Her feet hit the floor the minute that he was done putting the bandage on her neck, and she slid away from him and out of the bathroom, backing away when he tried to go towards her. Kayd stared at her in confusion.
"What's the matter?" He asked.
"What the hell are you? Are those fangs some kind of a sick joke?" Mercedes was scared, and it showed in her voice.
Kayd stopped in his tracks, the realization of what she'd seen hitting him in the face. He sighed and held his hands up again, trying to show her that he meant no harm. This time, she wasn't buying it.
"I'm serious. What are you?"
"What do I look like to you?"
Mercedes looked him over. He had shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and was standing there casually, waiting for an answer. She couldn't get the thought of those fangs out of her head. Maybe she was seeing things. But, no, he decided to smile again and there they were. There was no lining along his gums that would be an indicator of plastic fangs. They were real. She sat down on the bed, staring at him with disbelief written all over her face.
"A...A vampire." She squeaked.
Kayd grinned wider and walked towards her.
"Bingo. But relax, I'm not thirsty, and it isn't really my right to do anything to you." He explained.
She didn't understand that, but she was still freaking out on the inside. She had been bitten by a vampire last night. Why wasn't she one, too? Mercedes sifted through all of her knowledge of vampires. In order to become a vampire, you had to be bitten by one and drink their blood as well. That would explain why she wasn't one. She groaned and buried her face in her hands. Kayd sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She recoiled and glanced over at him.
"Please, don't touch me." She said.
He nodded and moved away from her. There was a tense silence between the two, which was broken by the sound of the bedroom door opening. Derrick walked in. Kayd immediately looked up and shook his head, but it was too late.
"Kayd, everything going okay in here?" He asked loudly.
Mercedes recognized that voice. She looked up at him, and a fire burned in her eyes. She jumped up and crossed the room to him, punching him squarely in the jaw. Derrick stumbled backwards into the wall, holding his jaw. A burn mark appeared on his cheek from her ring.
"Fuck! What the hell was that?" He yelped.
Kayd rushed to Mercedes and grabbed her, restraining her so that she couldn't hurt him again. She stopped struggling when she saw the burn mark that was on her victims' face. She blinked a few times, but she didn't get a chance to ask about it. Derrick recovered, the burn healing rather quickly, and then he went straight at her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
"Swinging around a holy charm like that is dangerous in here. I should just take it from you right now." He growled.
"Try, and I'll take you down. You saw me in the bar." She retorted.
Derrick laughed and let her go, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked her up and down, sizing her up.
"This isn't a bar fight, dear. This is my house, and I can out-maneuver you in a heartbeat."
He had a valid point, and the fact that Kayd was still holding her back didn't help either. Kayd felt her slump and let her go. She wasn't even going to try. Derrick exuded triumph and grinned at the girl.
"Unfortunately, you're not really going to be allowed to leave, either." Kayd said, "Unless you're with one of us."
"And I'll be more than happy to hunt you down if you do get out. If it becomes a serious problem, you could always just stay in my room with me." Derrick chimed in.
Mercedes stared at the two in total shock, and a shudder went down her back at the thought of having to stay the night with him.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" She asked.
Kayd turned to his friend and raised one of his eyebrows. He had been asking the same question a few hours ago. Derrick shrugged.
"Because you're interesting, whatever your name is."
"…Mercedes."
"Alright, Mercedes. That's Kayd, I'm Derrick, and this is your new home!"
He seemed too chipper. It was almost like he was mocking her. Mercedes sat down on her bed with a heavy thump and stared at the floor. Derrick headed out, and Kayd lagged behind. He stared at her with a sympathetic smile.
"Sorry about all of this. His decision. I'm going to get you some new clothes, if you'd care to join me." Kayd said softly.
Didn't seem like she had much of a choice. Mercedes nodded and got up, following him out of her new home.