Title: A Vampire's Word (Part 4)
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, especially the awesome bands Type O Negative & Cradle of Filth and their songs Black #1 & Heaven Torn Asunder, respectively. I still own Annabelle, and now I own Sela, Alex, Dr. Hansen *and* Charlotte too!
Part 4
The next day was pretty much a blur for Laddie. He wasn't visited by any of the Pack the evening after his talk with Paul, and he was very disappointed. Lucy noticed that he looked sad that night and decided that he needed to be talked to. Something was different about him but she couldn't really decipher what it could be.
"Laddie, I think maybe we should have one of those heart-to-heart chats we used to be famous for, huh?" she said as he passed through the living room.
"What? Umm...okay, Mom. What did you want to talk about?" he asked, dreading what she would say next.
"Well, you were very happy last night but tonight you seem almost disappointed by something. Do you want to tell me about it?"
"Mom, there is something I have to tell you," Laddie had made up his mind, and now would be the moment. He had to tell her. "I saw Paul last night. We talked and everything."
Lucy looked at him with stunned, tearful eyes. The Pack was back? How could this be? Just when Laddie had gotten over them and was starting a new, healthy chapter in his life. She closed her eyes briefly to regain some control. "Have you seen the other ones? Are they here too?" she asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
"I haven't seen them," Laddie lied. He didn't want Lucy to know that he'd been hiding the news about the Pack for three days. "But Paul said that they're here and that I should be seeing them soon."
"Laddie, are you happy that they're back?"
"Well, truthfully, yeah. You know I never gave up hope that they'd come back. But, I'm also confused. I don't really know what to do. They've given me the choice."
Lucy nodded silently, knowing exactly what choice he was talking about. If he was confused, that meant she hadn't lost him entirely. "Are you thinking about becoming one of them?" she asked fearfully.
"Yes, Mom, I am. But you have to know that I love you and Grandpa and this is the hardest decision I think I'll ever have to make. Neither choice is a very good one, and I'll be losing something either way," Laddie replied, sadness tingeing his words.
"Whatever happens, I'll always be your mother and I'll always love you," Lucy said quietly and pulled Laddie into a hug.
The mother and son sat like that for a few moments, each taking comfort in the warmth of knowing that someone would always be there for them. Laddie broke the hug first and wiped tears from his eyes. "Mom, I'm going to take a walk. I need to clear my head," he said.
"Ok, honey, be careful," she replied.
----------------------
Laddie barely got down the driveway when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He whirled around and he smiled when he saw who it was. Marco. "Marco, hi, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Well, Laddie, since Paul told us that your talk went so well last night, I thought I'd give it a try. You look kinda troubled, man...wanna talk about it?"
"I just had a pretty heavy talk with my mom. Very Oprah worthy," he added with a smile. The two started to walk down the deserted, barely paved street.
"Oh, what about?" Marco asked, slipping his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.
"I told her that I saw Paul last night. I omitted the fact that I saw the rest of you guys two nights ago, though."
"How did she react?"
"She was upset, of course. She wanted to know what I was going to do and all of that. She's worried about losing her only son, you know?" Laddie answered, a look of slight guilt passing across his pale face.
"I can't say I know how she feels, but I do know that it must be hard for her," said Marco, trying hard to sound sympathetic. He didn't feel bad about what had happened to Michael and Sam, but knew that she wasn't going to like losing Laddie, which inevitably was what was going to happen.
"It is, not knowing if I'm going to there a week from now. I'm wondering if she just wants my decision to be made so that she can get on with her life either way."
"You don't know what you're going to do yet?" Marco asked, surprised. He had been so sure that Laddie would choose them, even though Paul hadn't been sure and he knew Laddie best.
"You're asking me to choose between the people who have raised and loved me for ten years and the people whose blood I share but pretty much abandoned me five years ago. To any outsider the decision seems simple if I put it like that, but you and I both know that it's the exact opposite. My insides have felt like they've been split in half for the past three days," Laddie answered, his voice shaking slightly.
Marco sighed and put his arm tentatively around the boy he'd always thought of as his little brother. He saw now that the decision wouldn't be made until every member of the Pack made their case and showed their love and support for Laddie. "I hate to say this, but I have to go. Just don't decide anything until you hear from all of us, okay?"
Laddie nodded his head. "I won't Marco, this is just too important a choice to make in three days."
Marco smiled and gave Laddie's shoulders a squeeze, then took off into the air. Soon he was gone from sight.
----------------------
Marco glided into the cave and was soon being bombarded with questions. "How did it go?" David asked.
