THE MUSICAL VAMPIRE MYSTERIES OF RORY FLANAGAN
Memorial to Cory Monteith: It is with great sadness that I have to hear this morning that Cory Monteith has passed away. It was quite a shock, and I hope that whatever the reason for his passing, people remember him for the good things he did. As Finn Hudson, he inspired a lot of young people to be themselves, to sing, to follow their dreams. He brought something special to a lot of people just by being a character on a show, and that in itself is an accomplishment. I know next to nothing about him outside of Glee, but everyone says he was a great person, wonderful to work with, and inspirational. Love goes out to his family, his friends, and everyone that he has touched in some way through his acting or personally. Glee will definitely not be the same without him, and every time we don't see his character or name onscreen, we will be reminded of this tragic moment, but never forget his memory and remember him for his greatest moments but on and offscreen. Rest in peace, Cory Monteith, for you will be missed by family, friends, and fans alike.
Author's Notes: By this point in the story I am sure most of you have figured out which Glee characters parallel True Blood characters. I'm also pretty sure you guys know why I chose who I did for each role. Just for fun, when you post your next review (and I hope you are reviewing, it caters to my badly damaged ego hehe) give me your thoughts on who you think is taking who's role and why I might have chosen them. I always value what my readers are thinking!
Beta Credit: TVTime
Season 1, Episode 5: Ability
Sam had taken Rory home just before dawn approached. The teen was sound asleep; he never even stirred as Sam gently placed him in the truck, and then carried him upstairs to his room. He tucked him in, removing his shoes and socks, and then his jeans. Before, he had been wary of removing Rory's clothing out of respect, but at this point they trusted each other, and Sam knew Rory wouldn't feel violated. Sam stood over his slumbering boyfriend, smiling slightly as he watched his chest rise and fall in peaceful sleep. A single red tear streaked the vampire's cheek as he thought once more about the fact that he would never be able to sleep and wake with the boy the same way a normal human couple would.
Before sadness could ruin his happy moment, Sam ran from the house, back to the vehicle. He needed to get home so that he could rest by the time dawn set.
-ooo-
"My God, Rory! You look terrible!" Mercedes exclaimed upon seeing her friend entering the Lima Bean to start his shift. While he had slept incredibly well overnight, he woke up still feeling physically exhausted. He attributed it to the strange happenings of the night before, assuming whatever had occurred took a lot of energy out of him. As far as he was concerned, he'd be fine once he got going through the day.
"Holy crap, you're pale as hell," Kurt added, rushing up to the boy and putting the back of his hand on Rory's forehead. Rory shook him off and shuffled toward the employee lounge to clock in.
Kurt and Mercedes looked at each other, worried. "He looks bad. Pale, and sickly. You don't think…?" the woman began, giving Kurt a pleading stare that begged him to have some explanation for the boy's condition.
"His forehead didn't feel hot, like a fever or anything. Did you see how he was moving though? Slow and-" Kurt began, but was interrupted by Mike.
The manager appeared behind them, a grim look on his face. "Weak," he finished for Kurt. "He looks weak. Like someone who either hasn't had enough sleep in a long time, or someone anemic." His two employees looked confused. "Anemic, thin blood, easier blood loss. Blood being the key word here."
"You think that fanger fed on him?" Mercedes asked, her eyes watering at the thought.
"I don't know. I asked Tina to check on him. He seems to open up to her the most when it comes to this sort of thing," Mike replied. In truth, he knew that Tina was the only one who had the compassion and personality to drag the truth out of the kid without causing a war. Kurt was far too blunt, and Mercedes was too dramatic. Either of them would cause him to shut down. Yes, Tina was the perfect choice here.
"You two get back to work for now. I'll let you know if Tina finds out anything. I have to work on payroll," the manager said, walking toward his office, leaving Mercedes and Kurt at the bar. The two said nothing else, but went about their menial tasks in silence, trading the occasional look of worry since they hadn't seen Rory appear yet.
-ooo-
Rory had clocked in for his shift, but started to feel lightheaded. He braced himself against the wall, closing his eyes to see if the feeling would go away.
"Rory? Are you okay?" came the soft voice of Tina Cohen-Chang. He hadn't heard the door open or close, but the slight ringing in his ears most likely took care of that. "Come on, let's sit down; you look like you might faint." She took him by the arm and helped him to sit in a chair, pulling one up for herself once he was comfortable.
"I'll be okay," the teen assured her, but she wasn't buying it.
"Rory, you look awful. You're pale; you look like you might pass out any second. If you could see yourself, you'd see what I mean," she explained. "I'll be right back, I'm going to get you a drink. Maybe some orange juice. That's good for replenishing a blood count."
The way Tina justified the selection of orange juice instantly alerted Rory to the fact that she was assuming he must have been bitten and drained by a vampire. She didn't seem angry or scared however, merely concerned.
"Here, drink some of this," she said, returning moments later with a large glass of ice-cold orange juice. "This should perk you up a little bit." He thanked her as he took the glass from her, sipping carefully as if he were afraid he might drop it.
"Sam didn't… he didn't drink me blood," Rory finally said, sighing deeply. "I know ye' all think he did, but he didn't."
Tina felt slightly guilty that she had made the assumption, but something had told her that she had been wrong from the moment the thought had entered her mind. "How come you look so pale and weak?" she asked, taking care not to make the words come across as sarcastic or challenging.
"I can't say. Maybe just too much goin' on last night," he replied, realizing how his words sounded, what they almost insinuated.
"Can I ask you something personal?" the woman inquired. Rory shrugged. "This isn't some sort of effect from intimacy, is it? I don't know anything about vampire… relations… but could that have anything to do with how you feel?"
The teen couldn't help but laugh. "No, we 'aven't done anything like that. We just visited the vampire bar, and I guess we just stayed out too late," he said.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry, I'm just concerned is all," Tina said. "I don't know anything about vampires, really. I know Sam is a nice person though, and I think it's a good chance for me to learn a little something about them. I can't imagine someone as kind as him being like the vampires we see on the news or in movies."
Rory smiled at her, the juice starting to perk him up just as she had promised. "Thank ye', Tina. It means a lot t'me that ye' aren't acting the way e'eryone else is. Sam really is a wonderful person. I wish the others would give him a chance. Would be open to knowin' him." He started to sniffle, closing his eyes tight to fight back the tears.
Tina leaned forward and hugged him. "They'll come around eventually. Give them time." She sat with him for several minutes, exchanging idle small talk while he drank his juice.
Before she left the lounge, Tina paused at the door. "Rory, you know you can talk to me about anything. Anything at all. I'll keep it between you and me, I promise," she said with a genuine smile.
"Thank ye'," the teen replied, smiling back. He contemplated just spilling it all out on the table for her right then, but it was just too much. Too much to expect anyone to understand all at once. It was already too much when he expected them to understand his special ability, but asking them to understand this new ability, was just too much. He decided he would wait until he knew more about it himself before broaching the subject with anyone else.
Not even five minutes after Tina had left, Mike entered the room, sitting down across from the younger teen. "Feeling okay?" he asked in a concerned, yet authoritative tone.
"I'll be fine. I just had a bad night's sleep. I'll be right along in a moment," Rory replied unconvincingly.
