He built the Hotel as a safe haven. Not only for Mavis and him, but for all the other monsters around the world who had to hide unless they wanted to die.
For 115 years, everything was running smoothly.
And then he saw a human boy carrying a huge backpack standing in the entrance of his sanctuary.
"Who are you? And how did you find this place?!"
Jonathan, as it turned out, was downright annoying, frustrating, impossibly reckless, and a bit stupid. He had absolutely no problem whatsoever with staying in a place full of monsters.
Worst, he actually became friendly –a bit too friendly- with Mavis.
This… walking disaster turned all the organization he had planned for his daughter's birthday upside down. Why everybody seemed to like him was above what Dracula could comprehend.
But beyond his anger, the vampire worried about something else.
It had been a very long time since he had been in the presence of a human. And he couldn't deny that the smell was enticing.
He would just have to drink more blood substitutes than usual.
Until the redhead left. Which shouldn't take a long time.
Right?
Right.
"I can't believe you stuck around, man!"
Luck was decidedly not on his side.
Despite all of his efforts to get rid of him, Jonathan remained in the Hotel, and the longer he dwelled, the harder it was for him to ignore his bloodlust. He consumed Blood Beaters at an alarming rate, but if someone noticed, they didn't say anything.
The birthday party was a disaster.
Everyone found out he had lied about the village. On top of that, Johnny was revealed as being a human. Pure chaos ensued. Every monster was running, screaming, and fearing for their lives. He watched, desperate, as Mavis hugged Jonathan, despite what he was, and as Jonathan looked at him before rejecting Mavis. He could do nothing as Mavis yelled that everything was his fault and flew away. He stayed there, staring at where his daughter had been while every monster left the room, prepared to flee the hotel.
–***–
They had zinged. And he had stood in the way.
But he could fix it. He wasn't a Dracula for nothing.
Flying in the sun as a bat trying to pursue a plane was easily one of the worst pain he had ever experienced in his lifetime. His back and wings were literally on fire, every movement excruciating, but he had to endure it. For Mavis. So he forced himself to focus solely on his goal and kept going by force of sheer will.
In agony, he managed to deliver his message to Johnny and felt the plane turn back.
As it was going down, he told the human to buy Mavis a backpack, the first one he could find, and then meet him in the forest. He finally released his hypnosis on the pilot and let go, falling down to the ground, starting to fly again at the last moment to reach the nearby shadows of the forest, where he promptly collapsed.
"… Cula… Dracula!"
He was hearing a voice.
"Dracula, are you alright?"
He opened his eyes, gasping for the air he didn't need. Jonathan was in front of him, looking terribly worried.
"I…I'm fine," he replied, voice raspy. "Did you buy the backpack?"
"Uh, yeah. I got it! Look! It has everything she needs!"
Thump-thump.
"It wasn't expensive at all, like 40 bucks! I hope it will suit her…"
Thump-thump.
"The color is a bit terrible, I'll give you that, but you did say to buy the first one I found."
THUMP-THUMP.
"Drac?"
The vampire snapped out of his trance. The boy was so close, it would be so easy to just reach him and bite… - No! NO!
Dracula shook his head and stood up.
"Come", he snapped.
He turned into a bat again, grabbed Johnathan by the collar, and, ignoring the pain, settled to flying back to the hotel.
–***–
The Count stayed locked in his room for two days after that.
His body, badly burned, was demanding human blood, real human blood, to regenerate faster, better, stronger, but he couldn't give in- it was unthinkable. Not trusting himself to go outside, he left Mavis in charge of the hotel, simply telling her he needed time to recover.
He drank Blood Beater after Blood Beater, and slowly but surely the burns healed, until he felt like his old self again.
There we go! Thank you so much for the positive responses to this, it has greatly motivated me to actually continue updating the story! Just like last time, do tell me what you think in the reviews, and do not hesitate to point out a typo or maybe if you think a sentence doesn't make sense, as English isn't my first language !
Hope you enjoyed!