Title: A Vampire's Word (Part 3)
Author: Love In Vein
Summary: The sequel to David's Revenge. Laddie is heartbroken after the Pack leaves Santa Carla. When they return, will they find themselves no longer welcome in his life?
Disclaimer: As we all know, the WB owns The Lost Boys and all of the characters therein. Anything else I mentioned in this story are also owned by other people, too. I still own Annabelle, and now I own Sela, Alex, Dr. Hansen *and* Charlotte too! Beat that!


Part 3

The next afternoon Laddie awoke with a large headache and a lot of confusion. He was torn between two families, both of which were very important to him. He groaned and flung the sheet off of the bed and sat up. He wondered if anyone would visit him tonight. Actually, he wanted to speak to Paul and Annabelle the most. Paul would be able to put this dilemma in a good perspective, and Annabelle would be able to provide good advice. He knew that she wouldn't try to convince him one way or the other. He just didn't know how he would go about talking to Lucy or Grandpa about this.

After pulling on a pair of black jeans and a plain black tank top he left his room, stopping only to slip on a pair of dark sunglasses. Trudging down the stairs, his eyes never left the floor. He wasn't in the mood to talk just yet. He went into the kitchen and found the bottle of aspirin. Swallowing two pills quickly, he grimaced at the sour taste they left in the back of his throat. He turned on the water and dipped his head to the faucet, taking in a few mouthfuls of the semi-cold liquid. "Laddie honey, you look terrible. Is everything all right?" Lucy asked from behind him.

"Yeah, Mom, everything's okay. Just had a rough night is all," he replied, grabbing a rubber band off the counter and tying back his slightly greasy hair.

"I think that maybe you should see a doctor. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror today?"

"No, Mom, really...I just got in real late is all. Alex wouldn't let me alone. You know how he is," his smile turning into a grimace.

"Is Alex really the one who bothered you so much last night? Dad told me that he heard a lot of motorcycle engines around here pretty late."

"What, you think the Pack is back? Didn't I tell you that I was over that? Even if they were back, I certainly wouldn't care at all; I wouldn't get so upset that I would make myself sick."

"Well, whatever the problem, you are definitely not going to work tonight, young man. You are going to march right back up those stairs and go back to sleep. I'm going to call Dr. Hansen. I think he's the only doctor who makes house calls around here anymore," said Lucy, in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Ok," Laddie replied wearily, not wanting to argue with her at the moment. The Doc wouldn't find anything wrong anyway. He shuffled up the stairs to his room and slid out of his clothes and under the cool sheets.

About two hours later a soft knock on the door woke Laddie out of his light sleep. The door opened and in walked Lucy with Dr. Hansen, a man in his late sixties, dressed in a pair of dark blue slacks and a white short sleeved shirt. Laddie had known Dr. Hansen since he had come to live with the Emersons and trusted him a lot. His opinion also meant a lot to Laddie, something he would never admit. "So, Laddie, not feeling so good, are we?" he asked.

"Not really, Doc. But I'm just tired, is all. Mom's overreacting."

"Well, we'll see about that," Dr. Hansen replied.

In a few minutes Dr. Hansen looked Laddie over and of course couldn't find anything really wrong with him. "Laddie, ya know ya can tell me anything that's goin' on. I won't tell yer mom," he said seriously.

"Doc, I'm just having a sort of problem with some old friends who have kind of reappeared just now. They want me to hang out with them again, but that means giving up some stuff. I don't know if I can do that," Laddie replied cautiously.

"Well, then...if ya don't want ta give up some things, then perhaps ya can't be friends wid 'em anymore."

"That's an easy answer, but it, well, it doesn't work like that really. It's like, I was so close to them before, I kinda almost *needed* them. I've just now started to be me without them, and now here they are again. On the one hand, it's always been a fantasy of mine to really be one of them and now I can be. On the other hand, how can I leave Mom and Grandpa and all of the friends I've made since they left?" he asked timidly, not really wanting an answer if Dr. Hansen had one.