Mike's stare bore down on him. "If I see you aren't feeling well again the rest of your shift, I'm sending you home. No arguments." He leaned forward and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hey, I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just looking out for you, and if you start getting sickly like this, you need to rest and get better. At home."
Rory nodded his head hesitantly. "I un'erstand." He watched as Mike stood up and left, leaving Rory to mentally prepare himself. He already expected that Mercedes and Kurt would be on his case, and he really had no desire to deal with them. He could have taken Mike up on his offer to go home, but that wasn't the answer.
-ooo-
Rory worked his shift as normal, but he was very quiet. He spent more time than usual cleaning the tables, taking orders, and making idle chit-chat with his customers. Any excuse to keep away from his friends. He could feel their eyes on him constantly, as if they were waiting for him to slip up or something, anything to give them an excuse to start asking questions. He even took extra care not to make any clumsy mistakes or knock things over so as not to draw extra attention to himself.
His luck ran out, however, when it was around eight and the customers were practically non-existent. The tables were all clean and there was no one around. The only ones there were Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina, the latter about to leave for the night.
"When are you going to stop avoiding us and tell us what's going on?" Mercedes asked pointedly the moment he came behind the bar to fix himself yet another orange juice.
"Nothing's goin' on. I'm just tired," he said. It wasn't entirely a lie—he was tired—but he was definitely leaving out a lot of details.
"I don't believe you," Kurt declared, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, a fresh cappuccino in hand. "You're either sick, which I highly doubt, or that vampire has done something to you. Now are you going to fess up, or do we have to drag it out of you?"
Rory sighed, purposely taking longer than necessary to fill his glass with ice and juice. "Sam hasn't done anything to me. I promise. He would ne'er hurt me. I wish ye' could trust me on that," he said sadly. "I just need some rest. These late nights with him are wearing me out. That's all it is."
"Then maybe you need friends who can actually walk in the daylight," Kurt said sarcastically, sipping his coffee. Rory looked up at him, narrowing his eyes.
"What did ye' say t'me?" the teen challenged.
"I said," Kurt repeated, "That you need friends who can walk in the daylight. Humans. People who don't keep you up all night going to dangerous bars and drinking the life out of people all the while draining you of any energy you have just by lack of sleep."
Rory stood up, setting his glass on the counter, a newfound strength in his body. "How dare ye' say those things, Kurt! I thought ye' were me friend!"
"I am your friend, why else do you think I care that he's doing this to you? It's unhealthy," Kurt replied firmly. He put his free hand on Rory's shoulder in an act of consolation, but all it did was anger the boy.
"Don't touch me!" Rory shouted, pushing back against Kurt's chest with the only intention being to get him to back away. Instead, when his hands made contact with Kurt's body, a dull flash of light emitted from the boy's hands, slamming into Kurt's chest and knocking him back off of his feet, his coffee spilling everywhere.
"What the hell did you just do to him?" Mercedes cried out, rushing to Kurt's aid. "You… you hit him with… something! But you hit him!"
Rory backed away, his hands in front of him. "No, I didn't mean t'do anything! I just wanted him to back away, I didn't want t'hurt him!" A look of horror crossed his face, but then it turned into one of sheer exhaustion. His eyes fluttered and he collapsed on the floor, taking the bartender's stool with him.
"What the hell is going on?" Mercedes yelled in frustration. Kurt was recovering from his fall, his only injury being a slight pain in his chest where whatever had hit him connected, and a slight ache in his rear where he had fallen. The coffee had spilled wildly, but luckily just stained his pants, however his shirt now had a pair of darkened handprints on it, as if an iron had been left on it just a little too long.
"Should we call an ambulance for Rory?" Kurt asked, shaking his head to readjust himself.
"I… I don't know," the stout woman replied. "Whatever he did, it wasn't normal. Would a doctor even know what to do? He didn't pass out until he did that. They wouldn't have the slightest idea what was going on."
The two older teens had crouched down near their friend, looking for signs of injury.
"Where is he!?" they heard a voice bellow, alarmed. It was the vampire. Sam.
"He's back here," Mercedes answered fretfully. "He passed out."
"He didn't just pass out. He… he did something to me and then he passed out," Kurt corrected her. Despite his concern for his friend, he was still irritated that he had been attacked, even by accident.
Sam went behind the bar, crouching down and listening to the boy's heartbeat. "His heart sounds fine. He's breathing. I think he'll be okay," he said with relief. "He just needs some rest. A good night's sleep."
"Yeah, no kidding. You've been keeping him out all night long so he isn't sleeping, then coming in to work and now he's passing out from exhaustion. It's all your fault, you know!" Kurt said hatefully. "Maybe if you let him actually sleep at night like he's supposed to, he'd be okay."
Sam glared at the man, forcing himself to maintain control of his emotions. "You have no idea what you're talking about, young man. There's more going on with this boy than you can fathom. The last thing he needs is his friends with their judgmental attitudes being unsupportive of his choices." He would have laughed at himself for sounding so much like his father, but he was gravely serious.
Kurt had no words that would come to mind. How could he argue? He was being judgmental, as was Mercedes. They really didn't know exactly what was going on except for the fact that their friend was dating a vampire and staying out late at night. For all they knew, Rory and Sam just spent time watching movies and talking.
"Look, arguing isn't going to help Rory," Mercedes interjected. "Sam, I don't like you. I don't trust you. But Rory does. I don't agree with it, but I guess I just have to accept it." Her pointed comments hit Sam like a truck, but he had to admire her honesty. "If you know what's going on, if you know what could help him, then do it. Give him a reason to trust you. Give us a reason to trust you."
"Are you crazy? What if—" Kurt began, but the woman put her hand over his mouth, silencing him.
"Sam, just take him home. Let him rest for once. Think about what this relationship could be doing to him. Is it worth his health? Weigh it," Mercedes said sternly. Her eyes bore into him fearlessly as if she knew he would not glamour her into submission of some sort.
Sam didn't reply, but carefully picked his boyfriend up in his arms, then in a blur, they were gone from the building.
Kurt glared at his friend. "Have you lost your mind, girl?"
A tear fell down the young woman's face. "Maybe. But something's going on that we don't know about. That vampire knows, and… And I believe Rory when he says Sam isn't hurting him. I don't know why, but I do. I didn't before, but I've changed my mind, Kurt. If Rory can trust him, maybe we can at least trust Rory."
Kurt held his head in his hands, sighing. "Whatever. This is getting out of hand. Maybe… maybe I'll ask Blaine about it. Maybe this is some sort of magic. Maybe he even knows a way to keep that vampire staring spell from being used on us. Or a spell to just make him go away."
"Don't you think he might be a little freaked out there? After all, he's a Wiccan, and they aren't exactly known for liking the supernatural creatures of the night," she argued. "Then again, Blaine has always been more open-minded than most. It's hard to say I guess. Just talk to him about it, see what he can figure out."
"At least he might be able to give us answers even if he can't actually do anything to help" the man said, leaning up against the bar. "You surprise me though. I swear, earlier you were gung-ho about being anti-vampire, and now you're all about the fanged-coalition. Sounds like he already put that spell on you or something."
