"I think we did good, kid." David said as he observed the paint splattered wall, his breath made visible by his cigarette smoke. He had his legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles with Vanessa's head resting on his lap.
She blew out her own thin little cloud until the room was covered in a thin veil of the noxious smoke. "I concur." She yawned and stubbed out her cigarette until the smoldering end was black and left ash streaks on the floor.
David watched her for a moment loving the scent of her and the warmth she radiated. He could hear her heart beat in her chest and the blood run through her veins and felt a savage hunger rise in him. He ignored the feeling and leaned back until he was propping himself up on his elbows.
"How old are you?" Vanessa asked suddenly. David looked to see her staring at him with her piercing green eyes.
"Much older than you." He answered. "Why? How old are you?"
"Twenty-three." She replied with a small shrug as if it didn't matter. "What age did you become a vampire?"
It was David's turn to shrug. "I don't really remember. After awhile age becomes irrelevant. Time melds together and soon you learn not to think about the time gone by else it drives you insane."
Vanessa looked at him for a moment. "Wow. That sounds really depressing."
"It's not." He assured her.
"Do your friends hold the same depressing view as you or can I count on them to be more cheerful?"
"You'll see them soon enough. I think it's time you were properly introduced to the Lost Boys." David let the cigarette dangle from his lips and moved Vanessa so he could jump to his feet. "Come on."
"Now?" She asked, looking at him incredulously.
"Do you have prior engagements? No, so let's go."
"But it's late. Maybe we should wait."
"For what? Morning?" David smirked in amusement.
Vanessa opened her mouth to agree but shut it almost immediately. It thrilled David to see bits of color come to her cheeks. "I forgot." She muttered as she ducked her head to try and hide her blush. "Alright, let's go but let me change first." She rubbed absently at an orange paint spot on her jeans.
"We're going to the boardwalk. No one cares if you've got paint on your clothes."
"I care." She shot back as she leapt to her feet. "Two minutes." She called, rushing out the door and down the hall.
David gave an exasperated sigh and leaned against the door frame, digging into his pocket for his pack as he resigned himself to wait for more than a couple minutes.
She came back a few minutes later clean of paint and wearing a pair of faded and worn jeans that sat low on her hips along with a small tank top that rode up just a little to expose a sliver of skin. David straightened a little when he saw that sliver of skin and his hands itched to touch it, push the material up and expose even more skin.
"What?" She asked when she caught him staring. She flicked her hair back over her shoulder and David thought he was dying all over again when he saw the smooth curve of her neck.
"Nothing. Let's go." He pushed himself away from the doorframe and walked with her to the front door.
The boardwalk was still fairly crowded when they arrived but it was easy for them to pass though as people parted once they saw David. The vampire stopped and turned his head slightly to his right, peering through the crowd with his hard stare.
"What is it?" Vanessa asked as she stopped to stand beside him.
"One of them is around here."
"How can you tell? Do you have telepathy or something?" She snorted in incredulous amusement.
"Yes, actually and I can tell by the scent. We have a different scent than mortals which you'll find o—" David was cut off as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck.
"David, where have you been? I was worried sick." Tris raised her voice to be heard over the roar of the crowd. "Everyone left me to get something to eat and I was almost accosted by these awful— Oh." She released David and stepped back to get a better look at Vanessa.
"Who is this?" Both girls asked in unison with wrinkled noses, eyeing each other suspiciously.
David stepped back and smirked in mild amusement at the scene. "Vanessa this is Tris. Tris meet Vanessa."
"Who?" Both asked again in unison as if names meant nothing.
"Are you his girlfriend?" Vanessa asked bluntly before David had a chance to speak.
Tris looked startled for a moment then laughed behind her hand. "Not a chance. But tell me, David, is this the girl?"
"I wouldn't have bothered to introduce you if she wasn't."
"Are you one of the Lost Boys too?" Vanessa asked.
The little vampire smiled. "So you know about us then? But I wouldn't call myself a Lost Boy. Well, David never spent much time beating around the bush. He probably didn't tell you about mates though, did he?"
"No. I'm afraid he's told me very little."
Tris shook her head sadly. "David never gives details but I'll be happy to explain it all to you. Here's mine now."
Dwayne strode up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Did I miss something?"
"This is Vanessa, David's mate." Tris told him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. "Who would have thought David could have one? He's ego's big enough for two."
"Don't tease." Dwayne smiled and extended his hand to Vanessa. "It's nice to meet under more positive circumstances. My name is Dwayne."
"I agree. It's nice to be properly introduced rather than continue listening to the horror tales of the boardwalk."
"I'm sure they must be awful. You'll see we're nothing like their grotesque stories." Tris said as she pulled away from Dwayne and linked arms with the other girl to pull her away from the other vampires.
"Females." David said, lighting another cigarette. He watched the pair walk together through the throng, looking like old friends.
Dwayne simply shrugged. "You left your bike. We parked it in front of Max's store."
"Thanks. I'll take her there next. Where are Paul and Marco?"
"I left them at Max's." Dwayne answered before looking at David with furrowed eyebrows. "What happened to your coat?"
David looked down at himself and rubbed absently at his chest as if his coat might magically reappear that way. "Damn. I left it back at her house."
Dwayne laughed at the expression on his friend's face. "I never thought I'd see you so unraveled by a girl."
"Shut up." David growled. "I'm not unraveled." He turned away from his friend and walked over to the girls who had found their way to a bench and sat with their heads together, chatting amiably.
"David, I never knew you had a sister." Vanessa looked up at him with a smile. "And such a nice one."
"Welcome to the family. Watch her though; she's evil incarnate." David smirked. "Come on. It's time you meet Max."
"The video store owner? Is he one of you?"
"If I had to put it simply I would say he's the father of our dysfunctional family." David answered.
"You'd love to meet him." Tris said as she rose from her seat. "Dwayne and I will come with you. It's been awhile since I saw Max."
The four of them walked the Max's store with David and Dwayne leading the way and the girls lagging behind as they spoke of seemingly irrelevant topics.
As soon as David entered his eye was caught by a lovely brunette chatting with Marina, the girl behind the counter. David found himself staring at the delicate curve of her long lashes and doe-like eyes of the brunette. She wore a gypsy skirt that hugged her hips and a tank top under her military jacket. As she pushed away from the counter he heard Marina say, "See you later, Star."
Star. He had seen her before; walking casually along the boardwalk, knowing that guys were watching the sway of her hips, and at the outdoor concerts but never paid her much attention. Now, as she walked past him, her eye caught his for a second and a tremor ran down his spine.
"Hey, are you ok?" Dwayne whispered, nudging David discreetly with his elbow.
"Fine." The blonde lied, turning his head to catch one last glimpse at Star. He turned again when his name was called and saw Vanessa standing next to Tris, motioning him over as they spoke to Max. For the second time that night a savage hunger rose in him, frightening him with its intensity and sudden onset.
AN- I'm sorry for the delay. I already had a last chapter typed up but I began to think of how I could extend it even a little and came up with an idea which, sadly, involves Star. I've never really liked her but she serves my purposes so I'll use her and try not to completely bash her character in the process.