"Laddie, I've known ya fer a long time, and yer almost like another son ta me. So I'm gonna tell ya what I'd tell my son if he was askin'. You'd probably break ya mother's heart if ya left her, and I know ya don't really wanna do that. But if ya ain't happy, she'd want ya ta be happy. And if the only way ya gonna be happy is with these friends a yers, then she'd want ya ta be wid 'em. Does that make any sense ta ya?"

"Yeah, yeah it does Doc. Thanks for your advice. I don't know what I'm going to do just yet, but you've given me some things to think about," Laddie said with a small smile. Somehow Doc always knew how to make him feel a little better.

"Well, be sure ta tell me when ya do decide. And Laddie, be careful, whateva ya do," Dr. Hansen answered and gently patted Laddie on the back.

"Ok, Doc, thanks again."

Once Dr. Hansen left Laddie decided that spending the rest of the night in bed would not do him any good. He got up, took a shower and got dressed. After putting on his spiked collar, cuffs, chains, and extra earrings, he grabbed his jacket and this time he pounded down the stairs with renewed energy. "Grandpa, I'm going out! Is Mom at the store?" he shouted.

"So, feeling better? That's good. Yeah, Lucy's at the store. Why don't you stop by there? I'm sure she'd be happy to see you up and cheerful," Grandpa replied with a smile. He was glad Laddie was getting out of his funk.

"Ok, Grandpa, I will," Laddie said with a smile and tugged lightly on Grandpa's ponytail as he strolled out of the house.

----------------------

At the boardwalk, Laddie walked on the wooden planks at a leisurely pace, one hand in his pocket and the other loosely holding on to a half-smoked cigarette. He took a long drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke into the night air, then crushed the remainder of it under his thick boots. He was trying to quit. He walked past what had been the Frog's comic book store and allowed his eyes to cloud a little with tears. He hadn't really wanted them to die. They hadn't been bad guys, just not very smart. The store was now just another tourist dive, but it seemed to do okay business and would probably see another few summers. He pushed past a small crowd of teenagers in their faddish, Macy's bought "grunge" clothes and grinned slightly when they shied away from him. Posers, he thought. He grabbed a soda, a small bag of Doritos, and the cheapest pack of cigarettes he could buy then left and began to walk towards the video store. Taking a large gulp of soda, he relished the burning sensation it caused in his throat for a moment before noticing a familiar shadow in the alley. "Paul, is that you?" he called.

Paul stepped from the shadows and gave a short laugh. "Can't hide from you that long, can I?" he asked jokingly.

"Nope, never," Laddie replied, smiling, "Where are the rest of the Pack?"

"Oh, they aren't gonna be here tonight. At least not on this part of the boardwalk. I figured you and me could talk," Paul said and ran his fingers through his now short, spiky hair.

"Ok, about what?"

"Things. The Pack. How you're feeling. What you've been up to. Whatever."

"Well, I haven't been up to all that much. Uh, finished high school, didn't feel much like going to college so Mom put me to work," Laddie said offhandedly.

"Mom? Oh, you mean Lucy?" Paul asked and Laddie nodded, "You two get along real well?"

"Yeah, we do. She's, like, my mom," Laddie shrugged, "She been...well, a mom to me. I don't know how else to explain it. I don't remember my real parents, and she's as good a parent as someone can get. Grandpa too," Laddie finished truthfully.

"That's good," said Paul and he started walking. He gestured for Laddie to follow, "We had hoped that they would take good care of you. Glad to see we were right."

They walked in a comfortable silence for a minute before Paul turned to Laddie and sighed. "So, man...what exactly happened to ya. I don't mean to offend you or anything but you know...you're a lot different."

"Not really, Paul. I haven't changed as much as you think. I can still have fun and stuff. It's been a tough few years, you know? I've dealt with it as best I could," Laddie shot back. He took out his pack of cigarettes and lit one, then offered the pack towards Paul. Paul shook his head and Laddie shrugged, then put the pack back in his pocket.