Mercedes shook her head. "No. I'm far from pro-vampire. I just am trying to open my mind a little, for Rory's sake. What that vamp said makes sense. We should be supportive of Rory, even if we don't agree with him. Being vocal and judgmental is just going to upset him. He needs his friends. If we piss him off, he'll shut us out, and then there's no way we can help him. Keep your enemies closer, the saying goes."
Kurt huffed. He knew she was right, and the only reason he could even tolerate agreeing with her was because he ignored the fact that it was Sam who had pointed it out. The events of the evening however were all the fuel he needed to ask his own boyfriend about what he knew of vampires. Maybe he would even have an answer for what happened.
Kurt touched his chest, still feeling a tingling sensation. His fingertips came away very warm, even though the rest of his body was relatively cold from the cranked up A/C. He began to wonder if whatever it was Rory had done, was some sort of heat projection. He made a mental note to address that with Blaine as well. There had to be explanations for these things, and Kurt was determined to find answers. Luckily for Rory, Kurt was far too worried about him to fuss over his ruined shirt and stained pants.
-ooo-
Rory's eyes fluttered open, but he was far from awake. He was still drowsy, his head hurt, and he felt weak. He took comfort in the fact that he recognized the flawless mattress he was lying on as being from Sam's bedroom. He was covered by a thick blanket, his head on the fluffiest pillow he had ever slept on. Despite the fact he had slept here a few times already, for some reason it all felt new again.
He sat up, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He reached to his right and clicked on the bedside lamp, giving the room a soft glow. He checked the time on his phone, which was sitting on the nightstand. It was still early by Sam's internal clock, but late for his own: Eleven-thirty.
"Sam?" he called out softly. It wasn't like he needed to be quiet, he wasn't afraid of waking his boyfriend; he just for some reason didn't have the energy to be but so loud. He kicked off the covers and sat on the bedside. He had no socks or pants on, just his boxers and t-shirt. He couldn't help but wonder if Sam had sneaked a peek at anything while he was undressing him. The thought made him chuckle. He never thought anyone would even be interested in him at all, let alone be interested in 'peeking' at anything.
He stood up, his head a little woozy. He slowly and carefully padded across the floor into the hallway and down the stairs, holding on to the handrail to steady himself. He felt so weak, but he didn't understand why at all. He had just slept for a few hours. He should be okay, so why wasn't he back to normal yet?
He peered into the living room, but saw no sign of the vampire, so he decided to try the study. Sure enough, Sam was sitting behind his desk, a pair of glasses on his face, reading something. As soon as he noticed the boy entering the room, he shuffled something on top of whatever he was reading.
"Feeling any better?" Sam asked, looking over the teen. "You still look tired."
"I am. Real tired. I don't know why," Rory answered. He padded into the study and leaned against the desk, smiling at Sam innocently. "What are ye' reading? Dirty magazines?" he teased, slipping his fingers under the Rolling Stone magazine in an effort to seize whatever Sam was hiding.
"No, I don't read those things. They're dull and unoriginal," the vampire replied matter-of-factly. He let the teen slide the hidden periodical from under his magazine, thanking his cool skin for hiding the blush he knew he should be showing.
"The Uncanny X-men?" Rory asked as he examined the comic book. "A hundred-seventy years old and ye' still reading comic books," he chuckled.
Sam smiled sheepishly. "Yes. I've been reading them since issue one. It's amazing how the artwork has evolved over the decades. See, we didn't really have these when I was alive. We barely had books at all, and I couldn't read anyway even if we did."
"Don't say that," Rory said. "When ye' were alive. Ye' still are. At least t'me. Ye' just went through a traumatic transformation. Kind o' like the characters in ye'r comic book," he added, handing the book back to Sam. "I'm not that familiar with X-men, but I saw the movies. A bunch o' people who got special abilities when they got t'be teenagers. People hated and feared them. They just wanted acceptance. Sounds like ye'r no different really."
Sam choked back a sob. "That's the most profound thing I have ever heard in my life. You're so amazing." He stood up and rounded the desk, hugging his boyfriend. Rory hugged him back weakly, almost collapsing in his embrace.
"Sorry. I guess I'm still a wee bit weaker than I thought," the teen apologized.
Sam held Rory steady, helping him up the stairs and back to the bedroom. He could easily have just picked him up and zoomed up there, but somehow he got the notion that perhaps what Rory needed was a little feeling of normalcy, not more supernatural experiences.
"Sam, d'ye' 'ave any idea what's happening to me?" Rory asked as he sat back down on the bedside.
The vampire shook his head, taking a seat next to him and holding his hand. "No. Whatever it is, it's because of what happened when you tried to read that guy's mind. That… energy that came out of your hands. It was strong enough to throw you backwards at least ten feet."
"I've ne'er experienced that before. Ne'er in me life. Then when I got mad at Kurt, I went to push him back, and that energy came out again. This time it pushed him back, instead o' me."
Sam scratched his chin thoughtfully. "The only thing I can think of so far that makes sense is whatever that energy was, it came from you. Like it came out of you. Kind of like blood."
Rory cocked his head sideways in confusion. "What do ye' mean?"
"I mean if I were to drink your blood, for example, it would take you a couple days for your body to replenish it, to make new blood to replace it. Maybe that's what's happening here. That energy you put out was taken away, so now you need time to replenish it. So maybe you feel weak and tired until your body recovers. It still doesn't explain what happened or why it happened, but if you ask me, it's at least a theory to start with," Sam said.
"What if it's… something else? What if it's something dangerous? That can kill me…" Rory asked sadly. "Sam, I don't want t'die. Not yet."
Sam lifted the teen's chin with his fingertip and gazed into his ocean-blue eyes. "You are not going to die. Not on my watch. I'll give you every ounce of my blood if that's what it takes to keep you alive," he vowed.
Rory sat there quietly, his eyes locked on Sam's, unable to look away. Finally, he spoke. "That's an awfully dedicated thing t'say. Ye'r way o'er a hundred years old. Why give ye'r life up for a teenager?"
"Don't worry about 'why'. Just know that you're safe," Sam said. He leaned in slowly, letting his thick lips touch Rory's, concentrating to keep his fangs from extending. He slid his tongue into the boy's mouth, allowing him to explore back.
Despite Rory's lack of energy, he found a sudden burst of it as they kissed intensely and passionately, finally collapsing onto the bed. Sam straddled him and hovered over him, continuing to kiss him. It was all he could do to contain his hormones. He wanted to simply ravage the teen, both of them reveling in each other's sexual desires and fantasies, but he knew—no, he wanted-to wait. Rory had to be ready, and right now, he wasn't. The teen hadn't said it aloud, but Sam could sense it in his heartbeat.
"Okay, you're getting me all riled up, time to cool off," Sam said teasingly. "Why don't we watch some TV until you're ready to fall asleep again?" He sat back up and scooted up against the headboard, reaching for the remote on the bedside table. Rory sat up as well, letting Sam cradle him in his arms as he flipped through channels. Suddenly, something caught their attention and Sam stopped clicking.
A picture of a young man came across the screen. He was a light-skinned black teenager with buzzed hair and he was wearing a William McKinley High School letterman jacket. His name flashed across the screen: Matthew Rutherford.