"Not as good as I thought it would," Marco said quietly.
"You are way too much of an optimist, man. I told you that he doesn't know what he's gonna do yet," Paul remarked, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah, yeah, I know what you said, Paul. That doesn't mean I believed it," Marco replied, a mischievous expression on his face.
Before the boys could get into an insult war, Sela interrupted them. "So what did he say, anyway?" she asked from her spot on Dwayne's lap.
"He said that he told Lucy that he talked to you, Paul, and that she was very upset. He really doesn't want to hurt her or the old man, and that's gonna make it hard for us to convince him to join us," Marco answered, his face serious.
"But not impossible," David said, a smirk firmly in place.
"No, not impossible," Marco echoed.
"I think, Boss, that when it comes down to it, you're gonna be the one to either convince him to become Pack or stay with his folks," stated Paul, no trace of his usual humor in his voice.
"Yeah," agreed Dwayne, joining the conversation. "You know that he doesn't trust you completely yet. If you show him that the Pack isn't complete without him, he'll believe you."
"Look," snarled David suddenly. "Granted, Laddie is supposed to be Pack and we all know this. But if he doesn't join with us then he's against us. Do we all agree on this?"
"David, darling, don't do anything you'll regret. If he needs to be convinced, do so. Don't drive him away. I know you don't want to," Annabelle pleaded gently.
David sighed, his sudden burst of anger slowly melting away. "I know, my Belle, I know. I just hate having to do this. He's Pack, there should be no question as to what he wants to do. This never would have happened...."
"Back when I was a boy?" Paul interrupted, a wide grin on his face and laughter in his voice.
"Or maybe back in the good old days?" Marco joked and he and Paul high-fived each other.
David growled good-naturedly and laughed. At least for now the serious discussion was forgotten.
----------------------
Back at the Emersons, Laddie was laying on his bed writing furiously in his journal. Getting all of his feelings down on paper was usually helpful to him in making important choices such as the one that was in front of him. He flipped over on his back and re-read the page or so that he had already furiously scribbled down. Most of it dealt with his confusing feelings about the Pack. Love and hate were the two main ones. He also felt an enormous amount of loyalty towards them mixed with feelings of betrayal. As he thought more about these things, he realized that perhaps he shouldn't be feeling so betrayed. They left, yeah, but they did say goodbye. They never told him exactly when they would be back. Maybe it had been stupid of him to wait so impatiently for them, as if they had given him an exact date for their return. "Laddie, turn down that god-awful music!" he heard Grandpa yell from downstairs.
"Sorry!" he yelled back and rolled to his side, grabbing his stereo remote and clicking the volume button a few times, lowering Type O Negative's deep melodies a few notches.
"Black, black, black, black number one," Laddie sang softly to himself as he began to write again.
He chewed on his pen a few seconds, as he always did when he was deep in thought. If the Pack caused such confusing emotions in him, then Lucy and Grandpa caused the exact opposite. He knew exactly how he felt about his adoptive family. But if he loved them so much, why did he have such a big dilemma? Why didn't he just choose them and tell the Pack to fuck off? The answer, of course, was blood. Even if the blood no longer held the power it did, it still ran through his veins, making his connection to the other members of the Pack very strong. Contrary to what Michael, Sam, and the Frog brothers thought, just because a half-vampire returned to "normal" after the head vampire was killed, that didn't mean that he or she didn't retain the bonds that were formed when he was turned. It was actually the entire opposite. The Pack bond stayed strong, which often led the former vampire to either commit suicide or try to return to the Pack. Laddie had never understood in the week or so before Michael and Star's deaths why they hadn't been going crazy from their lack of contact with the Pack. Laddie had known in his very soul that at least one of them was alive right away, and Michael and Star should have known it too. Ignoring it was almost impossible. After their resurrection, just being near them had helped a lot and so it was only logical that he would descend into depression after they left. Actually, he didn't know why he didn't feel it the moment they returned. Maybe the link was weaker than he thought. After all, he wasn't *officially* Pack. Their blood had been mixing with his own for ten years, diluting the power it once held.
Glancing over at his clock, he groaned when he saw the time. 3 AM. It was definitely time for bed. He closed the spiral notebook that he used as a journal and slipped the pen into its rings. Then he opened the bottom drawer in his night table and slid the book under a huge pile of papers to keep it from immediate view. Slowly he stood up, and changed out of his jeans and t-shirt and into a pair of old, black boxers. He threw himself back on his bed, pulled a sheet over his head and almost immediately fell into a deep sleep, snoring lightly.
