She wouldn't allow them to film an actual death scene in the real cave. David had even let her put it in the contractual clauses.
Around her, crew and technicians were setting up, bringing in vats of what appeared to be blood: it was orange and gooey, and sparkly too. Ruby made a face. Vampires, if they bled, bled real blood. But this was a movie. So much for reality.
Still sipping her tea, she took up a spot near the back wall, out of sight but with a full view of the shot. The Boys would be hanging upside down, asleep for the day, and the Frog Brothers - Ruby had to admit Corey Feldman was cute and a nice guy; Jamison was weird - would climb up a short ladder and stake...
"Hi Ruby!" Alexander waved, walking onset. Ruby waved. The Frog Brothers were going to stake Marko. She kept her eyes down as Alexander neared her. "You sure you're okay with being on set?"
"Yes. I really have to be." She sighed. Alexander nodded, cables and wires snaking after him, part of the harness used to hold the actors from the ceiling vampire perch.
"It's just a movie. Remember." He smiled, squeezing her hand. And with that he was off, to be hoisted into position. Ruby nodded to her self, trying to steel her will against what was going to come. Really, he was right. It was just a movie, and he was an actor, and the real Marko was safe and sound at home.
The crew readied, the camera was started and 'action' called. The three human teens poured into the vampire den, and up the ladder went Corey and Jamison. Ruby dared a look at the Boys; each looked as peaceful as their vampire counterparts back home. It was almost reassuring in a way...
"Goodnight, bloodsucker!" Corey yelled as he stabbed the prop stake into Alex's chest. Alex flew awake and roared, the fake goo pouring from the blood packets under his coat, spewing the mess all over himself, Corey, Jamison and Corey Haims.
Ruby was transfixed. Alex took the dive, falling onto the cave floor and thrashing about in the throes of death. And he looked helpless and scared, angry and frightened. And then she no longer saw Alexander. It was Marko on the floor, roaring in pain.
Ruby fled.
Alexander hurried past the crew, as soon as he'd been able to leave the set. He knew where she'd gone. And he followed, ducking down as the real tunnels of the cave got smaller.
He heard her crying, mingled with the sounds of open water, as he came into the cavern. Ruby sat, her knees drawn to her chest, at the water's edge. Her hair loose from its braid, spread everywhere, pieces drifting on the surface of the water.
"Ruby." He spoke quietly, not to startle her. But she didn't move, the tears continuing as the pain of what she'd seen filmed welled up and out of her small frame. Alex moved slowly, coming up and sitting beside her. "Ruby... it's not going to happen to Marko." He offered, slowly putting his arms around her. She willingly went to him, her face pressed to his shoulder as he held her.
"Please. No. Never. I couldn't bear to loose him-any- of them." She spoke through sobs. Alexander stroked her hair, her back. He was still in Marko's jacket, which was dripping the fake vampire blood. Ruby buried her face into him, getting the sticky mess on her skin.
"Shh..." he comforted, as her sobs slowly subsided. Ruby was gripping the jacket, the material tight in her fists. Slowly she looked up at him, and he knew she didn't see him as Alexander anymore.
"Don't you ever die, Marko." She growled low, leaning up and kissing him hard. Alex was taken back; the power in this creature, this woman startled him. She kissed him harder; he felt her sharp teeth.
Alexander realized this was his chance to know what it really was like to be Marko, a vampire; only in name maybe, but the power was just the same. Ruby was nipping with her sharp white teeth along his jaw, down his throat. He smiled, enjoying the sensation of the tiny bites, and tangled his fingers in her long hair.
"I won't, sweetheart." He said, awash in a sea of sensations and colors, as he was taken over and swept away.
Ruby moved a bit, her cheek still pressed to Alex's chest. Marko's jacket was over her bare form, her own coat spread out on the rocky sand beneath them. She listened solely to his heartbeat. She'd never heard Marko's and never would. But Alex was the living Marko, his arms around her loosely.
"No one but... he's the only one who calls me sweetheart." She said finally, turning her head so her chin rested on his chest. She looked up at him, the placid smile on his face reassuring.
"I felt like I was him. I understand now how much you love him." He said quietly, pushing the lock of flame colored hair from her eye.
"I think he'll forgive us both for this." Ruby sighed softly. She didn't understand why she felt safe, and ok with what had happened. Her heart didn't ache so badly anymore. She settled back against her makeshift Marko.
"If he loves you, and I know he does, he'll understand why it happened." Alex smiled again, running a finger over those smooth, pale pink lips. Her mouth was amazing, and he couldn't deny the feelings her teeth had caused as she nipped his skin.
Ruby smiled to him, leaning up for one last kiss. It was slow, intended to leave memories that would surface years from now for Alex's sake. A smile shared, and both knew it was over. Ruby sat up, Marko's jacket around her body as she untangled their clothes. She'd been wrong - his scent was still there.
"Ruby, I don't know what's making me feel this way." Alex started. Ruby's heart sank. She didn't want to have to tell him no, she couldn't be with him. "But something's making me… protective. I really don't think you should be in that house alone."
"I'm not alone. Technically." Ruby handed Alex back his jeans. She was careful not to look at him while they dressed.
"You wake up with nightmares. Crying their names, frightened." Alex said finally, dressed except for Marko's jacket. Ruby was still huddled in it.
"No one..." she turned, her chin tilted up to look at him. His blue eyes held a glint from the dim light outside the cavern. His eyes were Marko's for a moment. "Marko..."
"Let Alexander take care of you, sweetheart. It's only a few more weeks." Marko's voice came from Alexander's throat. Ruby stifled a cry, but Marko was gone before she could say anything. Alexander blinked several times.