"This teen was found dead last night, his body in the same grisly condition as Joseph Hart, another student who was killed just last week," the anchorwoman stated on the TV. "No evidence of the murderer was left behind, but so far investigators are once again ruling out vampire activity since the victim was not exsanguinated and a massive amount of blood was left at the scene. We now have a statement from Holly Holliday of the American Vampire League. Miss Holliday, if you will," she finished.
They didn't pay attention to what Holly Holliday had to say. Instead Rory turned his head and stared at Sam, both of them understanding what the other was thinking.
"First Joe Hart, then those three bullies being driven insane, and now this guy. Do you know him?" Sam asked.
Rory shook his head. "No. I mean, I saw him in the hall, and I know he was a football player, but that's it. I didn't e'en know his first name until now. This is getting really scary, Sam."
The vampire nodded. "I agree. One death was bad enough, but a second? And those boys… The fact that none of their blood was drained is odd too. If it were vampires, they would be drained completely. That means it's something other than a vampire. Something much more dangerous I imagine." He tightened his embrace around the teen, unsure if it was more to comfort himself, or Rory.
"Sam, ye'r immortal. Why would ye' be scared o' anything?" the teen asked, confused. "Unless they impale ye' with wood, or cut off ye'r head, ye'r pretty well indestructible, right?"
Sam chuckled. "Hardly! Vampires are much more vulnerable than you think. We can withstand a heck of a lot, but we can still be hurt and killed by more than stakes and decapitation and sunlight. You shouldn't worry about it though. Many vampires live for centuries. Sebastian's over fifteen-hundred himself. Santana is around my age. One-eighty."
"What's the oldest vampire ye' ever heard of?"
"Hmm," Sam thought a moment. "Probably three-thousand. A guy named Finnigan Hudsonoff. He's a little crazy, but who wouldn't be after three-thousand years? He's actually the king of Ohio."
"King? There's a king? Like King Arthur?"
"Yes, sort of. The king is like the president of the state. He governs over the sheriffs of the state. The Authority governs the entire vampire world. They're a collective of chancellors from every continent," Sam explained. "The Authority are the ones who decided to come forward about the existence of our kind, and the concept of mainstreaming: living in harmony with humans."
Rory's eyes went wide. "Wow. Is there a queen, too? Princes and princesses and stuff?"
Sam laughed. "State leaders are called kings and queens, and that just depends on if it's a man or woman in charge. The queen of Tennessee for example is Quintessa Fabrarra. She's one-eighty, like Santana, which is very young for a queen. And no, there aren't princes and princesses. The closest thing to that would be the sheriffs."
"Wow. I ne'er knew all this was happening right under our noses," the teen admitted.
"A lot of people don't. That's part of the idea though, of mainstreaming. The Authority keeps the vampire population in check, while the human governments make the rules for all citizens, human and vampire alike. They work very closely together with the national governments to keep things going."
As fascinated as Rory was, he was starting to get sleepy again. Sam could sense it in his slowed breathing and heartbeat. "Time for you to get some more sleep I think. Your vampire government lesson is over for now."
Sam crawled out of the bed and helped Rory get comfortable again. Sam kissed him on the forehead, giggling slightly at the childish gesture. He turned out the light and the TV and sat on the edge of the bed, watching silently as his boyfriend fell asleep.
As the century-and-a-half-old teenager watched the slumbering boy, he couldn't help but let his mind wander. I think I love him. I never had these feelings before. Even about... Marley. Our love was deep friendship. What we had was different than mates, but this… This is different from that. There's something about him. I can only explain it as love. I wonder if he feels the same intensity I do. I'm kind of scared to ask. What if he says no? I might just be the first vampire to fall apart of heartbreak.
-ooo-
Rory woke up mid-morning, still feeling tired, but not to the extent he had before. He called Mike and told him he'd be in, but needed a ride to work. Mike volunteered Tina to pick him up after getting the address. Rory could sense in the manager's voice that he wasn't thrilled about him having stayed all night over at Sam's, nor did he seem incredibly happy with the idea of Tina going over there, but she insisted she could take care of herself.
Ride arrangements made, Rory decided he needed a shower. He entered the bathroom, finding a note taped to the bathroom mirror.
Good morning handsome,
I'm sorry I can't be there to see you off to work, but the dawn isn't all that friendly to me. I've gone to ground until dusk. I took the liberty of sending a text message with your phone to your caretakers alerting them that you were sleeping over at a friend's for the night so they wouldn't fret when you weren't home for curfew. I also made the trek to Wal-Mart while you were asleep and retrieved you some clean clothing for the day. You'll find it sitting in the chair in the bedroom. I hope it's an appropriate outfit, if not, I apologize. Feel free to make yourself at home, but unfortunately I have not had the sense to stock any human food for you yet. I will amend that later. If you need a ride, I left the number of a cab company sitting on the dresser and I can repay you for the fare. I hope I covered everything. When I wake I will come find you at work to give you a proper greeting.
Yours, Sam
Rory chuckled at the sweet note, the handwriting not the best in the world, but he had seen much worse. He had always pictured vampires in the style of Anne Rice: elegant, writing on parchment with quills in fancy script. Instead here was Sam's note on plain paper, written in pencil with sloppy handwriting.
He left the bathroom to retrieve the clothes Sam had chosen for him. Sam had picked khaki-colored slacks and a pale orange button-down shirt. Rory wouldn't have selected it for himself, but the sentiment was incredibly thoughtful. He usually wore polo shirts to work, but this would have to do.
It felt odd to be in the house without Sam around. Well, he was there, just sleeping wherever it was he 'went to ground', whatever that meant. Rory couldn't picture him literally sleeping on the ground, or buried in the sand, but he couldn't picture Sam in a coffin, either. He finally decided that Sam probably had a normal bedroom in the basement or some other light-tight area.
After his shower, he milled about the house, taking a closer look at the books on shelves in the study, finding Sam's massive comic book collection in a large highboy. It was endearing to him that a hundred-seventy year old vampire was reading comic books, but that age was pretty young by vampire standards, and perhaps Sam had never really grown up the way a normal human did over the decades.
Finally, Tina arrived to pick him up for work. He met her at the door, but she was far too intrigued to just take off. She asked if she could see the inside, to which Rory decided it would be alright since Tina was genuinely curious and not out to make fun of his boyfriend's home.
"Wow, it is so nice in here," she said softly. "I expected spider webs and dust everywhere, but it's really clean and well taken care of." She ran her hands along the wooden handrail of the stairs as she passed by them, walking into the study. "Oh my god, that desk is gorgeous! And those pieces in the glass cases! Wonderful!" The young woman was clearly amazed by what she saw, her original expectations totally blown out of the water.
"Can I see the upstairs too? Or do you think that's too private?" she asked, her eyes pleading to visit.
"I don't see why not. The bed is huge, and very comfortable. He e'en has a TV in the bedroom. The bathroom is really modern looking, too," Rory replied, leading her up the stairs.
He showed her the bedroom and the bathroom, but nothing more. He wasn't sure what was in the other rooms and didn't want to pry without permission. Tina took a moment to lie back on the bed, the mattress so soft she insisted she may very well fall asleep if she didn't get up right away.
"This is all so overwhelming!" she exclaimed. "Where does he sleep? Does he have a bedroom too?"
