Holy wow it's been a long time! I think this has been the longest gap between chapters for this story yet. To be honest, my excuse is very simple: I was building the plot. I had to be absolutely sure where I plan to go in this story and how I'm going to execute it and now I *am* sure, so yay the world is right again!

Coming soon is chapter twenty. I can't even believe it. I've only finished a multi-chapter story once before, and it was twenty-three (I think?) chapters long and I thought it was a beast in size, at roughly 70,000 words. This story is already twenty chapters/40,00 words in and just starting to get good.

Well, I never did say this was going to be short and sweet. XD I haven't cranked out all the chapter outlines yet so I can't tell you guys how long it's going to be when it's finally over, but I'm fairly certain we're (at the most) halfway through. Yep. Hang in there. XD

Also, I didn't realize how short this one technically is until Fanfiction's word count laughed at me when I submitted the file. It was originally 2,500 words in size and I clipped quite a bit of it, but I didn't know I clipped *that* much. XD Technically I could just keep saving it in the manager and the word count will keep climbing, but that's cheating. ;) Short of two thousand just seems too small, considering how long it took me to deliver this. Ah, oh well. I'm sure chapter twenty will be a monster in comparison. ;)

^ That may or may not have been my attempt at increasing the size of the chapter just so you have more to read. XD Sorry...

The new bedroom was starting to feel more and more like his every time Michael filled up a drawer or placed a miscellaneous belonging somewhere. He felt more comfortable knowing that he had his own clothes to wear now, and a more personalized room to escape to whenever he wanted. And he was next door to Sam; that made him feel immensely better about his human brother living with vampires.

It wasn't that Michael didn't trust any of them. He did trust some—just not all. And he didn't like that Sam roamed freely during the day while Michael was out cold. He wasn't saying Sam should be locked up in his room if no one could supervise him, but…well, Michael feared that his little brother would stumble across something—or someone—he shouldn't and things just wouldn't go well. Plus, he caught wind that the smallest of Max's boys (and for the love of him he couldn't place the boy's name) was awake during the day. The one with the short temper. If Michael had to name the person he trusted the least in this house, it was a tie between that one and David.

But at the moment, he could hear Sam unpacking his things in the adjacent room; his heartbeat calmed Michael's nerves for now. Max wasn't home, and neither was David. That knowledge alone was enough to comfort him. Things were so much simpler when Max wasn't around; Michael could think a lot more clearly.

He was placing all of his sunglasses in a little drawer built into his nightstand when he felt a stir in the air. Just a little shift in the balanced atmosphere of the room that his instincts instantly connected to there being another person nearby. His nose confirmed that and he turned around to face the intruder. He had started a little, not knowing who to expect after all the shit that's been happening, but he visibly relaxed after seeing that it was only Dwayne, hovering in the doorframe.

"Hey," Dwayne greeted, admiring the room that was now being occupied. It had stayed empty for so long, save for basic furniture. With Michael and Sam taking up more space, Max's house felt…fuller. In a good way. "Paul and I are going hunting, if you wanna come with."

Cue intense hesitation. Dwayne asked so nicely, and vampires obviously consider an invitation like that to be really friendly, and he was smiling at Michael and oh god. That fucking smile. "Hunting…?"

"Humans," Dwayne clarified.

"Already?" Didn't Max say they only fed a few times a month?

"It's been five days since we had those dogs. And animals don't fill us nearly as much as they should." He continued to smile warmly. "I know you're hungry."

Famished, actually. Michael swallowed thickly, repulsed that he was tempted by the offer, if only a little. They wouldn't kill humans, but just the thought of biting someone and drinking from them until he was satisfied… He saw appeal in blood—oh hell yes. But the process of getting that blood just…didn't strike his fancy. "No thanks." He tried to turn down the generous offer as nicely as he could. So far he had gotten the impression that feeding was private, as the others didn't really talk about it or invite each other along freely (not from what Michael had noticed so far, at least). So he had a feeling this was a big deal, in a way—but Dwayne and Paul were making it not a big deal. It was touching, really.

Dwayne shrugged. "The invitation still stands whenever you want to tag along."

"Thanks," Michael muttered absently as Dwayne turned to leave. "Wait," he blurted, and Dwayne paused. And dammit the fifty-year-old vampire was still smiling at him. If Michael still had a heartbeat, it would probably be fluttering in his chest. "I…wanted to ask you something. About where you guys sleep." Every morning he pulled the curtains tight and slept in this room as soundly as the dead—but he had no inkling of an idea where the others hid out during the day.