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, especially the awesome bands Type O Negative & Cradle of Filth and their songs Black #1 & Heaven Torn Asunder, respectively. I still own Annabelle, and now I own Sela, Alex, Dr. Hansen *and* Charlotte too!
Part 4
The next day was pretty much a blur for Laddie. He wasn't visited by any of the Pack the evening after his talk with Paul, and he was very disappointed. Lucy noticed that he looked sad that night and decided that he needed to be talked to. Something was different about him but she couldn't really decipher what it could be.
"Laddie, I think maybe we should have one of those heart-to-heart chats we used to be famous for, huh?" she said as he passed through the living room.
"What? Umm...okay, Mom. What did you want to talk about?" he asked, dreading what she would say next.
"Well, you were very happy last night but tonight you seem almost disappointed by something. Do you want to tell me about it?"
"Mom, there is something I have to tell you," Laddie had made up his mind, and now would be the moment. He had to tell her. "I saw Paul last night. We talked and everything."
Lucy looked at him with stunned, tearful eyes. The Pack was back? How could this be? Just when Laddie had gotten over them and was starting a new, healthy chapter in his life. She closed her eyes briefly to regain some control. "Have you seen the other ones? Are they here too?" she asked, not wanting to hear the answer.
"I haven't seen them," Laddie lied. He didn't want Lucy to know that he'd been hiding the news about the Pack for three days. "But Paul said that they're here and that I should be seeing them soon."
"Laddie, are you happy that they're back?"
"Well, truthfully, yeah. You know I never gave up hope that they'd come back. But, I'm also confused. I don't really know what to do. They've given me the choice."
Lucy nodded silently, knowing exactly what choice he was talking about. If he was confused, that meant she hadn't lost him entirely. "Are you thinking about becoming one of them?" she asked fearfully.
"Yes, Mom, I am. But you have to know that I love you and Grandpa and this is the hardest decision I think I'll ever have to make. Neither choice is a very good one, and I'll be losing something either way," Laddie replied, sadness tingeing his words.
"Whatever happens, I'll always be your mother and I'll always love you," Lucy said quietly and pulled Laddie into a hug.
The mother and son sat like that for a few moments, each taking comfort in the warmth of knowing that someone would always be there for them. Laddie broke the hug first and wiped tears from his eyes. "Mom, I'm going to take a walk. I need to clear my head," he said.
"Ok, honey, be careful," she replied.
----------------------
Laddie barely got down the driveway when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He whirled around and he smiled when he saw who it was. Marco. "Marco, hi, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Well, Laddie, since Paul told us that your talk went so well last night, I thought I'd give it a try. You look kinda troubled, man...wanna talk about it?"
"I just had a pretty heavy talk with my mom. Very Oprah worthy," he added with a smile. The two started to walk down the deserted, barely paved street.
"Oh, what about?" Marco asked, slipping his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.
"I told her that I saw Paul last night. I omitted the fact that I saw the rest of you guys two nights ago, though."
"How did she react?"
"She was upset, of course. She wanted to know what I was going to do and all of that. She's worried about losing her only son, you know?" Laddie answered, a look of slight guilt passing across his pale face.
"I can't say I know how she feels, but I do know that it must be hard for her," said Marco, trying hard to sound sympathetic. He didn't feel bad about what had happened to Michael and Sam, but knew that she wasn't going to like losing Laddie, which inevitably was what was going to happen.
"It is, not knowing if I'm going to there a week from now. I'm wondering if she just wants my decision to be made so that she can get on with her life either way."
"You don't know what you're going to do yet?" Marco asked, surprised. He had been so sure that Laddie would choose them, even though Paul hadn't been sure and he knew Laddie best.
"You're asking me to choose between the people who have raised and loved me for ten years and the people whose blood I share but pretty much abandoned me five years ago. To any outsider the decision seems simple if I put it like that, but you and I both know that it's the exact opposite. My insides have felt like they've been split in half for the past three days," Laddie answered, his voice shaking slightly.
Marco sighed and put his arm tentatively around the boy he'd always thought of as his little brother. He saw now that the decision wouldn't be made until every member of the Pack made their case and showed their love and support for Laddie. "I hate to say this, but I have to go. Just don't decide anything until you hear from all of us, okay?"
Laddie nodded his head. "I won't Marco, this is just too important a choice to make in three days."
Marco smiled and gave Laddie's shoulders a squeeze, then took off into the air. Soon he was gone from sight.
----------------------
Marco glided into the cave and was soon being bombarded with questions. "How did it go?" David asked.