Rory shrugged. "I don't know. He ne'er said where he sleeps. Maybe he has a bedroom in the basement, but I don't want t'go snooping around. It might be bad to wake him up during daytime. It might, ye' know, hurt him or something."
Tina nodded in understanding. "Makes sense." She checked her watch. "We better get going so we aren't late. If I don't see Sam later, be sure and tell him I love his house. It's breathtaking!"
"I will. Ye' should see him though; he's coming to see me when he wakes up later. I bet he'd enjoy 'aving ye' over proper sometime and then he could show ye' his antiques and stuff," the younger teen explained. He made a quick round of the bedroom and bathroom to make sure he didn't leave anything a mess, turned out the lights, and followed Tina out the door.
"I would love t'stay here fore'er ye' know," Rory said, taking a moment to look back at the house before getting into the car. "It's like living in a dream. The perfect boyfriend, the perfect house. I'd stay here if he asked me to."
"Do you think he will? I mean, he trusts you enough to let you stay overnight, and he likes you a lot. In fact, I have a feeling he more than likes you," Tina suggested as they backed out of the driveway.
Rory blushed. "Ye' think he really does? More than likes me? How would I know if he did?"
Tina laughed. "The way he looks at you, the way he's so protective. It's obvious he more than likes you. Only you can know for sure though. You'll know; you'll sense it. You don't need the power to read memories to know when someone loves you."
The Irishman blushed even darker. "Love. Ye' think he loves me?"
Tina nodded. "Maybe. That's for you two to figure out though. Do you think maybe you feel something more than just liking him?" She already knew the answer, but she wanted him to admit it to himself.
"Yes. Yes, I like him way more than just liking. It's stronger and more intense. I think it might be love."
"Then it probably is," she said cheerfully. "Don't say the words until you feel ready though. Once you declare love for someone, it can change things, usually for the better. At least in a dating situation."
"Ye' think if I told him I loved him, he might get upset?"
Tina laughed again. "I think he might say it back to you, if you wanna know the truth. You'll have to find that out for yourself though."
The rest of the ride they made in companionable silence, Rory smiling happily as he mulled over the things Tina had said to him. It meant a lot that she was not only supportive, but encouraging of the relationship. She was genuine and caring, two of Tina's best qualities. He could understand why Mike cared for her so much, why Mike loved her.
Rory made the decision that he would tell Sam his feelings, but only when he sensed the time was right. The only problem was, what made it 'the right time'?
-ooo-
The Lima Bean was surprisingly busy, even for a Friday summer's night. The tables were constantly full, Tina and Rory keeping on their toes making sure everyone was served and satisfied. Mike even came out of his office to help them out a few times, making a mental note that he needed to ask his father about hiring at least one more server.
It was around seven when Rory saw a new face come into the restaurant. The only reason he noticed was because her face seemed to have a faint aura about it, the way someone's face would glow if they had on too much makeup, except she wore very little. She strolled up to the bar, smiling, her pearly-white teeth glinting in the light.
The mysterious woman didn't even wait for Mercedes to ask for her order. "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry," she said, holding her hand out.
"Yeah nice to meet you. What can I get for you?" Mercedes asked hurriedly. She never did very well when it was busy, getting flustered easily.
"Well actually I just need to speak to a manager. See, I'm a singer and I'm looking to do a performance at local businesses to get my name out there. Is there anyone I can talk to?" Rachel Berry asked sweetly, her grin never fading.
"Uh, yeah, hold on," the heavier woman said. She picked up the phone at the end of the bar and pushed a speed dial button. "Hey, Mike, someone needs to see you. Says she's a performer. Uh huh. Okay. Will do." She hung up the phone and reported back to her customer.
"He'll be right out. You want a drink while you wait?"
Rachel Berry smiled and politely refused. She only waited a minute before Mike came out to greet her.
"Mike Chang, manager of the Lima Bean. How can I help you?" he asked formally.
"Well Mr. Chang, my name is Rachel Berry, and I would love to talk to you about your performances held here and if I could possibly be a part of that," Rachel replied.
Mike shrugged. "Actually, we don't have any kind of performances going on. No live bands or singers or anything, so there's nothing for you to join," he replied.
Rachel's smile didn't falter one bit. "Well then it sounds like a perfect time to consider adding that. Can you imagine the increase in customers coming in if you had live entertainment! Even better is that this is supposed to be a teenaged hangout, right? Well every town can use a place for teens to be entertained in a safe, wholesome environment. The Lima Bean could be the perfect place for it!"
Mike thought a moment. This woman, whom he had never seen before in his life, made a very good point. They weren't hurting for customers per se, but the more they had, the more money they could make. His father had mentioned wanting to possibly expand someday, and in the immediate future they needed at least one more server. It was an idea worth thinking about.
"Alright, Miss Berry. Let's go to my office. I'll need to get the owner in here to make the decisions, but lets work on a proposal. I like the idea of live entertainment."
Rachel seemed very pleased with his response. She kept the sickly-sweet smile plastered on her face as she followed him into the office.
Rory paused a moment, watching the woman as she stayed on Mike's heels. He almost tripped over his own two feet when he went to move again.
"Watching girls now?" Mercedes teased as she walked by.
"What?"
"You almost tripped over yourself watching that chick," the woman replied smugly.
Rory scrunched his eyebrows. "I wasn't looking at her arse. I was just watching her. There's something about her that seems…off." Before he could elaborate, Kurt came through with an order that was ready, setting it on the counter for Rory to pick up.
"Serve now, talk later," Kurt barked rudely. He wasn't much better than Mercedes when things got busier than usual. Rory ignored him and took his tray. He liked Kurt but the boy had been a little cold to him all during his shift, most likely bitter about their little incident the night before.
During Mike and Rachel's conference, Tina made a trip back to the office at least three times, begging Mike to come out front to help them, but he declined. He was fully engrossed in this proposed project. Tina had no suspicions that he was cheating on her; she was just bothered by the sudden interest and by the strange look in his eyes. His eyes seemed to have a very faint glow, the same kind of glow that Rachel had.
-ooo-
Sam arrived at the Lima Bean just before close. He was pleased to see that Rory was wearing the clothing he had picked out for him. He stepped inside for just a moment to let him know that he would be waiting for him outside.
Ten minutes later, the Irish teen emerged from the building, a large smile across his face. He immediately walked up to Sam and planted a kiss on his mouth, throwing his arms around him in a tight embrace.
"Happy to see me apparently," Sam teased when Rory finally released him. "Did you have a good day at work?"
"It was busy! We had a full house all night, but I made a lot o' money in tips tonight," the teen answered. "I should probably give ye' a little bit o' cash for all the gas ye've been spending toting me around." He started to reach for his back pocket, but Sam gently grabbed his arm to stop him.
"No. Save your money to spend on things for yourself. You deserve nice things; you can't buy them if you're giving me gas money," Sam said with a half smile. "The gesture is sweet and quite gentlemanly."
Rory blushed a little at the comment. "At least let me pay ye' for the clothes. Those count as nice things," he said, smiling sheepishly.
Sam chuckled. "No. Those are a gift," he said. He placed his hands on the boy's chest, feeling the fabric and the firmness of his muscles. Sam could tell that Rory was nowhere near as built as himself, but the 'average' body type that he most likely had was all the more attractive to him. "The outfit looks very nice on you. Was it to your liking?"