"When did you start smoking?" Paul asked.

"Ummm, I dunno. I coupla years ago, I guess. Hey, you guys always did it," Laddie answered defensively.

"Yeah, we did. I just never thought...never mind. You still like it here, though?" Paul asked, changing the subject.

The change wasn't lost on Laddie but he didn't bring it up. "Yeah, it's my home. All my friends and my family live here. Why wouldn't I like it?"

"I don't know. Maybe you've gotten tired of it. Maybe you want to move on. Just things we want to know."

"Why, are you guys planning on leaving here? I mean, if I join you? Why wouldn't you stay?"

"Well, we don't know. We want to see how much the place has changed. If it's still a good hunting ground and all of that," Paul said semi-casually. He wanted to see Laddie's reaction to his town being called a "hunting ground."

If Laddie had a reaction to that phrase, he didn't show it. "Oh, well, the tourists still come here in droves. Do I have to provide you with a list of names and descriptions, maybe pictures, of people I don't want you to put the bite on?" Laddie asked sarcastically.

"No...well, are there a lot of them?"

"Well there's Mom, Grandpa, Alex, Charlotte...oh, Dr. Hansen, my friend Billy, Maria...her family...hmmm, the list does go on a little. Maybe I *should* write it all out. You know, like a dossier?" Laddie snorted derisively.


"Maybe you should," Paul said without any irony. He didn't like the way this conversation was heading.

"Are you surprised that I actually care about anyone else besides you guys?"

"You still care about us?" Paul said, shock coloring his words.

"Yeah, of course. You were the closest thing I had to family for a long time. I still consider you guys family. That's why this is so hard," Laddie explained. 'Why do I have the feeling I'm going to be saying this a lot,' he thought.

"Laddie, believe me when we say we're sorry for everything that's happened to you. We really wish we could take it all back. You'll probably hear that a lot. Except maybe from Dwayne. He'll probably just say 'I'm sorry' and leave it at that," Paul joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Even David?" Laddie asked in a small voice.

Paul furrowed his brow at Laddie's words. He couldn't believe that Laddie still didn't believe that David wasn't all that bad, especially to family. "Of course even David. Laddie dude, why do you distrust David so much?"

"Because...well, you know I was always scared of him," Paul nodded and Laddie continued, "He just seemed not to really care about anything. He was so mean to Star, after she didn't want to be with him anymore, and he was so cruel to everyone who wasn't you guys. I was always afraid he'd turn on me or even you and the rest of the Pack."

Paul smiled softly at the concern that creeped into Laddie's voice. "That's just it, Laddie, he was cruel to everyone who *wasn't* us. He would never hurt you, or anyone in the Pack. Even Star went it came down to it, he couldn't destroy her. Maybe he should have," Paul mused.

"How does he feel about me now?" Laddie asked fearfully.

"He wants you in the Pack. That's all I can say. I think he can better explain himself to you personally. Maybe tonight?" Paul asked.

"No, I don't think so. I'm not really ready for a one-on-one conversation with him yet. Maybe in a couple of nights, okay?"

"Sure, best for last, right?" Paul said and smiled.

"Yeah, something like that," Laddie agreed.

They came to a stop a few feet from the video store and leaned against a railing. The two stood in silence for a minute, just watching the people rush or meander from store to store and off and on to the boardwalk. "Well Laddie, I have to go. The hunt calls, you know?" Paul said, not shielding Laddie from the reality of life.

"Yeah, sure. I should go see Mom anyway. It was good talking to you."

"Yeah, same here. I'll see you later," Paul laughed and tousled Laddie's hair as if he were still a young boy. Then he leapt over the railing and disappeared into the shadows of the beach.

Laddie shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair to fix it. Pushing off the railing he weaved his way through the crowd and into the video store. Lucy smiled when she saw Laddie enter the store with a happy smile on his face. "I take it you're feeling better, Laddie?" she asked.

"Yeah, a lot better Mom. A lot better." he answered, for now a carefree kid once again.