"I have a room downstairs, next to Paul and Marko." Dwayne gestured with his thumb behind him, down the hall. "But sometimes I sleep in the basement, or in the storm cellar. Most of us switch around. And there's one place that David was supposed to tell you about but probably didn't. It's supposed to be shown only to blood relatives, so I'll have to bring you there sometime."

"Okay," Michael said smartly. "Cool." He took it Sam wasn't allowed to know about it, then, since he technically wasn't a "blood relative" of the others, even though he was related by blood to Michael. Or was Sam not even considered that anymore? Ugh, confusing…

And as Dwayne finally left, Michael chastised himself for being so smooth. Jesus. No one said he was a ladies man, but when he's around Dwayne he turns into…into…something embarrassing. Ugh. Michael wondered if Dwayne was doing that to him on purpose or if it was completely accidental.

If only Michael could tell.

Concentrate. Don't fuck this up now. Just…slowly drain the noodles…

Sam furrowed his brows as he carefully dumped the pot of boiling water and soft noodles into the strainer. He was working on his mac 'n cheese-making skills. This was only the third time he was attempting to make it, and he had to say, he was already immensely better when comparing this meal to his first.

"You make that look much more difficult than it is."

Sam tried not to pay Dwayne any mind as he set the now-empty pot back on the stove and proceeded to transfer the noodles into it again. This was the third consecutive morning Dwayne had decided to pay Sam a visit in the morning, and while Sam was grateful for his company (no one was around during the day, not counting the not-very-chatty-and-usually-scarce Marko), the handsome vampire's presence was sometimes a bit of a distraction when Sam was trying to concentrate. Like right now.

Plus, it was only seven in the morning. Dawn hadn't even lifted so there were multiple lights turned on in the house so Sam could see what he was doing. The reason he was awake had to due with his very demanding appetite that forced him out of bed at ass o' clock. He had listened to its complaints for an hour in bed before finally getting up, feeling he might starve to death otherwise. That all being said, he wasn't in the cheeriest of moods—but Dwayne's presence did lift it slightly, if he was being honest with himself. It was difficult to get some pleasant social interaction around here.

"Like you know how to cook," Sam quipped. "I think Max's words were, 'Marko's the only one who still remembers. The rest of us have long forgotten.'" He did a poor imitation of Max's voice, but whatever.

"That's true." From his tall chair at the island counter, Dwayne smiled. "But a little ironic. Most of us love human food but can't make it ourselves, and the one vampire who does know how to cook won't try a single bite."

Sam sent Dwayne a quick, inquiring look over his shoulder as he mixed in the ingredients. "How does that even happen?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Is Marko really new to being a vampire or something so he remembers stuff you guys don't?" Did vampires forget a lot of shit as they aged? Or was "forgotten" vampire slang for "let go of"?

Dwayne shook his head. "No, it's not that. I don't know how old he is but I know he's not 'new'. I'd bet money he's older than I am, actually. It's just that some of us forget things from our human lives after we turn. Usually we remember only vague things—like people and names and stuff. Sometimes we remember nothing, like after I was turned. And sometimes everything carries over, including emotions—like David and Michael."

So there had been a good chance Michael would have had significant memory loss after being turned. Sam winced at the thought of his brother not remembering anything, and was glad the odds had landed in their favor. "Michael has pretty good memory," Dwayne commented. "Even though it took him a little bit to recall most of it. I was kind of amazed he remembered you almost instantly. But I have to say, his memory recollection isn't nearly as amazing as David's." A smirk formed on Dwayne's thin lips.

Sam nodded, mostly to himself. "So it all varies based on chance?"

"Pretty much."

After a silent moment and some quick stirring, Sam decided to inquire about something that had floated through his head a few times the last few days. You know, as he was lounging around doing nothing with no one to keep him company. Your thoughts tend to wander when you're bored out of your mind. Sam's stirring slowed as he asked, "Who's Laddie?"

When the answer didn't come within a few seconds, Sam looked over his shoulder curiously. It was a simple, innocent question. But Dwayne was looking at Sam as if the half-century-old vampire had just been pinned to a wall. With undeniable trepidation, Dwayne countered, "Where did you hear that name?"

"Uh…" Sam turned back to his mac 'n cheese for a second and then quickly moved to get out a bowl and fork. How was he supposed to explain this? "I just…heard it."

A short pause. "Whoever said it is going to have a foot up their ass later. Just do everyone a favor and never repeat that name, okay?"

Sam furrowed his brow in confusion, though Dwayne couldn't see. "All right…"

"I think I'll turn in," the brunette announced abruptly. "Fatigue's starting to set in. I'll see you later."

And as quickly as he had originally come into the kitchen, he was gone. Off to wherever all these damn vampires slept during the day.

And Sam was left to eat his mac 'n cheese alone.