"Oh yes. It's very nice, thank ye'. It was really thoughtful. I didn't expect it at all," the teen replied. "Ye'r note was really sweet, too."
"Oh? I'm surprised you could read my sloppy handwriting," the vampire laughed. "Penmanship was never one of my strong suits."
As always, Sam ushered his boyfriend to the car, holding the door open for him. With the teen seated comfortably, he returned to the driver's side and got in.
"Are you hungry? I went to the store this evening to get some food for you. I don't know if what I got is okay though. I haven't eaten human food in so long, I forgot what's good to eat, plus the cuisine has changed quite a bit since I was a teenager. Milk was in metal containers, taken directly from the cows. It wasn't in plastic jugs in the refrigerator."
It was Rory's turn to laugh. "I can't imagine! Ye' made e'erything by hand back then, right? Baked ye'r own bread, hunted for ye'r meat, caught ye'r own fish, grew ye'r own vegetables?"
Sam nodded. "We did. It was hard work, but somehow it made the meals taste so much better. I guess because we worked for it, we earned the meals my mother made for us. Of course, I haven't tasted food in well over a century, so it very well may be just as good, if not better."
The brunette shrugged. "I doubt it. I ne'er had the kind o' food ye' had growing up, but I've had homemade bread, homegrown vegetables before. They tasted so much better than anything ye' buy in a store." The idea made him grin, thinking about the fact that even though they lived very different lives, they still shared some things in common. He had eaten food produced in the same manner as the much older teen had decades before.
"Do ye' miss the past? Working so hard all day, catching ye'r food and growing it and all? Do ye' think we're better off today?"
Sam thought a moment before answering. "Sometimes I miss the simplicity. People rely on electronics so much now, have to be in contact with hundreds of people everyday, have things like pollution and global warming and littering. Back then, we didn't have electronics. We made our own fun. We didn't need to be in touch with the entire world all the time. I think back then, people were much more family oriented, and spent more time enjoying life and less time involved with so many crazy, dramatic things."
Rory bit his bottom lip as he listened to Sam talk. "I wish I could see ye'r memories o' back then. See what it was like, 'ave a little visit back in time. See what ye' saw."
The vampire moved his hand over and clasped the younger teen's. "Are you absolutely sure you can't read me? Not even the slightest bit?"
The boy shook his head. "I can't. Part o' me wishes I could, just to see the memories o' what it was like back in ye'r human life, see for meself what it was like. But…"
"But?"
"But not being able to read ye', it's such a relief. I don't 'ave to concentrate so hard to keep out o' ye'r head. I can relax. I can kiss ye' and not worry about sucking up ye'r mind. We can hold each other, and it doesn't matter if our skin touches. With anyone else, I 'ave to keep thinking about not seeing what's in their heads, and sometimes if I'm too tired, or caught by surprise, I see them anyway, and most o' the time, I wish I hadn't seen what I did. People keep a lot o' secrets in their memories. Some awful, some good. Some of them disturbing, like this one boy who had some very strange likings in the bedroom," Rory explained, giggling at the last bit.
Sam couldn't help but be curious. "Strange likings, huh? Dare I ask?"
"Aye. He liked t'be tied up and beaten by his girlfriend. Very strange stuff. He even liked being kicked in the groin. I couldn't help but say 'That's so disgusting!' out loud when I saw it. It was the very last image I saw, which I refuse to describe. It really was disgusting. I ne'er want to do those kind o'things."
"What do you want to do?"
Rory blushed deeply. "I uhm…I'm still a virgin. I don't know what I want t'do really. I know I want me first time to be with someone I love. Something special."
Sam smiled and nodded, committing it to memory. He wanted to do numerous things with his boyfriend, but only when the teen was ready. Knowing this new information, it made him realize all the more than he needed to make sure that if they were to take things to the next level, that he made it just perfect for him.
Before they had a chance to go on, they arrived at Sam's. Rory was relieved; he wasn't quite ready to talk about what he wanted to do out loud. Part of him really wanted to be intimate with Sam, to do all the things boyfriends were supposed to do, but another part of him was scared to death of it all.
When they got inside, Sam led him straight to the kitchen. There was a loaf of bread on the counter, and a bag of potato chips, with a jar of peanut butter sitting next to it. Upon inspecting the fridge, Rory found a fully cooked chicken in a plastic container as well as some mayonnaise and some cheese. To drink, Sam had gotten two different beverage choices for him—Pepsi and beer.
"I uh, I asked someone what would go good on a sandwich, with a chicken. She told me mayonnaise and cheese were good, so that's what I got. If you don't like it, I can get you something else."
"No, no, this is fine. What's the peanut butter for though?"
"To dip your crackers in of course. That's what you do with them, right? Dip them in different sauces and stuff?" Sam asked, becoming unsure if he had messed up.
Rory giggled. "Usually people dip chips in salsa or cheese or something. These are chips. Crackers are different, and those usually go with peanut butter," he explained.
Sam would have flushed if he could. "Oh. I can get you something else to put your chips in, or I can get some crackers. Or both."
"No, no, really this is fine. Chips are fine by themselves, and I can always put peanut butter on bread for a sandwich. Not at the same time as the chicken and mayonnaise and cheese though," the teen went on.
"Do you want me to cut up your chicken? I can warm it up for you. I didn't want it to spoil so I put it in the refrigerator," Sam offered.
Rory smiled, taking the chicken container from the shelf. "Sure, ye' can slice it if ye' want. Ye' probably 'ave more experience with carving meat than I do."
Sam grinned devilishly. He took the chicken and placed it on a cutting board, setting the container aside. He took a large butcher knife from the knife stand and began expertly carving up the chicken, taking off every bit of meat he could find. He put it all back in the container, tossing the bones into the newly-purchased trash can under the sink.
"Wow, ye' 'ave quite a talent there. Ye' could work in a butcher shop at an all-night store if ye' wanted to," Rory praised. He took out two slices of bread and slathered some mayonnaise on each of them, then piled on slices of chicken until he had as much as he wanted. Next was a slice of cheese and he was done.
"Want to sit at the table?" Sam asked. Rory nodded and carried his sandwich and the bag of chips to the table. "What would you like to drink? The Pepsi or the beer?"
Rory chuckled again. "The Pepsi is fine. I'm too young to drink beer. Ye' 'ave to be twenty-one to drink alcohol."
Sam scratched his head. "Really? Weird. Well, you can drink it here if you want to. I won't tell anyone."
"Thanks, but the Pepsi is fine for now."
Sam brought a can of soda to him and set it next to his plate. He then sat down in the chair opposite the teen and watched him intently. "Sorry, don't mean to stare."
Rory smiled at him. "So ye' really can't eat anything at all? It makes ye' sick? Or does it just taste bad?"
"It tastes bad, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to hold it down. Vampire bodies aren't meant to process human food." The teen nodded as he ate his sandwich, happy that Sam had made such an effort to accommodate his human needs. "If you want, I can take you to the grocery store and let you choose some food to keep here. I need to pick up some more Tru Blood anyway."
"That'd be great. I don't wanna be any trouble though," Rory admitted.
"You're no trouble at all. It makes me happy to take care of you, and it makes me happy to see your excitement about things. It's wonderful!" Sam said cheerfully.