"That was really weird... I felt shoved out of my own body." He blinked more.
"Marko wants you to take care of me." Ruby slipped her lover's jacket off and held it out to Alexander. Alex nodded.
"It'd be an honor."
For the remaining weeks of the shoot, Alexander spent them living in the Lost Boy's house. Most of his things remained in the hotel room, with the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob. He'd brought what he'd needed and Ruby supplied food and drinks.
"You sleep in the hallway? On the floor?" Alex raised a brow, finding Ruby's makeshift bed outside the Boys' room.
"It's cool and dark, and in case you haven't noticed it's cramped in their room." Ruby shrugged.
"Maybe I'm used to a mattress and sheets and comfort."
"The couch pulls out or you're welcome to the bed in their room." Ruby disappeared into the kitchen.
"Not to be rude or anything, but I don't think I could sleep near actual vampires." Alex poked his head into the Boys' room. Each was still asleep in the same position in which he'd seen them two weeks earlier.
"They're not going to wake up." Ruby returned with a glass of rum in one hand, the bottle in the other. She handed Alex the glass and drank straight from the bottle. "When we set up the contract for Santa Cruz, we set the specific amount of days that the actors and crew would be here. Pick up stuff and things that needed to be re-shot will be done back in LA."
"So when everything's gone back to LA, they wake up."
"Precisely." Ruby smiled and took another gulp of rum. Alex nodded and sipped from his glass.
"It's really quite ingenious you know. Making a movie about the lives of real vampires, but calling it fiction."
"More like the Boys were bored and wanted a challenge." Ruby sat down on her nest bed. Alex looked at her questioningly, leaning against the wall. "They were getting bored, and wanted some excitement. So they brought me down here and I helped David write this damn legend and the story. It's a very simple plot. Good versus evil; good guy gets girl, kills vampires. Lives happily ever after with his woman."
"So you write for a living?"
"I live with the Boys. I don't need money."
Alex frowned. "Wait. Don't tell me how they get their money." He sighed. "But you still write for fun?"
"For the Boys, for David's entertainment. He likes my stuff. But I'm not published and don't want to be." Ruby set the bottle down and screwed the cap back on. "I make things up, sometimes just tell stories orally, and don't bother to write them down."
"Sounds like quite a life you guys lead. No cares. No worries." Alex sat down on the floor across from her.
"We have worries. Sun light. Other vampires." Ruby shook her head. "It's not all peaches and cream, dear Alex."
"I suppose the only way I'd ever understand is to be one." Alex replied.
"Don't count on being one." Ruby said sharply. Then she softened. "Sorry. I just wouldn't let them do it. Even if they'd consider it."
"Honestly, knowing what you've told me, and seeing all the things in this movie... I don't want to be." Alex smiled a little. "I like sunlight and being able to act."
"Good. Stay that way." Ruby smiled back. Her eyes were half-closed, the sun nearly half way into the sky.
"And that's a wrap!" the assistant director called, and the room broke into applause. It was the final day of principle photography on the set. Ruby joined in, receiving hugs from all the cast and giving hugs in return.
When she came to Alex, he twirled her around. Kiefer and Billy laughed, while Brooke smirked.
"Looks like someone's got a thing for Ms. Santa Cruz!" Brooke laughed, pointing. Alex set Ruby down, pink tingeing his cheeks. Ruby laughed and hugged him.
"We're nothing more then friends." She wagged a finger at the others, still laughing.
"Sure." Kiefer smirked, which set Billy and Brooke off again.
"Fine. If you can't be nice, then I'll just take Alex to dinner alone!" Ruby grinned, throwing an arm around Alexander's shoulders and leading him towards the parking lot.
"Wait!" All three of the other actors shouted, running after.
After a very rowdy dinner at the local pizza place, the actors began to split up, heading back to their hotels to pack and begin their respective journeys home. Kiefer gave Ruby a bouquet of roses and a kiss, before asking a favor.
"I know it's really probably going to be a bit much to ask, but do you think I could keep this medallion?" he produced it from his jeans pocket. Ruby's brow furrowed.
"Did you ask costume?" She fibbed.
"They said you had brought it in, and to ask you." He looked at her, brow raised.
"Oh... well... yes. Keep it. But take good care of it." Ruby smiled, knowing David would kill her but she'd find him another in a thrift store anyway. Kiefer smiled and kissed her cheek.
"Thanks doll. It's really been great, you know?"
"Yeah, I do. Thanks for helping to bring the legend alive in such a fantastic performance." Ruby smiled and hugged him tight. Kiefer smiled and waved to the others, heading off.
"It's been great girl!" Brooke hugged her extra tight. "Even if you played mysterious on us most of the time!"
Ruby laughed. "A girl's got to have her secrets!" Brooke shook his head, laughing and took off up the street to his hotel.
"I see Kiefer did swipe a keepsake." Billy smiled, hugging Ruby. "He was quite enamored of that medallion."
"Well, he really got into the character." Ruby confessed. "How could I say no?"
"But can you say no to me?" Billy waved the earring he'd worn in character.
"Of course not. May you wear it when you want to be wild." Ruby laughed and hugged Billy goodbye.
Alexander was still at the table, watching, holding back. Ruby waved off Billy and turned. "I guess that leaves me." Alex smiled a little.
"Yeah." Ruby looked at her watch. "I want you to come back to the house before you go, all right?"
"Why...?" Alex's brows rose, wary. "What have you got up your sleeves this time?"
Ruby smiled. "Something I think you'll enjoy very much."