"Not as good as I thought it would," Marco said quietly.
"You are way too much of an optimist, man. I told you that he doesn't know what he's gonna do yet," Paul remarked, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah, yeah, I know what you said, Paul. That doesn't mean I believed it," Marco replied, a mischievous expression on his face.
Before the boys could get into an insult war, Sela interrupted them. "So what did he say, anyway?" she asked from her spot on Dwayne's lap.
"He said that he told Lucy that he talked to you, Paul, and that she was very upset. He really doesn't want to hurt her or the old man, and that's gonna make it hard for us to convince him to join us," Marco answered, his face serious.
"But not impossible," David said, a smirk firmly in place.
"No, not impossible," Marco echoed.
"I think, Boss, that when it comes down to it, you're gonna be the one to either convince him to become Pack or stay with his folks," stated Paul, no trace of his usual humor in his voice.
"Yeah," agreed Dwayne, joining the conversation. "You know that he doesn't trust you completely yet. If you show him that the Pack isn't complete without him, he'll believe you."
"Look," snarled David suddenly. "Granted, Laddie is supposed to be Pack and we all know this. But if he doesn't join with us then he's against us. Do we all agree on this?"
"David, darling, don't do anything you'll regret. If he needs to be convinced, do so. Don't drive him away. I know you don't want to," Annabelle pleaded gently.
David sighed, his sudden burst of anger slowly melting away. "I know, my Belle, I know. I just hate having to do this. He's Pack, there should be no question as to what he wants to do. This never would have happened...."
"Back when I was a boy?" Paul interrupted, a wide grin on his face and laughter in his voice.
"Or maybe back in the good old days?" Marco joked and he and Paul high-fived each other.
David growled good-naturedly and laughed. At least for now the serious discussion was forgotten.
----------------------
Back at the Emersons, Laddie was laying on his bed writing furiously in his journal. Getting all of his feelings down on paper was usually helpful to him in making important choices such as the one that was in front of him. He flipped over on his back and re-read the page or so that he had already furiously scribbled down. Most of it dealt with his confusing feelings about the Pack. Love and hate were the two main ones. He also felt an enormous amount of loyalty towards them mixed with feelings of betrayal. As he thought more about these things, he realized that perhaps he shouldn't be feeling so betrayed. They left, yeah, but they did say goodbye. They never told him exactly when they would be back. Maybe it had been stupid of him to wait so impatiently for them, as if they had given him an exact date for their return. "Laddie, turn down that god-awful music!" he heard Grandpa yell from downstairs.
"Sorry!" he yelled back and rolled to his side, grabbing his stereo remote and clicking the volume button a few times, lowering Type O Negative's deep melodies a few notches.
"Black, black, black, black number one," Laddie sang softly to himself as he began to write again.
He chewed on his pen a few seconds, as he always did when he was deep in thought. If the Pack caused such confusing emotions in him, then Lucy and Grandpa caused the exact opposite. He knew exactly how he felt about his adoptive family. But if he loved them so much, why did he have such a big dilemma? Why didn't he just choose them and tell the Pack to fuck off? The answer, of course, was blood. Even if the blood no longer held the power it did, it still ran through his veins, making his connection to the other members of the Pack very strong. Contrary to what Michael, Sam, and the Frog brothers thought, just because a half-vampire returned to "normal" after the head vampire was killed, that didn't mean that he or she didn't retain the bonds that were formed when he was turned. It was actually the entire opposite. The Pack bond stayed strong, which often led the former vampire to either commit suicide or try to return to the Pack. Laddie had never understood in the week or so before Michael and Star's deaths why they hadn't been going crazy from their lack of contact with the Pack. Laddie had known in his very soul that at least one of them was alive right away, and Michael and Star should have known it too. Ignoring it was almost impossible. After their resurrection, just being near them had helped a lot and so it was only logical that he would descend into depression after they left. Actually, he didn't know why he didn't feel it the moment they returned. Maybe the link was weaker than he thought. After all, he wasn't *officially* Pack. Their blood had been mixing with his own for ten years, diluting the power it once held.
Glancing over at his clock, he groaned when he saw the time. 3 AM. It was definitely time for bed. He closed the spiral notebook that he used as a journal and slipped the pen into its rings. Then he opened the bottom drawer in his night table and slid the book under a huge pile of papers to keep it from immediate view. Slowly he stood up, and changed out of his jeans and t-shirt and into a pair of old, black boxers. He threw himself back on his bed, pulled a sheet over his head and almost immediately fell into a deep sleep, snoring lightly.