Rory blushed. "I ne'er expected anyone t'say that t'me. I honestly ne'er thought I would e'er 'ave a boyfriend. Because o' me ability."
"Well, that's not an issue with me, so no problems there," the vampire replied, leaning over the table and kissing the teen on the forehead.
Rory finished eating and then the pair of them watched an old movie on the TV. Sam had a collection of classic movies on DVD, particularly old sci-fi flicks. The various forms of technology fascinated Sam, and the various creatures were amazing. To him, these creatures were like what vampires were to humans-complete enigmas to be discovered and explored.
-ooo-
It was around midnight when Sam took Rory back home. The boy was yawning before they even got around the corner. Sam kissed Rory goodnight, watching him enter the house before driving away.
Rory shut the door behind him, all of the lights in the house off. Something felt wrong. There wasn't the familiar hum of the air conditioner, or the various other electronics that made faint sounds in the night. The air was stale. He reached for the light switch, but instead of illumination. there were sparks from the shattered bulbs in the lamps and ceiling lights.
"Whoa! What in the world? They're… shattered. I wonder why. It hasn't stormed or anything so I can't imagine there was a power surge," he said aloud. He suddenly smelled something putrid in the air. It was an odor he had never smelled before, but somehow he knew it was bad.
"Hello?" he called out. No answer. He went into the living room, but found nothing there, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that could be the source of the smell. He moved on to the dining room, same thing. Shrugging, he headed toward the stairs, deciding to go up to his room, away from the foul odor.
The steps creaked loudly, a noise he probably hadn't noticed before masked by the hum of the AC. The smell was even worse at the top of the stairs. What was it? He started to feel nervous, chill bumps covering his skin, slight nausea creeping upon him. Something was definitely wrong. Just like he felt when he first came in. Then the light bulbs were all broken, and then the smell, and nobody around. None of it were good signs.
He knocked on Brittany's bedroom door, hoping she was still awake or at least would wake enough to tell him what the smell was. Silence. He tried again. Silence. He cracked the door open, calling out her name, but he noticed that her bed was still made; she was nowhere around.
He hated to wake his host parents, but he was worried and starting to become scared even. He rapped on the Pierce's bedroom door, getting no answer. He knocked harder. Again he knocked, calling out their names. The smell was strongest at the door, as if it were coming from inside their bedroom.
Chills running up and down his spine, he cracked open the door, about to call out their names again, but his jaw dropped as he pushed the door the rest of the way open. His breathing got light, and he felt dizzy. Lying on the bed were Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, or what was left of them. In the dark he couldn't tell exactly what was wrong with them-they looked to be almost boneless, like every single one had been broken. Blood was everywhere, decorating the walls, the curtains, it even stained the ceiling.
Shaking, he reached over for the light switch, flipping it on. Again only sparks from a broken bulb, but the ceiling fan of the Pierces' bedroom came on, something flying off of the blades, flying right at Rory.
Rory held his hands up in front of his face in defense of whatever was coming at him, and he felt its wetness all over himself as there was an immense heat in his palms coupled with a dull flash of brightness, and the object that had come toward him exploded in a spray of liquid and flesh. He watched in horror as the remains of Lord Tubbington, the family cat, smacked into the wall and slowly slid down several inches before falling off and plopping to the floor.
The teen felt sicker than he ever had in his life. Blood had splattered all over him, the smell of death was overwhelming, and the mental trauma of finding his host parents and the family pet dead in their bedroom was too much. He fell to his knees and vomited on the floor, barely able to breathe as he retched.
"Sam..." he croaked out, feeling closer and closer to passing out with every moment. No, please don't pass out. Not now, not here, please oh God please… he thought.
Rory didn't know exactly how much time had elapsed before he felt Sam's strong arms holding him. "Oh my god, Rory what happened?"
"Don't know," was all he got out before he felt himself fade from consciousness.
-ooo-
Rory awoke to the sensation of a strong breeze flowing over his body, everything around him a blur. He was in Sam's arms, and Sam was running at vampire speed. Rory hoped Sam was taking him back to his home, which thankfully he was. As soon as they entered the house, Sam helped him up on his feet.
"Can you stand okay?" the vampire asked.
"I think so. Oh god, did that really happen? The Pierces, the blood, the... the cat?" the teen asked in a daze. Sam held him steady, not trusting him to stand on his own.
"I'm sorry. Yes. You're safe though. You're back at my house. Nobody knows you're here. I even took a different route back just in case," Sam explained. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Rory shook his head slowly, pulling his hands up close to his face, inspecting for burns or wounds. "No. I'm fine. I felt the burning in me hands though. I saw a bright light come from me palms, and then I was covered in... stuff." He couldn't bring himself to say blood. Even though it was the cat's blood, he liked Lord Tubbington, and it was not a pleasant experience having the poor creature's remains all over him.
"We need to get you cleaned up. You're covered. It's all over your clothes, in your hair, on your face. Come on, a hot shower will help you," Sam said. He didn't wait for an answer but instead led the boy upstairs toward the bathroom.
The shower was quite large. It was a walk-in with a glass door and two showerheads-one on each side and then a third on the ceiling. There was even a bench molded into the wall. Sam reached inside and turned the knobs, adjusting the temperature of the water.
Sam didn't say a word, but instead knelt down to help Rory take off his shoes and socks, both of which were splattered in gore. He stood back up and pulled the boy's shirt up over his head, red streaks staining his chest where the liquid had soaked through. Sam was apprehensive at first about removing his pants, not wanting Rory to feel taken advantage of, but the teen had already unbuttoned them and was letting them slide to the floor.
Had the situation been different, Sam would have looked him over hungrily, but as it were, all he felt was protective and filled with pity for the boy for what he had witnessed. Rory stepped forward out of his jeans and boxers, now completely nude for the first time in front of his boyfriend. Sam quickly removed his own clothing, having never been shy about his own nudity.
"Come on, let's get in and get you cleaned up. You'll feel loads better," the vampire said, taking Rory by the hand and leading him into the steaming hot shower. Sam had only turned on one of the showerheads so they weren't fully doused all at once.
The moment the water hit them, red flowed down Rory's skin until it pooled at his feet before washing into the drain. Sam ran his fingers through the teen's hair, trying to rinse out as much blood as he could. He reached over for the bottle of shampoo, squirting more than a normal amount onto his head. He lathered up Rory's dark hair, then turned on the overhead shower. The warm water rained down from above, rinsing out the soap. He lathered and rinsed twice more until he was certain no more blood remained on the brunette locks, the scent having washed down the drain right along with the liquid.
"Close your eyes again," Sam instructed softly. He took a washcloth and carefully washed off the teen's face until not a trace of gore was left. Satisfied, Sam leaned forward and gave Rory an innocent kiss on the mouth before continuing.
As Sam continued to wash him, the water faded into less and less red. He worked his way down, gently scrubbing away the lather as he went, focusing solely on the task at hand, refusing to allow his mind to drift in an inappropriate direction. "You know, this reminds me of the time Steven fell in the edge of the river, and sank in the mud. It took me forever to get all that crap off of him and out of his clothes. Dad gave him a trip to the woodshed for that one, but I gotta admit, it was pretty funny looking back on it." Rory chuckled, taking the small delight in Sam sharing yet another one of his memories with him.
