this out," Alfred motioned for him to come closer. He pointed to the bite marks. "Doesn't that scream vampire to you?"

"There's probably more of a reasonable explanation," Matthew rationalized.

"His pulse is low, he passed out, he has no major injuries, and these marks that are so perfectly vampire?" Alfred asked. "Come on, dude! If there's actually a vampire in this city that's willing to drink Lovino's blood, then we're all in big trouble. What if Lovino just barely got away and the vampire is out for more people's blood?"

"Does this mean we should call Mr. Braginski again and talk about Feli?" Matthew asked.

"Later," Alfred said. "I'm sure he's fine. We have a raging vampire on the loose."

"What's going on?" Antonio stepped into the room and his jaw dropped at the sight of Lovino.

"There's a vampire in this city and he nearly drank Lovino dry!" Alfred said. "I gotta be a hero and stop him."

"That's not a good idea," Antonio shook his head.

"And how do you know?" Alfred asked.

"If this is really a vampire, which I'm sure it's not," Antonio chuckled awkwardly and it was obvious to Alfred that he was hiding something, "then you probably wouldn't stand a chance."

"Of course I could," Alfred stated. "I can get some garlic and some stakes and I'll be fine."

"And people say I'm an idiot," Antonio sighed.

"What are you hiding?" Alfred asked.

"Nothing," Antonio shrugged. "I am hiding nothing."

"Come to think of it, you're hardly around at all," Alfred stated. He still hadn't moved from Lovino's side. This was probably the closest he'd gotten to him ever and it was kind of nice. You know, apart from Lovino being passed out and all that. "I think you are hiding something."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Alfred," Antonio shook his head. "Look, if Lovi is passed out, shouldn't we get him help?"

"He'll be fine," Alfred stated. "Besides, if there's a vampire on the loose, a place to get blood is definitely not a safe place to be."

"Don't do anything stupid, Alfred," Antonio begged. "There's no vampire, let's just get Lovino some help and we can talk about this some more later."

"I'll get him help," Alfred nodded. "Only after you tell me what's up."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Antonio sighed. "If this is all that's keeping us here, Lovino could be in some serious danger."

"Tell me what you're hiding," Alfred pressed.

"Al, maybe we should listen to him and get Lovino some help, what if he is in danger?" Matthew asked.

"Not until I figure this out," Alfred stated. "You know something about this vampire, don't you?"

"A couple hours ago, you thought vampires didn't exist," Antonio sighed. "What happened?"

"I have proof right in front of me!" Alfred motioned to the unconscious Lovino.

"He is not proof of anything besides the fact that he is clumsy," Antonio sighed.

"Why have you been held back for so long?" Alfred narrowed his eyes at him.

"Because I'm an idiot," Antonio rolled his eyes. "Can we move on now and get Lovino some help?"

Alfred's eyes widened at a sudden realization he had. "Does this have anything to do with Ludwig's older brother that went missing?"

"No," Antonio shook his head. "I have no idea, okay?"

"Weren't you friends with him?" Alfred asked. "I heard that everyone close to him disappeared, too. Except for you. And then you just happen to start failing your last grade in school? I don't think this is all coincidence."

"Anything is possible in the world," Antonio shrugged.

Alfred didn't budge, though. He knew something was up. The whole story of Ludwig's brother and all of his close friends all disappearing overnight was too weird to be something considered normal. Maybe Lovino got involved with them… Maybe one of them was the vampire!

"Is one of them the vampire?" Alfred asked.

"No, of course not," Antonio groaned.

"I think they are," Alfred stated.

"Well, no one is," Antonio shrugged.

"Someone's gotta be the vampire," Alfred rationalized. "Hey, there's that really creepy mansion that no one goes near. They could be in there, all kidnapped by the vampire."

"He wouldn't do something like that," Antonio groaned.

"Who wouldn't?" Alfred smirked, proud of the fact that he was able to make Antonio crack. Antonio, on the other hand, winced. Alfred had asked too many questions in a row and it had messed him up.

"Fine," Antonio sighed. "If I tell you all of this, will you promise to help Lovino?"

"Yeah, sure," Alfred stated. "Now, tell me."

"Fine," Antonio knelt down next to him. "It all started with this witch…"

God, it took forever to get Antonio to crack! I needed him to, but he just wouldn't! And, in the meantime, poor Lovino is passed out from not having enough blood in his system because he's just too nice to Gilbert. And our proud Gaston has reappeared in the story! Anyone who's seen Beauty and the Beast has seen this part coming, but I hope I came up with a nice twist to it that works with my story.

We're gonna be getting into some action soon, so look forward to that!

And please review!