When Sam was finished, he stood back up, turned off the overhead shower and turned on the one on the other side to wash himself off. Rory backed away toward the bench, sitting down as the spray hit him, leaning back with his head against the wall. Sam noticed this, and in vampire speed quickly finished washing himself off before turning off both showerheads. The steam kept them warm long enough for Sam to reach out for two oversize towels.
The vampire wrapped one towel around his waist and took the other one and wrapped it around the tired boy. "Stand up; let's dry you off and put some clean clothes on you. I don't want you catching a chill."
Rory followed him out of the shower, the towel still wrapped around him like a cloak, covering the majority of his body. Sam reached around him and dried him off, mussing his hair and being ever so gentle around his groin. Sam was pleased with himself for keeping his body under control, for keeping his focus. He led him into the bedroom, having him sit on the bed while he rushed to find clothes for him. Since Sam had a more muscular body, and thus required slightly bigger sizes, his clothes were a bit loose on the lithe teen.
In a flash, Sam had his own clothes on as well, both of them fully dressed and clean. "Thank ye'," Rory murmured, Sam sitting next to him on the bedside, pulling him over to lean on his shoulder. "I wish that had been mud, like ye'r brother."
"I'm sorry it wasn't. You shouldn't have had to see all that. I want to go back there myself and do some looking around before we call the police to do their job. I don't want them messing with anything I could find useful, like a scent or evidence that might not mean anything to them but would be important to me to use. I promise, I will find out who did this, hunt them down, and-" Sam stopped himself, knowing how Rory felt about taking a human life. Or any life for that matter.
"Kill them," the teen finished for him. "Hunt them down and kill them."
Sam just nodded. He knew Rory was scared and angry, but he also knew the boy would never insist on murder. Of course that was assuming this was a human who did it, which Sam was almost certain it was not. While a human was more than capable of such a nasty deed, something about it just seemed supernatural. He couldn't put his finger on it, however.
"Can I put you to bed now? I'll leave the TV on for you. I won't be gone long. When I get back, we'll decide what to do about alerting the police."
"Okay," Rory replied quietly. "I wish ye'd stay, but I know ye' need to check things out. I don't want to interfere with ye'r investigation." He slid back in the bed under the covers, laid back with his head on the pillow, and used the remote control to change the TV channel. He found some cartoons, left it to play, and waited for himself to drift off to sleep.
-ooo-
Sam stepped into the Pierce residence, his awareness on overdrive. He wasn't sure what he expected to jump out at him, but he had to be prepared for whatever he might find. He briefly checked through the first floor, finding nothing out of the ordinary in the dining or living rooms, nor the kitchen or pantry except for broken light bulbs in every single setting. Several windows were also cracked, but not completely blown out. There was no basement so he decided to move on upstairs, cautiously ascending the steps.
When he had come to Rory's rescue earlier, he hadn't assessed much of what was going on. He simply looked for an immediate threat such as an intruder, and then ran to Rory's side. Now, alone, he could take a closer look.
No matter how many decades had passed, Sam would never get used to seeing death and destruction no matter how many times he had witnessed and even committed so many gruesome acts in the past. His personal opinion was that when he was no longer fazed by the death of people or the destruction of people's lives, then he had lost his humanity and was no better than a monster. He refused to give in to that.
First off, he checked Rory's bedroom. Nothing at all seemed out of place. His belongings were all neatly where he had left them. There was no sign of a foreign entry into the room. At least none that Sam's heightened senses could pick up.
A check of the bathroom was equally clear, as was the bedroom of the young girl who also lived there-Brittany. It was only the master bedroom that had any activity in it at all. The smell had intensified, a slight burning scent leftover from Rory's light show. The light bulb here was broken as well, so he had to rely on his ability to see in the dark. Colors were never as vivid, but if he had any question to what a substance was, he could easily smell it. The smell of blood had a very particular scent.
He could see the large splatter on the wall, the remains of the unfortunate feline in a heap below, a few small bits of fur still stuck on the plaster. He felt great pity for animals who were caught in the line of fire.
Judging by the streaks and splotches of blood on the other walls and ceiling, the victims had been in motion enough to hit numerous locations. As morbid as it was, he bent down to smell both the man, and the woman and then compared their scent to that of the blood on the walls and ceiling. It was disgusting, and he felt like he may vomit. While as a vampire he couldn't throw up food or acid, he could still vomit up blood and he thought at any moment he just might do that.
He studied the wounds on the Pierces and determined that it was the woman who had bled out on the ceiling, and that the only wounds she had were a multitude of tears in the skin, as if someone had grabbed different ends and just pulled until it gave way. Her chest looked as if it had been blown out, most likely from the inside. The man was missing part of his back and was covered in similar tears. It was his blood on the walls. The bed was covered in a mixture from both of them.
Sam had to get out of there for a moment, his senses on overload. After several minutes, he went back in, looking around to see anything that might give a clue as to who or what had done this. Much to his dismay, he found absolutely nothing. Whoever or whatever had come into the room had left not a trace, not so much as a perfume or cologne lingering scent, not a hair nor drop of spit, nothing.
The vampire went into the bathroom where he promptly leaned over the toilet and vomited a hefty amount of dark red blood. He was glad Rory wasn't there to see it, the sight might be too much for him to handle.
Not wanting Rory to ever have to set foot in the house again, but also not wanting to rouse suspicion, he settled on taking just a few of the teen's belongings for him to have while he was away. He found one of Rory's larger suitcases in his closet, which he promptly filled with several outfits, underwear, socks, a couple pairs of shoes and a windbreaker. Scanning the room for entertainment, he found the teen's laptop sitting on his desk. He quickly gathered everything into the laptop case and set it next to the suitcase. Sitting on the bedside table was a handheld game console that Sam recognized from commercials on TV. All he saw was the console, the charger it was connected to, and a small case of three games. That would have to be enough for the time being and he was more than willing to purchase whatever the boy wanted to entertain himself. Those he put into the suitcase as well. He would take him to the store later for new toiletries—Sam wasn't about to waste time sorting through such things that could easily be replaced. It would also look rather suspicious if only Rory's things were gone from the bathroom. Items from his bedroom could easily be explained; he needed them while spending the night at a friend's.
As he finished packing up one thought came to mind. What about the girl, Brittany? What if she came home to all this-her parents and her beloved pet slaughtered, her roommate missing? Rory hadn't said anything about where she was, and it worried him that she may come home before the police came.
It dawned on him then that her number would most likely be in Rory's cell phone. He would speed back to his house, rouse Rory to send her a warning not to go home, and then call the police to investigate. He knew cops were skeptical of vampires, especially with the recent deaths, but due to the nature of things, they had no choice. They couldn't just leave them rotting in the house. The girl would need somewhere to go, and something would have to be done about Rory.
Sam debated with himself as he ran back home. The thought that they might ship the teen back to Ireland in light of the incident was a very real possibility. The idea terrified him and one single possibility came to mind-something he hated, but was reluctantly willing to use: glamour. He could glamour the police into releasing Rory into his care for the time being. He would only do it on one condition, however. He decided he had to ask Rory first, to see if he wanted to stay even after this, and if so, then and only then would Sam use his power over the human mind on the proper authorities.